X-Men: First Class (2011)

I was intrigued to learn of the reboot of the X-Men franchise in 2011.  I'd always had a fondness for the Stan Lee and Jack Kirby run of the original X-Men, published in the 1960s, (although wasn't familiar with the more recent "X-Men: First Class" comics).

Movie poster for "X-Men: First Class" (2011)

After the disappointment of "X-Men: The Last Stand", my wife and I skipped "The Wolverine" in theatre.  When we finally saw it, I was pleased for the most part, although felt that its conclusion missed the mark entirely.

So it was with no small degree of apprehension that we went to see "X-Men: First Class".  Happily, we were not disappointed.  In fact, it rekindled all of the excitement of the original film.  We were totally engrossed.

The picture really did a good job of capturing the look and feel of the 1960s.  The costumes and soundtrack were spot on, and I really enjoyed witnessing how the writers leveraged the Cuban missile crisis to thematic advantage.

We recently rewatched the film, together with our twin daughters (after the first two X-Men films, skipping the third).  They both really enjoyed it, and continued with the rest of the more recent instalments (except for "Logan").

Some people complain about the chronology of the X-Men franchise, but that's one of the things I love about it.  It's fairly representative (and not as convoluted ) as the actual X-Men comics, so quite appropriate, in fact.

Robin Hood (2010)

I wasn't sure what to expect from Ridley Scott's treatment of the Robin Hood legend.  "Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves" was a favourite movie of the year, almost two decades earlier, and so I was curious to see how the two would compare.

Movie poster for "Robin Hood" (2010)

Set in 1199, "Robin Hood" could almost serve as a sequel to Ridley Scott's "Kingdom of Heaven".  King Richard the Lionheart appears in the final scene of that movie, preparing to leave on the Third Crusade, and again at the beginning of this one.

I'd read about the death of King Richard at the siege of Chalus Castle, and so was in disbelief and awe when I realized that the opening sequence would involve that historical episode.  To me, the movie was worth watching, for that alone.

Russell Crowe did fairly well in the title role, although the long shadow of "Gladiator" was hard to avoid.  (He even rode the same horse in both movies).  Still, I appreciated the grittier take on the character of Robin Hood, and so wasn't displeased.

The movie also stars Cate Blanchett as Marion, William Hurt as William Marshal, and Max von Sydow as the elder Loxley.  (In case you haven't figured it out yet, I'm a sucker for historical epics with strong supporting casts.)

While there's been talk of a sequel, I would rather see a trilogy of sorts, with Scott directing a film about the Fourth Crusade.  (If anybody knows how to get word to the man, please let him know that I have a screenplay in the works.)

District 9 (2009)

Every now and then, a film comes along that wasn't on my radar, but nevertheless turns out to be an instant classic.  "District 9", produced by Peter Jackson and directed by Neill Blomkamp, was just such a film.

Movie poster for "District 9" (2009)

It had been a challenging time, and so I welcomed the opportunity to go out and see a movie with a friend, who isn't into science fiction or fantasy, but appreciates a good film, regardless of the genre.

Like most good science fiction, "District 9" deals with matters of the human condition.  In this case, it's themes of racism and xenophobia, filmed against the backdrop of apartheid in South Africa.

An alien spacecraft suddenly appears in the skies over Johannesburg, back in 1982.  The plot then fast forwards twenty years into the future, which is when most of the action takes place.

I thought there were similarities to the 1980s TV miniseries "V", which was a bit of a pop culture phenomenon when it came out.  Perhaps that's one of the reasons the film resonated with me.

There has been occasional word that a sequel (or even a prequel) is being planned, but I don't know of anything definite in the works.  That's too bad, because "District 9" is a story worth returning to.

The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian (2008)

"The Chronicles of Narnia" by C. S. Lewis are among my favourite stories.  I've read every book in the series countless times, most recently to my children, as bedtime stories.  Like most Narnia fans, I have strong opinions about the cinematic adaptions.

Movie poster for "The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian" (2008)

I remember when the animated version of "The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe" aired on CBS in 1979.  I also watched the BBC versions, when they were released in the late 1980s.  So, I was excited to learn of the big budget adaptions planned by Disney.

My wife and I saw "The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe" when it came out just before Christmas in 2005.  Parts of it were extremely well done, but it suffered a bit from the influence of Peter Jackson's "The Lord of the Rings".

"The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian" opened exactly as I would have suggested, with the flight of Prince Caspian.  I also loved the children's return to Narnia, and many other scenes.  (I didn't care for the Spanish accents of the Telmarines, however).

"The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader" was a disaster as an adaption in 2010.  The next movie was apparently going to be "The Magician's Nephew" (a good decision, in my view) but was canceled with the death of one of the producers.

Netflix acquired the rights to the Chronicles of Narnia a few years ago, but has been fairly quiet about what's being planned.  There's some apprehension in Narnia fan circles, since Netflix is known for it's darker take on material, but let's see what happens.