Tag: Jennifer Lawrence

When Love is Fleeting in “Passengers,” A Movie Review

I thought the set design is terrific to look at in Passengers, and the real world physics of space travel plausible.

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By Ed Sum (The Vintage Tempest)

I thought the set design is terrific to look at in Passengers, and the real world physics of space travel plausible. This movie got me wondering about the world being left behind. Is the Earth overpopulated and only the rich can afford to leave? The starship Avalon is a luxury cruise ship that Jim (Chris Pratt) finds himself in. Little does he know is that it is slowly malfunctioning–the reason behind his sudden awakening from hibernation–and had he investigated, he might have repaired the vehicle sooner than later.

In what he learns instead is the fact that he will not live long enough to arrive in a new world. He’s a drowning man. That’s until one day, he finds the girl of his dreams (Jennifer Lawrence) and makes the terrible decision to awaken her. She’s an accomplished journalist and has a story to tell, but will it involves Jim? Most likely not, but just what is love exactly?

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An X-Nerd’s Guide and Review of X-Men: Apocalypse

X-Men_Apocalypse_International_PosterBy Ed Sum (The Vintage Tempest)

* Spoiler alert!

When X-Men: Days of Future Past (DoFP) introduced a young En Sabah Nur building a pyramid in ancient Egypt after the movie credits, I was very excited for the next film. While I knew the film would not be set entirely in the past, the introduction of this character was all too brief in that past instance and only a few new details are revealed in X-Men: Apocalypse.

He’s the world’s first mutant who has a god complex and he wants to wipe out humanity to forge a new empire. In the comics, he’s out to create a new world order and he is a lot more patient about it. Many months passed in his quest to find his ideal knights. In the film, he’s rushing the end of days and whom he chooses to be the four horsemen are not necessarily those of the biblical version of the four horseman of the apocalypse. The title of which, Nur uses as his codename.

Angel (Ben Hardy) transformed into Archangel and he’s easily recognizable as the Horseman of Death. He’s the only character from the original X-Factor comic book arc when the villain made life tough for the team. Unlike the source, Angel lost his wings (those fragile bones were shattered) and Apocalypse offered to regenerate them at the cost of becoming a servant. Little is known about the character in the film. He’s a slave forced into cage sports. He looked very cool at the start, but once he became evil, the punk look does not suit him well.

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Can The Hunger Games in Mockingjay Part 2 Finally End?

By Ed Sum (The Vintage Tempest)

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Die hard fans of the Hunger Games will most likely appreciate Mockingjay Part 2 more in this finale than the casual movie-goer who has not read the books. For this trilogy which got its last novel split into two films, the bigger question cinema enthusiasts will ask is the wait worth it? Each volume has enough content (380 pages on average) to fill one film. When looking at how much material that’s presented from each tome per film, most likely not. When considering the plot in the book to what’s adapted for the theatrical version, there’s plenty of expanded and changed material to look at.

In this latest movie, the screenplay credit goes to Peter Craig, Danny Strong and Suzanne Collins (original author). Although the product has Collins seal of approval, maybe she’s falling into the trap of how most expanded trilogy films must flow.

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Time is Against the Hunger Games: Mockingjay, Part One Movie Review

By Ed Sum (The Vintage Tempest)

MockingjayPerhaps the biggest argument against The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part One is the decision by Lionsgate Studio to split the film up. Is there enough narrative to make the 390 page book fit into two films? Usually one page of dialogue in screenplay equates to one minute of screen time. A basic formula to book writing suggests that 50 to 70% of what’s written be spoken. Based on that math, there’s enough content for one movie. Ever since Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows started the trend (that book has about 600 pages), Twilight Breaking Dawn followed (629) — just how many more young adult book series must imitate this cash cow formula? Sadly, most of this film felt very drawn out before the story that matters finally takes flight near the end of the second act.

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