X-Men: First Class

[AntiDumbFrogQuestion]

I liked it, looking forward to new X-Films (FINALLY) where I won't have to worry about the quality, as long as Vaughn is on board for one or two more.  He should really do films in between to flex his muscles like Nolan has done with the Batman franchise.
The only part that didn't work for me was Beast looked stupid. REALLY stupid.  Like nobody put any thought into him, or at least how the prosthetics would inhibit Nicholas Hoult's face.  And some rushed character arcs, yeah, but what I did like is how codenames were come up with while partying, possibly drinking, from some sarcastic/goofy teenagers.  It reminded me of Gen13 a bit.
Also certain cameos, although if thought about too much might be cutesy, certainly did the trick this time around.  Much better than 'Thor' wanted to be.
Overall, thank got they picked a more gritty filmmaker over the 'LOOKATMELOOKATMELOOKATME' options...*coughBrettcough*
I really would want to write more, but the above review by Modage says most of it.

[polkablues]

I will review this in haiku form, because why wouldn't I:

Quite entertaining.
Matthew Vaughn made it his own.
Fuck you, Brett Ratner.

Haikview #2:

More Byrne and Lawrence!
As for January Jones,
She is just the worst

[Stefen]

I didn't even know this came out. 

And I probably won't see it because Super 8 opens this weekend and that will be my movie for the weekend.

[squints]

Seriously, everyone should see the new X-Men simply for the first 20 minutes or so, where magneto goes on a tarantino-style quest for revenge. Fassbinder is fucking awesome. Bacon is crazy.

[polkablues]

I was really surprised by how much of Matthew Vaughn's style actually made it into the movie.  I assumed that the studios involved would have diluted away any sense of individuality from it, but I was pleasantly surprised to see otherwise.  There was just enough of that layer of madness that Vaughn brought to Kick-Ass and Layer Cake, and it really helped elevate the movie.

It's impossible for me to believe that the same writers were responsible for this and for Thor.  This was great, Thor was obnoxious and instantly forgettable.

But seriously, January Jones IS THE ABSOLUTE WORST.

[MacGuffin]

Brett Ratner Quietly Fights Back On Twitter After Matthew Vaughn Trashes 'X-Men: The Last Stand'
Source: The Playlist

Brett Ratner isn't going to be Matthew Vaughn's punching bag anymore. But first, quick history lesson of sorts. Vaughn was initially lined up to direct "X-Men: The Last Stand," developing the story and working closely on the film, until he bailed on the job fearing that the production schedule Fox had given him was too tight (ironically, "X-Men: First Class" would be shot and delivered in an even shorter time frame). So in steps Brett Ratner, and the rest, as they say, is history. Vaughn hasn't been shy about his distaste for 'The Last Stand." As early as 2007, he told the Telegraph his reasons for abandoning his shot at that X-Men film and pretty much threw Ratner under the bus in the process: "What happened with 'X-Men' was I didn't have the time to make the movie that I wanted to make. I had a vision for how it should be, and I wanted to make sure I was making a film as good as 'X-Men 2,' and I knew there was no way it could be. I just suddenly knew it wasn't the right thing for me to do. It was a tough decision because it was a hell of an opportunity. But I was trying to make a career as a director, and I didn't want to be the guy accused of making a bad 'X-Men' movie," Vaughn said. "As it happens, I could have made something a hundred times better than the film that was eventually made. It sounds arrogant, but I could have done something with far more emotion and heart. I'm probably going to be told off for saying that, but I genuinely believe it." But Vaughn's low regard for Ratner's effort reared its head again more recently on press rounds for 'First Class,' when he continued to kick 'The Last Stand' saying, "I storyboarded the whole bloody film, did the script. My 'X3' would have been 40 minutes longer. They didn't let the emotions and the drama play in that film. It became wall-to-wall noise and drama. I would have let it breathe and added far more dramatic elements to it." But Ratner has finally fought back in his own way. While he didn't mention Vaughn by name, the timing and context say it all. Over the weekend he tweeted a link to BoxOfficeMojo's breakdown of the opening weekend numbers for all "X-Men" films. Why? Well, believe it or not, 'The Last Stand' has brought in more cash than any of the other three films (and we know this because he also tweeted a link to the Marvel movies box office breakdown). Perhaps feeling proud (or insecure?) Ratner also tweeted another link to the most successful martial arts movies of all time with his "Rush Hour" films in three of the top five slots. Although, calling "Rush Hour" a martial arts film is like calling "Spaceballs" a sci-fi movie. So, has Ratner made a compelling counterargument? Not really. What he fails to realize is that 'The Last Stand' hit theaters on a wave of goodwill thanks to the two solid entries that came before it, and what he doesn't acknowledge is that his film, along with the awful "X-Men Origins: Wolverine" are part of the reason 'First Class' had a less than explosive opening. Audiences were wary after being hoodwinked twice. And the whole idea of using box office numbers as proof of a film's quality is fairly ridiculous, but from a studio perspective, execs love Ratner because shitty or not, his movies make money. So when "Tower Heist" hits later this year, it will be another big hit for the director who will continue to confuse box office dollars with filmmaking acumen. As for Vaughn, 'First Class' will hopefully have some decent legs and at the very least, he will remembered for breathing fresh life into a franchise that Ratner and Gavin Hood had left for dead.

[Mr. Merrill Lehrl]

Slow news day?

[Stefen]

IT'S SHIT LIKE THIS PLAYLIST!

[Kellen]

Just checked it out, I really enjoyed it.  I thought Michael Fassbender stole the show and Kevin Bacon was really good too.  I wasn't a fan of January Jones either so I googled her and this came up:

"Everyone seems to be raving about X-Men: First Class.

Well, everyone except Damon Lindelof.

OK, so that's not totally true. The Lost cocreator might have loved the movie, which came out in theaters last week, but he did hint on Twitter that there was something not very enjoyable about it.

And it has to do with January Jones...

MORE: Five Things You Need to Know Before Seeing X-Men: First Class

The TV exec tweets— "Emma Frost's THREE mutant powers: Telepathy, Transformation to Solid Diamond and last but not least, Sucking at Acting."

[Pas]

Haha this movie makes hollywood people bitch each other, cool.

Can't wait to see it, might even settle with the local french dub.

[RegularKarate]

I really liked it, but it doesn't ever live up to the Nazi hunting Fassbinder does at the beginning.  I wanted more scenes like that bar scene.  Nothing like that ever happened again.

It also tried to do too much which resulted in some really awkward editing.

Still, super fun.

[modage]

I really liked it, but it doesn't ever live up to the Nazi hunting Fassbinder does at the beginning.  I wanted more scenes like that bar scene.  Nothing like that ever happened again.

It also tried to do too much which resulted in some really awkward editing.

Still, super fun.

Your review is my review. But shorter.

[cinemanarchist]

Fassbender is so cool and McAvoy is so lame that only a real moron would actually want to be an X-Man at the end of that movie. I would like January Jones' SAG card to be stamped "Only to play Betty Draper." I'd still give the movie a 6 or 7 out of 10.

[squints]

I really liked it, but it doesn't ever live up to the Nazi hunting Fassbinder does at the beginning.  I wanted more scenes like that bar scene. 

This scene and the *Spoiler* metal-filling removal *End Spoils* are the best scenes in the film. I was happy with the price of admission if only for this little bit.

[cronopio 2]

yeah it's pretty obvious which parts work and which are a mess. in a way, it's good that this movie shows the pornstar skills of january jones in order to contrast what makes actors like mcavoy or fassbender so likeable film stars. i liked it a lot. i felt a cool metal gear solid vibe that somebody that played snake eater will understand. i will probably buy it, i guess that's they highest compliment some of us can give to movies.