X-Men: Days of Future Past

The world of the present sees a dark place for mutants. Robot Sentinels roam the planet rooting the holder of the mutant genes out and sending them to meet their maker. Any humans harboring them are dispatched too. This situation has brought Professor Xavier and Magneto together as they struggle to hold off the robot enemies. The solution that is forced upon them is to send Wolverine back in time to try and fix the root of the problem. Time travel is treated differently here as it is more like sending someones memory back in time. And it kind of makes sense. The past sees a very different Professor and Magneto with Beast in tow. Jeniffer Lawerence takes on the role of Mystique and kicks some ass. A fun watch in what arguably could be the best film of the X-Men series.

Rating: * * +

The Fountain

Past, present and future collide in this film as each time stream's protagonist searches for eternal life to save his love. The doctor races against time to find a cure for brain tumors so that his wife can be saved. A warrior trudges through the jungles of Peru to find the tree of eternal  life to save his country. An astronaut flies through space in an encapsulated bubble with  an aged tree in hope that a dying star can save it. A film that explores man's thirst for eternal life but yet doesn't examine the meaning of having it.

Rating: * * +

Deception

A let down given the cast and the promise of ore the thriller. Ewan McGregor is this loser fellow who befriends this hero guy played by Hugh Jackman - who hooks him up with this sexy NY night club which has specific rules to comply with. But theres more to it, obviously - and McGregor finds himself staring down a hole soon enough. Reasonable but easily forgettable.

Rating: * +

The Prestige

Lot of hype surrounding the movie - understandable, considering it was Chris Nolan & about magicians. The beginining and the build-up of the story was good - Michael Caine explaining the basic tenets of magic tricks, the manic obsession of the main characters for their craft, and their sheer ruthlessness came across very well.

But the last bit wasn't half as tight as it should have been. I understand that the book, from which the movie was adapted, was different - esp the latter part of the story. Probably explains the sudden dilution of events in the movie. Usual tricks are present: the movie transports the viewer to&fro across time - which sadly is not a novelty anymore. Good performances though from everyone.

A good movie, but certainly not in the same class as Memento.

Rating: * * +