Posted by Ethan under Film Review, NYC Film Critic
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X-Men: First Class
Directed by Matthew Vaughn
Screenplay by Ashley Miller, Zack Stentz, Jane Goldman, Matthew Vaughn
Starring James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, Kevin Bacon, January Jones, Jennifer Lawrence
***
Fifth in production order but technically second in terms of continuity, X-Men: First Class, the latest feature starring Marvel Comics’ not-so-merry band of mutants, acts as a prequel to the first three X-pictures while running vaguely parallel to that Wolverine movie that stunk up theaters two summers ago.
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Jane Eyre
Directed by Cary Fukunaga
Written by Moria Buffini
Starring Mia Wasikowska, Michael Fassbender, Jamie Bell, Judi Dench
**1/2
One of my unfortunate cultural blind spots is 19th century British literature penned by female authors. To date, I’ve only read one Jane Austen novel (Pride & Prejudice, which I quite liked by the way), nothing by Mary Shelly (not even Frankenstein, although I did repeatedly devour the Illustrated Classics version back in elementary school) and nothing by any of the three Brontë sisters, Anne, Charlotte and Emily. I’m also embarrassed to admit that I haven’t even seen any of the numerous film versions of the Brontë’s books up to and including the classic 1939 adaptation of Wuthering Heights starring Laurence Olivier and 1943’s Jane Eyre, starring the dynamic duo of Orson Welles and Joan Fontaine. Of course, I am familiar with the broad outlines of both tales—the thwarted love affair between Heathcliff and Cathy and Jane Eyre’s poorly advised infatuation with the brooding Rochester, who keeps his wife locked away in the attic of his gloomy mansion—but couldn’t  offer a blow-by-blow account of specific plot details.
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Tags: Abbas Kiarostami, Carla Gugino, Cary Fukunaga, Certified Copy, Chris Messina, Cratyon Robey, Dana Adam Shapiro, Elextra Luxx, Jane Eyre, Juliette Binoche, Making the Boys, Mart Crowley, Mia Wasikowska, Michael Fassbender, Moira Buffini, Monogamy, Rashida Jones, Sebastian Gutierrez, The Boys in the Band, William Friedkin, William Shimell, Women in Trouble
Posted by Ethan under Film Journal International, Film Review
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British director Neil Marshall carries on the B-movie tradition with his latest genre mash-up, Centurion, a hugely entertaining Gladiator-meets-Rambo action adventure picture set in Roman times. Based on this movie, Michael Fassbender deserves to be a big, big star. The film opens this Friday in select markets. Read my review over at Film Journal.
