Comic book greatness returns to the big screen this weekend. Even Adam Sandler has a new comedy that isn’t as awful as you might expect. This could be a great time to go to the movies.
Bryan Singer, the filmmaker who gave us the first two ‘X-Men’ movies, returns to the franchise reins with ‘X-Men: Days of Future Past‘. Since he left the series, it suffered a terrible third installment, an awful Wolverine spin-off, a decent Wolverine spin-off and the fantastic prequel origins story. With Singer back at the helm, he turns in his best ‘X-Men’ work yet. ‘Days of Future Past’ starts many years ahead of his first two entries. The future is grim for mutants and humankind alike, so the aged, surviving X-Men send Wolverine back in time to work with the young X-Men from ‘First Class’ to put an end to the future’s problems before they can take root. Get ready for all-out action and fun. The film’s scope is grand and the final product is extremely satisfying.
‘Blended‘ reunites Adam Sandler with Drew Barrymore in their third romantic comedy together. As much as I have bashed Sandler and his brain-dead, laugh-less comedies of recent years, I was surprised that I didn’t hate this one. I went in expecting it to be just as stupid and forgettable as his last several movies, but it’s actually not that bad. While the movie is full of Sandler’s usual dumb gags, at least they’re embedded in a story with fleshed-out characters that you surprisingly care about. Many of the jokes are actually funny. As an added bonus, instead of needlessly cramming in every one of his off-screen friends (a few still make it in), ‘Blended’ features several cameos characters from ‘The Wedding Singer‘ and ‘50 First Dates‘. It may not be my first choice this weekend, but it’s still Sandler’s best comedy in years.
On the indie front, IFC debuts the Sundance hit ‘Cold in July‘ on six screens. Michael C. Hall stars as a family man who shoots a wanted fugitive dead during a home invasion. Now, the fugitive’s father (Sam Shepard) wants revenge, but things aren’t exactly as they seem. Uncovering the truth, staying alive and keeping his family safe prove to be impossible feats.
Notable indie expansions of the week include Jon Favreau’s ‘Chef’ and Fox Searchlight’s ‘Belle’.
