2016 - X-Men: Days of Future Past

What I think is really unique about the X-Men series is how they've opened up the world, and technically done a reboot, but all the while still being able to use it with what they've done before.  This film is the ultimate bridging of everything we've seen in X-Men up to this point and it starts to put other pieces together.  Having Striker be part of the mix was great fun, as was seeing pretty much everyone from this world together in one film.  The story was strong - it was a little heavy on over-the-top action towards the end - but it also featured one of the best sequences of the entire series with Quicksilver set to Jim Croce's Time in a Bottle.  I won't ruin it for you - it's fantastic.  The film is full of fun references, including one to JFK being a mutant himself - which got a laugh (in a bad way) from the packed audience I was in.
What I most love about this instalment is that it used a classic X-Men story to find a clever way of fixing the sins made by X3 and anything else they want to tidy up.  They're now able to move forward pretty much however they want - which is really quite refreshing.  Could be the best film of the series, actually.  I dug it a lot.

1741 - X-Men: First Class

I was pretty late to this one, so I'm not sure how much more I can add to the conversation.  I love the idea of an X-Men film that takes place in the 60's. Lots of fun - and throwing it right into the Cold War was a really strong and clever move.  I thought that the re-introduction of characters were really strong.  I loved the nods the films already existing in the series, and I thought some of the re-boot ideas were really well done - the strongest being the relationship between Xavier and Raven (Mystique), and also her and Hank (Beast). 
January Jones is a constant surprise to me.  She just feels like such an flat and un-unteresting choice for this role.  She manages to become suddenly unattractive in this role.  Kevin Bacon was impressive in the opening scene but then he just kind of fell into a cliche jerk role for the remainder. 
For an origin story this works well and I quite enjoyed it.  It'll be interesting to see how the franchise continues.

1527 - Starter For 10

For some reason in the last week or so this film came to me in several different ways.  I've never really cared for James McAvoy one way or another, but he is quite enjoyable here.  He's endearing, really.  Alice Eve is gorgeous and well represents the kind of girl that most men would kill to be with, and in a nice twist of fate she's not a bitch, or an idiot, she's a genuinely nice person.  But the problem is that she's not really the perfect girl - Rebbecca Hall is, and is she ever.  There is this amazing sweetness and earnestness that comes in the scenes between Hall and McAvoy that is sadly rare in this type of film.  You feel these two people connecting and you want, ever so badly, for them to find a way to be together.  There's a scene between them on New Years Eve that should be a text-book scene to study for anyone wanting to show soulmates awkwardly gearing up for their first intimate moment.  It's lovely. 
Look at me babbling on without saying what the film is about.  More or less it's about a guy who wants to prove himself by being on University Quiz show and also his dealings with his personal relationships.  I realize that I'm not selling it really well here - but it really is a wonderful film.  It starts off a bit slow, but picks up nicely quickly.  It's the kind of film that sneaks up on you, but in such a great way.
Starter for 10  Starter for 10 [Blu-ray]