There are scant cinematic pickings on offer this weekend, unless you’re a fan of bland comic book adaptations, painfully unfunny Adam Sandler comedies or bad Woody Allen imitations.
X-Men: Days of Future Past is the fifth installment of the now 14-year-old comic book franchise. This one revolves around a time travel plot, sending Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine back to 1973 in order to foil an assassination plot. The first half of the movie is good cheesy fun, with 1970s disco balls and dodgy fashion abounding, but at the midpoint the tone becomes a lot moodier and the second half of the film is a dull slog as a result. This one is for hardcore comic nerds only.
Adam Sandler returns to our screens once more (something we should all be ashamed of) with his latest non-comedy, Blended. It’s one of the most offensive and mean-spirited films I’ve had the displeasure of seeing in a long time, full of flat and cruel jokes that frequently cross the line into sexism and racism. The worst film of the year so far, by quite a stretch; sadly it will probably prove a huge hit.
As a fan of Woody Allen, I had eagerly awaited Fading Gigolo, in which he stars alongside writer-director John Turturro, but the film is a major disappointment. Turturro does his best to ape the style of Allen’s own work but completely fails thanks to a directionless plot, terrible dialogue and a shockingly wooden performance from leading lady, French chanteuse Vanessa Paradis.
For documentary fans, this week sees the release of Hill Street, a look at Dublin’s skateboarding scene, and The Punk Singer, whose title subject is rocker Kathleen Hanna.
By Eric Hillis
Image: X-Men: Days of Future Past
