X-Men: First Class

#3 in my ranking of the X-Men franchise. Matthew Vaughn has become a personal favorite modern action director. Kick Ass and the Kingsman movies embrace a certain anarchic spirit that matches well Vaughn's visual sensibilities, and all of that is on display here in First Class. He had been attached to direct Last Stand before…

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X-Men Origins: Wolverine

#10 in my ranking of the X-Men franchise. That was unfortunate. Gavin Hood is a quality director with several very good films to his name like Tsotsi, Ender's Game, and Eye in the Sky. And then there's this. This may not be the worst film so far in the X-Men series, but I feel bad…

X-Men: The Last Stand

#11 in my ranking of the X-Men franchise. Oh, no. What had held such promise so completely fell apart in the hands of Brett Ratner. Gone is any real sense of character, narrative construction, or even action chops. This is a dreary, uninteresting movie with too many moving parts, too many unfulfilled promises, and a…

X2: X-Men United

https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BNDk0NjYxMzIzOF5BMl5BanBnXkFtZTYwMTc1MjU3.V1.jpg #4 in my ranking of the X-Men franchise. Actually finding a way to anchor this sequel's story in a single main character's journey was a smart move. The first film was weighed down by a certain directionlessness that made it feel like a random series of events before pulling most of it together for…

Martin Scorsese: The Definitive Ranking

Martin Scorsese during the filming of Taxi Driver --- Image by © Steve Schapiro/Corbis 25 movies spanning the 60s to the 10s, and the man's not done yet. Martin Scorsese is one of the premiere filmmakers alive, one of the great talents who understands every aspect of the craft and how to exploit it. His…