"X-Men: Days of Future Past" (Excuse Me While I Geek Out)

Deep breath......I must have been living under a rock for the past few weeks. Thankfully, the teaser at the end of The Wolverine brought me up to speed on the upcoming X-Men film that is scheduled to open next summer. I knew that a sequel to X-Men: First Class was coming, but I did not know that the film would feature characters from the previous X-Men franchise as well as those from First Class. X-Men: Days of Future Past is based on an X-Men comic book story from the early 1980s by the phenomenal Chris Claremont and John Byrne and will serve as a sequel to both X-Men: The Last Stand and X-Men: First Class. The film will be directed by Bryan Singer, who has not helmed an X-Men movie since X2 in 2003.

I consider the upcoming film to be the best of both worlds because it features many of my favorite actors who will be reprising their roles from previous films. For instance:

James McAvoy (as the young Professor X)- The underrated and underemployed actor has built a stunning resume that includes outstanding performances in the award winning films The Last King of Scotland and Atonement.

Ian McKellen (as the older Magneto) - Fanboys love him for his work in The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit, as well as the previous X-Men films. I appreciate his work is all of those projects, but his finest performance was his turn as the late director James Whale (Frankenstein) in Gods and Monsters, which is one of my all-time favorite films that I watch at least a couple of times each year.

Nicholas Hoult (as Hank McCoy/Beast) - One of the best young actors in the movie industry today, Hoult initially won me over as Tony Stonem in the British television series Skins and then went on to deliver strong work in the films A Single Man and Warm Bodies.

Patrick Stewart (as the older Professor X) - Stewart is probably best remembered for his work as Jean-Luc Picard in Star Trek: The Next Generation, but he showed considerable range in the 1995 comedy Jeffrey as a gay man who was a member of the "Pink Panthers." Of course, Stewart was born to play Professor X  - his resemblance to the character is striking.

Jennifer Lawrence - The superbly talented young Oscar winner continues to amaze and delight. From her turn in Winter's Bone to Katniss in The Hunger Games to her incredible work in Silver Linings Playbook, Lawrence has already cemented herself in movie history and seems to get better with each performance.

Shawn Ashmore (Bobby Drake/Iceman) - The Following actor gets another well deserved movie role, which will hopefully translate to more projects in the future.

Evan Peters (Quicksilver) - Peters has delivered impressive work in the first two seasons of American Horror Story and has earned the chance to showcase his talents on the big screen.

In addition, X-Men: Days of Future Past will feature Hugh Jackman (Wolverine), Halle Berry (Storm), Anna Paquin (Rogue) and Michael Fassbender (young Magneto), as well as Ellen Page (Kitty Pryde), Peter Dinklage (Bolivar Trask) and Adam Canto (Sunspot), who appeared with Shawn Ashmore in The Following.

Needless to say, I cannot wait to see X-Men: Days of Future Past.

New in Theaters: "The Call" - Starring Halle Berry

Halle Berry portrays Jordan Turner, a 911 operator who feels responsible for the death of a young girl, in director Brad Anderson's The Call. The film opens with Jordan receiving a phone call from a teenage girl, Leah Templeton, who is being stalked inside her own home. Jordan is successfully able to help Leah avoid capture, but after being disconnected, Jordan calls back, which inadvertently alerts the intruder, who is still in the house, to Leah's whereabouts. She is then murdered while Jordan is on the line.

Six months later, Jordan is now working as a trainer for new 911 call center recruits, but no longer takes calls herself. However, after a rookie operator has troubling dealing with a call from a young girl who has been kidnapped, Jordan must take over and soon realizes that the girl, Casey Welson (Abigail Breslin), has been abducted by the same man who killed Leah. The majority of the film centers around Casey's harrowing ordeal. Her abductor, Michael Foster (Michael Eklund), has left Casey inside the trunk of his car, but is unaware that she is awake and calling for help. However, the cell phone that Casey is using is disposable, so it is not easily traced (I am not sure if that is accurate, but this is a movie, so just go it).

Jordan stays on the phone with Casey during the ordeal and suggests several things that she might do to alert other drivers to her situation. Casey kicks out one of the exterior lamps, pours paint out of the broken lamp and even tries to fight off her attacker. Meanwhile, the authorities are still trying to trace the cell phone and even with the clues that Casey has left on the roadway, the police are still unable to find her. Eventually, Jordan loses contact with Casey and once again hears Michael's voice when he confiscates the cell phone. After the call ends, Jordan decides that she must do everything in her power to save Casey and makes a somewhat surprising decision.

Director Brad Anderson is no stranger to the suspense genre, having helmed the little seen, but outstanding, 2008 film Transsiberian. For the most part, he crafts another solid and suspenseful effort with The Call and, until the final act, I was completely invested in the film. But the crucial final moments lack the taut suspense that was present during the first two thirds of the film and asks viewers to accept a few outlandish plot twists that I, for one, simply refuse to go along with. The Call also benefits from strong performances by Halle Berry and Abigail Breslin, but their efforts are not enough to make up for the debacle that occurs during the final act when it is too late to call for help. 

Movie Recommendation: "Cloud Atlas" - Starring Tom Hanks and Halle Berry

Cloud Atlas is a nearly three hour epic from the writing and directing team of Lana Wachowski, Tom Tykwer and Andy Wachowski. To provide a synopsis would take several paragraphs and I am not sure if it would help to sort out the various storylines that time travel across several centuries. Perhaps a second viewing might give me a better handle on how to explain Cloud Atlas. However, I do understand that the overall message of the film is that our actions impact not only our lives, but the lives of many others. We are all interconnected, from the past to the future. That may make better sense to those individuals who believe in reincarnation, which is addressed, at least in part, during the film. For everyone else, it prompts us to think and reflect on our lives and wonder if we do indeed have the power to impact so many other lives. Of course, any film that inspires that kind of thinking is worth seeing.

Cloud Atlas stars Tom Hanks, Halle Barry, Jim Broadbent, Hugh Grant, Ben Whishaw, Hugo Weaving, Susan Sarandon, Jim Sturgess, James D'Arcy and Keith David, among others. The aforementioned actors portray characters in multiple stories that range from the California Gold Rush era to the 22nd century and beyond. The various storylines focus on human rights, from the horrors of slavery to genetically engineered clones who are built to do the bidding of the wealthy and powerful. Other stories tackle the potential dangers of nuclear power, the composition of a proposed musical masterpiece and the exploits of a perfectly healthy elderly man who is placed into a nursing home against his wishes (and without his knowledge). While much of the film is rooted in drama, Jim Broadbent provides many laugh out loud moments as his character, Timothy Cavendish, tries to escape from a nursing home with the help of several other incorrigible residents. While there are many impressive performances, I want to single out Hugh Grant and Jim Broadbent, who are especially good in their various roles. In general, all of the performances are terrific and the outstanding use of make-up serves to mask some of the more famous faces from scene to scene. Thankfully, viewers are clued in to what roles the various actors played throughout the film during the end credits.

From a technical standpoint, Cloud Atlas is a superior film. The editing, cinematography, special effects, art direction and make-up will likely receive Academy Award nominations. The editing is also top notch and provides the cohesion that ties the film together. That does not mean that everything makes sense, but it allows the film to hold your attention from start to finish.

Cloud Atlas is a film that movie lovers must see in theaters and not watch on television or (gasp) a computer screen. The film is a cinematic wonder that is visually stunning and may make viewers laugh and cry, but should also encourage you to think about the various stories and how they all tie together. Is it possible to live one life as a hero and the next as a villain? How can society evolve out of slavery, but then devolve into creating clones that are only used to make a select few more wealthy and powerful? Are we really moving forward, or just simply making the same mistakes over and over again? If so, what can we do to ensure that society is progressing from one generation to another? Those questions are a reflection of the impact that a movie can have on one person. I may not have all the answers to the riddle that is Cloud Atlas, but the numerous questions are well worth contemplating and the film is certainly well worth seeing.