Michael Fassbender Appreciation

I did my weekly Spotlight post on Michael Fassbender back in June, but I see now that I really should have waited. Not only have I seen a few more of his older films since then, but he has had three films come out in theaters since I made that post. In fact, three of the last four movies that I have seen in theaters featured this sexy Irishman. He has just been everywhere in the past year and I love how popular he has become. While the first movie I ever saw him in was 300, the first movie that I really noticed him in was Inglourious Basterds. I just thought he was a handsome devil, and I was thrilled to see all of the cool upcoming roles he had after that. You can pretty much track my Michael Fassbender obsession on this blog. My very first Fassy related post was back in November of 2010 and was about how much I wanted to see Jane Eyre. I even featured him in my list of Actors I'd Watch in Anything back in March before I even saw Jane Eyre. I was definitely true to my word because I have seen every movie he has been in in theaters since then.

Jane Eyre

I love the Brontes! While I prefer Wuthering Heights, I still really love Jane Eyre. I thought that Fassy was amazing as Mr. Rochester. He just oozes sex appeal in this movie, even though it is a pretty unsexy role (Rochester is supposed to be unattractive after all). After seeing this I really just wanted to see Fassbender in a million more romantic leads! I actually cried during the part where he proposed to Jane. Speaking of Fassy and the Brontes, I actually read somewhere that he was originally cast as Heathcliff in Wuthering Heights with Abbie Cornish as Cathy before Andrea Arnold became the director. THAT is a movie that I want to see!

X-Men First Class

I remember being really psyched when casting news started coming in for this movie. I remember thinking James McAvoy would be great as Professor X, but I was really intrigued about Fassbender being cast as Magneto. Even though I had only ever seen him in 300 and Inglourious Basterds at this point, I knew that he would be great. Which he was!!! His performance as Erik was definitely the best thing about this movie! I can not wait for a sequel because I really want to see more of Magneto and Mystique!

Shame

Fassbender gave a really powerful performance in this movie. (I'm still annoyed at him being snubbed by the Oscars). I really thought that this movie would be really sexy, but it is more sad than anything because you know that each time his character has sex (which is many many times) he is just feeding his sex addiction. The scene where his sister walks in on him masterbating was really hard to watch because even though it just should have been an embarassing moment, he was so ashamed that he flipped out on her and it was actually somewhat frightening. Oh and BTW...George Clooney really wasn't exhaggerating with his comment at the Golden Globes. ( I mean WOW!)

A Dangerous Method

While I didn't think Shame was all that sexy, I thought that this movie was really sexy. But...what do you expect in a movie about Freud? Keira Knightley goes way over the top with her performance in the beginning of the movie, the scenes with her and Fassbender are much better after her character starts to get over her crazy. While this movie has a sex scene with the two of them, plus two (!) spanking scenes, I thought that the parts of the two of them just talking to eachother were much sexier.

Haywire

I was super bummed that his role was so small in this movie. He plays a British Intelligence guy who gets killed off right away. (LAME!) He does have a really cool fight scene with Gina Carano though, and what few scenes he has are further proof that he would make a great James Bond!

Now what?
Now that I have seen Haywire, I have to wait five whole months to see him in movie theaters again! I think it will be worth the wait though, because Prometheus looks super cool!

For starters, it may or may not be related to the Alien movies (which I love! Ellen Ripley FTW!). How badass is that? I also think that I read somewhere (of course I could just be making shit up) that he is playing a cyborg, like Ash in the first Alien movie. Also, how amazing is the cast for this movie. Not only does it have Fassy, but also Charlize Theron, Guy Pearce, Noomi Rapace, Idris Elba, and Patrick Wilson! I do not object to any of those actors. AMAZING CAST!

He is also doing another movie with Steve McQueen called Twelve Years a Slave which will also feature Brad Pitt and Chiwetel Ejiofor. Looking forward to it!

What will I do until June to get my Fassy fix? I suppose I could watch one of my (five, I think I have a problem) DVDs that feature Fassbender. (300, Fish Tank, Inglourious Basterds, Jane Eyre and X-Men First Class). To be fair, those DVD purchases weren't only due to my fangirlishness....I really love all five of those movies.

My Favorite Movies of 2011

One of my favorite things to do is to go to the movies. I went to a shitload of movies this year and really enjoyed writing my little movie reviews after I got home. This year I only gave one movie a 10/10, which is my number one movie on the list. (Check it out below...) The five movies that I gave the lowest scores to were Sucker Punch, Don't Be Afraid of the Dark, Breaking Dawn Part 1, The Rum Diary, and Your Highness. Anyways...here is my list of the 10 movies that I enjoyed the most in the year 2011.

10. The Muppets

This movie was totally cheesy, but I loved it anyway. I've always loved The Muppets and this movie just put me in a really good mood. When ever I leave the theater after seeing a movie that I really like I end up walking on sunshine all the way home, and that was definitely the case with this movie. It was made even better by having the always adorable Jason Segel. I was bummed that I didn't get to see this movie with my little sisters, but they probably already know all the words to Man or Muppet because that song was stuck in my head all through Christmas break so I was singing it all the time.



9. Like Crazy

This movie stars Anton Yelchin and Felicity Jones as two young people who try to make a long distance relationship work after the girl overstays her visa and is no longer allowed in the United States. This movie has lots of really cute and sweet parts, but also a lot of parts that are really sad. They have to deal with jealousy, breaking up and then missing eachother and getting back together and trying to lift the ban on her visa while they are both leading really separate lives in their different countries.



8. Fright Night

This movie really surprised me. I love the original Fright Night, so I was really curious about how they would update the movie (since the old one is VERY 80s). I think that Colin Farrell makes a very sexy vampire, and I liked the way they changed the character of Peter Vincent. He went from old school vampire hunter in the original to a Criss Angel-type magician in this one. I just think that this movie is really fun to watch.



7. Tucker and Dale Vs. Evil

This was definitely one of the funniest movies that I saw in 2011. It is about these two rednecks who this group of college students think are serial killers. In reality, they are just on vacation while the students accidentally kill themselves one by one. I just love it because you see so many movies like The Texas Chainsaw Massacre where this group of kids get murdered by random rednecks who live in the middle of nowhere, and this movie is a comment on those.



6. Young Adult

I absolutely love Charlize Theron and I think that she was amazing in this movie. She plays a YA novel writer who goes back to her hometown to try to get back together with her ex-boyfriend (who is married with a new baby). The best scenes in the movie were definitely the scenes with Theron and Patton Oswalt, who plays a guy she never really talked to in high school, but confides in about her mission to get her ex back.



5. Jane Eyre

I loved this book so I was super excited when I saw that this movie was coming out. I think that the casting for this movie was perfect and that Mia Wasikowska and Michael Fassbender were both really great as Jane Eyre and Mr. Rochester. In the book Mr. Rochester is described as unattractive, so casting Fassbender wasn't staying true to the novel, but I really don't care! Fassbender is soooo sexy as Mr. Rochester and he is definitely the best part of this movie.



4. Rise of the Planet of the Apes

I never thought that a CGI monkey would make me cry, but when Caesar draws his window on the wall it just got to me! Anyways, I always think that prequels are a rediculous idea, but Planet of the Apes was a good movie to make a prequel to since it takes place after so much has happened. It was really cool to see the beginning of how apes take over the Earth. While I love me some James Franco, the real star of this movie is Andy Serkis as Caesar. You see him become more and more human as the film progresses and (SPOILER ALERT!) when he finally talks it is NUTS! I just love how I can watch a whole movie of apes talking and think nothing of it, but when he shouted NO! I just went "WHHAAATTTTT!?!?!?!"


3. The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo

I know that a lot of people were really annoyed about an American movie version of The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, but I was always super excited. Although I love Noomi Rapace and thought that she was great as Lisbeth Salander, I just did not care at all for the Swedish films. I think that Daniel Craig was the perfect choice to play Blomkvist and that Rooney Mara did an amazing job as Lisbeth. It also has one of the coolest opening sequences ever! I really hope that David Fincher directs the movie versions of the next two books as well.



2. X-Men First Class

There were a shitload of superhero movies that came out in 2011, and X-Men First Class was by far my favorite! I thought that the casting was perfect for all of the characters with the exception of January Jones as Emma Frost (I'm sorry I just don't like her). The star of the movie was definitely Michael Fassbender as Magneto and I'm not just saying that because I love Michael Fassbender. Magneto is one of the more interesting X-Men characters and he is just a badass in this movie! I am bummed because I can't find a Youtube video of that scene where he kills those German guys in Argentina...Whatever...here is another cool scene. I loved the parts with Magneto and Mystique and am hoping that we see lots more of them in the sequel!


1. Bridesmaids

Fooking hilarious! I saw this movie in theaters with my mom and we were both laughing our asses off the entire time! I thought that the entire cast was brilliant, even the people with smaller parts. This is one of the funniest movies to come out in a long time. I laughed my ass off the first time I saw it, laughed my ass off again when I saw it at the movie theater in Coffman with a full crowd of people, and continue to laugh my ass off whenever I watch it on DVD. Love this movie!

Character of the Week: Magneto

This week's character of the week is Erik Lensherr a.k.a Magneto. He is a mutant who has the power to manipulate metal, and is one of my favorite X-Men characters. He has been played by both Ian McKellen and Michael Fassbender, who are both actors that I love. I actually took the bus downtown to go to Target on Friday just so I could get my copy of X-Men:First Class. You had a choice of what cover you could get, so I of course chose the one with Magneto on the cover.

Poor little Erik Lensherr grew up in a Nazi concentration camp which is where he discovered his mutant powers. He grew up to be an incredibly handsome man so was set on killing Sabastian Shaw, the man who murdered his mother.

While he starts out as an ally to Charles Xaviar, he soon realizes that as a mutant, he is better than the human race, and doesn't agree with Charles's sympathies towards the humans.



As he grows older, he becomes more and more of a villian.



Unfortunately for Charles, he loses his powers at the end of X-Men 3, due to the "cure." But, at the end we do get a hint of it coming back when he moves the chess piece...I'm sure that I'm not the only one hoping for an X-Men 4!!! I would also love an X-Men: First Class 2. I'm always down for more McAvoy and Fassbender! Plus I'm really curious to see Magneto and Mystique's relationship grow even more.

Spotlight On: Michael Fassbender

This week's spotlight is on one of my new favorite actors, Michael Fassbender. I have only seen a handful of his films, so I was going to wait to do this until I saw more, but I really didn't want to wait. I just love the variety of roles that he has played, and how he is such a versatile actor. He is also incredibly handsome, and has one of the best smiles. Here are some of the films that I have adored him in.

300

In 300, Fassbender plays Stelios, who is one of the best looking Spartans and also has some of the coolest lines in the whole movie. Him and Astinos provide some of the film's comic relief because they are always competing with eachother. I couldn't find a good video to embed, but you can watch one of his more memorable scenes HERE 

Angel

In Angel, Fassbender plays Esme, a womanizing artist who marries the title character, who is portrayed by the lovely Romola Garai. He is incredibly sexy in this film, but also quite sad. Unfortunately, there is no happy ending for poor Esme. My favorite scene is when Angel proposes to him, but I couldn't find a video. However, here is another really good scene.



Fish Tank

In Fish Tank, he plays Connor, a guy who moves in with the main character because he starts dating her mom. He starts out seeming like a really nice guy, but by the end of the movie you see that he is a real shit.


Inglourious Basterds

Here he plays Archie Hicox, a film critic turned Lieutenant, who poses as a German soldier in Operation Kino. He is in one of the best scenes in the whole movie, when they are down in the bar and the plan goes wrong. The look on his face when he realizes that hes been found out is one of my all-time favorite reaction shots. Here is another good scene.



Jane Eyre

Michael Fassbender has probably ruined all other Mr. Rochesters for me. I few days ago and older version of Jane Eyre was on TV, and although I liked who played Jane, I hated the Mr. Rochester!!! In actuality, the man on TV was much more suited to the role because Rochester isn't supposed to be handsome, but it just really made me want to watch this version again. Unfortunately, it doesn't come out on DVD until August!



X-Men: First Class

Loved this movie!!!! They couldn't have cast a better Magneto. I really just want the people at Marvel to start working on the follow-up. Right now.



Upcoming Projects:
He has some really cool-looking movies coming out in the next couple of years. The ones that I am really excited for are Shame with Carey Mulligan, A Dangerous Method with Keira Knightley, and Prometheus with Noomi Rapace and Charlize Theron.

And just because I like listening to him speak...

My Review: X-Men First Class

For starters, let me congratulate/ thank whoever casted this movie. I can not think of two better people to play Professor X and Magneto than James McAvoy and Michael Fassbender. Those two were perfect in this movie, and not just because they are both extremely good looking men. The rest of the cast was amazing too. I really liked Jennifer Lawrence as Mystique, and regardless of what I said in an earlier blog post, she does look really cool when she's all blue. I thought that this movie was funny, had some awesome action sequences, and was overall just a perfect example of how superhero films should be. I was pleased to see cameos by both Hugh Jackman and Rebecca Romijn. Romijn is actually in one of my favorite scenes in the movie, where Mystique and Magneto are talking in his bedroom. (I thought it was pretty sexy...) This is a movie that makes me really excited to see the sequel. My one disappointment was that they (spoiler alert!) killed off Darwin right away. I mean, sure, he has more of a defensive mutation and not an offensive one so he wouldn't do very good in fight scenes, but I still think that he is a cool character. Oh, well... My rating: 9/10

My Favorite Sci Fi Heroines

While the science fiction genre is known for its handsome, charming heroes like Han Solo and Captain Malcolm Reynolds, for this list I am going to show some appreciation for my favorite science fiction heroines. These are the women who can kick some ass and take some names. While there are several awesome female characters in the sci fi genre, here are my top ten.

1. Ellen Ripley

Ellen Ripley kicks some xenomorph ass in not one, but four different Alien films. The one that she is probably best known for, however, is Aliens. I am a huge Sigourney Weaver fan, and that is in my opinion, the best thing that she has ever been in. No other sci fi heroine will ever come close to the awesomeness that is Ellen Ripley!





2. Mystique

Technically she is more of a villainess than a heroine, but I don't really care because I love Mystique. She is not only the coolest looking X-Men, but she has one of the coolest powers. Along with the ability that she has to turn into anyone, she also has great agility and fighting skills.



3. Sarah Connor

Although she is a bit of a damsel in distress in the first Terminator film, she shows her inner badass at the end when she kills the T-800. "You're terminated fucker!" It is in the second film where she becomes a truly badass sci fi heroine, only this time she has to work with a T-800 to fight against the T-1000.



4. LeeLoo

Growing up, The Fifth Element was one of my favorite movies. Naturally, my favorite character was always LeeLoo, the "perfect being" and the fifth element. The best part of this movie is most definitely the part where she is fighting all of those aliens during the Diva's song.



5. Princess Leia

Even though she does have her damsel in distress moments in A New Hope, Princess Leia is one tough broad. She is pretty much the only Star Wars character who actually hits the Storm Troopers when she shoots at them. Also, even though she is taken prisoner by Jabba the Hutt, she does find her own way to escape.



6. River Tam

I am a fan of all of the female characters from the show Firefly, but the one that is probably the most memorable is River Tam. Even though she is more of a quiet fighter, like Mystique or Miho from Sin City, she does have some cool fight scenes.



7. Dana Scully

While FBI Agent Dana Scully isn't badass in the way that the other women on the list are, she is still one of my favorite sci fi heroines. On The X-Files, although she is often quite skeptical about the strange things going on, she still uses her brains to solve (or attempt to solve) whatever she and Mulder are working on.



8. Barbarella

I just love this movie because of how campy it is. The best part is this movie has to be the part where she beats the Excessive Machine, which is a machine that tries to orgasm her to death. Boy, if I had to pick a way to die...



9. Zoe

Another one of my favorite characters from Firefly is Zoe. I just love her because she is both tough, but also really witty and funny. In the below video you will find some great quotes from her.



10. Jean Grey

Another one of my favorites from X-Men is Jean Grey aka The Pheonix. She has telekinetic powers, and goes from being a good guy in the first two films to evil in the third film.

Character of the Week: Mystique

This week's character of the week is my favorite X-Men character, Mystique. She is a mutant who has the power to transform herself into anybody else, with both her looks and her voice. She is one of those silent badass chicks, sort of like Miho from Sin City. Even though she doesn't say much, she can kick some serious ass. What is really badass is that she can kill people with her feet. In the first three X-Men movies she is portrayed by Rebecca Romijn.



In the upcoming X-Men: First Class she is portrayed by Jennifer Lawrence. I am really excited for this movie and curious as to how her relationship with Magneto will form in this movie because it appears that they both start out as good guys in this film.

Jennifer Lawrence as Mystique

Here is a photo of Jennifer Lawrence as Mystique in the upcoming film X-Men: First Class. Out of all of the characters, she is the one I was the most curious about. I loved Rebecca Romijn as Mystique, and thought that she looked amazing as the character. Although I like Jennifer Lawrence, and thought that she was great in Winter's Bone, I must admit that I think she looks weird in this photo.

Jennifer Lawrence is really pretty, but she just looks strange as Mystique. I blame it on the hair. The hairline is way far back so it looks like she's balding. Maybe it is just a bad picture, but it just does not seem like a good look for her. From all of the other pictures of Lawrence that I've seen from the film, it seems that you see Mystique in her normal human form a lot more than in the other X-Men films, so hopefully her blue girl look won't be too big of a problem. 

Movie I Want To See: X-Men First Class

This movie looks so cool! I was kind of skeptical about his movie when I first read that it was being made because I didn't think that they would pick good people to play younger versions of Patrick Stewart and Ian  McKellen, but I think that they did an amazing job casting this movie. James McAvoy was a great choice as young Professor X, but I really love Michael Fassbender as young Magneto.

One thing that kind of bugs me is that there is a bit of a continuity error with the other films. A younger actress than January Jones plays Emma Frost in X-Men Origins: Wolverine even though that movie takes place a few decades after this movie. I'm guessing that they don't really care, or just don't think that people will notice. Its not really that big of a deal because Emma Frost wasn't a major character in that movie, but was there nevertheless.... Anyways, besides that this movie looks really cool. I'm loving Jennifer Lawrence as Mystique and whatever character Zoe Kravitz plays...