Dark Phoenix (2019)

	Also Known As: -
	Year of first release: 2019
	Director: Simon Kinberg
	Actors: James McAvoy (Filth), Michael Fassbender (Inglorious Basterds), Jennifer Lawrence (Passengers, The Hunger Games)
	Country: USA, CDN
	Genre: Action, SF
	Conditions of visioning: 21.09.2019, in-flight entertainment 10" screen.
Synopsis: During a rescue mission in Space, the X-men are successful but Jean Grey (Turner) absorbs a cosmic force which will free her potential.
Review: I stand by my opinion that the X-men franchise should have stopped with Days of Future Past and that Logan brought the Wolverine spin-off trilogy to a satisfying end. Even if everybody agrees that the Dark Phoenix apparently excellent comics saga was badly adapted into X-men 3: The Last Stand, I was not sure another attempt was a good idea and when I see the result, it was definitely not worth it. I can't watch any more X-men movies with the same old ingredients: Xavier always on the good side but questioned by his team, Magneto turning bad for even a short length of time, Mystique, Beast, Cyclops and Jean Gray... At least Sophie Turner plays better in this one. Even the addition of new mutants doesn't help anymore (Quicksilver the only highlight in Apocalypse is quasi-absent in this movie). They would need a seriously new approach to keep me interested, like they did with Logan. It is said that some re-shoots were done, supposedly to distance the movie from Captain Marvel that came out around the same time: female lead, glowing powers, shape-shifting aliens... But that's not too apparent and I didn't find it an issue. It is just that there is nothing new in those movies apart from a few moments like the opening scene in which Mutants and finally heroes fully integrated to society and helping it.
Rating: 4 /10

Pokémon: Detective Pikachu (2019)

	Also Known As: -
	Year of first release: 2019
	Director: Rob Letterman (Monsters vs. Aliens)
	Actors: Ryan Reynolds (Deadpool 1-2), Justice Smith (Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom), Kathryn Newton, Bill Nighy (Shaun of the Dead), Ken Watanabe (Godzilla)
	Country: USA, J, GB, CDN
	Genre: Animation, Polar, Adventure
	Conditions of visioning: 16.09.2019, in-flight entertainment, 10" tablet screen
Synopsis: After his dad, a detective he barely knew, dies in a car accident, Tim (Smith) travels to the big city to wrap some things up. There, Humans and Pokemons live in harmony. He will soon meet his dad's Pokemon which he can speak to, and discover an evil plot.
Review: I missed the Pokemon video-game craze by a few years, I was just a little too old to ride it (and a Sega guy rather than Nintendo). But I remember it very well, my brother played it and I know the basics: the tournaments, trainers, underdog Pikachu, even the big bad Mewtwo. I think the movie talks to this audience, the one that played the game when it went out and is now in its thirties, but also to different generations that may have played different versions of it during the years, including the addictive Augmented-reality Pokemon Go. In fact the movie is also an adaptation of a 2016 video game. The movie nicely treats the whole tournament story into the past, giving just enough backstory for the newbies, and then moves on to a different thing, a sort of Adventure-Polar-Comedy-Superhero movie. The talking pet plot reminded me of Ted, probably thanks to the voice of Ryan Reynolds and the few dirty, definitely not children-suited jokes he managed to place. The World-building is fine, probably better if you are nostalgic of when you played the game in your youth and recognize the variety of Pokemons shown on screen. The story is not too bad, except for a few major loopholes that pulled me out of the movie, most importantly (spoiler, highlight to read): how did the kid not recognize the voice of Pikachu?!? In the end not as bad as one could have feared for another adaptation of video game that seems to come too late and drowned in many other (The Angry Birds Movie to quote just one).
Rating: 5 /10

The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift (2006)

	Also Known As: -
	Year of first release: 2006
	Director: Justin Lin (Fast & Furious 4-5-6-9-10, Star Trek Beyond)
	Actors: Lucas Black, Zachery Ty Bryan, Shad Moss
	Country: USA, D, J
	Genre: Action
	Conditions of visioning: 12.09.2019, Blu-ray, 42" TV screen.
Synopsis: Being too dangerous as an addict to car races, Sean (Black) is sent to live with his father in Japan. At school and outside, he inevitably meets characters introducing him to the world of Drift races.
Review: After a first The Fast & the Furious that was only original at the time and a cheap sequel 2 Fast 2 Furious, this third movie may be the best in the series up to that point. Instead of trying to tell yet another undercover cop story with any of the original characters, it goes a whole different way and looks for a fresh atmosphere in Japan like other American movie, action or other, did before it: Rising Sun, Lost in Translation, Kill Bill, The Wolverine, a tiny bit of Avengers: Endgame... Having been there myself and familiar with Japanese cinema, I can tell that as those other movies I quote, Tokyo Drift does manage in depicting properly what it feels like to be in the country (or watch a movie from there), in a few aspects at least. No stereotypes like in other less well-informed westerner productions, but a feeling that the director Justin Lin knows about the culture he is showing us. Only negative points are the rare occasions when Japanese characters speak English between themselves even when alone. After dragster-style races and city circuits, the third movie cleverly introduces yet another type of auto-action: Drifting, performed with smaller cars in cramped parking lots or winding country roads, all well-adapted to the island-country. At first I though weird to have a Car chase movie in Japan (not known for muscle cars) but as the story and car-fandom style is adapted to the country, it all fits relatively well. Or course the chases, cars, bimbos, villains and main characters reaction are all over-the-top but what did you expect? At least the movie traded the light-speed effects and over-use of Nitrogen Oxyde for more readable races and decent special effects, even at night. The small role given to Sonny Chiba (The Bullet Train, Kill Bill) in the third act and the link to the other movies in the epilogue are nice bonuses. I am looking forward to watching the fourth movie which I heard is a turning point in the series.
Rating: 5 /10