Apt Pupil (1998)

3.5 / 5 Apr '10
Tagline: If you don't believe in the existence of evil, you've got a lot to learn.
Directed by: Bryan Singer
Written by: Stephen King, Brandon Boyce
Actors include: Brad Renfro, Ian McKellan, Joshua Jackson
Genre: Thriller, Drama
Length: 112 minutes
Banned: Nope

Review:
Decent enough though admittedly I've never read the book and from what I understand the two are quite different. I like the concept, an evil Nazi in hiding (well acted by Ian McKellen) who seems to be trying to forget his past is blackmailed into giving details about his involvement in the war. Brad Renfro plays youngster Todd Bowden who discovers the Nazi on the bus and seems to enjoy the gory details of the death camps and such. It's a relatively horrific idea, but it seems it was afraid to cross certain lines, most everything that is disturbing is described or hinted at rather than shown. It's sort of a tale about being a sadist, mind games and how far is each willing to go sort of thing to control the other. It's an odd dynamic that all starts to come crashing down when the Nazi's health starts to fail. Pretty interesting character study really though it seems like it didn't need to be as long as it was. Still decent enough for me anyhow but who knows how I would feel if I had read the book.

Availability:  On DVD

X-Men (2000)

2.5 / 5
Tagline: The future is here.
Directed by: Bryan Singer
Written by: Bryan Singer, Tom DeSanto
Actors include: Patrick Stewart, Hugh Jackman, Ian McKellen
Genre: Sci-Fi, Action
Length: 104 minutes
Banned: Nope

Review:
I have never read one of the comic books (I'm guessing this was based on one) nor did I know anything about this going into it. An ex-boyfriend actually put this on (why he couldn't have waited until I wasn't visiting to watch it is beyond me) and well it could have been worse I suppose. The idea is that these mutants (with useful battle abilities) are outcast by society so they have a special school thing they go to. They then are faced with a battle between mutant terrorists (I guess not all mutants get along). The furry wolfman rip-off guy is the lead mutant (how original), and really the costumes and their special powers were a little too ridiculous for me to enjoy. I think I disliked this for the same reason I dislike most Troma films, I'm not a 12 year old boy. It had a beginning, an end, special effects, and action so if you look for those things in a film then this might be entertaining for you. Maybe you had to read the comics or something to really get into this, who knows? If you like superhero stuff than you will probably like this, I knew going into it I probably wasn't going to enjoy and gosh darn it I was right.

Availability:  On DVD & Blu-Ray