Mini-Review: A film that has a lot more going for it than what appears on the surface. As the credits rolled, I was left simultaneously surprised by how meaty the science fiction was, and now tense and visceral it was conveyed. Unfortunately, this film is the example of Neveldene/Taylor pushing things a bit too far: not content-wise, but in assaulting the senses. Unpleasant to watch, but there is a ton here.

Mini-Review: With a cast like this, one would expect the circumstances and the stakes within the film to be reasonably high, but they just aren't. Everything feels loose and inconsequential. It seems as if all the effort put into this film was spent on getting all the principle and peripheral leads into a single room, which, after many beers and laughs were shared, resulted in someone stepping up and saying "oh shit, shouldn't we be making a movie?"

Mini-Review: The lead performances are much more hefty than what is expected from the average superhero film, and the concept is certainly heady and commendable, but several jarringly bad performances and a slight lack of brevity behind it's ideals keep X-Men: First Class from being anything more than "the film that makes up for X3 and Origins". Then again, that is exactly what this franchise needed.

Mini-Review: This is the closest film the South Korean scene has to a Taxi Driver equivalent. Between the brutal reimagining of the common revenge tropes of the genre, the stellar acting, the gorgeous cinematography, and that goddamn pistol reassembly scene, I might as well flat out call this my favorite film, since every time I think of it, I love it more and more.

Mini-Review: A technically flawless diamond, one that happens to have really fucking sharp edges and a knack for cutting you up in all the right ways. Definitely not for the squeamish, but those with iron constitutions might find themselves readily rewarded, if not necessarily entertained.