It's kind of shocking that I saw movies not only in the theater, but in the first run rather than later at the bargain theater, right? Anyway...
Maleficent
It was not unwatchable, or even unenjoyable. Maybe I'm a bit spoiled, mostly seeing Pixar and Pixaresque "kids'" movies that are clearly made for adults but kid-friendly and kid-appealing, but this was most definitely a movie made for kids. As such, it was thin, overacted, and problematic. The plot was confused and fell into the weird LOTR tropes of "these species of creatures are awful and these other species are good, full stop, just because," which you might correctly suspect that I hate. Not to mention the myriad head-scratcher plotholes (I can do spoilers on this, if anyone wants), and the fact that the villain seemed to have no real logic or motivation other than being a huge asshole because he is part of an asshole species, and apparently a stupid one as well, AND the fact that there was a "twist" ending that the film telegraphed about 15 minutes in (Buzzfeed has an article with Angelina Jolie explaining the twist for anyone who doesn't get it, which made me lol). Despite all of this, I had a good time, don't particularly want my money back, and left feeling like I got more entertainment and fewer questions than I did out of that second Hobbit movie (did I ever review that?). C+
XMen: Days of Future Past
I guess what you'll think of this film depends entirely on your expectations, and why you decided to see it in the first place. I have to tell you up front that if you understandably think Bobby Drake is adorable and watch XMen movies for him, you will be far more satisfied than the disappointments that were Wolverine and First Class, but not nearly as satisfied as you were with the original trilogy. If you want something well thought out with meticulous attention to detail, that is in keeping with the continuity and personal connections established in the XMen universe (comics, previous films, cartoons), you are going to be pissed off and hate it, unless you're a Futurama fan, in which case you'll just shake your head, laugh, and assume that most of these mutations are because some sick sod is his own grandfather. If you got hit in the head and remember who the characters are and that you kinda like XMen, time-travel, action, and prequels, but nothing else about the topic, then this is the movie for you. Magneto is still the only sane man, Professor X is still sanctimonious and has the dumbest plan for peace ever, the token human adversary still has a poke-the-bear plan that's even dumber than Professor X's plan, and there's a lot of fun action with superpowers. So basically it's an XMen movie, which is perfect for the person who likes that sort of thing. B-
