I have always loved
the X-men movies. Yes it is another superhero movie but the variety of
characters is what made the X-men movies so different from other superhero
movies. Marvel is a world of superheroes and X-men has a quite central position
to this world.
From the first movie
when we were first introduced to some of the core characters, we know that
there will be more movies to come, as one movie is just not enough to introduce
all the colourful and interesting characters that populate this X-men universe.
After the first movie, we had “X-men 2” and then “X-men: The Last Stand” that
kind of wrapped up the initial trilogy. In these three movies we get to know
Professor X, Wolverine, Storm, Cyclops, Jean Grey (aka Dark Phoenix), Rogue
(still think they did not do justice to this character), Magneto and Mystique. We
also had a glimpse of Colossus, Kitty Pryde, Iceman, Pyro, and Juggernaut etc. In
the third movie we also had a glimpse of the Sentinels, which was one of the
very important story arcs in the comics. After the first trilogy, we had some
spin offs such as the Wolverine movies and “X-men: The First Class” that tell
us more about the back-stories.
In “X-men: Days of Future
Past” the Sentinels finally took centre stage and the scene was not pretty. Mutants
are being hunted ruthlessly including humans who have the potentials to produce
mutant offspring. The weapon once designed to protect the human race became a
tool to oppress whoever is different or has the potential to become different. In
order to save the day Wolverine was sent back to the past attempting to change
the course of history. He needs to enlist the help of other mutants (the cast
of “X-men: The First Class”) to change an important event so that mutants in
the future (the cast of the original X-men trilogy) could avoid a complete
extinction.
It is really exciting
to see that director Bryan Singer did attempt to bring back most of the
original cast members for continuity. After all a lot of them are now more
expensive and well known. It is also very cool that these now super stars are
willing to reprise their roles but some of them in a smaller capacity. Halle
Berry reprises as Storm so did Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellen as Professor X
and Magneto. They together with Ellen Page’s Kitty Pryde and Shawn Ashmore’s
Iceman formed the pillar of the future arc. When Wolverine was sent back to the
past, he encountered the younger version of Professor X and Magneto (played by
James McAvoy and Michael Fassbender), Beast (played by Nicholas Hoult) and not to
mention Mystique (played by Jennifer Lawrence). New comers to the series
included Evan Peters’ Quicksilver, Bingbing Fan’s Blink, Omar Sy’s Bishop and
Booboo Stewart’s Warpath. It was a strong cast with a huge variety of
personalities.
One thing I like about
Bryan Singer’s X-men movies is they do have great humour despite a lot of times
they are talking about serious issues such as discrimination, fear and
oppression. It is good that in this movie, humour is not just exhibited by
Wolverine but also the younger or past version of the X-men. James McAvoy
proved once again that he is no an inferior version of Patrick Stewart’s
Professor X and can hold his own ground. Jennifer Lawrence’s Mystique had
matured and now more and more similar to Rebeca Romijn’s famous interpretation.
Michael Fassbender’s ruthless Magneto made sharp contrast to the older
repenting Magneto who is fighting for his survival. Ian McKellen commanded most
of the heavy weight story line with Patrick Stewart and you could see how a
friendship bond by similarity then torn by differences came back in full cycle.
Hugh Jackman as Wolverine is as great as ever and I think when this character
is thrown into the array of other X-men, it became more interesting than just
him as Wolverine holding a full movie together. However I must say the short
appearance of Evan Peters’ Quicksilver had stole quite a bit of limelight from
his other fellow X-men. His scenes were just brilliant.
“X-men: Days of Future
Past” is not a particularly uplifting movie as oppression and discrimination
are at their peak with the sole intention of elimination and extinction.
However, the story was so tightly woven together that you do not want to miss a
single moment of it no matter how heavy the tone is. Also the story tied up a
lot of loose ends in other X-men movies and wrapped up different storylines
nicely by referencing them skilfully throughout the story. I personally hope
that there won’t be another X-men movie coming out any time soon so I can relish
this feeling for me for a bit longer. As for the movie itself, it was a full
house of applause when the credits roll, so you know what that means and I rest
my words here.
Had a
really good audition the other day. I was a bit anxious to be honest as it was
an important audition for me. I spent two weeks preparing the pieces and took a
special voice session with my teacher to make sure I approached the text from
all angles.
The artistic
director of the Company held the audition, together with one of the resident
artists for the year. I believed I displayed my anxiousness during the chitchat
but then it was down to the business. It did two monologues from two Australian
plays (it was a requirement that they are from Australian plays as it is a
Company that supports and promotes local artists) - one from "A Manual
from the Trench Warfare" by Clem Goman and the other from "When the
Rain Stops Falling" by Andrew Bovell. The first one was an intense
masculine piece about surviving Gallipoli. The feedback was "that was very
intense". The second is a confession piece that opens the play. The
response was "That was completely beautiful! I was transported to your
world and I did not want you to stop".
I was
cautiously happy about the response. It is something important and precious for
me, this audition, so I tried to do my best under all the pressure I
consciously or unconsciously put on to myself. Now that it is done I tried not
to expect too much to avoid potential disappointment. I have now been in this
business long enough to understand this. That said I was really appreciative
about the feedback as it meant a lot to me.
I put the
feedback on to my Facebook and people commented that it was a great validation
of my skills. This got me thinking about the importance of validation in this
acting business. For me a simple validation of my skills is already extremely
satisfying at an audition. I am not an actor with constant flow of work, or
even a constant flow of audition or casting. My skills have been highly
commended by teachers I respected and look up to including Peter Andrikidis and
Colin Friels when I took classes with them, though I wonder whether they would
still remember me. Colin Friels told me during the break on one of the days
that he had no notes for my work as with the calibre of work I was doing I
should be working and not taking classes. This did not really translate in the
real world. However I continued to work hard on my skills with my voice classes,
as I believe when the opportunity comes I have to be ready. Being given an
opportunity to an important audition is huge for me not to mention such a validation.
However I
am also pragmatic enough to understand not to seek for such kind of validation
actively. Validation for me is icing on the cake in this acting business. For
me it is not something you can actively look for. Acting is an art form. For me
it is an expression of how you relate yourself to the world around you, thus
makes your art unique to your audience. Actively seeking validation would tind this
freedom up with invisible chains because it is no longer about who you are and
how you think as an artist. This is because you are actively trying looking for
what other people want. The whole perspective became muddled and then you end
up with something that is not true to who you are as an artist. Not that it
won't work in the industry, as I did hear successful stories of people doing so.
Some even went to distance in the industry with this approach and I feel happy
for their success stories. Just that it is not my way of approaching acting. For
me if acting is not about understanding the world around you and thus your
character and it's world, it is no longer interesting.
I might
sound naive or stupid in thinking so as I should be in this field long enough
to understand this is a business after all. That might also be a reason that I
am not as constantly working as an actor as others (or even as successful in my
other working life). But for me if it is not something I believe in, what is
the point of doing it? If it is not real acting it is just "acting".
It would no longer have relevance to me. If it is not a real life what is the
point of living it?
I understand
that not everyone could afford this kind of indulgence about art and life. I do
not know how long I could hold on to this either. But as long I could afford to
do so, I am willing to fight for that self-indulging purity of art, acting and
life.
