Leave it to James McAvoy, one of those thinking-woman’s heartthrobs, to turn a comic book movie into a meditation on friendship and tolerance. Well, almost. “X-Men: First Class” is a far better film than the one it presages, 2000’s “X-Men,” which was the first step in turning the Marvel property into a franchise. It sometimes stumbles over its themes, hitting the viewer over the head with them, bricklike. But on the whole, it’s a solid film that’s a better piece of art than most in its genre. The prequel shows us how Charles Xavier became Professor X (McAvoy) and Erik Lensherr became Magneto (Michael Fassbender). The two young men will inevitably be compared with the originals, played in “X-Men” and its sequels by Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellen. They more than hold their own against the Shakespearean veterans, turning comic book characters into real men with real motivations. Here the two are friends, not enemies, working together with a team of fellow mutants to solve the Cuban Missile Crisis for some ungrateful normals.
“The Tree of Life” also takes place in an earlier decade, this time the 1950s. Terrence Malick’s film, which just won the prestigious Palme d’Or at Cannes, explores the coming of age of a boy whose mother and father battle, metaphorically, for his soul. His mother (Jessica Chastain) is a pious woman determined to focus on the beauty of the world and its inhabitants, while his father (Brad Pitt) believes good people are suckers and only the tough prosper. As with many of Malick’s films, Cannes viewers booed it and applauded it — he’s a polarizing filmmaker. This critic didn’t have such an extreme reaction: It’s a poetic film that can be self-indulgent and perhaps even pretentious, but Malick has clearly put his heart into this touching film, and it shows.
But perhaps you’re looking for a new experience at the cinema this week. AFI Silver has it: The Silver Spring theater isn’t just screening what’s been called the worst film ever made; it’s offering a live reading of it, too. “The Room” has become a cult hit, a melodrama about a love triangle that’s unintentionally hilarious. Director Tommy Wiseau, who also wrote and stars in the film (isn’t that a warning sign?), will be on hand for four late showings Friday and Saturday. But even better for a certain type of “fan” — or a masochist — is that Wiseau and actor Greg Sestero, who also stars in the movie, will give live performances of “The Room,” with additional scenes and characters that weren’t in the film. Those take place earlier in the evening on Friday and Saturday. You’re unlikely to find anything quite like it in a theater this week — or this year.
