FREEZE FRAME: “X-Men: Apocalypse”

The latest installment in the X-Men franchise follows the ‘younger mutants’ timeline from “X-Men: Days of Future Past.” Jennifer Lawrence is the nicer Mystique of days gone by and Michael Fassbender’s Magneto gets more than he can handle from Oscar Isaac’s mutant god, Apocalypse, the most powerful mutant of them all. Problem is, the appropriately named Apocalypse wants to cleanse the Earth of all mankind. Will the mutants step up to save the humans? With this terrific cast, a strong director in Bryan Singer and a $234 million budget, it should have been a lot better than it is. There’s a lot of noise both audibly and visually, but it all seems a bit too familiar. It’s not a bad movie, it’s just a predictable one. It plays a bit like someone accidentally inserted a reel from the recent Gerard Butler stinker, “Gods of Egypt.” Also opening this week, “Alice: Through the Looking Glass” is the sequel to Disney’s phenomenally successful live action version of “Alice in Wonderland.” Johnny Depp is back as the Mad Hatter and Mia Wasikowska, Anne Hathaway and Helena Bonham Carter all return to their roles for another Lewis Carroll adaptation. This time, however, director James…