not much to report the past couple days, been workin', my sixth and final week at Kinko's. on monday I start my new real job at Corvus. I'm going to be struggling the next few days to readjust my schedule from third shift to first shift… why can't life ever just be easy? why can't we just sleep when the hell we feel like it, wake up when we can't sleep another minute, do the things we need or want to do, and just be happy? if someone could tell me the secret to this, I'd be indebted to them for the rest of my peaceful, happy life.

to retouch on something from my last post, I have finally read a couple reviews of the x-men movie, and so far it's fifty-fifty (I've only read two–one good, one bad.) The reviewer for Entertainment Weakly–that snot rag of an entertainment magazine, which, ironically enough, put X-Men on their cover–spewed a mouthful of bullshit all over one of their pages. I often wonder if these movie reviewers even go watch the movies they're reviewing, but since he actually pointed out a few scenes that weren't in the trailers, he must have, or at least he talked to someone who had. It amazes me that this dumbfuck actually saw the same movie I did, but then I think about how reality is all perception based anyway, so in truth, he didn't see the same movie I did, he saw the movie his brain made him think he saw, and damn where the hell am I going with this?
      anyway, the guy has no clue.

now, the guy who reviewed the movie for the LEO (Louisville's Eccentric Observer, for you out of towners) obviously didn't have his head up his ass when he walked into the theater. at least he got it. he understood the message, the theme, the really great thing the movie was, as well as the little, but ultimately forgivable, problems. all in all, he gave it a fair, honest, thoughtful review.

EW guy, on the other hand, apparently walked in expecting some totally fanciful kids movie that he was going to hate, and was pissed off when the real-world issues made him think too hard.
      not to throw myself into too-heavily geek infested waters, but this is the same bullshit Star Trek gets on occasion, when people dis it because it actually tries to deal with important social issues. Admittedly, some of the acting on Star Trek isn't the greatest, and there have been some horrible episodes (of all the series), but Star Trek isn't about the actors, the characters, or the ships, it's about theme, emotion, hope, and all that other good shit that makes good literature good.
      which conversely, is what the X-Men movie is all about too. It isn't about the characters, the costumes, the funky powers; it's about the struggle of the outcast members of our human society trying to fit in and live normal lives, and not being able to do so because of prejudice, fear, and an unwillingness or inability to learn, understand, accept, and welcome differences.

and all this is very real, very now. perhaps EW guy looked into Magneto or the Senator's face and saw himself, prejudiced, afraid, ignorant, and got pissed because the movie called him out. or maybe he just didn't get it.

ok.

I've not updated in a couple days, and have seen the new X-Men movie three times since then. and I say I'm not a fanboy…

I'm pretty sure that those of you who care have already read at least 25 or 30 different reports/reviews/commentaries on the movie, so I'll spare the long-winded shit. overall, I thought the movie was great (obviously, since I've seen it three times), probably the best comic adaptation ever done. The opening scene sets the mood and theme in a very powerful, recognizable way, and the movie doesn't stray from that feeling too far at any point. From a philosophical standpoint, this movie definitely has something to say. I really hope people are taking it seriously. (I've not read any reviews of it at this point, mainly because every time I've read reviews in the past, the reviewers inevitably are either out-of-touch morons who don't get the point, or potentially intelligent people who went in with strong preconceptions that colored their experience).
      from a comic geek standpoint, I'd have to say they pretty much hit the nail on the head. I'm not that up on the X-Men and their history, but Paul and brian could probably tell you the name of Iceman's first girlfriend, what issue she appeared in, and who the creative team was that worked on that particular issue–and they said that pretty much everything was pretty close, with a few acceptable (considering the circumstances) shortcuts or omissions here or there.
      I thought the various "powers" were done well, with the exception of some of the flying/floating/jumping stuff (which I understand is difficult to fake with wires & harnesses). and I loved Magneto's "I don't think I can stop them all, Charles." (though why the guy didn't just get out of the way of the bullet when it was stopped, I don't know.)
      my two biggest gripes about the movie are 1) the bodies flying straight back when hit (Wolvie didn't do this when smacked with the tree, which was good), and 2) screws in Wolvie's claws (on the train…)
      the weakest characters were Storm and Sabretooth, the weakest acting by those two actors and the guy that played Cyclops. Jackman was perfect as Wolverine, probably the best performance of the whole cast, including the always brilliant Patrick Stewart.

to make a long story short, if you haven't seen the movie yet, what the fuck are you waiting for? quit reading and get your ass to the theater!

well, today's x-men day. I must say, though I myself never read any of the x-men books, I'm pretty excited about the new movie. perhaps it's an illness I've caught from brian (jerk boy, over there yesterday with Paul who'd weaseled his way into a preview pass somehow, and invited brian rather than me because he actually reads x-men or something. man, the nerve of some people).

anyway, it's gotten some decent reviews, and it'll hopefully bring comic movies back up to the level of the first Keaton Batman movie. also, there's hope that if this movie is a success, someone will actually get around to finishing that damned Spider-Man movie they've been promising for almost more than 5 years now.

oh yeah, and Rebecca Romijn-Stamos is… pretty much… naked. why the hell would I not watch this movie?