clevermanka (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
clevermanka) wrote2012-04-27 08:49 am
clevermanka) wrote2012-04-27 08:49 am
XMFC Finally
I finally got around to watching X-Men: First Class on Tuesday night. The serger was still in the shop, and movie-watching is one of ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
mckitterick's Top Favorite Things Evar, so there you go. It was...okay. The movie itself was okay. Everything about the movie was great. I think I probably should have seen it in the theater, with a lot of other people who were really into it. As it was, my experience of the film for the film itself was (unfortunately) colored by reactions like this:
"They call those 60s fashions? I saw better representations of this era in Austin Powers*."
"Oh of course the black guy dies. I mean, really, scriptwriters? Really? Come on. You might as well have mixed your metaphors and put him in a red shirt instead of that blue one."
"How Really Incredibly Interesting that the Latino actor with the heavy accent has no speaking lines**."
It didn't help that the DVD was damaged, and it froze up during the "Walk the line between rage and serenity and you can move a giant fucking satellite dish thing" scene. Also, what line exists between rage and serenity, please someone tell me, because I think that would be a helpful thing to incorporate into my life, even without any mutant powers. Man, that concept just sucks. Does it come out of the comics? Because that's the only excuse I can imagine for using it.
So this isn't a total downer post, though, here are the things I enjoyed (and I did enjoy it--god knows it was miles better than Thor):
The casting was superb. Even January Jones, whom I'm pretty sure is the most vapid, frigid actress I've ever seen, was thus perfect for this interpretation of Emma Frost. I could look at Michael Fassbender all day, so no complaints there. In my teens, I totally would've crushed on Nicholas Hoult, who played Hank (Beast). OMG he was perfect and adorable. Anyway, yeah. Good job, casting department.
I loved how they built the relationship between Erik and Raven. Loved it. There was depth there that I didn't expect. My first reaction to Raven's treatment of Hank was that she was being a manipulative cocktease. But after thinking about it, I realize that wasn't her motivation at all. She was trying to find someone else (someone more appropriate than Erik) who valued her sexually as a non-human-looking mutant. When she realized this was doomed to failure, only then did she finally succumb to reality and pick her side. I think Jennifer Lawrence was just too young to make this struggle come off as anything other than flirtation. The Erik/Raven echoing Shaw and Frost's relationship was great. I love how the Erik/Raven relationship is complex and fraught, while the Shaw/Frost one appears much more shallow--just as the respective characters themselves are three-dimensional vs. two-dimensional. Just like comic books versus a movie! The meta here was fucking made of awesome.
It's too bad I'm coming late to the game on this one, because I'm sure the conversations about this movie (meta! my favorite!) would've been fantastic.
mckitterick asked me what mutant power I'd like and I came up with some weird convoluted thing about DNA, but upon reflection what it really comes down to is Regeneration. I want to be able to regenerate my damaged body cells. Seems like this is a fairly common trait in the Marvel universe, so it's not like I'm asking for the moon, here. Just imagine how handy that would come in for daily life, even. I'd never have to wear sunscreen again! And kiss that autoimmune disease (or at least the symptoms) goodbye!
* For most of the women's fashions. The men's fashions were fine.
** At least none that I remember--and I think I would've remembered that accent.
mckitterick's Top Favorite Things Evar, so there you go. It was...okay. The movie itself was okay. Everything about the movie was great. I think I probably should have seen it in the theater, with a lot of other people who were really into it. As it was, my experience of the film for the film itself was (unfortunately) colored by reactions like this:"They call those 60s fashions? I saw better representations of this era in Austin Powers*."
"Oh of course the black guy dies. I mean, really, scriptwriters? Really? Come on. You might as well have mixed your metaphors and put him in a red shirt instead of that blue one."
"How Really Incredibly Interesting that the Latino actor with the heavy accent has no speaking lines**."
It didn't help that the DVD was damaged, and it froze up during the "Walk the line between rage and serenity and you can move a giant fucking satellite dish thing" scene. Also, what line exists between rage and serenity, please someone tell me, because I think that would be a helpful thing to incorporate into my life, even without any mutant powers. Man, that concept just sucks. Does it come out of the comics? Because that's the only excuse I can imagine for using it.
So this isn't a total downer post, though, here are the things I enjoyed (and I did enjoy it--god knows it was miles better than Thor):
The casting was superb. Even January Jones, whom I'm pretty sure is the most vapid, frigid actress I've ever seen, was thus perfect for this interpretation of Emma Frost. I could look at Michael Fassbender all day, so no complaints there. In my teens, I totally would've crushed on Nicholas Hoult, who played Hank (Beast). OMG he was perfect and adorable. Anyway, yeah. Good job, casting department.
I loved how they built the relationship between Erik and Raven. Loved it. There was depth there that I didn't expect. My first reaction to Raven's treatment of Hank was that she was being a manipulative cocktease. But after thinking about it, I realize that wasn't her motivation at all. She was trying to find someone else (someone more appropriate than Erik) who valued her sexually as a non-human-looking mutant. When she realized this was doomed to failure, only then did she finally succumb to reality and pick her side. I think Jennifer Lawrence was just too young to make this struggle come off as anything other than flirtation. The Erik/Raven echoing Shaw and Frost's relationship was great. I love how the Erik/Raven relationship is complex and fraught, while the Shaw/Frost one appears much more shallow--just as the respective characters themselves are three-dimensional vs. two-dimensional. Just like comic books versus a movie! The meta here was fucking made of awesome.
It's too bad I'm coming late to the game on this one, because I'm sure the conversations about this movie (meta! my favorite!) would've been fantastic.
mckitterick asked me what mutant power I'd like and I came up with some weird convoluted thing about DNA, but upon reflection what it really comes down to is Regeneration. I want to be able to regenerate my damaged body cells. Seems like this is a fairly common trait in the Marvel universe, so it's not like I'm asking for the moon, here. Just imagine how handy that would come in for daily life, even. I'd never have to wear sunscreen again! And kiss that autoimmune disease (or at least the symptoms) goodbye!* For most of the women's fashions. The men's fashions were fine.
** At least none that I remember--and I think I would've remembered that accent.
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GOD DAMN IT.
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First try:
Actual Halloween:
Oh, and here's a full-body pic of the costume (http://www.flickr.com/photos/chernobylred/6298560289/in/set-72157611086057662/).
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I'll probably use Sherlock for this year, since I'll have it handy. Hardly anyone will get it, though. *sigh*
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Hey, if you wear Watson for Halloween, let me know. I'll have you come over to my office so the Sherlock-loving grad students in my department can see us in person.
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I was also slightly disappointed with it. It just .. lacked the storyline and excitement of the previous flicks somehow to me.
I'd get into way more dicey situations if I could recuperate that quickly in a fight. On second thought, don't all the mutants have superior regenerative capabilities, really? So you could have a bonus power on top of that. Me? I'd probably go for invisibility, but get "stuck" with something less interesting.
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There are a lot of Marvel mutants (X-men and others) who have it (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Healing_factor#Marvel_Comics), but I think a lot of them are just better at avoiding injury in the first place. =D
For my bonus power, I'd choose telekinesis.
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Ooh, good one. I like it. I'd have chosen some sort of flying at one time, but now I'm older and wiser, I think invisibility would work better in bad situations.
Plus.. whacking someone who can't see it coming?
Awesome.
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Awesome.
Shit, honey. I just want to get canned goods down from the top shelf without dragging over the step-stool.
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Well, you can see how my week has gone from my statement.
I forsee some serious fucking in my near future, because I'm too broke down to fight, and a footrace is out of the question.
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Hey, good luck on that mutant power.
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I like Kevin Bacon. But... I just forgot he was in that movie.
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Oh, the vid-creator's LJ entry about it is here (http://arefadedaway.livejournal.com/324695.html) if you're interested.
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As for First Class, though, I think we're pretty much on the same page. I liked about two-thirds of it (the two thirds that involved Erik/Xavier/Raven and sometimes Sebastian Shaw), and kind of hated the remaining third (which was unfortunately threaded throughout, so I can't just watch part of the movie then shut it off).
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Also, I loved that it was both Michael Fassbender and James McAvoy (I love him).
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I mean, not even the underwear in the strip club was appropriate.
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I hated what they did with her character (and that HORRIBLE haircut, yes) so much that I tried to ignore pretty much everything about her.