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X2 to be exact.
It rocked.
Myr went off to spend the night with my folks so Wil and I went out to eat and catch a movie. Got tickets to the 9:55 show because we wanted a late showing on the big screen.
We ate at Herford and Hopps, a local grill-your-own-steak and brew pub. We didn't do the grill thing because we didn't have reservations. (We had originally planned on doing gyros at a local bar but it was closed for vacation. *pout*) It was an excellent meal and I had a glass of Double Stout. It's a beer with kick and was really good. The food was good, too. We sat at the bar and ate and talked and it was really lots of fun.
The movie wasn't packed, which was good. I didn't want to have to sit packed in for this movie, 'cuz I knew that I'd want to be able to whisper things to Wil every once in awhile. And because of the late hour there were very few annoying teenage-types there.
I can only think on one way to explain how much I liked this movie: I enjoyed it as much as I did The Two Towers. I like them for different reasons, of course, but I'd be hard pressed to chose which one I enjoyed more. I enjoyed X2 so much, in fact, that I ended up going to it a second time here in my local theatre as a Saturday Matinee. And I haven't done that since TTT. *grins*
I'm going to LJ-cut the rest because of spoilers. Big IMPORTANT spoilers!
Characters: Two of my favorite Marvel characters are -- and always have been -- Wolverine and Nightcrawler. ( I also love Nick Fury, but I won't hold my breath for decent movie Fury). This movie has both Nightcrawler and Wolvie in spades. And cool? Nightcrawler's Bampf-ing effect is out of this world. It is better than I would have thought. And the character is so good, too. They kept his religiousness without making it trite or overbearing. Wolverine is also perfect. They manage to have him call someone "Bub" no less than three times. And when he walks through the bad guys in the mansion he is spot on. Rogue, Bobby and Pyro are also wonderful. I loved all the young mutants, Peter in particular. For the short time he was on screen he was just great: protective, noble, artistic. For that matter, the bad guys were also good. Mystique and Magneto were terrific. I have to say that I adore the additions they have given to Mystique's character. She is absolutely perfect to be Magneto's second. And when Magneto makes his break out of prison, it is breathtaking. Striker was equally evil and sadistic. By the time you get to see exactly how evil he is -- what he's done to his son and what he wants to do to the mutants -- it's totally believable. As for Deathstrike, her battle with Wolverine is one of the best I've ever seen.
Acting: Ok. We have Ian McKellen and Patrick Stewart -- how could it not be good? The scene between the two of them where Magneto is telling Xavier that he's betrayed him is painful and McKellen is, well, terrific. But all the actors are good. Hugh Jackman and Alan Cumming pull of characters that could easily be overacted or corny or plain ridiculous. Brain Cox is terrific as Striker and he could have easily been a caricature. All of the actors seemed to be stepping up to be equal to McKellen and Stewart.
Writing: The story is wonderfully tight and brings many different storylines together in a neat but not forced way. Like the comics, they have a way of giving answers that end up asking more questions (I mean, you never do learn anything about Wolverine's past) but you don't end up feeling cheated. The dialogue is never forced. The character interactions are subtle and lovely. Wolverine gets a soda out the cupboard and hands it to Iceman for a quick cool-down. It's done without talking and with casual acceptance of "mutant powers" that sells the reality of this comic book universe. I also love the little traits that the characters are given that sets up your expectations for them. For example, the president is shown to be an honorable good man in very small, very quick ways. When he is walking to an extremely important press conference, he still has time to say 'Good Morning' to someone. He thanks the person who gives him a glass of water. Two very small things that make you realize that there may be more too him than the typical 'Mutant hating politician' and it gives you hope that he will do the right thing.
Direction: Ok, I think I have to mention that I'm sure the director has a lot to do with all of the above, but I can't sort out percentages of credit here. I felt the cuts and the pacing and the scene shots were terrific and I can't think of a single instance when it took anything away from the movie. But what do you expect from the guy who gave us "The Usual Suspects"?
Here is the spoiler that could ruin your movie. Just a word, that's all.
Setting up the next movie: I didn't think they would have the guts to do the Phoenix Saga but the first time I saw flames in Jean Grey's eyes I knew what the set up was. And I know it was wrong of me, but the first time I saw the movie and Jean and just "died" and Wolvie and Scott were both angsting away, all I could think was: Cool! This is so cool. I actually watched Wolvie and Scott angst the second time around, but the first time I was just thirlled they killed her off and set up the whole Phoenix Saga.
I want X3. I just wish they had filmed the next one already so I wouldn't have to wait three years for it.
Of course, Return of the King is coming out Dec., the final Star Wars is in a year or so and I'm sure that HP:PoA will be release somewhere in there, too. So, I won't be totally without movie options.
Not to mentions DVD's.
*grins*
It rocked.
Myr went off to spend the night with my folks so Wil and I went out to eat and catch a movie. Got tickets to the 9:55 show because we wanted a late showing on the big screen.
We ate at Herford and Hopps, a local grill-your-own-steak and brew pub. We didn't do the grill thing because we didn't have reservations. (We had originally planned on doing gyros at a local bar but it was closed for vacation. *pout*) It was an excellent meal and I had a glass of Double Stout. It's a beer with kick and was really good. The food was good, too. We sat at the bar and ate and talked and it was really lots of fun.
The movie wasn't packed, which was good. I didn't want to have to sit packed in for this movie, 'cuz I knew that I'd want to be able to whisper things to Wil every once in awhile. And because of the late hour there were very few annoying teenage-types there.
I can only think on one way to explain how much I liked this movie: I enjoyed it as much as I did The Two Towers. I like them for different reasons, of course, but I'd be hard pressed to chose which one I enjoyed more. I enjoyed X2 so much, in fact, that I ended up going to it a second time here in my local theatre as a Saturday Matinee. And I haven't done that since TTT. *grins*
I'm going to LJ-cut the rest because of spoilers. Big IMPORTANT spoilers!
Characters: Two of my favorite Marvel characters are -- and always have been -- Wolverine and Nightcrawler. ( I also love Nick Fury, but I won't hold my breath for decent movie Fury). This movie has both Nightcrawler and Wolvie in spades. And cool? Nightcrawler's Bampf-ing effect is out of this world. It is better than I would have thought. And the character is so good, too. They kept his religiousness without making it trite or overbearing. Wolverine is also perfect. They manage to have him call someone "Bub" no less than three times. And when he walks through the bad guys in the mansion he is spot on. Rogue, Bobby and Pyro are also wonderful. I loved all the young mutants, Peter in particular. For the short time he was on screen he was just great: protective, noble, artistic. For that matter, the bad guys were also good. Mystique and Magneto were terrific. I have to say that I adore the additions they have given to Mystique's character. She is absolutely perfect to be Magneto's second. And when Magneto makes his break out of prison, it is breathtaking. Striker was equally evil and sadistic. By the time you get to see exactly how evil he is -- what he's done to his son and what he wants to do to the mutants -- it's totally believable. As for Deathstrike, her battle with Wolverine is one of the best I've ever seen.
Acting: Ok. We have Ian McKellen and Patrick Stewart -- how could it not be good? The scene between the two of them where Magneto is telling Xavier that he's betrayed him is painful and McKellen is, well, terrific. But all the actors are good. Hugh Jackman and Alan Cumming pull of characters that could easily be overacted or corny or plain ridiculous. Brain Cox is terrific as Striker and he could have easily been a caricature. All of the actors seemed to be stepping up to be equal to McKellen and Stewart.
Writing: The story is wonderfully tight and brings many different storylines together in a neat but not forced way. Like the comics, they have a way of giving answers that end up asking more questions (I mean, you never do learn anything about Wolverine's past) but you don't end up feeling cheated. The dialogue is never forced. The character interactions are subtle and lovely. Wolverine gets a soda out the cupboard and hands it to Iceman for a quick cool-down. It's done without talking and with casual acceptance of "mutant powers" that sells the reality of this comic book universe. I also love the little traits that the characters are given that sets up your expectations for them. For example, the president is shown to be an honorable good man in very small, very quick ways. When he is walking to an extremely important press conference, he still has time to say 'Good Morning' to someone. He thanks the person who gives him a glass of water. Two very small things that make you realize that there may be more too him than the typical 'Mutant hating politician' and it gives you hope that he will do the right thing.
Direction: Ok, I think I have to mention that I'm sure the director has a lot to do with all of the above, but I can't sort out percentages of credit here. I felt the cuts and the pacing and the scene shots were terrific and I can't think of a single instance when it took anything away from the movie. But what do you expect from the guy who gave us "The Usual Suspects"?
Here is the spoiler that could ruin your movie. Just a word, that's all.
Setting up the next movie: I didn't think they would have the guts to do the Phoenix Saga but the first time I saw flames in Jean Grey's eyes I knew what the set up was. And I know it was wrong of me, but the first time I saw the movie and Jean and just "died" and Wolvie and Scott were both angsting away, all I could think was: Cool! This is so cool. I actually watched Wolvie and Scott angst the second time around, but the first time I was just thirlled they killed her off and set up the whole Phoenix Saga.
I want X3. I just wish they had filmed the next one already so I wouldn't have to wait three years for it.
Of course, Return of the King is coming out Dec., the final Star Wars is in a year or so and I'm sure that HP:PoA will be release somewhere in there, too. So, I won't be totally without movie options.
Not to mentions DVD's.
*grins*
