I found a balloon.

[ship_go_boom]

Have you ever had one of those days when your alarm goes off, and you wake up and go "Noooo!  I don't want to go!"?  And then you realize that you just forgot to turn off said alarm the day before, and it's really Saturday morning?  Which makes you feel much more awake (relatively speaking) and like you should slither out of bed and go watch some cartoons?  That was how today started.  Only I didn't watch cartoons when I got up, I did homework instead.

But on the upside?  I found a balloon.  I was taking a break and wandering outside, when I saw it tangled in some weeds.  It's a shiny silver mylar one, with dark blue lettering saying "You simply are the best" on one side, and "CSI Customer Service Week" on the other.  It's still got some helium in it, as well, and floats a few inches above the ground when left alone.  This makes me happy.  I've got a balloon!

Not much else of note going on with me (besides my usual running around like a chicken with it's head cut off, now with late nights), but I felt like writing something anyways.  Plus it's been what, two weeks?  Since I communed with my keyboard in a blog-type way.  So.  How've ya been?

Have I mentioned that I have a wonderful Theatre professor?  He's such a geek (and his wife even more so).  As in, he too owns the entire BtVS series on DVD, and has watched Firefly and Serenity.  Plus occasional Star Trek references.  And here's the best part: for our second paper, we're supposed to write fanfic. 

New Battlestar Galactica last night!  Yay!

I finally got around to watching X3 on Thursday.  I was pleasantly surprised.  Most of the problems with it, in my mind, were the same problems I had with the first two, and the plot actually managed to surprise me in a couple places.  But, since in hindsight comics were/are my first fandom, I feel the urge to nitpick.  I shall alternate nits and squee so as not to sound too negative.

CON:  What the caramel-coated fuck was up with Callisto?  moss6886 didn't even realize that's who that was supposed to be until the movie was over and I started bitching (which?  pretty impressive, as she's been a fan way longer than I've been alive).  I'm pretty sure it was the boobs (and the age) that threw her off.  You see, comics-Callisto didn't have any (I'll admit her most recent appearance did, but then she also had many tentacles instead of arms).  She also was tall, pale, and blue-eyed.  By blue-eyed I mean she only had one, the other was blind and covered in the most kickass patch ever.  Plus she had a nose ring, not a chin stud.  But these?  These are small, superficial problems.  Then we get to her powers.  For starters, she isn't the one who can sense mutants (that was Caliban).  Furthermore, although she was stronger and faster than a normal human, it was only barely.  Storm could beat her in a powers-free knife fight.  Which I always thought really underscored her role as leader of the Morlocks, because you knew she had the job because the other mutants respected her for her brass balls, not because she could kick their asses.  By souping up Callisto's powers, they stripped away some of the most compelling aspects of her character.

PRO:  ::gapes::  OMGOMGOMG!  Fastball special!  Fastball special and the backwards-jumping-off-the-tree thing!  Two of the three most immortal Wolverine frames/tricks ever!  Perfectly done and in the same movie!  OMG!  ::hyperventilates with glee::

HMM:  I love the (admittedly scanty) portrayal of Colossus in the movies.  Daniel Cudmore basically is my Petey (Piotr Nikolaievitch Rasputin).  But whyfor is he not Russian?  Or dating Kitty (his Katya)?

CON: I've asked before, I'll ask again:  why do casting directors keep thinking that Halle Berry can kick butt?  I mean, she's a great actor and all, but when it comes to fight scenes?  There's no strength there.  She's about as convincing as an eight-year-old playing superheroes in the backyard.  Possibly less so.  Plus her Storm is nothing like any Storm incarnation that I've ever read (of course, there was a point where the writing got so bad we stopped reading...).  Even when the lines as written seem  in-character, she  doesn't deliver them as Storm, she delivers them as Halle Berry in Action Mode.  ::fumes::

PRO: Kitty Pryde.  Squee!  The physical characteristics are a bit off (she was pretty gawky for a long time - skinny, knobby knees), but...  yeah.  That's our Kitty.  Even if she's not making moon-eyes at Piotr.

HMM: Bobby/Rogue.  I've never known what to think of this pairing.  For starters, Bobby Drake was always a real asshole in the comics (snotty, self-important, patronizing twit), and was about the same age as Cyclops & Jean.  But I quite like movie!Bobby, and I'm all conflicted.  And Rogue is most definitely not comics!Rogue, but I can see why (comics! got her powers at 11 and was adopted by Mystique, movie! got hers at 16 and was found by Logan), and the underlying personality isn't far off (getting the cure?  Totally in character).  It's just hard to get invested in her character, and we keep waiting for her to accidentally kill and absorb the powers & memories of some super-duper strong invincible flying hero, and become a tragic schizophrenic badass.  Plus I can't really see much in their relationship beyond them being cute teenagers who like each other.  There's nothing wrong with pairing them, but incorporating it into the story arc seems a bit arbitrary.

CON:  Cut & paste plots.  I appreciate seeing some of my favorite arcs come to the screen, but an unfortunate side effect is that the context gets all mixed up.  The least problematic example is from the first movie, where Logan's relationship with Kitty was lifted wholesale and applied to Rogue; I didn't bother me to begin with, but now that our Kitty is on screen it grates a little.  A more major problem is that although most of the arcs and relationships are old-school X-Men, a lot of the in-scene reactions are written and directed like they were happening in more recent years.  The behavior doesn't match the context.  The biggest example I can think of is when Professor X dies: in the last few comics!years, Storm and Logan have gotten pretty close, and it makes sense for her to cry on his shoulder.  But.  In the context of recent comics, they've known each other for well more than ten years.  In the movie, he's been around, what? A year?  Watching the movie, I didn't get any cry-on-the-shoulder closeness vibes from them before or after that scene (I choose to believe that there's enough of our Storm in there that she wouldn't just break down and hug whomever was closest).  That's the most obvious example, but the mixed-context phenomenon was happening all throughout the movie.

PRO: Holy Slashy McSlashersons, Slashman!  Um... how did I forget how slashable Xavier/Magneto was?  Boy, howdy.  And of course Sir Ian was actively playing that angle, as usual.  Then there's the matter of Logan/Scot, whom I've never felt much of an urge to pair together (although I can see why others would).  Moss thought the encounter in the hallway was pretty slashy (jury's still out with me), but Logan keeping Scot's dropped sunglasses hooked on his belt?  Yeah, you could have a Hell of a time with that...  (mmm... what an image...)

HMM: They made Multiple Man a bad guy.  He was otherwise unchanged.  Huh.  And they managed to remember that Juggernaut is English, although they somehow made even more two-dimensional than usual (I'm guessing the whole "Xavier's stepbrother" thing was a leetle bit more than they wanted to get into), and I kept wanting Black Tom to show up.  Related side note:  the Black Tom Cassidy train of thought led me to realize that since Syrin was in X2, that probably (hopefully not) means that Banshee is already dead in the movieverse.  ::sniff::

CON: Magneto was just a little bit too powerful.  This happened sometimes in the comics, as well.  When a character has a scene where he does something like fly the Golden Gate Bridge, it make me wonder... If he's that powerful, why bother fighting the little battles, when he can just crush his opponents?

PRO: The special effects.  And I never say that about movies.  But wow.  For starters, they digitally de-aged Stewart and McKellan so they actually looked twenty years younger.  Everyone's powers blended with reality.  And Beast!  Beast moved like Beast in the fights, it was wonderful!  Then all the other stuff, and Phoenix Force at work...  The scene at the house was pretty cool, but the one at the big battle... gah.  With the wreckage and the flamey phoenix-y backlighting... They really managed to get the Dark Phoenix feel (doesn't hurt that the scene was beautifully played, either).  Wow.

ETA: HMM:  Did anyone else watch the alternate ending where Logan goes back to Canada and expect/hope to see one of the guys from Alpha Flight to show up?  I did.  I don't know which one, but one of them should have walked in and sat down on the next barstool over.

ETA2: PRO: Arclight's brief appearance was spot on, I thought.  Very cool.

There may be more, but those are the important bits.  And I'm all sleepy now.  G'night.

Comments

[obscure-the-sun.livejournal.com]

You make some pretty interesting observations about the movie. Do you read Ultimate X-Men? The Bobby/Kitty/Rogue thing was taken from UXM, and in the Ultimate U Colossus is gay. He went to prom with Northstart at Emma's Academy in the Date Night arc. It's created this rift between he and Nightcrawler.
Anyway, they DID cut and paste a lot of plots from the comics, but that doesn't bother me. I think that it's almost impossible to tell a great comic book story without having to steal a few things here and there. Spider-Man, as an origin movie, works because the character is relatively unchanged since that particular time. The basic core of the character is intact. The same thing goes for a lot of the iconic characters out there.
The problem you run into with the X-Men is that there are dozens of them, each of them have their own highlights, and in most cases they're defined by each generation. My dad was a comic book reader, and to him the X-Men are Cyclops, Marvel Girl, Angel, Iceman, and a non-hairy Beast. I started reading in the 80s, but I really didn't become a huge fan until the 90s. My iconic team consists of the Giant Size team, and occasionally I look back on the early 90s Blue/Gold teams as a major era as well. For others, the Astonishing lineup is their ideal.
The general, casual moviegoer expects to see the lineup they were treated to in the 90s via the animated series. I can't tell you how many people have said, "X-Men would have been great if Gambit had been there? And what was up with Rogue? Why couldn't she fly?"
I think you get what I'm saying. Everyone has their favorite lineup, their favorite team, their favorite story. For many fans it doesn't get any better than the Dark Phoenix Saga. It's considered, along with a handful of other tales, the most iconic story in the history of the X-Men, and one of the greatest comic book stories of all time. Personally, I enjoy the Phoenix story, but my definitive X-Men tale is The Age of Apocalypse because A. I love alternate reality stories, and B. I was a huge fan at that particular time and getting every tie-in issue, getting the whole story, was a HUGE deal for me as a teenager. I was fifteen or sixteen when that story began, and honestly, X-Men Legends II has been an awesome experience for me. In a lot of ways I've gotten the chance to play a video game based loosely on my definitive X-Men world.
Personally, I enjoy all three of the X-Men movies for a variety of reasons. I thought that the first movie was a great "Wolverine comes to the X-Men" tale, not unlike the way Jubilee was introduced in the animated series, or various other great X-Men tales (Welcome to the X-Men Kitty Pryde, hope you survive the experience!). I thought that some of the characterizations were off, but I forgave them because I was watching my heroes on the big screen. I expected more from the second movie, and I wasn't disappointed.
I thought the second film was vastly superior. Honestly, I had issues with Alan Cumming as Nightcrawler, but overall I enjoyed it immensely.
I never thought that X3 would live up to the second film, but in my opinion it was an even more improved experience. I felt like they tried to give fans what they wanted (in the first ten minutes we see a Sentinel, a fastball special, the Danger Room, etc.), and they told an interesting story. To top it all off, I think that the movies were all brilliantly cast (with the possible exception of Batman Begins, I think it's the most well-cast superhero movie ever). Stewart and McKellen approach Xavier and Magneto as almost Shakespearean in magnitude, and that's why they're so believable as these larger than life characters. Kelsey Grammar brought the life to Beast that was lacking in Nightcrawler, and I'll be honest; Hugh Jackman was an unknown when he was cast as Wolverine. I never thought he'd be capable of becoming MY Wolverine, but he has. I think he gets the character, and while sometimes I think they lighten him up a little for the sake of the kids, I think it'd be hard to find another actor capable of bringing what Jackman brings to the role.
On another note entirely, sorry for the lengthy response. Like you, I rarely get the chance to discuss this sort of thing.

[ravenwings-7.livejournal.com]

Do you read Ultimate X-Men?
I read... something like the first 15 issues, then decided that even though some of my favorite characters were there, the reasons they were my favorites... weren't. So I stopped. It's nice to know where that comes from, but I refuse to give up on Kitty/Piotr (Whedon brought him back to life! Yay!).

they DID cut and paste a lot of plots from the comics, but that doesn't bother me
It doesn't exactly bother me, either. Just some of the characters' behavior didn't match the context of the movie.

Ironically, the point in the series where you really got into the comics appears to be about the time I stopped... As far as lineups are concerned, if Chris Clairemont wrote it, I'm there. Beyond that (and a few of the big X-overs)... the Astonishings I've read are really good (a quick look around my journal will tell you I'm a Joss fan anyways), and I'm quite an Excalibur fan. So although I greatly value the presence of Wolverine & company, my only criteria is that if a favored character (I say "favored" because IMO comics!Bobby isn't movie!Bobby, but I think that's a good thing) appears, they remain true to who they were at some point in the comics (that I've read). That's part of the reason I don't mind the changes to Rogue; even though she doesn't have the fire that drew me to her in the books, she's still the same person. Whereas Storm and Callisto... I don't know them. Who are these people with these familiar names?

I don't think I've read Age of Apocalypse, actually... I don't have a favorite story arc, exactly. I'm very fond of the early Morlock arcs, and I've always loved Storm's transitions from pseudo-pacifist to quasi-psychotic punk (as my current haircut testifies... *g*). The big moments, the iconic frames... I worship these, but I can't boil it down to a favorite. I'm more focused on the little character evolutions and interactions, and those usually come after the big named arcs. The death of the original Thunderbird, or Storm losing her powers, come to mind when I think of big moments.

Looking at them objectively, I think that all three movies are equally good (which is fairly unheard of in a series, usually there's either a steady decline or one of them is really bad), all for different reasons. The first one was the best written, but there wasn't much going on. The second one had the best event-to-time balance, but there was something a bit... off about it (and I think that Alan Cumming as Nightcrawler would have been okay-ish on its own, but he was also written very differently from my Kurt. It's the combination that skewed the character so much). And the third one had the best characterizations, at least for the majors (I preferred Rogue in the first one, everyone else improved steadily over the series), but they tried to do too much in too little time.

I agree on the casting (both of X3 and Batman Begins. Wow.), although I've always said that Patrick Stewart was so obvious it hardly counts as good casting. *g* Hugh Jackman was just an inspired choice though, even if he is literally a foot taller (and usually skinnier) than Logan, and he just gets better and better. I don't think he was toned down very much, although his body count is a little less messy (but as our era-of-preference suggests, your Wolverine is not quite mine).

Don't worry about the rambling - I do that too. I can talk X-books with my mom (moss6886, quasi-coauthor of the post), but on most fronts our opinions are so similar that there's not much to discuss.

[obscure-the-sun.livejournal.com]

If you get the chance to pick up the Age of Apocalypse it comes highly recommended. They've been trickling it out in massive trades (in what I suppose Marvel considers the proper reading order) over the last year. It's over ten years old now, but I think the reason why I love it so much is because it shows how little the characters change despite the altered situation. Most of the books have amazing art, and some of the characterizations are amazing. I also loved how certain things were undeniable. Even though Wolverine gets Jean for a while in the AoA, she and Cyclops are an inevitability.
I also think that the AoA looks for many of the characters are amazing (particularly Sunfire, Gambit, and Holocaust).
I love some of the early Claremont stuff, but I don't really know that he's in touch with the current market. I'm looking forward to his Exiles if he returns to health soon, though. I found a lot of his recent Uncanny stuff to be a little difficult to follow. I think he ignores a lot that's happened in his absence as far as character development is concerned, and his X-Men are occasionally capable of things far beyond what I consider to be the limits of their powers. The ironic part of all of this is that I felt like his last two arcs on Uncanny were some of the best stories he's written in years. Maybe he was just hitting his stride? Who knows.

[ravenwings-7.livejournal.com]

To be honest, travel and college-related busyness, plus geeking out about other things, have all kept me from reading many of the new Uncannys (I'll get there soon-ish - the movie has inspired me to re-read all the issues we have). I read the full X-Treme run, though, and the only confusion I had was due to things that happened while I wasn't reading (I still haven't wrapped my brain around the Emma-Frost-not-a-villain thing). As far as ignoring character developments... I can't really argue with that, but since the reason I stopped reading was because I felt the characters were being mangled... I don't mind that Clairemont pressed the "reset" button. I'm okay with big changes, I usually enjoy them, but only if I can see why they're changing.

his X-Men are occasionally capable of things far beyond what I consider to be the limits of their powers
Really? Like what? (Genuinely curious, here. I like poking at questions like this.)

[drunkenshoe.livejournal.com]

I basically agree with you on all counts, hooray! (Sorry for not actually adding anything.) I also rather liked Beast's "Oh my stars and garters" line. I just. I don't know, it made me happy. And the Danger Room! And the Sentinel! And Arclight! Loved Arclight!

Oh, it would have been awesome if Alpha Flight had shown up in the alternate ending, though! I actually kind of really dislike Alpha Flight, except for Northstar and Aurora, whom I love bunches despite them being possibly the most dysfunctional and messed-up twins on the face of the planet. Which is another thing entirely But oh, now I really wish someone had made a cameo.

One thing I didn't like, though, was Magneto immediately abandoning Mystique because she lost her powers. I mean...would he really do that? He might have, I dunno, I missed about ten years' worth of comics so it's very possible that I missed something important to his character. But...he knows Mystique is sympathetic to his cause, obviously, and that wouldn't change because she's been humanified (in fact, it would probably increase her enthusiasm, if anything), so...I dunno. I didn't like that.

Shutting up rambling now.

[ravenwings-7.livejournal.com]

The best part? They managed to do things like the fastball special and the Danger Room without it feeling like a sellout. And they worked them into the plot! Yay!

I kind of like most of the Alpha Flight team, but I don't find them (the books, that is) particularly interesting. I've really only read them when they've crossed over with X-Men.

I see your point about Magneto and Mystique. It wasn't far enough out of character to really bother me at first, but it is a somewhat worrisome scene. On the other hand, it is implied (fairly strongly, if you watch the commentaries) that de-powering her, although not exactly part of the plan, worked out in their favor. Maybe leaving her there was just Magneto thinking on his feet, realizing that she'd be more readily believed if she were actually abandoned. I didn't state that very clearly, but it's one possibility.

[drunkenshoe.livejournal.com]

I know! I was so excited. TWO fastball specials even! I nearly died in the theater.

The books are pretty bad. I've read a lot of the original series, and I nearly went insane. They're kind of the Star Wars of comics, methinks (no offense if you're a SW fan). The line delivery and writing are really bad, and every comic they crossed over with was similary afflicted. I once read a Spider-Man/Alpha Flight shot and it was painful.

Readily believed? About what now? I remember her showing up later but I've only seen the movie once *bad fan* so I don't remember that very well.

[ravenwings-7.livejournal.com]

Yeep! Sorry for the huge delay in responding, midterms are kicking my ass...

They're kind of the Star Wars of comics, methinks
I assume you are referring to the new prequel trilogy, and not the originals. (Oh, George. Good with concepts, but so very, very bad with writing them.)

Readily believed? About what now?
When Mystique came back later, she told the government types where Magneto and company were camped out, but when they raided the place all they found was Multiple Man. I figure something like this had already been planned, and when Mystique got de-mutantified Magneto just crossed his fingers and went with it (I'd be shocked if there weren't cameras in the prison/semi thing, so that's why he didn't confer with her). This makes even more sense when you realize that the last scene, the one with powerless!Magneto in the park? Was originally written so that Mystique was there, playing chess with him. The only reason it wasn't filmed that way was because they couldn't get Rebecca Romjin in due to scheduling conflicts.

[drunkenshoe.livejournal.com]

I am referring to the prequels. The first two were pretty good. But like, you know how everyone in the prequel movies automatically had bad acting skills, no matter what their skill outside the movies is? Yeah. That's what I meant. :P

That...does make sense. I thought it was that Magneto knew she'd tell out of retaliation and just moved ahead of time, but I prefer the other way. So maybe Magneto was more IC than I thought after all. :)

[babykamuix.livejournal.com]

I highly approve of your review/critique! Very well thought out and because of this I hope you do not mind me adding you.

[ravenwings-7.livejournal.com]

Add away! It's good to be liked.

[szeretni.livejournal.com]

Well, I loved the first two movies like you wouldn't believe it...and I did like the third, but it COULD have been so much better, I think.
I might have loved it because it had my dear beloved characters in it...

It was a good action movie, fun and exciting. But it didn't have any depth, the script sucked IMHO, not enough emotions, not enough acting etc.

There are so many things I hate about the movie, the way it portrays love as something superficial...
And truly, I don't "buy" that Wolverine really loves Jean. Sure, he's got a crush, he wants to sleep with her etc. but LOVE? He hardly knows her!
They've just met!

I hate it that they got rid of Scott that easily but I also know that's because Marsden went with Singer...
I hate the way Magneto left Mystique. In my eyes, he wouldn't have.
Sure, Mags has his own ideas about mutants and humans but he would never have left her like that. Why would he? Why not instead take Mystique and try to experiment on a cure against the cure, so to speak? That's what I thought would be logical.
To try to cure Mystique.

And a thousand other things...

BTW, I added you cause I don't have that many friends either. ;)