a99kitten's Musings

I saw X-Men: First Class last weekend. GO SEE IT! I loved it!!! Now, I am a lover of the X-Men comics. But they did a really great job with this movie so even people who know nothing of the X-Men can enjoy it.

They concentrated on the story and acting much more than most comic book movies. Obviously there were a lot of special effects but I never felt that they were the center piece of the movie. They were merely part of it like any other actor.

The Hellfire Club storyline is my 2nd favorite after the Dark Phoenix saga so I was very wary of them doing it well. They didn’t really fully flesh out the Hellfire Club as it is done in the comics. I can only hope they take it further if they do a sequel and not just jump into another storyline – that would be cooler I think. I was also very suspicious of Kevin Bacon being cast as Sebastian Shaw. I like Kevin Bacon. But this character is a certain way and his physical attributes kinda help make him. And Kevin Bacon doesn’t have those. But he was GREAT.

All of the casting was fantastic. James MacAvoy was a great young Charles Xavier. Hilarious that they showed him being a bit of playboy in college :) Michael Fassbender, who plays Eric (Magneto) was, in my opinion, perfect. He plays the dark, handsome, super strong man who has his demons. Also = hot :) If Daniel Craig ever wants to stop playing James Bond, the producers needs to look no further than this guy.

All the younger mutants (the “First Class” were good. They do veer from, or “re-imagine”, the X-universe. But that’s OK. They did it really well much like the new Star Trek movie did. There a couple surprise cameos in the movie which are fun. Yes, I do think they could have found a much better White Queen than January Jones but she looked the part and didn’t have to emote too much. Although if they did expand on the Hellfire Club storyline and needed the White Queen to do more – they might consider replacing her. Or getting her acting lessons.

The bulk of the movie is set in the early 60s which is a gorgeous time period for costumes. Mad Men (and James Bond before it) shows us how cool they are dressed back then! They set this around the drama with Cuba, Russia and JFK. It works as a good backdrop and a useful story.

I highly recommend the movie!

Also…Michael Fassbender = HOT :)

Guy in turtleneck = yum :)

I just finished reading Marvel’s New X-Men “New Worlds” graphic novel. It was third in a series. The first 2 were “E is for Extinction” and “Imperial”. I really, really liked these.

The X-Men have been my favorite comics since I was a kid. Now, there were X-Men, New X-Men, The Uncanny X-Men, Astonishing X-Men, and then of course the New Mutants, Weapon X and Wolverine and then allllll of the cross-overs they did. Seriously could go broke trying to keep up!

Some very fond childhood memories are of having my Dad take me to the comic book store to pick up my new arrivals. Always a good Saturday!! I would pour over them there and then again, in more detail, at home. Other favorite regular titles at the time were Wonder Woman, Justice League, The New Teen Titans, Alpha Flight, Batman and the Outsiders, and of course every new X-Men title/crossover they pumped out.

But I do have to admit, I slowed down and then finally stopped. I always wanted to go back and start back up again but when I would grab a few issues, I seemed soooo out of the loop in terms of story and characters, that I never stuck with them.

I was in line opening weekend for each new X movie and they always made me want to start reading the comics again. My favorite story arcs were the Hellfire Club storyline and, of course, the Dark Phoenix saga. If Hollywood could ever make these 2 story arcs correctly – these would rule! Although can not possibly be done in a 2 hour movie. So maybe best left to pages. I reread my Dark Phoenix comics a few years back and loved them just the same. What I always loved about X-Men (and Marvel titles in general) were they were darker and far more convoluted than the DC titles were back then. DC figured it out and revamped. Good move.

These 3 graphic novels were fairly dark. Murdered mutants, murdering mutants, apocalypse, death and mayhem – just a regular day in the X universe :) I highly recommend reading these. They cover New X-Men issues 114-133. Although not for someone who isn’t familiar with the X and Marvel universe for sure. The continuity for me was a bit hard (especially Scott and Jean’s multiple issues) since I have been so out of the X Universe for so long but I could figure most out and it really made me want to find the before and after stories! My only real complaint with any of them is the artwork in the first 2/3 of the 3rd novel (New Worlds.) I have seen this art type in past X-Men comics and never liked it. Much prefer the normal artist renderings of my beloved characters :)

I guess I do wish they had more Wolverine and Storm. Wolverine is in them but not as a MAIN character all the way through. Storm only appears briefly. They were always my 2 favorites. But seeing Emma Frost was great. And I was quite confused to see James Proudstar and Sunfire since last I read they were dead. So clearly (umm…yeah notsomuch) we are now in a different universe? Or they were reborn? Or never killed after all? Or…..? See why I need to get back issues??

I am desperately waiting for Amazon (or Sony?) to make a color-screen Kindle. And then being able to read my comics using that. I would end up spending so much $$$ in monthly titles (hear that Amazon, Marvel and DC???) I LOVE real books. And real comics. But the fact is it will just be easier to get and store. I have 2 huge acid-free comic boxes holding my individually bagged and boarded comics. I just don’t have more room (my Star Wars collectibles take up a *lot* of room…)

I did see that you can buy Marvel titles on CD. Maybe. But still prefer the idea of a color screen Kindle for comics/graphic novel viewing.

So for now, I will likely pick up a few more graphic novels. And maybe bring out my boxes and start re-reading my old ones :)

I love to read. I have loved to read ever since I was a kid and my best friend’s Mom would feed me books (her kids weren’t readers so she adopted me :) ) like my favorites The Scarlet Pimpernel, Anna Karenina, Three Musketeers, The Man in the Iron Mask, Count of Monte Cristo, Jane Eyre, Wuthering Heights, multiple Greek & Roman mythology books, and more and more classics. I would soak up all these books. Then throw in all the comic books I would read and it seems like that’s all I did! (even though I know I did more as I was outside all the dang time!)

Summer is a great time for me to read as I lay in the sun and read…for hours. My current “To be read book right now” stack on my nightstand is:

8th Confession – James Patterson (JUST FINISHED LAST NIGHT!)
Capitalism & Freedom – Milton Friedman
Gossip Girl: A Novel (Book #1 in series)
Breaking Dawn (#4 Twilight series) – Stephanie Meyer (once I start this I know I cannot put it down!)
Wishful Drinking – Carrie Fisher (Just finished today ! 7/1)
New X-Men: e is for extinction
New X-Men: imperial
New X-Men: new worlds
The Daily Coyote – Shreve Stockton
Shutter Island – Dennis Lehane (need to read before movie comes out!)
Free to Choose: A Personal Statement – Milton & Rose Friedman
Illiad – Homer
Atlas Shrugged – Ayn Rand (I need to finish this: I put it down after I could no longer take how close to reality it is becoming with the new administration and it depressed and sickened me.)

Then there is my 2nd stack under my nightstand of “I need to read very soon”:

Lipstick Jungle – Candace Bushnell
Assassin – Ted Bell
The Fountainhead – Any Rand
Gossip Girl (books 2 and 3 in series – I bought the boxed set!)
entire Harry Potter series (I know, I know..slow)
The Road to Serfdom – F.A. Hayek
The Wealth of Nations – Adam Smith

And in my cart at Amazon…
Georgiana: Duchess of Devonshire – Amanda Foreman (movie The Duchess was based on this book)
The Last Days of the Romanovs: Tragedy at Ekaterinburg – Helen Rappaport
Swimsuit – James Patterson
The Lost Symbol – Dan Brown (pre-ordered for 9/15!)
Run For Your Life – James Patterson & Michael Bennett
Introduction to Objectivist Epistemology – Ayn Rand
Outtakes from a Marriage: A Novel – Ann Leary (Denis Leary’s wife)

This is a lot of stuff to read! And I still have more I want or will definitely find and want it soon!! So I better get on this!!! I was hoping to get at last 4 books read this vacation week. I’ve finished 1…I am waaaay behind…yikes….