by A.J. Wood

Movie Review – X2: X-Men United

My review is skewed because I read the X-Men comics and as such draw direct comparisons to their movie counterparts.

It is my hope that turning comic books into movies doesn’t become the “new thing” as the quality of filmmaking will only turn into a parody series similar to the Batman franchise. My expectations for this sequel weren’t too high as I knew there would be an introduction of newer characters on top of the ones we already met in the last film. I think this point lends itself to the weakness in the X-Men movies – how do you make an engaging plot while throwing in a new mutant around every corner? Characters already familiar to fans of the comic book showed up in quick 30 second sequences. Others like Colossus actually received a few sentences of dialogue only to disappear for the rest of the film. (I left the movie asking where all the extra children went)

There were several pieces to the movie that only those who read the comic book would pick up (all the ?ber-geeks are yelling it’s Jean Grey you fools). It is obvious that they are attempting to build a franchise as there were many openings set for another sequel. Overall the pace of the movie dragged. There were some cool action sequences, but much like Mortal Kombat it translated into “Let me show you what this mutant can do” The exceptions of course were Wolverine (who I hope to see in his own movie) and I did like that Bobby Drake aka The Iceman received a little more screen time.

(Borrowed from Ryan’s Buffy Blog)
Girl villains kick ass more than boysThe Good – The opening action sequences with Nightcrawler were excellent. Some decent cinematography for the the fight scenes and his character translated on screen very well. Wolverine opening a can of whoop-ass on the military. Could have been better lighting, but hey you get the point. The family scene where Bobby’s brother rats the group out to the police. Some good dramatic tension for that 10-20 minutes. Lady Deathstrike nuff said.

The Bad – More witty dialogue please. The sequel didn’t have the great one-liners between Logan & Scott. Villains seem to die. I don’t think you can build a true rivalry in the span of two hours and settle the results with somebody getting offed. I didn’t enjoy it with the Batman movies and I don’t think it works well here. Wolverine getting punked in his fight sequence with Lady Deathstrike. Really, in the comic he is so much more the bad ass. Jean’s haircut, nuff said.

Overall – Great movie for the younger generation with an underlying message about racism & prejudice. Comic diehards like me want to see more character development and a more cohesive storyline, but we’ll still end up with the DVD.

in Arts/Media 0 comments
 by A.J. Wood

Spurs 114, Lakers 95 HOORAH!!!

SEVEN 3-pointers, 27 points, WTG Bowen!!!Did you see the Spurs STUN the Lakers last night? Kudos to the Spurs for being aggressive all night, I enjoyed seeing Shaq & Kobe sit out towards the end of the 4th quarter. Michelle is predicting a sweep, but I’m a little more cautious as you never know what adjustments Phil Jackson will make in a series like this one.

This is not what I had in mind when I talked about girl power. Uhm, I just realized I’ve crossed over into that realm of adulthood I’ve been dreading all my life, but I have to ask the question “What the hell is going on with kids today?” Video from the Chicago incident has been shown on Good Morning America. It doesn’t look too bad until you see the paint buckets ricocheting off of the girls’ faces. I’m happy to say I never participated in this sort of hazing.

Moving right along, Jared has another entry continuing last week’s feminism discussion. This is good stuff people. Read, comment, learn.

The one thing I miss about blogrolling links is YOU the reader can’t tell when my fellow bloggers have updated. More importantly, have you noticed my link list is growing? New additions include Bettie Girl, Reverend Mykeru & Uptonia. Be sure to read my link descriptions to see why these people rock and why the good Reverend ownz me.

Oh and my personal request for the day go rate my blog at the Weblog Review (5 is the good number people). Then go give Katie’s blog a rating of 5 because she rocks the party. You can read my response to the March review.

in Editorial 4 comments
 by A.J. Wood

I’ll take feminism, misandry & pink bunny slippers for $200

dancing symbolsI’m just going to ramble this afternoon because my attempts to come up with something cohesive & well thought out just aren’t working.

A few years back I was working with a guy who told me he believed that there was a hidden feminist agenda to completely eviscerate masculinity from the face of the planet. It was quite the downer that particular evening and I confess I barely listened to what he was talking about. The memory of that conversation recently resurfaced when I googled the phrase “fathers are unnecessary” as requested by one of my professors last week. That same afternoon I visited Jared and the phrase “can men be feminists?” caught my attention.

[Before I go any further I should point out that there is an EXCELLENT comment thread over at Jared’s site from her original post which is a must read]

Here’s the deal. While reading through the articles, opinions and commentary I wondered was my coworker correct? Not so much in his conspiracy theory, but the idea that while asserting “girl power” society is shunning masculinity? Don’t get me wrong I’m all for gender equality. My mother was a strong role model growing up as my father passed away when I was a teenager. I’ve witnessed “girl power” first hand and my sister Lesli continues to deliver a strong feminist message today. That being said, I still had my awkward moments where I needed a male role model and had nowhere to turn. I often wonder how my life experiences and opinions would be different if my father were still alive.

I’m not attempting to argue the pros & cons of feminism in America. I’m just wondering who’s looking out for the interest of men? While there are a number of songs, TV shows, movies that convey smart, savvy independent women, where are the positive images being reinforced for men? It certainly isn’t Andy Dick. I haven’t read the book “Fatherless America” or “The War Against Boys“, but I assume they stir up some interesting ideas.

On the road to gender equality is it possible to understand & accept the differences between genders? I don’t think feminism will benefit from attempting to make men more like women. Mutual respect between genders is important as well as an open dialogue to express the needs of both groups.

Back in December I posted my thoughts on the abortion issue. I felt by making abortion a woman’s issue it’s difficult to gain support from men. I made comments that it should be seen as “a couple’s right to choose” which garnered this comment from Jared “if a woman bears the burden of incubating, nourishing, and birthing the child that originates from her cells, it is still her body and her choice. when a man incubates and births the child, then it becomes his choice.”

I think that illustrates my current questions about feminism. If Janeane Garofalo correctly defined feminism as “gender equality & social justice” then I think that male viewpoints & opinions would be encouraged. Simply dismissing certain behaviors without understanding the motivation behind them seems a bit reactive to me. It’s an interesting dichotomy in the U.S. where amidst the melting pot people strive to assert their individuality.

in Editorial 13 comments
 by A.J. Wood

Hooray For The Astros!!!

little giantsThey say art imitates life, but this weekend was so much sweeter. Picture a baseball team for players age 10. The coach driven by a desire to maintain a dominate winning season selects several premiere players stacking the odds in his favor. He ignores other kids in his district who are capable of playing, who have the desire to play, simply because the team’s record & his reputation are more important. (cue scenes from the Cobra Kai dojo, “Mercy is for the weak Mr. LaRusso.”)

Now picture another coach across town who decides to gather up the rejected kids and form a new team. With a lot of hard work and some key talent (in the form of my nephew) these kids not only master the fundamentals, but they end up having a good time. Can you imagine both teams meeting at the end of the season undefeated?

That was the scenario over two weeks ago. Like a scene out of Little Giants, the dominating Rangers met an underrated Astros team to decide who would be the division All-Stars this season. In their first meeting the Astros stunned the top team by playing to a draw. Superior pitching was met by excellent outfielding and when the dust settled the score was still 0-0. Even then the coaching differences were apparent. The Rangers team taunted the Astros with jeers “You couldn’t beat us!”, “We’re still number 1!” while the Astros players were thrilled that they matched up so well against the top-seeded team. The Rangers players stormed off the field in frustration refusing to congratulate their competitors for a good game.

Not since Rocky has there been such an undercurrent of anticipation & electricity before a rematch. This past weekend Michelle & I witnessed the Astros shock the pony league baseball community by defeating the Rangers 6-5 and moving to the #1 spot in their division. Only the NBA & NHL playoffs could compare to the level of excitement from this game. I’m always amazed when I see young athletes play with such incredible skill. You might think that the game would have ended like the Karate Kid with the underdog finally receiving recognition from his opponents, but reality is hardly that warm & fuzzy. While the kids don’t know any better it was the Ranger parents who demonstrated poor sportsmanship by chanting “We’re still #1” and telling the Astros “You only get lucky once.”

So much for life imitating art. Congrats to the Astros for remaining undefeated this season!

in Editorial 2 comments