MY MOVIE SHELF: X-Men 2

The Task: Watch and write about every movie on my shelf, in order (Blu-rays are sorted after DVDs), by June 10, 2015.  Remaining movies: 130 Days to go: 91

Movie #310:  X-Men 2

This movie used to be called X2, but according to IMDb, that’s its “original” title, and it’s called X-Men 2 now. Whatever.

X2 is a stellar improvement on its predecessor, as it brings in new characters and reveals new backstories while maintaining the underlying central conflict wherein some powerful humans are mistrustful of mutants (and vice versa). This time, however, the powerful human is sly villain William Stryker (Brian Cox), who was the one responsible for the adamantium Wolverine (Hugh Jackman) is filled with, and who has found a way to harness and exploit his mutant son’s mind control powers and use them against his enemies. And incidentally, his enemies are mutants — namely Professor X (Patrick Stewart) and Magneto (Ian McKellen), but essentially all mutants everywhere.

We pick up X2 where X-Men left off, with Magneto in a plastic prison, Logan (Wolverine) off searching for the secrets of his past on a motorcycle he stole from Scott (James Marsden), Rogue (Anna Paquin) dating Bobby (Shawn Ashmore) but unable to get too physical because of her condition, and Mystique (Rebecca Romijn) still sporting her signature Wolverine scar (I LOVE that they put that detail in), still impersonating Senator Kelly (Bruce Davison), and still kicking ass and taking names. She’s my favorite. I especially like when she breaks into Stryker’s fortress by being Logan first and then Stryker himself (but not before flipping them all off). It’s even better than when she subversively breaks Magneto out of jail, and that part’s GREAT.

This time, because of the greater threat against them all, the Professor’s and Magneto’s band of mutants come together to defeat Stryker, but it doesn’t stop them from widening the gaps in the philosophies of their two camps. When all is said and done and Stryker is defeated, Magneto tries to take advantage of the situation Stryker created and wipe out the humans again. And even though he doesn’t succeed, he winds up with a new recruit in Pyro (Aaron Stanford), and his actions snowball into a crisis that results in the loss of Jean (Famke Janssen) who, as a friend of mind would be the first to tell you, would not put up with this shit. (Thankfully, she comes into her own in the next movie. Unfortunately, I don’t own that one because I hated it when it came out. It’s become the one I find most rewatchable, surprisingly, but I’ve still never rectified the fact that it’s not in my possession.)

Storm (Halle Berry) has a whisper of an interesting storyline when she meets up with Nightcrawler (Alan Cumming), who softens her bitterness quite a bit, but despite being the one to rescue the Professor at the end, she’s still not given a whole lot to do and I don’t blame Berry for becoming sort of bored with the role. Nightcrawler, too, is a flash in the pan — appearing in this film only — but he saves Rogue’s life in dramatic fashion, so I like him a lot. And speaking of Rogue, she really comes into her own, taking control of her powers and turning them on Pyro to defuse the escalating situation at Bobby’s house. She comes across as much more confident and mature than she was in the last film, and it sets up her arc nicely for the next one. (That being said, my actual favorite part of that showdown at Bobby’s house is Logan pushing a bullet out of his forehead with his powers. It’s a kickass, fantastic use of effects.)

You also get a glimpse of all sorts of cool powers of the kids at the school, but I don’t know any of their names because I still haven’t read an X-Men comic. Still doesn’t my diminish my enjoyment at all. I really love these movies, love this universe, and love these characters. When we meet them again (for My Movie Shelf), they’ll all be much younger.

MY MOVIE SHELF: X-Men

The Task: Watch and write about every movie on my shelf, in order (Blu-rays are sorted after DVDs), by June 10, 2015.  Remaining movies: 131 Days to go: 91

Movie #309:  X-Men

I came into X-Men cold. Unless the rare Betty & Veronica counts, I never read comic books growing up, and I had no idea who’s who or who had what powers or any of the mythology or interpersonal baggage that existed in this universe. I’m exactly the kind of audience member X-Men had to woo and win over in order to build a successful franchise. Quite obviously, they succeeded.

Outside of the almost universally known worlds of Superman, Batman and Spider-Man, worlds that have been the subjects of massive pop culture enterprises for decades, superhero / comic book stories used to be an incredibly niche market. (When Mallrats came out in 1995, Jason Lee’s character was mocked and misunderstood for his obsessive comic book collection and knowledge.) X-Men kind of single-handedly changed that. The Marvel universe is so successful on film now, in fact, that DC is scrambling to expand its own universe as well. I’d almost kill for a summer without a superhero film release at this point, but that’s not happening for at least another decade, it seems. For better or worse, X-Men is the primary cause.

The movie is actually a great introduction to comic book films, and probably why it’s become so successful where others have failed. There is a huge cast of characters, all with different powers that can be made to look super cool through special effects. The sheer number and variety of histories and conflicts and relationships allow for countless plot possibilities. Moreover, the types of conflicts inherent to the X-Men world are basic battles for human rights and acceptance, just in a mutant setting, making the films and their characters highly relatable and easy to become invested in.

X-Men sets the stage, as all first films in a franchise must, but does it in a way that ultimately tells a good and interesting story. There are mutants among us. Humans treat these mutants with fear, mistrust and paranoia, so most mutants are underground, hiding their identities or living off the grid. Some government officials, however, led by Senator Kelly (Bruce Davison), think there should be mutant registration. “Good guy” mutants, led by Charles Xavier (Patrick Stewart) and Jean Grey (Famke Janssen) try to fight this legislation through proper channels using reasoned debate. “Bad guy” mutants, led by Magneto (Ian McKellen) — who lived through a similar registration order as a Jew during the Holocaust — have the far more nefarious solution of simply turning everyone into a mutant. To do this, they need a giant radiation machine strapped to the Statue of Liberty (which they have) and one particular mutant named Rogue (Anna Paquin), who can absorb the power / life force of anyone she has skin-to-skin contact with and use it as her own. Rogue will help power the machine, since it’s too taxing for Magneto to do on his own, so they kidnap her from the protection of Professor Xavier’s school and her sort of adopted old brother figure, Logan (Hugh Jackman). It’s up to the Professor’s “X-Men,” then, to save her and also all of humanity.

It’s a solid, simple story with clear lines of demarcation that make it easy to follow and easy to invest in. (These lines will become far more muddled in later films.) It’s a great point of entry, and the characters further build the movie’s allure. Wolverine, as Logan is also known, is a big fan favorite, and for good reason. He has an adamantium skeleton, complete with indestructible claws that slide out from between his knuckles, and he has infinite healing powers to prevent him from ever sustaining a lasting injury. But there’s also Storm (Halle Berry) who controls the weather, and Cyclops (James Marsden), who has a laser beam stare. And my personal favorite, Mystique (Rebecca Romijn), though she’s Magneto’s cohort, is just the coolest chick imaginable. I love her strength and her acrobatic fighting, and I love the way the movie indicates she’s transformed into another body by flashing her yellow eyes at us.

There are things I don’t love, though. I don’t really get why Logan is so infatuated with Jean. I mean, it becomes a bigger plot point in later films and I accept it as fact, but he’s barely met her when he decides she’s the one for him, and he causes all sorts of tension with her husband Cyclops because he’s irrationally fixated. It’s weird. Also, the thing Magneto does to Senator Kelly, and the Senator’s ultimate fate, grosses me out more than just about anything I’ve ever seen in any film ever, not that it turns me away from watching.

X-Men drew me into its world, and it fascinated me. It made me a fan of these strange and different characters. It made me care about their all too familiar fight. And I embraced it so much that I’ve watched every single subsequent film to come down the pike. Some are better than others of course, and I don’t own them all, but the original X-Men will always hold a special place in my heart.

MY MOVIE SHELF: Runaway Jury

The Task: Watch and write about every movie on my shelf, in order (Blu-rays are sorted after DVDs), by June 10, 2015.  Remaining movies: 209  Days to go: 146

Movie #229:  Runaway Jury

I’m not a lawyer, but I do watch a lot of Law & Order. That said, I’m probably not qualified to evaluate the legal merits of the gun trial central to Runaway Jury. It seems a little shaky to me, but, again, that’s my completely unprofessional opinion. John Grisham, on the other hand, actually used to be a lawyer, so maybe he knows more than I do. One thing he certainly knows is how to build a tense, gripping legal thriller, be it about a murderous law firm that overcharges its clients, the assassination of a couple of Supreme Court Justices, a snotty kid on the run from the mob, a revenge killing in racially charged Mississippi, a predatory insurance company whose executives think its clients are “stupid stupid stupid,” or the hijacking of a jury trial for profit. The man writes slick, entertaining bestsellers that — for a stretch of the ’90s, in particular — become hugely popular blockbuster films. It’s hardly a character flaw; he has a lot of talent, and I like every single one of those movies of his.

When I was growing up, my mom used to travel occasionally to professional conventions or whatever. My senior year of high school, my mom invited me and my best friend to travel with her on one of these trips, in March when she went to DC. She would be in meetings all day, though, so my friend and I pretty much had the city to ourselves. It was an amazing time, but those are details for another time. Our last day there, however, as we were doing some sightseeing around the Lincoln Memorial and the Mall, we came across a line of police tape blocking our path. Tom Cruise was right there, on the other side of that tape, filming a scene for The Firm. I’m not sure why I don’t own that one, except for the fact that a Gene Hackman who is openly lustful and creepy is not the Gene Hackman for me. On the other hand, manipulatively plotting, villainous Gene Hackman is right up my alley. So I own Runaway Jury.

Hackman plays Rankin Fitch, a jury fixer working for a gun manufacturer being sued by the widow of a man killed in a shooting that used this manufacturer’s criminal-friendly weapon. (Like I said, I make no comment on the legal merits of such a case.) He’s working behind the scenes, feeding advice to defense (or respondent? whatever) counsel Bruce Davison, investigating and intimidating jurors, and promising a win for the gun company. On the other side of the aisle is attorney Wendell Rohr (Dustin Hoffman), intentionally spilling mustard on his tie so he doesn’t appear too put together in court. He’s got his own jury consultant in Lawrence Green (Jeremy Piven), who is remarkably not annoying, though he also isn’t up to any of the illegal shenanigans Fitch has going on. And at the heart of it all is Piven’s Serendipity costar John Cusack as Nicholas Easter (and others), juror number nine. He and girlfriend “Marlee” (Rachel Weisz) are fixing this jury for a payoff, but it’s possible cash isn’t their only motivator.

The film is well-structured and well-paced to give Nick and Marlee the maximum amount of mystery and intrigue as to their motives, without getting bogged down in their machinations. Information is alternately leaked and withheld for the purpose of pulling the viewer along and investing them in the scheme, without revealing whether Nick and Marlee are characters to root for or not. It’s a tricky balance, but they achieve it. Plus, Marlee is one seriously tough chick. I find the ending a bit convenient — a bit shoehorned in for the purpose of a feel-good resolution — but other than that the movie works for me. I like it, and that’s really all there is to it.

Plus, I always welcome the chance to see Dylan McDermott singing “Big Rock Candy Mountain.” It’ll probably be in my head the rest of the night.