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X-Men: First Class | A Retro Nerdgasm for Silver Age Comic Book Fans and Superhero Geeks Alike

Apr. 21 Art, celebrity, comics, culture, family, geek, movies, social media, sourbrains, video, YouTube Comments

There are a lot of superhero and comic book movies slated to come out this summer. You’ve got [Thor,] boasting Natalie Portman as Thor’s love interest Doctor Jane Foster, and Anthony Hopkins as the All-Father himself, Odin. You’ve got [Priest,] an adaptation of a Korean comic which stars Paul Bettany, of the horribly amazing film Legion. (He was also the voice of Jarvis, Tony Stark’s massive AI computer operating system in the Iron Man movies. (Though in the comics, Jarvis was a butler, not an AI system.) Also you’ve got [Green Lantern,] starring Ryan Reynolds, so who the fuck knows if that one’s going to be good or a complete train-wreck. My bet tends to lean toward the latter… There’s the newest of the [Transformers,] with Shia LaBeouf returning as the goofball ding-dong Sam Witwicky and even Mr. Spock, Leonard Nimoy rumored to be the voice of Sentinel Prime. (Although no returning Megan Fox, much to my dismay.) There’s the brand new [Captain America] coming out, starring Chris Evans (Human Torch from the Fantastic 4 flicks,) as Steve Rogers/Captain America and Lord of the Rings/The Matrix/V for Vendetta/Tranformers (voice of Megatron) all-around badass Hugo Weaving playing the evil Nazi agent Red Skull. There’s even a reboot of the very well known fantasy author Robert E. Howard’s [Conan the Barbarian] starring Jason Momoa, aka Ronon Dex, from Stargate Atlantis. (Follow/click on any of the above links to find all of their respective trailers on the Tube of You.)

I’m for the time being at least, hedging all my bets on one film though, which I think will be the most successful, and the one that I’m most interested to see how it plays out. That would be the newest installment from the Marvel Comics/X-Men Universe, titled X-Men: First class. I’m looking forward to seeing the initial struggle between ideals and practice that occurs between the X-Men story’s two most prominent figureheads, Charles Xavier aka Professor X and Erik Lehnsherr (aka Max Eisenhardt, aka Magnus,) who goes on to become one of the most powerful mutants ever known to the X-Men, Magneto. Especially to the backdrop of the civil rights movement, the Cold War, and the Cuban Missile Crisis. I think those will prove to be very compelling themes and great kick-off points in telling the story of a young, idealistic telepath who believes in the peaceful coexistence of human and mutantkind, and a holocaust survivor with a much darker, much less diplomatic, far less touchy-feely, “let’s all just get along” approach to the survival of their species. I mean shit, the guy survived the fucking holocaust, can you blame him for his blossoming severe hatred of humankind?

I’m also greatly looking forward to seeing the, in my opinion, highly underrated actress January Jones, who plays Emma Frost/The White Queen in all the glory of her skimpy, barely-there costumes, as well as one of my favorite actors since the classic movie [Tremors,] Kevin Bacon, playing the energy absorbing mutant Sebastian Shaw, leader of the New York branch of the underground society of aristocratic mutants, The Hellfire Club. I’m also very much looking forward to seeing some of my older favorites like Banshee, Havok (Cyclops’s kid brother,) Darwin, and Riptide finally getting some screen time of their own.

And I most especially look forward to seeing on-screen the character Azazel (he’s the red guy in the back,) who in the comics is an ancient mutant from biblical times from a demonic race known as the Neyaphem who were banished to alternate dimension. He was their leader and could only escape the alternate dimension due to his teleportation abilities. Also he’s the father to my 2nd favorite X-Man, Kurt Wagner, aka Nightcrawler. I wonder if he ends up getting his demon-style on with Kurt’s mom, Raven Darkholme/Mystique in this film. That’d be pretty badass. (By the way, my first and all-time favorite is [This Man,] not that you really care, but if you don’t know who that is then we can’t talk, I’m sorry.)

In closing, it looks to be an altogether pretty badass film. Plus it’ll be a history lesson to the younger generations who don’t have the slightest idea what the Cuban Missile Crisis or The Cold War were. So I’ll leave you with this, the official trailer (just recently released,) for the movie, and a few links on some cool interviews with cast/crew that I’ve read. Enjoy!

X-Men: First Class Movie Trailer Official (HD)

[Interview with Bryan Singer, Producer (Director of the First Two X-Men films.)]

[Interview with Matthew Vaughn, Director of X-Men: First Class]

[Interview with Kevin Bacon on his Character Sebastian Shaw]

[Interview with Michael Fassbender, aka Erik Lehnsherr/Magneto]

[Interview with James McAvoy, aka Charles Xavier/Professor X]

and finally, [The Official X-Men: First Class Movie Site]

[r.b.]

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Christopher “The Fucking Man” Walken Turns 68 – World Still Respects and Fears Him

Mar. 31 celebrity, Comedy, culture, geek, movies, music, national news, science, social media, sourbrains, video, YouTube Comments

So, it’s March 31st in the 11th year of the 21st century. It is a day to be recognized, and day to be remembered. No, Robert Wilhelm “Willy Burn” Bunsen, you don’t get to have this day because you’re kind of a jerk and you essentially piggybacked on Michael Faraday’s invention and took the credit for what should probably have been his namesake. Although I suppose I must admit, “Faraday Burner” doesn’t roll off the tongue nearly as easily.

Nay, instead this day goes to the myth, the legend, the fucking man himself, Christopher “I Wish He Was My Dad” Walken. He turns 68 today, and he’s still going strong. From his absolute first onscreen role at the age of 10 in the TV series “The Wonderful John Acton” to feature films (that I’ve actually seen and have been made since I was born) like “King of New York,” “Batman Returns,” (Yeah, he was in that, remember?) “Wayne’s World II,” “Pulp Fiction,” “Suicide Kings,” “Click,” “Balls of Fury,” “Joe Dirt,” “Catch Me if you Can,” “Wedding Crashers,” “Sleepy Hollow,” “Mousehunt,” “Blast from the Past,” (warm Dr. Pepper anyone?) he has amazed and captivated audiences with his intense, slightly neurotic, and most excellently theatrical performances. And don’t even get me started on my own personal and all-time favorite, “The Prophecy,” where he plays a truly frightening and sadistic Archangel Gabriel:

Terrifying, no? I saw this movie when I was 14, and I’ve been hooked for life. One of his greatest roles ever played, in my opinion. He was also in the second and third installments of what became The Prophecy Pentalogy, but his best performance by far was the first. The second film was decent, the third was kind of incoherent and wandering, but the first will always be the gold standard of angelic warfare in film. If you haven’t actually seen “The Prophecy,” do yourself a favor and check it out. It’s awesome. And no one will ever be able to tell me different.

The larger gist of this post, however, centers on his work as a Saturday Night Live host and guest star, a regular on the BBC’s Friday Night With Jonathan Ross, and various other appearances other than feature films. Some of the most hilarious things I’ve ever seen on television have come from the minds of the SNL and other writers, and their execution by the likes of this incredible man. So, allow me to share some of my favorites with you, I hope you enjoy them as much as I do.

Christopher Walken as an unfairly discriminated against angel:

Christopher Walken reads Lady Gaga’s “Poker Face” on the BBC:

Lady Gaga's Poker Face read by Christopher Walken – Friday Night with Jonathan Ross – BBC One

Christopher Walken reads “The Three Little Pigs” on the BBC:

Christopher Walken's Three Little Pigs

Christopher Walken as Bruce Dickinson in the infamous “cowbell” sketch:
(The video is backwards, again to avoid copyright issues, but it’s the full clip.)

More Cowbell Snl Full Skit (Real Video!)

Christopher Walken says that one epic line everyone loves from the above:

More Cowbell Snl Full Skit (Real Video!)

And these are but just a few of the comedic appearances Mr. Walken has made over the years. Most of the SNL sketches on YouTube have been taken down due to copyright and legal problems, and for some reason I can’t get this page to embed the video for FatBoy Slim’s “Weapon of Choice” properly, which stars none other than the man himself getting some pretty epic dance moves on… oh yeah, and flying. If you haven’t seen that, it’s beyond totally sweet and I definitely suggest [searching YouTube.Com for it.] SNL has put out a DVD with his “best of” appearances on it, which I own and can assert is also awesome.

Unfortunately, only a handful of all the sketches he’s done are on the DVD, but you can find a vast assortment of his [SNL sketches and other material on Hulu.Com by clicking here.]