HBK was one sneakily funny movie.

I thought everything with Magneto was well done; maybe it's just the integrity of Ian McKellan's performance. That moment when he introduces himself to his new underlings and they discuss tattoos...that's genuinely chilling. I also enjoyed what Kelsey Grammer did as Dr. McCoy; he was perfectly cast.

Plot-wise, I found the dilemma over the "cure" for mutation was also interesting: it was the only time in the trilogy I got a sense that they were really giving us an allegory for today's social issues. Would you want to be "cured?" Should you see yourself as even needing a "cure?" These are important questions. This is what the best X-Men stories have always done; explore the questions surrounding minority status.

I didn't say it was a masterpiece, of course; it glossed over a lot of stuff that could have given the film a lot more substance. [cough]Dark Phoenix[/cough] But to say it's entirely devoid of quality? I simply can't agree with that.

Yeah, I was being a bit hyperbolic of course, it had some nice bits. I haven't seen it recently enough to remember much, if anything of it, but do plan to give it another whirl one day, probably as a triple feature with the first two.

We need a Comic Book Challenge....

But I find the first two to be nearly perfect comic book films, rewarding at almost every aspect, and fun to watch from beginning to end. I would have been okay with slightly inferior for the third, but remember being continually disappointed. Perhaps my expectations were too high. But it was much better than Avatar....

This is a commonly expressed sentiment among fans; I remember X-2 being lauded as the greatest comic book movie ever...until Spider-Man 2. Personally, I thought both were vastly overrated. Aside from the "gee, wow" factor of seeing these characters portrayed in a convincing live action film, I never really felt much about either of them. The first one was a generic action movie dressed with X-Men.

The second one explored the murky, mystery side of X-Men storytelling (government conspiracies, etc.), but it still largely left me cold. Maybe it was that there was too much Wolverine. Magneto's escape from prison was pretty sweet, though.

The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo--Very disappointed with this film. Kind of a standard thriller and while the lead actress is a stand out, she's really not even as much of the lead as is implied. The rest was rather ordinary, although still more stylish than in most US releases. This is one Hollywood remake that might actually be better. I'm not sure why this movie is so loved, which has nothing to do with the book, which I've not read. I don't plan to watch the sequels now.

I agree with everyting you said dolphinboy (and I am a big fan of the books).

Last watched for me was High Tension. Still one of my favorite modern horrors. Love the look of the film, & the phenomenal old-fashioned special effects. Well worth the $7.99 just for the improved audio.

discs one and two of True Blood Season 2. I have to admit, i am sorely disappointed in this second season and can't imagine hanging on for S3. This may be my last foray into the lame and painfully pale vampric/shape-shifting, mind reading mess, that Bon Temps has become.

Resident Evil: Degeneration

FWIW, the 3rd season has been exponentially better than the 2nd.

<3 Giannetto De Rossi

'Remember Me'.

Yeah, I know it has Rob Pattinson of 'Twilight' fame in, but I'll give the guy a little credit since he actually does a decent job in this movie. Emilie De Ravin and Pierce Brosnan are the other main characters and both do a great job. If you can avoid any spoilers to the movie, this is actually worth checking out

Kick-Ass - I was hoping I'd like this more the second time around, but I still feel like it falls far short of expectations. Plus, it doesn't help that the star of the film is constantly overshadowed by Hit Girl and Big Daddy. PQ was weak, though I know that's mostly due to stylistic choices. AQ, however, was rock solid.

i love this as well and can't stand the hate for it just bc of the "twist".

Leap Year Girl has boyfriend that doesn't propose. Impatient she follows him out of town to propose to him. Calamity follows her every move partnering her with a guy that she doesn't care for and has feels the same about her. Surprise surprise, their adventure slowly brings them together only to be torn apart. I won't spoil the rest.

Secretary--Terrific film. Easily my favorite surprise, random catalog release of the year. PQ was pretty impressive for most of the film. For $9.99 Lionsgate really put out some fine films. Hard Candy, probably tomorrow night or Sunday night. High Tension one day next week.

Maggie in 1080p-

I'm not sure I should even report since it's the millionth time seeing this movie but that should say something about the movie.

Hangover

Green Zone nothing special, after about forty minutes I realized I didn't care anymore and moved on.
The Losers starts off in the realm of over the top and ends in the absurd, but it was at least entertaining.

Shutter Island. My second viewing, so I got to see it from the staff's point of view. A lot of thought had to go into the mechanics for it to work for the audience the first time and still completely work the second time using the exact same visuals and dialouge. Fantastic.

Kick-Ass (2010)

Saving Private Ryan--They need to go back and take Shakespeare in Love's best picture Oscar and give it to SPR. It's not too late. Looked and sounded superb on blu.

The Good, Bad, & Weird - I'm not sure what all the complaining about is with the US release. This is the same cut I remember seeing in the theater. Is it 1080p? No, but its still a very crisp image that is probably far better than the DVD. Sound is good. There is nothing keeping me from enjoying this great film on the US release.

Agree completely. One of my all time favorites. Can't believe SPR is taking such a beating in the "Most Overrated Spielberg Film" thread in movie talk. Not only one of my best movies but a superb example of blu-ray as well.

IP Man - Awesome. Yen is the shit.
IP Man 2 - Not as good as the first. Didn't quite like the whole Boxing subplot but Donnie Yen vs. Sammo Hung was totally worth the price.

I like SPR just fine, but you gotta admit that it can get pretty damn schmaltzy, no less than SIL was.