X-Men from the 60s

I really suck at posting on a regular basis and I'm making a serious effort now of turning that around. I've seen a s*** ton of movies the past week so hopefully that will help!

Let's start with the most recent superhero movie (and I'm not counting Green Lantern, because well-to be completely honest, it looks awful and a movie entirely done with CGI is not my cup of tea) so I'm obviously talking about X-Men: First Class. I, myself, am not a big superhero/comic book kind of guy, but the current crop of Superhero movies usually draw one or two big names (Iron Man, The Dark Knight, etc.) and that's enough to get me to watch it (plus they're generally pretty kick ass. The X-Men trilogy marathon on FX last week, my newfound love for Jennifer Lawrence, combined with my admiration for James McAvoy and Michael Fassbender was enough to get me to see it opening night.

X-Men: First Class is perfect for the average movie goer and even better for anyone who has seen the other X-Men movies. I'm not entirely familiar with the mythology of the characters so any references to other parts of the franchise I completely eat up. In fact, Wolverine's cameo had my brother laughing for a whole five minutes after it happened. Not to mention, it's a pretty movie (and the 1960s is just a fun time to place a movie). But I'm not going to waste your time with my mediocre opinion on the superhero aspect, instead just read this (incredible) article from Darren Franich over at Entertainment Weekly.

I will leave with one last thought of why this movie works so well at this current period we live in and why it connects with so many audiences today, despite it taking place in the 1960s. Everything about this movie is a flawless combination of 1960s culture and culture in the 2000s. The wardrobe, technology, even characters habits find the even ground between the two and at the same time create a nostalgia for that time that we can all understand from our vantage point in the present.

Why Hype Sucks

I love movies. There I said it, and I doubt that it comes as much of a surprise. The first thing I do when I go on my computer is head to IMDb and check out any new news or trailers that they've posted. So naturally, I get sucked up into all the hype and even create some of it with my own friends. But I need to stop.

After the whole "Sucker Punch" fiasco, where I totally blew the whole movie out of proportion, I really have to slow down my endorsement and excitement over movies. With "X-Men: First Class" coming out on Friday and "Cowboys & Aliens" later this summer my willpower is going to be pushed to the test. In order to do that I just have to remind myself how useless and even negative hype can be.

First, for myself, I know that I'm going to see the movie and there's no need to convince myself that it's going to be amazing and I need to see it, I know I'll see it anyways. But the more important fact that I need to remind myself of is that when I build movies up, there's no way that it will meet expectations. When I'm watching the movie I'm only thinking about how I need to like the movie or all the reasons why from the advertising and hype that I should like the movie. And it doesn't matter what the movie is actually like, it's a completely mental and psychological game at that point.

I don't know, sorry if you had to read all this. I'm just thinking out loud.