Professor X's Marvelous Menagerie of Mutated Magical Men

Haven't done much this week. I mean, I did discover the secret of eternal youth, hidden deep within the Angolan desert and protected by a nameless dread, but I had to give it up as, on reflection, no one man should have all that power. Besides which, ain't nobody wants to hear about that shit. 

In other news, I went and saw the new X-men film with my lady love earlier in the week. I'm aware that the film's been on general release for a few weeks now and nobody has asked nor wants my opinion on it, but fuck it, I'm giving it to you anyway. A one sentence review would be that a metric fuck ton of plot and characters means that it's slightly over long and not every aspect of the story is given the attention it deserves, but those elements that are focused on are done well and the film maintains the level of quality and entertainment that was re-established with First Class. Indulging myself and allowing myself several more sentences I would add:

• The film's promotional material suggests that Hugh Jackman's Wolverine is the main character. This is a big fib. In terms of story arc and character development, it's all about James McAvoy's Charles Xavier. You do, however, get a thoroughly gratuitous shot of Jackman's arse. Whether that's a plus or a minus is entirely up to you
• Sir Ian McKellen glowers a bit, hoys a plane at some robots and does very little else. This is not the best use of Ian McKellen. You barely see Storm either, but, as far as I'm concerned, that's great use of Halle Berry 
• Peter Dinklage isn't given much to work with either. The character's probably noteworthy in so much that Bolivar Trask would have normally been played by an actor of average height, but in narrative terms we get very little insight into what makes him tick, which is pretty weak considering he's the main antagonist.
• The film does a good job of conveying a sense of the period (I assume, I wasn't actually alive in the 70's). Some of the hair on display is glorious.
• The future sentinels look cool as fuck. This is a huge step up from the 90's cartoon were they were manufactured to look like they were wearing leotards for some reason.  The opening sequence featuring them is popcorn cinema done right.
• The actor who plays Quicksilver is loads of fun, while the character himself must be one of the most powerful in this universe. Naturally, he buggers off before the third act.
• Do not spend too much time thinking about the continuity of this franchise. It is beyond fucked up. Just enjoy the film for what it is - a fun, semi-intelligent blockbuster, with a laudable central message of tolerance and understanding at its core - and pretend that the deeply shit third film never happened

Below is a picture what I drawed of a chap and a chapette at the docks, because I like cranes and I like ladies in cloche hats* and I strongly believe that there's not nearly enough pictures in existence with the two juxtaposed.

Love and Fishes

Dave Denton

*I suspect that what I've drawn the character wearing is not a cloche hat, but that's the name a quick google search came up with, so sod it. Any milliners/headwear enthusiasts out there, please feel free to educate me