X-Men: The Last Stand

In a Nutshell: Quite good, with a few surprises even, but not up to the supremely high standards set by the first two.

Quick Plot: Once again, humanity has attracted the ire of Magneto, this time over the development over a "cure for mutation."

In Detail: Hmm... what to say of this film. It is good, and it is worth seeing. I think it was a little light on plot, but it was still handled very well. I am a bit irritated with how a couple of other things were handled, but nothing I can expound on here. Email me if you've seen it and you want to know. Had this been the first in the series, people would be raving about how wonderful it is. But with the bar set so very high by the first two, it was simply too much to live up to. And one more thing: WATCH TO THE BITTER END OF THE CREDITS!!! It will knock your socks off.

Will I Buy It? Most likely.

X2: X-Men United

In a Nutshell: WOW! Not sure what else to say, but WOW!

Quick Plot: General Stryker puts a plan in motion to wipe mutants from the face of the earth. He also seems to hold the key to Logan's past. Can the X-Men stop him? What will Logan learn, and at what cost?

In Detail: My oh my. That was a whale of a lot of plot and story to fit into that amount of time and space. And it is a 2.5 hour movie with previews. They sure cover a lot of territory. The budget is noticeably larger, but it's not wasted. The opening scene is just WOW! (I know I keep using that word, but it means *precisely* what I think it means, and it's the only word for it.) It is darker, more violent, and a bit more unsettling than the first film, but WOW! (Okay, okay, I'll try to stop.) Some plot holes, of course, but what do you expect. It is, after all, still a comic book film. I definitely need to see it again, preferably on the big screen. Bring on X3!

Will I Buy It? Yep. WOW! (Sorry, I couldn't resist.)

x X x

In a Nutshell: A surprisingly good (but certainly not deep) action flick.

Quick Plot: Xander Cage is given the choice to serve time for his latest X-games type crime, or work off his sentence by becoming a spy for the US government. Throw in scuzzy bad guys, a slinky girl with an accent, a plot to take over the world, and about a million gallons each of adrenaline and testosterone, and you've got yourself x X x.

In Detail: I'm sure the fact that I even went to see this movie has raised eyebrows among some of you. I wasn't sure if I wanted to or not, but it was the only thing out I was even remotely interested in seeing. Mr. Diesel (couldn't even type that with a straight face) struck me as merely a no-neck thug who couldn't act his way out of a paper bag, and I had absolutely zero expectations for this movie. It is a totally brainless adrenaline film, and there's nothing wrong with that! (Speed is one of my favorite films, and it's pretty brainless.) I knew that going in, and it certainly didn't disappoint. The stunts are simply amazing (and occasionally believable), and the action (along with the deafening music) is non-stop. Vin Diesel even manages to convince you he might have a few of brain cells to rub together, which was a pleasant surprise. Occasionally, some of the dialog/acting was laughable, but what do you expect from such a genre? Some of the song lyrics were a little too, um, "much" for me, and I'm always slightly irked by putting in a girl just so the male lead has someone to oogle. "Gadget guy" (think Q, for Bond fans) is way fun, and definitely my favorite character. A deep movie? No. Predictable? Yes. But I still had a fabulously fun time!! Looking forward to the next installment in the franchise.

Will I Buy It? Mmmm.... I'd say it's on the "yes" side of maybe. I think I'll have to see it again to decide if there's enough in there to warrant watching over and over, but it was certainly fun enough to make me seriously consider it.