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‘X-Men: Days of Future Past’ – What we want to see

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xmen first class

New developments for the next “X-Men” movie just keep coming, it seems.

First we learned that the follow-up to the quite successful – in many senses of the word – “X-Men: First Class” would be “X-Men: Days of Future Past” and would be based on a popular 1981 storyline from the comics that found the mutant superheroes living in – and trying to prevent – an apocalyptic future in which mutants are held in concentration camps guarded by robotic Sentinels.

Then we learned that director Matthew Vaughn would not be returning, but director Bryan Singer, who helmed the first two “X-Men” movies in the 2000s, would instead.

And in the past few days we learned that in addition to returning “First Class” cast members like Michael Fassbender, James McAvoy and Jennifer Lawrence, the actors who played longtime antagonists Magneto and Xavier in the original trilogy, Ian McKellen and Patrick Stewart, would return.

And we learned that Hugh Jackman, who had a fun, two-word cameo in “First Class,” might be returning after filming his solo film “The Wolverine.”

Of course, with a story featuring time travel and alternate realities, it’s not impossible to imagine multiple actors playing the same characters and it’s not impossible to imagine characters from widely divergent “X-Men” eras clashing and teaming up.

So with a couple of years to go until we see the movie, what do we want to see from “X-Men: Days of Future Past?” A few thoughts:

Colorful costumes. This seems silly, almost, in the wake of the true-to-the-comics costumes in “First Class” and “The Avengers.” But remember that the last time Singer directed these characters, the conventional wisdom at the time was that moviegoers would only accept the X-Men in black leather with yellow accents. We know better now. Bring on the blue and yellow spandex!

Beefy roles for various generations of X-Men. I want to see the Fassbender version of Magneto go on the equivalent of the Nazi hunt he conducted in First Class, maybe abetted this time by Jackman as Wolverine. Who wouldn’t pay to see those two in unstoppable pursuit of some villain?

A “Spock meets Spock” moment. Or several of them. We want to see the two versions of Magneto and Xavier meet each other and we want to be able to relish it, like we did when Spock met Spock Prime in “Star Trek.”

Sentinels. Sentinels. Sentinels. We’ve only been teased with the giant robots so far. Hollywood special effects are more than ready to give us these menacing figures now.

Wolverine, yes, but more than that. Who doesn’t love Wolverine and his on-screen personification, Hugh Jackman? But even if Jackman does appear in “Days of Future Past,” he shouldn’t be the focus. He’s best when he’s the wild card, going on a berserker rampage and scaring the hell out of every bad guy in sight.

Above all else, Michael Fassbender and James McAvoy. It’ll be cool to see Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellen, the heart and sole of the original “X-Men” movies, together again. But Fassbender and McAvoy made the roles of Magneto and Xavier their own in “First Class.” They energized the roles. I wish the finale of the movie hadn’t so thoroughly put Xavier in a wheelchair and set him and Magneto at odds. It was the least subtle element of the movie. But there’s a lot more to told about these two characters early in their conflict and I hope that’s what drives the movie.

‘Dark Knight Rises’ spoilers? We’ll know soon

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I haven’t yet seen “The Dark Knight Rises” and I won’t even see it when it opens Friday because of a prior commitment. So almost everyone reading this will know before I do if there’s any truth to the spoilers circulating in the last couple of days.

In other words, keep in mind I have no idea if these spoilers are true. But based on what I’m reading, at least some of them are pretty accurate.

Oh yeah – SPOILERS!

The movie’s ending indicates more adventures of the Dark Knight are going to happen. We already know Warner Bros. wants to reboot the character after Christopher Nolan finishes his trilogy. The studio would love to build to a billion-dollar Justice League movie.

So after months of speculation that Joseph Gordon-Levitt would inherit the Batmantle in this movie … early indications sure make it sound like that happens, at least in some respects. Some reviews have outright said the ending sets up an “offshoot” movie, which certainly makes it sound like a continuation that isn’t another movie about Bruce Wayne.

A villain returns … but not the one you might think. Although the Joker survived “The Dark Knight,” Heath Ledger’s untimely death made it impossible for him to make even a small appearance in the movie. Rumors persisted that Nolan would include Ledger nonetheless, perhaps through unused footage or CGI.

Nolan is saying this week that Ledger is not in the new movie in any form. But early indications are that Cillian Murphy returns as the Scarecrow for at least one scene.

Batman bites the dust? Considering that in the comics Bane breaks Batman’s back and puts him out of commission for a while, everybody expected something dire to happen in this movie.

But I’m thinking David Letterman was kidding when, in a recent interview with Anne Hathaway (Selina Kyle in the movie), he says that Batman gets killed. Anyone who watches Letterman – who, during his days as a weatherman in Indianapolis forecast “hail the size of canned hams” – knows that’s typical of his humor.

I do believe that “The Dark Knight Rises” brings Bruce Wayne’s story to an end. I just don’t think the movie kills him off.

We’ll see this Friday. Well, at least some of us will.

 

 

‘Longmire’ the TV show vs the Longmire books

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I’m a fan of Craig Johnson’s Wyoming-set mysteries about Sheriff Walt Longmire and the offbeat citizens of his county, so I’m more than willing to give A&E’s “Longmire” series, based on the character, a try.

Robert Taylor is really growing on me as Longmire and Katee Sackhoff is ideally cast as Longmire’s deputy, Vic Morelli. Although the show was filmed in New Mexico, the stark, beautiful scenery works for me.

There are some important differences between “Longmire” and the Longmire books, however. Realizing they’re two different animals, I’m overlooking the variances for now.

But just for the record, here’s the most obvious divergences from Johnson’s books:

Cady, Longmire’s daughter. Cassidy Freeman is well-cast as Cady, the young lawyer who plays a central role in some of the novels. But the producers of the TV show made a choice by having Cady a resident of Wyoming rather than Philadelphia as she is in the books. That would appear to eliminate the Philly subplots (more on that next). It’s easier to have a long-distance character in novels than on a TV show, when viewers might wonder, “Why are there so many scenes in which two people talk on the phone?”

Philly: There’s a strong Wyoming/Philadelphia undertone to the books. Cady has a Philly law practice. Vic is from Philly. After the book in which Cady is injured and Walt and Henry Standing Bear go to Philly to find out what happened, Cady meets and falls in love with Vic’s brother, Philly cop Michael Morelli. I’m going to miss the Philly element of the TV series.

Natives: Several of the books, especially the newest, “As the Crow Flies,” have major plots and characters that revolve around the Cheyenne, Crow and other Native American nations represented in Wyoming and Montana. The most recent episode had Walt in a sweat lodge ceremony, an element of the latest book. I’d like to see a much greater representation of indigenous peoples in the books as well as …

The mystical. Almost from the beginning, the Longmire books have featured an undercurrent of the mystical as filtered through Native legends and beliefs. The mystical elements, including spirit guides of sorts who help Walt through tough spots, add a touch most other crime novels don’t have. I wish the series had more of this.

Which brings us to Henry Standing Bear. Lou Diamond Phillips is a very cool actor and he brings a familiar face to “Longmire.” But I’m not sold on him as the in-the-flesh representation of Henry Standing Bear, Walt’s lifelong Cheyenne friend and local bar owner.

I’ve noticed at least one, maybe two, moments in the series in which Walt seemed to doubt Henry, even wondering if he was up to something. That’s a different and not entirely welcome spin on the rock-solid relationship between the characters from the  books. And Phillips isn’t really physically right for role since Henry is such a huge figure. But Phillips is a nice presence and I’m willing to wait to see if he’ll establish himself in the part.

“Longmire” is a pretty good, if unsurprising, TV cop show so far. Here’s hoping it will grow to become even more.

 

Elvis (Cole) lives in ‘Taken’

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Sherlock Holmes and John Watson. Spenser and Hawk. There are some pretty amazing duos in crime fiction. I’d put Elvis Cole and Joe Pike right up there with the best of them.

Cole and Pike, the creations of crime novel author Robert Crais, return in “Taken,” Crais’ latest book about the cool Los Angeles detective and wiseguy Cole and his man-of-few-words-but-lots-of-deadly-action partner Pike.

Crais has played change-up a bit in recent books, sometimes concentrating more on Pike and less on Cole. In “Taken,” the author splits the story pretty evenly between Cole and Pike with a little attention paid to Jon Stone, Pike’s equally deadly but much more flamboyant associate.

As usual, Cole is a practical but noble example of the classic “knight for hire” crime novel character. Here he’s hired by a LA businesswoman to find her college-age daughter. Cole quickly determines that the daughter and her boyfriend have been taken by ruthless criminals who prey on human traffickers and the undocumented immigrants they smuggle into the country.

The twist in the story is that Cole himself gets taken by the bad guys and it’s up to Pike and Stone to get him back.

Crais, like Robert B. Parker did with his Spencer books, makes his protagonists immensely likable. Although Pike is quiet and mysterious, Cole is a flippant hero, needling the bad guys in his efforts to push them into mistakes.

It’s hard to imagine that Crais has been writing about Cole and Pike since 1987. He’s written 15 books about the two as well as some stand-alone novels that have fed into his series.

While the last few books haven’t had the punch of the first several, Crais has deepened our understanding of Cole and Pike — particularly Pike — and fleshed out their personalities. While the books might not carry the emotional weight of the early entries in the series — especially now that Cole’s relationship with attorney Lucy Chenier seems to be on the back burner — they’re still absorbing, entertaining reads and time spent with familiar characters.

 

A moment to mourn ‘The Fades’

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“The Fades” has left us before we really got to know it.

If the name of the BBC supernatural series doesn’t ring a bell with you, that’s probably a good indicator that the show was little-seen. But believe me, it was much admired in some quarters.

Previously in this blog I’ve noted that the show, about a British teenager, Paul, who discovers he’s a “Buffy”-like Chosen One, was one of the best modern-day incarnations of that type of story: A young person, overmatched by regular everyday life,x finds the weight — and fate — of the world on his (her in “Buffy’s” case) slim shoulders.

“The Fades,” which aired around these parts on BBC America, had only about a half-dozen episodes in its first season. The storyline resolved itself to a great degree but really left fans wanting more.

It was not to be. The channel BBC3 announced a few days ago that a second season would not be produced.

I doubt that decision — which has been greeted with some “outrage” by fans, according to news accounts — will be reversed, but I think you’d still enjoy the first (and only) season of the show. It’s been available On Demand and is out on disc.

If you start watching, be aware that after a slightly awkward opening episode, the show moves into creepy good mode.

There’s not much of “The Fades” out there, but what there is is quite enjoyable.

‘Mad Men’ gets freaky with ‘Mystery Date’

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Except for the fact it aired in April, tonight’s “Mad Men” on AMC seemed like a very special Halloween episode. Characters were fascinated — or haunted — with news of Richard Speck’s gruesome killings of several nursing students in Chicago.

And Don Draper, who’s shown more than a little bad judgment during the course of the series, risks ruin with new wife Megan by allowing an old fling to come into his apartment and bed … only to choke the woman to death and stuff her body under his marital bed.

Or did he?

It was that kind of episode. “Mystery Date” showed why the series is one of the most subtle but intriguing shows on TV.

The undercurrent of the episode was the Speck slayings. The staff at Sterling Cooper Draper Price were fascinated by crime scene photos shared by Joyce, Peggy’s magazine photographer friend.

Meanwhile, while Henry and Betty are out of town, Henry’s mother stays over with Sally, who’s curious about the Chicago mass slayings. At first the two don’t get along. But by the end of the episode, they’re bonding over their mutual terror. Henry’s mom has a trusty butcher knife and Sally is sleeping under the sofa. Awww.

There’s a lot of discontent going on. Joan’s military doctor hubby returns from Vietnam with plans to go right back. Don is sick with the flu and irritated by Ginsberg, the new young ad writer. Peggy takes Dawn, the new secretary, home with her but succumbs to the prevailing thinking of the day.

And Megan, understandably irritated when Don’s old girlfriend comes onto him in an elevator, stakes her claim on Don.

But will Don’s philandering ways end both his marriage and the old fling? It sure looks like when Don — in a scene mirroring the “angry housework in lingerie” seduction from a couple of episodes ago — gets a little rough, killing the fling and stuffing her body under the bed.

Does Don Draper have to choke a bitch? (With apologies to Dave Chappelle.)

While I thought “Mad Men” had choked the shark there for a moment, it was all apparently a fever dream. But holy crap, it seemed real.

Other memorable moments:

Roger is a walking ATM machine (well before ATMs existed) this season. A while back he paid out of pocket to settle Pete’s complaints about his office space. Tonight Peggy shook him down for extra work she was doing for him. How long before Roger’s world blows up?

Peggy has always been a great character but her moments tonight were among her best ever.

Joan’s mom is like a character plucked out of a 1960s sitcom and set down in this very bleak situation. And it works.

The Great Newspaper Comics Challenge Part 8

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Our weekly look at the Sunday funnies. Because surely the best comic strips didn’t set sail with Prince Valiant?

“Classic Peanuts” gives us Charlie Brown vs. the Kite-Eating Tree, Part 127,423. Charlie taunts the “stupid tree,” avowing that it won’t get his kite this time. What does the tree do? It “wumps” over onto the kite. Look at it this way, CB: The tree’s roots are pulled out of the ground, so surely that’s the last time this will happen, no?

“Baby Blues” finds the parents worried that the kids haven’t uncovered all the Easter eggs. They do … except for the one left over from last year. Mercifully, it was on the porch. Otherwise, you know, I think they would have noticed it before now.

“Pickles”: Grandpa advises Nelson not to take it personally that Gramma is grouchy. “We need to be slow to judge others, though, son,” Grandpa says. Then Gramma comes in, announces “I believe these are yours,” and throws dirty laundry all over Grandpa. Funny.

“Lio” shows the little boy wishing for a companion. The Good Fairy turns his doll into a real boy, ala Pinocchio. Final panel: The newly created boy is doing Lio’s homework. Good, very “Calvin and Hobbes.”

I literally laughed out loud at today’s “Dilbert.” A female office worker asks Wally to lunch. He tells her he’s become “digisexual” and is no longer attracted to people. “I only like technology. People creep me out. You’re basically a delivery system for viruses, germs and unreasonable favor requests. I’m willing to take a picture of you, but that’s as far as I’ll go.” he says. “This is the most disturbing conversation I’ve ever had,” she says as Wally snaps a picture. “Thank goodness for photoshop,” he says.

In “Blondie,” Dagwood gives us our second Easter egg hunting joke, finding his treat in the attic. Not a lot of laughs, but it’s topical!

“Foxtrot” brings the Easter funny as the kids dye eggs in a manner that turns the egg inside funny colors, thus convincing kids at school that they’re eating rotten eggs when they takes egg salad sandwiches for lunch. Funny, but do kids take egg salad sandwiches to school anymore? Do kids even eat egg salad anymore?

And it’s the return of Ghostly Grandpa in “The Family Circus.” The spectral ancestor shows baby PJ where to find hidden Easter eggs: On a step (that’s just asking for a smashed egg), under a bush, behind a trash can. Then Grandpa’s ghost lifts PJ up into a tree so he can get one there. Now, let’s think about this for a moment. Grandpa’s ghost lifts PJ up. How can he do that? How can he touch PJ, no less lift him? And what would the rest of the family think if they saw PJ suddenly floating up into a tree, aided by invisible Grandpa? I think the Keanes just wrote the script for the “Poltergeist” reboot.

 

‘Hoosiers’ took us all the way to state

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When “Hoosiers” came out in 1986, I don’t think most of us here in Indiana appreciated what a singular accomplishment it was.

Sure, writer Angelo Pizzo and director David Anspaugh got plenty of accolades for their homespun story of second chances and redemption. But I was reviewing movies and writing about Indiana’s fledgling status as movie location at the time and while a few movies like “Close Encounters of the Third Kind,” eight years earlier, had been partially set in Indiana — here in Muncie, as a matter of fact — they weren’t shot here. The state film commission was trying to attract moviemakers here and “Hoosiers” seemed like the state’s entry into the grand and grandiose world of filmmaking.

It was not to be.

So we can appreciate “Hoosiers” for what it is: A touching, old-fashioned story about a former college hoops coach (Gene Hackman) trying for a second chance at a tiny Indiana school. The story is loosely based on the 1954 state championship game between Milan (called Hickory in the movie) and Muncie (with South Bend substituting in the film).

There’s a lot to like about “Hoosiers.” Here are a few of our favorite things:

Yep, that’s Indiana. The movie was filmed in the state and there’s no mistaking its lonely two-lane roads, flat cornfields and historic brick school houses. Not to mention the well-known Hoosier resistance to change.

“I thought everybody in Indiana played basketball.” One of the biggest things the movie gets right is the decades-long Hoosier love of high school basketball. The crowded little school gyms, the caravan of cars to away games, the hoops hanging on the sides of barns and in rural yards. We loved it all, right up the end of class basketball.

The casting. The players, the townspeople, the people at the games. There’s rarely a jarring moment.

Dennis Hopper. As the town drunk who knows basketball but invariably shows up at games and embarrasses his player son, Hooper was rightly nominated for an Oscar. It’s a comeback role for him.

Gene Hackman. It’s easy to forget just how good Hackman — who is apparently retired from acting these days — is, how easy he makes acting look. He’s perfect as the single-minded, not especially cuddly coach who doesn’t take any grief from players or parents.

And finally, the tape measure scene. When the players get to the state finals at Butler in Indianapolis, Hackman has them measure the distance to the rim. It’s the same as back in their gym in Hickory, he notes. The players laugh, releasing tension, but they’ve also been reminded that it’s just a game and it’s the same game they’ve been playing, every Friday night, in gyms big and small.

New trailer for ‘Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter’

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I’ve mentioned before that I really enjoyed Seth Grahame-Smith’s novel “Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter.” It’s a fast, fun read that plays its story straight: The nation’s 16th president discovers, as a young man, that vampires are a plague upon the nation.

Grahame-Smith’s story, in which Lincoln has an unlikely mentor in his war against vampires, has a title that invites smirks. But the book is a compelling and somber read. The addition of a supernatural subplot to Lincoln’s life fits, bizarrely enough.

Director Timur Bekmambatov’s movie version comes out on June 22. There’s a new trailer out for the movie that emphasizes both the story’s tragedy-infused tone as well as what looks like crazy action.

End of an era: Encyclopedia Britannica stops printing

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A belated moment of silence for home phones, videocasette recorders and now, the Encyclopedia Britannica.

After 244 years, the print version of Encyclopedia Britannica is no more.

The company has decided that the 32-volume set for 2012 will be the last to be published on paper.

The decision was an easy one for the company, CNN reported today. Sales of the printed and bound encyclopedia account for only about a percent of the company’s revenue. Even the online version, available since 1994, accounts for only about 15 percent. The company makes most of its money from teaching tools.

Still, for many of us from a certain era of students, the end of the encyclopedia is a nostalgic thing.

Decades before Wikipedia and even sketchier online information sources, encyclopedia sets were the end-all-and-be-all of do-it-yourself learning.

I can’t count the number of times I went to the library and looked up a subject — Egypt, for example, or agriculture — and found the materials I needed for a report. I sometimes — I’m not afraid to admit this — even read encyclopedia volumes when I didn’t have to.

The encyclopedia had what I consider one of the best features of a modern-day print newspaper or magazine: A strong editor’s hand exercised on authoritative material.

Sure there’s a ton of information out there online, much of it valuable. But neither Wikipedia nor most online sources, unless they’re backed by a university, a news publication or Snopes, can be trusted almost without fail.

The Britannica, and most encyclopedias, could.

I’m sure some mistakes crept in. No one could list every export of Brazil in order of importance without making some mistakes.

So it’s a sad day that Encyclopedia Britannica is soon to be gone, at least from between hardcovers.

But I don’t have a current — even a not-so-current — set of Encyclopedia Britannica in my home, so what do I know?

Not enough, apparently.