#432: X-2: X-Men United (2003)

Director: Bryan Singer

Cast: Hugh Jackman, Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellen ...

The President of the United States is attacked by a mutant seeking equality for his kind. The X-Men are searching for the unknown mutant. During their search, the Academy is attacked by a military force being controlled by William Stryker, a figure from Wolverine's muddled past.

Great cast, amazing special effects. I don't really know what else to say about another Blockbuster hit, aside from the fact that this is the first of the X-Men films where the morals become very apparent. It's most obvious in a scene at Iceman's home, when his parents ask "Can't you try not being a mutant?"

I'm quickly coming to realize that blockbusters are fun and all.. but I'd rather just save them for the big screen when I'm looking for some entertainment. Luckily for me, I've got a while until the next big blockbusters pop up on the list (#411).

Fun Trivia (Stolen from IMDB):

• Professor Xavier's wheelchair from the first movie was bought by a lawyer (who also works for the same law firm as Patrick Stewart's attorney). When production began, the studio realized they had no chair anymore, so the lawyer rented it back to the studio - as Stewart said in an interview - "for a significant sum".
• The fight between Wolverine and Yuriko took three weeks to film.
• When Wolverine is in the kitchen in Bobby Drake's parents' house, and he is surprised by the cat, he lets it lick his claws - seemingly a very cute moment. But if you listen closely when he hears someone come in and retracts his claws, you hear the sound effect of Wolverine's claws extending (if you listen closely, you can tell the difference, as the retracting sound is the same as the extending sound, but played in reverse), and then the cat crying out. This was an unintentional moment of comedy which was going to but cut but the last minute decision was made to leave it in.
• On "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno" (1992), Hugh Jackman related a story about something that happened during the filming of the Weapon X flashback scene: while he was filming the corridor run (in which he is nude and backlit), he turned the corner and saw the female cast members, including James Marsden's mother, waiting for him, hooting and waving dollar bills.
• The ice wall separating Wolverine (Hugh Jackman) and Stryker (Brian Cox) in the mansion scene where they meet for the "first time" was real ice and weighed 3,500 lbs.
• When Jean is hearing people's thoughts in the Science Museum, one of them is "To the shelter!" This line was said by one of the Secret Service during Nightcrawler's attack on the Oval Office in the previous scene, thus adding/alluding to Jean's growing psychic abilities. Other lines Jean hears are "No!" shouted by Wolverine when he later is separated from General Stryker by Iceman's wall of ice and "They're gonna kill him." which is what Rogue later says to Iceman and Pyro in the tunnel pleading for them to go back and help Wolverine.

#496: Superman Returns (2006)

Director: Bryan Singer

Cast: Brandon Routh, Kate Bosworth & Kevin Spacey

Superman's back from his vacation to Krypton, and he's found that Lois has turned her back to him. She decides that the world doesn't need a Superman, and neither does she. Lex Luther is back, as well, with a brand new diabolical scheme.

There's really not much to say about this film, besides it's a pretty entertaining Hollywood blockbuster-type film. It has some good special effects, and the acting isn't bad. The score - aside from the original themes, of course - is ridiculously cliché. A fun film, nevertheless.

This film definitely doesn't belong on the top 500 films of all time. I'll still recommend it to anyone who gets a chance to see it on the big screen. For cheap, anyway.

Fun Trivia (Stolen from IMDB):

• "Alias" (2001) creator and writer J.J. Abrams wrote a complete shooting draft of the script, which both Brett Ratner and McG were planning to shoot when they both left the project for both creative and budget reasons.
• The chemical name of Kryptonite is given as "sodium lithium boron silicate hydroxide with fluorine." In 2007, Dr. Chris Stanley of the London Natural History Museum discovered the very same mineral, albeit without fluorine, in Jadar, Serbia and named it Jadarite. In reality, it is a white powder rather than a green crystal.
• The crew in Tamworth grew their own corn. It took twelve weeks for them to get the corn just right.
• The last line of Superman IV: The Quest for Peace (1987) (the one before "Returns") is Superman saying to Luthor, "See you in twenty." That scene was filmed in 1986. Coincidentally, twenty years later, in 2006, the next Superman movie was released.
• In an interview on "Larry King Live" (1985), director Bryan Singer said that had he not had access to John Williams' original music, he would not have done the film.