Movie Review: X-Men Origins: Wolverine

About a week or so ago, my roommate decided to show X-Men Origins: Wolverine to his friend for the first time. I needed to write another superhero post for my blog, so I decided to watch it with them. During the movie, about 10 people walked in and out of our apartment (everybody does that here) and almost all of them have never seen this movie before. This totally shocked me — how could you go so long without seeing this movie? Maybe a lot of them were on their missions when it came out, or maybe it's just a really bad movie. Maybe a combination of the two. So anyway, here I go with another superhero movie review, starting with a score of 5 out of 10 and adding or taking away points during the movie.

X-Men Origins: Wolverine came it in 2009. It was directed by Gavin Hood, and starred Hugh Jackman as Wolverine, Liev Schreiber as Sabretooth, and Danny Huston as William Stryker. I remember enjoying this movie as much as I hated it when I first saw it. And I've also discovered that I am very picky about my X-Men, so be warned.

Right off the bat, I am going to take a point off for its stupid title. It's clunky, confusing, and probably one of the reasons nobody saw it. It also almost destroyed the X-Men film franchise. To be fair, it had a hard time coming after X3, which painted itself into a corner, but this movie ultimately killed at least two other movies. After X3, there were plans to make a movie about Magneto's origin and two movies about Wolverine's origin — the first about him becoming Wolverine and the second about him training in Japan. Fortunately, they were able to modify the Magneto story and come out with X-Men: First Class, despite the failures of Wolverine.

The starting was a bit confusing and rushed. After reading the comics, it makes a lot more sense, but they really should have spent more time on this in the movie. It's actually a really good story and would have brought some much-needed emotion to the film. However, it would have meant more screen time without Hugh Jackman, which is something they tried to avoid at all costs possible. The first time I saw this, I was a little annoyed that Wolverine is over 200 years old, but after watching the first X-Men again, I heard them explain that his healing power keeps him young looking, and they even guess that he is older than Xavier. So that takes away my complaint. But it does remind me of a general rule I have with some comic book characters. As much as I like origin stories, there are some that I like more because they're ambiguous — like the Joker. Wolverine also falls under that category. I think the less we know about his past, the better. So really, I kind of wish they never made this movie, but instead did a Magneto origin or an X-Men 4.

I'm now going to take off another point and drop this down to a 3 because of William Stryker. He was my favorite character in X2, and here they ruined him. Why couldn't they get the original actor, Brian Cox? Did they just want someone younger? Then why didn't he look more like and act more like the original Stryker? They tried to make this a direct prequel to X-Men, but their continuity is flawed with inconsistencies. Are we also to assume that the Sabretooth we see in X-Men is a completely different person than the one in Wolverine? Or did he also lose his memory and suddenly grow taller?

One minor complaint: Why does Wolverine hate flying? He's Wolverine! The toughest guy in the world! (Practically invincible in this movie.) He's also been in every war since the Civl War. Shouldn't he be used to planes by now?

This movie does go back up to a 4 thanks to the performance of Ryan Reynolds as Wade Wilson. He was funny and cool, especially his line: "OK ... people are dead!" Unfortunately, they had to ruin his character later on, but I'll get to that later.

The score goes up to a 5 thanks to the cool death scene of Bradley, played by Dominic Monaghan. I liked the lights going and his scream transitioning to Wolverine's scream.

I have to bring it back down to a 4 because of the dumb story Wolverine's wife tells him about a wolverine howling at the moon. I know they wanted to explain the name Wolverine, but wolverines don't howl at the moon. Wolves do.

There is a cool scene where Stryker swears on his son's life, but he's really lying, which works because he hates his son. The characters in the movie don't know this, but the geeky fan boys like me do.

It is a little annoying after they put the adamantium in Wolverine, Stryker says they've made him invincible. But two seconds later, when Wolverine escapes, Stryker tells Agent Zero to take his head off. How is he supposed to do that? You just made him invincible!

The special effects really failed in an important scene. When Wolverine is in the old people's bathroom, he has his first chance to examine his adamantium claws up close. Unfortunately, his claws looked very CGI and cartoony, effectively killing what could have been a nice scene. This was enough of a distraction to drop the score another point, bringing us to a 3.

I'll give a point back because of the great scene with the old man and Wolverine. The old man says those who go looking for blood usually find it. And when Wolverine says his choice has been taken from him, the old man answers with a harsh, but awesome, "B.S." (Only he actually swore.) I also liked the sudden deaths of the old people. Great stuff.

But I take away another point for a few more leaps in logic. Wolverine tells Stryker he'll find and kill Victor, then kill Stryker. Why not kill Stryker first? You know where he is! Also, I don't mind him killing Agent Zero, but it was a rather strange way to do it. Striking the ground to light the gasoline on fire to eventually blow up the helicopter? I just can't suspend my disbelief enough for that one.

It's nice to see Scott Summers, but why doesn't he have a doctor's note to allow him to wear sunglasses? He's a good kid, he'd do that. I guess they just really wanted to put him in detention so he'd be alone when Sabretooth came for him, but there still should have been some people there.

The score falls to a 2 because of Gambit played by Taylor Kitsch. We were so happy to finally see him, but they messed him up. First off all, he had really vague powers that only kind of resembled what we've seen in the comics and cartoons. Secondly, his accent was never consistent. Thirdly, he starts fighting Wolverine because he thinks he works with Sabretooth and wants to take him back to Stryker's facilities. That makes sense. But then he sees Wolverine fight Sabretooth and continues to fight Wolverine. Ugh ... what a disappointment.

Another quick quibble: Why do they say "Weapon X?" I know they say it's the Roman numeral 10, but they also say Weapon 11. So there's Weapon 8, Weapon 9, Weapon X, and Weapon 11? It doesn't really work for me.

The movie score goes back up to a 3 thanks to a rather neat plot twist of having Wolverine's wife still be alive. I really didn't like her at all, or how she and her sister were Emma Frost split into two people, or how Wolverine continued to love her after she betrayed him. I mean, if she wanted to save her sister, why didn't she use her invincible husband to free her? However, finding out she was still alive was neat enough to add a point.

But, I'll take away another point because of the sin they committed with Deadpool. Why seal his mouth? One of his most distinguishing characteristics is his mouth. He's constantly talking, joking and breaking the fourth wall in the comics. Why change that? I also didn't like them giving him powers he didn't have, like Cyclops' optic beams. Cyclops can't control them, so why can Deadpool?

Another dumb part: How does Stryker know an adamantium bullet will erase Wolverine's memories? I don't mind that happening, but I do mind having Stryker intentionally shoot Wolverine with the express purpose of erasing his memories. So dumb. Also, what a stupid punishment to give Stryker. Walk until your feet bleed and then keep walking. Oh no! He's going to be so uncomfortable! Come on, he's an old army man, who's fought with and against mutants. That's not going to bother him.

The cameo of Patrick Stewart as Charles Xavier was cool enough to bring this movie back up to a 3. As a whole, this movie wasn't unwatchable, just frustrating. The biggest problem with it is that only geeks can truly appreciate it, yet they hate the flaws in it.

Final score: 3 out of 10

The Jimmer Show now playing the waiting game

(This is my Jimmer story I wrote for The Daily Universe that appeared on the front page today. It very quickly became our most popular story online. I owe special thanks to Brandon Judd and Kirsten Bowe.)

The workouts are done. The interviews are over. All that’s left for former BYU star Jimmer Fredette is to wait.

“I’m excited to sit back, relax and watch where I go,” Fredette said after his final workout, with the Utah Jazz on Wednesday.

The past couple of months have been hectic for Fredette. After leading BYU to the Sweet 16 and being named the national player of the year, Fredette has been focusing all his efforts on convincing NBA teams that he has what it takes to make it in the next level.

Fredette described the pre-draft workouts as a long, but fun, process.

“It’s very time-consuming and it consumes your mind, as well,” he said. “You think about it all the time.”

Everything started with the league’s pre-draft camp in Chicago on May 19.

ESPN’s Andy Katz reported that Fredette helped himself in front of all the NBA teams.

“He made shots, he didn’t look like he was out of place athletically and, as always, he interviewed well,” Katz said.

Fredette’s first official workout with an NBA team came on May 31 with the Indiana Pacers, owners of the 15th pick of the draft. Indiana seemed impressed with Fredette, posting positive reviews and videos, including one where he made 18 of 22 NBA 3-pointers.

On June 2, Fredette auditioned for the New York Knicks, then with the Sacramento Kings on June 10 and for the Phoenix Suns on June 12. Each workout only brought more positive reviews.

Everything culminated with his final workout for the Utah Jazz against former UConn star Kemba Walker on Wednesday.

Jazz coach Tyrone Corbin said he was impressed with Fredette’s quickness and competiveness. He also said Fredette played better defense at the workout than he did in the game films, and noted that there’s more to him than just scoring points.

“Everybody knows him for putting up numbers on the board,” Corbin said. “But I think he’s a more complete player than a lot of people give him credit for.”

Last Wednesday was the first and only time two of the premier college guards got to compete against each other in front of an NBA team. Walker was a contender for national player of the year honors and led Connecticut to the NCAA championship.

“The country always wanted to see Kemba and Jimmer play,” Walker said.

The former Huskies guard also took time to praise Fredette a little bit.

“I absolutely think he could play the point guard position on the next level,” Walker said. “Him scoring is just a plus. He made some pretty impressive passes as well. I think he’ll be great.”

Fredette also had kind words for Walker, describing him as “obviously one of the best guards in the country.”

Unfortunately, another one of the best guards in the country, Brandon Knight from Kentucky, didn’t work out with Fredette and Walker, but elected to work out for the Jazz by himself the next day.

Despite working out alone, the Jazz seemed impressed with Knight, and many mock drafts predict him being taken at the No. 3 pick by Utah.

“He showed himself very well,” Corbin told reporters. “He did a really good job. I mean, it was one-on-zero, but [he was able] to show his talent level.”

Fredette admitted that the pre-draft workouts were more stressful than tournament games, comparing them to job interviews. While NBA teams focus on determining players’ athletic abilities, it’s also common for them to conduct personality interviews with their potential picks.

However, he isn’t worried about his performance in the workouts.

“I thought I did very well throughout the process,” Fredette said. “So it’s great to have that type of confidence going into the draft, knowing that you did all you could.”

So now the question remains: Where will Fredette end up this Thursday in the NBA Draft?

Many early mock drafts predicted Fredette to be taken at the end of the lottery or lower. But after receiving positive reviews from each workout, Fredette’s stock has risen.

He did work out with the Knicks, who have the 17th pick, but he also worked out with the Kings, who own the 7th pick.

ESPN’s NBA draft guru, Chad Ford, reported that Sacramento fell in love with Fredette during the season and “had to press hard to get him into the workout.”

Ford also believes that the owners of the Kings, the Maloof brothers, could pressure their GM to select Fredette at No. 7.

So while many Jazz fans are hoping Utah will pick up the former Cougar at No. 12, he might not still be on the board by then.

And despite his solid performance against Walker last week, it is highly unlikely the Jazz will use their No. 3 pick on Fredette.

But as Fredette said, “You really have no idea, it just depends on who’s there and what trades happen. You really can’t tell until June 23.”

Movie Review: Thor

I figured I needed another superhero post to balance my last sports one, and what better movie to do that with than Thor? I recently saw it for the second time and I loved it just as much as the first time. This post will probably be rather short, as I don't have much to complain about.

Thor came out on May 6, 2011. It is directed by Kenneth Branagh, and stars Chris Hemsworth as Thor, Natalie Portman as his girlfriend, Jane Foster, and Tom Hiddleston as Loki. Remember, I start with a score of 5 out of 10 then add or take away points throughout the movie.

The movie had a fairly standard starting, but things really didn't get cooking until Thor and his friends got into a fight with the frost giants. I loved Thor's exuberance in battle. It was also pretty awesome when Thor smashed through the back of the monster's mouth. For that, we go up to a 6.

Now, I really don't know much about Thor. I've mostly know him from a few random cartoons and a comic or two that I've happened to read. Maybe my lack of knowledge of Thor made this so enjoyable for me. That said, however, I do know that Volstagg is supposed to be really fat and constantly eating. He wasn't really fat in the movie, which is OK, but we never really see him eat. We see him pretend to eat, which really bugged me. We see Thor snarf down three pancakes, but Volstagg can't eat? I know this is a minor complaint, but it distracted me during the movie, and for that it loses a point.

But I'll give that point back for the wonderful humor in the movie. It was genuinely funny and never over-the-top. It's rare and refreshing to have an action film where the comedy doesn't take away from the action.

This movie jumped up to a 7 thanks to the performance of Loki. I never really believed anything he said, truly hated him, and yet felt just a little sympathetic for him. He was the perfect villain, and reminded me of all the great Batman villains that make you feel sorry for them, but still despise them.

I'm also adding a point for the Marvel continuity seamlessly interwoven. One of the movie's main goals was to set it up for the upcoming Avengers movie. It also had to introduce everything to a new audience, while keeping us geeky fanboys satisfied. It truly succeeded on all counts. The great thing about the continuity was none of it was in your face. Most of it was just small, quick comments about Tony Stark and Bruce Banner. Those paying attention got to see Hawkeye, and those really familiar with Thor knew his fake name, Dr. Donald Blake, was Thor's secret identity in the comics. Plus Stan Lee cameos and end-of-credit teasers are always a positive.

The movie gets another point to push it up to a 9 for its powerful ending. Who knew swinging a hammer around would be so cool? They made it cool and I want more. Which, I suppose, is a good thing.

So, all in all, I really didn't have much to complain about. Yeah, I couldn't remember or understand half of everyone's names, but I got the important ones: Thor, Loki, Oden, and Jane Foster. I don't know anyone who's a huge Thor fan, so I'm not sure if they committed any comic book sins, but overall, I was very impressed with it.

Final score: 9 out of 10

Jimmer Workout Wrap-up

Today The Jimmer worked out with the Jazz, and I got to go! If you look very closely, you will see me standing by the door in a dark blue shirt. I'm looking at the stands. Anyway, I will be writing a real story for The Daily Universe, but it won't come out till Monday, so in the meantime, I will describe the actual event.

The first thing I found out, which was a little disappointing but not surprising, was that the media doesn't get to watch any of the workouts. Instead, we all sat around in the press room of the Jazz's practice facility, (which is very nice by the way) and waited until the players finished. There were six players working out, but only two that mattered, Jimmer and Kemba Walker. Jimmer and Kemba battled each other all year for the National Player of Year title and now they're battling for the title of best point guard in the draft behind Kyrie Irving and Brandon Knight. (Knight was supposed to be at the workout, but unfortunately backed out at the last minute. He'll work out with the Jazz tomorrow.)

The Jazz told us the players would be ready for interviews at 10:45, but they kept us waiting for about half an hour. Finally, they opened the gym doors and let us take pictures of tired and sweaty players shooting free throws. After a couple of minutes of this, Jimmer was whisked away for exclusive interviews with KJZZ and KFAN, while Kemba was left to the swarming media mob. I was too slow getting over there, and didn't get good enough position to record him. This part really frustrated me. There's about 30 of us media people, all wanting to talk to the same guy at the same time. We all have the same questions and we'll all use the same quotes. Why couldn't we have Kemba come into the press room and sit at a table with a microphone while we all recorded and asked questions. I know why. Because it's boring on TV. They want to show the sweaty player still on the court, surrounding by tons of microphones and recorders to show how popular he is.

Anyway, Kemba was a terrible interview. I couldn't hear a word he said and I heard someone describe him as a dog with peanut butter on the roof of its mouth. Kemba slouched and mumbled and didn't really seem that happy to be there. Who could blame him? Almost every question he got was about Jimmer. However, Kemba did say all the right things, but everybody only says the right things nowadays, thanks to all the PR handlers everyone has.

So Kemba left and everybody pounced on Dave Rose while we waited for the Jimmer. Coach Rose really didn't have anything interesting to say. But it was kind of neat to see him there, as well as Frank and Scott Layden, Jeff Hornacek, Tyrone Corbin, etc. There are also some "luxury suites" above the gym that were filled with season ticket holders who did get to see the whole workout. Pretty much anyone who was anyone was there. The gym is pretty cool, too. It has two side-by-side courts painted just like the court in the ESA, and all the banners that hang in the ESA are painted on the gym's walls. The halls in the facility are also filled with neat decorations, like real jerseys for Stockton, Malone, Hornacek, etc., and some iconic pictures of famous Jazzmen, like Malone posting up on Larry Bird and Mark Eaton guarding Hakeem Olajuwan.

Finally, The Jimmer appeared. I was standing right next to the door when he walked in, and followed him closely, as his handler moved him toward center court. I was less than two feet away from him, but his handler said, "Give him room," which I did, but then was quickly shoved out of position. A pushy reporter from FOX 13 kept shoving my arm into someone else's throat. I felt bad and kept apologizing, but there was nothing I could do. I came here for Jimmer and Jimmer only, and I was not going to get shoved away completely. Fortunately, my recorder is powerful and caught everything just fine.

Comparing Jimmer to Kemba was night and day. Jimmer kept his head up, projected so everyone could hear him, tried to always answer in complete sentences, and laughed and joked a bit. He was incredibly confident and relaxed, even though he said pre-draft workouts are more intense than NCAA Tournament games. Everyone came there for him, he knew it, and he delivered.

So what's next for Jimmer? He goes back to his hometown of Glens Falls, N.Y., tomorrow to rest for a few days before the draft on June 23. He didn't say, but I'm guessing ESPN will want to shoot him in a few promos and that sort of thing. So he does have some work to do, but the meat of it is behind him. He's done working out and interviewing with teams, and now has to wait to see which team calls his name.

After Jimmer left, we got to talk to Tyrone Corbin for a bit, and he only had good things to say about Jimmer. He was impressed with his quickness and competitiveness. When someone asked Coach Corbin what he thought of Jimmer's defense, he answered, "It's a lot better than what we saw in the films!" He also said that almost every college kid has to improve their defense before they can join the NBA. This helps debunk the myth that Jimmer can't make it in the NBA because he can't play defense. It's not that he can't play defense, he just didn't play defense his last year at BYU. Most likely because Dave Rose told him not to, so he'd stay out of foul trouble and save his energy for offense. Also, how many point guards in the NBA really play defense. Rajon Rondo, Jason Kidd, maybe Derrick Rose, and ... that's about it. Chris Paul gets a lot of steals because he plays off his man and stays in the passing lane. (Remember, Jimmer averaged 1.3 steals per game last year.) NBA point guards can be pretty good without playing any D — just look at Deron Williams.

My final take from this is that Jimmer's stock is on the rise. He's had five workouts and has been impressive in all of them. Today, he reportedly outshout and outplayed his biggest competition, Kemba Walker. Although Kemba's team won the national championship, NBA teams can't draft the whole UCONN team. Meanwhile, Jimmer was the national player of the year, and some people are speculating that another team will take Jimmer before the Jazz can grab him at No. 12. No matter how good he's looked so far, it still seems highly unlikely for Utah to take him with the third pick.

Now, this may be the BYU fan in me, but I really believe Jimmer can succeed in the NBA and would help out any team that takes him, especially the Jazz. Depending on where he ends up next week, The Jimmer could be considered the big steal of 2011.

Movie Review: X-Men

So this is my first superhero post, which is a review of the first X-Men movie, simply titled X-Men. I haven't seen X-Men: First Class yet so I decided to watch all the other X-Men movies to prepare.

X-Men came out in 2000, was directed by Bryan Singer, starred Hugh Jackman, Patrick Stewart, and Ian McKellen. The movie is significant historically because it was Marvel's first major movie and subsequently kicked off the glorious superhero age we now live in.

Before I begin my review, I need to explain my scoring system. Everything starts with a generic score of 5 out of 10. Whenever I see something I love, I add a point. When I see something I hate, I take away a point. Got it? Good. Let's go.

This movie starts on a very strong note with the origin of Magneto. I loved the subdued colors except for the yellow stars of David. The whole scene was emotional and beautiful. All X-Men fans knew exactly what this was and those who didn't know soon found out.

I think the film actually did a great job of introducing people to the X-Men, while keeping any discrepancies from the comics and cartoons to a minimum, so that geeks like me wouldn't get too mad.

So after I added a point for the origin of Magneto, I added another point after we see the origin of Rogue, bringing the score up to 7. This was another well-done scene that is quite haunting. They also did a good job of explaining how mutant powers manifest themselves during adolescence during times of extreme emotion. I do have a slight complaint about how Rogue assumed that she can't touch anyone anywhere. She hurt the boy after kissing him — not just touching his hand. Oh well, it's not a big enough of a complaint to drop any points off.

Later, Rogue meets Wolverine, finds out he's a mutant and sneaks into his trailer. Wolverine was driving along and suddenly stopped for no reason and found Rogue hidden in his trailer. Did he suddenly smell her? I didn't see his nose sniff as they always show when he smells someone. Another small complaint, but I'll let it got because we got to see Wolverine quickly heal soon after, which was really cool the first time we saw it, and now it is required.

Anyway, the arrival of Sabertooth marks the arrival of the most frustrating and disappointing character in this movie. First of all, Sabertooth looked completely stupid. I didn't like his long blond hair or his ridiculously bushy eyebrows. Also, he is incredibly stupid and incompetent. He snarls and growls more than speaks and he fails every single assignment that Magneto gives him. And, worst of all, they took out the most interesting aspect of his character — that of being Wolverine's rival. Without that, he's just another tough mutant with long fingernails. Seriously, they could have replaced Sabertooth with the Blob in this movie and it wouldn't have changed anything. Might have made it better, actually. So, for the sin of messing up Sabertooth, I have to drop the score down to 6.

The first arrival of the X-Men was nice because we got to hear Michael Kamen's X-Men theme for the first time, which was slightly reminiscent of the old animated series' theme — a move that was later copied by Hans Zimmer in Batman Begins. Anyway, in our first look at the X-Men, Cyclops does a good job of blasting Sabertooth and saving Rogue, but Storm ... makes it snow a little more than it is already snowing? The character of Storm was also messed up pretty bad in this movie. Halle Berry brought no life to the role and the script made her powers terribly weak and ineffectual. I'm not dropping a point for Storm here, but remember that these little complaints are adding up.

I really did like the limited time we had at the school. I really wanted a lot more of it, though. We see Pyro and Iceman and a girl who's supposed to be Kitty Pryde and a kid with blue hair, a kid who can teleport, and a kid who can run on water ... and that's about it. This movie simply did not have enough mutants. Look, the X-Men only have three people on their team. Is three people enough to call it a team, let alone justify buying a big super-stealthy jet? Also, Magneto's Brotherhood of Mutants has only three people in it beside himself. Is that enough people to qualify for a brotherhood?

I'll combine this complaint with another one to drop the score another point. The complaint: The movie is uncomfortable with the superhero genre. This is a little understandable since this was the first attempt to make a movie like this — one with lots of superheroes in a realistic setting. So I do understand a little of their failure in this area, but they almost seemed to draw attention to it. Wolverine makes fun of everybody's hero name even though he goes by Wolverine instead of Logan. They also just couldn't get anybody's look right (except for Xavier). I already complained about Sabertooth, but Toad's hair was obviously died green and Magneto's outfit was so disappointing. His helmet was too small and awkward and his cape was nonexistent. I guess Mystique looked OK, but I don't know why she kept running around naked or insisted on beating up people with her feet for that matter. I also wasn't a fan of the X-Men's black leather jumpsuits. Cyclops had the famous line: "Would you rather wear bright yellow?" to which I answer, "Yes!" So now our score is back down to 5.

Now it's time for some plot holes. First of all, Wolverine is having a nightmare and for some reason Rogue goes into his room to calm him down. How did she know where he was sleeping and why did she go in there? Heck, how did she even know he was having a nightmare in the first place? So anyway, Wolverine stabs her and she survives by touching him and acquiring his healing ability. Did she know that would work or did she think she would die and just wanted to caress his face one last time? It's not like they had much of a history together. She talked to him in a bar, snuck into his trailer, and survived a crash with him. Now they're best buddies all of a sudden? By the way, even though Wolverine can heal incredibly quickly, it sure takes him a long time to recover after Rogue touches him.

Now's where things really start to get weird. Mystique sneaks into the school, turns into Bobby Drake and convinces Rogue to run away. How did Mystique A) Get into the school, and B) Know Bobby was Rogue's boyfriend? Was she hiding in the school all along? I know the writers needed a way to get Rogue away from the school so she could be kidnapped, but there had to be a better way.

Also Mystique somehow manages to get to the lowest level of the mansion and into its most secure area — Cerebro. She somehow connects this tube of evil-looking green liquid to it, which puts Xavier into a coma. Why didn't she do something more harmful while she was there, like completely destroy Cerebro or destroy their jet or do something that made sense? They never really explained how Xavier fell into that coma and it was totally unnecessary. I know they did it so the team would have to battle Magneto on their own, and Cyclops could have that cheesy monologue about him becoming the leader, but I don't think that final fight would have been any different even if Xavier was awake. Also, why did they leave him alone in a coma. As far as I can tell, Jean Grey was their only doctor. This is what happens when you only have a handful of mutants. Anyway, the score now falls to 4 because of these plot holes.

But I will add a point for Xavier and Magneto's showdown, which was really nice. Magneto held all the police hostage with their own guns, while Charles held Magneto hostage with his own henchmen. That nice scene brings us back up to 5.

But the final fight scene sends us back down to 4. Wolverine had way too much trouble with Mystique and Toad kicked Jean Grey's, Cyclops', and Storm's butts. Toad? Beat up those three? There was also a missed opportunity to work with Storm's claustrophobia when she gets stuck in the elevator. They could have done it quick and it would have brought some much-needed depth to her boring, flat character. Also, the effects in this fight were noticeably bad. I know this movie is 10 years old now, so I'm not expecting miracles, but some basics were just poorly done, mostly every time Toad jumped or fell. It was just too slow and controlled-looking.

The fight moves to the Statue of Liberty, where Magneto rightly subdues everyone very quickly. However, the X-Men still should have been able to escape. Cyclops tells Storm to "fry" Magneto, but he says lightning in the tower would kill them all. Why couldn't she freeze him? I thought she could control more elements than just lightning. Also, why didn't Jean Grey do anything? Instead, they escaped by having Wolverine stab himself ... which somehow released him from Magneto's bond? Also, when Sabertooth took of Cyclops' glasses, I swear I saw him crush them. Apparently he didn't. But he should have, instead of placing them neatly at their feet. Then we get to the final climax where the only possible way to save Rogue is to have Storm fly Wolverine up there with Jean Grey "stabilizing" him and Cyclops waiting until the last possible second to shoot Magneto. Why couldn't Storm fly there herself? Why could Jean fly? What did Jean actually do to help? Why was Cyclops so worried to hit Rogue at the start, but suddenly had a "clear shot" after Wolverine got up there? Was he just trying to hit Wolverine in the first place? (That actually makes some sense.)

Now I have to knock of another point (sending us down to 3) because of the X-Men's complete indifference toward death. The worst was probably Storm straight-up murdering Toad. It wasn't an accident — she looked him right in the eye and struck him with lightning and watched him fall to his death. Aren't the good guys supposed to not kill? No one cares when Sabertooth dies, either, and Mystique should have died after Wolverine stabbed her. I guess having three foot-long blades rammed through your stomach isn't that bad because Mystique was not only able to survive for quite a while, but maintain enough strength to disguise herself as a security guard and maintain that disguise while they take her to the hospital to stitch her up.

The Senator Kelly situation also needs to be addressed. We know he is a high-profile politician with a lot of loyal supporters. So why didn't anyone notice he was kidnapped? After he escapes, he shows up on a crowded beach naked and sick as a dog. Yet he somehow makes it to Xavier's mansion without anyone noticing. Then he dies and the X-Men don't tell anyone! I know he's a mutant-hater, but doesn't he have a family? This failure comes full-circle when they see Mystique impersonating Kelly on TV. It's like, "Dang it, Mystique beat us to the punch!" Terrible. The only reason I'm not dropping another point here is because I kind of like the idea of Mystique impersonating a senator. It just doesn't work when the X-Men knew Kelly was dead in advance. I know they needed to see him die so they could find out that Magneto's mutation machine killed people. However, this makes it seem like they didn't care that Magneto would have turned people into mutants, but only that he would kill people. Regardless, I think they still could have had Kelly go to the X-Men, tell them Magneto's plan, then leave and die without them knowing. Then they would find out Kelly was dead because Mystique took his place. Just an idea.

The score rises up to a 4 thanks to the beautiful ending scene. I loved the plastic prison, the glass chessboard, and the way the chess game followed Xavier's and Magneto's conversation. Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellen really carried the film and it was great to end with them.

I will also add one bonus point at the end because of the significance this movie had on the superhero genre. Before X-Men, there was the Christopher Reeves Superman franchise and the Batman franchise of the '90s. The atrocious Batman & Robin of 1997 almost kept superheroes off the big screen for good. But X-Men came along, earned more than $150 million, and gave studios enough confidence to make Spider-Man movies, Iron Man movies, and, indirectly, Batman and Superman movies. We really owe a lot of thanks to this first X-Men movie, despite its many flaws. Therefore, I give it a final score of 5 out of 10.

LeBron is the next Shaq

Currently, the Dallas Mavericks are leading the Miami Heat 3-2 in the 2011 NBA Finals, and the big story is how LeBron James is sucking it up. In all 5 games, he has played all 12 minutes of each 4th quarter, for a total of 60 minutes. In those 60 minutes, he has scored only 11 points. For a lesser player, like Mario Chalmers, this might be acceptable, but for a 2-time MVP like LeBron, it is not. Last night, he had a crappy 17-10-10 triple-double. Only LeBron can have a crappy triple-double. He only scored 2 points in the 4th, and they came after the game was already decided.

The worst part about this is Jason Kidd was guarding LeBron. Not Shawn Marion, not DeShawn Stevenson, not even Corey Brewer. Jason Kidd. Who is 12 years older, 4 inches shorter, and at least 40 pounds lighter than LeBron. Why didn't he score 50 on him? And it's not like Kidd really played that great defense — he gave LeBron 3 feet of space every time he got the ball. What did LeBron do? Attack the basket? Post Kidd up? No. He either took a crappy jump shot or passed the ball away and tried to be invisible. Anyway, that's enough ranting about last night's game (which I thoroughly enjoyed, by the way).

By now, everyone knows LeBron is not the next Michael Jordan. Jordan never would have given up against Boston, joined Dwyane Wade, or given up against Dallas (especially after getting called out by DeShawn). So, if King James is not the next Jordan, who is he? Well, you probably already read my title, so here is why I think LeBron has more in common with Shaquille O'Neal than Michael Jordan.

First, let's look at Shaq's career:

• 19 seasons: Impressive
• 15 All-Stars: Quite impressive
• 4 NBA titles: Also quite impressive
• 3 Finals MVPs: Most impressive

But ...

• 8-time All-NBA First Team: He was the league's best center only 8 times?
• 6 teams played for (Magic, Lakers, Heat, Suns, Cavs, Celtics): Why couldn't he stay anywhere?
• 1 regular season MVP: How is this even possible?

I remember in 2000 when Shaq was invincible. I prayed for the day when his large frame would destroy his knees and feet and end his career and give the rest of the NBA a chance to compete. I truly believe that he was as dominant as any other player has ever been at any time in the NBA.

Problem is, I don't think Shaq really cared about being dominant. He seemed more interested in starting his rapping and acting career than winning titles until Phil Jackson came along and found a way to motivate Shaq. Then he won his rings, seemed to grow complacent, became out-of-shape and overweight and then could only watch as injuries slowly ended his career. (He really should have retired 2 years ago.) Anyway, the point I'm trying to make is that Shaq could have had a much better career if he wanted to. But he won enough and was content to just have fun and good around. Sure, he kept saying he wanted to win another championship, but that's what NBA players are supposed to say. You'll never hear them say, "I only want to make millions of dollars and have fun playing basketball. It really doesn't matter if I win or lose." But I imagine a lot of them really think that way. Now let's look at LeBron.

I've only been able to see LeBron live once, and it was a real treat. He was still with the Cavs and when he had the ball everyone stood still to watch him. This really sucked for my Jazz because this often led to him scoring or getting an assist. But I had never seen a player in person before who commanded so much attention (and I got to see Vince Carter in his prime). It was an unbelievable experience. In the end, the Jazz lost a close game, but we really didn't feel that bad. We got to see the King — the future.

Fast forward to today. LeBron hasn't really improved that much. Yes, he's won 2 MVPs, and this is his second trip to the Finals, but he hasn't developed a consistent jump shot or any low post moves, despite being roughly the same size as Karl Malone. LeBron seems to be more concerned about building his brand right now, as evidenced by his terrible cartoon series, "The LeBrons," starring 4 different versions of himself. Meanwhile, he continues to shy away from the spotlight of the NBA Finals. The first time he got there, he was destroyed by the Spurs. This time, it's not so different.

Keep in mind, I'm not judging LeBron by some unrealistic standards of how good I think he could be — I'm judging him by what I have already seen him do. He single-handidly demolished a great defensive Detroit Pistons team and he dominated this year's MVP, Derrick Rose, on both sides of the ball, leading the Heat to the Finals. So why is he choking right now?

Come to think of it, I never remember Shaq choking this bad. True, he never did become a decent free throw shooter, but he hit a few clutch free throws to help Miami win the title 5 years ago. LeBron may be like Shaq in the wasted potential/only-wants-to-have-fun area, but I don't think Shaq would have been caught failing this miserably on the biggest stage in basketball.

First Post

Congratulations, you are reading my first ever blog post! And this is (as far as I can tell) the first blog dedicated to sports and superheroes. You see, there are some geeks who love nothing but sports, and there are some geeks who love nothing but comic books, but there are also some geeks like me, who love both sports and comic books; therefore, I have created the Sports and Superheroes blog.

In this blog, I will review random comic books, movies and cartoons of my favorite superheroes (mostly Batman and Superman), while at the same time, spouting off my random opinions on sports (mostly the NBA and Utah Jazz).

I honestly don't know if this blog will be any good, and I really don't care if anyone reads it — this is mostly an outlet for me to write fun stuff. But if you are reading it, I hope you enjoy it!