A Peek Through the Hatch: X-Men: Days of Future Past

Time for a peek at X-Men: Days of Future Past. My excitement level for this flick is pretty high. I enjoyed both of Bryan Singer’s X films and First Class was pretty awesome, if lacking in execution. This new film combines the casts of Singer’s films and First Class, so it seems like a formula for excellence. The fact that Singer is at the helm after his absence from Last Stand (how god awful was that?) and First Class is great in my book. I enjoyed The Wolverine and the fact that Hugh Jackman looks to have such a big role in this film is awesome. In general it's kind of cool that all these actors from the Singer films are back. I never even imagined that all these familiar faces would return in this rebooted First Class universe. I’m hoping for a lot of Jackman/Fassbender/McAvoy scenes. What do you guys think?

Favorite Scene Friday! Superman Returns: The Safest Way to Travel

While everyone else is trying to figure out how Superman shaves his beard (seriously?) let’s examine one of the best scenes from Superman Returns.

Supes is rushing to save Lois Lane and the rest of a group of reporters after the plane they’re on fails to detach from the space shuttle it was transporting (due to one of Lex Luthor's schemes). Superman successfully separates the shuttle from Lois’ plane (and takes a weird amount of time making sure that it gets away safely) but it’s here that the scene gets interesting.

A lot of people might not like Superman Returns as a film, but I don’t think anyone can argue that this isn't one of the best action scenes in any superhero flick. From the triumphant Superman theme at the beginning to the thunderous applause at the end, the scene really, really works. Director Bryan Singer and his team really know what makes Superman cool power-wise - he can fly and he’s super strong. Combine that with a crashing airplane and you’ve got movie magic. Few superheroes can pluck a plane out of the sky. (Side note - Singer must have a thing for superhero airplane action sequences, because there's another one in X2 featuring the teleporting mutant Nightcrawler. I’d like to talk about that scene at a later date because it absolutely blew me away when I first saw it.)

There’s a great sense of peril throughout this scene as Superman tries to stop the plane in time. Singer keeps things moving fast but it doesn't feel rushed or disoriented. The ending is a little silly (a baseball diamond packed with fans - what are the odds?!) but appropriate.



Man. This scene. It gives me all the goosebumps. I hope you enjoyed it and I hope you have a great weekend. Tune in next week (and every Friday this month) for another Superman scene in celebration of the release of Man of Steel.