wow!! that was thoroughly entertaining. the beginning was at once exhilarating (graphics of molecules in space, riverine strands of DNA) and harrowing (the images of molecules morphing into the mud of a Holocaust camp as prisoners shuffled off to death and other certain terrors). a boy howls for his mother and father, helpess in the clutches of human monsters. his hands stretch out in profound despair... as a barbed wire gate bends, cracks, then a riflebutt puts a temporary end to his consciousness.

as the first scenes flash by, i was astonished to realize Ian McKellen was playing the signal role of Magneto! of course, i knew Patrick Stewart was going to be Professor X. but McKellen?! ageless star of the British theatre, who has played ALL the great Shakespearean roles? my god. when these two splendid actors encountered each other, as Prof. X and Magneto, in the halls of a futuristic Congress, i knew this was going to be a fantastic engagement. i couldn't resist leaning over to Ozzie and whispering... "I love these guys!!" (check out this interesting McKellen interview.)

and so the movie went, basically bending to the will of these superb actors. sure, Wolverine (played by an unknown Australian actor who seems to have been separated at birth with the actor Aidan Quinn) was pretty cool, and Rogue effective, but for me the whole movie was MADE by the beautifully understated acting coming from McKellen and Stewart, though Magneto had this terrific moment in which he kinda levitated into a train, ripping it apart layer by layer... nothing subtle about that! *lol* (anyone who wants to see real acting should check out Sir Ian in last year's Gods and Monsters, which basically flew under the public's radar, since the subject of the movie wasn't exactly, um, mainstream.)

the plot was just fine, and for someone like me, no X-Men expert, i followed it perfectly well -- with some strategic whispering at points, regarding characters and backstory, from Ozzie. ;-) Andrew O'Hehir's review in Salon seems to have pegged it just right... he characterized the movie as "surprisingly somber, formula-defying." i was also pleasantly surprised to know that the director was Bryan Singer, who was responsible for perhaps my favorite movie of the 90s, The Usual Suspects.

so in sum, i highly recommend this excellent diversion. in a summer lacking a bit of oomph movie-wise, this is a welcome development. (it says a lot that the biggest 'blockbuster' so far isn't a movie, but a book, Harry Potter #4!!) but i do look forward to watching X-Men again on Monday, after TIC, with the Hunter boys and Trev this time, and anyone else who wants to come along.

so, quickly perusing a paper, we found that X-Men was also showing at Grand Lake Theatre and at Emeryville's Emery Bay Theatres. logic dictated that we had a better chance of getting into either of the 2 early evening shows at Emery Bay than the one at Grand Lake (too bad, since GL has a much nicer old-movie-palace ambiance). anyway, i suggested we taxicab it over to Emeryville pronto. but the trip was anything BUT pronto... the cabbie decided to take the freeway. i wasn't quick-witted enough to suggest he take Oakland's city streets and San Pablo Ave. to E-Ville. guess what the traffic is like, heading towards SF and the Bay Bridge at 6 pm on a Friday?! one word: ugh.

when we got there, my banging blindly into a fire hydrant as i exited the darn cab was NOT a good omen. *chuckle* but as it turns out, happily, they were still selling tix to the 8 p.m. showing, and we grabbed 4 before they evaporated into the warm bay evening. giddy with success, we walked over and supped at the eclectic Emery Bay Market, at the dining concourse of which we met this interesting old man, a Black Muslim from New Orleans who works at an organic breads bakery on San Pablo and Stanford. he invited us to visit the bakery sometime.

after the quick eats, we made sure to get early to the movie theater. thus we were well seated in the middle rows, a full 45 minutes before the movie, and Jon spent the time regaling me with the story of his interest in Transformers (history, cartoons, toys, etc... fascinating!) while Tom and Chris talked about architecture or something. anyway, i'm sure Tom and 'Ozzie' have their own stories to tell, so go and read their weblogs. ;-)

after the movie, Chris suggested they call their dad to pick us up, but since he had just returned from an out-of-town business trip and it was already past 10 pm, the results of that were predictable. *chuckle* so i called a cab again, we walked along a neat overpass above the Amtrak rails, and grabbed the ride in front of the train station. turns out the Yellow Friendly cabbie is a fellow i know, a Sikh named Laki, who always plays Sikh prayer music in his cab, and who usually is the one who responds to my phone calls at 1 or 2 a.m. whenever i need a ride back home to Jane's in the Berkeley Hills after a long day's and night's work at Tolman. anyway, Laki and i dropped off the East Bay suburban guys at the MacArthur BART station, and here i find myself again, logging another day in c-space.

it has been an X-Day, indeed! a great way to end yet another eventful week in Berkeley, and at the TIC and AIC labs. have a cool, X-Weekend, everyone. see you all 'here'... and 'there.'

{ net.casting }
^