Hot Apollo

Toronto's Shiniest Rock-and-Roll Band

Dancing on the Tables of My Childhood

When I first realised that the premier pilot of "The Force Awakens" was portraying Apocalypse, there was a part of me that basically just wanted to see Poe Dameron with vague omnipotence and blue lips. Instead, the interpretation was closer to full Palpatine, and it worked deliciously.

I think that this film might have been the weakest showing for Scott's glasses, but I suppose that Oakley hadn't quite achieved market dominance in the Eighties. However, I think that this visor might be the best of the series. It evens out.

But Nightcrawler got to be himself! Really, it's a role that looks on paper like a fitting role for Alan Cumming's brand of witty panache, but the direction of the movie in which he appeared suppressed that aspect of the character. Not the case here. This Nightcrawler was the one I loved in most other incarnations. Man, it was the one who danced on the table in the opening credits of every episode of "X-Men: Evolution". Who cares if Angel got turned into Billy Idol? For one thing, that was glorious in its own right. For another, we got classic Kurt Wagner. That's a win, babe.

For all the haranguing about the division of intellectual property between Marvel Studios and other production houses, one would assume that Pizza Dog's rights would be tied to Hawkeye. Yet this Fox film explicitly features a dog mainly identifiable by his attachment to pizza. Way to slide one beneath the lawyers, Fox! Living up to that name!

Speaking of things that fall under the vast umbrella of Disney! That moment with Quicksilver and his mother? "I'm not afraid." "You should be." Totally reminiscent of "The Empire Strikes Back"? And Peter was totally staring off with Skywalker face as the scene ended. And then the next one began with some of the students in a discussion about the showing of "Return of the Jedi" they'd just viewed. And the activation of Cerebro looks like hyperspace. But that last one's a bit of a stretch.

Anyway, I'll never get tired of hearing Xavier's refrain of "old friend" with Magneto. Keep on feeling, Chuck. Your love is beautiful.

Bonus Question!

What are you calling right now?

Next film opens with an X-Mansion baseball game. Calling it right now.

Copyright © 2011, Jaymes Buckman and David Aaron Cohen. All rights reserved. In a good way.