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Ramblings
Tuesday, April 29, 2003. 11:13 p.m.X-Men 2 Oh. My. God. Oh, my God!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Eeeeeeeeeeeeh!!!!!!!! Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Omigod omigod omigod! I am incapable of forming coherent, intelligent thoughts. Yowza! All I can really do is paste what I posted on the X-Fan Forums, which isn't much. At any rate, it probably won't make sense to anyone who hasn't seen the movie. Spoilers ahead! X2 completely blew me away, from the opening sequence to the closing one. I couldn't find anything to complain about. Maybe I will in the second viewing  . Even Storm made a huge improvement. She was still written out of character (at least in that one scene that actually showed what her character was like), but for that I blame the writers, not Halle Berry. Some of the other characters were given some development and exploration, and that was pretty cool.
The ending was... perfect. It's killing me slowly, because now I have to wait for the next movie to see the outcome, but it was perfect nonetheless. I loved how most of the characters got their share of helping to save the day. Nightcrawler, Magneto and Mystique were incredible. Pyro too. The special effects were... wow. (Heh. Notice how inarticulate I get when I'm excited?) The thing that surprised me the most, though, is how I was actually moved by the scenes with Jean and Rogue, especially since I'm not overly fond of their characters. Bobby and Rogue holding each other's hands when Professor X was attacking all the mutant minds on earth was sweet and tender. The only real, albeit minor, problem I had with the film was that Cyclops and Professor X didn't get to do much in the fight against Stryker. The fight scenes were great. This movie was a lot more violent and graphic than the first one. The fight with Wolverine and Lady Deathstrike was vicious, and what Magneto did to the prison guard was icky in a good way, but the White House scene with Nightcrawler was by far the most kickass sequence (for me at least). X2 blew Daredevil and Spider-man right out of the water (though since neither were very good movies, that's not exactly an earth-shattering accomplishment). *must see again...* When I've calmed down a bit (and seen the movie a second time), I'll probably write something more comprehensive. But as I'm leaving for a four-day trip to Baguio midnight next, I probably won't be able to do that until the end of next week. Until then... watch it! Watch it! The great Erika Santiago commands you! Kill Me, Kill Me Now It's the second day of my period. *cue the music from Psycho* I don't think people quite realize how marvelous a journey menstruating can be. You begin by waking up in the morning and feeling perfectly content --- or as content as you can be with your breath smelling funky and your tongue feeling dry and overlarge. You slide deeper under the covers, unwilling to get up yet. And then you are conscious of a wet and squishy feeling between your thighs. Ugh. Off to the bathroom! You go down to breakfast (or lunch, or supper, depending on the screwiness of your biological clock). Before long, faint stabs of pain attack the area of your abdomen or stomach, only you're not sure which. Off to the bathroom again, to test out one of the possibilities. You emerge still hurting and realize: it isn't the call of nature. It's cramps. You take painkillers that take over two hours to kick in, at which time you've already gotten used to that constant pain in your lower back and abdomen. If only guys knew what this was like. You begin craving something, but you aren't sure what it is. Pretty soon, you start going crazy trying to figure out what it is you want. You try different food stuffs, but everything just turns you off. You continue your hunt for the elusive and realize somewhere down the line that the Elusive doesn't exist, except in your mind. So you settle for chocolate. Mmm... chocolate... As you come down off your chocolate euphoria, you begin to see just how irritating the world is and how stupid people are. Are they asking to be yelled at? Are they deliberately being incompetent just to aggravate you? Are the fates conspiring to piss you off? Well, whatever. You let it pass. For now. And then you explode. How you had managed all these years to put up with the daft, petty little people around you, you'll never know. You shun human company in favor of the dark thoughts in your head. They are so much more agreeable than real life people. Homeward bound. You gather Kellog's cornflakes in a bowl and dunk milk on it (stability is soothing). You plunk yourself in front of the TV and turn the volume way up, even though you're not really paying attetnion. Your own thoughts are still spinning madly and actively in your brain. Who has time for television? Bah! You put the empty bowl in the sink and turn the faucet on, letting it fill the bowl to the brim --- you're too busy muttering evil things to wash the dishes. You head up to your room and get under the covers again. You toss and turn restlessly for the next hour and a half, letting your mind sink low enough to conceive ingenious and wicked ways of annoying everybody as much as they've annoyed you today. Before you fall asleep, you think: tomorrow's another day. What a depressing thought. That Damn Writer's Block Summer vacay has officially started. That means --- ugh! --- that the dreaded book writing deal is on and first chapters are due soon. What possessed me to agree to this, especially considering the crapfest that my writing has been of late, I'll never know. *kicks self* It isn't just the fact that my imagination has dried up and I have absolutely zippo to write about (although that is a huge factor contributing to my trepidation in approaching this project). I've never really shown my stories to anyone, at least not the ones that have meant something to me, that I've poured my heart into. The rubbish that I write when I'm bored in school (namely, the stuff on display in the Poetry page) is unimportant to me, compared to my prose. It would probably be all right if someone blasted these poems, but I don't think I could handle rejection if it concerned something I've worked hard on. This is further proof that caring, in any way, shape or form, is a bitch. I feel like screaming. Unfortunately, I've never been able to scream voluntarily. It only happens when I'm startled or frightened. Is that some kind of personality flaw, that I can't scream on command? Am I that repressed? Anyway... I don't know how it happened or even why, but as long as I can remember, the thought of showing my writing to anyone whose opinion I valued (my mom's, for instance, or my teachers, or a fellow writer whose works I admired) filled my body with this paralyzing coldness, though my skin would feel hot to the touch. My heart would beat faster (or is that my hyperthyroidism speaking?), and all of a sudden I had to make a conscious effort to keep breathing. I know receiving criticism is supposed to help me improve my craft. I don't think that's what I'm afraid of. I think what I'm truly terrifed of is someone telling me that I haven't got any talent to start with. I'm afraid of being told that I have no chance of being a good writer. Now I've always been someone who believed that I could be good at anything as long as I applied myself. I am just about the most out of shape person I know (I can't run for thirty seconds straight without feeling winded), but I know if I really wanted to, I could turn that right around and be a normal, healthy nineteen year old. I suck at math and science, but my teachers tell me that I actually have an analytical and mathematical mind. I suck at these subjects because I don't care to be good at them, and I don't care enough to exercise the mathematical areas of my mind. I could probably do well in behavioral studies or business. When I will myself to be, I can be perceptive, persistent and methodical. Unfortunately, none of these things interest me as deeply as writing does. Writing is something I really want to be good at. The thought of being told that I had no future in it is too painful to think about. The possibility of being told exactly this scares me more than anything I can imagine. Give me a round with a tiger shark or Hannibal Lecter. Make me climb up an extremely tall mountain (I'm acrophobic), I will do it if I have to. But to deal with this particular fear? I'm not sure I can, or if I ever will. Next up on my list of to-do things: kill Martin for forcing me to think about these things, however unintentionally. Dropping Like Flies The title of this particular rambling is cruelly flippant, but it is, erm, relatively appropriate. Our other former driver, not the one who now works at my school, has apparently died. (So that makes two people I know that have died in a space of thirty days.) I say apparently because I wouldn't put it past the idiot to fake his death so he can escape his debts and his wives. Yes, this is how I deal with death. It seems to me both highly convenient and suspicious that he died in the province and that the wife who contacted us didn't tell us just how he died. Anyhoo, before people start thinking I'm the coldest, most heartless bitch in existence, I just want to say that, yes, I'm probably still in denial, whatever the hell that means. I've now actually started to feel bad for my P.E. teacher for having died so young, and for his family, if he has any, for losing someone they loved. By that measure, I expect to begin to feel sad about our old driver passing away in about twelve days, give or take. *sigh* Ain't life grand? Wheels, Deals and Automobiles (Hey, One Out of Three Ain't Bad) My friends have made a deal, and Martin was nice enough to let me in on it. The deal is that during the summer, each one of us will try to write a book (ambitious much? I myself would have settled for a collection of short stories --- but that's neither here nor there). We can write any story we want and we don't have to finish it by the end of the summer. All that's required by that time is a hundred pages. Again, ambitious much? But I guess that's better than setting your standards low and accomplishing nothing. While getting to the one hundredth page, we will help each other out, giving constructive criticism and the like (at least, that's what I understand from what Martin was telling me). I think it's a great idea. It's good exercise for the imagination. Unfortunately, it's also a little scary. It's been such a long time since I've poured my heart into my writing that I'm not sure if I can anymore. Everything I've written lately borders on this side of crappy. At any rate, to facilitate our little project, I'm recommending the site FictionPress.Net to my friends, if they ever get around to reading this rambling. By registering with this site, they can easily upload their stories chapter by chapter onto the Internet, and just as easily give and receive feedback from each other and other writers. At any rate, this is my profile at said website. There's nothing there because I haven't uploaded any stories yet, but I hope to change that soon --- as soon as I come up with stories I'm not ashamed to show to the public. Daredevil The critics panned it, so I went into the movie house today without the greatest of expectations. I've learned from my experience with Spider-Man not to expect much from comic book movies (even when people say a particular one was the best thing since sliced bread, which was the case with Spidey  ). I found that Daredevil wasn't all that bad, for a popcorn movie. Although it had no exposition, hardly any story and no visible evidence of acting, its action sequences (which, let's face it, is what they made the movie about) are passable and its script tolerable. Even the worst line of the movie (That white light at the end of the tunnel? That's not heaven, that's the C train!) was nowhere near as cringeworthy as any given line from the later part of the Spider-man movie. The soundtrack was still not as good as it could have been. It reminded me a bit of X-Men's score, which you hardly notice except in pregnant pauses when you realize how so not good it really is.
Daredevil's worst fault, I think, is the fact that the origin story was too rushed, and so we never really, truly get to sympathize with Matt Murdock (or Elektra for that matter, but this isn't her story) or understand him. Loathed as I am to admit it, this is one thing Spider-Man has over Daredevil --- we were with Peter Parker at the very beginning and were allowed to develop a liking for him. We saw him evolve from a loser to a full-fledged hero. But we don't get too much of that with Daredevil. It's too bad, too, because Matt's story is a good one, rooted in both family values and obligations and a love for a community. As for the rest of it: Having expected nothing spectacular, I wasn't disappointed in the least. I'll say this much: it could have been much better. Fortunately, we aren't talking should've, would've, could'ves. Oy, Vey I was wondering about a week ago why I avoided talking to my dad for so long. Hoo boy, what I wouldn't give now to go back in time and tell myself, "Because you hate him, ya idiot!" And with good reason. I never imagined any one person could make himself so unlovable, but he has, extremely well. I tend to take anything he says with a grain of salt (a grain roughly the size of the Rock of Gibraltar), and today I proved myself justified. Earlier today, while I was staying over at my aunts' house, he went on interminably about how he wished he and Mama could get back together and how he loved her and all that jazz. Not ten minutes later, I found out he was shacking up with an eighteen year old (yes, that would make the girl a year younger than me). *spits in disgust* On the other hand (and I consider this more plausible), he may have lied about the girl's age to my aunts, seeing as how he's in a perpetual state of mid-life crisis. If that's the case, he's not only a liar, but a sad, pathetic little man in the bargain. He spent the entire day yakking about himself. It's amazing, really, to see him going on and on like the fucking Energizer bunny, never running out of steam or things to say about himself. It was all I could do not to scream. He was doubly aggravating today because I had my period. Maybe no one will believe me, but I swear, that man exacerbated my cramps. Another reason to hate him! As if leaking a quarter of a cup of blood every four hours wasn't bad enough, I had to listen to his stupid-ass pipe dreams and get-rich-quick schemes, and his theories about how Mama and I were in denial about the two of us being much happier without him (which, FYI, we are). I tried telling him that (several times), but he said that that was merely my opinion (in which case, it counted for nothing, the son of a bitch). What he doesn't seem to realize is that both my mother and I are different people now, and he doesn't know us anymore. We're not the only ones --- he's changed, too. He's gotten worse. He lives in a shit hole movie house office, leeches money and food off his sisters and to top it all off, puts down people who are better than him. I don't know whether to laugh, weep or point my finger and yell, "Serves you right!" I think I actually did all three today. Check this out: about a year ago, my mom had Dad sign over the deed of our house to me (it's legal since I was of age). Then earlier today, Dad tells me how he gave me the house. Fair enough, if you want to get technical about it (he didn't fight with Mama about it), but I knew for a fact that she had to bribe him with P5000 to get him to sign the damn papers. He made it sound like he was some kind of a fucking saint doing me a favor. It was bullshit and I called him on it --- probably a dumb thing to do, but done is done is done --- and told him I knew Mama had to pay him off. The freak flat out denied it. I'd say he had a huge pair of balls, but that would be giving him too much credit. What he's got is gall, which is a pitiful excuse for testicular fortitude. Yeah, I'm pissed. I'm pissed because today I wanted to spend time with my aunts and my cousin and our extended (non-blood related) family. I wanted to have fun, I wanted to find out what was happening in their lives. Dad, of course, having no concept of consideration for other people, messed up the entire day and made us all miserable. Snipe, snipe, snipe, bitch, bitch, bitch. I don't know how my aunts put up with his shit 24/7. They're incredibly big-hearted not to throw his useless ass out into the street. The only reason I put up with him was because I wanted to spend time with my family. Unfortunately, he shot that all to shit with his incredible Drive People Crazy With His Drivel powers. It's like a talent! He'd make a killing torturing war refugees with the (highly distorted) story of his life. I'd vent some more but I'm all spent. This rambling serves two purposes: a) to remind me to avoid speaking to my dad at all costs until he grows up or I develop patience of the Moses variety and b) to remind me to shut up whenever I talk too much or too long about myself. And with that last thought in mind, adios! Different Degrees of Heartlessness Our old driver, who now works at my school, called today to tell me that my P.E. teacher (whose name I can't even remember --- Gerry something?) died of some kind of dialysis (kidney, I guess). He'd been sick for some time now, though I never imagined it was anything serious. When I called to tell my mom, she was shocked and sympathetic, and immediately suggested that we go to his funeral to pay our respects. Then she went on to say something about how death makes us realize our own mortality. All I could think about was how his death had made completing my first semester grade kind of... difficult. As for the guy himself, I felt neither pity nor grief, and for his death no shock. I had no epiphanies, no revelations, nothing. The only thing I'm feeling now is how it doesn't seem right not to feel anything for the passing of this human being, or any human being. It's cruel, but I can't even bring myself to feel bad for the family he left behind. How do I work up sympathy for a person I hardly knew? I can't even mourn missing the opportunity to know him better because I didn't care to know him better then, or now. I wish I could say that I felt no sadness at his passing because, no matter how much he may have suffered, I know there's something good waiting for him in the end. But that's not even the case. I feel nothing for his death because I just don't care (or if I do, I'm in serious denial). Right now, I actually feel worse for myself, for my insensitivity, than for the death of this guy. How pitiless is that? As for other people's deaths reminding me of my own mortality... I'm no expert on life, but I think dying is easy. It's the getting there that breaks your back. I don't fear death, not really. What I'm afraid of is everything between now and then. A Frame by Frame Analysis of the Newest Newest X-Men 2 Trailer Hehe. Maybe the unauthorized release of the Daredevil-attached X-Men 2 trailer put some pressure on Fox, but for whatever reason, an official release has been made of said trailer. It's big, it's high-res and it's QuickTime, for which, oh, be joyful! My favorite Brazilian site has posted a copy of the trailer, which I have now downloaded. So here it is, a more complete analysis of the X-Men 2 trailer. Frame 1: The mandatory green screen that says, "The following preview has been approved for all audiences by the Motion Picture Association of America." Frame 2: Blackness. Frame 3: Blackness fades, revealing the exterior of the Drake house, daytime. Two cars are parked in the driveway. Don't ask me what make and model they are as I haven't got a clue. Cars are not my forte. Mr. Drake: You have to understand --- Fade to black. Frame 4: Blackness fades, revealing Bobby's parents and brother sitting in their living room. Bobby's brother Ronny (isn't that too cute, Bobby and Ronny?) casts a suspicious glance at their guests, then promptly looks away. Mrs. Drake looks a bit distraught and avoids looking at her son. The living room opens up to a veranda, empty at present. Mr. Drake: --- we thought Bobby was going to a school for the gifted. Frame 5: Cut to Rogue and Bobby, sitting on a sofa across from the Drakes. At the right edge of the frame, Mrs. Drake is sitting, holding a cup of tea. Rogue: Bobby is gifted. That's right, girl, defend your man. I have a feeling Rogue won't be so unlikable in this movie. Ehem. At any rate, when Rogue speaks, Bobby turns to look at her. Frame 6: Cut to a closer shot of Mr. and Mrs. Drake. Mrs. Drake is gaping at her guests. Tsk, tsk. Rogue (voice-over): You should see what he can do. Fade to black. Frame 7: Blackness fades. Bobby, looking focused, touches a finger to his mother's cup of tea as she lifts it up to drink it. The camera closes in on the cup. Its contents swirl and freeze over. Yay! Frame 8: Cut to a close up of Ronny. He looks sideways at the cup suspiciously. Frame 9: Cut to a close up of Mrs. Drake turning her cup over. The tea that spills onto her saucer is not liquid but a hard block of ice. Frame 10: Cut to a wider shot of the Drakes. Mr. and Mrs. Drake are startled and shocked. Ronny still looks suspicious. He doesn't like what he's seeing. Frame 11: Cut to a shot of Bobby (looking cute I might add). Mrs. Drake: Have you tried --- Frame 12: Cut to shot of Bobby's parents. You can see Hugh Jackman's butt just above and behind the mother's shoulder. I guess Wolverine is standing outside on the Drakes' veranda. Mrs. Drake: --- not being a mutant? Fade to bright, white light. Frame 13: Whiteness fades, revealing a sweeping side to bottom-angled shot of a silver 20th Century Fox logo. Instead of fading away, square tiles of the logo break away, revealing... Frame 14: A dark profile shot of Rogue, Cyclops and Bobby, all in X-Men uniform. Woot! More 20th Century Fox logo tiles break away, revealing... Frame 15: A dark frontal shot of Professor X, Cyclops and Rogue, the last two in X-Men uniform. There are two or more people standing behind them, completely covered in darkness (although you can tell by the hair that one of them is Bobby). Professor X: Since the discovery of their existence, mutants have been regarded with fear, suspicion, often hatred. His voice-over carries over to Frame 22. Fade to black. Frame 16: Blackness fades, revealing four young people standing together. From left to right, they are: someone I can't identify (probably a student of Xavier's school), Rogue, Bobby, and Pyro. Pyro and the unidentified young mutant are in the foreground, Rogue and Bobby further back. Other people are standing behind them. They're in a kind of informal museum. This might be during the rumored class trip. Everyone, the background people included, seems to be looking at something. Fade to black. Frame 17: Blackness fades, revealing a shot of the back of Wolverine's head. He's standing before a wall of ice. He swiftly turns to look behind him. Fade to black. Frame 18: Blackness fades. A little blonde girl is licking an ice cream cone and looking at someone behind her and to the right. She sticks out her tongue at him. She's with a female guardian, of whom only the arm is visible. Frame 19: Cut to a shot of a boy three or four years older than the girl. He's standing behind a crowd (mostly kids and preteens) that's looking at a diaroma of cavemen. As Storm is visible at the head of the group, I assume that the boy is a student of Xavier's school. He sticks out a forked tongue right back at the little girl. Creepy. Frame 20: The little girl turns away, also creeped out. Hah! Serves you right, you little brat! Fade to black. Frame 21: Blackness fades, revealing head shots of Jean Grey and Storm in front of a church altar. There is a statue of Jesus on the cross and candles below him in the right half of the frame. Jean and Storm turn to look at each other. It's hard to describe the expression on Storm's face, and Jean's isn't visible because she's turned the back of her head to the screen to look at Storm. Frame 22: Cut to a frontal shot of electronic doors similar to the ones Mystique was sliding into in the previous trailer. As they open, the camera pans to the side, and Stryker, Yuriko and two soldiers in fatigues walk through them. Fade to black. Frame 23: Blackness fades, revealing a sweeping side to front shot of the Drake porch. Bobby, Wolverine, Pyro and Rogue are standing there. Wolverine has his claws out. Police Officer (I'm assuming): Drop the knives and put --- Frame 24: Cut to a rear shot of the Drake porch. The backs of Bobby, Wolverine, Pyro and Rogue are covered in shadow. We see now that there are three police cars parked on the Drakes' lawn (and furthermore that the Drakes live in some kind of cul-de-sac). All four are looking slightly to their left, where the police cars are located. Rogue turns to look at her right, maybe seeing something. The others follow suit. Police Officer: --- your hands in the air. Frame 25: Cut to a shot of Wolverine, looking to his right. Bobby is partially seen on the left side of the frame, but disappears as the shot tightens in on Wolverine. Wolverine: I can't. Was that supposed to be funny? Fade to black. Frame 26: Blackness fades, revealing Storm walking down from the cockpit of the X-Jet. The back of Jean's head is barely visible in the co-pilot's seat. Professor X (voice-over): Are they the next link in the evolutionary chain, or simply a new species of humanity, fighting for their share of the world? As with before, his voice-over carries on to the next few shots, until Frame 31. Fade to black. Frame 27: Blackness fades, revealing a bedroom (with an empty bed) in the X-Mansion. A large man without a shirt comes in. Behind him, you can see a hallway and the door to another room. The large shirtless man is Colossus  , and as he walks into the room, he begins transforming into steel. It looks kind of bizarre because the steel takes the shape of tendons and muscles and the like. There are searchlights sweeping the room, falling briefly on him. Fade to black.
Frame 28: Blackness fades to reveal Mystique, walking in what looks like the basement of some industrial compound (possibly the X-Mansion itself). Fade to black. Frame 29: Blackness fades, revealing Storm looking around her and wearing a freaky metal thing on her ear. A com-link, maybe? I can't really identify the place she's in, but it's possible it's in a dam. As she moves, the shot widens to include Nightcrawler, whose makeup, by the way, I'm eating crow about, because it looks really, really good on the screen. It looks as though Kurt is already wearing an X-Men uniform. He looks so cool! Awoohoo! Fade to black. Frame 30: Blackness fades, revealing a rear shot of Cyclops standing in front of Magneto's prison. His hand is on the switch at the side of his visor. As the camera zooms in on him, he swings around to look behind him. He looks surprised. Fade to black. Frame 31: Blackness fades, revealing a "hero shot" of a group of people standing on top of a snowy mountain. We can see the X-Men and at least six kids (probably students). Two of them are wrapped in blankets, and one of them resembles Jubilee. Nightcrawler and Storm are supporting a wheelchair-less Professor X between them, Wolverine is carrying an injured student, and Jean and Cyclops are also there. They're all looking up at something, maybe the X-Jet coming to their rescue. Fade to black. Frame 32: Blackness fades, revealing the White House insignia. President McKenna: What do you need, William? William is, of course, General Stryker, the antagonist of the film. Frame 33: Fade to William Stryker in the Oval Office, daytime. He's bending over a map. The President is standing in the background, in the right side of the frame. There might be a social function going on, because there are people outside the office, and McKenna is pouring a drink. Stryker: Just your authorization for a --- Frame 34: Nighttime. Three or four soldiers in harnesses are dropping down to the ground from two helicopters that are hovering over the X-Mansion. Stryker (voice-over): --- special operation, Mr. President. Fade to black. Frame 35: Blackness fades, revealing two of Stryker's helicopters approaching the X-Mansion. Stryker (voice-over): We've managed to gather evidence from a mutant training facility in upstate New York. His voice-over extends over the next few frames, and ends at Frame 38. Frame 36: Cut to Bobby leaning against a wall, hiding from the soldiers who've invaded the school. He looks frightened. He looks up and around, probably hearing the helicopters. Frame 37: Cut to the extensive lawn of the X-Mansion. A big helicopter (if that's what it is; I'm even worse with air vehicles than I am with cars) has landed on it, and a group of soldiers are running out from the back of it. The camera moves in a little closer. Fade to black. Frame 38: Blackness fades. A soldier wearing night vision goggles and a whole crap load of equipment (not to mention black grease on his face) is standing in a hall inside the mansion. Behind him, there are several other soldiers running down the hall or into rooms. The soldier looks to his left. Frame 39: Cut to a rear shot of a kid sitting on a sofa, watching TV. (This is the Harry Potter lookalike.) He sits up and looks behind him and to his left. Senator Kelly (voice-over): This facility is --- Frame 40: Daytime. Senator Kelly (this is Mystique posing as said senator, I'm assuming) in the Oval Office. He's holding up a dossier. Senator Kelly: --- a school. Frame 41: Cut to two soldiers with flashlights bursting into a bedroom in the X-Mansion. They pan their flashlights across the room. Frame 42: Cut to a close up of Kitty Pryde, lying down on her bed, her eyes screwed up tightly. She phases through her pillow and, presumably, her bed and bedroom floor. Frame 43: Cut to the ceiling of the X-Mansion. Kitty continues to phase through it. She falls down to the floor and stands up. The flashlights of the soldiers shine directly on her face. Fade to black. Frame 44: Blackness fades, revealing Stryker holding a folder. He's still in the Oval Office. Stryker: Sure it is. Now this is funny. I think Stryker will turn out to be a very smart villain. Fade to black. Frame 45: Blackness fades, revealing Stryker in a strange, circular room that looks like a very underequipped laboratory. Professor X is sitting on his wheelchair on one end of the room. He's apparently been captured and is wearing something on his head. Stryker walks over to him. Stryker: Nobody really knows how many even exist, or how to find them --- except you. His voice-over carries on to Frame 53. Frame 46: Fade to a shot of Stryker in a view over Professor X's shoulder. The Professor is wearing a freaky contraption around his head, probably a device to suppress or control his telepathic powers. Toldja Stryker was smart. It's too bad he has to lose. Cut to fast consecutive shots of: Frame 47: Jean Grey, profile, tight on her eyes. She turns around and looks at something. Frame 48: Mystique, up close. It looks like she's in the same underground tunnel that the students of the School for Gifted Youngsters use to escape Stryker's siege. Frame 49: Storm, in the cockpit of the X-Jet, looking sideways slightly (probably at the controls of the jet). She turns to look straight ahead. Frame 50: Nightcrawler, looking a little wild and coverd in powdery white stuff (remains of the smoke of his teleportation?) on his face. He looks like he's hiding, possibly somewhere in the White House. Frame 51: Magneto, still in prison, moving his hand a bit and smiling in a creepy, villanous way. Fade to black. Frame 52: Blackness fades, revealing students in what looks like a forest (probably the forest that surrounds Xavier's Insitute). The camera pans and we see three students climbing out of a tunnel, probably escaping from Stryker's forces. Fade to black. Frame 53: Blackness fades, revealing Professor X, wearing the freaky band thing and glaring up at Stryker. Frame 54: Cut to a black screen reading, "Wolverine." The camera zooms in a bit. Frame 55: Cut to a head shot of Wolverine standing in a hallway in the X-Mansion. He looks confused. Wolverine: Who are you? Frame 56: Cut to Stryker standing in front of the door of Cerebro, grinning. There is a soldier right behind him and a few more standing against the walls. In the background, Wolverine is yelling, obviously pissed. His yell extends to Frame 57. Frame 57: Wolverine runs down a hallway in the X-Mansion, brandishing his claws in the air. Frame 58: Cut to a close up of his arm, coming down on the screen. Frame 59: Cut to a shot of Wolverine slashing a soldier across the face with his claws. Mean. Frame 60: Cut to a black screen that reads, "Jean Grey." The camera zooms in a bit. Jean (voice-over): I keep feeling something terrible's about to happen. Her voice-over carries on to Frame 63. Frame 61: Cut to a shot of Jean, in a view over Cyclops' shoulder. I think they're in the museum. Frame 62: Cut to a shot of Cyclops in a view over Jean's shoulder. He looks concerned. Fade to black. Frame 63: Blackness fades, revealing a profile shot of Jean reaching out to touch Nightcrawler, in the same way she touched (or didn't touch) Wolverine when she read his mind in the first movie. Nightcrawler closes his eyes. There is a fire behind them. I think they're in the forest that the students escaped to. Frame 64: Cut to a closeup of Jean Grey, concentrating. Wolverine can be partially seen to her right, and Mystique to her left. Cut to fast consecutive shots of: Frame 65: Nightcrawler's left eye, yellow, scary and extremely up close. Fire is reflecting on it. Frame 66: Nightcrawler's right eye, yellow, scary and again, extremely up close. Fire, again, is reflecting on it and it widens. Frame 67: A syringe. All around it are bizarre green lights. This and the next few shots are either something Jean reads in Kurt's mind, or Wolverine's Weapon X flashback inserted inappropriately here, or a Weapon X flashback of Kurt's. It's not all that farfetched, if someone really is controlling his mind when he tries to assassinate McKenna. Frame 68: A wavy metal grill looking out into almost complete darkness Frame 69: A man (who could actually be a younger version of Stryker) looking out somewhere. He's backlit by the same freaky green light in Frame 67 (Voldemort crossing over to the X-Men universe? ;-)). To the left and right of him, there are strange-looking wires attached to even stranger-looking machines. Frame 70: Nightcrawler's pearly white fangs, extremely close up. His mouth opens up into a kind of pained snarl. Frame 71: Nightcrawler's face. Jean's hands are on either side of his head as he throws it back, still looking pained. Frame 72: Cut to a shot of Jean, looking frightened and withdrawing her hands from Nightcrawler. She opens her eyes. Magneto, Mystique, Wolverine and Storm are standing in a row behind her. Frame 73: Cut to a black screen that reads, "Cyclops." The camera zooms in a bit. Frame 74: Cut to a shot of Cyclops embracing Jean. Cyclops: I would never let anything happen to you. It's an overused line, but still... aww... Frame 75: Cut to Cyclops standing inside some kind of industrial generator room. He's blasting something with his optic beams. Frame 76: Cut to Jean Grey in the same room, holding out her hand and deflecting Cyclops' optic blast with her telekinesis and throwing it back at him. She looks seriously pissed (or maybe her face is just contorting from her efforts). Either ol' Scoot is getting ambivelent about his feelings for Jeannie, or something else more sinister is afoot. I won't give away anything else. It's a cool shot though. Frame 77: Cut to a black screen that reads, "Storm." The camera zooms in a bit. Storm (voice-over): It's about to get very cold in here. Storm proves once again that she's cornered the market for worst superhero movie banter lines (unless of course, she's being literal and not smart aleck-y, and she's merely announcing that the temperature in her vicinity will soon begin to drop). At any rate, her voice-over carries on to Frame 79. Frame 78: Cut to Storm looking sideways at 'Crawler and speaking to him. Again, I think they're in that dam. Frame 79: Cut to an angled view of Storm from the bottom. She's in an church (probably Nightcrawler's hideout) that looks abandoned, or under construction, or abandoned halfway through its construction. Behind her, Jean is looking around. Storm looks disturbed. Behind them are large sheets of plastic hanging from the second floor down to the first. There's writing on it that's probably a slur against mutants (the word "gene" is identifiable). The shot moves from a worm's eye view to a frontal shot. Frame 80: Cut to an upward view of the church. Scaffoldings such as construction workers use are on either side of the church. Also visible are beautiful stained glass windows, a row of them on the wall and one at the far end of the church, where the altar and the podium are. Lightning spectacularly erupts from this area and fills the entire church with brilliant blue-white light. Booyah! As I've given up on any character development where Storm and the movie are concerned, I'll basely settle for a flashy show of power. Frame 81: Cut to a head shot of Storm, looking up at something. Her eyes are white with electricity. Jean's coat is visible to her left, and to her right is a chair covered in a sheet (lending credibility to either idea of the church being abandoned or under construction; I favor the former). Frame 82: Cut to another spectacular shot of a bolt of lightning blasting through the wooden support of the church ceiling. Frame 83: Cut to Nightcrawler falling through the church roof. I think Storm's lightning blasted whatever it was that he was standing on. Frame 84: Cut to a black screen that reads, "Professor X." The camera zooms in a bit. Frame 85: Cut to a sweeping shot of Professor X wearing the Cerebro helmet. Wolverine (voice-over): I need you to read my --- Frame 86: Cut to a shot of Wolverine standing in the Cerebro chamber, somewhere near Professor X's chair. Wolverine: --- mind. Frame 87: Cut to a shot of Wolverine rising halfway out of a Weapon X tank, fighting two men in dark clothes. Frame 88: Cut to a shot of the silhouette of two men backlit by the green light of monitors that show X-rays and similar scans. The two men appear to be running. Frame 89: Cut to a shot of a wet Wolverine, flicking flicking his hair a la Baywatch :p and looking menacingly at someone off the frame. Frame 90: Cut to a close up of Wolverine, his face in the shadows. The only source of light is a curtained window behind him. He walks forward, his eyes shifting as though he was sensing something. Professor X (voice-over): Sometimes, the mind needs to discover things for itself. His voice-over carries on to Frame 86. Frame 91: Cut to a shot of Professor X in the Cerebro chamber, looking up at Wolverine (whose arm is visible in the upper right corner of the frame) and speaking to him. Frame 92: Cut to a rear view of Professor X and Wolverine inside Cerbero. Professor X is putting on the helmet. Wolverine glances behind him. The doors begin to close. Fade to black. Frame 93: Cut to a black screen that reads, "Magneto." The camera zooms in a bit. Frame 94: Cut to a shot of Magneto in prison in a view over the shoulder of his guard. His hand is extended in front of him and he is lifting the guard magnetically through the iron in his blood (farfetched, but let's go along with it, shall we?). Frame 95: Cut to the same scene, from a side view. Magneto is still lifting the guard into the air (it looks painful) and we see some of his prison's furnishings: two uncomfortable looking plastic chairs, a table with a chess set (natch) and plastic grills and bars on the ceiling and walls. So where does he go to pee? Frame 96: Cut to a side view shot of Pyro, sitting somewhere in the X-Jet, leaning his elbows on his thighs and playing with a cigarette lighter. He's looking sideways at Magneto. Pyro: They say you're the bad guy. Frame 97: Cut back to Magneto's prison, frontal shot of Magneto. Magneto is holding out his hand, and he twists it suddenly to the left. Frame 98: Cut to the prison guard, still floating in the air. His entire body snaps backward and he groans / cries out. Frame 99: Cut to an angled view of Magneto and Mystique in the same deck of the X-Jet that Pyro is in. Magneto: Is that what they say? I love Ian McKellen's Mags. He is just so wicked. Frame 100: Cut to a black screen that reads, "Rogue." The camera zooms in a bit. Frame 101: Cut to a shot of Rogue and Bobby kissing. Kind of a risky game, but kids will be kids. They look like they're in a room in Bobby's house. Frame 102: Cut to a shot of Rogue in a view over Bobby's shoulder. They've stopped kissing, obviously. Rogue blows out an icy breath. Nice. ;-) I'd say cool, but that's too corny, even for me. Frame 103: Cut to a shot of Bobby looking down at her, in a view over Rogue's shoulder. Frame 104: Cut back to the shot of Rogue in a view over Bobby's shoulder. She smiles. Rogue: Wow. It looks like Rogue has adjusted to her powers and actually enjoys them. I'm glad. At least we know she won't be turning into whiny comic book Rogue any time soon. *crosses fingers for luck* Frame 105: Cut to a black screen that reads, "Mystique." The camera zooms in a bit. Frame 106: Cut to Mystique doing a cool flip across some kind of holding facility. You can see a couple of Stryker's men standing just below her. Frame 107: Cut to a shot of Mystique mid-flip. As she comes down, she knocks down one of Stryker's men. Stryker, Yuriko and two other soldiers are there. How cool would it be to see a fight between Mystique and Yuriko? I don't think it'll happen, though. Frame 108: Cut to a shot of Mystique is sliding across a floor. Electronic doors are opening up behind her. Weiiiird. This looks like the same place where Stryker, Yuriko and his men were walking through in Frame 22. Frame 109: Cut to a black screen that reads, "Iceman." The camera zooms in a bit. I guess it's official. He's Iceman now, not just Bobby. Yay! A lesser favorite (but a favorite nonetheless) makes it big in the movie! Frame 110: Cut to a shot of Bobby looking grim and extending his arm in front of him. This looks like the same place where he, Rogue, Pyro and the fourth guy were in, in Frame 16. In fact, you can see Rogue's earring and half her face on the far left. Frame 111: Cut to a wide, angled shot where a young man has fallen to the floor, knocked down by a blast of ice issuing from Bobby's hand. There are several bystanders, all looking aghast. They turn to look at Bobby, shocked. The ice blast looks so cool! I don't know what provoked such an attack on Bobby's part, though. Maybe the young man said something nasty about mutants or Rogue? Frame 112: Cut to an angled shot of Magneto and Mystique on board the X-Jet (in a shot similar to Frame 99). Magneto: Quite a talent you have there. He may actually be saying this to Pyro, who, according to a publicity picture, is sitting one seat away from Magneto. Frame 113: Cut to a shot of the guy Iceman attacked. He's lying on the floor, frozen stiff. Yoicks. The camera closes in a bit. Frame 114: Cut to a black screen that reads, "Nightcrawler." The camera zooms in a bit. Nightcrawler (voice-over): Most people will never know anything beyond what they see. His voice-over extends to Frame 117. Frame 115: Cut to a shot of Nightcrawler in a view over Storm's shoulder. He's speaking to Storm, possibly in the X-Jet. Frame 116: Cut to a shot of a door in the White House. A woman and a security guard are kneeling on the floor. They throw themselves down as Nightcrawler "bamfs" through the wall in a really cool haze of black smoke and pink energy. The camera zooms in on Nightcrawler as he hits the floor hands first. He lands on his feet, bends and leaps off the floor. Frame 117: Cut to a shot of Nightcrawler leaping into the air below an archway and jumping the length of the room. Once again he begins to teleport, his tail swinging beneath him. He kicks a man squarely in the face, knocking him through a window door and disappearing in a puff of black smoke just as the man goes through the glass. The camera passes through the wall and shows the man falling into the next room. Frame 118: Cut to a shot of Storm, from a view over Nightcrawler's shoulder. Storm: I have faith in you. Let me take just a second to say... WOW! 'Crawler's teleporting looks incredible! And I don't know how they managed it, but the sound he makes really does sound like "bamf!" Wowie! I've always had faith that Alan Cumming would do justice to Nightcrawler, and he doesn't disappoint (yet). His accent (Nightcrawler's German, FYI) is totally believable, and in those few seconds of dialogue, he comes off as truly sympathetic. Poor Kurt. In the comics, though, he's pretty comfortable with his appearance. Hopefully this is the case for movie Kurt, and he's only making a remark about how the race of normal human beings generally react to his appearance and mutation. Frame 119: Cut to a black screen that reads, "Pyro." The camera zooms in a bit. Professor X (voice-over): The next time you feel like showing off, don't. His voice-over extends to Frame 124. Frame 120: Cut to Pyro inside the X-Jet, putting his jacket on and looking back defiantly at someone. Frame 121: Cut to a shot of Professor X in that same place where Bobby attacked the man. He's speaking to Pyro in a lecturing tone. Behind him, on the left side of the frame, Storm and Jean are looking sideways and Cyclops is standing impassively between them. Behind them are a group of children, presumably their students. On the right side of the frame, there are other people, recognizable as the same men present when Bobby attacked the young man. Frame 122: Cut to a shot of Pyro standing in the Drake's porch, gesturing impressively. Frame 123: Cut to a shot of a funnel of fire leaping out from the smoke-filled front porch of the Drakes. Below it, another large fire is burning on the lawn. On the foreground are two uniformed policemen. They look as though they're aiming their pistols at the X-Men on the porch. The fire beam hits the underside of the police car parked in the Drakes' lawn, lifts it high into the air (consequently setting fire to the tree behind it) and blows it up in a kickass show of pyrotechnics. Wicked. Frame 124: Cut back to Professor X, in the same place as Frame 122. He's still speaking to Pyro. I'm not very familiar with the comic antihero (some say outright villain, but he had his good moments) Pyro and his personality, but I'm looking forward to seeing this version, at least. He comes off kind of cold, arrogant and superior --- in other words, a perfect student for Magneto, not Professor X. Frame 125: Cut to a black screen that reads, "Deathstrike." The camera zooms in a bit. Stryker: I used to think you were one of a kind, Wolverine. His voice-over extends to Frame 127. Frame 126: Cut to a shot of Lady Deathstrike walking toward the screen. She's in what could be the abandoned Weapon X laboratory in Canada. There's a ladder behind her. Frame 127: Cut to a shot of Wolverine in the same room, looking pissed. He's standing up from a crouch. We hear the sound of his claws coming out. Frame 128: Cut back to Lady Deathstrike brandishing her claws (which, btw, look so much more elegant than Wolverine's). Frame 129: Cut back to Wolverine, looking somewhat surprised but trying not to show it. Fade to black. Frame 130: Blackness fades, revealing a close up of Stryker sitting in a chair. To the left is the lengthwise half of a soldier and to the right part of Lady Deathstrike's torso. Stryker: I was wrong. Frame 131: Cut to a shot of Lady Deathstrike, claws out and ready to attack. She looks enormously pissed as she moves in to attack. Frame 132: Cut to a rear shot of Lady Deathstrike facing off against Wolverine. She jumps into the air, spinning like a top. Frame 133: Cut a rear shot of Wolverine, claws out and ready as Lady Deathstrike spins across the air toward him. Frame 134: Cut to a shot of Wolverine. Lady Deathstrike's claws catch him in the face. Frame 135: Cut to a shot of Lady Deathstrike fliging Wolverine across the room, which has a tank that looks just like the one in Wolverine's Weapon X flashback. He hits a pillar. Frame 136: Cut to a black screen that reads, "Now is the time." The camera zooms in a bit. Frame 137: Cut to the X-Jet zooming in from the bottom of the screen into the frame, over mountains and clouds. Frame 138: Cut to Storm in the cockpit, her eyes glowing white. She tilts her head slightly. Frame 139: Cut to a glimpse of the X-Jet as it zooms away. A tornado forms in the center of the screen. Frame 140: Cut to a black screen that reads, "For those who are different." The camera zooms in a bit. Frame 141: Cut to a frontal shot of Wolverine still fighting Lady Deathstrike. He's slashes at her, but she ducks, and he hits the iron bars behind her instead. One bar gets split in four. Frame 142: Cut to a rear shot of Wolverine slashing again. Lady Deathstrike ducks again, and Wolverine slices another bar in four. Frame 143: Cut to a close up shot of Lady Deathstrike grabbing Wolverine and tossing him upwards like a rag doll. Does that mean she's got superhuman strength, too? She looks pretty vicious. Frame 144: Cut to a shot of Wolverine from the top as he gets thrown upward by Lady Deathstrike, who remains on the ground. Frame 145: Cut to a shot of Wolverine from a top view, falling back down from the air. Frame 146: Cut to a shot of Wolverine lying down, and Storm lying on top of him, smiling seductively. Before RoLoers the world over go nuts, let me just go ahead and say this isn't Storm, but Mystique disguised as Storm. I hope. *shudders* Frame 147: Cut to a shot of an F-16 (or something similar) zooming toward the screen, narrowly escaping a tornado. Frame 148: Cut to a shot of the X-Jet being chased by a couple of F-16s. There are five to six tornados all around them. The X-Jet and the F-16s zoom toward the screen. Frame 149: Cut to a black screen that reads, "To stand united." The camera zooms in a bit. Frame 150: Cut to a shot of Wolverine in handcuffs, being held prisoner by Stryker's men. He smiles smugly. He bends forward and clenches his fists. Frame 151: Cut to a shot of Wolverine morphing into Mystique, surrounded by five soldiers, all of whom look surprised. Mystique breaks free of the handcuffs and flips over, knocking down three soldiers in the process. Heh. Frame 152: Cut to a shot of Mystique cartwheeling (hitting another soldier at the same time) and tossing the handcuffs away. Frame 153: Cut to a shot of the handcuffs Mystique threw htting a soldier in the face with deadly precision. Frame 154: Cut to a shot of a dam breaking and torrents of water spilling out. Ooh-kay. No ******* in sight, though. I guess that would be giving away too much. Frame 155: Cut to a shot of the Storm and Nightcrawler leading a group of mutant kids through the thoroughly wrecked interior of the dam. Frame 156: Cut to a head shot of Magneto in prison, looking menacing. The camera zooms in. Frame 157: Cut to a rear shot of Kitty Pryde as she runs and phases through a soldier. The soldier looks at his body, stunned. Frame 158: Cut to a shot of Jean Grey's face, partially blocked by Wolverine's face and shoulder. Wolverine is grasping Jean's face and they kiss each other. Why, that little slut. I'm not talking about Jean. She does, however, seem to be responding. So that makes two cheaters in this movie. Ugh. Poor Scoot. Frame 159: Cut to Cyclops and Jean facing each other in some kind of industrial generator room. The force of Cyclops' optic blast being deflected by Jean tears them apart and throws them up into the air. Frame 160: Cut to a frontal shot of Nightcrawler in the White House. He's poised in midair and kicks a security guard across the face, bamfing out almost simultaneously. Whoa! (I'm running out of exclamations.) Frame 161: Cut to a shot of Cyclops, Storm, Wolverine and Nightcrawler staring out of the X-Jet. The camera zooms in on them. They look horrified. Frame 162: Cut to a shot of Jean being chased by the rushing waters of the broken dam. She turns around and parts the water with her telekinesis. Impressive. Fade to white. Frame 163: Whiteness fades, revealing the X-logo. The numbers 5-2-03 appear superimposed over it. Frame 164: Cut to a close up shot of Wolverine drinking beer. He puts the bottle down, sensing something. He turns his head. Frame 165: Cut to a wide side view shot of Wolverine in the X-Mansion. He breaks out his claws and points it diagonally downwards. Frame 166: Cut to a shot of his claws hovering around the head of a fluffy cat. It licks his claws. Fade to black. Again, was that supposed to be funny? Because it was just so not. It felt forced and unnatural, like they were trying too hard to be cute. Even Further X-Men 2 Ramblings I love the internet! My hands are shaking very badly as I type this --- that scooper from Aint It Cool News was right! The new X-Men 2 trailer is geek-orgasm good! Yowza! Somewhere out there on the information superhighway, a very kind soul has posted a Windows Media Player file of the Daredevil-attached X-Men 2 trailer. It isn't as good as a QuickTime version, of course, and sadly, there's so much traffic at the guy's site that I haven't been able to view the large version. I have however downloaded a tiny version of it --- and even that was enough to get me all pumped up to see this flick! It's too low-res for me to analyze it as painstakingly as I did with the previous trailer, but worry not! That analysis will be posted as soon as a QuickTime version comes out. You can download it yourself from Superhero Hype! Just click on the article headline "The New X2 Trailer Online! - Updated!" In the meantime, here are as many details about the trailer as I can pick out from the tiny video. (Note that this video plays in Windows Media Player, which makes it much harder to pause, play, rewind and fast forward than if the video was in QuickTime format. This my way of saving my ass for any mistake I may make, as I'm sure there will be a lot of them.) Edit: The frame by frame analysis has been transferred to the rambling before this one. Further X-Men 2 Ramblings Here's one to get the Nightcrawler-Storm shippers (however few they are) squealing with delight. I'm not a Kurt-Ororo shipper myself; I love both characters, but I've never thought of them as a romantic match. They're just good friends. But it still excites me that those two may be flirting in the new X-Men movie. Kurt always was a charmer. However, this picture from CountingDown.com suggests that their onscreen relationship might be a bit more serious (unless those blue fingers touching Storm's face are Mystique's --- and that's not totally out of the realm of possibility). If they're going to be all serious, that's too bad, since I was counting on Nightcrawler being all Errol Flynn-y with Storm. I'm not exactly sure how to interpret this still. It's possible that this came from the scene where Storm and Jean visit (the possibly injured) Nightcrawler's church. At the very least, it looks like it came from the same scene in the trailer where Storm tells and unseen someone, "Sometimes anger can help you survive." Aside from that, there's this new trailer that has the X-Men 2 internet community all a-buzz. Apparently it's attached exclusively to Daredevil (which means it won't be coming out online for some time), which sucks because I don't know when Daredevil is showing in the Philippines. At any rate, fairly reliable fanboy sources say the trailer absolutely rocks. Oh, well. Good things come to those who wait. The Revenge of the Lizard's Son Only five hours after the first lizard's death, I hear the same sound, the same clicking / slithering sound. The second lizard is crafty enough to hide behind the mirror, but you can see the little critter's tail sticking up over the frame of the mirror. As I don't believe in ghosts (though I do believe in demons and similar malicious spirits), I think this may have been the first lizard's kin, either a) coming to seek revenge for his relative's death, b) headed to some hole or nest that the first lizard was headed to before his untimely death, or c) tormenting me according to family tradition. This isn't the first time I've found a family of lizards living somewhere near me. There was one under my bed a few years ago, one in the bottom cabinet of my desk (also a few years ago) and a couple more behind the full-length mirror just outside my door (they show up at least once a month). I'm being stalked, stalked I tell you! These reptiles can smell fear. Even now, I hear that damn sound. The maids have searched behind the mirror, behind the paintings --- nothing! Either these are exceptionally loud lizards that I can hear from outside or from the neighboring houses, or it's hiding and taunting me. Okay, now I'm beginning to sound paranoid (beginning?). But I swear, I did hear it. And my bodyguard Wolverine (my miniature pinscher) is completely useless. He doesn't hear it, or if he does, he doesn't care. Maybe there isn't a second lizard. Maybe I'm just being tormented by the clicking / slithering sound of the one I had the maids assassinate, a la Edgar Allan Poe's The Tell-Tale Heart. Urgh. Or it may be that they're after the bowl full of chocolate bars right underneath the mirror. Hmm... The Return of the Lizard, or My Friend, the Enemy Well, he's dead, dead-er than a doorknob. I was downloading Lord of the Rings art earlier this evening (I've decided that John Howe is my new and very first favorite artist; you can check out his stuff here), and lo and behold, the lizard emerged from his favorite hiding place (the space between the wall and the mirror), shaking his tail and making that horrible ticking / slithering sound. Unlike earlier that morning, I now know what he was after: my uneaten dinner, growing cold on the living room table. Well, of course I freaked out and shrieked for Manang (the household help), who came gallantly to my rescue. While I was cowering behind the stairway rail, she chased the reptilian critter into a corner and, though meaning to kill him, flipped him across the room (fortunately, far away from me) with a broom, shrieking herself as he briefly landed on her head. Belen (the other maid) came at it with another broom, and together they killed it and threw it out of the house. Thus ended the life of one brave and terrifying house lizard. Before You Die, You See... The Lizard Earlier this morning, about four a.m., as I was editing my Movies rambling, I heard a weird ticking / slithering sound. I thought it was coming from the TV. I keep it on out of habit whenever I'm alone, even when I'm absorbed in something else. When I muted the TV to check if the creepy sound was indeed coming from the television, I found that it wasn't. It was coming from somewhere in the room with me. Bear in mind that the Ring was still fresh in my mind, and I was half-watching the Flintstones episode where Fred inherits something from a dead uncle. It turned out to be the hillbilly uncle, not Uncle Giggles, but the episode brought on memories of the Uncle Giggles episode nonetheless. (Note that I'm not sure if Giggles was really Fred's uncle's name. My memory of the characters are rather fuzzy.) In case anyone's wondering, that's the episode where Fred's uncle's will stipulates that Fred has to stay overnight in his scary manor to inherit everything. Anyway, being a person that's easily scared, I was freaked when I heard the clicking / swishing sound again. Then, slithering out from behind the mirror close to the computer monitor was the culprit: a lizard. In appearance, it seemed to be an ordinary house lizard (those are bad enough on their own *shudders*), but I swear it was either supernatural or horny. It was aggressive --- most lizards hide from me (and I from them, but they don't have to know that), but this one was shaking his tail like a freaking rattler, making that creepy sound. I think it was trying to scare me away so he could cross over to where I was sitting. Well, he succeeded. I switched off the computer in a hurry (thank goodness I was done with my editing and was just bumming around killing time, or I might have had to sit for a good half hour typing away and casting scared glances at the damn lizard --- I don't stop writing even when I'm terrified), and ran up to my mom's room. Shameful, yes? I was terrorized out of my own living room by a demon lizard! Even now when everything seems perfectly safe and there's not a lizard in sight, my skin is crawling and I keep looking back over my shoulder. Damn all reptiles! Well, except for turtles. I like cartoon turtles. Thought for the day: Allowing Hugh Hefner to print his perverted shit only protects our freedom of expression. Movies I now present (to the extreme annoyance of millions worldwide) the shallow side of me you all know and love (and wish you could kill --- you and me both). 2003 and 2004 promises several cool (and not so cool, dreaded but must-see) new movies that I, at least, am looking forward to a great deal. However, no matter how much I'm dying to see these films, I still have some concerns about how they're executed. And here they are: Daredevil I'll admit right from the off that I haven't been a fan of Daredevil for a long time. I picked it up mainly because Brian Michael Bendis writes it, and I loved his work on Elektra. (On a note that threatens to diverge from the topic at hand, Marvel has announced that Bendis will be writing six issues of Ultimate X-Men after Mark Millar's departure. Yippee!) Anyway, thanks to Bendis' writing, I've actually come to care a lot about the characters in Daredevil, and I really want the movie to be good. The buzz surrounding it has been mixed. Some people say it's going to be okay, mainly because the director, Mark Steven Johnson, is a fan of Daredevil and wouldn't want to screw it up too badly. Others say it's going to suck spectacularly. They think this mainly because Johnson has directed a big total of two films in his lifetime (and one of them is Daredevil, the other Simon Birch, which I thought was pretty good), and Ben Affleck is... Ben Affleck. I'm not saying he's a bad actor. He acted well in Dogma (he was a little over the top, but his role called for it), Shakespeare in Love and School Ties. But his acting in his other more popular movies was complete crap. I'm thinking his Matt Murdock could go either way. Aside from that: The Good: The Bad: The Iffy: X-Men 2 Being a huge fan of X-Men, I could go on and on forever about it. So let me just cut to the chase: The Good: The Bad: The Iffy: Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban As with the X-Men, I could go on and on about Harry Potter. But I won't. Much. I'm only going to say that Prisoner of Azkaban is my favorite Harry Potter book, and that I will send out bad thoughts and karma if Warner Bros. messes this up. The Good: The Bad: It's too early in the game to fill this section out yet. The Iffy: The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King My biggest concern right now is the Faramir / Éowyn pairing. Faramir (book Faramir, book Faramir, I cannot emphasize this enough) is one of my absolute favorite characters, and I love his and Éowyn's love story. I like him even more than I like Galadriel, Sam, Gil-Galad and Turin Turambar. I'm anxious to see how Peter Jackson handles the Faramir / Éowyn romance. Will he scrap their story completely? If not, how will their love story progress when Faramir's personality is so different? (If you haven't read the book, you can take my word for it that Faramir's personality has a lot to do with how he fell in love with Éowyn.) Troy The Good: , my Troy chalice (or whatever the hell it is the ancient Greeks used to hold drinkables --- leather flasks, maybe?) runneth over with drool.
The Iffy: Star Wars Episode III Hoo boy, where to begin? The Good: The Bad: The Iffy: Partied Out I excused myself from my grandmother's 65th birthday party just a while ago under the pretense of exhaustion. Well, it's not really a pretense. I am exhausted, though it's more mental than physical. I love my family (so I'm not a completely emotionless Borg drone). I think they're the best people on earth and they are a lot of fun. I'm just not used to prolonged human contact. I stayed with them over four hours, and that was enough for me. Ritual celebratory exercises are inefficient and irrelevant. Elvish Again (From The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers) In Fangorn Forest: Legolas: Aragorn, nad nâ ennas. (Something is out there.) Aragorn: Man cenich? (What do you see?) In Rivendell, in Aragorn's flashback-dream sequence: Aragorn: Min lû pennich nin i aur hen telitha. (You told me once that this day would come.) Arwen: Ú i vethed... nâ i onnad. Boe bedich go Frodo. Han bâd lîn. (This is not the end... it is the beginning. You must go with Frodo. That is your path.) Aragorn: Dolen i vâd o nin. (My path is hidden from me.) Arwen: Si peliannen i vâd na dail lîn. Si boe ú-dhannathach. (It is already laid before your feet. You cannot falter now.) Aragorn: Arwen... Arwen: Ae ú-esteliach nad... estelio han. Estelio ammen. (If you trust nothing else... trust this. Trust us.) * The "this" she's referring to is the Evenstar, which she gave to Aragorn. Also in Rivendell (in real time): Elrond: Arwen, tollen i lû. I chair gwannar na Valannor. Si bado, no círar. (Arwen, it is time. The ships are leaving for Valinor. Go now, before it is too late.) Elrond: A im, ú-'erin veleth lîn? (Do I not also have your love?) Arwen: Gerich meleth nîn, ada. (You have my love, Father.) In Helm's Deep, after Aragorn returns from his tumble off a cliff: Legolas: Le ab-dollen. (You're late.) You look terrible. Aragorn: Hannon le. (Thank you.) All Aragorn: * The "him" Aragorn's referring to is the berserker Uruk-hai, who's running to detonate a bomb in the water line of Helm's Deep. Too late, ya moron. Legolas: Faeg i-varv dîn na lanc a nu ranc. (Their armor is weak at the neck and underneath the arms.) It isn't conversational Elvish, but it is fun. As an added feature in this (non) rambling, I'm including a couple of quotes from the too, too adorable Gollum / Smeagol. It's not Elvish, but it's too cute to pass up. ;-) Gollum: They're thieves! They're thieves! They're filthy little thieves! Where is it? Where isss it? They stole it from us. My preciousss. Curse them! We hates them! It's ours, it is... and we wantssss it! Gollum: Master should be resting. Master needs to keep up his strength. Frodo: Who are you? Gollum: Mustn't ask us. Not its business. *gollum, gollum* Frodo: Gandalf told me you were one of the River Folk. Gollum: Cold be heart and hand and bone. Cold be travellers far from home. Frodo: He said your life was a sad story. Gollum: They do not see what lies ahead, when sun has failed and moon is dead. Frodo: Lead the way, Sméagol. Gollum: Good Sméagol always helps. Gollum: We wants it. We needs it. Must have the precioussss. They stole it from us. Sneaky little hobbitsesss. Wicked, trickssssy, falssse! Sméagol: No! Not Master. Gollum: Yes, precious. False. They will cheat you, hurt you, lie. Sméagol: Master's my friend. Gollum: You don't have any friends. Nobody likes you... Sméagol: Not listening. Not listening. Gollum: You're a liar and a thief. Sméagol: Nope. Gollum: Murderer! Sméagol: Go away. Gollum: Go away! Hahaha! Sméagol: I hate you. I hate you! Gollum: Where would you be without me? *gollum, gollum* I saved us. It was me. We survived because of me! Sméagol: Not anymore. Gollum: What did you say? Sméagol: Master looks after us now. We don't need you. Gollum: What? Sméagol: Leave now and never come back. Gollum: No! Sméagol: Leave now and never come back! Gollum: *snarls* Sméagol: Leave. Now. And. Never. Come. Back!!! We... we told him to go away! And away he goes, preciousss. Gone, gone, gone! Sméagol is free! Of Herbs and Stewed Rabbit: Sméagol: Argh! What's he doing! Stupid fat hobbit! You ruins it! Sam: What's to ruin? There's hardly any meat on 'em. What we need is a few good taters. Sméagol: What's taters, preciousss? What’s taters, uh? Sam: Po-tay-toes! Boil 'em, mash 'em, stick 'em in a stew. Lovely big golden chips with a nice piece of fried fish... Sméagol: *sticks out his tongue in disgust* Pbbbttt!!! Sam: Even you couldn't say no to that. Sméagol: Oh, yes we could! Spoiling nice fish. Give it to usss rrraw... and wrrriggling! You keep nasty chips. Sam: You're hopeless. In the Forbidden Pool in Ithilien: Gollum (singing): The rock and pool is nice and cool, so nice for feet! I only wish to catch a fish, so juicy sweet! Gollum: Sméagol... Why do you cry, Sméagol? Sméagol: *sobs* Cruel men hurts us. Master trickst us. Gollum: Of course he did. I told you he was tricksy. I told you he was false. Sméagol: Gollum: Master betrayed us. Sméagol: No, not it’s business. Leave us alone! Dead Inside Quotes: (From the TV show Friends, in the episode The One Where Chandler Can't Cry) Chandler: Look, I don’t cry. It’s not a big deal Okay? Joey: No, it’s not okay! It’s not okay at all! You’re dead inside! Monica: This is so bizarre. I guess it kinda makes sense though, you know, she had such a terrible childhood. Chandler: Hey, I had a terrible childhood and I don’t do porn. Monica: Yes, but you're dead inside. My mom made a remark to me yesterday about how she was concerned about me, how it seemed like I was only existing and not living. How sad is that? Evidently, my life has no purpose, no meaning and no direction. Now I guess this would be kind of a tragic thing if I didn't think that all human beings were suffering from the same thing. We scurry around with our short, pointless lives and invent reasons for getting up in the morning, when there aren't any. Worst case scenario: you don't get up, you don't go to work, you don't earn money, you don't buy food, you don't eat food, you die. Big whoop. Would the world be really worse off if people just gave up living and faded away? Hardly. I think the planet and the solar system and the universe beyond it would go on existing --- and maybe even flourish --- without mankind, without individuals, without, well, me. It sucks to be insignificant. End result? I'm numb. I don't really feel anything. I ought to be scared (it isn't right for people not to feel anything), but I don't even have that. No fear. No sadness. Nothing. We are the Borg. You will be assimilated. Resistance is futile. Hoo, boy. Isolation is a supreme pain in the ass. It's even worse when you make a conscious decision to be isolated. Fuck it, I'm done talking. Books I've been burying myself in Stephen King's Hearts in Atlantis (for the upteempth time), trying to sleep (but resisting it on some level). Prior to that, I'd finished rereading The Magician's Nephew (I read it when I was about ten or eleven). It occured to me as I was setting Hearts in Atlantis down to take my 2:00 a.m. pee that I don't read as much as I would like to. While I was reading C.S. Lewis and Stephen King, I found myself wanting to read more, to read everything these guys ever wrote. It's kind of silly, but it does prove that the written word exercises a lot of power over willing minds. Yes, I'm a brainwashed, book-loving pod person. Kill me, kill me now. At any rate, I've written down a list of my all-time favorite books. I've forgotten why I've decided to do this (boredom, most likely), but I'm going through with it anyway. Many are called, but few are chosen. Of Thyroid Scans and My Cousin Reyo I had to go to Makati Med to get a thyroid scan and blood test. I spent about two hours there, which is kind of annoying when you take into account the fact that the tests lasted, oh, all of five minutes. Maybe less. The rest of the time my mom and I had to sit on hardbacked (and needless to say, uncomfortable) wooden benches, waiting for my turn and battling it out with the twenty-odd people who were also waiting to get pictures taken of their lymph nodes (or wherever it is that the thyroid-ish hormones come from). Lovely. But we survived (although I kept my eyes shut for most of the blood test --- I have an immobilizing fear of syringes) and had a really good Filipino-style lunch at the Podium with Tita Grace. I had fun. Tita Grace is always fun. While we were eating, she expressed concern about her middle child, Reyo, and how he seemed to have lost his zest for life. Sound like anyone we know? This would be pretty normal if Reyo was a forty year old with mortgages to pay and children to support, or if he was a slightly cynical teenager with depression issues. But he's barely nine. It's kind of frightening to think that he's become indifferent to life already. I think it may just be a phase (I went through a similar one when I was eleven), but the things he said made me feel bad for the little guy all the same. Check these out:
As I understand it, boys in school also tease him for being shy. They call him "Marius the shy boy." Man, what I wouldn't do to beat those brats to a pulp (and get away with it). I know how hard it is to feel that you don't fit in. Everybody craves acceptance, especially children. Reyo's indifference extends beyond the classroom. He has no interest in games, extracurricular activities and the like. Hell, who can blame him? All the clubs I belonged to in grade school and high school were about as exciting as as licking a slug. I think I feel especially bad for Reyo because I have an idea of what he's feeling. I remember just last year when I was feeling so disconnected from the world, that I just kept retreating into myself until I lost all interest in life. Before that, I was almost always the odd man out, too. My mind would run a course different from everybody else's; if I spoke out about some of my deeper thoughts, hardly anyone could understand me. I felt fitful and restless in school, or in any place and situation where I was forced to participate in an archaic routine that was established before I was born (except for Christmas, Christmas is the exception). I only wish I could communicate to Reyo that it's not such a bad thing being different from everyone else, that not fitting in doesn't necessarily require rejecting everything else in life. Problem is, I'm in no position to tell anyone, especially a barely nine year old kid, anything. How could I be, when I haven't yet learned what I preach? Personal Baggage I think I've just now noticed (I'm dense that way) that very little of my ramblings reflect things that are actually happening in my life. This is probably because some of the stuff that happens to me is, er, unpleasant, and I have this (coward's) habit of avoiding talking --- or even thinking --- about unpleasant things. Well, screw that. Here's an update on the recent events in the life of one Erika Santiago:
That's all I've got right now. If there's anything else of significance, I've conveniently forgotten about it. Lord of the Rings Again Okay, so I watched it again last night and managed to find (surprise, surprise) more things to complain about. But first, in the non-complaint genre: Complaint: (Oh, I have a lot more, but this is the only one worth writing.) Legolas - He kicked ass as a warrior, but he was written out of character in some parts, or at least in one major part. I'm talking about the scene pre-battle at Helm's Deep, when Legolas was telling Aragorn that the Rohirrim were going to die. Okay, I can swallow that (barely). Their situation was a tad more hopeless than it was in the book. But book Legolas never seemed to me to be prone to despair. It couldn't have been physical fatigue that made him piss and moan about their situation, because Elves are impervious to that. What then? Emotional fatigue? That, I don't buy. In the book, Legolas was always stalwart and never lost hope. I realize they put that conflict in to develop Legolas' character somewhat (since in the book, the only change he goes through is he becomes friends with Gimli). But they were faithful to his character in the first movie. Why not in the second one as well? Yeah, yeah, whine, whine, whine, bitch, bitch, bitch. I really should learn to appreciate the movie as a whole and stop picking on the details. But that seems to go against the very grain of my nature. :p I'm a complainer. What are you going to do about it? It just slightly peeved me, because in that scene Legolas came off as a whiny crybaby. Kind of like Rogue. *ducks from the rotten tomatoes and veggies Rogue fans throw at me* Kind of like me. Also, why was Gimli calling him "lad?" We don't know Legolas' real age, but he's not supposed to be a giddy schoolboy, for crying out loud. He made mention in the book about how walking in the forest made him feel young again. That implies that's he's old. Time stretches differently for Elves; I'm betting it would take more than 139 years (Gimli's age) to make an Elf feel old. Ughers. I'm outta here. I need to go get me a life (though I'll admit, I have a pretty cool, crazy, jet setting life in my head already). Oh, yeah. Of Tolkien Women and Actors Who Sell Out to Pop Stars I took the Which Lord of the Rings Noblewoman Are You? test again because, and I mean no disrespect to Arwen, there is no way I am like her! A true romantic? Graceful and elegant? Not even. Also, she's kind of a background character (in the book, anyway). Ask anyone who knows me if they truly, honestly think I'm a background kind of person. They'll tell you I'm not. I'm loud, obnoxious and I like being the center of attention. (On a seperate note, I'm also a self-flagellating, insecure little person, but you've probably already figured that out.) So here is the new result of the same test: Congratulations, You are Eowyn. You are a spunky gal who likes to get in there with da boyz. A feminist to boot, but underneath it all you are a caring softie at heart who cares a lot for yer family. Or something like that. Damn. Missed Galadriel again. Heh. Wishful thinking, right? At any rate, see that? I got Eowyn (again). It's all true, too true. Re: Elijah Wood. Ew, ew, ew, ew! I take it back! The guy's a freak of nature! He actually made a movie with Mandy Moore --- Try 17, or something. *screams in disgust* That sell-out! He blew it, he so blew it. It's understandable that he wouldn't be able to get roles as kick-ass as Frodo, because Lord of the Rings is pretty hard to top. But still, Mandy Moore? Mandy Moore?! Augggggghhhhhhh! The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers Wow. I --- wow. Go see it. Right now. See it again, if you already have. It's mind blowing. I'm still searching for words. Anyway, I'm watching it again, with my mom this time. I'll have a more coherent review by then. Maybe. Some major complaints: 
! It's always the hot that die! *BoromircoughBoromir* This isn't really a complaint about the film though; it's just so, so tragic!
Some minor complaints: The good: "It's me! It's your Sam! Don't you know your Sam?" This was definitely an "awwww..." moment. The okay: * In (almost) retrospect, some of my Elijah Wood comments seem to come off slightly nasty. I want it said on record that I love the guy and think he's a wonderful actor. I like picking on people I like, is all. More Personality Tests (Yes, I'm That Bored!)  Which X-Woman Are You? Cool beans! Funnily enough, I got Psylocke in the Which X-Man Are You? quiz. That's not too shabby. Here are a few more: Which Marvel Comics Hero Are You? You are Deadpool. You are a wise-crackin' smart ass who kills for money. You love killin', guns, knives and money. You're the scum of the earth, but you've got class! Works for me. I love Deadpool! What Superhero Are You? You are the Hulk. You are quite moody. Some say you have a split-personality, but deep down you're a smart and confused person. Argghh! Cool! Hulk smash! What Lord of the Rings Male and Mood Do You Desire? You like Boromir when he is tempted. You like your men emotionally tortured, with just a touch of evil about them. Who is Your Ideal Lord of the Rings Mate? Gandalf: He's an intensely wise, powerful wizard who can survive anything --- even being pulled off a cliff by a fiery Balrog. Oh, and he's about three billion years old. Would he even look twice if you walked by naked? I guess you don't care. You're more interested in passionately discussing complex matters no one else could possibly comprehend, than in some tawdry bedroom tryst... I guess. Who knows what Gandalf can do behind closed doors? There's a notion that would scar most people for life. But, hey, whatever rocks your socks... This is kind of cool and kind of twisted. Ah, well. Good looks pass away (unless you're Legolas), but intelligence lasts forever (unless you're human, and then you become senile). Happily, Gandalf isn't human. Which Lord of the Rings Noblewoman Are You? Congratulations, you are Arwen, a true romantic at heart. There is more to you than meets the eye. You would do anything for your true love, even give up your immortality. You are known for being graceful, elegant, and faithful. Hmph. I couldn't have been Galadriel? *sulks* Well, at least I'll be Queen of Gondor. Mwehehe. Edit: I deleted the pictures in this rambling because they were taking too long to load. I kept the Dark Phoenix one, though, because she's just too cool to ignore (and I'm a person who dislikes Jean Grey and nearly everything Jean Grey-related almost as passionately as I dislike Rogue  ). I also edited some of the results because of their incorrect grammar and punctuation and inaccurate information. For example: Gandalf is not all-powerful. Ah, hell, what are you going to do about it? The person who wrote the quiz is an idiot and I'm an anal retentive bitch who's a stickler for grammatical rules.
A Frame by Frame Analysis of the Newest X-Men 2 Trailer (Because I Am Just That Sad) Warning: This rambling contains spoilers. Quick Background: The story is based loosely on the graphic novel by Chris Claremont, God Loves, Man Kills. It begins with the attempted assassination of the President by (a possibly mind-controlled) Nightcrawler. The X-Men go out to investigate, leaving the X-Mansion in Wolverine's hands. While the X-Men are away, a retired military commander, Stryker, leads his troops in a siege of the X-Mansion. Stryker seems to know a lot about Wolverine's past (figures). His assistant Anne Reynolds is actually Lady Deathstrike, a lady who's a little P.O.'d at Wolverine. She thinks that he was responsible for her dad's death. Anyway, Magneto breaks out of prison (probably with Mystique's help) and he and the X-Men team up to stop Stryker from raising all kinds of hell. Quick, right?  And off we go!
Frame 1: The mandatory green screen that says, "The following preview has been approved for all audiences by the Motion Picture Association of America." Frame 2: Blackness Frame 3: Top to angled view of the 20th Century Fox logo. Boring. Frame 4: Blackness again. Yippee. Magneto can be heard saying the last few lines of his dialogue with Professor X in the end of the first movie, when they are playing chess inside Magneto’s plastic prison. Magneto: Doesn't it wake you in the middle of the night --- His disembodied voice continues to be heard in the next few frames. Frame 5: The blackness fades to show the clear and frosted plastic chess pieces on the clear and frosted checkered surface of a plastic chessboard. It's the same chessboard Professor X and Magneto were playing on (in? with? prepositions are --- or whatever it is in, on and with are --- are a pain in the ass). Magneto (voice-over): --- the feeling that someday they will pass that foolish law --- Frame 6: A shot of Magneto from an over Professor X's shoulder point of view. Magneto: --- and come for you --- Frame 7: Close up view of the chessboard. Magneto picks up a clear plastic rook and takes Professor X's frosted plastic rook. Magneto (voice-over): --- and your children --- Frame 8: A shot of Professor X from an over Magneto's shoulder point of view. Magneto (voice-over): --- take you all away? Professor X: It does indeed. Fade to black. Frame 9: Blackness fades to reveal the hallway to the Cerebro chamber. Commando-types with flashlights and rifles are coming from the corridor to the right of the hall. Some are heading toward the left corridor, others up the hall (toward the screen) and others down the hall towards the Cerebro chamber. Fade to black. Frame 10: Blackness fades. Other commando-types with flashlights and rifles are exploring the school halls. Fade to black. Frame 11: Blackness fades, revealing Bobby (soon to be Iceman, hopefully) leaning against a wall, probably hiding from the commandos. He looks frightened. He looks up, looking around, probably hearing something. In the background, there are the sounds of helicopters. Fade to black. Frame 12: Blackness fades, revealing an angled view that shows three commandos in harnesses, coming down from helicopters hovering over the X-Mansion. There are possibly three helicopters in this frame. Fade to black. Frame 13: Blackness fades. A commando-type (complete with black greased-face) is standing in a hall inside the mansion. Behind him, over his shoulders, there are several other commando-types running down a hall or toward a room. The commando type looks to his left (his left, not our left). Fade to black. Frame 14: Blackness fades, revealing an over a commando-type's shoulder shot of a student (a kid who looks just like Harry Potter, haircut, glasses, baggy pants and all) in a hallway. The commando-type moves into the frame, walking slowly toward the kid. Fade to black. Frame 15: Blackness fades, revealing a shot of Professor X in an over Magneto's shoulder point of view. Professor X makes a move on the chessboard (which we can't see). Professor X: I feel a great swell of pity for the poor soul --- Fade to black. Frame 16: Blackness fades. Back in the school hall, there the commando-types are lining the walls. Stryker walks down the middle of the hall, backlit by the commando-types' flashlights. Only the edges of his head and left arm are illumined. The rest of him is in shadow. Professor X (voice-over): --- who comes to that school --- Fade to black. Frame 17: Blackness fades. Same shot as Frame 15, Professor X from an over Magneto's shoulder point of view. Professor X gives Magneto a look of both sympathy and warning. Professor X: --- looking for trouble. Frame 18: Wolverine leaps down (from where to where?) with his arms extended and (presumably, though we don't see it) his claws out. He's obviously yelling, but you can only hear him in the background. From the pictures Fox has released, it looks like he's leaping down from the indoor balcony of the second floor onto a group of commando-types on the first floor. Frame 19: A hallway in the White House. There are two unconscious or semi-unconscious Secret Service agents lying on the floor, and you can see the feet of a third knocked down agent at the bottom of the frame. Nightcrawler in an über cool white coat is in midair, doing some kind of acrobatic flip. His tale is flipping around too. Yay! At the same time, another Secret Service agent moves into the frame from the left. Frame 20: A view of the Secret Service agent from between Nightcrawler's legs. Nightcrawler crouches and, leaping, runs toward the agent, giving us a perfect hind view of his forked tail. Frame 21: A commando-type is standing in the halls of the school. He moves to his left, flashing his flashlight at the screen. Light fills the screen. Frame 22: Light fades, revealing soldiers standing guard at the hall leading to the Cerebro chamber. Two soldiers are wheeling some kind of cart toward Cerebro's doors. Frame 23: Anne Reynolds (a.k.a. Yuriko Oyama, a.k.a. Lady Deathstrike) enters a white room through electronic sliding doors. I think this is Magneto’s prison, as you can see the arm and half the body of a prison guard on the left. She raises a freaky plastic pistol at someone. Cyclops, perhaps? In a picture, he's standing in a similar room. It looks as though he’s just turned around. He looks urgent and is almost certainly reaching for his visor, to open the way for his optic blasts. (See Frame 26.) In another picture, he's in that same room, fighting a prison guard with the guard's own plastic baton. Frame 24: A ground-up view of a roof. CountingDown.com identifies this as the roof of an abandoned church. Nightcrawler is crashing through it and flips toward the floor. We can hear him yelling in the background. Frame 25: A ceiling view of a prison guard hitting Magneto with a plastic baton. Magneto either Cries out when he is hit. Frame 26: A rear view head shot of Cyclops standing in front of what looks like Magneto’s prison door. His fingers are near the switch on his visor that allows him to let out his optic blasts. The camera rushes up towards his head, and he turns around. There is an urgent / surprised look on his face. It's hard to tell which. Lady Deathstrike coming up behind him, anyone? Frame 27: An octagonal window in the X-Mansion explodes. Someone's shoulder or finger (if it's placed right on top of the camera) is on the bottom left corner of the frame. Frame 28: From (our) left to right, Pyro, Rogue and Bobby are inside the school. They duck as something (possibly the window, possibly something else altogether) explodes in front of them. Rogue screams. Frame 29: A few (deliberately, I think) blurred shots. Frame 30: Close up profile of Jean Grey, tight on her eyes. She turns around and looks at something. She might be shocked, surprised or frightened. It's hard to tell, as only her eyes are shown. Frame 31: A thoroughly wrecked Cerebro chamber. There is a boy or man (It's difficult to tell; it could be either a teenage boy or thin, sickly man. I tend to favor the teenage boy) in a hospital gown sitting on a wheelchair. In front of him is Magneto, fully suited and rising up into the air, and Professor X, sitting in front of Cerebro with the helmet on. Some theories go to say that the unidentified mutant behind Magneto and Xavier is Mutant 143, a.k.a. Jason. The only mutant Jason in the X-Men universe that I'm aware of is Jason Wyngarde, a.k.a. Mastermind. Hmmm... Mastermind was a telepath who corrupted Phoenix into becoming Dark Phoenix. I wonder... Nah, not in a million years. How the hell would they explain all that on the big screen? Professor X (voice-over): Whats happened to you? (I have no idea who he’s saying this to. Magneto? Wolverine? Stryker, even?) Frame 32: Angled shot of Stryker smiling creepily. Stryker: Don’t you remember? Frame 33: Rear view of commando-types leading a captured Wolverine to some kind of prison chamber. One of them is right behind him, pointing a rifle at his back. Magneto (voice-over): You should have killed me --- Frame 34: Shot of Magneto in his prison. Magneto: --- when you had the chance! (Again, I have no idea who he's saying that to. Professor X? Stryker? This is more likely, as there is a picture of Stryker and Magneto's prison guard doing something to him --- I'm not sure what, but it looks like it hurts.) Frame 35: Mystique leaping and flipping through the air (and maybe hitting someone while she's doing it, but we can't see for sure). The room she's in looks industrial. It might be a warehouse, or the compound where Magneto’s prison is located, or even the hangar of the X-Jet. Rogue (voice-over): They're gonna to kill him! (I'm assuming "him" is Wolverine, as he was evidently captured by Stryker’s men.) Frame 36: Head shot of Rogue, maybe in the tunnel and escape route underneath the X-Mansion that we've heard about. Rogue: Bobby! (This isn't some Richard-Erika-Die Maus kind of cry. It sounds like an extension of her line in Frame 35. Maybe she wanted to rescue Wolverine and needed Bobby’s help, but Bobby just wanted to get away. :p) Frame 37: Head shot of Wolverine, looking... um... I do not know. Pissed? Desperate? Horrified? Something or other, I'm sure. Wolverine: No! Frame 38: Angled side view of Wolverine standing in front of a wall of ice (Bobby's doing?). He touches the wall, again looking desperate. Maybe the wall cut him off from Rogue and the others, or from Stryker, who seems to know a lot about Wolverine's past. Wolverine: No! Frame 39: Head shot of Stryker, standing (presumably) in front of the Cerebro chamber. Soldiers are standing behind him. He grins. Computer Female Voice (voice-over): Welcome, Professor. (Obviously, Stryker found a way to crack into Cerebro, not unlike Mystique morphing into the Professor to enter the Cerebro chamber in the first movie. Man, they really should beef up security around that place.) Frame 40: Daytime. Angled side view of Pyro. His hand is extended toward a couple of police cars parked outside on the lawn. They blow up in a cool show of fire. Frame 41: Nighttime. Two of Stryker's helicopters are approaching the X-Mansion. There are commando-types sitting on the open doors, probably ready to jump out. Frame 42: Magneto in his prison. Magneto: You haven't told him --- Frame 43: Wolverine is standing in front of the wall of ice, touching it. Stryker is on the other side, doing the same. Magneto (voice-over): --- about his past. Frame 44: Storm is walking down from the cockpit of the X-Jet. It looks like Jean Grey is in the co-pilot's seat. Rogue (voice-over): Who is he? Wolverine (voice-over): I can't remember. Of course you don't, sweetie. 
Frame 45: Close up head shot of Storm Storm: Sometimes anger --- Frame 46: Wolverine slashes a commando-type (back in the X-Mansion). Frame 47: Close up head shot of Storm (same as Frame 45). Storm: --- can help you survive. Frame 48: Cyclops uses his optic blasts to... er... blast something. Frame 49: Some |