10 Things I love about 'X-Men Origins'

While I am totally biased when it comes to reviewing X-Men films (or anything with Hugh Jackman for that matter), X-Men Origins: Wolverine is fun, fast-paced and fulfilling. Yes, fulfilling. Where X-Men 3: The Last Stand left me upset, confused and generally discontented, the latest mutant flick exceeded my expectations. Perhaps it should bump X3 out of the Blu-ray DVD pack and take its place...

So why am I raving about this film? Here's 10 reasons why:

1. Cool cameos from some of your favorite recurring characters like a teenage Cyclops (sorry, the glimpse of Storm was held for the director's cut DVD).
2. We finally know the tantilizing secrets of Wolverine's past— did you know that Logan isn't his first name?
   
3. Will.i.am rocks his silver screen debut in a cowboy hat.
   
4. Logan's love interest, Kayla Silverfox, is low-maintenance (not psychotic like Jean Grey in X-3) and gracefully acted by "True Blood" 's Lynn Collins.
5. Liev Schreiber kicks mutton-chops as Sabretooth. This blockbuster-shy actor earned some much-needed cool points after playing a nerd opposite a dashing Hugh Jackman in 2001's Kate & Leopold.
6. The sidekick and foil mutants were not annoying in this film. Dominic Monaghan as Bolt, Will.i.am as Wraith and Daniel Henney as Agent Zero vs. Callisto, Juggernaut and Pyro— 'nuff said.
7. Unlike the dark-dark-and-even-darker Dark Knight, I actually laughed during parts of this superhero movie. Isn't that how it's supposed to be?
8. Sorry, boys, this X-Men film is eye-candy for the girls. Between a shirtless Ryan Reynolds (Deadpool), a smoldering Taylor Kitsch (Gambit), a growling Liev Schreiber and a naked Hugh Jackman, you might want to bring a pocket fan.
9. The film has an adorable elderly couple who offer Logan some guidance (seriously we haven't seen a duo this cute since Uncle Ben and Aunt May in Spider-Man).
   
10. Still wanting more? At least two more spin-offs are already being discussed: a Deadpool prequel and another Wolverine story taking place in...Japan? Really?
    

Hounding Anoop-Dawg plus 'X-Men Origins' alternate endings

For those of you who are watching this season of "American Idol," keep reading. For those of you who despise/boycott/ignore it, just skip down to the X-Men paragraph.

Chapel Hill, N.C.'s own Anoop Desai, who was eliminated from the show two weeks ago, made his homecoming Monday at UNC-Chapel Hill. Friends, family and (of course) fans gave him a warm welcome. While I was an undergrad at UNC, I heard Anoop sing a few times as a member of the male a Cappella group, the Clef Hangers. After following his success on "American Idol," I was excited to meet and congratulate him. My friend and I were lucky to get our pictures taken (see right!) and speak with him briefly. Yes, I was pestering a fellow alum like a teeny-bopper, but Anoop couldn't have been more gracious.

Also, in case any fellow Tar Heels are wondering, I asked if his outfit was from Julian's on Franklin Street. It's not, but he did say he liked their style!

In addition to my local-celeb hunting, I saw X-Men Origins: Wolverine today. I'm too tired to do a full review now, but it was dynamite (or should I say adamantium?) If you're planning to see it soon, be sure to stay until the end of the credits for an additional scene as done in X-3: The Last Stand. Apparently this film has more than one ending snippet, but you can only see one at a time (read MTV's scoop on the multiple alternate endings).

More to come soon!

"My dad's Wolverine" and the kickoff of May Movie Madness

Like all superhero flicks, X-Men Origins: Wolverine has the potential to be a great date movie. Despite the genre's penchant for long action scenes and over-the-top characters, there's always a deeper story, and it usually centers around love . While true romances (think any movie based on a Nicholas Sparks novel) are a bit too serious for the first few movie dates, silver screen incarnations of classic comics are guaranteed to keep the mood light— or in the case of Spider-Man 3, ridiculously frivolous.

But what if you don't have a date? Hugh Jackman shares his 8-year-old son's method of impressing the ladies in the "The Daily Show" interview below. And in case you're wondering, the blow-up Wolverine punching toy was first mentioned back in 2006 when Hugh was promoting X3: The Last Stand on "Late Night with Conan O'Brien." Unfortunately NBC Universal is extremely vigilant in keeping their clips off youtube, so alas I have no video of that interview. Conan had predicted that Hugh's son would get a lot of use out of the punching toy as a teenager— I guess he started early!

Also, The LA Times has an article that breaks down the quintuple blockbusters of May and picks Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian as the only candidate likely to break $100 million on opening weekend (wouldn't have been my first pick!) But with all these budget-bloated movies premiering this month, it begs the question: Will there be anything left for the rest of the summer?

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