Reel Reviews -- X

The X-Files: Fight The Future (+) -- Definitely worth it if you're a fan of the show; otherwise, it's tough to say. I'm a fan, so I say "see it." It feels a lot like just a big episode of the show, but again, if you like the show...

X-Men (+) -- Well-done comic book adaptation. Some of the mutant powers are a bit on the outlandish side, but hey, you're not supposed to believe in this shit. Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellan provide just the right touch of gravitas to an otherwise popcorn-light movie.

X-Men: First Class (+) -- Lots of fun. True, lots of silly, profoundly implausible fun, but for what it is--a backdrop that plays while you munch away at your grain-silo-sized tub of popcorn--the movie performs its task admirably. There's plenty of easy on the eyes--certainly for the male viewer; probably for the female viewer, too, though I'm not one to judge that--and a good dose of cool visuals (nice but not overbearing special effects included), and an easy, comfortable attitude about the materials that more than makes up for the profound absurdity of the base premise. And, of course, Nazis with submarines; you never go wrong with Nazis with submarines. Wrap it all up and it's worth a couple of your hours. Posted 1/21/13.

X2: X-Men United (+) -- Ah, I'm such a sucker for anything that reeks of "cool." Throw some special effects in front of me and I'm happy. I have a feeling I should have liked this movie less than I did, but I certainly don't think there was anything egregiously wrong with it. There's a subplot about a particularly religious mutant that opens the doors to a lot of speculation, but they left it thoroughly undeveloped. Too bad. You have to settle for fairly run of the mill sci-fi superhero stuff. Still, that's usually entertaining--and so it is here. Posted 2/12/05.

Right About The Big Things

I like to say that I'm always right. No one ever believes me, but I'm always right. Of course, I'm not right about every detail of what passes in this world, but I get the big picture right a lot of the time.

Witness this post, from almost two years ago. I was spot on when I called the selection of Colin Kaepernick the turning point for the 49ers' future. As it turns out, it wasn't quite a direct line from that day to the Super Bowl, but the team did eventually get there. For the record, despite that post, I was not an advocate for replacing Alex Smith with the kid halfway through this season; I figured it was better to stick with Smith for the present, then hand the keys over to Kaepernick for next season. But I was wrong about that; Harbaugh made the right call.

And, as it turned out, I was right about the heart of the matter: the 49ers have returned to glory, as they say, and Kaepernick is a huge part of that. So please, listen to me once in a while when I tell you something.