The Saturday Review: X-Men: First Class

X-Men: First Class (2011)

Directed by Matthew Vaughn

Starring:
James McAvoy
Michael Fassbender
Jennifer Lawrence
January Jones

Movies based on comic books can be hit or miss, and with an established rabid fanbase, there's always a danger when adapting a beloved series like The X-Men.  After seeing several trailers for the newest X-Men incarnation, I was pretty sure it was going to be good, and I was not disappointed.

X-Men: First Class reveals the back stories for several of the core X-Men characters, including Magneto, Professor X, Mystique, and Emma Frost (the White Queen).  Eric Lensherr (Magneto) is separated from his parents as they arrive at a Polish concentration camp.  As he reaches for them, the iron gates bend and twist.  His power is discovered by Dr. Schmidt (Kevin Bacon), who tortures him in an effort to harness the power.  Charles Xavier, the future Professor X, discovers Raven Darkholme (Mystique), stealing food from his fridge and takes her in.

Twenty years later, Lensherr (Fassbender) is on a revenge mission to find and kill the elusive Dr. Schmidt.  Xavier (McAvoy) is a newly appointed professor, traveling with Raven (Lawrence) posing as his sister.  In Las Vegas, CIA operative Moira McTaggart is staking out the Hellfire Club and witnesses clear evidence of genetic human mutation.  She seeks out Professor Xavier, an expert on mutation, and he begins working for the CIA, using a thought amplifying machine to find other mutants.  He and McTaggart discover Sebastian Shaw and his team are a threat to national security.  They join up with Lensherr and create a team of mutants to fight Shaw and his accomplices.  As their presence among regular humans becomes more obvious, the people they are protecting become a larger threat as well.

This flick is stylish and smart, with gorgeous period costuming and plenty of inside references for devoted X-Men fans.  The casting was excellent, and Fassbender and McAvoy are pitch perfect in their prospective roles.  I'm usually not fond of January Jones, but she was definitely the right choice to play Emma Frost and any doubts of Jennifer Lawrence's suitability for Mystique were blown away by a cameo by Rebecca Romijn (the original film version of Mystique).  Although the film has grossed the least at the box office of all the previous X-Men movies, I think it is the best so far and I am eager to see the second and third films in this series.

I think X-Men fans will enjoy this film, and it is an excellent starting point for those who are unfamiliar with the series.  The special effects are very well-done and there are several humorous moments that provide levity in between some very serious scenes.  It's definitely worth seeing in theaters, especially for comic fans.

The Saturday Review: Bossypants

Bossypants
Tina Fey
Published in 2011

Tina Fey, known for her work on "Saturday Night Live" and "30 Rock" recently published her first book, a memoir called Bossypants. Fey writes about her first forays into entertainment, especially her job with a local children's theater and doing improv with Chicago's elite group, Second City.  She tells brief but significant stories about her time at "SNL" and describes her awkward transition to fame and becoming the boss at "30 Rock".  There are a few funny anecdotes about her personal life (snapshots from her childhood and adolescence, her disastrous honeymoon, the struggles of being a late-in-life working mom, treks between families at Christmastime) and the less fun parts of being in the public eye (magazine photo shoots and reading about yourself on the internet). 

I heard good things about Bossypants, and when faced with a ridiculously small audiobook selection, my road trip travel companions and I decided to give it a whirl.  We were pleased by the results, and it made an otherwise long car ride go very quickly.  The sections were short and punchy, with funny asides.  Fey writes about herself in an off-hand, self-deprecating way and doesn't shy away from describing her less-flattering attributes.  Surprisingly, I enjoyed her personal stories about her awkward maturation and current personal life more than the stories about working in television, which was the initial draw.  Women will identify with her social ineptitude and self-consciousness about her looks, but her stories are universally funny.

Fey reads the auidobook, so you can hear her words in her voice, how she intends it to be read.  If you regularly listen to audiobooks, this is a good one to add to your collection.  The book is well-written and funny, but like most autobiographies, your enjoyment of the book will directly correlate with your feelings about the author.  I would definitely suggest this book for fans of Fey, "SNL", or "30 Rock".

The Saturday Review: Ginia Bellafante's Review of Game of Thrones

Editor's Note:  It feels kind of weird to do a review of a review, but it needs to be addressed.

HBO's newest series is "Game of Thrones", a huge film-quality production based on the epic sci-fi/fantasy series A Song of Ice and Fire, written by George R. R. Martin.  It's extremely popular in the sci-fi/fantasy community and has spawned trading card, role-playing, and board games.  Obviously, geeks are excited about the series, and that includes girl geeks, of course.

But, New York Times reviewer Ginia Bellafante doesn't seem to be convinced that girl geeks even exist.  Repeatedly throughout her review of the "Game of Thrones" pilot, she returns to the idea that female viewers will be scarce.  She makes a point of saying that the show's sexy undercurrent is a deliberate move to cull a female fanbase.

"'Game of Thrones' is boy fiction patronizingly turned out to reach the population's other half."

 "The true perversion, though, is the sense you get that all of this illicitness has been tossed in as a little something for the ladies, out of a justifiable fear, perhaps, that no woman alive would watch otherwise."

Basically, Miss Bellafante's position is that the only way women would watch something like "Game of Thrones" is if it included romance/sex scenes and that those scenes are there exclusively "for the ladies".  Because men aren't interested in sex at all, right?

All of the women I am friends with are girl geeks and a number of them play World of Warcraft (or other MMORPGs), read sci-fi/fantasy novels, and yes, watch sci-fi/fantasy themed movies and television shows.

It's always disheartening when journalists don't do their research, especially when it would take fifteen minutes of perusing the internet to find out that there is a HUGE girl geek community, with a large portion of that community devoted to sci-fi and fantasy.  Bellafante goes on to say:

"While I do not doubt that there are women in the world who read books like Mr. Martin's, I can honestly say that I never met a single woman who has stood up in indignation at her book club and refused to read the latest from Lorrie Moore unless everyone agreed to The Hobbit first."

To which I say to Miss Bellafante, clearly you are in the wrong book clubs*.

*Please read this article, by MSNBC's Susan C. Young and this response to Bellafante's review by awesome geek girl blogger Amy Ratcliffe over at Geek With Curves.  Now these are women I would start a book club with!

The Saturday Review: Toshiba Netbook

Toshiba Mini-Notebook (netbook)
10.1" screen
Intel Atom processor N455
2 GB memory (upgraded from 1 GB)
250 GB hard drive
Intel Integrated Graphics
Equipped with: full-size keys, touchpad, integrated webcam and mic
OS: Ubuntu Netbook Edition

As much as I loved Lappy, he was kind of a pain in the butt.  That particular model had webcam issues, so my webcam worked for about 2 1/2 uses and died.  I mounted an external webcam on the top when I needed to use one, but it was very frustrating and often fell off.  The battery had an extremely short life, even in the beginning, and only got steadily worse as time went on.  Then, Sullivan chewed through the power cord and I had to buy a generic compatible one as they no longer sold the actual cord.  This eventually led to Lappy's internal combustion and I was forced to buy my new netbook.

Sullivan looks on in horror as Lappy is gutted for parts.

When Kris suggested I get a netbook, I was against it at first.  I wanted to be able to have computer functionality and my understanding of a netbook was that it only provided the most basic functions and was similar to a smart phone or tablet.  As I read, I found out that this was not the case.  Netbooks have most of the capabilities of a full-size laptop, but simplified and streamlined.

I read up on netbooks and decided on the Toshiba mini-notebook based on positive CNET reviews.  The Toshiba is lightweight and sleek.  Previous models were described as having a bulky and protruding battery, but Toshiba seems to have fixed that issue.  I was able to comfortably use the computer while lying in bed and watching TV, something I was unable to do with my previous laptop.  Battery life is, on average, six hours and it is so nice not to have to be constantly plugged in.  Because of its size, the netbook only has one speaker (mono), but it does have a headphone jack, which allows the sound to be heard in stereo.  It also has a USB port and a SD card reader.

The Nanobot

Most netbooks come standard with Windows 7 Starter, which means very limited access to Windows 7 features (for instance, you can't change the desktop background).  This virtually forces you to upgrade, which can be costly.  Another option is to use the Ubuntu Netbook Edition.  Even though Kris is a die-hard Linux convert, I am not a Linux user by any means.  That being said, the netbook version of Ubuntu is surprisingly easy to use once you get used to it.  There are benefits to using Linux; you deal with less bloatware and unneeded programs and there is less chance of getting viruses.  Most Windows-compatible programs have Linux counterparts or, as in the case of Skype, a Linux beta version. 

Ubuntu Netbook Edition desktop

As far as looks go, the Toshiba netbook is probably the best-looking netbook on the market.  It looks like a very small laptop, and this model comes in some gorgeous colors (turquoise, lime green, bright blue, brown, and orange).  The screen, though small at 10.1", is excellent and arguably rivals any full-size laptop for clarity.

Toshiba Mini-Notebook in blue

The netbook is perfect for what I need and very user friendly.  I would recommend it for people who are looking for a high-quality laptop without a lot of extras or frills.  It's not a good fit for people who use their computer for entertainment (ex: games, watching movies, etc.), but for those who can afford it, it would make an excellent secondary laptop for students or frequent travelers.

The Saturday Review: This Week

Since I don't have anything specific to review, I'll let you in on how my week went.  My best friend J.D. and her geekling, Monkeyface, came out to visit us, along with her boyfriend and another good friend.  A good time was had by all and we geeked out at the Lego store, the comic book store, and various other places.  Monkeyface had a blast tormenting the kitties and playing with our toys.  (He especially like the germs!)

In ask and you shall receive news, J.D. gave me the "Bewitched" Barbie as a late Christmas/early birthday present and it's just as beautiful as it looks online!

And in Hallelujah! news, Kris finally cut his shaggy hair and shaved off the scary homeless guy beard!

The Before:  Kris with Sir Monkeyface

And the (oh-so-handsome) After!

And you can probably tell by the return of pictures that I once again have a computer.  Since Lappy met his ill-fated demise, we bought a Toshiba netbook that, so far, has been awesome.  Meet the new addition:

I love the color!

Teeny tiny laptop

It's adorbz!

This new guy needs a name - any suggestions?

I had an awesome (and busy!) week.  How about you?

The Saturday Review: Why Zebra Don't Get Ulcers

Why Zebras Don't Get Ulcers
Dr. Robert M. Sapolsky
Published in 2004 (3rd edition)

 If ever there was a time to not to judge a book by its cover, this would be it.  Despite its whimsical depiction of zebras dancing in a circle, Why Zebras Don't Get Ulcers is not a self-help book.  Written by renown biologist Dr. Robert Sapolsky, it is a science text that explains the phisology of stress and the toll chronic stress takes on the human body.

He begins by explaining how stress in humans has evolved over time.  Stressors in early humans resembled those in animals and directly related to survival.  The two main causes of stress were finding food and trying to keep from being eaten.  As science, medicine, and technology advanced, psychological causes began to take over.  Sapolsky theorizes that the anticipation of an event or consequence causes just as much stress as the actual event.

Studies on stress and their findings are discussed, but the majority of the book deals with the physical ramifications of chronic stress.  They include weight gain, depression, depleted immunity, and accelerated aging, among others.  I found the chapter on stress-related sleep issues particularly interesting, as I have dealt with on and off bouts of insomnia for most of my adult life. 

Sapolsky intentionally writes the book with nonscientific readers in mind, but never talks down to them.  He explains his reason for doing this: "I love science, and it pains me to think that so many are terrified of the subject or feel that choosing science means that you cannot also choose compassion, or the arts, or be awed by nature.  Science is not meant to cure us of mystery, but to reinvent and reinvigorate it."  The book is relatable, interesting, and at times, very funny.  I would highly reccomend this book for those interested in psychology and health, in addition to those suffering from chronic stress and/or anxiety.