PixlBit

Congrats!

I haven't played Dragon's Age Origins so I'll probably pick that up. Good deal on Mass Effect but I own those games for 360. Everything else I either own already or can't afford (paying rent this week).

"BLAZKOWICZ HE WILL AGAIN HINDER OUR PLANS AND FUCK"

I don't need to watch that first video thanks to the screen capture. That rocks.

Cuteness OD. Skips would be a fine name. 

SPOILER WARNING!!!!!!!! (I haven't figured out spoiler text)

"As for Wolverine's metal, he could still have gone through the weapon X program after the events of DoFP."

Feel free to correct me here but at the end when Logan wakes back up at Xavier's mansion, it isn't confirmed whether he still has adamantium in his body (his claws never come out).
That's the thing about the final shot that puzzles me: if Mystique is acting as Stryker does she put Logan through the Weapons X program (or at least hands him off to the real Stryker) or does she just rescue him? 

I saw it yesterday afternoon and I really enjoyed it. I think it was a solid X-Men film: visually inventive, emotionally powerful and downright magical/impressive in how it bridged the trilogy and First Class without being incoherent or losing focus. The way it ended was just crazy (for how it wraps up and then immediately sets the stage for future films) and smile-inducing. 

In a way, it was refreshing that the film didn't explain certain things: how the future Xavier still exists after what happened to him in The Last Stand, how Wolverine still has his admantium claws after what happened in The Wolverine. In fact, I'd say this film almost acts like The Last Stand, X-Men Origins: Wolverine and The Wolverine didn't happen - aside from the last film, which I liked, I'm okay with that. It just makes the time travel stuff a little messy in a Back To The Future way (it doesn't make sense but how its resolved emotionally is so good you don't care).

Great acting by everyone around but clearly James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender and Jennifer Lawrence benefit the most. The best of these films aren't just about the spectacle but the human/mutant element, about how where one sits in the human/mutant debate can define you or just how neutral or extreme one can take their beliefs. Keeping both arguments in the gray (there's validity to both Xavier and Magneto's stances) influences how events transpired in the best of the series. Everything is character-motivated, not a empty place holder for an action scene (no matter how well its done). Bryan Singer understood this in the first 2 films. It's why those are held in such high regard and why it was important to get him back for this one.

Lawrence was amazing as Raven/Mystique, especially on a physical level. First Class gave her little to do in that regard; here, she's just wiping the floor with everyone and looking fantastic as she does it. Character-wise, it's rich, too; her time with Magneto has rubbed off on her despite the fact that she doesn't kill (like she's holding on to some values Xavier gave her) like he's willing to.

Everyone is going to love Quicksilver. The whole Pentagon sequence was one of the highlights and there's a moment involving slo-mo and Jim Croce's "Time in a Bottle" that had the whole audience laughing and cheering (myself included). He's not in the film for very long but he definitely made an impression.

I could go on and on so I'll wrap it up here. I didn't stay for the end credits ending so I have no idea what happened but the implications in the final shot left me with some questions...

There's nothing wrong with black and white films, dear. Especially the old/classic ones. 

$400 is still quite a bit of money for me to invest in and not feel guilty. I never wanted the Kinect or any internet-connected camera in my apartment so taking it away means it was never necessary. Which is what we all suspected, right?

The Netflix/Hulu access isn't final - I've read on Shacknews - but it would be a smart move. I've paid for Gold since I've started an account back in '07 because I've always felt I got my money's worth as far as the online infrastructure is concerned (before I purchased a PS3 last year, it was also my only gaming option). The weird thing here is that I've felt their Netflix app has been spotty in quality (loss of audio on playback, goofy menus) at times, while the Hulu Plus app has been pretty solid.

I've sent you a friend request via Skype.