Handicapped kids really need to be more careful when bartering with alien monkeys. The fate of the planet hangs in the balance of their choices. (via The Playlist)

This is the best prequel ever, because it actually tells a story. It’s not just setup, although there’s plenty of that too. The characters are actually different at this stage of the story, not just younger imitations. Xavier (James McAvoy) uses his telepathy to pick up babes, and has a cocky swagger that’s in no way reminiscent of Patrick Stewart. Mystique as a child is sweet and heartwarming, and once she grows up to be Jennifer Lawrence she’s a lovely lady, not yet the cold, hard edged Rebecca Romijn version.

Kevin Bacon Shows His Skills In New ‘X-Men: First Class’ Trailer

The superpowers get to be delightful at this stage because they haven’t totally become burdens yet. The kids get to train and experience the joy of discovery, like the best parts of Spider-Man and Iron Man. It’s just plain awesome, Azazel teleporting humans to the sky and dropping them, Magneto turning a knife into a boomerang or turning barb wire into snares. It’s beautiful and tragic too. Spoiler alert, but not all the mutants grow up to be X-Men, especially not the ones who don’t have well known comic book names.

The film really emphasizes the practical uses of mutant powers. Xavier even comments that his telepathy is being blocked, like, “Oh well, it’s not working right now so I can’t help you today. Maybe I need to call tech support.” It’s momentous, triumphant, powerful and still debates all that important philosophy. It totally invalidates the prologue of X-Men: The Last Stand but something tells me no one will mind that.

I love the way Matthew Vaughn shoots. He creates Hitchcockian suspense, only instead on knowing there’s a bomb under the desk, we know that Magneto is going to bend some metal. But will it be the gun or the coin or all the metal in the room? Vaughn’s camera captures little details that make the scene feel real, like Magneto’s reflection in a gold bar.

3 photosThe January Jones/Emma Frost Underwear Shots We’ve All Been Waiting For

More obvious details make the world feel even more real than the Bryan Singer films. Yeah, it’s a period piece, but using the period details grounds the film where X2 will still feel generically modern long after 2003. So they play “Palisades Park” in a go-go club and the fashion is disco. Just showing Mystique brushing her teeth gives her a real world context.

First Class is this year’s great comic book movie, up there with Spider-Man 1 and The Dark Knight, maybe somewhere in between them. (Sorry Green Lantern, it won’t be you this summer.) It’s the summer movie I’ve been waiting for. Actually, it makes me realize I might have been settling for others before this.

“I’ve got some ideas for the opening for the next film. I thought it would be fun to open with the Kennedy Assassination, and we reveal that the magic bullet was controlled by Magneto. That would explain the physics of it, and we see that he’s pissed off because Kennedy took all the credit for saving the world and mutants weren’t even mentioned. And we could go from there, and I’ve got some fun ideas about what other mutants to bring in. I don’t want to tempt fate, though. If the film’s a hit, of course I’d be interested. I really enjoyed making it.”

It seems like mutants are secretly behind all important historical events. I’m guessing events in later films include Phoenix helping us land on the moon and Mystique breaking into the Watergate Hotel. Wow, just typing that last sentence made me feel 8% geekier today.

The X-Men make (up) history in theaters June 3, 2011. (Hitfix)

It’s definitely not as cool as some of the other powers out there. Like Magneto, the guy who does stuff to magnets. Or Mystique, who can turn into anyone she wants including the guy who does stuff to magnets. Or Super Mario when he catches an invincibility star.

Director Matthew Vaughn, producer Bryan Singer, and British guy James McAvoy sat down with Total Film to talk about which other slutty outfits they could dress January Jones up in.

Matthew Vaughn said:

“1962 is far more grounded in the world of the ’50s. I think it takes about five years for a decade to really start getting its identity, so the fun thing about this for me would be doing [a sequel] in the latter part of the decade, where you’ve got The Rolling Stones, The Beatles, Flower Power…”

Bryan Singer also discussed setting the sequels in the 1970′s and 1980′s respectively, which I’m on board with. Especially if the story takes a radical jump between films as well, and the details are filled in as the plot unfolds. Like, why does Magneto suddenly have a Kid n’ Play high-top fade??

The art direction of these covers is so convincing that I’m not entirely convinced these actors didn’t actually exist in the 1960′s. I’m going to need to see a picture of January Jones wearing nothing more than today’s newspaper immediately. (Total Film)

In the wake of posters that look like the marketing team just ain’t even trying, we now have another still from X-Men: First Class. Last time around, we saw Kevin Bacon‘s Sebastian Shaw chilling with January Jones‘s White Queen in Mr. Freeze’s lair. Today we have a look at Lucas Till’s Havok standing in a burning hangar. Of course, there’s no context for the picture, so let’s speculate together.

A.) Havok just released a blast of plasma.

B.) Havok is the star of a Pearl Jam music video.

C.) Another senseless fire caused by using fireworks without Professor X’s supervision.

(X-Men Movies Facebook)

As you can see James McAvoy becomes bald and wheelchair-bound while Michael Fassbender gets a pretty sweet cape and helmet. And I think he can fly somewhat. Hey, but y’know, that wheelchair has some sweet rims. (FilmZ)

“His wish list is Clint Eastwood, Jack Nicholson, and Warren Beatty to play the retired superheroes who help out their grandchildren when their middle-aged parent screw up the world.”

Right. I’d be incredibly surprised if he got 1 of those 3 names (and it would have to be Nicholson), but there’s now way in the universe he’ll get all 3. Aim a little lower, Matt – How do Mickey Rooney, Dick Van Dyke, and “The Macho Man” Randy Savage sound? (via Deadline)

X-Men: First Class

Anyway, these rumors appear to have a little bit of truth to them, if star January Jones is to believed in these recent comments made to the press in some country called “Canada“:

“Poor (director) Matthew Vaughn is going to have to edit it in three days,” Jones joked. “That’s been a blast. We’ve all had so much fun making that movie. I think it was unrealistic for them to think they were going to make such a huge movie in whatever we had — two months or something. So of course we went over (schedule). I think I have a couple more days to shoot…  We’re almost done. The fact we’ve had to push the wrap date but they haven’t moved the release date is really interesting to me. I guess they must know what they’re doing. I have a lot of faith in Matthew as a director and an editor; I think his movies are great. And I think they’ve been cutting as we’ve been going. We should be fine.”

Whoa, way to be discreet, Jones. She better learn to zip it before she spoils the next season of “Mad Men” for me. (via The Playlist)

X-Men: First Class takes us back to the early days of the X-Men where you should pretty much forget everything you saw in the other movies. Beast and Mystique are kids, Wolverine is nowhere in sight, and your girlfriend wants to do it with Professor X now. Is that the Brave New World that Charles Xavier dreams about?

Now Britain‘s version of Christina Hendricks, screenwriter Jane Goldman has shot down any rumors that Kick-Ass 2 is currently in the works. She put one in the heart of the geek community via her Twitter.

“Saw a few erroneous reports today that I’m currently writing Kick Ass 2 script – sorry if anyone’s disappointed, but not true.”

Goldman went on to share that she’s currently working on two projects currently. One of which is Matthew Vaughn‘s next project, and the other a secret project that has yet to be announced. I guess my options are to wait patiently for the announcement or follow her on Twitter. I’d really like it if I didn’t have to follow someone named @ferretprincess.

So far we’ve seen a cast photo, a teaser poster, and a few good looks at the film’s mod style. Turns out that the recent glut of images is a damage control reaction to the original leaked cast photo. When you first saw it, you most likely said, “Jesus!” So did director Matthew Vaughn. He tells /Film:

“I freaked out on them yesterday. I don’t know where the hell that came from. I don’t think it’s a Fox image. It’s not a pre-approved image. When I found out, I said, what the fuck is this shit, and Fox is running around trying to figure out what happened as well. I agree. It’s like a bad photoshop, which maybe it was by someone. It didn’t reflect the movie. I was shocked when I saw it. I was like ‘Jesus Christ’…

In order to manage expectations, he released the following images of James McAvoy‘s Professor X and Michael Fassbender‘s Magneto showing off their powers. Just don’t show these to the cast that have to spend eight hours a day in the makeup chair. Those guys need to call their agents.

First off, we have Kevin Bacon’s Sebastian Shaw looking like Chris Walken in “The Continental,” and January Jones‘ Emma Frost looking like a woman with a delicious rack. Notice the wet bar in the back left. “Omit no detail,” say the producers!

Then we have a picture that some would construe as a “metaphor.” We’ve got young Professor X (James McAvoy) and Magneto (Michael Fassbender) engaged in a battle of wits over a chess board. While many might say that this 60′s throwback is a case of notalgia fever run amok, the fact remains that these stills demonstrate a warmth we haven’t seen in this franchise before. So even if it takes some ascots and a wood-and-leather study, it’s well worth it.

Finally, we’ve got the money shot. The group looking like the cast of a British detective series. Reaction to the earlier “official” photo was hostile, and with good reason. If the producers are going to jump along the timeline of the story to give us a fresh look at the characters, a generic, shadowy picture that graces the poster of every superhero movie is probably not called for. These stills convey a very different atmosphere that will probably be the source of more than a few laughs in the film knowing Matthew Vaughn. Ascots for everyone!!!

Our first look at her in costume was a bit of a disappointment. Instead of looking like the Maxim spread we anticipated, she looked more like a drum mallet. Now she opens up about the revealing costumes, which restores our hope:

“The costumes are insane. It’s a lot of very body-conscious stuff. If you look at the comic book, she’s barely dressed. She’s got quite the bod, which is very intimidating. I’m thinking, ‘I’m supposed to be doing crunches on the plane.  How am I gonna get buff in one day? I’m a petite person, so I didn’t want to go into a strict workout and eating regime. I would have disappeared entirely, and she’s very busty, very voluptuous, so I didn’t want to get rid of any of my curves.”

But sadly, they didn’t want her to get in better shape for the part in favor of making her look like women in the 1960′s actually looked. Which. Is. Bullsh*t. You know what else they didn’t have in the 1960′s? Guys who turned into ice. (Collider)

I’ve got good news for anyone who was left cold by X-Men 3 or Wolverine. Producers have decided to give X-Men: First Class a plot. Now that’s a step in the right direction!

X-Men: First Class charts the epic beginning of the X-Men saga, and reveals a secret history of famous global events. Before mutants had revealed themselves to the world, and before Charles Xavier and Erik Lensherr took the names Professor X and Magneto, they were two young men discovering their powers for the first time. Not archenemies, they were instead at first the closest of friends, working together with other Mutants (some familiar, some new), to stop Armageddon. In the process, a grave rift between them opened, which began the eternal war between Magneto’s Brotherhood and Professor X’s X-Men.

Nobody is really certain what exactly ‘Armageddon’ means. It might mean the end of the world as we know it, or it may refer to a mutant enemy. Or it just might be that monster truck. Personally, I’d be more fearful of Gravedigger. He can jump the larger amount of cars. (via /Film)

Today I have for you some boring pics from the set of X-Men: First Class. I take that back. If you love 60′s styling and umbrellas then these pics are going to make your Monday. In them we see James McAvoy, Jennifer Lawrence, and Rose Byrne as Charles Xavier, Mystique, and Moira McTaggart, respectively, braving the drizzle.

Yes, Xavier has hair and the ability to walk at this point in his life and Mystique is blue and clothed. The question we’re all asking ourselves is, what will Jennifer Lawrence look like when she’s, you know, all Mystique-y? Rebecca Romjin didn’t look three-quarters bad wearing next to nothing. Of course, First Class takes place in the 60s so one might expect a fuller figure to be in vogue. God knows all of you would love to see Christina Hendricks show up in "Mad Men" with only blue pasties as her attire. 

Check out the X-Men umbrellas after the jump…

(/Film)

^{"Oops. Didn’t see you there. I was just posing naturally."}

MTV met up with James McAvoy to talk about his upcoming turn as Professor X in Matthew Vaughn‘s X-Men: First Class. He knows that he has some large shoes to fill, as the role seemed tailor-made for Patrick Stewart, but he’s confident that he can bring his own touch to it.

"I’m basically going to try and bury Patrick’s performance. I think the fun about these films, when you go back and you either reboot or do a prequel, is you get to see how people became who they are. That means that you have to do them differently and by the end of the movie you have to do them the same way. The interesting journey is what happens to them, what changes them, what makes them evolve — not just mutate, but emotionally and psychologically evolve."

Oooo. Those are some tough words. I’d be careful what I say about Sir Patrick Stewart. The man is quick with a comeback after all.

James Corden and Patrick Stewart clash at Awards – Watch more Funny Videos

Today we have pics of January Jones as Emma Frost enjoying cantaloupe on the set of Matthew Vaughn‘s X-Men: First Class. I don’t remember the fruit being a huge part of Frost’s character in the comics, but maybe Vaughn has taken some artistic liberities. Wookie was also quick to point out that Jones is dressed like Dolph Lundgren‘s girlfriend in Rocky 4. If there was ever a movie to look to for inspirational costume ideas, it’s Rocky 4. My question is, when do we see January in this?

Start shooting those scenes IMMEDIATELY, Vaughn.

More pics of January as Emma after the jump…

(JoBlo)

The X-Men: First Class casting news keeps on comin’ today. Rose Byrne just joined the cast as Moira MacTaggert, and now Oliver Platt is set to play a non-mutant character mysteriously named The Man in Black. Hopefully his skill isn’t blending into the background. Platt isn’t exactly Crispin Glover thin.

The film, which begins shooting in London next month, has an impressive group of stars attached, including James McAvoy as Xavier, Michael Fassbender as Magneto, Alice Eve as Emma Frost, Nicholas Hoult as Beast, Jennifer Lawrence as Mystique, Caleb Landry Jones as Banshee, Lucas Till as Havoc, and Edi Gathegi as Darwin. And let us not forget Kevin Bacon, who will be terrorizing them all with his fancy footwork and/or something else. (Deadline)

The cast of Matthew Vaughn‘s X-Men: First Class grew a bit over the weekend. Rose Byrne has signed on to be adorable in the role of Moira MacTaggert, Professor X‘s hot piece of Scottish butt who later leaves him without explanation, and gives birth to a son who she needs to keep sedated due to his ability to warp reality. Mother of the year, people.

Also, joining the production is Jason Flemyng. He’s a mainstay of Matthew Vaughn and Guy Ritchie films. In other words, he’s British. He’ll play the teleporting mutant Azazel, who is also Nightcrawler’s dad. Looks like that mutant ability runs in the family. Though, blue skin does not. Looks like Mrs. Azazel’s got some ‘splaining to do!! (THR)

A screening of Inception this past weekend turned into a reeeeeeeaaaaalllllll nightmare for Matthew Vaughn (crickets). Vaughn says that he was sunk when he saw Joseph Gordon-Levitt involved in a zero gravity fistfight because it was too similar to what they were planning to do with X-Men: First Class. The scene in question would feature James McAvoy’s Professor X in "dream-space combat" with "spinning rooms and other physics-bending imagery," but now it’s been torn from the script as Vaughn’s team brainstorms a new set piece. "So it’s either leave it in and look as if you’re copying or change things. We completely ripped out about 12 pages of the script and the storyboards," commented Vaughn.

Whatever. It’s an easy fix. Just set the fight in a bounce castle. Why waste time thinking and writing? They obviously learned nothing from the example set by X-Men 3. (LA Times)

^{What the hell is she holding?}

Early reports that Amber Heard would play Mystique in Matthew Vaughn‘s X-Men: First Class were sexy… but wrong. That role is actually going to Winter’s Bone star Jennifer Lawrence. The rising star will be coated in blue bodypaint to play the shapeshifter after she wraps the horror film The House at the End of the Street.

With this announcement, also comes the news that Kevin Bacon will in fact play the film’s villian. Which means, if you see him beating up any schoolchildren in England in the next few months, just keep walking. Just making a movie. Nothing to see there. (THR)

^{Thank you Internet. Thank you for all that you do.}

We’ve got even more X-Men: First Class casting news to share today. Earlier in the week, we learned that Beast and Banshee had been cast. Today, we have news that actor/master sculptor Kevin Bacon is in talks to play the film’s as-of-now-unrevealed villian.

But who will Bacon play? I hate no knowing. Will he be some dickhead general, or a self-hating mutant with the power of invisibility and radical dance moves? Too soon to tell, though online chatter and speculation has him playing Mr. Sinister, a powerful mutant who gains his abilities by stealing others’ "genetic material." Sick, dude. Just like that director-marrier Milla Jovovich. (Deadline)

^Uncanny.

Nicholas Hoult is about to become a favorite amongst furries everywhere. The young actor (About A Boy, A Single Man, "Skins") has accepted the role of young Kelsey Grammer Beast in X-Men: First Class. The role originally went to Benjamin Walker until the studio fired him. And then rehired him. And then he quit. And then he had a light dinner. Followed that with some X-Box before bed.

Also aboard the project is Caleb Landry Jones aka Kid On Bike in No Country For Old Men as Banshee. Speculation is rampant today that Kick-Ass‘s Aaron Johnson will play Cyclops. The news comes from some anonymous guy on the Internet so you know it’s true. Take it from me, another anonymous guy on the Internet. (Deadline)

The Maxim spread for X-Men: First Class is shaping up to be AWESOME. We’ve known for awhile that Amber Heard and Rosamund Pike may sign on to play gorgeous mutants in Matthew Vaughn‘s prequel. Now there’s word that Alice Eve is in talks to play the role of Emma Frost. This more than makes up for her not making the cut for Captain America. If we’re all very good and wish really hard, this could become a reality. Those uncertain as to why this is an extremely important matter need only refer to the picture below:

Everybody clear? Good. Now get your asses down to the local wishing well. And bring a sh*tload of pennies. (Deadline)

With production slated to begin soon for X-Men: First Class, Matthew Vaughn had better start convincing some attractive people to wear silly costumes. If this rumor is to be believed, he’s doing exactly that. The Playlist picked up on a story in Production Weekly that 20th Century Fox has "strong interest" in bringing Amber Heard on to play a younger Mystique and former Bond Girl Rosamund Pike to play Moira MacTaggert. At this point consider this news merely a rumor. But to be certain someone had better check Amber’s crevices for residual blue bodypaint. Then and only then, can we be certain she tested for the part. I nominate myself.

And speaking of camera tests, the same article reports that Magneto shoe-in Michael Fassbender is not interested in testing for the role. What’s his problem? Fear of helmet hair? They have CGI to correct that, Michael.

Michael Fassbender is slated to be Comic-Con royalty one way or another. After breaking out big in Inglourious Basterds and The Hunger, Fassbender is now being eyed both for Matthew Vaughn‘s X-Men: First Class and Sony/Marc Webb’s Spider-Man reboot. However, according to Showbiz411, he can only do one.

If he chooses X-Men, he’d know full well how f***ing magnets work as he’d be playing Magneto opposite James McAvoy’s Professor X. Should he choose the Spider-Man reboot, he’d play an unspecified villian who squares off against a teen-aged Peter Parker. I’d prefer to see him as Magneto, as he’s an all-around great character whose extreme actions you can sympathize with. The most compelling villain in the Spider-Man universe dresses like an octopus.

^{This is Matthew Vaughn’s Johnny Vaughan’s excited face.}

X-Men: First Class is a dream project for most up-and-coming directors working nowadays. Matthew Vaughn was in talks to take the gig but those talks broke down, causing Hollywood’s hottest to pig pile on the property. But now it turns out their writhing and hair-pulling was all for naught, as Matthew Vaughn has sauntered in and taken back the crown. Too bad too. Samuel Bayer ended up getting a pretty bad finger jammy in the melee.

The man who McLovin described as a "dick" is in final talks to close the deal. If this all comes together, expect to see Ice Man bang out the chalkboard erasers later this fall. (Deadline)

Kick-Ass
R, 118m., 2010
Cast: Aaron Johnson, Chloe Mortez, Christopher Mitz-Plasse, Mark Strong, and Nicolas Cage
Directed by Matthew Vaughn
Screenplay by Jane Goldman and Matthew Vaughn based upon the Mark Millar comic

Kick-Ass is a bloody, head-on exploration into the overactive mind of the modern teenager.

Based on the graphic novel series by Mark Millar of “Wanted” comic book fame, Kick-Ass tells the story of a typical, bored high-schooler. David Lizewski (played with breezy and natural charisma by newcomer Aaron Johnson), who one day decides to buy a wet suit and become a superhero like all the heroes in his ever growing comic book collection, becomes an internet sensation when defending a lonely junkie from punks. His new alter eg Kick-Ass is immediately born.

Meanwhile a father and daughter duo (played with menacing aw-shuck glee by Nicolas Cage and Chloe Mortez) going by the name of Big Daddy and Hit-Girl are taking down the New York City mob run by Frank D’Amico (Mark Strong in his ever prevalent modern day English villain role) and his wannabe superhero son Chris, a.k.a. Red Mist, (Christopher Mintz-Plasse in signature voice-cracking mode).

What makes the film so accessible to both fan boys and regular moviegoers is the way director Matthew Vaughn handles much of the dark material. The film contains a lot of gun play with kids and moments of brutal torture, but because the film is shot in a lot of bright and clear areas, the New York Cit skyline looks very much like a comic book and the violence moves quick at times. Vaughn and his crew are able to keep it at a fun distance.

Another one of Vaughn’s touches is his use of music. Like his previous film Layer Cake, the blend of modern techno beats, pop music, and classic Ennio Morricone stand-off music amplifies the movie’s characters into their own intro music. Never will you hear Joan Jett and the Black Heart’s “Bad Reputation” the same again after you’ve heard it while little Chloe Mortez takes down a group of goons in pure John Woo fashion.

Mortez as Mindy Macready, a.k.a. Hit-Girl, finds herself in a interesting situation as both character and actress in this film. Here’s the most bad-ass chick we’ve seen on screen all year. Yet, she’s only 11-years-old and finds herself in the battle between liberation and anti-NRA parents, who may faint at the site of a young pistol packing heroine.

Kick-Ass as a comic book film gets the job done well and bloody, putting itself up there with select group of successful comic book movies like Spider-Man 2 and The Dark Knight. The important thing to remember about adapting a successful comic book into a successful movie is simple: always remember the characters first and the action will follow forward as needed.

Kick-Ass knows this very well and gives it to us like a KAPOW! in the kisser.

Grade: B+