x men first class

X-Men: First Class

James McAvoy stars as a young Charles Xavier, along with Michael Fassbender as Magneto in this prequel to the X-Men films, which follows the mutants as they come together for the first time in an effort to thwart a villain on the verge of causing a nuclear war. The origins behind the mutants' powers are revealed throughout the course of the movie, as are the beginnings of the relationships that shape the alliances in the subsequent films. The action scenes are balanced well with an interesting story that breathes new life into the franchise. DVD extras include deleted scenes and behind-the-scenes footage.

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Hanna

Saoirse Ronan plays the title character in this revenge thriller about a 16-year-old girl who has grown up in hiding and groomed to become an expert assassin by her ex-CIA father (Eric Bana). When an intelligence agent (Cate Blanchett) and former foe of Hanna's father discovers the family's location, she launches a full-scale manhunt against the teenage girl. Hanna's lack of emotion makes it a bit hard to connect with her, but it's refreshing to see a tough female character that steers clear of stereotypes. DVD extras feature an alternate ending and director commentary.

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One more DVD when you read more

It's been 10 years since Rebecca Romijn played the blue-skinned Mystique on X-Men, and now Jennifer Lawrence, who stars in the most recent film in the series, X-Men: First Class, is the lady covered in the royal-hued paint. But getting the scaly, marbled getup just the right hue and texture is no easy feat. In fact, in a behind-the-scenes video featured on the flick's soon-to-be-released Blu-ray and DVD, it's revealed that each time Jennifer's body paint and prosthetics were applied, it took a team of six makeup artists about seven hours to complete.

Of the experience with her makeup team, Jennifer said, "It's like a sleepover, except I'm naked and being painted." Watch as Jennifer is airbrushed, splattered, and latexed; there's no CG here, folks. But beware: some parts include brief, albeit rather modest, nudity and may be NSFW.

Apparently all the hype paid off: J.J. Abrams's mystery-laden Super 8 came in first at the box office this weekend, opening with a decent $37 million. It was followed by last week's winner, the Marvel prequel X-Men: First Class, which earned $25 million.

The Hangover Part II hung in there, coming in third with $18.5 million, and the animated Kung Fu Panda 2 was right behind it with $16.6 million. Closing up the top five was Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, with a haul of $10.8 million.

• The sequel for Salt gets a screenwriter — /Film
• Josh Duhamel will reprise his role on All My Children — AOL TV
• Guess which Real Housewives installment just got renewed for another season? — Zap2it
• Damon Lindelof has unkind works for January Jones's acting in X-Men — Moviefone
• Kevin Smith is getting a reality show on AMC — Vulture
• Olivia Munn and Paul Schneider will play a couple in The Babymakers — The Playlist
• Check out this tiny version of Glee's Blaine singing "Teenage Dream" — LilSugar
• Naomie Harris may be the new Bond girl — Inside Movies

It was a big weekend to see sequels, though it was a prequel that racked up the most in ticket sales. X-Men: First Class took home the top spot at the box office with $56 million in its opening weekend. The Marvel mutant flick beat out last week's winner, The Hangover Part II, which came in second with $32.4 million.

Next up was animated film Kung Fu Panda 2, which earned $24.3 million, followed by Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, which pulled in $18 million. In fifth place was the comedy Bridesmaids, which kept itself in the game with $12.1 million.

In a Summer full of sequels, X-Men: First Class does more than live up to its franchise — it improves upon it. With a combination of great actors, a compelling story, and a fun, swingin' '60s setting, X-Men First Class is an entertaining blockbuster that doesn't sacrifice any substance for style. Technically a prequel rather than a sequel, First Class visits the universe of the X-Men before they came into their own as superheroes. James McAvoy is the young Charles Xavier, a new professor studying genetic mutation, with his own to boot: telepathy. Michael Fassbender plays Erik Lensherr, a man who witnessed the murder of his family during the Holocaust as a boy, and who has spent much of his adulthood tracking down and killing those responsible. At his disposal is his own mutation: the ability to attract and manipulate metal like a magnet, eventually earning the nickname Magneto.

When upstart CIA agent Moira MacTaggert (Rose Byrne) is monitoring suspicious businessman Sebastian Shaw (Kevin Bacon) and his involvement with nuclear weaponry, she witnesses his alliance of mutant minions. Moira consults Charles for his mutant research, recruiting him to help in her investigation. Erik and Charles encounter each other while Erik is hunting Shaw, who happens to be the man who killed Erik's mother. Erik and Charles find that they have much in common and form a fast friendship. Though the plot is propelled forward by the pursuit of the villain Shaw, the real meat of the movie is in the origin story of the mutant characters and how they came to harness their powers as X-Men. It's an angle that breathes fresh new life into the series, and the clean slate is an opportunity that's not wasted by director and writer Matthew Vaughn. Find out why I enjoyed X-Men: First Class so much when you read more