Four New Stills From X-MEN: DAYS OF FUTURE PAST

Empire Magazine has released four exclusive stills from Bryan Singer's upcoming X-Men: Days Of Future Past.  Here they are, in all their mediocre glory!  Now let's pick them apart like only nerds can do!!!

Sunspot, Shadowcat, Iceman, and Colossus

 This temple looks Tibetan to me, though they might just be going for "ancient generic temple."  Does it snow in Tibet?  I honestly do not know. Maybe it does in the future. Please oh please let this be an Akkaba or even Askani temple.
Sunspot's hair! Teehee!  It is adorable! Kitty looks like a tiny bad ass. Why oh why is Colossus wearing gloves?! I wish Singer would branch out from the black leather outfits though.  I thought he promised "no more black leather."  That's all I have seen so far...black leather.  And we better get Iceman in full ice at some point during the movie!

Magneto...floating about.

 I kind of miss the days when Magneto had a giant magnetic bubble around him when he flew through the air. lol  I'm a kid of the 90's cartoons I guess.  Again, the temple looks like it has tiny statues...Buddhas? Tiny En Sabah Nurs?

Wolverine. 

 I am mentally preparing myself for this to basically be a Wolverine-centric movie.  I like Wolverine, and I understand that he is the fan favorite, but he also gets his own damn movies!  Stop focusing on him so much!  I just realized there is a man on the floor with a camera...so I am guessing this is less of a still and more of production photo.

Mystique.

Mystique holding a white gun.  Is it maybe a plastic gun?  Or just a very shiny gun?  SInce there is a flag behind her, I'm guessing this is when she attempts to assassinate the president.

New MALEFICENT Trailer (feat Vocals by Lana Del Rey)

YESSS! YESSSSSS! YUUUSSSSSS!  Maleficent looks evil as fuuuuuck!  I'm so happy they are not making her into a misunderstood villainess.  She's not.  She's a bitch.  She proclaims herself to be the "Mistress of All Evil" and curses a newborn after not being invited to a party!  She's evil and vindictive!  And she is my favorite Disney villain from my favorite Disney princess movie!  A big reason that Sleeping Beauty is my fave, is because of the song "Once Upon a Dream."  Lana Del Rey sings a cover of this song hauntingly and beautifully in the trailer!  Check it out!



Angelina's smile is fantastic!!! Ahhh!

Holy Hell, What Has Singer Done To The Past X-Men In General?!

I was all aflutter when Singer was brought in on X-Men: Days of Future past and ecstatic when he claimed he would be "fixing" discrepancies made by the awful X-Men 3 and other timeline problems. "BRING BACK CYCLOPS, YOU BASTARDS!" is a rallying cry I have heard from many of my geekier friends.  And I agree, wholeheartedly.

Singer loves leaking photos on his twitter, and the more that he did...the more nervous I became.  Most people complained over the look of the Sentinels (giant Dyson vacuums, anyone?) , but I actually liked the look.  I never warmed up to the boring look of the giant metal robots.  Plus, I think if the government is fully aware that Magneto is the master of magnetism...they aren't going to be throwing metal robots at him.

But now these Empire Magazine covers are slowly being released.  Some are just down right terrible, while the rest are just bleh.  I am so scared for this movie.  I feel it in my bones that I am going to hate it.  And that makes me so sad.  The X-men were my absolute favorite comic series growing up.  Now when I try and read them, I am bored out of my mind.  I am prefering the writing on the Avengers titles.  And that makes me feel like such a traitor.  And the Avengers movies?! Oh dear God, they are awesome!  WAAAY better than what Fox is churning out for the X-Men franchise.  Proclaim X-Men: First Class as great all you want, but I thought it was cheesy as all out (plus, the purist in me cannot accept this ragtag team as the "First Class."  BRING BACK CYCLOPS, YOU BASTARDS!). Fassbender saved that movie.  If not for him, I would not have liked it much.  Anyway, I digress.  Here are the Empire Magazines covers thus far (I will be adding more as they become available) and my thoughts and ramblings.

 

This sentinel looks awesome to me, though a wee bit small.  It would still strike fear into young mutants.  I get that it has similar designs to my Dyson vacuum (which is THE BEST vacuum), but I like the coloring better than the mash-up of pink and purple from the comics. Also, I find it hilarious that they describe the robot as "moderately powerful."

The Havoc cover just looks terribly Photoshopped.  Like someone on Tumblr made this.  Actually, I know a few people on Tumblr who could make this look a lot better.  Is Havoc in the army now?!  I haven't read up on the movie and what direction they are taking with the characters, because I want some element of surprise when I watch the movie...so I honestly do not understand the military garb.

 

I remember hearing on Twitter that Toad was going to be included in this film, but I honestly forgot all about it until now.  Again with the military apparel?!  And the goggles??? I had to look up who this actor is, because he comes across as old in this pic.  But nope, he is only 29.  How this toad ties into the Toad from the first X-Men movie...I am interested to see how Singer "fixes that."  Otherwise, he looks terrible.

 
Well, hellloooo Mr. Stryker!  WHy on earth did we go with casting an attractive William Stryker?! I don't want to think this douchebag is attractive!! Ugh.  I love his tagline though; Mutant Hater, Military Man, Nut Job.  I am so confused on the timelines of the Stryker family.  I need to look that up again.

 

Pimpin' is not easy, children.  It appears pretty easy for Trask though.  He looks pimpin' as all out!  I assume we are ignoring that he was a large black man in a previous movie? Right?  Ignoring it?  Got it.  I'm intrigued to see him in this movie as I love his acting in Game of Thrones.

 

J. Law is looking amazing as Mystique.  I still do not understand why Mystique had to be "naked" in these movies except as a fan-boy service. I get that she is "mutant and proud" and all, but what is the hatred of clothing?!  I guess because her real clothes wouldn't shift when she changes appearances, but for every day wear...put on some damn clothes!! And if she is truly naked, does she not have a vulva?!  Let's either be anatomically accurate, or put on some clothing!

 

Beast is all blue and furry, and HE WEARS CLOTHES!!! Takes notes, Mystique!  Beast looks terrible though.  He looks like a old-school Werewolf.

O.M.G.  What the balls is this?!?  It's like the costume designers sat down and were like "He's called quicksilver...so he's quick...and let's dress him in SILVER!!  Get it, quick...silver...Quicksilver!!"  FUCKING GENIUSES!  There aren't even costumes created yet for the Avenger's Quicksliver, and it's STILL better than this trash.

 

I'm digging the color scheme, though the chest armor gives the appearance of boob-plate.  And is it just me, or do his pants not seem to fit correctly?!  And why did my eyes divert to his pants so quickly?! (teehee) The helmet is cool, though it still bothers me that he would even wear the helmet of a man that murdered his mother and people. 

Well, at least the Professor's pants fit correctly!  I know everyone loves him, but I still cannot stand this casting.  And I am so don with the "groovy" Professor.  I hate the 60's/70's look sooooo bad.  You cannot make me believe that Patrick Stewart's younger Professor was ever like this!!!  And how is he standing?! 

"BONE CLAW IS REEAADDYYY!"  Sorry, inside joke.  Anyway, Wolvie is super freaking veiny in this cover!  I am nauseated by the amount of veinage popping out.  Especially that fat one running up his stomach!  No thanks.  And I am going to need a refresher on the timeline of his claws being bone and them being metal.  I am lost again.

Boooo...who cares!!  Get off the cover!  Who is seriously going to be this cover over the other covers?

 

Okay, now we get into the "future" X-Men...where apparently Wolverine somehow gets his metal claws back.  Now I am very confused.  They have so many time-line flaws to fix in this movie.  At least he covers his veins in the future, though.  But would it kill Singer to put these character's into real costumes?!  I want to see Hugh Jackman as Wolverine in the actual Wolverine costume from the comics!  Just once.  Alter it a bit even.  Just do it!!!!

YESSSSS!! I am so very excited to see Blink on the screen!  She looks amazing!  But how is is that she is teleporting...or who is sitting in her "blink wave"?  Damn pink word bubble is over his face!
(EDIT:  Apparently it is Warpath based on his blades)

I am so happy to have Patrick Stewart back portraying Prof X.  It will totally make up for lame young Prof X.  Plus, now he has rocket booster chairs! Wooo!

I never liked Halle Berry as Storm.  She is a beautiful woman and a great actress...in other films.  Just not any of the X-Men movies.  I guess we can blame it on her script.  Her character is so lame in the movies.  She should be a bad ass goddess!

I have heard that Rogue is only in the movie for one scene.  And though I do not like Anna Paquin as an actress or the subdued Rogue in these movies, that makes me sad.  It also makes me think that other characters, such as Blink and Warpath, will also only be in one or two scenes.  There are just far too many mutants to fit into the story (much like X-Men 3).  Anyway, I am guessing from her full coverage outfit, that her powers have returned much like Magneto's returned at the end of X3.  Which makes me think that Mystique's powers probably returned after that movie too.  I bet she's piiissssseeeed at Magneto.

How do you make Sean Ashmore, a man who has not aged a day in his life, look older? Slap a beard on him!  Boom!  Older!  He looks good with that beard too!  I really hope he is used in this movie as more than a love interest.

I love this cover and how it ties to Blink's cover!  It also makes me think they are close in the movie. Plus, those blades are bad ass.  But...he can fly?!  Damn you, obscure powers that I forgot you had!

I really dislike the way they made Kitty come between Rogue and Iceman.  It made her look like a tart, and him look like an ass.  Besides that, this cover is pretty boring.  At least it is the least Photoshop-looking of the group!  And is that a spaceship of some sort in the background?  And where are the costumes?! Damnit Singer....I want some damn costumes!!

Hey, I forgot Sunspot is in this!  Wow, they pulled from the extended X-Men roster for this movie.  I love Robert DaCosta in the comics.  He's quippy and a flirt.  He is totally not needed for this movie though.  Why can't we bring in REAL X-Men? Gambit, Psylocke, Jubilee, Angel (the REAL one)?!  Any of the original gold or blue teams would be better than any of the New Mutant roster!

Ian is a bad ass in any role he takes on.  I like how this cover compliments the "Past Magneto" cover. Plus, he gets a cape.  Cuz nothing says practical tactile gear like a muthaflippen cape!  Magneot would SO demand a cape too.  So diva!

YESSSS!  Bishop will be on screen, ya'all!  Now I just need Cable to make his way up and I will be so freaking happy!  Bishop looks pretty awesome.  I like the "M" across his right eye looking more like a brand then a tattoo.  I love the color scheme and the tactile looking gear.  I just love it.

This looks awful.  It looks like a bad photomanip.  Which, I guess it is technically.  Please, oh please, make Colossus cooler in this movie.  And he belongs with Kitty!!!

Sweet Mother Mary...this is...this is...FABULOUS!  I know there is a lot of hate floating about the interwebs for this design, but I like it and I get it.  Here is what Singer had to say about his design:

"They’re bio-mechanical weapons. We had to come up with what would be the ultimate version that could actually, in principle, stop the X-Men. We started with this idea that they were almost made up of magnetic plates slapped over one another, imagining that the plates could contract or grow, so the Sentinel can be skinny to get through a small space or the plates can open up to become a bigger shape. So they have become virtually unstoppable."

Sounds like the future is terrible...but will look awesome on screen!!

Homemade Coconut Sugar Scrub

I hate soap.  Normal, sweet smelling soaps are super drying on my already dry skin  and the ones that I can use on my super dry skin are boring and blah!  I prefer scrubs by far.  A good sugar scrub is AH-MAZE-ING on my skin!  It buffs and then leaves a moisturized feel behind.  Plus they usually smell amazing.  Unfortunately, they can be a bit pricey for a tiny amount.  I just can't justify spending that amount of money on something that will last me two weeks.  So I decided to try and make my own from ingredients in my cupboard.  I once again turned to Pinterest for some ideas.  I couldn't find a recipe that used coconut oil in place of olive oil, so I altered a recipe found on Just Another Day In Paradise.

Ingredients

2 cups of white sugar

1 cup of solid coconut oil

juice from 4 lemons

1 Tbsp honey

1 Tbsp vanilla

You will also need a container to store your finished scrub in.  Though a glass container is prettier, I opted for what I had on hand, which was a Snap-n-Lock plastic container.

I bought my coconut oil at SaveMart I think.  Nothing special.  It was the cheapest for the largest amount.

Directions

Add the solid coconut oil to a standing mixer bowl.  I have read that you can melt your coconut oil beforehand to get more of an oily scrub.  I prefer a whipped feeling scrub, so I went with the solid.

Mix on low for approximately 5 to 6 minutes, until you have a nice whipped feeling to the mixture.

Next, add the sugar and mix until blended.

Add the lemons juice (I used fresh squeezed, because that is what I had on hand, but you can use juice from the cute lil lemon shaped bottle) and honey and mix until blended.

Now scoop into your favorite container.

This recipe made more than I thought it would (the coconut oil really fluffs up nicely), so I put the majority of it in a shallow plastic container to use daily in the shower, and the rest in a recycled pizza sauce jar for later use.

I officially used the scrub this morning in the shower and it was perfect!  You can feel the sugar granules scrubbing, and then dissolving, on your skin.  I thought the oil might leave a greasy feeling, but it didn't.  It felt just like a scrub from the expensive stores.  Moisturizing and light.  I even used it on my face and it feels so good.  Plus, the lemon and honey are great scrubbing agents and have antibacterial properties that are great for your skin!  I was hoping for more of a scent with this scrub.  I really though I would smell of coconut all day.  But I couldn't smell anything at all.  Which is good for people who don't want to smell like the tropics.  I, however, do. lol  Next time I might add some vanilla for scent.

Overall, this was a huge success.  I am so happy I went with this option instead of the expensive store option filled with who knows what.

Sh*t My Husband Says, Part 2: Suspicious Side Dish

Husband: Why did you fill part of his plate with a bunch of mayo?
Me: That's yogurt.

I am just going to assume he was joking.

Sh*t My Husband Says, Part 1: Dirty Europeans Are My Thing

I have a feeling this will be an ongoing series...

Me, watching One Direction on SNL: That one grew up to be super cute.
Husband: The one on the far left (Zayn)?
Me: No, the one next to him (Louis).
Husband: Ugh, he looks like your type.
Me: My type?
Husband: Dirty, didn't comb his hair, and....European. Like Bard.
Me: Bard?
Husband: The Bowman.

Wonder Woman Movie Role Rumor That Slaps All Women In The Face

This rumor made me want to chuck my laptop through the window.  Then I realized I need my laptop.  So I threw a napkin across the room.  Pure anger over here!!!

We get this rumor from Batman-On-Film, and as he claims on this site, this information is based on"inside information, industry scuttlebutt, and my opinion. Nothing should be taken as confirmed news unless explicitly stated as such."  So, take this with a grain of salt, but know that he has been pretty spot on with rumors int he past.

E-mail Question: How big of a role do you think Wonder Woman will be in BvS?

JETT SAYS: Personally, I’d say it’ll be about on par with Scarlett Johansson’s first appearance as Black Widow in IRON MAN 2. I believe that it’s a cameo-plus type of role that will (hopefully) serve as a springboard to a solo Wonder Woman movie.

With all that said, I’d bet a year’s pay – in MONOPOLY money, of course – that the “Amazons” of this cinematic DCU will be descendants of those “ancient Kryptonians” who attempted to set up Kryptonian outposts throughout spacedom thousands and thousands of years ago. Furthermore, I say that Wonder Woman will be powered-down, if you will, relative to Superman because these Amazons have evolved and adapted to living on Earth for hundreds of centuries. And since Kryptonians are produced without any “He’n and She’n” – Jor El and Lara excluded – couldn’t this original Kryptonian on Earth have used this reproductive science to create an all-female race? I say yes!

My first reaction is that DSC/WB is basically sending a giant "FUCK YOU" to all of us woman who grew up idolizing Wonder Woman and reading her origin and stories and loving them!  If this is true, DC will basically be saying that Wonder Woman's back story, and the person that she is because of her back story, is not good enough.  And because of that they will adopt the closest MALE hero's back story. Fuck that! Way to, once again, short change your female superheroes, DC!  It is bad enough you turned her into Superman's girlfriend in the New 52 comicverse, now her have to tie her to Superman in the movieverse too!!  UGGHH.  I am done with this company!  If this is true.  Which I hope it is not.

Oven Cleaning Without Harsh Chemicals (AKA I Could Use Some Of Those Harsh Chemicals About Now) Part 2

I woke up this morning ready to tackle the oven!  Okay, so, I actually woke up this morning with a smack in the face by my affectionate toddler and was ready to turn over and go back to sleep. But then I remembered the oven and realized I should get up and take it on.

This is what it looked like when I peeked in this morning.

Eeeewwwwww.  The grime and grease is just oozing up.  I am not looking forward to scrubbing this at all.  I made sure I was wearing something I did not care about and dove in.

Now, all of the Pinterest pins I have pinned (mouthful), say how easy the grime and goo comes right off after a night of soaking in baking soda and vinegar.  I am here to attest that it does NOT just wipe right up.  It took some serious elbow grease to get this junk up.  A TON of elbow grease.  My elbows were gushing grease by the end of this.  Maybe if I cleaned my oven on a regular basis, the light gunk would just come right off, but 6 years of gunk took some muscle.

Also, while scrubbing, I realized that a lot of baking soda clumps fell through two slats in the bottom of the oven floor.  And there appeared to be two screws at the back of the oven that allowed me to remove the bottom of my oven.  So, I did. 

Again with the EEWWWWW!  Actually, it's not as bad as the rest of the oven was.  I wish I would have discovered that this part comes off earlier though.  That way I wouldn't have had to stick my entire upper body into the oven to scrub.

This part was pretty clean when I pulled it out since I had spent nearly two hours on the floor scrubbing the daylights out of it.  This is where, if you remember from yesterday, the giant pool of grease was charred on.  Not bad now.

Just when I thought I was done, I remembered that I have the racks soaking in my bathtub. 

I used the following recipe from Picklee.com to clean my oven racks.

This worked amazingly well.  Again, it would probably have worked even better if I had regularly cleaned my oven and racks prior.  But MOST the gunk came right off after soaking the racks in this solution overnight. 

I also used a variation on this recipe for my stove top racks (or whatever they are called).  

I used one dryer sheet for each and a squirt of Dawn in a plastic bag with some hot water.  I let them soak overnight and then scrubbed them gently with the dryer sheets.  Worked like a charm.

Oh, and I also discovered the the top part of my stove lifts up so you can clean around the actual burners!!  Who knew?!  Probably everyone but me! 

Again, ewwwwwww!!!  And what have I been cooking?! 

So, this "little" project of cleaning my smoky oven turned into a full day of scrubbing, removing parts of my oven I did not know could be removed, and generally cursing whoever made this mess in the first place (me).

But it was all worth it.  My oven is once again clean and ready for use!  Here are the "after" photos!

Under the range top.

Top of the range.

Inside of oven, Giant charred spot is GONE!

All done!

I could not be happier with the results!  Especially since I used it to bake Chicken Parmesan and it worked wonderfully!!