Just seen: X2

[imdb]
Following an attack on the US president by a mutant, a General with an anti-mutant agenda is given free rein to investigate the "mutant problem", and pressure for a mutant registration act is stepped up. But General Stryker's plans are more complex than they appear, and some of the mutants won't stand idly by.

Like the first X-Men movie, X2 is unusually intelligent for a blockbuster action flick, and makes several points about bigotry ("Have you ever tried not being a mutant?")

Logan/Wolverine is still the closest thing to a lead character, but many more of the other mutants get decent amounts of screen time this around, notably Mystique, Storm and Nightcrawler.

As greengolux has already commented, the visual effect for Nightcrawler's teleportation is particularly cool (and the audience is left to work out for themselves why there's a bang when he goes...)

Once again Mystique gets to deliver one of the most politically charged lines of the whole film - asked by Nightcrawler why, if she can imitate anyone, doesn't she stay in disguise all the time and look like everyone else - "Because we shouldn't have to."

So, a rip-roaring summer blockbuster movie. A politically-aware one which doesn't patronise its audience, too. Will wonders never cease?

Damn music industry

So I buy the new Placebo album, and when it arrives, I discover that is has some cack-handed copy-protection included which requires me to install software to play it on a PC. Anyone on Linux is screwed, as is anyone who can't install software for some reason (like me, at work, due to IS security requirements). I suspect I would also be screwed once the march of technology has taken its toll and left present flavours of Windows useless (like I'd keep a spare PC around just to play CDs). Once I have installed the damn software, it plays a cruddy 48kbps MP3 (or something) at me. It won't give me a tracklisting that includes track times. I can't move it around the screen. It has little squitty text that many users won't be able to read. In short, it's a pile of poo.

This one's going back. With prejudice.

Just one Iraqi amongst millions, but...

Salam Pax is back on the wires, just about, with a little help from his friends.