X-Men Legends: Rewind To The X-Men Glory Days

      I often mention how my the title 'Dayspring Discussions' is an X-Men reference, and how I feel like I don't talk about X-Men enough, even though Marvel's mighty mutants are my favorite thing about Marvel Comics.  Also, in recent weeks, I have been trying to get back into writing more.  This site started out as a blog to talk about all my theories, reviews, and fan castings for my geeky interests.  But as podcasting has become more popular I too made the switch over to modern media.  That is why I don't suspect anyone will read this entry, but like I said, it's more about getting back into writing for me.  And talking more about X-Men. So, this is me trying to hit two Sentinels with one optic blast. ZING!

     My earliest memory of buying an X-Men comic from the local comic book store was when Age of Apocalypse was going on.  I remember at the time Gambit was my favorite X-Man so the title was Gambit and the Xternals.  As I grew up my taste changed, and for years now Cyclops has been my favorite X-Man.  He's the leader who does what he feels is right and makes the tough calls.  And most of the time his colleagues disagree with him.  Nevertheless he does what he feels is best and never apologizes for it.  He takes responsibility for the entire mutant race and it's future.  Since the 2000's he's been more bad boy than boy scout, and some have compared him to being a mixture of Xavier and Magneto.

     Because of my current affinity for Scott Summers I feel like I know a good amount about the whole Summers clan.  Havok, Cable, Corsair, Rachel, Vulcan, Jean Grey, and I would even put Polaris in that group.  And during the 90's their were hints of Cyclops and Havok having a brother, and who it could be.  Some thought it might even be Gambit given that he was an orphan adopted by the Thieves Guild.  But, an answer was given in Deadly Genesis and Gabriel Summers, Vulcan, was revealed to the world.  But last week a new series came out that makes it seem that Adam X, a popular mutant in the 1990's, is indeed the brother of Cyclops and Havok.

     X-Men Legends starts off with the kidnapping of Scott and Alex's grandparents.  Followed by the reintroduction of Adam X.  Adam is being pursued by Erik the Red and thinking he is important on a cosmic scale.  Cyclops and Havok find Adam, and so does their father, Corsair, who then seems to fire a pistol at his own son.  And that's where issue one ends.

     I had heard about this series, but never really dug into what it was going to be about aside from the famous "third Summers brother" conspiracy.  The book is written by Fabian Nicieza who helped bring life to Deadpool, and has written many X-Men and Marvel comics in his career. This reminds me of years ago when Chris Claremont did another take where he left off with X-Men.  What would he have done if he was still writing X-Men?  To be honest, I could not get into the series because at that point the X-Men had grown so far past where Claremont left them.  That's how I feel about this comic series.

     I have mixed feelings about the current status of X-Men comics with House of X been going on for a while now, but at least it's something different and new.  I feel like Legends is just trying to take us back in time when the X-Men was the best selling book Marvel had.  I never knew much about Adam X because I thought he was created just to make a character that reflected the current youth.  I preferred Nate Grey; the X-Man.  

     While this series is great nostalgia for long time X-Men readers, I find it moot.  The costumes and art are great, but why dig up an old mystery that has already been solved by one of my favorite X-Men and Marvel writers; Ed Brubaker.  Brubaker created Vulcan into a far better character than Adam X ever could be in my opinion.  So even if you didn't like who the lost Summers brother turned out to be there is no point in living in the past.  That's when you become what you hate.  Right Magneto? 

Assembling the Titans

Yesterday, more cast was announced for the upcoming Titans show to air on Warner Bros streaming service that will feature the third season of Young Justice.  I'm not sure what all WB hopes to put on this service(though I hope it's all their DC Comics animated stuff) but they will soon have to compete with Disney who is pulling all their Marvel and Star Wars content off of Netflix in 2019 for their own streaming service.  With each studio seeming like they will soon all have their own content we have to pay a monthly fee for decisions need to be made.  CBS is betting that Trekkies will pay for their streaming service just to watch Star Trek: Discovery(and probably the only ones who will) but is YJ and Titans enough to get people to pay for the WB service?  Young Justice is one of my favorite animated series, but what about Titans?

DC's Chief Creative Officer(and bad ass comic writer)Geoff Johns has tried to put a Teen Titans show on TV for a while.  A few years ago it looked like it was coming to TNT with the help of Arrow and The Flash producer Greg Berlanti(and would not be set in the 'Arrowverse').  However, it appears WB took it from TNT and is using it as a kick-off series for their streaming service, but will it be any good?

When I was a teenager Geoff Johns was writing Teen Titans starring Superboy, Kid Flash, Wonder Girl, and Robin.  And I have read quite a few stories involving Greg Perez's infamous The New Teen Titans.  Post-Rebirth Titans takes some of those original Teen Titans and finds them as adults, still fighting crime together.  I keep up with the series, as I am all about these once-young heroes now dealing with adult issues, and trying to keep their bonds together strong.  So what will Titans by Warner Bros be about?  Let's look at the cast.

1)  Teagan Croft as Raven

Raven is basically a demon whose father is Trigon, an uber-evil demon that Raven has been battling most of her life.  She's moody, strange, and sometimes a bit of a ticking time bomb.  She's had relations with Beast Boy, who has not been named as being in this series. I don't see him being added either, mainly because the cost of having a character who can morph into any animal just sounds way to expensive for a TV series.  

I'm not familiar with Croft, and if you look at her IMDB page she hasn't done much.  So right now her performance can go either way.

2)  Ann Diop as Starfire

She's an alien princess from the planet Tamaran and is quite powerful.  She's known to go toe-to-toe with Wonder Woman.  She starts off a bit naive but eventually grows into a strong character in Teen Titans.  She also has a long-term relationship with Dick Grayson, former Robin(and Batman), and current Nightwing.

Diop's IMDB page is a bit longer than Croft's, but I have yet to see anything she's in.  Her most recent work includes the last 24 miniseries; 24: Legacy.  As long her chemistry works with Dick, I think she'll be ok.  I'm just curious if they are gonna give her orange skin.

3)  Brenton Thwaites as Nightwing

On the Titans IMDB page it just says Dick Grayson, but everyone is assuming we are getting our first ever live interpretation of Nightwing.  Rumors of Chris O'Donnell doing a Nightwing spin-off was on the table back in the late 90's, but when Batman & Robin bombed those rumors were flushed away along with a fifth Batman film.

Being known as the founder(and most important member) of every Titans team; this casting was key.  Thwaites has been in several big budget films like Gods of Egypt, Maleficent, and Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales.  While none of those films were good, Thwaites has shown that he has decent acting chops, and he's just unknown enough to make the character fresh and make people see Nightwing; not Brenton Thwaites.

4)  Alan Ritchson and Minka Kelly as Hawk and Dove

To be honest, I'm not a big fan of Hawk and Dove.  Their best story line was in Geoff Johns Brightest Day miniseries, and even then I wasn't that interested.  Rumors are said that they won't be in all the episodes, and may get their own spin-off .

Ritchson is most noticeable to fan boys as Aquaman in Smaville, and Kelly will always have my support for playing Lyla Garrity on one of my favorite TV series; Friday Night Lights.  Both are seasoned TV thespians, so as much as I'm not a fan of the characters I'm excited for these actors to join the series.  So now, I'm starting to feel that, if the story and production value are on par, this actually might just be a series to watch.

Hi, I'm "one of those people" Who Signed Up For MoviePass

Hi, my name is Shawn and I'm one of these people who signed for MoviePass at $9.99 a month.  Since I live in a "full house" these days it's better sometimes for me to blog rather than podcast, and being that it's a Wednesday night and my house has 5 people(and 1 dog) in it, I thought it'd be best to share my thoughts on this MoviePass deal via the written word.  I'm not going to look up and reference anything so don't try and crosscheck my facts because I'm probably wrong.  All of this will be off the top of my head.

Yesterday, while spending the day at Six Flags with my family, my Facebook was getting links and messages in regards to MoviePass lowering their price to $9.99 per month.  MoviePass has been around for a few years.  I've heard the basis of it, and thought it was a little overpriced.  For a sum amount of money you can see one movie every day, but you can only see a movie one time.  Example:  If I see Spider-Man and I really liked it, I can not use my MoviePass to go back the next day(or any day) to see Spider-Man again.  To me, the other big drawback is it's not "every" theater in the U.S. so chances are my closest theater won't accept MoviePass.  However, one of the biggest theater chains in America, AMC, does accept MoviePass, and they are pissed.

They feel that by MoviePass lowering their prices astronomically it is a bad business plan that is doomed to fail, thereby hurting AMC's public image by being associated with MoviePass.  From what I hear, MoviePass has to reimburse the theater for every ticket they sell, which will be way more than they'll get from memberships.  

So in theory this all sounds like a bad business move right?  Does anyone remember how Netflix started making money?  They would ship you a dvd(sometimes 2-at-a-time) and then once you've watched it you ship it back.  At minimum, from getting a dvd to getting another one would take maybe 3 days.  So let's just say you got 2 per week, or 8 movies a month, but you only paid $7 for the subscription when it started.  Sounds like they would go out of business right?  How many days did you sit on your dvds, saying you were going to watch them only to keep them for weeks or months?  MoviePass is banking on the same concept! 

The average person goes to a movie maybe once or twice a month. Now, let's just say you go to the movie.  You wants snacks right?  Most movie theaters make their money off of popcorn and candy(which is why it's so expensive).  That's money the theater gets every time you use your MoviePass.  Also, most people don't like to go to the movies alone, so you want to bring a friend, and they don't have MoviePass.  Well that's one full price ticket the theater gets, thanks to MoviePass.

For those who know me know I love movies(see this blog for reference).  I try to see 2 new movies a week(whether in theater or on dvd).  But I also spend a lot of time with my daughter.  Add a job and the usual "normal stuff" and my only free time is 9pm-12am after my daughter goes to sleep and before I go to bed.  I don't want to pay evening prices!  Sure, I can go on Tuesdays to my closest theater when it's only $5-all-day, but some Tuesdays I just don't feel like going. MoviePass now allows me to go when I have free time, and for cheaper than the cheapest days. Another limitation is MoviePass will not work for 3D films.  To that I say, "who still wants to see 3D movies, aside from maybe 1 or 2 a year?"

For the big movies(like Star Wars or Avengers) my wife and I buy our tickets weeks in advance, which MoviePass does not allow you to do.  So every few months I plan on spending full price to go see the big films, but the other 90% of films my wife doesn't want to see I can go on my own for a good price.

Now, AMC I heard is trying to sue MoviePass or even get out of their contract with them.  This news has made waves and MoviePass may be gone in a few months.  And if it is, guess I'll just go back to renting movies from the public library.  No worries.  Like Netflix, MoviePass is banking on the laziness of the American people who say they're going to watch that dvd and send it back, or those people who plan on using that gym membership they haven't gone to in months.  Also, how many more subscriptions has MoviePass gotten in the last few days that it didn't have last week; millions?  Maybe AMC better calm down and think about how this might actually help declining ticket sales. I can also see that once so many people have MoviePass they raise the membership fee(Netflix did).  For me, my cut off is $20 (4 x $5 movies a month)

15 Hottest Super-Girls On The CW

I know it is has been a really long time since I wrote an actual blog post.  Usually I just re-post my podcast onto this site.  But every once-in-a-while a subject comes along I feel is better to list rather than do an audio version of.

A few days ago I stumbled upon an article by the website The Richest.  It was about who they thought the 15 hottest women were in The CW's DC Shared Universe.  I'm not sure how old the list was, but it listed actors and characters from the JSA, which is featured on this season's Legends of Tomorrow, so it must be recent.  However, I wondered why it didn't include actresses from Supergirl.  Sure it's a "different Earth", but we all know Kara is showing up on the 4-part crossover episodes coming up, which just happens to be Arrow's 100th episode.

In any event, as I looked over The Richest list I seemed to have a different opinion on the order of the list and who was on it.  Moira McQueen and Gideon the future computer?  Come on!  As a guy who has watched this universe grow from episode 1 of Arrow I know there have been a lot more beautiful women to cross paths with Oliver and Barry than an A.I.  

So, with that in mind I came up with my own list.  Call it sexist, or that I'm way too bored, but I figure if Maxim can come up with their own Hot 100 every year, I can do one list that's full of comic book babes!

15)Audrey Marie Anderson(Lyla Michaels)

Lyla is now married John Diggle(for the 2nd time), and they have a son(former daughter) together.  She's became the director of A.R.G.U.S. after Amanda Waller was assassinated and is one of the many women on this list I would not mess with!

14)Ciara Renee(Kendra Saunders/Hawkgirl)

As a waitress at Jitters she was a crush for Cisco Ramone, but after she learned of her past lives she has embraced her wings and her soul mate Carter Hall(minus marrying the Atom).  She's got a fierceness to her that seems animalistic.

13)Emily Bett Richards(Felicity Smoak/Overwatch)

While some people may have Felicity higher on their list I actually don't know think she is THAT hot.  What can I say, I like curves.  Plus, she's quite chatty, which is annoying for me.  And I can't forget that her romance with Oliver known as "Olicity" is what is mostly to blame for the downfall of Arrow in my opinion.

12) Melissa Benoist(Kara Danvers/Supergirl)

He's no Laura Vanderboot, but this Supergirl has that girl-next-door charm that makes a Midwestern boy like me turn smitten.  She has her annoying moments, but I'd still let her rescue me if I could call it a date.

11) Chyler Leigh(Alex Danvers)

Meet Supergirl's sister.  She's smart, formidable, and doesn't give a crap if your a billionaire Maxwell Lord(whatever happened to him?).  I like a little fight in my beauty and Alex has plenty of that.

10) Megalyn Echikunwoke(Mari McCabe/Vixen)

Just a city boy(girl), born and raised in south Detroit......Mari is more known for the 5th(and lesser known) DC show from the CW; Vixen.  It's animated on The CW Seed and the first season is only 30 minutes long, but the actress also guest starred on an episode of Arrow in season 4 to bring this character to live-action.  I was impressed, and it seems others were as well since she is now featured on Legends of Tomorrow.  Just by a different character and actress.

9)Katrina Law(Nyssa Al Ghul)

She's more likely the spear me than kiss me.  I like that in a woman.

8) Maise Richardson-Sellers(Amaya Jiwe/Vixen)

While she's only been in 2 episodes of Legends of Tomorrow Vixen seems quite the counterpart to Mari, and I'm interested in getting to know her better.  And so is Ray Palmer I think. 

7) Candice Patton(Iris West)

In season 1 of The Flash I felt like Iris was just as useless as Laurel was in season 1 of Arrow. But once she learned Barry's secret she became a better character and has grown ever since.  DC Comics even changed the ethnicity of Iris to match Candice, and then they changed it back.  Not sure what that is all about.

6) Danielle Panabaker(Kaitlin Snow/Killer Frost)

Redhead: CHECK  Intelligent:  CHECK.  Likes the cold:  CHECK.  As a guy who grew up in the snow and loves hockey I can get behind Caitlin Snow.  I seriously wasn't trying to make an innuendo as I wrote that I swear.  

5) Willa Holland(Thea Queen/Speedy)

Much like Laurel, I thought Thea was annoying until she learns who her father was and started her Jedi training.  She then became a strong female character I could see myself sparring with.  Honestly, I'm not trying to be gross. 

4) Katie Cassidy(Laurel Lance/Black Canary)

Let's just flash forward to season 4 when Laurel became comfortable with who she was.  I always felt like after being Oliver's love interest in season 1 the show runners had no idea what to do with her.  Maybe that's why they made her an alcoholic, swore to avenge her sister's death, and then eventually got killed off.  But before her murder, I enjoyed the woman Laurel had become.  Out of the game FMK, I'd do Thea, kill Felicity, and marry Laurel.  

3)Janina Gavankar(Detective McKenna Hall)

Shivakamini Somakandarkram!  Before I saw her become an iconic trophy on FX's The League I saw her as a young detective on Arrow.  She had a brief relationship with Oliver, but she was memorable enough to see why five guys would name a fantasy football trophy after this actress. Am I right?

  

2) Shantel VanSanten(Patty Spivots)

I had no idea this actress was on another show I used to watch; One Tree Hill.  Probably because she came on the show after it turned to crap and I stopped watching.  But I don't blame Patty.  She was Barry's season 2 rebound to get over Iris, before he eventually went back to Iris.  She was a little nerdy like he was, but could handle herself as a member of the CCPD.  I miss her.

1)Caity Lotz(Sara Lance/White Canary)  

Season 2 of Arrow is everyone's favorite of the series, and Sara Lance's return as the Black Canary we all know was a big part of it.  She and Oliver's relationship just made sense after their shared life experience.  A lot better than Oliver and Felicity.  It was a stupid mistake to kill her in season 3 just to give Laurel something to do, but I am glad she back into this universe.  She's the main reason I stick with Legends of Tomorrow.  Smart, mysterious, and can kick my ass in 3 seconds.  Done!

My X-Men Continuity Questions

In seven days I will be the theater watching Marvel's Mighty Mutants up on the big screen once again!  As a life-long x-reader I am thrilled to see director Bryan Singer give me a another X-Men film to watch. But let's be real for a few minutes.  The X-Men franchise hasn't been all rainbows and blockbusters.  Some of them have sucked.  X3 and the Wolverine origin film were the low points for the franchise and since then it has been on an upward slope.  After re-watching X-Men and X2 the last few nights I realized they weren't phenomenal films either, but still good for their time.  

Now we expect more out of our comic films.  Better characters, better plots, and more drama.  X-Men: Days of Future Past righted the wrongs of previous films and hopefully X-Men: Apocalypse will continue to satisfy x-lovers and general movie goers.  But as I watched X2, I thought of a few things in regards to continuity.  Sure the x-franchise has always been wishy-washy, but I'm hoping DoFP has set in motion a new precedent at 20th Century Fox.  But while the future is a clean slate(post-1973) Singer and co. still have some cleaning up to do.  Starting with answering these questions.

1.  Is Jean's Phoenix persona still a multiple personality disorder?

At the end of X2 we saw Jean Grey sacrifice herself to save her friends.  Then she rises from the ashes(or lake) to be named Phoenix.  We learned that years ago Charles Xavier installed a series of fail-safes in Jean's mind to stop her from becoming so powerful she would hurt/kill everyone.

Now Singer has hinted at a redo of The Dark Phoenix Saga to possibly get it right(just look at the animated series for help Bryan).  But does that mean Jean's Phoenix identity will be from space like the original source material, or is she still a Two-Face kind of nutball?

Yes, the future has not been written, but it's still the same reality rules right? Jean Grey is still a powerful mutant that has the potential to become THEE most powerful mutant.  Will Xavier still install those safe guards in Jean's mind thus still creating the Phoenix?  Or will the Phoenix be a space spirit that inhabits Jean's body? Or will Xavier just train her better in this new future?

2.  Birth Dates

Again, as I watched X2 the other night I saw that Jubilee was one of the mutant kids captured by Stryker.  But then in X-Men: Apocalypse she is about the same age as Cyclops, Jean Grey, and Nightcrawler.  When Xavier stopped Mystique from killing Trask did this new future mess with the sexual relations of certain x-parents?  As the years go by, will Iceman, Rogue, and Kitty, not be born till later?  Or, will this new reality become a place where Bobby's parent's end up having him even sooner than in the previous reality, thus making him the same generation of X-Men as Jean and Scott, and not the next generation?  My head is starting to hurt.

3.  Leaping Decades

Since X-Men: First Class, the x-films(minus The Wolverine and Deadpool) have leaped ten years at a time.  From 1962, to 1973, to 1983 in X-Men: Apocalypse.  Meanwhile James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, and Jennifer Lawrence have only aged 5 years (First Class was released in 2011).  Now, I'm willing to forgive one trilogy with this flaw, but producer Simon Kinberg says the next x-film will leap another ten years into the 90's.  

So Tye Sheridan and Sophie Turner (who are both turning 20 this year) may have to look like they're in their mid-30's within five years?  I can't buy it again.  Mystique is a shape-shifter so Lawrence can look however young she wants.  McAvoy is shaving his head so he'll look different, and we were already starting to see the grey hairs on Fassbender in DoFP, but can Singer and Fox really keep this up? 

I tweeted X-Men writer, Brian Michael Bendis, yesterday saying I feel like they should do an All-New X-Men approach.  Take Sheridan and Turner into the future to see what they become.  Then keep them there.  It was great storytelling by Bendis, it would be something really different from what we've seen, and it solves your aging problem.  I haven't seen Apocalypse yet, but I like the casting of Sheridan and Turner based off their previous bodies of work.  I doubt I will want them re-cast for older versions within the new few years.  Especially if it's only Scott and Jean that time travel!  We may actually get the close and unique relationship those two are supposed to have that was horribly done in the first three films because film makers think Wolverine in the coolest X-Man.  HE'S NOT!!!  Sorry....I had to vent a little.  It's just an idea.  Bryan, call me. 

4.  Do Wolverine and Deadpool still know each other?

With the success of Deadpool we all know Fox is going to want to get him into an actual X-Men movie soon (probably why they're continuing the decade leaps between films), but I'm more curious about his past.  Thanks to DoFP, the only three films that are reality in the X-Men films now are First Class, Days of Future Past, and Deadpool (and Apocalypse).  So if X-Men Origins: Wolverine never took place, did Logan, Sabertooth, Deadpool, and the Blob still all work together for Stryker?  Wade mentioned in his solo film he was a former bad ass for hire.  Does that mean he knows Logan from way back when?

5.  Give Us A New Wolverine Before the Next Film

The last X-Men: Apocalypse trailer let the cat out of the bag and showed us that we are indeed not getting an X-Men film without Wolverine.  Well I don't know about you but I was worried for a sec (he said sarcastically).  Hugh Jackman said his third solo Wolverine film will be his last go as Logan.  And as much as I think Jackman was great as the Canuck with claws I say, "thank you for your service good sir," and "who's next?"

Obviously Fox is already looking for an actor to replace Jackman as the face of their X-Men films.  Because a fifty-year old Hugh Jackman trying to get with a twenty-year old Sophie Turner would just be creepy.  I honesty have no idea who could replace Jackman as a young Logan, but let's get a taste of him first.  Rumors have it the new Han Solo will make a cameo in Rogue One before his own solo film.  And most are saying the best way for Harrison Ford to pass the Indiana Jones torch is to have a flashback with the new actor. I like that idea.

If this new Wolverine film is indeed based off of the superb Old Man Logan story line then they should have the flashback scene from the book in the movie....and have the new Wolverine play that part.  Again, it would be a way for the audience to get used to the new actor before he steps into the lime-light and becomes the star of the franchise. Whata ya think, bub?  

The Martian Brings Ridley Scott Back To Planet Hollywood

Ridley Scott has been a black sheep in Hollywood for the past few years.  His Robin Hood film with Russell Crowe was not well received.  Exodus: Gods and Monsters was a dud, and many people didn't like his Alien prequel; Prometheus.  Though I was not in that crowd on Prometheus.  But with good responses to his latest film, The Martian, it appears Mr. Scott may be out of the proverbial dog house.  

Matt Damon is astronaut Mark Watney.  He and his crew were investigating the red planet of Mars when a storm forced them to evacuate.  But an accident left Mark behind, and his friends believing he was dead.  Now Mark must survive several years on this harsh planet until the next mission arrives.  But he only has food to last a month.  While Mark is trying to figure out ways to make water and food NASA is back on Earth trying to figure out how to bring him home.  Should they send a supply probe, a new manned mission, or tell his fellow crew mates to risk their lives and go back for him?  And will he even still be alive if they do?

Let me start out by saying I think the trailer for this film gave too much away.  His crew mates don't even know Mark was alive till halfway through the film, and by then I knew they were going to go back for him because it was in the trailer.  However, the finale did leave me second guessing if the film was going to end like I thought it would.  I won't tell you what I thought; but I was right.  Because of the trailer I never felt the full stakes of the movie compared to if I had just went it blind.

The film is playing in 3D and IMAX screens, but like most movie, I saw it in regular 2D.  I'm not a fan of 3D and believe their are few films that are worth it.  I'm not sure about 3D, but The Martian would have been awesome to see in IMAX.  The Mars scenery is beautiful to look at and seeing that terrain on an even bigger screen I'm sure would have enhanced the experience of the film.

Damon does a great job of playing the sole inhabitant on a vacant planet.  He constantly talks into video logs so it's not like Castaway where a lot of the film is silent.  I'm curious if Damon actually lost all that weight his character had shed towards the end of the film?  I hadn't heard anything about it so I'm guessing it was a CGI/stunt double effort.

The Martian also includes a great supporting cast like Jessica Chastain, Jeff Daniels, Kristen Wiig, Michael Pena, Sean Bean, and Chiwetel Ejiofor.  The Winter Soldier(Sebastian Stan) and the Invisible Woman(Kate Mara) are also along for this adventure.  These thespians help drive the story, and the stakes, as they race to save Damon's character in time.

While I wouldn't consider this a phenomenal film, I do think it is one of the better ones I've seen this year.  I recommend if you want to see it that you see in theaters; and maybe even IMAX.  Scott pulls off a story about the human condition and our remarkable ability to survive.  With a few jokes and a lot of heart, The Martian is a good start to what is now referred too as "Oscar Season."

RATING:  B

All the posters I looked online for said "November."  I didn't sleep through October did I?