What marks the spot?

...or "Random thoughts: X-Men: the Last Stand edition.

+ People may have had doubts about this, but I bet they're kicking themselves now; Kelsey Grammer as Beast...just terrific.

- Whole lotta deaths, each more surprising than the last.

+ Though strategically hidden for a PG-13, Rebecca Romijn...naked! Need I elaborate?

- That day for night shot of the otherwise cool moment of Magneto moving the Golden Gate Bridge. What the hell was that about?

- Just about everything that Vinnie Jones said was hilarious...and I'm sure that a couple of those lines were intentionally so.

+ John Powell's score. Kickass. Definitely want to pick it up (although, in terms of his overall resume, Paycheck still owns my soul).

+ Halle Berry had much more to do as Storm. I dug it.

+ Was I the only one jazzed hearing R. Lee Ermey's voice in that one scene? I didn't see him, but there's no mistaking the voice.

Now, I admit I don't follow the comics, but I've pretty much seen geek reviews flaying this film on the basis of lack of faithfulness. As I mentioned before, the talkbacks at Ain't It Cool News are good for some hearty laughs. This one confirms my above statement, although there is a pretty strong defense of the film, courtesy of the ironically-handled Negative Man.