MAXIMUM EFFORT

After the failure of X-Men Origins: Wolverine and five years of development hell, test footage for Ryan Reynolds' Deadpool film leaked online in 2014. Unable to ignore the overwhelmingly positive reception, the film was finally given the greenlight, with all the bells and whistles it asked for - a bloody R-rated comedy more faithful to the comics. Upon release, it was a monumental success and changed the game for what could be done in CBMs, as more studios recognized the R-rating as something that can still be profitable. But that was then, and this is now, so how do the film's specific comedic stylings hold up nowadays? Come join Alec and Brian to find out as they continue the X-MENATHON with the beginning of a new trilogy -- DEADPOOL!

NEVER ASK A WOMAN HER AGE, A MAN HIS SALARY, OR JOSH BOONE WHAT HE THINKS OF MINORITIES.

As they started winding down on mainline X-Men films, as well as noticing the success of spin-offs such as Deadpool and Logan, Fox decided the next era to pivot towards would feature none other than the ragtag team of superpowered youths, the New Mutants. What seemed like an easy slam dunk turned far more interesting as the initial trailer promised something very different in the modern CBM landscape: a full-on superhero horror film. Unfortunately, it was the reception to it that spurred the studio to delay the film by two and a half years over time with the promise of reshooting to further emphasize the horror tone.... despite those reshoots never happening. The movie, after finally being sent out to die as a pandemic theater release, has been lambasted by critics and fans alike, and now it's our turn to beat the dead horse. So, come join Brian and Alec as they continue the X-MENATHON with Josh Boone's dull, half-baked, and bizarrely racist adaptation of THE NEW MUTANTS!

HE HAD A CHANGE OF HEART!

Despite Apocalypse positioning itself as the end of the mainline X-Men films, closing the loop and establishing the team in full, certain people were keen on scratching a certain itch to perform one last magic trick -- rectifying The Last Stand and making an accurate adaptation of The Phoenix Saga. Amidst year-and-a-half long road to Disney buying out Fox, futures being up in the air, producers stepping in to make the movie themselves, what resulted is not only the (as-of-now) last X-Men movie... but possibly the absolute worst overall. As we wind down in the final month of the X-MENATHON, come join Brian and Alec as they suffer through one of the blandest films they've ever sat through for the show -- X-MEN: DARK PHOENIX!