My weekend started early, so while most other people have just a three day weekend, I have given myself an extra day off to make it a super four days off. I left work around 4.30pm and headed back to the flat. I had everything ready packed, so it was just a case of getting changed, doing the dishes and then finally packing the car. It was 16:59 as I got into the car ready to drive to Reading. However, I had to stop by to the BP garage to check my tyre pressures. Then I was on the road, but I was running out of fuel. The computer gave me a range of twenty five miles. The TomTom gave me twenty three miles to Pav’s house. I would make it only just. I was waiting outside the house at 17:52, eight minutes ahead of schedule. Pav was not in and had had to make an unscheduled stop to Tesco to pick up some supplies. He arrived and the weekend could begin. Pav cooked dinner as we caught up on the week, protein shakes, the plan for the gym in the morning and the rest of the activities for Friday. That is the key comment there, it did feel like a Friday today and maybe not just for me. Em arrived at 7pm and it was good to catch up and find out how her new job was going. We settled down in the lounge for Eastenders and ate our food before heading out as agreed at 19:40 for the cinema. Would we make it in time for Pearl & Dean. X-Men have never been one of my favourite comic book hero franchises, however, I was forever a fan of the television cartoon series in my younger day and have seen all the movies. Only the third, X-Men: The Last Stand, did I catch on the big screen. I was therefore looking forward to the latest installment, X-Men Origins: Wolverine. While in the hotel in Brighton a few weekends ago, the trailer had come on and Siy had commented that they were truly “milking the franchise”. The only other pre-viewing comment I had received was from Pav’s work colleague, Barry Tuck. “If you wanna see a hairy ripped man running around, it might just be right up your alley”. The film in a nutshell there but after watching the trailer in full at the gym this morning, I was looking forward to the full cinematic experience and not the leaked workprint version. If you ask any X-Men fan, I am sure Wolverine would come out on top as the favourite character. Jackman played the role well in the original trilogy but is given the time to excel here on screen. However, I feel that he could have given more depth to the character, aside from the muscle and anger. Do not get me wrong the movie is very good and Jackman fills the lead role well but I wanted that little bit extra, to find out more about the character. A true test if you will. For a lead role, he does not have a great amoung of dialogue, so there is not the chance to explore the character in the way I would have hoped that the whole notion behind the origins concept. Nevertheless, great fun, loads of explosions, gunfights, chases and escapes. We guys just love that stuff but the story is very good as well, there is a start middle and end and the established link to the first movie. Although there are special effects they are used only when neccessary, the film at the end of the day is about Logan not the blue screen. Sure they has to be a love story and we understand that and many of the questions from the original movies are answered here but then there are many more questions that come to mind. Personally I would have prefered a little more to the backstory of how Wolverine grew up learning to live with his ability, his ‘gift’ and still follow the courageous path. The relationship with Victor is crucial and I would have wanted a better ending, rather than an open ending with no questions answered. If there is no reconcillation, is there truly no place for forgiveness?

Taking a step back in time to Wednesday lunchtime, as the weather was once again so good, I headed to the small garden by the canal. While walking down, I noticed a beautiful car in the car park. Newbury being such an affluent part of the country, I tend to see some glamorous cars about town but this was perhaps the best yet. I had to grab a photograph in the spring sunshine but my E65 does it little justice. I am surprised I have not mentioned this before but in the ABC series GREEK which I watch, the car (purchased by Evan with his inheritance) is refered to as the Iron Man car and not the Audi R8. I never thought it would be so difficult for the American public to refer to a European vehicle by it’s model number and not the movie that it featured in. Although I suppose Paramount do not mind at all and neither will Audi. After we got back from the cinema, we watched a few episodes of Family Guy (after Em had finished watching Brothers and Sisters). While Pav made the tea, I settled down onto the laptop and started writing up notes and part posts for the blog. I was really looking forward to the gym exchange. I cannot remember the exact time I actually went off to bed but Em had gone up ages and go and Pav wanted to watch the latest episode of LOST, so while he did that I got as much written up for the blog as humanly possible before I could no longer stare at the laptop screen and headed for bed. Tomorrow was going to be a great day. Oh before I forget, I should mention that there was no P&D music at the cinema screening. They went straight into the trailers, the latest Orange Ad starring a very old looking Emilio Estevez. Then it was straight into the movie! Perhaps because it was a Thursday night and the screen was half full.