Themes of identity, difference, stigma, and othering are explicitly or implicitly present in much of the X-Men mythology, whether expressed through comics, television shows, or films. While I was never a devotee to the comics, as a fan of the 90s animated television series and (some of) the recent slate of Hollywood films (that have, as of this past weekend, effectively framed the continually dominant superhero blockbuster genre), I’ve always been fascinated by the series’ ability to take part in the language of social identity issues. Fantastic genres like horror and sci-fi have often provided an allegorical means of addressing social crises (vampire films as AIDS metaphor, zombie movie as conformist critique, or Dystopian sci-fi as technocratic critique, for example). The superhero genre has possessed a similar history in this capacity, even though it has thus far been mostly unrealized in the medium of film. As big entertainment, superhero films ranging from the first Spider-Man to the Iron Man films have bestowed narratives of exceptionalism and wish-fulfillment rather than shown any aspiration towards critique or insight. Perhaps The Dark Knight is most involved example of social critique thus far – a film that explores themes surrounding the personal toll on fighting terror and the overreaches of power that can result in the name of pursuing safety. What X-Men: First Class (almost) accomplishes is mining fully the allegorical territory made available by its fantastic premise in a way that few previous comic book films have.

For 36 days straight, we’ll be exploring the famous 36 Dramatic Situations by examining a film that exemplifies each one. From family killing family to prisoners in need of asylum, we brush off the 19th century list in order to remember that it’s still incredibly relevant today. Whether you’re seeking a degree in Literature, love movies, or just love seeing things explode, our feature should have something for everyone. If it doesn’t, then go buy a suit from Tom Ford’s Fall line to cheer yourself up. Part 12 of the 36-part series takes a look at “All Sacrificed for Passion” with fashion designer Tom Ford’s feature directorial debut A Single Man.

June was a rough month for This Week in Blu-ray. Only a few of you actively missed it, judging by the emails, but I’m sure that even more of you felt a hole in your very souls due to the lack of weekly Blu-ray buying advice. By my count I am four weeks behind as of today, four weeks that each had worthy releases — some of which you may have purchased already. So in an effort to be brief, I’ve selected the most prominent releases and mixed them in with the Blu-rays hitting shelves this week. It’s my way of smashing four weeks of release together and wiping away the blood. In the end, it should give you a good road map for what you should have been doing all along.

Rob Hunter loves movies. He also loves leading groups of survivors through post apocalyptic situations. These two joys come together in the form of cash money payments that he receives every week and immediately uses to buy more DVDs. So join us each week as he takes a look at new DVD releases and gives his highly unqualified opinion as to which titles are worth BUYing, which are better off as RENTals, and which should be AVOIDed at all costs.

The most illustrious of all the individual awards except for all the others, Best Actor is a coveted prize sought after by everyone working in the industry including actors, producers, gaffers, best boys, and that guy in your high school that plans on moving out to L.A.

Matthew Goode is unhappy. He is downright disappointed. His movies are never good enough to contain his prodigious “talent”. The actor who was miscast in Watchmen, made a wanting adaptation of Brideshead Revisited worse, is very talented. At whining, complaining and presenting himself as a stereotype of the self involved, egotistical Actor with a capital A.

This week’s Culture Warrior looks absolutely fabulous in that suit.

The Fat Guys suffer through the January Sewer, which is the weeks of the new year that hold very little hope for quality films. They haven’t seen anything this week, due to non-screenings and late screenings, so they talk about the upcoming Spider-Man reboot.

Rob Hunter recalls a year of marketing with 15 of the most exciting slices of cinema to hit big screens this year. The best trailers.

The feature filmmaking debut of fashion designer Tom Ford, A Single Man often resembles a magazine photo spread sprung to life.

The Hollywood Foreign Press Association announced the nominations for The 67th Annual Golden Globe Awards. But that’s not all!

This week, on a very special episode of Reject Radio, we change the entire face of the internet film podcast world by doing the show in photo-realistic 3D.

Tom Ford is a stylish man who’s been around a lot more naked women than I have. I’d cry foul, but he’s also been around a lot more naked men so instead I’ll just call it even. He’s been near the top of the fashion world for years, but now he looks to be expanding his resume by directing and co-writing a film. A Single Man has already received quite a bit of acclaim from showings at various festivals and has finally had it’s first trailer released. The film stars Colin Firth, Julianne Moore, Matthew Goode (Watchmen, The Lookout), Ginnifer Goodwin (“Big Love”, “Ed”), and Nicholas Hoult (About a Boy, “Skins”). Check it out below. The trailer doesn’t give away much (or anything really) about the plot, but it looks absolutely stunning doesn’t it? It shouldn’t come as a surprise since Ford’s other career involves his keen eye for fashion and beauty, but he and cinematographer Eduard Grau have at the very least crafted a beautifully-shot film. As far as what the movie’s about… It’s based on the novel by Christopher Isherwood and stars Firth as a British professor living in California who’s trying to move on after the loss of his lover. The film follows him through one day of his life as he deals with his emotions, acquaintances, and past decisions that brought him to this point. As the trailer points out, Firth is already getting some Oscar buzz for his performance, and I’m happy to hear that. [Due to Content Scraping and Theft, we have been forced to try abbreviated feeds. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause and woud very much appreciate you clicking through to view the full article on FilmSchoolRejects.com]

Once again, the Harvey and Bob show is messing with their release schedule, moving around Oscar hopefuls and highly anticipated fall releases for reasons unknown — or mostly unknown.