Your favorite reason for Friday is here! This time, I’ve got a challenge, and a prize for whoever can Step Up 2 it. (Damn, where was this challenge two weeks ago?)

Okay, I haven’t written anything about the Wolverine prequel, or as it’s now known, “X-Men Origins: Wolverine,” just in case you thought this was a movie about Michigan college sports. The branding of “Origins” means there will be multiple movies (Magneto is already confirmed), and I’m just not ready for “X-Men Origins: Storm.” We all know what Halle Berry did to “Catwoman.”

Anyway, Wolvie is gathering a pretty decent cast: A Hobbit, Tim Riggins, Van Wilder, and Cotton Weary. Here’s the actors and their characters:

Ryan Reynolds … Deadpool
Taylor Kitsch … Remy Lebeau / Gambit
Liev Schreiber … Victor Creed / Sabretooth
Dominic Monaghan … Barnell Bohusk / Beak

The most interesting casting for me is Taylor Kitsch playing Gambit, the Kinetic Cajun. (I just created that nickname for him. Feel free to spread it around the internet.) Gambit is one of those X-Men characters who was huge in the 90’s because he had an accent (on paper) and got it on with Rogue, thereby attributing his popularity to jealousy. His over-the-top personality and his ability to throw kinetically-charged playing cards might be too cartoony even for a comic book movie, but I’m interested in seeing Kitsch’s range as an actor and this is certainly a long way from Dillon, Texas.

Other Things to Note: Liev Schreiber’s Sabretooth will probably not be as gigantic as Sabretooth in the original film…For some reason, Will.I.Am (God, I hated typing that) from the Black Eyed Peas is in this movie…I have never heard of “Beak” but according to Wikipedia, he’s a mutated man-bird with the power of, er, limited flight. What kind of a half-assed mutant is that?…Wait, why is Gambit involved in a Wolverine Origin story?

Of course, at the heart of it all is Hugh Jackman, who has a chance to redeem Wolverine from the crying, love-stricken feline we saw at the end of X-Men: The Last Stand (too…many…subtitles). Wolvie’s origins are bloody and dark, and the only tears we see on screen should be when he tears holes in people!

This is a sports-related item, but as a life-long Steelers fan, I have to pay tribute. Myron Cope, the voice of the Pittsburgh Steelers, has died today at age 79. You may not know who Myron Cope is, but you know his impact on sports: He created The Terrible Towel, the ultimate symbol of Steelers fandom. Cope’s uncharacteristic announcing style made him a unique voice for the city of Pittsburgh, endearing himself with oddball exclamations like “Yoi!” and “Double Yoi!”, and punctuating sentences with “Hm-ha!” Often times when my brothers and I would watch Steelers games, we’d turn down the volume on the TV and pump Myron on the radio. It just didn’t feel like Sunday unless you had Myron Cope in your house. My dad, being a Browns fan, always enjoyed imitating and making fun of Myron’s distinct voice, but deep down, I know he couldn’t help but love him. Myron Cope was an unforgettable legend of the Steel City, and he’ll be missed.

In a news development that should be shocking to no one, nude photos of Diablo Cody have been uncovered by the website Egotastic (Find it yourself. This is about the news, not the nudes).

Now, major news outlets are picking up on this and running with it. Headlines such as “Nude Scandal for Diablo Cody” and “Diablo Cody in More Trouble Than an Oscar Montage Editor” (E!’s headline, not mine) are making their way across the country. Why is anyone surprised by this? The woman previously earned an income by removing her clothing. Obviously, she’s comfortable with her body. Hey! Did you know Diablo Cody was a stripper before she wrote the Oscar-winning screenplay for “Juno?” You did?? Oh, because they mentioned it on the Oscars 19 times, and the words “Diablo Cody” and “Stripper” are always used in the same sentence? Wow! Then why the hell is this a scandal??

It’s a scandal when an actor goes off and murders someone. It’s a scandal if they’ve been caught with a trannie hooker. It’s NOT a scandal when everyone knows you were a stripper, and topless picture of you are released. Sounds like a normal day in the life, if you ask me.

This just goes to show that not even an Oscar is more powerful than boobs.

Just a couple DVDs to recommend this week!

Beowulf

I was lucky enough to see “Beowulf” at an IMAX 3-D theater, and it was probably one of the Top 3 greatest movie experiences of my life. I’ve never been fully immersed like that before, where you feel like you are actually a character in the movie. The 3-D added depth and clarity to the picture and wasn’t used for cheap “Jaws 3-D” scares. And the story was actually well-done. I mean, it’s Beowulf, so it’s hard to screw up (unless Christopher Lambert’s name is attached to it), but with such amazing visual effects, you would expect the story to take a backseat. Now, because I had such an face-melting experience, I don’t have the urge to see this movie ever again in any format other than IMAX 3-D. I just know a puny TV can’t compare to a gigantic, 50 foot tall screen, no matter how flat and highly defined it is. But if you haven’t seen Beowulf, you owe it to yourself to check it out. It’s revolutionary filmmaking!

VERDICT: BUY AN IMAX 3-D THEATER!

The Darjeeling Limited

The Royal Tenenbaums” is one of my favorite movies, so I’ll always make time for Wes Anderson. He’s cornered the market on these quirky, desert-dry comedies, and some people give him shit for that. But hey, it’s his style and no one does it better. “The Darjeeling Limited” explores the same issues Anderson is known for: Brothers, Love, Damaged Relationships, and Bill Murray, except this time it takes place on a train. If you love attention to detail, clever dialogue exchanges, and noses (it stars Adrian Brody and Owen Wilson), then you should check this one out!

VERDICT: RENT IT!

God Bless YouTube. Just yesterday I was talking about Gary Busey bringing insanity along as his Oscar date, and now I can actually show it to you. Look at Jennifer Garner’s face at 1:17, right after he kisses her. That’s the exact amount of shock and disgust you would expect after being accosted by a drunk uncle. And, apparently, Gary Busey.

Okay, I saw this a few days ago, but now it’s being featured on YouTube, so I have no choice but to put it up. You may have seen my fantastic review of “Zoo” a few days ago, but I have to admit this review of “Star Wars” is slightly more adorable. If you don’t enjoy this, it’s possible your heart was sold in a garage sale.

Clearly, the Writer’s Strike had an effect on this year’s Oscars. Even though Jon Stewart jokingly threatened the audience with endless montages the likes of “Binoculars and Periscopes” and “Waking Up From A Bad Dream”, there were no less than 42 montages over the 3+ hours. It’s obvious they were prepared for an unscripted show and said to themselves, ‘We did not sift through 80 years of Oscar footage to let these things sit on the shelf just because the writers are back!’ It blew Rocky IV out of the water as the reigning champ of time killing (although Rocky IV still has the edge in Apollo killing).

Not to say the Oscars were horrible. I loved Jon Stewart’s opening monologue. He delivered the best line of the night when he said, “Even ‘Norbit’ got a nomination, which I think is great. Too often, the academy ignores movies that aren’t good.”

And it was truly classy to bring back Marketa Irglova back on stage after she and Glen Hansard won for Best Song and Bill Conti played her off stage before she could say one word. You would think a fellow musician would have given her a bigger window than 2 seconds to step up to the mic. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a winner brought back to finish their speech, and she made the most of her time.

Other than that, there weren’t a lot of surprises. I feel like the right people won. “No Country” certainly dominated, snagging all the big prizes (Adapted Screenplay, Best Director, Best Picture, Best Supporting Actor), and Daniel Day-Lewis won Best Actor for “There Will Be Blood.”

Honestly, the best part of the night happened before the show on another network. E! was doing the red carpet, and Ryan Seacrest brought Jennifer Garner over for an interview. Fortunately for anyone watching, he was accosted by Gary Busey before that happened. Busey spouted off something nonsensical before giving Jennifer Garner a creepy, boundary-crossing hug and kiss. I’ve never seen someone more frightened in their life than Jennifer Garner. And she’s seen “Elektra.”

In an attempt to bring a new feature to the site, titled Snap Judgment, I inadvertently created the Saturday Comedy video as well.

Watch as I try to review the movie Zoo, and fail. Miserably.

Embed the video by following the YouTube link: http://youtube.com/watch?v=PqwSqe6_Zzw