The X-Men 3 Secret Ending & Searching Film Credits

Posted by duncan on June 05, 2006 at 08:25 AM

With the Detroit Pistons out of the 2006 NBA Playoffs, my wife and I had an unexpected night with nothing planned. We called on a couple of film buff friends and decided to go see the new X-Men 3 movie. It wasn't a hard choice for any of us as we are already fans of the series. We were lucky enough to have a friend with us that knew there was a secret ending. As it turns out the secret ending followed the credits at the end of the film. While we waited in anticipation of the final bits of the story, I got to thinking about how few people sit through the credits of films. After all, who's going to remember all those names anyway? The good news is that you don't have to strain your brain to try to memorize the credits. When you get home simply go to the IMDb.com (The Internet Movie Database) to search almost any film's credits for your favorite actors, directors, and gaffers.

One summer back in my university days I was fortunate enough to enroll in one of Bill Vincent's film classes. He is a legendary professor that taught Sam Raimi while Sam attended Michigan State University. Bill hammered it into us about how important it is to sit through the credits at the end of films. He reasoned that the actors, directors and everyone else who made the film deserved at least a minute of your respect at the end. Furthermore sitting through the credits lets a film sink in. Films are better enjoyed when you finish them the right way. Jumping up and running to the blinding sun light out the back exit door will do little for your film going experience. Leaving so soon makes your eyes squint anyway.

Keeping with the spirit that Bill instilled in me has not always been easy over the years. I've noticed that most people give the credits some respect in smaller and indy film screenings. Yet at the big box theatre, if you don't hoof it out with the mob mentality, you may get trampled. Now and then makers come up with a gimmick ending to keep you in your seats through the credits. This is the case with the new X-Men film.

Now let us return to the IMDb for a moment. Among all niche search engines, this is by far my favorite. I can't think of a cooler site to help you explore and learn more about films and the people who make them. By going to IMDb.com you can search a director's name to find all the films she or he was involved with. So if you liked the new X-Men movie as much as I did, you'll want to search director Brett Ratner's name to discover all of his other films. Or go search the IMDb.com for the new X-Men movie itself and wonder how it was possible that they made Kelsey Grammer into such a cool X-Men character.

IMDb.com is a vertical search engine devoted to film that can help you solve any argument about who starred in what. I don't even need to mention the Kevin Bacon game implications here. Now, what was the secret ending to the X-Men 3 film anyway? Perhaps the people of Miami and Dallas will have a chance to go and see for themselves when their beloved basketball teams are finished with the NBA playoffs.

Category
Search Behavior

Comments (2)