I Will Be Your Father Figure..."Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 2"

Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 2 (2017)

Rated PG-13

Starring Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Dave Bautista, Kurt Russell, Michael Rooker, Vin Diesel, Bradley Cooper, Karen Gillan, Pom Klementieff,

Written and Directed by James Gunn

The Story:

The Guardians of the Galaxy are back! In the months that have passed, the group of travelers have started to become a family, or at least that's what you would assume from all the bickering. However with the arrival of Peter's (Pratt) dad, Ego (Russell), everyone is about to learn the secret behind their family heritage. That's assuming the Guardians live long enough to find out, as a bounty is put on their heads that sends Yondu (Rooker) and the Ravagers looking for them.

There, hopefully that doesn't give anything away that you haven't already gleaned from the trailers.

Here's the bottom line:

Did you like the first Guardians of the Galaxy?

Then you're probably going to like this one.

Is it better?

Probably not.

Sequels rarely are.

The first one was simply...wow...they're doing this...they're doing that....

It was this generation's Star Wars.

So now we've seen all the wows, as we've been introduced to Marvel Studios space side.

That said, this is a worthy successor to the franchise, and doesn't have any significant drop off in quality. Like I said, we now know all the characters, so there is a lot less exposition this go round in bringing the team together.

This becomes catching up with old friends who have settled in to be family.

Even if they haven't figured out they are family yet.

The laughs flow freely.

Baby Groot is adorable.

Drax continues to steal every scene he is in.

The soundtrack fits perfectly.

And you might even have an occasion or two to need tissues.

:)

Your mileage may vary.

Final Grade: A

The Trek And The Furious..."Star Trek Beyond"

Star Trek Beyond (2016)

PG-13

Starring Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Zoe Saldana, Karl Urban, Simon Pegg, Sofia Boutella, John Cho, Anton Yelchin,

Directed by Justin Lin

The Story:

The crew of the Enterprise lands on an alien planet where their latest enemy (Elba) vows to destroy the Federation. With help from an alien (Boutella) and the Beastie Boys, perhaps Kirk (Pine) and his crew can save the galaxy.

Again.

So at this point, you either love (or at least tolerate) the rebooted franchise, or you hate it.

I'm not sure there's a middle ground.

I've enjoyed both the original series and the reboot for what they are: entertainment.

I enjoyed this installment of the series more than Into Darkness, mostly because I wish they would create new storylines for this crew versus rehashing old storylines.

Though this plot seems vaguely reminiscent of some previously seen episode, or movie...

maybe GalaxyQuest?

:)

Justin Lin moves from the Fast & Furious franchise to take over the Trek franchise, at least for one film.

If he does stick around, expect The Rock to show up in another sequel, soon, but that's about the time the quality of the franchise gets even better.

My biggest complaints for the film:

Karl Urban is woefully underused, as usual, and is still the best character the franchise has.

Star Trek: Beyond.  Star Trek-Beyond.

It's killing me to not have some type of punctuation in the movie title.

Otherwise, I need to know Star Trek Beyond...What?

What have they gone beyond?!?

;)

Final Grade: B-

Quite A Tale In "The Book Of Life"

The Book Of Life (2014)

PG

Starring Diego Luna, Zoe Saldana, Channing Tatum, Ron Perlman, Christina Applegate

Written and Directed by Jorge R. Gutierrez

The Story:

Best friends Manolo (Luna) and Joaquin (Tatum) grow up as rivals for the adorable Maria (Saldana).  As grown men, the rivalry continues. The relationship catches the eyes of some supernatural beings (Perlman & Applegate) who make a wager on which man will win Maria's hand. When trickery comes to play however, not even death can stop true love and Manolo embarks on a journey of a lifetime.

From the company that brought you Free Birds...

I know, that sentence alone had me very worried as well, as I found that movie to be rather on the boring side of things...

But they fixed my complaint from that movie, which was a rather poor storyline, with a much tighter narrative, and now I'm pleased to say that this has been one of the better animated films I've seen this year.

I never had a problem with their animation, most animation studios are really killing it in terms of look and feel of their films.

Reel FX goes the extra mile on this film as many of the characters look wooden and have puppet joints. The care and attention that went into the work is nothing short of amazing to watch.

A voice cast of names, but aside from the always superb Danny Trejo, I think you'll be hard pressed to feel that the "name" overpowers the voice, and you may be wondering who the cast really is during and after the movie has concluded.

I was expecting to be disappointed going into this one as it pretty much bombed in theaters.

Instead, I'm more disappointed that unless it has Disney or Pixar on the banner, families are staying away from most other animated fare unjustly.

Final Grade: B+

Simply Put...THE Best Movie of 2014! "Guardians Of The Galaxy"

Guardians of the Galaxy (2014)

PG-13

Starring Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Dave Bautista, Vin Diesel, Bradley Cooper,

Written and Directed by James Gunn

The Story:

Marvel Studios heads into space with a tale of a band of ne'er do-wells led by Star-Lord (Pratt) who teams with Gamora (Saldana) Drax (Bautista) Groot (Diesel) and Rocket (Cooper) in an attempt to save the very universe that considers them to be outlaws.  But heroes come in all shapes and sizes, and these Guardians of the Galaxy are about to prove to be every bit as worthy as The Avengers.

Borrowed from my synopsis that I wrote for the movie review when I saw it in theaters.

It was impressive then.

It was a trip into space for Marvel that basically brought the thrill of Star Wars to a generation that grew up on it when it first came out, and it made us kids again.

The acting was superb.

James Gunn is fantastic (and if you want a lot of fun, follow him on Facebook!) and as enthusiastic of an ambassador to the Marvel Universe as you're going to get.

If you don't like science fiction...
If you don't like comic book movies...

I ask that you give this one a try.

Your opinion might change on both fronts.

I've yet to meet anyone out there that saw it and didn't like it.

I'm sure they exist, but I'm not sure I want to know that person.

They are probably dead on the inside.

:)

Final Grade: A+

Rewatchability/Purchase Factor: One of the only things I wanted for Christmas, it will be enjoyed often over the next few years. 

A Star-Lord Is Born... "Guardians Of The Galaxy"

Guardians of the Galaxy (2014)

Rated PG-13

Starring Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Dave Bautista, Vin Diesel, Bradley Cooper, Lee Pace

Written and Directed by James Gunn

The Story:

Marvel Studios heads into space with a tale of a band of ne'er do-wells led by Star-Lord (Pratt) who teams with Gamora (Saldana) Drax (Bautista) Groot (Diesel) and Rocket (Cooper) in an attempt to save the very universe that considers them to be outlaws.  But heroes come in all shapes and sizes, and these Guardians of the Galaxy are about to prove to be every bit as worthy as The Avengers.

Mostly.

What to say about this film without completely echoing every other critic out there, and without revealing any spoilers?

Let's try...

This is THE Star Wars experience for the 7-12 year olds that we got to experience back in the 70s.
Not those terrible prequels that came a generation later... ick.
:)

Chris Pratt cements his claim to leading man/action hero/everyman action guy.  In other words, if he so chooses, he could be the next big thing.  His Star-Lord is equal parts Indiana Jones and John McClane, and everyman hero who can take a beating but keeps coming back for more.

Vin Diesel steals the movie out from under his co-stars with but three words...and one of the most expressive facial and body language you'll ever enjoy in a film.

You think he nailed it in Iron Giant?  Wait until you catch his Groot!

Cooper instills Rocket with equal parts cockiness, snarky, charm, agression with a hint of heart.  You want the mascot duo?  Look no further.

These guys are the C-3P0/R2D2 combo, except, they're a lot more relevant.

:)

Dave Bautista is given some great dialogue which he delivers perfectly.  He got the role of a lifetime, and I'm very happy to see him up on the screen.

Zoe Saldana proves that she's not a one-trick pony, put her in any franchise and she will deliver.

Lee Pace almost unrecognizable from Ned in Pushing Daisies, and he played Ronan the Accuser without mercy, a total change from what I was used to.  Well done.

James Gunn, he wrote it, he directed it, and the Marvel Cinematic Universe is all the better for it.

I rolled my eyes and wondered what Marvel was thinking when this movie was announced.

I humbly apologize.

This is what they were thinking, and I cannot wait to see how they follow it up in 2017, or perhaps a cameo elsewhere before then.

Bravo everyone.

I'm not sure if I will give this the edge over Captain America: The Winter Soldier.

But so far, it's Marvel running 1-2 for movie of the year.

That's impressive, and I can't wait to see what comes next.

I've got until December to make that decision.


A word of warning from some of my kids:  You might want to bring a tissue along, just in case.


There's some moments in the film that will touch you beyond what you're expecting from a comic book movie.


That's James Gunn and his cast bringing an awful lot of heart to a film that is going to make you feel like a kid again before the credits roll.


They put the tagline "You're Welcome" on the poster months ago.

It wasn't cocky, it was a response to everyone who is now saying "Thank You" for making such a great movie.

Final Grade: A

Rewatchability/Purchase Factor: I'll be buying it, I hope it's out just in time for the holidays.  Loved it.

Blockbuster Weekend Part One: "Star Trek: Into Darkness"

To boldly go where we've already gone before...

For the first time!

The Story:

Kirk (Chris Pine) and the rest of his crew are in trouble for not following standard protocol.  Kirk is removed from his captaincy, just as a Star Fleet officer (Benedict Cumberbatch) goes rogue, causing a terrorist attack.  Kirk demands to hunt this traitor to the far reaches of the galaxy and is reinstated as the Enterprise's commander.  He reassembles his crew and prepares to bring vengeance to the villain.  Ah, but not everything is as it seems, and there are still some twists coming for the members of the Enterprise.

I'm sure everyone has seen this film by now that wanted to, so I won't spoil anything else.

As for me? 

I enjoyed this film.

I've seen/heard all the negativity, but come on folks, it's just a movie.

Spoken like a true non-Trekkie.

Yes, I grew up watching reruns of Star Trek in syndication, but otherwise, never bothered with most of the movies or the various television series that followed.

I've had no problems with the reboot/relaunch of an alternate universe Star Trek.

It was the smartest thing they could've done.

If you want to keep the franchise going into the 21st Century, why not reboot everything?  And they did it in such a clever way, it seemed that you could have the best of both worlds.  Everything that had come before was still there... and now a new crew with some old names was being given their chance to shine.

And they took to their parts really well.

Zachary Quinto continues to grow nicely into his role as Spock, but for me the scene stealer is Karl Urban as Bones McCoy.  He's not around a lot, which is a shame, but everytime he delivered his cranky lines, I laughed.

The guy fills the role perfectly.  I hope to see more of him the next go round.

Hopefully, and assuming there is a next film, the storyline might be original, and concentrate on the main portion of the crew.

Let's see how this 5 year journey works out for the new crew.

I'm game for a return if they are.

Final Grade: B+

Rewatchability/Purchase Factor: I'd watch it again, and wouldn't mind adding it to the collection with the first one.  Making 2 Star Trek movies in my library as the sum total  of my Trekkiness.

"Guess Who" is Getting Reviewed Today... Do I End That With a ? or ! ???

Love is blind.  Color blind.

The Story:

Theresa (Zoe Saldana) loves Simon (Ashton Kutcher).  So much so, they are going to get married.  What better time to take Simon home to her family, than on the anniversary of her parents Percy (Bernie Mac) and Marilyn's (Judith Scott) anniversary and renewal of vows.  One small hitch... Theresa has never mentioned to her family that the man of her dreams just happens to be white.

Oopsie.

So I suppose I could go on a long philosophical rant on the importance of this film in breaking down race relations in America.  Based loosely off Guess Who's Coming to Dinner, in the new millennium we have to treat the white guy as the odd man out, otherwise the movie would be overtly racist in tone and cause such an uproar.  Instead, making fun of Ashton Kutcher is safe and tolerable to take a look in an amusing way at race relations and come out not feeling so bad about ourselves as human beings.

But that's way too deep for this movie.

: )

Instead, enjoy this one for the tour de force of Bernie Mac playing a dad upset with his daughter, and learning to love his apparent son-in-law-to-be.  The two get off on the wrong foot, but is it because of Simon's skin color, or is it because no guy is ever good enough for a man's daughter?

Ponder that one!  If you have a daughter, you probably can already guess the answer!!

It doesn't help that Simon hits the ground caught in a lie, and apparently Percy can sniff out a lie quicker than anything.

Of course, before the weekend is over, Percy and Simon are going to need to work together to win back the loves of their lives, and with a little help from one another, the weekend might not be so bad after all.

Kutcher has some great reactions throughout the film and he and Bernie make a great duo.

If anything, this is just another remind that Bernie Mac was lost way too soon, he had dozens of more fun characters in him that would be a joy to watch unfold on the screen.

It's lightweight, silly fun that hides the deeper thought that almost everyone is racist until they can change their own mind.

But again, that's too much depth for this film, just go have a good laugh.

Final Grade: B+

Rewatchability/Purchase Factor: I've watched it a few times over the years, and I keep meaning to buy it but haven't yet.  Maybe someday....

Plagiarism Knows No Bounds... "The Words"

 Actions speak louder than...The Words!


The Story:

A struggling writer (Bradley Cooper) and his wife (Zoe Saldana) are on their honeymoon in Paris.  She buys hubby a bag, and when he returns he discovers a manuscript in the bag.  It's brilliant.  So much better than what he had written before.  He retypes it, verbatim.  It gets published.  Rave reviews. Accolades.

And then the guy who wrote it (Jeremy Irons) shows up and kills everyone with an axe.

Okay, so I made that last part up, but perhaps it's what this film needed?


For starters, it begins with ANOTHER author (Dennis Quaid) who is apparently doing lectures, wherein he reads his book, about what I've just revealed to you. 

Yeah, this level of narration is totally not needed.  Is he really the star, hiding himself as a character layered within another level of story?  The movie seems to end that way, which is totally unnecessary.


And really, a waste of talent and plot device.  We already have one writer stealing from another, to have the third writer adds a layer that is wholly unnecessary. 

There is much dramatic potential and promise... and most of it wasted.

The flashbacks of the actual story and the interactions between Irons and Cooper are the best parts of the entire movie.

I've endured worse films, and it isn't bad, but don't rush to see this one.

Final Grade: C+

Would I Own It:  Words cannot express the unlikelihood of that happening.  Oh wait, yes they can: No.

: )