Lady's Choice: Minions

Guess who's taking over!

Let me tell you something: I love the Despicable Me movies! They appeal to both kids and adults. As Brian has said previously that those movies are just a way to pass the time with kids. So with Brian reviewing The Gallows, I have the honor of reviewing the spin-off movie: Minions. And, personally, I got the better movie. In fact, I got the number one movie of the weekend, grossing $115. 7 million. Jurassic World was number two with $18.1 million. Minions is aimed completely at kids from start to finish.

Minions is the life story of the minions and how they met Gru. If you have seen the trailers than you most likely have seen the first part of this movie. The minions evolve little. single cell minions to little, aquatic minions to the minions that kids everywhere know from Despicable Me. They are really, really bad at keeping a boss. From accidentally tossing a Tyrannosaurus-Rex in a volcano to shooting Napoleon with a cannon, the Minions are kind of accident prone.

The Minions end up all alone, and, at first, they build something like their version of a civilization. However, they fall into a depression with no boss to serve. So Kevin, Stuart, and little Bob go out into the very changed world in order to find a new boss to help try and rule the world. Since they haven't seen the changes that the world has gone through in the last few hundred years, the Minions are in a strange land but seem to adapt fairly well. From arctic furs to their jean overalls, the Minions blend in and start their search for a boss. It is isn't until they see a secret advertisement for Villain Con that Kevin, Stuart, and Bob start heading in the right direction: Orlando, Florida. 

Through a series of funny circumstances, the Minions end up at Villain Con and also become Scarlet Overkill's , voiced by Sandra Bullock, henchmen. Scarlet is the world's number one super villain, and now she wants Queen Elizabeth II's crown (though it would be even better for her if she could actually be the queen). Her husband Herb equips the three with weapons for their heist, and the next day they head to the Tower of London. Between Stuart being able to dance with some hypnotized guards to Bob becoming King of England to giant Kevin trying to protect his tribe, the minions learn that, while Scarlet is the top villain, this is one boss that won't tolerate any mistakes or mishaps. 

Minions is very kid centered. I honestly cannot think of a message. Despicable Me and Despicable Me 2 had family oriented messages. This movies really doesn't have one, which kind of turns off any adults in the audience. Our showing had mostly kids with parents and few teenagers. The kids were laughing more than we were, so the movie does appeal to kids. I'm just looking for something a little big more I guess.

The new characters, mainly Scarlet and Herb, are not really explored. She's there to be evil, which she enjoys, and Herb is there to supply the lava guns, Scarlet's high-tech dress, etc. Kevin, Stuart, and Bob each have their distinct personalities. Kevin (tallest with two eyes) is the leader and cares deeply for his tribe. Stuart (the middle one with one eyes) is obsessed with guitars and music. He's also trying to out do Kevin. He didn't really come along by choice. Bob (smallest with two eyes) is kind of like the little kid or little brother of the group. He's trusting and loves his bear Tim. Kevin is often taking care of Bob.

The animation for Minions is the same as Despicable Me. The soundtrack is better for the previous two than the spin-off. What is missing most for me is what the other Despicable Me movies had, but this one doesn't: Plot. There's a story of course, how the Minions found Gru (who does appear a couple times in the movie); however, there's no plot, no character development. The Minions do just stumble through the conflict with Scarlet and into Gru. It's not a huge thing for a kids' movie, but I don't think that Minions will land in my top movies of 2015.

Rating:  6.5/10

Buy on BluRay:  Only if the Minions were a huge draw for you to Despicable Me, otherwise no. 

So what did you think about Minions  Was it as entertaining as Despicable Me or Despicable Me 2?  Share your thoughts in the comment section below.

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Unreality Companion: Terminator Genisys

In which I develop on the content of my weekly Unrealitymag.com article.

So last weekend's double-feature was Terminator Genisys and Magic Mike XXL.  The better of these two movies was exactly what you would think it is.  Despite a surprisingly good first film, Magic Mike's successor was every bit the sex-pandering trash that you'd expect it to be.  And, despite the rampantly negative reviews floating around on the internet, Terminator Genysis turned out to be an exceptional lot of fun.

On the eve of mankind's final victory over Skynet, John Connor - leader of the Human resistance - preps for the real battle.  Knowing that Skynet will send a Terminator into the past in order to assassinate his mother before she births him, he sends Kyle Reese - his second in command and, secretly, his father-to-be - back to 1984 to save her.

But nothing is as it was supposed to be.  Moments before Reese leaves for the past, Skynet infects John Connor with a reconstructive virus that transforms him into a Next Gen Terminator under the machines' control.  When Reese arrives in the past, he doesn't find a helpless teenager in need of rescuing, but a battle-hardened soldier who had already survived one assassination attempt and had been prepping for his arrival for decades with the help of her own T-800.  All the while, Reese experiences memories of a lifetime he never lived - one where Skynet had not yet assumed control and Judgment Day had to happen.

I cannot express just how pumped I was for this movie going in.  While admittedly not quite at Age of Ultron or The Force Awakens levels of hype, it was still pretty high up there.  It was one of my most anticipated movies of the year, a long-in-coming sequel to two of my overall favorite movies and exactly the kind of movie that I've wanted to come out of this franchise for well over a decade now.

In these regards, the movie fully lives up to the high expectations that its premise - and excellent (if spoiler-ridden) trailer - set up for it.  It brings the franchise full circle by sending us back to the setting of the first movie.  It gives us exciting new twists on everything Skynet (both in terms of an amped up T-1000 and the newly Terminated John Connor).  It changes everything that we've ever known about the franchise in ways that were both wholly unexpected but fully realistic.

It was exciting, well written and even gave us a Sarah Connor that was a worthy successor to Linda Hamilton's take on the character.  It had everything and then some and I simply cannot understand why its received such universally negative reviews from critics across the country.  It is really that good.

Does this mean that it was a perfect movie by any means?  No, of course not.  The mid-movie time-jump to 2015 - seemingly "just because" - is an out-of-place setting change that serves as an over-written continuation to what was already an excellent action romp.  It would have been more than enough to stick with a Judgment Day-style Sarah Connor, fresh off the boat Kyle Reese and an increasingly glitchy T-800 (named Pops) duke it out against a vintage T-800 in 1984.

I also get why Steve Jobs - and, by extension, Apple-style branding - is the current go-to for tech-based villains, but it's gotten old real fast.  It was tolerable in Kingsmen because it was purely surface-level aesthetics.  It's obnoxious in Terminator because it feels like a needlessly low blow in a franchise that has bigger - and more interesting - things to worry about.

Although not quite as big an offender in this regard as Chappie, Terminator Genisys is severely overwritten.  There's enough material for two movies crammed into a single two-hour chunk of time.  We have Reese returning to a radically altered 1984 and teaming up with a shockingly martial Sarah Connor and the protective Pops, but we also have the jump to contemporary LA where a newly roboticized John Connor ensures Skynet's creation in our present.  Rather than letting the two ideas breathe in their own movies, they're crammed into a single film and rushed through as if the inevitable sequels are where it's really at.

In this regard, Terminator Genisys is like a far superior version of The Amazing Spider-Man 2.  Both are far more interesting it setting up possible sequels and spin-offs than they are in crafting the movie that they actually have to work with.  The difference between them is that Terminator Genisys still succeeds in giving us a fully realized story (even if it is overly crammed with plot points and narrative leaps), while The Amazing Spider-Man 2 was basically just an advertisement for movies that ultimately never came to be.

So although it's something of a mixed bag, Terminator Genisys is every bit the summer blockbuster that you've been waiting to see.  Sure, it's not nearly the movie that Fury Road or Jurassic World was, but few are.  It's a fun, action-packed sequel with a great premise and awesome explosions that's bound to get even more people to care about the first exceptional instalments to the franchise.

Rating:  8/10

Buy on BluRay:  It's a nothing short of a must-have for Terminator fans.

So what did you think of Terminator Genisys?  Was it better or worse than the four movies that came before it?  Share your thoughts in the comment section below.

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Lady's Choice: Magic Mike XXL

Guess who's taking over!

So Magic Mike XXL and Terminator Genisys were released ahead of the 4th of July weekend, making Brian's and my date night night at the theater this week on a Tuesday instead of on a Thursday. Once again, Brian and I are going to divide up the movie reviews with what I think is an appropriate division. On a previous Lady's Choice, I reviewed Magic Mike (2012), so makes sense that I'd also review the sequel with Brian reviewing Terminator Genisys. It appears that audiences weren't entirely impressed by the new movie offerings with Terminator Genisys coming in 3rd and Magic Mike XXL coming in 4th with $12.8 million. Perhaps it being a holiday weekend actually hurt it but only time will tell for this stripping filled sequel.

Three years after Magic Mike, things are exactly what Mike Lane thought they would be when he finally was able to open up his custom furniture business and leave the world of stripping behind. This includes Brooke leaving Mike as we find out later. He only has one employee and can't afford to pay the employee's health insurance. After getting tricked into meeting up this buddies from the Kings of Tampa (the stripping group that Mike was apart of) by being told someone died. Luckily none of the Kings have died, but they were abandoned by Dallas and The Kid, who moved to an overseas market. They have decided to go the stripper convention in Myrtle Beach (it makes sense that they'd have one, but it still kind of surprised me that there was one) for one last performance, and they want Magic Mike to come along.

After what I would call a great tip of the hat to the first movie, Mike decides that he will join the Kings of Tampa for a little get away from what is currently going on in his life. One of their first stops is a drag queen show where the boys have a bit of fun. Mike also meets Zoe (played by Amber Heard), an aspiring photographer, when she takes a break from taking pictures of drag queens to him. After continuing their trip, Mike shows everyone that they don't have to do Dallas's old routines. However, due to some shenanigans, Tobias (played by Gabriel Iglesias) has to stay at a hospital, and their truck gets totaled.

Mike and the rest decide to continue on to Myrtle Beach. Along the way, the Kings of Tampa have to return to where Magic Mike was known as White Chocolate and an unexpected private audience where previous acquaintances make an appearance. In the end, Mike and the gang have to keep their eyes on the prize: their last blow-out performance.

This movie is both similar to and different from Magic Mike. Let's start out with the obvious: there is more male stripping. From Mike dancing in his furniture workshop to the last performance, the movie probably has double the amount of performances that were in the first one. Not only that but they take place in more than just on the stage, including a convenience store. Also, most of the performances are new in keeping with Mike's strive to not use Dallas's old routines since he left them behind. This was also a bit different because of the incorporation of male entertainers from a different group.

One thing that Brian like about the first Magic Mike was that it had plot (though he says it felt like half a movie). I liked that too. With Magic Mike XXL, there is not the same kind of plot. It feels like a different movie. The first one was somewhat of a love story/finding yourself story. This one is a "getting the band back together" kind of plot. That seems to be the biggest complaint: that it sacrifices plot for stripping. I have to say that they did a bit, but between Brian and I, I see the plot. Both movies are fun. Magic Mike XXL isn't as deep as the first one, and I am okay with that. I still had a good time watching this movie.

That all being said, I honestly don't think they could make a third Magic Mike and hope that they don't. Mike got the girl, lost the girl, and now may or may not have a new one (that is honestly up in the air). The boys may or may not have revived the Kings of Tampa. While I can see this being a trilogy, I am happy with it just being the two. Only time (and success of Magic Mike XXL) will tell.

Rating:  7/10

Buy on BluRay:  If you are a fan of the stripping and the boys having a road trip, then yes

So what did you think about Magic Mike XXL?  Was it as entertaining as the first Magic Mike?  Share your thoughts in the comment section below.

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Phase 2 Revisited: Captain America: The Winter Soldier

In which I revisit a previously explored topic with fresh eyes and an open mind.

You had to have seen this coming, right?  I'm right in the middle of reviewing all of Marvel's Phase 2 right around the 4th of July.  You had to have known that I couldn't have passed up such a perfect opportunity to bring up everybody's favorite star-spangled superhero.  It would have been as if the movie didn't make a point to come out on BluRay on September 11th.

Captain Rogers has been busy since the Avengers saved New York from the Chitauri invasion.  He’s been working as a covert S.H.I.E.L.D. operative with Black Widow, leading the agency’s counter-terrorism strike force and making the world a safer place for democracy.  But when Nick Fury stumbles upon a secret that could shake the world to its foundations, he’s assassinated for it.  Now Steve and Natasha are on the run from both S.H.I.E.L.D. and a cybernetic assassin known only as The Winter Soldier as they attempt to solve a mystery that’s sixty-eight years in the making.

Although it might not be immediately evident, Captain America: The Winter Soldier is a direct indictment of post-9/11 politics.  In the wake of a public attack on New York City by foreign operatives (ie September 11^th), S.H.I.E.L.D. (ie the US Government) creates a fleet of next-gen helicarriers to preemptively and unilaterally deal with national security threats (ie the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan) and curtail civil liberties (ie The Patriot Act).  Captain America, the living embodiment of an idealized America, is not surprisingly unhappy with this, arguing that “this isn’t freedom.  This is fear.”

The mid-movie plot twist – that Hydra, the Nazi splinter-faction that we thoughtwas defeated by Rogers in 1945, is not only still operating well into the 21^st century, but has infiltrated the United States government at its highest levels and is now essentially running the show – brings this point home in bluntest way possible: America is being run by the same fascists ideologies that we fought against in World War II.   It’s like George H. W. Bush slapping the backside of George Jr.’s head because he raised him better than this.

Captain America: The Winter Soldier deals more directly with Rogers’ post-war disillusionment than any other MCU film to date.  While he “thought that [he] could throw [him]self back in, follow orders [and], serve,” he realizes that “it’s just not the same.”  He tours the Captain America Museum, trying to make sense of the myth he’s become and the life that he’s lost: a girlfriend who moved on in his absence and a best friend who never came home at all.  He sits in on VA support groups, where a younger generation of soldiers also struggle with reintegrating into civilian life.  When he visits an infirmed Peggy Carter, who admits that while he “saved the world[,] we rather mucked it up,” we are forced to watch his heart break when he has to explain to her once again why he’s still alive after nearly seventy years due to her Alzheimer’s.

The real sucker punch for him, however, is that Bucky – the childhood friend whose death in World War II he still blames himself for – is not only alive, but has been brainwashed by Hydra into becoming The Winter Soldier: the assassin who not only took out Nick Fury, but JFK and Howard and Maria Stark (Tony Stark’s parents).  Rather than falling into Watchmen’s apathetic despair – shouting “what happened to the American Dream?  It came true!  You’re lookin’ at it.” – Rogers pulls himself up by his bootstraps, trades in his sleek, covert uniform for his star-spangled getup from The First Avenger and vows to bring his friend back from Hydra’s control: a microcosm of the socio-political conflict of the film.

But the real kicker – the one that’s surprisingly easy to miss – is the connection between Cap's moral stance in when confronted with issues of government transparency and Edward Snowden.  When he finds out that Hydra's running the show, Cap' doesn't side with the government (you know, because he's Captain America).  He doesn't try to rebuild S.H.I.E.L.D. (and, implicitly, the moral infrastructure of the United States) like Fury wants him to.  He dumps all of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s databases onto the internet and lets the rest of the country sort it out: forcing hard truths and moral transparency on the world simply because it's the right thing to do.

In a rare turn for sequels, Captain America: The Winter Soldier succeeds at surpassing its predecessor: maintaining The First Avenger’s virtues while culling the chaff.  Hayley Atwell is just as convincing as a frail old woman as she is as a capable young agent.   Despite already possessing a surprisingly deep filmography, Anthony Mackie gives a remarkable breakout performance that’s bound to finally earn him his cinematic due.  Samuel L. Jackson is badass enough as Nick Fury that it’s easy to forget that he’s pushing sixty-six years-old himself.  Chris Evans continues to channel The Greatest Generation’s determined idealism into Steve Rogers while Scarlett Johansson plays the facile superspy with such skill that I still can’t figure out why we haven’t gotten a solo Black Widow film yet.

Contrary to the utterly forgettable and somewhat bumbling Armin Zola that we got in the first film, the Zola of The Winter Soldier is chillingly to-the-point.  Alexander Pierce is the intelligent, charismatic, real-world villain that Marvel has always lacked.  And The Winter Soldier – America’s longest-serving POW – is so complicated, nuanced and tragic a character that it hardly serves to simply call him a villain.  With one film, Markus, McFeely and the Russos solved “The Marvel Problem:” forgettable, if functional, villains that merely serve to further the narrative and give the film’s Avenger of choice somebody to punch.

Whereas The First Avenger’s climax was disappointingly cut short by the untimely disappearance of The Red Skull, The Winter Soldier’s much more personal apex is carried through to the thoroughly satisfying conclusion that its predecessor lacked.  While the first film wanted for the expected post-credit scene that had already become Marvel’s signature flourish, The Winter Soldier has two: one mid-credit and one truly post-credit, each with its own implicit ramifications for the Marvel Cinematic Universe.  Rogers’ and Natasha’s playful, back-and-forth banter – ranging from trying to set Steve up with coworkers and the best way to go on the run – is just the kind of levity that the grounded seriousness of the first film didn’t allow for.

Anthony and Joe Russo, whose directorial credits until now consisted of TV show episodes, TV movies and the ill-conceived You, Me and Dupree, emerge from The Winter Soldier as latter-day Dario Argentos.  Their restless camerawork, combined with Henry Jackman’s riveting score and the iconic shrieks that herald Bucky’s presence, give the film a frenzied, unrelenting energy all of its own.  While Joe Johnston occasionally gave in to over-direction, the Russos are contented to sit back and let the strength of the cast and writing move the scenes forward when that will suffice.

Whereas The First Avenger was a sprawling World War II epic, The Winter Soldier is a gritty, Nolan-esque spy thriller where everyone is suspect and nobody is innocent.  It is a masterpiece of post-9/11 paranoia and 21^st Century realism.  It delivers on the promise of The Avengers: that Phase 2 can continue to produce interesting, nuanced films beyond Phase 1’s origin stories.  This film, in short, combines the best features of superheroic action and Nixon-era espionage.

Rating: 10/10

Buy on BluRay:  Yes!

So what did you think about the politics of Captain America: The Winter Soldier?  Did you agree or disagree with them?  Share your thoughts in the comment section below.

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Lady's Choice: Magic Mike

Guess who's taking over!

With Magic Mike XXL  drawing in women for it's long weekend release, I decided to take a look at the first Magic Mike (2012). Now I got Brian to watch this movie with me by agreeing to watch 21 Jumpstreet (2012). It was like we were having an exchange of Channing Tatum movies. Between the two I preferred Magic Mike. Staring most notably Channing Tatum as Mike "Magic Mike" Lane and Matthew McConaughey as Dallas (Mike's boss and male stripper), Magic Mike made $167.2 million in the box office with a budget of only $7 million.

The movie opens up with club MC Dallas getting a crowd of women all riled up for some male strippers or male entertainers that are about to come out. It then goes to Mike Lane, aka Magic Mike, waking up and giving the audience a nice shot of butt as he starts his day. Mike's dream is to start his own business: Mike's Custom Furniture. Mike works construction during the day, where he meets Adam. He gives Adam a ride after Adam's car  won't start. Adam lives with his sister Brooke, who is upset that Adam won't get a job and stick to it. Brooke has a boyfriend who works insurance. At dinner, Adam gets up, leaves, and see Mike in the crowd. Mike gets him into the club, saying that Adam owes him.

Unknown to Adam, Mike is there to spread word about the male strip show down the street called Xquisite. Mike gets Adam, now known as "The Kid," a job working props. Dallas starts the show, which starts out with a version of "It's Raining Men," see the picture to the right. The rest of the night is a progression of each of the men, Mike, Tito, Tarzan, Dallas, Ken, and Richie. When Tarzan can't perform, Mike pushes Adam on stage, since he owes him. The rest of show goes off without a hitch. Dallas offers him a job at Xquisite, with Mike in charge of getting him stage ready.

Adam's sister confronts him about his box filled with stuff for work and shaving his legs. She then proceeds to find out where her brother and Mike works. She instructions him to take care of her brother. We also see Mike struggle to get his furniture business up and running. As time progresses, Mike and Brooke get closer while Adam gets addicted to the life that Dallas an the other strippers lead, though many have dreams aside from being strippers. This leads to Mike having to bail out Adam several times and having to make a few big life changing decisions.

When I first saw this movie advertised, the only thought in my mind was that it was women's porn that could be shown in theaters. So, it was quite sometime before I saw it in that movie exchange with Brian. In a lot of ways, I was wrong. Yes, there are lots of good looking men taking their clothes off. However, there is also a lot of plot. From Mike wanting to get his furniture business off the ground to his relationship with those around him, especially Brooke and Adam, the movie strikes a good balance between the plot and the stripping. The plot will progress then Mike and Adam go to strip at a sorority house. Sometimes it was painful to watch Adam, not the stripping part but the choices that he makes are not the best.

I think that Brian puts it best that while it has a good plot the movie only feels like half of a movie. We see the big choices being made and then nothing. End of movie. No strong conclusion to what happens to those that follow Dallas, to Adam, even to Mike. That feeling of it being half finished is why I rated it as low as I did. I was hoping that Magic Mike XXL would be the second half of that story or at least provide some sort of conclusion, but that is for another time.

As for the music, I could take it or leave it, but it serves its purpose. The choreography is fantastic. From both the group dances to the individual ones, every move is on point. Re-watching Magic Mike, I could also see the different styles of each man, including Tarzan who doesn't really do a lot of dancing due to his bad knees. The camera angles and variety of shots also help to illustrate the difference between Mike and Adam's job and the "rest" of their lives. It also includes a nice through the floor shots of the dancing. I fully believe that Channing Tatum's background as a stripper and being a dance heavy movies like Step Up helped this movie out quite a bit.

In the end, this movie isn't a heavy one or one that is just this side of not being a porn. Magic Mike is fun. Even Brian liked it. They also did a lot with the talent and the budget they had to work with. So, when I found out about Magic Mike XXL, I was excited. But you're gonna have to wait for another time for my thoughts on the sequel.

Rating:  7.5/10

Buy on BluRay:  For a fun filled time? Yes.

So what did you think of Magic Mike?  Will you be seeing Magic Mike XXL?  Share your thoughts in the comment section below.

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Phase 2 Revisited: Guardians of the Galaxy

In which I revisit a previously explored topic with fresh eyes and an open mind.

On what is already the worst day of his young life – when his frail, sickly mother dies after a protracted
battle with cancer – young Peter Quill is abducted by alien mercenaries lead by the coldly sentimental
Yondu.  But rather than being turned over to the man who hired them to abduct him in the first place
(option #1) or eating him (option #2), they adopt him and train him in the life of ravaging: thieving for
hire.

Twenty-six years later, Peter – who now goes by the moniker “Star Lord” – is entrusted with retrieving a mysterious orb from a dead planet for a high-end merchant, which he immediately tries to sell by himself.  Outraged, Yondu puts a price on Quill’s head, which bounty hunters Rocket (an anthropomorphic raccoon) and Groot (a sapient tree) aim to collect.  Meanwhile, the green-skinned Gamora (daughter of the meta-antagonist Thanos) seeks to steal the orb for herself, causing all four of them to be imprisoned with Drax the Destroyer (a gray-skinned brawler whose family was murdered by Ronan the Accuser, Gamora’s boss).

Their plan is simple: team up, sell the orb, split the cash and go their separate ways.  But when they
discover what the orb really is – one of the fabled infinity stones forged in the crucible of the Big Bang
– they realize that must safeguard it from Yondu, Ronan and Thanos, or risk the destruction of the
entire Galaxy.

Guardians of the Galaxy‘s success is just as perplexing as it is estimable.  Before the film’s release, the comic that it’s based on was an obscurity among even hard-core Marvel fans.  Despite Marvel’s galactic stories being richly populated, the “Cosmic Avengers'” inherent disconnect from their terrestrial-based compatriots left them without the same built-in fan base that IronMan and The Incredible Hulk brought with them to theaters.  Star Lord simply lacked the inherent brand recognition of Captain America.

But despite being unashamedly steeped in enigmatic obscurities, the glib characters, operatic setting and slick narrative are immediately familiar to audiences that grew up with Star Wars, Star Trek and Firefly.  Despite being a genetically modified raccoon and his “personal houseplant / muscle,” Rocket and Groot are immediately recognizable as this film’s Han and Chewie.

Star Lord plays out like an immature take on Malcolm Reynolds, while Gamora is like a rough amalgamation of Jayne and River Tam.  Even Drax embodies the  “one man armies” that defined action films in the 1980s.  Despite their impossibly tangled and storied pasts, each character fits into a very specific genre archetype, which the film’s own marketing was quick to highlight: “a thief, two thugs, an assassin and a maniac.”

The film likewise highlights Marvel’s uncanny knack for choosing the right talent for the tasks that
they need to complete, even when contrary to precedent and even logic.  The film is helmed by James
Gunn, whose biggest accomplishments to date were penning the two live-action Scooby-Doo movies
and directing the moderately well-received Slither.  While he had briefly touched on science fiction
films in his career, it was nothing even remotely analogous to the scope and depth of this obscure little
franchise that could.

They chose the fat guy from Parks and Recreations to headline the film, Vin Diesel to voice a space age Ent who can only say “I” and “am” and “Groot” (and only in that exact order) and Bradley Cooper – one of the most recognizable actors working today – as the voice of a CG raccoon.  The casting choice that should have failed most spectacularly is Dave Bautista, given the fate of other wrestlers-cum-actors before him.

But, as always seems to be the case with Marvel, every decision that they made, no matter how questionable, turned out to be the correct one.  James Gunn has proven to be an incredibly talented writer-director who is able to perfectly blend action and comedy with subtle hints of drama.  The entire cast, down to genre favorites Zoe Saldana and Karen Gillan, perfectly embody the characters that they portray.

Even Vin Diesel, with only three (and, later, five) words at his disposal, is able to uniquely intone each one to convey his intended meaning.  This inexplicably functional film was able to turn “we are Groot” into the transcendent message of an otherwise tongue-and-cheek action /sci-fi film and made a simple-minded brawler petting a grieving raccoon into the most touching scene from any film this year.

That being said, Guardians of the Galaxy is not without its flaws.  Despite its sizable run-time (clocking in at just over two hours), the film felt occasionally rushed between action scenes.  In particular, the non-combat scenes in Knowhere felt like they could have used some additional time to breathe and develop.  We see Rocket and Drax’s drunken confrontation, and the dramatic rant that follows, but not the build-up to it.  Rocket makes such a big deal about being called a rodent (or, conversely, vermin) that I would have liked to see the one time that it causes him to snap in-camera, not as a cut-away from Quill putting the moves on Gamora.

The climactic showdown between Ronan and the Guardians was unnecessarily set-up by The Collector
in his drawn-out exposition about the Infinity Stones.  While the scene was certainly necessary for both
this film’s and Infinity Wars Part 1 and Part 2‘s plots, it over-explained the hands-holding climax that
would have been fine on its own.

Similarly, the ending – where (spoiler alert) Star Lord turned out to only be half-human, whose alien physiology innately allowed him to resist the Stone’s destructive influence long enough to allow him to defeat Ronan – was a shade too Dues Ex Machina for my tastes.  I understand that it’s something that originates from the comics and will invariably come into play in Guardians of the Galaxy sequels, but it simply did not work for this particular film, at least in the way that it was presented as an after-the-fact explanation as things were wrapping up.

While neither my favorite film of the year nor even my favorite Marvel film of the year (both honors are currently held by Captain America: The Winter Soldier), Guardians of the Galaxy is certainly the most memorable film to come out in 2014.  It’s an exquisite action / sci-fi film that everybody can enjoy, even those who are adamantly set against comic book and superhero-based films.

Rating:  9/10

Buy on BluRay:  Yes

So which was your favorite Guardian of the Galaxy?  Share your thoughts in the comment section below.

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Lady's Choice: Inside Out

Guess who's taking over!

Since Brian's schedule is a little out of whack right now, I though that I'd help by doing an extra blog post. And since Brian and I saw Ted 2 and Inside Out the other night , I thought we could split the new movies (plus I just did a top Pixar list). Besides he is much better suited to handle Ted 2. Inside Out is Pixar's latest creation and made over $90 million during its opening weekend. It was also released with a short film Lava. Now, we saw this with some little kids in front of us, and they were confused at first. I'm not sure if they liked it, but I know that I liked it. 

Lava is a musical about a volcano that is surrounded by various couples (two whales, two birds, etc.). He sings a song for someone to love. He sings until his lava goes out, aka becomes dormant. Under the waves is a girl volcano who has heard his song and erupts out of the ocean. Her eruption though causes him to sink beneath the ocean. That is until he hears her sing her version of the song. Lava erupts, and the two volcanoes end up being together. It was a really touching short film. 

As for Inside Out, on the surface it looks kind of like this:

When I first saw the trailer, I was extremely skeptical and thought that Pixar might have stretched too far; however, I can assure everyone that they have not. Pixar has created a story about growing up and all the emotions that go along with that. So of course they start with birth. Joy was the first emotion in Riley's head. Then came the rest: Fear, Anger, Disgust, and Sadness. Each with their own job to help Riley grow up, and Joy was their leader. Joy explains to the audience that as Riley grows up core memories are made, and all of them are yellow (aka happy/Joy).

Each of the core memories link to islands of Riley's personality, from Goofball Island to Hokey Island to Family Island. They have also all been created in Minnesota, where Riley was born and has lived all 11 years of her live. This all changes suddenly when her father gets relocated to San Fransisco. Ask anyone, and they'll tell you that moving halfway across the country to a new city can be extremely difficult for any child. Through Joy's eyes this is made worse when Sadness starts to turn happy memories sad when she touches them.


When Riley tries to make the best of things, Joy tries to get everyone ready for the first day of school. Everything seems to go well until, as Fear predicts, the teacher calls on Riley. While telling the class about herself, Riley starts to cry because Sadness touches the console, creating a new sad core memory. Joy tries to stop the sad memory from becoming part of the core, causing all the core memories plus Joy and Sadness to be sucked up the tube to long term memory.

As Joy and Sadness try to return to Headquarters with the core memories, the three that remain to control Riley's emotions (Fear, Anger and Disgust) are not able to keep Riley her normal happy self. Also without the core memories, Riley begins to make decisions that lead to her personality islands disappearing. Joy must learn that life isn't always happy and to accept the new Riley. Same way that Riley has to adjust to being in a new place, even if that takes her the whole movie. In the end, the headquarters of Riley start to look different since the beginning of the movie.

Not to be punny or anything, but this movie is full of feels, both Human and actual Feelings. Like many of the Pixar movies, it is all about a change that most children and adults can relate to. It's about growing and up and learning that you don't have to be the same person all the time. Life is full of emotions that make up who we are. This movie really takes me back to my own childhood and the emotions and trials that I had growing up, which is a big draw for the adults of the movie. It's a different way to think about parts of our childhoods, and for the children, it is a lesson about what they are going through or will go through.Joy and Sadness also have learn that they need each other and that Riley needs both of them equally in  life.  Joy had the most to learn about Sadness, saying in the beginning that she wasn't even sure what Sadness did.

The CG for Inside Out is stunning, which is something that I have come to expect from Pixar. Each feeling and each human are distinct, from Riley and her parents to how Joy and Sadness glow different colors. The beauty in this CG is the attention to detail. It's harder to get realistic looking blonde hair compared to other colors, and Riley's hair looks convincing. The "insides" get the same type of treatment from the imaginary friend made of cotton candy to the glitter in feelings' hairs.

Overall, this is another fantastic film from Pixar. From the story to the visuals to the overall pacing of the movie,  time flew by while watching this movie. I was sad that it was over so quickly and that I didn't put it on my most anticipated for this year. Good job, Pixar.

Rating:  9/10

Buy on BluRay:  A feelings-filled YES!

So what did you think of Inside Out?  Was it as good as other Pixar movies?  Share your thoughts in the comment section below.

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