PCP in Theaters - Guardians of the Galaxy

It's been more than a month since Guardians of the Galaxy hit theaters, and it has been even longer since I saw the film, but I'm finally getting around to writing my review. Better late than never right? Besides, it was still the #1 film at the box office on Labor Day weekend, so obviously a lot of people are still watching it. Probably because the film is frakking awesome!

Guardians of the Galaxy - 2014, rated PG-13. My rating: 10 out of 10.

Look, I know I'm a bit of a nerd and a Marvel movies fanboy. So, take this review with a slight grain of salt. That being said, the characters in GotG are ones that I was not familiar with before seeing this film. I have never read any of the issues of the comic, and couldn't tell you anything about any of these characters before seeing the film. When I first heard that Marvel was going to make this film, I couldn't believe it. With such a deep roster of characters in the Marvel universe, this was the film they were going to make? Would Marvel have its first flop on its hands since it started making its own movies? I was concerned.

I shouldn't have been worried. The film is a ton of fun, despite having to do some major plot expansion of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). Marvel is using this film to greatly expand the universe inhabited by their Avengers, and a lot of items introduced in this film were done to make it so people understand when they show up in future Avengers installments, especially the powerful Infinity Stones and the character of Thanos. For the completely comic book ignorant, like my wife, she got confused at times as to who characters were and what were their motivations. For example, she has no clue the difference between a Skrull and a Kree, and doesn't know Nova Squadron from Thanos. So, her perspective on the film was different from mine, and she didn't enjoy the film as much as I did.

As I've said, I had a lot of fun with this film. The film has plenty of humorous moments, it is very obvious that this film is not taking itself seriously at all. Which, in the case of these characters, really works. In addition to many laugh out loud moments, the film also has a ton of heart. You wouldn't believe that a barely talking tree-creature could be the heart of a movie, but Groot pulls it off.

While the film gets slightly bogged down a couple of times from too much information and new characters being dumped on the audience, its hyperkinetic energy quickly brings the film back up to speed. The action sequences are pretty awesome and the CGI really makes this expanded universe believable. As a comic book film in the MCU, it is just as good if not better than anything that has come before. As a science fiction film, it is the most fun I had in space since seeing Serenity many years ago. It's not every day that a great space adventure comes along, and GotG really delivers as a space epic.

Bottom line: if you haven't seen Guardians yet, I can't encourage you enough. It easily was the best movie of the summer. I can't wait til its sequel in a few years!

Sorry it has been so quiet around here

How busy have I been lately? Quite a bit, obviously, since I only had 1 post in August go up here on the blog. We did a weekend getaway vacation, work has been crazy, & my son came down with Hand, Foot, & Mouth disease, which was a royal treat to deal with. My projector at home also recently bit the dust, meaning I now have to watch movies on a mere 42" TV like a savage. (#firstworldproblems). So, I haven't had time to write lately, which is unfortunate, since I love writing these posts and sometimes I feel like I am letting those of you that actually read this stuff down with a lack of content. I once again have a backlog of reviews to crank out, including 2 movies that I've seen in theaters somewhat recently. I'll try to get those up first, along with my huge annual fall TV preview post. So, look for those posts in the coming weeks. Work is going to continue to be busy, and grad school is resuming again, so posts will be sporadic, but I'll try to get some done when I can. In the meantime, if you haven't already, follow the blog on Facebook if you want to be kept in the loop when I update, as well as get bonus content not featured here on the blog. The link to do so is here --> LINK

Anyways, sorry I've been not posting, I'll try to get some stuff up soon!

RIP Robin Williams

I was all set to sit down and write a couple new blog posts on the 2 most recent films I saw in theaters, Guardians of the Galaxy and Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, but I find myself unable to focus on those movies after getting the tragic news about the passing of Robin Williams yesterday. His work in films and TV had such an impact on so many people, which was plainly evident by the massive outpouring of shock and grief on social media yesterday and today. My timeline in both Facebook and Twitter were filled with comments from people, including myself, expressing their memories of Williams and how he had impacted their lives, as well as sorrow over his lifelong struggle with his personal demons.

My earliest memories of Williams were from watching episodes of Mork & Mindy as a young child, which was his primary exposure to many of my generation. We also knew him as the lovable Genie in Aladdin and the hilarious Mrs. Doubtfire, amongst many other roles. For me, the pivotal role that really touched me more than any other Williams role was his Oscar nominated turn in Dead Poets Society. I know I’m not the only one who was impacted by that classic film, as at least half a dozen others in my timeline updated their status with “Oh Captain My Captain” upon hearing the news. As an actor, Williams had incredible versatility, whether he was playing a zany, manic goofball, a serious hero, or an off kilter psychopath like he did in Insomnia and One Hour Photo.

 

Too many of my generation know him from film and television, but forget that he was also an incredible stand-up comedian. His stage sets were filled with his trademark energy, and fortunately many of those performances live on the internet thanks to YouTube and other video hosting sites. There is an edited version of the first stand up performance I ever saw him in, back in the telethon Comic Relief VI, 20 years ago, that you can easily find on YouTube. I didn’t realize until that performance that I saw when I was 12 that he was a stand-up comic in addition to being a film and TV star, and he was hilarious. The clip online is only 8 minutes, which is a shame because the whole set is hysterical and I can still recite portions of it to this day.

My son now is only two and a half, but when he gets a bit older, he too will be introduced to the incredible performances of Robin Williams. He’ll see Aladdin, Hook, Mrs. Doubtfire & Jumanji, and the Night at the Museum series in his childhood, and when he gets older I’ll make sure to show him Dead Poets Society and Good Will Hunting when he is old enough to appreciate the lessons from those films

I am still in shock today. I still cannot believe that he is gone. Having struggled with depression myself in the past, I know how hard of a demon that can be to deal with. My deepest condolences go out to his loved ones and friends in this tough time. I hope he has found the peace in death that he didn’t have in his life. So long Mr. Williams, and thank you for all of the great memories. You will be forever missed.

Lastly, if you yourself are struggling with depression and you need help, please call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255.