Movie Review - Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2

Starring: Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Dave Bautista, Vin Diesel, Bradley Cooper, Michael Rooker, Karen Gillan, Pom Klementieff, Kurt Russell, Elizabeth Debicki, and more.

Directed by: James Gunn Written by: James Gunn Based on the Marvel Comics by: Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning Cinematography by: Henry Braham Music by: Tyler Bates

Premise: After finishing a job for the Sovereign, the Guardian's find themselves in trouble when Rocket filches some of the goods they were paid to protect. Saved by a stranger, the group meets Ego, Peter's father. But the Sovereign are not about to let the Guardians' transgression remain unpunished. They hire others to do the work. And as Peter finally embraces the fact he's found his father, Gamora realizes something about Ego is not quite right. (Rated PG-13)

Review:

1) Acting - Total Thumbs Up: Lots of lovely and strong performances from all members of the cast. All the weird and sometimes clashing personalities are fun to watch. Several emotional scenes were beautifully carried out by all parties. Michael Rooker deserves added attention for his intense and emotional conversation with Rocket - and for pulling off a metallic 50's hairdo with style! :P

2) Special Effects - Total Thumbs Up: There were lots of great effects and visuals in the film. Mantis's antenna and her bug like eyes were so well done, you never doubted she looked like that.

All the Sovereign people were gold from head to foot, and it looked natural. Their throne room, gadgets, and remote controlled ships looked great. And the giant tentacle monster? Awesome!

Ego's palace was gorgeous. His ship and the molding platform were lovely. The moment reconstructions in the egg like receptacles were neat and loved that they had a different texture than everything else. There were several body repair sequences, and these were fab! The view of Ego from orbit said it all. 

The big fight on Ego's planet was spectacular. And kudos on making Kurt Russel look young and long-haired once more! He looked great! :)

3)  Plot/Story - Thumbs Up: On several levels, the plot for vol. 2 is a lot darker than the original film. The main point of this one is discovery. Discovery of self, of what's been there all along, of things you never knew you possessed, and fear of acknowledging emotional needs. Every single character has a revelation of one form or another. Many are not ones they are happy to find out about, even as they bring a sense of growth, depth or even a bit of peace to their souls. 

There are a ton of wonderful little moments. The opening section ties directly back to the beginning of the first film as well as the end. Adorable! 

Several major items that have shaped Peter's life are made clear. Things are not always as we assume. 

I did think some of the action was less believable this time around. While our heroes are intrepid and hearty, some of this went way beyond. Almost like overcompensating for the darkness and going too far with the size of the action. This took away rather than added to the film.

As always, be sure to sit through the credits. Not only is the cool backdrop of a record album ala Jefferson Starship entertaining, so are the "I am Groot" word plays, and the multiple extra scene snippets! :)

4) Stunts - Total Thumbs Up: Most of the stunts are CGI-assisted, but no less fun. Some of the gags were taken to a much higher level than the last film, which stretched believability quite far. Still impressive to watch though. :P

5) Music - Total Thumbs Up: While all the great 80's music and visual 50's music homage was fun, I was a little disappointed that they used those almost exclusively rather than more music by Tyler Bates. Some of this they made up with the neat, nostalgic treatment of the original theme by the Steepers in "Guardians Inferno." Very disco and reminiscent of Meco and their cool renditions of Star Wars music and other popular science fiction soundtracks of the time. 

Conclusion: While not as good as the first, Guardians of the Galaxy vol. 2 is still worth a watch. Darkness and discovery, as well as lots of humor, awaits!

Rating: 3.75 out of 5 (Hubby's Rating: Worth Full Price to See Again!)

Movie Review - Doctor Strange

Doctor Strange

Starring: Benedict Cumberbatch, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Rachel McAdams, Tilda Swinton, Mads Mikkelsen, Benedict Wong, Michael Stuhlbarg, Benjamin Bratt, and more.

Directed by: Scott Derrickson Written by: Jon Spaihts, Scott Derrickson, and C. Robert Cargill Based on the Comics by: Steve Ditko Cinematography by: Ben Davis Music by: Michael Giacchino 

Premise: A world famous surgeon loses the use of his hands after a terrible car accident. Determined to find a cure, he eventually ends up in Kathmandu, Nepal where he meets the Ancient One. Driven to succeed so he can go back to his old life, Strange finds himself embroiled in a conflict that could well decide the fate of the planet. (Rated PG-13)

Review:

1) Acting - Total Thumbs Up: Benedict Cumberbatch did a great job as Doctor Stephen Strange. Cumberbatch took the character and made it his own. Though he's played many roles with ego filled men with hearts they deny, he still found a way to make Strange unique from all his other performances. Kudos! Tilda Swinton  was quite convincing as a female version of the Ancient One. Mads Mikkelsen was wonderful as Kaecilius. His conversation with Strange in the NY Sanctum was wicked and fabulous on so many levels. Not to be outdone, Chiwetel Ejiofor holds his own as Mordo. (For those who know the comic series, they do push him in the right direction by the end, so go with it.) Benedict Wong (I swear they made an in-joke of the fact they had two Benedicts) was a perfect and fun foil for Strange. Rachel McAdams was fun as Christine Palmer. Her reactions at a couple of places were priceless! :)

2) Special Effects - Total Thumbs Up: If you can possibly see this film in IMAX 3D I would urge you to do so! I get motion sickness easily, but didn't have trouble with the film, so I think it should be safe for most people. All the warping of reality looked spectacular! 

The special effects team also handled a silent actor who just about stole the show - the Cloak of Levitation. Totally unexpected handling of the ancient artifact and it worked so well! Loved what they did with it! 

The mirror universe, Dormamu's universe, and all the weird manipulations of reality were fantastic. Dormamu himself, which you get a hint of during Stephen's first introduction to the unknown, looked fabulous! Wish we'd gotten a look at the Mindless ones, but I'm sure they're saving those for later. :P 

The spells themselves were super cool. The physicality added to them made them seem more real, which added more to the film than just straight visual effects would have. Awesome choice.

The Eye of Agamotto doesn't much resemble the iconic image used in the comics, but was still very cool. And wait untill you see the astral fight through the hospital! Fab!

And wait till you see what they do with the apple. Fantastic! And the backwards while still going forward combat was sublime!

3) Plot/Story - Total Thumbs Up: This is an intro story and most of the important facts fit with the stated mythology from the comics. Doctor Strange is hubby's favorite all time comic book hero so he's been slobbering to see it. :P And he was quite happy with the treatment. 

Three major changes from the comics  were in the film. The Ancient One is now female - though it was pulled off quite nicely. The second was the introduction of Kaecilius as Stephen's first nemesis. But that's only so they could build up what they'll be doing with Mordo later. Bwahahahaha! (Ahem...) The third was the addition of Christine Palmer into the origin story. But she made for a nice counterpoint with Strange. In essence, all the best parts of what make up Doctor Strange were definitely there.

The film had a lot of interspersed humor. It was quite a surprise, but it added a nice layer of fun to the film. 

4) Stunts - Total Thumbs Up: Between the training, the fighting and the effect of magic on others - the stunt team was kept very busy. Fights weren't on just the usual planes of existence anymore. This made for some challenging hand to hand combat! Even escaping was a major stunt trial. lol.  

5) Locations/Cinematography - Total Thumbs Up: Both the real and the imagined locations were great! They had great flavor. They even used a couple of places where you saw one thing, but heard another, throwing the whole into a new context. What fun! Filming occurred in the real Kathmandu, Nepal. Also in Hong Kong, London, New York, Los Angeles and more. The addition of the Avenger's tower outside of Stephen's view was a nice touch.

And wait till you see the New York Sanctum. Sweet! 

6) Costuming/Makeup - Total Thumbs Up: Major kudos to the makeup department, Benedict Cumberbatch, and the special effects group with respect to Stephen's messed up hands. There was no doubt in anyone's mind that they weren't the same as they'd been when he wakes up in the hospital after the accident. And later you can see the scars from the repairs and additional surgeries he had performed in an attempt to get them fixed. A constant reminder of his loss.

The group also did a fabulous job recreating Strange's unique look from the white in his hair to the blue gi like uniform. Great attention to detail!

Conclusion: Doctor Strange is an awesome rendition of the famous comic series. Fans will be please with how technology has finally caught up enough to bring this fabulous character to the world in the right way. There are two (yes two!) extra scenes during the credits. So stay all the way to the end! Stan Lee also has a cameo! (I know - like DUH!) :P

Rating: 4 out of 5 Stars (Hubby's Rating: Worth Full Price to See Again!)