It’s been a long time my dearly faceless so let’s get to it:
Guardians of the Galaxy:
Marvel
Studios announced production on Guardians a short time ago- it’s got
some big names attached to the project, it’s part of the Marvel
Universe, and it’s a summer blockbuster- almost all of these things are
promises that guarantee at least a decent return in the box office: But
it also has director James Gunn at the helm and this changes the dynamic
quite a bit for little old me. You see, director James Gunn is a
ringer- he’s a guy I keep my eye on. Troma alumni, risk-taker, and the
guy who brought us one of the best zombie-alien-comedy-horror hybrids to
ever feature Nathan Fillion in a starring role. (Counter THAT
argument!) So these are some pretty strange hands to place a huge
project of this magnitude- the end question is whether or not the risks
were worth taking.
Let
me make something clear: Guardians of the Galaxy is NOT a superhero
film. Despite taking place in the Marvel Universe, there’s very little
that connects this film to any of the previous films beyond the
existence of Thanos (who appeared very minimally in the Avengers film
and was quite often forgotten by most non-hardcore comic book fans). So
there isn’t much to keep the film grounded in the current mythology of
the Marvel Universe, and that allows the film to exist on its own
merits. And that merit is “Space opera”!
Okay,
here’s the thing about Space Opera- there used to be a lot of them.
It’s a sub-genre of a sub-genre with a specific niche that has recently
been filled by Star Wars and Star Trek with almost total exclusivity.
Few movie companies are willing to risk a Space Opera venture- Serenity
having been the last one I can remember while everything else is either
hardcore science fiction or a “Future War” sort of deal like the
Terminator. Whatever- Space Operas are fun little hero quests set in
space and Guardians of the Galaxy never lets you forget it. It’s light,
it’s fun, the effects are stunning, and the world hopping is always
impressive with beautiful shots of the most wondrous and horrifying
places to see in the known galaxy.
Be
on the look out for cameos galore- Rob Zombie, Nathan Fillion, and
Lloyd Kaufman all poke their heads into the film and I’m sure there were
more but I lost track. Great fun film for the whole family- well,
assuming you’re okay with the occasional cuss word, hand gesture, or
body melting laser blasts… okay, fun for a geek family like ours who
enjoy Star Wars and Indiana Jones.
4 out of 5. A definite must see.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.
Heroes in a half shell- with turtle power! Cowabunga dudes! And all that-
Okay,
truth be told I wasn’t a big Turtles fan when I grew up. Let me be
clear- I was alive and in my early tweens when the show hit the airwaves
and my brother got big-time into the turtles. We had the figures but
that was largely HIS show- I had my own stuff, he had his stuff, and we
didn’t often mix our interests. I could enjoy the turtles but they
weren’t the biggest thing in the world to me- but I didn’t hate them
either. They were just sort of there and it was a time waster- the
movies were interesting if a little on the cheesy side. The comic books
were much better…. Darker, grittier, something a bit more vicious and
therefore more in my line of interests.
The
Michael Bay-produced “Turtle” film is based more on the comic book in
regards to the general look and atmosphere- it diverges from traditional
source material with regard to some of the background, but not at the
cost of the characters themselves. We still have the Turtles, their
master Splinter, and the evil dreaded Shredder in all their glory. And
it’s a fun ride- Bay’s traditional race-baiting, chauvinism, and potty
humor is in low supply (It’s still there, but the supply runs very low)
so the film doesn’t drag itself down too much. Action is good, the
Ninjas are well animated, and I don’t have all that much to complain
about.
On the other
hand, it’s not really all that much to talk about either. It’s just a
fun little summer film and I’d recommend it if you enjoy genre films.
That’s about the best I can say.
3 out of 5.
