Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2

Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, 

Dave Bautista, Michael Rooker, 

Bradley Cooper, Vin Diesel,  Kurt Russell

"Anyone can Save the Galaxy once"

Peter Quill (Chris Pratt) and his 'gang' are back. Now they are officially the guardians of the galaxy battling all sorts of monsters and alien creatures to ensure the safety of the universe.

They are assigned to fight some creatures/beings on behalf of The Sovereign and after their job was accomplished, Rocket (voice of Bradley Cooper) steals some really important batteries so they again find themselves in trouble. 

In their escape though, they run into Ego (Kurt Russell) who turns out to be Peter's long lost father. Whoa!  Ego is a celestial being or a god but with a small 'g', has his own planet which looks like heaven. Yet something is a bit amiss with this dreamlike scenario and soon enough we find out what it is. 

There was a lot of hype about this sequel in terms of Peter finding his father. So most of the film is about Peter reconnecting with his father. It is like a long flashback until the true intentions of Ego is revealed. That turning point is when the film really regains its former glory. An intergalactic battle with much needed action sequences that thankfully wakes us up from our stupor.

But it has to be said that the case of the stolen batteries as the main plot is quite flimsy. A thin segue to the father - son reunion which didn't turn out to be a good one. I, for one didn't see it coming but perhaps it is because I was heavily medicated.

Nevertheless, the second installment is still fun to watch. Merry bunch of characters all acting true to form especially the cute lil twig, Groot. Irreverent dialogue and sarcastic jokes abound plus a good soundtrack of 70's songs works to add on the charm!

Captain Marvel

Brie Larson, Samuel L. Jackson, Lashana Lynch,

Ben Mendelsohn, Jude Law, Annette Bening

"Discover what Makes a (Her)o"

Cinema 4,  the Red Carpet @ Shang

I should say right out that I am not a fan of superhero movies. Fan as in knowing all the backstory of each Avenger, knowing the sequence of the movies of each superhero in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (because there is an order when they were released) and being totally invested to the point of lining up hours before the movie is shown at the local cinemas. 

Having said that, I know enough about each of the Avengers because I would leave the TV on in the movies channel, and more often than not a superhero film would be on - "Guardians of the Galaxy 2", "Iron Man", "Black Panther", "Captain America". We were in a mood to watch and picked "Captain Marvel" because the others did not pique our interest. 

The first few minutes show us Brie Larson as Vers, a Kree warrior who is haunted by nightmares. Flashes of scenes that don't really make sense to her. During one of their battles with their shapeshifting enemies known as the Skrulls, she falls on planet Earth. She crashes on the roof of a Blockbuster video store. Soon enough, we discover she is in Los Angeles during the 1990s. Her name is Carol Danvers and is a training pilot in the Air Force. With the help of her friend, Maria Rambeau (Lashana Lynch) who is also a pilot, agent Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) of S.H.I.E.L.D and a witty Skrull leader named Talos - she sets to rediscover who she really is, why she returned to Earth and what is her purpose in the grand scheme of superheroes.

This two hour long film has action packed sequences, a dry sense of humor in its dialogue mostly courtesy of Nick Fury and Talos (Ben Mendelsohn). It retains its 1990s vibe by featuring a soundtrack from artists famous during that era and also through its surroundings like having her land on a Blockbuster video store.

Now I want to focus on Brie Larson's acting as Carol Danvers. She was stoic, to the point of being arrogant and mostly managed just one facial expression throughout the entire film. I, first saw her in the dramatic movie "Room" for which she won an Academy Award for Best Actress in 2016. She was excellent there, very emotional and compassionate. So I don't really get the manner she portrayed Vers/ Carol Danvers in "Captain Marvel". Sure, I am all for having an empowered female superhero in the name of the feminist movement yet did she have to be so void of emotions? 

In fact, speaking of another female superhero, Diane Prince aka Wonder Woman, she was also a warrior and a princess at that! She was well portrayed by Gal Gadot, with several emotions amidst all her struggles as "Wonder Woman". 

Now going back to "Captain Marvel", the film provides a good background with a believable plot on how Carol Danvers turned into Captain Mar-vel. It also gave us a teaser on the part she would play in the last installment of the much awaited Avengers movie. Overall, aside from my issues with Brie Larson's acting, this movie is a 3 buckets of popcorn worthy entertainment.

Guardians Of The Galaxy

Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Bradley Cooper,

Vin Diesel, Dave Bautista, Lee Pace

"All Heroes Start Somewhere"

After a slew of foreign language movies which fried my brain cells as well as strained my eyes from reading subtitles, I wanted to relax and watch 'popcorn' films. This Marvel Comics film adaptation was a perfect fix for my entertainment. 

The story of how a bunch of misfits turned 'action heroes' are called upon to defend some planet from an egomaniacal villain was so much fun. The soundtrack composed mostly of songs I grew up listening to was absolutely fantastic and further enhanced the 'feel good' vibe of this sci-fi themed spectacle.

Well developed and multi-dimensional characters were skillfully portrayed by a good ensemble cast. We are introduced to eccentric yet endearing characters like Rocket who is a talking, foul mouthed raccoon and a giant tree of a few words named Groot.

The very charming Chris Pratt holds the fort as the lead honcho. A comedian who has come into his own by turning into a leading man with much potential. He has lost a lot of weight and developed his physique thus attaining full blown leading man status in Hollywood. A very fickle industry where brawn is the main draw in the success or failure of a film. Chris Pratt deserves his new found success and his comedic timing is right on the dot.

I won't get into the plot/story line as it is quite complex with a myriad of characters in different forms and shapes. As complicated as it, it is still well executed and unfolds through vibrant computer generated scenes which are basically the essential features of this genre.  

I am looking forward to the second installment of this franchise which kicks off in 2017!