Guardians of the Galaxy

It’s very difficult to pinpoint what made Guardians of the Galaxy, Marvel’s

newest addition to its ever-expanding film universe, so universally appealing. I

haven’t talked to a single person that did not like it. How is it that I, a college-age

girl, find the same enjoyment in a movie as my eight year-old brother does? Marvel

has been successful in creating these movies, contributing to its dominance over DC

Comics and their movies.

If I were to explain the premise of this movie to someone who knew nothing

about it, it would sound ridiculous: a guy from earth, a green girl, a walking tree, a

talking raccoon, and a crazy tattooed man fly around in space attempting to defeat a

genocidal blue dude. Something about the mix of characters I just crudely described

is part of what makes GotG the wonderful story that it is. It is fun to root for a ragtag

group of heroes coming together to save the day. Look at The Avengers. In their own

movies, each of the heroes (I would say heroine, but for some absurd reason, Black

Widow has not been given her own movie yet) faces their own demons, external and

internal, but when they come together, they have to get over his or her personal

obstacles and work together to save the world.

Director and co-writer of GotG, James Gunn, manages to create likeable

characters almost as much as Joss Whedon did in Avengers. Unfortunately, where he

fell short was the character I went in hoping to root for, Gamora. She kicked ass as

much as I hoped she would, but in the end, she served as a motivator for Peter Quill

(you may know him by another name: Star-Lord). There was so much potential with

her crazy adopted sister, Nebula, and father, Thanos, so I’m hoping they’ll do more

with her unfortunate upbringing in future films because there was potential for

greater character development and depth.

 I walked in excited about Gamora, but walked out in love with Groot. I

thought Groot, voiced by Vin Diesel, and Rocket, voiced by Bradley Cooper, were

going to be the comic relief that my brother laughed hysterically at while I rolled my

eyes, but they both became poignant characters through their backstories. Groot

only says four words the entire movie and, yet, he’s still this amateur film critic’s

favorite.

James Gunn also almost perfectly struck the balance between humor and

seriousness, which is, in my opinion, very important for superhero movies. The

funny moments make the sober ones much more touching. Characters that can joke

about themselves and their obstacles are much more relatable. I laughed

hysterically in this movie all three times I’ve seen it so far, but I’ve also teared up

each time. Few movies have that power. I don’t think I came close to shedding tears

in Avengers, even when Loki (only kind of) killed Coulson (if that’s a spoiler to you,

go watch the movie- it’s on Netflix so you have no excuse). Yet even in the climactic

scene of GotG, as the heroes band together to save an entire civilization, Peter Quill

maintains refreshing levity as he delivers one of the most memorable lines of the

film (I won't give that one away). Clearly, James Gunn has a bright future ahead of

him, with few other generally recognizable films under his belt as a writer and none

as a director.

The whipped cream on top of the delicious ice cream sundae that was

Guardians of the Galaxy is the soundtrack. I, like Peter Quill, grew up with oldies. I

remember listening to the Top 40 radio station for the first time in fifth grade and

not understanding what I was hearing. The 60s and 70s songs throughout the film

underscore each action-packed moment with warm nostalgia, even if the songs

weren't a part of your childhood.. The album goes on repeat for a week after each

additional time I see the movie, it’s just so fun. The cherry on top of the wonderful

whipped cream is that the soundtrack advances the plot rather than just simply

adding style. We hear what Peter hears and the songs come to mean something to us

as they did to his mom and for him. I never thought “Aint No Mountain High

Enough” could make me tear up, but it did.

I do my ratings on a ten-point scale, because I’m too picky to just use four or

five stars. I’m giving Guardians of the Galaxy a 9 out of 10- it’s the redemption that

this lack luster summer needed and very much deserved.

End(er's) Game

College has unfortunately kept me from posting on here very often, as well as preventing me from seeing very many movies. Tonight I went to see Ender's Game at a special eight o'clock showing in Harrisonburg (the closest actual town to where I go to school) with a few friends from my cross country team. Remember that boy I told you about in my 42 review? No, not the one I wanted to ask me to prom, the other one. Well we dated over the summer and, being the giant nerd that he is, made me read this book (I didn't put up much of a fight). After reading it, it's easy to see why generation after generation of nerds are attracted to this book. It's a story of an incredibly smart boy who is isolated because of his genius. What geek wouldn't relate? The ratio of girls to guys in the theater blew my mind. My friends and I were the only girls there that weren't with their boyfriend. In general, I would guess that boys, more than girls, are reading the book and liking it. What bothered me is that there are very, VERY few female characters. The females that are included are strong, well written characters,but The book is low on description and high on fast-moving plot with just Ender's inner monologue to help the reader follow what's going on. I would still suggest it, but with the warning that some of it may seem ridiculous, but just keep reading.

I haven't reviewed too many movie adaptations, but I'll have you know that I can get rather picky. I think the tone came across very well from the book to the movie. The things that they cut out were the most far-fetched and ruthless parts that gave the book more depth, but would have pushed the audience away from the story. Unless the book was split into multiple movies, I see no way of possibly being able to include all the different things that happen to Ender in battle school, but the audience some of Ender's development into a true leader. I thought the casting was spot on. Making the children a little older than they were in the book didn't bother me at all since it always kind of struck me as odd that the army could train an eight year-old to lead an entire army.

The whole social commentary element carried over, which impressed me. The movie still brought up the questions of whether or not we are forcing our children to grow up too fast and is winning at any cost true victory. The issues were, for the most part, subtly addressed, which was a nice change of pace from other movies that have come out recently that are really in your face with their message. 

Ender's Game was a really good adaptation. It had moments when I got excited because I knew what was coming next and I flipped out because the set design was exactly the way I saw it in my head, which I loved (get it?). I would seriously suggest reading the book before seeing the movie. If your friends label it as a kids movie just because the main characters are children, please correct them, because it really isn't. 

Four out of five buggers

The Polarizing Gatsby

 

I went to see The Great Gatsby the Thursday night before it came out with my best friend. I have just recently read the book, so it was all fresh in my mind. I'm not too worried about spoilers because I'm assuming everyone has been forced to read GG in an English class at some point or another (if you haven't read it, go do so immediately). There were a lot of aspects of this film that I liked very much. They music was perfect. I fell over in my seat and cried a single tear of pure joy when Rhapsody in Blue started to play during the first party scene and there is that perfect moment of discord in the song when DiCaprio raises his glass of champagne. I thought the mix of twenties and modern music was brilliant, and I guess we have Jay-Z to thank for that. The Lana Del Rey song that was used as a them fit wonderfully with the tone of the movie, and even though I'm not a big fan of hers, I do like "Young and Beautiful". Leonardo DiCaprio, Carey Mulligan, and basically the rest of the casting was pretty much perfect too. My only complain is Tobey Maguire, but I'll save my rant on him for another time. let's just say I think he portrayed a weak version of Nick, when Nick is really just easily convinced. There were a few things Luhrmann did that I thought were corny, which brings me to the title of this post. Baz Luhrmann is a very polarizing director. people either love or hat his movies- there is very little in between. Certain aspects of his style fit in perfectly with Fitzgerald's themes, while somethings were overdone. All of the symbolism that is kind of subtle in the book is straight up in your face in the movie. That made me a little sad because the literary masterpiece had to be dumbed down in order for the general public to grasp the meaning. I also didn't like the overlay of words on the screen, I felt like it could have been more voice-over. The last thing I will complain about was the frame that the story was set in. I don't think it was necessary to have the psychiatrist/psychologist frame, but that's just my humble opinion. Overall, it was visually stunning and it was one of the best adaptations of a book I've ever seen, in terms of staying true to the plot.

4 out of 5 Beautiful Shirts

42 Reasons Why Racism is Awful

So today, a much needed Monday off from school, I went to see 42 with two friends, both of whom happen to be huge baseball fans. I felt like the third wheel to their baseball bromance. Don't get me wrong, I love baseball. As soon as my AP exams are over, I will be glued to the couch, watching Nats games, but these guys just know so much more about the sport and its history (they are both former members of the basball team at my school). I just feel like an idiot around them most of the time, but I've accepted this. I've been trying to get one of the fellows to ask me to prom (which is a month and a half away, so I've got time... right?), and the other is supposedly on my side, but it doesn't seem that way sometimes. I also had a movie night with the same boys last night, which was a lot of fun. They both know a lot about movies and I enjoy just soaking in the knowledge. 

ANYWAY (sorry about the tangent). I won't give anything away, though the plot is common knowledge to any baseball fan. I was surprised at the lack of character development. there were moments when I was given a bit of a new perspective, but Jackie's character in particular was not particularly dynamic. I wasn't rooting for Jackie, I was rooting against the racists. I was much more attached to Harrison Ford's character. The ending was oddly not very climactic, and if the score hadn't been so loud and over-bearing, I might not have even realized that it was the end of the movie. At times, the subject matter was very serious, and as one of my friends pointed out, the movie could have used a bit more humor to balance it out. 

All in all, it was a solid biopic. I wasn't impressed, but it was a good movie. I really liked all of the casting choices they made, though Alan Tudyk's role caught me off guard, he was quite something in it. I think I'll have to watch it again, and maybe I'll be able to focus more on what;s going on that finding a way to sit more attractively or get my hand up on the armrest. 

3 and 1/2 baseball bats

Update 3/3/13

     Hello many readers of this blog! just wanted to update you on a couple of movies I've watched recently. I don't really have time to write full review, but I have seen some that were good.

Die Hard - Action classic, duh. No one told me that Snape was the villain, though! In my head, after he would gun someone down, he would say" I told you to turn to page three-hundred and ninety-four." The underlying tale of marital struggle was woven in quite nicely, only popping up at appropriate moments. 4 out of 5 shard of glass

Charade - I watched this one at a film club meeting on a Friday afternoon. It was just my friend and I who showed up. Though I like Cary grant and Audrey Hepburn very much, their age gap bothered me to no end. I hate that Hollywood just thinks it is okay to pair up an old dude with a young beauty. Not okay. I really wanted to know who had the money, which kept me interested, There were a lot of things I actually didn't see coming and that redeemed it a bit. 2 and a 1/2 out of 5 stamps

Little Big Man - This movie was just too long, I'm sorry. Can't get into all the things that bothered me in detail, but it made me laugh a few times so... 2 out of 5 scalps

The Social Network - My best friend has been bothering me to watch this for a while, and I finally did. I really liked the way that it isn't clear who is right and who is wrong. I never completely liked Jesse Eisenberg's Mark Zuckerberg either. Not too many movies these days will risk not having the audience be completely on the protagonists side. I felt really bad for Andrew Garfield's character, Eduardo Saverin. it didn't seem like he had done anything wrong. I didn't think this was possible, but I actually disliked Justin Timberlake for a few days after watching it. Great characters, cool interpretation of real event. And the Winklevoss twins were played by one actor! How crazy is that? 4 out of 5 socially awkward nerd-geniuses

The Bourne Identity - I liked this movie a lot. It was complicated enough to keep me interested, but not enough to make me confused, and eventually angry. Nothing spectacular, though. Solid 3 out of 5 secret government agencies

     I watched the Oscars in their entirety last Sunday night. I thought that Life of Pi should have been classified as an animated movie and that Skyfall should have won for cinematography. But things don't always go my way. Jennifer Lawrence is basically my favorite person and I'm desperately trying to find a way to be her best friend, so I'm very glad she won for her amazing job in Silver Linings Playbook. If you're looking for a giggle, go watch some of the footage of J. Law on the red carpet because she is just too precious.

     I am currently reading Let the Right One In in preparation for a double feature of both the Sweedish and the American film versions of the book. Hopefully I can find someone to watch them with me, because goodness knows I will have a hard time watching them alone.

My Watchlist:
Argo (no I haven't seen it YET)
Django Unchained (I promised my best friend we would watch it together because it would be weird to watch it with anyone else)
Lincoln (basically, I haven't seen any of the Oscar nominated films)
Day of the Jackal (a movie enthusiast friend suggested this one)

Silver Linings Playbook

     Sorry guys, I couldn't come up with a clever title for this one.

     Over a four-day weekend recently, my boyfriend and I met up in Pennsylvania for a few days as a birthday present from my family (he goes to college in Massachusetts and I am still attending high school in Virginia). I had been wanting to see "Silver Linings Playbook" since it had come put and especially since it has been nominated for some Oscars. So we picked a theater, somehow navigated our way over there, and went to see it. A friend had warned me that it wasn't a rom-com by any standards, but that she thought I would still like it. I was optimistic, and it was rewarded.

     "Silver Linings Playbook" is one of the best movies I have seen in years. It was everything a movie should be. Every single character was believable and the story line was incredibly unique. It wasn't an artsy movie, there weren't any dutch tilts or other fancy angles, but it was well made. Since the movie was plot-driven, those things didn't matter much. Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence played crazy so well, I kind of thought they might actually have the disorders their characters had. I don't know if I have any other words to describe how beautiful this movie was. It made me laugh. It made me uncomfortable to the point that I was burying my face into my boyfriend's shoulder, begging him to "make the awkward stop." I'm pretty sure I was crying at the end, it was so perfect. If this movie is no longer in theaters near you, I implore you to watch it when it comes out on DVD. I didn't think Hollywood could make movies this good anymore, I had lost hope. But it has been restored, all thanks to this wonderful film.

5 out of 5 jujus

Just by the way, while looking for the poster to put in this post, I realised that this movie was a book first...

SEEKING A STUPID MOVIE FOR A THURSDAY NIGHT

I was trying to find a movie to watch with my friend (Jessica), who doesn't have the same taste in movies as I do. So we picked Seeking a Friend for the End of the World. There were some funny moments and some touching moments. The asteroid that is the cause of the apocalypse is named Matilda. Fun fact: there actually IS a asteroid named Matilda, but it will never come even close to hitting our Earth. Yay! But I'd like to take a moment here, while I have your attention, for a little rant. It will ruin the ending, but that's okay because you're not ever going to watch it. Hollywood really needs to stop having young girls fall for old dudes. Keria Knightley is twenty-seven years old. Steve Carell is fifty. THAT'S A GAP OF OVER TWENTY YEARS. Sure, Mr. Carell's character certainly didn't look fifty, but he was considerably older than Keira Knightley, who was playing a younger woman. This trend first started to bother me when I first watched My Fair Lady, one of my favorite musicals. I won't give you a plot summary, but once again a young, pretty woman ends up with the older guy. Switched around, people would be calling the woman a cougar, but there are no nicknames of that sort for men who date/marry much younger women. I hate it. Not that I plan on marrying a considerably younger man, but I'd prefer not to be prescribed a label if I chose to. I don't know how to fix this problem. The movies Hollywood produces are (usually) just a reflection of what our society values and our general values. There isn't a solution. I'll just go sit in my pretending-the-world-doesn't-exist corner and do just that. You may join me if you'd like. We can make fun of people together. 

2 out of 5 asteriods

 (this is how I felt at the end of the movie)