Aug 1 2014

Guardians of the Galaxy

Abducted from earth as a child in the 1980’s, now grown, Peter Quill/Star-Lord (Chris Pratt) finds himself caught in an interstellar bounty hunt for a mysterious orb that contains one of the most destructive forces in the galaxy, an infinity stone. All those who seek the stone seem to have a nefarious plan of their own, but who’s intentions are any more nobel than the other? Does it matter? One thing is clear, the galaxy’s only chance of survival rests on the shoulders of an unlikely group of outlaws: Star-Lord, Gamora (Zoe Saldana), Drax (Dave Bautista), Rocket (Voiced by Bradley Cooper), and Groot (Voiced by Vin Diesel). And, who or what is truly driving the evil Ronan (Lee Pace), son of Thanos (Josh Brolin)?guardians Directed by James Gunn, the lore of Guardians of the Galaxy is truly one of the more “out there” comic concepts, after all, our leads include a talking raccoon, a fighting tree, a meat head-ish brut, a sexy green assassin, and an American smart-ass with an affinity for 70’s funk and rock. Fortunately, with today’s CGI technology all things are possible, even the furthest niche comic ideas; to that, Guardians of the Galaxy manages to pull off its visual aspect with flying colors, unfortunately, the story to back the visuals isn’t the most compelling and ultimately fails to really explore the strengths of each of the principals with much care. So, for all of the flash, whiz, bang, the end result is more akin to a loosely packed firework resulting in a mild poof. Popcorn chomper, yes, ground breaking graphic novel material that will change your world view, no. It’s fun enough, I guess, at 121 minutes welcome’s aren’t overstayed. And, cheers to Vin Diesel, 5 words have never been so telling about a character. Guardians of the Galaxy is rated PG-13.


Aug 1 2014

Get on Up

Rising from extreme poverty as a young boy to become the Godfather of Soul, the story of James Brown (Chadwick Boseman) is a story wrought with the highest highs and the lowest lows. Known for being a wellspring of creativity, musical innovation, and for being a hard driving businessman, highlights of his life and those close to the legend are depicted in this latest biopic. But who shaped James Brown the most and where specifically did he get his incredible drive?getonup Told in a semi sequential order but featuring key flashbacks director Tate Taylor (The Help) slowly pulls back the curtain to reveal what made James Brown tick; providing a stage for Chadwick Boseman to shine bright with an impressive physical and dynamic performance, meanwhile the rest of the ensemble including Nelsan Ellis, Viola Davis, Lennie James, Octavia Spencer, Jill Scott, and Dan Aykroyd make up a solid foundation for the rest of the film. Albeit, at times the film feels autobiographical and thus suffers from delusions of self grandeur in almost a James Thurbur Walter Mitty way, but then again, perhaps that’s the point? And, for having a relatively low budget, seeing past the lower budget elements is easy to do once you let the story take you (A certain Vietnam scene is indicative of this writing and production). Running a little on the long side at 138 minutes a little more trimming might have been a good idea, but as poignantly stated, nobody tells James Brown how long to play but James Brown, he paid the cost to be the boss. Worth at least a matinee consideration and maybe more, Get on Up is rated PG-13.