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Post by The Captain on Aug 6, 2014 20:45:12 GMT -5
Just got back from seeing Guardians of the Galaxy, and I have to say I enjoyed this way more than I thought I was going to. I never read any of the DnA series (or any of the original series, to be honest), so I was only somewhat familiar with a couple of the characters (Drax, Gamora, Ronan), but it was a really fun movie, which is all I could ask for.
Little disappointed by the post-credits scene. I'd hoped for some more clues about one of the more mysterious things raised in the movie, but it fit with the overall tone of the movie, so it wasn't all that bad.
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Post by dupersuper on Aug 6, 2014 22:41:25 GMT -5
Well it looks like in the movie release date stand-off, DC/WB blinked first. Captain America 3 and Superman vs. Batman were scheduled with the same release date-first weekend of May 2016 or FCBD weekend, but WB just announced they are moving the release of BvS to March 25 2016 enough time ahead of it so Cap doesn't eat their box office. -M Makes sense, but I was actually really starting to look forward to a jam-packed super hero double feature that Sunday afternoon. Ah well.
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Post by The Captain on Aug 7, 2014 6:52:10 GMT -5
After a few hours to reflect further on it, I have to say I was disappointed by the GotG movie in one aspect, and that was in regard to the language. Don't get me wrong, I'm not a prude (I work in an industry that is a little on the rougher side, so I am used to guys who are a bit more liberal with the swearing), but I'm not sure I can let my older daughter see this one (she's 9).
It was just surprising to me, particularly for a film that features a talking bio-engineered being that resembles a Earth-based bipedal night scavenger (Don't call him a raccoon!) and a sentient tree, that there were more curse words and references to male anatomy than in all of the other Marvel movies to date combined. Again, not so much a big deal for me, as I can handle it, but not sure this was quite as family-friendly as it could have been.
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Post by bashbash99 on Aug 7, 2014 15:48:52 GMT -5
After a few hours to reflect further on it, I have to say I was disappointed by the GotG movie in one aspect, and that was in regard to the language. Don't get me wrong, I'm not a prude (I work in an industry that is a little on the rougher side, so I am used to guys who are a bit more liberal with the swearing), but I'm not sure I can let my older daughter see this one (she's 9). It was just surprising to me, particularly for a film that features a talking bio-engineered being that resembles a Earth-based bipedal night scavenger (Don't call him a raccoon!) and a sentient tree, that there were more curse words and references to male anatomy than in all of the other Marvel movies to date combined. Again, not so much a big deal for me, as I can handle it, but not sure this was quite as family-friendly as it could have been. I agree in that I think I noticed a bit more cussing & fluid references than usual, since the characters were supposed to be bounty hunters/thiefs/murderers I think Marvel felt like they could get away with saltier dialogue. I think they could've dialed back Star-Lord's adolescent hi-jinks a bit, but I guess the studios want to make the character more appealing to teens. For me, the other characters more than made up for it though. Even though Drax and Gamora were changed in fairly significant ways from their comic counterparts, these changes seemed to help make the film work. Drax had more humorous moments/lines than I would've expected. Groot and Rocket pretty much stole every scene they were in, which I had anticipated. Overall I thought it was a great popcorn movie and a promising 1st step in Marvel's cosmic films. I plan to see it once or twice more before it leaves the theaters.
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shaxper
CCF Site Custodian
Posts: 22,871
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Post by shaxper on Aug 7, 2014 19:30:12 GMT -5
My wife and I did a double feature today and finally saw both Guardians of the Galaxy and Dawn of the Planet of the Apes. Both were better than we expected.
Guardians of the Galaxy had more substance at its core than I'd expected from Marvel. Though the main characters all begin as cliches, there's complexity behind them, and I respect that. Beyond that, though, whereas I've noted that most of Marvel's recent films haven't had much of a plot, there was some serious stuff going on here, all of which will clearly have repercussions in later films. And Ronan the Accuser -- wow. I was more impressed by him than by Thanos.
Dawn of the Planet of the Apes was generally incredibly, and I felt the long run time was well earned with very little filler, but my complaint about the film is a sort of contradiction: it both takes itself too seriously and not seriously enough. Whereas the original franchise was overt in connecting its theme to the real world -- class warfare, Vietnam, gender equality and (most overtly) racism, and yet the film had its share of laughs and light-hearted moments that kept it endearing and fun (especially with Zira and Cornelius, and later Caesar and Virgil). Dawn, on the other hand, broods and broods with absolutely no fun to be had, and yet the theme is so inoffensive and agreeable without actually challenging the audience. We all agree, in theory, that hate and prejudice are bad, but without tying this to something real -- the war on terror, the Middle East, race, etc, you're going to have folks leaving the theatre going "Man, that Koba was so blind in his hate. Anyway, I hope Obama nukes them A-rabs soon". We can all nod along to a theme that remains inoffensive unless we're challenged to apply it to our own lives and the world we live in. The original franchise did that in spades.
Heck, whereas the original franchise featured a strong female protagonist (first through third films) and two strong black protagonists (fourth and fifth films), this film has two unnamed black guys in the entire surviving human encampment, and both females who are featured at all are walking cliches -- the supportive healer, and the child-bearing vulnerable wife. Dawn worked very hard to make POTA more believable and weave a good story, but it missed the fun and the message along the way.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 8, 2014 8:29:55 GMT -5
And Ronan the Accuser -- wow. I was more impressed by him than by Thanos. Agreed. Ronan was terrific. I didn't like Thanos much at all. His face looked off and his costume had way too much armor.
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Post by Prince Hal on Aug 8, 2014 9:50:20 GMT -5
Dawn of the Planet of the Apes was generally incredibly, and I felt the long run time was well earned with very little filler, but my complaint about the film is a sort of contradiction: it both takes itself too seriously and not seriously enough. Whereas the original franchise was overt in connecting its theme to the real world -- class warfare, Vietnam, gender equality and (most overtly) racism, and yet the film had its share of laughs and light-hearted moments that kept it endearing and fun (especially with Zira and Cornelius, and later Caesar and Virgil). Dawn, on the other hand, broods and broods with absolutely no fun to be had, and yet the theme is so inoffensive and agreeable without actually challenging the audience. We all agree, in theory, that hate and prejudice are bad, but without tying this to something real -- the war on terror, the Middle East, race, etc, you're going to have folks leaving the theatre going "Man, that Koba was so blind in his hate. Anyway, I hope Obama nukes them A-rabs soon". We can all nod along to a theme that remains inoffensive unless we're challenged to apply it to our own lives and the world we live in. The original franchise did that in spades. So well put. Haven't seen the movie, but so many aspects of popular culture, not just movies and TV shows, have that kind of vanilla/white bread/platitudinous style, e.g. "Support the Troops" bumper stickers.
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Post by Roquefort Raider on Aug 8, 2014 15:06:01 GMT -5
Better late than on DVD, I just came back from seeing Guardians of the galaxy. It's not going to become a cult classic like Star Wars, but it sure was a lot of fun and one of the better Marvel movies. Just like Robert Downey did for Tony Stark, Chris Pratt made Star-Lord a fun character. (Granted, that's because the character is based on the DnA version... but the general public doesn't know that). The plot is formulaic, which is somewhat unfortunate, but that is more than made up by the presence of so many likeable characters. Not only the heroes, but also people like the Xandarian cop and, in a very surprisingly way, the redefined Yondu. Michael Rooker, who had already made. strong impression as Merle in the walking dead, is a show-stealer here too. Ronan was also very impressive as a villain; much scarier than Thanos. Drax being unable to understand metaphors was an amusing change to his character; it made him different from all the other strong guy/revenge obsessed types we have a surfeit of in comic-book movies. Gamora was spared a clichéd back story and sappy romantic lines; she was made more sympathetic than in the comics, but that's O.K. for a movie where pretty much every hero comes across as a good person. I almost squealed in delight when my favourite Guardian showed up for not one but three cameos. I'm not sure he'll get a better part in upcoming films because he'd probably be judged redundant next to Rocket Raccoon, but it was still a pleasure to see Cosmo on the silver screen. And SO many Easter eggs. Celestials. Knowhere. Nova helmets. Nova ranks. Star-Lord's symbol on his jacket's sleeve. Star-Lord's annihilation and GotG helmet. The map of the universe that's an accurate representation of the universal microwave background radiation. Yondu's sonic arrow. The Nova corps uniforms. And of course the post-credit scene. I look forward to watching it again in a few months and try to find more stuff in the background. The mRavel cosmic universe is a rich source of material, and here it is used wisely. A true film for fans, and I'm glad it's doing well with the general public too.
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Post by wildfire2099 on Aug 9, 2014 18:54:50 GMT -5
Apparently I'm the only one... I took my two oldest to see TMNT instead of Guardians... it was pretty good. I'm not sure why there's been alot of negativity.. it was a great for the kids (my 9 year old LOVED it)... it did go a little heavy on the moral of the story thing, but it was plenty cute and funny so as not to take itself too seriously. I think the only down side was that Michael Bay made Shredder look like a Transformer.. the actual Turtles were really well done.
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Post by kurrgomaul on Aug 10, 2014 20:08:28 GMT -5
Saw GotG...definitely as good if not better than I expected. Good to know Marvel can make movies about more less known comics and even better that its doing good in the box office.
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Post by Jasoomian on Aug 11, 2014 22:20:36 GMT -5
Sounds like "Ant-Man" is in pre-production in Georgia...
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Post by Deleted on Aug 11, 2014 23:01:20 GMT -5
Apparently I'm the only one... I took my two oldest to see TMNT instead of Guardians... it was pretty good. I'm not sure why there's been alot of negativity.. it was a great for the kids (my 9 year old LOVED it)... it did go a little heavy on the moral of the story thing, but it was plenty cute and funny so as not to take itself too seriously. I think the only down side was that Michael Bay made Shredder look like a Transformer.. the actual Turtles were really well done. Yeah, this is the first positive thing I've heard about it. The 2007 movie seemed to be pretty maligned too, but while it lacked the humor I expectes I liked it well enough. That may be due to my lack of TMNT lore. I never read the comics and had no idea there was a third 90s film until recently.
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Post by wildfire2099 on Aug 12, 2014 10:54:55 GMT -5
There's alot of hate on the internet for Michael Bay, so you won't find too may comic book fans saying good things about anything he does.
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Post by Slam_Bradley on Aug 12, 2014 14:12:28 GMT -5
There's alot of hate on the internet for Michael Bay, so you won't find too may comic book fans saying good things about anything he does. I'm not sure that recognizing he's a hack counts as hate.
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Post by Hoosier X on Aug 12, 2014 14:19:59 GMT -5
There's alot of hate on the internet for Michael Bay, so you won't find too may comic book fans saying good things about anything he does. I'm not sure that recognizing he's a hack counts as hate. I was just about to post something very similar to this.
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