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Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017)
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017)
2017 | Action, Comedy, Sci-Fi
Does what a good sequel needs to do
I have to admit that I really liked, but did not LOVE the first Guardians of the Galaxy film, so when I entered the local cineplex to check out Volume 2, I had lowered my expectations, figuring I'd find a film that was filled with "sequel-itis" and be just a step down from the previous film.

Boy...was I wrong.

I LOVED GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY, VOLUME 2. This sequel succeeded in doing what a good sequel needs to do - take the premise, feel, characters and style of the first film and build on it.

And build on it, it does. Director James Gunn states that the first Guardians was about "a family coming together", and the 2nd movie is about "a family staying together" - and this is a family I want around and staying together.

Starting with the "core 5" - StarLord (Chris Pratt), Gamora (Zoe Saldona), Drax (Dave Bautista), Rocket Racoon (voiced by Bradley Cooper) and Baby Groot (voiced by Vin Diesel). These are all welcome characters that grow from the first movie to the 2nd, each with a purpose in this film and with something important to do. I enjoyed seeing them all again. Special notice should be paid to Bautista, who's Drax left me somewhat cold in the first film. Here he is a delight. Add to this returning characters Yondu (Michael Rooker) and Nebula (Karen Gillan) as well as newcomers Mantis (Pom Klementieff), Ayesha (Elizabeth Debicki) and Ego (Kurt Russell) and you have an ensemble that is easy and fun to watch.

At some point in the film, I thought to myself "now, THIS is a comic book film!" and I think it is because of the action and the visuals. The action moves fast and furious all the while populating a Universe (literally) that is eye-popping and interesting to watch. Director Gunn keeps things moving along, never staying too long in one place whilst avoiding the shaky-cam action. I always knew where I was in an action scene, what the characters are working on or for and what the outcomes might be. It is a refreshing change from the disorienting "shaky-cam" that the Bourne movies have wrought.

And, of course, nothing can top the soundtrack. The first film's "Awesome Mix" was a strong, joyous part of that movie. "Awesome Mix, Vol. 2" picks right up where the first one left off. The songs picked for this film did not disappoint.

Nor did much of this film. I enjoyed myself - and the antics of this gang - from start to finish, including the 5(!) extra scenes in the credits.

Letter Grade: A

9 (out of 10) stars and you can take that to the Bank(ofMarquis)
  
Geekerella (Once Upon a Con #1)
Geekerella (Once Upon a Con #1)
Ashley Poston | 2017 | Contemporary, Romance, Young Adult (YA)
8
7.8 (11 Ratings)
Book Rating
My review can also be found on my blog: www.diaryofdifference.com
When the typical Cinderella story meets a geeky girl, a comic con and an actor instead of a prince, you get Geekerella. A story unlike any other Cinderella like stories, full with wittiness, geekiness and style.

We have Elle, who is our Cinderella. Her father passed away and left her with her stepmom and her two stepsisters. Elle is also a vivid lover of Starfield, sci-fi series similar to Star Trek and Star Wars. She is also a blogger, where she writes all things Starfield.

On the other side, we have Darien, who is an actor and just got the main character role for the new remake of Starfield. While he deeply loves Starfield, he is not allowed to show those emotions and let everyone knows he is a fan, because it will ruin his reputation. And that is the sole reason why fans don’t like him – he is just another guy that goes for the money and ruins their favourite fan fiction (we have all been there though, haven’t we?).

When fate somehow connects Elle and Darien together, under unknown circumstances they start texting to each other, without revealing who they really are. And that is when everything changes.

A story about love and friendship, but most importantly – a story that teaches you to “Look to the stars. Aim. Ignite.” A story that reminds you to keep believing in who you are and why you are doing what you love. This is an amazing reminder to all of you – to be the people you want to be, because once you are comfortable with who you are and what you love to do – nothing can stop you in being great! And most importantly – HAPPY!

While there were bits and pieces that I couldn’t resist but to cringe on, such as the falling in love through texting, or not being able to say no to your step sisters, or being afraid to tell your fans that you are a fan, while they keep accusing you that you don’t care. (How could this ruin a reputation? It could only make it better)…

While there were things that bothered me, this story was still a great revolution to the Cinderella retelling. No other story has shown a girl to fight for what she loves as strongly as this, without the help of magic or a pumpkin – even though her best friend Sage was really the fairy in this situation.

Thank you to NetGalley and Quirk Books, for providing me with an ARC copy of the book.

If you haven’t read it already, please do! It is worth reading it, as it has a powerful message inside of it. I recommend it to all of you out there!
  
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Gareth von Kallenbach (980 KP) rated the PC version of LEGO DC Super-Villains in Video Games

Jun 19, 2019  
LEGO DC Super-Villains
LEGO DC Super-Villains
Action/Adventure
Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment and Lego have teamed up again to make yet another winning entry into their Lego series of games with Lego DC Super Villains.

I got an early look at the game at E3 and San Diego Comic Con including a visit with one of the Producers as well as an interview with key members of the voice cast so I was happy to have a more well-rounded perspective of what to expect going into the final release of the game. My staff played it at PAX West and were very impressed with it as well which only lead to the anticipation to try the final game.

The game allows players to craft their own villain using the easy to use and fun character creator as you enter the world of DC in order to deliver menace.

Iconic characters ranging from Lex Luthor to Captain Cold, Cheetah, Harley Quin, The Joker, and countless others are available to play and each has their own unique set of abilities. Players can switch between character sets in a mission as the puzzles often require specific abilities to complete. Lex Luthor may have some impressive firepower with his power suit, but when agility and climbing are required you will need to have other options.

Missions are fun and ideal for gamers of all ages as defeating enemy’s results in a shower of Lego pieces which can often be used to construct items which are key to the success of a mission.

If you have ever played any of the Lego games released in the last few years; the open world setting and plethora of characters will seem familiar to you as well the family friendly fun the game will offer.

The game can be enjoyed as a co-op experience so playing with others is highly recommended as the puzzles often require a mix of action and thought to resolve.

I would suggest getting the game on one of the console platforms as I played it on a PC after playing it on consoles at conventions and I had a few issues playing on the PC from control response to some video issues.

The game offers bright and fun graphics and the sound of the game is punctuated by a top-notch voice cast who will be very familiar with fans of many of the animated DC offerings.

The game will have future DLC available which will allow even more characters to become available and increase the fun and variety of the game.

If you are a fan of Lego or DC; you will not want to miss this one.

http://sknr.net/2018/11/05/lego-dc-super-villains/
  
A Million Ways to Die in the West (2014)
A Million Ways to Die in the West (2014)
2014 | Comedy, Western
Story: Poking fun at the old west is fine, it should work and some of the jokes are acceptable. The endless toilet jokes make it feel like an Adam Sandler film and the poorly written sex jokes get boring quickly. You have the old storyline of trying to impress someone only to fall for the one helping you. It is advertised incorrectly as it makes out from the trailer that he is training to beat Clinch while in actual fact the training is for another dual all together. After watching and enjoying Ted I was expecting a lot better than this lazy comedy for someone with a good comic mind. (3/10)

 

Actor Reviews

 

Seth MacFarlane: Albert the cowardly sheep farmer from the Frontier who gets upset when his girlfriend dumps him and puts his life in danger because he is depressed only to discover he is brave deep down. Seth really doesn’t suit being a lead actor at all. (2/10)

 seth

Charlize Theron: Anna the beautiful mysterious woman who comes to town and ends up becoming friends with Albert while training him to shot. Good performance from someone not known for comedy. (7/10)

theron

Amanda Seyfried: Louise the girl who dumps Albert and moves on, but looks like she could have changed her mind too late. Standard performance really, never gets given anything to do. (5/10)

 

Liam Neeson: Clinch the deadly gunslinger who wants revenge after Albert kisses his wife. We see what he is capable of and that he will cheat but we hardly see him considering he is meant to be the villain. (5/10)

 neeson

Giovanni Ribisi: Edward Albert’s best friend who is very religious while his girlfriend is being a prostitute. Gets to have fun with the role and would be fair to say get most laughs.(6/10)

 

Director Review: Seth MacFarlane – With his history for good quality comedy I would expect to see a lot better than this from him. (3/10)

 

Comedy: Poor jokes throughout that get boring quickly but the few cameos will get most laughs. (4/10)

Settings: Good authentic western town created. (8/10)

Suggestion: Don’t bother, I think even the most diehard Seth MacFarlane fans will be disappointed. (Avoid)

 

Best Part: Cameos

Worst Part: The Jokes

Funniest Scene: Doc Brown

Kill Of The Film: The Ice Block

Believability: No just a spoof (0/10)

Chances of Tears: No (0/10)

Chances of Sequel: No

Post Credits Scene: Yes

 

Oscar Chances: No

Box Office: $35 Million (So Far)

Budget: N/A

Runtime: 1 Hour 50 Minutes

Tagline: Bring Protection

 

Overall: Lazy Comedy

https://moviesreview101.com/2014/06/07/a-million-ways-to-die-in-the-west-2014/
  
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LeftSideCut (3778 KP) rated X-Men: Dark Phoenix (2019) in Movies

Dec 2, 2019 (Updated Jan 13, 2020)  
X-Men: Dark Phoenix (2019)
X-Men: Dark Phoenix (2019)
2019 | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi
With the (eventually true) whispers about the Disney-Fox merger doing the rounds around Dark Phoenix's release, it arrived to little fanfare. Most people had already written off as a pointless film, and it was a prime target for negativity. So much so, that it was actually the first and only X-Men film I ended up missing in the cinema.

I recently watched it on home release, really not expecting much. After the swing-and-a-miss of Apocalypse, I wasn't feeling too invested in the characters.
So imagine my surprise when I remained glued to the screen for most of the runtime.

Dark Phoenix isn't perfect by any means, and far from the lofty heights of the top tier X-Men movies, buts it no where near as awful as I had heard.
I thought the story was actually ok. I was glad that it partially took place in space, like the original comic, and unlike The Last Stand.
Michael Fassbender and James McAvoy are fantastic as they usually are, as is Nicholas Hoult. I also thing Jennifer Lawrence I makes a good Mystique, even though I'm still not a massive fan of this franchises portrayal of her character.
Ty Sheridan and Sophie Turner are given more to do this time around, and are both fine. It's a shame that Evan Peters' Quicksilver is sidelined for this particular adventure.
There are some genuinely powerful emotional beats throughout the film, and it's clear as day that all the actors involved care about their characters, and are having fun.

My main criticism is predictably the villains. The D'bari are a fairly uninspired choice for such a big storyline, and they look like generic CGI aliens. I found Jessica Chastain quite wooden and uninteresting, and they made for a very underwhelming force if evil.
The main focus of Dark Phoenix is of course in Jean Grey's turn to the dark side, so vanilla bad guys shouldn't really be that important anyway.

Dark Phoenix does a slightly better job than The Last Stand of adapting this beloved storyline, but so can't help but feel that it would benefit from multiple movies, instead of cramming into one feature, a I really hope that's something that happens going into the MCU with these characters.

We still have New Mutants to go (if it ever actually comes out) but as a last main entry into the FOX X-Men franchise, you could do a lot worse. It's not the best, it's not the worst. Dark Phoenix sits somewhere quite comfortably in the middle.
Dare I say, I think it might actually be better than the first film...
  
Killer Elite (2011)
Killer Elite (2011)
2011 | Action, Mystery
7
6.5 (8 Ratings)
Movie Rating
It’s your friendly neighborhood freelance photographer and fellow movie junkie with my take on of the VERY late summer movie release “Killer Elite” starring Jason Statham, Robert DeNiro, Clive Owen, Yvonne Strahovski, and Dominic Purcell.

First off, I’m just going to say that the cast alone warrents giving this movie a look. If you know at least one name on this list, you also know it’s worth watching once.

“Killer Elite” stars Jason Statham (The Transporter Trilogy) as Danny Bryce. A retired speical forces soldier who is lured out of retirement when is mentor Hunter (Robert DeNiro) is held hostage by a mysterious Middle-Eastern sheik. With the help of his former comrade Davies (Dominic Purcell Of Blade:Trinity And TV’s Prison Break), Bryce must complete the task of killing three assassins who are reponsible for the deaths of all but one of the sheik’s sons. Which also means going up against retired SAS comando Spike (Clive Owen Of Sin City, Children Of Men, And The Bourne Identity).

Despite less-than-stellar buzz, when I saw this line-up amongst the cast, I knew the movie had to have some potential and for me it did NOT disappoint. Honestly, I don’t get the beef some critics have with the movie. “Killer Elite” is a an action movie. Typically, action movies concentrate on a basic plotline or little to no plot. Action movies are all about ACTION coupled with good actors/actresses. Killer Elite is not just an action movie … it’s a GREAT ACTION MOVIE.

(Sidenote: The 1975 film of the same title, starring Robert DuVall and James Cann has a similar story line, but the movies are based on entirely different events. Both movies are worth checking out though).

“Killer Elite” is based on a book entitled The FeatherMen written by Sir Ranulph Fiennes, which he claimed to be based on true events to much controversy. It follows the assassinations of members of the British Special Air Services, by a hit squad known as The Clinic. The FeatherMen was a group of retired/vigilante special forces members who went head to head with the hitmen of The Clinic to protect members of the regiment.

Look, if you like action movies, this is one for the books. Even the flashbacks with Statham and his love interest are good. There’s even a litle bit of comic relief provided courtesy of Dominic Purcell who looks alot like Lemmy from Motorhead in this movie, just 30 years younger. There is NOT a dull moment int the movie. Pay the cash. Whether it’s in theaters or DVD or other digital medium. An excellent movie for a Friday night!
  
Super (2011)
Super (2011)
2011 | Action, Comedy, Drama
9
6.5 (11 Ratings)
Movie Rating
When I first heard about Super, written and directed by James Gunn, my first thought was “Dwight (from The Office) will be a superhero?” However what I saw on the screen was anything but Dwight, it was 75% awesome and 25% “I can’t believe they did that!”

The film begins with Frank (excellently played by Rainn Wilson) happily married to Sarah (Liv Tyler) who is a recovering drug addict. The happiness is shattered when Sarah begins using again, thanks to Jacques the drug dealer (Kevin Bacon) and then one day she disappears. Frank searches for Sarah and eventually finds her under the control of Jacques. Unable to get her away from Jacques, Frank goes to the police for help. Unfortunately because Sarah left on her own accord, no law has been broken (except for the drug stuff) so they are unable to help him.

Frank tries to move on, but without Sarah life seems meaningless. Then in his darkest hour he has a vision of The Holy Avenger (Nathan Fillion). Heeding the vision, Frank becomes The Crimson Bolt, pledges to fight crime and to save Sarah. There is just one small problem – Frank has no idea how to be a superhero. Research is needed, so off to the comic book store he goes, of course, and there he meets Libby (Ellen Page). Libby advises him which comics to read that have superheroes who do not have powers. Armed with this knowledge, The Crimson Bolt officially begins fighting crime in the most unusual of ways and not too long after, Libby becomes Boltie, his trusted, sexy sidekick.

This very entertaining, action-filled, dark comedy has more twists and turns than a game of Chutes and Ladders, and it will keep you glued to the screen until the end. Will they save the city from villainy? Will they save Sarah’s bacon? (Sorry, with Kevin Bacon playing the bad guy I couldn’t resist.)

Super has a different take on the superhero genre than what I’ve seen in past movies. Only Rainn Wilson could have properly portrayed the uniqueness that is Frank/Crimson Bolt and the same goes for Ellen Page in regards to Libby/Boltie (possibly the best sidekick ever). To make a long review short, let me sum up this way, everyone in the movie no matter the length of their part did an amazing job in their role. With that said, my only wish was that the story would have allowed for more screen time for Gregg Henry (Detective John Felkner) and a musical number for Fillion’s Holy Avenger. if you liked Fillion as Captain Hammer in Dr. Horrible’s Singalong Blog, then you’ll love him in this role. But those things would have most likely thrown off the perfect balance of action, humor and character interaction that made this movie so enjoyable.
  
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