I don't know what it is. Maybe I'm a bit bored by TV right now. (Though Franklin and Bash comes back this week, yay! And then the Doctor!) Maybe I need inspiration for my writing. I don't know. But I've been watching and rewatching movies a lot lately. Old favorites like Galaxy Quest, stuff I never saw like Gravity, and more recent loves like Iron Man 3...and today I went to see Guardians of the Galaxy for the second time.
I give it a solid A. I'm getting tired of criticism that things aren't "unique." Nothing is, especially superhero/comics-inspired movies. All I want from film nowadays is enjoyment, and GotG gave that to me. It's all about the characters, and these are some great ones. I loved the writing that tweaked tropes, too. The speech that pulls everyone together, the self-sacrifice leading to a special moment between two people—they got turned very lightly on their heads. There were some fantastic lines that have already joined the common quotables in our house. It was just all very satisfying. (Though I will say I didn't find Ronan intimidating because all I could see was The Piemaker. Sorry, Lee Pace. :) )
Gravity sucked. One of my friends hated it, and everyone else seemed to be completely wowed, so I thought I'd be somewhere in the middle. Okay, the zero-g effects were great. Totally sold that she was in space the whole time. But everything else...ugh. No character development save a couple of slapped-on motivations that did not support at all the whole "rebirth" thing at the end. Heavy-handed symbolism does not add depth to a film that's pretty much all one big special effect. I was able to shrug off most of the illogic, but when Clooney unclipped himself—when he was at a complete standstill—because he was going to pull them both away and doom her, well, that did it for me. I watched the rest of the movie with a curl of my lip. (See this article that backs me up.) And while Sandra Bullock is one of my favorite actresses, I got soooo tired of her panting cries as she spiraled or bounced. I can't even give this one a grade.
While at GotG I saw some really good trailers, too. The next Hobbit movie looks tremendous, and they overlaid the trailer with Pippin's heartbreaking song from Return of the King, which always brings a sting to my eyes. Big Hero 6 looks like great fun, and even the remake of Annie looks decent. I'd watch that on TV, probably, if I came across it. I'm not sure I'd seek it out. I swear there were more trailers when we saw GotG the first time (Number Two was like, "get to the movie already!") but I can't remember what they were. :(
What movie did you like best this summer? What are you looking forward to coming up?
7 comments:
I also love Guardians, and will probably go see it again this week. LOVED Groot, loved Rocket, just a great fun movie. Fred had the same complaint as you about Clooney's decision. I saw a comedy bit that Clooney couldn't stand being tied to a woman even if it meant saving his life.
I'm NOT bored with TV. Hell on Wheels is wonderful, I love Outlander and Masters of Sex is getting better. I also love Rizzoli and Isles.
I think I saw that same comedy bit. :)
I'm not *completely* bored with TV. We watch Falling Skies, The Last Ship, and Royal Pains right away. Graceland is a show that totally immerses me when I'm watching it and I don't want it to be over, but I'm not compelled to watch right away. Same with Covert Affairs this season. But for some reason, lately I've been wanting movies instead of TV, which is really weird. LOL
I've been hearing great things about Guardians and will see it sooner or later. On TV this summer the thing I've been enjoying is The Musketeers on BBC America. It's very entertaining.
We've been watching and re-watching movies lately, too! Gravity just looked stupid to me so I didn't want to see it. Alpha Hubby watched it the other day on TV and hated it, hated himself for finishing it and wanted to wash his eyes and mind out to get it out of his head! I want to see Guardians and Aug 15 is Expendables 3 (yay we love it).
Some that are coming that sound good: The November Man (Pierce Brosnan), One Chance (altho it probably won't be at our theatre since they NEVER have the odd and cool ones), The Identical,& The Equalizer (Denzel!),
Sue, I intended to watch The Musketeers, but my DVR was screwing up and by the time I realized the problem, a couple of episodes had been missed. I'll catch up later.
LBD, that's one of the trailers I forgot! I saw it for Expendables 3 and said to Number One, "I think I have to start watching that series." LOL I have the first DVD on hold at the library.
I am aghast that I haven't heard of any of those others. I'll have to look them up. Love Pierce!
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