GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY IS MY PERSONAL FAVORITE MARVEL MOVIE

Guardians of The Galaxy was a real risky move for Marvel, in fact I'd say it's been their riskiest move to date. Not only does this film introduce brand new characters (that almost no one in the general public knows about), it also takes place almost completely in deep space. Was the risk worth it, did it pay off in the end? I'll save you all the trouble: Yes, and yes.

Guardians of The Galaxy follows Star-Lord (Chris Pratt), Gamora ( Zoe Saldana), Rocket Raccoon (Voiced by Bradley Cooper), Drax The Destroyer (David Bautista) and Groot (Voiced by Vin Diesel) as they find that it is now up to them to oppose a great threat to the entire galaxy. This threat is named Ronan The Accuser (Lee Pace), who is essentially a servant to Thanos (Josh Brolin).  Ronan is sent by Thanos to acquire an orb, which holds a stone with great power (one of six stones. That's right, Infinity Stones bitches!!!). Naturally, Ronan actually plans on betraying Thanos once he gets the stone and then using it's power to destroy an entire planet. 

The whole crew is pretty well cast. I will say I think that Bradley Cooper has some work to do before I buy him as a voice actor (some of his line reads seemed a bit off), however he is still good here. Rocket Raccoon is easily the most psychotic member of the gang, and he is super fun and crazy (He does have some pathos added to him when we find out how he came to be Rocket Raccoon). Vin Diesel makes all of his 3 words count in this film, and is a valuable addition to the cast. Groot is a sweet, simple, smart tree creature that is actually a pretty big bad-ass whenever he needs to be. Zoe Saldana impresses with her martial arts skills as Gamora, a daughter of Thanos whose past is not quite what you would expect it to be. David Bautista is a wrestler turned actor, so some of his "acting" seemed a bit off....however he was still most likely the perfect choice for Drax The Destroyer, a rage-filled alien bent on revenge whose brain cells quite likely amount to somewhere in the low singles. Lee Pace as Ronan is actually pretty great, scary, and intimidating. He's certainly not one of the best villains in the Marvel Universe, but I quite liked him....I'd say he's memorable.

Easily the best part of this film is Chris Pratt as Star-Lord, a human who was abducted from Earth as a child and has lived most of his life wandering the galaxy as a petty criminal. His favorite item is his old walkman cassette player and his "awesome mix vol. 1" mix tape, both of which he carries around with him everywhere (The mix tape acts as our bad-ass soundtrack for the film). Star-Lord is a man who never fully grew up and enjoys listening to old Earth (or, as it's called in the film, Terra) classics. He's very funny, but also hides an emotional side.  This is the role Chris Pratt was born to play, and naturally he knocks it out of the park, proving his is a name to remember.

Guardians had a post-converted 3D job, but you really wouldn't be able to tell from watching this film. A surprisingly good number of things pop out at you during the film, the depth is absolutely stunning at times, and the film in 3D is a true marvel to behold. Every second of this film in 3-D is impressive, gorgeous, and memorable. When I see it again (and I WILL be seeing it again), I'll be seeing it in 3-D....AGAIN!

So many super-hero films are obsessed with being dark, serious and brooding....luckily Guardians of The Galaxy shakes things up a bit. It's filled with bright colors (which really pop), it's very silly and very fun (and funny), and it's got a bunch of offbeat characters (once again, this film takes place in space and director James Gunn uses this to make what is essentially his version of Star Wars....a very wacky, silly, and fun Star Wars. Most of the characters are aliens so Gunn gets to go all out with their designs as well as bringing some of his past actors along with him).  Most surprisingly though is that this film knows when to tone down the silliness so it can whack us right in the heart with the emotions hammer. Guardians also has more than its fair share of real bad-ass moments (like the first two opening scenes, both of which are just the best).

Guardians of The Galaxy is easily the most unique and personal marvel film thus far, while still delivering what audiences want to see. Guardians of the Galaxy may feel a bit mixed or even bi-polar at times but I had an absolute blast watching this film. Finally, a film has the balls to break the rules and usual formula for super-hero films these days. It's refreshingly colorful, goofy and silly, but still manages to get the audience to connect with the characters and the story. Long story short: You should definitely see this film, as it's easily hands down the best film of summer 2014 PERIOD (and, as my header sates, my new personally favorite Marvel film)!

5 STARS

FUN FACT: James Gunn and Nicole Perlman wrote the script for Guardians.

BACKGROUND INFO: Let's play some quick catch-up: Infinity Stones. What are they? Well, put simply they are stones that each hold an unimaginable power (Mind, Power, Space, Time, Reality, and Soul).  He who has possession of all six stones is master of the universe. We've already been introduced to two stones (The Aether, which is the reality stone,  The Tesseract, which is the space stone. Some assume that the blue crystal in Loki's staff is the mind stone, but this has been unconfirmed), now with The Orb (The Power stone) we have our third stone. This is important as it will come into play in a big way later involving Thanos (if you want to know how, read The Infinity Gauntlet). 

I RELASE THE BEAST WITH THE PURGE: ANARCHY

I, like most people, was vastly disappointed with the first Purge film. It was a film that offered only a small glimpse at a fascinating and dark future world where poverty and crime is just about nonexistent thanks to one night a year when people are allowed to kill anyone they please. Instead of focusing on this fun premise, the film was more interested in crafting a cliched home-invasion thriller.  The Purge: Anarchy seems to offer what audiences wanted from the first Purge: chaos, violence, and complete anarchy (Don't you love it when a studio actually listens to audience feedback?). But does it deliver?

The Purge: Anarchy is a film unconcerned with social commentary (yes, there is a small sub-plot involving an anti-Purge group that is opposed to the rich and there is a theory here about why the Purge is actually being held that involves a corrupt government, but the film seems more interested in the violence then anything else. These subplots are just sweet toppings. ). It doesn't even have a plot per say. Basically, in this film we follow a small group of survivors in LA as they attempt to survive this year's Purge. This simple plot allows us to fully explore what goes on during Purge night as we wander the streets of the city, getting to watch many insane acts of violence along the way.  

The first Purge wanted to be a horror film, The Purge: Anarchy however just wants you to have a bloody, violent, crazy good time. The emphasis here is on violence and action, and we get a TON of it. The film is filled with blood, gunplay, and general savagery and brutality.  In fact, most of the running time is dedicated to intense violence. To it's credit, these scenes are actually pretty well done and even manage to be fun most of the time. It helps that we have Frank Grillo as our guide on this crazy night (more on him later).

Naturally,  The Purge: Anarchy is not without it's faults. The script is pretty weak, managing to be very silly but in an action B movie kind of way (yes, there are some cool, funny one-liners). The characters are, for the most part, poorly written. There's Liz (Kiele Sanchez) and Shane (Zach Gilford), the estranged couple on the verge of separation, and Cali (Zoe Soul) and Tanya (Carmen Ejogo), the mother-daughter duo. These characters you neither care about or are likely to remember. In fact, the most annoying character is Cali, WHO WILL NOT SHUT UP (Oh believe me, you will be rooting for her to die). The only character worth remembering here is Sergeant (Frank Grillo), who is for all intents and purposes Batman (or maybe The Punisher). He is loaded to the gills with an arsenal of weapons, and has set out on Purge night with a singular goal: VENGEANCE.  He is easily the most likable character here and his scenes (which is pretty much every scene) are fun and exciting. He really is believable as the ultimate bad-ass, and with him leading the way you feel like you are in good hands. 

I'm surprised to say this is my personal favorite movie of the summer thus far. For myself, this was exactly what the doctor ordered. I had an absolute blast with this movie.  It's tons of fun to sit in a crowded theater, yell at the screen, laugh your butt off, and cheer to your hearts content (don't worry, everyone in my theater was doing exactly what I was). This film made me pump my fists quite a bit. The action was thrilling, the violence was fantastic, and it felt like I was purging along with every other sadistic psycho in this film.  Oh yes, it is a ton of fun (in case I haven't made that clear by now).

The Purge: Anarchy is retarded in the best way possible. It's insane, crazy, and doesn't give a crap about plot, memorable characters, or a half-way decent script. It's actually kind of amazing and awesome. This is the closest we're going to get to a true grind house film in the modern day, so if you're into that kind of thing this is most definitely your film (I'd also qualify this as a midnight movie). While the trailer for this film looked iffy, I am happy to say that The Purge: Anarchy is the rare film that actually delivers the goods. It's easily a TON better than it's weak predecessor. If you're looking for violence, gunplay, action, and fun....if you just want to explore the seedy streets of LA during Purge night then you need look no further than The Purge: Anarchy. 

4 stars