Marvel's most ambitious movie to date. There were so many reasons why this should have sucked, but thankfully it was a breath of fresh air in what is becoming a cut and paste market for the current genre of superhero films. Almost no one knows these characters - there is no Thor, Cap America, or Iron Man - so the story had to be engaging at least until we got to know these hooligans. Things I liked -
Chris Pratt as StarLord - from CW network doofus to Marvel leading man? He is perfect for the smart ass Star Lord character. His best moment in the role comes during an interrogation as he slowly winds up his middle finger during a security scan. HA!
Dave Bautista as Drax the Destroyer - usually pro wrestlers are bad news in major motion pictures. But Drax is a very literal thinking, knife-wielding tank of a man/alien. His lines are hilarious throughout:
"Nothing Goes over my head. My reflexes are too fast and I would catch it."
"Why would I put my finger on his throat?"
"Don't ever call me a thesaurus."
Lee Pace as Ronan The Accuser - badass looking villain with a lust for power and chaos. He even talks shit to Thanos. Uh oh.
Zoe Saldana portrays a firecracker with green skin and kung fu skills, Vin Diesel and Bradley Cooper round it out with some nice voice work for a mutant Racoon and a walking tree a la Treebeard. There are some pretty great space battle scenes and for the most part, several nice action/battle set pieces. I'm pretty excited to see where this crew of misfits goes next. Oh yeah, and this guy:
A fun and original comic book movie. Perhaps not Marvel's best (that would go to The Winter Soldier in 2014) but certainly an enjoyable ride.
4 out of 5 Khans!!!
Next up, an indie horror gem I happened upon...
To my knowledge, this did not receive a wide theatrical release, if even one at all. It features a film crew making a documentary about an old lady's struggles with Alzheimer's as begins to deteriorate. What begins as a school film project on the process of a known disease slowly descends into a chaotic chronicle of something more sinister.
At least half of the film is presented in "found footage" mode. This is effective here, as each time the film crew is caught filming by Deborah, not only is she looking at them, but it seems she is watching YOU. Very effective. An old cult ritual comes into play and of course we get some flashes of "something dark" in the nearby woods and we ultimately end up in an abandoned mine way out in the country. No. Thank. You. A highly effective, indie horror thriller with some nice performances, particularly by the lead Jill Larson as Deb Logan.
Take a chance on it if you have Netflix Streaming. I'm glad that I did.
4 out of 5 Khans!!!
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