Review: Doctor Strange (2016) Spoiler Free

I spend so much time complaining about how long the UK has to wait for a lot of theatrical releases, so when it was announced that we were getting Doctor Strange early I made sure to take full advantage and see it in the first week! That said, I wasn’t sure how to feel about the movie before I went. There’s no escape from superhero movies lately, and I knew quite literally nothing about Doctor Strange. Turns out I just need to accept the fact that Marvel doesn’t make bad movies! I promise to keep this spoiler free.

Dr. Stephen Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) is a fantastically skilled neurosurgeon, albeit fairly arrogant and cocky. A horrific car accident leads to Stephen damaging the nerves in his hands, leaving his career and mind in tatters. He learns of a miracle case where a man paralysed from the waist down learned to walk again, which brings Stephen to leaving his love interest Christine (Rachel McAdams) behind and travelling to Kathmandu. Here he meets Mordo (Chiwetel Ejiofor) and the The Ancient One (Tilda Swinton), who teaches him the ways of mystic arts.

First of all I have to say, if you get the chance to see this in IMAX, go for it. It’s rare that I even bother with 3D but I heard on the grapevine that Doctor Strange had some intense visuals, and I was so glad I listened. It’s mind bendy as hell, guys. I want to use the words ‘visually stunning’ but that’s normally my get out clause for a bad movie. You know, ‘the plot wasn’t great, but it was at least visually stunning’. Whatever the next level up from stunning is, this is it. I honestly feel like it’s a game changer in that department. I spent the whole of the opening sequence with my jaw on the floor.

Doctor Strange himself is a difficult character to warm to, he’s often rude and disrespectful, like a cross between Tony Stark and Benedict’s own Sherlock Holmes. That’s his nature though, and you really do see his character develop throughout the movie. Tilda Swinton is another stand out star here, there’s a lot of depth to her character and she surprisingly has quite a few funny moments. I haven’t seen much of Chiwetel Ejiofor but he shines on screen too, and you feel the moral struggle that he goes through. Mads Mikkelsen is a fantastic bad guy, but really, what did you expect?

Another reason I was wary of Doctor Strange was that it didn’t seem to have the potential for the amount of humour that Marvel packs into it’s movies so well (take note, Suicide Squad). However, although it isn’t the funniest movie in the Marvel universe, there were plenty of laugh out loud moments that were unexpected. The ever stone faced Wong (Benedict Wong) brings a lot of laughs, but oddly enough it’s Doctor Strange’s Cloak of Levitation that steals the limelight here!

I found the plot quite complex (I have a simple mind, though) and it had a few twists that I didn’t see coming. I’m certainly looking forward to seeing it again to fully get my head around the spiritual-ness of it.

My only real criticism would be the speed that the movie moves through the section of Strange training in Kamar-Taj. It can be forgiven, as this is an origin story with a lot of content to go through, but it looked so much fun. You still felt the passage of time through the changing outfits (which were all stunning), but I’d have loved more time during that part.

As always, stay till the very end of the credits when you see this. It pains me to see so many people getting up and leaving as soon as the credits roll, and then another wave leave after the mid credits scene. You’ve sat there for 2 hours guys, 5 more minutes won’t kill you! 

I am VERY excited about the mid credits scene, my mind wanted to explode at the possibilities of where Doctor Strange fits in with the other Marvel characters. Very excited indeed!

My 5 Favourite Chris Hemsworth Roles

G’day, folks! Did you know today is Chris Hemsworth's birthday? Well, today is Chris Hemsworth’s birthday! In true Flick Chicks fashion, I thought I’d celebrate by sharing my 5 favourite roles of his. For such a famous face, it’s surprising how few movies Chris has actually been in, but there’s still far too many I haven’t seen yet. Sigh, if I weren’t at work right now I could be having a Hemsworth-related movie marathon at home! 

Anyway, let’s kick this list off! I’ve even managed (with difficulty) to rank my list for a change:

#5 Stone Crandall, Vacation (2015)

So, only a small role this time, but 2015’s remake/sequel of Vacation was so packed with cameos this felt like a much larger role. And sure, his only real job here was to take his shirt off and pose in those far too tight grey boxers, but I’m a warm-blooded female dangit, I enjoyed it! 

#4 George Kirk, Star Trek (2009)

Again, a small role in the newly rebooted Star Trek movie, but arguably a very important one. I mean, there’s no James Kirk without George Kirk, right?! What excites me the most though is that Chris Hemsworth has been confirmed for the next sequel. I know next to nothing about Star Trek so can’t speculate much, but I’m looking forward to it!

#3 James Hunt, Rush (2013)

Any actor who can leave me raving about a Biographical Motorsport movie should be handed with every award going. I can’t even remember why I let myself be dragged to the cinema for this one, but the chemistry between Chris Hemsworth and Daniel Bruhl was just phenomenal, the rivalry felt so real.

#2 Kevin, Ghostbusters (2016)

Love it or hate it, you can’t deny that Kevin was downright hilarious in the Ghostbusters remake. From answering the phone terribly, posing with musical instruments, to the whole interview scene where he asks if he can bring in ‘Mike Hat’...which is his dog...who lives with his aunt. I’m genuinely laughing right now, that joke will never get old.

#1 Thor, The Marvel Universe

Come on, there was never any real question about the number 1 spot, was there? Chris Hemsworth was born to play Thor! I haven’t picked up a Marvel comic in a couple of years now, but Thor was my favourite character, so I had high hopes when the first movie was announced. Needless to say I was very happy! It’s not just that he has the look, either. It’s in his mannerisms, and the ease that he pulls off that old-timey way of speaking. He can be this powerful God among men one minute, and a loveable oaf the next. I’m really looking forward to Ragnarok next year!

What about you guys? Are there any roles you'd have included, or movies Chris Hemsworth was in that you can recommend for me? I may just have that movie marathon this evening, instead!

Review: Deadpool (2016)

Ever since his character was ruined in X-Men Origins: Wolverine, I’ve been waiting for Deadpool to be done right, in his own movie. The Deadpool comics were the first ones I truly fell in love with. Turns out, Ryan Reynolds has been waiting longer than me, 11 years in total, I think. With that in mind, and after one of the most interesting, amusing and highly successful movie marketing campaigns of all time, I was terrified walking into the IMAX screen that my expectations were too high.  

I have been a little bit AWOL on the blog of late due to work commitments. 14hr working days and restless nights do not a blogger make.  However, I what I didn't realise that I had left Allie's Deadpool post high and dry, I could have sworn I had put my rambling thoughts in but apparently not! Sorry mate!

Deadpool may have super-human powers, but he’s no superhero. Before his change, he was simply Wade Wilson, a shady character with questionable friends and companions. When he discovers he has cancer, and multiple forms, an offer to not only cure his illnesses but make him stronger than before becomes an offer he can’t refuse. It also starts a life-long grudge against a guy named Francis (Ed Skrein).

Straight from the outset, Deadpool was hilarious. The opening credits are just as funny, if not funnier than the closing credits of 22 Jump Street. Then we get thrown straight into the action shown in the leaked footage (which I think Ryan Reynolds himself has virtually confessed to) and the trailers, only much, much more violent.  I think I may have actually laughed from beginning to end of this film, opening and closing credits included!

When you look at the movie as a whole, it’s really small, being almost a 50/50 split between current events and flashbacks. Deadpool could have easily been an hour and a half of pure comedy and violence, but there’s an origin story here with heart, that doesn’t feel like it’s been put there for the sake of it. It’s actually really clever, and comic book fans will love the pizza delivery scene. You’ll know it when you see it!  I don't get it :( you'll have to update me when I see you next!

The jokes come quick and fast, and they’ll please fans worldwide. There were some American references I didn’t understand, but poor David Beckham got poked fun at and there’s a brilliant Fawlty Towers joke in there too! it really is funny from start to finish, with a mix of crude, rude and downright offensive jokes, to my personal favourite moments, when Deadpool breaks the fourth wall. He pauses his own movie to fill us in on what he’s thinking, and forward winds bits we’ve already seen, which leads to a very gross moment when he forward winds too far. You’ll never look at a pair of Crocs the same way again. haha!

Ryan Reynolds was as awesome as hoped he would be, dark, dry humour and leaving no subject off limits.  I was genuinely terrified that they would hold back and avoid the really dark humour but they kept on pushing the boundaries.  They have no issue with breaking the fourth wall, taking aim at other Marvel/DC characters or even mentioning their real names in jest.  The plot wasn't the greatest but the comedy, narration and violence made the movie what it was, and I wouldn't have it any other way.

Let’s not forget Stan Lee’s amazing cameo. We were told to expect it in the opening credits, and I was consiously waiting for it for ages, and boy was it worth the wait! What a guy! I also loved the two X-Men characters involved, Colossus (Stefan Kapicic) and Negasonic Teenage Warhead (best name ever!!) (Brianna Hildebrand). They really added to the story and I hope we get to see them again!

All in all, this was everything I wanted Deadpool to be and more. Consider me a very happy fan. oh, and if you haven’t seen it yet, make sure you wait till the end of the credits! 

This is the new number 2 in my superhero list (if you can consider it a superhero movie) and number 1 in my 'anti-hero' list.

Looking Forward to Seeing in the Cinema this Month...February 2016

It doesn't happen very often, but this month Jenna and I are teaming up. There is literally only one movie we're dead excited for. Deadpool!  I could literally watch nothing else in the month of February and still be happy!

11 years in the making now, and we're just days away from the cinematic release. It's been over a year now since the early footage was 'leaked' and we still know very little about the plot. Well, this is Deadpool after all! The USA has it R-Rated, and at the time of writing this, we're still waiting for a UK rating. Very few movies get rated 18 here now, but I've still got my fingers crossed.  I was really hoping for an 18 but in an interview with Ryan Reynolds he confirmed it was 15, he probably knows more than we do!

Ryan Reynolds gets a lot of stick, not all undeserved I accept, but you can't argue with the fact that he was born for this role. No one else can don that iconic red suit and deliver those witty remarks like he can.  As well as take the piss out of his own poor movie choices ;-)

I think there is a good chance I am going to want to see this more than once but with it being NSFD I have limited opportunity, I may force Allie to come with me as well as go with her other half!!

As a total Marketing nerd (hey, it's literally my job) I've loved following the numerous posters for this. There are going to be some very confused girlfriends this month when they watch Deadpool, finally understanding why their dates were so happy to see this romantic comedy:

I thought the 'Skull, Poop, L' emoji poster was my favourite of them all when that went viral.

But then they followed up with this one!

Deadpool Marketing Team, you are my heroes. Where can I send in my CV?  It has to be the best marketing of any film in history, is there not a Oscar category for this?!

Here in the UK, we can get a load of Deadpool on 10th February, 2016.

Saturday Catch Up, Vikings, Marvel's Daredevil & Links!

Goodness me, is it really the weekend already?! Where has the week gone?! If you’ll allow me to do my usual and treat this blog like my personal diary (boring you with my real life nonsense) I have a tale to tell.

Have I mentioned my two cats on this blog yet? They’re brothers by blood, and they’re gorgeous. Their names are Sherlock and Loki. We have some woods and a big park at the back of my house so these guys absolutely love it, and bring me back all sorts of...gifts. Shudder. At the start of August, Loki went missing, and despite neighbours telling me they see him all the time (he’s a fuss monster) just 2 days later no one had seen him at all. I stayed hopeful but by week 4 1 had well and truly given up.

That’s when I got a call exactly a week ago from a veterinary centre in Worcester (30 miles away) saying he had been handed in by a local family! Unfortunately, he was nothing but skin and bones, and, having got one of his front legs trapped in his collar, he had a massive gaping wound so deep you could see all his insides. Wednesday night, after reconstructive surgery, he was able to come back home, and after two weeks of cage rest everyone seems hopeful he will be okay. He’s already put on 500g of weight, the little scamp.

Anyway, back to something blog related! I’m finally all caught up with Vikings, and wow. That Season finale! I won’t spoil it for anyone, but I had a moment where I turned to my fiance and said ‘wouldn’t it be amazing if XYZ happened right now?’. His response was that would be amazing, but there was no chance in hell it would happen. And it did! Word for word, blow by blow, it happened. Hit me up if you’ve seen the finale so I can gush about it.

We’re also nearing the end of Marvel’s Daredevil, which has been equally amazing. I’m one of the rare few who didn’t mind the 2003 movie, but I was reluctant to watch Netflix’s show. I just feel an exhaustion with superheroes right now, does anyone else feel that way? If I caught up with all of them I’d have to quit my real job! Daredevil is well worth it though to be honest, and the casting in particular has been perfect. I can’t wait to see how the last 2 episodes pan out.

Finally, here’s what I’ve been reading on the blogosphere this week:

Caragale has made me want to watch The Visit more than after after her Duet review

Those Assholes Watching Movies have been reporting all week from the Toronto International Film Festival

Alex at And So it Begins lists his Top 10 Movies he’s seen the most

Brittani at Rambling Film has predicted the 2015 Emmy Winners 

Saturday Catch Up & Links

As long as I don’t look out the window (it’s unusually sunny) the signs of Autumn are all around. My sunflowers have refused to stop growing, I only got one of them to flower this year but it was a much better attempt than last year. The local shops are full of cardigans, and I’ve bought 2 already. Also, I came down with a big stinky cold this week and I’m still feeling sorry for myself.

Thanks to my sick-day, I finally caught up with New Girl. I was at least 30 episodes behind, which is really unlike me, but at least I’m prepared now for the Season 5 premiere later this month. Is it this month? With a Jess shaped hole in my viewing schedule, I’ve watched more Teen Wolf than usual. I’ve decided I definitely enjoy Teen Wolf now, but it’s more of a guilty pleasure than anything else, and I feel like I’m too old to be watching it really. It has the coolest title sequence though!

My fiance and I have also started watching Netflix’s Daredevil at long last, and we’re probably the last people on the planet to be watching it. It’s like Breaking Bad all over again. I wasn’t expecting to enjoy it as much as I am actually, and the fighting scenes are nothing short of legendary.

Earlier in the week I stumbled across a post (I think on Buzzfeed) of movie-themed cakes. They were amazing! I have a newfound appreciation of cake since starting to plan my wedding, and although my budget is nowhere near big enough to allow a cake as epic as some of these masterpieces are, they’re still pretty to look at. I might just dedicate a whole blog post to my findings soon!

On the subject of blog posts, here are some of my favourites this week:

Movierob and Darren of Movie Reviews 101 are hosting an October Steven King-a-thon, and are still open for reviews. Check it out, I’ve chosen Stand By Me.


Dell at Dell on Movies has been nominated for another Liebster Award, congratulations dude!


Caz at Let’s Go To The Movies has reviewed Gotham Season 1. I never got around to watching Gotham but I might try and catch up.

Drew’s Movie Reviews now includes Footloose, a classic that Jenna and I only got round to watching for the first time last year.

Review: Ant-Man (2015)

Boom! Another summer blockbuster released and watched! I’m on fire this year, well on track to get my Showcase Blockbuster card fully stamped, and the free popcorn, drink and tickets will be mine! I had a full college-gang meet up for Ant-Man, meaning we took up almost a whole row at the back of the cinema. Thankfully we got in early enough so got our seats before the screen filled up!  Strangely enough, me and my Dad went on the same night but only took up 2 sad seat...those 2 sad seats were in the IMAX though....

Ant-Man is Marvel’s latest offering, and perhaps a bigger risk than Guardians of the Galaxy was last year. After watching The Avengers save the world and the Guardians of the Galaxy save...the galaxy(?!), how good could a superhero flick about a man the size of an ant be?! That's what have been wondering for the last few months. Scott Lang (Paul Rudd) is a recently released criminal trying to stay clean for the sake of his daughter. After being set up by Hank Pym (Michael Douglas) to steal the Ant-Man costume, Scott embarks on a new mission to keep the Yellowjacket developed by Darren Cross (Corey Stoll) safe from the wrong hands.  I, however, had every faith that this would be a hit, I knew it was a risk for Marvel but as with Guardians, the bigger the risk the bigger the reward!

Ant-Man was like a breath of fresh air to the superhero phenomenon. As buff as Scott was, he wasn’t there to beat up an army of bad guys to save the damsel in distress. He was a criminal simply trying to do the right thing for his family. The moral boundaries were iffy at best, and the main ‘bad guy’ was an ordinary, albeit extremely intelligent, guy, rather than an alien/monster/robot hellbent on destroying mankind.  I loved that for most of the movie Scott was the anti-hero, had no real interest in actually saving the world more interested in his own gains from being Ant-Man, getting his family to believe in him and visitation rights to his daughter, Cassie.

Some will most likely disagree with me, but I thought the first half an hour or so was very slow. There was enough comedy and smart one-liners to keep it interesting, and we got a lot of character development in that time which was necessary, but compared with the last half an hour, it paled in comparison. Luis (Michael Pena) was my absolute favourite character in that first part though, the way he explained his story was just hilarious and just as funny the second time he did it. I want to see more of this guy, he’s amazing!  Wasn't he amazing, he literally had me in stitches, everything he said set me into fits of giggles - I think I missed a chunk of the movie laughing long after his scene had finished!

The action scenes were so cleverly shot while Scott was in tiny Ant-Man form, but would have been nothing if it weren’t for the moments in between where we got to see what that action really looked like. We all must have looked like nutters laughing out loud at a little Thomas the Tank toy flop onto its side (this was by far my favourite bit of the trailer but was upstaged in the actual movie by the end of that scene!). I also loved the fact that Scott had to rely on his little army of ants to help him in his heist, they were fully part of his team.  I liked this a little bit less, I was itching all the way through the film, every time a hair touched my arm I thought there was an army of ants on me... *judders* - now I'm itching again just thinking about it!!  One thing I did really love was how reminiscent it was of Honey I shrunk the kid, which was one of my favourite films growing up (and the best part of Disney Hollywood Studios!!), Scott was calling his sidekick Antony but in my head he was Anty!

You know what! It's funny you mentioned Honey I Shrunk the Kids! I read earlier that Ant-Man has been in the making for about 20 years now, and it's original planned release was scrapped because Honey I Shrunk the Kids had just come out and everyone thought the two were too similar.

I knew I was going to enjoy this but I didn't realise quite how much.  I usually find the origin superhero films a little bit boring at the beginning but Paul Rudd's wit kept the whole thing ticking along (and also saved a few of those soppy moments that make you cringe a little bit...).  The action was great and the shifts between being Ant sized and human sized made every fight scene different from anything else in the Marvel universe so far. 

Question:  Did anyone else not realise Hayley Atwell was actually playing Peggy Carter until the link with the Avengers later on in the movie?! Or am I just a complete dunce!!  I couldn't understand why they had aged her up until I realised who she was, character-wise! doh!

Are we getting an Ant-Man 2? I really hope so! That mid-credits scene got me excited although I was expecting it to happen. At the very least I guess we’ll see Scott return for the next Avengers movie! Oh, and did anyone else get a little scared they’d missed Stan Lee? I was so relieved in the end!  I elbowed my Dad so hard in the ribs when I finally saw him he yelped in pain!! oops!

Loved loved loved it, hope there is an Ant-Man 2 but in the meantime hopefully we'll see Scott Lang elsewhere in the MCU.

Review: Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015)

How long have we been waiting for this movie? I think the world and his wife went out to the cinema this weekend to see the long awaiting sequel to 2012's Avengers Assemble (The Avengers to the US residents among us) - the cinema was packed out and we went to see the very late 2D version in the hopes that it would be a bit quieter.  No such luck!

Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr) tries to protect the Earth from alien invasions using the power of the Sceptre to create Artificial Intelligence in his robot army.  Unfortunately, things don't quite go to plan and its down to Iron Man, Captain America (Chris Evans), The Hulk (Mark Ruffalo), Thor (Chris Hemsworth),  Black Widow (Scarlet Johansson) and Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner) along with newbies Quicksilver (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) and Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen) to save the world....again.

Do you think there will ever be a superhero film in which the world is perfectly fine on its own?

So this was not what I expected, I expected a replica of the first Avengers but with a different storyline, I thought it would be just as playful and witty and off the cuff as the first, but it wasn't.  Initally, I thought it was a bad thing, I didn't understand why they weren't sticking to the tried and testing formula that worked so well for its predecessor and the likes of Guardians of the Galaxy.  Instead it took a tone more like the Captain America sequel, much more dark and in some ways realistic.  It has to be considered that going through these battles and wars with various monsters and bad guys would leave some psychological scarring, and this touches on that, particularly with Tony Stark (RDJ) and his fears for the Earth. 

We definitely got into their heads a little more than last time. One thing I really enjoyed was the amount of screen time Hawkeye and Black Widow got, they're easily forgotten and so it was a breath of fresh air to see them more.

It may not have been what I expected but that doesn't mean I didn't like it.  There were a few niggles that bothered me, the Russian twins god awful accents and the lack of Thor's biceps but nothing that ruined the film for me.  In fact, the inclusion of a bit of romance, a well kept secret and a developing bromance kept my interest peaked for the majority of the film, but what kept me well and truly gripped was Ultron.  James Spader's angry, calm, uber-intelligent robot just stole the show at every opportunity, took me the whole film to place the voice and I still found out from the credits but he was perfect.  He was the perfect villain.

As much as I enjoyed Age of Ultron, I too have my niggles about it. The romance was a little un-necessary I thought, and kind of came out of no where! The spoilerific (yes, I made that word up) ending which I won't go into detail fell flat, and I found myself glad it wasn't what the film had been hinting at from the very start!

James Spader as Ultron was brilliant! I wasn't bothered about Ultron in the slightest before the film, and I couldn't remove the image of The Office's Robert California until Ultron's reveal, and then I realised just how great the casting was. Still not a better villain than Loki I'm afraid!

There was nothing I didn't like about it, I may have preferred a few more comedy one-liners in there but I think that would have taken away from the overall goal of the film.  There was no messing about either, the opening sequence made way for a fast paced, non-stop, action packed superhero fest.

It was definitely darker, but the running joke about Captain America disapproving of swears never got old, and the scene with everyone gathered around Thor's hammer was hilarious! I'm trying my very hardest here to not make jokes about being able to raise Thor's hammer...

Great cast as always and a few surprise cameos (one that I hoped for didn't appear *sob*) made this just as good as the original but for different reasons. 

Seeing this in 3D IMAX made this an awesome experience for me, but I think the original is just that little bit better.

OH, and can I just say? Worst mid-credits scene ever. Tell us something we didn't know, Marvel!

Looking Forward to Seeing at the Cinema: April 2015

Wow, another month flew by and at the time of writing this, I still haven’t been able to watch my choice from last month! In fact, I think I might have cheated and picked 2 (The Voices & SpongeBob) and I haven’t seen either. Rats. Although, here in the UK my beloved Orange Wednesdays are re-starting in a few days under a new guise, so I’ll be able to afford the cinema again. Huzzah! - Waaaaaaahh I was gonna pick this, serves me right for disappearing for 2 weeks!! doh! You snooze you lose!

Do I even need to explain my choice this month? It can be nothing other than Avengers: Age of Ultron. I’m so excited for this, I’m going to have to book my tickets soon because I really want to see this at an IMAX screen. It’s the only way to watch it! I’ve been really good as well at keeping as much as I can a surprise, I saw the teaser trailer when it came out but I’ve watched nothing else since. Thor, it’s been too long since I last saw you…

Avengers: Age of Ultron is released in UK cinemas on April 23rd 2015.

Well seen as Allie STOLE me choice (ok didn't steal at all, I just didn't make the effort to create this post before she did ha!) I have had to have a re-think - even though all I'm really looking forward to is Age of Ultron!

So I had a look through the listings for April and this popped up:

I shouldn't be looking forward to it but I am, I have loved all the Fast and Furious films (except Tokyo Drift) and I don't care.  I find them entertaining, funny and gripping and that's all I ask for in a movie most of the time.

Plus I have to say I am intrigued to identify if you can tell where they have used Paul Walker's brother instead of him.  I think it might end up being a bit emotional to watch as I nearly burst out crying the first time I saw the trailer, speaking of which, here it is...

I figured you'd pick this anyway seeing as you know, it's 'so superior' to Need for Speed! ;)

  

Fast and the Furious 7 is released in UK cinemas on April 3rd 2015.

Review: Thor: The Dark World (2013)

I had to check with Allie because I couldn't believe we hadn't reviewed Thor 2 when we both thought it was great.  So here it is:

Thor: The Dark World follows on from the events of Thor and Avengers Assemble, with Jane Foster on Earth and Thor back in Asgard preparing to take over the throne from his father.  However, on yet another one woman mission, Jane gets 'infected' by the one thing that can destroy the nine realms and has to be taken to Asgard to be saved and of course help to save the world and the nine realms. I hate it when that happens...one minute I'm shoe shopping, and the next, a planet of aliens is trying to destroy my home world. Such a nuisance!

Is it just me, or was there no real need for Natalie Portman's Jane in this movie?  Don't get me wrong as a romance fan, I like the idea that you get to see the development of her relationship with Thor, however I feel like the story had to be forced to include her character, when not really necessary.  This does not take anything away from the movie, which for me was great. 

That never occured to me actually but you have a point. On the whole romance thing I would have loved a Thor-Jane-Sif love triangle! 

I still love Chris Hemsworth as I did in the first film (mostly for his biceps) and his response to being on Earth (cracking scene with a coat rack - although I have read good points about this, in that the coat rack surely should have been ripped off the wall by the weight of the hammer) always makes me laugh.

As a sequel, I was all ready to be disappointed (as I usually am with sequels) and I wasn't even close and there is only one reason for this..... Loki!! Without saying a word, he stole every scene he was in with his witty one liners, genius facial expressions and brilliant timing he just made this film for me.  One word ... TA-DA!!! I think that's two. I put a dash in it to make it one ;-)

Somehow I just knew that the sequel would be better than the first. I really loved the first too - it's the first film I saw at the cinema twice in years. In The Dark World, it just feels like more is at risk, and the world is in greater danger than before, which makes all the action that little bit better.

The first half of the film was a little bit slow and I was a bit worried for a minute but as soon as Loki made his appearance and they were on their brotherly mission, all became well again. I still love Darcy played by Kat Dennings and her sarcasm and general normalcy in a film made up of Gods, elves and alternate realms.  

Tom Hiddleston was just born to play Loki, I couldn't image anyone who would be able to equal him in the role, let alone do it better. His chemistry with Chris Hemsworth is fantastic, and he just steals every scene he's in. In fact, Loki is so amazing that I named one of my cats after him. It doesn't get much better than that, folks.

A sequel that can live up to it's predecessor, should be watched for that reason alone.  This was a 7 but Loki makes it a solid 9!

Review: Guardians of the Galaxy (2014)

UPDATED:

You'll know by now that although I have a few Marvel graphic novels knocking around, I'm more of a DC girl. Understandably then, when I first saw the trailer for Guardians of the Galaxy, I had no idea what was going on. I watched this film the other night mainly because I felt I had to; the trailer didn't excite me at all to be honest.  This is weird, because I don't have any graphic novels lying around and the trailer for this had me jumping up and down in my seat, so when I realised it came out while I was in the US on holiday, I had to find the nearest cinema (and lucky for me it was an IMAX!) - Happy Jenna!

So, if you've been living under a rock and don't already know what's going on here, Guardians of the Galaxy is about an odd bunch of outlaws who eventually form a team who try to save the world.

The team is formed of leading man Peter Quill/Star Lord (Chris Pratt), Gamora (Zoe Saldana), Drax (Dave Bautista), Rocket the racoon (voiced by Bradley Cooper) and loveable tree, Groot (voiced by Vin Diesel).

I want to just say right now before I continue that I really did enjoy this film, so anything that I whinge about is purely me being picky. I find it much easier to pick out flaws in films I enjoyed for some odd reason. 

The film opens to your usual comic-book scene, a heart-breaking family tragedy. Seriously Marvel, can you stop it? Five minutes into this film and I'm crying, I was sold an action packed space film with a bucket load of comedy! A few tissues later though and we're into the story that ties our 5 heroes together.  Ditto, I was in tears, as you all know I am a sucker for a sob story so it didn't take much!!

I loved the little introduction scenes, but Rocket and Groot just owned every scene they were in. Sorry Star Lord, but you really weren't the leading man here. Where did Groot come from though? We got a backstory for everyone but him. I guess we wouldn't have understood it anyway, as all Groot says is 'I am Groot!'. Which provides many laughs throughout the film actually.

My favourite was by far Rocket, his sarcastic humour and general presence stole every scene, maybe a first for Bradley Cooper?!  Still no entirely sure why they used a high profile (probably expensive) actor to voice Groot when he had a total of 2 lines?!  Any ideas?  And Peter Quill, Chris Pratt where have you been hiding all my life (I think it was under a layer of pudginess) this man is beautiful and funny - swoon!!!

We also get introduced to our film's main bad guy, King Thranduil Ronan the Accuser, who wants to destroy the galaxy. I'm not too sure why, to be completely honest, but let's face it, he needs to be stopped.  I hadn't even noticed this until you mentioned it, but there is no real back story as to why this guy wants to destroy the galaxy and himself, but hey ho, every superhero film needs a bad guy!

This film was simply beautiful to watch in terms of visuals, it really was. The action scenes in particular were amazing and I wish I had seen them in IMAX. The humour just never stopped either and I think it'll still be just as funny when re-watched, especially that prosthetic leg moment! Considering I had no expectations whatsoever, I was really pleased in the end. Only one moment made me groan, which was the *spoiler* 'I hope he doesn't realise I switched the real artefact with this completely identical fake one I somehow obtained!' part. But only that moment.  Actually, I had a bone to pick with the ending as well: Why did this artefact that can destroy entire galaxies not kill Star Lord, why is he so powerful?! Thoughts?

I found this film to be an experience, for a start it was a live action movie that I actually enjoyed in 3D (this is extremely rare with me and I've discussed 2 in the last week!) but also because I didn't go in with any expectations.  With the likes of Superman etc as I know the stories and the backgrounds, I expect them to be good.  I knew nothing about GOTG, therefore I had nothing to base an opinion on, I think because of that I enjoyed it so much more!  The 3D didn't make any of the action scenes difficult to watch (which is my usual peeve) and it made some of the flying scenes look incredible, especially in IMAX. 

The comedy was the best part by far, Rocket and Groot were hilarious but they also skipped out of any cheesy or awkward moments by throwing a joke in.  This is so different from the other comic book movies I've seen where they love their cheesy, love in moments.  In fact, the only real serious moment I could think of (Peter and his gift) finished with a comedy twist.

The characters all seemed to get the right amount of airtime and enough back story to make you care about what happens to them, which is impressive with five lead characters (although one is a tree!).  I think I heard there will be a sequel, I hope there is but now I will have expectations so they will have to step it up a notch!

I don't know how to rate Guardians of the Galaxy. I'm under strict instruction not to give out half-points, in fact I had to argue out of having a 5 star rating system, but I'm sat between an 8 and a 9. It was better than 8 for sure, but I've seen better films that I gave a 9. Ugh...I'm going to stick with an 8, and maybe change my mind!  Sorry but I just think 1-10 is enough, half points just make it that much more complicated! And if you keep moaning we will go back to 5! ha!

This would have been a 10 except for my one annoying gripe (see above, spoiler in grey!) which knocked it down to a 9!