“Fox On The Run” – “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2” Movie Review

The first Guardians of the Galaxy was a surprise that no one saw coming. A franchise built upon the shoulders of a talking raccoon, a giant tree alien, and other outer space ragamuffins wasn’t exactly the typical Marvel package at the time. But in the summer of 2014, the world was introduced to this crew, and audiences grew to love them, making the obvious sequel one of the most anticipated of Marvel’s quite action-packed release schedule. So does Vol. 2 of Star-Lord and company’s adventures hold up to Vol. 1? Well, if we’re talking mix tapes, this definitely seems like the kind made by a mature college student than a high schooler.

Guardians of Controversy: Marvel Sequel’s Questionable Casting

Guardians of the Galaxy 2 hasn’t even started filming yet, so what’s the deal? Casting.

After the first film’s Gamora Problem, the internet was quick to cry “feminist foul!” at a casting call released earlier this week. Filming does not start until February, but apparently “casting begins A.S.A.P. for early selection of specific types.” In this case, a variety of masculine biker characters, and then a smaller selection of pretty people. 

All-New, All-Different, All Out Good Reads

*Major Spoiler Alert!*

So it’s October…You all know what that means! Candy, socially acceptable excuses to dress up as your favorite characters, and All New All Different Marvel begins!

This week, I had the opportunity to pick up three first issues of some promising upcoming arcs:

“Invincible Iron Man #1”, “Avengers #0”, and “Guardians of the Galaxy #1”

“Invincible Iron Man #1”, 2015 Cover, “Avengers #0”, 2015 Cover, “Guardians of the Galaxy #1”, 2015 Cover

Now, while a lot of people are a little wary of this huge new reboot/launch by Marvel, after reading these three issues, I’m fairly impressed. Lets take a look at what Marvel is planning to deliver in the next few months.

Dalin’s Best and Worst Films of 2014

Yes, 2015 is here. And of course, that means it is time to recap that ever so recent past, specifically in the world of movies. From adventures in space, to awkward musicals, this year was full of high “highs” and the lowest of “lows.” But what came out on top, for this picky film critic? Lets take a look, shall we? Let’s, in Rage Quit Review fashion, start with the worst.

2014: A Little Closer to Equality

Let’s face it, everyone knows the film industry has a long way to go when it comes to treating women as equals.  It remains a fact that for roughly every fifteen male directors there is just one female director, only 30.8% of speaking roles go to women, and the majority of major motions pictures seem to be marketed to men.  Not only that, but women seldom get the roles that their male counterparts are offered, and are generally expected to wear revealing clothing or appear partially naked with far greater frequency than male actors (28.8% of the time compared to 7% for men).  Still, despite this, 2014 was a pretty good year to be a woman in the movie industry, or just a woman who wants to watch movies.

Gamora and Guardians of the Galaxy

Within these past few years, a plethora of superhero movies have been bursting out of Hollywood. Marvel especially has been taking theaters by storm with multiple movies being released for Iron Man, Thor, and Captain America as well as for the whole Avengers team. But few predicted the enormous success of Marvel’s latest release, Guardians of the Galaxy. I admit that I was skeptical when I first saw a preview for GotG. A talking raccoon? Is that an ent? And they’re in space? But after hearing my friends rant and rave, I finally went to see the movie myself. I was pleasantly surprised. The movie had an interesting plot, good pacing, witty lines, and….about two female characters. Which I suppose is as much or more than we can say for most of the other superhero movies lately.

Marvel launches “The Guardians of the Galaxy” trailer

Marvel’s cinematic universe has released a preview of it’s latest movie going creation to the masses, this time with the help of Jimmy Kimmel’s Youtube page. That’s right, the trailer that Marvel/Movie fans have been waiting for anxiously has arrived, and this time it’s got a raccoon. Meet Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy, or what many have so far dubbed as one of riskiest comic book adaptation decisions ever.

Personally, I’ve never been a huge reader of Guardians. Sure, it’s got a really fun and wacky premise by most Marvel standards, and the characters are entertaining, yet it’s never been on my top 10 list or anything. BUT, when it comes to the trailer, hot damn does this movie look fabulous.

There are some weak choices in terms the editing of the trailer itself, but if the film is as sarcastic and adventurous as the footage seems, I’m down for a ride on the Milano! Guardians of the Galaxy lands in your local movie theater August 1st, 2014.