Guardians of the Galaxy in Theaters Now

I got to see Guardians of the Galaxy (PG-13, 2 hours) the second day it was out, but I was on vacation and away from computers and just haven't gotten around to reviewing it until now. That means this will be a short one because my first impressions are mostly lost.

Personally, I prefer my heroes a little more serious. But I had quite a few good laughs and enjoyed the cheesy lightheartedness of this film. I especially loved Bradley Cooper's Rocket Raccoon. He was by far my favorite character, and I love seeing the variety of Bradley Cooper's work. The plot was so-so, but I wasn't expecting a lot. I am interested in seeing these characters incorporated into the rest of the Marvel movie universe. I think the play of comedy against serious in the right doses could be really entertaining, although some of the other Marvel heroes are already balancing serious and comedic well enough.

For sure, this style of superhero movie is surprising and unique, and that's what it really has going for it in the sea of superhero movies we are now inundated with (not that it's a disagreeable inundation...yet). So far, Marvel keeps getting it right, but I hope their style and stories continue to evolve. The next Guardians tale won't have novelty going for it anymore. Three stars.

Captain America: The Winter Soldier in Theaters Now

I wanted to see Captain America: The Winter Soldier (PG-13, 136 minutes) immediately when it came out, but life with children being what it is, I had to put it off for a bit. I might not have gotten to see it even as soon as I did if not for the fact that I was told I couldn't continue to watch one of my favorite TV shows (Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D) if I didn't watch the movie first; the show ties into the movie so well. So, my husband and I made the time to see it. It's probably too late now to warn you, but if you are a fan of the Marvel movies and the show, you should have watched the movie the first weekend it came out (April 4), before the April 8 episode of S.H.I.E.L.D. Fortunately, I watch the show online on regular hulu and had to wait a week anyway, so it wasn't a problem to wait a few more days, see the movie, and then watch the TV episode. Awesome tie-in episode. (SPOILER alert!) This latest Marvel movie has really changed the whole show: characters, settings, relationships. What has thus far been a pretty stable, no-rocking-the-boat, episodic kind of show has been flipped on its head in a fairly dramatic way. Some of the trappings will still be there, but there's going to be major fallout for some time to come, I think. It's pretty cool to see a movie and a show work together like that.

As for the movie itself, I liked it. I'd been warned it was a bit dark for Captain America, but being a big fan of Batman Begins and the Dark Knight movies, I wasn't bothered by that. (Possible minor SPOILERS ahead.) The short of the plot is that Steve Rogers (Captain America) and Natasha Romanoff (Black Widow) find themselves in the suddenly-not-so-friendly cross hairs of the very agency they work for, and they have to go on the run while also putting together a plan to fight back. Meanwhile, in the minor subplot that gives the movie its name, Rogers's old friend from his pre-Captain days, Bucky (Sebastian Stan), is alive and has it in for Captain America. I call it a subplot because that's not what the movie is about, but it's a nice subplot that gives even more depth to our hero as he continues to mourn the loss of his past and tries to find meaning and purpose in the future he's found himself in. (End Spoilers.)

Chris Evans continues to be great as Captain America in this sequel which also ties in nicely to his first solo movie. He's super serious, but he also has a comic side. Let me just say this: elevator scene! He continues to be a sensitive guy, but this movie is darker thematically and emotionally because he doesn't know whom to trust. He cares about people, but he doesn't know who deserves his care anymore.

Scarlett Johansson is a fabulous Black Widow. (Just to be clear, though, I only know her character from the movies. I'm not familiar with the comic book world.) Everyone always says that Hollywood can't seem to get its female superheroes right and that a movie with one as its titular character would not go off well. However, I think they got it right this time, or at least Johansson got it right. She pulls off a character who has multiple layers, is sympathetic but can kick butt, and who has the prerequisite looks but doesn't need them to make her character. If my memory is correct, after she starts off the movie in a black combat suit (which inspired thoughts of whom I could be for next Halloween--after all, my name is Natasha, and I already have red hair!), she spends the rest of the movie in normal, modest civilian clothes and ends up doing a fight scene in a matronly dress suit. I think she could carry her own movie.

Samuel L. Jackson is, as usual, entertaining as Nick Fury, and he gets his own scenes, for once! And Anthony Mackie, as the Falcon, is a great addition to Black Widow and Captain America's team. He's funny but sincere and provides a nice counterbalance to Rogers's darker side in this movie.

Altogether, The Winter Soldier is a nice mix of funny and serious, of fight scenes and relationship dynamics (though practically no romance!). I enjoyed it, but at the same time, I don't need to see it again. Though there are a few memorable parts, I didn't find it so memorable as a whole, and it didn't grab me emotionally. But I wasn't looking for that. On the other hand, some said it ran too long, and I didn't feel that either. I simply enjoyed it. It's a nice piece of the Marvel universe puzzle, but what I'm really looking forward to is the next installment of the Avengers because I think the team dynamics are some of the best of what Marvel offers.

Thor: The Dark World in Theaters Now

I got to see Thor: The Dark World last night on its release date. (Or should I say, the 8:00 pm showing which used to be the midnight showing the night before its release date? Hey, I'm not complaining about the time; I just think it's funny.)

My husband and I like to joke about the fact that we would never have guessed Thor to be interesting fodder for the movies. I mean, come on, he's a god with a sledgehammer. (And I'm aware that all the fans out there are saying, "Yeah, he's a god with a sledgehammer!") Well, I stand corrected. I loved the first Thor, and this second is an excellent follow-up, especially with the help of the tie-in movie The Avengers. Really, Dark World is our third time getting to watch these characters on the screen, and I'd be happy with more.

So, what is it about this world and these characters that brings us all back again and again? Is it the tightly written script (A lot happens in just under 2 hours!), the exquisite look of Asgard (with more detail even than the last movie), the high stakes (All the realms, including Earth, are in peril!), the unequal romance of a god to a mere mortal, the humor and quick wit of some of the dialog, the superb acting, or the mixed motivations of a villain we begrudgingly root for? All of these things impact us, I'm sure, but right now, I think the biggest factor is the last.

Tom Hiddleston's Loki is the perfect villain. In this movie, his scheming takes second place to a larger threat, but he's still there, lurking magnificently in the shadows. The thing about Loki: you just don't know who the real guy is. He's an illusionist. He's something of a victim, and we feel that, but what he's done with his anger is wrong, hence the title "villain." Does he have room for love in his heart, or are revenge and power all he seeks? He's a charmer, willing to pretend and say whatever you want to hear, but sometimes we hope he means it, even though we know we should know better.

The media loves him. The fans love him. I think I even love him. And I'm not sure I should. He's the bad guy, right? He's done terrible things. A smile here, a good joke there, and a little emotion we viewers can identify with don't change the fact that he's bad. But I think part of the reason I love him is that I am always hoping for character redemption. It's the same reason I love characters like Ben Linus, from TV's Lost, and Regina, from Once Upon a Time. There's more to those characters than just one-dimensional evilness. They are complicated, like us.

Having said all that, I also think there's a danger in that belief. We more easily overlook the truly awful things such characters have done. It's difficult to process a character like Loki morally, and I'm not saying I have the answers. It's just something to consider and something that needed mentioning on this blog.

Of course, there's a lot more to this story than Loki. There are darker villains, and oh, yeah, the heroes are pretty great, too. Thor may be a little too perfect now, unlike in the first movie, but I'm not going to complain about a good hero. In a superhero movie, it's probably best to keep a clear definition of good versus evil, especially when you have bad enough evil characters. There has to be good to balance it out. And morality is plenty murky in our world as it is.

Thor: The Dark World is appropriately rated PG-13 for some dark sci-fi action and violence, but it's nothing you wouldn't expect in a comic book movie. In short, if comic books and superheroes are your thing, this movie has it all and is worth seeing in the theater. Four and a half stars.

Iron Man 3 in Theaters Now

I've heard mixed reviews, but you know, I really loved Iron Man 3. I love superhero origin stories foremost, but next to that, I like to see my superheroes suffer and stumble in the dark and still come out triumphant. I can't relate to them when they are flying about saving the world. But I can relate to them when they are doubting and hurting, confused, alone. I'm not a masochist, really! Sure, I like to see that raw edge, yet at the same time, that grittiness means nothing if it's not followed by victory, or at least hope. Iron Man 3 nicely balances its depiction of raw humanity, groaning against the earth, with a triumphant goodness that makes you want to pump your fist in the air.

In Iron Man's origin story, I liked him well enough. He was funny and cool. I didn't like his morals much, but he started to change. In Iron Man 3, I love him. He's still rough around the edges, but Pepper Potts has centered him. He doesn't chase other women or act like a rich, spoiled brat (well...okay, less so than before, at least). He and Pepper have a great love story (though a little modern for my tastes--there's been no mention of marriage). He still aggravates her and makes mistakes, but in the end, she's the most important thing in the world to him. And he's learned to apologize...sort of. Pepper, on her part, is a hugely forgiving woman. She knew what she was in for when she became Tony's woman, and she can handle him because she's her own woman, too. She can wear the suit and kick butt. She's not a complainer. She's a doer. And she can roll with Tony's sense of humor. If you didn't like Pepper before this movie, I don't know how you can't after it. She's totally sweet and totally tough. She doesn't get a ton of screen time, but she uses it well.

Of course, I'm talking about the actors as much as the fictional characters. To me, Iron Man is Robert Downey Jr., and Pepper Potts is Gwyneth Paltrow. I can't picture anyone else in those roles. Robert Downey Jr. brings such a crazy energy to his character. His lines are fast-paced, sort of mumbly, hysterically funny, and so well-timed. His interaction with his machines (Jarvis) and the suits is believable (within the world) and humorous, especially when putting on his newest creation involves a high-speed, piece-by-piece, body-bruising, groin-punching, airborne suiting up. Great physical comedy, which I love!

The story of Iron Man 3 works for me, but Tony Stark's personal journey through his anxieties and distractions to what really matters: being the hero and keeping Pepper safe, is what struck all the right chords. I'm not at all familiar with the Iron Man of the comic books, so if this story diverges from that or not (which I know now that it does) doesn't matter at all to me. I enjoyed the plot and the villains and the twists. I enjoyed seeing the heart underneath Iron Man's bravado exterior. The kid Tony interacts with is a brilliant touch for humanizing the Iron Man.

And I absolutely loved the short little punchline at the end of the credits. I don't want to spoil it for you. It's a little different than the usual fare you might expect. It's not really a preview of movies to come. But it's funny, so be sure to stick around for the last laugh.

Iron Man 3 is rated PG-13, mostly for action and violence. (I did not find it appropriate for the four-year-old girl sitting in my row.) Most middle school kids should be fine. Incidentally, I had a lot of great previews in front of my showing of Iron Man 3. Marvel has its own corner of the movie market, and they are doing brilliantly, though DC's new Superman was also previewed. Superheroes are definitely in.

Iron Man 3 just came out this past weekend, and if you've been on the same Marvel bandwagon as the rest of us, support some little town's local theater (Cheaper tickets! Everything said, $10 is still an awful lot to pay for the big screen.) and see it now!

The Amazing Spider-Man in Theaters Now

I went to see The Amazing Spider-Man last night. In my opinion, it's too soon for a reboot, but I was interested in seeing it, all the same. I really love Emma Stone (who plays Gwen Stacy), and the previews looked pretty awesome.

Overall, I enjoyed it. Not that it matters, but I got some great previews beforehand, all movies I'm excited to watch (The Dark Knight Rises, Breaking Dawn 2, and Total Recall). The beginning of the story was a little slow for me. I'm one of those who didn't know anything about Spider-Man before I watched Tobey Maguire play the part, so I didn't know what to expect when I saw those Spider-Man movies, which is part of the fun. I love being surprised in a story, and I generally don't like spoilers. So, this time around, with the story relatively fresh in my mind, I was a tad bored. I knew what was coming. Peter Parker gets bullied. Then he gets bitten, and suddenly he's the top dog...er, spider. His uncle dies. I wanted all this set-up to move along...although it was done differently than in Tobey Maguire's version, which I appreciated and enjoyed.

But what makes this movie stand out from previous Spider-Man movies are the characters. Yes, there's a new villain, but that's not even what I'm talking about. The actors are good, but the characters are unique. Actor Andrew Garfield's Spider-Man is still a good person (as Peter Parker is supposed to be), but he also has a rebellious streak that never quite goes away. He's a younger, edgier, saucier, leaner Spider-Man. And it works. Gwen Stacy is a different love interest, a smart, sweet girl who gets to know Parker's secret right away.

The second half of the movie picks up with a complex villain, one we haven't seen on screen before, a doctor experimenting with science to recreate his own lost limb. But the experimentation goes awry, and the doctor's evil side comes out.

I noticed, particularly, that the Spider-Man swinging sequences were different in this movie than in the Tobey Maguire version. I didn't get the same stomach-dropping feel I got watching Maguire's Peter Parker experiment with his abilities for the first time. Also, in this version, Spider-Man doesn't manufacture his own webbing. He needs special equipment to make it. Nonetheless, the special effects are great, and there are a few beautiful, iconic shots of Spider-Man in action.

Be sure to stay after the initial credits for the set-up for the next movie.

Three stars.

Thor in theaters 2011

Thor was great! Who'd have thought? Not me. I don't think I ever saw a preview, and I've never read the comic. I knew nothing, but I'd heard good recommendations. So, as a belated Mother's Day outing (not Nick's fault; we just delayed until the timing was better), we ate at Casa's and then saw Thor in the theater, and it was a perfect evening.

I didn't think I'd ever be able to see another movie with Natalie Portman in it because of Black Swan, but she proved once again that she is actually a good actress, in a completely different and likeable role. Chris Hemsworth, whom I've never heard of, plays a very tall, ripped, dashing and appropriately godly Thor. Anthony Hopkins, whom I barely recognized, and then only by his eyes, plays Thor's father, Odin.

I'd been told that some of the settings for this movie were beautiful, and it was true. Asgard, the home of the gods, is a fantastic computer-generated landscape of golden, non-linear skyscrapers. It is an interesting contrast to the desert of New Mexico, the Earthly setting of the movie.

We saw Thor in 2D, and I don't think we missed a thing by skipping the 3D. Honestly, I don't understand the fascination with 3D. The movies I've seen in the new 3D haven't been improved with it (The Last Airbender, Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides). I think it's just a gimmick to make more money. I hear Avatar (with the blue aliens) was great in 3D in the theater, and that makes sense. A lot of it is computer-generated with beautiful colors and settings. Maybe Asgard would have been cool in 3D, but I doubt cool enough to make it a must-see.

Basic premise of Thor: Thor's about to be made king, but he's arrogant, and a threat from an evil race of ice giants interrupts his ascension. He nearly causes war and is banished to Earth, powerless, to learn the error of his ways. There he meets a young, attractive scientist (Portman) who is fascinated by him and the storm that sent him to Earth. Meanwhile, there's trouble in Asgard, and King Odin is dying, leaving Thor's embittered brother to take control.

I know, it sounds a bit hokey, but it's well-done and, therefore, an enjoyable and satisfying movie. If you liked Iron Man and are at all interested in The Avengers or Captain America, this movie is a tie-in you won't want to miss.