The official ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’ trailer premiered last night on Jimmy Kimmel and EVERYONE is talking about it today (myself included)! Although the trailer gives very little insight into the actual plot of the film, I couldn’t be more excited. So many good things! The film looks gorgeous. Visually pretty great. The cast looks awesome. I mean Rocket and Groot, am I right? Karen Gillan looks bad-ass in her brief appearance in the trailer and the witty, “let’s not take ourselves too seriously here” vibe the trailer has, pretty much, confirms my guess that James Gunn was, probably, the perfect director for this movie.
Movie 46 out of 100 for 2013
**SPOILERS WARNING – MINOR**
2012 was a rough year for me. I can remember the exact reasons why I never saw ‘The Avengers’ (even though I wanted to very badly) and although I will not get into them here, I will say that it was 100% worth the wait. Even with all the hype surrounding this film, it completely exceeded my expectations and I will admit to already watching it 3 more times since. (I regret nothing)
When Loki’s scheme to rule humanity threatens the Earth, Nick Fury (director of S.H.I.E.L.D) attempts to bring together a team of extraordinary people, to fight back and save Earth from impending doom. Captain America/Steve Rogers, Iron Man/Tony Stark, The Hulk/Bruce Banner, Thor, Black Widow/Natasha Romanoff and Hawkeye/Clint Barton join together as “The Avengers” to stop Loki’s plans and save humanity.
Where to begin? It was so great to see all the previous stories of this group come together in such a seamless way in this film. Joss Whedon is an outstanding director and, I feel, like he really out did himself with this one. In addition to directing he also co-wrote the film and the script is fantastic. The story is great and the dialogue and interaction between the characters is the perfect balance between hilarious and real. You can tell that Joss Whedon took on this massive undertaking with great care and a fan’s perspective. You can tell that he told the story that, as a fan, he would want to see. People like that really do make the best movies. Props to Marvel studios as well for another really well done film adaptation of their characters. The effects are great and overall the film is gorgeous. There is never a dull moment, even if there isn’t a whole lot going on in a scene but when there is some action, it goes all out. This film is definitely action packed. At 2 1/2 hours long, it feels half that length, to me. When it ends I wished there was another hour left.
Now to compliment the cast. The cast is perfection. Having seen most of the cast in their previous films, even just for a moment, I knew what to expect from everyone except Mark Ruffalo in his role as Bruce Banner/Hulk. I feel as though you have to have the right person play the right part in the right way for it to work. Many superhero/book adaptation/remake films struggle because of casting choices and, overall movie aside, I didn’t buy into Ed Norton as Bruce Banner (I love Ed Norton otherwise but sorry… no offense). There are plenty of other films that have had the same problems with casting the right person. Even with a great script and beautiful directing, you have to buy into the character. I thought Mark Ruffalo did a phenomenal job. In my opinion, he is the Bruce Banner/Hulk that I (and i’m sure many others) have been waiting for. I thought he played the role so perfectly and in such an amazingly likable way that he was my favorite by the end of the film. The story he was given only made it better. One of my favorite parts of the entire movie is when the group is arguing in the lab and he admits to trying to kill himself. Such a small but beautifully done moment and he’s a guy you just want to root for. Scarlett Johansson, Jeremy Renner, Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth, Robert Downey Jr., Clark Gregg and Tom Hiddleston reprice their roles beautifully. Samuel L. Jackson made a great Nick Fury and I was very pleasantly surprised with how well the cast interacted together.
Being a fan of Marvel, The Avengers and Joss Whedon, maybe there is some bias but I just genuinely loved and enjoyed this movie. For anyone who hasn’t seen it yet… you should. Start to finish, the whole thing just worked, for me. I can’t wait to see how this plays into and effects the next Thor, Captain America and Iron Man 3 films (I have yet to see Iron Man 3 and I am aware it has been out for a while). Most importantly, the 2015 “Avengers 2” release date can’t come soon enough.
9.5 out of 10
Movie 21 out of 100 for 2013
Captain America — Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) is a small guy with a good heart, good intentions and, unfortunately for him, health problems that prevent him from doing the one thing he wants to do; join the army and fight for his country in WWII. Steve Rogers is severely underestimated by nearly everyone he encounters in his quest to join the army, until he meets Dr. Abraham Erskine (Stanley Tucci) who offers him the opportunity to undergo a secret and experimental procedure that will completely change his life. Steve volunteers and becomes “Captain America” and goes up against the HYDRA organization and it’s leader Johann Schmidt aka “Red Skull”.
I’m not going to lie and say I thought I was going to love this film. I had low expectations for it. I prejudged the Chris Evans casting (I’m sure I can’t be the only one), I didn’t know much about the story line and I was never a huge Captain America fan. I am not sure what the initial reactions were from the public when Captain America was released in 2011 but whether it be my low expectations or the fact that it is simply a decent movie, I was very pleasantly surprised. The casting was so great, even the really minor characters were easily recognizable which was a fun surprise. I was so excited to see Tommy Lee Jones and Stanley Tucci in this film and they were both pretty fantastic. Chris Evans totally won me over as Steve Rogers and Captain America. Although, at times, I found “Red Skull” a bit cartoony looking, Hugo Weaving was a perfect choice and he did look very similar to the comic book version. I loved the references and overlapping details of the other “Avengers” story lines and it really was a great look into early Marvel. I can’t say enough how Marvel has impressed me with their film adaptations. Stan Lee’s appearance, as in all the films, was adorable and well timed.
There wasn’t a lot that I didn’t like. At a little over 2 hours long, some parts felt a little slow while other parts felt a bit rushed and I liked the friend relationship between Steve and Bucky better than the romantic one between Steve and Peggy. Minor details. There were a few oddly specific details that bugged me that I will avoid mentioning because I hate spoilers but even those are irrelevant if you don’t think about how “plausible” a situation might be and just enjoy the superhero film for what it is. ‘Captain America: The First Avenger’ is super appropriately titled and although it is far from flawless I really enjoyed it.
8.0 out of 10
Movie 20 out of 100 for 2013
As always, my movie reviews are spoiler free, but my my Thor, I have to say, you are quite a bigger jerk then I expected you to be!
Now… simple synopsis; based on the comic, obviously, Thor (Chris Hemsworth) and Loki (Tom Hiddleston) are sons and heirs to the king of Asgard, Odin (Anthony Hopkins). Thor is very powerful but also arrogant and, frankly, a little stupid. Unfortunately, after a series of poor decisions and reckless actions, Thor is banished to Earth by his father, forced to live among humans and learn a thing or two about humility and what it takes to be a true hero.
There was much more I liked about this film then I didn’t like. As far as the short list of dislikes are concerned, they’re pretty minor in the grand scheme of things. The casting was really spot on, in my opinion. Anthony Hopkins is so bad ass and can do no wrong in my book. At first I thought Natalie Portman as Jane was a bit odd but by the end she had won me over as well… and holy sibling rivalry Loki/Thor. What a great dynamic Chris Hemsworth and Tom Hiddleston had. Tom Hiddleston was perfect as Loki. I love a villain with a solid back story and endearing qualities. It was easy to feel a bit sorry for him. As far as the visuals go, there are some great scenes in this film. Great effects and really iconic imagery. Marvel has done a really great job with their films.
All in all, I’m really glad I finally watched it. I’m definitely a lot more excited for the next one now (which I always already looking forward to because Christopher Eccleston is playing the villian) set to be released November 8th, 2013. I’m not sure what the general consensus was when ‘Thor’ was initially released but, popular opinion or not, I thought it was really decent and worth the watch. It’s a quick, fun watch and definite bonus points for the Foo Fighters song during the credits.
8.0 out of 10
Nerdy Girl Rambles 