Movies, Movies, Movies.....

I haven't seen it, but I've been on the other side of these absurd crowds for a March release. We sold out almost every show from Thursday night through Monday night. We added 2 extra screens for overflow seating on both Saturday and Monday. Spring break for the local schools was last week, but yesterday and today the crowds were significantly higher than last week. There was no way we could have been prepared for the business this movie brought in, even with boosting our staffing levels. We just don't have summer staff levels in the middle of the school year.

I have heard some of the music, though, and that seems to be very well done.

I really enjoyed Beauty and the Beast. I've only seen the original 2-3 times, but it's one of my girlfriend's favorite movies. We both agreed that they did a good job recapturing the feel of the animated film and any of the new scenes they added fit in very well.

I know that the Wimpy Kid movies weren't exactly cinematic masterpieces, but this is just awful. RIP my seven-year-old self.

Just watched The 5th Wave. A storyline with lots of potential, but overall poorly executed.

I saw Beaty and Beast and thought is was great. I liked some of the songs better than the original!

“So, we’re saving the galaxy again?” --Rocket

Just got back from the US press screening of Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 2. I'm not going to give away any spoilers for the film, but since it's been out in several markets already I'm sure they are out there online if you want to read up.

Personally I like this sequel more than the original film. For some reason I felt it harder to get a connection with the characters in the first movie as I felt like they were all fighting with each other, and then suddenly they were all friends. That origin story just never sat well with me.

For this sequel, we don't need to get into any of that origin stuff and we just get right into the action, and there is PLENTY of fun action throughout the entire film. It starts off with the Guardians having done work "Ayesha" protecting their expensive and somewhat important "batteries" in an amazing opening credits sequence that is probably one of the comedic highlights of the film! Even from the opening of the movie, you know it's going to be amazing!

Those "batteries" end up being a McGuffin throughout the rest of the movie to add some tension and plot lines to keep the action and fighting going, even though the movie tends to dip into some more serious character development moments. I won't explain further, just go see the movie and you'll understand.

Kurt Russell is AWESOME in the film and I always felt that Chris Pratt seemed like a younger Kurt Russell so that made his role even more perfect! in fact all of the characters seemed much more developed in this sequel and I felt far more connecter to them than I did in the original.

Baby Groot also steals the show whenever he is on screen. Which brings in another aspect of the movie: The animation and visual effects are non stop. It is just constant eye candy of awesomeness! And at no point does any of it not feel it fits organically within the world the movie is set in. So many films you see and think "That looks like CGI....yup, more GCI" but Guardians does it perfectly and it fits! I loved just *looking* at the screen!

The movie is funny, VERY funny in that witty and intelligently written sort of way. There is non-stop action and character development, and overall I felt that this sequel fixes everything I felt didn't seem right about the first one.

I hope it does VERY well for Marvel and Disney as I give it a solid A+ as comic book to movie films go.

Oh, and be sure to stay through the entire credits. There are five, that's right FIVE post-credits scenes!

I watched it a couple weeks ago, and again today. It won't age nearly as well as the first one, and I'm afraid anyone who expects it to will end up more disappointed. What I've been telling people is Guardians of the Galaxy is to Volume 2 as The Avengers is to Age of Ultron. A lot more character stories, but it just won't have the same "magic" as the first time around.

The soundtrack and 3D effects are both done very well, again.

I'd rank this as a mid-range MCU effort. Probably between Thor and Ant-Man, for me anyway. Probably suffering from diminishing returns, this far into the MCU.

4. Iron Man (2008)

13.Incredible Hulk (2008)

14.Iron Man 2 (2010)

7. Thor (2010)

6. Captain America (2011)

1. The Avengers (2012)

12.Iron Man 3 (2013)

15.The Dark World (2013)

3. The Winter Soldier (2014)

2. Guardians of the Galaxy (2014)

10.Age of Ultron (2015)

9. Ant-Man (2015)

5. Civil War (2016)

11.Doctor Strange (2016)

8. Vol. 2 (2017)

I watched it a couple weeks ago, and again today. It won't age nearly as well as the first one, and I'm afraid anyone who expects it to will end up more disappointed. What I've been telling people is Guardians of the Galaxy is to Volume 2 as The Avengers is to Age of Ultron. A lot more character stories, but it just won't have the same "magic" as the first time around.

See I liked it MUCH more than the first one and found this one to be far more interesting. I remember watching the first one and not "getting" why so many people were going crazy over it. But I really enjoyed this film a lot.

Then again, I'm not really a "Marvel Universe" die-hard and the idea of "ranking them" is sort of amusing to me! lol I always go into Marvel films just thinking they will be good action/super hero films and I come out of it asking myself "Did I enjoy that?" and not putting too much thought into other than that. I know some people go absurdly crazy over these films and over-analyze every bit of minutia about them, but that is not me at all. I just look for a fun, entertaining couple of hours and that is EXACTLY what this movie is.

I honestly don't typically rank them, but after seeing this one, I realized that I typically favor the early stories. I can't say I review the MCU films with any real objectivity. I also know that the first time I see a Marvel movie, I tend to think it's better than it ends up being. Fortunately, seeing it twice and also watching it in close proximity to the first film (today) I can better gauge how I feel it fits into the group.

I think the biggest downfall for Vol. 2 has to be the length, considering there was at least 15 minutes that could have been cut without really hurting the story. Considering the characters are the stronger component in both Guardians films, the plot could have been streamlined a little more. That same concept could apply to Civil War, as well. These movies don't need to be more then 2 hours long. The Avengers is probably the only 2+ hour MCU film where the length doesn't seem to be drawn out too much.

Stallone, I feel, was almost a waste unless they plan on using him in the future [because spoilers, reasons]

Saw it monday, I don't know. I like it a lot just didn't check all the boxes of expectations. Everything related to Ayesha felt filler, but I enjoyed Yondu's, Nebula's and Peter's story very much.

If I had to pick vol1 or vol2 I would give vol1 a slight edge with the unexpected factor it had when it came out.

And wow those where a lot of end credit scenes.

And wow those where a lot of end credit scenes.

It reminded me of the Pixar "outtakes" because they were all pretty short and inconsequential.

I saw Guardians on Saturday and really enjoyed it. As a disclaimer, I'm a huge comic book fan. I liked how they jumped right into the action and did a good job balancing the large cast of characters well. The humor, like the first film, was well timed and fit in well with the action sequences.

Guardians 2 was the most fun I've had at the cinema in a long time. It's nowhere near perfect or anything, but it's funny and colorful and has some amazing scenes. The whole thing is just amazing to look at as well. The plot is a bit strange but relatively easy to follow I had a smile on my face the majority of the time. I might go back and see it again because it looked amazing on the big screen.

I guess I could mention that I went to the Pirates screening last week. I don't know if it was the freshness of the story, or the fact that it's been a long time since the original, but I really enjoyed the movie. The writing had more humor in the dialogue, and the action was more graphic and intense. It suffers the same flaws the entire franchise suffers from, being supernatural over-the-top pirate stories, and struggles to develop a real "threat" to anyone except Jack. You can completely ignore the 4th film with this installment, and only the association to Will and Elizabeth really links this to 2 & 3.

The 3D was good, but doesn't really add to the environment like it does with Guardians of the Galaxy. The field depth looking over the ocean and some of the special effects with the "bad guys" is cool in 3D, but I wouldn't say it's necessary the way I suggest Vol. 2 should be seen in 3D.

Just saw Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales today while handing in my application for a job at my local theater. I thought it was better than the last movie. It was a pure fun, action-packed, and very comedic ride, and I felt that it was a great close to the film series (were it not potentially ruined by the post-credits scene that may or may not have been a cliffhanger). I've seen all the Pirates films except for the first one, and this one is my favorite so far. I dunno if there's much else to say right now except that I thought it was good and fun.

None of the post-credit scenes in the Pirates franchise mean anything at all.

And how have you not seen the first one???

None of the post-credit scenes in the Pirates franchise mean anything at all.

 

And how have you not seen the first one???

I have no idea. I was too young to see the first one when it first came out. I have it on my Netflix watchlist, I just never got around to watching it. Perhaps I should change that by actually watching it.

In the past 24 hours, I managed to see "King Arthur: Legend of the Sword" and "Alien: Covenant."

"King Arthur" is such a mindboggling film. Combining dark Arthurian fantasy with fast-paced editing and Guy Ritchie's rapid fire modern day dialogue make this to be one of the most fascinating blockbusters I've seen. As over the top and nonsensical the film can be, it's amazing to think that a studio was willing to commit $175 million to this film. It's even more amazing that I've seen it and actually had a very enjoyable time with it. It's pure nonsense, but it's an interesting change of pace from generic fantasy fare that's been coming out as of late.

"Alien: Covenant" continues to reiterate the point that Ridley Scott is one of the best visual directors in Hollywood. This, as "Prometheus" was, is magnificent to look at, from the establishing landscape shots to the dark insides of the temple to the shots in the spaceship. Michael Fassbender remains one of my favorite actors, and his performance(s) here are wonderful. That being said, the xenomorph's role in the film is peculiar. It feels unimportant to an extent. The film lacks the suspense that "Alien" had or the swarm-like presence that the xenomorphs had in "Aliens." Rather, the xenomorph appears, but leaves no impact, along with the clunky look it has to it in its movements. It's a shame since this film is quite well-acted and visually stunning, but it isn't particularly impactful. I did love the ending, though, and am intrigued to see where this goes, if they continue it.

Wonderwoman seems to be a little overrated for me but I love Gal's portrayal.

SPOILER ALERT, if there is any left, in what I say here.

Pirates was fun. The dark stuff with the chomping ship was awesome!

And the reunion at the end was a nice, ahhhh moment. But, I would still go

to the next one, if they make it. There is a lot of fun in the physicality of it

all, with Depp included. And all of the effects are pretty great for the genre.

7 Popcorn Boxes from me out of 10

I kinda liked King Arthur: Legend Of The Sword. At times I forgot it was supposed to be a story of King Arthur because some of the fantasy elements. They were entertaining to watch though.

Lately...

Wonder Woman - Pretty good. The lead certainly held her own with the dialogue and the action.

Chris Pine was a nice sidepiece for her, lol. I thought he'd stick around longer. At least he did

in the comics. Oh well. Good film.

Despicable Me3D - Fun though I think they've run the gambit with ideas for Gru, his wife and the girls.

Although (SPOILER ALERT) the twin brother did get away, I really don't think that's the need for a follow up film.

But if the kids love it.... why not? Fun movie. Not as many laughs as before.

Spiderman - Should be called "Spiderboy", shouldn't it? He's only in his mid-teens so....? Great action

packed movie, and the past reference to scenes in other Avengers films, nice when noticed. I felt the sidekick

was starting to get a bit much for "comedy sake," but then they writers dropped that, made him more useful

and easier to watch and listen to.

And Robert Downey Jr. is such a joy to watch, when he's probably riffing himself, LOL! Give him more $$$ !

I just came back from watching Dunkirk, and I'm sooooooo torn on this. The movie has great visuals, amazing soundtrack, acting is mostly good and the aerial fighting left me with goosebumps. Some parts were really intense and claustrophobic But the editing of this movie is so messy! I'm not going to go into details to not spoil it for anyone wanting to see the movie, but for me it got to a point where it just became annoying.

The audio and formatting of the movie bother me enough that I probably won't watch it.

I just came back from watching Dunkirk, and I'm sooooooo torn on this. The movie has great visuals, amazing soundtrack, acting is mostly good and the aerial fighting left me with goosebumps. Some parts were really intense and claustrophobic But the editing of this movie is so messy! I'm not going to go into details to not spoil it for anyone wanting to see the movie, but for me it got to a point where it just became annoying.

I agree. The editing really did stand out as bad in this movie, and I usually never notice anything like that.