"SKumm's Thoughts" - GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY VOL 2

"SKumm's Thoughts"

GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY VOL 2 (2017, PG-13, 136 minutes, MARVEL STUDIOS/WALT DISNEY PICTURES)

Sometimes, a film can really use a Xanax.  GUARDIANS V2 made me feel like I needed a Xanax.

The follow-up to the 2014 classic, which changed the game where Marvel movies are concerned, is a loud, brash, CGI action extravaganza that only gives you a few moments to breathe.  It loses some of the charming bits of the original along the way: the humor, the chemistry of the main characters, the evil bad guy.  An example of this, halfway through, I was wondering why Rocket (Bradley Cooper) and Peter Quill/Starlord (Chris Pratt) hated each other so much.  Their banter seemed more acidic and spiteful this time around, and the narrative suffers for it.  There was no sense of building situational angst between them, it was just there, and only later indirectly addressed… poorly.

This time around, Peter finds his daddy, played with the usual charm and swagger of one legendary, Kurt Russell.  His dad is an actual planet, which you would think would garner more jokes from the crew, but despite Drax (Dave Bautista, who owns every scene he is in) pondering how Peter was conceived, the subject is pretty much left alone.  Not something that would have been done with the attention to detail to the comedic elements of the first film.  Shots would have been fired.

Director Peter Gunn has said that the first film was about this ragtag bunch off criminals becoming a family, and this sequel is about them being a family.  And while family is a strong element in this film, it almost isn’t enough to keep it afloat.  While Peter and his daddy issue is the predominant storyline, you get more on the Gamora/Nebula history, (Zoe Saldana and Karen Gillian, respectively) and a few nuggets pertaining to the other characters.  But those nuggets just aren’t enough.  Instead of more backstory on Rocket and/or Groot (Vin Diesel, who not only does his “I am Groot” bit, but also gets to growl this time around), we get more CGI.

Like, WAY MORE CGI.

It all looks pretty, but at times I felt like I was watching a Michael Bay confusing-as-hell-to-watch TRANSFORMERS flick.  No, I’m not too freaking old to enjoy an actioner or Marvel film.  I loved DEADPOOL, fer cryin’ out loud.  But too much can get a bit overwhelming, and leave you feeling exhausted.  This is one film that may look better on a smaller screen—no insult to Mr. Gunn & Company, of course.  I’m just some geek that writes for a website.

One other thing I absolutely have to gripe about: music from THE AVENGERS.  It happens a few times during the film, and it irritated the Baby Groot outta me.  I understand that the studio is looking to cross all of the films over during The Infinity War storyline, but really, I don’t need any not-so-subtle hints while I’m watching the Guardians in action.  Stick with the same type of soundtrack you did the first time around—it helped set this style of storytelling apart from what has become almost typical of other Marvel films.

I sincerely hope that the next GUARDIANS film gets back to its (g)roots (the ‘g’ is silent).  Splitting up the team makes for less of a good time, and you should never have to trade excessive CGI action sequences for time with a family that is fun to watch being dysfunctional.

Grade: B-

-- T.S. Kummelman

'Blu-ray or Bust' - LION

'Blu-ray or Bust'

LION (2016, PG-13, 118 minutes, SCREEN AUSTRALIA/LIONSGATE)

There is a grimness to this tale of hope which, at times, nearly overwhelms you with emotion.  Almost as if it is dictating to you with a strong, closed, bony fist, demanding that you feel a certain way.

You know—kinda like a mom.

LION tells the story of Saroo, a young boy from a teeny tiny little town in India that gets separated from his family.  The first hour of the film is this young boy’s journey from homelessness in the streets of Calcutta to a loving family in Australia.  Based on a true story, the second half of this tale deals with adult Saroo, pining for his home.  Young Saroo, played by the charismatically wonderful Sunny Panwar, is put through the wringer.  Life is not all that kind to the impoverished child, yet he manages to persevere, and usually with a smile on his face.

If mini-Saroo is portrayed with more care and slam-dunk acting skills by a first-time actor who cannot be more than eight years old, you would assume that big-Saroo would be just as good, right?  RIGHT?!?  Don’t get me wrong, Dev Patel (SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE, CHAPPIE) is a fine actor.  And he does get to smile a few times.  But if the first half of the movie is about hope and survival (based on the performance of a kid named “Sunny”), the second half is a brooding, angry, angsty teenager.  I understand that there is a piece of the older character missing because he has no idea what happened to his real family, but seriously—he breaks up with ROONEY MARA because of it!  Who the hell breaks up with The Girl with the Freaking Dragon Tattoo?!?

First-time film director Garth Davis does a splendid job creating a story with characters you care about (even if Angry Saroo can be an asshat).  The other star of this film (no, not the splendid Nicole Kidman) is cinematographer Greig Fraser (ROGUE ONE, ZERO DARK THIRTY).  He manages to capture the landscapes of Australia and India in such a way that you see through the boy’s eyes, traveling from his home country to an entirely different and alien world.  Whether he is showing you the grand scope of both countrysides, or focusing on something as tiny as a bench at a train station, the visual aspect of this story would not have been as effective with someone else at the helm. 

The special features on this disc aren’t all that special.  I seriously expect more if I am purchasing a film—more than three deleted scenes, some pictures, and a music video by Sia (which seems really out of place here).  But you still need to see this one on Blu-ray, at least to truly appreciate what Fraser does with his cinematographic eyeballs.

Despite my grumblings about the second half, this is a truly effective film.  The dramatic switch in storytelling from the eyes of a child to that of an adult is always a bit of shocker to me when it is accomplished as effectively as it is here.  That is a sign of a good filmmaker.  And an irritating teenage-like persona.  And I ain’t talkin’ about me…

Grade: B+

Special Features: F

Blu-ray Necessary: Most Definitely

-- T.S. Kummelman

The 'Not-So-Critical' Critic: on THE CIRCLE

The 'Not-So-Critical' Critic: 

on THE CIRCLE (2017, 110 minutes, PG-13)

The ‘trend’ of books being adapted to film is an ongoing part of the ‘circle of life’ for Hollywood (yes, pun intended).  They take books in… chew them up… and poop them out.  This is one case that this ‘trend’ should take a step back and think about what projects to take on, because they stepped in a small pile.

Grabbing big name stars, like Emma Watson and Tom Hanks, sounds like a good plan.  So it should...  But this collaborative effort is lost thanks to her not being suited for the role and his minor part not being beyond the scope of the whole, just some added flavor.  Don’t get me wrong, they are both stellar actors.  Watson is working her way up the food chain and Hanks will always be regarding as nothing less than an apex predator.  Still, they are not enough to save THE CIRCLE.

As a book, this tech-thriller plot may have worked.  As a movie, it comes across flat and labored, a no thrills ride.  The heart is lost somewhere in the muddled social examination that is offered about the advancements of technology and making our lives available to all who dare to care.  Sure, there are struggles.  But after thirty minutes, “Who cares?” is ringing in my mind.

The idea of information being completely accessible to all, to include your more intimate parts of your life, has been around for a while.  Why this film wanted to feel relevant or progressive to the current state of social media is lost on me.  Maybe in the 90’s we could feel the impact of The Information Age creeping into our darkest, most secret, moments.  By its conclusion, I have seen better ‘Black Mirror’ episodes.

  

In the end, we are just making fertilizer here.  There are no clever moments and no stimulating scenes of surviving the system.  The one take-away, it has the same feel as ARRIVAL – a sense of what could really happen, a potential dialogue concerning invasion of privacy in the not too distant future.  Although, manure is just a part of the ‘circle of life’. 

So, who knows?

Grade: C-