Review: Guardians of the Galaxy – Bring the Kids?

Guardians of the Galaxy posterIt’s no secret that we’ve loved just about every Marvel movie that has been released in the last several years. We’re a family of geeks, and Marvel and Disney are two of our favorite fandoms. (Along with Doctor Who, the Whedonverse and a few others, of course.)

But when Guardians of the Galaxy was announced, my first reaction was, “What’s that?” Aaron, far geekier in all things comics, had to explain the storyline to me. And I was immediately worried that Marvel was becoming too smug with their chain of film successes. A space drama with a talking raccoon who likes to shoot things and a giant walking tree as two of five main characters? Seriously? It originally sounded completely ridiculous and I wasn’t sure how they would get audiences interested in this story.

I can now look back on this and see how wrong I was.

Aaron and I attended a preview screening last Wednesday, and then we took Cordy and Mira to see it on Saturday afternoon. I was concerned if it would be appropriate for our nine and seven year olds, and even waiting for the movie to start on Saturday, I was still a little concerned how they would handle parts of it.

So, should you bring the kids? Read on for my more in-depth (and mostly spoiler-free) review.

Synopsis (from the studio)

From Marvel, the studio that brought you the global blockbuster franchises of Iron Man, Thor, Captain America and The Avengers, comes a new team–the Guardians of the Galaxy. An action-packed, epic space adventure, Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy expands the Marvel Cinematic Universe into the cosmos, where brash adventurer Peter Quill finds himself the object of an unrelenting bounty hunt after stealing a mysterious orb coveted by Ronan, a powerful villain with ambitions that threaten the entire universe. To evade the ever-persistent Ronan, Quill is forced into an uneasy truce with a quartet of disparate misfits–Rocket, a gun-toting raccoon; Groot, a tree-like humanoid; the deadly and enigmatic Gamora; and the revenge-driven Drax the Destroyer. But when Quill discovers the true power of the orb and the menace it poses to the cosmos, he must do his best to rally his ragtag rivals for a last, desperate stand–with the galaxy’s fate in the balance.

Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy, which first appeared in comic books in Marvel Super-Heroes #18 (Jan. 1969), stars Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Dave Bautista, featuring Vin Diesel as the voice of Groot, Bradley Cooper as the voice of Rocket, Lee Pace, Michael Rooker, Karen Gillan, Djimon Hounsou, with John C. Reilly, Glenn Close as Nova Prime Rael and Benicio del Toro as The Collector.

The Guardians

What I liked:

This movie felt like a gritty space opera, complete with a throwback soundtrack thanks to the Awesome Mix, Volume 1. It’s fast paced, fun, and full of action. No, really: LOTS of action. The humor maintains its endurance right alongside the action, too.

All five of the heroes are fully realized characters, with flaws to match their talents, and I appreciated that all five of them are not your “typical” heroes. They’re essentially a group of criminals who, when brought together and faced with impending doom, choose to work together to save the galaxy.

While they do discover new aspects to themselves during the climax of the film, this single event of heroism doesn’t transform them into model citizens, either, and that’s okay. It would make the story seem too much like a fairy-tale to think they would entirely change their personalities as a result of stopping Ronan and live happily ever after.

It’s also important to note that the heroes aren’t rewarded for their bad behavior. For example, Peter Quill (Star-Lord) acts like an entitled man-child occasionally during the movie, but this never works in his favor and he’s not rewarded for it.

“I’m Star-Lord, man.”

The CGI in this film is amazing. Two of the five main characters are computer generated images next to their more human-like allies, and yet they feel as real as everyone around them. Groot and Rocket were masterfully inserted into the film with more realism than I’ve ever witnessed in a live-action film. You could see the individual strands of Rocket’s fur, and Groot’s branches have solid weight to them in each scene.

Rocket RaccoonHe’s adorable…and deadly.

The performances by the actors in this film shouldn’t go unnoticed, however. They ranged from the over-the-top antics of Star-Lord, played by Chris Pratt, to Karen Gillan’s extremely subtle, yet precision-sharp development of her character, Nebula.

Best of all: Gamora does not become a love interest for Quill – and the mostly naked shot of Zoe Saldana from the rear which is so prominent in the trailers did not make it to the final cut of the movie. I was happy to see that the writers didn’t include the old cliche of having the male lead and the female lead fall for each other.

Gamora and QuillThey’re teammates, that’s it. And for much of the movie she questions even that much involvement.

What I didn’t like:

While I think this is a well-made movie, it wasn’t perfect. My primary complaint is that if you haven’t read the comics, you may feel a little lost or have the urge to take notes to keep up with this new universe and everyone in it. There are new races, feuds and characters to learn quickly at the start of the film. It’s overwhelming.

Unlike Avengers, where we learned the back-story of the major characters previously in their own individual films, this film has to take on the back-story of all five main characters, the state of relations between worlds, and then deliver the current action of the story as well. Having not read the comics, I did have trouble keeping names and details straight. On the second viewing, I felt better at keeping all of the details straight, but there were still some names I couldn’t place.

And while the heroes are well-developed characters, Ronan – the primary villain in this film – was flat. We didn’t get much of his history, and we’re presented with a guy who is determined to wipe out the people of Xandar, with little explanation as to why after we’re told the two races have recently agreed to a peace treaty. And why do the Kree seem unwilling to protect the treaty they just signed and let Ronan go on a killing spree? His motivation is weak and poorly explained, likely cut for time. Hopefully we’ll see more of his development in the extras section of the DVD. (Aaron tells me he’s a deeply complex and interesting character in the comics.)

RonanI want to know more about this guy.

Bring the kids?

If you’re a big Marvel fan, this part is probably not for you, as you probably saw it on opening weekend, and you most likely knew your own kids’ interests in the movie. But a few of you might have kids (like ours) who saw the trailers and said to you, “Awwww! A talking raccoon! I want to see this movie!” without knowing much about the actual plot, and so you may be concerned about if it’s a good fit.

There are a few aspects of Guardians of the Galaxy that might make you pause before bringing the kids. First, there is the violence aspect. There are a handful of space battles where minor characters die, several punches thrown and plenty of knock-back injuries, lots of blaster fire (although most are stun blasters, it seems), and an Infinity Stone that will rip apart any person who tries to hold it – and does. Those moments can be a little scary for some kids.

The humor and language can also border on the crude at times, too. At one point a character is called a “prick” and a few other choice curse words are used, too. While there is no actual sexual content in this film, there is a joke about how a blacklight could prove Quill’s ship to be far more dirty than they assume, but that joke should go right over the heads of most kids. Actually, most of the more questionable jokes and comments were completely missed by our two kids, and they didn’t even ask about them. If you have a kid who is more inquisitive,  just be prepared for a few questions.

One additional concern to be prepared for (slight spoiler here): at the start of the movie, we see Peter Quill as a child at his dying mother’s hospital bedside. Only a few minutes later, his mother is dead, and he’s quickly torn away from his family. This might be tough for a sensitive kid to deal with – I was even teary-eyed in that moment. We (wisely) told our kids about this scene before we went to the movie, making sure it wouldn’t be a surprise to them or a scene that might make them re-think the movie.

Originally, I was more concerned that Cordy and Mira would not enjoy the film, while Aaron was convinced that they’d be fine. For Guardians of the Galaxy, Aaron was right. We chose to tell them a lot of the plot up-front and let them decide if they still wanted to see it. Cordy brought her stuffed Rocket with her to hug through the movie, just in case it got too scary.

And? They loved it. Both kids were engaged through the entire movie, and while some of the finer details of the plot were beyond their understanding, they followed the story and enjoyed the action. Cordy loved all of the humor, while Mira danced in her seat to all of the music throughout the story. They each loved Rocket more than before the movie. And they are both demanding a dancing Groot sprout toy before Christmas.

Dancing Groot sproutJust watching this GIF makes me happy.

Is Guardians of the Galaxy a film to see? Yes, absolutely. If you like superheroes, sci-fi, space dramas, and/or silly humor, you will enjoy this movie. Aaron has a more in-depth review of the film on his site if you want more specifics.

Is Guardians of the Galaxy a film to take the kids to? I’ll answer that with a qualified yes. Kids will like the characters and they won’t be bored with the constant action of the film. I think it’s appropriate for most elementary-age kids and older, but those who are more sensitive to violence or language might want to hold off. You know your kids best to decide where the line needs to be drawn.

I was very happy with this film, and I’m excited to see the start of another section of the Marvel cinematic universe. We know a sequel is already in the works, and the extra scene at the end of the credits provides a quick glimpse of an older Marvel character that we just might see again.

Once again, Marvel has proven they’re on the right track with their films. While DC is still wringing their hands over how they could have a hit movie with Wonder Woman as the solo (female) lead, Marvel has created box office gold with a talking CGI raccoon and a walking tree that can only say “I am Groot.”

Keep up the good work, Marvel.

Disclosure: I was provided with complimentary passes for the screening event only. Affiliate links may be used in this post.



That Time We Visited Metropolis, Illinois for Superman

It’s been awhile, hasn’t it?

Ever have those times when you have a lot going on, and your head is just full of things to say, but you have no ability to get it all out? That’s been most of June for me. The last two weeks have been so busy that whenever I found time to sit down and write, I didn’t have the mental energy to form coherent sentences.

I started the month with a horrible sore throat and cough, spending almost two weeks very sick and miserable. Strangely, no one else in the family shared in this illness, which really puzzled me. How was my immune system the only one that failed?

Luckily, I did get better just in time for Aaron’s birthday. This year, he wanted to go to the Superman Celebration weekend in Metropolis, IL for his birthday. Neither of us had ever been to this event, and he had several online friends who would be there. So I arranged to have the kids stay at Camp Grandma and we made the six hour drive to southern Illinois to find the town with the giant 15ft Superman statue in front of the county courthouse.

Metropolis, IL

Things I learned on this trip:

1. The Superman Celebration event is not quite the large, international event that we thought it would be. When the main hotel was booked full for the event, we thought that this would be a HUGE event. We worried about parking and how much it would cost.

Turns out, there’s only one hotel IN the town (not counting the casino’s hotel on the river), and parking most definitely wasn’t a problem. We stayed at the other hotel about three miles outside of the town and drove in each day. No one charged for parking, and there was plenty of it available on any street. This is a small town, with a downtown area spanning only a few blocks each direction. There were empty storefronts next to small businesses trying to stay alive.

Scary bridge over the Ohio riverAnd just before you get there, the scariest bridge over the Ohio river. The road is metal grates, and it’s barely wide enough for two cars.

As for the event itself, it did have some notable celebrities as guests (Dean Cain, Billy Dee Williams), but the overall feel of the celebration was more “small town street fair” instead of what we expected. It was just as easy to buy a funnel cake or a snow cone as it was to buy a Superman t-shirt. There were few vendors from outside the area, and artist booths were located right near the BMX stunt bike show and mechanical bull.

Dean Cain at MetropolisHi, Dean Cain!

2. Southern Illinois is a lot more southern than I would have guessed. This is the same state where Chicago is located, right? I wasn’t expecting Metropolis to feel like a small southern town, although I probably should have considering it’s just across the river from Kentucky.

And when talking to people there, Aaron and I were definitely the outsiders…I mean, beyond the costumes and all. More than once, someone would smile and say to us (in a fairly thick southern accent), “You’re not from around here, are ya? I can tell by your accent.” I never knew a Columbus, Ohio “accent” could be so distinctive, but it let the others in town know that we had traveled far to be there.

Despite being different than expectations, we still had a good time that weekend and the town was welcoming. Aaron enjoyed meeting up with friends he knew from online groups and cosplaying as various superheroes. Of course, there was a Superman everywhere you looked.

Supermen, everywhere!Including all varieties of Superman!

He even talked me into dressing up in costume one evening, too.

At the Superman CelebrationThe guy in the middle makes art using spray paint – how cool is that?

Metropolis does have a couple of really interesting museums, too. One is the Superman museum, with an unheard of amount of Superman memorabilia, art, props and costumes from movies and TV shows, autographed photos, and so much more. One of the capes that Christopher Reeves used was there, along with his flying harness and wig. (I had no idea he wore a wig as Superman.) It was an amazing collection crowded into every possible corner of the small space, and I was really impressed at how many one-of-a-kind items they had on display.

I have no photos of the really cool stuff. I’m sorry to say that I was so busy looking at all of it that I forgot to take any pictures. You’ll just have to trust me that it was amazing.

The other museum (owned by the same person, I believe) is the Americana Hollywood museum. It was probably four times as large, and had memorabilia for nearly every genre movie type out there, including sci-fi, horror, westerns, superheroes and special sections for Elvis, Marilyn Monroe, Tarzan, and the “classics” like Gone With the Wind and Casablanca. This museum had few original pieces from movies, but rather had a massive amount of collectibles and replicas. (Although I did see some original costumes from a few movies.) The superhero room was basically a giant tribute to all of the superhero toys – I couldn’t believe how many they had!

Maria from MetropolisAnd a replica of Maria from the silent film, Metropolis!

It was fun, it was a little silly, and it was a nice escape from reality for a few days. I don’t know if we’ll ever go back again, but it was definitely worth going once.

Superman in Metropolis



Polar Vortex Cabin Fever

If you haven’t been on social media or turned on the TV in the past couple of days, you may not know that it’s been cold outside for much of the US. Like, really cold.

The arctic conditions arrived for us at the very end of Sunday night. I was a little disappointed that the storm track changed, so instead of getting a lot of snow to go with our frigid weather, we instead had a lot of rain, followed by the cold air. Others may not like the snow, but for me if it’s going to be cold, then bring on the snow and at least make it pretty.

Polar Vortex coldThis? Not so pretty.

The kids were supposed to go back to school on Monday. With the below zero temperatures expected, though, the call was made on Sunday night to cancel classes. Honestly? I wasn’t upset about it. I didn’t want the kids to go out in that weather, and I wasn’t really ready for them to go back yet. I mean, I’m ready to get back to a regular routine again, but I’m not ready to deal with the homework arguments or calls home from the school or anxiety breakdowns from Cordy.

Since we were mostly at home over the weekend, getting ready to start school and work again, Monday was a little rough. The morning wasn’t too bad, but by noon the kids were growing tired of each other and bored with everything there was to do in the house. Aaron left work at lunchtime to work from home the remainder of the day, giving me a little bit of a break from the “Make her leave me alone!” and the “Cordy won’t play a game with me, mom, will you?”

But soon the cabin fever was affecting everyone. I started to look for things to do involving the cold weather. Well, other than teaching the kids how to roll towels and jam them in windowsills to keep out the cold air. Although that is a useful skill to teach.

Those who had received the cold air earlier than us (looking at you, Minnesota and Chiberia) had already been discussing things you can only do when it’s super cold outside. Like blowing bubbles that instantly turn into beautiful frozen globes. Or filling balloons with colored water and leaving them outside to become giant marbles when you stripped off the balloon.  The ideas sounded fun, but we were limited to supplies on-hand, which didn’t include bubbles or balloons.

Then I saw the boiling water trick. (Sublimation, if you want the scientific principle behind it.) Hey, we could do that! All we needed was something to hold water and a heat source – I can provide those two things.

So I told Cordy and Mira that if they could give us just a little bit of peace and quiet to get some work done, we’d do a really neat science experiment that would seem like magic at the end of the day. Their curiosity was immediate, and thankfully bought me some solid work time.

When they couldn’t wait any longer, and when Aaron was finished with his work, we started a pot of water on the stove. This took two adults, one to handle the water and one to make a video of it. (Because videotaping it ensured that we could let them watch it again later if needed.) It was about -4 degrees outside, with a -30 wind chill, so conditions were just right.

The result? So much fun:

Mira couldn’t stop giggling, and asked us to do it twice. Actually, she asked us to repeat the experiment several times, but we stopped after two.

And, unlike some videos I saw of the same trick, no one got burned. I only wish we had a super soaker watergun on hand to shoot out the boiling water in style instead of our saucepan method.

Who says science isn’t fun?



I Left Reality Behind For Labor Day Weekend

Some people spend their Labor Day weekends watching football and having cookouts. Aaron and I spent our weekend in Atlanta at DragonCon, surrounded by sci-fi and fantasy geeks, many in costume.

This was our first visit to DragonCon, so we had no idea what to expect. Aaron has wanted to go to this convention for years, and gave up his plans of going to San Diego Comic Con this year to attend this one. His hobby is dressing up like a superhero, most often as a part of a charity group that does appearances at non-profit events for groups like Make-a-Wish and Children’s Hospital. He was excited to finally meet some of people he’s been talking with on costuming forums for the last two years. (Hmmm…meeting people you usually only talk to on the internet – sounds similar to a blog conference!)

DragonCon is a huge event. As in, 60,000 attendees. Really, it’s WAY too big for the spaces they jam it into, which led to massive crowd flow problems.

DragonCon crowdJust an idea of the lobby crowds in the evening, from 17 floors up. (That wasn’t the most crowded.)

The big draw of the con are the sessions and panels that many attend. There are panels on every possible topic in the genre, from the Science of Star Trek to Gandolf vs. Dumbledore to The Whedonverse for Beginners. Sadly, we didn’t attend any of these panels, mostly because I didn’t feel like waiting in a line for over an hour for a chance to get in to hear the panel. Again, the size of the event is a major problem.

There were a lot of celebrities at the event. I got to meet Peter Davidson, aka the Fifth Doctor. I also met John de Lancie, the actor who played Q on Star Trek: The Next Generation, and more recently was the voice of Discord on the new My Little Pony animated series. My kids loved Discord, and I grew up watching Q on Star Trek, so going to meet him was an obvious choice.

DragonCon - John de LancieYay, I met Q! And he’s really a sweet guy, even when dealing with a terrible cold!

Fun story: when I told him I’d like an autograph (these things cost money at events like this), he asked which photo on the table I’d like him to sign. I told him that my first choice would be Q, but we were getting his autograph as a gift for our daughters, so I asked if he could sign the drawing of Discord. He paused, smiled and then said, “How about this: you buy the photo of Q, and I’ll also give you the Discord print as a gift for your girls.” He signed both, addressing the Discord print to the girls with the message of “Read!” Super, super nice guy.

Aaron also met one of his favorite authors, Jim Butcher. And I also had the chance to talk with Peter S. Beagle, the author behind one of my favorite childhood movies, The Last Unicorn. I bought a graphic novel of the story and had him sign it for our girls.

DragonCon - Peter S BeagleAnd he’s a geek, too, with his WWBuffyD? shirt.

He appreciated our daughters’ names, immediately knowing they were from Shakespeare, and then told us stories about growing up in New York and going to the theater with his aunt. If there hadn’t been a line of people waiting to meet him, I think he would have shared stories with us for hours. (He told us to come back and talk more later, but he nearly always had a line of people waiting to meet him, so I didn’t get the chance.)

There was also a vendor area at DragonCon, and it was fun to walk through. Most of the items were too pricey for me, or were simply things I wouldn’t spend the money on. I did appreciate seeing a Fourth Doctor bathrobe, though.

DragonCon - Vendor area…cause the scarf is part of the robe!

But the real story of DragonCon are the costumes. This event is known for the high percentage of attendees who dress up as their favorite characters. There were costumes at all skill levels, from store bought to advanced costumer. Here are a few I took photos of:

DragonCon - Lilo & StitchIt’s Lilo & Stitch!

DragonCon - minionsMinions were very popular this year.

DragonCon - DalekYes, there was a person in there!

DragonCon - JokerSwitched gender costumes were also popular. She had a nice Joker outfit.

DragonCon - HawkgirlThose wings were very impressive.

Of course, Aaron was in costume much of the time, too. Strangely I didn’t take any pictures of him in costume, but I’m sure they’ll be out there soon. His (not-so-) secret goal for this con was to get me to dress up in costume with him. It’s not that I’m adverse to the idea – we met while both working at a renaissance festival, after all – but I don’t have time anymore to make costumes, and generally don’t like many of the costume ideas out there.

Most female superheroes are in spandex bodysuits or show way too much skin. (Or both.) And they have amazingly perfect bodies to go with those outfits. I am not drawn that way. So finding something that I could be comfortable with is a lot harder than it might seem.

And yet, in the vendor area, Aaron found something that fit my requirements and insisted I try it on. Once I tried it on, he was ready to hand over the credit card immediately. I think he liked it.

So this is the costume I wore this weekend – a steampunk version of American Dream (or female Captain America, if you prefer):

DragonCon - steampunk American DreamI only have this one photo of the costume so far.

It was fun to dress up, even if it has been a LONG time since I’ve worn a corset and had to convince my ribs to embrace the steel cage around them. In a sea of amazing costumes, I didn’t get a lot of notice at DragonCon in this outfit, but I know it made Aaron happy to join him with a hobby he likes so much. And hey, I guess I’m all set for Halloween this year, right?

I’m not saying this is going to be my new hobby, though, cause I’m already long on hobbies and short on time. Not unless someone can invent time travel.

DragonCon - TARDISI did find this TARDIS in a hallway, but couldn’t make it work. I think I need a Doctor.



Best Buy Mobile Specialty Stores

Disclosure: This is a sponsored post courtesy of Best Buy. All opinions and tips shared here are entirely my own.

Every other year, the start of July is known as upgrade-month for us. Aaron and I both have iPhones and always look forward to the end of our contract when we’re eligible for new phones. I usually start looking for any promotions in June, since we can upgrade as early as mid-June.

So this time, when it was time to upgrade, I immediately looked to our wireless provider. AT&T was running a promotion that looked good, but the fine print proved for the deal to not be as good as it sounded. I’m not going to get into details, but I’ll say their online promotion was misleading. Once it was clear that their promotion wasn’t the right one, I walked out of the AT&T store.

Best Buy MobileI was starting to face the reality that I might NOT upgrade this year when Best Buy contacted me with a promotion from their Best Buy Mobile Specialty stores. I knew they had a recycling program for older tech at the standard Best Buy stores, but I didn’t realize that they offer a trade-in program for older phones also at their mobile specialty stores, where you can get a Best Buy gift card to apply towards a new phone. [Read more…]

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