Film: Guardians of the Galaxy

GENRE: Sci-Fi/Action

RATING: PG-13 for violence and some language
RUNTIME: 2 hours and 1minute

STARRING: Chris Pratt (Moneyball, Parks and Recreation)

Zoe Saldana (Avatar, Star Trek), Lee Pace (The Hobbit)

DIRECTOR: James Gunn  (Slither)

WRITERS: Gunn (Scooby Doo) & Nicole Perlman (newcomer)

PLOT: A group of renegades try to keep a powerful orb out of the hand of Ronan the Accuser who wants to destroy a planet.

FIVE OBSERVATIONS:

1 Talk about fun. This film was mighty entertaining. Chris Pratt is perfectly cast as the sarcastic Han Solo-esque Peter Quill. You can tell that this film doesn’t take itself too seriously.

2 I didn’t expect Drax to be that funny. Dave Bautista (WWE) does a great job with his line delivery. I also enjoyed Vin Diesel (Fast & Furious) limited vocabulary as Groot.

3 Pace yells his way through the film as Ronan the Accuser but I always just think of him as the lovable Ned from Pushing Daisies.

4 The dialogue in this film is fantastic, it kind of reminded me of Joss Whedon’s writing. The story itself could have used a bit more work.

5 Awesome use of the seventies soundtrack.

RECOMMENDATION: It’s a very fun time in the theatre
UPCOMING REVIEWS: Expendables 3, Sin City 2

Film: Boyhood

GENRE: Drama

RATING: R for language, sexual references, drug use
RUNTIME: 2 hours and 45minutes

STARRING: Patricia Arquette (True Romance, Medium)

Ellar Coltrane (Fast Food Nation), Ethan Hawke (Before Sunrise)

DIRECTOR: Richard Linklater  (A Scanner Darkly, Before Sunset)

WRITER: Richard Linklater (Dazed and Confused, Before Midnight)

PLOT: With his parents divorced, see  life through the eyes of Mason from age five to eighteen.

FIVE OBSERVATIONS:

1 The idea of shooting this film over twelve years is nothing short of brilliant. There’s a naturalness to the aging that can only be captured by watching the characters (and the actors who play them) mature slowly. Take a look at some of the top critic comments at Rotten Tomatoes (100% rating) if you have any doubt that this movie has changed filmmaking as we know it.

2 Linklater lucked out with Coltrane who grows into quite the impressive actor, although he is pretty sweet at age five as well. He kind of reminded me of Shane Botwin (Alexander Gould) from Weeds. Also, it’s interesting to see his different hairstyles through the years.

3 The writing is fantastic. Since many conversation were based on what Coltrane was going through at the time, it comes across as completely improvised and sometimes even documentary-like in places. Kudos Linklater.

4 While most of the almost three hours fly by, his last couple years drag on a little too long. Sure, there is some great insights, but I would have preferred a tighter closing act.

5 Texas 16^th birthday gifts: Bible and a shotgun?  Sounds about right.

RECOMMENDATION: It deserves your money, see it in theatres

UPCOMING REVIEWS: Guardians of the Galaxy

Film: Lucy

GENRE: Action/Sci-Fi

RATING: R for strong violence and disturbing images
RUNTIME: 1 hour and 30minutes

STARRING: Scarlett Johansson (Avengers, Lost is Translation, Her)

Morgan Freeman (Oblivion), Min-sik Choi (Oldboy – original version)

DIRECTOR: Luc Besson  (The Fifth Element; La Femme Nikita)

WRITER: Luc Besson (Leon: The Professional; The Transporter)

PLOT: A woman, caught up in a drug mule situation, goes up against her captors when her brain is affected by the drugs.

FIVE OBSERVATIONS:

1 Looking at the trailer, I was expecting more action in this film. I got a little too much trippy cerebral stuff. Johansson is great but I wanted more butt kicking.

2 There are some fun nature cutaways in the opening scenes.

3 Speaking of nature shots, this film seemed to blend Bradley Cooper’s Limitless with footage from Terrence Malick’s Tree of Life. Beautiful cinematography but a lot of it.

4 They really insisted on playing up the language barrier. Lots of Chinese. I find it hard to believe that a crime boss as big as Mr. Jang wouldn’t know another language.

5 After seeing what Johansson went through, I am glad I only use a small part of my brain. [insert joke here]

RECOMMENDATION: Wait for TBS

UPCOMING REVIEWS: Guardians of the Galaxy

Film: Wish I Was Here

GENRE: Comedy / Drama

RATING: R for language and some sexual content
RUNTIME: 1 hour and 46 minutes

STARRING: Zach Braff (Scrubs, Garden State, Oz Great & Powerful)

Kate Hudson (Almost Famous), Josh Gad (Frozen, 21)

DIRECTOR: Zach Braff  (Garden State, some Scrubs episodes)

WRITERS: Zach Braff (Garden State) & Adam Braff (crew of Chaplin)

PLOT: A middle aged man is at a crossroads in his life, career and family when he finds out his disapproving father is dying.

FIVE OBSERVATIONS:

1 I have always enjoyed Zach Braff’s work. I find him extremely relatable for some reason. I loved Garden State. This is not as good but I still enjoyed it. There are great moments throughout but also some parts drag and are a little too schmaltzy. But my man-crush on Braff forgives the slowness.

2 I like all the actors Braff brought aboard. It was awesome seeing him with Turk again (Donald Faison) even though it was a small moment. Jim Parson (Big Bang Theory) practically got his start in Garden State, so it was fun to see him in another Braff film. I haven’t seen Alexander Chaplin (Spin City) in ages, so that was fun. And of course, Mandy Patinkin as Braff’s father was outstanding even though at times he seemed more beard than man.

3 There’s a spaceman thread that runs throughout the film. I understand the meaning but it didn’t really work for me.

4 I love the use of the swear jar. What a great prop.

5 The soundtrack is not as tight as Garden State but there are still some gems in there. I loved the use of Paul Simon’s ‘Obvious Child’.

RECOMMENDATION: Wait for the rental

UPCOMING REVIEWS: Lucy; Guardians of the Galaxy

Film: 22 Jump Street

GENRE: Action / Comedy

RATING: R for language, violence, and some sexual content
RUNTIME: 1 hour and 52 minutes

STARRING: Channing Tatum (White House Down, Magic Mike, GI Joe)

Jonah Hill (Wolf of Wall Street), Ice Cube (Ride Along, Are We There Yet)

DIRECTOR: Phil Lord & Chris Miller  (Lego Movie, 21 Jump Street)

WRITERS: Michael Bacall (Scott Pilgrim vs the World, Project X)

Rodney Rothman (Grudge Match) Oren Uziel (newcomer)

PLOT: Schmidt and Jenko do the same things as last time only this time they are in college.

FIVE OBSERVATIONS:

1 Talk about a meta movie. There was a plethora of references to the fact that this film is a sequel often commenting on doing the same thing with a bigger budget. The hilarious end credits really drive the idea home.

2 Tatum and Hill have fantastic chemistry. They play so well off each other. And who would have thought Channing Tatum could be so funny. His realization of who Schmidt slept with is hysterical.

3 I’m glad they used Ice Cube more this time around.

4 While it’s funny, the film still is thirty minutes to long. The middle is overdone. It takes way too long to get to the conclusion.  

5 Wyatt Russell who plays Zook, just looks and acts like a poor man’s Owen Wilson.

RECOMMENDATION: Funny at theatre or at home.

UPCOMING REVIEWS: Wish I Was Here; Lucy

2014 Dream Emmy Nominations

The votes for the Emmy Award nominations are due soon. Looking over the very long ballot, these would be my dream nominations for the upcoming Emmys. Some of these are long shots but its fun to dream.

Lead Actor in a Drama Series

·         Bryan Cranston as Walter White [Breaking Bad]

·         Jeff Daniels as Will McAvoy [The Newsroom]

·         Clark Gregg as Agent Phil Coulson [Agents of SHIELD]

·         Matthew McConaughey as Rust Cohle [True Detective]

·         Kevin Spacey as Francis Underwood [House of Cards]

·         James Spader as Raymond Reddington [The Blacklist]

Lead Actress in a Drama Series

·         Lizzy Caplan as Virginia Johnson [Masters of Sex]

·         Claire Danes as Carrie Mathison [Homeland]

·         Vera Farmiga as Norma Bates [Bates Motel]

·         Ginnifer Goodwin as Snow White/Mary [Once Upon a Time]

·         Keri Russell as Elizabeth Jennings [The Americans]

·         Robin Wright as Claire Underwood [House of Cards]

Lead Actor in a Comedy Series

·         Jake Johnson as Nick Miller [New Girl]

·         Stephen Merchant as Stuart Pritchard [Hello Ladies]

·         Chris Messina as Danny Castellano [The Mindy Project]

·         Thomas Middleditch as Richard [Silicon Valley]

·         Jim Parsons as Sheldon Cooper [Big Bang Theory]

·         Andy Samberg as Jake Peralta [Brooklyn Nine-Nine]

Lead Actress in a Comedy Series

·         Zooey Deschanel as Jessica Day [New Girl]

·         Anna Faris as Christy [Mom]

·         Mindy Kaling as Dr. Mindy Lahiri [The Mindy Project]

·         Julia Louis-Dreyfus as Selina Meyer [Veep]

·         Amy Poehler as Leslie Knope [Parks and Recreation]

·         Taylor Schilling as Piper Chapman [Orange is the New Black]

Supporting Actor in a Drama Series

·         Charles Dance as Tywin Lannister [Game of Thrones]

·         Peter Dinklage as Tyrion Lannister [Game of Thrones]

·         Colin O’Donoghue as Captain Hook / Killian[Once Upon a Time]

·         Aaron Paul as Jesse Pinkman [Breaking Bad]

·         Sam Waterson as Charlie Skinner [The Newsroom]

·         Jeffrey Wright as Valentin Narcisse [Boardwalk Empire]

Supporting Actress in a Drama Series

·         Jennifer Captenter as Debra Morgan [Dexter]

·         Emilia Clarke as Daenerys Targaryen [Game of Thrones]

·         Elizabeth Henstridge as Agent Simmons [Agents of SHIELD]

·         Olivia Munn as Sloan Sabbith [The Newsroom]

·         Maggie Smith as Dowager Countess [Downton Abbey]

·         Bex Taylor-Klaus as Bullet [The Killing]

Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series

·         Fred Armisen as Various Characters [Portlandia]

·         Ty Burrell as Phil Dunphy  [Modern Family]

·         Bobby Moynihan as Various Charactes [SNL]

·         Nick Offerman as Ron Swanson [Parks and Recreation]

·         Benjamin Stockham as Marcus [About a Boy]

·         Matt Walsh as Mike McLintock [Veep]

Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series

·         Mayim Bialik as Amy Farrah Fowler [The Big Bang Theory]

·         Danielle Brooks as Taystee [Orange is the New Black]

·         Carrie Brownstein as Various Characters [Portlandia]

·         Aidy Bryant as Various Characters [SNL]

·         Aubrey Plaza as April Ludgate [Parks and Recreation]

·         Cecily Strong as Various Characters [SNL]

Writing for a Drama Series

·         All In [Boardwalk Empire]

·         Ozymandias [Breaking Bad]

·         Big Man in Tehran [Homeland]

·         Turn, Turn, Turn [Marvel’s Agents of SHIELD]

·         News Night with Will McAvoy [The Newsroom]

Writing for a Comedy Series

·         The Proton Displacement[Big Bang Theory]

·         Pilot [Brooklyn Nine-Nine]

·         So Did The Fat Lady [Louie]

·         Vegas [Modern Family]

·         Moving Up [Parks and Recreation]

Drama Series

·         Breaking Bad

·         Game of Thrones

·         House of Cards

·         Marvel’s Agents of SHIELD

·         The Newsroom

Comedy Series

·         About a Boy

·         Big Bang Theory

·         Modern Family

·         Parks and Recreation

·         Silicon Valley

Main Title Design

·         American Horror Story: Coven

·         Masters of Sex

·         Sleepy Hollow

·         True Detective

·         Turn

The nominations are announced on July 10^th at 5:40am.