This movie, oh man, this movie was a bit different than I was expecting, which I think was a good thing. In all honesty, I didn't know what to expect from this movie, but it did things that were quite wonderful. It is probably for the best that Marvel had waited until the end of their 2nd phase of movies to release this movie, it is based on a comic, but I honestly had no previous knowledge of the characters, although I did recently get a copy of the first Rocket Raccoon, I just haven't read it yet.
This movie does something that none of the Marvel movies to date had done by including lots of music, and I thought the music was very well selected as well, a list of the tracks can be found here. The music is a lot of 70's pop music, and I think the combination would be something that my mom would really like getting and listening to. None of the other Marvel movies have more than maybe one of two songs within them, and there are 5-10 songs played in part during the movie. I thought the music and the reasons it was so prominent helped the story and motivation within the movie.
This movie has been called the funniest Marvel movie in ads, and also on Rotten Tomatoes I will say that this could not be more true! Other Marvel movies have had humor in them, but this movie really has humor through the entire movie. There are so many good laughs, even within the action and fight scenes. This movie has such a wonderful sense of humor, but just because it is funny doesn't mean this movie doesn't also have heart. There is some sadness in this movie, in fact there is sadness in the movie for each of the main characters, some more than others, but some of them have extremely tragic moments in the movie. I was close to crying in this movie a few different times, that is just something I would not have expected from the funniest movie in the Marvel world.
I must say that this movie should be a launching platform for James Gunn the director. He has already done 2 movies that I own and love, the Dawn of the Dead remake, and also the scifi horror movie Slither, but this will likely enable him to make other studio films, that is if he wants to. Marvel announced that there would be a second Guardians movie even before the first one was released, and the movie beat projections by more than $20 million, which is crazy from a lesser known comic.
This movie was just so much fun, there really isn't much wasted time, and the pacing is fast, but just the right speed to allow the brain to follow everything that was going on. All of the characters have their moments, and also all of the characters are funny in their own way. The movie is extremely well written, with lots of funny jokes, each of the characters have their own personality which is more than can be said for some other comic book movies.
I don't think that there is a weak link in this cast. The 5 main characters are all amazing. Vin Diesel as Groot is great even though he has a limited vocabulary. I wouldn't have known that Rocket was played by Bradley Cooper from the voice, but he did such a wonderful job in that role. Chris Pratt is well on his way to being a star with 2 awesome movies out this year, and he will also be the lead in Jurassic World coming out next summer. There are also many wonderful actors in smaller roles including academy award nominees Glenn Close, John C. Reilly, and Djimon Hounsou, as well as one winner in Benicio Del Toro. Also for all of the Whovians out there we have Karen Gillan is also in the movie, with lots of makeup and prosthetics.
The movie has some wonderful 80's references in it, and it also makes fun of it self at times, such as when something convenient happens to help advance the plot. They also make fun of the fact that Groot only says "I am Groot" which is wonderful when it happens in the movie.
Because there is already a sequel in the works, I have a strong feeling that a lot of the things introduced in this movie will come back in the sequel. There are some lines that hint at more, but there so many of them it is hard to know exactly which direction the series will go. There is also the possibility of a crossover as sometimes in the comics some other marvel characters fight alongside the Guardians.
One thing that sets this apart from the other Marvel Studios movies is that these characters are not really superheroes. They are more along the lines of a ragtag group of losers than superheroes. I really look forward to where the movies go in the future, and I will gladly pay money to see the next movie.
This year has been wonderful for movies for me, I will likely buy all of the movies I have seen today, and that says a lot because I don't buy many movies anymore. This movie was just so engaging and moved at a wonderful pace that it just flew by. I have seen it twice and will gladly go see it again. Because of all of these things I had to rank it first for the year, and it is hard to imagine a movie beating it, but we will see.
2014 Movie Rankings:
1. Guardians of the Galaxy
2. Captain America: The Winter Soldier
3. How To Train Your Dragon 2
4. 22 Jump Street
5. X-Men: Days of Future Past
6. The Lego Movie
Rankings of the Avengers Movies:
1. Guardians of the Galaxy
2. The Avengers
3. Iron Man
4. Captain America: The Winter Soldier
5. Captain America
6. Iron Man 3
7. Thor
8. The Incredible Hulk
9. Thor: The Dark World
10. Iron Man 2
Showing posts with label Comedy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Comedy. Show all posts
Thursday, August 7, 2014
Thursday, June 26, 2014
22 Jump Street
Holy shit this movie was awesome, I think it actually outdid the first movie, and I quite enjoyed the first one. This movie earned my love early on when they had an open and blatant discussion about how sequels are never as good as the originals. I really enjoyed the self awareness and the meta moments in the movie.
The movie was a parody of action movie sequels while also being a great sequel to the first movie. I really thought the writing in this movie was really well done. Lots of the background things are jokes in themselves, such as the cadence the quarterback is calling out includes the words color and number in the actual cadence not colors of numbers. The movie also pokes fun at the buddy cop genre a bit, and their needing to make it clear that the people aren't gay repeatedly, the movie version of saying no homo. Someone in the movie says in Ice Cube's presence "that looks like a giant ice cube." There were also jokes in the movie about how they had double the budget, and also commentary about how they were running low on the budget.
The movie was able to have some quality action like the first movie, but also had many huge laughs. I actually teared up a few times from crying in this movie, and I guarantee that I missed some of the jokes from the movie because I was still laughing at the previous jokes. I will need to watch the movie again to get more of the jokes and possible background gags.
I don't want to give away any of the details twists and turns in the movie, I will say that some are much more predictable than others. I called one of them out right away, but one of the others was a little less obvious to me.
I think that all of the performances in this movie are quite entertaining, they even brought back some randoms from the first movie that you wouldn't have thought would be back in this one. Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum in particular really take over the movie, and Ice Cube is great in his scenes again.
I will say all of these positive things about the movie, but everyone should know what they are getting into, there are many low brow jokes in this movie. It is quite the entertaining movie, but it really isn't a high minded movie at all. If you saw the first movie, you will know what to expect from for the level of humor in this movie. There are a few call backs to the first movie, including a covalent bonds mention.
All in all I had to rank this movie in the middle of the pack of the movies I have seen this year, I would honestly see any of these movies in the theaters again. It has been a good year all around for movies when I didn't think there would be that many that I would like. I would rate all of these movies as a B or higher on a grading scale, now coming up I might see the new Transformers movie, but it depends on where the rotten tomatoes rating lies.
2014 Movie Rankings:
1. Captain America: The Winter Soldier
2. How To Train Your Dragon 2
3. 22 Jump Street
4. X-Men: Days of Future Past
5. The Lego Movie
The movie was a parody of action movie sequels while also being a great sequel to the first movie. I really thought the writing in this movie was really well done. Lots of the background things are jokes in themselves, such as the cadence the quarterback is calling out includes the words color and number in the actual cadence not colors of numbers. The movie also pokes fun at the buddy cop genre a bit, and their needing to make it clear that the people aren't gay repeatedly, the movie version of saying no homo. Someone in the movie says in Ice Cube's presence "that looks like a giant ice cube." There were also jokes in the movie about how they had double the budget, and also commentary about how they were running low on the budget.
The movie was able to have some quality action like the first movie, but also had many huge laughs. I actually teared up a few times from crying in this movie, and I guarantee that I missed some of the jokes from the movie because I was still laughing at the previous jokes. I will need to watch the movie again to get more of the jokes and possible background gags.
I don't want to give away any of the details twists and turns in the movie, I will say that some are much more predictable than others. I called one of them out right away, but one of the others was a little less obvious to me.
I think that all of the performances in this movie are quite entertaining, they even brought back some randoms from the first movie that you wouldn't have thought would be back in this one. Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum in particular really take over the movie, and Ice Cube is great in his scenes again.
I will say all of these positive things about the movie, but everyone should know what they are getting into, there are many low brow jokes in this movie. It is quite the entertaining movie, but it really isn't a high minded movie at all. If you saw the first movie, you will know what to expect from for the level of humor in this movie. There are a few call backs to the first movie, including a covalent bonds mention.
All in all I had to rank this movie in the middle of the pack of the movies I have seen this year, I would honestly see any of these movies in the theaters again. It has been a good year all around for movies when I didn't think there would be that many that I would like. I would rate all of these movies as a B or higher on a grading scale, now coming up I might see the new Transformers movie, but it depends on where the rotten tomatoes rating lies.
2014 Movie Rankings:
1. Captain America: The Winter Soldier
2. How To Train Your Dragon 2
3. 22 Jump Street
4. X-Men: Days of Future Past
5. The Lego Movie
Sunday, June 1, 2014
Garfunkel and Oates
Garfunkel and Oates are a comedy music duo that I have liked for quite a long time. They have had so many wonderful songs that I listen to quite regularly. The duo is made up of Riki Lindhome and Kate Miccuci both of whom are actresses that have been in many random shows and movies. I first heard of them on various comedy podcasts both playing songs as well as just comedy guests.
I wanted to write about them because they have a show coming out on IFC later this summer. I have been searching, but there is not a specific start date from what I can find. They are doing 10 episodes, and I trust in the creativity and humor that they will no doubt have in there show. Ben Savage is actually producing and directing the show, yes that same Ben Savage, he has become quite the comedy producer and director over the years including but not limited to episodes of Party Down, 2 Broke Girls, and Its Always Sunny to name a few. The limited series will allow Riki and Kate to write more of the stuff themselves while not changing the voice of the show.
I thought I would include a few of their songs in this post for people to enjoy for those interested they are NSFW and mom you probably wouldn't enjoy them so much:
I will stop at 4 videos, but feel free to search on YouTube for them, they have probably about a couple dozen videos out there, and I think the are hilarious as well as great at writing dirty rhymes.
I wanted to write about them because they have a show coming out on IFC later this summer. I have been searching, but there is not a specific start date from what I can find. They are doing 10 episodes, and I trust in the creativity and humor that they will no doubt have in there show. Ben Savage is actually producing and directing the show, yes that same Ben Savage, he has become quite the comedy producer and director over the years including but not limited to episodes of Party Down, 2 Broke Girls, and Its Always Sunny to name a few. The limited series will allow Riki and Kate to write more of the stuff themselves while not changing the voice of the show.
I thought I would include a few of their songs in this post for people to enjoy for those interested they are NSFW and mom you probably wouldn't enjoy them so much:
I will stop at 4 videos, but feel free to search on YouTube for them, they have probably about a couple dozen videos out there, and I think the are hilarious as well as great at writing dirty rhymes.
Saturday, July 13, 2013
IFC Shows
I have really loved what IFC has done with their original comedies, in their attempts, they have 3 shows that I really love, and the also have the rights to reruns of several other shows. I just wanted to show a little love for these shows, and I hope they keep making more original content like these shows. These are not the types of comedies that you would see on network television, they each have their own specific style and voice, and I am really glad these types of shows have found a home somewhere.
Portlandia
I think Portlandia is their current flagship show so to speak. It has aired 3 seasons, and the premise is really just examining cartoonish character that are found throughout Portland, Oregon. Every scene has Fred and Carrie in it, in many cases they are dressed up in unusual costumes, and Fred definitely does some cross dressing. There are some characters that appear regularly, and others that are more one off in the show's run. I love the writing of the show, and really the creativity. I also love the theme song that gets stuck in my head every time I hear it. I believe the first 2 seasons can be found on Netflix if you want to check some of it out.
Maron
The first season on Maron aired this past spring, with a 10 episode run that ended a few weeks ago. I am hopeful that it will be renewed for a 2nd season. The show follows a fictionalized version of the shows creator and star Marc Maron. The show follows him through different situations in his life from dating, to dealing with internet trolls. The show definitely has his voice captured well, and it even incorporates his podcast WTF into the plot at times, and also brings in different stars that way as well. Marc Maron has definitely spent a long time trying to find his place in the comedy world, and he is finally hitting his stride with his own very unique voice. For people who are fans of Louie on FX, this show has a similar feel to that show. Hopefully this show will be available in Netflix eventually, but because it is so new, its not yet available there.
Comedy Bang Bang
Comedy Bang Bang is a show that has been in many forms, it was originally called Comedy Death Ray, and was a radio show as well as a weekly comedy show in Los Angeles. The shows changed its name to Comedy Bang Bang, and the stage show eventually went away, the creator and host of the show is Scott Aukerman. Both the tv show and the podcast show have appearances from both real celebrities, and comedians and improvisers playing all sorts of characters. The television show really is an absurdist's take on the normal late night talk show format, with many weird and bizarre moments. The shows band is Reggie Watts, if you haven't heard of him, you should definitely look up some of his videos on Youtube, he is able to create some amazing songs all on his own, no backing instruments at all, he uses tools to loop his own voices to make melodies. On the show Scott will have one celebrity guest and at least one character of some kind, you will see some of the funniest people in the comedy world making experiences. I will admit that this show might not fit everyone's sense of humor, but the weirdness of it really makes me laugh a lot. The first season of the show is found on Netflix, and the 2nd season of 20 episodes starts last night July 12th. I am a big fan of supporting comedy that I like so I would really like to get more people to watch the show if at all possible.
Like I said before, I really like that IFC has taken chances on such unique shows and letting the talents involved with the shows have their own creative control and vision. If you don't interfere too much on the network side, lots of amazing things can be made in television.
Portlandia
I think Portlandia is their current flagship show so to speak. It has aired 3 seasons, and the premise is really just examining cartoonish character that are found throughout Portland, Oregon. Every scene has Fred and Carrie in it, in many cases they are dressed up in unusual costumes, and Fred definitely does some cross dressing. There are some characters that appear regularly, and others that are more one off in the show's run. I love the writing of the show, and really the creativity. I also love the theme song that gets stuck in my head every time I hear it. I believe the first 2 seasons can be found on Netflix if you want to check some of it out.
Maron
The first season on Maron aired this past spring, with a 10 episode run that ended a few weeks ago. I am hopeful that it will be renewed for a 2nd season. The show follows a fictionalized version of the shows creator and star Marc Maron. The show follows him through different situations in his life from dating, to dealing with internet trolls. The show definitely has his voice captured well, and it even incorporates his podcast WTF into the plot at times, and also brings in different stars that way as well. Marc Maron has definitely spent a long time trying to find his place in the comedy world, and he is finally hitting his stride with his own very unique voice. For people who are fans of Louie on FX, this show has a similar feel to that show. Hopefully this show will be available in Netflix eventually, but because it is so new, its not yet available there.
Comedy Bang Bang
Comedy Bang Bang is a show that has been in many forms, it was originally called Comedy Death Ray, and was a radio show as well as a weekly comedy show in Los Angeles. The shows changed its name to Comedy Bang Bang, and the stage show eventually went away, the creator and host of the show is Scott Aukerman. Both the tv show and the podcast show have appearances from both real celebrities, and comedians and improvisers playing all sorts of characters. The television show really is an absurdist's take on the normal late night talk show format, with many weird and bizarre moments. The shows band is Reggie Watts, if you haven't heard of him, you should definitely look up some of his videos on Youtube, he is able to create some amazing songs all on his own, no backing instruments at all, he uses tools to loop his own voices to make melodies. On the show Scott will have one celebrity guest and at least one character of some kind, you will see some of the funniest people in the comedy world making experiences. I will admit that this show might not fit everyone's sense of humor, but the weirdness of it really makes me laugh a lot. The first season of the show is found on Netflix, and the 2nd season of 20 episodes starts last night July 12th. I am a big fan of supporting comedy that I like so I would really like to get more people to watch the show if at all possible.
Like I said before, I really like that IFC has taken chances on such unique shows and letting the talents involved with the shows have their own creative control and vision. If you don't interfere too much on the network side, lots of amazing things can be made in television.
Sunday, October 14, 2012
Pete Holmes
I have been wanting to write a post about my love for standup comedy for a long time, but I really have not gotten around to it, maybe some other day. I have been to a few standup shows in the last year, prior to that my knowledge of standup had been from tv and from comedy albums, not live. This is really a post about the most recent visit to a comedy club.
The headlining comedian of the night was Pete Holmes. When he had first announced that he would be coming to Appleton, probably about 4 months beforehand, I told my girlfriend that we had to go! I would normally have preferred to go to a Friday or Saturday show, but we had items conflicting with both of those days, so we went to the Thursday show with some friends. I really wasn't sure what the club would be like on a Thursday night.
The club was not completely full, but was mostly full. We got there pretty early and got seated at the front, something you normally have to pay extra for. I think the crowd was really into the show, which always helps, and I was very excited for the show. I had only seen a few of Pete Holmes' bits, but really love his podcast, You Made it Weird, which you can find on iTunes.
I really enjoyed all of the comedians that were on that night. I had seen the host/emcee do his act a few times before, but I could tell that he had been working on his bits, and his act had become more polished. The comedians did a great job of getting the crowd going, when Pete came out, I think he could tell that the crowd was into it.
Now for those of your who may not know me in person, I really love to laugh. I think it is really easy to make me laugh, and my sense of humor encompasses just about all aspect of humor. I am a bit of a laugh slut, I give up my laughs pretty easily, what can I say? I just love to laugh.
As I knew from listening to Pete's podcast, he and I really have similar senses of humor, even when he is riffing he makes me laugh a lot. His set was no different, I was with him from the first joke, laughing very very hard, and enjoying every moment of his set. He noticed how hard I was laughing, asked me my name during the set, and went on a riff out of that, he called my King Peter, and made some other nice comments about how I am just living life and enjoying it. When he was starting into a bit he asked for my help in guiding the people with my laughs. In the end it was my favorite set of comedy that I have seen in person. My expectations were pretty high, but he just blew them out of the water.
When he got of stage he had to go behind me, he tapped me on the shoulder, stuck out his had for me to shake it, and said thank you. A comedian who made me laugh harder than I can ever remember laughing, thanked me personally after his set. How awesome of a guy is he? Well it gets better!
Went to talk to him for a few minutes in the lobby after the show, he actually didn't recognize me right away, I would guess the lights are pretty bright on stage. Once I identified myself, he got really excited, called me King Peter again, I got my picture taken with him, and the best part of all was that he said anytime he was in town he would put me on his guest list and I could get in for free!!! How awesome could this guy be?
It was my first real interaction with someone that I am a fan of, and boy did Pete Holmes not let me down. I really was, and still am, blown away. I would gladly pay to see him do his set anytime he is in the area. I honestly don't know what else I can really say other than how amazing of a guy he is?
After the show I was really on a laugh high, it took me quite a while to come down from it, also something I have never really had to deal with before.
I will say that I know he is recording an hour long special for Comedy Central in a little over a week, I hope him the best with that, I will definitely be watching it when it comes on. He also made a pilot for a show that would follow Conan, which I think would be awesome to see. I really hope it gets picked up, Pete Holmes deserves to get more notoriety.
I guess the point of this post is really to say how awesome it can be when you have high expectations, and when those expectations are exceeded. I will always appreciate when someone is so nice and well just all around awesome. He was able to turn a big fan into an even bigger fan.
The headlining comedian of the night was Pete Holmes. When he had first announced that he would be coming to Appleton, probably about 4 months beforehand, I told my girlfriend that we had to go! I would normally have preferred to go to a Friday or Saturday show, but we had items conflicting with both of those days, so we went to the Thursday show with some friends. I really wasn't sure what the club would be like on a Thursday night.
The club was not completely full, but was mostly full. We got there pretty early and got seated at the front, something you normally have to pay extra for. I think the crowd was really into the show, which always helps, and I was very excited for the show. I had only seen a few of Pete Holmes' bits, but really love his podcast, You Made it Weird, which you can find on iTunes.
I really enjoyed all of the comedians that were on that night. I had seen the host/emcee do his act a few times before, but I could tell that he had been working on his bits, and his act had become more polished. The comedians did a great job of getting the crowd going, when Pete came out, I think he could tell that the crowd was into it.
Now for those of your who may not know me in person, I really love to laugh. I think it is really easy to make me laugh, and my sense of humor encompasses just about all aspect of humor. I am a bit of a laugh slut, I give up my laughs pretty easily, what can I say? I just love to laugh.
As I knew from listening to Pete's podcast, he and I really have similar senses of humor, even when he is riffing he makes me laugh a lot. His set was no different, I was with him from the first joke, laughing very very hard, and enjoying every moment of his set. He noticed how hard I was laughing, asked me my name during the set, and went on a riff out of that, he called my King Peter, and made some other nice comments about how I am just living life and enjoying it. When he was starting into a bit he asked for my help in guiding the people with my laughs. In the end it was my favorite set of comedy that I have seen in person. My expectations were pretty high, but he just blew them out of the water.
When he got of stage he had to go behind me, he tapped me on the shoulder, stuck out his had for me to shake it, and said thank you. A comedian who made me laugh harder than I can ever remember laughing, thanked me personally after his set. How awesome of a guy is he? Well it gets better!
Went to talk to him for a few minutes in the lobby after the show, he actually didn't recognize me right away, I would guess the lights are pretty bright on stage. Once I identified myself, he got really excited, called me King Peter again, I got my picture taken with him, and the best part of all was that he said anytime he was in town he would put me on his guest list and I could get in for free!!! How awesome could this guy be?
It was my first real interaction with someone that I am a fan of, and boy did Pete Holmes not let me down. I really was, and still am, blown away. I would gladly pay to see him do his set anytime he is in the area. I honestly don't know what else I can really say other than how amazing of a guy he is?
After the show I was really on a laugh high, it took me quite a while to come down from it, also something I have never really had to deal with before.
I will say that I know he is recording an hour long special for Comedy Central in a little over a week, I hope him the best with that, I will definitely be watching it when it comes on. He also made a pilot for a show that would follow Conan, which I think would be awesome to see. I really hope it gets picked up, Pete Holmes deserves to get more notoriety.
I guess the point of this post is really to say how awesome it can be when you have high expectations, and when those expectations are exceeded. I will always appreciate when someone is so nice and well just all around awesome. He was able to turn a big fan into an even bigger fan.
Sunday, September 30, 2012
Pitch Perfect
Well for those of you who know me, you wouldn't think that this would be the kind of movie that I would enjoy, I was interested in seeing seeing it because of Anna Kendrick and Rebel Wilson. I went in with modest expectations and was impressed with the overall movie.
There were several big laughs throughout the movie. I was impressed by how funny the movie was overall. Kendrick and Wilson both had some great laughs. I thought the cast overall was was good in the movie. Adam Devine, who is on Comedy Central's show Workaholics, is kind of the villain in the movie and does a good job being unlikable in the movie as well.
The movie kept me interested, while also not really breaking new ground. The story is fairly predictable, but the characters are very interesting, and the songs are fun. It would have really taken me out of it if the singing was used for plot points, or to tell the story, but thankfully it isn't.
This was a cute movie, there really weren't any parts that I didn't enjoy. It was a good date movie, which is what my girlfriend and I used it for. You don't have to think too much about it, but still get some laughs and a sweet story.
I will say this as a disclaimer, there are a few gross out scenes in the movie, didn't bother me, but might bother some people.
If you have any interest in this movie, I would definitely recommend seeing it. It really left me satisfied, even if the story was not all that complicated.
I will add that I had never seen an episode of Glee before seeing this movie, but I passively listened to one after the movie, and the movie is quite a bit different. The singing plot points that I saw in Glee definitely annoyed me, but my girlfriend enjoys Glee and liked Pitch Perfect as well.
There were several big laughs throughout the movie. I was impressed by how funny the movie was overall. Kendrick and Wilson both had some great laughs. I thought the cast overall was was good in the movie. Adam Devine, who is on Comedy Central's show Workaholics, is kind of the villain in the movie and does a good job being unlikable in the movie as well.
The movie kept me interested, while also not really breaking new ground. The story is fairly predictable, but the characters are very interesting, and the songs are fun. It would have really taken me out of it if the singing was used for plot points, or to tell the story, but thankfully it isn't.
This was a cute movie, there really weren't any parts that I didn't enjoy. It was a good date movie, which is what my girlfriend and I used it for. You don't have to think too much about it, but still get some laughs and a sweet story.
I will say this as a disclaimer, there are a few gross out scenes in the movie, didn't bother me, but might bother some people.
If you have any interest in this movie, I would definitely recommend seeing it. It really left me satisfied, even if the story was not all that complicated.
I will add that I had never seen an episode of Glee before seeing this movie, but I passively listened to one after the movie, and the movie is quite a bit different. The singing plot points that I saw in Glee definitely annoyed me, but my girlfriend enjoys Glee and liked Pitch Perfect as well.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)