This column will introduce you to the most popular movies that are coming out in theaters this weekend.
What movie will you see?
3 Generations (limited release)
3 Generations tells the story of Ray, a young female who is transitioning to become a male and how her family will respond to her change. Starring in this drama are Elle Fanning, Susan Sarandon, Naomi Watts, Linda Emond (Julia & Julia), and more. Gaby Dellal is the writer and director of the flick. Dellal has directed On a Clear Day and Angels Crest. Now, find some transportation to see this transgender flick. That joke was kinda tacky. Oh well.
The Dinner
Paul, reluctant to go to dinner with his brother and their wives, are not there for just dinner. Dun Dun Dun. Pauls brother has an ulterior motive as to why they got together. This dramatic thriller stars Richard Gere, Laura Linney, Steve Coogan, Rebecca Hall, Chloe Sevigny, and more. Writing and directing this flick is Oren Moverman. Moverman wrote and directed The Messenger and Rampart. He also wrote the screenplay for I’m Not There. Go out to dinner and then check out The Dinner.
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2
Do I really need to go over the synopsis of this movie? Exactly. So, I won’t. Returning for the sequel are Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Dave Bautista, Vin Diesel, Bradley Cooper, Michael Rooker, Karen Gillan, and Sean Gunn (brother of James). Now, lets welcome the newcomers…Pom Klementieff (Old Boy – 2013), Sylvester Stallone, Kurt “Nate hates me” Russell, Tommy Flanagan (SOA), and more. James Gunn returns as writer and director because he’s no dummy. Gunn has also signed on for GOTG Vol. 3 because again, he’s no dummy. No pun here. Just go see this flick this weekend.
You heard them talk about 12 Star Trek movies already, so what harm could one more do? Garrett and Freak are back to give their review of the divisive Star Trek Beyond. What did they love? What did they hate? How many comparisons to the Gilmore Girls can Garrett cram into one podcast? Download to find out.
After the Academy Awards finished last night Moreno, Ammon, and Law found themselves recording a brand new BingeCast and discussing everything that went down at the big show. Why is John Travolta the weirdest dude on the planet? Tanning Chatum was high as balls. Octavia Spencer has the improv skills of a fork. Zoe Saldana is hot as hell. All these topics are covered early and often. Also, how did NPH do? And many babadiicks to spread around.
There’s also a regular show in here somewhere when we get to TV Round-UP and talk The Americans, Banshee, The Walking Dead, Justified, and Better Call Saul.
What did you watch has the word on HOT TUB TIME MACHINE 2, WILD CARD, THE THEORY OF EVERYTHING, TOP FIVE, and HEAT.
I had 4 hours sleep. Go listen to the show and leave me alone until Tuesday, when our new Banshee commentary will be up. Friday brings a new Binge Aftertaste too. Seriously, leave me alone.
Holy crap, Lizzy Caplan might as well show up to the set of Master’s of Sex naked. The woman shows off her tits more than your average stripper. Not that I’d know. Jessica Alba is salvaging whatever points she can from SIN CITY 2 by scoring a Maxim cover this week and Pete MC is still coasting along with the power trip of GUARDIANS. We’re turning a corner as far as box office goes though so expect some serious battles for the number one spot each and every week from here until January-ish. Hit the link below for the entire spreadsheet or simply save the picture below as your profile pic on Facebook if you love it so much.
And then there was one….. dude with absolutely no points that will hopefully pass Ammon in the near future. Meanwhile, Pete MC continues to ride the domination of Zoe Saldana in Guardians. He’s went from middle of the pack to top 4 in less than 4 weeks. Relax, Pete MC. Hopefully the Fall movies can mix things up a little bit. Click the link below to see the entire spreadsheet or simply stare at the picture as if it one of those magical pictures that changes if you sit there long enough. It’s not.
Tons of points were scored this week but it wasn’t because of the Emmys or SIN CITY: A DAME TO KILL FOR’s box office. Most people scored huge in the nudity category. Lizzy Caplan whipped them out again, as did Eva Green, and Juno Temple. Rosamund Pike scored a Entertainment Weekly cover too. Moreno’s attempt to take control of this league has fallen way short though as SIN CITY flopped in a major way. Meanwhile, Pete MC got a huge push as GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY actually went back into the number one spot. Fuck. Is that HUNGER GAMES movie out yet? I’ll just wait here in limbo. Full spreadsheet is in the link below.
Said Helal has extended his lead nicely in the 20th week of The Hottie Fantasy league but more importantly, we now only have 2 scoreless player left. That’s right, Meryl Streep finally managed to scrounge up some points for Justin Smith and he’s on the board, soon to pass Ammon. There was no relevant nudity this week on TV (somebody should have drafted Sarah Silverman) so it was all box office points. Next week starts Moreno’s huge run at the title with his 2 hotties in SIN CITY: A DAME TO KILL FOR. It almost makes me not want to see it.
Click on the link below for the whole spreadsheet or just look at the silly picture and pretend you know what’s up.
We got ourselves a game, folks. Anthony D. and Said are fighting it out for the top spot with furious numbers being thrown around by their various hotties. Or something like that. TMNT is going to blow this bitch wide open soon though so watch out for that. We now only have three scoreless participants. Soon they too will pass Ammon. As always, click the link below to check out the entire spreadsheet or just look at the silly picture like a silly asshole. Your call.
PLOT: There’s a new rule in the galaxy: No one touches Earth! But why has Earth suddenly become the most important planet in the galaxy? That’s what the Guardians of the Galaxy are going to find out! Join Star-Lord, Gamora, Drax, Rocket Raccoon, Groot and – wait for it – the Invincible Iron Man as they embark upon one of the most explosive and eye-opening chapters of Marvel NOW! The secrets these galactic Avengers discover will rattle Marvel readers for years to come! But while London deals with a brutal invasion by the Badoon, the fate of the Guardians may have already been decided millions of miles away! Why wait for the movie? It all starts here! Collects Guardians of the Galaxy (2013) #1-3 & #0.1 and Guardians of the Galaxy: Tomorrow’s Avengers #1.
REVIEW: In preparation for the new movie, I am reading through some Guardians of the Galaxy graphic novels to further my knowledge. I was not familiar at all with the group of superheroes until recently, so all of this is very new to me. As some of you know, I’m not much of a fan of the titles in Marvel NOW! except for a few. Granted, I wasn’t a fan of many Marvel titles previous to the major reboot, but I thought I would pick up a few more favorites during the NOW! initiative. This was one of the late books to come out of it, and I was so surprised that this was the real winner of the running titles. I’ve read everything from X-Men to Avengers, and Hulk back to Iron Man, Cap, and Thor. This Guardians of the Galaxy book has it all, and is probably one of the more, if not the most, complete book or first volume I’ve read from the reboot group. Thor may be at a tie with it, but it doesn’t quite have the “fun factor” this book has and while it does not suffer for it, it’s just an element of a comic that you sometimes want to have. This book also includes a large collection of cover variants and such in the back, so don’t forget to leave the book open after the last page of the comic book itself. Some of the Deadpool variants are fantastic. As you can see on the front cover as well, Iron Man is in this book too for added shenanigans and laughs.
Cosmic Avengers’ strength though is that it is extremely funny and the equivalent of a blockbuster popcorn flick in book form. It presents an intergalactic story with new characters (for some) and does it all within four issues which is really spectacular. Most volumes or collections of comics have at least five issues in them to tell a story, and sometimes the introductory volumes can be even larger. What this book accomplishes in four issues is amazing, and that is why I would recommend this book to anyone, whether you read comics or not. It is the total package, and it starts with one of my single favorite issues in the Marvel NOW! era. The first issue is #0.1 and is the story of how Star-Lord a.k.a. Peter Quill came to be, and it is done so well. It captures you interest from the get-go, and that issue leads right into the current story with the Guardians and holds you all the way until the end. This book will make you laugh, as Groot saves the day and Rocket “Blam! murdered you”’s everyone. This book will make you cry (if you’re weak like me), as Groot saves the day and Peter grows up without a father. This book will make you read and pay attention to every detail, because the Guardians of the Galaxy are awesome and Brian Michael Bendis is one of the Marvel masters behind this book. A must read for fans and outsiders alike, and an excellent introduction to a new favorite group of heroes come August 2nd.
PLOT: Launching out of Annihilation: Conquest, Marvel’s sci-fi heroes unite to protect the cosmos. Back-to-back Annihilation wars have weakened the boundaries of our universe. Dark gods and monsters are seeping through the cracks, reigning horror upon those still reeling from the recent calamities. In the face of terror, who stands to defend a desperate universe? Star-Lord and his squad of butt-kickers – the modern day Guardians of the Galaxy. You’ve heard that Annihilation: Conquest rocks – the guy at the comic shop keeps telling you to try Nova – well, now’s your chance to experience the glory that writers Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning, and artist Paul Pelletier can unleash. All this…plus a wise-cracking raccoon and a telepathic dog. C’mon, people, time to lock and load Collecting Guardians of the Galaxy #1-6.
REVIEW: So it probably doesn’t help that I read the Marvel NOW! Guardians title first, but I didn’t enjoy this book nearly as much as that. I was disappointed because I purchased this one to brush up before the movie, but the other I borrowed from the library. I’d like to trade this one in for the other, but this book is not without its plusses. I think one of the major reasons this wasn’t entertaining for me is that I have not read the event that took place before this book to kind of set it up. The Guardians team assembled in this book is also a little different than that of the movie coming out, or in the NOW! team. All of the normal people are there, but there is also Quasar, Warlock, and a telepathic dog. Yeah, a telepathic dog. It’s definitely on the spacey wacey type of mojo that typically dominates older Marvel titles, which is yet another reason I’m more of a fan of the DC Universe. However, I did mention those plusses and it would be fair to share those too before the book has been completely ruined.
As usual, Rocket Raccoon dominates every frame and page he’s on. His humor in these books is just so doom and gloom, but with a hint of sarcasm to make it hilarious. He’s really much funnier in the newer books, but he had a great running joke throughout the second issue of this book. While they are trying to figure out their team name, he can be spotted every other frame or two suggesting names and bugging the other team members. Eventually they just give in to get him and shut up, but its his persistence despite the team’s reaction to him that draws the laughs. The main plot really isn’t as great as in Cosmic Avengers, but from what I’ve read there seems to be some basis in here for the movie coming out. I’m not sure what they’ll use, but I’d imagine if anything it will probably be very lightly lifted from this book. I think the new book benefits from the existence of the movie, as it was created after the movie’s inception. This volume of Guardians of the Galaxy by Dan Abnett is hard to find right now, but it appears that it will be published in trade paperback for the release of the new film. It’s a pretty well-reviewed volume or Marvel stuff, so if space, time, and superheroes in the Marvel Universe is your thing, I’d still give this a shot. I’m just not huge on the extraterrestrial realms of Marvel, and I think that is why the NOW! title exceeds this one because it is accessible to any reader unlike this one.
