On Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

I wanted to hate this movie. 

I certainly didn't like it ... I didn't hate it. The weirdest thing happened. Within two hours of seeing it ... I had literally forgotten I'd seen it. I was telling my (aforementioned lesbian) friend about the newest stuff Channel Awesome had posted and it suddenly hit me, "Two hours ago I watched Ninja Turtles for my blog. Oh right." And then, as I sat there trying to remember funny lines that weren't already in the trailers ... all I could remember were lines out of Turtles Forever, the 1990 movie, and the first episode of the 1987 cartoon, "Hero in a Helf Shell" (my roommate and I had a Turtles Day). 

Unlike a lot of movies ... this one had next to no impact on me, but I'm here, so let's dive in.

Most Idiotic Review

"Not much of an effort is made to differentiate the personalities of the turtles, who all frankly look as grotesque as a Terry Gilliam cartoon." — Peter Howell (Toronto Star)

I wholly disagree here. One, the Turtles' personalities are intact ... kinda. It feels like they did at least watch the '87 intro before setting out to write the script. Leonardo leads, Donatello is swathed in tech gadgetry. Raphael is cool but through, and Michelangelo is a party dude. This is intact. 

But. 

And there's a rather big but in the room. 

They're oddly mean-spirited. I'd have to see the movie again to really analyze what I mean by that, so understand that's more of a gut intuition reaction. I could be wrong, but that was certainly my take. I'm no fan of teenagers, nor have I ever been (even when I was one, and that wasn't at all long ago), so that might be the source of my discontentment.

The other problem I have with what Peter Howell has to say is this. I love Terry Gillaim's cartoons! And while, yes, the Turtles and Splinter are grotesque, and frankly un-fun to look at for more than a few seconds at a time, I find it an abhorrent comparison (jeeze, look at me whipping out the big words. I don't know where that's coming from). 

Most Accurate Review

"Neither entertaining enough to recommend nor remarkably awful, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles may bear the distinction of being the dullest movie ever made about talking bipedal reptiles." — Rotten Tomatoes Site Consensus

Yeah. That. What they said. I'm not normally so damn in line with Rotten Tomatoes, but this time, I feel like they nailed it. I find it so weird how ineffective this movie going experience was. I've talked about 'Paint-By-Numbers Storytelling' but this is f***ing ridiculous. Other than the things they changed, like April being the daughter of the scientist who created the mutagen that transformed the turtles and she ... actually I don't know if she supposedly named them, or just recognized the names. I was half asleep at that point (and I'm not joking ... I really was half asleep for several parts of the film). But other than the things they changed, it just seemed like ... well, the phrase 'designed by committee' certainly comes to mind. They distilled all the elements that made the Turtles recognizable, and then fit them into a distinctly Michael Bay shaped puzzle, and said, "Huzzah! We have pizza and the phrase Cowabunga. Must be a faithful adaptation. Benjamins all around!"

What I Say

Normally I'm a little concerned with spoilers, but today, I really am not invested enough to care. If you're actually concerned that knowing the plot (dare-I-say) twists for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles ahead of time will ruin this movie, you're very naive about what kind of movie this is, and I humbly ask you to leave my blog and never return. 

Plot — Rich-Man baddie Sachs (played by William Fichtner) teams up with baddie Shredder, who has been turned into an odd combo of Batman and Iron Man. He's an angry ninja with a raspy voice and Power Armor (covered in blades). He is every 13 year old boy's idea of badass badguy. He's actually less characterized than the Super-Shredder from the end of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2: The Secret of the Ooze. They're plan is unleash a toxin into the air of New York, killing all the people, and using the mutagen in the Turtle's blood to make an antidote, thus allowing them to ... take over New York because they have the antidote, and make lots of money in the process. 

Makes ... perfect ... sense? 

I think Michael Bay is giving Christopher Nolan a run for his money for silliest supervillain plot after what Nolan did with Bane in Dark Knight Rises. 

So the turtles (aaaand Splinter (who, despite walking and talking does not have the proper mutagen that the turtles have in their blood), voiced by a very not Asian Tony Shalhoub ) were supposedly lost in a fire (from which they were saved from by a young April O'Neil ... because ... she was there ... for ... some reason. Her father lit the place on fire ... with his daughter in the immediate area so she could save turtles. He sounds like Father of the Year). 

So Splinter finds a book on ninjitsu and ... learns ninjitsu, from the book ... so he can teach ... the turtles. 

Okay, that's it, I'm done, moving on. 

Characters — I feel like I should go through each character, but, again, the Turtles personalities have all been distilled to their basest elements ... the '87 theme song. They have nothing beyond that. They're ... garish, and generally unlikable. They have few moments of genuine heart or charisma (the elevator scene is a lot of fun, although still felt rushed ... much like the rest of the film). For the most part they came across as obnoxious. 

April is a gung-ho reporter who's going out there to get her story and, for all her whining about not being taken seriously ... there is something fundamentally wrong with her. No one in their right mind walks in and starts spouting off about 6 ft talking ninja turtles with a single, shitty photo of them in the distance, and then acts wronged when everyone thinks she's crazy. I had already seen the Turtles, hell I grew up with the turtles ... and I was on Whoopi Goldberg's side. In the words of the Honorable Sensie, "Throw de bum out!"

Will Arnett was the only person who I actually liked in the movie, and the only one who grasped the real reason Megan Fox was playing April O'Neil. She has dat ass. And I'm not even unhappy with her acting, or her character. I thought she did very well considering her character was written as something akin to a blundering joke (with nice bewbs). 

Spectacle — Meh? CGI action really doesn't do much to rev my engine. As everyone's been saying, the scene on the snow-capped mountain in the highlight of the film, partially because it's just fun, but also, I'd argue, because it's one of the few times in the movie where the turtles really feel like an ensemble? Like they're working together, like family? Which the movie keeps touting as it's theme, but only in the most contrived, shallow instances. 

I know it's a popcorn movie, so I'm not as angry that the script didn't allow for it. I know not all movies are going to be American Beauty, so I forgive the shallowness, but I still can't shake the feeling of soul-crushing corporate heartlessness and lack of sincere enjoyment.

Also, 21st century action scenes need to die. That's a decree. You want to see a great action scene, an impressive action scene? Watch this scene from Ong-Bak. I think even the camera operator had to be an Olympic athlete to pull this shot off.

At the end of the day, I guess the only words I can use to describe this flick are unpleasant and forgettable. It's not the worst that an adaptation can be, but considering the rich history of the characters, it's filler at best. Maybe the announced sequel can do better. As is, this movie is the equivalent of a Jose Canseco Bat.

~ Godzello

On Gone Home

I am not a gamer. I suppose I fit the model more back during Junior High, but during High School, I never got into it. I never owned a console, hell, still don't own a TV. I enjoyed the classic RPGs and I've slipped in here and there for games with really good stories. I want to become a published author at some point and I'm studying acting at University, so games like Skyrim hold next to no appeal to me. I'm not much of a roleplayer, I'm here to get my story on, which is why Ken Levine and Chris Avellone are personal heroes of mine (that said, I'm still looking to get my hands on The Forest, which is a little lacking in narrative structure, but still looks like terrifying, challenging fun). 

So when Gone Home was released, I was pretty hyped to play another interactive story, like To the Moon, which I reviewed a while back here. 

Most Idiotic Review

I can't find one ... Short of going into forums and comments which mostly are just people unhappy that the game isn't like other games.The biggest complaint I heard that I could sympathize with was the short game-play time compared to the price. As a student, I can really sympathize.

Most Accurate Review

"... realistic, engrossing story that’s beautifully told through environmental clues and audio narration ... many people read books for the opportunity to see life through someone else’s eyes, but it’s rare for a game to do it as well as this one does." — Emily Morganti (Adventure Gamers)

There were quite a few reviews to choose from on this one, but I liked this one. As a writer, one has to spend a lot of time thinking about setting details, even if they don't ultimately make it into the finished manuscript. In Design Analysis class we spent a lot of time talking about how to use Line, Shape, Mass, Value, Color, Light, and Texture. 

Gone Home is a perfect example of having a conscious approach to these elements of design. And yes, I realize what a total dweeb I am for making that connection of all possible connections. Never mind the fact that my sister is gay. No, that flew right over my head. 

What I Think

It's a damn good story. It's not really much of a game. That doesn't bother me. 

Okay, admittedly it's been a little while since I played the game so I'm running on some fumes as far as character and plot are concerned, so I'll keep this brief. You take control of Kaitlin who's just gotten home after a year of traveling to find the house empty. As you explore the house, you uncover clues as to where your family, specifically your little sister Samantha, has disappeared to.

That's pretty much it. There's some puzzling out for you to do, but most of the story involves finding notes and listening to recordings. It's like BioShock without the Splicers and only the Audiologs and the environment ... which still sounds entertaining to me. 

I know some people weren't thrilled by the ending, or underwhelmed would be the better word, but personally, I connected with it. I didn't come from the most average of households. We certainly weren't the Cleavers, so I connected a lot with the story of the little sister as it unfolded. I found it powerful in how understated it was. 

Definitely want to keep my eyes open for more games out there like Gone Home. 

~ Godzello

On The Expendables 3

So, after attacking How I Met Your Mother's writers yesterday for failing to understand their fanbase, what could I possibly hold up as an example of writers and filmmakers knowing their audience? Actually? Expendables 3. I might be a David Lynch fan. I might really enjoy every film Danny Boyle releases. I might occasionally be in the mood for the mind-trippery of Cronenburg and Gilliams. 

But more often than not? I want a classic 80s action movie with guys with big muscles, big guns, big explosions, and if I could chose a way to die, drowning in these overly cheesey one-liners would probably be my way to go. 

Most Idiotic Review

"Are there legions of middle-aged weightlifting nuts out there who yearn for the good old days of Chuck Norris mowing down foreign Johnnies with an uzi 9mm?"  — TOM HUDDLESTON (Rotten Tomatoes)

The obvious answer to this review is ... yes. I'm sure. There's a fanbase for anything and everything. Just because I had to be either dragged kicking and screaming or seriously drugged to go see Transformers 2 & 3 in theaters doesn't mean most of my friends weren't ready to kick doors down to see them, and just because I might look down on Dark Knight as ponderously bad storytelling structure and characterization (I'm convinced Joker was saved by Heath Ledger more than the writing), but, to quote the Nostalgia Critic, "... just because I can't understand why, doesn't mean I can't see how," someone likes something.

So here I am, a twenty-two year old Vegas rat who's studying theatre at a school that is 78% LDS, and this movie delivered exactly what I wanted and what it promised in the trailers. I wanted aged actors who're still more intimidating than Tom Cruise has ever been in any of his forrays in the Mission Impossible Jizzbuckets, I wanted a preference to practical effects over CGI, I wanted lots of explosions, and I wanted, as previously mentioned, to drown in cheesy one-liners. 

Just because I worship at the altar of Shakespeare doesn't mean I don't enjoy a f***ing Big Mac on occasion. 

(Also, in Tom Huddleston's full review he uses the word 'loquacious', which means talkative to describe Antonio Banderas' character. All I have to say to that is, 'Cram it up your ass, sir, and fuck yourself with it like a Pogo-Stick you pretentious sack of shit.')

Most Accurate Review

"While there is perhaps too much repetition and exposition it is a film that resolutely delivers exactly what its hard-core fan-base is after." — Mark Adams (Rotten Tomatoes) 

As I said, Shakespeare this is not, but as much as the pacing suffers, I still can't bring myself to admit, I wasn't having a great time. Again and again, the movie was what I wanted. I think the reason I don't hold The Expendables to the lofty heights of other movies is ... it's not trying to be something great. Here me out. 

When Sly went to work on this story, do you think he was considering socio-politcal ramifications? Or heartpounding character drama? What about moral, ethical, and philosophical ponderings? Fuck no, he wanted to tell a story where one set of old dudes shoots up another set of young dudes and things go Boom. And for that? It's exactly as promised. The writing wasn't full of holes as far as I noticed. It was silly and over the top, but I felt like it naturally progressed from one set piece to another, and damned if these actors aren't having a lot of fun with their roles (especially Snipes, Gibson, and Banderas). 

What I Say

I liked it. I cheered at all the cheesy parts and over the top action, and I enjoyed the cast's chemistry and oddball characters. I wish more action movies followed this model. They take the job seriously, they take the action seriously, but they obviously don't take themselves seriously. Suck on that Tom Cruise. 

Plot — So we have the introduction of Mel Gibson's character Conrad Stonebanks, who was one of the original Expendables along with Barney Ross (Sylvester Stalone) who went rogue and became an arms dealer. After a mismatched firefight, Stalone brings on a new set of youngen's to offset his Team's age. From there we get some Mission Impossible tech-gadgets, and a classic 80s 'kick the door down and spray them with bullets' approach.

Characters — One of the things I always really liked about these movies was that all the characters were not quite your action stereotypes, except maybe Stallone. He's just playing Stallone playing leader. Admittedly Statham's romance with Charisma Carpenter in the first film was the highlight of his arc, he's still fun. The rest of the cast, especially the older characters, seem to wear their own neurosis as characters. Mel Gibson is delightfully insane ... as is Wesley Snipes. Actually, I can totally see both these guys walking down the street as those characters. I hardly thought they were acting half the time. I think they just came on set and pulled a Brando. Never looked at the scripts. I'd believe it too.

The cast is a bit bogged down with the newbies, who frankly aren't anywhere near as interesting as the classics, but we do have to sit through them. I also recognized none of them. I would have enjoyed seeing some younger action names and not just MMA fighters (that's what they all looked like) trying to break into the acting world. Part of the strength of the older cast is they're preestablished. The newbies just look dull in comparison. 

But fortunately they're mostly reserved for the action set-pieces and the banter is left to the crowd we know and love. 

Spectacle — Here's the big on I've been hyping, I guess. Does the movie deliver on the spectacle? I'd say so, but maybe this is just that particular story that bypasses all higher brain function and turns me into the equivalent of an X-Box Live player. So the story is simple and the characters are a bit too populous. Here's what I have to say about the action ... breath. Okay, actually, not the action, the editor. The editor needs to take a step back and trust that the action will do the job for them. Alas, that is one side-effect of the modern age these films haven't escaped. They love their fast-cuts and their shakycam. It's not enough to ruin the experience for me, but there were few times where I had to 'fill in the gaps' of what was happening in the action, and at least once in the final fight where it cut from one set of characters to another and I was left confused. On the other hand, the majority of the stunts are practical as opposed to digital, and that's still a win in my book

Hasta la vista, baby. 

~ Godzello

Terrible Tuesday: On The How I Met Your Mother Series Finale Ending

Boy, what a mouthful of a title. Jeeze. 

Okay, so it's been a little while since How I Met Your Mother ended, and I've had a fair amount of time to really contemplate it, so here's my two cents. I won't bother really delving into the plot or characters of the episode so much, just my opinion, which does have two sides, but is definitely leaning one way more than the other. I guess that's because, after 9 seasons, I really want to find something in the finale that I really liked. I really want to. It's like watching a nine year engagement go up in flames like the Hindenburg. It's over so quickly you're left wondering why you're on fire and everything you know and love isn't what you thought it was. 

I really didn't like the ending. It didn't work for me, as it didn't work for a lot of people. And personally, here's why; it just plainly didn't fit. When the show was started, they went ahead and filmed bit for the ending that they had envisioned originally when the writers were pitching the show. If you go back and watch, say, the first four seasons, and then skip to the ending? It makes more sense for Robin and Ted to get together. Unfortunately for the writers, the show went on, it grew up, it talked back, and like any good parents, they rubbed its face in it until it did as it was told... I might not be parent material.

So what threw off this original ending so bad? Four extra years of the show. The stories couldn't remain static, so new things were introduced, like Barney and Robin's relationship, which they spent an entire season establishing their wedding weekend. Nearly a whole year was spent with us watching them get hitched. What the writers didn't count on, was their impromptu storylines, that would have no bearing on the ending they'd already shot, would invest their audience. Duh. They spent so much time earning Robin and Barney's relationship, we fell in love with it. We also fell in love with Cristin Milioti as the titular mother. She was wonderful, and after so much time and waiting, we were ready to see Ted happy. I was happy to see Ted happy, and I was happy to see Robin and Barney happy. 

But in the final all that got thrown away (divorce and dead Mother) so the writers could keep their original ending. Bully for them. On one hand, I really respect that the writers stuck to their guns and told the ending they wanted to tell. I just think it was to the wrong story. How I Met Your Mother had grown and developed and moved on to bigger and better things. The audience deserved bigger and better things. Hell the writers had simply improved as storytellers. 

After the fact, you can really see how hard they were trying to accommodate where the story was trying to go, and still stay in the safe zone that afforded the (in their opinion happy) ending where Ted and Robin got back together ... a storyline that was so played out over 9 seasons and that next to nobody was even moderately interested in seeing. If anything, we had 9 seasons to showcase why they shouldn't be together, why it won't work. 

The original ending is very indicative of where the writers were in their lives when they started the show. It's a shame that 9 years later, they were still doggedly holding onto that notion that, frankly, they should have outgrown. Their show would have been more fondly remembered had they simply remembered to kill their darlings.

~ Godzello

On the Guardians of the Galaxy

This movie knocked my socks off. I was sick and I still walked half-an-hour to the theater to watch it. Totally worth it. Honestly, my first thought is that this might be my favorite of the Marvel films so far, and for any longtime readers of this blog, you'll know I worship at the altar of Joss Whedon, but even I'll admit that the Avengers was hampered from being what it could have been by what it had to be. There's nothing wrong with that and I'm still super excited to see Age of Ultron. 

Guardians though got to hit the ground running. It had the benefit of all of the experience Marvel Studios has garnered over the past ... what, nine films? But it got to breath freely without being directly anchored to the lesser films in the franchise. 

In a similar way, I'd rank this higher than X-Men: Days of Future Past. Part of the reason that film was so amazing was it was obvious Brian Singer felt just as ashamed of X-Men 3 and Wolverine: Origins as the rest of the fanbase. I don't know if I'd have loved Winter Soldier as much if it wasn't simply better than Captain America: The First Avenger.

Other than merely existing in the same universe as the rest of the Marvel lineup, James Gunn's film stands happily on its own, and is better for it, acknowledging that those other films are out there, but without bringing to mind the sweet odor from films such as Iron Man 3.

Most Idiotic Review

"... terribly overstuffed and many of the jokes get drowned out by the special effects... The pervasive movie references detract from the stab at freshness, and Guardians depends all too much on the whimsy of '70s anthems for an original beat." Jake Coyle (Associated Press)

I talked extensively with my lesbian friend (I'm thoroughly convinced that every straight man needs at least one lesbian in their lives. They are magical creatures. Like Unicorns) immediately after seeing Guardians and one of the points she brought up was that the movie was the perfect length, and I agree, and you should agree too, otherwise you're homophobic.

Also, personally, I can't think of a single other sci-fi space adventure that included movie references and 70s pop songs. I'm sure they exist (maybe not on the same scale) but it was a pretty new experience to me, and it helped me connect with Quill as he journeyed through the galaxy with a talking tree, a racoon, a green woman, and a very pissed off Drax. 

Lastly, while the film has some really breathtaking CGI moments, I never felt like they were drowning out anything. I remember many scenes specifically having to do with the characters speaking with each other in front of unassuming backgrounds (on ships, in the prison, etc).

Most Accurate Review

"Blessed with a loose, anarchic B-picture soul that encourages you to enjoy yourself even when you're not quite sure what's going on, the scruffy Guardians is irreverent in a way that can bring the first Star Wars to mind, in part because it has some of the most unconventional heroes this side of the Mos Eisley Cantina." Kenneth Turan (Los Angeles Times)

I wanna say that this is James Gunn's effect on the film, but it very much embraces that B-picture soul. I agree wholeheartedly. I loved it and the irreverence of the titular characters, who get along and bicker in a way reminiscent, and still totally dissimilar from the Whendonesque banter in the Avengers. 

After I saw those abs, how could I not fall in love?

What I Say

I am always concerned with  intellectual properties that get really hyped. I loved Slither and I love James Gunn, and I recognized that it had a fantastic cast and the trailers really made it seem like it had a fantastic sense of humor. That said, I was very leery walking into the theater. Then Chris Pratt appears with his walkman and starts dancing. I cannot lie, I was won over ridiculously fast. I'm almost ashamed at how quickly I flipflopped on this movie. It really hooked me and I loved it. Absolutely loved it. So let's dive in, shall we?

Plot — So what do we have? A ragtag group of misfits: check. A galaxy-wide threat: check. A mystical weapon of mass destruction: check. 70s pop songs and movie references: check. I can't say that there is a whole lot going on in the movie directly relating to the plot, but I only mean that in the same way that there isn't a lot going on in Indiana Jones, or Star Wars, or even the Hellboy films, which this did occasionally remind me of. The stories are fairly simple, and thank Cthulhu that we finally got a memorable villain. Why? Mostly his relationship with Drax (played by Dave Batista) and Gamora (played by Zoe Saldana). It actually works wonders just to have the villain's villainy depicted as off-screen backstory that is driving two of the lead characters. 

Also, you can see Karen Gillan post Doctor Who.
Always good to see talented actors getting work. 

Honestly, I much preferred  Ronan to most of Marvel's cinematic villains, if only because I really felt the threat of his radicalism and zealotry. They made it pretty clear that he was not a guy you wanted to have any power. Not just a little power. You don't want to give him a AAA Battery he's so loony. So of course, he is trying to get his hands on an infinity stone. What is an Infinity Stone? It's what would have happened if Sauron had made a complete set instead of the One Ring. Poor merchandising plan for the Dark Lord on his Dark Throne. 

The rest of the plot involves these colorful underdogs to band together to stop him. Their motivations are different, their characters are different, and the result is a colorful mess that mixes drama and comedy beautifully. 

Character —

Peter Quill or, as you might know him ... Star-Lord (played by Chris Pratt) is fantastic. The actor really carries this film, and that's not to say the rest of the cast isn't pulling its weight and delivering stellar performances, but Peter Quill is so lovable and so enjoyable on screen, he should have been Indiana Jones' illegitimate son in Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. Seriously, he brings an emotional charm, a sincerity, and an absolute childlike innocence to this overgrown manchild. He is all the things a child of the 80s would have been if he'd been abducted by space-pirates and let loose to terrorize the galaxy with a Walkman in tow. When he behaves altruistically, you totally buy it, and when he behaves selfishly, you totally buy it, and the best part is, he usually does both in the same scene. 

Gamora, I'll admit, I was worried about. Up and to this point, I actually haven't been much a fan of Zoe Saldana, and after seeing this movie, I finally figured it out. I hate how Uhura's character has been portrayed in Abram's Star Trek films, and my opinion of her, is mostly based around her character more than her acting. Same goes for Avatar. There wasn't a lot there for me to really enjoy about that character. Here? I think she does a wonderful job, being open, vulnerable, and full of strength. Also, the movie does pretty well to skimp over the whole 'sex-symbol' aspect ... partially because Quill, you get the feeling, will and does hit on anything, but in this case, does have genuine feelings (of one form or another) for her. Her backstory could have had a bit more fleshing out, but at 122 minutes, I can understand why it was rather speedily handled. Not poorly handled, just speedily. 

I was surprised by Drax, just because I probably never would have guessed that the actor (who's name did sound familiar) was mainly known as a professional wrestler. It might be judgmental and snobbish of the theatre major to say as much, but I was totally invested in Drax's character. He was a nice change from the usual muscled brute one might expect. He was honorable, jovial, haunted, and, as is the source of much great comic-relief, completely literal. The moment where he says to Quill, "You are an imbecile" is going on my list of favorite character reactions of all time. 

I love that they hired Bradley Cooper to voice Rocket. I love that Bradley Cooper is getting to work on some really awesome movies (I loved A Place Beyond the Pines). This was the character that actually sold me on the film. In an interview, Joss Whedon (writer and director for the Avengers) said of James Gunn, "He loves the raccoon. Needs the raccoon ...." That was it for me, that a character as off the wall as Rocket would be embraced instead of mistreated, like Snyder did with Superman. The moment Snyder decided the red briefs had to go, I felt like he and his production company were ashamed of the heritage and source material they were drawing from, but if you wanna hear me rant about that, my Man of Steel Review is right here. Back to Rocket. Rocket is foulmouthed and a little all over the place. HE'S LIKE ME!

What can be said about one of the most endearing characters in the entire Marvel Cinematic Universe? Seriously Groot is hard to get over. There's so much I can say and so little I can really express. The walking tree is adorable. End of story. Everything that Groot does in the film warmed the cockles of my heart. My cockles were burning. To this day, even a decade after the creation of Gollum, I'm always surprised by really well done, emotionally soulful CGI characters. I feel like they're still really rare creations. 

Spectacle — This movie is a visual extravaganza, but unlike films like Avatar, the characters are so obviously the focus, the visuals aren't distracting. They're very carefully constructed to enhance the story. The space-battles, the backdrops, the ... man, this movie was a lot of fun to watch. And I don't compliment that very often. I want to go back and see the film in IMAX now. I NEVER say that. 

If there's one more thing that I can add it is this, and I want you to pay close attention to what I'm about to tell you, "I am Groot." 

~ Godzello