Guardians of the Galaxy

It’s finally here: Guardians of the Galaxy. I’ve been waiting anxiously for this film to come out ever since I saw the first trailer and realized just how quirky, hilarious, and absolutely awesome it was going to be. And it didn’t disappoint. I got to see Guardians yesterday, and it was everything I had hoped for it to be and then some.

To be honest, I (like many others) originally thought a Guardians of the Galaxy film was a bad idea. They’re not a very well-known superhero team. Very few people have ever even heard of them. And I didn’t see how Marvel was going to manage to fit the Guardians into their greater Marvel Cinematic Universe, which already has the greatest superhero team of all time, the Avengers. So I wasn’t initially impressed by the idea. But when that first trailer dropped, I realized this wasn’t going to be your typical Marvel movie, and I began to get very excited.

The truth is that Guardians of the Galaxy is a very “off” movie, especially coming from a company owned by Disney. Guardians is gritty. It isn’t a straightforward good-guys-versus-bad-guys action film. It’s a space opera about a band of misfit criminals who are forced to band together and fight for the sake of the entire galaxy. And the whole thing is set to a soundtrack of popular music from the 70s and 80s. It’s extremely quirky, and that’s what makes it so compelling.

The main character of Guardians is Peter Quill also known as Star-Lord (played brilliantly by Chris Pratt), a young space bandit who makes a living traveling the galaxy and ripping people off. A good deal of the movie revolves around his journey to get a hold of a precious orb that he is attempting to sell for a profit. Along the way, he teams up with Gamora (Zoe Saldana), an assassin who also happens to be the estranged adopted daughter of Thanos, a major Marvel villain; Rocket (voiced by Bradley Cooper), a genetically-mutated racoon with a love for firearms; Groot (voiced by Vin Diesel), a humanoid tree who serves as Rocket’s bodyguard; and Drax (Dave Bautista), a man with a grudge and a hilarious inability to detect sarcasm. Together, these five discover a plot by Ronan the Accuser (Lee Pace) to harness the power of the Infinity Stone hidden within the orb and wipe out billions of people with it. In order to stop Ronan, they must work together as a team and take their places as the Guardians of the Galaxy.

As I said before, this isn’t your typical Marvel movie. Guardians is rougher than any other MCU film to date. The Guardians aren’t the Avengers. They have rough histories. They make morally questionable decisions. They curse a lot. These aren’t heroes. These are misfits who are forced together and have to work as a team to save the galaxy. And this makes for a much different feel than a movie like The Avengers.

Probably my my fsvorite thing about Guardians is how aware it is of itself. This movie has some downright weird parts. For example, the opening sequence shows Quill searching a deserted planet for the orb. While he’s searching, he’s listening to music on his Walkman and dancing around. Not really what you’d expect of a world-renowned space bandit. Much of the film’s humor comes from its utter ridiculousness and the fact that the characters themselves recognize the insanity and point it out.

Not that Guardians is solely a comedy. There are some heartfelt moments, too. Each of the characters goes through some sort of growth during the film, and they all have true, raw emotions hidden behind their rough exteriors. For example, there’s a scene where Rocket touches briefly on how he came to be the way he is and laments his very existence. It’s powerful, and it gives you something to think about.

And with Guardians, as with every other Marvel film, the creators had to include some elements that set the series up for the future. I feel like Guardians did a good job of moving the Marvel Cinematic Universe along while also setting itself up for a great sequel. As far as the MCU goes, Guardians really serves as the introduction to Thanos, who appeared briefly in a mid-credits scene in The Avengers and will become a key villain for the series in Phase Three, and the Infinity Stones he is trying to collect. The movie also introduces some interesting questions about Peter Quill’s father, which will probably be answered in the already-announced Guardians of the Galaxy 2, coming July 2017.

Overall, I really liked this movie. If you’ve enjoyed the Marvel movies thus far, you should definitely check it out. Don’t ignore Guardians just because you don’t recognize the name. The movie is very fun, and it’s different enough from the other films to be interesting while still being accessible and moving the overall series forward. Be aware that there is more language in Guardians than in usual Marvel movies, but nothing so bad that I couldn’t recommend the film. Check out Guardians of the Galaxy, and let me know what you think of it. Thanks for reading, friends, and have a great weekend!

Fusion in Florida

Last year, it was announced in Sunday School that Merge, my church’s young adult ministry, was going to be taking a trip to Pensacola, Florida. I immediately said, “That’s not for me.” The beach isn’t my thing. I’ve never been good at vacationing (I prefer to call it “relaxation-challenged”). The Florida trip conflicted with another trip I was wanting to go on. So I decided I wasn’t going to go. But a few months later, a friend convinced me that I should go, that I (in his words) “deserved this trip.” So I decided to go. And I’m so glad that I did.

We left Pensacola on Saturday, and I still can’t get over how great that vacation was. It was more fun, relaxing, and enjoyable than I ever imagined that it could be. Let me tell you a little bit about my experience with Merge’s Fusion in Florida trip.

We left at 2:00 am last Saturday morning for what we thought would be a 1s-hour drive to Pensacola. It was a long, tiring trip that actually ended up lasting 15 hours, but as soon as I saw the house, I knew the drive had been worth it. The beach house was gorgeous, and it was the perfect size for our group. We filled every bed and every room, but no one had to sleep on a couch or the floor. We were all very comfortable and very well taken care of in the house.

Most days were free days. We had a nice, warm breakfast courtesy every morning, and then we had the day to ourselves. I visited the beach a couple of times, but as I predicted, it wasn’t really my scene. I spent most of my days either watching TV at the house, swimming in the pool, or riding one of the house’s bikes around the neighborhood. Every night, we had a home-cooked dinner and spent time together watching a movie or playing board games. It was very nice and laid-back.

I think my favorite thing about the trip was the fact that I could do whatever I wanted. If I felt like jumping in the pool, I could do that. If I wanted to watch TV, I could do that, too. If I was in the mood for doing some laundry (which I found myself doing every day), that was fine. It was the truest form of relaxation. No deadlines. No agenda. Nothing being forced on me. Just lounging around doing whatever I like. I haven’t had that experience in a very long time, and it was very, very refreshing.

It was also a good time for discovery. I found out that I actually enjoy bike-riding, something I used to find exhausting and pointless. I think I may have actually found a new exercise hobby while on vacation, which is pretty cool. I guess I just needed some time to clear my mind and try some new things, and I definitely got that in Florida. (I also found that I enjoy doing laundry, but that’s all I’ll say about that.)

Of course, I also had fun spending time with my friends from church. I feel like I got some good, quality time with everyone on the trip, which meant a lot to me since I’ll be moving away from home pretty soon. Going shopping together, sharing meals together, and having service together were all really great experiences that made me feel like I was growing closer with my Merge family. And after all, that was the whole point of Fusion in Florida, right?

I had a great experience in Florida. I think it’s a trip I’ll never forget, and that’s why I decided to dedicate a whole blog post to it. Thank you guys for letting my share my experience with you, and I hope you enjoyed keeping up with all my shenanigans in Pensacola. I hope you have all had refreshing, meaningful experiences like the one I had last week, and if you haven’t, I hope you do soon. Thanks for reading, friends, and I’ll see you next week, where I’ll probably be updating you on my trip to the National Association of Free Will Baptists convention on Fort Worth, TX!

The Hunger Games Books

I am, like many, many others, a huge fan of The Hunger Games films. I love the actors, the cinematography, the intensity. But what I love most about the movies is the concept. I think it’s an intriguing idea that can really catch people’s attention. And of course, that concept originated in The Hunger Games book series, so I figured that if I enjoyed the movies, I would also like the books.

Well, I finally got around to reading them, and wow. I was blown away. I know people always say the book is better than the movie (even when the movie is really good), but to say that about The Hunger Games would be an understatement. I think the films do the books justice, but you can’t really say you’ve experienced The Hunger Games until you’ve read the books.

It’s just a completely different experience reading the books from watching the movies. Not only is the medium different, but the entire feel of the story is different. Instead of seeing the events of the story from a third-person point of view as in the films, the books are all told in the first person and narrated by Katniss, the main character. We get to see her whole experience—from growing up in the impoverished District 12 under the harsh rule of the Capitol, to her father’s death, to her experience participating in the 74th annual Hunger Games and on—from her perspective.

I think that’s my favorite thing about the books. Jennifer Lawrence did an excellent job portraying Katniss in the movies, but even the best acting can’t compare to being able to read a character’s thoughts, to understand everything that’s going on behind the scenes. In the books, we get a better idea of how Katniss really feels about the world she grows up in, her intentions as she tries to save her family while protecting herself, and all the emotions and confusion she feels along the way. I think this results in not only a more accurate portrayal of the story, but a deeper connection between the reader and Katniss.

Of course, the books also have plot points that had to be cut out of the movie, too. There were several characters—for example, Madge, the red-headed Avox, and Darius—who really added to the books but weren’t necessary enough to be included in the movies. The books and movies don’t contradict each other on anything important, but reading the books along with watching the movies really does enrich the experience and help the reader understand the full world that Katniss lives in.

I would definitely recommend The Hunger Games books to people who have seen and enjoyed the movies and to people who just want to pick up a good fiction book. The books are written at a level that teens and preteens can understand, but they’re certainly not boring for adults, either. If you’ve seen the movies, give the books a try. You may find that they help you enjoy the story even more. If you’ve never experienced anything Hunger Games-related before, you’re missing out. Check out The Hunger Games books, and then let me know what you think of them. Thanks for reading. Until next week, friends!

The Hunger Games is a young adult book trilogy comprised of The Hunger Games, Catching Fire, and Mockingjay. They are written by Suzanne Collins. Film adaptations of The Hunger Games and Catching Fire have been released, and the first in a two-part adaption of Mockingjay will be released in theaters this November.

Everyone Gets a Trophy

Imagine this scenario. A man is watching his seven-year-old son’s soccer game. There’s no scoreboard, but his son’s team is obviously dominating. At the end of the game, the referees direct all the kids to the middle of the field to shake hands, and then each player is handed a participation trophy. As the children leave the field admiring their prizes, the man yells out, “That’s not fair! Those kids didn’t win. Why does everyone get a trophy?”

Now flash forward to the next morning. That same man is dressed in his finest business clothes and on his way to his white-collar business job, where he enjoys relative success. As he’s walking up to the building, a homeless man approaches him and asks for money. The man keeps right on walking as he says, “If you worked hard enough, you wouldn’t be in this situation.” He goes about his day without giving the homeless man a second thought.

Do you see the problem here? There is a fundamental disconnect between what we say we believe and what we actually believe when it comes to hard work. We say that hard work is all that’s necessary to succeed (as in the case of the homeless man), but in reality, we often get upset when hard work is rewarded (as in the case of the kids at the soccer game). It may be a simple example, but the soccer game scenario reveals two other attributes that we tend to reward as much as, if not more than, hard work: talent and luck.

In sports, the team that exhibits the most talent usually wins. The players can try as hard as they like, but if they aren’t any good at the game, they’re going to lose most of the time. This is true in other aspects of life, too. For example, the work force. Imagine you’re a manager with two employees you’re considering for promotion. One of them works very hard. He shows up to work early every day and stays as late as necessary to get the job done. The other does great work but doesn’t put forth as much effort. This job comes easily to him. He gets the work done, but he never pushes himself, and he often leaves early. Which one are you going to give the promotion to? Probably the one with more talent.

I’m not saying that’s necessarily a bad thing. Talent should be rewarded. If someone’s good at something, they should probably advance in that field so that they can continue to improve and do even better. And sports would be pretty boring to watch if the players weren’t talented. I’m just saying that hard work alone is not enough to make it in the sports world, or the work force. There is an element of talent involved that many people overlook when they offer the simple solution, “Work hard, and you’ll do fine.”

The other attribute that our society rewards is related to talent. It’s luck. This is one thing that people adamantly deny when talking about employment opportunities. They say everyone has a fair chance and that all they have to do is work hard to succeed. But everyone doesn’t start off with the same chances. I was very fortunate to be born in a wealthy country to a well-off family in a good neighborhood. I was fortunate to go to a great school, to receive encouragement at home to excel in my education, and to not have to work in high school and instead focus on getting into college. These are all opportunities that many of us take for granted and that too many others don’t have.

We’ve all seen luck play out on the sports field, too. There’s an element of luck to everything from work to family to dating and so on. I’m not saying there’s anything wrong with rewarding luck, either. It’s unavoidable. I just think it’s important to recognize that our society is set up in a way that rewards these other things—talent and luck—and not just hard work, as many people say.

Don’t get me wrong. I’m not saying that hard work has no value or that there aren’t a lot of people who have worked very hard to get to where they are. What I am saying is that hard work isn’t the one-size-fits-all solution that many Americans believe it to be, even if it should be. So give those kids their trophies. They worked hard to earn them. Let’s stop saying that we reward hard work and actually start finding ways to reward it on the ball field, in the workplace, and everywhere else.

Transformers: Age of Extinction

I know I’m way behind, and I’m ashamed of how long it took me, but I finally made it to the theater to see Transformers: Age of Extinction, and I have a lot to say. This movie left me with a bag of mixed feelings that I’m going to try to fathom into coherent thoughts in case any of you are still on the fence about whether or not you should see the newest installment in the Transformers film series. So without further ado, here’s my review of Transformers: Age of Extinction.

The first word that comes to mind when I think of Age of Extinction is long. When I heard the movie was going to be two and a half hours, I thought, “That’s no big deal. I’ve seen movies longer than that before.” But for this movie, two and a half hours seems like way too long. I remember getting about three-fourths of the way through Age of Extinction and wondering, “When is this movie going to end?” It’s not necessarily that I didn’t enjoy the movie. I just think it would have benefited greatly from being 15 or even 30 minutes shorter.

On the subject of the movie’s length, you should also know that there is a lot going on in this film. With Shia LeBeouf’s Sam Witwicky out of the picture, the filmmakers had to introduce a whole new set of human protagonists to go along with the already-established Autobots. On top of the new crew of good guys, there are a ton of villains in this movie. I personally struggled to completely grasp what was going on at certain points, and I was giving the movie my complete attention. You might do well to read up on a few of the main characters before you go into the film so that you’ll have an idea of what’s going on.

One thing that became very clear to me while I was watching this movie was the fact that I remember almost nothing about the first three films, and that’s OK. As Optimus Prime says during the movie, “The rules are different now.” This is a new Transformers. It may exist in the same timeline as the original movies, but it has a darker tone, a different direction, and new heroes.

As far as casting goes, I thought the movie did a good job. Mark Wahlberg was great as the new protagonist, Cade Yeager. Having the main good guy be a single dad going on an adventure with his daughter, Tessa (played by Nicola Peltz), was a nice change from the guy-tries-to-get-the-girl formula of the first three Transformers films. Rounding out the main trio was Jack Reynor playing Shane, Tessa’s boyfriend. These three, along with Optimus Prime and his Autobots, fight against Lockdown, an evil Transformer sent to earth to find Optimus, and his human allies bent on eradicating Transformers from the planet.

I think my favorite thing about this movie was the fact that they’re finally starting to dive into the question of where the Transformers come from. Lockdown is apparently in cahoots with “the Creators,” and he refers to them constantly. I really like this kind of mythology, and I look forward to seeing where they’re going to take that subject in the future of the film franchise.

Another cool addition to this film was the Dinobots. They actually added to the plot and action of the film, and they looked pretty sweet while doing it.

Overall, I did enjoy this movie. I wish it was a little shorter, so it may be worth it to wait until you can rent it on DVD and pause it for a break if you get exhausted. But it was still an exciting action movie with good actors and the Transformers we all can’t help but love. If you’ve seen the previous movies and enjoyed them, you’ll enjoy this one as well. If you’ve never seen a Transformers movie before, now would be a good time to get on board, as they’re giving the series a shot in the arm with new characters and story arcs. Either way, I would recommend this movie, but probably as a DVD rental.

Have you seen Transformers: Age of Extinction? If so, did you like it? If not, what’s holding you back from seeing it? Let me know what you think via my Contact form or on social media. Thank you guys for reading, and have a great weekend!