Marvel’s ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’ a magnificent ride to remember

by | Aug 1, 2014 | Opinion

If Marvel Studios’ track record tells you anything, it’s that the company isn’t afraid to roll the dice. By now, it’s almost humorous to think that making Robert Downey Jr. into Iron Man, casting two relative unknowns (Chris Hemsworth and Tom Hiddleston) into the roles of Thor and Loki and handing Joss Whedon the keys to the Avengers kingdom were incredible risks at the beginning. But, really, that’s been the studio’s mantra ever since Tony Stark took to the skies – “We’re unafraid to take chances because, most of the time, we’re right.” It’s a formula that’s garnered a conglomeration of critical praise, audience adornment and box office records. As rival comics company DC attempts to play a game of Jenga to get their long-gestated Justice League franchise off the ground (fingers crossed), Marvel coasts across their ‘Marvel Cinematic Universe’ with the self-dubbed ‘Phase 2’ nearly in the rearview mirror (next summer’s Avengers: Age of Ultron will tie the knot on the second part of the overarching Avengers storyline, with vehicles for Ant-Man, Dr. Strange and others on the way). Although, the studio hit a public snag in May when lauded director Edgar Wright bolted his prized Ant-Man adaptation, a project that, according to rumor, went through many failed offers before landing in the hands of comedy vet Peyton Reed. Speculation painted Marvel as a controlling cookie-cutter, afraid to embrace the potentially diverse take Wright had on the character and its universe. “How dare a visionary enter our arena and try to go against the grain that we’ve established?” With a movie like Guardians of the Galaxy now under...

‘The Words’ survives on interesting premise, lacks final punch

by | Sep 7, 2012 | Opinion

Bradley Cooper has really got to stop doing bad things for the sake of writing. Just last year, the exuberantly likable actor journeyed into the world of Limitless – a film about an author who, in the name of writer’s block, takes a magical medicine that gives him superhuman mental abilities. Naturally, the stuff was off-the-market illegal, and he got into a heap of trouble. But that’s okay because the main character always makes it no matter how awful they are (sorry, I didn’t like Limitless very much). In The Words, Cooper plays another troubled writer given another unique-yet-unethical opportunity on which to form his career. Cooper’s Rory Jansen has no trouble with getting the words on paper. It’s the publishing part that’s giving him grief. There’s no market for his writing, which leads to, well, no cash flow (a visit to dad’s office ending with a signed check isn’t out of the ordinary). After he shotgun weds “the love of his life” (Zoe Saldana), a honeymoon trip to Paris leads to the discovery of a manuscript tucked away in a well-worn briefcase. The manuscript, of course, is an impeccably worded masterpiece that, if published, would lead to instant success. Jansen needs success. Steal the words of a nameless author without any known consequences to receive the dream career of a lifetime? Why not? As the story goes, Jeremy Irons’ “The Old Man” (no name, I believe) – the writer of the book that led to Jansen’s insta-fame – comes to New York with a poignant story to tell the thieving wordsmith (told in flashbacks starring Ben Barnes as...