Guardian of the Galaxy’s Awesome Mix in Vol 2: ELO, Glen Campbell, Cat Stevens

Posted on May 5, 2017 at 8:00 am

Like the first “Guardians of the Galaxy,” Vol 2. has a fabulous soundtrack of 70’s songs.

Electric Light Orchestra – Mister Blue Sky

Already on the soundtrack of films from “The Game Plan” to “Paul Blart: Mall Cop,” “Role Models,” “Wild Mussels,” “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind,” “The Magic Roundabout,” “The Game Plan,” “Martian Child,” “The Invention of Lying,” “Megamind,” and “Battle of the Year” as well as the television shows “Doctor Who,” “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation,” “American Dad!,” “Divorce,” “Revolution,” and “Waterloo Road,” this song kicks off “Guardians 2” with an adorable Baby Groot dance in the middle of a fight with a giant space monster.

Sweet – Fox on the Run

Most recently heard on the soundtracks of “Dazed and Confused” and “Detroit Rock City,” this 1974 song about groupies by the British band Sweet has been covered by many performers, including KISS’s Ace Frehley and the Red Hot Chili Peppers.

Aliotta Haynes Jeremiah – Lake Shore Drive

This 1971 song is a tribute to Chicago’s famous road along Lake Michigan.

Fleetwood Mac – The Chain

Credited to all five members of the band, reportedly this 1977 song was literally spliced together on tape from pieces they were working on.

Sam Cooke – Bring it on Home to Me

Lou Rawls sings back-up in this romantic Sam Cooke classic.

Glen Campbell – Southern Nights

One of my favorite Glen Campbell songs, this Allen Toussaint composition from 1977 features a guitar lick from Jerry Reed.

George Harrison – My Sweet Lord

One of the ex-Beatle’s biggest solo hits is this deeply spiritual song calling for unity between people and between individuals and God.

Looking Glass – Brandy (You’re a Fine Girl)

Here’s the story behind the 1972 hit that plays an important part in the film.

Jay & The Americans – Come a Little Bit Closer

Tommy Boyce and Bobby Hart with Wes Farrell wrote this classic story song about a flirtatious barmaid.

Sliver – Wham Bam Shang-a-Lang

This one-hit wonder sounds like the essence of the 70’s.

Cheap Trick – Surrender

Band member Rick Nielsen said: “When I wrote the song, the ‘we’re all alright’ was originally only intended to refer to the four of us; that’s why it comes right after the ‘Bun-E/Tom/Robin/Rick’s alright’ section. After we started playing it live however, I came to realize that, to our audience, it was inclusive of all of us – our generation; that we’re ALL alright, we survived the 60s & Vietnam & Nixon & everything, and we’re all still here, playing music and having fun. That’s when we started playing with it a little in concert; I’ll tell ya, you get 50 – 60 thousand people screaming ‘WE’RE ALL ALRIGHT!’ in unison, that’s a pretty positive affirmation!”

Cat Stevens – Father and Son

Like “Surrender,” this is a 70’s-era song about the conflict between baby boomer teenagers and their Greatest Generation parents.

Parliament – Flash Light

The essence of 70’s funk, this song by George Clinton, Bernie Worrell, and Bootsy Collins was also on the soundtrack of “Set it Off” and “Roll Bounce.”

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Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol 2

Posted on May 3, 2017 at 11:35 am

B +

Lowest Recommended Age:	High School
MPAA Rating:	Rated PG-13 for sequences of sci-fi action and violence, language, and brief suggestive content
Profanity:	Some strong language
Alcohol/ Drugs:	None
Violence/ Scariness:	Extended sci-fi/action/comic-book peril and violence with guns and explosions, characters killed, some disturbing images
Diversity Issues:	Diverse characters
Date Released to Theaters:	May 3, 2017
Date Released to DVD:	August 22, 2017

Remember about a week ago when I said that the baby panda in “Born in China” was the most adorable creature on earth? That may still be, but Baby Groot is probably the most adorable baby in the universe. “Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol 2” opens up with a bang — a wild action scene as our heroes and anti-heroes fight a huge monster that is out of focus and at the side of the screen as we watch Baby Groot happily dancing to ELO’s lilting “Mr. Blue Sky.”

“A little good, a little bad, bit of both,” Peter Quill (Chris Pratt) promised his fellow Guardians and us at the end of the first film. And that’s what we get in this sequel, still delightfully off-kilter, still deliciously irreverent, and still delectably scored with 70’s pop songs. “Can you hold the banter until after the space battle?” one character asks. Probably not, and we would not want it any other way.

Despite the indicators the in post-credits scene from the first film, it is a relief to report that this movie is not about Thanos or another infinity stone. It is a more personal story, giving the characters a chance to know each other and us to know them, too.

Peter was born in Missouri to a single mother who died of cancer when he was ten, then captured by the blue-faced space pirate Yondu (Michael Rooker), who was hired to deliver him to his father but instead kept him as a sort of mascot/apprentice. In Vol 2 Peter meets his father, a “celestial” named Ego (really) with his own planet. And Zamora (Zoe Saldana) meets up with her estranged sister Nebula (Karen Gillan). I don’t mean “estranged” like having trouble agreeing on what to get Mom for Mother’s Day; I mean estranged like trying to kill one another.

Ego is accompanied by a new character named Mantis (Pom Klementieff) a shy and inexperienced empath who can read and sooth the emotions of others. As Peter gets to know his father, and even achieve his boyhood dream of tossing a ball back and forth with him, in typically off-kilter Guardians of the Galaxy way, the group is being chased down by a race of beautiful gold people who claim to be genetically perfect, led by Ayesha (Elizabeth Debicki), via drone-style attack ships. Rocket (Bradley Cooper) could not resist stealing some of their precious batteries, the very ones Ayesha had hired them to protect. They are also being sought after by Yondu, who was expelled from the tribe of space thieves led by Sylvester Stallone (really, and it kind of makes sense because he does look and sound like an alien) for keeping Peter; kids are supposed to be off limits.

The banter is fine; with very funny references to “Cheers” and to David Hasselhoff and “Knight Rider.” The visuals are imaginative and striking and the battle scenes well staged. I got lost in the last one, but maybe we are supposed to. Writer/director James Gunn has an outstanding sense of pacing and tone. And I like the X-Men-style shifts of alliance. It is especially appropriate for characters who are “a little good, a little bad” to be surrounded by characters who are, too. While the father-son dynamic story does not always work, Baby Groot more than makes up for it, not just in adorable quotient but in what we learn in seeing the other characters interact with him.

“All any of you do is yell at each other,” Nebula correctly points out. “You are not friends.” “No, we are family,” Drax (Dave Bautista) replies. And we’re starting to feel like they’re our family, too.

NOTE: Stay all the way to the end for several extra scenes. You won’t want to miss the one with Groot.

Parents should know that this film includes extended sci-fi/comic book/action violence and peril with some disturbing images, characters injured and killed, some strong language, sexual references and and potty humor.

Family discussion: How did meeting his father change Peter’s view of family? Which switch of allegiance was most surprising?

If you like this, try: “Guardians of the Galaxy” and “The Avengers”

The Summer Blockbuster Season Starts This Week! Here’s What’s Coming

Posted on May 1, 2017 at 8:00 am

Believe it or not, the summer blockbuster movie season starts this week, and we are getting a bunch of big movies over the next three months. Summer means superheroes, sequels, family movies, raunchy comedies, and quirky indies. The summer of 2017 has all of that and more. Here’s a peek at what’s coming.

May 3

“Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol 2” They’re back to save the universe again, with another rockin’ soundtrack of 70’s hits, and Kurt Russell joins the cast.

May 5

“The Dinner” Brothers, one a smooth politician (Richard Gere), one a bitter schoolteacher (Steve Coogan), and their wives (Rebecca Hall and Laura Linney) get together for a wildly expensive dinner and a very tough conversation.

May 12

“Snatched” Goldie Hawn and Amy Schumer play a mother and daughter who have some exciting and hilarious adventures on a trip to South America.

“Paris Can Wait” Diane Lane stars in a story about a woman whose trip to Paris has some unexpected detours.

“King Arthur: Legends of the Sword” The Guy Ritchie version of the classic tale stars Charlie Hunnam.

May 19

“Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Long Haul” A Heffley family road trip to attend Meemaw’s 90th birthday party goes hilariously off course thanks to Greg’s newest scheme to get to a video gaming convention.

“Everything Everything” Amandla Stenberg (Rue in “Hunger Games”) plays a sheltered teen who has been confined to her home all her life because of illness — until she meets the boy next door.

“Baywatch” Co-star Zac Efron calls this affectionate and sometimes silly feature based on the television series “a high five to summer.”

May 26

“Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales” We get a glimpse of a young Captain Jack Sparrow in this new entry in the series based on a theme park ride.

“War Machine” Brad Pitt stars in this sharp satire about a four-star general.

June 2

“Captain Underpants” Two fourth graders (voices of Kevin Hart and Thomas Middleditch) hypnotize their nerdy principal into thinking he is a superhero in this animated film based on the wildly popular series of books.

“Wonder Woman” Gal Gadot plays the Amazonian superheroine Diana Prince/Wonder Woman, directed by Patty Jenkins (“Monster”).

“I, Daniel Blake” Ken Loach directed this award-winning film about people crushed by the bureaucracy of the social safety net in the UK.

June 9

“The Mummy” Tom Cruise stars in this update of the classic horror tale.

“My Cousin Rachel” Daphne du Maurier’s book about a mysterious woman stars Rachel Weisz and Sam Claflin.

June 16

“Cars 3” Lighting McQueen and Mater are back for another race, this time against a new generation of competitors.

“All Eyez on Me” The biopic of rap star Tupac Shakur, starring Demetrius Shipp Jr.

“The Book of Henry” A gifted child and his single mother try to help a young girl in danger.

“Maudie” A disabled young woman becomes an artist and finds love.

“Rough Night” Scarlett Johansson has a wild bachelorette party that goes very wrong in this raunchy dark comedy, one of two Girls Gone Wild-style takes on a “Hangover” comedy this summer.

June 23

“The Beguiled” Sofia Coppola directs the remake of the Clint Eastwood Civil War story about an injured soldier (Colin Farrell) taken in by a girls’ school, this time with more of the women’s perspective, starring Nicole Kidman, Elle Fanning, and Kirsten Dunst.

“The Big Sick” This indie film based on the true story of the courtship of Kumail Nanjiani and Emily Gordon, complicated by her illness, has been a festival hit.

“Transformers: The Last Knight” Like “Fate of the Furious,” this is a series entry that has the leader “going rogue.”

June 28

“Baby Driver” Ansel Elgort, Kevin Spacey, and Lily James star in what looks like a musical version of “Drive,” from writer/director Edgar Wright, who always has his own twist on genres.

June 30

“Despicable Me 3” Gru, Lucy, and the girls are back, and this time they meet up with Gru’s long-lost brother (also played by Steve Carell) and a new bad guy who is stuck in the 1980’s.

“The House” Will Ferrell and Amy Poehler play a married couple who need money for their daughter’s college tuition. So of course they turn their home into an illegal gambling den.

July 7

“Spider-Man: Homecoming” Tom Holland’s winning but brief appearance in “Captain America: The Winter Soldier” has fans looking forward to his first starring appearance as Spidey.

July 14

“War for Planet of the Apes” Any hope for peace is gone as the apes are stronger and more effective and the humans are less trustworthy.

July 21

“Dunkirk” One of WWII’s most intense operations was the rescue at Dunkirk, and this film from Christopher Nolan shows us how it happened, with an all-star cast that includes Kenneth Branagh, Tom Hardy, Jack Reynor, Cillian Murphy, and Mark Rylance.

“Girls Trip” The second Girls Gone Wild films of the summer stars Queen Latifah, Regina Hall, Jada Pinkett Smith as old friends who take a journey to the Essence Festival.

“Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets” Luc Besson’s dream project is the comic book series that helped inspire the look of “Star Wars.”

July 28

“Atomic Blonde” Charlize Theron plays the title character in a stylish spy thriller with non-stop action.

“The Emoji Movie” Yes, it’s a movie about emojis, with Patrick Stewart providing the voice for the poop emoji.

“An Inconvenient Sequel” The follow-up to Al Gore’s Oscar-winning documentary about climate change has some good news along with more inconvenient bad news.

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