What Is The Book Of Life?

As you're probably aware, I'm a big proponent for quality animated cinema. So I try to check out every animated feature I can. This week's installment: the Jorge R. Gutierrez helmed The Book of Life.

This is a story of competition, love, and the struggles between life and death... it's about what it means to be remembered and how tragic it is to be forgotten. But mostly it's about two suitors vying for the hand of one woman... and the insane lengths a pair of gods will go to to decide the love triangles' fate.

It's a family film. So it's simple... easy to understand... and for some reason riddled with pop culture references in the form of your favorite songs (and some of your not so favorites) of the last twenty years... repurposed for Mexican style musical sequences. It's weird. But the confusing decision not to write original songs doesn't detract from a lot of positives that this movie does manage to accomplish.

The animation is whimsical and easy. The character and set designs fun and functional. And the voice performances, mostly serviceable. But the highpoint of this project is the curiosity it seems to place on the single idea that to be forgotten is a great and overwhelming tragedy. It's a strange thing for a family film to focus on, but it also carries some weight and poignance that I think would work surprisingly well on a younger mind. We live in a time when older generations are being ignored and disrespected... in many cases the disrespect is actually warranted as old ideals become less and less useful to a populace intent on connecting with everyone everywhere all the time without exclusion. I think there's a thought in this film that really tries to touch on something important... we cannot forget the past, even if we're recalling the mistakes of those that came before us, it is absolutely necessary that we at least know that history. No one should ever be forgotten.

Of course I'm drawing a lot of conclusions right now. The movie its self doesn't go that in depth on the topic, but I do think that if it gets children to think about their grandparents... their great-grandparents... where they come from, it'll be a successful film.

Anyway, The Book of Life is good enough to bring your kids to if you've got em. It's mostly a middle of the pack kind of flick, but it has its moments.

Marvel's The Astonishing Guardians Of The Galaxy

I caught a midnight screening of Guardians of the Galaxy last night, and I've gotta admit, I'm still flabbergasted.

This is the lesser known story of a team of superheroes that no one ever really thought of as major players. They're the misfits... the B team with A team powers. And they're a strange kind of comic relief in the Marvel Universe... because they actually can fight and win and their quirk is just a part of what makes them lovable. But the idea of putting these guys on screen in their own major motion picture event... well that would have seemed unbelievable only two years ago. Yet Marvel dug deep and decided, at some point they'd have to start using their lesser known characters. Well they had already established that Thanos was gonna be a major part of the Avengers story line... come the third Avengers movie. So at some point they would have to start dealing with areas beyond Earth... and Asgard. So logically, Guardians of the Galaxy was that next step.

What James Gunn (Super, Slither) has accomplished here is nothing short of a miracle. He's taken a team that no one had ever heard of and turned them into a legitimate franchise in their own right. Even greater, he's given people an almost new property (this current Guardians lineup is only six years old in the comics) to sink their teeth into and get invested in. Suddenly the Marvel Universe feels so much bigger... and anything and everything is possible. Because this film has proven that they CAN introduce fifty new characters and twelve new worlds without the audience ever having to skip a beat. Like I said, I'm flabbergasted.

Chris Pratt is so likable as Star Lord. He's quirky and charming and just plain gets the job done. It's so exciting to watch this guy succeed because that's all he's been doing for the last fifteen years is proving he's the guy... and finally here he is leading a superhero squad on a most amazing adventure. Zoe Saldana likewise fits her role, Gamora, perfectly and has been building on a young but impressive career. To include Bradley Cooper as Rocket Raccoon is just perfect casting and I'd venture so far as to say I think I'd rather see Vin Diesel as Groot than any other Marvel superhero. Dave Batista's Drax is sadistic and wonderful... and that's the whole team. They all rock.

Then you get the other guys, Lee Pace is just entertaining as Ronan and Michael Rooker's Yondu feels like exactly what that character should always be. Karen Gillan does a great job as Nebula, and while Djimon Hounsou didn't get nearly enough screen time as Korath, he was still damn cool. John C. Reilly is fun and down to Earth here as well. He fully understands what this movie is supposed to be. And let's not forget about Glen Close, Benicio Del Toro, and Peter Serafinowicz all of whom admirably fill their roles with quality. It's impressive to see the lengths Marvel was willing to go to in casting this film. Every other character is played by a star. And that's gotta be a piece of their formula for success here... or maybe it's just that everybody wanted to be involved because they all believe in what Marvel's doing.

I can't believe I'm saying this, but Guardians of the Galaxy is the biggest movie Marvel's ever made. Yes. It's bigger than The Avengers. It spans a galaxy and the stakes are high. The cast is so massive and well rounded that it almost makes the Avengers team look small... almost. Just saying, I can't wait to see these guys show up again both in their own movies and likely in Avengers 3.