The Guardians of the Galaxy crew did a watchalong of the second movie just like I wanted, and it was at 2am my time. Aw no. But, just like last time, I decided to put all the most substantive tweets together!
Well if it isn’t the Guardians of the Galaxy, back for another funny, action-packed comedy adventure, shockingly rooted in deep, painful and beautiful emotion. On a scale of 1 to MY HEART EXPLODED, how awesome was it to see the gang again? The sequel was highly anticipated after the success of the original, which, let’s be honest, was a bit of a gamble in itself.
Sequels are hard, especially when the original was so beloved. But, Vol 2 knocked it out of the park, bringing us everything we have come to expect from this rag-tag group of lovable dickheads.
AND it solved the mystery of Quill’s parentage!
The movie began with a peek into the whirlwind romance of Peter’s parents, with her being awesome and him being CGI. He showed her a glowing flower-type thing in the forest (I’m sure it’s nothing), and then they made out a bunch.
Gaaah so there was a version of the movie with Nakia in it (even just at the end) and we didn’t get it? >:(
(also fuck yeah Gamora!)
This one’s by Phil Saunders and he said: “It would have been revealed, however, that [Rhodey] was actually piloting it remotely as he was still suffering from PTSD from his crash during the events of Civil War. I liked the character arc of him eventually having to get back in the suit, but we’d already done a similar reveal in Iron Man 3, so it felt like a repeated beat.” Hm I guess, but it wasn’t that similar, I’d have liked a lil more of Rhodey handling his PTSD I guess.
Cool hat, The Ancient One! Something to make all the other girls go “ooh, that’s nice.”
Aw man I can see why they didn’t use Ant Man’s Giant Ants, too much else going on, but a gun being fired off the top of one amuses me.
Alternate Captain Marvel scene. Oh man I gotta buy this book just so I can see those panels properly. (Nakia’s in the background of this one too, when was she cut out of the movie?!)
Aw dang this is a tiny image but that’s meant to be Thanos’s biological family! (I guess they’d have appeared in a flashback or something?)
These weird looking dudes, okay I can see why they were cut out, way too much going on in the final battle without throwing them in as well
ROCKET WEARING A PIECE OF GROOT! Oh man, that’s just too sad. I gotta go lie down.
#1 Use a different movie for each prompt #2 Add photos and/or explanations of how your choices fit the prompts #3 Tag a few friends to play along
Let’s see what we got.
1. A Partridge in a Pear Tree — movie that involves agriculture
OH NO. Okay… Hmm. WAIT! My husband just HANDED ME the most obvious answer. The Martian, a space movie which I love, all about a guy who survives on Mars by growing potatoes. (It’s much, much more interesting than I make it sound there.)
Home to a really good line about humanity and the world:
“Every human being has a basic instinct: to help each other out. If a hiker gets lost in the mountains, people will coordinate a search. If a train crashes, people will line up to give blood. If an earthquake levels a city, people all over the world will send emergency supplies. This is so fundamentally human that it’s found in every culture without exception. Yes, there are assholes who just don’t care, but they’re massively outnumbered by the people who do.”
2. Turtledoves — movie about a long-lasting relationship
Back in 2007 this movie ripped my heart out, stamped on it, put it back in, then kicked it upwards through my brain and out my head.
I speak of course of Atonement, the tale of a doomed romance and some beautiful, beautiful dresses. In the end, Robbie and Cecilia can’t survive World War II or the British class system. (Yeah, the British class system, not Briony, is the villain of this story.) But Briony ensures via her writing that they have a long-lasting relationship anyway, and I cry.
3. French Hens — movie that takes place in France
Okay, it’s a toss-up between two movies here, both based on works by Victor Hugo: Disney’s The Hunchback of Notre Dame and Tom Hooper’s Les Miserables. And… despite the fact that it has virtually nothing at all to do with the book… I think Hunchback juuuust takes it, because it’s a gorgeous, interesting, progressive-for-Disney film, and I love it.
I can’t even choose one shot from this movie so just have the opening one. And hey! The titular church didn’t burn down this year! It’s still there!
4. Calling Birds — movie where people talk on the phone
Okay, I’m gonna stretch the definition of “phone” a bit here and show you something from The Phantom Menace:
I’m sorry I knoooooow Love Actually probably isn’t really all that great as a movie and it’s so cheesy and corny and up-itself but I love it. It’s like a warm Christmas hug. (And I don’t even really like Christmas, so…)
6. Geese A-laying — movie with a birth or that features babies
So before there was Baby Yoda, there was this equally adorable fella:
And I think his presence is enough to qualify Guardians of the Galaxy 2 as a film that features babies. No births though, unless you count the birth of a god or the birthing chamber stuff on the gold planet or various “rebirths” of characters. Wait… GOTG2 is surprisingly birth-metaphors-heavy actually. Who knew.
7. Swans A-swimming — movie where someone goes swimming
Okay, so maybe this isn’t so much “someone goes swimming” as it is “someone tries to swim and nearly drowns” but…
I can still remember the music from that bit in Fellowship of the Ring after all this time. My god, the last quarter of that movie kicks all kind of ass and tramples on my feelings, I love it so.
“I made a promise, Mr. Frodo. A promise. Don’t you leave him, Samwise Gamgee. And I don’t mean to. I don’t mean to.”
8. Maids A-milking — movie with cows
Okay, this can only be Children of Men. (A film that I very nearly put at #6.) Why? At the film’s pivotal moment we get this beautiful, striking scene featuring a whole lotta cows.
I think it’s meant to be reminiscent of Mary in the manger. And I love it so much. Please watch Childrenof Men, it’s so harrowing but so good, it’s amazing, I promise.
9. Ladies Dancing — movie with a dance scene
AM I GONNA DO IT? YEAH I’M GONNA DO IT. I’m gonna put Spider-Man 3 in here. Yes, that one.
But not for that dance scene… or even that one. You know the much-derided ones I mean. The one I like is this one:
Harry Osborn (in his various incarnations) is my Second Favourite Fictional Character Of All Time, and Mary Jane is pretty high up the list as well, so it was nice to see them have a moment of happiness before one of them dies. Honestly, that’s it. (I unapologetically love Spider-Man 3, even if only for Harry. I admit it. I’m sorry. No wait, no I’m not.)
10. Lords A-leaping — movie about athletes
Aw dang… I’m not good at this genre. But I do really like Noel Clarke’s Fast Girls and no-one else seems to have seen it, so I’m putting it here. I really need to watch it again actually. It suffers from Unnecessary Forced Heterosexual Romance In An Almost All-Woman Film Syndrome but eh, what doesn’t.
(Yeah, the Noel Clarke from Doctor Who. And yes, that is a pre-mega-fame Lily James.)
11. Pipers Piping — movie with someone playing a musical instrument
Wait, NOW I can get Les Miserables in here. During the very start of the “Drink With Me” scene Grantaire (my First Favourite Fictional Character of all time) starts running his hands over a broken piano.
It doesn’t make any sound of course, but that’s so much more poignant than if it had.
12. Drummers Drumming — movie with characters in the military
I don’t really get to go to the cinema much these days but one film I did see this year was Tolkien, which kinda delves in a little into how Tolkien’s experiences in the First World War inspired his writings.
It didn’t get very good reviews, to my surprise, and I suppose the dispute with Tolkien’s descendants definitely didn’t help, but I liked it. It definitely didn’t shy away when depicting the horrors of World War I.
And that’s that…
You should definitely do this meme if you want to! In fact, please do!
Here are these cuties enjoying some summer fun–or maybe they’re on a planet where the weather’s always nice. (Guess who’s still learning to draw shirtless dudes and chest hair?! It’s…it’s me. 😅)
