Guardians of the Galaxy [Includes Digital Copy] [Blu-ray] [2014]

The surprise hit of the year, comes in yet another Disney steel, exclusive to Best Buy. The case has it's charms, especially if you're old-school or a fan of films from the 80's, like maybe High Fidelity. Still, I can't help but think many might find it rather ugly, and if you haven't seen the movie it fails at clueing you in that you're looking at Disney/Marvels latest superhero blockbuster, once the paper has been removed anyway, painstakingly removed at that - they used WAY too much glue on my copy: instead of the usual dab here and there, it was smeared all across the top and bottom. While the case design may be less subjectively appealing than most, and disappointly holds the two discs inside one on top of the other (staggered on separate hubs at least), rather than one on the left and one on the right for ease of access, you've gotta give them kudos: Aside from it being an actual embossed design, it's always nice to see studios making some type of artistic effort to grab you with intrigue and maybe a little mystery, rather than subjecting fans with a photoshopped composite of every name-brand actor or character in the film that might grab the attention of someone otherwise completely unaware of the movie. The only other criticism of this package is that Disney no-longer seems to be supporting standard dvd with their combo packs. At least both 2D and 3D (on separate discs for all those with player problems using 2D/3D hybrid discs) discs are still included. But some families will no doubt be disappointed in not having a standard dvd for either the kids room or long trips for this film. As usual for Disney steelbooks, it appears BB underordered and it's already sold-out online. That may be a good thing considering BB's packaging has hit an all time low! My copy arrived in nothing more than a thin poly mailer - no padding - and what's worse, it's the sticky kind that comes stuck to the item inside, practically pulling off the shrinkwrap for you as you open it. Good thing this wasn't a gift!. But I would definitely shop in a store for their steels, if you have one more conveniently located that we do. As I've already had to complain several times about their packaging over the past year. And while their phone reps have all been friendlier and generally more helpful than even amazon, clearly BB doesn't care about inconveniencing their customers with order problems, as their packaging has only gotten worse, as impossible as I thought that was once, considering the junk they were shipping in before!

This is the start of a new franchise for Marvel Comics. It's based on a lesser-known book that was started in the 1960's, got canceled and then re-launched over the years. This movie is based on the 2008 version of the books. The story starts in 1988, when a little boy named Peter Quill loses his mother to cancer and is then abducted and raised by aliens. Chris plays the older version of Peter, or as he becomes known as, Starlord. Chris has become a thief and is after a mysterious orb that several other people are also after. Zoe-Gamora-is one of those other people and she is also the adopted daughter of Thanos-remember him from the end credits of the Avengers? Vin voices Groot, a sort of living tree with a very limited vocabulary-'I am Groot' is all that he ever says-and Bradley voices Rocket, a highly intelligent raccoon that has been surgically altered with cybernetics and can also talk. Thanos hires Ronan the Accuser to also go after the orb after Zoe fails in her attempt and the newly forming Guardians run into their latest member Dave-Drax-who has a need to kill Ronan for his own personal reasons. The Collector from the end credits of Thor makes an appearance, too. Chris uses a cassette Walkman to play music-there is a reason he uses it, instead of some more modern device-and there is a lot of 1970's & 1980's songs heard throughout the film. Stan Lee does make his cameo as well as a few others. I saw the IMAX 3D version and it was well worth it. The effects are great, the story is good, the actors look the parts and there is plenty of humor, along with the action-the whole vibe sort of reminded me of the old t.v. show called Firefly. There is a scene just as the end credits start, plus another scene after the end credits-and the second one involves a different Marvel character that had his own movie, back in the 1980's. It's rated "PG-13" for violence and language and has a running time of 2 hours & 1 minute. This is a good origin story and I really enjoyed it and would buy it on Blu-Ray.

Beautiful picture! The 1080p with the extra pixels due to the quattron technology enhances the viewing experience. I had some issues initially getting the tv to work properly with my existing a/v equipment. I have the Yamaha RX-a2020 receiver, Samsung bluray and directv. Additionally, I control everything w/ the Harmony Touch universal remote. The tv and yamaha are connected to the Internet via hardwire rather than wi-fi. I have no issues getting to Netflix or connectivity issues....works great. Initially I had issues w/ Netflix working correctly through the tv and receiver. The audio from netflix would not go through the stereo speakers but rather through the tv speakers which was unacceptable. So I called Sharp tech support and found out that I had my hdmi cables hooked up incorrectly. The tv has a hdmi/arc connection and only one hdmi cable is needed from the receiver. The ARC is the Audio Return Connection. If you have a receiver w/ that type of technology make sure it's activated on the receiver side first then run the hdmi from av1-out (receiver) to the tv's hdmi1-in. That should set up the tv audio correctly. Next, I had issues with my bluray audio out of sync with the picture. Make sure you connect the bluray hdmi into the tv's hdmi2. You will have to switch to input2 on the tv to watch bluray. Again, if your receiver is ARC ready the audio will be sent to the sound system through the hdmi1 cable. You will not need any other hdmi's or digital optical lines. One additional comment. I had to call Sharp tech support three times to get this figured out, but the third Rep was able to help. I have a lot of technology working together in my set up and my previous Sharp tv was not a smart tv nor was it ARC ready so there was a bit of a learning curve. We were able to figure it out together and I really appreciated that tech support was open on a Saturday!

...under blacklight. :) What can be said about the surprise hit of the MCU (Marvel Cinematic Universe) that hasn't already been said. It's laugh-out-loud funny, it's got heart, and as I joke with my friends, it's the third best Star Wars movie ever made. I have turned to populating my collection with Steelbook versions of everything I can get. This was no different. But as soon as it was announced, the preorders dried up in minutes. So I had to camp out at my local store like it was Black Friday. This has to stop. In a few instances in the past, you go in store and preorder (it was either a game or movie or both), and you got the Steelbook case right then and there, and then you got like $5 towards the purchase price of the movie (or game or whatever). I really wish that were still the case. The worry of shortages and dealing with the eBay kooks is that last thing I ever want to do. Anyway, rant over. About this version: It's a solid, cool-looking replica of Peter Quill's Walkman with a Blu-ray, a 3D Blu-ray, and Marvel Digital Extras insert. To be clear, no DVD. This is not a criticism, just a clarification. I'm kinda glad that there isn't one more disc cluttering my case, although it was nice to gift the disc to my sister for the kiddos in the car. But kudos for the world finally embracing the medium outright, although there's another discussion for the slow burn death of 3D. Anyway, the disc itself is really nondescript, being solid blue, but who cares, really? The goodies on the disc are what we're here for anyway. The move looks and sounds near-reference quality, and we laughed and smiled our way through the whole thing again, tapping our foot to Awesome Mix Vol 1 where apropos. A great addition to your collection, and a really great addition to the MCU.

The least you can say about this movie is that it is a great film. It's hilarious, has great action sequences, excellent characters, a fantastic soundtrack, and can be enjoyed by those who have never read a comic book in their life. For many, this is the best comic book film ever made. James Gunn has succeeded in turning a little known comic book property into the new Star Wars. This film is the best sci-fi fantasy film to come out in ages because it works on so many levels. Comic book fans will love the nods to significant Marvel references such as the Nova Corp and Kree, the brief but illuminating Thanos cameo, and the introduction of a new Infinity Stone. Fans of comedy will be laughing at the hilarious dialogue, Groot, and a dance off to avert planetary genocide. Action fans will love scenes like when the Guardians first meet, the prison break, and the climatic battle over Xandar. If that wasn't enough the film succeeds just because Gunn is able to have fully fleshed out characters in an ensemble movie despite most audiences knowing next to nothing about the characters. Chris Pratt and Dave Bautista are the breakout stars of this film. Chris Pratt has gone from funny sidekick to straight up movie star. Dave Bautista showed that he may be the most talented wrestler turned actor, just behind Dwayne "the Rock" Johnson. Bradley Cooper shows he has even more range by providing a vocal performance good enough to make you believe in a talking raccoon. As far as the quality of the blu-ray, there are the requisite features that are to be expected for a film life this. There really isn't anything that standouts, but the film alone is worth the purchase price. What all these words boil down to is that this is one of the must have blu-rays of 2014.

This movie is fun like Star Wars was fun when it took the world by storm back in the 1970's. The plot doesn't intrude in the fun, yet there is a plot evident throughout this film unlike some films which spend the bulk of their time being flashy or impressive, only to end in what seems to be a hastily devised end to wrap things up. The action flick cavalier lines are there, but they also help line up the finale so there's not much in the way of throw-away bits. While I thought Rocket Raccoon (named for the Beatles song) would be my favorite & many other viewers fell for Groot, I found Drax with his very literal take on things the most endearing of the Milano crew. When Rocket points out metaphors go over the heads of most Kree, Drax protests he is too fast-he would reach up & catch it which sets the scene for self-proclaimed Starlord Peter Quill to devise his way of defeating Ronan the Accuser who is angry the Kree are signing a peace treaty with ancient enemies, the Xandarians, disrespecting his father & his father's father & all the other Kree warriors who have fallen in the war. He has bargained with the mad Titan Thanos (the purple guy Loki made his bargain with in Avengers) for a means to destroy them. Tied to a future movie involving the Deviant Eternal Thanos, the Collector Taneleer Tivan, last seen in the mid-credits scene in Thor: The Dark World, is back, & another of the Infinity Gems/Stones is Thanos's price for destroying Xandar and its people for Ronan. Yes, Quill's ship is named for actress Alyssa Milano as Peter was abducted as a child from Earth in the 1980's & the boy had a crush on her. We also get a cameo from Howard the Duck post-credits so stick around to the end.

OK, the first I heard about this movie was the theater trailer when I saw 'The Winter Soldier'. I remember turning to my friend and saying "They made a Guardians of the Galaxy movie. I'm surprised anybody remembered they exist." Then I promptly forgot about it until after it came out and everyone started raving about how good it was. I'd collected comics pretty seriously from the late 70s till the mid 90s and had considered the Guardians to basically be 3rd string superheroes and had never been impressed with their appearances. Well, consider my opinion definitely changed. With how well Disney has been handling the Marvel Universe, I expected the movie to not suck, but wasn't expecting much more than that. That said, I watched this movie 5 times in the first week I had it, lol. For anyone who's into the new Marvel movie continuity, this movie directly ties into it and will be part of a 2-part Guardians/Avengers crossover in a couple years. Aside from that, tho, this movie completely stands on its own and is an incredibly enjoyable film. I won't say it's better than 'The Avengers' (the best superhero movie made, imo) but it's actually even more watchable. It's just, well, FUN. The characters are real, the jokes are great, and the character interactions flow in such a natural way that you really believe the relationships. Oh, and their IS gag-reel on the blu-ray (not on the DVD, I believe) that has a great moment on the end. OVERALL: Buy this movie. You WILL enjoy it. PS: Watch through the visual credits (before the list credits. Their is a good bit, lol.

If you are either a fan of Comics or a fan of Sci Fi, or just a fan of Action adventure stories, and you have not seen this movie? You are MISSING OUT! This is truly one of the biggest Surprises in movies for 2014. (Though I knew it was going to be a hit, because Marvel has yet to make a bad movie). But overall, the story is intriguing, though the premise is different than the comic, but Directors James Gunn, doesn't hold anything back in this Series debut. The story is exciting, the characters are incredibly interesting, and provide great depth for future films, and there isn't really anything bad I can say about the movie. Oh and did I mention the soundtrack in the movie? The soundtrack is easily the most memorable thing about the movie. Songs that young people like myself have not really heard outside of an oldies station here and there have become so incredibly popular, that I see them dancing at tailgates and parties. The soundtrack for this movie is absolutely amazing, and the way scenes paired with the music provided an incredibly fun dynamic in this film. Chris Pratt delivers a fantastic performance, but the stand out performance really goes to David Bautista who has the best comedic timing and lines in the film. You don't expect him to steal the show, but overall, this film is a MUST watch. Pick up this movie, grab some popcorn, put your feet up and enjoy this adventure. I'm really looking forward to seeing how they integrate these characters in to the expanded Marvel Universe!