Chris PrattGuardians Of The Galaxy [Blu-ray]

GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY [2014] [3D Blu-ray + 2D Blu-ray] [UK Release] From the Studio That Brought You the MARVEL Avengers Assemble!From the MARVEL Studios that launched the epic franchise of ‘Iron Man,’ ‘Thor,’ ‘Captain America’ and ‘The Avengers,’ comes a new team – the Guardians of the Galaxy.The MARVEL Cinematic Universe into the cosmos, where brash adventurer Peter Quill steals a mysterious orb and becomes the object of a relentless bounty hunt. To evade his enemies, the ever-persistent Ronan, Peter Quill forges uneasy truce with a quartet of disparate misfits with Rocket, a gun-toting raccoon, Groot, a tree-like humanoid, the deadly and enigmatic Gamora and the revenge-driven Drax the Destroyer. But when Peter Quill discovers the true power of the orb and the menace it poses to the cosmos, he must do his best to rally his ragtag rivals misfits for a last desperate stand — with the galaxy's fate in the balance. Featuring amazing new characters and exclusive bonus features, this must-own blockbuster will have you hooked on a feeling . . . of pure adrenaline!MUSIC TRACK LISTING: “I’m Not in Love” [Performed by 10cc]; “Go All the Way” [Performed by Raspberries]; “Hooked on a Feeling” [Performed by Blue Swede]; “Moonage Daydream” [Performed by David Bowie]; “Cherry Bomb” [Performed by The Runaways]; “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough” [Performed by Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell]; Come and Get Your Love” [Performed by Redbone]; Mad Scene from “Lucia Di Lammermoor" [Performed by Bergamo Musica Festival Orchestra and Chorus]; “Escape” (The Piña Colada Song)” [Performed by Rupert Holmes]; “Fooled Around and Fell in Love” [Performed by Elvin Bishop]; “O-O-H Child” [Performed by The Five Stairsteps] and “I Want You Back” [Performed by Jackson 5].Cast: Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Dave Bautista, Vin Diesel, Bradley Cooper, Lee Pace, Michael Rooker, Karen Gillan, Djimon Hounsou, John C. Reilly, Glenn Close, Benicio Del Toro, Laura Haddock, Sean Gunn, Peter Serafinowicz, Christopher Fairbank, Krystian Godlewski, Wyatt Oleff, Gregg Henry, Janis Ahern, Solomon Mousley, Lindsay Morton, Robert Firth, Melia Kreiling, Tom Proctor, Nick Holmes, Max Wrottesley, Stan Lee, Nicole Alexandra Shipley, Sharif Atkins, Brendan Fehr, Tomas Arana, Mikaela Hoover, Emmett J Scanlan, Dominic Grant, Spencer Wilding, Alison Lintott, Alexis Rodney, Nathan Fillion (voice), Keeley Forsyth, Frank Gilhooley, Alexis Denisof, Enzo Cilenti, Richard Katz, Enoch Frost, Ronan Summers, Ophelia Lovibond, Laura Ortiz, Marama Corlett, Rosie Jones, Abidemi Sobande, Alex Rose, Ekaterina Zalitko, Emily Redding, Fred (Cosmo the Space Dog), Stephen Blackehart, Jennifer Moylan-Taylor, Bruce Mackinnon, Ralph Ineson, Rob Zombie, Naomi Ryan, John Brotherton, Graham Shiels, James Gunn, Douglas Robson, Rachel Cullen, Isabella Poynton, Imogen Poynton, David Yarovesky, Miriam Lucia, Adrian Allan (uncredited), Freddie Andrews (uncredited), Habib Anibaba (uncredited), Jozef Aoki (uncredited), Helen Banks (uncredited), Tyler Bates (uncredited), Richard Blenkiron Alysson Da Silva (uncredited), Wayne Devlin (uncredited), Simara Dixon (uncredited), Barny DuPlessis (uncredited), Seth Green (Howard the Duck voice) (uncredited), Victoria Gugenheim (uncredited), Lee Edward Jones (uncredited), Jonathan Lipow (Sakaarans voice) (uncredited), Erica Melargo (uncredited), Serhat Metin (uncredited), Nigel Murfitt (uncredited), Louise Port (uncredited), Deborah Rosan (uncredited), Wesley Von Spears (Holographic Dog) (uncredited), Paul Warren (uncredited) and Tatiana Zarubova (uncredited)Director: James GunnProducers: Alan Fine, David J. Grant, Jamie Christopher, Jeremy Latcham, Jonathan Schwartz, Kevin Feige, Louis D'Esposito, Nikolas Korda, Stan Lee and Victoria AlonsoScreenplay: James Gunn (screenplay), Nicole Perlman (screenplay), Andy Lanning (based on the Marvel comic book and Dan Abnett (based on the Marvel comic book)Composer: Tyler BatesCinematography: Ben DavisVideo Resolution: 1080p [Technicolor]Aspect Ratio: 2.40:1 [Anamorphic]Audio: English: 7.1 DTS-HD Master Audio, English: 2.0 Descriptive Audio, Spanish: 5.1 DTS Digital Surround and Hindi: 5.1 Dolby Digital SurroundSubtitles: English SDH, Spanish, Portuguêse, Danish, Finnish, Norwegian and SwedishRunning Time: 120 minutesRegion: All RegionsNumber of discs: 2Studio: MARVEL Studios / Walt Disney Studios Home EntertainmentAndrew’s Blu-ray Review: ‘GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY’ [2014] is a stunning awesome action packed film, that is filled with natural and artificial beauty that is a testament to modern filmmaking with seamless practical and equally stunning computer CGI visual effects that blend together to create a dazzling space adventure world. It’s the best MARVEL Studios Blu-ray, it is visually flawless. Every crack in Groot’s bark, each line in Drax’s tattooed body, and every hair on Rocket’s head stand out with perfection, totally blowing away any imitators, because ‘GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY’ pristine transfer will blow it away. MARVEL Studios swaps gloomy superheroes for snappy, Saturday-cartoon fun. And it is a total gem.‘GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY’ is based on one of Marvel Comics’ lesser known franchises, this is the tale of Peter Quill [Chris Pratt], an earthling abducted as a boy who, a quarter of a century later, is working as a Han Solo-style outlaw-for-hire under the self-ordained nickname “Star-Lord.” When his quest for a mysterious orb attracts the attention of some blue-skinned intergalactic troublemakers, Quill throws in with a team of fellow outsiders including green-skinned warrior princess Gamora [Zoe Saldana], genetically enhanced raccoon Rocket [voiced by Bradley Cooper], comically literal man-mountain Drax [Dave Bautista] and a self-regenerating, semi-sentient walking tree named Groot [Vin Diesel] being his usual muscle man agenda.Basic scenario is that you have a good vs. evil plot in here somewhere, but it’s rendered largely impenetrable by a profusion of MARVEL-verse asides which will only make sense to those who have followed the mythology across the entire comic and film franchise. No matter of this space opera, the rest of us can just sit back and enjoy the ride, as the film ricochets from one dazzling, frazzling action set-piece to the next, pausing only to charm our socks off with another pithy retort, classic bubble-gum-pop hit or cutely random alien character.‘GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY’ specialises in total adventure fun, served by the sugar-sprinkled ice-cream-scoop loaded in seeing this odd quintet bluster through space battles and alien brawls that would have defeated anyone smarter and better-equipped. Chris Pratt is a swaggering space adventurer, Peter Quill, and with the group’s self-appointed leader, sets Guardians of the Galaxy’s tone from the start. Abducted from Earth as a boy in 1988 and raised by intergalactic mercenaries, he is a cocky, charismatic outlaw in the Han Solo mould and gets in and out of scrapes by means of bluster and bravado rather than especially quick wits. Peter Quill’s most treasured possessions is a battered, outlandishly out-of-place Walkman and a mixtape that preserves the pop songs of his beloved mother’s youth, hence the presence of such cheesy, engagingly memorable numbers as ‘Hooked on a Feeling’ and ‘The Pina Colada Song’ on the soundtrack.For reasons that is too complicated and confusing to go into here and believe me it doesn’t really matter, but Peter Quill winds up in a very run down space prison in the company of a bunch of bad-ass and wise-ass: green-skinned alien Gamora [Zoë Saldana] who is no stranger to playing weirdly pigmented extra-terrestrials, and there is tattooed, slow-on-the-uptake hulk Drax the Destroyer [Dave Bautista], and a sarcastic talking raccoon named Rocket [Bradley Cooper] and his sidekick Groot [Vin Diesel], a walking tree whose vocabulary is limited to the three words “I am Groot.”But with this ragtag bunch of misfit’s oddball crew bands together to retrieve an all-powerful orb and stop it falling into the hands of genocidal bad guy Ronan the Accuser [Lee Pace]. But in the meantime Peter Quill says, “This orb has a real shiny blue suitcase, Ark of the Covenant, Maltese Falcon sort of vibe… what is it?” and where upon Peter Quill gives us the wink that the plot is just a marvellous excuse for fizzing CGI-boosted action and larky, tongue-in-cheek bantering.Some may find the film’s self-satisfaction attitude a mite grating, but I loved the whole film, as it is one great rollercoaster action packed film from start to finish. Chris Pratt is a very likeable character, but to some people he will be compared his character to Harrison Ford, which of course he is not, however hard he tries and there are some real moments where the sheer brain-melting relentlessness becomes slightly over powering, but again I loved it for its sheer adrenaline action pack adventure film, especially viewing it in the awesome 3D. But overall this is giddy, ridiculous fun filled, witty, wacky and wonderfully generous sugary gift of a space adventure film that was a total blast, but also with the added bonus of a brilliant music soundtrack. MARVEL fans like me, will love it! Finally, I loved at the very end of the credits where it states, “No raccoons or tree creatures were harmed during the making of the film.” Also watch right to the end of the film for a very nice surprise. One thing that slightly confused me is in wanting to know where Peter Quill was able to get extra batteries to keep his Walkman tape machine to be played. Of course when the film comes to an end, I started to feel very sad, as it was such an exciting rollercoaster action packed Sci-Fi film, but of course there was no need to feel sad, as at the end of the film we get informed that a new ‘GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY 2’ film is coming out in the very near future and so my fears have now subsided and I will be there ready when I can purchase the 3D Blu-ray disc when it is finally released.3D Blu-ray Video Quality – With the combination of MARVEL Studios and Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment brings you ‘GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY’ from a far off distant galaxy in a highly detailed and gorgeous 1080p ultimate encoded image and also with an equally impressive original theatrical 2.40:1 aspect ratio. This 3D Blu-ray presentation is Blu-ray high definition at its best. This Blu-ray also brings you a wide pallet of stunning colours and with lots of fantastic bright neon colours on everything from environments to starscapes to crazy alien skin tones and all of these are reproduced really wonderfully. The 3D film mixes a number of brightly lit exterior sequences with tons of shadowy space and interior worlds, rendering a visually engaging world in outer space that is never monotonous. Black levels are spot on too. Special Effects too are very highly detailed, with fully CGI characters that come to life in an almost photographic realistic way. ‘GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY’ is one long ultimate show-stopper on this 3D Blu-ray disc that is totally perfect for the ultimate demonstrating to people who say they hate 3D Blu-ray discs.3D Blu-ray Audio Quality – Again with this MARVEL Studios and Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment brings you ‘GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY’ in stunning 7.1 DTS-HD Master Audio. It also I can assure you that it definitely boasts very engaging ultimate reference quality audio surround experience. Dialogue is wonderfully clear, even in the kore chaotic action sequences in the film. Sound effects are aggressive in a brilliant way, especially with the laser blasts and space ships enveloping your home cinema surround sound environment that is deep and punching, accentuating thrusters and thudding explosions. Finally, for classic rock music fans are going to rejoice at how great and expansive all the music sounds that wrap around the listeners. If like me, you are also an audiophile with a high resolution audio system, you probably haven't heard this classic rock music songs sound this well before. Overall ‘GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY’ is a fantastic 3D Blu-ray audio experience.Blu-ray Special Features and Extras: As an added bonus, these special features can be viewed in 7.1 DTS-HD Master Audio.Special Features: Featurettes: Here you get to view two separate features that are as follows:01. Guide to the Galaxy with James Gunn [2014] [1080p] [1.78:1] [20:56] This particular feature starts off in a very confusing way, in making think you are about to start a video game, especially as it is titled “GALACTIC ADVENTURER” Featuring James Gunn. But despite this, here you get to view a decent string of behind-the-scenes vignettes that cover world building, makeup, and the Kiln prison sequence, including the sheer size of the set. They are strung together with a series of side-scrolling 8-bit video game segments, during which time Star-Lord [James Gunn] encounters animated avatars into several scenes from the film as he introduces himself to the characters. Contributors include James Gunn [Co-Writer/Director], Richard Roberts [Set Decorator], Chris Pratt [Peter Quill/Star-Lord], David White [Special Make-Up Effects Designer], Zoe Saldana [Gamora], Dave Bautista [Drax], Michael Rooker [Yondu], Charles Wood B.S.C. [Production Designer], Benicio Del Toro [The Collector], Victoria Alonso [Executive Producer], Lee Pace [Ronan] and Vin Diesel [Groot].02. The Intergalactic Visual Effects for ‘GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY’ [2014] [1080p] [1.78:1] [7:11] Here with this feature we get an extra look behind-the-scenes of actors doing their voices for the characters in the film, plus the other actors talking about their part in the fil, as well as seeing how the CGI effects were done, especially focusing on bringing the digital characters to life, one gets a sense of how much work went on behind-the-scenes. Bradley Cooper and Vin Diesel shared their thoughts about their respective characters and the massive amount of work it took to bring those characters alive onscreen, courtesy of the visual effects team. The spot even mentions Oreo, the real raccoon that was used to help the team create Rocket’s movements and behaviour. Contributors included Vin Diesel [Groot], Chris Pratt [Peter Quill/Star-Lord], Victoria Alonso [Executive Producer] and James Gunn [Co-Writer/Director].Special Feature: Exclusive Look at MARVEL's ‘AVENGERS: AGE OF ULTRON’ [2014] [1080p] [1.78:1] [2:16] This is a short promotional film looking at behind-the-scenes at the making of the next Avengers adventure film. The film was shot in New York, Italy, South Africa, and South Korea to give the story a much more global epic feel. Screenwriter and director Joss Whedon talks about the new characters coming to the MARVEL cinema universe near you. Not much more here than what we already know, but it is okay and definitely aimed at the MARVEL nerdy fans who will drool over it. Contributors include Kevin Feige p.g.a. [Producer], Joss Whedon [Screenwriter/Director], Jeremy Latcham [Executive Producer] and Elizabeth Olsen [Scarlet Witch].Special Feature: Deleted and Extended Scenes [2014] [1080p] [1.78:1] [4:22] Here you have a selection of six different scenes, which are as follows: The Kyln will have to Do; Sisterly Love; No, I'm the Stupid One; Fake Laugh and Dancing Guard. These include a wonderful scene between Gamora and Nebula, and a prison guard dancing to Pilot’s 1974 song “Magic.” You have the option of playing all what you view with an audio commentary by James Gunn or without. Scenes work best when you have the audio commentary turned on.Special Feature: Gag Reel [2014] [1080p] [1.78:1] [3:54] They say you will Experience Cosmic Shenanigans and Celestial Goofs with this so called hilarious Gag Reel, but overall it is just the usual in-joke bloopers they like to think MARVEL fans will be eager to watch. But I have to admit the last but one where the cast do this “Dance Off,” which to me is the funniest blooper scene of the lot I have seen in a very long time.Audio Commentary with Director James Gunn: Here James Gunn introduces himself while watching ‘GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY.’ James Gunn gets really enthusiastic and engaging at times, and also delivers a very candid, and extensive scene-by-scene rundown of the entire film, delving into the script, style and tone, the process of casting the characters and the subsequent actors' performances, designing and realizing the worlds, technology and aliens on display, striking a balance between action, drama and comedy, integrating practical and computer-generated effects, and more. At the start of the film James talks about when we first introduced to the young Peter Quill and when doing the screenplay he wanted to focus on the SONY Walkman, as he felt it was a pivotal part of the plot of the film, and especially Peter Quill’s great attachment to his Mother, whose character reflects to the music on the mixed tape. When you see Peter Quill 26 year later, landing on the MORAG planet searching for the Orb with using the special hand unit we get a holographic image, and the dog we see is James’s pet dog, which he named it “Doctor Wesley Von Spears” and why this name we never find out. But originally the dog was found roaming the streets of Carson City, California, and was taken in by the local dog shelter there when he was just a few months old. He was later on adopted by James Gunn. “Doctor Wesley Von Spears” is a mixed breed with large parts of Cocker Spaniel and Siberian Husky with a little bit of Greyhound thrown in. James Gunn talks very glowing about the British actor Christopher Fairbank who plays “The Broker” and really praises this actor and says that Christopher was very easy to work with, and felt he put in an amazing performance and wants to use Christopher in future Guardian films. When we see the Guardian group in the tower in the prison trying to escape, well James informs us that this huge set was built in the Pinewood Studio and consisted of 150,000 lbs of steel and after they finished shooting, they melted all the steel down and sold it off to get their money back and praises Charles Wood [Production Designer] who built the set with help from the Production Design Team. One thing I noticed throughout the audio commentary, that James Gunn keeps saying, “this is my favourite moment in the film,” which I do not really think he realises he says it and I surprised the people with his in the viewing room did not point this out. When you get near to the end of the film you see Drax and the Baby Groot, when you see it dancing, that is in fact James Gunn dancing and was captured via computer motion reference CGI and comments that is how he does his sweet dance floor moves and also his unique dance style, so watch out John Travolta, James has got you covered. Anyway, more importantly, James Gunn addresses the more curious choices he made in the making of the film, and fills in a few blanks, and answers questions posed by the fan community, and generally enriches the experience with extra layers of detail and backstory. All in all it is a totally enjoyable, engaging brilliant director’s audio commentary that never ever gets boring. Definitely gets a 5 star rating from me.Blu-ray and Digital HD Trailer [2014] [1080p] [2.40:1] [1:30] Here you get to view the Original Trailer for ‘CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE WINTER SOLDIER.’ This is slightly different from the Original Theatrical Trailer.Finally, ‘GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY’ in 3D is an absolute blast and comes as a breath of fresh air for this type of Sci-Fi film that blends space opera action with the 1970s and 1980s Americana pop culture, making the whole thing feel fresh and proving once again, MARVEL is not yet done defining the Super Hero Genre. As for this Blu-ray, ‘GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY’ boasts a reference quality 3D presentation that is definitely on the short list as one of the best 3D visual experience ever, as well as the equally high quality 2D Blu-ray disc presentation, plus of course it has the fantastic 7.1 DTS-HD Master Audio surround audio experience, and a nice collection of bonus materials, which rounds off this nice little Blu-ray package. But of course if you love 3D then this edition represents the best value in your 3D visual experience ever, which is totally enhanced with an amazing visual experience that is really exciting. But of course if you are not a great fan of 3D, then of course you have the choice of viewing the 2D Blu-ray disc for your visual enjoyment. Very Highly Recommended!Andrew C. Miller – Your Ultimate No.1 Film AficionadoLe Cinema ParadisoUnited Kingdom

The past few years have been very good to movies based on comic books. While those based on DC comics have been slow out of the gate movies based on Marvel comics licenses have skyrocketed. Perhaps the most surprising of these was a movie based on a lesser known and not hugely popular comic that took the box office by storm. Not only was it a surprise hit it just might be the best of the Marvel movies released to date. That movie arrives on DVD this week and is called GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY.The movie opens with a young boy confronted with the death of his mother to cancer. Running from the hospital he finds himself beamed aboard a UFO. Fast forward some years later and we see that boy now grown landing on a desolate planet devoid of human life forms. He steals an orb from a futuristic safe and is then set upon by minions of Ronan the Accuser out to take the orb for their leader. When he tells them his name is Peter Quill (Chris Pratt) otherwise known as Star Lord they are less than impressed, not even recognizing it. That adds to their surprise when he takes back the orb and flees with them hot on his trail.Quill is out to make some money by taking the orb he was sent to steal to a dealer and bypassing his leader, the head of the Ravagers known as Yondu (Michael Rooker). At the same time Ronan (Lee Pace) has set his own special warrior to retrieve the orb, Gamora (Zoe Saldana). The dealer cancels the deal when he learns of Ronan’s involvement and Gamora tries to take the orb. At that same moment an unlikely pair of fortune seekers reads that Yondu has put a price on Quills head. The pair is Rocket Racoon (Bradley Cooper) who actually is a raccoon, and his partner Groot (Vin Diesel), a walking talking plant. As the four struggle for control of one another they are eventually captured by the space police known as the Nova Corp.Sent to the worst prison in the universe the four make a deal to get the orb and take it to a buyer Gamora is aware of. It turns out she hates Ronan and is double crossing him. When they arrive at the prison she is set upon by a few inmates, specifically Drax the Destroyer (Dave Bautista). When Drax learns that Gamora was not responsible for the murder of his family, he joins with the foursome to plan their escape so he can seek revenge.Escape they do and from there the adventure moves forward with alarming speed. Moving from one part of the universe to another, pursued by Ronan who is working for a cosmic bad guy named Thanos (Josh Brolin) and wanted by the Nova Corp, the five misfits join forces to do what it right. Eventually that comes down to facing off against Ronan after he has taken the orb and utilized it to his advantage. By the third act the now called Guardians of the Galaxy have united with the Nova Corp and try to save a world from being obliterated.I have to say that words cannot begin to describe how much I enjoyed this movie, so much so that watching it on DVD was my third viewing. I can tell you that it holds up to multiple viewings and is one that I’ll probably watch every few months, enjoying it each and every time. This movie offers the near perfect combination of action, humor, worlds of wonder and space opera unlike any seen before. Watching this movie brought back memories of the first time I saw STAR WARS. It is that good.The driving force that brought this about was director James Gunn, a man who labored under some truly bad movies for Troma but who has grown into an accomplished director who knows how to do it right. Once you include some amazing performances by all around and in particular Pratt who brings Quill to life, you have a great flick. That is just added to by the eye popping special effects on scene here from the basic aliens done with make up to the state of the art CGI effects that bring Rocket and Groot to life.While these things combine to make it look great, the story itself takes it over the top. This is a tale of misfits, a group of people who don’t quite fit in anywhere, who band together to form something good. In the process they begin to become friends and to care for one another. At times they frustrate one another and at others they’re willing to sacrifice themselves to save their group as well as the Universe. In so doing these criminals become the greatest of heroes.This year I’ve seen more movies than usual not just on DVD but in theaters. I can say now without a doubt that this was by far my favorite film of the year. My guess is that due to its popularity and the fact it is comic book based it won’t be nominated for any major awards with the exception of effects. That’s too bad because for me this was the best movie of the year. Add it to your collection today.

Great product!