A 115-Word Review of “Guardians of the Galaxy”

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I get why this kicked ass, box-office wise. This movie is what the critics say it is: fun, fun, FUN, FUNN-IE! (RT gave it a 92, the equal of “The Avengers” score.)

This movie just shows that there’s no overuse of clichés, just a lack of imagination on how to use them.

As someone who read, and once owned, all 146 issues of The Silver Surfer’s 1990s series, I was real happy to see a bunch of characters I knew–in the villain category!  Thanos! Ronan! Nebula (played by “Amy Pond!”)! And was that the Supreme Intelligence I saw for a minute?!? I’ll double-check when I go back to see it again! All that and classic Jackson 5 and anti-hero Howard the Duck! WOW!

AUGUST 6th UPDATE: As a kind of writer I always find this stuff interesting.

My Votes For The First Marvel Female Superhero Film

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Lotsa buzz about this on the Web.

With a “Black Widow” film starring Scarlett Johansson too obvious to even mention (and assuming Marvel will pick Ms. Marvel), here are my votes:

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Do a solo movie where she meets and marries The Black Panther! Two birds, meet stone! Cast the villains with famous white actors, and Bob’s your uncle! (I’m sure everyone is too afraid of another “Catwoman,” but still……)

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A “Heroes For Hire” movie, starring Misty Knight!

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Big fan of Sif in general and particularly movie Sif, but she would need some great backup stars (and maybe Loki?) to make people show up!

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Illyana Rasputin! One of my favorite X-Men stories of my adolescence was when Colossus’ younger sister feel into a warp and emerged as a teenage witch. A “Magik” movie (coming out of an “X-Men” movie adaptation of the original story) would work on several levels.

First A Female Thor, And Now A Black Captain America?

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The cool-ass Falcon is now Cap?

No, no, NO!

Marvel should use the REAL Black Captain America, from “TRUTH!”

 

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See that “Double V” on that shield?!? TOO BLACK, TOO STRONG! LOL! 🙂

Marvel could also use the one from THE CREW–Josiah X, a.k.a. Justice!

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Talking about the new, female Thor, I was telling a friend just this morning about the top five things mainstream superhero comic creators do to spur media coverage and sales:

1) kill them
2) change their powers/costume
3) Change their identity (new, younger male)
4) ” ” (make them female)
5) ” ” (make them Black or Latino)

Ten years from now, it’ll be like it never happened. 🙂

James Baldwin On Being An American Writer

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I’m in McKeldin Library right now, thumbing through its bound set of Freedomways magazine. I find where Augusta Strong wrote the article, “Notes on James Baldwin,” for the Spring 1962 issue. (Augusta Strong was listed in the contributor’s page as “a former English teacher and newspaper reporter who is a frequent contributor to Freedomways.”) She cites a Baldwin New York Times essay or interview:

“……to be an American writer today means mounting an underdog attack on all that Americans believe themselves to hold sacred…..it means fighting an astute and agile guerilla warfare with that American complacency which so inadequately masks American panic.” Furthermore, he says, the writer must “dismiss any hopes of winning a popularity contest,” and he adds, “….one must take it upon one’s self the right to be entirely wrong ….and accept penalties, for penalties there will certainly be.”