'Guardians of the Galaxy' - Trailer Drops!

OK, so all quiet on the western front today. Nothing much to share. But, wait! What's this? Marvel have finally released the first trailer for their latest superhero franchise, 'Guardians of the Galaxy', due for release this summer? Check it out below!

James Gunn

Whilst it doesn't give too much away, it sure is exciting to see "the Guardians" line up together for the first time. In terms of plot, director James Gunn has kept relatively schtum but we know it involves Star-Lord (Christ Pratt) being pursued throughout space by the evil Ronan (played by Lee Pace). It's speculated that it has something to do with the 'orb-like object' Starlord was caught stealing in the first scene of the trailer. 

All our questions will be answered on August 1st however when the movie is released in the UK. Personally, I can't wait. Everyone thought 'The Avengers' was as big as things could get for a superhero movie - yet 'Guardians' has assembled another stellar cast and is taking all the action, destruction and "badassery" to space. Without getting too excited this movie literally has enormous potential, and the trailer has teased everyone enough to make that summer release date seem even more excruciating. 

It sets up the movie nicely though: it shows us the undeniable charisma of Chris Pratt in the leading role, the incredible effects that have brought Groot (Vin Diesel) and Rocket Racoon (Bradley Cooper) to life, makes Drax the Destroyer (Dave Bautista, who has come a long way since his WWE 'heyday') look truly menacing, and hints at a possible love story arc between Star-Lord and Gomora (played by Zoe Saldana, in her third sci-fi franchise after 'Star Trek' and 'Avatar'). 

The fact that Gomora has also been explained as being Thanos' daughter (whom we met in the post-credits scene of 'The Avengers') also set the internet alight as to how this movie will merge with the rest of the Marvel universe; and if there is a chance we'll see an ultimate showdown or ultimate team up with The Avengers in the not too distant future. Fan-boys mouths around the world water at such an amazing prospect.

Thanos - What role will he play in 'Guardians'?

Like 'The Avengers' the movie also seems to have its foot firmly in the door of comedy. A very witty script quickly becomes clear just by the trailer alone. Whether it be Star-Lord trying to explain himself to his captors (Pratt, doing what he does best), or the officer referring to "the Guardians" as 'a bunch of a**holes' it seems that as much as this move is going to dazzle us visually, and keep us on the edge of our seats in suspense, it's also going to have us chuckling away in the cinema - which is a "win-win" in my book!

Also looking good in the trailer are John C. Reilly and Djimon Hounsou, and we are yet to see the roles played by Glenn Close, Karen Gillan, Benicio Del Toro and Michael Rooker come to life on the screen. So hold on to your hats because from now until August 1st it's gonna be one heck of a journey hopefully culminating in Marvel's biggest epic yet! THIS COULD BE HUGE!

A Pinch of Finch #2

So no reviews today because sadly I am once again being kept prisoner by an ever-growing list of college assignments. But hopefully I'll be able to squeeze in a viewing of 'Star Trek Into Darkness' sometime later in the week so stay tuned. Anyway, here's just a brief round up of some tidbits I've come across whist scouring the web today.

Oh, and to begin on an unrelated note, here's a random photo of the cast of 1981's 'Escape to Victory' 

Michael Caine, Pele and Stallone - Coolness personified.

Moving on, first up is a trailer for Seth MacFarlane's directorial follow-up to box-office smash 'Ted', 'A Million Ways To Die In The West'.

It tells the tale of sheep farmer Albert (MacFarlane) a feeble, timid man who after losing his girlfriend, tries to regain his confidence by winning a duel against the local villain (Liam Neeson). With 'Ted' MacFarlane had audiences rolling in the aisles with laughter, however a Western comedy is not an easy route to success, as 1999's 'Wild Wild West' proved. However by bringing in big names like Neeson, Amanda Seyfried and Charlize Theron and adding the undeniable comedic talent of Neil Patrick Harris, Sarah Silverman and Giovanni Ribisi - MacFarlane emphasises he's by no means messing around as the 'Family Guy' creator looks to further stamp his mark on Hollywood with another hit.

Joss Whedon

Marvel are similarly showing no signs of slowing down with Joe and Anthony Russo, directors of 'Captain America: The Winter Soldier', already being tapped up to helm the sequel. 'Thor 3' has also found its writers in the form of Craig Kyle and Christopher Yost; and Joss Whedon is fanning the flames of the fire surrounding 'Avengers: Age of Ultron' by explaining that he has looked to 'The Godfather Part II' for inspiration about how to take his sequel to the next level. Watch This Space.

Also rumours are suggesting that Forest Whitaker is in talks for a role in 'Taken 3'. Trying not to sound pessimistic, this doesn't really excite me. Whilst I think that original 'Taken' was a fabulous film, and re-invented Liam Neeson as a credible movie action-man, I feel this concept could only really be impactful over the course of one film. I haven't watched 'Taken 2' admittedly, but to me it's the exact same premise albeit with roles being swapped around. This makes me feel that Whitaker taking a role in a movie about a third kidnapping could actually be a regretful move on his part; because I feel that any continuation with such ideas will only live in the shadow of the first film, which was brilliant!

Forest Whitaker

The first poster for 'Fifty Shades of Grey' has been released, which will no doubt have housewives up and down the country giggling with glee, despite the film not being released until 2015. I don't get what girls see in him anyway! Here's the poster below.

By the way whoever made this poster must have a screw loose somewhere!

Finally, another promising piece of news circulating today is that Bruce Willis and director M. Night Shymalan could be re-teaming! After they enjoyed success together with 'The Sixth Sense' and 'Unbreakable' it is thought the duo could once again join forces to bring one of Shymalan's early scripts 'Labor of Love' to the screen, which was shelved by Fox around 1993. An intriguing point about it is that it doesn't seem a traditional movie for either of the pair. It tells the story of a book store owner in Philadelphia who is haunted by the fact that he never properly told his wife how much he loved he before she died in a tragic car accident. Remembering that she once asked if he would walk across the country for her, he decides that this is the only way to show his love for her and proceeds to trek from Philadelphia to Pacifica, her favourite place. So yeah, a bit weird perhaps but it would be nice to see Shymalan regain his hold form after his last two outings 'After Earth' and 'The Last Airbender' (a 4.4 rating on IMDb!) received little fanfare and didn't exactly leave audiences dazzled. That's all I've got for today, hopefully that review of Star Trek should be up by the end of the week!