Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 2

#StokerScore 10/10

I hope that you'll humour me and not think I've gone completely barking mad if I start this review with a recipe for vanilla ice cream?

First, stir sugar, cream, and milk into a saucepan over low heat until sugar has dissolved. Heat just until mix is hot and a small ring of foam appears around the edge. Next, transfer cream mixture to a pourable container such as a large measuring cup. Stir in vanilla extract and chill mix thoroughly, at least 2 hours. (Overnight is best.) Then, pour cold ice cream mix into an ice cream maker, turn on the machine, and churn according to manufacturer's directions, 20 to 25 minutes. Finally, when ice cream is softly frozen, serve immediately or place a piece of plastic wrap directly on the ice cream and place in freezer to ripen, 2 to 3 hours.

Thank you to Chef John at Food Wishes for the really great recipe....which might not be everyone's idea of how to make vanilla ice cream...or the exact ingredients either.

The second problem is that not everyone likes vanilla ice cream, as unlikely as that may sound to some of us. Some people even actually hate it on a personal level that, assuming they are not allergic, seems unfair to the point that if they would only just try it, they might like it. But no, stubbornness ensures this doesn't happen.

Going further, even those that like vanilla ice cream have specific favourites, be that the brand, the flavour, or even how it's served. 

For the rest of us, we're usually pretty happy to go with the flow and see which vanilla ice cream turns up after we've ordered it and make our decisions afterwards.

This extremely heavy-handed analogy is my way of explaining my reaction to GotG2 and my disbelief at some other reviews I've read.

Is GotG2 better than the first? In my opinion this isn't a fair question. Much better would be to ask if it's an enjoyable movie in its own right. This is because the difference in tone of the movie, the fact that the characters are no longer new to us, that the threat is more immediately galactic than the one posed by Ronan the Accuser, make the movie neither better or worse, just different. It's just the flavour the director chose to make this time.

I loved the first movie, I love this one equally. I found myself laughing more, I found myself considering some of the movie's themes more too. I think that where Groot and Rocket stole the first, no matter how arguably cute Baby Groot is, the star of this show is Drax and Dave Bautista was just born to play this part.

The movie has all of the Marvel points we've come to expect with the exception of any obvious tie-in to how they're going to meet up with the Avengers for Infinity War. We still have Thor Ragnarok and Black Panther's movie to come, but I just thought there may have been a nod to something. I need to watch it again to see if I missed it, hell, I want to see it again!

 I loved meeting new characters, I loved the music, I loved the whole damn thing from start to finish and I think most people who are able to put their expectations aside and just revel in revisiting these characters will do too. 

So remember, there are different flavours of ice cream. Enjoy them for their differences, try not to complain about why they're not exactly the same as the last one you ate.

Jurassic World

StokerScore 7/10

40 years ago this year, the template for Summer blockbusters hit our screens. Jaws is as revered enough now as it was then and is getting a cinematic re-release in honour of the fact. It's part of the reason that I chose this fan art poster from the internet rather than Universal's own poster.

But is Jurassic World bigger than Jaws, as the poster might suggest? Hell, is it even bigger than the first Jurassic Park?

For me the answer is no and no. But that doesn't make it a bad movie. 

From the outset, a clever opening scene slow reveal sets the tone for a movie which tries hard to be original but ends up following the course of the first movie just a tad too much. The action and scale are huge, the trailer hasn't given away all of the movie's good stuff and the lighter tones, there's a great put-down that made me really laugh, detract sufficiently from the full scale slaughter on the screen (c'mon, this was shown in the trailer so it's not a spoiler). 

When we finally see the dinosaurs I felt equally as awed as when I watched the first JP. But the underlying message of the film, that we're always in need of something newer and shinier, isn't really adhered to by the screenwriters who rehashed a little too much from JP1.

That being said, the actors are spot on, with the disappointing exception of Vincent D'Onofrio's villain who doesn't really seem to do too much and whose motives are never really fleshed out, the new additions to the park are excellent and I'm sure John Hammond would have relished seeing his dream become reality.

Finally, is there an opportunity for a sequel? Well, considering the numbers for its opening weekend I guess the accountants will demand one even if no-one else does but I can't help thinking it'll have to be better written if I'm going to enjoy it more.