Jumanji (2017)

#StokerScore 5/10

I was in my late twenties when the original Jumanji was released in 1995. It certainly wasn't the kind of movie I'd have gone to see at the cinema as I was much more interested in Seven, Goldeneye and, of course, Batman Forever. Robin Williams was certainly a hero of mine from his days on Mork and Mindy and his mindblowingly layered turn as Adrien Cronauer in Good Morning Vietnam. But Jumanji seemed to be just more of the man-child kind of role so it skipped me until I was bored enough to check it out of the local Blockbuster Video store. I remember it being exactly what I expected but with a shade, just enough of a shadow of darkness running through it to make you think that an eternity in the game was a distinct possibility for the new players of the board game. That came as a nice surprise.

I also admire Dwayne Johnson. He's hard to ignore and speaks passionately when it comes to being a role model for self confidence and dignity. But he's not Robin Williams funny so in this sequel/reboot they drafted in two other man-child comedians in the form of Kevin Hart and Jack Black. The movie moves at a reasonable pace, I liked the upgrade from board game to computer game and how it was done, but that was it. 

The movie is just a generic action blockbuster with some angles on male/female roles and the need for everyone to take each other on what lies beneath the superficiality of skin, gender and clique. I didn't dislike it, I just wasn't ever really engaged enough to care about the characters, especially after the computer game longevity angle was revealed. 

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.