Guardians of the Galaxy

So, I never go to the movies.

I like going, but I’m not a huge movie fan. I’m very picky, and I only go to see a movie that I know I really will love.

On Sunday, I went with a group of friends to see Guardians of the Galaxy vol. 2. I was kinda scared that the curse of the sequel would be in full effect, and it wouldn’t be as good as the first one. Which I loved, by the way.

It was amazing.

All my fears were unfounded. It was just as good as the first one, it will probably be my favourite movie of the year. (Can’t say for sure yet, there’s a few more movies coming out that I want to see).

I don’t want to spoil the movie for you, if you haven’t seen it yet, so just a few things that I really liked.

The opening scene

Probably one of the best opening scenes, and cast lists that I have ever seen in a movie. It was so funny and enjoyable to watch, and cleverly done as it reintroduced all the characters for anyone who hasn’t seen the first one in a while.

Yondu and Rocket imprisoned

This is the funniest scene in the whole movie, in my opinion. Every time Groot brings back another wrong object, I laughed more and more. It reminded me of trying to get my dog to bring me a certain toy, and her bringing everything, but what I asked for. Exactly like that, actually.

The ending credits

This may seem odd, to list the ending credits as a highlight, but they were done so well that I never got bored watching them. So many extra clips and hidden things, that made them really fun to watch. Trust me, stay til the very end.

I loved the movie so much, I just wanted to share some of my happiness over it with you. If you haven’t seen it yet, I highly recommend that you do, and if you have seen it already: what did you think about it?

Love Dallas

 

The Gemina Problem

Let’s talk about Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff’s book Gemina

I have to start off by saying that I loved both Illuminae and Gemina a lot. Illuminae was probably the most original book that I have read in a long time.

In case you have never read either book here’s a short description of them:

The Illuminae series is set in outer space some time in the future, where people live on different planets and on space stations. Both books are about two different, but connected groups fighting against an evil organization (BeiTech).

Doesn’t seem too original, right?

The really cool thing about these books is the way they are written. The story is told through a series of text conversations, reports, journal entries, and descriptions of video footage. And those are just the few ways I remember off the top of my head.

So, Gemina was (in my opinion) even better than Illuminae. I connected with both of the main characters better than I did in Illuminae. (Which was my biggest complaint about the first book).                                                                                                                                                                                                   My problem with Gemina is in a tiny detail in the plot.

Spoiler Alert! If you haven’t read Gemina yet, go no further!

So, toward the end of the book we find out that the Nik who died is actually Nik from an alternate world who switched places with the real Nik. And the world is going to destroy itself unless the the two Niks go back to their respective worlds.

The book makes a big point of saying that everything from the alternate world must go back, so Nik’s body, the Betty Boop spaceship, and the corsage all must be sent back.

But the authors forgot an item.

Right before alternate world Nik dies, as Hanna and him are running away he makes the comment that he needs to quit smoking and she replies that she might be more willing to kiss him again if he did. So he tosses his carton of cigarettes away.

It’s a cute scene that I laughed at when I read it. But, I realised later when Hanna is taking alternate world Nik’s body, the Betty Boop, and the corsage to make the exchange for the real Nik that it wasn’t going to work without the carton of cigarettes.

To my surprise, it did work.

I went back and checked, and Nik definitely had the cigarettes right before he got on the Betty Boop and the exchange happened. And I couldn’t imagine that it was a new pack that he pilfered from somewhere during all the chaos and fighting going on after the exchange.

I may be wrong or I may have overlooked something, but if I didn’t, then the ending of Gemina never should have worked.

This post is a lot longer than I expected it to be, but I get really passionate when I talk about really good books. And Gemina is a great book despite the flaw in the plot. I highly recommend it to anyone who loves sci-fi.

If you have any theories about it or just want to discuss these books I’d love to hear them, and talk about it in the comments!

Love Dallas