The Guardians — Not Your Usual Suspects

Marvel Studios released what it’s calling the first official photo of the title characters from James Gunn’s upcoming would-be summer blockbuster, Guardians of the Galaxy — and the (mostly) live-action image is almost identical to pre-production artwork that was released quite a while ago: The ragtag team captured by the interstellar police force, the Nova Corps.

The characters all look pretty good, and using the police lineup theme instantly makes one think of the classic caper movie The Usual Suspects, and suggests that these Guardians are supposed to be similarly likeable rogues. Only with a raccoon. And a tree.

I’m not happy that Peter Quill (Chris Pratt) isn’t wearing his Star-Lord uniform (any of the numerous versions would have done), but of course Gamora (Zoe Salanda) and Drax (Dave Bautista) could not wear their highly impractical comic book uniforms onscreen.

This Winter Weather Makes Me Think… ‘Winter Soldier’

With all this blasted snow around these parts (the Northeast USA), I prefer to think about warmer weather — like, say, April 4, which just happens to be the day Captain America: The Winter Soldier opens.

Grillo as Crossbones!

Cap and Alexander Pierce

The Falcon, with retracted wings

The First Avenger!

Cap and the Widow

Like the last batch, these images do a good job of making this sequel look like action-packed fun. In fact, all of the promotional material — the teaser poster and the first trailer — has been hugely effective, in my book.

Good to see the Falcon finally getting some love — and even Frank Grillo’s Crossbones. (Anyone else remember Grillo from THE SHIELD or, better yet, GUIDING LIGHT?) Robert Redford is at the center of swirling Oscar rumors for his role in All Is Lost, so he’s getting more attention in the promotional materials for Winter Soldier. This is the first good look I’ve seen of this movie’s version of Cap’s (Chris Evans) uniform. And who ever needs an excuse to run a photo of Scarlett Johansson?