The Guardians of the Galaxy (2014)

“What are you … doing?” That’s what evil alien Ronan (Lee Pace) asks of Han Solo-type hero Peter Quill (Chris Pratt) toward the end of “Guardians of the Galaxy,” a funny, thrilling action film from Marvel Studios that is self-aware and comes packed with the kind of rock-heavy soundtrack not heard since 1980s heydays. “Footloose” is named-checked. “Cherry Bomb” is played. This is as fuck-it gonzo flippant as Marvel’s “Captain America 2” was dead serious against Bush/Obama NSA insanity. Earth-born Quill goes by Star-Lord, a thief who gets mixed up in a universe-stretching battle Skywalker-style after he nabs a device that looks like a baseball, joining other thieves and fighters –- including a walking tree (Vin Diesel) and his raccoon pal (Bradley Cooper) –- along the way. Director/writer James Gunn serves epic gut-busting comedy first, superhero tales second. “Why would you to save the galaxy?,” asks Rocket the Raccoon. “Because I live in the galaxy!,” is the genius reply. Everything about “Guardians” is perfect, right up to the credits stinger that winks at Marvel’s once abysmal track record of movie making. Pratt is fast becoming a major film star, having played lead voice in another 2014 favorite, “The Lego Movie.” A

Riddick (2013)

Vin Diesel’s night-vision bad ass hero returns in the aptly named “Riddick,” a sequel to the overstuffed “Dune”-wannabe “Chronicles of Riddick,” a boring, wrongly safe PG-13 pitched sequel to the lean “Pitch Black,” a bloody R-rated flick. Life is restored. Mostly. Think of Riddick as akin to the Man With No Name films set in space, but here we know the man’s name. A man of few words, Riddick is a just killer hunted by criminals and lawmen alike. (If only he smoked, but even that is too un-P.C.) Minutes from the start he is stranded on a blighted planet and becomes the prey of bounty hunters (among them is Katee Sackhoff of TV’s “Battlestar Galactica”). Mayhem ensues before hunters and hunted must join forces to battle freakish worms that thrive at night. So the plot is “Pitch Black” throwback, but the worms slurping out of the mud and eating people had me thinking of the Kevin Bacon comedy “Tremors.” And laughing. Oops. I liked the Sergio Leone feel; hated the unneeded female nudity and the tired “Chronicles” follow-ups best left forgotten. Vin Diesel makes a great hero with a growl. Put this man in a Western already. B-