Karen KunawiczThe Expendables 3 opened two Wednesdays ago and Michael Bay’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles opened last Friday.But because Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy was just super, I decided to go watch it again—but this time at the IMAX. I can’t believe I had even more fun the second time around.I also really got drawn in by Rocket: he doesn’t know what he is, he’s the only one of his kind, he’s got these Frankenstein’s monster struggles, he is angst-ridden but also highly strategic and intelligent, and great ally to have on your side.I also loved that little scene with no dialogue where Drax, looking for a way to let Rocket know he was not alone after losing Groot, hesitantly strokes the fur between Rocket’s ears.I got to appreciate Michael Rooker’s Yondu Odonta character—there’s definitely more to him than just being a plain (human and artifact) bounty hunter or Blue Merle Dixon. I hope to see more of him in the up-coming movies.Beyond that, there are so many more moments, interesting details for the fanboys and fangirls and Easter Eggs to be spotted the second time around.After that, I decided to watch something sweet and simple, What If. The film ponders the question, “Can a man and woman just be really great friends? Or is a great friendship the best basis for a lifetime romantic partnership?” It was great to see characters that were “real” vs. steroidal in a well-written film.The screenplay is based on a monologue called Toothpaste and Cigars by T.J. Dawe and Mike Rinaldi. They’ve made an every day, relatable situation so engaging. This one got at 72-percent fresh rating at Rotten Tomatoes but if you want to narrow it down to cute factor, this gets a 99 percent. Also there are odes to “Princess Bride” and John Carpen-ter’s “The Thing” within the film.The film stars Daniel Radcliffe (a.k.a. Harry Potter), Zoe Kazan and Girls’ Adam Driver. Going off tangent, I continue to be curious as to who Adam’s character might be in Star Wars VII.Finally, awareness for the disease known as ALS or Lou Gehrig’s disease has grown quite rapidly in the past two weeks. It’s longer name is Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis and according to the Mayo Clinic website, it is “an incurable, progressive degenerative neurological disorder . . . the nerve cells of the brain and spinal cord that control voluntary muscle movement gradually deteriorate . . . muscles waste away, leading to paralysis and death, usually in two to five years.”It afflicted Peter Frates, captain of Bos-ton College Baseball Team, and his wife, friends and family have rallied with him to fund research to-wards finding a cure.Frates and another ALS patient, Pat Quinn began the ice bucket challenge, and now athletes, people like you and me, and even Guardians of the Galaxy—Chris Pratt, Dave Batista, Michael Rooker—have been taking on the challenge and passing it on to others.You can find challenge details on line. As of Tuesday, the ALS Association “has received $22.9 million in donations compared to $1.7 million during the same time period last year.” This number is currently leaping by the day.Rooker just challenged Nor-man Reedus. In the words of my friend Rocket, “Oh. Yeah.”
