JFG Nation, I saw Guardians of the Galaxy 2 yesterday, and I liked it a LOT. Didn’t love it. Here’s my take (SPOILERS)

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1. The opening scene was great. Captured everything that I loved from the first movie – action, humor, music. Mr. Blue Sky by the Electric Light Orchestra?? Cmon – it’s a classic. What’s not to love?

2. The rest of the movie feels a bit clumsy but expectedly so – as intergalactic travelers, the GotG will necessarily travel to vast worlds and it’s always a tough gig for the director to introduce new worlds without making them seem cheesy. The Sovereign were an interesting side “villain” to have drive some of the storyline, and to show up at the most inconvenient times like a classic cartoon. Didn’t hate these plot parts – they provided enough texture for the team to work off of.

3. If anything, the primary plot of Star-Lord’s father Ego was the main letdown for me. Once the twist was revealed, the entire plot was predictable and cliche. The final battle was just drawn out and I found myself waiting for it to be over so I could see what happens next.

4. I’m not an entire downer on the movie – still many amazing moments, great visuals, and good dialogue.

5. The hard thing with any followup sequel to a superhero movie is how do you make it different? How do you make a different movie and not just the same movie with another big villain? Here, the director made the choice to use this movie to close up a lot of plot threads – one by one questions were answered, reconciliations were made, and characters were killed off. Snip snip. Which, I guess is somewhat satisfying, but also felt contrived at times.

So that’s it. I’d give it a good 75 out of a 100, whereas the first I’d give a 90 out of 100.

Have you seen the movie? And what did you think? Let me know in the comments below.

Today’s junk food: Buffalo Ranch Popchips Ridges!!

Here’s the PR buzz on this flavor that’s coming out this September:

“Popchips’ sauciest flavor yet! Bite into real tangy & spicy buffalo sauce flavor followed by cooling creamy ranch – no napkins required! America’s favorite bar food – only crunchier and without the sauce-stained fingers. More of the big crunch, bold flavor you know and love from Ridges. Deeply satisfying but never deep fried. Half the fat of fried chips. Meets USDA Smart Snacks guidelines and available in august 2017.”

DO THESE TASTE GOOD? Yes!

WHY OR WHY NOT? This is a well executed chip. Puffed up like other Ridges, these are a light and crispy potato snack that is similar in texture to a regular Popchip but potato based.

Flavor-wise, these have a definite BOLD Buffalo taste right off the bat. Strong, tangy, sour, and full of Buffalo flavor. That taste is accented with a bit of creamy ranch-ness on the back end, but not before a pretty decent burn emerges. These were really good. As someone who is picky about Buffalo flavored snacks, these lived up to my expectations.

ANYTHING ELSE I SHOULD KNOW? The JFGal thought these had a blue cheese taste, which I did not.

PURCHASED AT: Sent to me, but soon to be available starting late August into September!

WHERE FOUND IN STORE? N/a.

COST? N/a.

Sincerely,

The JFG