Could Vin Diesel Play Multiple Marvel Cinematic Universe Characters?

Way back in December, Vin Diesel was officially announced to be voicing Groot in Guardians of the Galaxy.  This had been rumored, and pretty much stated by Vin Diesel himself, months before, but became100% official in December.

In case you don't know, Groot is a walking tree.  He's not quite like an Ent, but he is sentient.  Groot is primarily known for only saying his signature catch phrase "I am Groot!".  Allegedly when he repeats this phrase, it can mean any number of things in his native language, but to everyone else he's just repeating his name.

While it's unclear whether or not that will factor into Guardians of the Galaxy this August, but let's assume for a second that they will keep that from the comics. While Vin Diesel isn't the biggest name in Hollywood, I would say a majority of moviegoers know who he is.  Mostly due to the increasingly successful Fast and Furious franchise, but with some help from the not as successful (but well liked) Riddick franchise, Vin Diesel is becoming a bigger name each year.

So with Vin Diesel becoming even more and more popular, would it be wasting potential to just use his voice for one line with different inflections?  On the other hand, the Marvel Cinematic Universe is on course to be the most successful franchise of all time, as it's undoubtedly going to be the highest grossing franchise worldwide within the next few years.  The MCU is showing no signs of slowing down, so does it necessarily need to take advantage of every actor they can?

The biggest casting question in the Marvel Cinematic Universe right now seems to be "Who is playing Thanos?!"  There are a number of rumors and speculation.  I've read many articles saying Vin Diesel and Benecio Del Toro are signed on for multiple characters, but I can't seem to find any confirmation on that.  Others speculate that an unknown actor may be playing Thanos, as he might just be computer animated.  Personally, from what we know so far, I would say Thanos is going to be a huge part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.  I have my own theories (that definitely dictate their own post), but Thanos has pretty much been behind the scenes from the beginning.  I'm not saying Thanos has been pulling all the strings, but he's been there, watching.  The Chitauri invasion in The Avengers was undoubtedly part of his plan, and I bet it goes further than that.

If you don't already know, Thanos is the guy who turns his head and smirks at the end of The Avengers!  Thanos is a super-powered cosmic being.  He is obsessed with death, and generally considered one of the biggest threats in the galaxy.  Most likely, Thanos is going to appear in Guardians of the Galaxy, and then be the focal point of Avengers 3.  It's safe to assume that Thanos is going to be a big deal, for more than just one movie too.  Imagine if they hadn't cast Tom Hiddleston as Loki?  There are plenty of other actors who would do a wonderful job, but Loki is just so iconic and memorable.  It would be foolish to not cast a memorable actor in this role, unless of course he's going to be all CGI.  That being said, I didn't know who Tom Hiddleston was before Thor, and I didn't really care to.  It just goes to show that they don't need a major actor in a role to make it iconic.

Vin Diesel playing Thanos would work great.  He can be menacing, he's physically built for it, and he's popular enough that he might actually bring new fans into the series (if there's anybody left who isn't watching them).  We all know Vin Diesel can handle voice acting (Iron Giant), so it wouldn't be awful if he just played Groot, but he seems like a big actor to record the same line over and over again.

Guardians of the Galaxy opens on August 1st and stars Chris Pratt, Vin Diesel, Zoe Saldana, Dave Bautista, and Bradley Cooper.

Carnage Count - Need For Speed

I just got out of a screening of Need For Speed, and I did my best to keep track of cars being destroyed and people being killed.

 

I was actually very surprised by how much I enjoyed this movie!  I was honestly expecting it to be completely ridiculous, not necessarily bad, but not great.  I also thought the film would kind of be a cheap "Fast and Furious" knock off.  It honestly didn't remind me of that series at all.

 

 

The film stars Aaron Paul from Breaking Bad and Dominic Cooper who plays Howard Stark in Captain America.

 

Kill Count - 3

Wrecked Car Count - 18

Kills Per Minute - 0.02

Car Wrecks Per Minute - 0.14

 

Surprisingly low kill count and a shocking low car wrecks per minute.

Bad Game Reviews - Fast and Furious: Showdown

Alright, so I know of a few people in person, and even more on the internet that bought this game and are upset with it.  Well, you bought a game based on Fast and Furious that started at $40. What were you expecting?

Fast and Furious: Showdown is a typical Need for Speed copy game, with a few added twists.  Now, to be clear, I only played the story mode, I never tried any of the challenges of co-op gameplay.  There are a variety of different levels throughout the game, typically similar levels are spread out enough to help prevent too much repetition.

All of the missions are very much movie themed, some of them straight out of the films.  There are a few basic "racing" levels where your entire goal is just to get in first place, as well as variations of that such as elimination runs.  They all are from the movie, or star characters from the movies.

For example, a few missions are simply just "outrun the cops" missions.  During the fifth film, they pull a giant safe with a car.  You get to do that while running from the police.  It is actually kind of fun.  There are other combat style missions.  One person drives, the other shoots.  There is a small variety of weapons, but I felt there were enough to keep it interesting.  Also, there are two missions featuring the vehicular combat cars from Fast and Furious 6.  I don't know what to call them, but they are the ones that flip cars into the air.  those missions are pretty great actually.

If you are craving a racing game, there is literally nothing here you aren't going to find elsewhere done better. However, if you are really into the whole "Fast and Furious" thing, this is probably for you.  It builds a little more on the characters and is a great introduction to the sixth film.  Also, every level is built to be played with two people.  There are always either two cars, or one shooter and one driver.  I didn't get a chance to play co-op, but I can't see how it wouldn't increase the fun of this game tremendously.

Like I have said many times before, it isn't a perfect game, but that is what Red Box is for.  I beat the entire story mode in under six hours.  I got off work around 9:00 PM and was finished with the game well before 4:00 AM.  It costs me $2 and it was totally worth that.

I don't recommend it for the full price, but it is going to drop really fast really soon.  I do recommend it to any die hard fans of the series, and I know you are out there.  It's got a fun story for fans of the series and familiar characters.  I would recommend it for the $10-$20 range.

My Top Car Movies and Where to Watch Them Online

With Fast and Furious Six coming out on Friday, I decided to rewatch the first one.  It's been 12 years.  I can't believe it has been that long.  While I watch it, I've decided to list a few of my favorite car movies and where to watch them.  These aren't necessarily in any order.

Gone in 60 Seconds (1974)

This was the first real car movie I remember seeing.  I didn't really get the story as a kid, or maybe I didn't care.  The film revolved around an insurance salesmen and his crew.  This man steals cars, remodels them, and turns quite a profit.  In the movie some big-shot offers him huge money to steal 48 specific cars.  He accepts the offer and begins collecting the list of cars.  Honestly, the first hour of the movie is extremely uneventful.  After seeing it a few times, I began starting the movie at the final car chase, which is where the action really begins.  93 cars are destroyed in the final, forty-minute long, car chase.  The film was written, directed, and produced by HB Halicki.  He is also the main character in the film.  Halicki began the make a sequel, and died while doing his own stunt for the film.  It was never finished.

I actually can't seem to find this film streaming anywhere, but I know for a fact it is extremely cheap on DVD.

Gone in 60 Seconds (2000)

A remake on the 1974 film, Gone in 60 Seconds stars the one and only Nicolas Cage.  It also has Angelina Jolie and Timothy Oliphant, but who cares compared to the Cage.  The film's plot is similar, Cage portrays an ex-car thief.  His brother is somehow in debt to some crazy British guy and owes him big.  This British guy tells Cage that he must steal 50 specific cars in a few days to keep his brother alive.  Production-wise, this film is much better.  I'm not entirely sure the story is, but it holds my attention more.  Obviously the acting is literally the best ever because Cage.

Gone in 60 Seconds on Amazon Streaming

Vanishing Point (1971)

This film is heavily, heavily referenced in Quentin Tarantino's Death Proof, which I'll get to eventually.  In this film, a car delivery man has to deliver a brand new, stock, 1970 Dodge Challenger.  He makes a bet with somebody he can go from Denver to San Francisco in something like 15 hours.  He runs into all sorts of shenanigans in the process, and it becomes a very scenic drive across the mid-west.  There is even a wonderful blind black man who DJs while listening to police radio, helping the main character keep the police off his tail.  It has one hell of an ending too.  Another film I can't seem to find streaming, my apologies.

Death Race 2000 (1975)

This film is also on my list of best post-apocalyptic movies.  The plot is very simple.  There is a giant race across the United States, and drivers get points for each person they hit.  The plot gets a little more complicated, but I don't want to give it away.  The film stars David Carradine and Sylvester Stallone pre-Rocky.  It's strange seeing Stallone as a bad guy, especially in a role like this.  I think the newer Death Race movie is similar to this, but it never looked good enough to actually watch.  Maybe I should!  Let me know.

Death Race 2000 on Netflix

Death Race 2000 on Amazon