Guardians of the Galaxy

There actually was a new film released this week. It's called 'The Identical' and it's a Christian-themed fable about what would have happened if Elvis Presley's stillborn twin brother had survived. Well, for reasons that should be obvious after reading that sentence, 'Guardians of the Galaxy' held onto the number one spot this weekend while 'The Identical' opened outside of the top 10, never to be heard from again.

A few weeks ago, this column was skeptical that Marvel's 'Guardians of the Galaxy' could reach $300 million. Now, it seems impossible that it won't. Thanks to ecstatic word of mouth, killer marketing and only one genuinely successful box office challenger (that would be 'Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'), Marvel's oddball space opera has managed to spend three of the past four weekends at the number one spot at the box office, giving it enough momentum to officially become the highest grossing film of 2014.

By now, everyone is familiar with the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge, where people heed the call to throw buckets of ice water on themselves to spread awareness of ALS and raise donations to support The ALS Association. Everyone, from your many Facebook friends to A-list celebs have been participating, but, for us, there's nothing like seeing the likes of Thor, Iron Man and Star-Lord step up to the plate.

While we were incredibly charmed by all things 'Guardians of the Galaxy,' perhaps nothing charmed us more than that final scene of a baby Groot dancing to the Jackson 5's "I Want You Back" in his flower pot. It's one of those moments where you almost immediately think, "I WANT THAT...

One of the big cliffhangers teased at the end of 'Guardians of the Galaxy' was the identity of Star-Lord's father. This left me slightly confused in the theater considering Quill's father in the comics - J'son - was widely known and largely uninteresting. But, director James Gunn is going on the record as saying that 'Guardians of the Galaxy 2' will veer from comic book canon and create a new identity for Peter Quill, including a new dad. So, who is Star-Lord's father?