What I Watched: Popcorn Fare (Apes, Guardians)

I can't tell you how amazing it is to get one full day off a week. Most hospitals back home have medicine residents working 100+ hour weeks. My schedule now doesn't even approach the 80-hour limit for ACGME-accredited programs. Which is not to say that I'm actually using all this free time wisely -- I should be studying/working on papers but instead I'm watching typical summer popcorn fare! Random non-spoilery one-plus liners below.

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes is chockfull of anthropomorphic sentimentality and a not entirely unpredictable plot (given that the main ape's name is "Caesar") but there is something highly entertaining about chimps doing human-type things -- the sight of a chimp riding bareback on a black horse is circus-creepy.

Guardians of the Galaxy feels like a bedtime story, what with a foul-mouthed talking animals and a friendly ent-like being and strangers/enemies inevitably becoming friends. Outlaws/criminals with kind hearts out to save the world gives it a Firefly feel. The humor is solid, the '80s references hilarious, the use of music very clever and (some will say) ~*awesome. Speaking of, here it is: Star-lord's Awesome Mix Vol. 1.