Book; Doctor Dealer

 Doctor Dealer

Author; George Anastasia & Ralph Cipriano

Synopsis;

Dr. James Kauffman and his wife, April, were the perfect couple: a respected endocrinologist and a beautiful radio host. But under the surface lurked a world of drugs, sex, and biker gangs. A world Dr. Kauffman would kill to keep secret.

In May 2012, April Kauffman, a well-known local radio personality and staunch advocate of military veterans rights, was found shot to death in the bedroom of the home she shared with her husband, Dr. James Kauffman.

Six years later, in the fall of 2018, Freddy Augello, a leader of the notorious motorcycle gang the Pagans, went on trial for drug dealing and murder. He was charged with arranging the death of April Kauffman in exchange for $50,000 from her husband, who, in addition to practicing medicine, was one of the area’s most prolific drug traffickers. 

Told by two accomplished reporters and authors with exclusive insights and details provided by two principal players, this is the story about one man's descent into evil and the people he took with him. It's a story about a doctor who helped flood the streets with opioids, about a husband who hid dark secrets from his wives, and about a man so consumed with greed and arrogance that he thought he could get away with murder.

Thoughts;

I watch the ID channel and love true crime. I have seen this case on one of those programs so this book really caught my attention.

It was a story that's hard to imagine but it's also hard to read. There is a lot of back and forth and you have to try and get your barrings with it.

Movie: Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania (2023) Caution: Spoiler Alert

 Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania

Came out; 2023

Time; 2 hours 4 minutes

Watched: Disney Plus

Rating; PG-13 for violence/action and language

IMDB Rating; 6.2/10

Caution; Spoiler Alert

Staring.

Paul Rudd as Scott Lang/Ant-Man

Evangeline Lilly as Hope Van Dyne/The Wasp

Michael Douglas as Dr. Hank Pym

Michelle Pfeifer as Janet Van Dyne

Jonathan Majors as Kang the Conqueror

Kathryn Newton as Cassie Lang

Bill Murray as Lord Krylar

Corey Stoll as M.O.D.O.K.

Katy M O'Brian as Jentorra

Story Line.

When Scott Lang and Hope van Dyne, along with Hope's parents, Hank Pym and Janet van Dyne, and Scott's daughter, Cassie, are accidentally sent to the Quantum Realm, they soon find themselves exploring the Realm, interacting with strange new creatures.

Thoughts:

This wasn't my favorite; it was missing something. I can't quit put my finger on what.

The story line was right on with the movie title. It all made sense in the series but there just wasn't something “off” with it.

CAUTION; Major Spoiler Alert

During her days of entrapment in the Quantum Realm, Janet van Dyne encounters Kang. In the present day after the Battle of Earth, Scott Lang has become a successful memoirist and has been living happily with his girlfriend Hope van Dyne. Lang's now teenage daughter Cassie has become an activist whose activities result in Lang bailing her out of jail.

While visiting Hope's parents, Hank Pym and Janet, Cassie reveals that she has been working on a device that can make contact with the Quantum Realm. Upon learning of this, Janet panics and tries to shut off the device, but the message is received, resulting in a portal that opens and pulls the five of them into the Quantum Realm. Scott and Cassie are found by natives who are rebelling against their ruler, while Hope, Janet, and Pym explore a sprawling city to get answers.

Hope, Janet and Hank meet with Lord Krylar, a former ally of Janet's, who reveals that things have changed since she left, and that he is now working for Kang, who is now the realm's ruler. After an intense showdown, the three are forced to flee and steal his ship. The Langs are told by the rebel's leader Jentorra that Janet's involvement with Kang is indirectly responsible for his uprising, they soon come under attack by Kang's forces, consisting of robotic subordinates led by M.O.D.O.K., who is revealed to be Darren Cross, having survived his apparent death at Lang's hands.

The Langs are taken to Kang, who demands that Scott help get his power core back or else he will kill Cassie. Lang is taken to the core's location and shrinks down. He is nearly drowned in a sea of variants of himself, but Hope arrives and helps him acquire the power core. However, Kang reneges on the deal, capturing Janet and destroying her ship with Hank on it.

After being rescued by his ants, who were also pulled into the Quantum Realm, rapidly evolved, and became hyper-intelligent, Pym helps Lang and Hope as they make their way to Kang. Still imprisoned, Cassie rescues Jentorra and they commence an uprising against Kang and his army. During the fight, Cassie appeals to Cross' character, which convinces him to turn sides and fight Kang, though at the cost of his life.

Janet fixes the power core as she, Pym, Hope, and Cassie jump through a portal home, but Kang attacks Scott, nearly beating him into submission, until Hope returns, and, together with Scott, they destroy the power core with a combination of Pym Particles and knock Kang into it, consuming him into oblivion. Cassie reopens the portal on her end for Scott and Hope to return home.

As Scott happily resumes his life, he begins to rethink what he was told about Kang's death being the start of something terrible happening but brushes it off.

In a mid-credits scene: numerous variants of Kang led by Immortus, commiserate the death of one of their own and start planning their Multiversal uprising.

In a post-credits scene: Loki and Mobius M. Mobius encounter another Kang variant, named Victor Timely, on Earth in the 1940s.

Movie: Knock at the Cabin (2023) Caution: Spoiler Alert

 Knock at the Cabin

Came out; 2023

Time; 1 hours 40 minutes

Watched: Amazon

Rating; R for violence and language

IMDB Rating; 6.1/10

Caution; Spoiler Alert

Staring.

Dave Bautista as Leonard

Jonathon Groff as Eric

Ben Aldridge as Andrew

Nikki Amuka-Bird as Sabrina

Rupert Grint as Redmond

Abby Quinn as Adriane

Kristen Cui as Wen

Story Line.

Wen, only seven years old, is vacationing with her two dads, Eric and Andrew, at a remote cabin. While catching grasshoppers, she is approached by a stranger named Leonard. Initially friendly, he explains that he needs Wen and her parents' help to save the world. However, Wen becomes suspicious when three other people appear with makeshift weapons. Wen flees to warn Eric and Andrew, but the visitors break into the cabin and tie them up, with Eric sustaining a concussion. Leonard and his companions claim that they have never met before this day and have no intention of harming the family. However, in the past week, they have been driven by visions and an unknown force to find the family as they are predicting an impending apocalypse. Vision or illusion?

Thoughts:

This is a pretty slow-going movie, but it's always on point with where it's at and what they want you to see. This is pretty typical for this director.

The tension feels real, with every second you can feel what the family is feeling. Are these crazy people or are they telling the truth?

I also loved how the movie would jump into a back story then back to what's happening now.

I personally thought this was a very good movie.

CAUTION; Major Spoiler Alert

Wen, a seven-year-old, is vacationing with her adoptive parents, Eric and Andrew, at their remote cabin in Burlington County, New Jersey.

During her stay, Wen is approached by a mysterious stranger named Leonard. Initially charming, Leonard explains that he needs Wen and her parents' help to save the world. While the two spend time together catching grasshoppers, Wen becomes suspicious when three other people show up with makeshift weapons. Wen flees to warn Eric and Andrew but the visitors break into the cabin before tying them up, with Eric sustaining a concussion.

Leonard and his companions-Sabrina, Adriane, and Redmond-claim to have never met before this day and have no intention to harm the family, but in the last week, they have been compelled by visions and an unknown power to find the family. The group foresee an upcoming apocalypse in which Leonard claims oceans will rise, a plague will descend, the sky will fall, and finally an unending darkness will descend. This can only be averted if the family kills one of their own as a sacrifice. They are warned that, while they will survive the apocalypse, if they do not choose, they will be doomed to be the last people alive. Eric and Andrew believe the group is lying and the attack is rooted in hate and delusions.

When the family refuses to choose, the visitors conduct a strange ritual in which Redmond covers his head with a cloth and they beat him to death with their weapons. Eric, who is concussed, believes he sees a figure of light as Redmond dies. On the TV, media reports devastating tsunamis, which Leonard says is the start of the apocalypse. Andrew comes to believe that Redmond is actually Jeff O'Bannon, a homophobe who assaulted him in a bar years ago, for which he went to prison. Andrew believes O'Bannon tracked him down as revenge. Leonard, Sabrina, and Adriane question if Andrew is right and struggle with their guilt, but maintain that they believe their visions. They reveal that Redmond's death has temporarily delayed the apocalypse. The next day, the intruders sacrifice Adriane as Eric and Andrew refuse to choose a sacrifice.

The disasters continue as a plague spread across the globe. Andrew insists the disasters are coincidental and the visitors were anticipating pre-scheduled news broadcasting. Sabrina describes how she and the other visitors were led by their visions and compulsions to find each other online, execute details of their plan such as their weapons, and to continue forward when they wanted to resist. Andrew manages to escape and retrieves his gun from the car and shoots at Sabrina until she runs away. Andrew finds Redmond's wallet and proves to Leonard that he was Jeff. Injured from his attack and their tires slashed, Andrew believes the four came in a truck nearby and locks Leonard in the bathroom. Sabrina breaks into the house, and Andrew fatally injures her. Leonard then tricks Andrew into coming into the bathroom and overpowers him, stealing the gun.

Leonard still sacrifices Sabrina, and the broadcasts shows spontaneous plane crashes taking place around the world. Realizing their time is almost up, Leonard takes the three onto the back deck as the sky begins to blacken and lightning begins to set the earth on fire. Before sacrificing himself, Leonard tells them they have only minutes to decide before it is too late and slashes his throat. Eric now believes that the events are real, and the intruders each represent the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. Not wanting Wen to grow up in a destroyed world, Eric offers himself as the sacrifice. He claims that he saw a light before the visitors killed Redmond, and that he saw a future of the world still surviving and Wen is grown up, and Andrew is still there for her. Eric feels that they were chosen to sacrifice their family because their family's love was pure. Andrew then reluctantly shoots and kills Eric.

Andrew and Wen find the visitor's truck with their belongings that corroborate their stories. They drive to a crowded nearby diner, where news reports on the TV confirm that the disasters have subsided, and the world is saved. Returning to the truck, the radio turns on and plays "Boogie Shoes" by KC and the Sunshine Band, the song Eric played for them on their drive to the cabin, as the two drive back into the world.

Chronic Pain Thoughts: Volume 9

 Dear Reader,

Today I find myself in pain and frustrated. I am sick of not being listened to, being dismissed and not given the care I feel I deserve as a human.

I have had anti-inflammatory medications for as long as I can remember. Recently I was told that the one I was taking was no longer working because I had been taking it for too long. I was switched from diclofenac to Celebrex.

After a few weeks on Celebrex, I started having stomach issues. I contacted both doctors in my care team, Pain & Spine and Orthopedics. I was told that Celebrex doesn't have “stomach upset” and that diclofenac does. This is not true, Celebrex comes with a warning from the pharmacy. I was called in a medication that I've tried before, that doesn't work, I told them it doesn't work, and they called it in anyway. I'm not going to pick up and pay for a medication that doesn't work for me!

Why are we treated with such disrespect? Why are we treated like we don't matter?

I am sick of physical therapy; I've tried this more times that I can count. I am sick of injections in my back & neck that don't work. If anything, those injections cause more pain than relief! I am sick of not being listened to and what choice do we have?!

Movie: The Mother (2023) Caution Spoiler Alerts

 The Mother

Came out; 2023

Time; 1 hours 55 minutes

Watched: Netflix

Rating; R for violence, some language and brief drug use

IMDB Rating; 5.6/10

Caution; Spoiler Alert

Staring;

Jennifer Lopez as The Mother

Lucy Paez as Zoe

Omari Hardwick as Cruise

Joseph Fiennes as Adrian

Gael Garcia Bernal as Hector

Story Line;

While fleeing from dangerous assailants, an assassin comes out of hiding to protect her daughter she left earlier in life

Thoughts;

There were more people in this movie, but I only listed the main players.

This wasn't great. It drug on and didn't seem to stop. The plot was ok and the acting was fine. The same thing happened like 3 times during the same movie and it just seemed over done

CAUTION; Major Spoiler Alert

An unnamed U.S. operative, known as "The Mother", forms a relationship with ex-SAS marine Adrian Lovell and arms dealer Hector Álvarez, who are in search of greater fortunes. The Mother brokers a deal between the two men in weapons smuggling but, after she becomes pregnant, The Mother discovers them to be involved with child trafficking. She approaches the FBI to be an informant in exchange for protection. While being interviewed by an agent named Cruise, Lowell attacks the property. Cruise is shot, everyone else is killed but The Mother is unharmed. She saves Cruise life and makes a time-delayed bomb. Lowell confronts her in the bathroom and stabs her before getting knocked out from the explosion. After the ordeal, the Mother gives birth to a girl in the hospital; Lowell's body is never found. SAIC Eleanor Williams speaks to Mother and tells her the baby will be placed for adoption for her protection. Mother objects but when she realizes Zoe will never be safe with her, she agrees to waive her parental rights. Mother visits Cruise, giving him three conditions: Zoe will have an ordinary life, she'll get yearly photos of Zoe, and to call her if Zoe is in trouble. Mother secludes herself in a remote cabin in Alaska for the next twelve years, with her former military buddy, Jons, as occasional company until Cruise contacts her to meet him in Ohio. Cruise informs her that when the ATF busted some of Álvarez's men in Mexico, they found a photo of Zoe, suggesting they're onto her. While following Zoe at a local park, Hector's top men kidnap her. Mother managed to gun down several of Hector's men before escaping the authorities with Cruise. While Cruise thought this was for ransom, Mother was sure this was done to lure her out of hiding. The two would head to Havana-Cuba to find Tarantula (Zoe's kidnapper) in hopes to get clues of Zoe's whereabouts. Unable to cooperate, Mother killed Tarantula after a failed interrogation. The two infiltrate Hector's home to find Zoe. After rescuing Zoe, Mother went back to finish off Hector. While escorting Zoe back home, Mother kept looking at Zoe and she realized it was her biological mother but wouldn't admit it. Mid-way taking her back, Mother decides to part ways and let Cruise return to her at the final stretch. Unfortunately, Lovell intercepted them but so did Mother. She arrived to secure Zoe, but Lovell killed Cruise and the two escaped. Realizing she's not safe even if she brought Zoe home, Mother took Zoe to her Alaskan home. At the cabin, Mother protects Zoe by putting her through survival training. The two would start to bond but when Mother realized Adrian was coming for them, she decided to leave Zoe with Jons at his store. Zoe was upset to know she's being discarded by her own mother again. However, Jons encouraged Zoe to see her mother through her actions and not her words. Zoe finds a letter from her mom, explaining she has done everything for Zoe and realizes she does love her and decides to go back. Lovell and his men have a final confrontation with the two. Mother manages to kill all of Lovell's men and have a final face-off with him. While Mother was knocked down, Lovell kidnapped Zoe but Mother manages to grab her rifle and kill him. With both men dead, Mother returns Zoe back to her foster family and the two reconcile as mother and daughter. No longer needing to hide, Mother continues to watch Zoe from a distance.

Book: Kill for You

 Kill For You

Author; Lisa Regan

lisaregan.com

Synopsis.

A woman is found dead, her body beaten post mortem. Stuffed into her mouth is a job application with the words "For You" scrawled across it. FBI profiler Kassidy Bishop is assigned to help find the killer. Despite being scarred by her twin sister's mysterious death fifteen years earlier, Kass is now a rising star in the Bureau's Behavior Analysis Unit.

But as more victims turn up dead around the country--all with the serial killer's trademark message left at the scene--Kassidy is left with more questions than answers. The victims seem to have nothing in common, and the meticulous killer is as inconsistent as he is brutal.

As Kass delves deeper into the mind of the killer, a shocking connection begins to emerge--one that is both personal, and deadly.

Told from the alternating viewpoints of Kassidy and the For You Killer, Kill for You is an edge-of-your-seat, roller coaster ride of a thriller.

Thoughts.

Wow. I love this author and the way she writes! The book's chapters are back and forth between the many characters in this book. Told from several points of view.

I honestly couldn't put this down, so many twists and turns

Movie: Renfield (2023) Caution Spoiler Alert

 Renfield

Came out; 2023

Time; 1 hours 33 minutes

Watched: Amazon

Rating; R for bloody violence, some gore, language throughout and some drug use

IMDB Rating; 6.5/10

Caution; Spoiler Alert

Staring.

Nicholas Hoult as Renfield

Nicolas Cage as Dracula

Awkwafinas as Rebecca

Ben Schwartz as Tedward Lobo

Shohreh Aghdashloo as Bellafrancesca Lobo

Adrian Martinez as Chris

Camille Chen as Kate

Story Line.

In this modern monster tale of Dracula's loyal servant, Renfield, the tortured aide to history's most narcissistic boss is forced to procure his master's prey and do his every bidding, no matter how debased. But now, after centuries of servitude, Renfield is ready to see if there's a life outside the shadow of The Prince of Darkness. If only he can figure out how to end his codependency

Thoughts.

This wasn't what I thought it would be based on the previews.

I thought it would be more of a comedy, but it's actually pretty “serious.”

It wasn't bad, it was more though the perspective of Dracula's familiar.

There was police corruption, a drug gang, Dracula and a support group all in this movie. The flow as good but I just wish it would have been funnier.

CAUTION; Major Spoiler Alert

In the early 20th century, Transylvanian vampire Count Dracula met English lawyer R. M. Renfield, who was hoping to broker a deal for some land but ended up becoming Dracula's familiar.

For decades, Renfield has relied on supernatural powers that are initiated by eating bugs. Dracula has recently had a close call with some vampire hunters who almost killed him, so the duo move to New Orleans to recuperate. There, Renfield discovers a 12-step self-help group for persons in co-dependent relationships, and he plans to use the crowd there to hunt out abusive lovers whom he can kill and give to Dracula to feast on without feeling remorse. He follows a narcissistic boyfriend to a warehouse with stolen drugs, and as he batters some lower-level criminals, they are all attacked by an assassin hired by the Lobo crime family who are pushing drugs into the city.

Renfield kills the assassin and attempts to hunt down the man who hired him, Teddy Lobo, but Teddy drives off in a hurry, and a weakened Renfield drags the corpses back to Dracula's lair in the basement of a dilapidated hospital. Lobo runs into a sobriety checkpoint that is run by Rebecca Quincy, a second-generation police officer who sees the opportunity to take a high-level criminal off the streets and arrests Teddy after he speeds through the checkpoint and hurls bricks of cocaine at the police. At the police station, Teddy easily gets out of custody since the feds cooperate with the Lobos. Meanwhile, Quincy has a confrontation with her sister Kate, who has also dedicated herself to police work but is gathering a large-scale case with the FBI, frustrating Rebecca, who wants answers and justice immediately.

Dracula tells Renfield that the criminals he has brought as food are insufficient, and the vampire desires the blood of someone pure and innocent instead. Renfield goes to a restaurant to abduct commoners while Quincy is also led there with clues at the crime scene. The two are caught in an attack on Quincy's life that Teddy has been pressured into making so that the fierce reputation of the Lobos will be reestablished. Instead, Renfield and Quincy defend themselves, killing several gang members and leading Teddy to escape.

Teddy's mother, Bellafrancesca, orders him to hunt down the man who killed her foot soldiers, and he ends up encountering Dracula when Renfield is away. The two agree to form an alliance while Renfield has taken to heart the teachings of his self-help group and decides to make a life for himself apart from his master. Setting up an apartment and changing his attitude to one of helpfulness, he gives a statement to the police to help them try to finally stop the Lobo Crime Family. Dracula learns of Renfield's betrayal and slaughters the support group members in front of his former minion.

Quincy appears and finds Renfield surrounded by dead bodies, causing her to arrest him until she is immediately swarmed by police officers and the Lobos, who also want revenge on Renfield. Quincy refuses to hand him over, and she barely escapes with Renfield. Quincy wakes up the next morning to find that Renfield has saved her life, and he explains his true origin while confirming that he wants to reform himself. The two fight through a group of corrupt police officers and decide to storm the Lobos headquarters, only to find that Dracula has empowered over a half-dozen gang members to have all of Renfield's supernatural abilities, including Teddy. After a fight, Renfield kills Teddy.

Quincy heads to stop Dracula and finds that her sister is beaten to near-death and only the healing properties of Dracula's blood can save her, which he will offer in exchange for Rebecca's loyalty. She tricks Dracula, leading to him having a final standoff with Renfield and Quincy that ends with the two collaborating to capture him in a magical circle.

Renfield and Quincy beat Dracula into pieces, capture loads of his healing blood, and divide up the bits of his corpse into pieces of concrete that they scatter across the water system, either finally destroying the vampire or at least making it very hard for him to reform his body. Renfield later resurrects his self-help group friends with him feeling empowered to make a new life for himself.

Movie: Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (2023) Caution Spoiler Alert

 Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3

Came out; 2023

Time; 2 hours 30 minutes

Watched: Theater

Rating; PG-13 for intense sequences of violence and action, strong language, suggestive/drug references and thematic elements

IMDB Rating; 8.4/10

Caution; Spoiler Alert

Staring;

Chris Pratt as Peter Quill/Star Lord

Chukwudi Iwuji as The High Evolutionary

Bradley Cooper as Rocket (voice)

Pom Klementieff as Mantis

Dave Bautista as Drax

Karen Gillan as Nebula

Zoe Saldana as Gamora

Vin Diesel as Groot (Voice)

Maria Bakalova as Cosmo (voice)

Sean Gunn as Kraglin

Will Porter as Adam Warlock

Elizabeth Debicki as Ayesha

Linda Cardellini as Lylla (Voice)

Asim Chaudhry as Teefs (Voice)

Mikaela Hoover as Floor (Voice)

Sylvester Stallone as Stakar Ogord

Story Line.

Still reeling from the loss of Gamora, Peter Quill rallies his team to defend the universe and one of their own - a mission that could mean the end of the Guardians if not successful.

Thoughts;

This was Rocket's origin story and it was good!

It had some pretty sad moments but well worth it. The running time is also long, but it only feels like it while waiting for the last post-credit scene.

These movies are fun, quickie and action packed. The cast seems to work well together. It's well written and a very good movie.

CAUTION; Major Spoiler Alert

As a baby raccoon, Rocket is a test subject for the High Evolutionary in order to create a Counter-Earth populated by anthropomorphic animals. He becomes friends with Lylla, Teefs, and Floor, three of the High Evolutionary's other test subjects. Rocket displays intelligence and aptitude beyond the other animals and deduces the flaw in the anthropomorphization process, angering the High Evolutionary. They later learn that they will not be part of the new Earth after the High Evolutionary perfects the formula to anthropomorphize. When the High Evolutionary suspects an escape attempt, he kills Lylla, Teefs and Floor, enraging Rocket, who mauls him and escapes.

Years later, the Guardians of the Galaxy have established their headquarters on a rebuilt Knowhere. The night after settling in, they are attacked by Adam Warlock, a super-powered being created out of revenge by his "mother" the empress of the Sovereign, Ayesha, for previously stealing from her people. They are ordered to bring Rocket to the High Evolutionary, who has become obsessed with retrieving his subject for the purpose of isolating and replicating Rocket's intellect. During the fight, Rocket is seriously injured, leaving the Guardians unable to tend to his wounds due to a killswitch embedded in him. The team resolve to travel to the Orgoscope, headquarters of the High Evolutionary's company Orgocorp, in the hopes of finding an override code.

With the assistance of the Ravagers and a reluctant 2014-Gamora, the Guardians infiltrate Orgosphere and retrieve Rocket's file. However, they are attacked by Orgosphere's guards, barely escaping after Peter Quill remotely activates the guards' suit jet-packs. They deduce that Theel, one of the High Evolutionary's scientists, may have the override code stored in his memory, and decide to track him down. The team visits Counter-Earth against Gamora's advice, followed by Ayesha and Adam. With help from a family of bat-like humanoids, Quill, Nebula and Groot trace Theel to the High Evolutionary's ship, while Drax and Mantis remain with Gamora and Rocket. Quill and Groot board the High Evolutionary's ship, leaving Nebula behind. Mantis unwillingly accompanies Drax to the High Evolutionary's ship, which begins to launch with Quill and Groot captured on-board, a process that also destroys Counter-Earth.

Gamora stays with Rocket, but is attacked by a pig warrior sent by the High Evolutionary, who, herself, is killed when Warlock arrives looking for Rocket. Gamora overpowers Adam and launches the Guardians' ship. Quill and Groot successfully defeat the High Evolutionary's forces and kill Theel, jumping off with him and retrieving his memory before Gamora meets them. Meanwhile, believing Quill and Groot are still on-board, Nebula, Mantis, and Drax board the High Evolutionary's ship to rescue them, and a weakened Adam senses that his mother is in danger but is too late to save her. On the Guardians' ship, Rocket flat-lines and has a near death experience, where he is met by Lylla, Teefs and Floor, who tell him that his time has not yet come before Quill successfully implements the override code and revives him.

Mantis, Nebula, and Drax come across hordes of imprisoned children on the High Evolutionary's ship before being captured themselves, and placed in a chamber with Abilisks. Mantis is able to persuade the Abilisks to side with them, and the three escape the chamber before reuniting with the Guardians and overpowering the High Evolutionary's army. Kraglin and Cosmo arrive in Knowhere, which Cosmo connects to the High Evolutionary's ship with the help of Nebula and Kraglin, through her powers of telekinesis allowing them to free the captured children.

Rocket discovers a litter of baby raccoons and other test subject animals, but is attacked by a deranged High Evolutionary while attempting to free them before being rescued by the Guardians. The High Evolutionary is left to perish on his ship while the animals are rescued and board Knowhere along with most of the Guardians. After Cosmo is unable to hold the ships together for long enough for him to board, Quill barely escapes, beginning to freeze in space before being rescued by Adam.

The Guardians decide to disband. Quill bestows the rank of Captain of the Guardians upon Rocket before leaving for Earth. Mantis embarks on a journey of self-discovery with the Abilisks. Gamora reunites with the Ravagers, Nebula and Drax remain on Knowhere to raise the rescued children.

In a mid-credits scene: Captain Rocket is seen leading the new Guardians of the Galaxy, composed of a fully-grown Groot, Adam, Cosmo, Phyla-Vell, Kraglin and Blurp as they prepare a new mission.

In a post-credits scene: Quill reconnects with his grandfather.

Disney Family Vacation April 22-April 30, 2023

 Disney Family Vacation

April 22-April 30, 2023

1 year of planning

Over 40 hours in the car

Over 2734 Miles

10 People

From Green Bay Wisconsin to Orlando Florida

I still remember my parents telling my brother and I that we were going to Disney World in 1990 and again to Disneyland in 1993. I was lucky enough to go to Disney World again in 2006. I am not much of a roller coaster person however Disney does a great job with different rides, shows and activities that everyone will love!

We rented a 12 passenger van, took 2 cars and 2 days there, it wasn't easy but totally worth the savings of trying to fly 10 people

Our first stop was Chattanooga Tennessee. We opted to stay at a Motel 6 to try and save a bit of money. We really just needed a place to sleep for a few hours. I would not ever recommend this to anyone. We knew it was a 2 star hotel, again, just needed a bed. Anything would have been better than this place.

After leaving Tennessee, we drove directly to our rental house in Kissimmee. We checked in, chose our rooms and then left directly to the store for our week of food and supplies that were needed.

We also stopped at Hooters for food, we had a great experience there.

We booked our rental through VBRO and it was in a very nice, gated community with a pool. We had 6 bedrooms and 4 bathrooms, great space for 10 people.

Monday 4/24 we woke up and headed to our first park, Magic Kingdom. Upon arrival we needed to stop for a DAS Pass. In hindsight I wish I would have gotten it for both my kids. This day was rough having to wait in lines to get on rides.

Ever since my very first visit, It's a Small World has been my favorite ride ever. It was the first Disney ride I ever rode and it will continue to be tradition that it's the first ride done in the parks when I arrive.

Ride: It's a Small World

Location: Fantasyland

Description: Gentle 10 minute Journey through all 7 continents

History: Created for the 1964-1965 New York's World's Fair

Thoughts: I love this ride, it's so cute and the song is catchy. It will continue to be one of my favorites.

Ride; Big Thunder Mountain Railroad

Location: Frontierland

Description: Race through a haunted gold mine aboard a speeding train on this thrilling coaster-style ride

Thoughts: This ride is so fun! It's more of a thrill ride than some but I'd put it in the middle as this is one, I'll ride.

Ride: Haunted Mansion

Location: Liberty Square

Description: Climb aboard a gloomy Doom buggy for a grave journey through a labyrinth of haunted chambers

Thoughts: This is a classic, it's dark and was scary for me the first time but the visual effects inside this ride are amazing

Ride: Mad Tea Party

Location: Fantasyland

Description: Spin “round and 'round in a giant teacup during a madcap music-filled whirlwind

Thoughts; My oldest daughter wanted to ride this ride so bad, she literally said she wasn't leaving until she did. The two of us rode it together and it was very fun and nostalgic!

Attraction: Monsters Inc. Laugh Floor

Location; Tommorowland

Description: Participate in a hilarious gag-tastic interactive comedy show-starring Monsters, Inc and Company

Thoughts: So, I am pretty sure this was my first time seeing this. It wasn't there in the 90's and if it was there in 2006 I didn't see it. Don't skip on this. I laughed so hard I had tears. They take audience participation to the max on this. One of the members of our party was stretched out at the end of the bench, suddenly he flashed up on screen and Mike said “And this guy posing” then there was something about Mr. January. I about died

Ride: Pirates of the Caribbean

Location; Adventureland

Description: Set sail on a swashbuckling voyage to a long-forgotten time and place when pirates and privateers ruled the seas

Thoughts: Another classic. I remember the drop being steeper than it was, maybe old age has changed my perspective on that. I also feel like they changed this ride a bit too much and added too many Jack Sparrows to it. The line also wasn't as interactive as I remember.

Ride: Space Mountain

Location: Tomorrowland

Description: Blast off on a rip-roaring rocket into the furthest reaches of outer space on this roller-coaster ride in the dark.

Thoughts: I skipped this one because I thought it went upside down, I again regret not going on. Three of us stayed off and took shelter from the massive rain storm that came down

Attraction: Enchanted Tiki Room

Location: Adventureland

Description: Tropical birds, Tiki gods and colorful flowers come to life in a swinging South Seas musical extravaganza

Thoughts: Most members of my party said this was a bit creepy. I disagree with them, to me this is a classic and the song is so fun. It's a funny, colorful show

Rides we wanted to ride but couldn't.

Ride: Jungle Cruise

Location: Adventureland

Description: Chart a course for high adventure on a scenic and comedic boat tour of exotic rivers across Asia, Africa and South America

Thoughts; This is a classic and it's so funny! So many cheesy jokes and things to look at

Why we couldn't ride: One of Florida's notorious rain storms picked up and the ride was closed

Ride: Seven Dwarfs Mine Train

Location: Fantasyland

Description: Race through the diamond mine from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs on a swaying family coaster ride

Thoughts; This ride has been around forever and I honestly don't think I've ever ridden it

Why we couldn't ride; This ride is super popular and I didn't really understand scheduling rides to get on it using a shorter queue.

Ride: Tron Lightcycle/Run

Location: Tomorrowland

Description: Speed across a world with no horizons in a high-stakes race based on the Disney sci-fi film TRON: Legacy

Thoughts: This ride actually looks amazing! It's one of the newest rides available at MK but very hard to ride

Why we couldn't ride; This ride is virtual queue or individual Paid Lightening Lane only. I wasn't aware of the paid LL until the next day when I was finally able to figure things out on the app. We missed the 7 AM virtual queue by 3 minutes and it was already full. I was able to get in on the 2 PM queue. When it came close to the time, the party that was riding went over and even after the time was called, the line was 2 hours long!

Final Thoughts on Magic Kingdom.

Since we drove, we paid for parking and were a million miles away. I wish we would have paid for premier parking and taken the tram.

I don't like having to be glued to my phone the entire time trying to navigate the app to get on rides. I did like that the app has ride information, wait times or if the ride is down.

I didn't like the trickery of the Genie +, Lightening Lanes being paid or Virtual Queues. All 3 of these took away the magic.

I also didn't like that we saw no characters here, you had to schedule it like a ride and the lines were longer than some of the ride wait times. I miss the days were you could catch a character walking around the park.

We purposely didn't book any dining options. It's very expensive for the sit down meals. I also wish we would have had 2 days to spend here. All in all this place is just amazing and the kids had so much fun

Tuesday 4/25 we headed over to Animal Kingdom. We stopped to see if we could get another DAS pass for my son. Instead, they just updated our whole party. Without it only 5 people could use the pass while the other 5 waited in line. This made it extremely helpful.

This is a newer park that I've only been to once before. This is also the park with the most shade which is wonderful since Disney likes to just have everything open.

At one point we stopped for food, while sitting down a cast member working at the drink cart warned us that there is a very aggressive white bird that likes to swoop down and try to steal people's food. The bird made it's appearance and as everyone took off I calmly gathered everything up and moved away. The cast member pointed to the bird while saying “That's him, that's the criminal”. Only at Disney can you experience something like this.

They also had the most colorful parrots flying around, it was so pretty!

I also found my first ever popcorn bucket, it was Pumba!!

Ride; Dinosaur

Location: DinoLand USA

Description: Travel back in time on a perilous prehistoric race to rescue a dinosaur—before the meteor strikes.

Thoughts: I regret not going on this, but I wasn't feeling it. Another regret but I can't go back!

Ride: Expedition Everest – Legend of the Forbidden Mountain

Location: Asia

Description: Careen through icy Himalayan peaks on a speeding train while avoiding the clutches of the mythic Yeti

Thoughts: This has a big drop and I decided to skip it. My family went on it and loved it! Such a cool looking ride from the outside

Ride: Kali River Rapids

Location: Asia

Description: Set out on a thrilling whitewater adventure through a lush jungle in the heart of Asia

Thoughts: This is super fun, you will get wet, some will get soaked and some will just be a little wet. We got soaked, thinking we'd dry quickly, we didn't. We were wet most of the day but that's really ok

Ride: Kilimanjaro Safaris

Location: Africa

Description: Set off in an open-air vehicle for a guided tour of a lush African savanna—and spot real animals roaming free

Thoughts; I wasn't able to go last time we were here, the line was 4 hours long and we just couldn't wait. This time I made sure we all got on. I loved this. It's such an amazing experience.

Rides we wanted to ride but couldn't.

Ride; Na'Vi River Journey

Location: Pandora – The World of Avatar

Description: Take a mystical journey by boat deep into Pandora’s glowing bio-luminescent rain forest

Thoughts: This is completely new and extremely popular. I can image the visual experience of this is amazing

Why we couldn't ride; It was too busy, the wait time was over 3 hours with a DAS pass.

Ride: Avatar Flight of Passage

Location: Pandora – The World of Avatar

Description: Climb atop a winged mountain banshee for a breathtaking 3D flight over Pandora’s otherworldly landscape

Thoughts; Another ride that's new and sounds very interesting. We don't even like the Avatar movies but I'm sure we would have loved these

Why we couldn't ride; It was too busy, the wait time was over 3 hours with a DAS pass.

Attraction that we skipped.

Attraction: It's Tough to be a bug!

Location: Discovery Island

December: Discover what it’s like to be a bug during this 3D film and live show inspired by the Disney and Pixar movie A Bug’s Life.

Thoughts: This is super cute and interactive. There's crawling bugs, stink bugs and it's all around fun

Reason we skipped it: We just didn't think our older kids would be interested in this. We decided to spend more time shipping and looking at the animals

Final Thoughts on Animal Kingdom

This is the smallest park with the shortest hours. The hours are short because of all the animals, but this park is not to be skipped. It's beautiful, the music shows they have around the park are wonderful and the rides they have available don't disappoint

I found the navigation of this park super easy, they have signs everywhere that point you to the different lands, different rides and I didn't have to spend as much time on the app as I did at MK

Wednesday 4/26 we got up early to head to Hollywood Studios. We had lightsaber and droid building scheduled for the afternoon and we wanted to ride the ever popular Star Wars rides

This park is awesome, I remember it being MGM studios and then again being there in 2006. This is full of amazing looking building and rides. It's defiantly the park geared towards older kids, although since 2006 they did add Toy Story land, which is such a great piece of the park!

Character Experience; Green Army Drum Corps

Location: Toy Story Land

Description: Throughout the day, be on the lookout for the Green Army Drum Corps in Toy Story Land! This talented band of drummers is sure to entertain Guests of all ages with their high-energy performances and awe-inspiring drum sequences.

Thoughts; We accidentally ran into these guys twice and they are simply amazing! They get the crowd involved and are really good at what they do!

Character Experience; Meet Olaf

Location: Echo Lake

Description: See Olaf the snowman from Disney’s Frozen—who’s finally doing what frozen things do in summer.

Thoughts; My kids ran into to meet him. There is no photographer, only an auto camera so it was harder to get good pictures

Ride: Mickey & Minnie's Runaway Railway

Location: Hollywood Boulevard

Description: Zip away on a zany adventure through a cartoon universe crammed with surprises

Thoughts; I was very surprised at how cute and fun this ride was! We choose it because the pregnant person in our party was able to ride it. It was a blast

Ride: Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run

Location: Galaxy's Edge

Description: Fly the Millennium Falcon on a thrilling interactive smuggling mission

Thoughts: This was on our must do list. It's super fun and very interactive. These rides have amazing effects and this one you both fly and shoot. It leaves nothing to the imagination, and it really feels real.

Ride: Slinky Dog Dash

Location; Toy Story Land

Description: Take off on a family-friendly coaster that twists and turns past giant toys and springs across Andy’s oversized backyard!

Thoughts: This was a ride I heard nothing but good things about, we all wanted to ride it so we jumped on it. It feels like it should be faster than it is, it was super fun

Ride: Star Tours – The Adventures Continue

Location: Echo Lake

Description: Make the jump to hyperspace on a thrilling 3D space flight to legendary destinations from the Star Wars saga

Thoughts: This is very similar to Smuggler's Run. This ride isn't as interactive and it's 3d but was still super fun. It was like one of those machines they used to have in the mall but with much better effects

Ride: Star Wars; Rise of the Resistance

Location: Galaxy's Edge

Description: Join the Resistance in an unforgettable battle against the First Order on this exciting ride

Thoughts: Just going through to get on this ride is an experience! Disney spared no expense when it came to this one! This was truly awesome and I'm not a star wars fan

Ride; The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror

Location; Sunset Boulevard

Description: Hurtle up and down aboard a haunted elevator-style lift. You’re about to enter… The Twilight Zone!

Thoughts: I was so scared but regret not doing this in 2006! It wasn't that bad and it was actually pretty amazing! The creepy factor is there with this one. Those doors open and you know what's about to happen. I was shocked that I enjoyed this

Ride: Alien Swirling Saucers

Location: Toy Story Land

Description: Take an intergalactic spin with the adorable aliens from Toy Story.

Thoughts; This looked like a cute fun ride, so we hopped on. I thought it would spin more but it didn't, super cool how you keep switching lanes

Enchanting Extra's; Savi's Workshop – Hand built Lightsabers

Location: Galaxy Edge

Description: Build your own custom lightsaber at this secret workshop and continue the way of the Force

Thoughts; This was truly hidden and we actually got very frustrated trying to find it. You need reservations inorder to build your own. You can spend the same at surrounding stores and get a pre-built lifesaber, however this is the only spot you can build one. This was super fun and very neat because it's a whole process with a story

Enchanting Extra's; Droid Depot

Location: Galaxy's Edge

Description: Build your own droid at Black Spire Outpost’s industrial depot

Thoughts; This was located next to Savi's. This was interesting and I don't feel it's the same experience as lightsaber's. You can purchase a droid for the same price at the store, however it's not customized. Wow, these things are super cool though

Final Thoughts on Hollywood Studios

We couldn't ride the Rockin' Roller-coaster because it was closed. All good, I rode that one once and I don't need to do it again lol.

Galaxy's Edge is truly amazing, no expense was spared on this area. It truly looks out of the movies.

Toy Story Land is the same, the colors of the buildings to even the cartoon fence. SOO many fun things to see and do in this park. This is another one that I wish we would have had more time to get through. Another day maybe to check everything out.

We did find many characters hanging out and were able to meet quite a few. This was our 3^rd park and so far the best for character meet and greets. There were also many photo ops available here.

Thursday 4/27 we slept in and went shopping at Downtown Disney AKA Disney Springs

We didn't buy much but were able to get some fun Orlando themed items. We ate some Chicken Place that we almost walked out of because the person at the door was super rude. The food was ok and this was also the hottest day!

The temperature reached 90 and there is zero shad here.

We didn't stay too long, we left and just hung out at the house. This was a great day to just chill out without doing much

Friday 4/28 was our last park day and the last day before we left for the 2 day drive home.

Epcot was last on our list and it didn't disappoint!

Ride; Frozen Ever After

Location: Norway in the World Showcase

Description: Voyage to Arendelle aboard an ancient Nordic vessel as you take a musical tour of the wintery world of Frozen.

Thoughts; They took the old Norway ride that was awesome and a bit scary and turned it into this ride. This was cute and you get a little wet.

Ride: Gran Fiesta Tour starring the Three Caballeros

Location: Mexico in the World Showcase

Description: Take in the sights of Mexico and the antics of 3 feathered amigos on this gentle boat ride through the Mexico Pavilion

Thoughts: I don't remember this one. I remember the inside of the pavilion. This ride was cute!!!

Ride: Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind

Location; Epcot

Description: Take off on an intergalactic chase through space and time with the Guardians of the Galaxy

Thoughts: We paid extra to ride this. I knew by this time that we needed to buy the LL if we wanted to ride it. This ride is freakin' awesome! It's visually impressive and a wild ride with a cool story in the beginning

Ride: Journey Into the Imagination with Figment

Location: World Celebration

Description: Figment the playful dragon is your guide on this delightful ride through the sensory labs of Imagination Institute

Thoughts: I love figment so much! I never really cared much for the ride, although I appreciated it more this time and thought it was super cute.

Ride; Mission: Space

Location: World Discovery

Description: Blast off on a thrilling simulated NASA-style mission to Mars—or orbit the Earth on a gentler ride through space.

Thoughts: I skipped this one since the 5G doesn't soot me well. The group had a blast going on this one

Ride: Remy's Ratatouille Adventure

Location: France in World Showcase

Description: Feel like you’ve shrunk down to Chef Remy’s size for a 4D culinary adventure based on the Disney and Pixar film Ratatouille. When you’re small, life is a big adventure!

Thoughts: This was so much better than I expected, and I didn't really know what to expect! This was such a fun adventure ride.

Ride: The Seas with Nemo & Friends

Location: World Nature

Description: Go under the sea—without getting wet—on this gentle ride based on Disney and Pixar's Finding Nemo, which finds Nemo lost again

Thoughts: This is such a cute ride. It takes place below a real aquarium that's filled with so many fish

Ride: Test Track

Location: World Discovery

Description: Design a virtual concept car and put it to the test on this thrilling, high-octane attraction

Thoughts: This is always a fun one. Each time a different car is seen in the queue. The real thrill is when it opens up outside you speed off

Rides we wanted to ride but couldn't.

Ride: Spaceship Earth

Location: World Celebration

Description: Travel through time and explore the remarkable history of human communication from the Stone Age to the computer age

Thoughts: This is a classic Epcot ride that's such a neat experience.

Why we couldn't ride: It was broken down!

Epcot Final Thoughts

This is such a great park. The World Showcase is an adventure in itself. With the added rides and shops plus food from everywhere!

Epcot is a visual park with a few rides.

Ending Vacation Thoughts:

It was 15 years too long since the last time I was here. I feel like some of the magic is gone but the rides make it worth it.

The character meet and greets are harder to either find or get in. The ride queues on some of the rides are also extremely hard. The having to be on the app the entire day drives me crazy. The entire time.

We got the photopass and half the ride photo's are missing. Rather disappointed with that aspect. I contacted customer service but it can take months to get our photos

We didn't stay on site so we drove and paid for parking at each park. I ended up having to rent a scooter or EV while at Epcot but I'm glad I did.

We had a few hiccups, with 10 people we were bound to. Some of the people couldn't roll with the punches, they didn't like last minute switches

We left Florida on Saturday 4/29 and drove to Henderson, KY. We picked up Tynne's friend Jay and spent the night at the Ramada Inn. We ate at an amazing restaurant and had some good laughs.

We left Sunday 4/30 for home and made it home by 5 PM. The car ride wasn't bad and we had an amazing time!