Monthly Archives: August 2009

Movie Reviews

Movie Review – G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra

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G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra

Directed by Stephen Sommers

Starring Channing Tatum, Marlon Wayans, Rachel Nichols, Ray Park, Sienne Miller, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Christopher Eccleston, Lee Byung-hun, and Dennis Quaid.

Backstory

Everything old truly is new again, as all my childhood toys become fodder for Hollywood. When Transformers was such a huge hit two years ago, we all knew it was just a matter of time before GI Joe came to the big screen. But in what iteration? GI Joe has been around since the 1960s. Would it be the original? The classic GI Joe vs Cobra from my youth, or some new iteration? All I knew was, the early photos of Snake Eyes has his costume looking right, so I was getting pumped.

Plot

In the not-too-distant future, weapons manufacturer James McCullen has perfected a new form of nanotechnology called nanomites. These microscopic robots have fantastic weapons potential, as they can eat metal. The first prototype nanomite warheads are being transported by an American military unit, whose two top officers go by the nicknames Duke and Ripcord. While in the convoy, Duke and Ripcord are ambushed by some form of military unit with advanced weaponry, the type of which they’ve never seen, and they’re bailed out by a unit with equally advanced weaponry. Turns out they were rescued by GI Joe, a highly trained, daring special missions force. Duke and Ripcord quickly joining GI Joe to find out who stole the warheads, why they want them, and James McCullen might be involved. Also working for James McCullen is the femme fatale Ana, who was once Duke’s fiance, and is now known as the Baroness. What caused her to switch sides?

What I Liked

Was it alright to cheer in the theatre the first time I heard someone say, “And knowing is half the battle?” This truly draws more from the cartoon of the 1980s than the comic books of the 1980s as character development and plot take a back seat to wall-to-wall action. This is just one long fight scene. And Snake Eyes was done right, so I was happy.

What I Didn’t Like

Formulaic plot, too much shaky-cam in the fights, generic music score, and I still don’t understand why the Joes need power armor.

Final Assessment

Waves of nostalgia helped me overlook most of the flaws. A good time, a solid action adventure, and not much else.

3 Nibs

Movie Reviews

Movie Review – Ponyo

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Ponyo

Directed by Hayao Miyazaki

Starring the voices of Noah Cyrus, Frankie Jonas, Tina Fey, Matt Damon, Liam Neeson, Cate Blanchett, Lily Tomlin, Cloris Leachman, and Betty White.

Backstory

I’m starting to remember when I first fell in love with the works of Hayao Miyazaki. One of the world’s most renowned animators, his films have become synonymous with quality work. And with Disney distributing all of his films in North America for the last little bit, every time I hear of one coming to my local cineplex, I know I have to drop everything and head down to the theatre to see it. So with Ponyo coming to town, I was dropping everything.

Plot

Sosuke is a five year old boy. His mother, Lisa, is a nurse in a nursing home. His father is a ship’s captain, and spends lots of time out at sea. One day, Sosuke finds this goldfish with a human face that he names Ponyo. Ponyo, turns out, is a magical creature, and is growing infatuated with the human world…Sosuke in particular. Ponyo eventually taps into her father’s magic to become fully human. But, there’s a problem with this. By becoming human, Ponyo has thrown the balance of nature out of whack. Can the balance be restored AND Sosuke and Ponyo still be with each other forever?

What I Liked

Miyazaki’s animation, as always, is gorgeous. See it on the big screen to fully appreciate it. The seascapes, the fish…all fantastic! It was nice to see Miyazaki doing something lighter than what he’s done recently…instead of the high fantasy/drama of Spirited Away and Howl’s Moving Castle, this is smaller and more upbeat, like My Neighbor Totoro. The score is once again amazing, and the English language dubbing is nice and flawless.

What I Didn’t Like

Miyazaki is well-known for putting strong female characters in his films, but there’s one scene with Sosuke’s mother where she comes across like a spoiled 7 year old throwing a tantrum, and it seemed out of place. And that’s just a horrible hip-hop remix of the theme song that plays over the end credits.

Final Assessment

Something you don’t get from a lot of animated films these days…you truly feel transported into another world. Loved it!

3.5 Nibs

Movie Reviews

Movie Review – Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

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Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

Directed by David Yates

Starring Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, Emma Watson, Michael Gambon, Jim Broadbent, Bonnie Wright, Helena Bonham Carter, Timothy Spall, Alan Rickman, Robbie Coltrane and Maggie Smith.

Backstory

Some days, I think I have to hang up my geek credentials because I haven’t read the Harry Potter books. So far, my experience with the franchise has been purely cinematic…I’ve seen each movie. In the theatre. Once. That’s it. I have friends who say that such an attitude is ridiculous, and that they’re the best things ever written, and so on, but I still can’t motivate myself to head on down to the library and grab the books. And, truth be told, I’m even starting to get bored with the movies. I only went to see Half-Blood Prince out of a combination of “Well, I’ve seen all the other ones in the theatre” and “I have a coupon so I can see it for free.” Not really stellar expectations, I know. So, did I enjoy it?

Plot

And thus begins year 6 at Hogwarts. The entire wizarding world is on edge now that the return of Lord Voldemort has been made public. Voldemort’s followers make a bargain with young Draco Malfoy, Harry Potter’s rival, to fulfill some heinous task this year at Hogwarts. Meanwhile, Dumbledore has ordered young Harry to get close to Hogwart’s new potions professor, Horace Slughorn. It seems that some of Slughorn’s memories about the young Voldemort have been altered, and Dumbledore wants to know why as it could mean the key to defeating Voldemort. Harry is able to get close to Slughorn with ease, thanks to an old potions textbook full of notes in the margins and corrections, all credited to “the Half-Blood Prince.” Just who is the Half-Blood Prince? What horrible secret is Slughorn hiding? And what was young Malfoy tasked with doing?

What I Liked

OK, I’ve been joking with my Harry Potter maniac friends that the one bit of fanfic I’d like to see is the Harry Potter teen sex comedy. (“Now that Voldemort’s defeated, it’s time from the Prom!”) But you know what? In this film, all of our main characters are 16, they’re full of the raging hormones, and there’s enough teen romance and angst going on that my desire to see the Harry Potter teen sex comedy has been filled quite nicely. This was also the first Harry Potter film where I really took notice of the score. It has a real Celtic feel…sets it apart from the rest of the films. And as I said after I saw the last film, probably what’ll finally get me to read the books is the character of Luna Lovegood. She’s so…whimsically odd. I love her!

What I Didn’t Like

As with most franchises that have been going on this long, the continuity has started getting pretty dense. I did have a list of questions I had to fire off to my friends asking, “OK, why did they have to do this? Why couldn’t they do just this?” And even though it’s the name of the movie, the revelation of the Half-Blood Prince was done so casually that it caught me off guard.

Final Assessment

Good but not great. We all know this only exists to set up (what I hope) is the mind-blowing finale.

3 Nibs