I'm pleased to announce that the new GI Joe movie is much better than either of the Transformer movies. Granted, that's not saying much. Still, as a huge Joe fan from way back, I felt this movie got the job done. Instead of creating a pure origin story, the movie jumps right into the action, telling all substantive back stories in flashback sequences. I thought this was a great way to fill-in-the-blanks, getting the audience up-to-speed on the Snake Eyes/Storm Shadow rivalry as well as the history between Duke and the Baroness. But the core focus of this film is the origins of Cobra, and I thought this was handled very well. We get to see who Cobra Commander is and how he came to be. Destro is also a central figure in this story, with an equally compelling back story. There's also some interesting ancillary characters thrown in, such as Dr. Mindbender and Zartan. It looks like the Hasbro folks included a lot of little tidbits that only Joe fanatics would notice too, such as Breaker's obsession with bubblegum. Oh, and an uncredited actor makes a small cameo as Sgt. Stone. Overall, this isn't a great film, but it's definitely a fun popcorn movie worth checking out, even if you do wait until it hits DVD. But if you want to get deeper into the Joe story now, I highly recommend the IDW reprints of the Larry Hama comics from the '80s. Surprisingly, they still hold up and are much more fulfilling than any live-action film could ever be.
Thursday, August 20, 2009
GI Joe: The Rise of Cobra
I'm pleased to announce that the new GI Joe movie is much better than either of the Transformer movies. Granted, that's not saying much. Still, as a huge Joe fan from way back, I felt this movie got the job done. Instead of creating a pure origin story, the movie jumps right into the action, telling all substantive back stories in flashback sequences. I thought this was a great way to fill-in-the-blanks, getting the audience up-to-speed on the Snake Eyes/Storm Shadow rivalry as well as the history between Duke and the Baroness. But the core focus of this film is the origins of Cobra, and I thought this was handled very well. We get to see who Cobra Commander is and how he came to be. Destro is also a central figure in this story, with an equally compelling back story. There's also some interesting ancillary characters thrown in, such as Dr. Mindbender and Zartan. It looks like the Hasbro folks included a lot of little tidbits that only Joe fanatics would notice too, such as Breaker's obsession with bubblegum. Oh, and an uncredited actor makes a small cameo as Sgt. Stone. Overall, this isn't a great film, but it's definitely a fun popcorn movie worth checking out, even if you do wait until it hits DVD. But if you want to get deeper into the Joe story now, I highly recommend the IDW reprints of the Larry Hama comics from the '80s. Surprisingly, they still hold up and are much more fulfilling than any live-action film could ever be.
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
District 9
Before Comic-Con I knew very little about Discrict 9, other than Peter Jackson was the producer. But that fact alone was enough to pique my interest. As I learned at the panel with Jackson and director Neill Blomkamp, the film is based on a short called Alive in Joburg, created by Blomkamp in 2005. So when the Halo project fell apart, Jackson and Blomkamp focused on expanding the Joburg story into a full feature. Now that I've seen the film in it's entirety, it seems that some of the Halo pre-production work came in handy, especially where some of the weapons and visual effects are taken into account. That being said, this is a far more original film than Halo ever would have been. In fact, it's one of the best sci-fi flicks to come out in years. Unlike most movies clogging cineplexes this Summer, it has a soul and a message. But none of this is done in a heavy-handed fashion. At it's core, the film is a straight-forward action movie, with some amazing sequences, seamless visual effects, and a frantic pace. The social commentary is there for those who wish to ponder the deeper meaning, but the film doesn't get bogged down or beat you over the head with these rather heavy issues.
Saturday, August 8, 2009
(500) Days of Summer
There's a scene early in this movie where Zooey Deschanel does a karaoke version of Nancy Sinatra's Sugar Town. Soon after, Joseph-Gordon Levitt does his own version of The Pixies' Here Comes Your Man. At that point, it was clear these were two characters I wanted to get to know better. While I'm not a huge rom-com fan, this is one I can get behind, mostly because it ditches all of the tired formulas and cliches associated with the genre. For one, it's told in a non-linear format, jumping around to different days in the lives of Tom and Summer, illustrating the evolution of their complex relationship. Sure, non-linear story telling is nothing new, but I don't believe I've seen it attempted in this genre; at least not this successfully. Some scenes are made more poignant because we know how things turn out in the future. Beyond the format, the writing here is brilliant and may be the best hipster rom-com since High Fidelity. The script is drenched in pop culture references which will likely fly over most people's heads; don't feel bad, I'm sure there's several I missed too. But this isn't a movie obsessed with how smart it is. The story and characters remain the focus at all times without detouring into self-indulgent narrative tangents. Considering this was written by the team that brought us The Pink Panther 2, it's quite remarkable how this film turned out. So if you're still mourning the loss of John Hughes, give this film a shot. It'll help restore your faith in movies.