Film: G.I.Joe

STARRING: Channing Tatum (Step Up); Marlon Wayans (Scary Movie); Siennea Miller (Stardust); Ray Park (Star Wars); Dennis Quaid (Vantage Point)
DIRECTOR: Stephen Sommers (The Mummy, The Mummy Returns)
WRITERS: Stuart Beattie (Australia); David Elliot & Paul Lovett (Four Brothers)
PLOT: GI Joe take on a notorious arms dealer. We learn some backstory and lame CG explosions ensue.

FIVE OBSERVATIONS
This contains spoilers.
4 Unlike Transformers, some of the GI Joe characters look like their action figures. It’s a small thing but something I appreciate. I did not like Cobra Commander’s mask, however, I guess the actor wants to show his eyes in the next film.
4 I’m getting awfully tired of CG explosions. I feel sorry for the poor pyrotechnic people who are being replaced by computers. Some of it looks realistic, but most effects look incredibly lame.
4 I’d like to see more female villains who don’t fall in love with the heroes. Cat Woman? Mystique? And now the Baroness? The romantic storyline was idiotic.
4 Here are the people I felt most sorry for while watching this film:
Joseph Gordon-Levitt – After 500 Days of Summer and Brick, what is he doing in this crappy movie? I hope he’s just doing it for the paycheck, like George Clooney did for Batman and Robin. I guess indie films don’t pay the bills.
Ray Park – He’s an amazing martial artist, but with the constant mask-wearing, you’d think that his face is utterly hideous. Let Snake-Eyes remove the mask so he can breathe once in a while.
Dennis Quaid – I know he’s playing a plastic action figure but that doesn’t mean his acting has to be plastic. Actually plastic is generous. He was cardboard. He was terrible! What a black smudge on a otherwise pretty good resume.
Brendan Fraser – I know he owes Sommers for the Mummy fame, but he didn’t need to slum it. Even for three minutes.
4 Four words: ice floats you morons!

RECOMMENDATION
Avoid at all costs
(Unless you are a die-hard fan of
GI Joe, then wait for TBS)

COMING SOON
maybe Cold Souls or Paper Hearts

Film: Inglorious Basterds

STARRING: Brad Pitt (Ocean’s 11-13, Fight Club); Christoph Waltz (German films); Eli Roth (director of Hostels); Melanie Laurent (French films); Diane Kruger (National Treasures, Troy)
DIRECTOR: Quentin Tarantino (Pulp Fiction, Kill Bill, Reservoir Dogs)
WRITER: Quentin Tarantino (see above)
PLOT: A fantasy revenge film about the a group of Jewish American soldiers brutally killing Nazis in occupied France.

FIVE OBSERVATIONS
4 After the bloodbath that was Kill Bill, I expected a lot more bloodshed in Inglorious Basterds. Not so. Sure there are some scalpings and some brutal scenes here and there but most of the film is conversational dialogue. Subtitled no less. But these conversation are so intense, my heart was beating pretty rapidly throughout film.
4 A lot of the tension is brought to us by Christoph Waltz as Col. Hans Landa, the “Jew Hunter”. He takes his time interrogating people, so much so, that you start questioning if he knows more than he’s letting on or not. This guy is getting an Oscar nomination. Hands down. Stellar performance.
4 Tarantino does a wonderful job blending genres in his surprisingly linear script. It's a war film with action and severe consequences. It's a film noir with the perfect femme fatales. It's a spy thrillers with the perfect amount of suspense and intrigue. And the dialogue is so incredibly rich. I found it odd, however, that some of the French words spoken were then subtitled in French as well. Maybe it was meaningful.
4 Like many Tarantino films, the score is great. The soundtrack, however, was not as memorable. The David Bowie song is fine and all but not as resonant as past Tarantino song choices. Little disappointed, but not too much.
4 I was surprised to see a lot of elderly people in the audience. Maybe because it was a matinee. I thought old people would be adverse to Tarantino fare. Maybe it’s because of the war genre, maybe they were Jewish. I wonder what they thought of the picture.

RECOMMENDATION
See it in the theatre
(You’ll be on the edge of your seat)

COMING SOON
Taking Woodstock, Cold Souls or Paper Hearts
(if I can find them)

Film: District 9

STARRING: Sharlto Copely (newcomer)
DIRECTOR: Neill Blomkamp (newcomer)
WRITERS: Neill Blomkamp & Terri Tatchell (newcomers)
PLOT: An alien race is forced to live in the slums of Johannesburg but get an ally in a by-the-book government agent.



FIVE OBSERVATIONS
4 When Oscar time comes around, we better hear the name Sharlto Copely in the nominees for outstanding lead actor in a motion picture. This newcomer is amazing. He carries the movie. I’m sure being best friends with the director helped, but this guy knocks the film out of the park. Copely plays the perfect underdog hero. His reactions are relatable. He often chooses to run. He panics. He is the main reason to watch this film. Wow.
4 This film was supposedly made for 30 million dollars. That’s cheap by Hollywood standards. Sure the filming style does not look expensive but the giant ship and the constant alien presence would have quite the price-tag. But then again, the director had done loads of 3D animation for other films. I’m sure he discounted his own work to make everything look so realistic. Wow.
4 District 9 may be sci-fi based but it definitely has a great message about how we treat those from different races and social standings. Talk about walking a mile in another man’s shoes. Who would have thought a sci-fi film could be this meaningful? I also liked that the story remained simple. There’s not this huge mythology you need to know before going in. A lot of the backstory is told in documentary form, so it’s easy to follow along.
4 There are some scenes that are hard to watch. It kind of reminded me of The Fly with Jeff Goldblum. This film could stop people from biting their nails entirely. I shudder just thinking it about it. But then, again I have a thing with fingernails.
4 One of the only things that bothered me is that they switch from documentary style to regular filming without a clean break. It just seems to morph. Maybe they don’t want you to notice, but I think there should have been something more distinctive. Something Cloverfield-style maybe. But this is a minor detail.

RECOMMENDATION
See it in the theatre/ Wait for DVD
(There is some great action and visual effects)
(The shaky camera may irritate some)

COMING SOON
Inglorious Basterds

Film: (500) Days of Summer

STARRING: Joseph Gordon-Levitt (Brick, The Lookout); Zooey Deshanel (Yes Man, Elf, Surf’s Up )
DIRECTOR: Marc Webb (music videos)
WRITERS: Scott Neustadter & Michael H. Weber (Pink Panther 2)
PLOT: A nonlinear romantic comedy about a woman who doesn’t believe in true love and the man who falls for her.

FIVE OBSERVATIONS
4 If you’re doing a romantic comedy, it all hinges on the chemistry of the romantic leads. (500) Days of Summer does not disappoint. I’ve enjoyed Gordon-Levitt’s work ever since his amazing turn in Brick. He plays awkward yet endearing beautifully. Deshanel is always adorable in a pixie way. They play well off each other and that makes this film a treat to watch.
4 When you look at the writers’ previous effort it must make you cringe a little. Summer, however, is incredibly well written. It perfectly captures all the ins and outs of infatuation, flirtation, and rejection. The script twists some of the usual romantic conventions while celebrating others. Nicely done.
4 Like Juno and Garden State before it, Summer makes good use of music to help tell their story. It helps that the lead characters are into The Smiths. It also helps that the director used to work on music videos. I bought the soundtrack after the movie ended. Oh, and there is a fantastic dance sequence to the Hall & Oates classic ‘You Make My Dreams.’ It’s perfection.
4 My biggest beef about this film is the unnecessary narrator. The actors do a fine job of showing their emotions on the screen; I don’t need a narrator to tell me what I already know. It’s not like the film is all cerebral and confusing. It’s a rookie mistake, but I’ll forgive them.
4 It’s only 90 minutes long! Perfect length! Take notes, Judd Apatow!

RECOMMENDATION
See it in the theatre
(Just so you can tell others about it)
(It’s hard to find but worth the time)

COMING SOON
District 9, Inglorious Basterds

Film: Funny People

STARRING: Adam Sandler (Click, Happy Gilmore) Seth Rogen (Knocked Up, Pineapple Express, Superbad)
DIRECTOR: Judd Apatow (Knocked Up, 40 Year Old Virgin)
WRITER: Judd Apatow (Knocked Up, Walk Hard, Fun with Dick & Jane)
PLOT: Comedian George Simmons learns he has a terminal illness so he decides to start a friendship with an new performer.

FIVE OBSERVATIONS
4 Judd Apatow is known for mixing outrageous humour with heartfelt stories. Funny People follows the same formula, more so than Apatow’s previous efforts. The comedy is constant with the numerous stand-up bits as well as the lively banter between Seth Rogen and Adam Sandler. In fact, Sandler does a nice job of the serious stuff to.
4 Apatow surrounds fictional George Simmons with a fun cavalcade of real comedians like Silverman, Romano, Reiser, Dick, Fleischer, Wallace, MacDonald. It’s nice to see everyone chippin’ in.
4 I’ve come to the conclusion that Jonah Hill is good in small doses. He’s too much in Superbad but he has just the right amount of humourous input. His quick riff on Harry Potter is very fun.
4 Comedies should be 90 minutes. Funny People is 2 1/2 hours long. It’s like two movies in one. Once the love story kicks in, I was wanting it to end. It really seemed like Apatow couldn’t make up his mind. Leslie Mann does well but is introduced to the story way too late.
4 Some of the stand-up stuff is very funny but I still find that movies these days have too many references to balls. Hope there aren’t any eunuchs in this film’s audience.

RECOMMENDATION
Wait for DVD

COMING SOON
500 Days of Summer