G.I. Joe: Rise of Cobra Review

gi-joe-rise-of-cobra-20090529022922777_640wG.I. Joe, it seems that all the movie studio’s are on a break from creating the original content. We see this in most of the movies put out by the action genre with such titles like X-Men, Transformers, Iron Man, The Hulk, pretty much anything that was an icon of our childhood memory they are going ahead and remaking.

Now this by itself isn’t a bad thing, when you look at the advances in animation and computer graphics, truly one can see how the remakes really do bring you closer to the action in ways that before were just not possible.

Now having never really seen the old G.I. Joe franchise, I hold a unique view compared to my wife who grew up with those cartoon’s. For me, the movie was visually stunning. The cinematography was amazing, the graphics were pushing the boundaries instead of just doing the same old, and the martial arts sequences were well thought out (two kids going at it in ways that you wouldn’t think 9 year olds would, just amazing!). The movie felt like it was appropriate in length, and there wasn’t much in terms of a focus on romance that we have found in other remake movies (or sequels, cough, Transformers 2, cough) that cloud the actual point of the movie. That isn’t to say that there wasn’t chemistry or sexual appeal, but I think it was proportioned appropriately for the content of the movie.

In terms of the downside, I did think it was unclear in terms of identifying with each character, as names and such were getting all jumbled up (at least for me). It seemed that my wife was more able to keep up with things than I was, so perhaps that part was geared for people who were familiar with the franchise verses newbie’s like myself who weren’t familiar with each of the characters and their back-story and relationships with each other.

There definitely was room for a part 2, and to be honest, that might be just what the franchise needs. This film was really an entrance onto the movie community that certainly paves the way for new developments to come. I would like to see that the creators and directors put their collective thinking caps on, and try to come up with new ideas and formats that do separate the movies from the cartoons and comics–similar to the separation that we see in Smallville from the movie or the previous TV series and comics, but still hold true to several guiding principles that will keep the die-hard fans from revolting against the writers!

Rob Thomas – Little Wonders

This has to be one of my favorite songs from my all time favorite movie, Meet the Robinsons.

EagleEye – Bad movie or diamond in the ruff?

We just got EagleEye on BluRay from Netflix, and I have to admit, I was skeptical because of Shia LaBeouf and whether or not he could handle this type of role. We’ve seen this type of movie before, remember Enemy of the State. As we get into the new digital age, we look at setting presidences where none exist before. Our society is one of a letigious foundation, but how do we deal with these new frontiers and protecting that which we hold to be true. Freedom of information and personal freedoms can be shut down at what cost to national security and the protection of the whole? 

While LaBeoufs acting wasn’t all that great, the story line was fairly good (up until the ending). The whole reason the Aria needed LaBeouf was because his twin brother locked the system out of going through with its end of days similation. Isn’t it odd that such a powerful computer can’t break through layers and layers of encryption, but can easily hack into every system from cell phones to traffic to video cameras, etc? Seems a bit far fetched. Lets just say this one I will pass on adding to the collection!

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull

I’m certainly not one of those who makes bad criticisms of a movie because I’m a purist of the genre, case in point all the Star Wars fans who had a spectrum of mixed reviews about the 3 prequel movies that were released out of Lucas Studios, but it seems again, that George Lucas, once famed director and visionary, has lost some of the luster that once gave him a massive empire to stand on. 

Indiana Jones genre to many was about action, adventure, and curiousity to the unknown. In many ways, we see that live on in other movies, such as National Treasure, where our curiosity for adventure and puzzles along the way fuel our desire to see these types of movies continue. 
This release though of Indiana Jones leaves a lot for both the casual Indy fan, as well as I suppose for those who grew up on this genre and were looking for Lucas to come back and hit one out of the park. 
The first most obvious flaw is how old Harrison Ford is. In his younger days, it was the vibrant young archeologist who’s adventures threw countless obstacles in front of him–now as essentially a grandfather trying to keep up with his younger self, it seems a bit too unbelievable to imagine.
On the topic of unbelievable, the introduction of an alien influence into the movies central story arch really put a new level of stretching that you would suppose is fueled by Lucas’s extra-terrestrial interests, but in an Indy film, really seems out of place. At first I didn’t know where they were going with the story, and it certainly could have been promising, but if you watch through the end, you will probably be like me, and think to yourself, “What just happened”, and was that really it? 
At any rate, its up to each individual to see it for themselves, but this is one that I will stay away from getting on BluRay and save your money for something with a higher replay value.

Meet the Robinsons–All Time Favorite Movie

So it’s not often that I can say that a movie makes it to my all time favorite movie slot–its something of a challenge to make it there you see!

But I have to admit, this one caught me off guard. Typically I envision movies coming out of Disney with the famed joint collaboration between Disney and Pixar, but this one when it first came out didn’t quite make much sense to me. I remember seeing the trailers and thinking to myself… “there’s a big dinosaur in the trailer talking about having a big head and little arm’s, just how good of a movie is this going to be”!
Quite the contrary though I have to admit–this one touched me at my very core. You know a movie is something that really has ever lasting endurance when each time you see it, physical emotions hit you. They could be laughter, sadness, anger, joy, whatever it manifests itself to be, but it’s when we connect at that level that we begin to see all the possibilities as it’s something that sticks with us having created a memory not linked by a thought, but linked to an emotional state. It’s similar in nature to how we link memories to smells, and those memories tend to be much stronger than just those that we experience. 
There is a quite at the end of the movie that touches you at the core and is quickly becoming words that I live by:
Around here we don’t look backwards for very long. We keep moving forward, opening new doors, and doing new things, because we’re curious and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths. We’re always exploring and experimenting. – Walt Disney

This goes up there with my other favorite quote:
Ask a question and your a fool for three minutes–don’t ask a question and your a fool for life. – Unknown

It’s important that we align the way that we live in what we would consider the most virtous ways, actions that when we look back upon our lives in retrospect, we will not shurg ourselves off but look at how we changed and grew and became more than what we were. Meet the Robinson’s is a terrific example of how when we are faced with the most uphill challenges in life, we must pull ourselves together and keep moving forward. When we stop and dwell on the things that could have, should have, might have been, we tend to get lost in our own crapulance, and ultimately pay the price because of all the missed opportunities that could have been the Mount Everast of accomplishments in comparision to that which we can’t seem to let go. 
Having come from an adopted background, family and friends are things that you don’t take lightly–in fact for me, it’s probably harder to become my friend, because there will always be an underlying thought of abandonment and mistrust. But if you live your life always doubting the goodness that might be out there, you can never forge real relationships with the ones that are around you, but those who you have yet to meet. But let’s not also forget about one of the most important foundations to what might just end up being a house of cards, and that is to put the trust in yourself to let go of your worries and doubts and let yourself take a chance on life. 
One of the first jobs that I worked at, one of the trainers on the first few days of orientation told me the following words, and they have always stuck with me:
Always be aware of what you say and who you say it to. You never know who might be listening to what you have to say. For all you know, the person in the elevator that you think is just another person, might just end up being the CEO himself!

While some of this is a bit of words to the wise to make sure that as a newbie you don’t say the wrong things to step on people’s toes, its stuck with me because you never know what turn of events might happen and how that will in turn impact your life. You may have one of the most brilliant thoughts and your just chatting it up with your friends while you are out on a smoke break, but in the elavator you end up being overheard by someone from senior management who then takes you aside and wants to know more of your great ideas–this starts you on a path that will shape and develop you from that point on. Now that’s just an example of one such set of circumstances, but I think it’s a lost art that people forget about to be mindful of your surroundings and to be aware of the butterfly effects that continually occur around us. 
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