I just got done watching the G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra DVD last night. And, it was really quite good!

With the way that everyone kind of put down this movie when it came out, I was a little hesitant to watch it. Even I to caught up in the critical aspect of the movie after watching one of the movie trailers. So, I wasn’t ready to really enjoy G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra.

G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra Is Fun And Full Of Unorganized Chaos

From the beginning of the movie, I started to realize that this was going to be a lot of fun watching. It was chaotic, but it was unorganized chaos. Not the orchestral action that is seen in a lot of different, big-budget, Hollywood blockbusters. And it worked.

Tasked with the job of keeping track of some warheads with nano technology build into them, the Joe’s are assaulted, beat up, and bettered in several instances. But, like all “the good guys win” movies, the Joe’s come victorious by the skin of their teeth.

However, the great part of the movie is how they got there.

Not Great Acting – But, Very Good Action Sequences

The strength of G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobrais definitely not found in the acting. While I will say that some of it was alright, it wasn’t stellar. At points, it was a little dry and without any kind of feeling or passion. But, even that didn’t have enough to keep the movie from being good.

Action carries action movies. It has to. The only reason that most people go to movies like G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra is for the action. This is good because Channing Tatum, who plays Duke, was rather dull. I was also hoping for more from Dennis Quaid as General Hawk, but is just was not to be. The only real bright spot, as far as the acting is concerned, is in the from of the faceless Snake Eyes. His enigmatic presence, and awesome fight scenes, actually made the movie. The rest of the cast, Marlan Wayons, Sienna Miller, Rachel Nichols, Ray Park, and Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje were good enough to make their characters fun to watch.

What About The Super Suits?

While I am not going to spoil this for you, I would be remiss not to mention the suits that we see in the trailer. The ones that make you run faster, jump hither, withstand hard hits, and give you more strength. Again, without giving anything away, I will just say this. Do not expect much. Did that just give it away? If so, then I apologize if that was the only reason you wanted to see G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra

A Few Twists

One of the cool things that I did really like about G.I. Joe was that it had a few things that I didn’t expect. There are a few twists to the movie that actually were pretty cool and did set things up for another G.I. Joe movie. That might not be the horrible idea it was first thought to be.

Well Worth Watching

In the end, the only thing that matter is whether or not G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobrais worth watching.

It is.

If you want to have a good time watching a movie, see some cool effects, and even some great martial arts fighting scenes – the Snake Eyes and Storm Shadow scenes are well worth watching the movie – then you are going to enjoy G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra.

G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra Movie Trailer

G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra Movie Clip – Super Suits in Action

In a movie world that is full of comedic actors that make their living with raunchy exploits, and relying on vintage music and one liners, Jack Black stands quite near the top. In his latest DVD release, Year One, Black gives us a raunchy romp through the first year of the Earth. Using Biblical characters like Cain and Abel, as well as places such as Soddom and the Garden of Eden, Year One can get a few chuckles out of you.

Every since I first saw Jack Black in The Cable Guy as ‘Rick’, I knew that this was someone that I would have to watch. Lending his comedic funnyman antics to several more movies over the year, I was pretty excited to watch a movie where he could once again take the lead. I loved Shallow Hal and School of Rock. They showed what Black can do when he is at his best. Some of the others like Nacho Libre and Tropic Thunder showed him at his worst. One thing is certain. When you do see a Jack Black movie you will get a little chuckle, even when you don’t want to. Year One is one of those movies. I found myself watching it and laughing to myself, quite a few times, at some of the rude antics that Zed (Black) and Oh (Michael Cera) develop through the movie.

What I Liked About Year One

First of all it was funny. When a movie it being promoted as being a funny comedy, I want to laugh. Year One delivers in this department. There are several instances when the lines, the action, and both combined delivered either a light chuckle or out loud laugh.

I also liked the flow of the movie. For me, this is an important part of any movie. It must flow and keep the action moving. For a comedy, and a Harold Ramis film, it isn’t choppy or dead in a lot of spots. It just smoothly moves along to the next scene or antic.

The performances of some of the actors was also very good. For those who really like Jack Black, this is vintage Black. This is probably the best we’ve seen him in a long time. I appreciated that. I didn’t want to be let down again. He came back down to earth and gave a great performance. Oliver Platt also did a great job as the High Priest (or Priestess if you so prefer). Also included in this list should be Olivia Wilde (House), and even David Cross as Cain.

What I Didn’t Like

While there were some great performances in this movie, I have to say that there were those that were equally bad. I must say, at the front of this, that I am not a Mike Cera fan. He just doesn’t do a lot for anything I’ve seen him in. His characters are always dull and I just want to reach into the screen and smash him with a sledgehammer. So, you can guess where I am going with this in regards to him playing Oh in Year One. It was sadly phathetic.

They also had to stick in a small appearance by Paul Rudd. Any movie that needs to do this is acting desperate in my opinion to try and stick in cameos. Not being a big fan of his in anyway, it kind of ruined it for me. Although seeing him get bashed with a rock made it a little better.

Year One Movie Trailer

Year One Is Great For A Few Laughs

For the most part, the movie is pretty good. It is a typical Jack Black comedy so do not expect a whole lot in the way of storyline, plot, or dramatic moments. You are going to get adult type comedy coupled with overt sexuality. However, the bottom line of Year One is that you will laugh.

Year One Movie Clip

There are incredible horror movies that scare the crap out of you and then there are those that will bore you. In the middle of that spectrum are the ones that can cause seconds of jumpiness, while still dragging along. Drag Me To Hell is one of those movies. What made it worse is that I was really looking forward to this movie.

Sam Raimi’s attempt at horror again was not something that I was expecting. I was really expecting Drag Me To Hell to be, well… a lot more.

A lot more scarier. A lot more sick. A lot more something.

What Is Drag Me To Hell?

Without giving away any spoiler or how things turned out, Drag Me To Hell is the story of Christine Brown, who is played by Alison Lohman. Christine is a banker who works in the mortgage department and really, really wants to get a promotion to assistant manager of the branch she is in. In fact, she wants it so badly that she does not help some nasty looking old lady with her foreclosure problem. After that, things just sort of go pretty bad for Christine. Her boyfriend, played by Justin Long, is starting to think his girlfriend is starting to go a little crazy. She starts to see things, hear things, and pretty much be put through hell.

That I Did Like About Drag Me To Hell

From the time that I first heard about this movie, I couldn’t wait to see it. I loved the entire concept of it. The thought of some demon pulling people through the crust of the earth kicking and screaming sounded like a great scare.

I am also alright with how the actors played their parts. Even Justin Long, who had the annoying boyfriend part (a part that he is very good at), was not completely horrid. But, after that it pretty much wasn’t what I was expecting.

What I Didn’t Like

If I were to make a list, I would be writing for hours. But, here are a few of the main points.

It was slow. I don’t mind a story that takes a few minutes to get going as long as it is setting up some background, highlighting some important pieces, or have gratuitous action. But, this movie just took forever to get going.

It did not live up to the hype. I think that if I wasn’t expecting to see this movie so much I would have been a little happier with the outcome. It just didn’t live up to the hypes surrounding it.

It was too fake. A lot of the effects were just too lame. It wasn’t realistic at all. Yes, I know it is a movie, but even when you can make robots look lifelike, then I think you should be able to do the same thing with blood. It just didn’t.

Watch It, But Make Sure You Have Nothing Else To Do

If you start watching Drag Me To Hell and you have some things that you need to get done (even if you have months to do them) you’ll start thinking about it and probably turn it off to go do them. However, if you want to watch it, I would say go ahead. It is not a total waste of time, but you will not be left satisfied.