G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra

** (2 stars)

G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra
Genre: Action
118 minutes - PG13 rating
Director: Stephen Sommers
Starring: Channing Tatum, Sienna Miller, Marlon Wayans, Dennis Quaid, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Rachel Nichols, Ray Park, and more.

Brief Plot: Duke (Tatum) and Ripcord (Wayans) are two army buds on a mission to deliver some high-tech warheads. When the warheads are subsequently stolen by a crooked arms dealer they are taken in and fight alongside the G.I. Joes, a secret multi-national military organization dedicated to saving the earth from evil villains. Mayhem ensues as the Joes try to stop the evil terrorists from destroying several key cities in the world.

Best Audience: It's an true-fire action movie; that's where the buck stops. You'll enjoy it if you are expecting that when you walk into the theater. Relentless action violence may make the film unsuitable for younger teens.

My Review: G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra is a movie with a title that just reeks of 'sequel'. And true to that, the film ends with a realm of possibilities to expand for future installments. It is almost as pretentious a notion of 'franchising' as what we saw in the first Transformers movie and, coincidentally, the two films share much in common. I was ready for Sommers to let me down but he didn't do too bad of a job. Despite some terribly cheesy dialogue, the script and story were decent and had a good twist or two to keep you interested throughout the two hour run-time. The action is non-stop with little or no room to catch your breath, and, like Transformers 2, made me antsy by the time the final climactic battle scenes were underway. Besides Transformers, you may find little hints of Star Wars, Iron Man, X-men, and a variety of other action franchises throughout the film. An attempt at romantic subplot did little to break up the action for me, but the ninja back story proved more effective. Altogether, G.I. Joe is a free-for-all CGI-gorging trigger-happy explosions-laden action-palooza that had some enjoyable moments and some forgettable ones. Despite seeming a bit pretentious, the film doesn't take itself too seriously, and, as long as you don't, you won't walk out disappointed.

Up

*** (3 stars)

Up (2009)
Genre: Animated/Family
96 minutes - G rating
Director: Pete Doctor and Bob Peterson
Starring: (voice talents) Ed Asner, Christopher Plummer, Jordan Nagai

Brief Plot: An elderly widower fulfils a lifelong dream of adventure by attaching balloons to his house and flying off to the great unknown. Along the way he grudgingly teams up with a young boy and learns that helping others can be the greatest adventure of all.

Best Audience: A great family picture. Adults and Children alike will get a smile from Up.

My review: Sit back and be ready to smile. Pixar strikes another jackpot, both with viewers and the box office, with their latest gem. A delightful tale that bridges ages, races and even species, Up is that creatively unique and fresh fare that we are used to receiving from Pixar. The company continues to produce first-rate material even after being bought by Disney. Ballooning profit (no pun intended) was even grander than expected considering the fact that Up was released just a week after another family flick: Night at the Museum Battle for the Smithsonian.

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

*** (3 stars)

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2009)

Genre: Fantasy

153 minutes - PG rating

Director: David Yates

Starring: Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, Emma Watson, Sir Michael Gambon, Jim Broadbent, Alan Rickman, Tom Felton, Bonnie Wright and Helena Bonham Carter

Brief Plot: Harry and his friends enter their sixth year at Hogwarts but with Voldemort's Death Eaters provoking more and more boldly there is tension in the air almost as thick as the wild teenage hormones. Dumbledore attempts to prepare Harry for the final battle with the Dark Lord that he knows is near.

Best Audience: Harry Potter fans. Need I say more? PG rating is mostly unimportant because if younger audience members are seeing it they have likely seen the PG13 installments Goblet of Fire and Order of the Phoenix.

Review: The sixth installment in the successful Harry Potter franchise transports us to a world of magic and does so with far less hocus-pocus and conjuring than it's other counterparts. The remarkable thing about Half-Blood Prince is that it keeps to it's mission with patient restraint that is very uncommon of Hollywood. There are no climactic battles like in Phoenix or Goblet, but instead the film focuses on character development and plot. In fact, there is far less magic at all, and this allows us to explore the muggle elements of the characters. It would have been easy for Director David Yates to go Michael Bay on us and try to make Half-Blood Prince bigger and bolder than Phoenix, but he has coyly saved room for the last two films. This makes Half-Blood Prince act as a breath of fresh air. More laughs than in previous Potters, and Yates gives the actors more room to explore their characters. Half-Blood Prince may not be well-received by book 'purists' but that is the issue of all film adaptations. As a film, it does a praise-worthy job of telling us another chapter of Harry Potter's saga. Easily up there with Star Trek as the summer's best blockbuster thus far.

Public Enemies

** 1/2

Public Enemies (2009)

Genre: Gangster

140 minutes - R rating

Director: Michael Mann

Starring: Johnny Depp, Christian Bale, Marion Cotillard and Billy Crudup

Brief Plot: Public Enemies chronicles events from the last year of the life of historic outlaw John Dillinger (Depp) as he robbed banks, broke out of jails and lived larger than life before the fledgeling FBI agency was able to track and gun him down.

Best Audience: Finally a real movie aimed at adults this summer! History buffs and fans of Depp should watch this one, as well as anyone who likes cops and robbers flicks.

Review: Public Enemies was my most anticipated movie of 2009; consequently I was disappointed after leaving the theater. It's not that Public Enemies is a terrible film, it just isn't a classic like it might have been. Depp is very enjoyable to watch as Dillinger and Christian Bale is fantastic as always providing yet another accent for this film. Marion Cotillard was very good as supporting actress. Mann's use of HD cameras for the film give it a very unique and, in my opinion, enjoyable look to the film. The blame for Public Enemies not being as good as it should have been must be placed on the writers and Director Michael Mann. While many things were specifically historically accurate many other moments in the film were outright wrong. Additionally they take 140 minutes to tell a story that seemed to lack any real climax and fails to relate the core events of Dillinger's fascinating life in a compelling manner. Worth seeing, but not the great film classic you may be hoping for.

Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen

** (2 out of a possible 4 stars)

Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen (2009)

Genre: Fantasy/Action Adventure

150 minutes - PG13 rating

Director: Michael Bay

Starring: Shia LaBeouf, Megan Fox, Josh Duhamel, Tyrese Gibson, John Turturro and Ramon Rodriguez

Brief Plot: Sam (LaBeouf) and must find an ancient machine hidden on Earth it before a resurrected Megatron and the evil Decepticons can find it and destroy the sun. It's round two of Autobots and American Military against invading Decepticon baddies.

Best Audience: Fans of film one. What we have here is basically the same story with a new script and more battles. More sexual content than the first movie makes this very iffy for younger teens and tweens.

Review: Too much of just about everything: that's the best way I can describe Transformers 2. The Michael Bay box office giant is essentially the same story but gives a newer approach with Sam entering college and trying to lead a normal life. More explosions, more Megan Fox and the same humor style as the first film mean that if you liked the first one you probably won't be upset by the second installment. What Bay creates is not remarkable by any means except perhaps for the sheer technological achievement that it presents. There are a few new characters that are mostly forgettable, but Bay had to do something to up the stakes so in typical Michael Bay fashion he added more bots more explosions and more sex appeal from Megan Fox. It's a proven formula for generating box office revenue. Yes it's too long, too flashy, too much of everything, but as long as you are ready for what the film offers and are willing to go for the ride anyway you will get what you are looking for. Watch it in IMAX. You might as well go all in for two and one half hours.

X-men Origins: Wolverine

* 1/2 (1 and 1/2 out of a possible 4 stars)

X-men Origins: Wolverine (2009)

Genre: Comic Book/Superhero

107 minutes - PG13 rating

Director: Gavin Hood

Starring: Hugh Jackman, Liev Schreiber, Danny Huston, Will i Am, Lynn Collins, Taylor Kitsch and Ryan Reynolds

Brief Plot: The story of the early life of the mutant Wolverine and how he ultimately chooses to go through the weapon X program to seek revenge against his brother Sabertooth for the murder of his girlfriend.

Best Audience: X-men and comic fanboys are the main target audience. Not recommended if you are not a fan of the other movies.

Review: X-men Origins Wolverine is a movie that wants you to take it seriously, but in the end you will shake your head and wonder if it was some kind of bad joke. Director Gavin Hood tries to make it tough and heart-wrenching but it manages to fail at being convincing in either way. A sprinkling of moderately interesting battle scenes are overshadowed by mediocre acting, a terrible script and an unimpressive ending. Definitely a summer blockbuster miss. Though it clocks in at under two hours you will be checking your watch and wondering when it is going to be over.

Star Trek

*** (3 out of 4 stars)

Star Trek (2009)

Genre: Science Fiction/Action Adventure

127 minutes - PG13 rating

Director: J. J. Abrams

Starring: Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Eric Bana and Leonard Nemoy

Brief Plot: Star Trek chronicles the familiar characters and locations of the Star Trek franchise but reboots us with an origins-type story that shows us the birth of the Enterprise and her famous crew.

Best Audience: Star Trek provides laughs, action, and sci-fi lasers and spaceships. It has something for just about everyone. Hard core fans of all previous Star Trek works are divided on the film, but don't let their opinions keep you from seeing it.

Review: J. J. Abrams continues his impressive track record that few besides perhaps Christopher Nolan and our friends at Pixar can surpass. His attempt to breathe life back into the Star Trek franchise produces notable results, especially considering the box-office success. What makes Star Trek impressive, though, is not the cool effects, lasers, or even Spock's pointy ears, but a well-written script that flows at a cool, even pace and allows for character development and rising tension. Michael Giacchino adds a sumptous score and a strong supporting cast including Karl Urban and Simon Pegg make Star Trek a ride that no movie this summer had yet gone before.