“Editorial notebook Movie review - Arkansas Online” plus 4 more

Editorial notebook Movie review - Arkansas Online
Movie Review: G.I. Joe film takes weaponry and science to another ... - Chicago Defender
DS Movie Awards preview: Best Blockbuster - Digital Spy
G.I. Joe short of winning the battle - San Francisco Gate
Relaxing with some furry friends - Los Angeles Times

Editorial notebook Movie review - Arkansas Online

Posted: 08 Aug 2009 12:15 AM PDT

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WE COULD tell this movie was going to be a stinker from the get-go. Oh, Lord, it was bad. The acting. The plot. The holes in the plot. But when the star of the movie is the ex-wrestler, The Rock, what can you expect

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Movie Review: G.I. Joe film takes weaponry and science to another ... - Chicago Defender

Posted: 07 Aug 2009 10:35 PM PDT

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DS Movie Awards preview: Best Blockbuster - Digital Spy

Posted: 07 Aug 2009 09:59 PM PDT

It's been a manic 12 months for blockbusters with Harry Potter, James Bond and Wolverine all returning to our screens. There's also been J.J. Abrams's energetic revival of Star Trek and Twilight, a low-budget vampire romance that surpassed all expectations and sent teen girls the world over into a tizzy. Read on for our preview of the Best Blockbuster nominees at the Digital Spy Movie Awards.

> Click here to cast your vote at the DS Movie Awards

Harry Potter And The Half-Blood Prince

J.K. Rowlings 600-and-then some page opus was streamlined into the sixth record-breaking Harry Potter film The Half-Blood Prince. Regarded as the series' best entry since Prisoner Of Azkaban, the movie pushed the epic story of Harry, Ron and Hermione a step nearer to its spectacular conclusion.

> Complete Coverage: Harry Potter

Quantum Of Solace

Daniel Craig's second outing as James Bond saw the suave superspy seek revenge against the organisation responsible for the death of his lover Vesper Lynd. Marc Forster's breakneck-paced movie officially cemented Craig's tortured and brooding 007 as the "best Bond since Connery".

> Interview: Daniel Craig

Star Trek

Seen as the last throw of the dice for the beloved science fiction saga after a succession of unsuccessful movies and a ropey prequel TV series, J.J. Abrams worked his magic on Star Trek, bringing together hardcore fans, Trek cynics and newcomers for the adventures of a young Kirk and Spock.

> Interview: Chris Pine and Zachary Quinto

Terminator Salvation

With Arnie reduced to a computer animated cameo, it was left to Christian Bale to lead the eagerly-awaited new Terminator film. Ditching James Cameron's B-movie mantra, director McG made Terminator Salvation a relentless, dystopian war movie with huge battles between man and sinister Skynet machines.

> Complete Coverage: Terminator Salvation

Transformers: Revenge Of The Fallen

Michael Bay went bigger, louder and faster for his sequel to the 2007 robot hit. The globe-trotting action movie saw Shia LaBeouf and Megan Fox reunite with Optimus Prime to stop super-Transformer The Fallen from destroying Earth. The film's metal-crunching action scenes kept fans of the franchise happy.

> Complete Coverage: Transformers: Revenge Of The Fallen

Twilight

Catherine Hardwicke translated Stephenie Meyer's swoony vampire romance novel Twilight to the silver screen with aplomb last year. With a plucky performance from Kristen Stewart as the new girl in town and Robert Pattinson as sexy blood-sucker Edward Cullen, hearts were sent a flutter by this surprise box office smash.

> Interview: Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart

Watchmen

Two decades in the making, Zack Snyder's superhero epic repainted American history from its dazzling opening credits through to its Cold War-ending finale. Based on the famed Alan Moore/Dave Gibbons graphic novel, Watchmen brought some much-needed innovation to the superhero genre.

> Complete Coverage: Watchmen

X-Men Origins: Wolverine

An early online leak of Wolverine couldn't spoil the party for Hugh Jackman as he portrayed Marvel's adamantium-clawed antihero for the fourth time this summer. The X-Men's most popular character's solo outing filled in the gaps, pitting him against the villainous Victor Creed and William Stryker.

> Trailer

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G.I. Joe short of winning the battle - San Francisco Gate

Posted: 08 Aug 2009 02:02 AM PDT

If this review makes less sense than normal, it's because we saw the movie at midnight, and wrote it up very early Friday morning. Like hundreds of bad horror films, movies adapted from video games and Jamie Kennedy pictures before it, "G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra" didn't get a screening for critics.

Although there may have been calculated reasons for this move, it shows a deeper problem for Hollywood studios: Their complete lack of faith in professional moviegoers to appreciate well-executed trash.

Yes, this movie is essentially a two-hour toy commercial.

Yes, at times it seems like a sequel to "Team America: World Police," except with live actors instead of marionettes. ("America, #%&@ yeah!")

Yes, Dennis Quaid actually says the words: "When all else fails, we don't" ... with a straight face.

Yes, "G.I. Joe" would have played a lot better if Sarah Palin was our vice-president.

Yes, the bloated-with-visual effects final 30 minutes will make audiences yearn for the realistic clutter-free action and human contact of the Clone Wars.

Yes, Jonathan Pryce, who was born in Wales, was cast as our U.S. president. (Where's Lou Dobbs when you actually need him?)

Yes, this film is best enjoyed if you're an 11-year-old boy - or a grown-up man who just drank four cans of Pabst Blue Ribbon.

But it's hard to deny that the first two-thirds of "G.I. Joe" is an enjoyable film, especially when graded on the curve of lowered expectations. Compared to other big-budget movies out this summer, it's pretty mediocre. But as a movie that no one thought would be any good because it's based on an action figure that isn't even a foot tall any more, it wildly succeeds.

"G.I. Joe" stars Channing Tatum as Duke, whose onetime true love Ana (Sienna Miller) now leads a group of well-gadgeted terrorists. When her evil consortium tries to steal a warhead filled with metal-eating nanotechnology robots - which looks suspiciously like a shaken-up can of Mountain Dew - Duke gets recruited into G.I. Joe, a sort of international S.W.A.T. team that includes Quaid as its leader and a cool-looking ninja dude named Snake Eyes.

The whole thing has an "X-Men"-meets-"Top Gun" vibe that may seem really dumb if your favorite movie is "Atonement," but will be easy to groove right along with if you're the type of person who never turns the channel when "Commando" comes on cable.

Stuff blows up. Lots of it. Most of the actors are hot-looking, and the ones who aren't do cool things with swords. And although the 118-minute movie is about 25 minutes too long, the script has a nice self-deprecating feel, without losing its sense of patriotic excess.

In other words, nobody who made this film thought they were making "Sense and Sensibility." Sometimes that's a good thing.

-- Advisory: This film contains strong language, violence and some sexuality ... and knowing is half the battle.

E-mail Peter Hartlaub at phartlaub@sfchronicle.com