Weekly Update for August 24th

UPDATE: Unfortunately I was unable to get the Wolfman trailer on the site without including other videos that had nothing to do with the film.

Now that the summer has come to an end, and movie reviews will be slowing down, I'm going back to a regular routine of weekly updates about upcoming films and box office reports. Here it this past weekend's box office.

1. Inglorious Basterds-37.6M
2. District 9-18.9M
3. G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra-12.5M
4. Time Traveler's Wife-10.0M
5. Julia and Julia-9.0M

Some may have heard that a Spider-Man 4 is in the works for a 2011 release. The first facts were that a fourth and fifth film would be filmed together and have an ongoing story. It turns out, I don't think director Sam Raimi liked his work. So instead, Marvel has said yes to a FIFTH AND SIXTH FILM and the writer that Raimi gave the boot to will be writing the script for this one. Now I'm ok with a fourth film but I think five and six would be serious overkill especially because I'm almost positive that Sam Raimi, Tobey Maguire(Spider-Man), and Kirsten Dunst(Mary Jane) wouldn't be returning.

Last week, an actor from the Harry Potter series told fans where the spilt separating the final two films would be located. According to Josuhua Herdam(Goyle), the first film will end when the snatchers capture the trio right before the big Malfoy Mansion action scene. If this is true, we're in for a heck of a cliff-hanger. However, the director and producer said that the plan could change in the future but for now, this is where the split will be.

Also, two sweet movie trailers have just been released. One is for Wolfman hitting theaters in February and the other is for James Cameron's(Titanic) new film, Avatar. Both of these films look amazing and you can find the trailers at the bottom of the page.

The Summer Rap-Up

As we all know, school has started and the summer has sadly come to a close. NOOOO. This also means that the series of great movies has also left us for this year and we will most likely have to wait until November to see some good movies again. Like I did last year I am going to list my favorite movies of the summer. It's hard to put these in order because I actually like all of the movies on this list but some were better than others.

10. Night At The Museum: Battle of The Smithsonian: This film was on the borderline of enjoyable and not good. There were hardly any laughs and it didn't have the fun that the first one had.

9. The Proposal: This was a fun romantic comedy(best one I saw this summer) with plenty of laughs and good acting but it just was not as impressive as some of the other films this year.

8. Terminator Salvation: This was a very fun action film, sweet effects and an ok story. The problem with this film was that it didn't have much heart, but I'll still probably buy the movie if I have extra cash

7. Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen: We're dealing with the same thing as Terminator here...great CGI, lots of robots, and an ok story line. This film was too long and it got a little repetitive with the robots fighting the entire film.

6. Up: Once again Pixar has thrilled critics with another great animated film with comedy, great animation, and heart. This film had such a creative and fun story and a heartwarming message which is...watch the film and you'll find out.

5. Star Trek: I never watched any of the old TV series but the movie was great. This film had just about everything including action, suspense, drama, romance, and heart. The script and pacing of the film was also well done.

4. G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra: Watching this last action film for the season(for me) was a great way to end the summer. The script and character development could have been better but I still really enjoyed this one. It would probably be in my top three if I had a..."Top Movies to Wacth with my Friends" list.

3. Angels and Demons: I never saw The Da Vinci Code but from what I've heard, Angels and Demons was a lot better. This film

was so suspenseful, fun, and had great twists that kept me guessing the whole movie. I also thought that the score for this

film was amazing as well.

2. Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince: You have to love the Harry Potter films. This one was probably my second favorite and it had the best acting and script in all the films. What the sixth installment of the series managed to do was balance the darkness, romance, and comedy so that there was a perfect amount of each in this movie. There could have been a little more action in the end though.

1. X-Men Origins: Wolverine: I don't care if you think I'm crazy but I've loved Wolverine and the comic book world since I was five and this film only pushed my love of the genre to a greater level. I loved this movie and it had the best action than all of the other films this summer. I was siked for this one and I was not disappointed. BEST FILM OF THE SUMMER.

Bandslam

When I first saw the posters and trailers for Bandslam, I saw that it had two Disney Channel actresses and that the film was made by Disney. The only thought going through my head was, "Oh no, another cheesy musical." After the film was released on Friday, I was hearing positive things about the film from friends and other critics so I decided to give it a chance. Little did I know that I was in for a pleasant surprise.
Bandslam is about a crazy David Bowie fan named Will Burton(Gaelan Connel)who is mocked at his school and has no friends. Soon his mother(Lisa Kudrow) gives him the happy news that they are moving to New Jersey. Now Will has the chance to start over and make friends at his new school, and he gets off to a great start when he meets Charlotte Banks(Alyson Michalka.) Charlotte soon learns of Will's vast knowledge of music and recruits him to be the manager of her rock band. The romantic side of the film appears when Will meets Sam(Vanessa Hudgens) and they are paired together for a class project in which they need to learn as much about each other as they can. Now Will must balance spending time with Sam and preparing his band for the biggest competition in his new town, the battle of the bands.
One of the reasons I liked this film is because of the way that the scenes and the pacing of the film was presented. To me, the first half of the film seemed almost like a documentary with a kid following Will around with a camera. Because of this, the movie does a good job of letting us get to know the main characters. The movie tells us about Will's personality and as the film goes on we get to know his past as well. The movie also develops the other two, Sam and Charlotte, and overall the writers do a great job with character development. Now that we know the characters, the second half of the film shifts towards the dramatic and romantic side. Bandslam shows us what kind problems and obstacles high school students face through Will and Charlotte. Surprisingly, this film becomes serious at times when dealing with some of Will and Charlotte's issues and/or past and also shows us that these three young-adults can act.
While this film isn't a musical it does include a few songs and they are actually pretty enjoyable. The film doesn't drown us with the pop music found in High School Musical but instead shows us a sound that isn't found in films as much and that sound is "ska." The final song of the film includes an enjoyable mix a guitars, trumpets, piano, and even a cello which form together to make a song that I didn't laugh at when it was said and done.
Bandslam is a film that includes drama, romance, and a lot of laughs while avoiding other negative elements like sex, language, or crass humor making it a great one for the family. I walked out of the theater surprised at the good acting, good music, and good story that Bandslam included. 3.5 out of 5.
Bandslam has a running time of 1 hour and 51 minuets and is rated PG for some thematic elements and mild language.

G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra

G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra is what I consider the last action film of the 2009 summer season(that I will be able to see anyway.) I didn't go into this movie with high expectations like I did with X-Men or Harry Potter earlier this year but I was looking forward to crazy action and visual effects...my expectations were met. G.I. Joe is a wild ride of action sequences that join together to make a great popcorn flick. However, when you're done raving about the action, there are some other things to consider that weren't as swell.
The film is titled, The Rise of Cobra, and when the credits roll that's exactly what the viewers have just seen. The story tells of how the secret organization of Cobra gets started and the evolution of two members into Cobra Commander and Destro. In the beginning we see James McCullen, head of the weapons company M.A.R.S., who has just developed nanotechnology-based weapons which can destroy anything including entire cities. Four of these nano-warheads are then needed to be delivered by the U.S. Army. In the group are Duke(Channing Tatum) and Wallace Weems/Ripcord(Marlon Wayans) who try to keep the weapons in good hands only to get attacked by Cobra and The Baroness(Sienna Miller.) After the two men are saved by a secret organization named G.I. Joe, they are recruited by General Hawk(Dennis Quaid) to help bring down Cobra.
Director Stephen Sommers seemed to be the perfect director for a fast-paced action film when we look at his past works which include the first two Mummy films and Van Helsing. Interestingly enough, there were four actors in G.I. Joe that had previously acted in the Mummy franchise including Brendan Fraser and Arnold Vosloo. Sommers did what he does best in G.I. Joe because the action was jaw-dropping. The action ranged from gun shooting, to chase scenes, to two Ninjas(one of them played by Ray Parks) going at it with fists and swords. If nothing else, you have to love the action because it is the film's greatest factor. Meaning that if it wasn't there, my enjoyment of the movie would have been diminished.
On action's cake, there can be no other icing than visual effects and oh my that icing is SWEET. Just like the cartoon, there are underwater bases, futuristic weapons, and nanites being injected into people and eating them alive(wait...that wasn't into the cartoon.) Many people probably remember that in the trailer there is a scene where the Eiffel Tower collapses and in the film, it is truly amazing how real that scene looks. One thing that others including my father struggled to push aside is that parts of G.I Joe are just over the top. The reason I didn't have a problem with that is because, as I said before, it's based on a cartoon so of course it's over the top at times. The cartoon was that way so why shouldn't the film adaptation be that way?
Action is the element that dominates the film and it almost doesn't stop which from a critic's perspective can actually be a bad thing. Other things like dialogue and character development are pushed away to make way for the fights. The dialogue at times is cheesy and made me cringe on the inside at times. It wasn't to the point were I was laughing but...it could have been better. As far as character development goes, there are only three of the many characters that we get to really know due to the flashbacks that are provided about Duke and the two ninjas, Snake Eyes and Storm Shadow. As for the rest of the characters...you find out there name's and go straight to the action.
G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra is a great flick for those who want to see top-notch action. However, if you are looking for a movie with great dialogue and an equal amount of other important elements like drama or character development then this isn't the one for you. I went in wanting action and that's what I got. Stephen Sommers has added a great addition to his works and I have high hopes for the sequels. 3 stars out of 5.
G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra has a running time of 118 minutes. The film is rated PG-13 for strong sequences of action violence and mayhem throughout.