What up Ha-Styliens its ya boi Touch here with the very first of many(cross your fingers) movie reviews!! That's right! In this economy you can't afford to waste 10 bucks on a movie ticket just to find out it sucks. So, I plan on being the one to take it on the jaw for all of you guys and let you know whats hot and whats not. Being that this is my first post I will start it with a bang and hit you with TWO reviews at one time! For the ladies in internetland I'll give you my take on the Meryl Streep/Amy Adams comedy Julie & Julia and for the fellas I'll be giving you intel on the action packed GI Joe. So without further ado, lets rock this mother!
Julie & Julia
This movie, written and directed by Nora Ephron, tells both the story of the rise of cooking legend Julia Child(Meryl Streep) and a young woman named Julie Powell(Amy Adams) who seeks to add a little spice to her depressing life by attempting to cook every dish in her hero Julia Child's famous french cookbook in a year. As the movie plays out we discover all the fun similarities that both Julie and Julia share despite them living both in different times and in different corners of the world, as well as the healing power of a good meal.
The acting in this movie is pretty good overall and Meryl Streep is absolutely lovely as Julia Child and embodies the spirit of the larger than life cooking sensation. The story is very sweet, wholesome and largely lacking on conflict which while great for food doesn't translate too well for film. True it was very touching and warm hearted but in general nothing was really happening. I even found myself wanting to yell at the screen "DO SOMETHING!!!" a time or two. Also, this movie does run a bit long. It should have taken more cues from Emily Post than Julia Child and not overstayed it's welcome. At just over two hours this film could have definitely done with tighter editing; a fact that becomes especially apparent when the movie seems to lap itself to tell some of the same stories that it had already told.
All in all Julie & Julia is very light happy and conflict-less with plenty leftover for seconds which while good for food left a bad taste in my mouth as far as movies go. Wait for the DVD rental on this one ladies. Julie & Julia gets a 2...out of 5.
GI Joe: The Rise of Cobra
The Real American Hero returns in this Stephen Sommers directed summer blockbuster. Channing Tatum and Marlon Wayans star as Duke and Ripcord, two soldiers who get ambushed by a mysterious force of super soldiers while trying to deliver a top secret super-WMD for the government. After surviving the attack the pair are recruited by GI Joe, an international fraternity of soldiers trained to deal with the most unique and impossible situations, to help fight against the forces of the evil terrorist group COBRA and discover the secrets of the super-WMDs that COBRA has set its sights on stealing.
For all of you who grew up watching the 80's cartoon show, just know that this movie takes more of its visual cues from the current Sigma 6 restyling of the toys rather than what you're used to but it still hits all the high points of the Saturday morning classic. All your favorite Joes are there including Duke(Tatum), Ripcord(Wayans... yes I know he's black. You got a problem with that?), Heavy Duty(Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje), General Hawk(Dennis Quiad), Baroness(Sienna Miller), Destro(Christopher Echolston), and even Cobra Commander. Everyone here does a good job of acting and keeping with the fun mood of the film and while the plot of this film is very much over the top it makes sense for the fantastic world in which it is set and is very fun. Lets not forget about the action! It is wall to wall explosions, car chases, sword fights and shoot outs just like a Joe film should be. I was on the edge of my seat through the whole thing. Also, oddly enough, it is SURPRISINGLY violent! In fact I was surprised that this movie got a PG-13 rating for all the violence in it. Now for those of you who are going "IT'S GI JOE WHAT DO YOU EXPECT!!!" and "In the cartoon they never hit anything!!!" well in this movie they make up for all that by shooting and blowing up damn near everything and everybody!
Despite all this good stuff, the movie stumbles in its presentation breaking longstanding rules of film making with its excessive use of flashbacks and less than polished special effects which took me out of the flow and at points becomes slightly annoying. But, that being said, I was never not entertained or bored throughout the flick.
All in all GI Joe: The Rise of Cobra is great box office fun but excessive flashbacks and less than stellar special effects drag it down a notch. My best recommendation is to go grab your some of your old friends that used to watch the show, have a drink or two and show up to the theater ready for a party because thats what you're in for. GI Joe: The Rise of Cobra gets a 3.5 out of 5
So for all of you who were wondering how the top two flicks of this weekend are now you know, and knowing is half the battle! Bon apétit!
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