I went to the opening midnight showing at the Arclight with the Technochubby tribe.

This movie shares kinship with Transformers in being based on a toy line (The same company, Hasbro, in fact). It’s also based on the 80’s cartoon incarnation, taking the origin-story route. It follows Duke (Channing Tatum) and Ripcord (Marlon Wayans) as they discover and are inducted into the secret that is G.I. Joe while tracking weaponry that ultimately marks the (as the title says) rise of the Cobra organization and its key players. Charting the beginnings with a property like that is a real balancing act between a multitude of characters’ backstories and the main story. I think the writers got a little heavy on the characters origins to try and satisfy the fan base. While I didn’t feel like anything put a drag on the pacing, I do think some things could have been trimmed out and saved for a sequel, particularly the flashbacks about Snake Eyes (Ray Park) and Storm Shadow (Byung-hun Lee). Their backstory feels like it’s supposed to lead up to their big conflict in the big battle, but it really doesn’t have a payoff for either character. Again, if the writers are holding back for a sequel with these two, I think it would have been much cooler to keep these two martial artists’ conflict shrouded in secrecy (Or at least saved for a director’s cut, as the young actors playing these two in the flashbacks made some enjoyable fight sequences).

The leads on the file, Channing Tatum (Duke) and Marlon Wayans (Ripcord) are competent and compelling as the soldiers who stumble on this (somewhat) secret war. I was actually surprised by Wayans, who actually gives a more grounded and subdued performance in his sidekick role. I actually found him to be funny without being annoying. The actors for this movie run a very international gamut in keeping with the more global flavor of this version of G.I. Joe. The overall movie follows this route, leading to a more sci-fi, action route than a war movie.

It’s this last point that seems to perplex some people. The tribe and I attended a midnight showing of this movie with a lot of people some would classify as geeks, including a few wearing G.I. Joe T-shirts, all looking forward to the film. At the end of the film I could overhear many of these same people trashing the film and making fun of it for being basically like the cartoon. And this movie is that: a big-budget, live-action version of the cartoon, and it doesn’t pretend to be anything more than that. It doesn’t provide some deep insight into the horrors of war or why we fight. Going into G.I. Joe expecting to see “Apocalypse Now” is like going to Transformers expecting to earn a Ph.D. in artificial intelligence and robotics.

This is a popcorn movie with lots of cool, advanced-looking weapons, armor and vehicles getting into big fights. Air battles, undersea battles, laser fights, hand-to-hand combat, giant global landmarks in peril. All the stuff anyone playing with G.I. Joes as a kid imagined was happening, and aside from a couple of effect shots that, to my eye looked horrible, the effects and setting were well-done.

I can summarize this way. To prepare to see this movie, I took a nap as soon as I got home from work so I wouldn’t nod off after midnight (as anyone that knows me can tell you, this is a herculean task), woke up, showered, assembled with the whole tribe to travel to the theater together, get parking, get some food beforehand, and got our seats. I can say, that while I wasn’t highly-impressed with the movie, I didn’t feel like my time was wasted. I enjoyed myself. Everybody had a great time. I’d say at least see it as a matinee and it will make a solid home purchase. Don’t let any overblown expectations get in the way of a good movie.

Went to see The Taking of Pelham 123 this weekend, partly because it was showing in a theater I haven’t checked out yet and wanted to see what it was like.

The story, if you don’t know is about a subway train hijacking in New York that mostly focuses on the interactions between the lead hijacker Ryder (John Travolta) and train trafficer Garber (Denzel Washington). I found no real surprises in it. The most unique and original thing I noticed was how the ‘New York’ attitude prevailed over the whole movie. Sure, there’s the scene with the mayor (James Gandolfini) talking to the press to try and quell rumors and insipre confidene, but that doesn’t stop the reporters from grilling him about a rumored affair. While the story was predictable, the overall attitude made it slightly unique and a bit amusing to boot.

The only performance that stood out for me was Travolta. Although he’s a more well-rounded actor that many aren’t willing to admit, he can play very engaging antagonists and this one follows that trend. I almost ended up rooting for him as he shuts down all authority and bureaucracy that try to take control of Ryder and the situation.

Audio was really good. The biggest standout for me was the opening sequnce that was cut with a very extensive remix of Jay-Z’s “99 Problems”. It’s one of the few instances where using music in a movie went far beyond just licensing a track and sticking it in the background of a scene, and I’d love to see more uses like that in the future.

All in all, though, I can’t really say I was glad I saw this in the theater. The unique takes on the standard story were not enough to justify a movie ticket. It will most likely be a digital download.

We decided to see this movie on a whim and caught the late show. I did not know much about the movie except that it was about a guy who aged backwards. I did not know that it was almost 3 hours long. I probably would not have seen it when I did if I had known this. However, I must say, that it did not seem so long as I was watching it.

I enjoyed how they brought the story together from two differing time line perspectives. One where Cate Blanchett’s character is dying and is sharing the story with her daughter. The other from the perspective of Brad Pitt’s character Benjamin Button.

Overall, the story was better than I expected. It was refreshing, moving, and very enjoyable.