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GI Joe: The Rise of Cobra was one of those movies that my husband was more interested in than I was. In the same way he came with me to see The Proposal, I went with him to see GI Joe. Funny thing happened though – I absolutely LOVED this movie. It is hilarious and fiercely entertaining.

GI Joe: The Rise of Cobra is one of those rare films where you don’t look away from the screen from opening credits to closing credits. There was killer action in every scene.

Afterward I thought, “Finally, another movie that was as entertaining as Star Trek.” I thought Transformers 2 was going to be but.. well, not quite.

Sienna Miller does a sensational job in GI Joe: The Rise of Cobra as bad girl/good girl Ana. I’ve seen her in a few other movies, and I just can’t get over how much she has grown as an actress. At this rate, I can’t wait to see her next movie – and I hope it’s a starring role.

She blew me away.

I was impressed with the rest of the cast as well. There were several fairly newcomers that I’d love to see more of: Rachel Nichols (Scarlett), Channing Tatum (Duke), Byung-hun Lee (Storm Shadow), Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje (Heavy Duty), Joseph Gordon-Levitt (Rex), Marlon Wayans (Ripcord), Jonathan Pryce (US President – best known for his Pirates of the Caribbean role.).

Marlon Wayans is beyond hilarious and puts the steal in scene stealer.

If you haven’t seen this movie yet, put your shoes on and head off for the theater. It’s a must see.

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Today I read yet another negative movie review for Fast & Furious.   This critic tore it up pretty good. The most positive thing they said was that Paul Walker (Brian) looked blankly cute.  I guess that’s good, right?

The thing is, I saw Fast & Furious Saturday night and liked it a lot.  I’ve said it before and I guess I’m about to say it again.  Too many peoople expect too much from movies, especially critics.

I’ve read at least 5 reviews that criticized the dialogue.  Hello?! Did they not see Vin Diesel on the movie poster?  Vin Diesel’s fans don’t go to movies for dialogue, we go for the action, the fun, and the excitement  – and once again we got what we wanted.

My only criticisms are minor:

1. I would have liked more “Letty” (Michelle Rodriguez) in the movie, I’m a fan of the actress and the character.   She brings a great deal of energy to her roles and would have brought more energy to the film, if she’d been allowed the luxury.   I hope to see Michelle in more movies. She’s woefully underused.
2. For whatever reasons, when movie makers want to flavor a film with  a taste of Latin, they do so without much tastefulness.      I’m not against sexiness, but come on.   A few scenes looked like they’d walked onto the set of a music video and were obviously thrown in for shock value.   They weren’t much of either.

But back to the positive.  The action in this movie is the kind that makes you lean forward and dash your eyes all over the screen, trying to take it all in.  I can only imagine how excited “automobile fanatics” get during this movie.  There are some pretty incredible cars in this movie.  I’m not a “car person” but even I was impressed.

Fun Fast & Furious Trivia:

• When Jordana Brewster and Michelle Rodriguez were hired for first movie in the series, The Fast and the Furious, neither even had a driver’s license!
• Jordana Brewster once dated Mark Wahlberg.
• Gal Gadot (Giselle) was Miss Israel while serving in the Israeli military.  That has to be a first.

If you want to have a fun time at the movies, see Fast & Furious.  If you want your brain to feel stimulated, see Duplicity (another movie I liked a lot).

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My husband and I saw Appaloosa last week – I’ve been battling bronchitis and sinusitis and probably a few undiscovered itis’, or I would have written the review before now. Eh, better late than never, I guess.

The GOOD:

Ed Harris (as Virgil Cole) and Viggo Mortensen (as Everett Hitch) have an absolutely fantastic screen chemistry. It reminds me of the natural chemistry that Brad Pitt and George Clooney have. The characters are lovable (even though Cole got a little annoying when he got lovesick) and their friendship is the backbone of the movie. Ed Harris did an outstanding job as director. A lot of times, you can tell when one of the stars serves as the director. Their acting won’t be up to par, they’ll get ALL of the “big” moments, etc. Ed Harris rose above every other pitfall actor/directors have been known to fall into.

He and Viggo Mortensen were born to play in westerns, they fit their roles beautifully and I’d pay good money to see them team up in another western.

I really liked Jeremy Irons in the role as villain also.  Some people disliked the fact that his character was so educated and well-spoken.  I thought that just made him creepier.  If Appaloosa had concentrated more on his character and his croonies as they fought against Virgil and Hitch and the hilarious citizens, this movie would have soared.

The sets, the costumes, the hair, everything was authentic and believable. I give Renée Zellweger huge, huge props for going without make-up in the name of authenticity. Unfortunately, the only “negative” I have with this movie centers around her character.

The BAD:

Virgil Cole falls hard for Renee Zellweger’s character (Allison French). I always welcome a little romance in westerns, heck – I welcome it in every movie. The problem is, in this case, it was a distraction and a hinderance instead of anything remotely positive.

We were never given any reason whatsoever why Virgil would fall for this woman so hard. She was clean and she could play the piano. They were her only good traits. Believe, me, I looked.   I SO wanted to love every single aspect of this movie (I’m such a sucker for westerns).

I’m a huge fan of both actors (Ed Harris and Viggo Mortensen) and of the genre. I’d love nothing more than to see westerns become regulars at the theater. I had a strong feeling that if this one came in really, really strong, on the hooves of 3:10 to Yuma (which was AMAZING) – which came in on the hooves of Clint Eastwood’s Unfogiven… then the public would be left wanting more and we’d finally see more westerns being made.

I don’t think Appaloosa hurt the genre at all – it’s actually a very, very good movie. However, it didn’t do as much for the cause as I’d have liked.  It didn’t do as much as it would have without the flop of a romance between Virgil and Allison.

In fact, I lay the only negative feelings I had toward this movie entirely at their four feet. It’s very hard to give a review without giving things away, but I feel that most people who don’t want anything given away don’t read reviews in the first place. (Which is why I generally don’t.) I’ll still be careful and kind of sneak around the plot.

Friends Virgil and Hitch are tough guys. They’re fighters and have earned reputations that span across state lines and generations.   They often finish one another’s thoughts and sentences.  I loved the way the script called for Hitch to often help Virgil find just the right word he was looking for. 

In the early parts of the movie, I was in Western Heaven.  The scenery was breathtaking, the actors were dead on believable and their friendship was very fun to watch.  Then, Allison rides into town and Virgil falls instantly for this very, very average woman. I mean, he falls HARD, so much so that he practically forgets the rest of his problems or the town’s troubles. In fact, once he falls, the movie seems to set this relationship up on a pedestal and wants the viewer to focus on it.

There’s the problem, it’s not worth focusing on.  Chemistry? Zero. Less than zero.

See the movie poster, above? The movie reaches a point where it wants to take her character from the background and place her in the front, sending Viggo Mortensen’s Hitch to the back. Bad move.

Renee’s Allison character’s isn’t even a likable person. She’s a giggling, dislikable bore – and our hero falls instantly and completely in love with her.  I could get past the plain Jane factor and annoying personality if she’d actually been someone worth rooting for.   She doesn’t do right by Virgil – yet he never seems to completely mind. So much for our tough guy. To really get pulled completely into a film, you have to care about the characters. I cared COMPLETELY about Virgil, I cared COMPLETELY about Hitch – I even cared about the exotic-looking, loose woman Hitch hung out with. Her character’s relationship with Hitch would have been worth watching because she was interesting.  But Allison? I just wanted her gone.

At one point, someone has a gun pointed to her and, under my popcorn-scented breath, I was pleading, “Pull the trigger, pull the trigger. Save the movie…save Virgil, pull the trigger.”

They should’ve listened to me.

All in all, I liked the movie a lot, inspite of the ridiculously ill-conceived and rushed love story.  If I sound disappointed, it’s because I expected to love this movie so much that I refused to leave the theater.  I guess my expectations were a little too high.   The problem is, they could have been reached if there had beeen no Allison French or if she’d have been regulated to the background.  Or, if an actress had been cast in the role that had chemistry with the leading men and actually fit the part.

What a concept that would have been.  What a movie that would have been. 

If there’s ever a sequel, and I hope very much that there will be, I hope they forget to mail Renee Zellweger’s invitation.

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I can’t remember the last time two hilarious movies came out the same week – Pineapple Express and Tropic Thunder make a lethal 1-2 punch.  As a fan of Pineapple Express, I only wish it could have come out a different week or even month.  I mean, it’s a fantastic movie, but it has to fight for attention against the giant that is Tropic Thunder.  You have to figure that a movie boasting this cast is going to be huge:  Ben Stiller, Robert Downey, Jr., Jack Black, Jay Baruchel, Matthew McConaughey, Tom Cruise, Brandon T. Jackson, Nick Nolte, …

I had been looking forward to Tropic Thunder for so long that I was beginning to be afraid I was over-expecting. I was pleasantly surprised to see that this movie MORE than lives up to the anticipation and hype. Not only is it freaking hilarious, it’s also a very good movie. All around perfect entertainment!

If I were to take each actor, one by one, I’d be here all day. But this movie is just perfectly cast – each and every individual is perfect in their role. Robert Downey, Jr. is as remarkable as you’d expect him to be. He was to this film what Johnny Depp is to the Pirate movies – you can’t take your eyes off of him. Ben Stiller, Brandon T. Jackson, Jay Baruchel, and Jack Black were nothing short of brilliant as well. Jackson and Baruchel will soon be names as well known as Stiller, Downey Jr., and Black. They more than held their own with these giants.

I do want to give special credits to Tom Cruise and Matthew McConaughey, though. Tom Cruise was… well, words fail me! He chewed up the scenery, spit it out, then (literally) danced on it. This movie, without him, wouldn’t have been the same. He HAD to be in this role, it’s one I’ll never forget.

Matthew McConaughey was also a huge part of making this movie so special. He’s getting kind of lost in the hub bub, but he was terribly, terribly funny.

If you haven’t seen Tropic Thunder yet, get yourself to the theater as soon as possible. You’ll thank me for sending you in the direction of so much fun and so many laughs. Plus, trust me movie fanatics, you don’t want to miss performances (Robert Downey, Jr. and Tom Cruise) that’ll go down in Hollywood History.

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I love movies with every ounce of my being – so when a new movie comes out, chances are, I’m going to see it.  I’ve got it down to an art.  At the concession stand, I get my Diet Coke, buttered popcorn, and a bag of M&M’s.  When we get to our seats, I pour the M&M’s into the popcorn, sit back and chit the chat with whomever is with me (either my husband and/or daughters or any combination of the above). 

As soon as the trailers begin, we enter a whole new world of fun.  That brings me to a mini rant, though.  Theaters have got to STOP showing commercials…we can see those at home.  Show more trailers and less commercials.  If I have to see the Democrat/Republican Coke commercial one more time, I may throw my Coke.

Nah, it costs too much.  Scratch the threat.

One of the most enjoyable, funnest comedies I’ve seen in a very long time… well, ever… is Get Smart with Steve Carell, Anne Hathaway, Dwayne Johnson, and Alan Arkin.

I knew it would be good, but I had no idea it would be as good as it is.  Everything about the movie was completely perfect.  It’d be impossible to count the “laugh out loud” moments.  You couldn’t, if you wanted to -  you’d be too busy laughing.  In fact, there were more than a few scenes that left me with tears in my eyes thanks to fits of laughter.

Now that’s what I want from a comedy – make me cry!  So few seem capable of doing it, it just makes it all the more special when one comes along that’s more than you could have ever hoped for.

The casting was dead on in Get Smart, with a surprising chemistry between the leads. Dwayne Johnson and Alan Arkin were fantastic in the film, as well.  If you haven’t seen this one, you’ll want to take care of that asap.  This one will have you rolling in the aisles – if it doesn’t, you’ll want to start searching for your missing sense of humor.

I’m starting a Movie Reviews Section on the site, and I’m thrilled that Get Smart is kicking things off.  I’m going to rate the movies I review on a scale of 1 to 10.  For me, an example of a 1 would be Beowolf.  (I LOATHED that movie!).  10 movies would be those that are absolutely perfect - like the Ocean’s movies (11 and 13), the Bourne movies (all 3), Iron Man (an all-time favorite), etc. 

I give Get Smart a 10 without a moment’s hesitation.  Loved it!

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