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Music Artiles 12 April 2013
List Move 02 April 13, Many Hot Movie
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Review Complete 'G.I. Joe: Retaliation' vast improvement
“G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra,” released in 2009, was, without mincing words, a bad movie. I had fun seeing it, but it was an nearly incomprehensible mess.
Its new follow-up/quasi-reboot, “G.I. Joe: Retaliation,” is what a G.I. Joe movie should be. It’s still big and silly and full of improbable action and a paper-thin plot, just like “Rise of Cobra,” but at least the paper-thin plot makes sense. The characters, while stock, are likable. And, best of all, the entire movie is infused with a lightness and humor that it desperately needs. It is, after all, a movie based on a toy line and Saturday morning cartoons.
“G.I. Joe: Retaliation” follows the elite fighting squad known as the G.I. Joes as they fight Cobra Commander and his minions. OK, that’s pretty much the plot of everything “G.I. Joe”-related, at least according to my husband. (I am not terribly well-versed in “G.I. Joe” lore.)
In this movie, Cobra Commander (Luke Bracey), with the help of his minions, Firefly (Ray Stevenson) and Zandar (Matt Gerald), takes over the government and frames the Joes for an attack on the U.S. military. Roadblock (Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson), Jaye (Adrianne Palicki) and Flint (D.J. Cotrona) must unravel the real reason for the attack while staying out of Cobra’s way. There is also a plot about the mysterious ninja Snake Eyes (Ray Park) and his protege Jinx (Elodie Yung), attempting to find Snake Eyes’ enemy Storm Shadow (Lee Byung-hun) so he can answer for the murder of their ninja clan master. In case you were worried, the plots do eventually intersect.
But, if you’re seeing “G.I. Joe: Retaliation,” you’re probably not really there for the plot, and luckily, you don’t need to worry too much about it. Everything is well explained, even if the occasional long stretch of dialogue gets a little hokey, and the world makes sense - bad guys look menacing, and good guys look attractive.
Tell the truth — if you buy a ticket for “G.I. Joe: Retaliation,” the real reason you’re seeing it is for the action. This movie has a lot of it, but the sequences are well-choreographed and never get boring. I especially loved an extended sequence featuring Snake Eyes and Jinx fighting a small army of bad ninjas on a mountainside — it was practically plucked from a martial arts movie — but every time the plot got tossed aside in favor of swords, fists and progressively larger guns, I sat up a little straighter in my seat.
The thing that really made “G.I. Joe: Retaliation” enjoyable, though, was the humor infused in it. One of my problems with “G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra” (and a lot of other big-budget bad action movies) is that the filmmakers try to act like it’s as serious as an Oscar-winning drama. Not so with this movie. It was just plain silly, and everybody involved knew it. When there was an opportunity for a joke or a sight gag, they took it, although they also didn’t try to shoehorn comedy into places where it didn’t help the movie very often.
Whoever chose to cast Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson as the lead character deserves a prize. Johnson has the wonderful ability to infuse humor in a movie without hamming it up, which serves the movie well. (His gigantic muscles did not detract from the film, either.) While their screen time together is brief, his chemistry with Channing Tatum, who plays Duke, is excellent. The pair of them needs to be in another movie together soon. There is also an appearance from one of the great masters of action himself, Bruce Willis, as the original Joe, Gen. Joseph Colton, which brightens up the movie considerably.
You have a general idea of what you’re getting into when you see “G.I. Joe: Retaliation,” but the good news is that it’s probably the best possible version of a G.I. Joe movie you can imagine. It’s a big bunch of fluff, of course, but it’s silly, enjoyable fluff.
Justin Bartha never set out to make a political statement when signing on to play a gay
Justin Bartha never set out to make a political statement when signing on to play a gay, expectant father on NBC's "The New Normal."
"It's interesting that television really has swayed the conversation," Bartha said of the same-sex marriage debate. "You're just trying to make entertainment."
The comedy from "Glee" creator Ryan Murphy centers on engaged couple Bryan (Andrew Rannells) and David (Bartha) who, with the help of a surrogate, are expecting their first child.
The series uses humor to tackle social issues like homophobia and racism. Last week's episode examined the Boy Scouts of America's ban on gay members.
According to Bartha, it's only fitting that Tuesday's one-hour season finale features "a nice, big gay wedding," as the Supreme Court considers two landmark cases on same-sex marriage.
"It's coming on the heels of a very important decision," he said in an interview Friday in Los Angeles. "It's not often as an actor you get to be involved with a project that seems to be on the right side of history."
Another happy surprise for the 34-year-old "Hangover" actor has been becoming a role model.
"The feedback that we've gotten from young people has been inspirational," Bartha said. "People really look up to these characters and they have taken them on as really positive role models, which is something that I never thought about when taking on the project. You just want to do a good job, but it's really been quite a rewarding byproduct."
Though NBC has not announced whether "The New Normal" will be picked up for a second season, Bartha remains hopeful for the show's return.
"We're just now finding our footing with what we want to say and how we want to say it, and I think if we get the chance we'll do it even better (next season)," he said.
"Glee" celebrity Cory Monteith is actually going to rehabilitation.
Within a declaration, Monteith's representative verified Weekend evening that this acting professional offers "voluntarily accepted themself to some treatment center with regard to material dependancy.
"He carefully requests for your own regard as well as personal privacy because this individual requires the steps needed in the direction of recuperation. inch
Individuals very first documented this news upon the web site.
This is simply not the actual 30-year-old's very first time within rehabilitation. This individual obtained therapy if he had been nineteen as well as formerly offers discussed their dependancy problems, stating he previously a significant issue as well as required simply "anything as well as every thing. inch
This individual informed Celebration this year he had been "lucky to become in existence. inch
Monteith celebrities because Finn Hudson within the He display. This individual times their co-star, Lea Michele. The girl informed People who the girl enjoys as well as facilitates Monteith and it is happy he will rehabilitation.
Amazing! Film 'G.I. Joe' commands No. 1 at box office with $41M
After a nine-month delay, "G.I. Joe: Retaliation" deployed to the top spot at the box office.
The action film starring Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, Bruce Willis and Channing Tatum as the gun-toting military toys brought to life marched into the No. 1 position at the weekend box office, earning $41.2 million, according to studio estimates Sunday. "Retaliation" opened Wednesday at midnight, which helped bring its domestic total to $51.7 million.
Paramount postponed the sequel to 2009's "G.I. Joe: Rise of Cobra" last May from its original June opening date to convert the film to 3-D. The last-minute switcheroo came just weeks after "Battleship," another movie based on a Hasbro toy, sank at the box office. At that time, Paramount already began its advertising campaign for "Retaliation."
"It certainly vindicates the decision," said Don Harris, the studio's head of distribution. "Any time you make those sorts of moves, people always assume the worst. The truth is I'd seen this movie a long time ago in 2-D, and the movie worked in 2-D. It's not trying to be 'Schindler's List.' This movie is intended to be enjoyed as a big, action spectacle."
Internationally, Harris said "Retaliation" earned $80.3 million, making it the biggest international opening of the year. The film opened in 53 markets outside of the U.S. and Canada, including Russia, South Korea and Mexico.
After debuting in the top spot last weekend, the 3-D animated prehistoric comedy "The Croods" from DreamWorks Animation and 20th Century Fox slipped to the No. 2 spot with $26.5 million in its second weekend. The film features the voices of Nicolas Cage, Emma Stone and Catherine Keener as a cave family on the hunt for a new home.
Among the other new films this weekend, "Tyler Perry's Temptation" starring Jurnee Smollett-Bell and Lance Gross opened above expectations at No. 3 with $22.3 million, while the sci-fi adaptation "The Host" featuring Saoirse Ronan, Max Irons, and Jake Abel as characters from the Stephenie Meyer novel landed at No. 6 in its debut weekend with a modest $11 million.
Overall, the weekend box office was on par with last year when "The Hunger Games" continued to dominate in its second weekend of release with $58.5 million. After a slow start, Hollywood's year-to-date revenues are still 12 percent behind last year, heading into next month when summer movie season unofficially kicks off with "Iron Man 3" on May 3.
"It's getting us back on track after many weekends of down trending box office," said Paul Dergarabedian, box office analyst for Hollywood.com. "Last weekend was a turning point with the strength of 'The Croods' and 'Olympus Has Fallen' doing better than expected. We're heading toward the summer movie season on solid footing. It's been a tough year so far."
Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Hollywood.com. Where available, latest international numbers are included. Final domestic figures will be released Monday.
1. "G.I. Joe: Retaliation," $41.2 million ($80.3 million international).
2. "The Croods," $26.5 million ($52.5 million international).
3. "Tyler Perry's Temptation," $22.3 million.
4. "Olympus Has Fallen," $14 million.
5. "Oz the Great and Powerful," $11.6 million ($22.2 million international).
6. "The Host," $11 million ($6 million international).
7. "The Call," $4.8 million.
8. "Admission," $3.2 million.
9. "Spring Breakers," $2.7 million.
10. "The Incredible Burt Wonderstone," $1.3 million.
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Estimated weekend ticket sales at international theaters (excluding the U.S. and Canada) for films distributed overseas by Hollywood studios, according to Rentrak:
1. "G.I. Joe: Retaliation," $80.3 million.
2. "The Croods," $52.5 million.
3. "Jack the Giant Slayer," $25.2 million.
4. "Oz the Great and Powerful," $22.2 million.
5. "Dragon Ball Z: Kami to Kami," $7 million.
6. "The Host," $6 million.
7. "Identity Thief," $5.5 million.
8. "Wreck-It Ralph," $4 million.
9. "A Good Day to Die Hard," $3.6 million.
10. "Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters," $3.3 million.
John Edwards' daughter speaks on father's affair
| The eldest daughter of former Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards says it was difficult to watch the experience her parents went through after he revealed that he'd had an affair. Cate Edwards spoke in an interview scheduled to be aired on NBC's Today show Friday morning and on "Rock Center with Brian Williams" that evening. She said her father told her of the affair and that she was devastated by the news, adding that it was hard to see them go through the ordeal. The 31-year-old attorney's comments were reported on the Today website. John Edwards' campaign finance fraud case ended in a mistrial last May when jurors acquitted him on one of six charges but were unable to decide whether he misused money from two wealthy donors to hide his pregnant mistress while he ran for president. |
