Out this week we have four DVDs to feature:  G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra, Aliens in the Attic, Wolverine and the X-Men: Beginning of the End, Sand Serpents.  Do we Love It, Rent it, or Avoid Like Plague?

Owner

• G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra:  I love this movie as a G.I. Joe fan it was a great live action movie adaptation.  The action was intense, exciting, and did not sag for a moment throughout the entire movie.  The Ninjas were awesome!  Definitely an owner.
  
  
  
  • Buy it / Rent it
  
  
  
  
  
  
  • More G.I. Joe on dashPunk
  
  
  • Review: G.I. Joe The Rise of Cobra
  
  
  • Exploring: G.I. Joe The Rise of Cobra
  
  
  
  

Renter

• Aliens in the Attic:  The trailer looks funny though I did not think I would like it enough to watch it in the theaters this summer.  It's on my rent list.
  
  
  
  • Buy it / Rent it
  
  
  • Theater or Renter July 2009
  
  
  
  

Don't Care

• Wolverine and the X-Men: Beginning of the End: The movies have burn me on wolverine so much that I just don't have it in me to get excited over this one.  Not even a renter. If you have watched this let me know what you think about it.
  
  
  
  • Buy it / Rent it
  
  
  • More Wolverine on dashPunk
  
  
  
  

Avoid Like Plague

If you really must waste your money don't buy the DVD just give it to us at least it is going to a good cause.

• Sand Serpents: I happened upon this SyFy movie while house sitting and exploring cable again. It was terrible retelling of Tremors which at least had characters in it I liked.  If you are looking to torture yourself they are streaming it on netflix.  Do yourself a favor and Avoid this one like a plague.
  
  
  
  • Buy it / Rent it or stream it online
    
  
  
  
  

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[reus id="11"]

Overall Rating: We have three of them for this movie based on the audience preference and expectations:

• For a G.I. Joe movie:  9


• As an action movie:  7.5


• As a movie:  5

I really enjoyed watching G.I. Joe The Rise of Cobra.  For me it will be an owner, but I grew up watching the cartoon and owned many of the toys.  We had to give this movie three ratings because it did some parts really well and other parts poorly.

This will be a niche film, not necessairly a bad thing as long as people know what to expect getting into it.  For fans of G.I. Joe this is a must see in the theaters you will love this movie it is everything someone would expect from a G.I. Joe movie.  If you are not familiar with G.I. Joe but love action movies then you too should probably watch this in the theaters it hits most of the important elements of a good action film.  If you are not one of those two previous types of audience members then don't go, watch something else this is probably not the movie for you.

• Buy it / Rent it

Question From the Movie:

No spoiler:  There are several scenes where people, in the background, are taking a torch and burning a surface.  The first one that stood out was when they arrive at Cobra Command and there is a guy burning down an engine.  The second one that stood out was in a hallway, a guy was burning down a door frame.  Why did cobra command have people who's job was to burn down all of the surfaces in the building?

For parents:

After the blue language issue in Transformers I thought I would put in this section for parents of young kids.  This is a PG 13 movie so there is an expectation of more adult content but also being G.I. Joe there is an expectation of it being safe for kids.  There are only two things that may or may not be an issue for your child watching this movie.  There are only a few moments of blue language:  one instance of mother ___er which the blanked out part is drowned out by background noise and would pass FCC standards the other word used is shit, which occurs a couple of times.  What I would be concerned of for kids is the melting faces they are grotesque (in a cool sort of way) but some children might not be able to handle watching it.

G.I. Joe The Rise of Cobra is an origin story for both G.I. Joe and Cobra command.  Ten years in the future the Cobra Organization raises to terrorize all nations of the earth.  With only one group to stop them, Duke is recruited into the G.I. Joe, a top secret team of elite soldiers.  Yo Joe!

Likes

1. The action was intense, exciting, and did not sag for a moment throughout the entire movie.


2. The sound effects of the Cobra Command guns were just like in the 80's show and they explained the odd cheesy sound by showing us why and left it natural for their setting.


3. love the ninjas


4. The characters looked and behaved appropriate  to their type.  The Baroness is well done.


5. Accelerator suit rocks.  I still want one.


6. The fighting between the two ninjas were so good I could watch two kids fighting for the first hour and then watch the two adults fighting for the second hour.


7. They featured a lot of the toys / tech.  The jet was my favorite one growing up playing with and it looked awesome.


8. The sequel set up was well done and not the common cliche one I was expecting but still in line with the G.I. Joe of my childhood.  I can't wait for the second movie.

Dislikes / Concerns

1. The studio messed up and loss the tension for the Eiffel Tower chase scene because they showed the result in the trailers thus tipping their hand.  Show us teasers, entice us but don't show the final result.


2. The effects were only ok, close up could use some work.  The accelerator suit looks poorly composted on big screen as well as on the trailers.


3. The acting was only ok and at some times a little stilted.


4. The main story ark was weak, not surprising since most G.I. Joe story is merely a macguffin to get us lots of action and fighting.  This was made more apparent because the back story is very interesting and well written.

For More:

• Theater or Renter: August 2009 also to watch the trailer


• Exploring: G.I. Joe The Rise of Cobra


• Buy it / Rent it

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G.I. Joe The Rise of Cobra is an origin story for both G.I. Joe and Cobra command.  Ten years in the future the Cobra Organization raises to terrorize all nations of the earth.  With only one group to stop them Duke forms theG.I. Joe, a top secret team of elite soldiers.  Yo Joe!

As a child I watched a lot of G.I. Joe, collected a lot of the toys, and imagined myself as one of the ninjas.  That said I would not call myself a fanboy of G.I. Joe because I can't remember why I liked it so much.  As for the new movie:

• The trailers look really good


• The ninjas rock!!!


• I want an accelerator.

• Buy it / Rent it

G.I. Joe Roundup

• GI Joe: The Rise of Cobra Clip


• G.I. JOE trailer in HD


• G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra TV Trailer


• A Closer look at G.I. Joe Movie Posters (dashPunk)


• International GI Joe Movie Poster (via /Film)


• G.I. Joe on dashPunk

For me this is a watch in theater.  If you haven't voted yet, head over to Theater or Renter: August 2009 and vote will you watch it in the theaters, rent it or are not interested?

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Netflix lets you rent, watch and return DVDs from home - Try free for 2 weeks

Don't wait. Guarantee your seat before you go and  avoid a sold out show. Skip the box office lines and buy movie tickets at Fandango.com.

Theater or Renter: August 2009 includes five SF movies G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra, District 9, Ponyo, Shorts, Halloween II, The Final Destination.  Will we watch? Will we rent? or do we even care?

Rules of the Game: Watch the trailers. Rate the movie. Then share with us your comments: does the movie, it’s trailer and buzz make you want to watch it in the theater, rent it, or not interested at all, and why?

G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra:

• Buy it / Rent it

Release Date:  AUGUST 7th

Listed as:  Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi, Thriller

Studio:  Paramount Pictures, Spyglass Entertainment, Hasbro, Di Bonaventura Pictures

Director:  Stephen Sommers

Produced by:  Lorenzo di Bonaventura, Bob Ducsay, Brian Goldner, Gary Barber, Roger Birnbaum, Stephen Sommers

Written by:  Screenplay: Stuart Beattie, David Elliot, Paul Lovett  Story: Michael B. Gordon, Stuart Beattie, Stephen Sommers  Comic book: Larry Hama

Stars:  Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, Christopher Eccleston, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Byung Hun Lee, Sienna Miller, Rachel Nichols, Jonathan Pryce, Saïd Taghmaoui, Channing Tatum, Marlon Wayans, Ray Park, and Dennis Quaid

The Plot / Story: Ten years in the future the Cobra Organization raises to terrorize all nations of the earth.  With only one group to stop them Duke forms the G.I. Joe, a top secret team of elite soldiers.  Yo Joe!  (Wikipedia) (The Official Site)

• GI Joe: The Rise of Cobra Clip


• G.I. JOE trailer in HD


• for more on G.I. Joe read here

[poll id="4"]

District 9:

Release Date:  AUGUST 14th

Listed as: Sci-Fi

Studio:  WingNut Films, QED International, Key Creatives, Wintergreen Productions

Director:  Neill Blomkamp

Produced by:  Peter Jackson, Bill Block, Ken Kamins, Paul Hanson, Elliot Ferwerda

Written by:  Neill Blomkamp, Terri Tatchell

Stars:  Jason Cope, Robert Hobbs, Sharlto Copley

The Plot / Story: Twenty-eight years after their first contact the alien refugees, now living in District 9, welcome is wearing thin.  Their care is handed over to Multi-National United (MNU), a private company uninterested in the aliens' welfare but very interested in getting their weapon tech to work unfortunately the tech requires alien DNA to work.  After an accident that changes Wikus van der Merwe's DNA the MNU field operative quickly becomes the most hunted man in the world, as well as the most valuable, for he is the key to unlocking the secrets of alien technology.  (Wikipedia) (The Official Site)

[poll id="5"]

Ponyo:

Release Date:  AUGUST 14th

Listed as:  Animation, Adventure, Family, Fantasy

Studio:  Studio Ghibli

Director:  Hayao Miyazaki

Produced by:  Toshio Suzuki

Written by:  Hayao Miyazaki

Stars:  Noah Cyrus, Frankie Jonas, Tina Fey, Matt Damon, Liam Neeson

The Plot / Story: A juvenile fish named Ponyo wants to become a human girl.  In pursuing her goal, she befriends a five-year-old human boy, Sōsuke and they go on a mad capped adventure together. (Wikipedia) (The Official Site)

[poll id="6"]

Shorts: The Adventures of the Wishing Rock:

Most refer to the name of this film as "Shorts"

Release Date:  AUGUST 21st

Listed as:  Family, Fantasy

Studio: Warner Bros. Pictures

Director:  Robert Rodriguez

Produced by: Robert Rodriguez

Written by:  Robert Rodriguez

Stars:  Jimmy Bennett, James Spader, Kat Dennings, Trevor Gagnon, Jon Cryer, Leslie Mann, William H. Macy

The Plot / Story: Toe Thompson's discovery of a colorful, wish-granting rock causes a stir in the suburban town of Black Falls, and grand-scale chaos occurs when the object falls into the hands of local adults. Can Toe and his two newfound friends save the residents of Black Falls from themselves? (Wikipedia) (The Official Site)

[poll id="7"]

Halloween II:

Release Date:  AUGUST 28th

Listed as:  Horror, Thriller

Studio:  The Weinstein Company, Dimension Films

Director:  Rob Zombie

Produced by:  Malek Akkad, Andy Gould, Rob Zombie

Written by:  Rob Zombie

Stars:  Malcolm McDowell, Tyler Mane, Sheri Moon Zombie, Brad Dourif, Danielle Harris, Scout Taylor-Compton

The Plot / Story: Family Is Forever...  At least if your brother is Michael Myers.  He returns to his home town of Haddonfield, bringing death in his wake, to bring "closure to the secrets of his past". (Wikipedia) (The Official Site)

[poll id="8"]

The Final Destination:

Release Date:  AUGUST 28th

Listed as:  Horror, Thriller

Studio:  New Line Cinema

Director:  David R. Ellis

Produced by:  Craig Perry, Warren Zide

Written by: Eric Bress

Stars:  Bobby Campo, Shantel VanSanten, Haley Webb, Nick Zano, Krista Allen, Andrew Fiscella, Jessica Ritchie

The Plot / Story: On what should have been a fun-filled day at the races, Nick O'Bannon has a horrific premonition in which a bizarre sequence of events causes multiple race cars to crash, sending flaming debris into the stands, brutally killing his friends and causing the upper deck of the stands to collapse on him. When he comes out of this grisly nightmare Nick panics, persuading his girlfriend, Lori, and their friends, Janet and Hunt,  to leave... escaping seconds before Nick's frightening vision becomes a terrible reality. Thinking they've cheated death, the group has a new lease on life, but unfortunately for Nick and Lori, it is only the beginning. As his premonitions continue and the crash survivors begin to die one-by-one — in increasingly gruesome ways — Nick must figure out how to cheat death once and for all before he, too, reaches his final destination. The film is shot in HD 3-D (Wikipedia) (The Official Site)

[poll id="9"]

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Netflix lets you rent, watch and return DVDs from home - Try free for 2 weeks

Don't wait. Guarantee your seat before you go and  avoid a sold out show. Skip the box office lines and buy movie tickets at Fandango.com.

Out this week we have five DVDs to feature:  Watchmen (Director's Cut), An Empress and the Warriors, Stargate SG-1: Children of the Gods, Coraline, G.I. Joe A Real American Hero: Season 1.1.

• Watchmen (Director's Cut): This is an amazing movie and a great gritty look at our society's social political position and a great adaptation of comic to movie.  I'm even more excited to see the director's cut where I have hopes they will fix some minor issues I had with the film over the comic.  watch the trailer below.
  
  
  
  • Read Review: Watchmen here
  
  
  • Buy your copy from amazon here.
  
  
  
  


• An Empress and the Warriors:  A wuxia film with a great cast and fascinating premise with a woman leading an army of men in feudal China... that I'm going to have to rent.  Watch the trailer below.
  
  
  
  • Buy your copy from amazon here.
  
  
  
  


• Stargate SG-1: Children of the Gods:  This is a re-release of the pilot for the great show Stargate SG1.  This version has some extended scenes.  They removed the nudity that was in the original version since Showtime wanted it in there and it leaves the pilot not as family friendly as they wanted it to be.  Christopher Judge also dubbed over some of his parts to help give more consistency to Teal'c.
  
  
  
  • Buy your copy from amazon here.
  
  
  
  


• Coraline:  I have heard good things about this movie and did not get a chance to watch it in the theaters so now it's on my rent list.  For more on Coraline read here. watch the trailer below.
  
  
  
  • Buy your copy from amazon here.
  
  
  
  


• G.I. Joe A Real American Hero: Season 1.1:  I grew up watching this show so I'm stoked that it is now getting released on dvd.  This is not the complete first season which would be a big negative against this dvd set but this one has a bunch of stuff in it for it's price of 20 bucks.
  
  
  
  • DISC 1: THE M.A.S.S. DEVICE
    
    
    
    • EPISODE 1 - The Cobra Strikes - Cobra has developed the ultimate weapon known as the M.A.S.S. Device. and attempt to steal a military satellite. Duke is captured.
    
    
    • EPISODE 2 - Slaves of the Cobra Master - G.I. Joe tries to counter Cobra's M.A.S.S. Device with their own.
    
    
    • EPISODE 3 - The Worms of Death - GI Joe takes the battle against Cobra undersea. Meanwhile, Snake Eyes goes to the arctic to find a radioactive crystal element.
    
    
    • EPISODE 4 - Duel In The Devil's Cauldron - Cobra and G.I. Joe try to get the final element to activate their own M.A.S.S. Device.
    
    
    • EPISODE 5 - A Stake In the Serpent's Heart - Destro takes Scarlett as a prisoner and the action-packed finale of the first G.I. Joe mini-series.
    
    
    
    
  
  
  • DISC 2: THE REVENGE OF COBRA
    
    
    
    • EPISODE 6 - In the Cobra's Pit - Cobra attacks a G.I. Joe convoy and steals a high-powered experimental laser.
    
    
    • EPISODE 7 - The Vines of Evil - Flint, Mutt, Junkyard and Roadblock are caught by vines in the Cobra's Pit of Chaos.
    
    
    • EPISODE 8 - The Palace of Doom - G.I. Joe sends various teams to different regions around the globe to find the three fragments of the Weather Dominator before Destro and Cobra get to it.
    
    
    • EPISODE 9 - Battle On the Roof of the World - Cutter, Wild Bill and Spirit battle the Baroness and Cobra on the Island of No Return.
    
    
    • EPISODE 10 - Amusement Park of Terror - Storm Shadow infiltrates Joe headquarters. Meanwhile the battle in the Arctic continues.
    
    
    
    
  
  
  • DISC 3: THE PYRAMID OF DARKNESS
    
    
    
    • EPISODE 11 - The Further Adventures of G.I. Joe - Tomax and Xamot seize control of G.I. Joe's Moon Star space shuttle.
    
    
    • EPISODE 12 - Rendezvous in the City of the Dead - Shipwreck and Snake Eyes try to evade capture from Cobra.
    
    
    • EPISODE 13 - Three Cubes to Darkness - G.I. Joe captures Tomax and Xamot plans to rescue him.
    
    
    • EPISODE 14 - Chaos in the Sea of Lost Souls - Alpine and bazooka are joined by Quick Kick. Meanwhile, Cobra Commander activates the Pyramid of Darkness.
    
    
    • Episode 15 - Knotting Cobra's Coils - G.I. launches a full-scale assault on the Cobra Temple.
    
    
    
    
  
  
  • DISC 4:
    
    
    
    • EPISODE 16 - Countdown for Zartan - Zartan infiltrates the Worldwide Defense Center and tries to destroy it.
    
    
    • EPISODE 17 - Red Rocket's Glare - Cobra uses Tomax and Xamot's company Extensive Enterprises to purchase the Red Rocket food chain and use its location for secret missile launching bases.
    
    
    • EPISODE 18 - Satellite Down - Cobra knocks a secret military satellite out of orbit and G.I. Joe races to its location before Cobra gets to it.
    
    
    • EPISODE 19 - Cobra Stops the World - Cobra plans to take control of the world's fuel supplies.
    
    
    • EPISODE 20 - Jungle Trap - Cobra kidnaps Dr. Shakur and plans to attack cities using the flow of lava.
    
    
    • EPISODE 21 - Cobra's Creatures - Cobra plans to use the animals of the world against humanity.
    
    
    • EPISODE 22 - The Funhouse - Flint, Bazooka and others hve to fight their way through the deadly Cobra Temple.
    
    
    
    Buy your copy from amazon here.
  
  
  
  

Trailer: Watchmen

I feel dirty about G.I. Joe but I'm really excited about this movie.  MTV put out a clip which is more like a series of clips from the movie that mainly features the Eiffel tower scene.  I love watching the suits in action though in this clip they look like there may be some animation issues with getting the physics right.  Watch the clip of clips below

(via /Film)

This trailer for G.I. Joe features more of the gadgets in the moive espically the Delta 6 Accelerators... I want one.

The trailer is out from the G.I. Joe TV spot, watch it above.

G.I. Joe is an origin story set ten years in the future.  The focus is on Duke and ripcord’s introduction into the G.I. Joe Team and the rise of the Cobra Organization.

I'm getting excited about this movie.  The trailer gives us a little better look at some of the characters.  G.I. Joe hits the theaters August 7 2009.

Simpson-ized Art | Cookie Monster | Doctor Who Themed Music | The Hunting In Connecticut | G.I. Joe | Watchmen | Watchmen | Ghost Rider 2 | Prince of Persia’s | Astroboy | V | Knight Rider | Steampunk Cylon | and Princess Ai Today on the Project: Shadow Informant.

Culture

• Famous Art, Simpsonized (via Aviary)


• Cookie Monster Cupcake Eating a Cookie (dashPunk)


• Doctor Who Theme by Orbital (thanks Crimson Shrine)(P:S HQ)

Movie

• The Haunting in Connecticut Trailer (P:S HQ)


• A Closer look at G.I. Joe Movie Posters (dashPunk)


• Watchmen: Operation Wrath of God (dashPunk)


• Seriously, Stop It, or Alan Moore's Going to Kill Somebody (via Topless Robot)


• Apparently Ghost Rider 2 is Officially Moving Forward (via FirstShowing)


• Why Prince of Persia's Jake Gyllenhaal will surprise you (via SCI FI Wire)


• Has Production on Astroboy Shut Down? (via /Film)

TV / Series

• Watching Original “V” Streaming Online (dashPunk)


• Optimus Prime is K.A.R.R.! (dashPunk)


• Steampunk Cylon: Design your own and win! (via SCI FI Wire)

Books

• Review: Princess Ai (dashPunk)

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The G.I. Joe Character Movie Posters are out and I was… shocked, appalled, and saddened.  Where to start…



Their Eyes and most of their heads are missing!
This deeply disturbs me, great for horror film but not so good in anything else.  It removes any individuality and only serves to dehumanize the characters.

These posters scream out:

• I’m action


• I’m mysterious


• Take me serious

This saddens me deeply.  I expect G.I. Joe to be

• Action


• Fun


• Cheesy


• Action (for emphasis, the cartoon had so much shooting and awesome explosions.)

I would take time to critique the numerous problems with the various costumes but the most important fact:  this will not be like the G.I. Joe we remember and love.

With that, I have little hope for this movie to be good and bad advertising posters with decapitated images only serve to reminded me of that.

For those not familiar with G.I. Joe here are some images to help.





Why do all of the costumes look like something out of The Matrix, Blade, or Underworld?  G.I Joe is supposed to have color in it!