Movies

2.5 Stars out of 4

I took my son to see the "#1 Movie in America" last night. Frankly, it was shallow, the characters were mostly sketches with all but the most basic outline of their motives left to our imagination, and the villainous plot had major holes in it. Basically, it exceeded my expectations for what a G.I. Joe movie ought to be. The action was relentless, mostly very well done, and less engaging than it might of been until the climax, which hooked me despite my lack of caring for the characters. Overall, I was pretty surprised it was as good as it was. So, go in with low expectations and you should be pleasantly surprised.

I heard a critic the other day claiming this had been a horrible summer for movies. My first reaction was "Not! Star Trek was incredible!" Then I realized that Star Trek came out in mid-May, and was not technically a summer film. Up came out this summer and immediately became my third favorite animated film ever, after The Iron Giant and The Incredibles, just nudging aside Finding Nemo and Aladdin. One summer gem, then. I started to think back on the movies I've seen this year. There was Star Trek (twice) and Up (thrice) and ... Hmmm. I didn't see Transformers 2, but it sounds like a movie I'd have despised. I saw some VERY good movies at the beginning of the year, but they mostly came out last year; Grand Tourino and Changeling, specifically. I don't really recall what else I watched this year. Push? Not memorable. Please help jog my failing memory. What else worth noting came out in 2009 and failed to disappoint?

A short list culled from a release website:

This might be old news for some but Joss Wedon is out with his new project Dr. Horrible. This is a low budget super vilian musical. Act one http://drhorrible.com/act_I.html was dam funny and shows a lot of potential. I'm sure this will be a short lived experiment that we should not get to attached to (*cough*firefly*cough*) but this is well worth watching IMO. It's out on itunes too, where I picked up a season pass for it to help support it. The web site uses Hulua which has decent playback quality, though no HD version right now. Anway if your a Wedon fan, and liked the Buffy musical episode definitly check it out.

If you read the comics at all, or ever liked the old Bill Bixby TV series, or just like really good action sequences, ala the Bourne Ultimatum, you'll probably really like this film. It far exceeded my expectations, and while it was not as good as the truly excellent Iron Man, I really enjoyed it. Minimal spoilers follow the image.

Banner has fled to Brazil to escape General Ross and the US Army, who want to extract what makes him the Hulk from and replicate it as a weapon. Bruce is lying low, learning to control his anger, and seeking help where he can to find a cure for his condition. He hasn't been home or seen Betty (Ross, his paramour) in years. Inevitably, he slips and the Army comes after him. What follows are some awesome chase scenes, a return to the US following his only hope for a cure, and a confrontation with the Army's newest Super-Soldier (c.f. Captain America's origin.)

In the end, the Hulk must face the Abomination, a Hulk-like creature spawned from the same weapons program that funded Banner's original research.