FILM: G.I. Joe: Retaliation International Trailer (News)

Positive momentum continues to build for this summer's G.I. JOE sequel, G.I. JOE: RETALIATION, now that the international trailer has been released online. The trailer includes a few more looks at Cobra that were not in the first trailer that was shown and a real scope of how vast the world is for the film and just how much the characters go through is felt instantly.

Directed by Jon Chu (STEP UP 3D) and starring Dwayne Johnson (FAST FIVE), Bruce Willis (RED), Channing Tatum (THE VOW) and Ray Park (EPISODE I: THE PHANTOM MENACE 3D), G.I. JOE: RETALIATION looks to eclipse its predecessor in every facet.


G.I. JOE: RETALIATION strikes into theaters on June 29, 2012.

FILM: GI Joe - Retaliation Trailer (News)

Three years after the first attempt at bringing the G.I. JOE franchise to the big screen in live-action by Paramount resulted in a mixed bag of solid box office receipts and lukewarm critical appeal comes a sequel with MGM that looks and feels ten times more intense titled, G.I. JOE: RETALIATION.

Stepping in to direct this next installment is Jon Chu (STEP UP 3D), and returning from the first film is Channing Tatum (THE VOW) as Duke, Arnold Vosloo (THE MUMMY) as Zartan, and Ray Park (EPISODE I: THE PHANTOM MENACE) as Snake Eyes.

There is some added star power in this one as joining the cast is Dwayne Johnson (FASTER) as Roadblock and Bruce Willis (RED) as General Joseph Colton. Bringing the girl power this time around is newcomer Adrianne Palicki (LEGION) as Lady Jane.


G.I. JOE: RETALIATION saves the day in theaters on June 29, 2012.

FILM: Mission Impossible - Ghost Protocol Trailer (News)

A fourth foray into the espionage world with MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE - GHOST PROTOCOL brings back the character of Ethan Hunt to the big screen, once again with a mostly new set of faces on his team to fix what has gone wrong.

Starring Tom Cruise (WAR OF THE WORLDS) as Hunt, the film also brings back Simon Pegg (STAR TREK) as Benji Dunn from MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE III, and introduces to the series Jeremy Renner (THOR) as William Brandt and Paula Patton (PRECIOUS) as Jane Carter. Also this is director Brad Bird's (THE INCREDIBLES) first live-action film.

MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE - GHOST PROTOCOL opens in IMAX screens on December 16, 2011, with preview footage of THE DARK KNIGHT RISES in front of it on 70mm screens, and then hits regular theaters on December 21.

FILMonBLU-RAY: Thor (Review)

Thor
2011 - Paramount
Released on Blu-Ray/DVD on September 13, 2011

# of Discs: 2 (Blu-Ray, DVD)
Runtime: 115 Minutes

In the cosmic realm of Asgard lives the headstrong warrior, Thor (Chris Hemsworth),the son of Odin (Anthony Hopkins) and brother to Loki (Tom Hiddleston), who is about to ascend to the throne. The ceremony is disrupted, leading Thor to recklessly seek justice and in the process reignite a cold war between the Asgardians and the Frost Giants.

His actions lead Odin to strip him of his powers and banish Thor to Earth. While Thor is gone, his trickster brother Loki finds himself unexpectedly with the throne of Asgard. Can Thor find his way back before Loki's machinations bring down Asgard?

The epic story in THOR literally spans the entire universe, starting out in Asgard with its magnificent design of the world there, with grandiose architecture, jaw-dropping landscapes and elaborately styled outfits befitting those living in such opulence. But the most awe-inspiring location on Asgard would be the rainbow bridge, where the Asgardians go to when they are set to travel to the other realms in the universe using the Bifrost under the watchful eye of its gatekeeper Heimdall (Idris Elba).

The filmmakers clearly thought enough about the location to use it for multiple pivotal story points, first the confrontation between Odin and Thor where Thor is stripped of his powers and banished from Asgard was inside the Bifrost, and then the it was the perfect setting for the final confrontation between Loki and Thor at the end of the film.

To contrast Asgard with the desolate small desert town in New Mexico, along with their own set of unique characters in astrophysicist Jane Foster (Natalie Portman), her assistant Darcy Lewis (Kat Dennings) and her colleague Dr. Erik Selvig (Stellan Skarsgard) that crash into the banished Thor and come to his aid. Much of the humor in the film comes between Thor interacting with these characters and the New Mexico environment.

Throw in a trip to the land of the Frost Giants early on in the film that sets the bar for epic battles and an amazing visual surroundings, and the true power of Blu-Ray comes in handy for the film.

Quite a few extras come along with the movie, including several behind the scenes featurettes that give a revealing look at the process of making the film, deleted scenes that flesh out some of the characters that might have had their time shortened to smooth out the film, a short focused on Agent Coulson of S.H.I.E.L.D. that helps to connect the Marvel movie universe and a teaser for Marvel's upcoming The Avengers film.

By far the movie had a high risk, high reward factor when it came to being made and in the end it is clear that Marvel hit a home run with their first outing with Thor. Blu-Ray is a perfect complement to the high quality visuals of THOR and makes it an easy recommendation of not only fans of superhero or summer movies but also those just looking for an entertaining two hours. If you haven't checked it out yet, get this movie now.

Look to buy the THOR Blu-Ray over at Amazon for $26.12.

FILMonBLU-RAY: Transformers - Dark of the Moon (Review)

Transformers: Dark of the Moon
2011 - Paramount
Released on Blu-Ray & DVD on September 30, 2011

# of Discs: 2 (Blu-Ray, DVD)
Runtime: 157 Minutes

Sam Witwicky (Shia LaBeouf) returns for his third foray into the world of giant robots, now out of college, looking for a job and with a new girlfriend, Carly (Rosie Huntington-Whiteley). He is drawn back into helping the Autobots protect the planet from the evil Decepticons, who this time around have a secret plan involving the moon. Joining Sam once again is former government agent Simmons (John Turturro) and Lt. Colonel Lennox (Josh Duhamel) along with the U.S. military.

New robots debut in TRANSFORMERS: DARK OF THE MOON, on the Autobots side is the introduction of the legendary Sentinel Prime (Leonard Nimoy), the former leader of the Autobots and for the villainous Decepticons is the debut of Laserbeak and a true appearance of Shockwave.

Like the previous Transformers films, most of the highlights of the movie are the jaw dropping visuals during the robot battles. First, however must be mentioned before the battles is the various scenes dealing with the Ark, the Cybertronian spaceship carrying an invention said to be capable of ending the war between Autobots and Decepticons, that crash landed on the far side of Earth's Moon. It was brilliant to weave history into fiction with having the crew of Apollo 11 investigate the ship crash and then to see the intricate designs of the Ark when the Autobots make their voyage to the Moon to recover what they can from the wreck and find Sentinel Prime still functioning.

But the goldmine of visuals comes once the story hits Chicago, where the Decepticons have their controlling Pillar for the Space Bridge they plan to use to bring Cybertron to Earth and where Carly has been taken by her Decepticon controlled boss. Between buildings being brought down while the characters are inside, to Carly going face to face with Megatron and Optimus taking out Sentinel and Megatron putting a possible end to the robot conflict, the film is filled with mesmerizing moments.

Unfortunately it was not clearly advertised that this release of TRANSFORMERS: DARK OF THE MOON would be only bare bones discs, meaning that only the film was released without any of the special features included. Instead there are plans for a feature packed release in the near future. This was not done with the previous films but is something that is starting to pop up more frequently with films but I hope it does not become a disturbing trend.

If you enjoyed the previous Transformers films, there is no reason you will not enjoy this one. The lack of Megan Fox's Mikaela Banes character is jarring but the non-stop action and Sam's heroic acts are more than enough to push past the absence. A near perfect execution to this final leg of Michael Bay's Transformers trilogy, worth seeing it in the beauty that is Blu-Ray.

Look to buy the bare bones TRANSFORMERS: DARK OF THE MOON Blu-Ray over at Amazon for $26.99

FILM: Wielding the Power of Thor (Review)

The much anticipated start of the summer of the comic book movie officially begins with Marvel Studios' release of "Thor", a theatrical film focused around their comic book character who is a Norse god from Asgard now a hero on Earth. "Thor" is the first of Marvel's three live action feature film entries this summer.

Directed by veteran actor of the silver screen and stage, Kenneth Branagh ("Hamlet"), "Thor" tells the story of a powerful but arrogant warrior who is cast out of the realm of Asgard and sent to live amongst humans on Earth, where he gains a new perspective on his impulsive ways.

The redemption journey for Thor (Chris Hemsworth) starts and ends in Asgard where he was born and groomed alongside his brother, Loki (Tom Hiddleston), to be the next heir for the throne of the King, their father, Odin (Anthony Hopkins). Asgard is a realm with stunning visuals, full of palatial structures that befit the grandness of the characters. Everything in Asgard has a grandiose quality to it, like Odin's throne and especially the Rainbow Bridge - the mystical gate that gives the Asgardians the ability to transport to other realms.

Perhaps the most stunning battle in the film happens early on when Thor leads Loki and his friends - Sif (Jaimie Alexander) and the Warriors Three (Ray Stevenson, Tadanobu Asano & Josh Dallas) - to Jotunheim to confront the Frost Giants after Thor's ascension to the throne ceremony was interrupted. Each Asgardian is given a chance to shine in the battle, but by far it was Thor and his hammer, Mjolnir, that performed the most impressive visual feats.

With Earth being the most realistic destination of the journey, the humor of the film picks up the visual slack of the New Mexico desert and it effortlessly flows with the action. The scenes with Thor conversing with S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent Coulson (Clark Gregg), Jane Foster (Natalie Portman) and her repeated hitting of Thor with her van, and the Warriors Three with Sif arriving to see Thor walking through the small town in their Asgardian armor.

There might not have been a more perfect casting choice than Chris Hemsworth as the mighty Thor. Last seen by many geek audiences in 2009's "Star Trek" as Captain Kirk's sacrificing father, here Chris continues that feeling of geniune compassion from that role while adding on levels of boisterousness and a sense of strength to be his character Thor.

Accomplished actor Anthony Hopkins plays Thor's father, Odin, the King of Asgard. Worry not about his age or his lack of an imposing physique, because Hopkins presence brings the right gravitas to the role, his inflection and pacing of speech displaying a wiseness and power worthy of Odin.

Natalie Portman fills the love interest position in the film as scientist Jane Foster, an astrophysicist investigating the strange astrological occurrences that coincide with the transportation from the Rainbow Bridge. Portman brings everything she is to the role as always and does not disappoint if you are looking for a strong, independent woman who knows what she wants and strives to get it.

Since some have brought up a dislike for the 3D conversion of the film, I ended up seeing "Thor" on a normal 2D screen and it is safe to say that even in two dimensions the film is a stunning visual masterpiece that will be fun to see in home theaters in a couple of months.

In the end, "Thor" is a fun, adventure-filled ride that any movie fan should find easily accesible and a treat to watch. This movie has set a high mark for the other Marvel features coming out this summer to match, and looking back this might be my favorite Marvel produced movie to date. It is a must see, and a must own once it comes to Blu-Ray.

FILMonBLU-RAY: Iron Man 2 (Review)

Iron Man 2
2010 - Paramount
Released on Blu-Ray & DVD on September 28, 2010

# of Discs: 3 (Blu-Ray x 2, DVD w/ Digital Copy)
Runtime: 124 minutes

Billionaire Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) finds himself with the hangover of a lifetime. He ha a toxic, potentially deadly condition resulting from the elements used to power the battery in his chest. That's not the only threat on his plate as his super-hero side faces off with Russian engineer Ivan Vanko (Mickey Rourke) as the dangerous Whiplash and on his business side Stark with rival Justin Hammer (Sam Rockwell). Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow), James Rhodes (Don Cheadle), Nick Fury (Samuel Jackson) and newcomer Black Widow (Scarlett Johannson) are along for the action-packed ride.

The big set piece of the film is the Stark Expo spectacle that Tony Stark brings back from his dad's vision to the modern world. Reminiscent of the real World Expo's of past, the design becomes this beautiful vision only capable on film and the perfect location to open the movie and be the last place at the end of the movie. There is also a visit to Monaco for the first confrontation between Stark and Vanko that destroys a few race cars and unveils the suitcase armor of Iron Man.

Less flashy moments but equally spectacular in delivery would have to be first the recordings of Howard Stark and the legacy he left behind for Tony. The clear Walt Disney feel was a perfect direction to take with the character, immediately endearing him to audiences in a way only Disney was. Also Black Widow's big action piece set which literally was her going down a hallway destroying the guards that came in her way was visually stunning in its choreography and execution.

Iron Man 2 also delivered on the special features front. Aside from the usual commentary track, deleted scenes and information files on the characters that all movies should include in their movies, Iron Man 2 had a 4-part "Making of" documentary covering the entire production of the movie that shows off the friendly, fun atmosphere between the cast and director Jon Favreau ("Iron Man").

This movie was a non-stop roller coaster ride that had me on the edge of my seat throughout. Despite not having a real decisive, climactic final battle with Vanko going down quickly and having just previously turning on Hammer it was hard not to like this sequel more than the original. The only negatives I can really give the film are just preferences: Samuel Jackson looking old, Don Cheadle replacing Terrence Howard and Thor's hammer at the end of the film looking less than impressive. Superhero fans and action movie aficionados should definitely look at buying this movie.

Look to buy the Iron Man 2 Blu-Ray over at Amazon for only $26.99.
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