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G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra, a review by Dragonfire

G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra Prepare for non-stop action and thrilling adventure when you go inside the high-tech world of G.I. Joe in this 2-disc Special Edition. When a secret weapon is stolen by the mysterious and evil Cobra organization, mankind's only hope is G.I. Joe, an elite covert strike force featuring the best operatives from around the globe.  So, suit up and join Duke, Snake Eyes and Ripcord in a race against time to stop Cobra from using their ultimate weapon and plunging the world into chaos.  When all else fails... they don't.  They are G.I. Joe! My Thoughts I ended up seeing this one in the theater after it had been out a while and I enjoyed it overall.  The movie has problems, but it works as a fun, entertaining action movie.  It is based on the toy line and the various characters have also been featured in comic books and a cartoon.  I watched the cartoon all the time when I was younger.  I have forgotten just about everything.  Maybe I would have had more issues with the movie if I remembered more. There is a decent story, though it could have been a bit stronger.  It does serve as a bit of an origin story showing how Duke and Ripcord join the Joes.  The beginnings of the group Cobra is also shown.  There are a few twists introduced into the story that help to keep things interesting.  Flashbacks are used to share some important information.  They do slow the flow of the movie a bit, but the information shared is really needed.  The action scenes are the main focus of the movie.  They are very well done, though they do go over the top.  The movie is supposed to be set in the future, though not that far into it.  The weapons and various technology things do have a futuristic look to them.  They do seem to be things that could be developed.  I think the sound effects for at least some of the weapons is very much like what was used for the cartoon, though I may be remembering wrong.  There are a lot of action scenes in the movie, and that does take time away from developing the characters.  The violence isn't extreme, though it might bother some viewers. None of the characters are developed enough.  There are too many of them popping up for that to happen without the moving being much longer.  Thanks to the flashbacks, a few characters are a bit more developed and shown to have a more complicated back story than I had expected.  The cast is fine in their parts without anyone really standing out. I think I ended up enjoying the movie more this time than when I first saw it.  When I first saw it, I was more aware of all the negative reviews and watching closer for issues.  This time, I just watched it to enjoy it..and I did.  The movie has problems, but it works as an entertaining mindless action movie. I did post a review at Epinions after I saw it in the theater...I thought I had posted here too, but I guess I didn't. G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra

(From Dragonfire88's Alphabet Marathon on July 4th, 2010)

Unknown, a review by Dragonfire

I decided to go see Unknown when it was still in the theater here.  I did enjoy the movie overall, but it isn't as original and clever as I think it was intended to be.  The plot has some definite issues, but it isn't a horrible movie.

The plot has an interesting idea.  A man - Dr. Martin Harris - is in a car accident shortly after arriving in Berlin and ends up with some memory loss.  He remembers his name and his wife Elizabeth, but he can't remember other things.  It gets weird for him when he gets back to Elizabeth only to have her deny that he is her husband.  She even introduces someone else as Martin.  After that, Martin focuses on trying to figure out what is going on.  He even tracks down the cab driver, Gina, who was also in the accident.

Before seeing the movie, I saw a commercial on tv that said the movie was like a combination of two other movies.  That comparison totally gives away too much.  The movie would have been better if the plot had been more original.  There is action in a few scenes, especially later in the movie.  The action scenes are done well and help to keep things interesting.  Violence turns up as well, though things aren't overly violent.  The mystery surrounding Martin could have been stronger.  The acting is fine, with Neeson being the best of the cast.

I did enjoy the movie overall, though I do think it could have been better. 

I ended up rounding up to 4 stars when I posted a review on Epinions...I think 3.5 fits better.

I did get a review posted on Epinions after seeing the movie in the theater.

Unknown


(From Unknown on May 8th, 2011)

Angel Marathon, a review by addicted2dvd

21. Blind Date
Original Air Date: 5/16/2000
Lindsay McDonald, a young lawyer at Wolfram & Hart, teams up with Angel to stop the killing of three blind children who are said to be a threat to the firm.

Guest Stars:
Christian Kane
Thomas Burr
Stephanie Romanov
Sam Anderson
J. August Richards
Jennifer Badger Martin

My Thoughts:
I thought we had to wait a while before seeing Gunn again... but I was obviously mistaken about that. Though he only had a very small part in this episode. This is another one I enjoyed. I liked the blind assassin in this one.

My Rating:

(From Angel Marathon on February 28th, 2010)