DVD Review: G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra

Rated PG13 for comicbook violence

Starring Dennis Quaid, Channing Tatum, Sienna Miller, Rachel Nichols, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Marlon Wayans

In the near future, a weapons expert has created a nanotechnology based weapon that can destroy an entire city. After selling the warheads to NATO, troops such as Duke and Ripcord are sent to protect and deliver the goods to NATO, however they get ambushed by bad guys, which include Baroness, who also want said warheads and GI Joe troops Scarlett, Snake Eyes, Heavy Duty and Breaker step in to help out.

We learn that the GI Joe Team is a classified organization of the best troops in the world, lead by General Hawk. The story centers around the nanotechnology warheads, which do eventually get stolen from the good guys who have to put a stop to the bad guys before they destroy The Eiffel Tower, and three other monuments across the globe. There's also several plot twists, including a connection between Duke and Baroness.

With Channing Tatum in one of the main lead roles, I was not expecting much from this film, as Tatum is known for his roles in teen films such as Step Up and it's sequel. G.I. Joe actually ended up being much better than I was expecting. Joseph Gordon-Levitt is brilliant in his role as The Doctor as well as another role that is revealed in one of the twists. Marlon Wayans, while not as goofy as some of his previous work, was pretty good as the main comic relief. While the acting in general was nothing to really write home about, some of the devices used in the film are pretty neat (such as the accelerator suits, for example) and there were some really cool martial art scenes as well.

While it won't win an Oscar, if you're looking for a fun, action film based on an 80s toy that doesn't suck this year and is okay for the whole family to watch, check out G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra.

DVD Review: The Goods: Live Hard, Sell Hard

Rated R for language, crude humor, sexuality, nudity

Starring Jeremy Piven, Ving Rhames, James Brolin, David Koechner, Kathryn Hahn, Jordana Spiro, Craig Robinson, Ed Helms, Ken Jeong

When a car dealership is in trouble and needs to host a sale to make some serious cash they call in hot shot salesman Don "The Goods" Ready and his team to get the job done.

Selleck Motors has been a family business for over 40 years, however due to back payments to the bank, Selleck needs to sell as many of the 211 cars on his lot over July 4th weekend, otherwise he risks foreclosing on the lot. Ready and his team comes in using their motivation techniques and methods, rallies the rest of Selleck's sales team to sell as many cars as possible. Despite several mishaps, such as special guest Eric Bice (brother to American Idol's Bo Bice) failing to show and the crowd rioting in protest, the team presses forward to get the job done.

Throughout the weekend, Don begins to fall for Selleck's adult daughter Ivy, who is engaged to Paxton, an up and coming boy band member and the son of a rival car dealership who plans on buying the lot Selleck Motors is on once the property forecloses. Also, after noticing many similarities between himself and 22 year old Selleck sales team member Blake, Don is convinced that Blake is his son, after having unprotected sex with a woman the last time he was in Temecula 23 years ago.

Despite not being in theaters long, this film was actually pretty funny. Having work for a company that does work similar to that of Don Ready and his team (only for furniture stores instead of car dealerships), I was particularly interested in seeing this one.

Brought to you by the team of Adam McKay and Will Ferrell, if you enjoyed their previous works Step Brothers and Talladega Nights, you won't be disappointed. While some of the humor is a tad crude, if you're not easily offended by such things or other films in the R-rated comedy genre, you'll most likely enjoy this one.

DVD Review: Observe and Report

Rated R for language, comedic violence, crude humor, drug use

Starring Seth Rogen, Anna Faris, Ray Liotta, Michael Pena, Collette Wolf

Ronnie Barnhardt is head of mall security at Forest Ridge Mall. After a flasher runs around the parking lot, scaring mall-goers, Ronnie and his ragtag team of security vow to catch the perp and put a stop to his perverted antics. But after the flasher strikes again, this time exposing himself to Brandi, a make-up counter worker and the object of Ronnie's affection, and a mass robbery at the mall, the owner decides to call in a detective to get to the bottom of things. Feeling threatened, as the mall is his turf, Ronnie decides to tag along with the detective, making things only harder.

Frustrated with just being a mall cop and not getting the respect or a gun that he feels he deserves, Ronnie decides to pursue his dream of being a real police officer and enrolls into the police academy. He also gets up the guts to asks Brandi out.

Feeling on Cloud 9 with the delusion that everything is going great for him, Ronnie is devastated when things turn out to be not so. Although it may seem like he loses everything he had going for him, Ronnie still tries to make good on his vow to protect the mall from the flasher, convinced he will strike again.

Seth Rogen films are usually pretty fun for those that are accustomed to his type of humor. Most will be quite surprised to learn that while Rogen does the best he can given the material he is provided here, the end result is not what one would expect.

Ronnie gets treated like dirt by the majority of the characters in this film, save for the lone Christian girl who works the coffee stand and befriends him; the mall owner treats him poorly, the detective and the rest of the police force play cruel jokes on him and are just mean to him in general, his mom is always drunk and relies on him to take care of her even after she tells him that she's sure he's the reason his father left them, his best friend and second in command ends up using him, and Brandi is a complete jerk to him and only uses him for his medication that she uses recreationally with alcohol.

Granted, Ronnie's not an innocent character here either and he's got problems of his own (we learn he suffers from bipolar disorder), however no one deserves to get treated as bad as he does in this film. Just when it seems like things are starting to look up for him, everything gets completely stripped out from under him.

Sure, it had it's funny moments, but those were few and far between - the rest of this film left you feeling sad for how mean everyone was. Save yourself the pain and skip this Rogen film - it's not the comedy that the trailers made it out to be.

DVD Review: Swing Vote

Rated PG13 for language, frequent alcohol use

Starring Kevin Costner, Madeline Carroll, Paula Patton, Kesley Grammer, Nathan Lane, Stanley Tucci, Dennis Hopper, and George Lopez

Bud Johnson is a loveable loser from Texico, New Mexico who could really care less about politics. He can barely hold a job, let alone take care of his young daughter Molly (she does all the housework and cooking, he spends his free time guzzling down beer at home or with buddies at the bar). With the election coming up, Molly's school gets the kids all excited about it and Molly insists that her father take part and vote. After promising he'd take Molly to go see the voting process, Bud instead gets drunk and passes out in his truck, leaving Molly waiting at the polling place alone. Frustrated, she sneaks in and decides to vote for her father, however the machine malfunctions and although the ballot is registered, the vote did not count. Scared, Molly runs to go find her father and heads home.

Later that night, it is learned the election is at a standstill, as it all comes down to whoever wins the state of New Mexico and the lone vote holding everything up is Bud's, as the state is literally 50/50. Bud and Molly are awaken in the middle of the night by government officials who inform that due to the malfunction, Bud's ballot was not recorded and that he has up to 10 days to recast his ballot.

What ensues is a media circus on Bud's lawn, putting Texico on the map, as the entire nation watches and wonders who Bud will vote for. Both election candidates arrive in town as well, both changing their stances on the issues just to sway Bud's vote. A man who's only care was getting drunk and doing whatever he could to avoid losing his daughter is now faced with deciding on the next President of the USA.

While this movie came out a few months before the important election of 2008, it was an easy one to pass off as pure election propaganda. Sure, the central theme is that every vote does count, but it was actually an enjoyable movie. Madeline Carroll steals every scene she's in as young Molly who has to take care of her immature father and the rest of the cast really makes the film believable. By the end of the film when Bud realizes what he has to do to make the best decision, you really are cheering for the fact that he seems to genuinely change and have people's best interests at heart, thanks to his daughter.

This is a good one to watch - it has drama, it has comedy, it is lighthearted and also makes you feel patriotic and inspired to go vote.

DVD Review: X-Men Origins: Wolverine

Rated PG13 for comicbook action and violence, brief language

Starring Hugh Jackman, Liev Schreiber, Danny Houston, Lynn Collins, Taylor Kitsch, Will.I.Am, Ryan Reynolds

X-Men Origins: Wolverine is just that - a film about the origins of Wolverine. We are introduced to James Howlett (aka Logan, Wolverine) and his older brother Victor Creed (aka Sabretooth) and see that at a young age, back in 1845 the brothers were forced to flee due to their strange mutations - Logan with this odd retractable claws, and Victor with his sabretooth cat like strength and agility.

The two brothers spend most of the next century and a half fighting in the American Civil War, World War I & II and the Vietnam War. During Vietnam, Victor allows his rage to take over, killing innocents in the process, while Logan does what he can to stop and save his brother.

Both are imprisoned after they were unable to executed for the crime, but offered spots in Major Stryker's Team X, composed of other humans with strange genetic mutations. Here we are introduced to John Wraith, Fred "The Blob" Dukes, Wade Wilson, Agent Zero, and Chris Bradley. While with the team, the brothers go on top secret missions, but after one that requires murdering innocent villagers, Logan has had enough and leaves, eventually leading to the collapse of Team X.

Years later, Logan is leading a simple, yet happy life as a lumberjack in Canada with his school teacher girlfriend, Kayla Silverfox. His approached by Stryker, informing him that someone is killing off the former team members and to be careful, however we learn that it is Victor doing the killings. After Victor kills Kayla in an attempt to get his younger brother's attention, Logan allows Stryker to conduct a test procedure on him, turning his entire skeletal system into hardened adamantitium, giving him metal indestructible claws capable of finishing off Victor. However once the procedure is a success, Logan overhears Stryker talking about erasing his memory, causing him to flee instead.

Knowing that Stryker is up to no good, Wolverine gets some help from his former Team X members, as well as new friend the Cajun Gambit to put an end to Stryker and his brother in the process.

If you like comic book movies, especially any of the X-Men films, you'll be sure to enjoy X-Men Origins: Wolverine.