stephen sommers | the m0vie blog

Non-Review Review: G.I. Joe – The Rise of Cobra

Posted on November 2, 2010 by Darren

I never grew up with G.I. Joe. For me it was Batman: The Animated Series or Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. To me, this franchise was just a bunch of generic toy soldiers – in fact, I didn’t even know that they had separate names or defining characteristics. So I come to this movie without a sense of nostalgia or a familiarity with the core product. So, Stephen Sommers’ adaptation of the popular multi-media franchise to the big screen is my first major exposure to the product, and it left me feeling like I’d spent two hours watching a guy playing with toys, rather than making a movie. One of the characters even has a “kung-fu grip”.

It's a black-and-white world...

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: arts, christopher eccleston, Destro, Empire State Building, film, G.I. Joe, G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Kevin J. O'Connor, Movie, non-review review, Norton Internet Security, review, Sienna Miller, stephen sommers, team america: world police, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, United States | 3 Comments »

Non-Review Review: The Mummy

Posted on September 29, 2009 by Darren

Maybe there’s a reason I’ve got ghosts and ghouls on my mind despite the fact that Halloween is approaching and the first Nightmare on Elm Street trailer was just released. I happened to catch The Mummy playing on Sky movies on Sunday night and it was one of those rare films that the family just dropped everything and started watching, despite the fact we’ve seen it before. Ignoring the law of diminishing returns that affected the sequels, The Mummy is solid action-adventure-horror romp that stands equally well as a companion to Raiders of the Lost Ark as it does as a subconscious herald of the coming wave of remade creature features.

Oh, mummy!

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: brendan fraiser, egypt, film, monster movies, Movies, non-review review, rachel weisz, review, stephen sommers, the mummy, universal horror movies, universal monster movies | 1 Comment »

G.I. Joe teams up with Uncle Sam…

Posted on August 4, 2009 by Darren

I’ll admit it. In my defense, I’m suitably ashamed. But I am a little bit interested in G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra. Yes, I know – deep down in my heart – that it will be terrible. No, I was not a fan of the television show, nor the toys – so I have no defense. I am a fan of Christopher Eccleston and I always have been, so my faith in him is on the line. And Stephen Sommers is the guy behind the two really good Mummy films, right? Still, the most interesting aspect of the production (amid all the rumours and gossip, the leaked reviews – both good and bad) is the approach that the studio is taking to marketing. Some movies – like The Dark Knight or Tron: Legacy or Cloverfield – go the subtle, nuanced approach of viral marketing. They create an emersive, engaging experience. G.I. Joe, on the other hand, is not subtle. The marketing team seems to be hammering home on single message: if you don’t dig this movie, you just ain’t patriotic enough.