The Expendables

Star/director/co-writer Sylvester Stallone explained in an interview with G4's Attack of the Show that what made the blockbuster-action genre fade away was CGI. He said that every generation has to create their own style, so Hollywood began to focus on special effects and comic book plots. So to pay tribute to those great films of the 80's and early 90's, Stallone wrangled up some of the biggest action stars of the past and present in an attempt at a mega-blockbuster called The Expendables.

A five man team of mercenaries with the same name as the movie are offered a job by "Mr. Church" (Burce Willis). Their task is to liberate a tiny, fictional South American island-country from the clutches of a dictator. But the dictator is well protected, and has the financial support of a corrupt American businessman. Needless to say, the odds are stacked against The Expendables.

The movie's draw is the all-star cast of action heroes of today and yesterday. While Stallone's character leads the mercenary team, he's joined by British badass Jason Statham, martial arts legend Jet Li, former NFL player Terry Crews, and three time UFC heavyweight champion Randy "The Natural" Couture. Mickey Rourke also appears as the team's informant, Dolph Lundgren is a former Expendable turned villain, WWE Hall of Famer "Stone Cold" Steve Austin plays the evil American's right hand man, and California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has a cameo as Stallone's bitter rival and competitor.

Each of these guys have their moments, but it feels like a lot of them had an unfair amount of screen time. Of course, this problem could be blamed on the size of the film's cast versus the film's length; it's less than two hours long. But even with these limitations, every member of the ensemble get's their moment of glory, whether it's making the audience laugh or gasp. The biggest reaction from the audience at the midnight showing I attended was an inside joke shared between Stallone and Willis about Schwarzenegger.

What also made The Expendables somewhat disappointing was the way the action was portrayed. Yes, there's fair amount of gore, but it just felt a bit lacking for film of this magnitude. The worst part was Li's fight with Lundgren, because there were too many camera angels. If you look at any fight scene from a quality martial arts film, you may notice that there are only two or three camera angles, and they're spread out enough to allow you to appreciate the talent of the people on camera. In the five minutes that Li and Lundgren get, cameras are changing every five seconds. You could blame this fight's failure on the mismatching of fighting styles; Li's fast paced kung fu versus Lundgren's wreckless brawling. But if that was intended, you may have to question the purpose of Li's casting in the first place. It seems that the studio relied too much on star power versus delivery.

Flaws aside, The Expendables is a great recovery movie for those that will be dragged to Eat, Pray, Love this weekend. Action fans who don't need to take things too seriously will enjoy themselves. Just be sure to cross your fingers in hopes that there won't be a sequel...unless it's better.

Toy Story 3

There was a part of me that believed that Toy Story didn't need a third movie. The guys at Pixar could have been like the guys that made Wayne's World 1 & 2; they could have stopped with what they had, appreciated their success, and moved on. Ironically, Toy Story 3 is all about learning to move on when it's time to do so. Since Pixar displayed such a strong emotional bond between the toys and their owner, Andy, ending their story must have been anything but easy. Thankfully, they didn't disappoint.

In (what is hopefully) the final chapter in the Toy Story saga, Andy is 17 years old and is getting ready for college. Unfortunately, he forgot about his beloved toys years ago, so his mom ends up donating them to the local daycare center. But the toys can't stand it there, because the children are anything but gentile when it comes to playtime, so they formulate a plan to escape the daycare center and get into Andy's moving boxes before he leaves home forever.

Obviously, this Disney produced movie is mainly for kids, but that doesn't mean adults won't enjoy it too, especially if they grew up with the franchise themselves. It has jokes for everyone, kids and adults, and there's even moments that can touch your heart if you let it. (Yes, my eyes leaked a little at the end. Shut up.) Most of the main characters and voice actors make their return, and there's plenty of new toys to meet too. Randy Newman even came back to write and perform the music, even though most of it is a remixed version of the "You've Got a Friend in Me" theme song.

I also saw Toy Story 3 in Dolby 3D, which, honestly, isn't the best kind there is out there. If you really want to get the image-popping experience like 3D first gave us when it was invented, you probably want to make the extra effort to see it in IMAX 3D. However, seeing this movie also made me realize that 3D animation looks a lot better in 3D than live footage or 2D cartoons. I've seen movies in Dolby 3D and Real3D, and both don't do as well. They're experiences are more like looking at things in layers, which eventually burn your eyes. So if you can't afford/get to an IMAX theater, just see the movie in 2D.

My only other concern is that Pixar might feel that three movies isn't enough. Hopefully, they'll learn from DreamWorks' mistakes with the Shrek movies, specifically parts 3 and 4. Instead of making a quality third installment to the series, DreakWorks got sloppy and threw together a weak "conclusion" to what was once a respected franchise. What's worse is they didn't learn to quit. Instead, they decided to go for the money and make a fourth movie, cutting corners along the way.

If you have kids, be a super cool parent and take them to see Toy Story 3. (Just make sure you they've seen the first two so they know what's going on.) If you don't have kids, but loved the first two, go see it. It might actually make you cry.

Toy Story 3 is rated G and is 103 minutes long. Image provided courtesy of Wikipedia.

Alan Wake

If Stephen King made a video game, it would probably be Remedy Entertainment's Alan Wake. Produced by Microsoft Game Studios, this third-person survival horror game is about the title character's desperate search for his wife after she is kidnapped by mysterious forces in the small mountain town of Bright Falls. The story is divided into six episodes, like a miniseries. Along the way, Wake realizes that he has subconsciously written a manuscript, which he finds pages of during his search for his wife. While there's plenty of terror brought forth by the plot, there isn't a lack of comic relief from the NPCs.

The main villain is the bizarre force known simply as the Darkness, which turns the entire world against Wake. You'll be attacked by deranged locals, flying objects, and flocks of angry blackbirds. To defeat your enemies, you first need to bathe them in light to destroy the darkness that protects them. While your flashlight is your primary weapon, there's also flairs, flashbang grenades, and environmental objects to use. After you've destroyed the darkness, your enemies won't be immune to bullets. However, like all survival horrors, ammunition is limited, especially in the harder difficulties. So there will be times that you might panic and worry that you won't be able to escape into the light in time. Don't worry, that's supposed to happen.

There's also plenty of little radio broadcasts and Twilight Zone spin-offs to find, making the eerie story and environments even eerier.

One frustrating drawback of the gameplay is the ability to dodge attacks. While you can do this, it requires perfect timing and doesn't always seem to work. It also doesn't help when you've been backed into a corner. Enemies will also attack you from off screen with projectiles and can randomly kill you before you know what's going on.

There's also nothing to do beyond the story mode. There probably isn't even a reason to call it "story mode." It would be more appropriate to call it "the game," because there's no multiplayer or challenge modes to be found.

One last issue is the story's ending. It feels incomplete and leaves you wondering if there's meant to be a sequel (and yes, Remedy has already confirmed it). This could be argued as an ironic ending for a game about a successful writer who has lost his ability to write.

While the overall game is pretty good, the lack of things to do beyond the story makes it not worth $60. Survival horror fans should grab a used copy, and other curious gamers should rent it. Alan Wake is currently available for the Xbox 360 and is due for the PC later this year. It's rated T for Teen.

Image provided courtesy of Wikipedia.

Iron Man 2

A major issue with popcorn movies right now is the industry's addiction to sequels. As long as the first movie does well both at the box office and with the critics, producers will pump out half-hearted sequels, prequels and spin-offs to make more money. However, some companies actually care about their work, and make excellent sequels like The Dark Knight, Spider-man 2 and Hellboy 2.

While the first Iron Man movie was a surprising hit, Iron Man 2 would best be described as a respectable, yet failed attempt to match its predecessor. While Iron Man was great, Iron Man 2 was only good.

The film takes place six months after the first movie, when Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) is caught between the U.S. government trying to take his Iron Man suit, and his artificial heart poisoning his body and mind. Meanwhile, Ivan Vanko (Mickey Rourke), son of Stark's father's business partner, joins forces with Stark's rival, Justin Hammer (Sam Rockwell), after a failed assassination attempt as Whiplash. Hammer promises to financially back Whiplash if he builds him an army of Iron Man suits.

Unfortunately, like Jeff Bridges as Obadiah Stane in the first film, the villains feel a bit underused in this movie. In fact, there was one scene when Hammer and Whiplash begin feuding with each other that seems to overshadow anything else they do on screen. Even the final showdown with Whiplash was incredibly short and disappointing.

The movie also felt a bit longer than it actually was. It's a little over two hours long, but a few scenes feel dragged out and boring after a while.

Having said that, this movie was still wasn't bad. Director Jon Favreau did a descent job of balancing action with comedy and character development. I especially liked what happened with Lt. Colonel James "Rhodey" Rhodes (Don Cheadle) first puts on the War Machine suit. (You'll get what I mean when you see it.)

The cast, overall, gives a great performance as well. In fact, there's tons of celebrity cameos to keep an eye out for, from TV journalists, to musicians, to Favreau and Stan Lee (who constantly appear in their movies).

Overall, I think this movie was just OK at best. See a matinee showing or wait for the DVD. If you only want to see the secret ending after the credits, just look for it on YouTube.

Kick-Ass

For as long as I can remember, summertime has meant blockbuster movie season. However, it now seems to come earlier and earlier. We saw Clash of the Titans come out a couple weeks ago, and now we've got Kick-Ass. This action/comedy (or comedy/action, whatever) movie is based on Frank Miller's comic book series. Unfortunately, I know nothing about the series, so I can't say how true the film is to the comic. However, I can say that this was a fun movie. But be warned, it ain't for the squeamish.

Don't let the green band trailers fool you, this superhero movie was rated R for a reason. Violence, sex, drugs, and an 11 year old girl that curses like a sailor. This movie's got it all, and it ain't for kids, the weak of stomach, or the easily offended.

That being said, the movie's pretty funny, especially some of the lines that Hit-Girl drops. And while I felt that a couple of the fight scenes could have been better, they're pretty good overall.

The title character is played by Aaron Johnson (who's English apparently). Kick-Ass' true identity is New Yorker Dave Lizewski, an unpopular high school comic book geek who decides to try his luck with what the characters he's followed his whole life have done. His pitiful attempts are hilarious. He wildly swings his nightsticks around like a crazy person in his nonthreatening costume, occasionally making shots that count. I couldn't help but feel for the guy, because what he lacks in skill he makes-up for with passion, always refusing to back down.

Kick-Ass eventually runs into Red Mist, played by Christopher Mintz-Plasse, whom you probably know better as "McLovin" from 2007's Superbad. I won't explain how, but Red Mist could be described as Bruce Wayne if he were a nerdy teenager. He has money backing him, so instead of flying around, he drives around in a suped-up Mustang. Red Mist is pretty much the same character as McLovin; an annoying dork that you can't help but love.

Also co-starring is the infamous Nicholas Cage. He plays Big Daddy, a Batman lookalike who assassinates drug dealers in the name of justice. Thankfully, his role wasn't as big as I thought it would be. My money says that Cage was only hired to bring more star power to the cast, because his performance wasn't fantastic. But if the comic book character was supposed to be as pompous at Cage portrayed him to be, then Cage did a great job.

Big Daddy's partner in "crime" is Hit-Girl, played by Chloë Mortez, who pretty much steals the spotlight for the remainder of the film after her first appearance in costume. I'm not sure if you could train a kid in real life to do the things she did in the film, but they're definitely nothing you'd expect a little girl to do. I don't want to spoil it for you, so I won't say anymore.

The only problem I had with this movie was that I didn't think the action and the comedy was blended properly. Don't get me wrong, the jokes and the fight scenes are both pretty good, but they seemed to come together a bit awkwardly. I can't explain it any better than that.

If blockbuster season hasn't started yet, then Kick-Ass is a great warm-up. It's about two hours long, and like I said, there's a reason it's rated R, so don't push your luck with those that it's not meant for.

Heavy Rain

Heavy Rain is labeled as an interactive drama by its developer, Quantic Dream. You follow the stories of four characters in a nameless city drowning in its annual autumn rainfall. Their paths slowly converge as they all try to answer the same question: Who is the Origami Killer? While it's nothing for hardcore gamers to go crazy over, this game game is great for casual gamers looking for a more mature approach.

The game's plot is affected by the choices you make as it unfolds. Some choices can be so important that they will determine whether characters live or die. This is great for the replay value, because once you're finished, you'll want to see all the alternate endings and plot twists that you missed.

Heavy Rain also looks and sounds great. I am so glad I invested in an HDTV before I got this game, because some of the close-ups of the characters' faces are very detailed. The story is also pretty good, and will keep you guessing until the very end.

Having said all that, there are a few problems. Controlling the characters' movement, for one, is pretty frustrating. Instead of just pushing the left analog stick forward, you have to hold down the R2 button. Camera angles can also be poor at times, and you are given limited control of visibility. Cutscenes are also unskippable.

I also can't recommend this as a buy for hardcore gamers, because there isn't much experience needed to get through this game. The most challenging thing is a series of button command mini-games, which include the motion controls. However, if you or someone you know is new to the world of video games, and in need of a more mature story, Heavy Rain is what you're looking for.

This game is rated M for Mature, and is available exclusively for the PlayStation 3.