Tag Archives: movie

4 minute clip from G.I. Joe Retaliation online!

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I’ve tried to stay spoiler-free when it comes to G.I. Joe Retaliation.  Really, I have.  I’ve only watched the shorter clips and have avoided asking those fortunate souls who’ve already seen the movie for details.  However, some times there are things so amazing that they prove that I’m really a weak weak Joe fan.

Remember that preview footage that was shown exclusively with the Hansel & Gretel film?  Well, the crew at ComicBookMovie.com have come through for the fandom and have been able to post the video on YouTube.

Seriously– be prepared for some pure AWESOME.

WOW! WOW!!  WOW!!!  From the pacing to the camera work to the scoring I was getting chills while watching this!  While it may be “just an action sequence” it’s the kind of amazing martial arts prowess that I’ve come to expect from the G.I. Joe comics.  Seriously– words are pretty much failing me right now.

Why is it not March 28th yet?!!!

G.I. Joe Retaliation score album on iTunes now

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G.I. Joe Retaliation soundtrack score

 I’m a bit of a film score junkie and so the April 2, 2013 release date for the score to G.I. Joe Retaliation has been on my radar for some time now.  Last night, thanks to the magic of Twitter, I saw that die-hard film score junkies and Joe fans can download Henry Jackman’s album early via Apple’s iTunes store!  Hit it directly HERE!

Thankfully the track listing is relatively spoiler-free.  The album clocks in at 55:46.

Prologue (2:00)
Arashikage (1:38)
Get Me The GI Joes (2:34)
Friendly Fire (1:42)
Exile (3:34)
Presidential Facade (2:38)
Einsargen (2:44)
Making Things Go Boom (2:10)
Storm Shadow (2:12)
Bad Dojo (5:05)
Lady In Red (3:18)
Fighting Ugly (1:51)
Fort Sumter (2:37)
Scare Tactics (2:29)
I Want It All (0:51)
End Game (4:10)
Honor Restored (2:49)
Firefly (4:19)
Zartan (7:25)

While his name might not be immediately recognizable, Henry Jackman, part of Hans Zimmer’s group of composers, boasts a fairly impressive resume.  In particular his scores for Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter and X-Men First Class were dynamic and melodic and make for some great listening both during the film and as isolated music.  Sadly, this particular site admin isn’t an iTunes user (one of the remaining few) and so I’ll have to wait until Amazon.com picks it up for download– hopefully in the next few days.

March 28, 2013 — here we come!

The G.I. Joe Retaliation review that matters

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Larry Hama

Larry Hama

In the next week there will be a lot of critics who turn their eye toward G.I. Joe Retaliation and offer their thoughts on the film’s merits.  Some will be familiar with the property and others will not– and therefore these reviews have the potential to be a bit of a mixed bag.  Sure, the critic for the Springfield Herald might have enjoyed the film but he might not have any idea of who the charaters are, etc.

Yesterday, Larry Hama, the fan-dubbed “godfather of G.I. Joe” was treated to a screening of the film.  The author of the majority of the file cards and comics from the A Real American Hero as well as the current ARAH comic from IDW, no single individual has contributed more to the characters of G.I. Joe than Larry.  He posted his spoiler-free thoughts on the film last night on Facebook:

I liked RETALIATION a lot. Vast improvement over ROC. Snake-Eyes and Storm Shadow are much more up front, and the whole thing is a lot more character-driven. Not only is there no sinking ice, but the big finale involves physical action with people rather than choreography of CGI vehicles. The Rock is perfect as Roadblock, and Bruce Willis’s take on Joe Colton is brill (he has some of the best lines.) There’s no sign of Scarlett, but the actress who plays Lady Jaye is quite good. Jinx is amazing. Flint is kind of meh. Overall, the direction is terrific and crisp. I can tell what is going on all the time, and everything LOOKS great. Ninja fight sequence in the mountains is amazing, in that you never lose track of what is happening, and there’s a ton of fast visual input. Is there stuff I didn’t like? That would be quibbling. The positive outweighs the negative here. And I walked out feeling that the characters had been treated with respect.

Larry’s background not only time in the US Army and extensive martial arts training but even work as a guild-sanctioned actor.  To hear that he felt the characters were treated well and that the film’s direction is solid may help reassure a lot of fans who were still on the fence about a live action sequel in the wake of G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra.

March 28 is rapidly approaching people!!!

10 days to G.I. Joe Retaliation – Cobra motorcycle

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Twitziller is taking us into the final 10 DAYS until the premiere of G.I. Joe Retaliation with today’s reason to be excited: the Cobra motorcycle!

day-10-cobra-motorcyle

To call this thing a motorcycle is a misnomer as it appears to be “a collection of missiles that Firefly just happens to ride.”  Seriously– this thing is off the hook insane!  Sporting a Cobra logo (which is more than can be said of almost anything in the first film) and a wicked pair of machine guns, you’d think that this two wheeled craft was finished and ready for the streets.  Nope, someone at Cobra decided that the guns weren’t lethal enough and side-mounted launchers were just too passe.  You’d think this bike was assembled by the Techno-Vipers of the Alexx Shorts series of reviews!

Retaliation drops in 10 days.  Seriously– after all of the initial waiting and then the 9 month delay we’re now looking at 10 days.  How can you not be excited about this?

Check out the rest of Twitziller’s “40 Reasons to Be Excited for G.I. Joe Retaliation” images below:

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day-6-cobra-commander-battle-helmet
day-4-lady-jaye
day-34-zartan
day-33-on-the-run
day-32-cobra-helicopter
day-31-rappelling-assault
day-30-practical-effects
day-29-assault-vtol
day-3-lighting
day-2-battle-kata-gear
day-1-gi-joe
day-28-storm-shadow

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G.I. Joe Retaliation set visit details emerge across the internet

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G.I. Joe Retaliation March 28

Up until now the press for G.I. Joe Retaliation has been limited mostly to videos  released through Paramount Pictures and interviews conducted with some of the cast and crew.  Last year a number of websites were treated to set visits although the details of those excursions were held back when the film’s release date was pushed back.

Well, now the flood gates have opened!  Check out the following links for a plethora of great information!

15 days until G.I. Joe Retaliation – ninja duel!

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The ever creative Twitziller continues his countdown to the US premiere of G.I. Joe Retaliation with “the ninja duel!”

day-15-ninja-duel

With the exception of the Sunbow animated series, nearly every incarnation of G.I. Joe has featured the Snake Eyes/Storm Shadow conflict.  This pair of characters evolved into a classic Yin-Yang pairing– right down to their color schemes!  From the epic battle in G.I. Joe Resolute to the famed encounter in the Silent Castle in G.I. Joe vol 1 #21, the inevitable duel of these characters is something that fans clamor for.  Their encounters in G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra were lackluster at best but the clips revealed thus far promise some truly epic action from the ninja sword brothers.  (This time Snake Eyes won’t be stuck hanging onto the bottom of an SUV while Accelerator Suits hog the action.)  Regardless of the outcome, any conflict between these two is bound to be rife with tension– and that makes for good viewing!

Check out the rest of Twitziller’s countdown images below:

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day-37-flint
day-36-concept-design
day-35-hiss-tank
day-7-roadblock
day-5-motion
day-6-cobra-commander-battle-helmet
day-4-lady-jaye
day-34-zartan
day-33-on-the-run
day-32-cobra-helicopter
day-31-rappelling-assault
day-30-practical-effects
day-29-assault-vtol
day-3-lighting
day-2-battle-kata-gear
day-1-gi-joe
day-28-storm-shadow

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Two weeks from today, many Joe fans should have already seen the film at midnight showings!  The 28th cannot get here soon enough!

Here’s a sneak peek at the battle, courtesy of Paramount International’s YouTube channel:

 

16 days until G.I. Joe Retaliation – bring on FIREFLY!

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Twitziller continues the countdown to G.I. Joe Retaliation‘s US release as we near the two week mark with Firefly!

day-16-firefly

He’s the premiere Saboteur of Cobra.  Depending on your “continuity of preference” he’s a burned pyro-maniac that talks to fire, the “Faceless Master” of the Arashikage clan, or an ex-Joe who went over to the other side.  Either way, Firefly is kind of the “Boba Fett” of the G.I. Joe mythos– mysterious, masked, and extremely deadly.  With so much creative liberty taken with the characterizations of the Cobra cast in G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra it will be interesting to see how the incredibly talented Ray Stevenson portrays this mercenary saboteur on the big screen.  Early synopsis information and interviews seem to indicate that Firefly will be closer to his Sigma 6 portrayal than the classic Marvel version.  Either way, it’ll be good to see him on the big screen on March 28, 2013!

Check out the rest of Twitziller’s series below as the countdown continues!

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day-37-flint
day-36-concept-design
day-35-hiss-tank
day-7-roadblock
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day-6-cobra-commander-battle-helmet
day-4-lady-jaye
day-34-zartan
day-33-on-the-run
day-32-cobra-helicopter
day-31-rappelling-assault
day-30-practical-effects
day-29-assault-vtol
day-3-lighting
day-2-battle-kata-gear
day-1-gi-joe
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While you’re at it, you can peruse JBL’s own review of the first G.I. Joe Retaliation Firefly action figure!

19 days until G.I. Joe Retaliation – let’s talk scene composition!

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Twitziller is taking us to the finish line in the final 3 weeks until G.I. Joe Retaliation’s US premiere.  Today’s reason to be excited: composition!

day-19-composition

It’s easy to take a picture, but it’s hard to take a good picture. The same can be said about shooting a movie.  Depth of field, scene composition, subject focus– all of this play a role in telling a story in the most effective way possible.  From what we’ve seen of the G.I. Joe Retaliation footage thus far all of those elements are there in spades.  With multiple moving parts on the screen at any time, it would see the team behind Retaliation have created a visual comic book that will be a feast for the eyes in the way that the early Marvel issues were on the printed page.

After a nine month delay, we’re in the home stretch.  Check out Twitziller’s entire countdown to March 28th below!

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day-39-minitank
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day-37-flint
day-36-concept-design
day-35-hiss-tank
day-7-roadblock
day-5-motion
day-6-cobra-commander-battle-helmet
day-4-lady-jaye
day-34-zartan
day-33-on-the-run
day-32-cobra-helicopter
day-31-rappelling-assault
day-30-practical-effects
day-29-assault-vtol
day-3-lighting
day-2-battle-kata-gear
day-1-gi-joe
day-28-storm-shadow

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20 days until G.I. Joe Retaliation – the Cobra satellite

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Twitziller continues his Countdown to G.I. Joe Retaliation with today’s reason to anticipate the film– the Cobra satellite!

day-20-cobra-satellite

I’m a huge fan of the James Bond films.  As such, seeing Cobra using a space-based super weapon to threaten the world is nothing new– but it evokes images of the classic film You Only Live Twice.  In that film, SPECTRE is using their own space capsule to capture those of the Russians and the Americans in an attempt to start World War 3.  The trailers for G.I. Joe Retaliation also conjure up images of both Goldeneye and Die Another Day in which satellite weapons were the primary threat used by the protagonists.  For a super secret global terrorist organization such as Cobra, this makes perfect sense.  It’s a weapon that can’t be defended against easily and it can strike anywhere.  Even just a few years ago, Cobra was using a sub-orbital cluster of strato-lites to maintain their communications network in G.I. Joe Resolute.  So, the precedent is there and the action as revealed by the trailers thus far looks to be pretty intense.

Plus, who doesn’t love seeing a Cobra logo on the side of a satellite.  That just screams out “this is going to get good!”

Check out the entire series below as the countdown to March 28 continues!

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day-39-minitank
day-38-desert-ambush
day-37-flint
day-36-concept-design
day-35-hiss-tank
day-7-roadblock
day-5-motion
day-6-cobra-commander-battle-helmet
day-4-lady-jaye
day-34-zartan
day-33-on-the-run
day-32-cobra-helicopter
day-31-rappelling-assault
day-30-practical-effects
day-29-assault-vtol
day-3-lighting
day-2-battle-kata-gear
day-1-gi-joe
day-28-storm-shadow

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21 days until G.I. Joe Retaliation – mountain battle

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Twitziller continues the countdown as we are officially less than three weeks away from the debut of G.I. Joe Retaliation.  Today’s reason to be excited: the moutain battle!

day-21-mountain-battle

I have to admit– when I first saw a snippet of this I was a bit floored.  After all, how feasible is it to have ninjas fighting ninjas suspended by ropes on the side of a mountain? So I watched the first trailer again, and again, and then I watched subsequent trailers of the mountain top sequence and I saw it for what it was– an insane ballet of blades and bodies that could only be accomplished by the ninjas in the film.  This is one of those sequences that will play out like an insanely well-choreographed ballet routine and the end result could be closer to art than “just another action piece.”  Given director Jon M. Chu’s insane work in LXD we know that he’s got the chops to pull this off in a spectacular fashion.

Three weeks from now I’ll be basking in the fanboy glow of having already seen the film.  The passage of time, however, is a cruel mistress…

Check out the rest of the reasons to look forward to G.I. Joe Retaliation below and check back tomorrow as the countdown continues!

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day-39-minitank
day-38-desert-ambush
day-37-flint
day-36-concept-design
day-35-hiss-tank
day-7-roadblock
day-5-motion
day-6-cobra-commander-battle-helmet
day-4-lady-jaye
day-34-zartan
day-33-on-the-run
day-32-cobra-helicopter
day-31-rappelling-assault
day-30-practical-effects
day-29-assault-vtol
day-3-lighting
day-2-battle-kata-gear
day-1-gi-joe
day-28-storm-shadow

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