My Review of G.I. Joe: Retaliation

"G.I. Joe: Retaliation" is the sequel to 2009's "G.I. Joe: Rise of the Cobra". I must say that I thought "Cobra" was a terrible movie, so I was hesitant to even see the sequel, but I decided I should. The great news is "Retaliation" is 100x better then "Cobra". However, that doesn't mean the film was great.

To start off, you probably heard that this movie was delayed almost one year to be converted into 3D. Some say it was delayed for other reasons. But anyway, I didn't see it in 3D because it wasn't shot that way and I almost always hate 3D conversions. I have also heard from several people that it was terrible in 3D. So be cautious if your debating whether or not to see it in 3D.

But anyway, "G.I. Joe: Retaliation" follows the G.I. Joe's,  who were framed for crimes against there country, the G.I. Joe team is then terminated by the President's order, and the surviving G.I. Joe's must face off against Zartan (the main villain in the film), his accomplices, and the world leaders he has under his influences. I should also mention that in "Retaliation" there are LOTS of new characters. Sometimes, there are actually too many new characters introduced at once.

My Review of Oz the Great and Powerful

I am a big fan of the original 1939 film, "The Wizard of Oz", so when I found out they were making a prequel to that film I was a little skeptical. But slowly I became more confident that it would be good because I trust Sam Raimi (Director of the old Spider-Man Trilogy). I ended up being right, because I thought "Oz the Great and Powerful" was a great movie.

This prequel is the back story to the wizard character from L. Frank Baum's books. The movie follows Oscar Diggs/Oz (James Franco), a small-time circus magician, who is hurled away from Kansas in a tornado to the magical Land of Oz. When he arrives, he meets three witches, Theodora (Mila Kunis), Evanora (Rachel Weisz) and Glinda (Michelle Williams), who are not convinced he is the great wizard everyones been expecting. He is then drawn into the problems facing Oz and must find out who is good and who is evil, and of course, he meets some awesome friends along the way!

"Oz the Great and Powerful" starts in black and white, with a smaller aspect ratio (paying homage to "The Wizard of Oz"), and then the screen eventually widens and the movie goes from black and white to full color, all this happens when Oscar reaches the Land of Oz. I think this was a REALLY nice touch to the movie. It just added something to the beginning of the movie. A very clever choice made by Sam Raimi. I must also add that in the very beginning of the movie, there was a credits introduction that was in black and white and I thought it was really cool.