Slashfilm has an early review of the new GI Joe film and...shocker...it's not positive!  According to the source, who's saw a rough cut back in March, the movie's pretty laughable.  He even goes so far as to suggest that the whole cast could/should get Razzie nominations.  Ouch!   On a more upbeat note, he does say that a few of the action sequences are pretty cool. Check the full review here.  

So, to preface this review a little bit...I read both The DaVinci Code and Angels & Demons.  I liked both books but, like most people it seems, I liked Angels & Demons better.  Now, that being said, I felt like the first movie was boring and overall, poorly executed.  Needless to say I went into the theater without very high expectations.

What do you get when you take an interesting premise and then muck it up and overdo it to the point it gets painful to watch? You get Vantage Point, a film with a great cast and pretty much nothing else going for it.

So, the plot synopsis is a little complicated, but here's the dumbed down version (which would probably have made for a better film if told in a straightforward narrative). The president of the United States (everyone in the movie tries to look cool and refer to him as POTUS, whatever) is in Spain to support this anti-terrrorism summit when the unthinkable happens...he is shot! Things are however, not so simple, US intelligence got wind of this scheme and sent a body double for the pres while the real deal is chillin' in a hotel ridiculously close by. The terrorists aren't stupid however and know where the real deal is and use this assassination attempt as a distraction while they kidnap ol' POTUS. Enter Dennis Quaid as the president's star secret service officer who's already taken a bullet once to protect the president and now has some major anxiety issues. Turns out he's probably the only one who can break this thing open and save the president...again.

Now, I actually think this could have made for a cool movie, The filmmakers have taken the stance that they're gonna tell the story from different people's perspectives...or vantage points if you will. This could be done well, but with each new version of the story we're give little to no information. Most of it ends up being a complete waste of time and gets old very fast. Like I said above, the movie would have probably been better if they had decided to film it more traditionally and actually used some creative editing to reveal all the different story lines simultaneously. This would have cut out a LOT of crap and given them time to develop some of the key characters a little better.

Perhaps the most glaringly unnecessary part of the film is it's beginning. The film is set up by following a news crew led by Sigourney Weaver (whose only in the first 10 minutes or so) and Zoe Saldana. This whole segment could have been edited out of the movie. As great as Weaver is, she adds nothing to he movie and it's really annoying to see her wasted by being featured for such an insignificant role. The filmmakers use the news crew to give us some background info (ie the fact that Dennis Quaid's character has been recently wounded as above and is making his first appearance guarding the president since his recovery) but honestly, this could have been done better and in ways that would make us identify with the characters. This way just ends up being like a fancy, albeit unecessary, voiceover - and we all know how many weak films need voiceover to aid in set up.

Dennis Quaid is passable in the role of the emotionally fragile but fiercely loyal secret service agent. But really, the role doesn't seem like much of a stretch for him (see his other films The Alamo, Flight of the Phoenix, The Day After Tomorrow).  He plays it well, but again, not a stretch. Matthew Fox plays Quaid's secret service agent partner guy and he is amazingly annoying as such. He's just kinda blah and doesn't bring much of a character to his role - just seems kinda one-dimensional. Forrest Whitaker rounds out the "big names" in the cast (except for William Hurt who plays the president but isn't really noteworthy in any way). He plays an American tourist in Spain and gets himself wrapped up in the middle of all this crap in what I think is a pretty unrealistic way. He's never really bad in any role I've seen but this role seems much more indicative of his body of work that his Oscar winning role as Idi Amin in The Last King of Scotland. I think that maybe was his moment to shine and the rest of his movies end up being middle-of-the-road.

In summary, Vantage Point isn't really a movie that I would recommend to any of my friends unless they're looking for an action film with an interesting premise but over-use of a gimmick and poorly utilized acting talent. Personally, I don't know many people looking for films in that vein though. 

Jumper is a movie with a strong premise - a dude with the ability to teleport basically anywhere in the world he wants. The execution of that premise sometimes falters, but overall it's an enjoyable ride. That's not to say the film doesn't have its' flaws - pretty big ones too.

So, the first thing I have to say is that I was forced to see this movie.  Now that that's out there, I didn't think it was absolutely terrible.  It was just what it claimed to be...more of the same from the first movie.  I will admit though that there's a part of me that really likes the first movie.  I know, I know but it's kind of an interesting premise and it's got more than a little excitement packed in there.  I've even re-watched it more than a few times when it's been on tv.  This movie isn't nearly as fun as the first mostly because there's nothing new here.  It really is just a re-hashing of the first movie just with different backdrops and a different treasure to hunt.

My first gripe about this movie is the title.  I don't really understand why it's called Book of Secrets.  It would have been more appropriate and more interesting ( I think) to call it City of Gold.  That's what they're looking for but this time, it's not financial gain they're after...they're trying to clear the name of a long dead relative.  Whatever if you ask me.  Apparently that's important to these people though.

The acting is what you'd expect.  Nicholas Cage really has pretty much every scene stolen from him by his co-stars if you ask me.  He's just no the most interesting character and maybe I just don't relate to him very well.  I am really surprised to see Helen Mirren in a movie like this but I guess it helps pay the bills.  She's good in the movie although she's not really given much to work with.

Like I said, I didn't hate this movie, but I can't give it much of an endorsement (although I know that doesn't matter).  Tons of people are going to see it and probably love it.