The Videogum Movie Club: Julie & Julia Vs. G.I. Joe: The Rise Of Cobra
Let's all go to the movies, and let's all see the same movie, and let's discuss it here.
As I mentioned on Friday, I was not able to go to the movies this weekend. You know how it gets. It's life, jump into life. I know some people who went to the movies, though. Rich FourFour went to see G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra. He had this to say:
A child playing with action figures would have been more convincingly lifelike.
Yoikes! And I know for a fact that Rich was really looking forward to that movie (for some reason)! Oh well. I'm going to go out on a limb here and ruffle some feathers by saying: it does not surprise me that G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra might be a really bad movie! I haven't seen it, though. Maybe it's amazing and Rich should shut up. It's the number one movie in the country (and the fourth biggest August opening in history, which people keep citing as an interesting fact, when in reality I don't think it's very interesting at all. That seems like a meaningless statistic to say the least!), which is almost always a sign of true quality. Isn't that right, Oscar winner Beverly Hills Chihuahua?
Meanwhile, here is a compelling observation about Julie & Julia from the Awl:
One of the nice gifts of the movie is that it reminds us that it took the better part of a decade for Julia Child to ponderously work out her cookbook. That she worked in a weird isolation from the means of distribution--who would publish her cookbook? She had no idea! Who these days spends a decade making something new and crazy that might never see the light of day? What a turn-off. What a pain.
True! And the part in the trailer for Julie & Julia where the one lady goes "Showtime bought my blog for a mini-series" makes me laugh. OUT LOUD. Seriously. Was the whole movie that funny? You know how Hollywood is always putting the best jokes in the trailer. Does Julie Powell pull a gun out of her purse and shoot that woman in the face? NO SPOILERS.
So, you guys? What did you think? Hopefully you all saw both movies so that you can really dig deep with some comparative analysis. Both of them had scenes in Paris! Incredible!
Go.
Posted by Gabe at 12:30 PM in The Videogum Movie Club
Tags: Amy Adams | Channing Tatum | G.I. Joe: The Rise Of Cobra | Joseph Gordon-Levitt | Julia Child | Julie & Julia | Julie Powell | Meryl Streep | Nora Ephron | Sienna Miller | Stanley Tucci
Stanley Tucci probably shouldn't be allowed to play a straight character ever again.
Score = 10
He plays a (girl) child rapist/murder in that movie with marky mark this year, does that count?
Score = 5
Oh my, you're right. It's really saying something that Stanley as a rapist may not be the worst casting decision in that film.
Also, did anyone else find Meryl Streep's accent to be a little ridiculous, even for Julia Child? She reminded me of an old man playing the female lead in a pantomime.
Score = 1
Uh, no offense to Julia Child, I think she's wonderful, but isn't that a pretty accurate portrayal?
Score = 11
I did not see Julie and Julia yet, but I heard Meryl's voice on a preview while the tv was on in another room and am ashamed to say that for a split second I thought, "Mrs. Doubtfire?" I will still go see this movie, no worries.
Score = 1
i know its been said but GI Joe was Team America for Transformer/Michael Bay fans
Score = 0
my friends mike and joe were taking an introduction to film course at santa monica city college and on the first day of class the teacher posed the question, "what makes a movie great?"
it was the first day so everyone was a bit reluctant for fear of looking stupid or pretentious and no one said anything for a very long time. you could hear a pin drop through the awkward silence.
finally, in the very back of the room, a painfully-obvious foreign-looking guy slowly raised his hand.
"yessss?" asked the teacher, pointing to him.
his eyes darted back and forth across the faces of the students who had all turned around in anticipation of his answer. his eyes stopped on the teacher.
and very timidly and with a thick russian accent he said/asked, "explosions?"
and everyone started laughing
but they laughed because he was so funny/cute, not because he was wrong
in fact, he was right, explosions are what make movies great
and GI JOE is a great movie... its TEAM AMERICA for TEAM AMERICA fans, you ritard
Score = -4
I didn't see either however my friends eight year old brother saw G.I. Joe and his review was: "It's like the best movie ever." So there you go.
Score = 19
Both movies needed Kim Jong Ill puppet.
Score = 11
I was going to see Julie and Julia with my Mama for her birthday, but it didn't work out. :(
Score = 0
Saw it w/ my mom... Its the perfect mom movie (but totally entertaining, as well).
Score = 3
I was going to see Julie & Julia with my grandparents, but then I stepped on a rusty nail, which efficiently ruined the evening. Double :(
Score = 1
oh my god.
Score = 1
I'm fine, I'm fine. I just had to get a bottle of antibiotics. Which took three hours of driving around to obtain. So, yeah, that's why I didn't get to see Julie & Julia...
Score = 1
Oh shit, so G.I. Joe was the movie for the fellaz! I should have figured that one out on my own. Oh well, I walked out of Julie & Julia and went and saw Paper Heart. I'm up against Jon and Kate for walk out of the year!
Score = -7
I was going to make some joke involving Joe 'Twink' Tedesco and Mike 'Hot Bottom' Deluca and imply that GI:Joe was a porno but I don't think I need to make fun of that film as it clearly does that by itself. Channing Tatum is your boyfriend. My friend (a.k.a me) owns a porno called Julie and Julia. So that put me off that one. The more you know.
Score = 17
I didn't see the movie, but I can't imagine you could have found a better actor that Channing Tatum to portray an action figure with a plastic face that portrays no emotion. Well done Hollywood
Score = 39
i agree with the jneslo g.i. joe: The Rise Of cobra was pretty cool, and the action was crazy
Score = -17
I don't think you're saying what you think you're saying.
Score = 28
I've been e-slandered! How dare you sir, how dare you.
Score = 16
http://www.avclub.com/articles/gi-joe-the-rise-of-cobra,31448/
Score = 0
"At one point, Tatum actually displays his manly angst over a fallen comrade by glumly driving by the man’s funeral on a motorcycle, in the rain, in shades and black leather."
Absolutely amazing.
Score = 12
Julie & Julia was pretty funny, but I don't know, it was so...cute. Meryl Streep is a beast and all, and Amy Adams is the most gorgeous human being I've ever seen (and also pretty talented also), but just UHH! Too cute, too much "awww..." stuff. It had no punch, no edge, nothing like that to make it a classic even just better than pretty good. It was just a bunch of Lots Of Loves (literally, Lots Of Love--I saw it with my parents, and they loved it. The theater was full of old people and families). Still, it was nice, and very well-done. Thumbs up or whatever.
Didn't see G.I. Joe. Probably won't.
Score = 10
wanna get the edginess? just think of all the dead animals consumed in real life as the inspiration for the movie/blog/cookbook.
julie & julia is the unwitting "Eichmann in Jerusalem: A Report on the Banality of Evil" by hannah arendt. REAL banality-of-evil TALK.
Score = 1
I thought Team America was the Team America for Transformers/Michael Bay fans. I know more than a few people who hold them both in pretty equal regard.
Anyhoo, I didn't see either, but I saw (500) Days of Summer (which was pretty ok, except for that thing they always do in 'indie' movies where they pretend that stuff like the Smiths and Edward Hopper is actually obscure and not enjoyed by millions of people around the world) and there was a big queue of excited people waiting to see G.I. Joe, which made me cry a little inside, because (500) was only half full on a Saturday night. Although that's a damn sight better than when I saw Moon last week, where there were only 9 other people in the theatre.
Score = 13
Umm, that should have been in reply to j0shsm1th.
Score = 1
Can we talk about Moon instead? Or is that not allowed?
I saw it with my family, and they kinda liked it but weren't that enthusiastic, which I expected. However, I, as an old-school sci-fi fan, thought it was pretty awesome.
Score = 11
Yeah, I though it was pretty great too. Sam Rockwell was fantastic, and I really liked the way that the filmmakers used our assumed familiarity with movies like 2001 and Alien, etc. to build suspense and create some false expectations. Too bad nobody in Winnipeg seems interested in it.
Score = 8
Yeah, Sam Rockwell's performance was beyond amazing. I liked how the twist to it was actually realistic, something that could really happen in the future, rather than some convoluted multi-dimensional or time-travel story. I saw it in Philly at a pretty small theater and was glad to see a lot of people show up to see it. When it was over, I just felt completely mind-blown in the best way, and like I had really been up on the moon (even the sets and landscape of the moon were impressive). Everyone should see it.
Score = 8
Yes! One of the best sci-fi films I've seen in a very long time. It didn't play dumb with the viewer and instead let them fill in the gaps as it went along. Sam Rockwell is a fantastic actor. We should be reviewing Moon instead these piles of garbage.
Score = 7
Agreed - I loved Moon. The score was amazing.
Score = 7
At first I thought it would be like Solaris, and then I thought it would be like 2001: A Space Odyssey, but then it turned out to neither of those things and more like something Philip K DIck would've done if he was optimistic about technology and human nature and stuff like Asimov! It pretty much rounded all the sci-fi nerd bases for me.
Score = 4
Knowing is half the battle...and I knew not to waste my time on G.I. Joe.
Score = 14
totally lizzing on myself: "Isn't that right, Oscar winner Beverly Hills Chihuahua?"
Score = 4
Showtime blog jokes aside, Meryl Streep is so good she could play Channing Tatum in his eventual biopic. This is assuming that Tatum dies before Streep. Also that Tatum leaves behind a legacy worth of a biopic starring Meryl Streep. Basically, I love Meryl Streep.
Score = 18
ALRIGHT so I saw BOTH OF these films AND LET ME just TELL y'all what went down.
Julie & Julia was HALF A pretty good movie. SERIOUSLY FUCKIN Meryl Streep KILLED it as Child. The story WAS INTERESTING, she acted WELL, and it was GENUINELY INTERESTING. But the JULIA PART? Holy shit DID I WANT to punch her. It was THE STORY of a narcissistic BLOGGER WHO'S "journey" is writing ABOUT HOW SHE COOKED STUFF someone else else CAME up with! And you know WHY SHE does it? 9/11! THAT'S right! "My life IS SO ROUGH cause 9/11 happened, and no I feel LIKE NO one cares for ME AND MY friend is a dick FOR HAVING a good JOB. I know! I'll BLOG!" UGH. It was probably MADE WORSE by the fact that it was intercut WITH STREEP doing what she DOES BEST and that STORY YOU could actually care about. Plus AMY Adams, while CUTE, is ONE-NOTE AS fuck. She is basically A MICHAEL Cera. PLAYING THE SAME roles!
GI Joe WAS A DUMB-ASS, loud action movie. But it WAS better FOR IT. I mean, WHEREAS WE had Transformers 2 bash the LIVING FUCK OUT of our skulls, this ONE FEELS much more restrained, as well AS A LITTLE less godamned RACIST. Nor did IT PULL ANY BULLSHIT political undertones. IT KNEW IT was a big, dumb action FEST AND PLAYED it's part, winking AND SMIRKING THE living shit out of itself ALONG THE way. Plus EVERYONE IN it acts way BETTER THAN anyone in Transformers 2. I mean, IT'S NOT THE fuckin DARK KNIGHT which is STILL the pinnacle OF SUMMER ACTION BADASSERY, but you COULD DO way worse in your action MOVIE SELECTION.
Then again, that shit didn't HAVE MEGAN Fox in it, so everyone probably THINKS it's worse. IF YOU HAVE a lazy afternoon, YOU COULD find worse ways to waste it. AS FOR Julie & Julia JUST WAIT until they ask STREEP to make A BIOPIC, or THEY CUT that blogger bullshit STORY OUT. (Yes I know it's the MAIN STORY AND was based ON A book/blog. Doesn't make IT ANY LESS narcissistic and mind-fuckin-blowingly ANNOYING.)
Score = 16
I don't understand how Transformers 2 could have possibly had political undertones. What's political about giant robots from outer space?
Score = 2
Check out Junebug for a very un-one-note performance by Amy Adams.
Score = 1
I saw julie julia and everyone in the theater trumped my age by about 40 years. it is a movie for old people. oh and half of the stuff in the preview wasn't in the movie. SO MISLEADING!
Score = 0
Ha, my mom went to see Julie & Julia, and she said that there was a lot of seniors in the theatre too. Let's face it, Meryl Streep attracts a mature audience, and there's nothing wrong with that. I mean, how many eighty year old Grannies did you expect to see at G.I. Joe joyously shouting at the screen when the Eiffel Tower exploded? The Eiffel Tower did explode right? My only knowledge of G.I. Joe is the trailer and even that's too much knowledge!
Score = 2
For the record, I'm the biggest Meryl Streep fan on Earth and I am not an old person. Always breaking those stereotypes, I am.
Score = 8
...but that' a good thing, right?-- "cuz knowledge is power?
Score = 0
i went outside into the clear, warm sunshine, hung out under the blue skies, rode my bike on the beach with my beautiful girlfriend, and celebrated life, instead.
Score = 3
read: "sat in my parent's living room, curtains drawn, tears streaming, with gears of war 2 (jealous?) and entourage on split screen (wooden TV)."
i hate myself.
Score = 14
I saw G.I. Joe. It was actually better than I expected, in that nothing could be worse than Terminator Salvation and Transformers 2. The action was actually coherent and the dialogue was over pretty quickly, to get back to the action quicker. Most importantly, Sienna Miller is insanely hot as a murderous bespectacled brunette. That's how she should have done Factory Girl.
Score = 3
Julie & Julia had heart, but G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra had the rise of cobra.
Score = 22
GI Joe is the football in the groin of America's eyes. ...?
Score = 9
I liked the part where Channing Tatum was all like "My other hemi is a hemi" and then drove off in his tank listening to "What Means the World To You" which was probably playing off a bootleg DVD of last night's Entourage.
Score = 8
I saw it and LOVED it. Amazing score, even the opening credits were insanely cool and well designed. And Sam Rockwell was just perfect. It was completely creepy with just the right amount of humor, the computer was great. Aahhh! I loved it. I have not felt so positive about a movie in a really long time.
Score = 13
Ugh, fail Videogum comments. That was supposed to be in response to the "Moon" comment, obviously.
Score = 0
hahaha...that actually works as biting satire. the sam rockwell comment just serves to throw us off a bit. well done.
Score = 6
In my experience, Dennis Quaid = bad movie.
Score = 3
I like the part in the "Julie and Julia" trailer where Amy Adams is like "I'm going to cook all the recipes in the book and make a blog about it. Is that crazy?" "YES!"
OMG, you're going to write a BLOG?? Like, on the internets? Don't you need some kind of PhD to do that?
Score = 3
Yeah, I rented this movie Dear Me: A Blogger's Tale, where they pretty much did that same thing, acted like the main character was the only person to ever have a blog. I mean, everybody has blogs. My cat has a blog.
Score = 1
Instead of actually watching Julie & Julia, I decided to come up with my own movie plots for when I am a movie executive, following the rule that the script must be based on two true stories that do not relate except that they must allow for a sensible title that involves two words that are nearly identical.
Here is my list:
Cruise & Crusoe- A man named Tom Cruise tries to make it as an actor in the 1980s while a man by the name of Daniel Defoe writes a book called Robinson Crusoe in the year 1719. Both men turn out to be successful and marry Nicole Kidman at one point in their lives.****
Shyamalan & Babylon- A director/writer named M. (yes just M.) directs/writes increasingly popular and then increasingly unpopular movies while an ancient city named Babylon rises and falls from prominence as well.
Freemen & Semen- A man by the name of Morgan Freeman starts an acting career late in his life and becomes extremely successful as both an actor and a background talker. A teaspoon of semen fails to find an egg and therefore dies.
God & Todd- A supernatural being creates a universe to rule over while a man named Todd tries really hard to get women to like him and land a job as an ad man, marketing material goods. One storyline seems much more trivial than the other.
Score = 8
Score = 2
My ex-girlfriend wanted to legitimately see G.I Joe. I should have realized what a red flag that was.
Score = 0
Loved Julie & Julie. Lots of Laffs. "Oh, hot, hot, like a stiff cock!" Couldn't help but laugh.
Did anyone else think Meryl Streep sounded a bit like Mrs. Featherbottom?
Score = 0
Julie & Julia was awesome! It also made me very hungry!
Score = 0