retaliation Archives

3D Blu-ray Review “G.I. Joe: Retaliation 3D”

Actors: Channing Tatum, Dwayne Johnson, Bruce Willis, Ray Stevenson, Adrianne Palicki, Ray Park
Rated: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Studio: Paramount
Release Date: July 30, 2013
Run Time: 110 minutes

Film: 3.5 out of 5 stars
3D: 2.5 out of 5 stars
Extras: 3.5 out of 5 stars

I am an 80′s kid and I have and always will be a fan of “G.I. Joe”. The first film “G.I. Joe: Rise of Cobra” was fun but a bit of a mess. “G.I. Joe: Retaliation” is a nice improvement, yet far from perfect. It is jam-packed with non-stop action and some great visuals. One problem that I had with the first film was how cartoony it looked. This film is must more realistic and the way they should have done “G.I. Joe” from the beginning. If you’ve seen the trailers then you will know that action stars Dwayne Johnson and Bruce Willis have joined the team and help to rescue this franchise. They both deliver in terms of amping up this film to a higher profile. Most importantly, they ditched Marlon Waynes from the first one, which was the worst casting ever. If you are looking for a fun and action-packed time, then check this sequel out. I am sure that we have not seen the end of this franchise. GO JOE!

“G.I. Joe: Retaliation” focuses around the team not only fighting their mortal enemy COBRA, but they are forced to contend with threats from within the government that jeopardize their very existence. The G.I. Joes get framed by Zartan, who disguises as the Commander in Chief (Jonathan Pryce), of stealing nuclear warheads. Due to this the elimination of the Joe’s are put in place by the fake president and it is up to Roadblock (Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson), Lady Jaye (Adrianne Palicki), Flint (D.J. Cotrona), Snake Eyes (Ray Park) and Jinx (Elodie Yung) to fight the Cobra Commander and put a holt on his plans for world domination.

Paramount is releasing this film as a Blu-ray 3D/Blu-ray/DVD combo pack with an UltraViolet. In addition, this release will include a limited time offer to receive a FREE set of high-quality, collectible personalized dog tags. This film was delayed so it can be post-converted to 3D in order to follow the trend of recent releases. I would like to say that it works for the film but it is really doesn’t. There isn’t really much depth or wow factor added to film with this aspect. The 3D isn’t the worst that I have ever seen but it is not the best either. As much as it pains me to the say, the 2D version is actually much more clearer and is the preferred way to enjoy this film fully. Despite the 3D, the 1080p transfer is super clear and works well with non-stop action. When it comes to audio tracks, “G.I. Joe: Retaliation” will literally knock you on your ass with its Dolby TrueHD 7.1 track. It sounds amazing, period.

All of the special features appear on the 2D Blu-ray, there are no 3D extras here. First up we have an audio commentary track with director John M. Chu and producer Lorenzo Di Bonaventura, which delivers tons of great information about the production. Next up we have “G.I. Joe: Declassified”, which is an eight part series of featurettes. “Mission Briefing” looks into the production and design with director Jon M. Chu. “Deployment” takes us through the military aspect of the film with Military Advisor and ex Navy SEAL Harry Humphries. “Two Ninjas” looks into the Storm Shadow and Snake Eyes role in the film. “The Desert Attack” looks into filming the film’s critical sequence. ”Cobra Strikes” looks into the Cobra’s look and sets for his evilness. “The Lone Soldiers” looks into the history behind the series”. “The Monastery” looks into the creating the huge Storm Shadow-Snake Eyes fight. “Fort Sumter” talks about shooting at Fort Pike. Lastly there are three short deleted scenes.

Read Complete Article

Filed Under: DVD/Blu-Ray Reviews Tagged With: 3d, bluray, gi, joe, retaliation, review, ...

“G.I. Joe: Retaliation” Bursts Onto Blu-ray™, Blu-ray 3D™ and DVD July 30, 2013

DWAYNE JOHNSON, CHANNING TATUM & BRUCE WILLIS STAR IN THE EXPLOSIVE GLOBAL HIT

G.I. JOE: RETALIATION

Thrill-Packed Blockbuster Bursts Onto Blu-ray™, Blu-ray 3D™ and DVD July 30, 2013

Fans Can Be the First to Own the Action Extravaganza on Digital July 16^th

HOLLYWOOD, Calif. (June 4, 2013) – Called “a stunning, high-flying, super-charged blast of fun” (Shawn Edwards, FOX-TV), the $355+ million worldwide blockbuster G.I. JOE: RETALIATION explodes onto Blu-ray, Blu-ray 3D, DVD and On Demand July 30, 2013 from Paramount Home Media Distribution. Based on Hasbro’s popular G.I. JOE brand, the film will be available on Digital two weeks early on July 16^th. “Born to play a G.I. JOE” (Scott Bowles, USA Today), Dwayne Johnson embodies ROADBLOCK and he and Channing Tatum “are a match made in action flick heaven” (James Oster, JoBlo.com) in this “cool ride” (Richard Corliss, Time) that is “awesome times 10!” (Shawn Edwards, FOX-TV). From Paramount Pictures and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures, G.I. JOE: RETALIATION also stars action legend Bruce Willis as the original G.I. JOE, as well as Adrianne Palicki, D.J. Cotrona and Jonathan Pryce. In director Jon M. Chu’s heart-pounding thrill ride, the G.I. JOE team not only faces off against its mortal enemy COBRA, it is also forced to contend with threats from within the government that jeopardize its very existence.

The G.I. JOE: RETALIATION Blu-ray/DVD combo pack with UltraViolet™ comes fully loaded with declassified special features that take viewers behind the lines to explore the action and the characters, what it took to bring the film to life and more. The film will also be available in a Blu-ray 3D/Blu-ray/DVD combo pack or as a single disc DVD.

In addition, both the Blu-ray/DVD and Blu-ray 3D/Blu-ray/DVD combos include a limited time offer to receive a FREE set of personalized dog tags. Consumers can visit a dedicated website and enter their unique code along with personal information to receive their own high-quality, collectible dog tags (see insert for complete details).

The Blu-ray releases available for purchase will be enabled with UltraViolet, a new way to collect, access and enjoy movies. With UltraViolet, consumers can add movies to their digital collection in the cloud, and then stream or download them – reliably and securely – to a variety of devices.

G.I. JOE: RETALIATION Blu-ray/DVD Combo Pack

The G.I. JOE: RETALIATION Blu-ray is presented in 1080p high definition with English 7.1 Dolby TrueHD, French 5.1 Dolby Digital, Spanish 5.1 Dolby Digital, Portuguese 5.1 Dolby Digital and English Audio Description and English, English SDH, French, Spanish and Portuguese subtitles. The DVD in the combo pack is presented in widescreen enhanced for 16:9 TVs with English 5.1 Dolby Digital, French 5.1 Dolby Digital, Spanish 5.1 Dolby Digital and English Audio Description and English, French, Spanish and Portuguese subtitles. The combo pack includes access to a digital copy of the film as well as the following:

Blu-ray

Feature film in high definition
Commentary by director Jon M. Chu and producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura
Special Features

o Mission Briefing—A look at pre-production, previsualization, storyboards and more.

o Deployment— As filming begins we take a closer look at the stunts, costumes and more.

o Two Ninjas—Focus on two G.I. JOE favorites, SNAKE EYES and JINX, and the filming of the Dojo sequence.

o The Desert Attack—An in-depth look at the filming of this pivotal action sequence.

o COBRA Strikes—Highlights of the villains featured in the film.

o The Lone Soldiers—Behind-the-scenes as ROADBLOCK, FLINT and LADY JAYE go on the run.

o The Monastery—An examination of the Himalayan escape sequence.

o Fort Sumter—An all-access view of the epic climax.

Deleted Scenes

DVD

Feature film in standard definition

G.I. JOE: RETALIATION Blu-ray 3D/Blu-ray/DVD Combo Pack

The G.I. JOE: RETALIATION Blu-ray 3D combo pack includes all of the above, as well as the film in high definition and 3D on a disc presented in 1080p high definition with English 7.1 Dolby TrueHD, French 5.1 Dolby Digital, Spanish 5.1 Dolby Digital, Portuguese 5.1 Dolby Digital and English Audio Description and English, English SDH, French, Spanish and Portuguese subtitles.

G.I. JOE: RETALIATION Single-Disc DVD

The single-disc DVD is presented in widescreen enhanced for 16:9 TVs with English 5.1 Dolby Digital, French 5.1 Dolby Digital, Spanish 5.1 Dolby Digital and English Audio Description and English, French, Spanish and Portuguese subtitles. The disc includes the feature film in standard definition.

Read Complete Article

Filed Under: Film Headlines Tagged With: 2013, 30, 3d, bluray, bursts, dvd, ...

Todd Tucker talks about working make-up effects for "G.I. Joe: Retaliation" and The Smurfs 2"

Todd Tucker is the owner of special make-up effects studio, Illusion Industries. He has worked on films like “Hannibal”, “Pirates of the Caribbean The Curse of the Black Pearl” to TV shows like “Soutland” and “Hannah Montana”. 2013 is a very busy year for him with seven projects aiming to be released including “G.I. Joe: Retaliation” and The Smurfs 2″. Media Mikes had a chance to chat with Todd about these projects and what we can expect.

Mike Gencarelli: Let’s breakdown your projects for 2013, first let’s chat about your role working on “G.I. Joe: Retaliation”?
Todd Tucker: Unfortunately with this film, I can’t tell you exactly what we did yet but I can describe our experience. What I can say about “G.I. Joe: Retaliation” is that I think the fans are really going to dig what we did on this one. We did a number of different aspects including character looks etc. The first film was cool but it felt a little too much like a video game. It was very CG heavy. Jon Chu, the director, really made this film look like it was happening. Everything is very practical and it feels like you are really experiencing what you are seeing, as oppose to playing a game. The actors are really good at locking in their characters and not making it cheesy. I think this film is going to be very cool and also visually off-the-charts.

MG: Tell us about your work on “The Smurfs 2” and how does it compare from the first film?
TT: It cool since right when I started Illusion Industries, we got called to work on “The Smurfs” and we designed and created the look for Hank Azaria. We made all the appliances. He has a fake nose, dentures, ears, eyebrows and hair. So he looks pretty different. For the first movie, I wasn’t able to be on set. We created everything, did the make-up tests and then handed it off to somebody else. For “The Smurfs 2”, I got to go to Montreal and worked on Hank Azaria’s make-up for the whole show. It was interesting since we started to used the same nose and ears from the first film but Hank had lost some weight and was a little more buffed out. So we had to go in and re-sculpt the nose and downscale it a little bit to adjust for the look. For that point on, we had to just maintain him daily. He is just such a great actor and perfect for the role. He really brought it to life for sure.

MG: We go from action to animation to drama, tell us about your role in “The Iceman”?
TT: Originally we were going to do all sorts of character age make-ups for this film but then we found out it was not going to help the film. We then created all these period looks. We made all the wigs, mustaches and hairpieces. We did a few things on the lead actor, Michael Shannon, for the film. I can tell you this, I saw it at the Toronto Film Festival and I am not a big mafia movie fan but this movie is intense and the performances are great. I was very proud to have my name at the end of this movie.

MG: If you had to choose out of these three films above, which was the biggest challenge?
TT: The most challenging was “G.I. Joe: Retaliation”. We have our main studio here in Burbank but I also have another in New Orleans. The only problem is for “G.I. Joe: Retaliation”, the build was kind of big and they wanted us to relocate everyone to our Burbank studio to there. So we had to all relocate and move into a haunted house for three months [laughs]. So that was a fun but also a challenge. But it was a really cool project to work.

MG: Can you give us an idea about your work on “Fright Night 2”?
TT: The DP on the film I co-wrote and directed “Monster Mutt” is also the DP on “Fright Night 2”. They were filming the movie in Bulgaria around Christmas time last year. They were going through some changes and need us to come up with a creature design for the finale scene. So two of my guys here put it together very quickly and traveled it down. I think it is going to be very cool.

MG: With the films mentioned above and TV shows like “Southland”; do you enjoy the variety of genres?
TT: The thing that is cool is that all different movies and TV shows that we have coming out this year are ranging all across the board. We have family, horror, action, drama and TV shows. We occasionally work on “Sons of Anarchy” and do a lot for the Disney Channel. We are also working currently on Conan O’Brien’s show doing these zombie skits. So yeah, we really like to dapple in all the different genres.

MG: Tell us what else you got planned for 2013?
TT: This year alone in 2013, we have seven films coming out. We got “G.I. Joe: Retaliation” and “The Smurfs 2”. We just finished “Fright Night 2”. we did a movie called “Deadlock Pass”, which was shot in Russia by Renny Harlin. Just did a film called “The East”, which I saw at Sundance and it was a really great flick. Also did a movie called “Fort Bliss”, which is a drama. We are still also doing some TV with Disney Channel. We also have an in-house production company that we produce, direct and come up with in-house projects. We did a family film that I mentioned called “Monster Mutt”, which just came out on DirecTV, iTunes and Vudu this month. It is also available on Walmart.com, Target.com and Amazon.com. So that is doing pretty well. We also have two in-house projects that I am directing this year. One of them is an action/horror film and the other is a very dark fantasy. We are looking forward to that.

Read Complete Article

Page 1 of 1