Dance Flick

Rating: PG-13

Movie Release Date: May 22, 2009

DVD Release Date: September 9, 2009

Plot 411: As the title suggests, it's a movie about dancing that spoofs a bunch of teen rom com and dance movies from the past 10+ years.

Review: Thomas (Damon Wayans Jr.) and his crew enter a dance battle only to lose both their pride and money. Sugar Bear (David Alan Grier), a big syndicate-type fellow in the same vein as Jabba the Hut, sends guys after them to collect his money. At school, Thomas meets Megan (Shoshana Bush), whose mom recently died in a car accident and who has come to the ghetto to live with her father. Megan is out of her element but quickly makes friends with Charity (Essence Atkins), Thomas' sister. Despite being a product of the Wayans brothers (and their brood), this movie does not live up to its potential. The gags are all pretty lame, even though there's a diverse selection of movie parodies. Even the dance numbers aren't on par with the original dance flicks out there. The main plot follows Save The Last Dance pretty closely, but it doesn't even do that movie justice. Many of the characters are just plain annoying and not funny at all. Also in this film are Shawn Wayans, Marlon Wayans, Keenan Ivory Wayans, Kim Wayans and Amy Sedaris.

Watch It: At your own risk. You've already been warned how bad it is.

Skip It: And watch the originals. Those movies are superb works of art compared to this one.

G.I. Joe: The Rise Of Cobra

Rating: PG-13

Movie Release Date: August 7, 2009

DVD Release Date: TBD

Plot 411: Duke and Ripcord get recruited into an elite military group when their convoy is ambushed by the enemy.

Review: Duke (Channing Tatum) and Ripcord (Marlon Wayans) and their battalion are assigned to escort warheads to its destination when they are ambushed by Ana (Sienna Miller), Duke's former fiancee. A group of Joes, including Scarlett (Rachel Nicols), Heavy Duty (Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje), Snake Eyes (Ray Park) and Breaker (Said Taghmaoui) come to their aid. The ensuing battles that follow are action-packed hand-to-hand and weapons combat. Multiple histories are also revealed - Snake Eyes and Storm Shadow (Byung-hun Lee); Duke, Ana and Cobra Commander. This was one action sequence after another with barely enough time to catch a breath between scenes. I loved it. I was hoping it'd be a lot funnier than it was though. But I suppose a movie can't have everything. Unlike most of his movies, Wayans didn't bring too many laughs to this movie. Tatum played the straight man again with just minor ribbing of his bud Ripcord. I noticed that no matter what role he plays, Tatum seems to exude a rebellious attitude, which he had in Step Up. Wonder if it's just part of his true nature? I'd definitely recommend this movie, especially to all you '80s kids. My fave character is still Snake Eyes.

Watch It: For a thrilling action adventure with all you favorite Joes on board.

Skip It: If you're in favor of practical effects rather than green screen.