Collegiate Times

A look into this weekend's movies.

Continuing the Hollywood trend of turning famous toys into big movies, "G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra" will be released Friday, August 7.

The movie stars Channing Tatum, Sienna Miller, Dennis Quaid and Ray Park, along with many more, in what looks to be another successful explosion-filled romp for Paramount Pictures.

This film was conceived hot on the heels of the success Paramount had with "Transformers," Hasbro's other famous action figure line.

As the title implies, the film follows the rise of the evil Cobra Commander to power and his attempt at ruling the world.

This new threat requires the use of a select group of individuals. The Special Forces team designated G.I. Joe is formed and dispatched to stop him before his plans for global domination can come to fruition.

The movie had rumors of horrible audience test-screenings, a fired director and emergency editing that created an early negative buzz.

 Early reviews of the film are mixed, although generally positive, which bodes well for the film previously thought to be the biggest flop of the summer.

This movie will be full of explosions, gunfire, over-the-top action and cheesy one liners, so, "Now you know, and knowing is half the battle."

"A Perfect Getaway"

This movie stars Milla Jovivich of "Resident Evil" fame and Steve Zahn from "Sahara" as newlyweds on their honeymoon in Hawaii.

The two decide to spend their trip hiking a remote trail to a secluded beach on the island where they are staying.

The couple comes across a group of hikers who are discussing the recent murder of two other newlyweds on the trail. Police claim a man and a woman in the area committed the murders.

The couple soon finds itself trapped in the wilderness with two other couples, not knowing who the real killer is.

This film is billed a suspense thriller with a twist ending that audiences won't see coming.

The movie looks like a solid date flick that will deliver suspense to audiences, but the ending probably won't surprise many.  

"Julie & Julia"

"Julie & Julia" stars Meryl Streep and Amy Adams.

In the film, Streep plays famous cook Julia Child, who battles through a snobby French cooking school to find herself and something she can be successful at.

Adams plays Julie Powell, a woman who similarly feels lost in her life and decides to write a blog about cooking through Julia Child's cookbook.

 "Julie & Julia" is a movie about finding direction and meaning in life and is a combination of the actual memoirs from the lives of Julia Child and Julie Powell.

It will be interesting to see how the film handles the transitions between the two characters, who are separated by many years.

The movie will appeal mostly to the older generation as half of the movie is lost on younger people, who have probably never heard of Julia Child.

The film trailer also screams chick flick with its touching qualities and very strong female leads.

Although the movie won't be a high-grossing knockout, it will provide much-needed emotional depth to this weekend's movie releases.