G.I. Joe
A Real American Hero: Season 1.1
Starring Chris Latta, Michael Bell, Frank Welker, Arthur Burghardt
Shout! Factory
Released July 14, 2009

GI Joe is the codename for American’s daring highly trained special mission force.

Its purpose, to defend human freedom against Cobra — a ruthless, terrorist organization determined to rule the world.

If I had to list my favorite cartoons when I was a kid, one of the shows that would show up on that list would be GI Joe. I can fondly remember waking up before school, getting a bowl of healthy cereal (because my Mom would never let us have the sugary stuff), going downstairs, and watching GI Joe and Transformers. It was a great ritual for me, and thanks to the magic of DVD, I can relive those days. GI Joe has been released on DVD before, but the old sets have been long out of print. Fortunately, there’s a new movie to cash in on, so the show is coming back into DVD.

The plot for the show is right there in the theme song. The Joe team spends all their time trying to stop Cobra and their dastardly plans to take over the world [...]

G.I. Joe Volume 1
Written by Chuck Dixon
Art by Robert Atkins

G.I. JOE: COBRA
Written by Christos Gage and Mike Costa
Art by Antonio Fuso

G.I. JOE: Origins Volume 1
Written by Larry Hama
Art by Mike Hawthorne

I had not really cared about any of the G.I. Joe comics being produced by Devil’s Due Comics for the last few years, which is not to say they were good or bad, just that I couldn’t be bothered to actually buy them. However, when I heard that IDW had picked up the license and was going to be making a new series, I was intrigued. I was further intrigued when I heard of their plan to release three series, all focusing on different aspects of the G.I. Joe mythos. Then they suckered me in with G.I. Joe #0, which came out last year, and gave a preview of all three series. Since they’ve started, I’ve been eagerly waiting for each new issue, mostly because each series has its own place in the story, but also because each has its own unique feel.

The main series, G.I. Joe, is the most traditional of the three series. It’s got all the characters you enjoy, running around in their familiar costumes, fighting crazy robots controlled by Destro, and looking for Cobra. It’s a fun series, particularly if you’re a fan of the original. It’s got everything I’m looking for in a G.I. Joe comic [...]

G.I. Joe has only been out a few days now, but it’s shockingly doing really well at the box office — making around $100 million worldwide this one weekend — and even more shockingly getting many positive reviews. So it comes as no surprise that producers are already itching to keep going with the franchise.

Paramount Pictures Vice Chairman Rob Moore confirmed to the LA Times that a sequel is already set to begin development in the near future. He also explained that all of the actors signed a multi-film deal and are definitely coming back, while director Stephen Sommers is not signed on yet.

This is a smart move, for sure. Many people still aren’t sold on G.I. Joe, but because it’s being enjoyed so much more than everyone assumed it would be, they need to capitalize on that immediately. After seeing a highly-anticipated movie like Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen be hated as much as it was, you just never know what’s going to happen — strike while the iron is hot and all that jazz [...]

G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra
Directed by Stephen Sommers
Starring Channing Tatum, Sienna Miller, Marlon Wayans, Dennis Quaid, Ray Park, Rachel Nichols
Rated PG-13
Release date: August 7, 2009

Like many children of the ’80s, I did watch the G.I. Joe cartoon. Don’t ask me what I remember of it though. I watched so many cartoons back then that other than the Joe’s “knowing is half the battle” segments, there is not much of it that I retained over the years. What I do know is that the cartoon was very popular way back when and it was only a matter of time before it got its big screen live-action debut. I mean, if Transformers and even Alvin and the Chipmunks can get that kind treatment, why can’t G.I. Joe?

Based on the popular toy line and cartoon, G. I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra follows soldiers Duke (Channing Tatum) and Ripcord (Marlon Wayans). On a mission to transfer a deadly technological weapon, their convoy is ambushed by a terrorist group. Their collective behind is saved by an elite military led by General Hawk (Dennis Quaid), known as G.I. JOE. In memory of their fallen comrades, Duke and Ripcord team up with the JOEs to safely transport the weapons to their destination and in the process they come across the terrorist group COBRA [...]

My Name Is Bruce
Directed by Bruce Campbell
Starring Bruce Campbell, Taylor Sharpe, Ted Raimi
Image Entertainment
Available now

When you’re having as bad a week as I am a good movie can be like comfort food. It warms you up and lifts your spirits. When the movie ends you’re full of joy from being entertained and are ready to pick yourself up and get on with your life. Back in February I went through a bad break-up with my girlfriend Suzette. Since then things have cooled and she and I remain on good terms, but at the time I was devastated. I had the unconditional love and support of all my friends but I still needed a little more cheering up. Who better to cheer me up than the greatest of all B-movie actors, an icon and a living legend who even when it came to starring in loathsome direct-to-video schlock always looked and acted like he was having the time of his life? He is the man, the myth, the chin….Bruce Motherfucking Campbell!

This god among men is one of the truest honest-to-L. Ron Hubbard movie stars we have working these days. From the original The Evil Dead to the wonderfully heartfelt comic fantasy Bubba Ho-Tep, Bruce Campbell has built up a unique filmography with more than a few solid gold cult classics, a few too many turgid D-grade sci-fi and horror flicks, a handful of short-lived television series (I miss Jack of All Trades), and the occasional small (and instantly forgotten) part in a major Hollywood movie to pay the bills [...]

Evil Dead II: Dead by Dawn
Blu-ray Edition
Directed by Sam Raimi
Starring Bruce Campbell, Kassie DePaiva, Danny Hicks, Sarah Berry, Ted Raimi
Anchor Bay Entertainment
Available Now

Every once in a great while, a groundbreaking film comes along that redefines a genre and changes the way people think about film as a whole. Director Sam Raimi’s Evil Dead II is the sequel to that film.

Generally considered to be the best out of the Evil Dead trilogy, Evil Dead II follows the chainsaw-wielding anti-hero Ash Williams Bruce Campbell as he fights his way through another nightmarish evening at that deadite-infested cabin in the woods. Filled with insane amounts of gore, self-mutilation, and laugh out loud humor, it has garnered a cult following that essentially overshadows most of Campbell’s other work. Campy and exaggerated, Evil Dead II originally proved that it is in fact possible to poke fun at a genre of film while still remaining in said genre. Sure it’s an acquired taste, but I have it, as evident by my signed and personalized picture of Campbell hanging next to my bed.

But the beauty of Evil Dead II on Blu-Ray is that none of the cheesy, low-budget effects lose their luster (or lack of). In fact, with the technology used to make this film look “better,” it succeeds in making it worse. But that’s the point. Raimi’s masterpiece isn’t meant to be perfect. It isn’t meant to be pristine. It’s meant to be a new type of horror/comedy that brings something new to the table. And in that area, it succeeds [...]

Make Love The Bruce Campbell Way
Written & Narrated by Bruce Campbell
St. Martin’s Griffin
Available Now

Bruce Campbell, exploitation movie stalwart and man-god to millions, has always secretly dreamed of transcending his B-flick actor trappings and hitting the Hollywood big time. One day after his literary agent Barry simultaneously rejects his proposal for a book about walking and proposes that he instead write a book about relationships, his acting agent — also named Barry — calls Bruce and informs him that he has been invited to audition for a major supporting role in an upcoming romantic comedy for Paramount Pictures starring Richard Gere and Renee Zellweger and directed by Mike Nichols called Let’s Make Love. Bruce is wary of the offer at first but a trip to New York City and a chance to meet a great director proves too irresistible to pass up.

At the audition he uncomfortably encounters just about every big name actor in the movie industry and when he reads for the role of Foyl Whipple, a salt-of-the-earth doorman at a high-end New York hotel always ready with sage advice and an open door, it does not go too well. Returning to his rural Oregon home in what he believes to be defeat, Bruce is surprised to get the news that he won the part. It turns out that Mike Nichols is a big fan of his and wants to be the one to give the struggling actor his big break in mainstream film. This gesture on the filmmaker’s part inspires the star of the Evil Dead trilogy and Assault on Dome 4 to prepare for this role the way a professional actor would [...]

Tonight at 9, the USA Network show Burn Notice, starring Jeffrey Donovan, Gabrielle Anwar, and our featured dude of the week Bruce Campbell, returns for its third season. In conjunction with this event, we here at Geeks of Doom have a Burn Notice prize pack to give away to one (1) lucky reader!

One (1) winner will receive:
One (1) Burn Notice Tote Bag
One (1) Burn Notice Season 1 DVD
One (1) Burn Notice Season 2 DVD
One (1) Burn Notice T-shirt
One (1) Burn Notice Frisbee
One (1) Burn Notice Novel
One (1) Burn Notice Suntan Lotion Pack

What do you have to do to get a chance to win? Glad you asked ’cause it’s really easy. Just make sure you’re a subscriber to our email digest, and then go ahead and fill out the handy dandy form below. Done.

Good luck!

TO ENTER: There’s just two simple steps: (1) Make sure you’re subscribed to the Geeks of Doom email digest. If you’re not then click here and sign up. (If you’re already a subscriber, then go right to the next step.) (2) Fill out the entry form here below and submit [...]

Bubba Ho-Tep
Limited Collector’s Edition
Directed by Don Coscarelli
Starring Bruce Campbell, Ossie Davis, Ella Joyce, Heidi Marnhout, Bob Ivy
MGM Home Entertainment
Available Now

Before I get started, I have a confession to make… I did not grow up worshiping at the altar of Bruce Campbell. I’d heard the name, but I really had no idea who the guy was. And coming from a self-professed cinephile and pop-culture junkie, I know that this information is a big blow to my credibility… In my defense, I have since seen all of the man’s films, read both of his books, and worship at the altar of Bruce Campbell regularly.

But then I read an article in my local paper about a little movie called Bubba Ho-Tep that was going to be playing at our small, alternative cinema. I really couldn’t believe what I was reading as the article discussed the plot of the film. For those who don’t know, in a nutshell the film is about two residents of an old folks home — who may or may not be Elvis Presley and John F. Kennedy — who have to team up to battle an ancient Mummy that is stalking the old folks living in the home.

Brilliant, right? But wait, it gets better!

Elvis is played by Bruce Campbell and JFK is played by… wait for it… Ossie Davis! Yes, African American screen legend and civil rights activist Ossie Davis! For those keeping score at home — JFK was about as Caucasian as it gets… Do you see the brilliance at work here? [...]

My Name Is Bruce
Directed by Bruce Campbell
Starring Bruce Campbell, Taylor Sharpe, Ted Raimi
Image Entertainment
Available now

As if you didn’t know already, this is very much the Bruce Campbell show. At the beginning, after Clayton dares to say something bad about Bruce, Jeff says: ‘Get out of the car. You don’t like Bruce, you walk.’ I think this line sets the tone for the whole movie: you’re either in for the ride, or you’re out. I was in quicker than you can say ‘chainsaw for a hand.’

Jeff (Taylor Sharpe) and Clayton are driving, on their way to meet the Debbie’s ‘to get laid’ (where? in a cemetery. Duh.). Jeff and ‘big Debbie’ go for a walk to break stuff and as they do Jeff finds a mysterious amulet, which he pockets. Little did Jeff know he just opened a world of terror on his fellow townsfolk.

Guan-Di, the Chinese protector of the dead and bean curd (yes, bean curd), is awakened and starts his murderous rampage through the town. Terrified, the people of Gold Lick, Oregon, need help. They need back-up from someone who knows how to deal with evil monsters. They need Bruce Campbell [...]

Burn Notice, premiering its third season on Thursday, June 4th on USA Network at 9/8c, is a show that started out as something very small. The story of a CIA operative who suddenly finds himself burned (blacklisted from government work, stuck with no passport, no money, etc.) and dropped off in Miami, the show may appear on the surface to be a traditional formula: with the help of his “trigger-happy” ex-girlfriend Fiona (Gabrielle Anwar) and his former colleague Sam (the week’s honoree, Bruce Campbell), Michael Weston (Jeffrey Donovan) helps out people in the community who need someone who knows how to handle a gun, is able to rig a bomb out of just about anything, and who’s street smart enough to get the job done without involving the authorities.

At that basic level, the show is a procedural like any other, but it was first boosted by two primary elements that raise its quality. First, the presence of Anwar (who despite being a polarizing figure is damn fun to watch due to her sadistic streak) and Campbell (who is both the heart and humor of the show, usually simultaneously) help to give the show a nice banter, along with Michael’s connection to his mother and brother who also happen to live in Miami. Second, the missions themselves take the form of Michael offering narration as to his MacGyver-like abilities with hardware store purchases — he takes us through the missions piece by piece, allowing us to see the inner workings of the process. It takes missions that are good to begin with thanks to their populist streak (everyone likes to see a good guy helping out the little guy) and gives them an added point of interest for the viewer, especially those who enjoy geeking out at some ingenious engineering. Combined with the beautiful Miami setting, and the bikini-clad women who somehow always seem to populate the streets, and you have a show with something for everyone [...]

We kicked off our Terminator Salvation Week of Geek with an awesome Terminator Salvation Videogame contest, so to bring this event to a close, we’re giving away Terminator Salvation: The Official Movie Companion!

Thanks to the good folks at Titan Books, we have three copies of this companion book to the film, which opened this weekend. The book includes loads of production stills and behind-the-scenes images, along with features on all of the characters and interviews with the cast and crew.

What do you have to do to get a chance to win? Glad you asked ’cause it’s really easy. Just make sure you’re a subscriber to our email digest, and then go ahead and fill out the handy dandy form below. Done [...]

As part of celebratory Week of Geek, we’ve put together a preview of all of the books being released in association with the Terminator Salvation, which was released this weekend.

We have novelizations, prequel books and comics, and art and film companion books — all of the books that Terminator fans would want to have in their library or on their coffee table!

Below you’ll find the brief summaries of the books, along with authors, illustrators, number of pages, publishers, and a link to where you can go and get your own copy.

Also, be sure to check back tomorrow for information on your chance to win one of the Terminator Salvation tie-in books, courtesy of the awesome folks at Titan Books..

Enjoy! [...]

Terminator Salvation
Directed by McG
Starring Christian Bale, Anton Yelchin, Sam Worthington, Bryce Dallas Howard, Moon Bloodgood, Common
Rated PG-13
Release date: May 21, 2009

The future is not set. There is no fate but what we make for ourselves.

Being a big fan of the Terminator film series ever since I was in elementary school I always took those words to heart. Time is always in a state of flux and the most minor action could set forth a series of events that could impact future events greatly or simply peter out. The message was that we are all in complete control of our individual destinies and the possibilities are endless. The Terminator movies were not the kind most parents would usually allow their children to watch but my mom did not really care. Her and I, we had a trust. The concepts of time travel and how the slightest mistake in the past can have large scale consequences in the future have been explored in popular fiction for more than a century by authors such as H.G. Wells and Ray Bradbury. The Terminator movies took these concepts and melded them with moral and philosophical ideals and hard-driving action under an umbrella of eternal darkness and storms of fire and rain. They made a movie star out of a Hitler-admiring bodybuilder from Austria, gave a prolific directing career to a former truck driver and Roger Corman protégé from Canada, and raised the bar for cinematic science fiction. Even the unnecessary third entry, Rise of the Machines, had its moments.

Seen in brief flash forwards throughout the first three films was the conflict that set the story in motion — Judgment Day and the war against the Machines. With eyes forced open we saw the grungy remnants of humanity valiantly taking the battle to Skynet and its mechanized band of hooligans with steel guts and plenty of high-powered weaponry as the sky burned cold with nuclear nightmares [...]

Warner Brothers Digital Distribution and Halcyon Games have developed a six-episode animated series called Terminator Salvation: The Machinima Series.

The series uses real-time computer animations generated from the Terminator Salvation video game, and applies it to a new original story about Blair Williams (who is played by Moon Bloodgood in the movie). The episodes can be obtained on iTunes, Amazon Video on Demand, Xbox Live, and Sony PlayStation Network. Each episode will run you $1.99, or $2.99 if you want it in HD. You can also drop $9.99 ($14.99 HD) for a season pass that will automatically get you future episodes each week.

Here’s what Terminator Salvation director McG had to say about the Machinima:

From a film maker’s point of view, Machinima provides an incredibly dynamic way to explore live worlds and tell compelling new stories. The process allows the writer and director to think cinematically, while at the same time executing certain things that would otherwise be cost-prohibitive or even impossible on a set. [...]

I’m going to assume that 99.9% of us have seen at least The Terminator and Terminator 2: Judgment Day, if not Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines as well. If you have not, and you’re planning on seeing Terminator Salvation this week, then Geeks of Doom is your place to make sure you at least have some kind of an idea of what the hell is going on.

Keep in mind — I can absolutely promise you that Salvation and any others ever made will not be anywhere near as good as the first two, and I strongly urge you to see them first; but if you just don’t have time and have to get you some Christian Bale action now, hopefully this will help out a little.

Before you continue here, be sure to check out our own BAADASSSSS!’s in-depth and thoughtful retrospect of 1984’s The Terminator. Go ahead, I’ll wait.

OK, now that you’ve read up on the first movie, here’s the promised quick recaps of both T2 and T3 so that you can complete the Zelda tri-force and be fully prepared to see Terminator Salvation! [...]

Since our prehistoric ancestors first learned how to use tools and then learned that those tools could also be used as killing implements mankind has always been at war in some form or another. From the battlefields of our nation and many others around the world to the pages of superhero comic books and the flickering lights of the silver screen, epic battles have been fought and fearsome adversaries have been encountered and either conquered or embraced as an ally. Sometimes the greatest enemies can be the ones we create for ourselves, stored in our active imaginations until they can be loosed on an unsuspecting world. Oftentimes there can be no greater enemies than the ones we become out of the necessity to feed our weaknesses and satiate our egos.

Enter James Cameron’s 1984 scifi classic The Terminator.

The machines rose from the ashes of the nuclear fire. Their war to exterminate mankind had raged for decades, but the final battle would not be fought in the future. It would be fought here, in our present. Tonight…

Once upon a time future, self-proclaimed “king of the world” James Cameron was screwed six ways to Sunday [...]

Alright, my peoples. Let us kick off our Week of Geek: Terminator Salvation right.

To coincide with the release of Terminator Salvation this week from Warner Bros. Pictures and Sony Pictures how about Geeks of Doom gives two (2) lucky readers a copy of Terminator Salvation — The Videogame, along with the official strategy guide AND a supremely awesome T-600 bust?!?!

How about that one? How ’bout.

Yep. Geeks of Doom has the Terminator Salvation goods and we’re giving it to ya good. Well, two of you. We’ve got two sweet Terminator Salvation prize packs to bestow upon dos lucky geeks—one for XBox 360 and one for Playstation 3. It looks like the crew at Evolved Games outdid themselves because judging from the video and images below this game looks freakin’ amazing!

We ask that you please specify which gaming platform you’d prefer in the comment section of the entry form [...]

While touted as being “not your father’s Star Trek,” perhaps it was actually your mother’s, because this Mother’s Day weekend, JJ Abrams‘ prequel/reboot Star Trek reportedly earned $79.2 million at the domestic box office and has broken opening weekend IMAX records.

Paramount reports that due to strong attendance on Mother’s Day yesterday — which brought in $21 million — the film exceeded expectations by $3 million. The film went into early previews on Thursday night and played in 3,849 locations.

Meanwhile, 11% of the film’s total domestic gross came from its Star Trek: The IMAX Experience showings, which brought in $8.5 million from 138 IMAX screens. The limited IMAX run registered a per screen average of approximately $62,000 for the weekend, marking the highest grossing Friday, Saturday, and Sunday ever for an IMAX opening [...]

Ok, so I’m extending the Week of Geek Star Trek edition by one more day, because after two viewings of the new film and countless comments and forum posts I’ve read about it, I felt I should address some of the likes and dislikes about the JJ Abrams‘ prequel/reboot that people have expressed.

When I went to see the new Star Trek twice this weekend, I snarked not. I’m not saying that it’s a perfectly crafted story with no plot holes and no highly improbably scenarios. I’m just saying that the film was so entertaining for me on a whole that while watching it, I was never taken out of the story by those “WTF?” moments that every single film has. And, I really thought I would, because I typically can’t get down with time-travel stories. Yeah, I love me some Back To The Future and Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure, but those are comedies. You don’t fear the time-travel complications the way you do in a movie like Star Trek, where lives can be altered permanently and you can’t just laugh off the consequences.

But, like I said, every film has those “WTF?” moments, and for Star Trek, I’m seeing posts and comments all over the internet about people’s issues with the film. Some of these queries into the film are more easily answered than others. Therefore, here’s some possible explanations for 10 issues consistently noted by people who’ve seen the film, as well as a list of why the new Star Trek film is all right with me.

WARNING: This article contains mega-SPOILERS, so if you haven’t seen the new Star Trek, enter at your own risk. There be SPOILERS here, Admiral! [...]