Overwrought G.I. Joe 'Everything You Could Want'

Action flick less than the sum of its all-star parts

(NEWSER) - Sylvester Stallone directed and co-stars, alongside a Magnificent Seven-style roster of action-film legends—Bruce Willis, Dolph Lundgren, Jet Li, Steve Austin, Mickey Rourke, and Jason Statham—but critics have some issues with The Expendables.

• James Verniere (and a friend), Boston Herald : "Hulk like Expendables. It SMASH. Guns go BANG-BANG. Things go BOOM. Fire EVERYWHERE. Cars crash and make even MORE FIRE. HA-HA-HA. Hulk no like Rourke, though. Rourke NUTS."

'Jaws' takes top honors, but some surprises make the list

(NEWSER) - Summer is all about the beach and blockbusters, and Time Out New York set out on a big mission: To rank the 30 best. It set a few restrictions—films had to hit theaters between May and August, had to gross more than $100 million globally, and couldn't be surprise hits, a la The Blair Witch Project. Highlights:

1. Jaws, 1975: This wasn't just a nail-biter, it was a trailblazer, the first flick to use a "wide-release" strategy, which no doubt helped make it the first film to rake in more than $100 million.

4. Ghostbusters, 1984: An action-sci-fi hybrid dosed with SNL-style humor, it proved that something-for-everyone mash-ups can make a smash at the box office.

Will Smith, Tommy Lee Jones return for alien flick

(NEWSER) - Sure, no one was that desperate for a Men in Black 3—but it's actually a pretty good summer movie. Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones are back defending the planet from aliens, and this time, Josh Brolin's along for the ride as a young Jones.

• The movie "turns out to be so much fun," writes AO Scott in the New York Times . While it "carefully fulfills its blockbuster imperatives—with chases and explosions and elaborately contrived plot twists—it swerves into some marvelously silly, unexpectedly witty, and genuinely fresh territory."

Jason Segel, Emily Blunt star in truthful romantic comedy

(NEWSER) - The Five-Year Engagement clocks in at over two hours, which is a bit too long for many critics. But its honesty about relationships makes the Jason Segel-Emily Blunt rom-com stand out from the pack.

• "Because it's so willing to drill down into Tom and Violet's misery, The Five-Year Engagement involves a higher grim-to-grin ratio than its fluffier brethren," writes Ann Hornaday in the Washington Post . "But there's an unmistakable ring of truth to the couple's conflicts and mixed feelings."

Joss Whedon-produced horror-comedy defies convention

(NEWSER) - Critics are applauding Joss Whedon and Drew Goddard's The Cabin in the Woods for its delectable mixture of horror and humor. From a familiar premise—five college students alone in the forest—come all kinds of surprises.

• "A fiendishly clever brand of meta-level genius propels The Cabin in the Woods," writes Ann Hornaday in the Washington Post . It's "a pulpy, deceivingly insightful send-up of horror movies that elicits just as many knowing chuckles as horrified gasps."