G.I. James Is Wayyyy Tougher Than G.I. Joe

It's a Monday in the summer, which means we have to learn about the crappy movie that was America's favorite this weekend. And today that task is more grim than usual. The big winner is G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra.

Despite the warnings of film reviewers around the nation, we still spent $56.2 million this weekend to watch another CGI-drenched effort to make 9/11 look like jay-walking. This in  the same summer that Americans' favorite film is also about their Eighties-era toys saving them from Armageddon: Transformers II.

And by coincidence, that big box office haul comes just as the Pentagon is asking for more troops in Afghanistan, which is spinning out of control. Those soldiers will come from among those who survived harrowing, traumatizing tours in Iraq.

Now there's an awful lot you can do to "Support the Troops," as so many millions of yellow-ribboned bumper stickers would demand. But the very least you can do, in my opinion, is to patronize a film that shows the real dangers faced by U.S. soldiers, rather than one that implies that their jobs aren't quite interesting enough. So watch The Hurt Locker -- the story of Staff Sgt. William James. That's the trailer for it above. It's sensational, and it's a sad statement on American film-viewing habits that while Transformers II is expected to top $400 million, The Hurt Locker has actually surprised critics by making $9 million.