More than meets the eye: Anticipating the release of the Transformers movie – Part 4

My excitement at the pending release of a CGI Transformers movie is tampered by my trepidation – I am chanting to myself, “Please don’t mess it up, please don’t mess it up”.

While the loss of Frank Welken (Megatron’s original voice) is a serious blow, I think Hugo Weaving (of Elrond and Agent Smith fame) will make an exceptional substitute. His highbrow, snooty, I’m-better-than-you-are villainy is perfect for the part. And Peter Cullen reprising his role as Optimus is essential.

Other changes seem a bit extreme. Bumblebee is now a Camaro, rather than a VW Bug? Tough to swallow, but I suppose the movie must go where the sponsors pay it to go. And rather than pick more from an already established pool of characters, the movie has opted to bring in some totally new ‘bots, and I question the necessity of such a move. There are dozens upon dozens to choose from, why make more?

The trailers make the special effects look magnificent. Hopefully the quality of the rest of the movie matches the brief glimpses we’re being given. Often we are given the choice cuts in a trailer to bring us in, only to find the best part of the movie is one we’ve seen twenty times on TV without paying for a ticket. “The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe” comes to mind…

Already the fan blogs are filled with wails and howls of indignation – “How dare they do (this, that, t’other) to my favorite character!” But keep in mind, this is a twenty-year old franchise, and it has been in sore need of a face-lift ever since the Headmasters debacle. This is one change that needed to happen, and while it won’t look like the Transformers we’re used to (the robot forms of both sides are much more spidery and articulated than in the cartoon), this particular bow to the demand for “realistic” fantasy will probably turn out to be quite nice.

All in all, I will be going to opening night no matter what I hear. I simply can’t pass it up. But I do have some slight reservations…

Movie reviews: The Transformers (2007) – Part 8

Transformers, more then meets the eye, in my opinion is a MUST see movie. For some, it take you down memory lane to the cartoon, that we used to watch on Saturday mornings. For others, like my self, it sends a deeper message, one that drives you to see the characters in a new manor. The world we live in today is always battling, the good vs. evil. As depicted in the movie Optimus Prime and the Autobots fight for justice and the human race, where Megatron and the deceptions fight for the power and destruction of the universe. It reminds me of what Bush is doing to the American people and our nation.

As I continually watch this movie, I pick up on new meanings and topics, everything else around me goes blank and for those two hours, I forget that it is only a movie.

Even though they are autonomous microorganisms, each character has a divine purpose, to either protect or to harm those with whom they are surrounded by. Optimus Prime briefly speaks on how the world we know coming to an end if Megatron finds the Alstar, which contains the power to destroy the human race, and the universe. I find this scene to be very interesting because, as I see it, this is what is happening to us by those in power. When Jazz another autobot questions Optimus Prime about caring so much for the human race he replies by saying ” humans are a primitive race, there is goodness in them, and the only way to end the war is to destroy the cube(alstar) and bring peace to the planet, so the humans do not have to pay for our mistakes” The mistakes the government continually covers up and keeps secret to the public. The autobots want to do the “right ” thing to save the population.

In the scene where another autobot Bumble Bee, risks his own capture to save Sam, the boy who hold the key to where the cube is hidden. Bubble Bee is captured by the government, the look in the eyes and the cries for help are the most heart wrenching part of the movie, it brought tears to my eyes, and I could actually feel his pain. As Americans we are faced with the fear of destruction daily.

Toward the end when Megatron is going after Sam for the cube, Sam is holding on to a pillar at the top of a building and megatron asks Sam “what compels you boy, is it fear or courage?” I believe, for Sam, and us as Americans, it is a little of both. Fear of the Decepticons destroying his world and the courage to save his new found friends and the environment he lives in.

As you read this you may say that I’m crazy, well maybe I am but, these are my opinions, my believes, and how movies are being used to show a different side of the world we know. We have the right to choose for ourselves what to believe and I am beginning to see movies and my surroundings in a whole new light.

Movie reviews: The Transformers (2007) – Part 22

We went out to see the Transformers movie on July 3, and all I can say is that the movie really rocked! I was pleasantly surprised! I was kind of scared since Michael Bay was at the helm of this movie project,but I was truly and honestly impressed. This movie is definitely the best movie of this year and I don’t believe anything is gonna come close to even touching this one.It is already breaking records, it has the highest earnings for a Tuesday in the history of the movie business (it beat pirates of the Caribbean:dead man chest by almost 18 million dollars). The movie is also much better than the third installments that were released this summer, spider man 3, shrek 3, and pirates 3, which none of them lived up to their predecessors. This movie was really fun, and exciting1 All the critics who gave it bad reviews need to all get a life, because they like complete garbage like the departed and crash, which aren’t even worth my time and shouldn’t be worth anyone else’s time either.I know Transformers won’t be nominated for any oscar or whatever those other movie awards are, but that is good they arent ,because the movie is in a far better league than anything nominated anyway.The acting was top notch and the robots were great. Optimus and Megatron voices were so close to the originals it was really amazing!Big shout out to Michael Bay for making such a great movie! If anyone didn’t see this movie yet anyway if you are a fan or not, you will have fun, go out and see it, well worth the money and your time.

Movie reviews: The Transformers (2007) – Part 21

When I discovered that they were making a film about Transformers, it instilled in me a wonderful sense of nostalgia. When my daughters were younger, (they are now 27 and 24), I was often left cursing after stepping on one of the partially transformed’ toys that they insisted on having for their birthdays, Christmas etc.. For this reason alone, I decided to go and watch the film at our local cinema when it came out on general release.

The plot, like most other plots, involves goodies’ and baddies’, the difference being that the sides for good and evil, in this film are portrayed by robots from another planet who have the ability to transform into various mechanical vehicles.

The baddies are led by a hunk of metal called Megatron’, whose prime objective, along with his evil sidekicks, seems to be to destroy the earth, the way their own planet was destroyed.

Thankfully the good guys, led by Optimus Prime, are equally as determined to save the ungrateful human race from extinction and befriend a young guy and (what he hopes) his hot totty of a girlfriend.

Although the dialogue is somewhat cheezy the special effects are superb and the humour entertaining. Not particularly thought provoking, but definitely worth a watch.

So get your bucket of pop-corn and drink, sit back and relax and enjoy a couple of hours of family entertainment.