The Transformers Movie

What’s cool about the advancement of technology is that there are certain pieces that were simply made for advanced pieces of technology, but were created too soon. A prime example would be “Dark Side of the Moon” by Pink Floyd. The sonic landscapes and incredible details of the album were simply born to be enjoyed on the crisp, clean sound that a CD player could only provide. Even though “Dark Side” was released in 1974, its full appreciation couldn’t be discovered until the advent of the CD some 15 years later. Now, “Dark Side of the Moon” is the first CD you purchase when you grow out of your little crappy radio to a full-fledged adult, amazing kick-ass stereo system.

Which brings us to film; special effects have always been an integral part of creating worlds that moviegoers could believe in. From the colorization of Oz to Moses parting to Red Sea to being chased by the Death Star, special effects are just as important as the lead actor in some films. And while we’ve always been amazed at what was created for its time, it would be interesting to see what could be done then with the technology of today.

If there is one movie that’s destined for today’s technological and special effects advances, it comes out in July of 2007: the Transformers. For years, fans and enthusiasts would imagine what a real life Transformer would look like. How would the classic cartoon incarnation of Optimus Prime, Megatron and the other Autobots and Decepticons translate to a live action, big screen adventure? Well, this year, that question will be answered.

Forget about story or character or plot development for a second, and simply focus on big giant robots beating each other up. And then, in an instant, those big giant robots will transform into a truck or a plane and rip through the city at an incredible pace. In the early days of film, the concept would probably be impossible to place on the screen and do it justice. In the golden age of film, it would look interesting, but laughable. In the special effects era of movies, it would look passable, but not believable. But now, in 2007, with all the possibilities and abilities which special effects wizards have at their disposal, the Transformers, should, at the very least, look realistic.

A common source of debate for the upcoming Transformers movie is how the characters should look. The classic cartoon appearance, while iconic and nostalgic, supposedly does not translate that well onto a live action, big screen experience. Therefore, a whole new redesign of all the characters was necessary in order to make this movie appear realistic. And that is one of the main objectives behind this movie: it has to look absolutely real. In today’s age of special effects magic, there shouldn’t be too many movies that have cheap looking production values. But, in terms of scope and size, the visual challenges of the Transformers represent some of the biggest in moviemaking history.

Of course, because this is a big-budget adaptation of a classic 80’s cartoon and comic, the whole idea is to make this a trilogy. But, nobody is going to be interested in Transformers 2 & 3 if the first one looks amateurish. This is one of those movies that could never have been made at any other time before this one, and it’s just as imperative that all the effects are done to perfection. There are some cracks at movies that you only get one shot at, with no remake really possible. This is one of those movies!

Can’t wait to see it!

Movie reviews: The Transformers (2007) – Part 41

I would say that the Transformers movie is a great leap in demonstrating how the movie-makers “wow” its audiences by bringing life into robots and reality, rather than relying on animations. This also proves with the recent advancement in technologies nowadays, any scientific / fiction can be filmed in reality scenarios, rather than just plain drawings on papers that has been animated.

I liked the way that this movie brings out the characteristics of each autobots in a clear and distinctively manner, and with certain charisma and charm that captivate my attention as well as many audiences in the movie theater. Bumblebee is definitely the star to gain empathy and liking from the audiences.

However, the movie seemed out of balance as the emphasis is just on the heroes (autobots) of the movies. The movie lacks in portraying and showing really how despicable, down and dirty the Evil decepticons can be like in the comics or in the cartoons.

The main reason for me to favor the Autobots for many years over the Decepticons seemed to be missing. After the movie and upon self-reflection, I just cannot related myself to or to support the idea to really hate and believe that the Decepticons need to be destroyed. The story plot seemed like any old and stale story plot whereby the “bad guys” just co-exists with the “good guys” so that they destroyed by the end of the movie.

On the whole, I will still recommend this movie to all my friends for the special effects, the props, and “bumblebee” in Transformer.

Transformers 2 Why Spoil the Fun?

Transformers was the highest grossing movie of Summer 2007, third grossing movie for year 2007 and one of the best movies I’ve ever watched.

A highly expected sequel has been in production since May 2008 and is still on going. Supposed spoilers, pictures of movie sets and rumors surrounding the movie keep increasing. Everybody wants to know what is going to happen, what’s the plot about, etc.

What I wonder is: doesn’t watching leaked pictures, behind the scene footages and reading spoilers ruin the fun?

The thing is, if you already are aware of the best parts, you’ll have nothing left when the movie finally gets released! You wouldn’t be able to feel the excitement, surprise and intrigue because you’ll already know what’s going to happen. And if you’re the type that likes to share, you might end up telling people who rather wait for the official trailer to build the tension then watch the movie to finally satisfy their curiosity and totally enjoy it.

For those of you who would like to know the general setting, here is some info.

Transformers 2: Revenge Of The Fallen will be release June 26th 2009. Set your calendars Michael Bay is still the director and Steven Spielberg the executive producer; it will have a bigger budget than the first one ( >$151 million) which will enable Michael Bay to introduce characters and scenes which were rejected in the first one and better special effects and animation.

The two main characters made some buzz in the past few weeks:

Shia LaBoeuf, who plays the role of Sam Witwicky, was in a car accident on July 22nd in which he had two of his fingers crashed. He had to undergo a two hours surgery. Some say that Shia was driving under the influence, official report say that the other driver was to blame for not stopping at a red light. Luckily, no one was seriously harmed. The screenplay had to be re-written to accommodate his condition and avoid making it worse.

Megan Fox told GQ Magazine that she had a lesbian affair with a Russian stripper called Nikita when she was 18. But she insists that she’s straight. Just like in Transformers 1 she had to gain weight for the sequel.

Characters who will come back are: Captain Lennox played by Josh Duhamel, Sergeant Epps played by Tyrese Gibson, Agent Simmons played by John Turturro, Ron and Judy Witwicky (Sam’s parents and my favorites) played by Kevin Dunn and Julie White

New ones are Alice (Sam’s college friend) played by Isabel Lucas – She was the passenger in Laboeuf’s car accident but came out unarmed.  Graham (member of the United Kingdom Special Forces) played by Matthew Marsden.

Steve Tom and Nina Dobrey might also be part of the cast.

Bernie Mac had a cameo appearance in Transformers 1 as a used car dealer from whom Sam purchases Bumblebee. Sadly this great actor/comedian died on August 09th 2008 at age 50 from complications of pneumonia. I wonder if he would have been in the sequel had he been alive.

The plot is still unclear but there are numerous crawling the web. In other to keep the story undisclosed, it’s said that director Michael Bay would be releasing unreal ones to keep people off track.

Guess there’s only one thing left to do: wait. It’ll be worth it.

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.