image: Paramount

In the film, Sam (Shia LaBeouf) inexplicably chooses to go away to college and leave his girlfriend Mikaela (Megan Fox) and his transforming car, Bumblebee, at home.  That just doesn’t make sense but you’ve just got to go with it.  Sam starts having visions and realizes that it decodes the mystery of the ancient origins of the Transformers.

The Decepticons decide to come back to Earth with the intent of kidnapping Sam (big surprise…) and he must join forces with Optimus Prime and the Autobots in order to save the world and himself.

This movie went so heavy on the special effects that I really couldn’t keep track of what was going on half the time and I’m a HUGE Transformers fan.  I just thought they focused too much on being flashy and not enough on developing a good storyline.  Here’s the trailer:

Post from: EveryJoe

“Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen” on DVD

Here’s one of my favorites (from the June 2009 issue of Elle): “I’ve lived the life of a 35-year-old since I was 18. I’m so suspicious of boys-slash-men. I just don’t like them or trust them.  They’re boys; they’re easily toyed with. I tell stories and have them eating out of my hand.”  I’m sorry but I just find that terribly arrogant and slightly insulting.

Why have I embarked on this little rant?  I read an interview with Transformers director, Michael Bay, and he commented on something she said recently.  While I agree with her when she says that he focused more on special effects than acting, I didn’t appreciate this little gem: “I mean, I can’t s— on this movie because it did give me a career and open all these doors for me. But I don’t want to blow smoke up people’s a–. People are well aware that this is not a movie about acting.”

In response, Bay had the following to say to the Wall Street Journal:  “Well, that’s Megan Fox for you,” Bay tell the “She says some very ridiculous things because she’s 23 years old and she still has a lot of growing to do.  You roll your eyes when you see statements like that and think, ‘Okay Megan, you can do whatever you want. I got it… Nick Cage wasn’t a big actor when I cast him, nor was Ben Affleck before I put him in Armageddon. Shia LaBeouf wasn’t a big movie star before he did Transformers — and then he exploded. Not to mention Will Smith and Martin Lawrence, from Bad Boys. Nobody in the world knew about Megan Fox until I found her and put her in Transformers.  I like to think that I’ve had some luck in building actors’ careers with my films.”

In case you don’t get the references, this very accomplished director brought movies like The Rock, Armageddon and Bad Boys to the big screen.  I think that every one of those films had decent acting and a good storyline (I won’t comment on Bad Boys II…).

Bay is right – I certainly had never heard of Megan Fox before Transformers and I’m disappointed by her lack of gratitude.  I know the sequel wasn’t as great as expected but that’s no reason to bite the hand that feeds you.  Hopefully, she will learn to be grateful before it’s too late unlike some other young actors (ahem, the cast of The O.C. comes to mind).

image: Paramount Pictures

Post from: EveryJoe

Michael Bay: Megan Fox is “Ridiculous”

May was a big month this year with the release of Wolverine: X-Men Origins, Star Trek and Terminator Salvation. There was some controversy with Wolverine being leaked online ahead of its’ big-screen debut but that didn’t seem to deter fans – a sequel to the film is already in the works.  Star Trek was generally well received and was my favorite of these three films but sci-fi purists could argue that it is more of an action film.  Terminator didn’t do as well as expected (it lost out to Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian) but some have attributed that to the fact that the dark nature of the film was unappealing to audiences given the current economic crisis. 

June was also great for new releases which included the antics of Will Ferrell in Land of the Lost, the misadventures of a future groom and his friends in Las Vegas in The Hangover, the return to ancient times in Year One and the comedy-fuelled romance in The Proposal.

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen opened this week and I predict that it will easily claim the top spot at the box-office.  Shia LaBeouf returns as Sam Witwicky who, after going off to college (without Bumblebee!), begins seeing symbols and enlists the help of Optimus Prime and the Autobots, who have been working with the military as part of a Top Secret team called NEST (they hunt down any Decepticons that are still hiding on earth).

When the Decepticons learn about Sam’s visions, and what he doesn’t know, things get ugly and the battle between good and evils starts all over again.

This sequel picks up two years after the events in the first film so it’s pretty amazing that Sam and Mikaela (Megan Fox) are still together.  I’m guessing this has to do more with pleasing the male audience than the strength of their teenage relationship.

During filming, Shai seriously injured his hand in a car accident but, fortunately, the writers were able to work it into the script.

After a highly successful turn in Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan (yes, that’s the entire title), Sacha Baron Cohen returns as Brüno (opens July 10, 2009), an overly flamboyant gay fashion journalist from Austria.

Like the last movie, Brüno was filmed as a mockumentary and, although it initially was assigned an NC-17 rating, Cohen edited the sexual content enough to get the film reclassified to an R rating.

Brüno travels around the world interviewing celebrities and world figures while shocking regular people in every day settings.  Judging from the trailers (and images), I would guess that viewers who were offended by or didn’t like Borat should probably steer clear of this one since the humor looks similar but could actually be a little worse.  I loved Borat but I definitely found myself cringing in some parts.

If you need an example of how convincing and degrading Brüno can be, check out his stunt with rapper, Eminem, at the 2009 MTV Movie Awards.  Many people were fooled by the act but, fortunately, Eminem was in on the gag and “laughed hysterically” in his hotel room later that night.

With all of the books completed, Harry Potter fans already know how this story is going to end but, of course, they will want to see how it plays out on the big screen.

After audiences were wowed by Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, director David Yates signed on for the remaining three films (Deathly Hallows is being broken up into two parts which will be released in 2010 and 2011).

In Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince (in theatres July 15, 2009), we get to see Harry (Daniel Radcliffe), Ron (Rupert Grint) and Hermione (Emma Watson) in their sixth year at Hogwarts and there’s more drama and excitement than ever.  With their hormones raging, the three navigate their way through teenage romances but, unfortunately, this is the least of their worries.

Hogwarts is no longer a safe place for students with Lord Voldemort taking a greater hold over the people in both the Muggle and wizarding worlds.  In order to try to stop the Death Eaters, Harry and Dumbledore must work together to tap into Voldermort’s weaknesses but, of course, this is not an easy task.  While Dumbledore believes that his old friend, Professor Horace Slughorn, could be vital to their mission no one is prepared for the tragedy that lies ahead.  If done correctly, this could be the most intense Harry Potter film yet.

With the summer predictably jam-packed with action films, horror-flick, Orphan (opening July 24, 2009), definitely stands out.  Before I proceed, I thought I’d offer an explanation to any readers who might think that this movie has already been released.  Yes, this is a scary movie about a child and the word “orphan” appears in the title.  This is not to be confused with another scary movie about a child called The Orphanage which was released in 2007.

In this film, a couple’s marriage suffers after the loss of their unborn child.  The wife, Kate (Vera Farmiga), begins having nightmares and is tormented by some things in her past.  In an attempt to move past the tragedy, Kate and her husband, John (Peter Sarsgaard) adopt a young girl from a local orphanage.

The couple are barely settling into life with their new daughter, Esther, when Kate realizes that something is not quite right with the child.  Unfortunately, no one else sees the problems and it could be too late when they finally see Esther for what she really is.

G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra is the latest in a string of 1980s cartoons and television shows to be resurrected on the big screen.  Releasing August 7, 2009, the trailers of this film haven’t been entirely impressive but maybe they will get better closer to opening day.

As you might predict, the plot isn’t overly complicated.  In fact, the original theme song explains it all:  “GI Joe is the codename for American’s daring, highly trained special mission force. It’s purpose, to defend human freedom against Cobra- a ruthless, terrorist organization determined to rule the world.”  Seriously, that’s it.

Currently, it does look like it relies too heavily on computer-generated imagery so I hope that it has more hand-to-hand fight scenes than what’s being shown.

The cast is decent enough.  I’m particularly pleased with Channing Tatum as Duke and Marlon Wayans as Ripcord but I am concerned with Sienna Miller as The Baroness and Joseph Gordon-Levitt as Cobra Commander.

District 9 hits theatres on August 14, 2009.  It’s getting a lot of buzz on the internet due to the viral marketing but I’m still not completely sure what it’s about.

The promotional campaign reminds me a bit of what was used for films like Cloverfield and The Blair Witch Project in the sense that they are trying to make it seem like the events are really taking place.  For example, the official website is managed by Multinational United (MNU), a fictitious company from the movie.

In the film, “an extraterrestrial race forced to live in slum-like conditions on Earth suddenly find a kindred spirit in a government agent that is exposed to their biotechnology.”

I think it’s a creative idea and sci-fi fans will probably flock to the theater in droves to see it even if only out of curiosity.  I have to admit that I’m interested in it mostly because of the mysterious nature of the plot as well as the very effective online marketing.   

Quentin Tarantino’s highly anticipated film, Inglourious Basterds, finally opens on August 21, 2009.  The script took 10 years to write and features the largest number of speaking roles of any of his films.

The movie features two storylines: “One (based on a true story) follows a group of Jewish-American soldiers whose mission is to take down a group of Nazis, and the other follows a young Jewish woman who seeks to avenge the death of her parents by this Nazi group.”

The cast is great and surprising at the same time and includes Hollywood heavyweights like Brad Pitt and Mike Myers alongside foreign stars and new actors.  The international cast should bring an authentic feel to the movie but many critics at the 62nd Cannes Film Festival felt that there was too much talking and too little action.

After his reworking of the original Halloween, Rob Zombie is back with the sequel H2: Halloween 2 which will be released in theaters on August 28, 2009.

I wasn’t particularly thrilled with the first movie but, then again, I really didn’t think that Halloween needed to be reworked at all – the original film was perfect.  I am, however, more optimistic about this one after seeing the teaser trailer.

Aside from the short clip and production stills, there isn’t a lot of information to be found about this movie just yet but I do know that it picks up hours after the first film ended.  After Michael Myers (Tyler Mane) goes on his murderous rampage, his sister, Laurie Strode (Scout Taylor-Compton) is taken to the hospital.  The problems begin when Michael returns to Haddonfield, Illinois where he hopes to reunite with Laurie.

While this movie would probably do better at the box-office if it was released closer to Halloween, I’m pretty sure it will still attract a large audience.

Of course, I can’t write about every movie that will be coming out this summer so I’d love to hear about any movies you are planning to see even if they aren’t on my list!

images: Rotten Tomatoes

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Post from: EveryJoe

2009 Summer Movie Preview

image: Paramount Pictures

The story picks up two years after the events in Transformers and Sam Witwicky (Shia LaBeouf) makes a big life decision – he chooses to go away to college and leave behind his girlfriend, Mikaela (Megan Fox) and his beloved car, Bumblebee.  I can’t imagine why he would do that but let’s hope there’s a good explanation in a movie.

Anyway, everything seems fine until he starts seeing visions and symbols that he doesn’t understand.  When he tells Optimus Prime about it, the Autobots’ leader reveals that there is a lot that Sam doesn’t know.  Of course, the Decepticons find out about the secrets being kept from Sam and a war between good and evil erupts (again).

The new Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen video game looks amazing so, maybe after I see the movie, I’ll pick up a copy.  It looks a little more flexible than the game for the first movie so I’m looking forward to checking out.

Post from: EveryJoe

Out Now: Transformers Revenge of the Fallen

This third-person shooter game will be similar to the first in some ways since it will allow gamers to choose between two campaigns – one for the Autobots and another for the Decepticons.  The game will be based on the film’s plot but will also include some additional missions and characters.

As I mentioned earlier, there were times when I found the first game a little too challenging (if I’m being honest, there were levels that I could have easily completed but I just didn’t want to go through the whole thing) so I am happy to learn that in this version, players will be able to pick and choose which missions they’d like to complete.  I’m noticing that more and more games are taking this non-linear route and I prefer it, for the most part.

There are five different multiplayer modes to choose from (this varies from one console to the next so make sure you read the game packaging for more information) but, of course, I’d have to really play the game before I could really explain how they work.

I was able to find a list of the characters that will be appearing in the game.  They are as follows:

Autobots – Aerialbot, Breakaway, Bumblebee, Ironhide, Jetfire, Optimus Prime, Protectobot and Ratchet.

Decepticons – Demolishor, Devastator, The Fallen, Grindor, Long Haul, Megatron, Ravage, Scrapper, Seeker, Sideways, Soundwave and Starscream.

For an even better idea of what to expect, check out the game trailer (Xbox 360 version):

Post from: EveryJoe

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen

Bay writes: “…I have been waiting, and waiting for the anticipation of an ‘event movie’ to make it into the ‘public zeitgeist.’”  He goes on to call the print campaign an “abject failure,” with a “pathetic presence” before saying: “a studio that does not make [the opening of a movie] an event…. will get bitten in the ass.  Besides my good friend Steven [Spielberg], Jerry [Bruckheimer] has made a lot more successful movies then (sic) all of us.  Is this is a cash issue with your company?”

He even seemed displeased with how the film was showcased at the MTV Video Awards, calling the effort “so lame.”  I agreed with him up until this point.  I think the MTV promo was great!

At least things seemed to have improved by June 6, 2009 since Bay had some better things to say: “Paramount is like family. Thank you all for busting your butts and bringing your ‘A game’ for the release of Transformers.”

I’m guessing they either did something to make it up to Bay or he changed his mind about their work.  Either way, it’s good news because I’m excited about this movie and I think that most people are.  Does the Transformers sequel really need that much promotion?

image: Paramount Pictures

Post from: EveryJoe

Bay Unhappy With Transformers Promotion

Unfortunately, not all of his injuries happened on-set.  As you might have heard, Shia was in a car accident last July and he walked away with his life but his hand suffered irreparable damage.  The writers were forced to change some of the storyline to work around it and Shia revealed how they were able to pull it off:  “He hurts his hand in the middle of a human transfer.  Sorry this is so mysterious. There’s just certain words I can’t say.”

The injury caused other problems during production.  He was not able to drive since, after the accident, he refused to take a Breathalyzer and had his license suspended.  That’s pretty inconvenient considering the fact that, in the first movie, he was behind the wheel A LOT.  Granted, Bumblebee did all the driving so maybe they got creative?

He also talked a bit about the plot.  If you’ve seen the trailers, you’ll know that Sam heads off to college and begins seeing symbols through “epileptic seizure-type fits of information transfer” and “becomes a factual volcano.”  Shia explained that those symbols actually combine to create some sort of map to a very powerful energy source.

Despite all the drama, I’m glad they kept Shia because I think he was a perfect choice for Sam and I really love him as an actor.  I just hope he stays out of trouble from now on.

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen hits theaters on June 24, 2009.

image: Paramount Pictures

Post from: EveryJoe

Shia LaBeouf Talks about “Transformers”

I’m not only a die-hard Transformers fan but I’m also an admitted Trekkie so this next bit of news really piqued my interest.  I don’t know how many of you saw the original cartoon Transformers: The Movie (1986) but Leonard Nimoy (best known as Spock from Star Trek) provided the voice of Galvatron.

Roberto Orci, who is a writer on Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen has said that he would like to have Nimoy as the voice of a character in the new movie (I’d love it too!).

As if that’s not a big enough incentive, Bay revealed something else: “You know, he’s (Nimoy) related to me.  And now that you are filming this, maybe you can send it to him. [Nimoy] is married to Susan Bay, who’s a cousin to me.  I just feel kind of bad about asking him. Like ‘I can’t pay you that much? But would you do this voice?’  Would he do it?  He suggested to my mom that he might do it.”

Wow… when all else fails, go to the director’s mom!

image: Spock Poster, Amazon.com

Post from: EveryJoe

Leonard Nimoy Returning to Transformers?

Photo by DreamWorks/Paramount

First of all, we get our first real look at some of the Decepticons.  I’m not 100% sure about the one that appears to be jumping out of the water but I do know that it’s Starscream in the photo below with Sam.

We also get a glimpse at some of the locations.  I see that the desert/military scenes have made a comeback but are those the Egyptian pyramids in one shot!?  That would be AMAZING!

Of course, I’m also curious about how they are going to bring back Megatron since he was destroyed in the first film by the All Spark.  I guess I will have to anxiously wait and see.

The plot for the sequel (according to IMDb) is as follows: “Decepticon forces return to Earth on a mission to take Sam Witwicky prisoner, after the young hero learns the truth about the ancient origins of the Transformers. Joining the mission to protect humankind is Optimus Prime, who forms an alliance with international armies for a second epic battle.”

The film hits theaters on June 24, 2009.  In the meantime, enjoy these production stills:

Photo by DreamWorks/Paramount

Photo by DreamWorks/Paramount

Photo by Jaimie Trueblood/DreamWorks/Paramount Pictures

Photo by Robert Zuckerman/DreamWorks/Paramount Pictures

Photo by DreamWorks/Paramount

Photo by DreamWorks/Paramount

Post from: EveryJoe

New Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen Stills