Saw Transformers last night, thought it was fantastic - surprisingly laugh out loud funny and and non-stop. Maybe a little overlong in the action sequences and it felt like they cut lots of little bits out to cut down but generally surprisingly very good.
- pj
Anyone use any of these for cbr and cbz files? I've been thinking of a PSP but screen large enough? Any other recommendations?
Chris
It was better then it had any right to be certainly. But personally, complaining about over long action scenes is silly. As the worst parts of the movie will melodrama bits.
I actually liked the bits with the human army guys, I liked they're ground level view as they helped fight the Decepticons.
I quite enjoyed it, a few good laughs, a hot girl and big robots. What's not to like? Only criticism I have is that the action scenes were a bit too busy, it was all very close to the action making it difficult to see what was going on when you had two robots clumping each other around. So the action left me a little cold but still had some great moments. All in all a pretty good summer movie(my girlfriend declared it the best movie she's ever seen which she now admits was a moment of over-robo-excitement).
The bit where all the Autobots are hiding felt like it would never end, but otherwise it was alright, but I wouldn't pay to see it again.
as I've said befor I loved this, most of the humour worked, loved the action, didn't even mind the US army wank that was in it. Cant wait to see it on DVD, slow down or rewind the action to see it a bit more clearly.
Oh and that Shia guy really is good in it cant wait to see him playing off Ford in Indy 4.
Other action movies do seem a bit tame now though.
CU Radbacker
Watched this last week with my two boys.
It is complete and utter fucking rubbish from start to finish. But somehow at the same time in managed to be astoundingly enteraining, exciting warm and funny throughout.
It was so good, in fact, that for the rest of the day, my youngest could only communicate through various robot noises as he threw himself around the floor in various autobot poses.
After a promising and fairly entertaining first third, the movie degenerated into a series of ever more tedious action sequences, endless scenes of uninteresting government procedures(poor John Voight) macho gun-ho military posturing, wrapped up in a ludicrously nonsensical plot.
The overall effect being one off complete information overload.
Off the cast only Shia Labeouf can walk away with any pride intact, due to his spiky performance; and while the female lead was undoubtably attractive, her acting left a lot to be desired-although to be fair it was a pretty under-written part.
The effects work could not be faulted, as was hoped. But as I walked from the cinema I experience a strange sensation of being mildly entertained and mourning the state of modern cinema at the same time.
Way too long too.
I'm seeing this with my boys on Saturday. Can't wait, despite knowing far too much about it.
Then it's only two weeks til the Bourne Ultimatum- rally looking forward to that.
Bolt-01
Well, we went to see it while recently on holiday in France.
In French. Without Subtitles and armed only with a schoolboy knowledge of french from 25 years back.
Reckon we got EIGHTY per cent of what was going on.
It bludgeoned you with so much eye candy and entertainment in the usual Michael bay style that it's almost churlish to suggest that it was completely by the numbers Hollywood style movie making with no hint of originality, twist, shock or suprise.
Prepare yourself for a couple of minutes of squirming in the middle of the film -- it's a very funny bit.
- pj
I admit this does look like a good action movie. But I cannot, in good faith, pay to see a movie that exists only to sell other products from the franchise. They've brought out a transfomer mp3 player for goodness sake!
It's the same with Bratz!
more frustratingly they've bought out a range of non-transforming action toys!
-pj
I don't even want to try and guess what other kind of things they've created. I'll bet the most ridiculous thing you could imagine is on their 'To do' list.
And they'll charge you an insane amount of cash...and then package it in a way that will make your kids pull at your shirt sleeve and scream until you give up...and then the sequel will come out, so they'll make a bunch of 'friends' for your kid's new toy...and then...
...well, you get the picture.
Jesus fucking Christ, some of the criticism of this film is just plain insane.
If you want to see King Lear-quality acting you don't expect to find it in a film about giant robots from space fighting each other. It seems a little churlish to complain about the acting skills of a 20-year old girl who is only in the film in the first place to appeal to a certain section of the audience.
And what is wrong with a film that only exists to sell toys? ALL films are made only to make money; whether it is by selling tickets and DVDs or by also making a bit extra on the side by marketing other products, what do you care as long as it delivers? You talk as if there is some tremendously important principle involved or something.
And I would not have actually expected to find a "hint of originality" in a film which I knew in advance was based on another film / comics / TV series from 20 years ago.
If the action was hard to follow, or some scenes went on too long, or whatever, then fair enough. You can't know about those things until you see the film. But to complain about predictable things which are inherent in the whole premise and genre of the film is a bit daft.
My main problem with the film is that is was boring in a way that no film with fantastic special effects about giant robots from space fighting each other has any right to be.
It had everything I wanted it to have - well, except for zombies eating brains but I suppose you can't shoehorn those into every movie - but it was still dull.
The action scenes were confusing - you couldn't tell which giant space robot was getting it's head kicked in half the time, and that's only part of what made it suck so badly.
The movie would have benefitted from being an hour shorter, with action scenes that made sense as well as looking cool.
It had great music, though.
Saw this yesterday afternoon. It was almost perfect entertainment. Funny, sad, exciting and the only thing I wanted Megatron to do was say, "yyeess" in the way he did during the Beast wars/machines and I could have left happy after five minutes. The effects are astounding, and I am definately going to be getting some new toys soon. Bumblebee at least!
Bolt-01
I've no problem with a film trying to make money, because a good story well told will automatically do this. I've no problem if a film is a particularly strong brand and results in sales of other non-film items such as toys and the mother of them all...lunchboxes!
My problem is when a film exists ONLY to sell these things, which is exactly what Transformers and the upcoming Bratz are for.
The whole film is just a marketing exercise for the rest of the franchise. THAT is my problem.
Peter Jackson's LOTR trilogy was also full of glorious CGI. Hell, it was three bloody films full of CGI, but at least the film could stand alone as something worthwhile. And yes it resulted in loads of merchandise being sold, but that existed as a result of the film, not the other way around.
I enjoyed it. Not perfect but an entertaining film.
The only thing I really disliked was the leader of Sector 7. Such a terrible character. It nearly spoiled it for me but when the action kicked off again it was pretty good.
well you cant blame them for trying to sell toys and merchandise for a movie that was based on a Toy line to begin with can you? Shrek on the other hand makes me want to cry when you see whats been done to that.
Watched Transformers again last night and while it wasn't as good the second time(didn't have the awe factor) its still a damn fine action movie, its probably a bit long(by about 30minutes) and could do with a bit of a trim, the actions even better the second time as you know when all the O.M.G moments are and you can aticipate them.
CU Radbacker
Nice icon, Richard. I have that picture - Dredd over the huge piles of corpses. Some limited edition print thing wasn't it.
I think you are wrong about the criticism by the way. We shouldn't accept any old crap just because it has big robots in it. There's plenty of room for good acting no matter waht the size of blockbuster or the age of the actor actress
Dakota Fanning in War of the Worlds is a fine example of a youngster doing good. You've also got fin acting by Christian Bale and Liam Neeson in that film last year; surely we had no right to expect that, after all it was just a film about the psycopath that dresses up as a bat to fight crime.
Similarly there's no reason for them not to be original even though you know the basic concept. The BOURNE films have brought a little bit of freshness to a tired spy genre even though the books are old enough.
Hey Tip!
I really don't see the problem you have with the acting (although I see from up-thread you saw it in French so maybe the acting is better in English than French). As a matter of fact I thought the acting was great - even the cartoonier acting of the robots was great.
- pj
Dakota Fanning in War of the Worlds, the only time I've ever wanted to reach into the screen and punch the living daylights out of a child.
Shut. The. Fuck. Up!
(I don't judge standing around doing nothing but screaming to be acting)
I though Dakota Fanning, horribly over-used young actress that she is, did an excellent job withher character in War of the Worlds, alternately wise beyond her years and utterly hysterical in a plausible fashion, in a movie that otherwise pissed me off badly with its utterly flubbed conclusion. Stay dead, son, stay dead.
I didn't actually have a problem with the acting. (In fact, the young male teen seemed to acquit himself OK).
I was just taking issue with what I perceived to be someone saying "It's only a summer blockbuster, why would you expect good acting?".
.