And so, It Begins....

One of these movie posters is a fake, created by the dynamic duo Tycho and Gabe over at Penny Arcade, while the other is, sadly, a real poster for a soon-to-be "feature" film. While it should be relatively easy to spot the fake (or is it?), both the Ruxpin and Alvin as a full-length live-action films are equally ridiculous, and are signs of the current "play-it-safe" nostalgia exploiting Hollywood trend. Rather than spending time developing original Intellectual Property (IP), it's much easier to find a beloved franchise and make a new "totally rad" and "contemporary" remake in film form.

Transformers is out, it's doing well, and because of that now the decision has been made to dredge up another part of my childhood and squeeze it's guts out until it fills a couple hours of celluloid. While I haven't seen Transformers, but have heard some good things, I have no doubt that Alvin and the Chipmunks will wander more into Garfield territory than Autobots land.

Is this really necessary? At this rate, a few years from now I won't be able to look back on any part of my childhood without seeing it transmogrified into a cinematic abomination. I look forward to Belvedere: Streaks on the China, and Captain Planet: The Power is Yours to be hitting theaters in late '08 or early '09. Am I kidding? Well, if there's any doubt in your mind, that should tell you there's a serious problem with the Hollywood animal.

Roll Out! More Transformers thoughts...

Due to reasons both professional and personal, it’s been a while since I’ve had the opportunity to contribute to the blog---which is a shame, because I’ve seen a slew of interesting films over the last couple of weeks that I’m dying to write about. Hopefully things will slow down a little and I can dedicate some time to catching up, but until then I’ve decided that-since I devoted a post earlier addressing how worried I was about the just-released Transformers feature film-I should follow up with some thoughts now that I’ve actually seen the thing. For a more formal review, check out H-Dogg’s assessment found here.

In short, I echo the earlier review in feeling that it’s far from a Phantom Menace level disaster (though some bodily fluid humor skirted that line a little closely)—but find it not quite a classic. To be honest, though, I shouldn’t have and couldn’t possibly have expected it to be anything more than a product of the Hollywood blockbuster machine---proven formulas (ordinary meeting extraordinary, disparate protagonists rallying together for a common good, occasionally juvenile humor, things blowing up) utilized to make a film that’s designed to be liked by the largest audience possible. The film couldn’t exist any other way: it takes a lot of cash to create spectacle, and since Transformers as a franchise is by nature tied to its merchandise (the beloved mythology was created in it’s entirety to sell toys) it only makes sense that this iteration of the franchise be equally marketable.

I realize this all doesn’t quite sound like a compliment---but it’s not intended exactly as a slam either. Transformers succeeds as a perfectly fine summer time-waster---the crowd pleaser that the majority of this season’s 3quels failed to be. It brings out the thirteen year old boy in all of us. When this boy was around thirteen, the big summer movie was Independence Day---and while I watch that film now and see mainly the flaws, at the time it felt like the coolest film I’d ever seen. Transformers feels like that now---robot on robot action is as big of a Hollywood spectacle as I can imagine. However, as the years go by and flashier films come and go, the jive-talking Autobots, eye-rolling product placement (I can live with the GM endorsements…but that Mountain Dew/X-Box sequence was unforgivable), and plot holes one could fly Astrotrain through will become more and more distracting.

Spider-Man 3 divided audiences earlier this summer, and while that film is certainly flawed, it at the very least had a distinct director’s influence (Sam Raimi’s loopy sense of humor) behind it and was willing to take chances (that didn’t always work). Bay’s Transformers, while far and away the director’s best film, continues to reveal that Bay-while full of visual flair-isn’t an auteur (unless his artistic vision is to make the most commercial film possible and making lots of money). The film went out of its way to not step on any toes (other than those still upset at Prime having lips).

These criticisms are all from the film geek side of me, the Transformers nerd was just thrilled to see these characters brought to the screen. Sure, I wish the Decepticons (mainly Starscream) were given more screen time and that Bumblebee didn’t piss on John Turturro----but it was a freaking live-action Transformers movie!!!! It’s something I didn’t think I’d ever see in my lifetime. I’ll forgive that it reminded me too often of 1998s Godzilla in its mindless largeness, and let it entertain me—like a summer blockbuster should. If I were to rate it: 7/10

Knocked Up: A Satisfying Comedy

It felt like I waited forever to see Knocked Up. More and more people just kept telling me that it was a good movie and despite my intent to see it in a timely manner, things just kept popping up to keep me out of the theater. Finally I just cleared an afternoon and went solo to a matinee.

It was $5.75 well spent.

Judd Apatow (writer/producer) once again delivers a fine comedy. For those unfamiliar, he also wrote and produced the wildly popular 40 Year Old Virgin starring Steve Carell and while many seem to prefer that effort over Knocked Up, I hereby go on record to say that enjoyed this one a bit more. Virgin was good, but this one made me laugh more.

Knocked Up is the story of Ben (Seth Rogan) and Alison (Katherine Heigl) who come from completely places in life only to hook up for a one night stand after meeting in a nightclub. Its just a simple hook-up, or so it would seem. That is until 8 weeks later when Alison is suddenly feeling sick and gets some life altering news - she's pregnant. Perhaps it wouldn't be so bad if it weren't for the fact that morning after the "deed" she very much regretted being with Ben. Can you smell that muchachos? That's awkward comedy!

Ben is not what one might refer to as a "mover and shaker". Ben is an illegal Canadian immigrant living with a bunch friends who are trying to launch a website that provides users with documentation for when their favorite actresses appear nude in movies. Ben is also not your male model specimen of a man - he's big, he's not popular and he's going effectively nowhere in life. Not to mention that after the sex, things were pretty awkward when talking with Alison.

Alison is upscale. She is professional and works for E! Entertainment News. She just landed the role of host on Talk Soup. Yes, the timing for having Ben's child couldn't be worse. Reluctantly, she contacts him to break the news over dinner. It doesn't take long for the sparks to start flying but out of the anxiety and confusion Ben and Alison decide to try and make things work between them.

In ways Knocked Up may be color by numbers, but there is an added dimension to the focus of the film, namely an examination of the nature of committed relationships. Its more than just awkward guy tries to do right by attractive girl, although there is plenty of that. Relationship is examined in parallel through the characters of Debbie and Pete, Alison's sister and brother-in-law. They are married (obviously) and have two kids and while really in a successful relationship have plenty of their own issues and bumps in the road. Alison and Ben end up looking to them, perhaps unwittingly, for advice and guidance. Of course Alison and Debbie are close but Ben ends up really connecting with Pete which culminates in them escaping for a wild weekend in Vegas where the male perspective on relationships is discussed quite comically.

Also a source of comedy in the film is Ben's troupe of house mates, a motley crew in their own right, they provide plenty of one-liners, much like Andy's co-workers in Virgin. The running gag (making fun of one of the guys for not shaving) had some great lines attributed to it!

In short, this was a well handled comedy with some genuine character. It wasn't your typical hollow comedy. Performances from Heigl and Rogan were excellent and I am quite happy that I was able to catch this one in the theater. Oh yeah, and as far as I know they live happily ever after. If you haven't seen it, put this on your list to rent. 8/10

Really Cool Animated Short

Just ran across this on the web through Digg.com. This is a really well done animated short that slowly and subtly reveals its nature. Very cool! Kudos to the creator.

Enjoy!

Hold Your Beath

Transform Your Worries Into a Sigh of Relief

If you're a 20-something and male (for the most part) you know about the Transformers. I have very fond memories of coming home from school during my elementary years and plopping down on the couch with my older brother and watching Transformers on TV. It was on at 3:30 everyday, right after G.I. Joe. And it was awesome! Perhaps there was never a cartoon developed more with the toys in mind than this franchise (or was it the other way around, I can't recall)... all I know is that I loved the show and the toys. LOVED THEM!

That said, I am nowhere nears the level of "fanboy" as many of my contemporaries, who also grew up sitting on their own couches day after day watching the Decepti-creeps take over Hoover Dam or some such locale to make an endless supply of energon cubes and destroying everything in their path while doing so. Now, 20 years removed Transformers have fallen out of popular culture for the most part ... that is until this summer. Yes, Transformers are back and not without their fair share of worries. In a post-Phantom Menace world caution and skepticism are the operative words and fans of many a franchise anticipate their upcoming films with worry and dread that justice will not be done and the re-imaginings will land with a *thud*. Michael Bay's Transformers is no different.

Perhaps more than anything, the name Michael Bay was what really worried fans. Yes, he has a talent for EPIC ACTION (Armageddon, The Rock), but his resume carries such suspect titles as Pearl Harbor and to a less extent The Island. The fans watched and waited nervously wondering if Bay would botch their childhood dream re-imagined or if with Steven Spielberg on the the team he would get it right? The wait is over.

I went into this film very cautious and pretty darn skeptical to be honest. I figured that the action would be satisfactory but that the rest would just plain suck (he did PEARL HARBOR!!). However, it wasn't long until I realized that I was having a really good time at the theater and so was the rest of audience, comprised of very vocal fanboys. It was a hit!

Transformers awed with its visuals and drew many positive laughs with its jokes. The plot? It wasn't perfect, but it was so much better than what I or any of us were anticipating that it scored bonus points just for delivering. It was a movie done right in my opinion. Yes, it was a re-imagining and didn't have everything I wanted (Soundwave, a discernible and recognizable Transformers theme), but it entertained through and through. The action was great, the dialogue wasn't bad and the plot was competent, even if a bit overdrawn.

I also credit the film for few very nice touches. It dropped the slogan "more than meets the eye" at just the right moments and in the right way so as to please the crowd and draw cheers. I also felt that it poked fun at itself in the right ways appropriately lightening the mood. Heck, even Michael Bay poked fun at himself, so you have to give him props.

As far as the Autobots were concerned, I thought they were kept more or less true to form from the original cartoon. I really liked Ironhide and thought he translated very well, best out of the bunch. Should BumbleBee have had a voice earlier on? Probably. Did I like Optimus Prime with lips? No. But none of it was a disaster - not by a LONG shot. If there was one blatant deficiency of this film it was that there wasn't enough focus on the Transformers themselves. Megatron made a very late appearance, Starscream was hardly in the movie and there were only a handful of Transformers in all. There were, however, teen aged human computer hackers that no one gave a crap about but it wasn't enough to pull the film down. I think what happened here was that the theater audience was given the Director's Cut right up front. The film certainly was long enough.

The final complaint that I have heard from everyone who has seen the film is that there was way too much product placement (GM vehicles, eBay, Mountain Dew, cell phones, the Air Force, etc). Call me oblivious, but beyond the GM stuff and the Mountain Dew I really didn't notice it. I guess I just didn't care and I make a bad test audience for advertisers.

My verdict is that Transformers more or less lived up to the hype it generated. THANK GOD! I haven't spoken with anyone who really didn't like it. Yes, there have been plenty of nit-picks and beefs voiced, but the overall consensus among fans is that Transformers was a good flick that beat expectations. It was visual eye-candy with lots of flare. True, it wasn't the original animated feature but it most certainly wasn't a Phantom Menace. And that's a very good thing. *Bonus points for not meeting low expectations* 9/10