Monday, July 30, 2007
Awesome "Sweeney Todd" Poster
The poster for Johnny Depp's "Sweeney Todd" is definitely a piece of art. It is an amazing image of Depp as the lead character, sitting in a barber's chair with a look of hate in his eyes. Everything in the poster is dark and creepy, down to the red color peeking through the floor boards. The tagline states "Never forget. Never forgive."
The story revolves around Sweeney Todd, who was unjustly sent to prison. As a result, he vows revenge, not only for that cruel punishment, but for the devastating consequences of what happened to his wife and daughter. When he returns to reopen his barber shop, Sweeney Todd becomes the Demon Barber of Fleet Street who "shaved the heads of gentlemen who never thereafter were heard from again."
Looking at the poster, it is no surprise that the film is directed by Tim Burton, who is re-uniting with Depp for the sixth time. The first five films were "Ed Wood," "Edward Scissorhands," "Sleepy Hollow," and the recent "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" and "Corpse Bride." "Sweeney Todd" hits theaters on December 21st.
The story revolves around Sweeney Todd, who was unjustly sent to prison. As a result, he vows revenge, not only for that cruel punishment, but for the devastating consequences of what happened to his wife and daughter. When he returns to reopen his barber shop, Sweeney Todd becomes the Demon Barber of Fleet Street who "shaved the heads of gentlemen who never thereafter were heard from again."
Looking at the poster, it is no surprise that the film is directed by Tim Burton, who is re-uniting with Depp for the sixth time. The first five films were "Ed Wood," "Edward Scissorhands," "Sleepy Hollow," and the recent "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" and "Corpse Bride." "Sweeney Todd" hits theaters on December 21st.
Labels: movie news
Monday, July 16, 2007
SPECIAL trailer
SPECIAL, an offbeat dark indie comedy, follows the journey of Les Franken played by Michael Rapaport (Hitch, Grilled) as a superhero for our chemically enhanced time. He leads a painfully unremarkable life as a metermaid until he enrolls in a drug study for an experimental anti-depressant. An unexpected side effect of the drug convinces Les he is developing special powers and must quit his job to answer his new calling in life... Superhero. A very select group of people in life are truly gifted. Special is a movie about everyone else.
More here
More here
Labels: movie news
Monday, July 09, 2007
Cinematical Seven: Reasons Why Summer Movies Keep Getting Dumber
Once upon a time, movie palaces gleamed in the summer light and contained wonder: Raiders of the Lost Ark, or Jaws, or Aliens or The Matrix. But for the past few years, though, going to the movies in the summer has been more lackluster than blockbuster. And I think there are a couple reasons why that can't be dismissed as mere nostalgia, and also why this year's been so especially underwhelming for the fun-seeking moviegoer. Here, then, are the seven reasons summer movies are getting dumber.
1) Effects over Affect
Anyone who watched in awe and wonder as a silver, shifting Robert Patrick ambled out of a burning Big Rig in Terminator 2 knows that special effects are a huge part of a summer movie. But those wonderful virtual visions aren't the only part, and that's being forgotten in the real world of moviemaking. After being told that the transforming in Transformers was so complex, so 'real' that it contained more motions than the human eye can follow, all you can do is sincerely hope that someone out there can remember that the point of a movie is to be followed by the human eye, and the human heart. Yes, Robert Patrick walking calmly out of that fire is a great moment in special effects; but it (and our first sight of the shark in Jaws, or the first dinosaur moment in Jurassic Park, or Trinity's lotus-kick in The Matrix) was also a moment that changed the stakes of the story of the film, that affected people who mattered to us. Nothing this summer's been written with that kind of mythic scale in mind. (300 reached for it, but missed. And, despite my fairly heated dislike for the film, I can almost – almost – respect their attempt.)
2) Marketing Madness
Illegally-embossed quarters; wholly-transformed 7-11 stores; animated rat-branded greens for sale at my local Albertson's. This is just a top-of-my-head list of the marketing events I've been exposed to this summer by various films vying for audiences. Certainly not all of these films (specifically Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer, The Simpsons Movie and Ratatouille) are bad. (The one that rhymes with 'Schmantistic Schmour' is, though, and I haven't seen the middle one yet.) But they're all examples of just how much damn co-branding is tied up in our summer movie experience, and how movie marketing has somehow become news in and of itself.
3) Over-Prints and #1 Mania
When did seeing the phrase "The Number One Movie in America!" in the ad become an inducement to see a film? The desire on the part of studios to hit the top of the box office is leading to circumstances where you have movies this summer opening on 3,900-plus screens – week after week. The idea that you have to make all the money in the first weekend and/or set some kind of record has become kind of exhausting, and matched by movies that fall off by 51% (Evan Almighty) or 65% (Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer) the next week. In fact, this year, only two films have held the box office for more than one week since May kicked off Summer Movie Season – Spider-Man III and Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End – with every other Box Office #1 falling off by at least 45% the second week. That's not a release strategy; that's carpet bombing.
4) Anti-Oscar Programming
Conventional wisdom says that if you want a movie to have a shot at best picture, you've got to release it in the last quarter of the month -- which becomes a bit of a self-fulfilling prophecy. This summer, the only films to poke their heads up above the sea of toy tie-ins and special effects were Sicko and A Mighty Heart -- but between conventional wisdom and the kind of over-booking we've seen this year, it's hard for good movies to bubble up through the cracks if there aren't, in fact, any cracks. But if that conventional wisdom broke and you had studios releasing more serious dramas during the summer, I can't help but think it might make the purveyors of popcorn pleasure up their game a bit, too.
5) Benched Big Players
Growing up, summertime for me meant you could expect a movie from one of the big three: Spielberg, Lucas, or Cameron. Spielberg's working on Indiana Jones IV, which is fairly good news for next summer, but George Lucas and James Cameron have both benched themselves, through either making bad movies (the most recent Star Wars films) or not making movies at all. (Cameron, outside of some documentaries, has been largely present in moviemaking through his absence since Titanic was released a decade ago.) I'm glad that we've had directors (most notably Sam Raimi) step up to the big leagues, but it would be nice if Spielberg and Cameron could get back to making Summertime Blockbusters; and it would be nice if we could see some of the writers of past summertime classics get gigs, too. I mean, Lawrence Kasdan wrote (or co-wrote) The Empire Strikes Back, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Return of the Jedi and Silverado, each and ever one a superbly-written, massively fun adventure, and, I'm sure, has at least one more romp like the above in him.
6) "Do You Have Anything Original for Us That's Like Something We've Seen Before?"
Close your eyes, think hard; try to remember the last big summer movie that wasn't based on a comic book, a kid's book, another film, a line of toys, or a theme park ride. I have to go back to The Matrix (which is "original" insofar as it spirals out of dozens of prior sources instead of just one) to think of the last time that happened. And while yes, the third film in that series was a bust, the first Matrix film was impressive, exciting, important and, yes, meaningful, and still stands as a great example of what happened when creators with a bold idea are given backing and faith and the resources to make something new. In modern, risk-averse Hollywood, it's hard to imagine a second-time directing duo getting that kind of support (note that the Wachowskis are now chained to the millstone that is Speed Racer -- an adaptation 40-year-old cartoon), and it's hard to imagine us getting a film as jaw-droppingly exciting and fresh as the first Matrix film.
7) We're Not Helping Any
And yes, I mean 'We;' I was part of Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer's opening weekend box office. (I went with a friend; we had a few drinks before, and come on, it's the Silver Surfer. All dudes can sympathize with the Silver Surfer, because he's cool and lonely and his boss is a jerk.) Even as the big summer movies get less and less enjoyable, offering us few pleasures other than watching someone else spend money on the big screen, they still make money -- and until that changes, not much else is going to.
1) Effects over Affect
Anyone who watched in awe and wonder as a silver, shifting Robert Patrick ambled out of a burning Big Rig in Terminator 2 knows that special effects are a huge part of a summer movie. But those wonderful virtual visions aren't the only part, and that's being forgotten in the real world of moviemaking. After being told that the transforming in Transformers was so complex, so 'real' that it contained more motions than the human eye can follow, all you can do is sincerely hope that someone out there can remember that the point of a movie is to be followed by the human eye, and the human heart. Yes, Robert Patrick walking calmly out of that fire is a great moment in special effects; but it (and our first sight of the shark in Jaws, or the first dinosaur moment in Jurassic Park, or Trinity's lotus-kick in The Matrix) was also a moment that changed the stakes of the story of the film, that affected people who mattered to us. Nothing this summer's been written with that kind of mythic scale in mind. (300 reached for it, but missed. And, despite my fairly heated dislike for the film, I can almost – almost – respect their attempt.)
2) Marketing Madness
Illegally-embossed quarters; wholly-transformed 7-11 stores; animated rat-branded greens for sale at my local Albertson's. This is just a top-of-my-head list of the marketing events I've been exposed to this summer by various films vying for audiences. Certainly not all of these films (specifically Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer, The Simpsons Movie and Ratatouille) are bad. (The one that rhymes with 'Schmantistic Schmour' is, though, and I haven't seen the middle one yet.) But they're all examples of just how much damn co-branding is tied up in our summer movie experience, and how movie marketing has somehow become news in and of itself.
3) Over-Prints and #1 Mania
When did seeing the phrase "The Number One Movie in America!" in the ad become an inducement to see a film? The desire on the part of studios to hit the top of the box office is leading to circumstances where you have movies this summer opening on 3,900-plus screens – week after week. The idea that you have to make all the money in the first weekend and/or set some kind of record has become kind of exhausting, and matched by movies that fall off by 51% (Evan Almighty) or 65% (Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer) the next week. In fact, this year, only two films have held the box office for more than one week since May kicked off Summer Movie Season – Spider-Man III and Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End – with every other Box Office #1 falling off by at least 45% the second week. That's not a release strategy; that's carpet bombing.
4) Anti-Oscar Programming
Conventional wisdom says that if you want a movie to have a shot at best picture, you've got to release it in the last quarter of the month -- which becomes a bit of a self-fulfilling prophecy. This summer, the only films to poke their heads up above the sea of toy tie-ins and special effects were Sicko and A Mighty Heart -- but between conventional wisdom and the kind of over-booking we've seen this year, it's hard for good movies to bubble up through the cracks if there aren't, in fact, any cracks. But if that conventional wisdom broke and you had studios releasing more serious dramas during the summer, I can't help but think it might make the purveyors of popcorn pleasure up their game a bit, too.
5) Benched Big Players
Growing up, summertime for me meant you could expect a movie from one of the big three: Spielberg, Lucas, or Cameron. Spielberg's working on Indiana Jones IV, which is fairly good news for next summer, but George Lucas and James Cameron have both benched themselves, through either making bad movies (the most recent Star Wars films) or not making movies at all. (Cameron, outside of some documentaries, has been largely present in moviemaking through his absence since Titanic was released a decade ago.) I'm glad that we've had directors (most notably Sam Raimi) step up to the big leagues, but it would be nice if Spielberg and Cameron could get back to making Summertime Blockbusters; and it would be nice if we could see some of the writers of past summertime classics get gigs, too. I mean, Lawrence Kasdan wrote (or co-wrote) The Empire Strikes Back, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Return of the Jedi and Silverado, each and ever one a superbly-written, massively fun adventure, and, I'm sure, has at least one more romp like the above in him.
6) "Do You Have Anything Original for Us That's Like Something We've Seen Before?"
Close your eyes, think hard; try to remember the last big summer movie that wasn't based on a comic book, a kid's book, another film, a line of toys, or a theme park ride. I have to go back to The Matrix (which is "original" insofar as it spirals out of dozens of prior sources instead of just one) to think of the last time that happened. And while yes, the third film in that series was a bust, the first Matrix film was impressive, exciting, important and, yes, meaningful, and still stands as a great example of what happened when creators with a bold idea are given backing and faith and the resources to make something new. In modern, risk-averse Hollywood, it's hard to imagine a second-time directing duo getting that kind of support (note that the Wachowskis are now chained to the millstone that is Speed Racer -- an adaptation 40-year-old cartoon), and it's hard to imagine us getting a film as jaw-droppingly exciting and fresh as the first Matrix film.
7) We're Not Helping Any
And yes, I mean 'We;' I was part of Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer's opening weekend box office. (I went with a friend; we had a few drinks before, and come on, it's the Silver Surfer. All dudes can sympathize with the Silver Surfer, because he's cool and lonely and his boss is a jerk.) Even as the big summer movies get less and less enjoyable, offering us few pleasures other than watching someone else spend money on the big screen, they still make money -- and until that changes, not much else is going to.
Labels: commercials, movie news, other
Ratatouille Easter Eggs Revealed
One of the many things I love about Pixar movies is the fact that they pack the screen with so many details. Not just in the story and the characters, but the designs, and backgrounds. It usually takes a few viewings to catch everything. And even then, you are probably missing out on a few of the hidden easter eggs that were left by the geniuses at Pixar.
Some of these hidden treasures have become a tradition for Pixar Animation Studios such as the Pizza Planet Truck which has appeared in nearly every Pixar film since it made its debut in 1995’s Toy Story while others are a unique insider’s view into the world of the filmmakers of Ratatouille. A few of these gems are listed after the jump, but Disney warns us that there are many more. Guess that means we’ll have to see the movie again.
* The Pizza Planet Truck, which first made an appearance in Toy Story, has made a cameo in nearly every Pixar film. For example, the truck can be seen whizzing by when the tank gang is escaping from the dentist’s office in Finding Nemo. In Ratatouille, the infamous Pizza Planet Truck can be seen on a bridge over the Seine during the scene in which Skinner is chasing Remy.
* The number A113, which refers to Brad Bird and John Lasseter’s former classroom at CalArts, makes an appearance in every Pixar film. For example, A113 can be seen in Cars on the train that McQueen narrowly misses when he first loses Mack and exits onto Route 66. A113 also appears in Ratatouille, but you’ll have to look carefully for yourself to find it.
* Pixar’s official “Good Luck Charm,” actor John Ratzenberger makes another appearance in Ratatouille as the head waiter, Mustafa. John’s voice has appeared in every Pixar movie including as Hamm the piggy bank in Toy Story and Toy Story 2, PT Flea in A Bug’s Life, The Underminer in The Incredibles, and Mack the truck in Cars.
* Mabel’s living room has several framed photos depicting Mabel and her late husband as members of the French resistance during WWII. This might explain how Mabel learned to use a shotgun.
* The character Bomb Voyage from The Incredibles makes two appearances in Ratatouille. He appears as a mime on the bridge by Notre Dame when Linguini and Colette skate past [see the attached photo]. Bomb Voyage’s second appearance is the front-page headline and photo on the newspaper Colette is reading with the Solene Le Claire review.
* Restaurant critic Anton Ego’s (voice of Peter O’Toole) office is shaped like a coffin to reinforce the idea that a bad review from Ego can be the “death” of a restaurant.
* There were 372 graphics created that appear on food labels, boxes, street signs, posters, and businesses. Many of these graphics are named after Ratatouille crew members.
* Lasseter Cabernet Sauvignon is named for executive producer John Lasseter
* Chateau-Bird Champagne named for director Brad Bird
* Chateau-Jessup Pauillac Medoc named for production designer Harley Jessup
* Colette rides a “Calahan” branded motorcycle, named after Sharon Calahan, the director of photography/lighting.
* The “Bouchiba” brand spaghetti Linguini cooks with in his apartment is named for animator Bolhem Bouchiba.
* The “Bradford” mixer in the kitchen is named for producer Brad Lewis
* The “Susman” brand olive oil is named for associate producer Galyn Susman.
* “Bar Des 7 Chanceux” is a storefront seen on the streets of Paris. It is named for the “Lucky 7 Lounge,” a homemade secret lounge inside Pixar Animation Studios.
also this
Labels: movie news, other
The 11th Hour Movie Trailer
Yes, another climate crisis documentary. But this one is produced and narrated by Leonardo DiCaprio. While Al Gore’s An Inconvenient Truth was a powerful film, it was essentially a big screen adaptation of his slide presentation. And in effect, it sometimes lacked the cinematic qualities of a documentary (although they pulled it off well). The 11th Hour seems to focus more on that aspect of the production. And while Gore’s movie tried play up the enviorment as an unpartisan issue, The 11th Hour seems to get more political. But don’t take my word for it, watch the trailer below with a special introduction by Leonardo DiCaprio.
The 11th Hour
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Yes, another climate crisis documentary. But this one is produced and narrated by Leonardo DiCaprio. While Al Gore’s An Inconvenient Truth was a powerful film, it was essentially a big screen adaptation of his slide presentation. And in effect, it sometimes lacked the cinematic qualities of a documentary (although they pulled it off well). The 11th Hour seems to focus more on that aspect of the production. And while Gore’s movie tried play up the enviorment as an unpartisan issue, The 11th Hour seems to get more political. But don’t take my word for it, watch the trailer below with a special introduction by Leonardo DiCaprio.
The 11th Hour
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Labels: movie news
Tuesday, July 03, 2007
"The Hitman" Trailer
Gah, so the day has finally come. My favorite game franchises is getting turned in to a mainstream popcorn movie. Maybe they have learned? Maybe they actully do take a look at the style of the game and try at best to recreate the dark visual gritty sickening atmosphere and moral dillemas that is Hitman. Then the trailer hits the www... I get the same taste in my mouth as when I watched Transporter 2. Blood in my mouth should only occure when Im working out or have been in a near fatal injury.
Man, if this turns into a main stream PG-13 Im gonna curse alot and then be so disappointed. I dont really care about the movie yet I love the games to much to look away at this monstrosity. When it first got green-lighted, I thought: Hey, finaly! Wicked! I love the game so why wouldent I like this movie. ERRN! The only two game-to-movies that I liked was silent hill and Mortal Combat 1 (a fucking classic!). All the others have been shit! (Alone in the Dark, Doom, BloodRayne, DOA, Resident Evil, Double Dragon, Lara Croft: Tomb Raider, House of the Dead)
Here is the story:
"A gun-for-hire known only as Agent 47 (Olyphant) is ensnared in a political conspiracy, which finds him pursued by both Interpol and the Russian military as he treks across Eastern Europe. Hired by a group known as "The Agency" to kill targets for cash" (Its a bit like "The Bourne Identity" meets "Behind enemy lines")
The trailer isent that bad. Its just that since I havent watched Deadwood so I dont really know what to expect of Timothy Olyphant (Agent nr 47). The guy directing this spectacle is Xavier Gens, who clearly knows martial arts and actiosn sequences since his has been a "trainee assistant director" on a lot of Jean-Claude Van Damme films + a bunch of underdogs and never_heard_of movies. BUT this is not that kind of movie.. Hitman isent about action, explotions and kung fu. Its about ice-cold executions, infiltration and figuring out how to take out your target the most quiet and stealthfully way possible. This is just a teaser so Im not worried yet.
My main problem is the simple fact that Olyphant doesnt really look like 47. He`s to small, plus looks too young. More like your everyday great guy neighbour. Its the kind of guy you wish your sister got married too. Not a guy who flew to singapore to strangle people with pianowire. Plus in the trailer, he is grimacing when he`s running down a corridor guns blazing. *sight* I know that I might be a bit of a gamble to see a movie that is two hours long and the assassin only smirks once.. but Im willing to support it.
My perfect choice would of course be Mads Mikkelsen (Adams apples, Casino royale) Check out the bald badness!
Ohh well at least its not Vin "grease-monkey" Diesel or Jason "pratty-focking-boi" Statham ;)
Here is the trailer:
and in HD
Halo3 statue
Halo 3 is around the corner and what is more timely then launching stuff for the fans then a Kotobukiya Halo-3 statue of Master chief gun-run
Will be out in October and will set you back USD$99.
more info here:
*http://www.kotaku.com/photogallery/Halo3statue/
*http://toynewsi.com/index.php?itemid=11519
*http://www.kotous.com/
Will be out in October and will set you back USD$99.
more info here:
*http://www.kotaku.com/photogallery/Halo3statue/
*http://toynewsi.com/index.php?itemid=11519
*http://www.kotous.com/
Labels: other
Review - Transformers
Funny thing this movie is...
I first saw it at Frogner kino (cinema)for free since it was work-related and I left feeling pissed off that someone could produce such a high polished piece of turd. The characters, story, design, editing, music, dialogue where down right bad! The characters where straight out of the cliche-book. With the main character Sam basicly being a horny teenager caught in the middle of it all with the uber hot girl with a "bad" rep and the over-the-top John Turturro as sector 7`s head honcho. The personalites of the robots came out of the blue for me and where more a comic relif then dangerous metal killerbots.(funky breakdancing robot?) I guess the bots had to have "feelings and opinions" so that we can relate to them as characters, not just wired junk metal on stereoids bashing each others hardware out. I should have seen it comming with the second robot character we meet was extremly innoing and reminded me of something they ditched in Star wars, episodes 1-3. I havent watched the "old" show so I dident know they where going to be so personal and charismatic. Music was another issue. The classical score worked while some of the pop songs feelt like it was trying to hard to be modern and for the kiddies. Hearing Linking park 30 times in the movie is too much for anyone..
Even some of the effects werent on par. It might have something to do with the fact that to many bits and pieces moved at the same time. Apparently it took approximately 38 hours for the animators at Industrial Light & Magic to render one frame of the CGI animation to portray the Transformers. I mean, is it really necessary to have motion on more pices then the human-eye can register? It would be a lot cooler if there where like big chunks of gears and metalbits that made sense when it was re-arranging and in general motion. I guess that would just have taken to much time to assemble so they insted went with the "porridge" solution. So imagine 10108 moving bits and pices on Prime for a 5 second transformation clip and throw in motion blur and zoom. It was just messy.
The next day I watched it at Coloseum cinema with 8-9 friends of mine. Most of them where there to gaze upon the spectacular effects. We sit down after providing some much needed soda and popcorn. I look around myself. Mostly guys in 25-35 age. 2% female apperance. The movie starts. Optimus Prime speaks his opening monologe. What the deuce? People are cheering. Must be some really die hard fans I guess. The logo "TRANSFORMERS" appers and people start to clap and cheer some more. Even stading up yelling.. Did I miss the free designer drug at the entrance? The movie continues. The hint of story I allready know so I got real comfy in the chair, keeping a eye out for details and goofs thinking: poor suckers, dont know whats going to hit them. Halfway through the movie, Im smiling. Im actully enjoying this. The characters now sort of make sense and the dialog has a much better flow. The effects fucking rocks! Transformation are flawless and the integration between live actors and cg was perfect at times. Even the design of the bots has finally embedded it self in my scull and Optimus never looked so good. The movie ends to linking park and people are giving it a standing ovation! Hussa!
There are still some dialog that are completely out of order and feel really tacked on. And some advertising screentime such as the "mountain dew dispenser machine" and 360 bot really feels like a quick sponsor deal. Also the shere size of the robots amounted to extremely little destruction. Blackout (the chopper in the beginning) deals out more destruction in 5 min then all of the robots at the end.w00t?! There is a 15 minute fight in the street downtown that (despite some massive set piece destruction by Megatron chasing Sam and fighting Prime) all looks like its happening in the same street. + Its rated PG-13 so there is a lack of people dieing. I know that its not the Transformers way of doing stuff but I mean, when your taking the one thing that all the bots want downtown, your kinda asking for it.
For what the original tvshow was, Bay has done a tremendous job of bringing it to the silver screen. I mean this is what he had to go from: http://youtube.com/watch?v=fB0_vJUc3o4 (maybe not the best example but you get the picture..) They should have spendt more time on building up the robot-characters but this beeing a franchise the next movie is propably allready in early production
Here is a review that I can relate most with:
http://movies.ign.com/articles/800/800501p1.html
from IGN - June 29, 2007 -
I first saw it at Frogner kino (cinema)for free since it was work-related and I left feeling pissed off that someone could produce such a high polished piece of turd. The characters, story, design, editing, music, dialogue where down right bad! The characters where straight out of the cliche-book. With the main character Sam basicly being a horny teenager caught in the middle of it all with the uber hot girl with a "bad" rep and the over-the-top John Turturro as sector 7`s head honcho. The personalites of the robots came out of the blue for me and where more a comic relif then dangerous metal killerbots.(funky breakdancing robot?) I guess the bots had to have "feelings and opinions" so that we can relate to them as characters, not just wired junk metal on stereoids bashing each others hardware out. I should have seen it comming with the second robot character we meet was extremly innoing and reminded me of something they ditched in Star wars, episodes 1-3. I havent watched the "old" show so I dident know they where going to be so personal and charismatic. Music was another issue. The classical score worked while some of the pop songs feelt like it was trying to hard to be modern and for the kiddies. Hearing Linking park 30 times in the movie is too much for anyone..
Even some of the effects werent on par. It might have something to do with the fact that to many bits and pieces moved at the same time. Apparently it took approximately 38 hours for the animators at Industrial Light & Magic to render one frame of the CGI animation to portray the Transformers. I mean, is it really necessary to have motion on more pices then the human-eye can register? It would be a lot cooler if there where like big chunks of gears and metalbits that made sense when it was re-arranging and in general motion. I guess that would just have taken to much time to assemble so they insted went with the "porridge" solution. So imagine 10108 moving bits and pices on Prime for a 5 second transformation clip and throw in motion blur and zoom. It was just messy.
The next day I watched it at Coloseum cinema with 8-9 friends of mine. Most of them where there to gaze upon the spectacular effects. We sit down after providing some much needed soda and popcorn. I look around myself. Mostly guys in 25-35 age. 2% female apperance. The movie starts. Optimus Prime speaks his opening monologe. What the deuce? People are cheering. Must be some really die hard fans I guess. The logo "TRANSFORMERS" appers and people start to clap and cheer some more. Even stading up yelling.. Did I miss the free designer drug at the entrance? The movie continues. The hint of story I allready know so I got real comfy in the chair, keeping a eye out for details and goofs thinking: poor suckers, dont know whats going to hit them. Halfway through the movie, Im smiling. Im actully enjoying this. The characters now sort of make sense and the dialog has a much better flow. The effects fucking rocks! Transformation are flawless and the integration between live actors and cg was perfect at times. Even the design of the bots has finally embedded it self in my scull and Optimus never looked so good. The movie ends to linking park and people are giving it a standing ovation! Hussa!
There are still some dialog that are completely out of order and feel really tacked on. And some advertising screentime such as the "mountain dew dispenser machine" and 360 bot really feels like a quick sponsor deal. Also the shere size of the robots amounted to extremely little destruction. Blackout (the chopper in the beginning) deals out more destruction in 5 min then all of the robots at the end.w00t?! There is a 15 minute fight in the street downtown that (despite some massive set piece destruction by Megatron chasing Sam and fighting Prime) all looks like its happening in the same street. + Its rated PG-13 so there is a lack of people dieing. I know that its not the Transformers way of doing stuff but I mean, when your taking the one thing that all the bots want downtown, your kinda asking for it.
For what the original tvshow was, Bay has done a tremendous job of bringing it to the silver screen. I mean this is what he had to go from: http://youtube.com/watch?v=fB0_vJUc3o4 (maybe not the best example but you get the picture..) They should have spendt more time on building up the robot-characters but this beeing a franchise the next movie is propably allready in early production
Here is a review that I can relate most with:
http://movies.ign.com/articles/800/800501p1.html
from IGN - June 29, 2007 -
Labels: movie review
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