Sometimes you just can't get a break. Today, legendary actor and director Richard Attenborough passed away at the age of 90. He appeared in The Great Escape, Doctor Dolittle, Ten Little Indians, Miracle on 34th Street (as Santa Claus), and directed films such as Ghandi, A Bridge Too Far, A Chorus Line, and Chaplin. For myself though, he will always be John Hammond from Jurassic Park. He has always been one of my favorite parts of that film, and his performance was absolutely superb portraying a man that is obsessed with control but only has the best intentions at heart. His is a character that is filled with human faults but is still ultimately lovable (and pretty darned cool too). I can't say I've really seen any of his other films, but I'm aware of his rich history on the silver screen, both in front of the camera and behind it. It really sucks that we have to lose two Hollywood legends, one after the other. So, farewell Richard Attenborough and thanks for the memories.
R.I.P Richard Attenborough: August 29, 1923-August 24, 2014
Sunday, August 24, 2014
Thursday, August 21, 2014
BEST FILMS OF SUMMER 2014
Well, as sad as it is to say, Summer is once again officially over. I had a good deal of fun, and to commemorate another summer ended here is my top films of summer 2014 list.
6. Transformers: Age of Extinction- Almost 3 hours of things going BOOM and giants robots fighting. Can it get tiring? sure! However, this was still the event film of Summer 2014. This really was like Michael Bay dropping the mic and walking away. Michael Bay made his point, and now he can retire from the directors chair for the Transformers films (which he has). He's earned some down time.
5. 22 Jump Street- Every bit as funny, cool, and fun as the original.
4. Purge: Anarchy- I walked in expecting this film to be crap. Imagine my surprise when it ended up being great, grind house fun.
3. Edge of Tomorrow- Tom Cruise's best film in quite a while. It is refreshing to see him play such a whimpering coward for the first act of the film, and it is always endless amounts of fun watching him die again and again and again. This is pretty meaty sci-fi with top notch action, not to mention the 3-D was surprisingly top notch.
2. Dawn of Apes- The film delivered everything I was expecting and more! Great action scenes, some of the best acting we've seen this year, a great story, and some great complex themes and messages, not to mention it actually made me think.
1. Guardians of The Galaxy- DUH! A film that understands sometimes all you need is some classic tunes, some good laughs, some amazing characters, and some cool action. This film had it all. Laughs, emotions, character development! I could go on for hours about my love for this film, but I'll leave you with this: The film's main message is that dark, brooding evil will never ever win over good-hearted goofiness. The pure hearted weirdos of the world will always win in the end. That's a message I can get behind!
6. Transformers: Age of Extinction- Almost 3 hours of things going BOOM and giants robots fighting. Can it get tiring? sure! However, this was still the event film of Summer 2014. This really was like Michael Bay dropping the mic and walking away. Michael Bay made his point, and now he can retire from the directors chair for the Transformers films (which he has). He's earned some down time.
5. 22 Jump Street- Every bit as funny, cool, and fun as the original.
4. Purge: Anarchy- I walked in expecting this film to be crap. Imagine my surprise when it ended up being great, grind house fun.
3. Edge of Tomorrow- Tom Cruise's best film in quite a while. It is refreshing to see him play such a whimpering coward for the first act of the film, and it is always endless amounts of fun watching him die again and again and again. This is pretty meaty sci-fi with top notch action, not to mention the 3-D was surprisingly top notch.
2. Dawn of Apes- The film delivered everything I was expecting and more! Great action scenes, some of the best acting we've seen this year, a great story, and some great complex themes and messages, not to mention it actually made me think.
1. Guardians of The Galaxy- DUH! A film that understands sometimes all you need is some classic tunes, some good laughs, some amazing characters, and some cool action. This film had it all. Laughs, emotions, character development! I could go on for hours about my love for this film, but I'll leave you with this: The film's main message is that dark, brooding evil will never ever win over good-hearted goofiness. The pure hearted weirdos of the world will always win in the end. That's a message I can get behind!
Tuesday, August 19, 2014
SMALLS SEES BEYOND WITH THE GIVER
The Giver and I go back a long way. The first time I read it I was in 6th grade, and it immediately became one of my all time favorite novels. I must have read it at least two or three times. I have been eagerly awaiting a film adaptation ever since, and now, around thirteen years later my wish has finally been granted.
In The Giver, Jonas (Brenton Thwaites) is a teenager living in a utopian/dystopian post-apocalyptic society where everything seems to be perfect. Everyone is essentially the same, people are assigned the roles they are to play within the society (and are also assigned who they are to live with and which children they will take care of), there is no war, no pain, ....in fact, there are no emotions or memories of the far past at all. When Jonas is assigned the role of receiver of memories, he begins intensive training with The Giver (Jeff Bridges), and he begins to realize that the life he and others have been living may not be so perfect after all. Perhaps it's time for a change.
Brenton Thwaites is pretty perfect as Jonas, the young man who finds that it is up to him to save his society. His reactions to feeling emotions and seeing colors for the first time are pretty spot on, and he makes for a likable protagonist that is very easy to root for. Odeya Rush plays Fiona, one of Jonas' cute childhood friends that later becomes sort of a love interest for our lead. She is absolutely adorable and lovable, and she plays her role convincingly. Meryl Streep plays a good bitch as the Chief Elder, who is essentially our villain for the film (although she's not in it much, she still is pretty good whenever she's on screen). Alexander Skarsgard is pretty great and charming as Jonas' Father, who is tasked with caring for newborns and carrying out mysterious procedures called the releases to Elsewhere. Jeff Bridges is the standout (naturally) as The Giver. He puts on the best performance possible with what he is given to work with, and it's really hard not to completely love his character by the end. Bridges puts a lot of heart and hard work into crafting his character, and it works. For those who cried out in fear when they saw Taylor Swift was in this film, there is no reason to worry. She is only in two very short scenes (and is the subject of one of my favorite lines, which essentially says she doesn't exist anymore.)
The Giver is a film that is exquisitely shot. The first part of the film is black and white, but once Jonas receives the memory of color, different colors start to slowly seep into the film in beautiful ways. The first shot of full color is gorgeous, and from then on out the film is filled with beautiful and sometimes haunting shots (often times switching from color back to black and white, and at times having only a few colors present in a scene). It's definitely a visual feast for the eyes.
Running at a swift 97 minutes, the film never fully digs into the source material's rich depths, but it still manages to present most of the books themes and ideas adequately enough for newcomers. It's filled with emotions, and I especially liked the scenes where Jonas and Fiona discover the feeling of love for the first time (and the joy of a kiss). It's a heart-warming film that is really about how much we would lose if we were to lose our emotions and memories.
While it goes without saying that the novel is far better than this film, The Giver is still the best YA film/adaptation I've seen. While it can be a bit bland at times (what the hell do you expect, this is a society without emotions), this film still manages to get you invested in the cast, make you feel, and even make you think a good deal (dare I say it's a bit cerebral at times). This is a film that's got a message and a meaning, which is more than I can say for any other YA film I've seen thus far. It's beautifully shot, the performances are great, and it's got a good deal of heart too (the scenes with Jonas and Gabriel are just too cute and heart warming). While it's not the perfect adaptation of the novel I was looking for, this film still delivers in all the ways that count. I'd say it's indeed quite memorable.
5 STARS
In The Giver, Jonas (Brenton Thwaites) is a teenager living in a utopian/dystopian post-apocalyptic society where everything seems to be perfect. Everyone is essentially the same, people are assigned the roles they are to play within the society (and are also assigned who they are to live with and which children they will take care of), there is no war, no pain, ....in fact, there are no emotions or memories of the far past at all. When Jonas is assigned the role of receiver of memories, he begins intensive training with The Giver (Jeff Bridges), and he begins to realize that the life he and others have been living may not be so perfect after all. Perhaps it's time for a change.
Brenton Thwaites is pretty perfect as Jonas, the young man who finds that it is up to him to save his society. His reactions to feeling emotions and seeing colors for the first time are pretty spot on, and he makes for a likable protagonist that is very easy to root for. Odeya Rush plays Fiona, one of Jonas' cute childhood friends that later becomes sort of a love interest for our lead. She is absolutely adorable and lovable, and she plays her role convincingly. Meryl Streep plays a good bitch as the Chief Elder, who is essentially our villain for the film (although she's not in it much, she still is pretty good whenever she's on screen). Alexander Skarsgard is pretty great and charming as Jonas' Father, who is tasked with caring for newborns and carrying out mysterious procedures called the releases to Elsewhere. Jeff Bridges is the standout (naturally) as The Giver. He puts on the best performance possible with what he is given to work with, and it's really hard not to completely love his character by the end. Bridges puts a lot of heart and hard work into crafting his character, and it works. For those who cried out in fear when they saw Taylor Swift was in this film, there is no reason to worry. She is only in two very short scenes (and is the subject of one of my favorite lines, which essentially says she doesn't exist anymore.)
The Giver is a film that is exquisitely shot. The first part of the film is black and white, but once Jonas receives the memory of color, different colors start to slowly seep into the film in beautiful ways. The first shot of full color is gorgeous, and from then on out the film is filled with beautiful and sometimes haunting shots (often times switching from color back to black and white, and at times having only a few colors present in a scene). It's definitely a visual feast for the eyes.
Running at a swift 97 minutes, the film never fully digs into the source material's rich depths, but it still manages to present most of the books themes and ideas adequately enough for newcomers. It's filled with emotions, and I especially liked the scenes where Jonas and Fiona discover the feeling of love for the first time (and the joy of a kiss). It's a heart-warming film that is really about how much we would lose if we were to lose our emotions and memories.
While it goes without saying that the novel is far better than this film, The Giver is still the best YA film/adaptation I've seen. While it can be a bit bland at times (what the hell do you expect, this is a society without emotions), this film still manages to get you invested in the cast, make you feel, and even make you think a good deal (dare I say it's a bit cerebral at times). This is a film that's got a message and a meaning, which is more than I can say for any other YA film I've seen thus far. It's beautifully shot, the performances are great, and it's got a good deal of heart too (the scenes with Jonas and Gabriel are just too cute and heart warming). While it's not the perfect adaptation of the novel I was looking for, this film still delivers in all the ways that count. I'd say it's indeed quite memorable.
5 STARS
Monday, August 11, 2014
I MOURN THE LOSS OF ROBIN WILLIAMS
Today, Robin Williams was found dead inside his home around noon from an apparent suicide (reports say asphyxia). Williams' publicist says he had been battling severe depression. I am still reeling from this sad and sudden news. I have always loved Robin Williams, but I never realized just how big of a figure he was in my life until I went back and looked at his filmography: Aladdin, Ferngully, Hook, Jumanji, Flubber, Dead Poets Society, Mrs, Doubtfire, and the list goes on and on (other films of his include The Fisher King, Good Morning Vietnam, Patch Adams, What Deams May Come, Good Will Hunting, Insomnia, Death To Smoochy, A.I, Bicentennial Man, The Birdcage, and Jack). I literally grew up watching his films, he was a large part of my childhood (I'd say my personal favorite film of his is probably Jumanji). He was a great source of laughter and joy, a real light...and now he's gone. I can't believe that according to IMDB his last films will be Night At The Museum 3, Merry Friggin' Christmas, and Absolutely Anything. A sad end to a rich legacy. Williams' was one of the most respected and loved actors in Hollywood, he was a man who fought alcoholism and drug abuse and came out on top (though apparently he recently checked himself back into a rehabilitation clinic to work on his sobriety). He made the world laugh and cry, and he inspired me a great deal. It's true his latter films seemed to be of a lesser quality, but he had already proven his worth long ago with one of the best modern day film legacies around. Robin Williams was a talented actor, mastering both drama and comedy while also being a top stand-up comic as well. I know I'm going to miss him a great deal, and he leaves a void that no one else can really fill quite the way he could.
RIP Robin Williams: July 21 1951-August 11 2014
RIP Robin Williams: July 21 1951-August 11 2014
Thursday, July 31, 2014
GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY IS MY PERSONAL FAVORITE MARVEL MOVIE
Guardians of The Galaxy was a real risky move for Marvel, in fact I'd say it's been their riskiest move to date. Not only does this film introduce brand new characters (that almost no one in the general public knows about), it also takes place almost completely in deep space. Was the risk worth it, did it pay off in the end? I'll save you all the trouble: Yes, and yes.
The whole crew is pretty well cast. I will say I think that Bradley Cooper has some work to do before I buy him as a voice actor (some of his line reads seemed a bit off), however he is still good here. Rocket Raccoon is easily the most psychotic member of the gang, and he is super fun and crazy (He does have some pathos added to him when we find out how he came to be Rocket Raccoon). Vin Diesel makes all of his 3 words count in this film, and is a valuable addition to the cast. Groot is a sweet, simple, smart tree creature that is actually a pretty big bad-ass whenever he needs to be. Zoe Saldana impresses with her martial arts skills as Gamora, a daughter of Thanos whose past is not quite what you would expect it to be. David Bautista is a wrestler turned actor, so some of his "acting" seemed a bit off....however he was still most likely the perfect choice for Drax The Destroyer, a rage-filled alien bent on revenge whose brain cells quite likely amount to somewhere in the low singles. Lee Pace as Ronan is actually pretty great, scary, and intimidating. He's certainly not one of the best villains in the Marvel Universe, but I quite liked him....I'd say he's memorable.
Easily the best part of this film is Chris Pratt as Star-Lord, a human who was abducted from Earth as a child and has lived most of his life wandering the galaxy as a petty criminal. His favorite item is his old walkman cassette player and his "awesome mix vol. 1" mix tape, both of which he carries around with him everywhere (The mix tape acts as our bad-ass soundtrack for the film). Star-Lord is a man who never fully grew up and enjoys listening to old Earth (or, as it's called in the film, Terra) classics. He's very funny, but also hides an emotional side. This is the role Chris Pratt was born to play, and naturally he knocks it out of the park, proving his is a name to remember.
Guardians had a post-converted 3D job, but you really wouldn't be able to tell from watching this film. A surprisingly good number of things pop out at you during the film, the depth is absolutely stunning at times, and the film in 3D is a true marvel to behold. Every second of this film in 3-D is impressive, gorgeous, and memorable. When I see it again (and I WILL be seeing it again), I'll be seeing it in 3-D....AGAIN!
So many super-hero films are obsessed with being dark, serious and brooding....luckily Guardians of The Galaxy shakes things up a bit. It's filled with bright colors (which really pop), it's very silly and very fun (and funny), and it's got a bunch of offbeat characters (once again, this film takes place in space and director James Gunn uses this to make what is essentially his version of Star Wars....a very wacky, silly, and fun Star Wars. Most of the characters are aliens so Gunn gets to go all out with their designs as well as bringing some of his past actors along with him). Most surprisingly though is that this film knows when to tone down the silliness so it can whack us right in the heart with the emotions hammer. Guardians also has more than its fair share of real bad-ass moments (like the first two opening scenes, both of which are just the best).
Guardians of The Galaxy is easily the most unique and personal marvel film thus far, while still delivering what audiences want to see. Guardians of the Galaxy may feel a bit mixed or even bi-polar at times but I had an absolute blast watching this film. Finally, a film has the balls to break the rules and usual formula for super-hero films these days. It's refreshingly colorful, goofy and silly, but still manages to get the audience to connect with the characters and the story. Long story short: You should definitely see this film, as it's easily hands down the best film of summer 2014 PERIOD (and, as my header sates, my new personally favorite Marvel film)!
5 STARS
FUN FACT: James Gunn and Nicole Perlman wrote the script for Guardians.
BACKGROUND INFO: Let's play some quick catch-up: Infinity Stones. What are they? Well, put simply they are stones that each hold an unimaginable power (Mind, Power, Space, Time, Reality, and Soul). He who has possession of all six stones is master of the universe. We've already been introduced to two stones (The Aether, which is the reality stone, The Tesseract, which is the space stone. Some assume that the blue crystal in Loki's staff is the mind stone, but this has been unconfirmed), now with The Orb (The Power stone) we have our third stone. This is important as it will come into play in a big way later involving Thanos (if you want to know how, read The Infinity Gauntlet).
Guardians of The Galaxy follows Star-Lord (Chris Pratt), Gamora ( Zoe Saldana), Rocket Raccoon (Voiced by Bradley Cooper), Drax The Destroyer (David Bautista) and Groot (Voiced by Vin Diesel) as they find that it is now up to them to oppose a great threat to the entire galaxy. This threat is named Ronan The Accuser (Lee Pace), who is essentially a servant to Thanos (Josh Brolin). Ronan is sent by Thanos to acquire an orb, which holds a stone with great power (one of six stones. That's right, Infinity Stones bitches!!!). Naturally, Ronan actually plans on betraying Thanos once he gets the stone and then using it's power to destroy an entire planet.
The whole crew is pretty well cast. I will say I think that Bradley Cooper has some work to do before I buy him as a voice actor (some of his line reads seemed a bit off), however he is still good here. Rocket Raccoon is easily the most psychotic member of the gang, and he is super fun and crazy (He does have some pathos added to him when we find out how he came to be Rocket Raccoon). Vin Diesel makes all of his 3 words count in this film, and is a valuable addition to the cast. Groot is a sweet, simple, smart tree creature that is actually a pretty big bad-ass whenever he needs to be. Zoe Saldana impresses with her martial arts skills as Gamora, a daughter of Thanos whose past is not quite what you would expect it to be. David Bautista is a wrestler turned actor, so some of his "acting" seemed a bit off....however he was still most likely the perfect choice for Drax The Destroyer, a rage-filled alien bent on revenge whose brain cells quite likely amount to somewhere in the low singles. Lee Pace as Ronan is actually pretty great, scary, and intimidating. He's certainly not one of the best villains in the Marvel Universe, but I quite liked him....I'd say he's memorable.
Easily the best part of this film is Chris Pratt as Star-Lord, a human who was abducted from Earth as a child and has lived most of his life wandering the galaxy as a petty criminal. His favorite item is his old walkman cassette player and his "awesome mix vol. 1" mix tape, both of which he carries around with him everywhere (The mix tape acts as our bad-ass soundtrack for the film). Star-Lord is a man who never fully grew up and enjoys listening to old Earth (or, as it's called in the film, Terra) classics. He's very funny, but also hides an emotional side. This is the role Chris Pratt was born to play, and naturally he knocks it out of the park, proving his is a name to remember.
Guardians had a post-converted 3D job, but you really wouldn't be able to tell from watching this film. A surprisingly good number of things pop out at you during the film, the depth is absolutely stunning at times, and the film in 3D is a true marvel to behold. Every second of this film in 3-D is impressive, gorgeous, and memorable. When I see it again (and I WILL be seeing it again), I'll be seeing it in 3-D....AGAIN!
So many super-hero films are obsessed with being dark, serious and brooding....luckily Guardians of The Galaxy shakes things up a bit. It's filled with bright colors (which really pop), it's very silly and very fun (and funny), and it's got a bunch of offbeat characters (once again, this film takes place in space and director James Gunn uses this to make what is essentially his version of Star Wars....a very wacky, silly, and fun Star Wars. Most of the characters are aliens so Gunn gets to go all out with their designs as well as bringing some of his past actors along with him). Most surprisingly though is that this film knows when to tone down the silliness so it can whack us right in the heart with the emotions hammer. Guardians also has more than its fair share of real bad-ass moments (like the first two opening scenes, both of which are just the best).
Guardians of The Galaxy is easily the most unique and personal marvel film thus far, while still delivering what audiences want to see. Guardians of the Galaxy may feel a bit mixed or even bi-polar at times but I had an absolute blast watching this film. Finally, a film has the balls to break the rules and usual formula for super-hero films these days. It's refreshingly colorful, goofy and silly, but still manages to get the audience to connect with the characters and the story. Long story short: You should definitely see this film, as it's easily hands down the best film of summer 2014 PERIOD (and, as my header sates, my new personally favorite Marvel film)!
5 STARS
FUN FACT: James Gunn and Nicole Perlman wrote the script for Guardians.
BACKGROUND INFO: Let's play some quick catch-up: Infinity Stones. What are they? Well, put simply they are stones that each hold an unimaginable power (Mind, Power, Space, Time, Reality, and Soul). He who has possession of all six stones is master of the universe. We've already been introduced to two stones (The Aether, which is the reality stone, The Tesseract, which is the space stone. Some assume that the blue crystal in Loki's staff is the mind stone, but this has been unconfirmed), now with The Orb (The Power stone) we have our third stone. This is important as it will come into play in a big way later involving Thanos (if you want to know how, read The Infinity Gauntlet).
Thursday, July 17, 2014
I RELASE THE BEAST WITH THE PURGE: ANARCHY
I, like most people, was vastly disappointed with the first Purge film. It was a film that offered only a small glimpse at a fascinating and dark future world where poverty and crime is just about nonexistent thanks to one night a year when people are allowed to kill anyone they please. Instead of focusing on this fun premise, the film was more interested in crafting a cliched home-invasion thriller. The Purge: Anarchy seems to offer what audiences wanted from the first Purge: chaos, violence, and complete anarchy (Don't you love it when a studio actually listens to audience feedback?). But does it deliver?
The Purge: Anarchy is a film unconcerned with social commentary (yes, there is a small sub-plot involving an anti-Purge group that is opposed to the rich and there is a theory here about why the Purge is actually being held that involves a corrupt government, but the film seems more interested in the violence then anything else. These subplots are just sweet toppings. ). It doesn't even have a plot per say. Basically, in this film we follow a small group of survivors in LA as they attempt to survive this year's Purge. This simple plot allows us to fully explore what goes on during Purge night as we wander the streets of the city, getting to watch many insane acts of violence along the way.
The first Purge wanted to be a horror film, The Purge: Anarchy however just wants you to have a bloody, violent, crazy good time. The emphasis here is on violence and action, and we get a TON of it. The film is filled with blood, gunplay, and general savagery and brutality. In fact, most of the running time is dedicated to intense violence. To it's credit, these scenes are actually pretty well done and even manage to be fun most of the time. It helps that we have Frank Grillo as our guide on this crazy night (more on him later).
Naturally, The Purge: Anarchy is not without it's faults. The script is pretty weak, managing to be very silly but in an action B movie kind of way (yes, there are some cool, funny one-liners). The characters are, for the most part, poorly written. There's Liz (Kiele Sanchez) and Shane (Zach Gilford), the estranged couple on the verge of separation, and Cali (Zoe Soul) and Tanya (Carmen Ejogo), the mother-daughter duo. These characters you neither care about or are likely to remember. In fact, the most annoying character is Cali, WHO WILL NOT SHUT UP (Oh believe me, you will be rooting for her to die). The only character worth remembering here is Sergeant (Frank Grillo), who is for all intents and purposes Batman (or maybe The Punisher). He is loaded to the gills with an arsenal of weapons, and has set out on Purge night with a singular goal: VENGEANCE. He is easily the most likable character here and his scenes (which is pretty much every scene) are fun and exciting. He really is believable as the ultimate bad-ass, and with him leading the way you feel like you are in good hands.
I'm surprised to say this is my personal favorite movie of the summer thus far. For myself, this was exactly what the doctor ordered. I had an absolute blast with this movie. It's tons of fun to sit in a crowded theater, yell at the screen, laugh your butt off, and cheer to your hearts content (don't worry, everyone in my theater was doing exactly what I was). This film made me pump my fists quite a bit. The action was thrilling, the violence was fantastic, and it felt like I was purging along with every other sadistic psycho in this film. Oh yes, it is a ton of fun (in case I haven't made that clear by now).
The Purge: Anarchy is retarded in the best way possible. It's insane, crazy, and doesn't give a crap about plot, memorable characters, or a half-way decent script. It's actually kind of amazing and awesome. This is the closest we're going to get to a true grind house film in the modern day, so if you're into that kind of thing this is most definitely your film (I'd also qualify this as a midnight movie). While the trailer for this film looked iffy, I am happy to say that The Purge: Anarchy is the rare film that actually delivers the goods. It's easily a TON better than it's weak predecessor. If you're looking for violence, gunplay, action, and fun....if you just want to explore the seedy streets of LA during Purge night then you need look no further than The Purge: Anarchy.
4 stars
Thursday, June 26, 2014
TRANSFORMERS: AGE OF EXTINCTION MADE SMALLS WAVE THE WHITE FLAG
In Transformers: Age of Extinction the Autobots have fallen on hard times. After the battle of Chicago at the end of Dark of The Moon, Humanity has turned against them. Sick and tired of all the wanton destruction, we now see all giant robots as threats. N.E.S.T has been disbanded and replaced by a military Autobot hunting group (named Cemetery Wind) that is assisted by bad-ass galactic bounty hunter Lockdown (voiced by Mark Ryan), who is on his own hunt for Optimus Prime. Good ole' boy Cade Yaeger (Mark Whalberg) stumbles upon Optimus and is dragged along with his daughter Tessa (Nicola Peltz), and her boyfriend Shane (Jack Reynor) into the war. Meanwhile, a new tech company named KSI, has figured out how to control the element that Transformers are made up of (called Transformium, I shit you not) and has started making their own giant robot army led by one of their creations named Galactus (voiced by Frank Welker).
The humans this time are nowhere near as grating as Sam Witwicky and crew. Mark Whalberg is given more to do than any other human in the Transformers franchise, Nicola Peltz is just there to be the damsel in distress but is still very likable, Jack Reynor gets the blunt end of the stick with zero character development. T.J. Miller appears for most of the first act as Lucas Flannery and is entertaining as a worker for Cade Yaeger. Stanley Tucci is ok as Joshua Joyce, head of KSI who is in cahoots with Harold Attinger (Kelsey Grammar, who is also just ok) who is in charge of the Autobot hunters. The human story centers around the theme of family, and I did dig the family dynamic between Whalberg and Peltz.
As for the new Autobots there is the cigar chomping Hound (voiced by John Goodman), the samurai Drift (voiced by Ken Watanabe), and Crosshairs (voiced by John DiMaggio). They aren't memorable or even all that likable. The standout is John Goodman as Hound, and even then he can't hold a candle to the original crew (though it is entertainingly surreal to hear John Goodman's voice coming out of a robot). The Dinobots also make an appearance near the end (they are in essentially the entire last act of the film, and they are indeed pretty bad-ass. It's always fun to watch them snatch up baddies off the ground or in mid-air and either toss them or snap them in half and eat them). Galactus (voiced by Frank Welker) is introduced as our Megatron surrogate, but he is neither all that threatening nor is he given much to do. The real standout as far as baddies go is Lockdown (voiced by Mark Ryan), who is a hardcore galactic bounty hunter. He was so cool, I was almost tempted to root for him during his battles with Optimus (Lockdown's ship is pretty impressive as well).
I'm surprised to say that director Michael Bay seems to have started to turn over a new leaf. There are no terrible jokes here (the script still isn't great though), and there are barely any gratuitous shots of females (zero of Nicola Peltz, she still looks good though). However, one thing has remained constant with Mr. Bay, he still loves him some good explosions, and he still doesn't know when to say CUT! The only real problem with Transformers: Age of Extinction is it's 2 hour 45 minute running time, which consists mainly of things going BA-BOOM (The film throws as many explosions as it can at you until you are forced to wave your white flag in surrender)!!!! If you love explosions, this is most definitely your film. I've got to hand it to Bay, while the film is WAY TOO LONG, it takes a special kind of crazy to decide your going to make an almost 3 hour epic consisting of pretty explosions and crazy action. The inner ten year old in me was quite happy, but my 23 year old adult self was super exhausted by the time the end credits rolled.
I should mention I saw the film in 3D, and thoroughly enjoyed it. The scenes that utilize 3D do so quite well, and to entertaining effect, just don't be surprised if you find yourself fighting off eye strain during the third act of the film.
I can confidently say that Transformers: Age of Extinction is easily the event film of the summer. A nearly 3 hour film that is nothing but explosions and robots fighting deserves that title. The film definitely delivers, but maybe to too great a degree (TRAITOR!!! Yells my ten year old self). There's only so many explosions the human mind can handle before it starts to feel action fatigue. That said, this latest installment is still a major step up from Revenge of The Fallen and Dark of The Moon. The human characters are likable, it's not as jokey or goofy, the plot is cool (though there is too much of it) and there is a certain amount of surreal entertainment to be had listening to John Goodman's voice come from a robot. While there are some benefits to seeing this in the theater (like a larger screen and better 3D), I almost hesitate to say that maybe you should wait for Blu-Ray where you can fast forward to the good parts. Ultimately, the choice is yours.
All in all, Transformers: Age of Extinction is a fairly harmless film that ranks in as the second best Transformers film to date. It will probably kill some of your brain cells, but this is Michael Bay people, so that is to be expected. Buckle up, and hang on because you are in for an insane, hella long film.
3 STARS
The humans this time are nowhere near as grating as Sam Witwicky and crew. Mark Whalberg is given more to do than any other human in the Transformers franchise, Nicola Peltz is just there to be the damsel in distress but is still very likable, Jack Reynor gets the blunt end of the stick with zero character development. T.J. Miller appears for most of the first act as Lucas Flannery and is entertaining as a worker for Cade Yaeger. Stanley Tucci is ok as Joshua Joyce, head of KSI who is in cahoots with Harold Attinger (Kelsey Grammar, who is also just ok) who is in charge of the Autobot hunters. The human story centers around the theme of family, and I did dig the family dynamic between Whalberg and Peltz.
As for the new Autobots there is the cigar chomping Hound (voiced by John Goodman), the samurai Drift (voiced by Ken Watanabe), and Crosshairs (voiced by John DiMaggio). They aren't memorable or even all that likable. The standout is John Goodman as Hound, and even then he can't hold a candle to the original crew (though it is entertainingly surreal to hear John Goodman's voice coming out of a robot). The Dinobots also make an appearance near the end (they are in essentially the entire last act of the film, and they are indeed pretty bad-ass. It's always fun to watch them snatch up baddies off the ground or in mid-air and either toss them or snap them in half and eat them). Galactus (voiced by Frank Welker) is introduced as our Megatron surrogate, but he is neither all that threatening nor is he given much to do. The real standout as far as baddies go is Lockdown (voiced by Mark Ryan), who is a hardcore galactic bounty hunter. He was so cool, I was almost tempted to root for him during his battles with Optimus (Lockdown's ship is pretty impressive as well).
I'm surprised to say that director Michael Bay seems to have started to turn over a new leaf. There are no terrible jokes here (the script still isn't great though), and there are barely any gratuitous shots of females (zero of Nicola Peltz, she still looks good though). However, one thing has remained constant with Mr. Bay, he still loves him some good explosions, and he still doesn't know when to say CUT! The only real problem with Transformers: Age of Extinction is it's 2 hour 45 minute running time, which consists mainly of things going BA-BOOM (The film throws as many explosions as it can at you until you are forced to wave your white flag in surrender)!!!! If you love explosions, this is most definitely your film. I've got to hand it to Bay, while the film is WAY TOO LONG, it takes a special kind of crazy to decide your going to make an almost 3 hour epic consisting of pretty explosions and crazy action. The inner ten year old in me was quite happy, but my 23 year old adult self was super exhausted by the time the end credits rolled.
I should mention I saw the film in 3D, and thoroughly enjoyed it. The scenes that utilize 3D do so quite well, and to entertaining effect, just don't be surprised if you find yourself fighting off eye strain during the third act of the film.
I can confidently say that Transformers: Age of Extinction is easily the event film of the summer. A nearly 3 hour film that is nothing but explosions and robots fighting deserves that title. The film definitely delivers, but maybe to too great a degree (TRAITOR!!! Yells my ten year old self). There's only so many explosions the human mind can handle before it starts to feel action fatigue. That said, this latest installment is still a major step up from Revenge of The Fallen and Dark of The Moon. The human characters are likable, it's not as jokey or goofy, the plot is cool (though there is too much of it) and there is a certain amount of surreal entertainment to be had listening to John Goodman's voice come from a robot. While there are some benefits to seeing this in the theater (like a larger screen and better 3D), I almost hesitate to say that maybe you should wait for Blu-Ray where you can fast forward to the good parts. Ultimately, the choice is yours.
All in all, Transformers: Age of Extinction is a fairly harmless film that ranks in as the second best Transformers film to date. It will probably kill some of your brain cells, but this is Michael Bay people, so that is to be expected. Buckle up, and hang on because you are in for an insane, hella long film.
3 STARS
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