Movie Review: Transformers

I loved the Transformers as a kid. I watched the cartoon - I played with the toys - I went and saw the original Transformers movie in the theater in 1986. That being said, I initially wasn't looking forward to this movie - in fact I wasn't even sure I was going to go see it. I don't like Michael Bay for the most part and from everything I had heard about the production of the film, he was destroying the history of the franchise I loved.

Okay, now that we got that out of the way, I loved this movie. After seeing trailer after trailer for Transformers over the first part of the Summer I realized that I really couldn't avoid seeing the movie as I had originally planned - it was going to be too big for that. Transformers was everything the Summer blockbuster action film should be - I mean really, it is huge robots beating the crap out of each other - who wouldn't like that? The premise of the movie is that the evil Decepticons, led by the maniacal Megatron want something that Sam Witwicky (Shia LeBeouf) has so they can use it to destroy Earth. Meanwhile, the heroic Autobots, led by the noble Optimus Prime need that same item, but for reasons of good. Besides the obvious large robots, there are car chases and some pretty decent acting to be honest. I appreciated the performances of Shia LeBeouf, Megan Fox, Josh Duhamel among others.

However, the biggest star to me, a longtime TransFan, was Peter Cullen. I know, most of you ask, "Peter Cullen, who the heck is Peter Cullen?" Peter Cullen is the original voice of Optimus Prime from the 1980s Transformers cartoon and he reprises that role in this film. The movie starts off with narration from Cullen and from that moment I was hooked.

The creators of the movie had plenty of little nods to the old-school Transformers fans. While Autobot Bumblebee was originally a VW Bug, he ended up being a Chevy Camaro in this film due to licensing issues. However, during one scene in the movie, Bumblebee destroys an old yellow VW Bug so Sam will take him home rather than choosing the Bug. It was little things like this that made this movie fun for fans like me.

I will go on record to say that there WILL BE a sequel to this film - it has made far too much money and was left far too wide open at the end for there not to be. There are literally hundreds of characters for them use in future films. I give Transformers 5 out of 5 stars.

Movie Review: Live Free or Die Hard

Well, I went to see yet another of the movies from this summer of the sequel. Live Free or Die Hard brings us the further adventures of hard-luck NYPD detective John McClain (Bruce Willis). This time McClain spends most of his time in Washington D.C., Baltimore, Maryland and somewhere in West Virginia (yes, West Virginia).

In this, the age of the internet, it was only a matter of time before the Die Hard franchise upgraded to version 2.0. No longer are we worrying about people taking over office buildings or airports or even New York City - this time we worry about the terrorists unraveling the entire fabric of the United States using the internet and all of the intertwined computer networks of the country. And of course, it is up to McClain to save the day yet again.

Also starring in Live Free or Die Hard are hacker sidekick, Matthew Farrell (Justin Long); McClain's daughter, Lucy (Mary Elizabeth Winstead); king bad guy, Thomas Gabriel (Timothy Olyphant); super hacker, Warlock (Kevin Smith); and bad ninja girl, Mai Lihn (Maggie Q).

Now, as far as the movie goes, I loved it, but be aware, I love this entire franchise, even Die Hard With a Vengeance, which a lot of people said was crap. First off, for those of you with kids, this movie is rated PG-13, but I thought it deserved an R rating for the violence, so be warned. This is clearly your typical summer popcorn flick, with lots of killing, gunshots, explosions and unbelievable action sequences. That being said, if you are into the above list of topics, like I am, go see this film immediately - you will not be sorry.

There is a good story in the movie, the acting is on par with the rest of the Die Hard franchise and I guarantee you will laugh throughout the movie - after all, that's part of what the Die Hard movies are all about! I give Live Free or Die Hard 4 1/2 out of 5 stars.

Movie Review: Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer

First off, I admit it, I'm a comic book geek. Most of you that know me, already know that, but I wanted to throw it out there before putting forth my review of Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer. Now, that being said, I kind of liked this movie. I saw the original Fantastic Four movie two summers ago and honestly, I didn't really like it - I was bored with it in fact. This time around they didn't have to go through the background of each character, so they were able to focus mostly on the story and the action, which to me is a good thing.

This chapter of the Fantastic Four saga introduces two new characters to the viewers - the Silver Surfer and Galactus (well, kind of - he is pretty much just a big cloud in the movie as opposed to the ginormous planet devourer comic book readers would recognize). Silver Surfer is really pretty cool in this movie and it was nice to have the villain be someone you could actually sympathize with (as opposed to Dr. Doom - who everyone should just hate all of the time).

As far as the acting goes, you get what you expect in my opinion - average acting. I thought the CGI was really good and the script was average. I do believe there will be at least one more of these movies (especially since it pulled in over $57 million in its first weekend). I'd recommend Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer to anyone that likes or knows these characters, otherwise, I'd say skip it. I give the movie 3 out of 5 stars.

Movie Review: Knocked Up

I spent the better part of the afternoon at the local mega-plex (better known as the crappy Regal Cinemas theatre in our mall) seeing the surprise Summer hit Knocked Up. Knocked Up stars Katherine Heigl and Seth Rogan as two very different people who happen to get their lives intertwined while at a LA night club. Long story short, he knocks her up (hence the title of the film) and we are well on our way through the story of their new lives together and apart.

The movie is funny in parts, but I'm not sure where all of this critical acclaim is coming from. It is very raunchy, so I advise not watching it with your parents (or anyone else you would get embarrassed around) if at all possible. I actually thought the movie was about half an hour too long (it ran about 2 hours and twenty minutes).

To me, the bright spots of the movie were supporting case Leslie Mann (she played Heigl's sister) and Paul Rudd (he played Heigl's brother-in-law). I thought both added a lot to the film. If someone asked me if they should spend the money to go see this film, I would probably only suggest it at matinee pricing. $10 on this movie would be a stretch, but that is just my opinion. I would give Knocked Up 3 1/2 out of 5 stars.

Movie Review - Ghost Rider

When I was in Texas last weekend, I went and saw Ghost Rider, starring Nicholas Cage, Peter Fonda, Eva Mendes, Donal Logue, Wes Bentley and Sam Elliott. This is the next in the long line of superhero/comic book adaptations to hit the big screen. It seems that once Spider-Man and X-Men opened the door, the rest of the heroes decided to come flying through as well. I'll be honest with you. I don't particularly like the Ghost Rider comics. I believe I've read one issue and didn't even get through it. This led me to believe that I would also not like the Ghost Rider movie. However, I do like Nic Cage and I'm a big fan of Sam Elliott. Also, Eva Mendes is uber-hot.

So, I went into the movie, trying to give it a fair shake. Turns out, it wasn't that bad. Cage brought a likability to the Johnny Blaze/Ghost Rider character and now that I better know the origins of the character, I think I may actually like the Ghost Rider.

The movie was the typical first movie for a specific character in that they had to spend a good portion of the movie explaining who, what, where, when, why and how. That sometimes lends itself to a boring (at least first half) movie, but I didn't get that from this one. They did a good job of explaining the situation without making the viewer fall asleep (such as the Fantastic Four movie). The acting was pretty good. I thought Cage did a good job, as did Elliott. I didn't think that Fonda was all that great. Bentley was okay in his evil role. I liked the special effects and thought the flaming Ghost Rider and his bike were done well. The action parts of the movie were also pretty well done. In all, I'd give Ghost Rider 2 1/2 stars out of 4. The movie does lend itself to sequels if you were wondering.

Now, we all have to get ready for the Spring/Summer blockbuster season. Upcoming are Transformers, Spider-Man III, Fantastic Four: The Rise of the Silver Surfer, Live Free or Die Hard, Rush Hour III and Shrek the Third.