Did I really wait a lifetime for this or, am I just imagining things. . It was finally here, a live action Transformers. I knew it would look good since Michael Bay and Steven Spielberg are involved. I sat through weeks of my friend leaving me mean messages like “Hey did you hear what happened? They are pulling Transformers out of the theaters because something is wrong with the movie. Sorry.” If any of that would have been true I’m not sure I wouldn’t be blogging from jail right now. My only question was about the plot and the actors in the film. If those two elements could be good I was guaranteed to be watching the movie of the summer.
I don’t know how to say this without sounding like a complete nerd, but the storyline is simple. Autobots and Decepticons lived peacefully on the same planet until the Decepticon leader Megatron wanted to take over and went after a cube called the Allspark. The Allspark was lost in space and ended up on Earth. The Autobots need to get the Allspark before Megatron gets his hands on it and destroys all human life on earth. Caught in the middle are Sam Witwicky (Shia Le Bouf) and Mikaela (Megan Fox). Sam has something that both the Autobots and the Decpeticons need to find the Allspark.
The plot is believable, and not too cheesy. The characters are good, and not too corny. Some good performances by Tyrese, Jon Voight, Anthony Anderson, and Josh Duhamel. We all know the real stars of the movie are. The Transformers!!! Prototype cars and CGI Robots. Is it possible for Optimus Prime to show up at the Oscars? Maybe he can roll on stage and take out Rosie O’Donnell. How much would you pay to see that? I’m up to $750 and I don’t feel ripped off yet.
The Autobots are include Bumblebee, Jazz, Ratchett and Ironhide and last but not least Optimus Prime. I always thought Jazz was the “black” Autobot. In my head it makes perfect sense. When I watched the cartoon he would always rhyme and he had sunglasses for eyes. He falls right in line with Franklin( from Peanuts), Hong Kong Phooey, and Destro from GI Joe. It didn’t help that I found out Eddie Winslow from Family Matters provides the voice.
The Decpeticons are lead by Megatron, Barricade, Destroyer, Bonecrusher, and Starscream. Megartron is especially evil in the movie, which was great. It was a lot like the 80’s cartoon in that aspect. They even threw in some lines from the animated movie.
The fight sequences were so big and elaborate, but I never felt lost like I couldn’t tell what was going on. I was 10 years old again. I was cheering and applauding Optimus Prime and I really wanted to see them get the best of the Decepticons. I loved the fact that they didn’t show all of the cool scenes on the trailer. There were still plenty of scenes where I could hear the whole crowd “ooooooh” and “ahhhhhh”. You couldn’t tell me it wasn’t real…………..well at least for those 2 ½ hours. After the movie to see all the smiles on my friends faces, I knew I wasn’t the only one who felt like they had a trip back to my childhood.
I haven’t enjoyed a movie with this much hype in a long time. It was well worth the wait. I lived up to my expectations and that’s saying something because my standards can be high at times. (yes I admitted it)
My Suggestion: Do you want to be the last person on earth who hasn’t seen this movie? I didn’t think so.
My Grade – 3.7: You didn’t get a 4.0 because you didn’t want your parents sticking you in a gifted school away from all of your friends.
Thursday, July 5, 2007
Monday, July 2, 2007
Animated Classic
The first time I watched Transformers I was blown away. This was a time before all the CGI and life-like animation that we are accustomed to seeing these days with The Incredibles or the Shrek franchise. This was 1986, and more than 20 years ago. I remember my mom not wanting me to see the movie and I remember my uncle Brian who had to be 15 or 16 at the time really excited about it, almost too excited.
It’s hands down one of my favorite movies. The first time I saw it I remember when they stormed the Autobot base and it looked as if these Autobots were being killed. You saw smoke coming out of their eyes. It looked as if the Autobots were doomed and then came Optimus Prime. I love my dad so don’t get me wrong, but I’m sure if you asked me in 1986 who I would rather have as a dad……..I would have easily changed my last name to Prime. I’m sure the old man would have understood. Anyways as I remember, Prime comes flying in and you hear the guitar riffs, “You got the touch (guitar riff) You got the Power……Yeah” They come in and start whooping up on the Decepticons. It’s funny because the fight scenes were way more violent than what I saw on tv. I should have been warned. This is probably why my mother didn’t want me to watch.
As the two sides fight, Optimus Prime is hurt and he’s hurt bad. There is that scene where he’s laying on the table surrounded by other Autobots. He opens his chest and reveals the Autobot Matrix of Leadership. He hands it to Ultramagnus (dumb idea) and then it happens, Optimus Prime dies. It was so dramatic. He was this colorful truck and all the sudden he turns dark gray and his eyes are black. I'm not sure what a dead cartoon character looks like, but I assume that's it. A very defining moment of my life at 8 years old. I couldn’t believe it. I actually cried. I was horrified! Up to this point none of my heroes had died. GI Joe was still alive, He-Man was still getting the best of Skeletor, and Voltorn always seemed to pull out of any situation. Why Optimus? Was it to expose Ultramagnus as a fake leader? That’s like Jerry Seinfeld leaving the cast of Seinfeld and expecting the show to go on for two more seasons with George as the main character. It just wouldn’t work. At my old job we asked the roundtable question “Who’s your favorite Transformer” he replied “Ultramagnus” It really got a good laugh out of most of us at the table because of how horrible of a character he was.
The first movie was a big shock for me as a child. I pray this new movie doesn’t leave me in such emotional turmoil as the first one did. Maybe because I’m 20 years older I’ll handle it differently or maybe not.
I can’t wait until the Voltron movie next year.
It’s hands down one of my favorite movies. The first time I saw it I remember when they stormed the Autobot base and it looked as if these Autobots were being killed. You saw smoke coming out of their eyes. It looked as if the Autobots were doomed and then came Optimus Prime. I love my dad so don’t get me wrong, but I’m sure if you asked me in 1986 who I would rather have as a dad……..I would have easily changed my last name to Prime. I’m sure the old man would have understood. Anyways as I remember, Prime comes flying in and you hear the guitar riffs, “You got the touch (guitar riff) You got the Power……Yeah” They come in and start whooping up on the Decepticons. It’s funny because the fight scenes were way more violent than what I saw on tv. I should have been warned. This is probably why my mother didn’t want me to watch.
As the two sides fight, Optimus Prime is hurt and he’s hurt bad. There is that scene where he’s laying on the table surrounded by other Autobots. He opens his chest and reveals the Autobot Matrix of Leadership. He hands it to Ultramagnus (dumb idea) and then it happens, Optimus Prime dies. It was so dramatic. He was this colorful truck and all the sudden he turns dark gray and his eyes are black. I'm not sure what a dead cartoon character looks like, but I assume that's it. A very defining moment of my life at 8 years old. I couldn’t believe it. I actually cried. I was horrified! Up to this point none of my heroes had died. GI Joe was still alive, He-Man was still getting the best of Skeletor, and Voltorn always seemed to pull out of any situation. Why Optimus? Was it to expose Ultramagnus as a fake leader? That’s like Jerry Seinfeld leaving the cast of Seinfeld and expecting the show to go on for two more seasons with George as the main character. It just wouldn’t work. At my old job we asked the roundtable question “Who’s your favorite Transformer” he replied “Ultramagnus” It really got a good laugh out of most of us at the table because of how horrible of a character he was.
The first movie was a big shock for me as a child. I pray this new movie doesn’t leave me in such emotional turmoil as the first one did. Maybe because I’m 20 years older I’ll handle it differently or maybe not.
I can’t wait until the Voltron movie next year.
Friday, June 29, 2007
'Yippee-ki-yay'
Live Free Or Die Hard
In the 80’s and 90’s we had action movie franchises. Lethal Weapon, Beverly Hills Cop, Rambo, Indiana Jones, and my personal favorite Die Hard. I can’t believe it’s been over 10 years. I can’t believe how many times I’ve seen the original Die Hard. It was one of the first action movies I really felt drawn too. What would I have done if I was in the Nakatomi Plaza that night? Thank God For John McClane.
Bruce Willis is back as All-American tough guy John McClane. The movies picks almost 20 years after McClane has rescued us from Hans that dreadful night in Los Angeles. Now the FBI database is hacked and John is sent to retrieve a hacker. When McClane arrives to pick up the kid he realizes he’s not the only one looking for him. Now John is on a mission to protect this kid and figure out why people are out to kill this harmless hacker.
This movie takes a new angle with hi-tech terror. This films bad guy is Thomas Gabriel (who’s constantly called by his full name through the movie) played by one of my favorite actors Timothy Olyphant. He’s believable as the cyber geek who’s hell bent on proving his point. He’s like that nerdy math tutor who’ll do anything to prove his point about hyperbolic geometry and will lecture you for hours about it, except in this film he’s proving a point about national security and putting everyone’s lives at risk, but I think you get the point. He’s also pretty cruel and equally funny at times. He’s almost likeable until you realize, “Wait a minute! He’s killing people”
Matt Farrell (Justin Long) is the hacker caught in the middle of this national disaster. He also provides some of the movies funny moments. As usual McClane provides classic one-liners as well as this hysterical laugh. It’s one of those, I can’t believe this is happening to me/ maybe I’m losing my mind laughs. He also seems to enjoy killing these people. He contiues to warn Gabriel that he's going to kill him as if he knows how something that the rest of us don't. Clerk’s Kevin Smith plays Warlock, another hacker in the film. His character alone is funny. He’s this hacker who ranks high on the FBI’s list but he lives at home with his mom. I think there is more truth in that than I want to believe.
You get the feeling in the movie that McClane is one of the last heroes we have left. When the country needs him, nobody can stop him. He even fights Gabriel’s girlfriend Mai (Maggie Q) and does not go easy on her. My pick for MTV Movie Awards – Best Fight next year. We are all in need of a hero these days and I think that’s why I was drawn to this movie.
Live Free Or Die Hard is a throwback to the old action movies. One of the best action movies I’ve seen in a while. Decent plot, good villain, and some pretty unbelievable action sequences. It’s a formula that worked for the first three Die Hard installments and does not disappoint this time around. Who would have thought a PG-13 action movie could be this good? Thank God for John McClane.
My Suggestion: Go see it! Especially if you’ve seen the first 3 or even watch the heavily edited versions on USA or TNT.
My Grade – 3.5: Great Job! You’re pretty consistent. Let’s hope you make the Dean’s List.
In the 80’s and 90’s we had action movie franchises. Lethal Weapon, Beverly Hills Cop, Rambo, Indiana Jones, and my personal favorite Die Hard. I can’t believe it’s been over 10 years. I can’t believe how many times I’ve seen the original Die Hard. It was one of the first action movies I really felt drawn too. What would I have done if I was in the Nakatomi Plaza that night? Thank God For John McClane.
Bruce Willis is back as All-American tough guy John McClane. The movies picks almost 20 years after McClane has rescued us from Hans that dreadful night in Los Angeles. Now the FBI database is hacked and John is sent to retrieve a hacker. When McClane arrives to pick up the kid he realizes he’s not the only one looking for him. Now John is on a mission to protect this kid and figure out why people are out to kill this harmless hacker.
This movie takes a new angle with hi-tech terror. This films bad guy is Thomas Gabriel (who’s constantly called by his full name through the movie) played by one of my favorite actors Timothy Olyphant. He’s believable as the cyber geek who’s hell bent on proving his point. He’s like that nerdy math tutor who’ll do anything to prove his point about hyperbolic geometry and will lecture you for hours about it, except in this film he’s proving a point about national security and putting everyone’s lives at risk, but I think you get the point. He’s also pretty cruel and equally funny at times. He’s almost likeable until you realize, “Wait a minute! He’s killing people”
Matt Farrell (Justin Long) is the hacker caught in the middle of this national disaster. He also provides some of the movies funny moments. As usual McClane provides classic one-liners as well as this hysterical laugh. It’s one of those, I can’t believe this is happening to me/ maybe I’m losing my mind laughs. He also seems to enjoy killing these people. He contiues to warn Gabriel that he's going to kill him as if he knows how something that the rest of us don't. Clerk’s Kevin Smith plays Warlock, another hacker in the film. His character alone is funny. He’s this hacker who ranks high on the FBI’s list but he lives at home with his mom. I think there is more truth in that than I want to believe.
You get the feeling in the movie that McClane is one of the last heroes we have left. When the country needs him, nobody can stop him. He even fights Gabriel’s girlfriend Mai (Maggie Q) and does not go easy on her. My pick for MTV Movie Awards – Best Fight next year. We are all in need of a hero these days and I think that’s why I was drawn to this movie.
Live Free Or Die Hard is a throwback to the old action movies. One of the best action movies I’ve seen in a while. Decent plot, good villain, and some pretty unbelievable action sequences. It’s a formula that worked for the first three Die Hard installments and does not disappoint this time around. Who would have thought a PG-13 action movie could be this good? Thank God for John McClane.
My Suggestion: Go see it! Especially if you’ve seen the first 3 or even watch the heavily edited versions on USA or TNT.
My Grade – 3.5: Great Job! You’re pretty consistent. Let’s hope you make the Dean’s List.
Wednesday, June 27, 2007
Black Entertainment?
It’s that time of year where there is absolutely nothing on TV, so BET decides to air its annual BET Awards. With very limited options I felt almost compelled to watch.
The show wasn’t a complete borefest. It did have its moments. A nice performance by Ne-Yo. He brought out Fabolus as well to perform his hit song “You Make Me Better”. Ne-Yo is way too Michael Jackson some times. I wonder if Jacko gets a percentage of Ne-Yo’s checks every time he does a live show. I always see this guy with the hat and all white or all black. I keep waiting for the beat from Smooth Criminal to start playing. Robin Thicke also put on a good show. Beyonce was Beyonce as usual. Is it me or does she seems to always win? If she’s breathing and even rumored to be at the show, she’s guaranteed an award. They’re going to give her a Lifetime Achievement Award for Most Awards Won next year. What was funny/sad about her performance was that Destiny Childs member Michelle was her back up dancer? How’s that possible? How does she not even get her own little solo two-step? That’s like me running a company with my friend, the company dissolves, I start my own company, and now my friend is my secretary. She was dancing so hard too. I felt bad for the girl. The show also featured a tribute to Diana Ross and James Brown. I felt like they were just thrown together. Would they do that for the Beatles? If I was Stevie Wonder I’d tell them that if that’s how they are going to honor me, I don’t want it.
Some of the low points of the show were really low. Some very weak performances from T.I (who I like) 50 Cent, a shouting match between Jennifer Hudson and Jennifer Holliday. Why was Jennifer Hudson up for so many awards anyway? She sang on a soundtrack, and doesn’t even have an album out. She’s getting all this love for singing ONE SONG. My theory: It’s Oprah! Before Dreamgirls was released Oprah said that Ms. Hudson sang that song better than anyone else. Somehow we’ve all bought into what Mighty O is telling us. I wish Oprah would say something about me. If Monday she said she loved my reviews I’d have a movie deal, book deal, and a few wedding proposals by Friday. The power of O.
There are a few things I would change about the show:
The Host – Why must we see Monique again? It was a replay of when she hosted two years ago. Sure Damon Wayans hosting was a sign that the world is coming to an end, but that’s no reason to bring back Monique. Is Samuel L Jackson busy? What’s Jamie Foxx doing these days? Dial him up next year.
The Presenters: Having celebrities’ present videos of fans to present the nominees. Easily the worst idea I’ve ever seen at an Award Show followed by reading the winners off a sidekick at the Source Awards. I went to a graduation this year and they had a speaker come out and introduce the person introducing the key note speaker. What? Why do we have a middle man? Some of the videos were funny but most of them were not.
Akon – The less he’s on TV the better
Speeches – Why have a speech? It’s an award show. It was funny to see Al Shartpon giving his 2 cents AGAIN. He’s gotta be up to about $500 now. On a side note I saw Lil Wayne and Nelly talking about how all Rap isn’t bad and I thought that was cool, but WHY WERE THEY READING OFF THE TELEPROMTER? If that’s what you do, you can’t say why it’s a good thing? It was like they didn’t even believe what they were reading. I was waiting for one of them to burst out laughing. Was I the only one annoyed by this?
Shameless Plugs – Enough with this. I know your album is coming out so stop saying it every time you win an award. It was comedy to see T.I. apologize for allegedly punching someone in the face at a brunch for the awards show the day before. At the end of the apology he plugged his album? C’mon T.I. you’re better than that.
Don’t get me wrong I love that BET has a show where they can showcase all that is to love about Black Entertainment but at some point they’ve got to step it up. A few tweaks here and there and they’ll have a quality show. Maybe they can have 50 random fans come down next year and each takes a turn hosting the show. That’ll get viewers
The show wasn’t a complete borefest. It did have its moments. A nice performance by Ne-Yo. He brought out Fabolus as well to perform his hit song “You Make Me Better”. Ne-Yo is way too Michael Jackson some times. I wonder if Jacko gets a percentage of Ne-Yo’s checks every time he does a live show. I always see this guy with the hat and all white or all black. I keep waiting for the beat from Smooth Criminal to start playing. Robin Thicke also put on a good show. Beyonce was Beyonce as usual. Is it me or does she seems to always win? If she’s breathing and even rumored to be at the show, she’s guaranteed an award. They’re going to give her a Lifetime Achievement Award for Most Awards Won next year. What was funny/sad about her performance was that Destiny Childs member Michelle was her back up dancer? How’s that possible? How does she not even get her own little solo two-step? That’s like me running a company with my friend, the company dissolves, I start my own company, and now my friend is my secretary. She was dancing so hard too. I felt bad for the girl. The show also featured a tribute to Diana Ross and James Brown. I felt like they were just thrown together. Would they do that for the Beatles? If I was Stevie Wonder I’d tell them that if that’s how they are going to honor me, I don’t want it.
Some of the low points of the show were really low. Some very weak performances from T.I (who I like) 50 Cent, a shouting match between Jennifer Hudson and Jennifer Holliday. Why was Jennifer Hudson up for so many awards anyway? She sang on a soundtrack, and doesn’t even have an album out. She’s getting all this love for singing ONE SONG. My theory: It’s Oprah! Before Dreamgirls was released Oprah said that Ms. Hudson sang that song better than anyone else. Somehow we’ve all bought into what Mighty O is telling us. I wish Oprah would say something about me. If Monday she said she loved my reviews I’d have a movie deal, book deal, and a few wedding proposals by Friday. The power of O.
There are a few things I would change about the show:
The Host – Why must we see Monique again? It was a replay of when she hosted two years ago. Sure Damon Wayans hosting was a sign that the world is coming to an end, but that’s no reason to bring back Monique. Is Samuel L Jackson busy? What’s Jamie Foxx doing these days? Dial him up next year.
The Presenters: Having celebrities’ present videos of fans to present the nominees. Easily the worst idea I’ve ever seen at an Award Show followed by reading the winners off a sidekick at the Source Awards. I went to a graduation this year and they had a speaker come out and introduce the person introducing the key note speaker. What? Why do we have a middle man? Some of the videos were funny but most of them were not.
Akon – The less he’s on TV the better
Speeches – Why have a speech? It’s an award show. It was funny to see Al Shartpon giving his 2 cents AGAIN. He’s gotta be up to about $500 now. On a side note I saw Lil Wayne and Nelly talking about how all Rap isn’t bad and I thought that was cool, but WHY WERE THEY READING OFF THE TELEPROMTER? If that’s what you do, you can’t say why it’s a good thing? It was like they didn’t even believe what they were reading. I was waiting for one of them to burst out laughing. Was I the only one annoyed by this?
Shameless Plugs – Enough with this. I know your album is coming out so stop saying it every time you win an award. It was comedy to see T.I. apologize for allegedly punching someone in the face at a brunch for the awards show the day before. At the end of the apology he plugged his album? C’mon T.I. you’re better than that.
Don’t get me wrong I love that BET has a show where they can showcase all that is to love about Black Entertainment but at some point they’ve got to step it up. A few tweaks here and there and they’ll have a quality show. Maybe they can have 50 random fans come down next year and each takes a turn hosting the show. That’ll get viewers
Monday, June 25, 2007
Children are our future
Children Of Men
Whitney Houston once sang "I believe that children are our future ". What if we lived in a world without children? What if we had no future? Children Of Men is a dark look at a future that none of us want to see.
The movie opens in London and the year is 2027. The city is mourning the death of the world's youngest person who happens to be 18 years old. The film follows Theo (Clive Owen) who is an ex activist/alcoholic as he assist Julian (Julian Moore) in leading the world's first pregnant woman in 18 years to safety. A fictional or non fictional group called The Human Project. As the movie moves on Theo starts to realize that everyone has their own agenda about what they want to do with the baby.
This is one of those movies you watch and ask yourself "Why didn 't I see this sooner." It's really a hard movie to sell because of the subject matter. The movie is dark at points and none of the characters seem to truly be happy. Men reminds me of one of those funny mirrors you see at a circus. It' s reflects what it sees but distorted in a distorted way. The movie was a reflection of what happens in our society today from the burning of the livestock to the immigrants being treated like anim als. Although this is not a "feel good " movie, it is thought provoking and will make you think about the future of our nations.
My suggestion: See the movie now. This may be a late hit among movie lovers or one of those films that's shown in film school.
My grade: 3.33 – Your parents are happy and may even let you take that weekend trip with your friends.
Whitney Houston once sang "I believe that children are our future ". What if we lived in a world without children? What if we had no future? Children Of Men is a dark look at a future that none of us want to see.
The movie opens in London and the year is 2027. The city is mourning the death of the world's youngest person who happens to be 18 years old. The film follows Theo (Clive Owen) who is an ex activist/alcoholic as he assist Julian (Julian Moore) in leading the world's first pregnant woman in 18 years to safety. A fictional or non fictional group called The Human Project. As the movie moves on Theo starts to realize that everyone has their own agenda about what they want to do with the baby.
This is one of those movies you watch and ask yourself "Why didn 't I see this sooner." It's really a hard movie to sell because of the subject matter. The movie is dark at points and none of the characters seem to truly be happy. Men reminds me of one of those funny mirrors you see at a circus. It' s reflects what it sees but distorted in a distorted way. The movie was a reflection of what happens in our society today from the burning of the livestock to the immigrants being treated like anim als. Although this is not a "feel good " movie, it is thought provoking and will make you think about the future of our nations.
My suggestion: See the movie now. This may be a late hit among movie lovers or one of those films that's shown in film school.
My grade: 3.33 – Your parents are happy and may even let you take that weekend trip with your friends.
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