Transformers Dark of the Moon

I just watched Transformers, Dark Of The Moon and thought it was great. It delivered exactly as it was billed, a movie about Robots battling each other for control of earth. Not just any robots though, robots that can change themselves into cars, truck planes or whatever else lets them mix in with our mechanical world.

I was not looking for character development, back story on the new love of Sam’s life, or even the motivations of the bad guys. I wanted a spectacular mess of metal snakes that eat and destroy skyscrapers while conventional trucks transform into jet packing, missile launching shielded mechanical giants who sound like Barry White on a bad day.

So what I am saying here is that if you want to have two and a half hours or so of a fun filled assault to your senses, just what this movie and it’s producers purport it to be, then go see Transformers, Dark Of The Moon. If you want character development, heartfelt love and triumph of everyday life, go see Larry Crown.

Toons Tunes University: BIG music video!

u rock sk8r man

Super 8

Hey ya'll,
Just saw Super 8 and was very happy with what I saw. We had action, creativity, character connection and a gruesome alien seemingly bent on eating, alive, every human he could get his claws into.

JJ Abrams, creator of such fun fare as Lost and one of my favorites, Fringe, wrote and directed this excellent period piece of seventies retro sci-fi.

A group of young teens are filming a zombie film for a contest. Inadvertently they end up on the wrong side of a huge train wreck and find themselves entrenched in a mystery and targets of evil military guys and in search of answers they may not want the answers to.

Super 8 has all the makings of a B Movie with A movies special effects, writing acting and flow.  The kids in the film are believable as much as kids taking on an alien force and an apparently evil faction of the US Armed Forces.

Super 8 is definatelyworth the time and money to to go see.  it is one of those flicks that will do well on video, but it would be a shame to miss see it with an active audience.  There are plenty of gotchas, jump ups and screams for all.

X-Men: First Class

I have over a dozen DVD's on my shelf that are based on comic books from the last 15 years. In a drawer in my room there are several stacks of comic books in the protective sleeves. To say that I enjoy comics, is an understatement. As a film student, I see them as a great source of material with a built in audience. The studios would agree with me on that.



X-Men: First Class is a "Reboot" to the X-Men franchise is set to be the Summer Tentpole movie this year for Fox. And from what I saw, well deserved. The storyline was well orchestrated by Matthew Vaughn (who also directed Kick-Ass, which a sequel is in the works, and Star Dust a novel by Neil Gaiman) and the cast was terrific. This movie takes place before any of the other X-Men live action movies timeline and shows the chemistry between Brothers in Mutation Erik Lehnsherr and Charles Xavier before they became adversaries.

There is plenty of action on all sides of the mutant/human lines complete with a climactic ending. Watch for plenty of familiar faces relating to both characters in the comics and actors playing roles they are good at. Giving little away about the story, I will say that there isn't anything after the credits, much to my dismay. This will mark the first in a long time of any comic related movie, especially a Marvel Movie, that doesn't have a lead in for a next movie. I often related that to the last page of a comic book where they give a blurb about what's in store for the loyal reader in the next issue. Normally I wouldn't advocate leaving the theater before the credits are done, cause one day I will be in those credits, but if you've gotta go, that's acceptable this time.

Get your popcorn ready, strap into your seats, and enjoy the ride. This movie isn't in the D-Box motion seats, but even without it this movie is a wild ride. This midnight screening was at the Cinema West theater in Livermore. For the summer, they will be having midnight screenings for most films coming out. The theater is really nice and is a bit less expensive compared to the other local theaters at $10 for a normal ticket.

The next movie I'll be reviewing will be in D-Box this summer. Super 8 directed by J.J. Abrams and produced by Steven Spielberg.

Enjoy the movies this summer, and beat the heat (we're not getting).