Posts Tagged ‘Transformers: Revenge of The Fallen’

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TRANSFORMERS 3 MIGHT ACTUALLY BE GOOD?

by Tom on April 29, 2011 at 8:35 am
Posted In: Bonus Materials
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The full theatrical trailer for Transformers: Dark of the Moon is almost good enough to make me forget that ridiculous title.

Almost.

I gotta give credit to whoever cut this trailer. It actually makes me excited to see the movie. It hits all the right beats and does a good job of making me feel like something is actually at stake. They certainly aren't trying to play the cutesy-clever card like they did with Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen.

Watch the full trailer for that one, if you don't believe me.

Boy, Shia LaBeouf sure likes to shout "OPTIMUS!" a lot, doesn't he?

What's your reaction to these two trailers?

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TRANSFORMERS 2 – OCTOBER 20

by Tom on August 20, 2009 at 7:11 am
Posted In: Blog
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Uh oh, guys. Look what's being released on October 20!

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen

As much as I ragged on the theatrical release of Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, I'm actually kind of excited to see it on DVD. I think there's a better chance of me kind of understanding the action on a smaller screen. At least, that was my experience with the original Transformers. I hated it in the theater, but it's fun to watch at home. I just skip chapters to the scenes with all the robots. Takes about 15 minutes.

Here's a list of all the bonus features available on the two-disc special edition, plus features exclusive to the Blu-ray edition:

Disc 1:

  • Commentary by Michael Bay, Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman

Disc 2:

  • The Human Factor: Exacting Revenge of the Fallen—This multi-chapter documentary chronicles the entire creation of the film and includes interviews with the cast and crew:
    • Seeds of Vengeance - Development and Design—After the overwhelming success of 2007’s Transformers how do the filmmakers top themselves for the sequel?
    • Domestic Destruction – Production: United States—Michael Bay believes in going big: Big action and big explosions. Cast and crew are pushed to the limit as they traverse the U.S. from New Mexico to Pennsylvania.
    • Joint Operations – Production: Military—No other filmmaker in the world enjoys the kind of military access and cooperation Michael Bay has. Here we see just how efficient our armed forces are and the awe and respect shown by the cast.
    • Wonders of the World – Production: Middle East—You can’t really reproduce Egypt anywhere but Egypt so off we go to Giza and Luxor.
    • Start Making Sense - Editing—In order to turn over the massive amount of film as quickly as possible to VFX, four editors work tirelessly in a unique tag-team approach to shape the film.
    • Under the Gun – Visual Effects—Revenge of the Fallen features the most complicated VFX in film history. So complicated in fact that the filmmakers were unsure they would make the deadline. The DEVASTATOR VFX alone required 83% of ILM’s total render farm capacity.
    • Running the Gauntlet – Post-Production and Release—Working seven days a week, Michael Bay and company usher the film through sound design, Digital Intermediate color-timin and a globe-trotting whirlwind of premieres.
  • A Day with Bay: Tokyo—An intimate and fun all-access journey with Michael Bay as he travels to Tokyo, Japan tor the world premiere of the biggest film of the year.
  • 25 Years of TRANSFORMERS—Access an all-new featurette celebrating a monumental milestone for one of Hasbro’s most successful and popular franchises.
  • NEST: Transformer Data-Hub—Explore conceptual artwork created by the production for 12 of the most popular AUTOBOTS and DECEPTICONS from the film.
  • Deconstructing Visual Bayhem with Commentary by Pre-Vis Supervisor Steve Yamamoto—A series of multi-angle pre-visualization sequences allowing viewers to learn how some of the film’s most spectacular scenes were created with an introduction by Michael Bay.
  • Extended Scenes
  • Music Video: Linkin Park’s “New Divide”

BLU-RAY EXCLUSIVE:

  • The ALLSPARK Experiment—Viewers get their chance to unleash the power of the recently recovered ALLSPARK shard on Earth vehicles. Begin by selecting and customizing a vehicle with a selection of parts and accessories. Then apply the ALLSPARK to this creation and watch what happens. Applying the ALLSPARK to certain custom combinations enables four new robot characters with special powers. If viewers discover all four, they unlock a fifth vehicle, which reveals a top secret message about the future of the TRANSFORMERS movie franchise.
  • NEST: Transformer Data-Hub—A database of some of the TRANSFORMERS characters that appear in the new film, offering users access to each robot’s confidential file including:
    • Innovative 3D spin galleries of each robot
    • A timeline for each TRANSFORMERS character charting its origins, back story and design evolution from toys to animated series to comics and finally feature films
  • Giant Effing Movie—A very personal look at the making of the movie.
  • The Matrix of Marketing—An archive of the film’s promotional media including trailers, posters and television spots.

Despite my problems with the movie, I'm looking forward to the Blu-ray release. No matter what your opinion might be about the story, characterization or editing - the technical aspect of this film was a Herculian effort and I'm very interested in learning more about the behind-the-scenes details.

So mark your calendars for October 20!

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UPSET ABOUT THE HAND

by Tom on July 20, 2009 at 12:00 am
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(19 votes, average: 5.84 out of 10)
Shia LaBeouf, Transformers: Revenge of The Fallen, hand, injury, stitches, hospital, mistaken identity, irony

First I just want to say thanks to everyone who wrote a comment or sent an e-mail expressing support or concern after I shared the story of my hand injury last week. I've always maintained that Theater Hopper fans are some of the most courteous, supportive and understanding fans in all webcomics and your words encouraged me to get back on the horse that much faster.

That said, a few of you were teasing me a little bit when it came to my hand injury being similar to that of Shia LaBeouf's while he was filming Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. A bit of karma played against me for giving the actor such a hard time in the past.

It's cool, it's cool. While my injury was nowhere near as serious as LaBeouf's, turnabout is fair play, I suppose. I gotta give LaBeouf credit, though. He showed up for work with his injury. I don't know if I would have done the same.

Then again, if a $200 million action sequel were resting on my shoulders and Michael Bay could provide a kevlar cast that looked like skin, I'd probably find the proper motivation to go back to work.

A few of you suggested that I write my injury into the comic. While I recognized that it would be therapeutic to do so, I wasn't sure how to go about doing it. Then I got an e-mail from one CP Newcombe who gave me a nugget of a great idea. Immediately upon reading it, I could think of at least five different directions to take the storyline. So you have CP to thank for this next little story arc that not only bring Shia LaBeouf back into the Theater Hopper, but another long-lost character once thought dead. Who could it be? You have to wait to find out!

I things that are not hand-related, Cami and I saw Harry Potter and The Half-Blood Prince over the weekend. Cami didn't like it because she felt the film took too many liberties with the book and was hard to follow. She recognizes that certain changes had to be made to adapt the book to the screen, but was ultimately disappointing.

I, on the other hand, was perfectly happy with the movie and I attribute much of that to the fact that I've never read a single Harry Potter book.

I tried reading the first book before the first movie came out, but I found Rowling's use of language too impenetrable and annoying to bother to continue. It's all the made up words. They distracted me.

So, as a result, my exposure to Harry Potter has occurred exclusively in the domain of film. Aside from the fourth movie (which I thought was horrid), I've enjoyed them all so far.

I suppose now that I've had some time to get away from the movie a little bit, there were some things about The Half-Blood Prince that bothered me. Certain revelations that should have a large impact simply don't shock the way they should and there's a little too much hemming and hawing over the multiple romantic subplots to keep the tension going.

Something I've noticed about the last few films is that their visual tone has become darker and darker, but the plot elements don't always match up to this. Things should be getting deadlier and more serious for Harry, but the films seem to force this balance with the light stuff which then feels out of place.

I know Joe had some pretty strong opinions on the movie, so I'm sure we'll debate these issues and more on tonight's episode of The Triple Feature. I strongly encourage you to listen live at 9:00 PM CST. You can participate in the chat field with the other listeners and we always have a lot of fun. Plus, you get to the listen to the behind-the-scenes stuff before and after we record the show. I've been told by some it's the sole reason they listen to the live broadcast.

Hope you can fit us in tonight and that everyone has a great week. Thanks again for all your support and I'll talk to you soon!

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DOOMBRINGER

by Tom on July 6, 2009 at 12:00 am
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(33 votes, average: 7.70 out of 10)
Transformers: Revenge of The Fallen, Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs, tie, box office, Aliens Vs. Predator

In my head, Tom looking dramatically over his shoulder was supposed to come off kind of like Bigger Than Cheeses's CSI: Miami comic. I know it's not the same thing. I'm just telling you how it played out in my head.

Believe it or not, Box Office Mojo is reporting that Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen and Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs actually TIED at the box office this weekend with a tally of $42.5 million each.

Granted, I haven't been following box office reports for all that long, but I can't think of another time where that has ever happened before. Next thing you know the two movies will start fighting over who had the idea to use a colon in their title rather than call their film "Transformers 2" or "Ice Age 3".

There is one qualifier, of course. Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs actually came out on Wednesday. So if you count the 5-day tally, the box office is in it's favor - $67.5 million. But the story isn't interesting if you include that. So everyone is choosing to focus on the 3-day weekend in stead. Ho hum.

Something I said I'd do but never really got around to last week was talk a little bit more about Public Enemies (which, incidentally, came in 3rd this weekend with $26 million).

I looked at my original synopsis - that the film was good but overlong, that Bale hardly leaves an impression and that he and Depp barely share screen time together - and thought "Was there more I wanted to add to this?" But I suppose I officially have to chime in on director Michael Mann's decision to shoot the film with digital video.

For me, it's an anachronism that distracts me somewhat. But more glaring was the poor quality of the video. I don't have a problem with a period film using digital video. But in Public Enemies I thought things were blurry, pixelated and fundamentally inferior. For someone who can pick a shot as well as Mann can, I don't understand why he's resorting to such a crude method of capturing his film.

Probably the greater anachronism for me were Mann's musical selections. Sometimes there would be sweeping orchestra work. Sometimes there would be radio hits from the late 20's and early 30's. But during the heists in particular, he would sometimes go with an electric guitar riff that left me asking myself "Were people playing electric guitars back then?" Maybe I'm ignorant, but it felt really out of place.

There were also some strange overlaps, historically speaking. Did John Dillinger really pull all of these heists with Alvin "Creepy" Karpis and Baby Face Nelson? It kind of felt like some kind of greatest hits tour, or something. I don't know a lot about that era, but it seems to me these guys wouldn't pal around with each other if they could help it.

I guess more than anything, it's been interesting reading people's reaction to the movie. Some people feels like it doesn't connect and that Mann has lost his touch completely. Others consider Public Enemies to be some kind of art film.

Whatever it is, Mann has not made a conventional Hollywood caper flick. Maybe if this one had found it's way into theaters later in the year instead of over the 4th of July weekend, it would have played differently. The grit and steel in Marion Cotillard's performance would perhaps raise the specter of a Best Supporting Actress nomination if it doesn't get lost in the shuffle.

It's odd. For as wrapped up in the movie as I was, I didn't really enjoy it and I'm not sure I could recommend it to others. It's not a bad film, but it's not blithely entertaining, either. I guess you could say I respect it, but even that feels like a left-handed compliment.

I'm sure we'll be talking about Public Enemies and much, much more tonight on The Triple Feature podcast at 9PM CST. Be sure to listen to us live! Don't forget to submit your questions to our Facebook group. Sign up as a member and we'll send you a reminder of when the show is recording so you can join us during the show.

Thanks and have a great Monday!

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GOES DOWN SMOOTH

by Tom on June 29, 2009 at 12:00 am
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(28 votes, average: 6.29 out of 10)
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, Away We Go, lunch box, commercialization, box office, thermos, self-importance

I don't know if the punchline for today's comic justifies the delay, but I was really enamored with the idea of an Away We Go lunch box. So, there you go.

About that delay, sorry everyone. Couldn't be helped. I was away from home all day Sunday celebrating my sister-in-law's birthday and didn't get home until late. By the time I had an opportunity to work on Monday's comic, Henry decided to have a total fit and basically wouldn't sleep. By the time I had been upstairs two or three times to help settle him down, it was 2:00 in the morning and I had to call it a night.

I would have had the comic finished earlier this morning, but we keep Henry home from day care on Mondays and I watch over him. He's taking his nap now. I actually have to wake him up in about 15 minutes, so I'm running this one kind of close.

As you probably heard, Transformers: Revenge of The Fallen racked up a little over $200 million in 5 days making it the second-largest opening weekend haul since The Dark Knight. I can't say I'm surprised. In our little Top 10 of Summer 2009 wager between Joe, Gordon and myself, I picked Transformers: ROTF to be the summer's biggest film, projecting a $400 million box office haul. Even if the movie loses half of it's audience this weekend, it's already more than half way there with probably two more months in theaters to make up the difference.

Incidentally, I did have the opportunity to see Away We Go this weekend and it was the perfect antidote to Transformers: ROTF. I liken the film to Stranger Than Fiction or Last Chance Harvey - the kind of film that wears it's idiosyncrasies on it's sleeve and is maybe a little too precious for its own good, but is ultimately an enjoyable film that makes you feel good about your own personal journeys. In that regard, it's probably the LEAST Sam Mendes-like movie directed by Sam Mendes that you're ever going to see.

The performances were good, too. John Krasinski is a little more extroverted than normal, but plays the same sweet and nurturing notes he does with Jim on The Office. Maya Rudolph is a revelation, though. A completely formed character played with nuance and sensitivity.

You kind of don't expect the chemistry between these two actors to work as well as it does and I can't decide if it's success of the actors or the script that makes it convincing. I mean, if you sat down and thought about it, John Krasinski and Maya Rudolph probably wouldn't be at the top of anyone's list to star in a romantic comedy.

Away We Go isn't really a romantic comedy. I'm just using that for lack of a better term. But the movie is funny and sweet, so it kind of fits. If you have the opportunity to see the film, I highly recommend it. It's a nice breather during the summer blockbuster season. The more I think about it, the more it has grown on me. Good stuff.

Quick Reminder: Don't forget to tune in to The Triple Feature tonight where we will most likely spend time talking about Transformers: ROTF. We record live at 9:00 PM CST over at TalkShoe.com.

I hear Henry sneaking down the staircase. I guess he woke up from his nap on his own. So I gotta wrap things up. Have a great day and I'll talk to you soon!

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LIKE CHOCOLATE AND PEANUT BUTTER

by Tom on June 26, 2009 at 12:00 am
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(32 votes, average: 6.41 out of 10)
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, acronym, internet, rolling on the floor, ROTF, nerd, overlap

I wish I could say that I noticed that the acronym for Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen could also mean "Rolling On The Floor (laughing)," but it didn't dawn on me until I read Howard Taylor's review of the movie over at Schlock Mercenary.

Then again, Howard is completely awesome and I'm just a part-timer. So, there you go. Credit where credit is due.

I was going to write a review for Transformers: ROTF, but I can't quite muster the venom for it that I was expressing a few days ago after seeing it in IMAX.

Let me just say this; Basically all the negative reviews you've been reading are true. The movie is crass, overlong and impossible to make sense of. Remember when people said that the robots were the best part of the first movie? Well, in the sequel, I didn't even like the robots.

Much has been written about the racist caricature of African Americans with the inclusion of "The Twins," Skids and Mudflap. I was peripherally aware of the controversy going in and didn't think much of it at first. I was willing to give Michael Bay the benefit of the doubt. I mean, I've known dopey white guys in college who used Ebonic slang, so maybe he was making fun of that.

But the buck teeth and the gold tooth is hard to ignore. I was particularly amazed when one of the robots said they didn't read.

In an interview with CHUD, Screenwriters Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman have distanced themselves from the characters saying their look and vocal affectations were not their idea, but were the result of a decision made by director Michael Bay.

In an interview with the Associated Press, Bay doesn't exactly denounce the idea that Skids and Mudflap are racial stereotypes and also does a little bit of passing the buck himself.

"...These are the voice actors. This is kind of the direction they were taking the characters and we went with it."

Bay said the parts "were kind of written but not really written, so the voice actors is when we started to really kind of come up with their characters."

Ultimately, Bay says "I purely did it for kids. Young kids love these robots, because it makes it more accessible to them."

So basically what Bay is saying is that Skids and Mudflap are the Jar Jar Binks of the Transformers universe...

Here's the thing: I can't remember which review I read that says this, but I have to agree with the sentiment - Bay is simply too egotistical to pitch this movie to it's intended audience. He's too bloated with self-esteem to realize this is a movie that SHOULD be for kids.

I was sitting next to a kid watching this movie. Wanna know what he thought every time Skids and Mudflap came on screen? "Every time those robots talk, they use bad words, Mommy."

Bingo.

I mean, this is the guy that put a pair of testicles on Devastator, for crying out loud. Then again, how else are you going to top Bumblebee "peeing" on John Turturro from the first movie?

Something I find particularly egrigious about this movie is Bay flexing his connections in the Department of Defense. There is so much military hardware in this movie, so lovingly shot and beautifully lit, I can only imagine Bay looking over the footage and rubbing his nipples like Simon Cowell at the thought of it.

When I finished watching this movie on Wednesday, I sent the following update to Twitter: "Transformers 2: Never has a movie so loud been so boring." The scenes shot in IMAX with Devastator at the pyramids was impressive, but the rest of the film was a twitching bore.

Has anyone else seen the film since it came out on Wednesday or are you waiting for the weekend to check it out? If you saw it, what did you think? If you haven't seen it, have the bad reviews dissuaded you?

Leave your comments below!

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THE BIG COVER UP

by Tom on June 24, 2009 at 12:00 am
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(27 votes, average: 5.70 out of 10)
Transformers: Revenge of The Fallen, Shia LaBeouf, Indiana Jones and The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, hammer, photos, signing, cover up, Even Stevens

No incentive sketch today, guys. I'm running WAY behind and I wanted to get the comic up and running first without messing around with a sketch.

Sorry that the comic is so late. To explain myself, I offer these pictures:

Family Room Painting

Family Room Painting

It's a huge, 12 foot long triptych that I painted for our family room that I completed and hung last night.

Of course, like an idiot, I was working for about 4 hours in my garage painting the last panel with a heat index of 110 outside. By the time I was done hanging it up, my back was killing me and I was completely drained. So I decided to take advantage of my unemployment situation, sack out early and get up in the morning to finish the comic.

So, again, sorry for the delay.

This painting is something I've been "working" on since January, but could never really find the time to complete until I got 8 hours back during my day a few weeks ago. It's the perfect solution for our family room, which is ridiculously long and impossible to decorate. We've spent years trying to find the right configuration and I think we finally have the room the way we want it. The triptych anchors a very long and very blank wall and I know that Cami is over the moon about it.

In fact, this morning, when Henry came downstairs for breakfast, he noticed the painting right away and said "I like your paintings, Daddy." So I think I did okay.

As for the "let's make Shia a bad-ass conspiracy," obviously it doesn't hold water. But he was really on a bender this time last year, getting arrested at a Walgreen's and kind of flirting with the law. I always kept the idea tucked away in the most cynical corner of my brain that it was all orchestrated on purpose to distance LaBeouf from his Disney past. But, again, I'm just playing it up for laughs.

I mean, smashing someone's hand with a hammer? Funny, right?! I'm chuckling about it even now. Thank you, Tom & Jerry cartoons for warping my sense of humor.

Not much else to talk about today except that I'm off to see a 12:00 PM showing of Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. Once again, taking advantage of the unemployment situation. But don't worry. I'm also looking for jobs during this downtime as well.

I just figured that since my hopes weren't all that high for Transformers, it would be better for me to see it during a matinee rather than try to fight the crowds on Friday. Why make an unpleasant situation more unpleasant, right?

Originally, I was going to go to the theater that's 5 minutes from my house. But as I was looking up show times, I saw the movie is also playing at the only IMAX theater in central Iowa. So, despite my reservations, I think I'm going to drive the extra 20 minutes in the car and shell out the extra three bucks at the ticket counter to see it on the big, big, big screen. I'll let you know how it goes.

Anyone else planning on seeing the show in IMAX? What are your expectations for the movie? Leave your thoughts in the comments below!

Oh, and thanks for being patient with me today!...

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