list http://www.spout.com/ Recent community activity around The Transformers: The Movie on Spout Copyright 2005-9 Spout, LLC Spout RSS http://www.spout.com/images/SpoutLogoRSS.jpg http://www.spout.com/ 136 30 http://www.spout.com/films/The_Transformers_The_Movie/35751/default.aspx Title: The Transformers: The Movie
Year: 1986
Director: Nelson Shin
Plot: In this theatrically released chapter of the 1984-1987 syndicated animated series, the struggle between the heroic Autobots and evil Decepticons is taken twenty years into the future as both sides must deal with a world-devouring being called Unicron (voiced by Orson Welles). Set in 2005, The Transformers: The Movie serves as a bridge between the series' second and third seasons, with the deaths of several major characters and the introduction of new ones. Darker and more action-packed than the TV series, the movie was originally dismissed as little more than a feature-length toy commercial, but it has since grown in stature to become a cult favorite. ~ Skyler Miller, All Movie Guide
Times Tagged: 3
Number of Lists: 17
Number of blog posts: 4
Number of discussion threads: 2
SpoutRating: 3
]]>Thu, 11 Dec 2008 23:33:39 GMTThe Transformers: The Movie1986Nelson ShinIn this theatrically released chapter of the 1984-1987 syndicated animated series, the struggle between the heroic Autobots and evil Decepticons is taken twenty years into the future as both sides must deal with a world-devouring being called Unicron (voiced by <a href="/players/P___116368/default.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'>Orson Welles</a>). Set in 2005, The Transformers: The Movie serves as a bridge between the series' second and third seasons, with the deaths of several major characters and the introduction of new ones. Darker and more action-packed than the TV series, the movie was originally dismissed as little more than a feature-length toy commercial, but it has since grown in stature to become a cult favorite. ~ Skyler Miller, All Movie Guide3Slightly Tagged (1-5)17423http://www.spout.com/ProductImages/t85061dd3vx.jpghttp://www.spout.com/films/The_Transformers_The_Movie/35751/default.aspxFilm http://www.spout.com/groups/Grew_up_in_the_80_s/Re_Top_5_Favorites_of_the_80_s/38/35587/1/ShowPost.aspx Post By: filmgal81
Post To: Grew up in the 80's
Post Date: 9/26/2008 12:41:12 PM
Body: Oh, this is a good one! I must say The Princess Bride is probably at the top of my 80s list. It has everything ( and something for everyone): comedy, drama, suspense, true love, miracles ( to paraphrase a line from the Grandfather). I can watch it time and again, and I love it for different reasons every time. Another good one would have to be Nausicaa ( The Valley of the Wind). A complicated apocalyptic future (although we are getting and closer to that every year- all that's missing is the giant bugs) beautifully drawn in anime. Plus, the princess was completely bad ass- which was ( and still is ) fairly unusual. St. Elmo's Fire takes the #3 spot. A great look at post college life , in true 80s style, where you still don't have a clue but you no longer have the excuse of " I'm still a student" to calm your fears about life after school. For Keeps holds at #4- unraveling a yarn about the consequences of unprotected teen sex as only the 80s and Molly Ringwald can ( woo hoo!) Annie brings up the rear at #5- the singing the dancing, the orphans- what's not to love?? So, there you have it: the 80s summed in 5 movies about childhood, teendom, adulthood, fantasy and the future.
]]>Fri, 26 Sep 2008 16:41:12 GMTfilmgal81Grew up in the 80's9/26/2008 12:41:12 PMOh, this is a good one! I must say The Princess Bride is probably at the top of my 80s list. It has everything ( and something for everyone): comedy, drama, suspense, true love, miracles ( to paraphrase a line from the Grandfather). I can watch it time and again, and I love it for different reasons every time. Another good one would have to be Nausicaa ( The Valley of the Wind). A complicated apocalyptic future (although we are getting and closer to that every year- all that's missing is the giant bugs) beautifully drawn in anime. Plus, the princess was completely bad ass- which was ( and still is ) fairly unusual. St. Elmo's Fire takes the #3 spot. A great look at post college life , in true 80s style, where you still don't have a clue but you no longer have the excuse of " I'm still a student" to calm your fears about life after school. For Keeps holds at #4- unraveling a yarn about the consequences of unprotected teen sex as only the 80s and Molly Ringwald can ( woo hoo!) Annie brings up the rear at #5- the singing the dancing, the orphans- what's not to love?? So, there you have it: the 80s summed in 5 movies about childhood, teendom, adulthood, fantasy and the future. http://www.spout.com/groups/Grew_up_in_the_80_s/Top_5_Favorites_of_the_80_s/38/35486/1/ShowPost.aspx Post By: seely
Post To: Grew up in the 80's
Post Date: 9/24/2008 10:55:58 AM
Body: Alright, so I'm borrowing a concept from the 'Top 5' group (which borrowed it from High Fidelity), and suggesting that we each pick our top 5 favorites from the Blessed Era of Bangs and Bad Hair. Write a sentence or two if you feel the need to. Oh, and I am not talking cinematic briliance here, necessarily--I'm talking films you watched in the 80's that you remember falling in love with, no matter how cheesey. In fact, cheesier the better. Flight of the Navigator- This is another one I vaguely remember seeing in the theatre (I must have seen a lot of films in 1985/6). I think I've seen it once since then and still found it be a pretty intense film for a young child. It sort of had some ET-ish plot as I recally, with a kid finding a living spaceship of sorts. The Neverending Story- Saw this one a few years after it came out (I was two when it came out, so cut me some slack) but instantly fell in love with it. I was the nerdy kid who sat around reading Asimov hoping that somehow I would get sucked into the book. When I saw this, it gave me hope. Transformers: The Movie- One of the first films I remember seeing in the theatre. I haven't seen it in twenty years, but I remember it being epic and intense with some solid animation. Just noticed that it was up for two awards in '86... I'll have to track this one down. Stand By Me- Quintessential 80's coming-of-age film that sparked my love for the genre. I liked it when I saw it as a young kid, but came to love it after my love affair with television shows like The Wonder Years and authors like Garrison Keillor and Ellen Gilchrist started. The Princess Bride- Again, an entry into the canon of 80's films. It's low budget and a bit tacky, but so is the book. Great cast, some great cameos, clever dialogue, pretty faithful to the book... another one of those boy-gets-sucked-into-the-book-type stories. Seemed to be a run of those in the 1980's. What are your top 5?
]]>Wed, 24 Sep 2008 14:55:58 GMTseelyGrew up in the 80's9/24/2008 10:55:58 AMAlright, so I'm borrowing a concept from the 'Top 5' group (which borrowed it from High Fidelity), and suggesting that we each pick our top 5 favorites from the Blessed Era of Bangs and Bad Hair. Write a sentence or two if you feel the need to. Oh, and I am not talking cinematic briliance here, necessarily--I'm talking films you watched in the 80's that you remember falling in love with, no matter how cheesey. In fact, cheesier the better. Flight of the Navigator- This is another one I vaguely remember seeing in the theatre (I must have seen a lot of films in 1985/6). I think I've seen it once since then and still found it be a pretty intense film for a young child. It sort of had some ET-ish plot as I recally, with a kid finding a living spaceship of sorts. The Neverending Story- Saw this one a few years after it came out (I was two when it came out, so cut me some slack) but instantly fell in love with it. I was the nerdy kid who sat around reading Asimov hoping that somehow I would get sucked into the book. When I saw this, it gave me hope. Transformers: The Movie- One of the first films I remember seeing in the theatre. I haven't seen it in twenty years, but I remember it being epic and intense with some solid animation. Just noticed that it was up for two awards in '86... I'll have to track this one down. Stand By Me- Quintessential 80's coming-of-age film that sparked my love for the genre. I liked it when I saw it as a young kid, but came to love it after my love affair with television shows like The Wonder Years and authors like Garrison Keillor and Ellen Gilchrist started. The Princess Bride- Again, an entry into the canon of 80's films. It's low budget and a bit tacky, but so is the book. Great cast, some great cameos, clever dialogue, pretty faithful to the book... another one of those boy-gets-sucked-into-the-book-type stories. Seemed to be a run of those in the 1980's. What are your top 5? http://www.spout.com/blogs/spoutblog/archive/2008/8/7/33699.aspx Post By: SpoutBlog
Post To: SpoutBlog on spout.com
Post Date: 8/7/2008 2:00:31 PM
Body: We’re less than a week away from the release of Tropic Thunder, and as the reviews and puff pieces make their way onto the web, there’s one thing clearly uniting the media’s coverage: talk of Tom Cruise’s appearance in a small role as a Hollywood studio boss. Everyone seems to agree that he steals the show and that his performance — or the joke surrounding it — is one of the comedy’s major highlights, if not the actual best part. Of course, we can expect a good cameo from Cruise every now and then. He showed up for a bit part in Young Guns and played himself as playing “Austin Powers” in Austin Powers in Goldmember. But from what it sounds like, his role in Tropic Thunder is featured for longer than might qualify as a cameo. Some are regardless referring to the performance as an “extended cameo”, and in theory it certainly fits in with the huge crop of so-called “ironic cameos” that have become popular in movies and TV in the last ten years. Still, despite my not having yet seen the movie, I’m thinking that Tom Cruise’s involvement in Tropic Thunder is more like the following list, which consists of merely small roles filled by big stars. You might consider some of them to be technically cameos, especially the ones that aren’t integral to the plot and/or call attention to themselves. But with each of the roles I’ve included, I consider them to be either the best part of their respective movies or at least a major highlight, which is how Cruise’s appearance is being touted. Anyway, forgive me for trying to come up with something different than simply a best cameo list, even if the focus here seems less than clear. 10. Marlon Brando as “Jor-El” in Superman - He was probably paid too much for the part, especially if all the trivia surrounding his involvement (reading his lines off baby Superman’s diaper; desiring that only his voice be used; demanding to be paid double if any footage was to be used in the sequel) is true, but it’s pretty cool having Brando appear at the beginning of what I still consider to be the best superhero comic book adaptation of all time (sorry Dark Knight fans). He’s not the best thing about the movie, but he’s an immediate highlight. As for his payment (reportedly $3.7 million), Warner Bros. has leveled out his worth a little by featuring him in the Donner cut of Superman II and in Bryan Singer’s Superman Returns — a movie that also creatively employs Brando’s On the Waterfront costar Eva Marie Saint appropriately as Superman’s adopted mother. 9. Drew Barrymore as “Casey Becker” in Scream - Having your biggest star killed in the opening scene is kinda like having your best action sequence at the head of the movie (a la Bad Boys II), but fortunately the rest of the first Scream is pretty good, and Barrymore’s (don’t call it a cameo) part doesn’t overshadow the movie too much. In a way, since this wasn’t a sequel yet the movie was a bit of a parody of all slasher movies, the familiarity of Becker’s face could be taken to be akin to how, often, horror sequels begin by killing off the heroine of the previous installment in the first few minutes. 8. Arnold Schwarzenegger as “Prince Hapi” in Around the World in 80 Days - There isn’t much to enjoy about Frank Coraci’s 2004 version of the Jules Verne tale, especially since there appears to be a lot of missed opportunities in terms of guest appearances (Wikipedia counts 45 “cameos” in the 1956 version; I count maybe 10 that could be considered “cameos” in the newer movie). Therefore, Schwarzenegger’s hilarious appearance as a lecherous Turkish prince — one of his last roles filmed before becoming Governor of California — is one of the few highlights, if not the sole highlight (personally, I enjoy Jackie Chan in anything, and I liked more of this movie than most people did). The role is especially funny and creepy if you’ve ever seen that old footage of Schwarzenegger being sleazy at Carnival in Rio. 7. Orson Welles as “Unicron” in Transformers: The Movie - Welles’ voice had been overpowering in films before — he had a good side career going throughout his life as a narrator — but considering this was ridiculously his final performance and considering he easily overshadowed his fellow celebrity voice lenders (including otherwise commanding vocal talents Leonard Nimoy, Robert Stack and Casey Kasem), his part completely dominates the movie, both diegetically and extradiegetically. 6. Bruce Willis as “Harry Rydell” in Fast Food Nation - Far and away the only good part of Richard Linklater’s botched attempt to dramatize Eric Schlosser’s non-fiction classic (I consider the book a kind of bible since it inspired me to give up fast food and subsequently lose 60lbs., so it pains me even more to think about Schlosser being a co-writer and producer of the movie), and not just because of his oft-quoted line about how we all have to eat a little shit from time to time. His whole characterization of the cynical meat supplier is brilliant, enough that he unfortunately makes the rest of the movie play even less interesting that it already is. 5. Charlie Sheen as “Charlie” in Being John Malkovich - I wanted to stay away from roles in which actors play themselves, mainly because that’s a big percentage of the ironic cameo stuff that’s so overused these days. However, Sheen’s part here is a little more than a mere cameo. And it’s kind of an ironic parody of the ironic cameo, even as it predates a lot of these cameos in Entourage and Extras and the like (by crediting the role as “Charlie” rather than “as himself”, it’s also a precursor to the more exaggerated than exaggerated “Neil Patrick Harris” character of the Harold and Kumar films). Perhaps intended to redirect the audience’s perspective on John Malkovich’s titular character, which is up until Sheen’s entrance possibly accepted as an authentic self-portrayal, the overstatement of the role raises the already ingeniously funny film up another notch to put it at the level of best comedies ever made. 4. Matt Damon as “Donny” in Eurotrip - I’ve actually never seen Eurotrip, but I hear there’s no reason to watch it other than to see Damon’s bit role as the singer of a pop punk band (the otherwise real Lustra). And I’ve seen that on YouTube, so I’m good. Even more than Cruise and some of the others, Damon seems to love doing guest stints in movies and on TV (he’s also given us the only reasons to ever watch Jimmy Kimmel). Some of his other small roles and cameos can be found in Youth Without Youth, Confessions of a Dangerous Mind, Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, Finding Forrester, Jersey Girl and The Majestic (the last in voice only). 3. Sean Connery as “King Richard” in Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves - After making us suffer through Kevin Costner’s terrible performance in the lead role, the producers of this disappointing version of the classic legend actually rub it in how bad their casting choice was by sneaking Connery in at the last minute. Of course, despite the way his appearance increases our dissatisfaction with the rest of the movie, he’s still the highlight. Especially since he’s immediately followed by that awful Bryan Adams song playing over the credits. 2. Alec Baldwin as “Blake” in Glengarry Glen Ross - Sure, the rest of the film is really good, mostly because of the stellar cast filling out the rest of the ensemble, but the first thing you remember about this David Mamet adaptation is Baldwin’s monologue. It’s good enough that I almost also included on this list the Blake-inspired character from Boiler Room as played by Ben Affleck. But it’s also too good to actually accept Affleck’s ripoff as being in the same league. 1. Gene Hackman as “Blindman” in Young Frankenstein - I’m in the minority as far as my appreciation of Mel Brooks’ parody of James Whale’s Frankenstein films. I think it’s really funny, but I don’t think it’s one of the funniest movies I’ve ever seen. Yet the few minutes that Hackman is on screen always leave me in tears, enough that I wholeheartedly accept the movie’s status as one of the greatest comedies ever made. Originally posted on:SpoutBlog
]]>Thu, 07 Aug 2008 18:00:31 GMTSpoutBlogSpoutBlog on spout.com8/7/2008 2:00:31 PMWe’re less than a week away from the release of Tropic Thunder, and as the reviews and puff pieces make their way onto the web, there’s one thing clearly uniting the media’s coverage: talk of Tom Cruise’s appearance in a small role as a Hollywood studio boss. Everyone seems to agree that he steals the show and that his performance — or the joke surrounding it — is one of the comedy’s major highlights, if not the actual best part. Of course, we can expect a good cameo from Cruise every now and then. He showed up for a bit part in Young Guns and played himself as playing “Austin Powers” in Austin Powers in Goldmember. But from what it sounds like, his role in Tropic Thunder is featured for longer than might qualify as a cameo. Some are regardless referring to the performance as an “extended cameo”, and in theory it certainly fits in with the huge crop of so-called “ironic cameos” that have become popular in movies and TV in the last ten years. Still, despite my not having yet seen the movie, I’m thinking that Tom Cruise’s involvement in Tropic Thunder is more like the following list, which consists of merely small roles filled by big stars. You might consider some of them to be technically cameos, especially the ones that aren’t integral to the plot and/or call attention to themselves. But with each of the roles I’ve included, I consider them to be either the best part of their respective movies or at least a major highlight, which is how Cruise’s appearance is being touted. Anyway, forgive me for trying to come up with something different than simply a best cameo list, even if the focus here seems less than clear. 10. Marlon Brando as “Jor-El” in Superman - He was probably paid too much for the part, especially if all the trivia surrounding his involvement (reading his lines off baby Superman’s diaper; desiring that only his voice be used; demanding to be paid double if any footage was to be used in the sequel) is true, but it’s pretty cool having Brando appear at the beginning of what I still consider to be the best superhero comic book adaptation of all time (sorry Dark Knight fans). He’s not the best thing about the movie, but he’s an immediate highlight. As for his payment (reportedly $3.7 million), Warner Bros. has leveled out his worth a little by featuring him in the Donner cut of Superman II and in Bryan Singer’s Superman Returns — a movie that also creatively employs Brando’s On the Waterfront costar Eva Marie Saint appropriately as Superman’s adopted mother. 9. Drew Barrymore as “Casey Becker” in Scream - Having your biggest star killed in the opening scene is kinda like having your best action sequence at the head of the movie (a la Bad Boys II), but fortunately the rest of the first Scream is pretty good, and Barrymore’s (don’t call it a cameo) part doesn’t overshadow the movie too much. In a way, since this wasn’t a sequel yet the movie was a bit of a parody of all slasher movies, the familiarity of Becker’s face could be taken to be akin to how, often, horror sequels begin by killing off the heroine of the previous installment in the first few minutes. 8. Arnold Schwarzenegger as “Prince Hapi” in Around the World in 80 Days - There isn’t much to enjoy about Frank Coraci’s 2004 version of the Jules Verne tale, especially since there appears to be a lot of missed opportunities in terms of guest appearances (Wikipedia counts 45 “cameos” in the 1956 version; I count maybe 10 that could be considered “cameos” in the newer movie). Therefore, Schwarzenegger’s hilarious appearance as a lecherous Turkish prince — one of his last roles filmed before becoming Governor of California — is one of the few highlights, if not the sole highlight (personally, I enjoy Jackie Chan in anything, and I liked more of this movie than most people did). The role is especially funny and creepy if you’ve ever seen that old footage of Schwarzenegger being sleazy at Carnival in Rio. 7. Orson Welles as “Unicron” in Transformers: The Movie - Welles’ voice had been overpowering in films before — he had a good side career going throughout his life as a narrator — but considering this was ridiculously his final performance and considering he easily overshadowed his fellow celebrity voice lenders (including otherwise commanding vocal talents Leonard Nimoy, Robert Stack and Casey Kasem), his part completely dominates the movie, both diegetically and extradiegetically. 6. Bruce Willis as “Harry Rydell” in Fast Food Nation - Far and away the only good part of Richard Linklater’s botched attempt to dramatize Eric Schlosser’s non-fiction classic (I consider the book a kind of bible since it inspired me to give up fast food and subsequently lose 60lbs., so it pains me even more to think about Schlosser being a co-writer and producer of the movie), and not just because of his oft-quoted line about how we all have to eat a little shit from time to time. His whole characterization of the cynical meat supplier is brilliant, enough that he unfortunately makes the rest of the movie play even less interesting that it already is. 5. Charlie Sheen as “Charlie” in Being John Malkovich - I wanted to stay away from roles in which actors play themselves, mainly because that’s a big percentage of the ironic cameo stuff that’s so overused these days. However, Sheen’s part here is a little more than a mere cameo. And it’s kind of an ironic parody of the ironic cameo, even as it predates a lot of these cameos in Entourage and Extras and the like (by crediting the role as “Charlie” rather than “as himself”, it’s also a precursor to the more exaggerated than exaggerated “Neil Patrick Harris” character of the Harold and Kumar films). Perhaps intended to redirect the audience’s perspective on John Malkovich’s titular character, which is up until Sheen’s entrance possibly accepted as an authentic self-portrayal, the overstatement of the role raises the already ingeniously funny film up another notch to put it at the level of best comedies ever made. 4. Matt Damon as “Donny” in Eurotrip - I’ve actually never seen Eurotrip, but I hear there’s no reason to watch it other than to see Damon’s bit role as the singer of a pop punk band (the otherwise real Lustra). And I’ve seen that on YouTube, so I’m good. Even more than Cruise and some of the others, Damon seems to love doing guest stints in movies and on TV (he’s also given us the only reasons to ever watch Jimmy Kimmel). Some of his other small roles and cameos can be found in Youth Without Youth, Confessions of a Dangerous Mind, Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, Finding Forrester, Jersey Girl and The Majestic (the last in voice only). 3. Sean Connery as “King Richard” in Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves - After making us suffer through Kevin Costner’s terrible performance in the lead role, the producers of this disappointing version of the classic legend actually rub it in how bad their casting choice was by sneaking Connery in at the last minute. Of course, despite the way his appearance increases our dissatisfaction with the rest of the movie, he’s still the highlight. Especially since he’s immediately followed by that awful Bryan Adams song playing over the credits. 2. Alec Baldwin as “Blake” in Glengarry Glen Ross - Sure, the rest of the film is really good, mostly because of the stellar cast filling out the rest of the ensemble, but the first thing you remember about this David Mamet adaptation is Baldwin’s monologue. It’s good enough that I almost also included on this list the Blake-inspired character from Boiler Room as played by Ben Affleck. But it’s also too good to actually accept Affleck’s ripoff as being in the same league. 1. Gene Hackman as “Blindman” in Young Frankenstein - I’m in the minority as far as my appreciation of Mel Brooks’ parody of James Whale’s Frankenstein films. I think it’s really funny, but I don’t think it’s one of the funniest movies I’ve ever seen. Yet the few minutes that Hackman is on screen always leave me in tears, enough that I wholeheartedly accept the movie’s status as one of the greatest comedies ever made. Originally posted on:SpoutBlog http://www.spout.com/blogs/strangeinterlude/archive/2007/7/3/12929.aspx Post By: StrangeInterlude
Post To: StrangeInterlude Blog
Post Date: 7/3/2007 1:02:27 PM
Body: Although I understand why there's discussion of the new Michael Bay theme park ride on the Transformers animated movie page, I'm annoyed that nobody's stepped up to actually review the earlier flick. Save the Bay boos and bravos for the Transformers 2007 page! I just rewatched it last night in a fit of nostalgia, and came away both surprised at what had held up after twenty-odd years and also somewhat disappointed at what hadn't. I had also forgotten that the movie is a pretty Star Wars-ian streamlining of the Transformers mythos, killing off or otherwise jettisoning a whole bunch of the classic Generation 1 characters (notably Optimus Prime, who gets a couple of fantastic scenes at the beginning) in favor of a ragtag band of new heroes who you may either love or hate, depending on your enjoyment of Judd Nelson's voice acting skills.Thoughts? I'll elaborate on mine later, but I did enjoy it.
]]>Tue, 03 Jul 2007 17:02:27 GMTStrangeInterludeStrangeInterlude Blog7/3/2007 1:02:27 PMAlthough I understand why there's discussion of the new Michael Bay theme park ride on the Transformers animated movie page, I'm annoyed that nobody's stepped up to actually review the earlier flick. Save the Bay boos and bravos for the Transformers 2007 page! I just rewatched it last night in a fit of nostalgia, and came away both surprised at what had held up after twenty-odd years and also somewhat disappointed at what hadn't. I had also forgotten that the movie is a pretty Star Wars-ian streamlining of the Transformers mythos, killing off or otherwise jettisoning a whole bunch of the classic Generation 1 characters (notably Optimus Prime, who gets a couple of fantastic scenes at the beginning) in favor of a ragtag band of new heroes who you may either love or hate, depending on your enjoyment of Judd Nelson's voice acting skills.Thoughts? I'll elaborate on mine later, but I did enjoy it. http://www.spout.com/blogs/harmlessandroid/archive/2007/7/2/12859.aspx Post By: HarmlessAndroid
Post To: March of the robots
Post Date: 7/2/2007 3:55:06 PM
Body: So I was feeling down on the new Transformers flick. That is, until I read this review over at Geeks of Doom (http://geeksofdoom.com/2007/06/29/movie-review-transformers/). Here is a short expert:"Well thank GoD I wasn’t forced to settle! This summer’s blockbuster has finally arrived people. Only it’s not a mere blockbuster, it’s a two and a half hour atomic bomb… strapped to a roller-coaster… filled with snakes… on fire!"I read that and was in. Nerds love it. I'm in. I will be there July 4th with my friends and we will love it. To get ready, we are watching this tonight: http://www.spout.com/films/35751/default.aspx
]]>Mon, 02 Jul 2007 19:55:06 GMTHarmlessAndroidMarch of the robots7/2/2007 3:55:06 PMSo I was feeling down on the new Transformers flick. That is, until I read this review over at Geeks of Doom (http://geeksofdoom.com/2007/06/29/movie-review-transformers/). Here is a short expert:&quot;Well thank GoD I wasn&rsquo;t forced to settle! This summer&rsquo;s blockbuster has finally arrived people. Only it&rsquo;s not a mere blockbuster, it&rsquo;s a two and a half hour atomic bomb&hellip; strapped to a roller-coaster&hellip; filled with snakes&hellip; on fire!&quot;I read that and was in. Nerds love it. I'm in. I will be there July 4th with my friends and we will love it. To get ready, we are watching this tonight: http://www.spout.com/films/35751/default.aspx http://www.spout.com/blogs/bigjefflebowski/archive/2007/6/29/12608.aspx Post By: BigJeffLebowski
Post To: BigJeffLebowski Blog
Post Date: 6/29/2007 2:58:00 PM
Body: I'll admit I have dual biases. Biases which are in direct conflict. On one hand, I grew up loving the Transformers, and to this day consider Optimus Prime a personal hero on par with Atticus Finch or Abraham Lincoln. On the other hand, Michael Bay sucks. I mean he really sucks. Excluding The Rock, has he done anything worthwhile? Well, I suppose now that Transformers is out, the answer is, surprisingly, yes. Rather than let Autobots and Decepticons fight to the death with nary a human around to ask "...um, wha?" the film focuses on the military response to a "Non-Biological Extra-Terestrial" invasion. It's a wise choice, lending at least a modicum of credibility to a franchise that is, essentially, the world's longest toy commcercial. (The film was, in fact, co-produced by Hasbro). Still, no one goes to see Transformers -- or, hopefully, any Michael Bay film -- for things like character arcs and plot points. No, we go to Transformers to see big robots kicking the crap out of each other. And on this score, the film delivers. The plot, for what it's worth, basically revolves around Sam Witwicky (Shia LaBeouf), the grandson of a little known explorer who went blind and insane after some unpleasantness in Antarctica. This unpleasantness, it turns out, was none other than Megatron, leader of the Decepticons; the easiest analogy for the uninitiated is to say that Megatron is the Devil to Optimus Prime's God, a former comrade who has subsequently fallen from grace and amassed a team of likeminded Decepticons to wage war against Optimus and his Autobots. Megatron came to earth in search of the All Spark, a cube which bestows sentience to any mechanical device, and which is the only remnant of their destroyed planet Cybertron. Optimus and the Autobots have arrived to protect humankind from Megatron and to find the All Spark before he or any of the other Decepticons are able to. The coordinates of the All Spark have somehow been encoded onto the late Witwicky's glasses, which Sam has been trying to sell on eBay to raise money for a car. And so on and so forth. What really matters is whether or not Bay makes good on the Autobot-Decepticon action. For the first half of the film, none of the Transformers are given much onscreen time, save for Bumblebee, Sam's Camaro. But once the entire team of Autobots roll out, the action steadily escalates. Screenwriters Roberto Orci and Robert Kurtzman at least make an attempt to characterize the Autobots, giving them qualities not far removed from their previous 1980s cartoon incarnations. But the Decepticons, who are not introduced until the film's final act, are nearly indistinguishable from one another. The new designs and fast action don't help matters much, and you'll probably find yourself taking a couple seconds to orient yourself with each new battle, reminding yourself which robot is the good guy. But like Professor Xavier and Magneto in The X-Men, it's the binary opposition between Optimus and Megatron that gives the film its heart. It does make the same mistake the original 1986 film made (making Optimus noble to a fault, but not a particularly good fighter), which could be more easily forgiven if the characters and backstory had been more fully developed. But then again, I went with someone who had never watched the show and who had relatively low expectations for the film, and she ended up liking it even more than I did. (She is a decent arbiter of good movies, despite her admission that she only came to see "robots and explosions.") Regardless, I still contend that little in-jokes for the faithful (most obviously, a yellow VW Beetle to which Bumblebee doesn't take very kindly) give the film much of its charm. The movie does try a little too hard to explain some of the logical gaps from the original cartoon (the Transformers can adapt to the form of whatever mechanical device they see and analyze, hence the reason alien robots look like earth cars) and does feature a couple too many moments of cheesy action movie humor (and this is cheesy by both action-movie and 80s-kid standards), but is ultimately so damn entertaining that it doesn't really matter. The special effects are phenomenal, and the performances by Shia LaBeouf and especially John Turturro as a special agent on a bit of a power trip are surprisingly strong for a film of this caliber. And after the lackluster Spider-Man and Fantastic Four sequels, it's nice to see a big budget action franchise film that doesn't buckle under its own weight (although, I am in the minority of filmgoers who thought Pirates 3 was excellent). It's very rare that this kind of film truly rises above its genre. X-Men 2 is one example I can think of. Superman Returns, also by Bryan Singer, is another, although that was an entirely different approach to the action film, and was unfairly maligned (much like Ang Lee's underappreciated Hulk) by an audience expecting less visual poetry and more Things Go Boom. Considering that, I can forgive Transformers for its ocassional concessions to cliche and rather cursory (re: half-assed) attempt at characterization and savor it for what it is: just the kind of big, brash, mindless entertainment the summer is known for producing.
]]>Fri, 29 Jun 2007 18:58:00 GMTBigJeffLebowskiBigJeffLebowski Blog6/29/2007 2:58:00 PMI'll admit I have dual biases. Biases which are in direct conflict. On one hand, I grew up loving the Transformers, and to this day consider Optimus Prime a personal hero on par with Atticus Finch or Abraham Lincoln. On the other hand, Michael Bay sucks. I mean he really sucks. Excluding The Rock, has he done anything worthwhile? Well, I suppose now that Transformers is out, the answer is, surprisingly, yes. Rather than let Autobots and Decepticons fight to the death with nary a human around to ask "...um, wha?" the film focuses on the military response to a "Non-Biological Extra-Terestrial" invasion. It's a wise choice, lending at least a modicum of credibility to a franchise that is, essentially, the world's longest toy commcercial. (The film was, in fact, co-produced by Hasbro). Still, no one goes to see Transformers -- or, hopefully, any Michael Bay film -- for things like character arcs and plot points. No, we go to Transformers to see big robots kicking the crap out of each other. And on this score, the film delivers. The plot, for what it's worth, basically revolves around Sam Witwicky (Shia LaBeouf), the grandson of a little known explorer who went blind and insane after some unpleasantness in Antarctica. This unpleasantness, it turns out, was none other than Megatron, leader of the Decepticons; the easiest analogy for the uninitiated is to say that Megatron is the Devil to Optimus Prime's God, a former comrade who has subsequently fallen from grace and amassed a team of likeminded Decepticons to wage war against Optimus and his Autobots. Megatron came to earth in search of the All Spark, a cube which bestows sentience to any mechanical device, and which is the only remnant of their destroyed planet Cybertron. Optimus and the Autobots have arrived to protect humankind from Megatron and to find the All Spark before he or any of the other Decepticons are able to. The coordinates of the All Spark have somehow been encoded onto the late Witwicky's glasses, which Sam has been trying to sell on eBay to raise money for a car. And so on and so forth. What really matters is whether or not Bay makes good on the Autobot-Decepticon action. For the first half of the film, none of the Transformers are given much onscreen time, save for Bumblebee, Sam's Camaro. But once the entire team of Autobots roll out, the action steadily escalates. Screenwriters Roberto Orci and Robert Kurtzman at least make an attempt to characterize the Autobots, giving them qualities not far removed from their previous 1980s cartoon incarnations. But the Decepticons, who are not introduced until the film's final act, are nearly indistinguishable from one another. The new designs and fast action don't help matters much, and you'll probably find yourself taking a couple seconds to orient yourself with each new battle, reminding yourself which robot is the good guy. But like Professor Xavier and Magneto in The X-Men, it's the binary opposition between Optimus and Megatron that gives the film its heart. It does make the same mistake the original 1986 film made (making Optimus noble to a fault, but not a particularly good fighter), which could be more easily forgiven if the characters and backstory had been more fully developed. But then again, I went with someone who had never watched the show and who had relatively low expectations for the film, and she ended up liking it even more than I did. (She is a decent arbiter of good movies, despite her admission that she only came to see "robots and explosions.") Regardless, I still contend that little in-jokes for the faithful (most obviously, a yellow VW Beetle to which Bumblebee doesn't take very kindly) give the film much of its charm. The movie does try a little too hard to explain some of the logical gaps from the original cartoon (the Transformers can adapt to the form of whatever mechanical device they see and analyze, hence the reason alien robots look like earth cars) and does feature a couple too many moments of cheesy action movie humor (and this is cheesy by both action-movie and 80s-kid standards), but is ultimately so damn entertaining that it doesn't really matter. The special effects are phenomenal, and the performances by Shia LaBeouf and especially John Turturro as a special agent on a bit of a power trip are surprisingly strong for a film of this caliber. And after the lackluster Spider-Man and Fantastic Four sequels, it's nice to see a big budget action franchise film that doesn't buckle under its own weight (although, I am in the minority of filmgoers who thought Pirates 3 was excellent). It's very rare that this kind of film truly rises above its genre. X-Men 2 is one example I can think of. Superman Returns, also by Bryan Singer, is another, although that was an entirely different approach to the action film, and was unfairly maligned (much like Ang Lee's underappreciated Hulk) by an audience expecting less visual poetry and more Things Go Boom. Considering that, I can forgive Transformers for its ocassional concessions to cliche and rather cursory (re: half-assed) attempt at characterization and savor it for what it is: just the kind of big, brash, mindless entertainment the summer is known for producing. http://www.spout.com/members/0/tags/robot/MemberTagFilms.aspxrobot
Number of films tagged: 463

Number of people who tagged: 27

Number of times used: 53

]]>Fri, 11 Sep 2009 07:02:37 GMT4632753Tag http://www.spout.com/members/0/tags/transformation/MemberTagFilms.aspxtransformation
Number of films tagged: 436

Number of people who tagged: 26

Number of times used: 40

]]>Wed, 02 Dec 2009 23:13:42 GMT4362640Tag http://www.spout.com/members/0/tags/goodvsevil/MemberTagFilms.aspxgoodvsevil
Number of films tagged: 742

Number of people who tagged: 25

Number of times used: 67

]]>Wed, 04 Nov 2009 21:42:51 GMT7422567Tag http://www.spout.com/members/0/tags/planet/MemberTagFilms.aspxplanet
Number of films tagged: 353

Number of people who tagged: 6

Number of times used: 10

]]>Fri, 03 Apr 2009 13:02:14 GMT353610Tag http://www.spout.com/members/0/tags/enemy/MemberTagFilms.aspxenemy
Number of films tagged: 790

Number of people who tagged: 5

Number of times used: 6

]]>Sun, 04 Jan 2009 19:56:45 GMT79056Tag http://www.spout.com/members/0/tags/supernaturalforces/MemberTagFilms.aspxsupernaturalforces
Number of films tagged: 604

Number of people who tagged: 5

Number of times used: 5

]]>Tue, 28 Jul 2009 13:02:37 GMT60455Tag http://www.spout.com/members/0/tags/personal-childhood-classic/MemberTagFilms.aspxpersonal-childhood-classic
Number of films tagged: 15

Number of people who tagged: 3

Number of times used: 16

]]>Sun, 19 Aug 2007 18:11:11 GMT15316Tag http://www.spout.com/members/0/tags/daretobestupid/MemberTagFilms.aspxdaretobestupid
Number of films tagged: 1

Number of people who tagged: 1

Number of times used: 1

]]>Mon, 24 Jul 2006 16:29:52 GMT111Tag http://www.spout.com/members/0/tags/loveditat14/MemberTagFilms.aspxloveditat14
Number of films tagged: 33

Number of people who tagged: 1

Number of times used: 33

]]>Thu, 05 Jun 2008 18:35:02 GMT33133Tag