Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen goes into that category of films that I go to see with zero expectations.  I’ve found that it just makes for a (slightly) better experience.  Watchmen was another recent addition to that category.

To set things straight, I disliked the first film.  A lot. Why would I go see the sequel even though I didn’t like the first? Because, I enjoy seeing action films such as this (crappy or not) on the big screen. Even though I can’t stand Michael Bay films, I’ll confess they are usually worth checking out (at least once) on the big screen.

I won’t waste time with fan-boy nitpicking about how this movie and the first were nothing like the show–because that isn’t the point with these films. When you’re taking a 25+ year old children’s cartoon show designed to sell toys and trying to adapt it to a mass audience film, some stuff just ain’t gonna work. Even more so when you take it from a cartoon to live action.

However, I died a little on the inside when Optimus Prime said “My bad” in the first film.

Thankfully, this film actually featured the Transformers for more than what felt like twenty minutes in the first.  My feelings about the first film are brilliantly summed up in this comic.

But, I’m still not a fan of the character design for the Transformers. Not that ILM didn’t do a great job with the animation, I just don’t like the busy/cluttered design of the robots.  I had heard that ILM’s idea was to make it look as if all the parts from the vehicles fit into their robot bodies, but I don’t like it.  I also have a hard time telling who is who–especially with the Decepticons (Megatron and Starscream are nearly identical).

I also don’t like the ‘human focus’ of the films. But, I did like the idea of humans and Autobots teaming up to hunt Decepticons, that was pretty neat (and made for a pseudo G.I. Joe/Transformers cross-over element).

I could have done with WAY less of the human stuff, it just dragged things out.  But some of the new characters were fun (Jetfire), and some where down right horrible (the Twins). I don’t need to go into details about how bad the Twins were, just read this write up on the whole thing on /Film.

One of the saving graces of this film was John Turturro, who is one of my fav actors—which was the case for the first film.  He’s so great. The other saving points were the inclusion of Soundwave and Ravage–two of my favorites from the show and voiced once again by Frank Welker. Lastly, Starscream (another favorite) finally became interesting and had some great back and forth moments with Megatron, which was a fixture of the original show.

This film defines brainless action–which, hey I have nothing against in general (Commando is one of my favorite movies), but I’m just not a fan of Michael Bay’s directing style, or the focus on the very boring human characters.

And the character of the Fallen, while cool in concept (I enjoy Transformer history as much as the next geek) didn’t really come across as that interesting.

So if you enjoy brainless action, and for some reason enjoyed the first Transformers, check this out…but maybe for a matinee.

Review for the film Up (no spoilers).

Pixar has done it again.  I am amazed by the consistent quality of animated films that Pixar cranks out. Even Cars, perhaps their weakest film, was considerably better than I thought it was going to be and not unwatchable (they won extra bonus points for having the guys from Car Talk do voice-over work).

Up is the next installment of that fine tradition.  I didn’t think it was possible to top last summer’s WALL-E, but they did. And I loved WALL-E.

Up goes beyond being just a wacky adventure film.  It touches on life, death and what we make of each.  And it shows what happens when one forgets to follow their dreams (the case of Ellie) and when one becomes so obsessed with their dreams, that they lose their mind (the case of film’s villain).

I paid extra to see the film in 3D and honestly, I don’t think is worth it.  Sure, it looked great, but there weren’t that many times where I realized I was watching something in 3D. Coraline still holds the title of best 3D film that I’ve seen thus far.

This is easily Pixar’s most serious–and in some parts, darkest–film to date.  We see characters bleed, which unless I’m forgetting something (maybe Incredibles?), is a first.  The montage that covers Ellie and Carl’s life together towards the beginning of the film is equal parts heartwarming and heartbreaking.  Watching the characters age before your eyes is great.

As serious as Up is, it is also very funny.  The mismatched characters of elderly Carl and the young, energetic Russell make it an endearing buddy film. Add to that mix a few goof ball animal characters (namely, Dug the dog) and you have another classic film from Pixar.

Review for the film DRAG ME TO HELL (no spoilers)

I don’t throw the term “instant classic” around to often, at least not since that epic sailing film, but I think it applies to Drag Me to Hell.

The film is Sam Raimi’s return to the horror genre after spending the better part of a decade making the first three Spider-Man films. Raimi cut his directing teeth on this genre twenty-plus years ago with his classic horror films, Evil Dead and Evil Dead 2: Dead by Dawn. Drag Me to Hell is worthy of their company.

What I liked most about the film is just how creepy and scary it was.  I’m not usually a fan of the more common place ‘gore’ horror films, like the Saw series, so when a film like DMTH comes along that focuses more on suspense and thrills, I really excited (NOTE: yes, I realize the Evil Dead films have their fair share of gore…but they don’t compare to stuff like the Saw series…and the Evil Dead films–especially the second one–use it in a more comedic manner).

The plot is simple, but works great: a young woman (Alison Lohman) angers an old gypsy woman (Lorna Raver, who is amazing in her role) and has a curse put upon her. After a few days of torment, a demon will appear to–you guessed it–drag her to hell. Lohman spends the rest of the film being tormented by her choice to no help the old woman (and the demon) and does everything she can to be rid of the curse–including some things that even surprised me.

The tension and suspense in the film are top notch–and makes me wonder what a full Venom-based Spider-Man film would have been like if Raimi had the chance to do it that way (I hated that Venom was a last minute thing thrown into the last act of Spider-Man 3, but I had heard Raimi was under pressure to do so).  The way Raimi uses music, sound and editing are great. He follows the less-is-more-rule, and teases you the whole way or lures you into a spot of quiet and then BAM! Loud shriek and a flash frame of a scary face.

Sure, there are some gross parts but nothing involving graphic violence and it just adds to the layers of creepiness. Raimi’s usual sense of odd-ball humor runs rampant throughout the film as well, especially the way he abuses Lohman on a regular basis (she and Bruce Campbell will have plenty of war stories to swap).

You can kind of see the ending coming, but that really isn’t the point–and Raimi keeps throwing so many curve balls that while you may know what is going to happen, you don’t know exactly how it’ll happen and you’ll second guess yourself right until the end.

Drag Me to Hell is a great example of a classic horror film. It is worth seeing in the theater to get the whole scary effect. And it has (at least for me) a lasting effect. As my friend who I saw this with put it “it is a great cautionary tale about how we all have to stick together in this Recession Economy.” (Lohman gets cursed after refusing the gypsy an extension on her mortgage payment, thus taking her house away and throwing her out on the street).