Archive for the 'transformers' Category

Filed under: Action & Adventure, Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Fandom, Trailer Trash, Movie Marketing, Comic/Superhero/Geek

Look, I know these summer blockbuster trailers are designed to tease money out of your wallet, but sometimes you have to admit they do a bang-up job. Although I just finished watching the thing two minutes ago, I already know this brand spanking new Transformers trailer will place amongst the ten best of 2007. The friggin’ thing is literally jam-packed with everything you’ve ever wanted out of a summer popcorn flick — lots of sweet-looking special effects, badass good guys, wicked villains and, um, Shia LaBeof. Okay, Shia aside, Michael Bay finally gave us enough of a satisfying taste to know what it will be like once this monstrosity finally arrives in theaters. And if you have a few minutes, might I suggest crawling into a hole, throwing on some headphones and checking this thing out in HD. Trust me, it’s worth it.

The only questionable aspect of the film (which is conveniently left out of this trailer) are the robot’s voices. Granted, I’m sure the voice work is still not complete, but I do wonder why they decided to keep it out. Does Bay simply want fans to wait to hear Peter Cullen’s Optimus Prime until their comfortably seated in the theater? Or were the voices kept out of the trailer on purpose; perhaps the powers that be were afraid they might hinder the hype? I’m not a mind reader; I have no idea. All I’m saying is that it seemed a tad odd. But regardless, you could watch this thing on mute from 100 yards a way and still feel compelled to shell out the 10 bucks on opening day. Starring Shia LaBeof, Megan Fox, Tyrese Gibson, John Turturro and Jon Voight, Transformers will look to transform your life on July 4.

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Filed under: Action & Adventure, Comedy, Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Sony, Distribution, Comic/Superhero/Geek

Here’s an idea that seem a bit late: a disaster movie spoof. Not only would it have been more fitting nearly a decade ago, when Armageddon and Deep Impact faced off at the box office, and when we’d already seen Independence Day, Twister, Titanic and the dueling volcano movies, but we hardly need a parody of these movies after seeing unintentional spoofs like The Core, The Day After Tomorrow and Poseidon. Still, the cheaply made cheap laughs of the modern spoof trend need something to make fun of now that scary movies, date movies and epic movies have been taken care of. So, thanks to Screen Gems, we are about to get Armageddagain: The Day Before Tomorrow from director Robert Moniot, who co-wrote the movie with voice-actor Travis Oates.

Moniot apparently already has experience spoofing Armageddon – or at least its title — having previously directed a short film called Pearl Harbor II: Pearlmageddon. That 11 minute short seems to have been popular enough (based on the IMDb user ratings), but then again shorts and skits are much more tolerable when it comes to silly spoofs. The current model of spoof features is unfortunately like a bunch of these shorts linked together by some forced, incoherent plot. Interestingly, Armageddagain is being produced by actor Noah Emmerich, though as far as I know, he isn’t related to Roland Emmerich, director of Independence Day and The Day After Tomorrow. In addition to spoofing the long-passed disaster movies of the 1990s, the movie will reportedly feature parodies of upcoming pics like Transformers and The Bourne Ultimatum.

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Filed under: Comedy, Documentary, Independent, Distribution, The Weinstein Co., Politics, Michael Moore

Whether you love him or hate him (or as I do, love him and hate him), you’re probably looking forward to Michael Moore’s next film. Even if you have no intention of seeing it, you can’t wait to be vocal about why not. Of course, not all the haters will be avoiding the film; Moore, unlike any other despised filmmaker, has a way of still attracting his critics to the theater. Well, you lovers and haters don’t have much longer to wait, because The Weinstein Co. has just announced a June 29 release for Moore’s latest, the health care system expose Sicko.

For those of you wondering if Moore could possibly top his successes with Bowling for Columbine (the Oscar-winner) and Fahrenheit 9/11 (the Cannes winner and the box office winner), it turns out that Sicko could be successful in a new way. According to Harvey Weinstein, the doc will unify Republicans and Democrats. He claims to have seen the film with members of both parties, and all viewers have been in agreement in disapproving of the U.S. health care industry, as it is depicted by Moore. However, the problem with the film being less controversial, and to many Americans, possibly less interesting, is that it might be a hard sell to audiences who might rather spend their weekend happier, with Pixar’s Ratatouille, or who might even hold out five days and see Transformers instead.

Similar to what the Weinsteins did with Fahrenheit 9/11, the new documentary will be distributed domestically by Lionsgate. The difference is that with the previous film, the partnership was somewhat forced by Disney — which owns Miramax, which was at the time run by the Weinsteins — because Disney didn’t want to be associated with the Bush-bashing doc. Now that the brothers have TWC, they don’t have such an obligation, but the union was still beneficial to them this time around because of a doc distribution deal Lionsgate has with Showtime. While Lionsgate books Sicko in theaters in the U.S., TWC will distribute internationally and will take care of marketing costs.

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Filed under: Action & Adventure, Comedy, RumorMonger, Fandom, Comic/Superhero/Geek, Remakes and Sequels

Last year at this same time, I wrote a Monday Morning Poll that attempted to reveal which summer blockbuster would turn out the biggest unsatisfactory performance. Though I’m far from a negative guy (I really do hope all of this year’s blockbusters provide highly entertaining moviegoing experiences), sometimes it’s fun to try to pick out which film won’t please the fans. Back in 2006, prior to the season’s official start, I chose Superman Returns to be that film. And, from a personal standpoint, I was right. Not only did the film not live up to my expectations, but Singer’s Superman just wasn’t believable. He looked more suited to save the day during a fashion catastrophe than a national crisis. But that’s me. That’s how I felt.

This year, it’s a whole different story. The majority of blockbusters are sequels, and all of them look pretty damn awesome. While Michael Bay is always an easy target, his Transformers has the words “visual orgasm” written all over it. Tacky special effects aside, it’s hard for me to sit here and say anything bad about Live Free or Die Hard when the franchise has been nothing but kind to the fanboy inside me. Though early reviews are mixed, I’m certain Spider-Man 3 will win over everyone in the end. Shrek the Third, Surf’s Up and Ratatouille will all cancel each other out. Regardless of the bad vibe I’ve been feeling, the legions of Johnny Depp fans will keep Pirates of the Caribbean: At Worlds End from sinking. And, as much as I feel it won’t be the best installment in the series, Harry Potter is Harry Potter — the boy can’t do no wrong.

So, where does that leave us? Well, this year I’m going to drop down a tier and include films like The Simpsons Movie and Rush Hour 3. Yup, these are my picks for most disappointing blockbuster(s) this summer. Yes, The Simpsons fans (including me) have been waiting a long time for this film, but I feel it’s too little, too late. The magic has passed, and it’s about time we start realizing that. As far as Rush Hour 3 goes, c’mon — Chris Tucker hasn’t acted in six years, Brett Ratner can’t do anything without pissing off a few hundred thousand people and, face it, Jackie Chan’s shtick has gotten a little old. But that’s me.

So, what do you think: Which summer blockbuster do you feel will turn out the most disappointing?

Note: Don’t worry, to combat the negative, next week we’ll take a look at summer surprises. So start thinking …

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Filed under: Action & Adventure, Independent, Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Home Entertainment, Remakes and Sequels

Oh man do I love those knuckleheads over at The Asylum. Seems like whenever a big movie arrives, they’re just one step ahead (or a quick step behind) with their own (much cheaper) version. Beginning in the summer of 2005, when David Latt (whom we interviewed right here at Cinematical) preceded Spielberg’s War of the Worlds with his own rendition of the same story, these guys have been churning out the B-movie cheese at a really impressive clip. Here’s a recap:

• King Kong — King of the Lost World
• The Exorcism of Emily Rose — Exorcism: The Possession of Gail Bowers
• When a Stranger Calls — When a Killer Calls
• The Hills Have Eyes — Hillside Cannibals
• The Da Vinci Code — The Da Vinci Treasure
• The Omen — 666: The Child
• Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest — Pirates of Treasure Island
• Snakes on a Plane — Snakes on a Train
• Eragon — Dragon
• The Hitcher — The Hitchhiker
• Primeval / Rogue — SuperCroc

But the best is yet to come. According to the IMDb, the flick is known as Robot Wars, but over at the official Asylum website, you’ll see a gloriously cheesy poster with the title “Transmorphers” plastered all over it. Written and directed by Asylum regular Leigh Slawner, Transmorphers is scheduled to hit video shelves on June 26 … just about a week before Michael Bay’s Transformers invades the universe. The cast includes names like Amy Weber, Matt Wolf, Eliza Swenson and Griff Furst as “Itchy,” and the official plot synopsis goes like this: “A race of alien robots has conquered the Earth and forced humanity underground. After three hundred years of domination, a small group of humans develop a plan to defeat the mechanical invaders in the ultimate battle between man and machine.”

Awesome! Can’t wait to see it — and whatever those Asylum lunatics cook up next. My suggestions for future projects: The Born Spy, Fantastic Five and Harvey Putter and the Clan of the Griffin. Anyone else have any ideas?

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Filed under: New Releases, Paramount, Movie Marketing, Images

Don’t you hate road-rage drivers? Well, look on the bright side — at least when you’re driving down the highway towards the video store, you don’t have to contend with Bonecrusher going on a mad rampage in the next lane over. The above pic is the first of fourteen that Paramount Pictures have released to us, as their Summer 2007 Preview. There are more images from Michael Bay’s Transformers, as well as a handful of pics from Shrek the Third, the Sienna Miller fairy tale Stardust, and the Andy Samberg action-comedy Hot Rod. Oddly, despite the blockbuster punching-power of Transformers and Shrek the Third, the one I’m looking forward to most is Stardust, by far. I don’t know much about it, except that it has Sienna Miller and it’s got some hippy-dippy Princess Bride kind of vibe, and the first trailer popped up on some Russian website a few weeks ago. That’s enough for me! After the pics, check out Paramount’s press notes for each film.

Continue reading Paramount Pictures Releases Summer 2007 Preview

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