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Shia LaBeouf Will Not Be Returning To Ruin ‘Transformers 4′

Travis Woods — Thu, 26 Apr 2012 14:54:01 +0000

Oh, the Transformers franchise—a series of films about walking trucks from space that punch each other amidst a sea of inflammatory racial stereotypes, scantily-clad gals who think they’re in a Carl’s Jr. ad, and Shia LaBeouf’s sweaty, manic overacting. Well, Transformers fans, you have one less thing to worry about concerning Transformers 4—Shia LaBeouf will not be returning to ruin it (but, you know, the overreliance on CGI, bloodless technical skill, and zero story whatsoever will probably still make it horrible).

Paramount film group president Adam Goodman recently stated that Shia LaBeouf will definitely not be in Transformers 4, and will go the way of post-Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen Megan Fox obscurity (one can hope, anyway). Further, he indicated will be moving in a different direction (perhaps it will be walking skyscrapers from space that come to Earth to punch each other? Or perhaps a series of warring telephone poles?) by stating that “Ehren Kruger [who wrote the past two Transformers movies] is writing it for us, and we’re starting to engage, but I can’t say anything more.”

But hey, not to worry, Transformers fans. Sure, there are some changes ahead. But as long as Michael Bay is at the helm, one thing is for certain: the film will be a juvenile, pandering mess of explosions and highly toned legs. So there’s always that, right?

What do you think of the Transformers 4 news?

Source: /Film

Who Should Replace Gary Ross As Director Of ‘Catching Fire’?

Adam Spunberg — Thu, 12 Apr 2012 06:30:29 +0000

The loss of Gary Ross as a director of The Hunger Games sequels has been absolutely devastating for devoted fans of burgeoning franchise. As a rabid fan myself (and as a friend of many other rabid fans), I can’t even begin to tell you how crestfallen we are. Ross was truly one of us – an ardent admirer of the series who happened to also don a director’s cap. His respect for the source material was well known, which is why many supporters trusted him with Suzanne Collins’ words. Now, we’re all left scratching our heads and anxious about what’s to come.

Still, the beat must go on, and I have to put my optimism and faith in the people at Lionsgate. They did it right the first time; they can do it right again. Having continuity through the entire film franchise would have been the best-case scenario, but tributes can’t be choosers. And there are plenty of directors who might just be able to fill Gary Ross’s shoes, while maybe adding a few sprinkles of their own magic. Here is my list of people who could realistically take over (otherwise Martin Scorsese would be on here):

1. Steven Soderbergh

Soderbergh is the obvious best choice because his fingerprints are all over the franchise already. Brought in as a Second Unit Director on the first film, he commandeered one of the finer scenes in the picture: the rebellion sequence in District 11. It was a hailed by critics and fans as a flourishing addition, and his talent as a director was on full display.

Soderbergh’s credentials are also impressive. Not only is he close with Ross, but his accomplishments are considerably superior. Director of Erin Brockovich, Traffic, Ocean’s Eleven, and Contagion, he clearly has the chops. The only concerns about him are his rumored casting preferences (Alex Pettyfer for Finnick? No thanks!) The other problem is – and this will be a common theme – he is allegedly too busy to step in on such short notice.

2. Kathryn Bigelow

The former wife of James Cameron is a hot commodity these days after winning the Oscar for Directing with Iraq-war sensation The Hurt Locker. As the first and only woman to snag the award, it puts her in extremely elite company, and what better way to further the message of female empowerment than to put Katniss Everdeen in her hands? With The Hurt Locker, Bigelow demonstrated her ability to tackle violence and war, which she could display in spades during Catching Fire sequences.

It’s unclear whether she would be interested, but Lionsgate should certainly extend some overtures. One big problem: She’s currently working on Zero Dark Thirty, a film about the Navy Seals who tracked down Osama bin Laden. Timing could be impossible.

3. Ang Lee

Known for lauded films like Brokeback Mountain and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, perhaps my favorite rendition of his was actually Sense and Sensibility, where he so deftly tackled Jane Austen’s nuanced text. That ability to adapt from novel to screen could serve him extremely well here with Catching Fire. Throughout his career, Lee has proven his versatility – the kind of versatility needed for the District 12 scenes, coupled with the violence in the Arena. Imagine the mountains of Brokeback juxtaposed with the combat of Tiger. It does seem like a great fit.

However, critics might question his tendency for slow pacing. After all, his target market is made up of mostly young adults, who may not have the patience for his scenic deliberation and andante tempo. To be successful, he would have to adopt a more electric style. I think he can do it.

4. Brad Bird

I’ve been throwing Bird’s name out anywhere and everywhere, because so far his track record has been simply phenomenal. The architect behind two Pixar gems (the exhilarating The Incredibles and the culturally resplendent Ratatouille), Bird also showed his mastery over the live action technique with Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol, a herculean effort that resurrected what appeared to be a dormant franchise. So far, he has earned platitudes from every sector, for both a steady hand in the director’s chair and an intelligent appreciation for artistry.

My concerns are twofold: 1) The lack of experience, but more importantly, 2) Would he respect Collins’ source material enough? The fact that there’s a question mark on the latter makes me hesitant to throw my whole heart behind him. All of his previous efforts have been self-constructed – would he do right by Collins and the fan base? I think he would, but I don’t have proof, and in these harrowing times, reassurance is needed.

5. Duncan Jones

Now here’s a candidate I could realistically see taking over. Jones is a hot name in fan circles and for good reason: his first two flicks have been categorical successes (Moon and Source Code). In both cases, he managed to feature science fiction topics and make them stimulating (in the case of Moon, with basically one character). Source Code was hardly on the silver screen radar, but it proved to be a frenetic, down-to-the-wire picture – just the kind of suspense-building Catching Fire could use.

The cons? He’s still relatively unproven, and to pick him might be a serious gamble. Then again, it’s a gamble that could pay off with huge dividends, and he might just appreciate the opportunity more than the others above. His availability is also a major plus, but the question of the hour: Is he as much of a Hunger Games fan as Ross, and could he work directly with Collins?

6. Joe Wright

Wright has quite the accomplished record, dazzling viewers (including me) with Pride and Prejudice in 2005, and going on to garner tremendous acclaim for Atonement. He also integrated music and style extraordinarily in Hanna, which has caused some to recommend him for Catching Fire (since it’s a similar genre).

I absolutely loved what he did with Pride and Prejudice, but I have some serious holdups. Would he be willing to direct Catching Fire the way the fans want? I’d expect him to bring his own unique vision, which could be spectacular, but it also could stray far too much from the basic story. While that might delight ambivalent filmgoers and reviewers, the franchise has an obligation to appease Collins and her fans. This is dangerous territory, but it could also turn out magnificently.

7. Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck

What can you say about a director who spearheaded one of the greatest movies of our time (The Lives of Others) and then an awards-show punchline (The Tourist)? I’m inclined to give German pioneer von Donnersmarck the benefit of the doubt, especially since The Tourist’s flaws rest less with the directing and more with the laughable plot. These are highly skilled hands, and von Donnersmarck’s attention to detail seems right up Ross’s alley.

Of course, it would be a huge risk to take on a foreign director who may not even have familiarity with the series. He makes my list, however, because of his incredible talent and the possibility that he could bring The Hunger Games franchise to a new level of grandeur.

8. Debra Granik

Granik is really known for one great movie: Winter’s Bone. Coincidence that it’s the film that put Jennifer Lawrence on the map and drew the notice of Gary Ross (who confidently cast her as Katniss)? Clearly, the two of them work wonderfully together, and the setting in Winter’s Bone has some striking similarities to The Hunger Games’ District 12. This could be a match made in heaven.

If you thought any of the previous suggestions were unproven, however, Granik takes the cake. She has never worked on something in the limelight like this, and one wonders if her inexperience with action sequences could stunt the series. It’s definitely a risk, but it could be one worth taking in light of her rapport with Lawrence. (And let’s face it – this movie hinges more than anything on Katniss.)

9. Tom Hooper

Now here’s a case of a scorching hot director who has never attempted a picture quite like Catching Fire. He’s so low profile, in fact, that most people probably have never heard of him – even though he’s just one year removed from winning an Oscar for The King’s Speech. Hooper would be a peculiar choice, but he has performed beyond the call in every project he’s ever directed. This includes a string of exceptional miniseries: Daniel Daronda, Love in a Cold Climate, Elizabeth, and John Adams were all extremely well received.

Hooper is not my top choice for obvious reasons, but I wouldn’t be surprised if he had it in him to dazzle everyone. You could certainly do a lot worse, and you may not be able to do better.

10. Cary Fukunaga

This is my dark horse selection. I doubt he’s on anyone’s short list, but maybe he should be. Fukunaga did a stellar job directing two recent films: Jane Eyre and Sin Nombre. With Jane Eyre, Fukunaga showed incredible loyalty to Charlotte Bronte’s text, more so than in any previous adaptation. That’s the same kind of devotion Hunger Games fans would love to see in Catching Fire.

This would be a much greater challenge for him in his young career, but it could also be a springboard into fame and recognition. He probably wouldn’t assuage everyone’s fears right off the bat, but in time, he might just be the right ingredient to continue Ross’s superlative vision.

Alternates:

Ron Howard, Robert Redford – Both would be what I would define as “safe” picks. In other words, you could count on them to stay true to the story, but they probably wouldn’t connect with the core fan base the way some of the others could. Redford especially is a lot more capable than people realize, directing Quiz Show with profound intelligence and grace.

Absolutely Nots:

Alfonso Cuaron – His name is being floated out there far too often for my tastes. Ask any fervent Harry Potter fan and he/she will tell you what a nightmare Prisoner of Azkaban was. Cuaron is an OUTSTANDING director, but he makes all his films far more about his own artistic interpretation than the material he’s working with. Cuaron would be a dream director for non-fans and an apocalypse for lovers of the books. STAY AWAY!
Michael Bay – Does this even need an explanation? Sure, he would be great at having things blow up in the Cornucopia, but you may as well forget about depth and acting. That he is being mentioned at all is frightening.
Catherine Hardwicke – If there is one thing The Hunger Games franchise should unequivocally avoid, it’s having ANYTHING to do with Twilight. Under Ross’s fine direction, The Hunger Games has come out of the gate drawing little comparison to the much maligned Twilight series, and keeping away from directors like Hardwicke would ensure that continues. Plus, if Lionsgate were even to consider Hardwicke (she is among the rumored choices), the fans might just burn down the studio. We don’t need a literal case of “catching fire” before Catching Fire hits pre-production.

Who do you think should replace Gary Ross on Catching Fire?

Michael Bay Forced To Defend ‘Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles’ Reboot Once Again

Travis Woods — Tue, 27 Mar 2012 15:49:53 +0000

One week ago, we reported to you that Michael Bay will be producing a reboot of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles in which the half-shelled heroes are aliens instead of mutated turtles, and aren’t actually teenagers. Fan reaction to Twenty-Something Ninja Aliens (which doesn’t sound half bad, actually, especially compared to the bland real title, Ninja Turtles) exploded online, prompting Bay to respond with all the subtlety and aplomb that a man who directs films about walking trucks from space having fistfights can muster. And now, Bay has spoken out again.

In response to fan furor over the simplification of the franchise’s name to Ninja Turtles, Bay released another official statement, this time assuring fans that he and director Jonathan Liebesman (Battle: Los Angeles) will handle the TMNT reboot with all the deftness, wit and dedication to the craft that they bestowed upon such films as The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning, The Island, Pearl Harbor, and Bad Boys II:

“Paramount marketing changed the name. They made the title simple. The characters you all remember are exactly the same, and yes they still act like teenagers. Everything you remember, why you liked the characters, is in the movie. This script is being developed by two very smart writers, with one of the original creators of Ninja Turtles. They care VERY MUCH about making this film for the fans. Everyone on this team cares about the fans. Just give them a chance. Jonathan the director, is a major fan of the whole franchise. HE’S NOT GOING TO LET YOU DOWN.

MICHAEL”

So there you have it, Turtle fans. You have absolutely nothing to worry about (assuming you never saw Battle: Los Angeles or any of the Transformers films, that is), so you can now rest easy. Also, can someone help me secure the copyright to Twenty-Something Ninja Aliens? I smell a franchise.

What do you think of the TMNT news?

Source: Coming Soon

Michael Bay Tells Angry Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Fans To ‘Take A Breath And Chill’

Travis Woods — Tue, 20 Mar 2012 15:46:44 +0000

On Monday, we reported on a story noting that Michael Bay and bottom of the barrel production company Platinum Dunes (behind such wonderful remakes as A Nightmare on Elm Street and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre) were rebooting the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles franchise in 2013. We also noted that Bay announced the Turtles wouldn’t be Turtles as much as they’d be, well aliens. The internet freaked, fans balked, and so Michael Bay responded.

Following an almost immediate backlash against the news that “when you see this movie, kids are going to believe, one day, that these turtles actually do exist when we are done with this movie. These turtles are from an alien race and they are going to be tough, edgy, funny and completely lovable,” fans immediately took to the internet to express their revulsion at Bay’s rejiggering of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles’ origin. And Bay, with all of the subtlety, dignity, and aplomb that he lends his nuanced films, responded.

“Fans need to take a breath, and chill,” Bay wrote in a statement to fans. “They have not read the script. Our team is working closely with one of the original creators of Ninja Turtles to help expand and give a more complex back story. Relax, we are including everything that made you become fans in the first place. We are just building a richer world.”

And by richer world, he means a film about Teenage Mutant Ninja Aliens Who Strongly Resemble Turtles That Walk On Two Legs. And hey, it can’t be any dumber than a series of films about trucks from space that punch each other a lot, can it?

What do you think of the TMNT news?

Source: /Film

Michael Bay To Reboot The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, And Will Make Them Aliens

Travis Woods — Mon, 19 Mar 2012 19:06:04 +0000

Platinum Dunes is a production company that has given us such lustrous movie reboots/remakes as The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, The Amityville Horror, The Hitcher, Friday the 13^th, and A Nightmare on Elm Street, so you know that their Michael Bay-produced reboot of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles reboot is going to be just great. Especially because the titular Ninja Turtles are going to be—wait for it—aliens.

That’s right. Not content to drive the Transformers franchise into the ground (not that it really had far to go), Bay announced over the weekend at the Nickelodeon Upfront in New York that origin story for everyone’s favorite heroes in a half shell is going to be modified somewhat. And by “modified somewhat,” I mean changed entirely because it popped into Bay’s head one day and so why not? Trucks from space punching each other somehow made sense to film viewers, so why not turtles that know martial arts?

Bay stated that “when you see this movie, kids are going to believe, one day, that these turtles actually do exist when we are done with this movie. These turtles are from an alien race and they are going to be tough, edgy, funny and completely lovable.”

So there you go. Ninja Turtles, or How Michael Bay Destroyed Your Childhood Memories, is set for a Christmas 2013 release.

What do you think of the TMNT news?

Source: Coming Soon

Jonathan Liebsman to Reboot Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (Again)

Damon Houx — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 19:36:00 +0000

Jonathan Liebsman, hot off the upcoming Wrath of the Titans and last year’s Battle Los Angeles, has already lined up his next project. According to Variety, he’ll be bringing back the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles to the big screen, from a script by Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol‘s Andre Memec and Josh Applebaum. The project was set up by Michael Bay‘s company Platinum Dunes, so it’s hard not to speculate the reboot will be done in the style of The Dark Knight (aka gritty and hard edged).

Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles stared as a comic book, then became a animated kids show in 1987, and in 1990 became a highly successful live action movie, which spawned two theatrical sequels. The animated show ran until 1996, spawning a short-lived spinoff the next year, only to return to television in 2003 for another animated show that ran seven years. And then in 2007 there was a CG animated movie. In that sense the characters haven’t left us.

The silliness of the premise was always one of its great charms, so it will be interesting to see where they take it. Liebsman has yet to reveal much of a personality on screen, though he’s obviously ascended to the B-list, which as a working director isn’t a bad place to be. People still have an obvious affection for the characters, but it seems hard to make this into something that isn’t kid-friendly. We shall see.

Would you be down for an R-rated TMNT movie?

Michael Bay Will Direct ‘Transformers 4′

Travis Woods — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 16:25:35 +0000

Well, fans of large-scale mishmashes of the colors teal and orange that cost hundreds of millions of dollars to make all in the hopes that children all over the world will force their parents to buy them tickets to see walking trucks from space punch each other while Shia Labeouf sweats a lot, your day just got better. The rest of humanity? Your day just became infinitely worse—as it has been announced that not only is Transformers 4 definitely happening, but director Michael Bay will helm the project and make sure the vaguely racist stereotypes and wooden acting we’ve all come to tolerate returns as well.

“Producer Lorenzo DiBonaventura says that the fourth film is definitely planned for 2014,” according to /Film, and Dibonaventura states that Bay’s to “direct it, and it’ll be in the summer of 2014. We’ll be releasing it [then]… I think the challenge there is we really are going to do a reboot there, and what that’s going to be we don’t even know yet.”

He also stated that a cast shake up will be in order, as “there’ll be a lot of new cast, whether there’s anyone from the first we don’t even know yet. The truth is, there’s going to be a whole new story. The characters that will come along will be Optimus and Bumblebee, I’m sure.”

Whew. Don’t worry, guys. Beloved…things Optimus and Bumblebee will be back, he’s sure.

Elsewhere, Bay announced that h has signed a deal with Paramount to first direct Pain & Gain, starring Mark Wahlberg and Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, followed by Transformers 4, which will be released on June 29, 2014.

So happy Valentine’s Day, cinephiles!

What do you think of the Transformers news?

Michael Bay On Yet Another Transformers Sequel: ‘No Comment’

Damon Houx — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 18:05:47 +0000

The Transformers franchise is just as successful/popular as any other modern blockbuster with the latest entry (Transformers: Dark of the Moon) having done over a billion dollars worldwide (the highest gross of the franchise). But while talking to the press on the last film, Michael Bay suggested that this was his last go-around with the cars that turn into robots. Now he’s being rumored for a fourth. The director (smartly) will not confirm or deny how close he is to making another.

Perhaps the biggest pressure point is that Steven Spielberg has stated publicly that he wants Bay to make a new Transformers movie. It’s a sign that the studio wants to keep going on this thing, and that they want Bay behind the wheel. Meanwhile, Bay keeps mentioning Pain and Gain, the rumored “small” film he’s talked about for a couple of year, but he won’t deny that he’s taking Transformers meetings. Perhaps he’s using this to get financing (or better financing) on that smaller film, or perhaps he’s just humoring them.

Though there could easily be a replacement, Bay is probably right to want to keep the franchise in his pocket. The series is a cash cow, and a fertile playground to make extremely expensive movies, despite the fact that’s all Bay has directed over the last four years. The franchise will probably move forward with or without Bay, just as it might move forward without any of its previous human actors. All that matters are the robots, and the noises they make whilst they transform.

What movie would you like to see Michael Bay do next?

Jason Statham Set To Star In Fourth And Fifth ‘Transformers’ Films

Travis Woods — Tue, 18 Oct 2011 16:37:47 +0000

Yesterday, we reported that Hasbro and Michael Bay were gunning for a fourth Transformers film. And if that wasn’t enough bad news for one week, month, year, or decade, try this on for size: it looks like the fourth and fifth (sweet, sweet Jesus protect us) Transformers films are going to be made simultaneously. And since Shia LaBlablaheooffa has said that he will not return to the franchise, it seems like someone else is going to step in as the human hero of the series—Jason Statham.

Michael Bay plus two more Transformers films plus Jason Statham doing that bald growling stare thing equals THE END OF TIMES, people. How is this not obvious? Wasn’t there something in the Book of Revelation about this? “Yea, and when the twin canisters are opened, and the Bay-beast unleashes a visually incomprehensible mash of CGI, poor dialogue, and mildly racist stereotypes, led by he, the bald guy who beat up a bunch of cops and got tased in Crank 2, locusts shall black the skies and blood will etch the seas in crimson as Hasbro’s century-long dominion of the earth shall begin.” Do I have that right? I think I have that right.

Meanwhile, screenwriter Ehren Kruger reportedly already has ideas for future installments… the franchise will somehow have to carry on without Shia LaBeouf scurrying about, occasionally pausing to gaze in disbelief at the sky, but producers are already considering replacing him with a new lead, Jason Statham, who would presumably be introduced as an all-new character.

Ok, so maybe that’s not as dire as my interpretation, but hey, this still sounds terrible.

What do you think of the Transformers news?

Source: The AV Club

Hasbro And Michael Bay Developing ‘Transformers 4′

Travis Woods — Mon, 17 Oct 2011 17:13:36 +0000

ScreenCrave readers, there simply are no words… Sigh. I’ll do my best. Stiff upper lip, folks, we’re gonna get through this one together: Hasbro and Michael Bay are developing Transformers 4. God help us all, they’re developing Transformers 4!

Looks like the toy company Hasbro has had a dip in sales of late, and studios are bailing on adaptations of Hasbro games like Clue and Ouija. Now, where some companies would be all, “Hey guys, it seems like we’re shoving a lot of crappy product down filmgoers’ throats, and since we’re a freaking toy company and not a movie studio, let’s quit forcefeeding the world bad movies and just stick with games and toys,” Hasbro has said, “Screw it, we’re making Candyland, Risk, Stretch Armstrong and Monopoly… and what the hell, Transformers 4 will make us some quick dough.”

Yes, that’s right. Seeing as how Transformers: Dark of the Moon has become the fourth biggest film of all time, Hasbro has decided to milk the cash cow a little more, and is currently in talks with Michael Bay, Steven Spielberg, and Paramount Pictures to make a fourth film in the Transformers franchise, and to officially prove that God is dead. So thanks, Hasbro. Thanks a lot.

What do you think of the Hasbro/ Transformers news?

Weekend Box Office: Transformers 3 Dominates Box Office and Breaks Records

Laura Aguirre — Tue, 05 Jul 2011 13:43:48 +0000

The kingpin of blockbusters debuted last week to ridiculous numbers. Michael Bay‘s Transformers: Dark of the Moon now has the highest opening weekend of 2011, a title that previously belonged to Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides. But despite the big numbers, the latest installment didn’t do as well as 2009′s Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen which made $108.9 million during its opening weekend. Much to our speculation, Universal’s new film Larry Crowne came in at No. 4 with a poor opening of $13 million. And Fox’s new chick flick Monte Carlo came in at No. 6 with $7.6 million.

Transformers: Dark of the Moon | NEW | Paramount | Weekend Gross $97,500,000 | Average Per Theater $24,296 | Total Gross $162,225,000 | Film’s Budget – $195 | Week 1
Cars 2 | Last Week #1 | Buena Vista | Weekend Gross $26,170,000 | Average Per Theater $6,360 | Total Gross $117,101,000 | Film’s Budget – $200 | Week 2
Bad Teacher | Last Week #2 | Sony | Weekend Gross $14,500,000 | Average Per Theater $4,756 | Total Gross $59,945,000 | Film’s Budget – $20 | Week 2
Larry Crowne | NEW | Universal | Weekend Gross $13,111,000 | Average Per Theater $4,410 | Total Gross $13,111,000 | Film’s Budget – $30 | Week 1
Super 8 | Last Week #4 | Paramount | Weekend Gross $7,820,000 | Average Per Theater $2,532 | Total Gross $108,356,000 | Film’s Budget – $50 | Week 4
Monte Carlo | NEW | Fox | Weekend Gross $7,425,000 | Average Per Theater $3,002 | Total Gross $7,425,000 | Film’s Budget – $20 | Week 1
Green Lantern | Last Week #3 | Warner Brothers | Weekend Gross $6,520,000 | Average Per Theater $1,988 | Total Gross $102,212,000 | Film’s Budget – $200 | Week 3
Mr. Popper’s Penguins | Last Week #5 | Fox | Weekend Gross $5,450,000 | Average Per Theater $1,905 | Total Gross $50,475,000 | Film’s Budget – $55 | Week 3
Bridesmaids | Last Week #8 | Universal | Weekend Gross $3,653,000 | Average Per Theater $2,630 | Total Gross $153,027,000 | Film’s Budget – $32.5 | Week 8
Midnight in Paris | Last Week #10 | Sony Classics | Weekend Gross $3,566,000 | Average Per Theater $4,156 | Total Gross $33,766,000 | Film’s Budget – $30 | Week 7

The success of Transformers: Dark of the Moon meant bad weekend for every other film, including the new releases. Cars 2 stayed at No. 2 but grossed only $26.1 million. Bad Teacher was also able to stay on top with $14.5 million. That can’t be said for Super 8 and other films that followed. More than half of the films of the top ten made less than $10 million.

What did you watch this weekend?

Transformers: Dark of the Moon: Movie Review

Damon Houx — Thu, 30 Jun 2011 21:44:08 +0000

After the second film – which star Shia LaBeouf and director Michael Bay have publicly apologized for -there was hope that Transformers: Dark of the Moon would settle Michael Bay down, and give him a better story to tell. Working with 3-D, his hyper-editing style wouldn’t work in the format, and there would be no “afterthought” Imax scenes. There would also be no writer’s strike, so the script could be written in a more timely and coherent fashion. And though Michael Bay does action on a scale that is unmatached in the industry, it’s pretty much the same movie, except this time on Ritalin. Find out more below…

The Players:

Director: Michael Bay
Screenplay: Ehren Kruger
Actors: Shia LaBeouf, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, Tyrese Gibson, Josh Duhamel, Patrick Demsey, Frances McDormand, John Malkovich, John Turturro, Alan Tudyk
Original Music by: Steve Jabolonsky
Cinematography by: Amir Mokri

The Plot:

On the planet Cybertron, there’s a great mechanical whatsit that can do awesome things, but it crash-landed on the moon. Astronauts found the crash in 1960′s, but couldn’t do anything about it. Cut to now and Sam Witwicky (LaBeouf) is having trouble finding a job, though his girlfriend Carly (Huntington-Whiteley) has an awesome job – but with an obviously evil boss (Demsey) – and an impossibly expensive flat. The Bad guys (the Decepticons) are up to no good, and trick the Autobots into waking up Sentinel Prime (voiced by Leonard Nimoy), who’s the only person who can power the great whatsit, which can be used for great good or evil or something. This leads to a virtually hour-long assault on Chicago.

The Michael Bay Paradox:

Everything that is good about this movie – other than the great action beats in the final act – is also everything that’s wrong with the film. The film starts – after its prologue – with Sam looking for a job. At the end of the film – in a movie with a coherent screenplay – the journey would be that Sam officially gets a job working with the Autobots as an ambassador or some such nonsense. Instead, the movie ends when the big fight is over and then adds some narration from Optimus Prime (voiced by Peter Cullen). I should note that because so much of what Prime says is stuff like “on our world there was a great war, a war that raged for decades. Autobots fought valiantly, and used all the strength they had, but there seemed to be no hope… until they found a thing. A thing that could change the course of our destiny. A thing… that was lost.” eventually my ears glazed over. Anyway, if this movie was about its human protagonist, him getting a job would be the hook to hang the movie on. And such invokes the paradox – these movies aren’t really about the humans, so is it smart to not care at the end of day? And how much should we care about humans in a story that features cars that turn into robots? Bay doesn’t actively view his narrative with contempt, but he seems to care less about it than he does what interests him: Cars, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley’s body, and destruction.

Michael Bay is one of the great action directors when he puts his mind to it, and when he has the tools the man can craft the hell out of a sequence. The parts where guys wearing wingsuits jump out of crashing helicopters and fly around downtown Chicago is insane, so is the sequence where the main characters are in a building that’s collapsing. These aren’t “wow, cool digital effects” moments, they are “What? That’s awesome!” moments. In another time, Michael Bay would be the go-to second unit director (it wasn’t until Spielberg changed the game that most action sequences were not left mostly to the second unit, though historically, it feels like The French Connection and The Wild Bunch started that trend). Bay would be a great 2nd unit guy also because he obviously has no feel for actors, and his sense of humor is based around loudness. Transformers 3 – like so much of the big summer movies we get these days – is filled with a number of great ingredients that are all half-cooked. And it’s not that Bay gets a bad performance out of someone like John Malkovich or Ken Jeong (painful in his five minute cameo), it’s that he doesn’t want performances so much as a collection of affectations.

Bay has directed nine films – with more than half costing over a hundred million dollars – so you have to wonder how intentional this is. Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen was attacked for being incoherent, racist and pretty much terrible, and if this is his apology, he still has almost all of the same problems, it’s just not as aggressive in the presentation. It seems that Bay works best when he has a strong producer behind him (Read: Jerry Bruckheimer), and it seems Steven Spielberg was more hands on with the first film than the sequels (though he supposedly gave Bay the opening sequence idea, something that he squanders). Again, Bay is either a savant, or this is intentional. But the whole film is filled with scenes like one that happens in the middle of the movie: Sam and his girlfriend head to see the Autobots, but the guards won’t let him in. Everyone starts yelling, and the guards destroy his car because he doesn’t have proper clearance. Then, after the yelling stops, Sam and his girlfriend are let in and told things that are supposedly the most top secret secrets in the history of tops and secrets. Sam and his girlfriend. What was the point of the yelling scene? If bad writing is including needless words, there’s easily a good thirty minutes to an hour that could be cut from the first ninety minutes, and you would never know they were gone. Perhaps this is Bay’s way of winking at the audience, or expressing his contempt for the material. But at this point, it’s fair to say this is the Michael Bay touch.

Oh, another example: in a good screenplay, the humans have one rocket which can supposedly take out the great whatsit, and climb the building to use it. But then they never use it while in the building and never use it, period. It’s like it got forgotten by the filmmakers. Why do they set up the rocket if they never use it as it is intended to be used? Basically it’s the excuse to get them into the collapsing building. The problem is that it’s a great sequence, but the connective tissue is made moot.

The Good:

The 3-D: This is probably the only film this year where seeing it in 3-D may make it a better experience, and Bay has fun with this stuff. And when the soldiers are flying around Chicago in their wingsuits it looks great.
The Final Action Set Piece: There are things in it that are so out of hand that it’s fair to say you’ve never seen anything like it before.

The Bad:

The Humans: Alan Tudykis the rare performer in this film that is actually winning, but even there he’s playing a gay-ish German guy. Franes McDormand – who enters the film delivering some of the most on the nose exposition in cinema history – and Johns Turturro and Malkovich get to run around and yell a lot. They are all excellent performers, but… this? Shia LaBeouf is either bored or obnoxious, and Rosie Huntington-Whiteley is so ogled by the camera that it turns the audience into leches. I wouldn’t say she’s good or bad in the film, so much as there to be looked at. That said, Megan Fox deserves more credit for making a character out of the same shtick.

Bay’s appropriation of National Tragedies: Michael Bay turned the bombing of Pearl Harbor into an action set piece, so his sensitivity to tragedy is virtually nil, but there’s a sequence that recalls the Challenger disaster that is simply tasteless. I was worried the same would be said of the collapsing building set piece, but that’s so well choreographed that it does evoke the same sort of contempt.

The Comedy: Bay’s sense of humor has long been that of a twelve year old boy who is uncomfortable with his sexuality and is proudly xenophobic. The bits with Ken Jeong are much shorter than the roommate/sidekick in the last film, but are just as painful to watch.

The Screenplay: There’s a number of great lines in the film MacGruber, but one of the best is when Ryan Phillipe says to the main character “I’ve learned a lot from you, mostly what not to do, but…” This screenplay should be taught as an example of how not to do things. There is no sense of build in the film, and there’s often a sense that the plot is just an excuse to get to the next scene – which often leads nowhere interesting. This – much like The Phantom Menace - is filled with so much “cart before the horse” business.

Overall:

I can’t recommend the good in this film (which is really, really good) over the bad, because this film is Hollywood throwing everything they’ve got at it, except at the things that normally make a movie good. Pace, characters, empathy, plot, etc. Though there are a number of schlocky films that deserve praise for exceptional stunts, and good sequences in the midst of bad performances and technical limitations, those films are not usually made with this sort of money. Alas, in a summer of misfires, and half and half’s, this is the one that really delivers the big budget spectacle that they got close to in films like Thor and The Green Lantern. One wishes there was a compelling story to go along with it.

Rating: 4.5/10

Transformers: Dark of the Moon is in theaters now.

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Transformers: Dark of the Moon: Movie Review

The Players:

The Plot:

The Michael Bay Paradox:

The Good:

The Bad:

Overall:

Rating: 4.5/10

Gallery:

Trailer:

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