Fate rarely calls upon us at a moment of our choosing

Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen

Rating: 2/5

Starring: Shia Le Beof, Megan Fox, Josh Duhamel, Tyrese Gibson and John Truturro.

Director: Michael Bay

Year: 2009

I have now returned from my wonderful two weeks in the sun so it is now time to get stuck into my blog and continue reviewing the Transformers series. I have decided to be a little unconventional and review the series in reverse order. On hearing of a sequel after seeing the first film I was really excited at the prospect of the series continuing and expanding the stories of Sam Witwicky and the transformers. As the film began I allowed the Autobots and Decepticons to carry me away into their world. 

The film begins two years after the events of the previous film where Optimus Prime is seen leading NEST, a military organization consisting of human troops and his own team of Autobots. The origin of this operation is aimed at killing the remaining Decepticons on Earth. Sam Witwicky (Shia LeBeouf) finds a fragment of the destroyed AllSpark, and upon contact the fragment fills his mind with Cybertronian symbols. Sam gives the AllSpark splinter to his girlfriend Mikaela (Megan Fox) for safe keeping as this fragment is dangerous, and leaves her and Bumblebee behind to go off to college. Meanwhile, the Decepticons hack into a US satellite and learn the location of the dead Decepticon leader Megatron and another piece of the AllSpark. The Decepticons retrieve the shard and use it to resurrect Megatron, who flies into space and is reunited with Starscream and his master, The Fallen. The Fallen then  instructs Megatron and Starscream to detain Sam in order to discover the location of the Matrix of Leadership. The Decepticons then attempt to infiltrate Sam's brain in order to retrieve the information contained in his mind and so commences a battle between the Autbots who come to the rescue of Sam and the Decepticons. 

Bearing in mind this is only a brief plot summary, however in watching this film and reading information on the internet, it is clear that there are major problems with this film for my liking and some parts which were highly under used.  First off, and this may be too obvious I was expecting to see more of The Fallen? There is so much talk and hype built up around this character that throughout the film he is somewhat missing. I thought that he would play a much bigger role or at least have a bigger battle scene at the end. Also, I do not buy that Decepticons who can transform into anything electrical etc can take the form of a human (Alice). How do they grow skin and take a human form? I feel bad for belittling this film and really want to like it, however I have so much trouble when Michael Bay does not put any thought into it. 

Good points: Action sequences and effects, Rainn Wilson as Sam's college lecturer, John Truturro's character Agent Simmons (who is always good to see)

Bad points: Too long, not enough use of The Fallen, Decepticons turning into humans, really cheesy slapstick humour and Megan Fox's acting. 

My lowest rating yet I'm afraid! Sorry if it was ugly folks but I can't recommend this movie. Transformers review coming up real soon! Also Twitter anyone? @Screen_Gal - get following!

From here, the fight will be your own...

Transformers 3: Dark of the Moon 3/5

I have decided to review a personal favourite of mines - the Transformers series. As this is the latest one I have seen I will start here and work my way back. 

At the mention of a third and possibly final film I was a little anxious at this prospect as I have to admit that I was let down by the second film: Revenge of the Fallen. However, I did leave the cinema with a massive smile on my face knowing that it had succeeded its predecessor in terms of quality and plot. 

The story once again follows Sam Witwicky (played by Shia Le Beof) who after helping to the save world after the last battle is on the quest for his first 'real' job after graduating from college. He also has a new girlfriend Carly Spencer (Rosie Huntington-Whitley) and the couple currently resides in Washington D.C. The film opens by telling the story of a ship named The Ark captained by Sentinel Prime, which was said to contain special items which would help the autobots defeat the decepticons. The ship was hit by enemy missiles and crash landed on the moon. In 1961, the crash of the Ark on the moon is detected by NASA and so President Kennedy pushes for NASA to land men on the moon to investigate. We are then transported eight years later when Apollo 11 landed on the moon and the two astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin secretly explore the craft. As the story unfolds it appears that the Decepticons needed Sentinel Prime to activate pillars, which would open a bridge through space and time. The Decepticons stole what they could from The Ark, but left five with the weakened body of Sentinel, planting clues to lead the Autobots to him and revive him, most likely planning to bring an invasion force to Earth! Cue a lot of action and ass kicked from Optimus and his band of merry machines. 

I thought that this film was very well constructed - the effects were first class and I really enjoyed the beginning and the story of the NASA space landing. Some light relief to the story was played by Sam's parents (I always enjoy the comedy that they bring to each film!) I will admit thought that the film could have been cut down a little. I felt myself getting restless in the middle section where not much happened. The battle in Chicago was stunning and kept me on the edge of my seat. I would definitely recommend this film to others, however if you are not already a fan I do not think that these films would appeal. 

Good points: The beginning, the acting from the main and supporting cast and the downtown Chicago battle.

Bad points: There is just one thing that I do not understand. Why does Michael Bay have to add a lot of unnecessary shots of female body parts trying to sex up the film? I understand that this may be considered a 'guys' film but after the Transformers title appears on the screen, the last image that I immediately want to see is a close up of some girl's ass. My other critisism is that it is too long.

I am going on holiday for two whole weeks this Tuesday so I am afraid my friends that I will not be updating until the end of July. I will continue my review of the Transformers review when I return. Thanks to all of you for viewing my blog, it really means a lot. 

I also forgot to mention, don't forget to follow me on twitter: @Screen_Gal

Thanks!

Sick is the new sane

Scream 4  (contains spoilers) 4/5

Being a massive horror film buff myself, I was so excited when the news broke that Scream 4 was being made. I consistently followed the forum religiously on IMDB to find out all the information, gossip and hype surrounding the release of a new film. Of course I had to wait a year until I would find out whom would be terrorising Sydney and how the young new cast would fit into this twisted story. I made a point in booking my tickets in advance for this film and on opening night took my seat, ready to be indulged in a world full of gore and young people being killed by a ghostface killer.

Scream 4 follows Sidney Prescott, survivor of the previous Woodsboro killings who returns to her home town on the anniversary of the killings that terrorised the small town a mere fifteen years before. On first viewing I have to admit that I was not impressed by the opening, being completely skeptical of the idea of a movie within a movie. When it came to the real deal and two girls from Woodsboro discussing the events of the film that they watched I have to admit that I did become excited. I was really interested to know how the killer was going to do it, but also if there would be any nods to the original. We do not see one of the girls being killed; however the audience knows that when it goes deadly silent and then her body gets thrown through a window that it does not bode well for the remaining victim. The remaining girl ends up being chased and has her back broken by a garage door (this is a nod to the original, as Tatum was originally supposed to die with the garage door coming down on her neck.)

As for the introduction to the new characters, I felt you were drawn to them and could identify characteristics within yourself or any friends. I found them to be easily likeable…especially Kirby and Robbie for myself. It was great seeing Woodsboro High again, even with a blink and miss it moment of a bust of Principal Himbry. The moment when they all found out about the two murders was through their mobile phones, another new rule and shows how much technology has changed since 1996. In the new group are: Kirby, Jill, Olivia, Trevor, Robbie and Charlie. Kirby is known as the female Randy and Charlie is also very knowledgeable and runs the movie club with Robbie, who also runs an online blog and updates to the internet through a headgear with a camera attached. 

Concerning the original characters, I liked how Dewey and Gale were introduced, the audience immediately senses that Gale is bored and Dewey is proud of his role as Sheriff. A little humour is also added throughout the film with the Deputy Judy character, obviously in love with Dewey. It was really interesting to note how the Sidney/Billy relationship is mirrored through her cousin Jill and her boyfriend Trevor as the audience are made to think that Trevor is a suspect right from the beginning. One scene in particular is when he sneaks through Jill’s bedroom window. 

The second killing for me was really rather brutal, not that I didn’t enjoy it! Olivia is in her house alone as her parents are away on holiday, while Kirby and Jill are in the house next door watching Shaun of the Dead on DVD.The killer phones and antagonizes the girls, saying that he is in the closet. Kirby then looks and the reply they get is simply “I said I was in a closet, not your closet!” and then we cut to the scene with Olivia being repeatedly stabbed through the bedroom window with Kirby and Jill and Sidney watching who cannot do a thing to stop it. This death is by far the goriest throughout the entire film and for me, the most memorable as when Sidney runs through to catch the killer she glimpses Olivia who is laying on her bed, completely gutted. Again, the audience reaction was groaning throughout this. Jill was also slashed on the arm as Sidney ran in to confront the killer. With the odd shout of “What are you doing!?!”  

Gale helps the new characters and is excited by the prospect that the killings are happening all over again, meaning that she has something else to focus on and this is the beginning of a new book for her? Dewey also does state that he and Gale are having marital problems and that Gale isn’t particularly happy with married life. 

I thought the ending was really good – I had an idea who one of the killers was throughout, however it was not much of a surprise as to who the other was. I joked about the second killer saying “If I find out that she done this because she’s sick of all the attention being on Sidney, I am going to go mental!” Of course this was right and even so that my boyfriend could not even look at me when this particular motive was being described. One of the particular reasons was that people get famous in the present day for doing near enough nothing. I liked the way that both the new and original characters tied into each other and thought that it worked really well. Self mutilation scene was hilarious at one point that the whole cinema audience were laughing so loud. The hospital scene was really good, with my favourite line being “You’re forgetting one thing about remakes – you don’t fuck with the original”  

Still to me nothing will ever beat the original; however I do prefer this film to the other two sequels. It will definitely be a DVD purchase for me. 

Good points: The relationship between new and old characters, the barn and hospital car park scene, writing and of course the ending.

Bad points: One of Jill’s motives – I was not impressed with the attention part. The “fuck Bruce Willis” line – I felt that it was just not needed and rather cheesy.

That 70's Show

 

Apologies guys as I haven’t had time to update recently! That will change though, going to devote more time to my blog. I’ve also just started writing movie reviews for a local magazine, so fingers crossed that goes well!

So thought I would discuss another one of my favourite TV shows. This week I have chosen to focus on That 70’s Show. 

When That 70’s Show first premiered it hit audiences with a bang as it is something so different and contemporary. It was actually my boyfriend who introduced me to it. I remember coming home from college and watching it on Trouble channel. I love every single character in this show as they are all really likeable. This is a programme that never fails to put a smile on my face. 

The premise behind That 70’s Show is the Forman family from Point Place, Wisconsin. Eric Forman (Topher Grace) is the main character of this show and examines his relationships with his family, friends and his relationship with his next door neighbour and oldest friend, Donna Pinciotti (Laura Prepon). A lot of big name celebrities established themselves on this show and made their way into the Hollywood elite including Ashton Kutcher, Mila Kunis and Wilmer Valderamma. This show was a huge success, premiering back in 1999.

My favourite character is Steven Hyde. He is one rebellious teenager who loves to bend the rules but also have a good time. I think that Danny Masterson is the ideal actor to play Hyde. He has some of the best lines and plays a huge part in this show, being the best friend of the main character, Eric. There are so many iconic moments and lines from this character however one which sticks out is the Halloween episode of season 2:

I also love Red and Kitty (Eric’s parents) Kitty has an eccentric laugh and I think my reasoning why I like them so much is because they remind me so much of my own mum and dad. In fact come to think of it, Donna and Eric is a lot like my boyfriend and I. The 'circle' part is also classic, I love how the writers thought to include this in most episodes where the characters sit in a circle and discuss things under the influence. This is comedy genius and where most of the best lines take place.

However I will admit that I have never seen past season six as at the later stages I think it went downhill. Topher Grace did keep the show alive and I did see the last episode where he returned to Point Place after an absence of a season. 

My favourite seasons are one and two, so buy the DVDs and give this great comedy a chance! You'll thank me for it.

I felt it. Perfect. I was perfect.

Black Swan   3/5

 

When the advertisement for Black Swan was first advertised on television I was immediately drawn to it. Part of this may have been because it looked quite scary (being a HUGE horror fan myself) and because Mila Kunis had a main role, an actress who has a place in my heart ever since That 70’s Show.

At the time of its release in the cinema I could not convince anyone to accompany me to the cinema to see it so instead I have obtained a copy from my sister’s fiancé. I had heard a lot of mixed reports about it, however I am a firm believer that you should make up your own mind about something. Here goes:

From the opening scenes of this film I was on the edge of my seat. We are first introduced to Nina, a ballerina who is part of a top New York City ballet company, vying for the role of the Swan Queen in its new production. When the artistic director Thomas Leroy replaces Beth McIntyre with Nina in the role of Swan Queen for their new production, Nina is torn as she can dance the white swan perfectly but has trouble playing the black swan. All the while competing dancer Lily embodies everything about the black swan’s character. The two dancers become friends who end up in a twisted rivalry together, before Nina’s dark side threatens to consume her.

I thought that Natalie Portman’s portrayal of Nina was definitely Oscar worthy and she was well suited for this complex role. Mila Kunis also played Lily perfectly, however I would have liked to have seen a little more of her during this film and it is a real shame that she is hardly recognised for this role as supporting actress. At times this story is scary and unpredictable. Do not take this lightly, as Black Swan is categorised under the horror genre and some moments throughout the film are rather disturbing. I think that this is needed though to convey how Nina’s dark side was destroying her.

Black Swan is a dark, twisted fantasy of a film which may not cater to my personal taste but one which I did enjoy.

Good points: The acting from both Portman and Kunis, her performance as the white swan at the beginning, the relationship between Lily and Nina and Winona Ryder’s small role as Beth McIntyre.

Bad points: I would have liked to have seen more of Kunis in this film and the scene where she picks the skin from her fingers.