Its got very mixed reviews – but dont all Michael Bay movies?? People have been saying how the 1st transformers was alright but really hated the 2nd one. I think I need to check them out again as I liked them both – maybe I am getting confused and merging the best bits of the 2 movies together??

Anyway, on to the movie. For a start its 2.5 hours which is very long for this type of movie. Probably too long and too much padding, in particular the first half or so. It starts off slowly introducing the story. Basically the story is there are about some columns from Cybertron which are able to bring the whole planet “to Earth” – and then basically the Decepticons taking over the world – not a good thing.

There were attempts at clever special effects/lookalikes/camera work and uses actual footage from the 1960s at the time when Apollo 11 was being built and eventually sent into space. I personally didnt think this quite worked.

There were some interesting cameos including John Malkovich (as some perma-tan crazy boss) and Ken Jeong – kind of playing the same character as usual again but I found some of it funny – reading other reviews, some people didnt.

Rosie Huntington-Whiteley

Going back to the very start of the movie and we see Shia LaBeouf and Rosie Huntington-Whiteley. We quickly see why Rosie was hired with one of the first scenes basically showing her bum. Soon after, you can see that she just cant act. She looks amazing hot but just cant act!! (Shes the FHM sexiest woman and I think also Maxim – even though her nose you could argue is a touch big. Nothing personal, just a personal opinion. Not like I can talk!!). Thankfully, she isnt in too many scenes. If it wasnt for her, I would probably give the film 4/5. Its amazing that this is her first EVER movie/TV role of any kind. There are many many other actresses out there who can act and who look just as hot. Off the top of my head – Mila Kunis
Maggie Q or Kristen Bell??

I thought Shia LaBeouf was pretty good. There were some funny moments in the movie – bit more than expected – and he was involved in pretty much all of them.

When humans are killed in the movie and shot by the robots, they end up being turned into dust/smoking skeletons. Bit surprised it was this “graphic” for a family movie.

Product placement overload

One of the things which annoyed me about this movie – and other movies like it – is all the product placement. Its not even subtle. Lenovo, Cisco and Nokia to name a few. They must have paid a lot!!

We watched the movie in 3D. I am not a fan of 3D movies and think they are a waste of money. Its just a way for movie companies to get more money. However, I had heard that the 3D in Transformers 3 was very good so we went for the 3D Version. It was OK at times but once again pointless. Just no need for it!! For one thing, the glasses just made things darker. Also, it was sometimes just blurry. It would be better maybe if they could just turn up the brightness! However, I think having to wear the glasses is a big stumbling block. When it goes glasses free then maybe it will have a future. I found them straining my eyes and they were getting tired – especially with a 2.5 hour movie!!

Like I said at the start, overall I enjoyed the movie. Car chases with some beautiful cars, explosions, token hot woman – thats all good. The special effects were amazing. The last 45 minutes of the movie is just all none stop action. You may have seen in the trailers with the snack robot and the skyscraper. That is just brilliant!

Re-using scenes??

Even with all the money he has to spend on this movie, Michael Bay still tries to save a bit of money. Its tough times in the world I guess with all the financial problems – every little helps!! LOL. There are 2 scenes with seem to be re-used from his movie The Island. Check out this video – scene 2 in particular looks identical with the buildings in background etc. Heres the vid – http://gawker.com/5817713/michael-bay-just-re+using-from-the-island-for-transformers-3

Spoiler .. stop reading if you have not seen movie

(Spoiler….) – When they wanted to blow up the column things and only had one bazooka to fire, why didnt one of the Autobots blow it up (sooner than they did)??

NB – Movies with the strike-through I have seen. Its just for my own records!! :p

January

The Green Hornet. UK – 14th January

Black Swan. 21st January

Morning Glory. UK – 21 January

How Do You Know. UK – 28th January

Tangled. UK – 28 January

The Mechanic. UK – 28th January

February

The Fighter. UK – 2 Feb

True Grit. UK – 11th Feb

Just Go With It. UK – 11th Feb

Paul. UK – 14th Feb

I am Number Four. UK – 25th Feb

Drive Angry. UK – 25th Feb

March

Fair Game. UK – 4th March

Battle: Los Angeles. UK – 11th March

Limitless. UK – 25th March

April

Cat Run. US – 1st April

Source Code. UK – 1st April

Sucker Punch. UK – 1st April

The Roommate. UK – 15th April

Scream 4. UK – 15th April

Fast Five. UK – 22nd April

Thor. UK – 29th April

May

Everything Must Go. US – 11th May (Limited)

The Hangover 2. UK – 13th May

Priest . UK – 13th May

Take Me Home Tonight. UK – 13th May

Pirates Of The Caribbean 4. UK – 18th May

June

Green Lantern. UK – 17th June

Kung Fu Panda 2. UK – 17th June

Bad Teacher. UK – 24th June

Bridesmaids. UK – 24th June

July

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2. UK – 15th July

The Zookeeper (think I need to see another trailer – not sure if will watch it). UK – 29th July

Cars 2. UK – 22nd July

Horrible Bosses. UK – 22nd July

Captain America: The First Avenger. UK – 29th July

August

Mr Popper’s Penguins. UK – 5th August
Cowboys & Aliens. UK – 12th August
Super 8. UK – 19th August
The Change Up – 26th August

September

Friends with Benefits. UK – 2nd September
Justice (aka Seeking Justice) . Italy – 2nd September
Crazy, Stupid, Love. UK – 23rd September
Tucker and Dale vs Evil. UK – 26th September (DVD release)
What’s Your Number?. UK – 30th September

October

30 Minutes or Less. UK – 7th Oct
Real Steel. UK – 7th October
Johnny English Reborn 7th October
Trespass. US – 14th October
Contagion. UK – 21st Oct

November

In Time. UK – 1st November
Tower Heist. UK – 4th November.
A Very Harold & Kumar Christmas. (US – 4th November)
Wanderlust. UK – 25th November

December

Mission Impossible – Ghost Protocol. UK – 16th December
New Year’s Eve. UK – 9th December
The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo – 21st Dec (US)

2012

January 2012

Haywire. US – 20th January
Man On A Ledge. US/UK – 27th January
50/50. UK – 6th January
Premium Rush. UK – 3rd Feb. US – 13th January

February

This Means War. UK – 17th February

Others

Journey 2 The Mysterious Island
Contraband
Project X

Having a look at last years free apps, I think 2009 was a better selection.

Here is last years free apps:

I still have the Trivial Pursuit and Let’s Golf game. I played the Labyrinth game for awhile after getting it. The selection of songs/music videos was better too I think. There were some crap things though including the movie Lesbian Vampire Killers and Alan Partridge is ages old – although many people think its a “classic” – I just think its alright.

This year the free apps were:

• Day 1: Cheryl Cole – Promise This (Song & Video Bundle)
• Day 2: Father Ted – Christmas Special (TV Episode)
• Day 3: Duran Duran – From Mediterranea With Love EP (Song Bundle)
• Day 4: Fishing Kings (iPhone/iPad Game)
• Day 5: Life of Pi – Yann Martell (iBook)
• Day 6: Michael Bublé – A Holiday Gift For You EP (Song Bundle)
• Day 7: Charlie Chaplin in Modern Times (Movie)
• Day 8: Broken Sword – Shadow Of The Templars (iPhone/iPad Game)
• Day 9: Kings Of Leon – Radioactive/Arizona (Song & Video Bundle)
• Day 10: Doctor Who – The End Of Time Pt.1 (TV Episode)
• Day 11: Mirror’s Edge (iPhone/iPad Game)
• Day 12: David Guetta (Music Video Bundle)

I suppose if your a fan of Duran Duran/Michael Buble/Father Ted then you would think its a better selection than me. I tried the Fishing Kings game – rubbish. Broken Sword – boring, Doctor Who – only the 1st part, 2nd part isnt free! Mirror’s Edge is alright. Usually cost £2.99 and it looks quite nice when playing it on the iPad.

Overall its been a bit rubbish but I guess its free. Just not as good as last year!

Just outside the top 10 are:

The Switch – some people may think its just another Jennifer Aniston rom-com but I enjoyed this. Jason Bateman is funny and the little kid is great!

Karate Kid – better than I expected. Really enjoyable.

Scott Pilgrim vs The World - Good movie but not as good as I hoped. Bit different than I expected. Great for geeks.

There are a few movies which a lot of people like but I havent seen – so can’t rate them. These include 127 hours, The Fighter, Harry Potter, Jackass 3D and Tron.

Some other movies I watched this year include:

• When In Rome – only watched because of Kristen Bell who I think is adorable! Many people have rated this terribly. I thought it was alright
• Valentine’s Day – kind of like Hes Just Not That Into You but a bit rubbish
• Alice in Wonderland – didn’t like this. Made worse that I watched it in 3D – not really a fan of 3D.
• Green Zone – bit like Bourne Identity -lite. It was alright
• She’s Out Of My League – typically American teenage type of movie but I enjoyed this
• Hot Tub Time Machine – funny movie. Was expecting it to be funnier though
• Date Night – funny movie but mainly because of Tiny Fey and Steve Carroll
• Losers – no brain action movie. Good fun
• Iron Man 2 – good movie but no as good as the first one. No way near!
• Knight and Day – very very average
• The Other Guys – quite good. Will Ferrell is great!
• The Expendables – so predictable. Rubbish!! Bruce Willis and Arnie were in it for about a minute
• The Repo Man – crap
• The Joneses – alright. Entertaining enough
• Despicable Me – pretty funny but no way as good as other animations this year i.e. Toy Story 3, How To Train A Dragon
• Salt - it was alright. Was expecting better. Angelina Jolie runs funny in this movie too – maybe shes too skinny??
• Unstoppable - edge of seat entertaining. Denzel Washington hardly ever makes a bad movie.

One film most people seem to like is The Town which I didn’t like – almost fell asleep watching it.

I am sure you will all disagree with my choices!!

Its a day off filming on the Captain America set, so I walked through the set and took photos.

If your wondering, its on Dale Street in the Northern Quarter in Manchester.

Crew were doing something to a shop front including some painting and some people doing something with the clock.

Download now or watch on posterous

001.MOV (14106 KB)

Download now or watch on posterous

002.MOV (9534 KB)

Posted via email from citruscube’s posterous

If you interested, the set is on Dale Street in the Northern Quarter of Manchester.

There are many photos out there including on the BBC web site (http://news.bbc.co.uk/local/manchester/hi/people_and_places/arts_and_culture/… and the Manchester Evening News site (http://menmedia.co.uk/manchestereveningnews/news/s/1328378_captain_america_tu….

Here are some other pics including the filming schedule (before they move to Liverpool Albert Dock) – http://www.comicbookmovie.com/fansites/MarvelFreshman/news/?a=22821

Posted via email from citruscube’s posterous

Well I thought is was a good movie but just not brilliant. Its another movie which I think is over-rated. The previous one being Avatar. Lots of people are apparently confused and I have heard some people watch it twice or three times to try and understand it.

Now before I continue, if you havent watched Inception stop reading now as there will be some spoilers ahead.

Going back to how some people are confused. Its pretty much all explained in the movie what is happening. Basically a dream within a dream within a dream within a dream. The person who is the dreamer can be “in the dream”. I.e. this is why Arthur (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) was in the hotel and couldnt get into the “snow world” – was it the snow world??? As they go into another dream, the time is extended and slower (or faster??). Basically in the real world it may be 2 seconds, but in the dream world it will be an hour and then if someone dreams within a dream then it would be a bit longer e.g. 5 hours.

The movie had some nice special effects. Not many action scenes that were great apart from the zero gravity hotel hall fight.

Questions

However, there are a few questions un-answered. Not really crucial though:

** When they all woke up on the plane, why didnt Fisher recognise all the other people who were in his dream??
** How did Cobb find Saito in limbo?? Why is there a big age difference?
** Cobb said you cant touch or use someone elses totem. But he used his wife’s??
** In Yusuf’s dream the van is travelling through the city and falls off the bridge. This means in the hotel dream (Arthur’s), the gravity is all mess up. Why doesnt it effect Eame’s dream (the snow dream)??

And the BIG questions

** Did the totem stop spinning?? Christopher Nolan properly wants us to decide and think is he really in the real world or if the WHOLE thing was a dream!

If you are confused by Inception, here are a couple illustration. First is “the levels of Inception” and the other is Inception Timeline.

Levels of Inception

Timeline

The Blind Side

Feel good movie but nothing special really. Not sure will Sandra Bullock won best actress Oscar. She did a good job but nothing fantastic.

7/10

Couples Retreat

Pretty good movie – I enjoyed it. Stars the likes of Vince Vaughn, Kristen Bell (who I think is brilliant) and Jon Favreau. Great location – makes you want to go on holiday to a beautiful island in the sun.

7.5/10

He’s Just Not That Into You

Really enjoyed this movie. Has loads of famous people. Pretty funny if a bit predictable.

8/10

Love Happens

Bit of a typical Jennifer Aniston type romcom. Enjoyable enough but nothing special.

7/10

Up In The Air

Really enjoyed this movie and its won loads of awards. Admittedly George Clooney just plays George Clooney but its well worth seeing.

9/10

Up

I had read some really good things about this movie. I thought it was good but just not that good. Animation as usual from Pixar was brilliant. Had some funny moments but its no Toy Story or Monsters Inc.

7.5/10

Serious Moonlight

An OK movie. Only watched it really because Kristen Bell is in it. Justin Long plays a different sort of character than he usually does. Meg Ryan played a different sort of character to her normal role and its good to see her in a movie – even if shes kindoff ruined her looks with the work she did on her lips.

It has a good twist at the end. Although saying that I pretty much guessed it.

7/10

Whip It – 2 Oct 2009 (US), 7th April (UK)
Armored – 22 January (UK), 4 December 2009 (US)
Up In The Air – 15 January (UK)
The Book of Eli – 15 January (UK)
When In Rome – 11 June (UK), 29 January (US)
Edge of Darkness – 29 January (UK/US)
Valentine’s Day – 12 February (UK/US)
Takers – 26 March (UK), 26 February (US)
Alice in Wonderland – 5 March
She’s Out Of My League – 23rd April (UK), 12 March (US)
Green Zone – 12 March (UK/US)
Bounty Hunter – 19 March (US), 16 April (UK)
How To Train Your Dragon – 26 March (US), 31 March (UK)
Hot Tub Time Machine – 26 March (US)
Date Night – 9 April (UK/US)
The Losers – 9 April (UK), 23 April (US)
The Repo Man – 16 April (UK)
Cop Out – 16 April (UK)
The Joneses – 16 April (US), 23 April (UK)
Iron Man 2 – 30 April (UK), 7 May (US)
Kick-Ass – 2 April (UK), 16 April (US)
My Girlfriend’s Boyfriend – 1 May (US – limited)
Prince of Persia – 21 May (UK), 28 May (US)
The Killers- 4 June (US), 16 June (UK)
The A Team – 30 July (UK), 11 June (US)
The Karate Kid – 16 July (UK), 11 June (US)
Jonah Hex – 18 June (US)
Toy Story 3 – 23 July (UK), 18 June (US)
Knight & Day – 2 July (UK/US)
Predators – 7 July (US)
The Kids Are All Right – 9 July (US)
Despicable Me 3D – 15 October (UK), 9 July (US)
Inception – 13 August (UK), 16 July (US)
Salt – 20 August (UK), 23 July (US)
Beastly – 30 July (US), 15 Oct (UK)
Morning Glory – 10 September (UK), 30 July (US)
The Other Guys – 6 Aug (US), 2 Sept (UK)
Scott Pilgrim vs The World – 6 August (UK), 13 August (US)
The Expendables – 20 August (UK), 13 August (US)
The Switch – 20 August (US)
Going The Distance – 27 August (US)
Resident Evil: Afterlife 3D – 14 January 2011 (UK), 27 August 2010 (US)
Priest – 17 September (UK), 1 October (US)
You Again – 24 September (US)
Life As We Know It – 8 October (UK)
The Zookeeper – 15 October (UK), 8 October (US)
Easy A – 22 October 2010 (UK)
Due Date – 5th November (UK)
Megamind – 3 December (UK), 5 November (US)
Unstoppable – 12 November (UK/US)
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part I – 19 November (UK/US)
Yogi Bear 3D – 17 December (UK/US)
The Green Hornet – 29 December (UK), 22 December (US)
Little Fockers – 22nd December (US)

(Before you read on, if you have not seen this movie you may want to stop reading as there are some minor spoilers. Kind of…)

Too predictable

First of all I have to say that the movie was good, just not brilliant. The special effects were fantastic, the scenary and the whole Pandora world was AMAZING. However, it was just a bit too predictable. You could easily work out early on in the movie what was going to happen, who was going to die etc. The 2 “bad guys” are very stereotypical. The man in the suit who only cares about the money, and then hard guy who just wants to blow stuff up and has some sort of scar. Also, its very long at just over 160 minutes. It could easier have been cut down a fair bit.

Heard the story before??

Having a look online to see if I could read some “negative” reviews – maybe it was just me who didnt like it. However, I
found several reviews from people who didnt think it was overall brilliant. It is not just me who things its predictable and in some cases very very similar to other movies. First there is its similarity to Pocahontas. Someone has changed the synopsis of Pocahontas, amended in most cases just the name and suddenly its the synopsis of Avatar!!

Also, there is a Russian sci-fi noval  from the mid 60s which has things very similar. The novel is set on a planet called Pandora – same as in Avatar. Both the novel and movie take place in the 22nd century. The people who live on Pandora also have similar names. In Avatar they are called Na’vi, in the novel they are Nave.

3D movies – the future??

Anyway, like I said Avatar is still a good movie. Its a shame it has its faults. I would still recommend seeing it as its one of those movies you just have to see – if anything just so you know what other people are talking about! If you do go
and see it, go a see the 3D version to get the most of the special effects and all the 3D “ness”. If you wear glasses like me you will find the 3D glasses may not sit quite right. It wasnt as bad when watching Toy Story as it was a much shorter movie. Personally I dont think 3D is “the future of cinema” in any way but it has its uses. Still, like I said if you do watch this movie you might as well watch the 3D version on the big screen. You can watch the 2D version another time

Anyway, thats my opinion and I am sure many of you will think I am mad or an idiot!

PS – I had a thought about the main character Jake and how he lost the use of his legs when in combat. With 22nd technology they said he could get the use of his legs again but it was a matter of money and he couldnt afford it. (Still in the 22nd century not looking after the troops!!). Surely, the government could have paid for him to sort his legs out. It would have made his mission on Pandora easier!

PPS – The mineral which is so valuable is called Unobtainium. What a stupid name!! Wonder how long it took them to think of that! (Actually, done some research and the term unobtainium has been used since 50s be engineers to describe unusual or costly material. Still a stupid name! With $500m spent, surely a new better original cool name cool have been thought of.)

PPPS – Not actually about the movie but just read article about its main star Sam Worthington. He has admitted he is short-sighted and struggles to see on daily basis. He says when he squints people thing hes angry but its just because he cant see. He also said he “gets distracted by anything on set”. WTF?!?! Why doesnt he wear glasses or contacts?? Surely he was kidding?!?