This review will cover half of what was covered on "Ebert and Roeper" this week and my opinions are very similar to Roeper's which is slightly disturbing for me. Ebert hasn't been on due to illness but I have prided myself on siding with him more often than Roeper overall. This week though, I was all about Roeper's "thumbs up" opinions and just annoyed with the special guest.
Transformers is loud, action-packed and a great popcorn and soda film. There isn't much to be said for the story. It isn't very elaborate and it seems that a sequel if one was made might be better than this first installation which served as kind of a "Transformers 101" introducing the story of the robots. From the special effects perspective, the film was a marvel. The tranformation of the robots into cars (some of them being really amazing cars) was flawless and phenomenal. The dialogue left much to be desired at least for me. I thought it was silly or even stupid at some points but not unbearably so. Optimus Prime had the best dialogue and he was a robot! There was quite a bit of humor in the film which was a pleasant surprise. Shia LaBouf continues to show why he is the next big thing. He gave a solid performance in this action film and I can't wait to see what he does in Indiana Jones 4. Do I recommend this one? If the trailers appeal to you, yes. If they don't, there is a reason why and you probably won't change your mind after seeing the film.
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix made some news simply for its run-time. Phoenix is the longest Potter book but the film is the shortest. I can't speak as to whether there were important parts of the plot line cut out as I did not read the book but I can say that it was an interesting, fun film. It was darker than the Potter films I have previously seen but the kids have gotten older. Things do get darker as we get older, don't they? I have seen the first 2 films though I didn't realize I had seen the 2nd one until I did some reading up this evening. There is some great character development in Phoenix for Harry and some supporting characters as well. There was also enough action and magic to keep everyone interested. I enjoyed two specific scenes very much and they both involve spectacular effects. To avoid a spoiler here I won't be specific as to the content of the scenes. Radcliffe and his friends are proving to mature as actors overtime and it is fun to see them grow up. Imelda Staunton was wonderful as a cat lady/professor and her character was highly entertaining. Alan Rickman was wonderful as well and deserves mention. Similar to Transformers, I would say that if the film at all interests you, definitely see it. You won't be disappointed (unless my ignorance about the content of the actual book and the assumption that the story was well translated from print to screen is incorrect).
1 comment:
Transformers was the worst movie that I enjoyed watching. For the first time around, it was a good two hours to spend, but from the minute I walked out of the theater, I couldn't help but think what a wasted opportunity it was. It's a strange sort of feeling to have.
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