How to Review TRANSFORMERS: Revenge of the Fallen

Ever since Michael Bay stepped into the filming industry, the whole idea of a movie is divided in two.




There’s the usual movie-type movie where there are in depth plot, character development, solid lines and sophisticated twist and even some exploration of the humanity, such as 2001: A Space Odyssey, Jaws, The Godfather, Pulp Fiction... heck, even Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back or better yet some of the newer movies like The Dark Knight and even The Hangover.

And then there’s the Michael Bay-type movie where there are massive plotholes that are so big that you might fell off your sit, huge explosions, slow-motion sequences, and people running around acting scared and hysteric. Oh yeah, add in a dash of dirty humour and a bit of racism, why not.

Now let me tell you a story.

I have a dream. I have a dream that Transformers will be a legendary cartoon show that will amazed the generations to come. I have a dream of the younger generations watching it and be awed by the storyline and the characters themselves. I have a dream. But then someone came up with the idea of a live-action Transformers movie. Still, my dream remains. I have a dream that one day if that movie was to be made, it will be made by some genius directors that can do the franchise justice. Yes, I have a dream. And then it was announced that Steven Spielberg has something to do with it. My dream almost came true. I felt that my life was somewhat complete. But no, he wasn’t directing it. That job was given to Michael Bay. I did not put my hopes high.

Then the first movie came out. The effects were brilliant. I didn’t love the storyline or the characters etc, but there were enough action and suspense to keep me watching. I told myself, “Heck, that wasn’t as a bad as I imagined it’d be.”






Two years later, Revenge of The Fallen came out. I gave it a chance and went to see it. Thus, I lost all hopes for the Transformers movie franchise and for Michael Bay himself...

I asked myself, "How the heck am I supposed to write a review for this?"

But still, my dream remains. I have to do justice for the franchise. So I will now write a non-biased review.

If you see it as a movie-type movie, of course, Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen is an epic fail. There were no character development. The storyline – I won’t even call it rushed – was a mess! So much plotholes that you can shove Optimus Prime in them and back again. There was too many missed opportunity for a better plot such as the “Sam-as-a-fugitive” storyline which could’ve been more in depth or even “Jetfire, the old Decepticon turned good” deserves a better back story than that. And a lot of WTF moments. And one more thing, I remember the filmmaker saying that they had to write in Shia LaBeouf hand injury -- that was also one of the WTF moments.


But the only way to write a good review for this movie is that you have to see it as a Michael Bay-type movie. Then this is the best movie ever made. His best effort yet. There were plenty of explosions that your ears could go numb, slow-motion sequences that most probably made up half an hour of the movie, and some more explosions! There are also random Transformers running around that you won’t even know who is fighting what. I don't think anyone is capable of making a better Michael Bay-type movie than this. Heck, I don't even think Bay himself can top this.


And now, an exclusive quote from Megan Fox :

"I mean, I can't s--- on this movie because it did give me a career and open all these doors for me. But I don't want to blow smoke up people's a--. People are well aware that this is not a movie about acting."

(taken from an interview in the Us Magazine, full article on Yahoo! can be found here: http://movies.yahoo.com/feature/us-magazine-megan-fox-bay.html )

Yeah, Megan, that's the reason why Mr. Bay hired you in the first place. Now how about telling us something we don’t know.

Drag Me to Hell; Sam Raimi brings back the Horror Genre

Drag Me to Hell tells a story of a loan officer Christine Brown (Alison Lohman) who “has a good job, a great boyfriend, and a bright future” as the tagline says. But one day, she had to order an eviction of an old woman, Mrs. Ganush (Lorna Raver) from her house. After failing to convince Christine for an extension, the old lady cursed her and Christine finds herself being haunted by supernatural powers and her life is now a living hell. Desperate, she finds a seer and will try anything to save herself from being dragged to hell.

Sam Raimi, after the long years of making the Spider-Man trilogy, has come back to what he's good at and bringing along with him the horror genre, something that is long gone in Hollywood. The thing about this movie is that we know what’s going to happen in the end. Hence, the title. But the journey to get there was the real deal.

The soundtrack and camera angles really complement each other. We barely get to see the demon pursuing Christine, but we could feel the intensity. The jump scenes (the scary shocking scenes) are so effective; it gets you every time like a buzzer placed on your sit, unlike in recent Hollywood horror movies. The special effect is good, and the cinematography and atmosphere of the movie is perfect.

Of all the actors, Justin Long, playing Christine’s boyfriend Clay, was the standout. His reactions and especially towards the ending were priceless. The others were mediocre. But in a good way. It reminds me of the fun horror B-movies from the 80’s or so.

Drag Me to Hell is horror, plus fun, with a dash of comedy in its purest form. I had the most intense movie experience of my life. It is definitely a classic. I recommend it. And you HAVE to watch this in theatre to get the full experience.

The Brothers Bloom is the feel good movie of 2009!

The Brothers Bloom tells the story of two orphan siblings that grew up conning people and often with the assistant of the silent Bang Bang, their muscleman in the scheme. One day, the little brother, Bloom wants to quit and have a normal life. But the big brother, Stephen, offers him one last con and then he’d be free to live his life. The plan was simple. They were to con a beautiful and eccentric heiress by giving her the time of her life, while sucking her money on the way. But there’s a problem: Bloom fell in love with her.

The story is simple and very effective. It feels like a movie from the 40’s or 50’s. It’s one of those feel good movies that’ll make you smile throughout the movie and make you sigh and smile some more when it ends. The storyline is also laced with twists and turns that will shock you and keep you guessing until the end.



The characters are so loveable and often funny. The acting is top-notch and even Oscar-worthy I might add. The star of the movie, I’ve to say, is Rachel Weisz playing the eccentric heiress Penelope. She really captures the souls of the audience and makes us fall in love with her character.

Mark Ruffalo did a great job playing Stephen, a slick con man, like he’s been doing it for years. Adrian Brody really shows us a different side of him by playing the little brother Bloom who gets slightly controlled by his brother and always does what he’s told. Another star of the movie is Rinko Kikuchi playing the silent Bang Bang without any dialogue save for one profanity and a karaoke scene.

The cinematography is very beautiful. It transports you into a different world, in a way.


I am shocked that this movie did not get the hype that it deserves. But if you would like to watch a movie that will make you feel happy and good, then this movie is for you. You can follow the crowd and watch a blockbuster movie, but watch this if you want true quality.

Terminator Salvation; Epic visual cinematography, but the rest falls apart.

Let’s keep it simple: For fans of Terminator, you might find Terminator Salvation disappointing. But for the rest, this movie is the one to watch.

Terminator Salvation focuses on Marcus Wright (Sam Worthington), a death row inmate, who is convinced by Dr. Kogan (Helena Carter) to donate his body for an experiment, and then finds himself in a devastated future. He then comes across a teenager Kyle Reese (Anton Yelchin) and a little girl named Star (Jadagrace). The three of them avoid danger and certain death on a journey to find the future leader of the Resistance to the machines, the legendary character we all know from the past Terminator movies, John Connor (Christian Bale). John Connor, with the help of his wife Kate (Bryce Howard), on the other hand, is busy trying to stop Skynet using a new found soundwave technology that could “switch off” machines and also trying to convince the command of the Resistance not to bomb Skynet because there are still human prisoners there.

The storyline sounds interesting enough, yet there is no depth to it. It’s the total opposite of what the first two movies were all about. There are little development for the characters and the ending seems rushed. The first half of the movie is very promising, but the rest just says “Hollywood”.

The acting is a very good aspect of the movie though. Sam Worthington stole the spotlight from the rest. Seeming as an unknown actor, he works well being a confused person who was reborn into the future. We could feel his pain and suffering in some scenes. And with James Cameron’s Avatar coming up, I see a bright future for Worthington.

The rest of the cast were just good enough. Anton Yelchin has convincingly played a young Kyle Reese. He had probably watched and rewatched The Terminator (1984). Christian Bale really needs to drink some water and put off his Batman voice, while Helena Bonham Carter and Bryce Howard did not get enough screentime.

What really saves this movie is the visual aspect. The CGI effect is marvellous and epic. The camera angles and camera control are very engaging and not at all confusing or shakey.
We get to see a post-apocalyptic world, with a tone down colour that really gives a sombre atmosphere. And then the jets, weaponry and the submarine of the Resistance. And, of course, the terminators look so realistic. The action sequences were way above any summer movies this year.

To conclude, if you’re a die-hard Terminator fan, stay away from this movie – far away! – or you can give it a chance. But if you’re just a casual fan and wants to know what happens next, or an action movie fan, or just a casual movie-goer out for a bit of summer action fun, then Terminator Salvation is perfect for you.