Review - Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen

ToplessRobot does it more justice than I could in a hundred years of trying to explain it...

Why can only a Prime kill the Fallen? Why can Jetfire teleport? Why can the Fallen wave a staff and make shit fly around? Why do actual cars and Autobots get sucked into Devastator's maw, but John Turturro and that other kid can run around?

Because... because FUCK YOU, that's why.

Hit the link to read it all...

Movies - The Dark Knight - A Spoiler free review

Wow. Where to start... I saw The Dark Knight in Imax last night. It more than lived up to my expectations. It was obviously inspired by equal parts The Killing Joke and Batman: Year One.

Whatever you think you know from the trailers... throw it out. It's a world without rules. Batman Begins was dark, but this movie makes it look like Mary freakin' Poppins.

INTENSE... That's the single best word for it. From beginning to end. So many twists and turns. There were so many scenes that had me tense up that I was physically exhausted at the end. It's a dark study in what makes us humans and how fragile our humanity is.

Ledger WILL get an Oscar nomination. I have no doubts. He really, really scared me. Not jumping out from the bushes scary, but really deeply terrifying. I have never seen a movie villain I could compare him to. Every laugh he got from the audience was tense laughter. An, "I'm not sure I should be laughing at this" laugh. Amazing what Chris Nolan allowed him to do with the character. I think my own misanthropic tendencies made me a little nervous watching what the Joker did with his. Terrifying.

Look for a special cameo by Sen. Patrick Leahy. No... really.

Four beeps.

Go. Buy your tickets. NOW.

Movies - The Searchers

John Wayne and John Ford. Should be a no brainer, right?

Well...

While I liked The Searchers, it seemed to me to be hit-or-miss. Wayne really was great when he played a racist (hates Indians) loner, fresh off the confederate battlefield named Ethan Edwards, but the script jumping years at a time made the film feel... disconnected (?).

Edward's nieces are kidnapped by Comanche Indians and he and their adopted brother, Martin Pawley, (who's 1/8 Indian) set off to find them. It takes years (12 if I remember correctly) for them to complete their search and back stories play out showing Edward's obsession affecting the people around him and becoming Pawley's obsession as well.

High points for me were the beautiful Natalie Wood as the kidnapped niece and Hank Worden as the goofy Mose Harper.

Two beeps.

Movies - Eragon

Really disappointed in this one.

With Irons and Malkovich I really expected more, but I've never seen a more cliched movie. After several scenes I pointed out to my wife where they were ripping off the Star Wars script almost verbatim.

Farm boy, raised by his uncle, meets a mysterious old wizard and goes with him to rescue a princess only to learn he has magical powers (and a dragon) and battles a dark wizard. (During the rescue scene I expected him to say, "I'm Luke Skywalker, I'm here to rescue you!)

I give it one beep.