{Nicky}
...and I do mean long! When Scott's away, every day seems to linger a lot longer than I would like! It's not that I'm not keeping busy--Scott's underways often result in some good house cleaning. Mixed in with that, I also am keeping busy with proofs from some shoots I have done recently. And then, of course, there's the quality time spent with Dixie! (She prefers walks and naps.)
But even with all these "things" to do, I still feel as if I am missing something. It's no fun cracking jokes to myself-the appreciative laughter is missing. Instead of Scott reassuring me as to how funny I am, I have to reassure me! It's not the same! And the garbage can...ugh. I don't know why, but I hate hate HATE taking the trash can to the curb. It's dirty! And bugs and spiders hide on it, and you could grab them by accident, because the can is brown and you can't see them because they're blending in! Icky!!!
But we forge onward. We meaning me, Dixie, the cats, and of course, Scott. I know he doesn't enjoy being away from home any more than we enjoy having him gone. It sucks that these underways are occurring. When he came home from deployment, I thought we were pretty much over the hill. We're not there yet (although close), and that's okay. We'll get there.
And next Friday, Scott can deal with the trash can! :-)
7.24.2007
7.08.2007
{Scott}
Packing up the fam for two simultaneous business trips in two different directions (Nicky & the two cats northwest and me southeast) prevented me from writing these reviews earlier. That, and our weekend in Maryland. So, now that there's a little time, and I can write bits & pieces on my Palm at work, here goes. It's a twofer.
In the last decade, Disney's turbulent relationship with Pixar has produced an unbroken string of box office smashes, outshining the recent work of their traditional animation studio. Their break-up/make-up dance finally ended in 2005 when Disney purchased the animation studio in a multi-billion dollar deal, and named John Lasseter, founder of Pixar, as the head of their animation department. Ratatouille is the first project to emerge from this deal.
Ratatouille is a film worthy of the legacy created by Toy Story and its sequel, along with Finding Nemo and The Incredibles. It is a strong story, well told, and maintains both Disney and Pixar's tradition of telling meaningful tales that appeal to young and old. Ratatouille tells the story of Remy, a French rat with an unusually well developed sense of taste and smell, who, like many Disney and Pixar characters (and their audiences), doesn't quite fit in the world around him. When tragedy takes him to Paris, he realizes his lofty calling as a gourmet chef. With the help of a "garbage boy", though, Remy is able to fulfill his dream at Gasteau's, a fading star of the Paris dining scene, but not without complications.
What I liked:
-Pixar's version of Paris is absolutely stunning. There's no mistaking it, by and large, for reality (although more than a few shots are practically photorealistic), but the slightly skewed version of reality it creates is totally immersing. It tapped into the Paris of imagination enough to grab my attention from the outset, and never let go.
-The performances are consistently strong. Patton Oswalt, who I discovered briefly in his stand-up routine but really got to know in his role as Spence on The King of Queens, gives an endearing performance as Remy. Remy is an "every-rat" writ large, and Oswalt encompasses the full range his character: modesty, self-aggrandizement, jealousy, triumph. Particularly notable among the cast is Brad Garrett (Everybody Loves Raymond) as a figment of Remy's imagination. Peter O'Toole also makes a chilling and charming cameo as a legendary food critic.
-Among the broad range of film composers, Michael Giacchino is among the best, and is young enough to have a long career ahead of him. His score is a whimsical take on traditional Parisian themes, and is engaging enough to listen to on its own.
-For an animated film about a talking rat, Ratatouille has nearly a half-dozen action sequences which out-excite several bits in many of the summer blockbusters. It's hard to believe that two rats racing around the rafters of a French country house, dodging shotgun blasts from a myopic granny, out-do a certain black-suited web slinger, but they often do.
What I didn't like:
-Nothing. There was nothing to not like about this film. Is it going to end up in the rarefied pantheon of Greatest Films Ever? No, but everything it does, it does right.
What I thought I wouldn't like but ended up pleasantly surprised about:
-The title. Throughout the marketing campaign, I mistakenly thought that Ratatouille was nothing more than a play on words, and honestly, it bothered me. It seemed beneath Pixar. "Rat protagonist + Paris + food= Punny title". As it turned out, though, the meal ratatouille plays a significant part in the story, setting off a brief, slightly absurd, but totally touching moment.
Perhaps because of my misconceptions about the title and an only slightly engaging trailer, I was a bit indifferent about Ratatouille. I'm glad I was wrong, though. Ratatouille is a beautifully crafted film with a charming story and engaging characters, and has enough meat for all ages.
8/10 (currently tied with Knocked Up for my favorite film of the year)
(Yes, the rating system is entirely arbitrary, and all films are subject to re-rating at any time, usually to place a "good" film higher or lower than a "fun" film, depending on my mood.)
Moving on...
As I read through my previous reviews, the though occurred to me that I might not be critical enough. I was drawn in to 1408, Silver Surfer was fluffy fun, The Transformers surprised the hell out of me, and Ratatouille had charm to spare. Am I capable of giving a reasoned, negative review?
Yes, dear reader. Here it comes.
Nicky and I are preview people. I like to get to the theater early enough to see all the previews, even if it means sitting through the same abysmal Sprite commercial that's been running for over a year. We saw the preview for License to Wed, the new Robin Williams vehicle, a few times, and it looked genuinely funny. We decided to eschew fireworks, and see the film.
Yikes.
Just yikes.
Okay, I'll be fair.
Ben (John Kracinski) and Sadie (Mandy Moore) meet, share a whirlwind courtship, and five minutes in, are engaged. Through a scheduling snafu, they have only three weeks until their wedding, just enough time to complete Reverend Frank's (Robin Williams) pre-marriage counseling course. Hijinks ensue. Ensue, hijinks, ensue!
With the exception of one genuinely surprising and touching moment that comes far too late in the film, License to Wed is an exercise in lazy storytelling, and I lay the blame for this film's failings at the feet of screenwriters Kim Barker and Tim Rasmussen. Director Ken Kwapis previously helmed nine episodes of the U.S. version of The Office, including the pilot, demonstrating his ability to elicit subtle humor from talented actors, many of whom appear in License to Wed. The material just isn't there.
What I liked:
-The aforementioned touching moment. After 80 minutes or so of false or empty emotion, the writers manage to pull one bit of genuine romance from their story. It lasts only a few seconds, but for those few seconds, I gave the barest thought to liking this film.
-From time to time, some of the performances were actually engaging. Kracinski, playing essentially the same character as he plays on The Office, remains generally likable, and although he's given a lot of ridiculous things to do, he grins and bears most of it. I was also surprised to find that Mandy Moore did a fairly competent job. She's got entirely too much bronzer on, but she handles bubbly OCD fairly well.
-Its a bit meta, but although I blame the screenwriters for the story issues, they are first-timers. It doesn't excuse them, but it's encouraging that new screenwriters with an original idea (i.e. non-sequel, non-remake) can get their film made.
What I didn't like:
-As I left the film, I had two main thoughts on it. First, structurally, it reminded me a lot of when I first saw...Saw. That little bit of horror porn seemed to be the stringing together of ridiculously sadistic torture methods into the thinnest of story (although it's apparently a comment on early-Maoist-China ... hmm). Throughout his counseling course, Reverend Frank uses ridiculously sadistic methods to test their love: bugging their apartment (huh?), tasking them with raising twin zombie robot babies (it's not a parenting class!), and blindfolding her, behind the wheel of a car, while he talks her through Chicago traffic. Nothing dramatically ties these scenarios together and tasks left uncompleted - zombie robot babies - are totally forgotten when others are assumed.
-My other major thought leaving the theater: "He made Good Morning Vietnam." It pains me to say this, but I did not like Robin Williams in this film. He is still a talented comedian, but his choice of projects lately has been abysmal. His freneticism is gold with the right material, but annoying with the wrong material. "Robin, go be funny," is not the backbone of a story. It's sad. Hopefully he'll make better choices in the future.
-Except for those few noted above, the rest of the performances felt phoned in. Particularly distressing is the fate of Christine Taylor, here portraying Sadie’s divorcee older sister, the harbinger/warning sign/cautionary tale. In several projects she serves as a talented straight man (Zoolander), and can handle comedy in her own right (The Brady Bunch). Here, she's asleep. In her defense, her character is poorly structured. She doesn't have a lot to work with.
-And of course, there is the litmus test for comedy: did it make you laugh? No, no, a thousand times no.
With medium-size expectations for License to Wed, I left disappointed. Several competent actors, including a comic legend, along with a proven comedy director, are burdened with weak, contrived, and unfunny material, and the result is a weak, contrived, and unfunny film. It's no Black Dahlia, but it's close. (I did actually laugh harder during Black Dahlia.)
4/10 (Just like daVinci Code, although Nicky was more disappointed over that yawner.)
So here’s where we are for the year…in a very particular order…
1. Knocked Up
Ratatouille
3. Transformers
4. Ocean’s Thirteen
1408
6. Pirates 3
Spider-Man 3
300
9. Fantastic 4
Shrek the Third
11.License to Wed
Did I expect to be here at this point in the year? No. Three-quels for series that I either like or love coming in behind a comedy about a one-night stand, a French chef/rat (or rat/chef), and a low-expectations 80’s toy cartoon adaptation. Hmm. We shall see…
(In a related note, I want to thank everyone for all the encouragement about these reviews. I enjoy doing them, and I hope you enjoy reading them. Thanks!)
Packing up the fam for two simultaneous business trips in two different directions (Nicky & the two cats northwest and me southeast) prevented me from writing these reviews earlier. That, and our weekend in Maryland. So, now that there's a little time, and I can write bits & pieces on my Palm at work, here goes. It's a twofer.
In the last decade, Disney's turbulent relationship with Pixar has produced an unbroken string of box office smashes, outshining the recent work of their traditional animation studio. Their break-up/make-up dance finally ended in 2005 when Disney purchased the animation studio in a multi-billion dollar deal, and named John Lasseter, founder of Pixar, as the head of their animation department. Ratatouille is the first project to emerge from this deal.
Ratatouille is a film worthy of the legacy created by Toy Story and its sequel, along with Finding Nemo and The Incredibles. It is a strong story, well told, and maintains both Disney and Pixar's tradition of telling meaningful tales that appeal to young and old. Ratatouille tells the story of Remy, a French rat with an unusually well developed sense of taste and smell, who, like many Disney and Pixar characters (and their audiences), doesn't quite fit in the world around him. When tragedy takes him to Paris, he realizes his lofty calling as a gourmet chef. With the help of a "garbage boy", though, Remy is able to fulfill his dream at Gasteau's, a fading star of the Paris dining scene, but not without complications.
What I liked:
-Pixar's version of Paris is absolutely stunning. There's no mistaking it, by and large, for reality (although more than a few shots are practically photorealistic), but the slightly skewed version of reality it creates is totally immersing. It tapped into the Paris of imagination enough to grab my attention from the outset, and never let go.
-The performances are consistently strong. Patton Oswalt, who I discovered briefly in his stand-up routine but really got to know in his role as Spence on The King of Queens, gives an endearing performance as Remy. Remy is an "every-rat" writ large, and Oswalt encompasses the full range his character: modesty, self-aggrandizement, jealousy, triumph. Particularly notable among the cast is Brad Garrett (Everybody Loves Raymond) as a figment of Remy's imagination. Peter O'Toole also makes a chilling and charming cameo as a legendary food critic.
-Among the broad range of film composers, Michael Giacchino is among the best, and is young enough to have a long career ahead of him. His score is a whimsical take on traditional Parisian themes, and is engaging enough to listen to on its own.
-For an animated film about a talking rat, Ratatouille has nearly a half-dozen action sequences which out-excite several bits in many of the summer blockbusters. It's hard to believe that two rats racing around the rafters of a French country house, dodging shotgun blasts from a myopic granny, out-do a certain black-suited web slinger, but they often do.
What I didn't like:
-Nothing. There was nothing to not like about this film. Is it going to end up in the rarefied pantheon of Greatest Films Ever? No, but everything it does, it does right.
What I thought I wouldn't like but ended up pleasantly surprised about:
-The title. Throughout the marketing campaign, I mistakenly thought that Ratatouille was nothing more than a play on words, and honestly, it bothered me. It seemed beneath Pixar. "Rat protagonist + Paris + food= Punny title". As it turned out, though, the meal ratatouille plays a significant part in the story, setting off a brief, slightly absurd, but totally touching moment.
Perhaps because of my misconceptions about the title and an only slightly engaging trailer, I was a bit indifferent about Ratatouille. I'm glad I was wrong, though. Ratatouille is a beautifully crafted film with a charming story and engaging characters, and has enough meat for all ages.
8/10 (currently tied with Knocked Up for my favorite film of the year)
(Yes, the rating system is entirely arbitrary, and all films are subject to re-rating at any time, usually to place a "good" film higher or lower than a "fun" film, depending on my mood.)
Moving on...
As I read through my previous reviews, the though occurred to me that I might not be critical enough. I was drawn in to 1408, Silver Surfer was fluffy fun, The Transformers surprised the hell out of me, and Ratatouille had charm to spare. Am I capable of giving a reasoned, negative review?
Yes, dear reader. Here it comes.
Nicky and I are preview people. I like to get to the theater early enough to see all the previews, even if it means sitting through the same abysmal Sprite commercial that's been running for over a year. We saw the preview for License to Wed, the new Robin Williams vehicle, a few times, and it looked genuinely funny. We decided to eschew fireworks, and see the film.
Yikes.
Just yikes.
Okay, I'll be fair.
Ben (John Kracinski) and Sadie (Mandy Moore) meet, share a whirlwind courtship, and five minutes in, are engaged. Through a scheduling snafu, they have only three weeks until their wedding, just enough time to complete Reverend Frank's (Robin Williams) pre-marriage counseling course. Hijinks ensue. Ensue, hijinks, ensue!
With the exception of one genuinely surprising and touching moment that comes far too late in the film, License to Wed is an exercise in lazy storytelling, and I lay the blame for this film's failings at the feet of screenwriters Kim Barker and Tim Rasmussen. Director Ken Kwapis previously helmed nine episodes of the U.S. version of The Office, including the pilot, demonstrating his ability to elicit subtle humor from talented actors, many of whom appear in License to Wed. The material just isn't there.
What I liked:
-The aforementioned touching moment. After 80 minutes or so of false or empty emotion, the writers manage to pull one bit of genuine romance from their story. It lasts only a few seconds, but for those few seconds, I gave the barest thought to liking this film.
-From time to time, some of the performances were actually engaging. Kracinski, playing essentially the same character as he plays on The Office, remains generally likable, and although he's given a lot of ridiculous things to do, he grins and bears most of it. I was also surprised to find that Mandy Moore did a fairly competent job. She's got entirely too much bronzer on, but she handles bubbly OCD fairly well.
-Its a bit meta, but although I blame the screenwriters for the story issues, they are first-timers. It doesn't excuse them, but it's encouraging that new screenwriters with an original idea (i.e. non-sequel, non-remake) can get their film made.
What I didn't like:
-As I left the film, I had two main thoughts on it. First, structurally, it reminded me a lot of when I first saw...Saw. That little bit of horror porn seemed to be the stringing together of ridiculously sadistic torture methods into the thinnest of story (although it's apparently a comment on early-Maoist-China ... hmm). Throughout his counseling course, Reverend Frank uses ridiculously sadistic methods to test their love: bugging their apartment (huh?), tasking them with raising twin zombie robot babies (it's not a parenting class!), and blindfolding her, behind the wheel of a car, while he talks her through Chicago traffic. Nothing dramatically ties these scenarios together and tasks left uncompleted - zombie robot babies - are totally forgotten when others are assumed.
-My other major thought leaving the theater: "He made Good Morning Vietnam." It pains me to say this, but I did not like Robin Williams in this film. He is still a talented comedian, but his choice of projects lately has been abysmal. His freneticism is gold with the right material, but annoying with the wrong material. "Robin, go be funny," is not the backbone of a story. It's sad. Hopefully he'll make better choices in the future.
-Except for those few noted above, the rest of the performances felt phoned in. Particularly distressing is the fate of Christine Taylor, here portraying Sadie’s divorcee older sister, the harbinger/warning sign/cautionary tale. In several projects she serves as a talented straight man (Zoolander), and can handle comedy in her own right (The Brady Bunch). Here, she's asleep. In her defense, her character is poorly structured. She doesn't have a lot to work with.
-And of course, there is the litmus test for comedy: did it make you laugh? No, no, a thousand times no.
With medium-size expectations for License to Wed, I left disappointed. Several competent actors, including a comic legend, along with a proven comedy director, are burdened with weak, contrived, and unfunny material, and the result is a weak, contrived, and unfunny film. It's no Black Dahlia, but it's close. (I did actually laugh harder during Black Dahlia.)
4/10 (Just like daVinci Code, although Nicky was more disappointed over that yawner.)
So here’s where we are for the year…in a very particular order…
1. Knocked Up
Ratatouille
3. Transformers
4. Ocean’s Thirteen
1408
6. Pirates 3
Spider-Man 3
300
9. Fantastic 4
Shrek the Third
11.License to Wed
Did I expect to be here at this point in the year? No. Three-quels for series that I either like or love coming in behind a comedy about a one-night stand, a French chef/rat (or rat/chef), and a low-expectations 80’s toy cartoon adaptation. Hmm. We shall see…
(In a related note, I want to thank everyone for all the encouragement about these reviews. I enjoy doing them, and I hope you enjoy reading them. Thanks!)
7.05.2007
...and the fun goes on...
{Nicky}
Okay. I didn't necessarily think I had it in me to blog tonight, but just in case someone would be desperately missing today's post...
Anyway, here I am.
"Here" refers to beautiful Danville, Ill., home of...okay. All I can see from my hotel room is a Big Boy and a corn field, so, home of Corn and Big Boys.
I'm sitting in my room for the night. I am watching 'Cops'...I would like to lie and say it just happens to be on, but I actually like to catch this show now and again, to marvel at the sheer stupidity of some people's kids! And you can NOT tell me that the theme song isn't catchy!
"Bad Boys, Bad Boys, watchya gonna do?..."
This morning, Scott and I headed out in our separate directions: him, East, to the Ike for another underway, and me, West, back to MN. Thankfully, Scott's underway is short this time, and he'll be meeting me in MN soon. Today has been rough, being apart again. I have the cats to keep me company, but I am not exactly on their good side tonight, seeing as how I was the one who shoved them in a small crate and put them in the car this morning. I think they may be coming around, though. Which will make me feel even worse when I repeat the process tomorrow morning. They also aren't as responsive to my comments and conversations during the drive. At least Dixie will give me a cold nose on the shoulder whenever I talk to her...or make any kind of noise, actually. Or look at her. Or think about her. (She's very perceptive...or needy. Just like her mom!;0)
I'm looking forward to seeing her again. She's been at my parent's since May. When they came to visit me last, they took her home with them. She had a little medical issue that needed monitoring as it healed, and since Scott was coming home then, and we were immediately going on vacation, they volunteered to puppy-sit. So it's been awhile since I've seen her...and even longer for Scott! I think that I am actually more excited to see him and her together again!
Oy. This post is really jumpy, and I apologize. I don't have many more coherent thoughts for tonight. The ones that have been written barely qualify! Thank you in advance to those who read are understanding!
Okay. I didn't necessarily think I had it in me to blog tonight, but just in case someone would be desperately missing today's post...
Anyway, here I am.
"Here" refers to beautiful Danville, Ill., home of...okay. All I can see from my hotel room is a Big Boy and a corn field, so, home of Corn and Big Boys.
I'm sitting in my room for the night. I am watching 'Cops'...I would like to lie and say it just happens to be on, but I actually like to catch this show now and again, to marvel at the sheer stupidity of some people's kids! And you can NOT tell me that the theme song isn't catchy!
"Bad Boys, Bad Boys, watchya gonna do?..."
This morning, Scott and I headed out in our separate directions: him, East, to the Ike for another underway, and me, West, back to MN. Thankfully, Scott's underway is short this time, and he'll be meeting me in MN soon. Today has been rough, being apart again. I have the cats to keep me company, but I am not exactly on their good side tonight, seeing as how I was the one who shoved them in a small crate and put them in the car this morning. I think they may be coming around, though. Which will make me feel even worse when I repeat the process tomorrow morning. They also aren't as responsive to my comments and conversations during the drive. At least Dixie will give me a cold nose on the shoulder whenever I talk to her...or make any kind of noise, actually. Or look at her. Or think about her. (She's very perceptive...or needy. Just like her mom!;0)
I'm looking forward to seeing her again. She's been at my parent's since May. When they came to visit me last, they took her home with them. She had a little medical issue that needed monitoring as it healed, and since Scott was coming home then, and we were immediately going on vacation, they volunteered to puppy-sit. So it's been awhile since I've seen her...and even longer for Scott! I think that I am actually more excited to see him and her together again!
Oy. This post is really jumpy, and I apologize. I don't have many more coherent thoughts for tonight. The ones that have been written barely qualify! Thank you in advance to those who read are understanding!
7.03.2007
Another 80s IP Update
{Scott}
I'll admit, I was not a huge fan of the Transformers cartoon when it ran in the mid-80s. I had just one of the transforming robots - an Autobot who became a Lamborghini Countach named Sideswipe - I really didn't have a connection with them. It fit in somewhere between GI Joe and Chip & Dale's Rescue Rangers. When a big-screen live-action version of the show was announced in 2005, I was lukewarm. Compromised by the fact that Michael Bay, whose projects run from crowd pleasing actioners (The Rock) to criminal misfires (The Island), was named to direct, I planned only to add it to my Netflix queue. A few intriguing previews later, though, Nicky and I decided to give it a shot.
Transformers is the strongest big-budget action film we've seen this summer, and by far Bay's best film since The Rock. The script, by Robert Orci and Alex Kurtzman, scribes of 2005's MI: III, is surprisingly strong. Two major threads are paralleled: high-schooler Sam Witwicky (Shia Lebeouf) purchases his first car, a 1971 Camaro, and is drawn into an ages-old intergalactic civil war; an ages-old intergalactic civil war (same one) comes to Earth and attacks several facets of the American military (represented by Josh Duhamel and Tyrese Gibson). Oh, and there's the ages-old intergalactic civil war, which is over a giant cube (collapsible for purse or pocket), which does...something. Bad. To cellphones and soda machines. I think.
What I liked: the cast was, by and large, strong. Shia LeBeouf carries the bulk of the dramatic weight of the film, and manages to maintain a sense of urgency within the context of the film without sinking into histrionics. "Yes, they're giant robots. From outer space." John Turturro and cameos from Anthony Anderson and Bernie Mac contrast LeBeouf's earnestness with a healthy degree of tongue-in-...well, you know. The effects are top-notch, although that's less and less of a deal-breaker, but they really shine in conveying the emotions of certain Transformers, particularly Optimus Prime (good guy leader) and Bumblebee (the aforementioned Camaro). Bay's signature shooting style is present: lightning fast, in-your-face action; bright sunlight and heat waves baking off the earth; a lot of slow-motion and several "Bay' shots. Under other circumstances, Bay's style could weigh a script down, but it works great here. The slow-motion is especially useful here, since so many of the action scenes happen so quickly. A particular action scene that sticks out is a leap-frogging of sorts between the evil Starscream (transforms into an F-22 fighter jet) and several real F-22s. I also appreciated the return of small touches from the 80's, particularly Peter Cullen as the voice of Optimus Prime. He lends gravitas to every line, even the mundane.
What I didn't like: not much. A few of the performances, particularly among the American military, weren't all that memorable. Nothing criminally bad, just mediocre. The weakest characters were, sadly, among the Transformers, although this more a product of the volume of dramatic material the filmmakers wanted to cover. Very few of the Transformers have distinct personalities, with the exception, again, of Optimus Prime and Bumblebee. Most of the Transformers are distinguishable only by the vehicle they transform into. Megatron, in particular, is a cipher. He isn't an active player until late in the film, has few lines, and except for being really really bad, doesn't have a distinct identity. In addition, a few of the action scenes are difficult to follow. Since Transformers, both good and bad, are mostly gears, pipes and silvery moving parts, the flow of many battles can only be determined by who walks (or rolls or flies) away.
What I thought I wouldn't like but ended up not minding: In the 80's, Bumblebee transformed into a yellow Volkswagen Beetle. In a cost-sharing deal with GM, though, all the consumer-vehicle-based Transformers became GM vehicles, including the yellow Camaro. Bumblebee's role in the story, however, combined with LeBeouf's performance, makes the Camaro work. I barely noticed the difference.
The generation that came of age in the 80's has arrived at 9 to 5 jobs, falling asleep to Carson (okay, Leno), and buying toys for their kids rather than playing with them themselves. Reviving media from that era sounds like a pretty reliable way to turn a profit. Transformers, however, does it exceptionally well.
7.5/10
(I just hope there's no My Little Pony film in the works.)
I'll admit, I was not a huge fan of the Transformers cartoon when it ran in the mid-80s. I had just one of the transforming robots - an Autobot who became a Lamborghini Countach named Sideswipe - I really didn't have a connection with them. It fit in somewhere between GI Joe and Chip & Dale's Rescue Rangers. When a big-screen live-action version of the show was announced in 2005, I was lukewarm. Compromised by the fact that Michael Bay, whose projects run from crowd pleasing actioners (The Rock) to criminal misfires (The Island), was named to direct, I planned only to add it to my Netflix queue. A few intriguing previews later, though, Nicky and I decided to give it a shot.
Transformers is the strongest big-budget action film we've seen this summer, and by far Bay's best film since The Rock. The script, by Robert Orci and Alex Kurtzman, scribes of 2005's MI: III, is surprisingly strong. Two major threads are paralleled: high-schooler Sam Witwicky (Shia Lebeouf) purchases his first car, a 1971 Camaro, and is drawn into an ages-old intergalactic civil war; an ages-old intergalactic civil war (same one) comes to Earth and attacks several facets of the American military (represented by Josh Duhamel and Tyrese Gibson). Oh, and there's the ages-old intergalactic civil war, which is over a giant cube (collapsible for purse or pocket), which does...something. Bad. To cellphones and soda machines. I think.
What I liked: the cast was, by and large, strong. Shia LeBeouf carries the bulk of the dramatic weight of the film, and manages to maintain a sense of urgency within the context of the film without sinking into histrionics. "Yes, they're giant robots. From outer space." John Turturro and cameos from Anthony Anderson and Bernie Mac contrast LeBeouf's earnestness with a healthy degree of tongue-in-...well, you know. The effects are top-notch, although that's less and less of a deal-breaker, but they really shine in conveying the emotions of certain Transformers, particularly Optimus Prime (good guy leader) and Bumblebee (the aforementioned Camaro). Bay's signature shooting style is present: lightning fast, in-your-face action; bright sunlight and heat waves baking off the earth; a lot of slow-motion and several "Bay' shots. Under other circumstances, Bay's style could weigh a script down, but it works great here. The slow-motion is especially useful here, since so many of the action scenes happen so quickly. A particular action scene that sticks out is a leap-frogging of sorts between the evil Starscream (transforms into an F-22 fighter jet) and several real F-22s. I also appreciated the return of small touches from the 80's, particularly Peter Cullen as the voice of Optimus Prime. He lends gravitas to every line, even the mundane.
What I didn't like: not much. A few of the performances, particularly among the American military, weren't all that memorable. Nothing criminally bad, just mediocre. The weakest characters were, sadly, among the Transformers, although this more a product of the volume of dramatic material the filmmakers wanted to cover. Very few of the Transformers have distinct personalities, with the exception, again, of Optimus Prime and Bumblebee. Most of the Transformers are distinguishable only by the vehicle they transform into. Megatron, in particular, is a cipher. He isn't an active player until late in the film, has few lines, and except for being really really bad, doesn't have a distinct identity. In addition, a few of the action scenes are difficult to follow. Since Transformers, both good and bad, are mostly gears, pipes and silvery moving parts, the flow of many battles can only be determined by who walks (or rolls or flies) away.
What I thought I wouldn't like but ended up not minding: In the 80's, Bumblebee transformed into a yellow Volkswagen Beetle. In a cost-sharing deal with GM, though, all the consumer-vehicle-based Transformers became GM vehicles, including the yellow Camaro. Bumblebee's role in the story, however, combined with LeBeouf's performance, makes the Camaro work. I barely noticed the difference.
The generation that came of age in the 80's has arrived at 9 to 5 jobs, falling asleep to Carson (okay, Leno), and buying toys for their kids rather than playing with them themselves. Reviving media from that era sounds like a pretty reliable way to turn a profit. Transformers, however, does it exceptionally well.
7.5/10
(I just hope there's no My Little Pony film in the works.)
7.01.2007
BMWEW
{Scott, with contributions from Nicky}
(click on pictures for closeups)
What a weekend!
On Thursday, driving home from work, Nicky called and said she wanted to surprise me, but, as she is want to do, she didn't want to keep it a surprise. She said in the search for a nearby Chipotle in a location other than Richmond (a drive that's either boring or maddening), she found a small town in Maryland with several B & Bs, and thought a weekend getaway would be great. Several places sounded interesting, but she settled on one,
The Bishop's House, and wanted to know what I thought. This weekend is important for a couple of reasons: first, the Fourth of July is a Wednesday, and I'm not getting any extra days off, so this is our Fourth of July weekend, and two, it's also our last weekend without (and don't for a moment, think we don't love her to death) Dixie. At home, we looked at the website, the place seemed wonderful, so we decided to do it. I called the place, and the woman on the phone sounded very...Victorian, which, given the house, seemed appropriate. Every time she took information (when we were arriving, the room preference) she said, "very good". (We liked that, it reminded us of Dad Crawley). Anyway, they had five rooms at the place, and we, before we called, ranked them in order of preference. The main reason number five was number five was because the bathroom wasn't exactly in the room. It was "eighteen short steps" from the door, but that's eighteen steps too many. Asking the woman on the phone about availability, she said that the only room available was our number five. Sigh. We decided to take it nonetheless, since we'd probably spend very little time in the room.
Easton, MD is about three and a half hours from here, and I got off work about noon on Friday. It was everybody's first day back on the ship, so I didn't know exactly when I'd be getting out. All in all, though, I was pleased. After struggling with our scanner for almost an hour, we hit the road (we had packed the night before), and moments after crossing the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel, I fell asleep. Apparently a week of 4AM risings had taken their toll. Nicky had also gotten up at 4 that morning (babysitting for a friend), so she was wiped, too, but we managed to make it to Easton by about 5PM.
Diane, the B&B owner, met us at the door. She seemed very committed to ensuring we had everything at our disposal and knowing where everything was in town. The room was nice and had several nice little touches.
We were originally going to explore the town the first night, but we decided instead to do one of the big things we had driven up to Maryland to do. Chipotle. It all goes back a few weeks. Across the street from the Saturn dealer where we bought our car was a place called Qdoba, which we had heard was kinda-sorta like Chipotle. We went there on double-feature-Sunday, and we were both a little disappointed. Nicky was more disappointed than I was, but like I told her, she has a more refined Chipotle palate than I do. That put the bug in our ear to find an actual Chipotle, so, Friday night, we drove to Annapolis, about a half hour up the road.
Yikes. I know it's the home of the Naval Academy, so I should be tolerant, but we were not impressed with Annapolis, or at least, that little slice of it. It seemed pretty hoity-toity, and the fact we were at a mall on Friday night during the summer didn't help. Anyway, we nabbed our burritos, walked the mall a bit, and headed back.
Saturday started with the second "B" in B & B. Breakfast! We don't normally eat breakfast together during the week, and we'd looked at the menu the night before, so this B looked promising. They really went all out for breakfast. Puffed blueberry pancakes, fresh-baked muffins, a fresh fruit cup (I'm going to input a sympathetic bleh for Nicky...there was pineapple), and this baked egg concoction with brie cheese. Mmm. Saturday then became our exploration day. We started at the farmer's market, where we bought some cheese, several little country crafts and antique stores, and a pet boutique. It looked like rain practically the whole afternoon, but we never got any. After lunch, at a pub built in the oldest building in Easton, we went back to the B & B by way of a little store called The Bunker. We had little idea what it was when we entered, but it turned out to be a combination skateboard shop/military figures and trinkets store. Very impressive collection. The owner moved here from England, so we talked to him for a few minutes, about alot of different things, including kids. He asked if we had any, and we said we didn't yet. "Don't wait!" he said. Right. We got it.
Saturday afternoon and evening were pretty relaxing. We stayed in and watched The Pursuit of Happyness, which Nicky had seen, but I had not. She'd been raving about it since she saw it, and she was right. It's an excellent film, especially Will Smith's performance. We then changed another set of plans, opting out of a 30's and 40's music review and fireworks, opting instead to see Ratatouille. If you haven't yet seen it, we both recommend it. It's one of Pixar's best. The movie theater left a little to be desired (ease of accessibility, or even finding the place; a-hole employees, no stadium seating), but the movie was great. We finished the evening with Casino Royale back at the B&B, completing the movie hat trick
Breakfast this morning, though different, was just as delicious as yesterday. Better, in parts. We were fed another fruit cup (this time it was more Nicky-Friendly, with grapes, watermelon and blueberries), delicious French toast and scrambled eggs. Oh, and homemade blueberry muffins. We checked out about 9:30, and headed back. We were home by 2pm, which is great, because we had the rest of Sunday to enjoy (with fun activities such as buying cat litter and paying bills!).
All in all, good weekend.
(click on pictures for closeups)
What a weekend!
On Thursday, driving home from work, Nicky called and said she wanted to surprise me, but, as she is want to do, she didn't want to keep it a surprise. She said in the search for a nearby Chipotle in a location other than Richmond (a drive that's either boring or maddening), she found a small town in Maryland with several B & Bs, and thought a weekend getaway would be great. Several places sounded interesting, but she settled on one,
The Bishop's House, and wanted to know what I thought. This weekend is important for a couple of reasons: first, the Fourth of July is a Wednesday, and I'm not getting any extra days off, so this is our Fourth of July weekend, and two, it's also our last weekend without (and don't for a moment, think we don't love her to death) Dixie. At home, we looked at the website, the place seemed wonderful, so we decided to do it. I called the place, and the woman on the phone sounded very...Victorian, which, given the house, seemed appropriate. Every time she took information (when we were arriving, the room preference) she said, "very good". (We liked that, it reminded us of Dad Crawley). Anyway, they had five rooms at the place, and we, before we called, ranked them in order of preference. The main reason number five was number five was because the bathroom wasn't exactly in the room. It was "eighteen short steps" from the door, but that's eighteen steps too many. Asking the woman on the phone about availability, she said that the only room available was our number five. Sigh. We decided to take it nonetheless, since we'd probably spend very little time in the room.
Easton, MD is about three and a half hours from here, and I got off work about noon on Friday. It was everybody's first day back on the ship, so I didn't know exactly when I'd be getting out. All in all, though, I was pleased. After struggling with our scanner for almost an hour, we hit the road (we had packed the night before), and moments after crossing the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel, I fell asleep. Apparently a week of 4AM risings had taken their toll. Nicky had also gotten up at 4 that morning (babysitting for a friend), so she was wiped, too, but we managed to make it to Easton by about 5PM.Diane, the B&B owner, met us at the door. She seemed very committed to ensuring we had everything at our disposal and knowing where everything was in town. The room was nice and had several nice little touches.
We were originally going to explore the town the first night, but we decided instead to do one of the big things we had driven up to Maryland to do. Chipotle. It all goes back a few weeks. Across the street from the Saturn dealer where we bought our car was a place called Qdoba, which we had heard was kinda-sorta like Chipotle. We went there on double-feature-Sunday, and we were both a little disappointed. Nicky was more disappointed than I was, but like I told her, she has a more refined Chipotle palate than I do. That put the bug in our ear to find an actual Chipotle, so, Friday night, we drove to Annapolis, about a half hour up the road.
Yikes. I know it's the home of the Naval Academy, so I should be tolerant, but we were not impressed with Annapolis, or at least, that little slice of it. It seemed pretty hoity-toity, and the fact we were at a mall on Friday night during the summer didn't help. Anyway, we nabbed our burritos, walked the mall a bit, and headed back.
Saturday started with the second "B" in B & B. Breakfast! We don't normally eat breakfast together during the week, and we'd looked at the menu the night before, so this B looked promising. They really went all out for breakfast. Puffed blueberry pancakes, fresh-baked muffins, a fresh fruit cup (I'm going to input a sympathetic bleh for Nicky...there was pineapple), and this baked egg concoction with brie cheese. Mmm. Saturday then became our exploration day. We started at the farmer's market, where we bought some cheese, several little country crafts and antique stores, and a pet boutique. It looked like rain practically the whole afternoon, but we never got any. After lunch, at a pub built in the oldest building in Easton, we went back to the B & B by way of a little store called The Bunker. We had little idea what it was when we entered, but it turned out to be a combination skateboard shop/military figures and trinkets store. Very impressive collection. The owner moved here from England, so we talked to him for a few minutes, about alot of different things, including kids. He asked if we had any, and we said we didn't yet. "Don't wait!" he said. Right. We got it.
Saturday afternoon and evening were pretty relaxing. We stayed in and watched The Pursuit of Happyness, which Nicky had seen, but I had not. She'd been raving about it since she saw it, and she was right. It's an excellent film, especially Will Smith's performance. We then changed another set of plans, opting out of a 30's and 40's music review and fireworks, opting instead to see Ratatouille. If you haven't yet seen it, we both recommend it. It's one of Pixar's best. The movie theater left a little to be desired (ease of accessibility, or even finding the place; a-hole employees, no stadium seating), but the movie was great. We finished the evening with Casino Royale back at the B&B, completing the movie hat trick
Breakfast this morning, though different, was just as delicious as yesterday. Better, in parts. We were fed another fruit cup (this time it was more Nicky-Friendly, with grapes, watermelon and blueberries), delicious French toast and scrambled eggs. Oh, and homemade blueberry muffins. We checked out about 9:30, and headed back. We were home by 2pm, which is great, because we had the rest of Sunday to enjoy (with fun activities such as buying cat litter and paying bills!).All in all, good weekend.
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