Transformers 3: Dark of the Moon.

I had high hopes for Transformers 3. I hoped Michael Bay would reduce the amount of pointless explosions and mindless dialogue. While that was done to a degree, the third and hopefully final installment of Transformers did not live up to my expectations. Yes, it was better than the second film, a feat not too challenging, but it was not better or as good as the first film. A major issue that I have with this film was its length; it seemed to drag on for way too long and I began to become restless. While the visuals were undeniably astonishing, the storyline was just too dry. The film seemed to try and go in a Terminator like direction but failed because even the killing of people in a Transformer's movie just cannot be taken seriously. Transformers 3 went all out with its casting, including the likes of Buzz Aldrin and Bill O’Rielly. Not to mention Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, who makes Megan Fox look ordinary. While those aspects added more spice to the film, especially Huntington-Whiteley, in the end Transformers 3 will be remembered as a mediocre ending to a seemingly mediocre blockbuster trilogy.

The good: The action and visuals of Transformers 3 are second to none.

The bad: You will most likely get to the point where you just want the movie to end, and there will still be a good 30 minutes left of it.

Rating: 4.4 out of 10

Quarantine 2: Terminal.

I saw the first Quarantine film in theaters and enjoyed very much. Its POV style gave it more of an intimate and scarier feel. That being said I was disappointed to find out that its sequel, Quarantine 2, was a straight to DVD movie. I put this disappointment aside as best as I could and watched Quarantine 2 online. It was not as bad as I thought it would be and in fact I think that John Pogue did a decent job of tying the storyline of the first film into this sequel. Still, this film is nowhere near as chilling as the first one and with a few edits here and there I would not be surprised if it ended up being shown on FX at around 10 at night. As for the acting, it was mediocre but not laughable, giving it some situational believability.

The good: This movie has a solid ending, something I consider a major plus.

The bad: This is not the type of scary movie you watch with a significant other, rather one you watch when you are bored and have nothing to do.

Rating: 4.7 out of 10.

Movie Hopes #2: 28 Months Later?

This post was written on June 26, 2011, and there has yet to be any consensus as to if or when a sequel to 28 Weeks Later will be made. If a sequel is made, my first hope is that it will be called 28 Months later. As you know at the end of 28 Weeks Later the Rage Virus spreads to France. It is unclear as to how since Great Britain is an island and it was heavily quarantined. I assume that a sequel will focus on France but I do not want it to have the same story line as 28 Weeks Later, only in France this time. Maybe they could have the virus spread to America, that would be quite interesting. Either way they need to continue with the two kids as main characters. The boy character has a dormant form of the virus so the sequel needs to show how that could eventually lead to the eradication of the virus. Both 28 Days Later and 28 Weeks Later are classic movies. 28 Weeks Later was not as strong as its prequel because it was a larger adaptation but it was still a great film. I loved both films, and I look forward to 28 Months later.

Movie Hopes #1: Transformers 3.

This post was written on June 22nd, and Transformers 3 will be released on the 29th. When I went to see the first Transformers back in 2007 I honestly did not know what to expect. I had not seen any trailers for the film and knew very little about the popular 80’s cartoon that it was based off of. That being said I was then blown away by the special effects and action that the film had, and of course the beauty of Megan Fox; all be it somewhat digitally enhanced. I enjoyed the first film but then came the second one. Transformers 2 was a complete overload of everything that made the first film good. All that comes to mind about the second film for me is a funny Robot Chicken skit in which, “EXPLOSIONS! BY MICHAEL BAY!” is continuously repeated. Hopefully Bay knows that the second film was a let down, not box office wise, but in the context of what a good film should be. I have high hopes for Transformers 3 and Megan Fox’s replacement, who looks pretty damn sexy. Transformers 3 will no doubt be a huge summer blockbuster; I just hope it is like the first one. 

X-Men: First Class.

After X-Men Origins: Wolverine, did not live up to expectations, the X-Men franchise looked to have lost some of its luster. But, X-Men: First Class, is a breath of fresh life into the big-screen adaptations of the famous Marvel comic. In fact, it might be the best of the X-Men films. It contains a perfect balance between action and storyline. Its storyline does a great job of meshing into actual history, making the story all the more believable even though it is a science-fiction film. It feels so much better to see the origins of these characters, rather than be thrown into their story with no background. I highly recommend this film; it is an amazing summer blockbuster.

The good: Matthew Vaughn was able to direct and help write arguably the best of the X-Men film with only ten seconds of the X-Men poster-child (more like poster-man), Hugh Jackman.

The bad: As amazing as this film is, Jackman’s ten-second cameo might be the best part of it.

Rating: 9.0 out of 10. 

The Hangover Part 2.

In film, it is very rare for a sequel to be better than the original. If The Hangover is Star Wars, A New Hope, then The Hangover 2 is definitely not The Empire Strikes Back. The Hangover 2 serves more as a comedy cash cow than a sequel meant to continue a story. The, “jokes,” are cruder and more spaced out than in the original, and of course they take advantage of the fact that there are many transsexuals in Thailand. Hopefully Todd Philips did not pick Thailand as the location for the second film so that he and his writers could sneak in a few, “tranny,” jokes. The Hangover 2 lacks the element of surprise and believability that the first installment had. You are left with more questions than answers about how events in the film transpired. With all that being said, this movie is still quite funny, better than your average comedy but still no where near as good as the original.

The good: The Wolfpack is back and it’s almost a guarantee that their exploits will make you laugh; a lot.

The bad: This film is not as original as the first one and you might find yourself feeling déjà-vu while watching it. 

Rating: 5.0 out of 10.

Battle: Los Angeles.

Battle: Los Angeles is a Marine recruiter’s wet dream. In fact, I will put money on the fact that someone joined the Marines after watching this movie. It is a Doom meets Call of Duty meets Black Hawk Down meets War of the Worlds meets Cloverfield's shaky camera mash up. Try not to drink any energy drinks before seeing this movie and if you are epileptic, just forget about it because face it, not every movie theater is going to have EMT's on standby to save you when you flatline from an overload of special effects. Battle: Los Angeles fulfills nearly every teenage boy’s fantasy and then some. If Battle L.A. were a videogame, it would have one of the best storylines of any videogame ever made; however, Battle L.A. happens to be a movie and therein lays the problem. The plot is loosely based around a Marine Staff Sergeant Michael Nantz, (Aaron Eckhart), being sucked back into rotation, after filing retirement papers, by an alien invasion and then having to earn back the trust of his men after he lost a few in fighting overseas on their last tour. There are small amounts of character development and background, and the movie can basically be split up into levels and or acts, just like any campaign in a Call of Duty game. This is just one of those films that teenagers will love, and older adults will love to hate. 

The good: The Marines are able to fight back and hold their ground against their alien adversaries, giving the movie a Gears of War like feel that even though the enemy is stronger, you can still kill them if you put enough lead in them. 

The bad: If you are looking for character development, background, and a solid storyline in an alien invasion movie; go watch Independence Day. 

Rating: 5.1 out of 10

Skyline.

Arguably the most anticipated film of 2010, Skyline falls flat on its highly hyped face. To be honest, there's no where to even start when thinking about what would have made this movie even come close to its expectations. Tom Cruise's survivor mentality from War of The Worlds and Will Smith's straight up bad assness from Independence Day combined, could not even make this movie worth seeing. Despite that, this movie rips off scenes from both of those movies using terrible acting in the process. Dialog? it was terrible, and the sad thing is, you do not even have to have good dialog to have a good movie in this sci-fi alien monster genre. Cloverfield had bad dialog but Skyline can't even come close to Cloverfield; and that's sad. Acting? Donald Faison is a scrub, and he should stick to Scrubs, as for the other actors and actresses, they should go back to whatever acting school they seemingly just barely graduated from. Skyline is just another one of those movies that has such a horrible plot that when you are watching it, you know exactly what is going to happen next if you have seen a few previews for the movie. This movie is literally a complete debacle, there is absolutely not one single part worth seeing in this film. You would get more entertainment from looking out of a window and watching the skyline, than you would from watching Skyline.

The good: A single almost good one minute air battle scene; that's it. 

The bad: The simple fact that you will feel extremely let down, and you will definitely want your money back after seeing this film. 

Rating: 1.5 out of 10

Due Date.

Ah, Due Date; with director Todd Philips, stars such as Robert Downey Jr,  Jamie Foxx, and Zach Galifianakis given an entire movie to himself to expand on his, "you're too stupid to insult," Hangover comedy this movie was hyped to be extremely funny. First things first this movie is not funnier than The Hangover and in fact it is no where near as funny as The Hangover. Too much Galifianakis is surely not a good thing; there will be plenty of moments where you as a viewer will want to punch him in the face. Robert Downey Jr. is no Bradley Cooper, instead of balancing out Galifianakis's comedy with cleaver insults, he just uses violence which actually makes it less funny. This movie does have its funny moments and you will get a laugh or two out of it, but, the jokes are weak and spread throughout in the film. As for the storyline, it's sadly given away in the beginning of the film and even sadder than that, you know exactly what you are going to see if you have seen a preview for the movie. Due Date is just barely worth seeing; so see it only if you are extremely bored and have nothing to do. 

The good: This movie will make you laugh, Galifianakis is one funny dude. 

The bad: Due Date does not live up to its hype and its strong cast barely keep it from being a complete failure. 

Rating: 4.2 out of 10

Paranormal Activity 2.

Well, it is here, the sequel and or prequel to the critically acclaimed film Paranormal Activity; at least this film has only one ending, well, until the DVD release. No matter how well you try to hide it this movie will make you jump and maybe even slightly scare you. Paranormal 2 continues into its own genre of POV horror and new to this film, multiple camera angle horror with no clichéd, "creepy," background music and the threat of someone or something that is living. Just dead silence and the threat of things that are well, paranormal. The reason why this movie is able to scare everyone including you macho guys out there is because when you watch horror films such as Scream or The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, you always have that voice in the back of your head saying, "whatever, if that was me I'd just shoot everyone in the face." That's what makes this movie scary, there's absolutely nothing the main characters can do to stop what is going to happen to them, no matter how hard they try. This movie will make you think twice when you hear a noise in your house late at night.  This is a great film for everyone, you don't have to be on a date or dating to see this one; go with your friends, have fun, and take a bet to see who jumps the most. 

The good: This film will scare you and it continues to explore the silent scary movie because let's be honest, the creepy music scary movies are getting old. 

The bad: The film almost gets saw like in its connections to the first film, it would have been completely fine if it was a separate paranormal incident. 

Rating: 6.5 out of 10