Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen

You know, Transformers, which came out in 2007, is one of my favorite movies. Not kidding. I just love it. It has everything a movie should have…action, humor, great special effects, a little love story…the works. Oh yeah…and sweet butt kicking alien robots. (If I were a student at Autobot High School, you KNOW I would have had the hugest crush on Optimus Prime. Woohoo!) That being said, I was super excited for Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen to come out this summer. I’ve been counting down the days.

So…I saw it this weekend. And, while I don’t think I loved it as much as I loved the first one…it was good as a summer movie. I’ve said before that I love summer movies…and this fit into the category. For those of you who are familiar with the first film, you know that Sam Witwicky joined forces with some “good” alien robots, known as Autobots, who disguise themselves as various cars and trucks. This alliance is necessary in order to fight against the “bad” alien robots, known as Decepticons, who, if left to their own devices, will destroy the world.

The new film picks up, two years after the first battle had been won, to find Sam and the Autobots facing another action packed showdown with the Decepticons. Some new team members have joined the fray on both sides of the action…as is common in sequels… and the action ensues. And…that’s all I’m going to say about the plot. It’s pretty straight forward. Autobots good. Decepticons bad. =)

I mentioned, however, that the movie wasn’t as good as I’d wanted it to be. I’ve decided to showcase three good things…and three bad things about the movie…and then leave it up to you for interpretation.

The Bad, First…

Sam’s Attitude Toward the Autobots In The Beginning—I realize that this movie is about alien robots, so it’s not necessarily supposed to be believable. However, when Sam basically refuses to help Optimus Prime when asked, because “this isn’t my war,” and when his goodbye for Bumblebee is punctuated with “You’ll always be my first car,” I didn’t buy it at all. Given the chance, I don’t know ANY guy who wouldn’t want to skip out on awkward Freshman life to join forces with the Autobots once again. Seriously. So stupid.

The Twins—This pair of jive-talking Autobots have gotten a lot of bad press, with folks saying that they support racial stereotypes. I didn’t really see them that way…as much as I just thought they were annoying. Seriously. They served no purpose in the movie…except to be supposed comic relief. Except it wasn’t funny. So…ooops.

It. Was. Long.—At two and half hours, the movie could have been trimmed a little bit. Maybe cutting out all of the scenes with the Twins would have done the trick.

Now…the Good…

I Still Love Optimus Prime.—And Bumblebee. And Ironhide. There were a lot of new Autobots whose names were either never said, or I didn’t catch. I didn’t think they got as much screen time as they should have…but they looked cool.

Good Humor—I love it when action films don’t take themselves too seriously and can make you laugh, too. Sam’s parents are just as funny as they were in the first film. Shia LaBeouf has a mode of delivery that makes me laugh. I like likeable characters. Some of the humor seemed to lend itself more toward sexual humor than I remember in the first movie…which I could have done without, though. I don't know if the movie is as "kid-friendly" as the last one was. Not that little tiny kids would like either one...but you know what I mean.

Great Action Sequences—the movie is good LOOKING. The robots look cool. The robot fights look real. It’s just good stuff.

And…that’s that. If you liked the first Transformers movie, I think you’ll like this one, too. Some of the “magic” is missing, I guess, from discovering the Autobots for the first time…but the movie still delivered if you’re looking for a lot of action with some laughs built in.

The Proposal

The Proposal was pretty much a sure thing for me, going in, as I love a good romantic comedy, and I LOVE Sandra Bullock. I really could have given it the thumbs up before seeing it…I was that sure that I’d love it. And, I was right. Money well spent. I’d see it again, if someone wanted to go.

Many romantic comedies begin with a man and a woman who despise each other…and then end with them falling in love. As this movie begins, though, I can’t say that Margaret, (Sandra Bullock) hates Andrew (Ryan Reynolds) as much as she simply doesn’t care for him at all. Does Andrew hate Margaret? Oh, you bet. At least…he’d like everyone to think that he does.

Margaret is the editor-in-chief at a New York Publishing office, and Andrew is her assistant, who aspires to be an editor himself. It is these aspirations that motivate Andrew to put up with Margaret, who is known throughout the office as “The Witch,” and who seems to hold all of her employees with little to no regard. In an effort to get an eventual “leg-up,” however, Andrew does all of Margaret’s bidding, and works his hardest to keep her happy…even to the point of ordering, for himself, the same kind of coffee that she drinks, in case he spills one.

On the day that the movie opens, Margaret finds out that, as a citizen of Canada, her visa has been denied, and, in a split second decision to avoid deportation, tells her bosses that she and Andrew are getting married. Under the threat that his career will be destroyed if he doesn’t play along, Andrew agrees to the arrangement...but only after making a few demands of his own.

In an effort to convince everyone that their marriage will be legit, rather than the fraud that will get her deported, and him thrown in jail, Margaret and Andrew travel to Sitka, Alaska, to announce their engagement to his family. The majority of the film takes place here, in Sitka, and I won’t go into many more details…because if you know romantic comedy, you can anticipate what might happen…but you’ll enjoy seeing it for yourself anyway. Instead, I will list some of the things I really liked about the movie.

***Sandra Bullock. As I said...I love her. She's cute...she's funny...and I've yet to see her in anything that I didn't enjoy.

***Ryan Reynolds. Usually...I'm on the fence about this guy. Sometimes he's a little too smarmy for me. But, I liked him here, and in Wolverine...so maybe he's growing on me.

***Betty White. As a long time Golden Girls fan...I can't not love Betty White.

***Sitka, Alaska. Seriously...movies like this make me want to move to towns like Sitka. And live in huge houses that look out onto the water, like the one that Andrew's parents live in. And drive boats instead of cars. Small towns...especially in movies, where everyone knows everyone else, and they all hang out together, and the sense of community is so thick you could cut it with a knife...really appeal to me sometimes. I found out today that the movie was filmed, not in Alaska, but primarily in Massachusetts and Rhode Island. Dang it. Not that I couldn't love Massachusetts or Rhode Island. But loving Sitka seemed cooler to me.

***The little white dog. It's just too cute. Really. I wanted to take it home with me.

Overall, as I said, I really liked the movie. It was just what I expected it to be...it worked in every way...and if you like romantic comedies, I think you'll like it, too. :)

Star Trek

I have never been a fan of Star Trek, historically. Though folks in my family TV show from time to time, I can honestly say that I don’t remember ever sitting through an entire episode, and I know I’ve never seen any of the movies. That being said, I wanted to see Star Trek, because I generally love movies, and the previews looked good. So…I saw it.

I think most people, whether or not they’ve watched the show previously, know the premise of Star Trek. The USS Enterprise is a space ship…and the show chronicles the adventures of its crew. Pretty sure that’s it. (If you’re a Star Trek purist and I’ve totally offended you…sorry about that.) For some reason I feel stupid talking about the plot…because I feel like it’s obvious. While I THINK that the TV show (I think the TV show came first?) began with the crew already intact, this movie explains how Captain Kirk, Mr. Spock, Scotty and the rest came together as a crew. Or...how they MIGHT have come together in an alternate reality. Maybe. =) While some might not get along well at first…they have to work together, and…they have an adventure. They fight some ugly bad guys. They fly their ship around and hit warp speed a lot.

With no real knowledge of Star Trek in prior incarnations, I have no way of knowing if the movie is worse than, better than, or just as good as the TV show and other movies. But for me, it was just what I love in a summer action flick. (I don’t know why it makes a difference if it’s a summer movie or a winter one…but it seems like the fun action movies come out in the spring and the summer.) There was a lot of action, along with some good laughs. Overall, I really liked it, and, in spite of zero interest in the Enterprise up to now, I find that, as there is plenty of room left for sequel after sequel, I’m looking forward to seeing what Kirk and Spock might get into next.

He's Just Not That Into You

He’s Just Not That Into You is a movie about relationships…and the lies we tell ourselves…and each other…in order to survive them. As women, especially, we tend to analyze every single thing that a guy does and twist it into the meaning that we WANT it to have…rather than facing the truth. The movie rang true in a lot of ways that many romantic comedies don’t…and I actually squirmed a little bit as I saw behaviors that I’ve adopted in my own life…that, when seen on the big screen, are oh so pathetic. “Real” movies are good though…they make you think.

The movie follows the “love” lives of an ensemble of characters, who are all loosely related, if only in a “six degrees of separation” sense.

We meet:

Gigi…an eternally optimistic single girl…who is ALWAYS sure that each guy she meets just might be “the one,” in spite of the fact that so few of them are calling her when they say they will. Her first date, (of the movie) is with…

Conor…a real estate agent who was informally set up with Gigi, and who seems to have a decent time with her, but won’t even consider her as a girl he’d call again. He speaks to her about different advertising ploys he uses to get business, one of which is running ads through…

Mary…an advertising rep who never really “meets” anyone…but interacts with everyone via email, Myspace, and texting, and is disenchanted with modern day romance. Mary’s best friend is…

Anna…a struggling singer, who “hangs out” with Conor all the time, but isn’t in love with him…and won’t tell him as much. Anna takes Conor’s call…(which he makes immediately after leaving Gigi)…while shopping, but tells him she’ll call him back when she’s suddenly intrigued by a cute guy in line with her…

Ben…who is attracted to Anna, and finds her charming, but after flirting with her for 20 minutes, informs her that he’s married, and gets into the car with his waiting friend…

Neil…a genuinely good guy, who doesn’t believe in marriage, but is in a stable and long term relationship with…

Beth…who, though vocally accepting Neil’s reasons for avoiding marriage, still wants to marry him more than anything else. Beth works with…

Janine…who is not only married to who she calls “the best husband ever,” but is also Gigi’s sister…(Gigi also works with Beth & Janine)…who constantly gives her relationship advice when Gigi isn’t getting it from…

Alex…a bar owner and friend to Conor, who catches Gigi in a failed scheme to “run into” Conor after he’s failed to call. Alex is the character with all the insights…who sees things for what they really are…and breaks it to Gigi that if a guy wants to call…he’ll call. If a guy wants to be with a girl, he says…he’ll make it happen.

This is the premise of the whole movie, really…that things really ARE what they seem to be. Instead of making up excuses for the men who aren’t interested, or the women who are always aloof, we really need to face the fact that sometimes…He (or She) is just NOT that into us. Regardless of your history with them…regardless of what they say…sometimes…it’s their actions that matter. Also…we also need to accept that sometimes…people aren’t going to do all the things that we want them to…and that’s okay. We spend our lives convincing ourselves of realities that don’t exist, avoiding the truth that doesn’t fit in with our plans…in order to believe that we will achieve a dream that we might not even want. Instead, the movie reminds us that sometimes, if we take a look at what we REALLY want, and then just sit back and enjoy what life has in store for us…we just might be happy with the truth after all.