Transformers 2

After watching it yesterday, the film is best summed up as a ludicrously thrilling adventure, bent towards complete and utter craziness. The B-grade romance feels tacked on, while everything else is flawlessly Bay.
The script, if you could call it that, takes a backseat to the huge array of new robots in this film, as director Bay turns up the action quotient up to 11. More robot characters from the original cartoon series turn up, theres a pleasant homage to the original Transformers film of 1984 and of course, there is no shortage of visual eye candy: the CGI rendering is a big step-up from the last film and it seamlessly blends from one shot to another.
The pounding relentless ferocity of the action gets so much at times, that our heads started to hurt. And this comes at the expense of a better story and characters unfortunately.
With Megatron (Hugo Weaving) buried beneath the ocean and the allspark in a secured location, Earth is safe for the time being. The autobots, led by Optimus Prime (Peter Cullen), now fight alongside the American military (Josh Duhamel, Tyrese Gibson included) combating remaining Decepticons hiding out on Earth. While cleaning up in Shanghai, Optimus is told by a dying Decepticon that the Fallen will rise again. It doesn't mean a whole lot, but it's enough to put everyone on alert. Meanwhile, Sam (Shia LeBeouf) is heading to college, his hero status an annoyance to him now, as is his guardian Bumblebee. Then again his girlfriend is Mikaela (Megan Fox) so life ain't all bad. But as Optimus so nobley says, "fate rarely calls upon us at a moment of our choosing." Sam begins to see cyber code to the point where he has a mental breakdown. Mikaela comes to Sam's aid but what they don't know is that Megatron has been brought back to life and he is now reunited with his master, the Fallen (Tony Todd). They invade Earth, demanding that Sam surrender to them, for the code he sees will lead the Fallen to a machine that blows up the sun while renewing life on the Decepticon planet. Of course Sam, Mikaela, and the rest have to stop that from happening.
What helps this time around though is more Megatron. He's a ferocious villain who rightfully deserves more screen time. However, one wonders why so little screen time for most of the other autobots. Other than Optimus and Bumblebee, the rest only have brief moments in battle scenes, except for the Twins, Mudflap and Skids, who sound like Katt Williams and are probably the most annoying comic relief since Jar Jar Binks. Most other robots are mainly used for exposition; a long-winded detailing of the machine is just one of many overly talky scenes. Just show us the special effects, which stand as some of the most technically superior I've ever seen. Slicker, bigger, and badder, just looking at these magnificent robots brings out the kid in me. It's here that the movie is really inspired, as different types of robots fill the screen. Cougars, sattelites, preying mantis, and one that looks very similar to the alien in "Species." From a design stand-point, this is awesome.
There's no question that the movie achieves its primitive aim — an overwhelming vision of technological supremacy — nor that this vision has been executed with astonishing audio-visual sophistication by legions of technicians, designers, animators and crew.
But when the lights go up, and you stagger back to reality, all that remains is a vague sense of having been relentlessly stimulated for close to three hours, as if by a low-grade electrical shock.

Toy Story 3

I was just watching toys story last night my brother. What's not to love about the first film? It redefined the form and it's endlessly entertaining and the second one was as entertaining as well.
Certainly in animation, the two Toy Story films are the greatest one-two punch in the movies, and it's on a very short list of the best tandems in film history. I have every belief that toy story 3 will be just as good. How could you think otherwise? We'll find out next summer, of course, when the sequel arrives in 3-D. We've got a new teaser for the return of Buzz and Woody et al, and it's certainly comforting to see them all again.
Yeahhhhhhhh and make sure to catch the first two Toy Story movies which are being re-released this October in 3-D.

Rocky the best underdog movie ever.....

The original Rocky is one of the best underdog stories to ever hit the big screen. Subsequent Rocky movies got cheesier as the series progressed and only serve to show that there are unheard of talents in nearly every endeavour, and, if given the chance, they are capable of greatness of their own. In a way, Rocky is a ridiculous story. Heavyweight fight fans probably can't remember a time when Lennox Lewis or Evander Holyfield rolled into town and handed an unknown fighter a shot at the title.
It just doesn't happen-anymore.
Perhaps the historical justification for Rocky Balboa's shot at the title goes back to Joe Louis's reign as champ. Sometime after he avenged his loss to Max Schmelling, Louis took on a list of dubious challengers that became known as "The Bum of the Month Club." The champ pretty much had his way with these lesser fighters, but if he would have lost along the way, it would have made for a real-life Rocky story. Oddly enough, the "Bum" fights ended as Louis took on Light Heavyweight champ Billy Conn. The bigger Louis was a huge favourite, but he nearly lost his title. His saving grace was that the smaller, underdog fighter got cocky in the later rounds and fell victim to Joe's power and size.
With this in mind, Apollo Creed comes to Philly looking for a fight, and the only thing Balboa has going for him is a catchy nickname: The Italian Stallion. Rocky is something of a reluctant hero: deep down he knows that he doesn't have a chance against the world champ, and his only goal is to last the full fifteen rounds. However, in the meantime a string of victories comes together for one of life's losers: he finds love, wins over the tough Philly sports fans, and nearly shakes up the world with a near miss against Creed. The result is one of the most beloved heroes of film lore.
Stallone is something of a boxing aficionado, and my guess is that he was familiar with Joe Louis's career. Louis is remembered as one of the greatest heavyweight champions in boxing history, and anybody fighting him had a tough hill to climb. There is also something to be drawn from the Louis/Conn title fight. Like Billy Conn, Rocky Balboa was the lighter man and a huge underdog. There's part of the foundation for the movie. Joe Louis didn't have a dynamic personality, so the "flamboyant" Apollo Creed seemingly had a little Muhammed Ali in him. In the end, boxing history makes this unlikely hero a distinct possibility. Boxing is the most brutal of one-on-one sports, and anything can happen. In this case the "bum" had a puncher's chance and made the best of it.

Night at the museum..a complete joy for adult and kids

Ben Stiller plays the character Larry Daley that isn't really going anywhere in life, flitting from one job to another. But his son is losing faith in him, and this inspires Larry to go and get a proper job. He manages to land a job as Night Guard at the Museum of Natural History, and is taught the ropes by the 3 older men he is replacing. But Larry is shocked when on his first shift, the museum comes to life at night - from the soldiers to the T-Rex's to the face statue from Easter Island! Larry is told this is a curse coming from an Ancient Egyptian tablet in the museum.
But things go wrong when the three elderly guards try to steal the tablet, thus ending the magic of the museum. Can Larry stop the men ruining the best job he's ever had?
You can see from the plot that the film is going to be aimed primarily at children, due to the animation and the idea of a museum coming to life at night. But even though this film is aimed at that sort of age bracket, I really do feel it is a film which can be enjoyed by all ages to be honest. The humour is great, the acting is great, but along the way there are a few learning points, teaching you various parts of history subtlety but in an interesting way. I also very much liked seeing the film-makers sitting Larry down and researching all about the various history characters in the museum to learn more about them, hopefully enforcing the message to children that learning is fun and cool!
Ben Stiller is a great comedian in my opinion, and he is no exception in this film either! My favourites of his have got to be of the "Meet the Parents" franchise but this is definitely close to that! His bumbling comedy act is great in this, with his facial expression makes a funny gag even more so! His acting with the computer generated animals, in particular the T-Rex is fantastic and so believable, and his whole demeanour is perfect for this film. He's believable when he's interacting with the historical characters and pulls off the unbelievable plot fantastically. I wasn't okee on the on-screen relationship with his son, it felt awkward and a bit forced but since this wasn't given too much screen time, it didn't hamper my enjoyability.
As well as Stiller, the film boasts a great supporting cast as well. Owen Wilson is typically hilarious as soldier Jedediah, with his comedy style of acting suiting Stiller's perfectly. Steve Coogan stars as Octavius, enemy of Jedediah, and both Coogan and Wilson do a great job at this slapstick rivalry. Robin Williams is as brilliant
as ever as Teddy Roosevelt, playing the role with a great balance of humour and seriousness. Kim Raver stars as Larry's ex-wife Erica, she's nothing special but pleasant enough. Paul Rudd is her current boyfriend, a stockbroker who Larry's son Nick admires greatly. Ricky Gervais pops up here and there as Museum Director Dr McPhee, pulling off a funny role but not his best performance.
And finally Dick Van Dyke, Mickey Rooney and Bill Cobbs steal the show in their scenes as the three elderley security guards intent on robbing museum. Van Dyke in particular is fantastic and is fab with Stiller on screen.
I can't finish a review of this film without commenting on how they have managed to bring to life all the historical characters and how well it has been done. Many of the historical characters are played by humans, such as Roosevelt, the Huns, Sacajawea, and the Romans etc, but there were also some CGI characters such as the T-Rex which was amazingly done. They have really captured the essence of these characters, from the costumes through to the way the actors carry themselves to portray them. The setting of the Natural History Museum works perfectly, giving a maze-like environment for the characters and Larry to run around in, and having that mystical feel that only museums can have at night. The makers have done a great job in making an unbelievable plot believable and a joy to watch.
I really did enjoy this film, and it gave me a good few laughs when I sat watching it. Stiller is perfect in the lead role of the film, pulling off bumbling Larry with comic timing and precision, allowing you to really like his character. The rest of the cast, in particular Williams, Wilson and Coogan are fantastic on screen and fully embrace their characters. The setting and rest of the historical characters are amazing, and the fact that the film teaches you something as well is even better. It's a great movie, and the sequel is already out (Night at the museum 2)!
Written by Robert Ben Garant and Thomas Lennon, Directed by Shawn Levy.