An open mind is a wonderful thing, and I approach every film I see with one. Despite the narrative black hole that was Transformers Revenge of the Fallen there was something in the first film which gave me hope that a return to form was the only option open to Michael Bay and his enormous metal army, and it certainly couldn’t be worse than racist robots and roboballs, could it?

Transformers Dark of the Moon is a technical marvel and though the lauded 3D obviously doesn’t make it to DVD the incredible CG creations have never looked better on screen with whole cities crumbling and some excellent stunt work at play here, particularly in a set piece with a collapsing building. Likewise there’s a few new robots taking the field here as we find Shia LaBeouf’s Sam Witwicky down on his luck after saving the world, though he does have a stupidly attractive girlfriend and knows all the cool giant robots in town, but with comedy parents in town for a road trip and no luck finding a job we’re all set for Round Three of this planet wide boxing match.

When this one rolled out in cinemas the lines were already drawn and the critical backlash was countered before it appeared by the fanbase, a section of which championed the notion that as a Transformers film it isn’t meant for critics and is best enjoyed with the brain firmly switched off. This is an immensely stupid and troubling comment and its prevalence as a defence the wake of T DOTM finding its way into cinemas is an indication that the film rarely tries to deliver anything other than the usual maelstrom of metal fisticuffs.

It does start off well, and has a nice premise setting things in motion, with the Moon landing mission having a secret purpose. This opening scene is well directed and gives a glimmer of hope that we’ll have more to work with here than usual. Sadly it’s the only original piece in the film and very soon we are back on track with Bay’s patented rapid fire dialogue, complete with some outlandishly terribly comedy insertions which litter the film like an errant child who has had too much ice-cream and shouts childish jokes during a family dinner, and then comes all the all-too-familiar hitting. I know this film has its audience and I’m very happy they enjoyed the film but there’s so little here to engage any emotion other than unrequited lust; it is as if Bay has some sort of contraption similar to Krank’s dream stealer in Jeunet & Caro’s The City of Lost Children and is drawing on the dullest of teenage wet dreams.

And John Malkovich does John Turturro’s Crazy Guy routine this time round so you get that thrown in for free.

I would wish that this was the final film in the series of Big Robots Hitting but I fear we’re due to see more from this sterile world, with Jason Statham’s name being bandied around for a new director to place in the middle of the next mess, and I can see it happening because, as my friend who watched it with me said, in Michael Bay’s world there are no fat ladies to sing.

**~~~ (2/5)

Extras.

There were no extras on the DVD I was sent and that’s just as well.

To celebrate the release of Transformers: Dark Of The Moon coming to DVD and Blu-Ray on 28^th November, HeyUGuys has has hooked up with Paramount Home Entertainment to offer four readers the chance of winning Transformers: Dark Of The Moon on Blu-ray along with a Transformers graphic novel.

From director Michael Bay and executive producer Steven Spielberg, in association with Hasbro, Transformers: Dark of the Moon explodes with high-octane action when a mysterious event from Earth’s past erupts into the present day threatening to bring a war to Earth so big that the TRANSFORMERS alone will not be able to save us. Introducing British newcomer Rosie Huntington-Whiteley alongside stars Shia LaBeouf (Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull), Josh Duhamel (Life As We Know It), Tyrese Gibson (Four Brothers) and John Turturro (The Good Shepherd) have returned along with a host of new stars including Patrick Dempsey (“Grey’s Anatomy”), Frances McDormand (Fargo) and John Malkovich (Beowulf).  The film also features the voices of Leonard Nimoy (“Star Trek”) and Hugo Weaving (Captain America: The First Avenger).

Transformers: Dark Of The Moon is the 3^rd instalment of the phenomenally successful Transformers franchise from Director Michael Bay and Executive Producer Steven Spielberg, that sees hero Sam Witwicky and the Autobots once again take on the might of the Decepticons.  Starring Shia LaBeouf, Josh Duhamel and Rosie Huntington-Whitely, Transformers: Dark Of The Moon is available to pre-order here.

To be in with a chance of winning the movie, simply answer the following question using the form below:

Who directed the movie, Transformers: Dark Of The Moon?

COMPETITION NOW CLOSED

The small print:

• Open to UK residents only
• Only one entry per household will be counted
• The competition will close 28th November at 23.59 GMT
• The winner will be picked at random from entries received
• No cash alternative is available

The usual T&Cs can be found here. Good Luck!

To say that Cars 2 is bigger than its predecessor is an understatement.  To say it is better than the first film would be robbing it blind. But if you said that Cars 2 is one of the biggest and best film of the year, you would be right on the money.

Let me start this review off with a dash of honesty before we get started.  I think the first Cars film is the weakest of the 12 films Pixar has pumped out over the last 16 years.  I liked the film overall, as I do with most of what that studio releases, but I just didn’t connect with it as I assumed I would.  The feeling of days gone by doesn’t connect all that well with my generation.  Sure, I spent most summers cramped in an RV with my two sisters traveling around the States and taking in the views.  A fact I hated when I was younger but thank my parents for now as often as I can.  So I figured the Route 66 theme would be a real treat to see. The film, like all Pixar films, is beautiful to watch, but I couldn’t get over the idea of a world populated by talking cars. Sure, the film starts off with a bang at that insanely cool Nascar race, but the second Lightning jumps over a crashed car with his tongue out, I was gone.

Call me a scrooge but I’ve already done bugs, toys and monsters. Also keep in mind that I was coming off the high of Pixar’s previous film, The Incredibles which truly lived up to its name. Something about visiting another world of anthropomorphized characters in Cars wasn’t something I was ready to do again. So when I heard Pixar was working on Cars 2 I was all set to let that film be the first one I would be skipping.

John Lasseter doesn’t like sequels, a fact he’s been very open about. So on the verge of a 3rd Toy Story film (Toy Story being my all-time favorite), Pixar announced a sequel to my least favorite of their films. I was already talking about how Pixar had lost its touch and they didn’t have any new stories to tell and they were scrapping projects (Newt) and DreamWorks was churning out winners.  It all looked pretty awful for a moment.  All this negativity had me believing Cars 2 would be the end of the streak for Pixar.  I could not have been more wrong and proves that I should never doubt Lasseter and his team of creative genius.

Besides this film being tonally very different from the first, which helps for me, it’s an incredibly enjoyable film on its own merits. Under the hood of the film is still the relationship between Mater (Larry the Cable Guy) and Lightning (Owen Wilson) that’s very stock when it comes to these types of films. However, everything else on the surface is totally custom.  Cars 2 is a spy caper wrapped up in shiny Pixar skin. Simply put, Cars 2 is the best action film I’ve seen all year and delivered in a package only Pixar can.

Cars 2 starts out with a very James Bond like action sequence. We are immediately introduced to our newest character Finn McMissle (Voiced by the great Michael Caine) as he is in full spy mode investigating this creepy oil rig in the middle of the ocean. This scene sets the tone for the entire film. It’s beautiful and full of action and I almost forgot that cars were talking.  When we finally meet back up with the old gang at Radiator Springs, which provides the only breath you’ll get in the film, we are given a nice touching tribute, which provides dual services to both Doc Hudson and the man who voiced the character, Paul Newman. The short time we spend in Radiator Springs is all that remains of the first film.  We are swept away as Cars 2 successfully navigates two different and sweeping storylines.

Our first story involves Lightning McQueen in his attempt to prove he is the fastest car in the newly created “World Grand Prix”.  Cars from all over the world are entered into a three-race series that takes them to Tokyo, Porto Corsa and London. The real race, however, is between McQueen and a Formula-1 car, voiced by the great John Turturro, named Francesco Bernoulli, a character more boisterous then Jean Girard from Talladega Nights. Their races are elaborate and the settings are beautiful in a way that you can only truly appreciate in 3D. However, all this is happening in the background, the real story rests on the shoulders of the witless tow-truck Mater.

In a conventional way, Mater is mistaken as an American spy and is swept up into this world of espionage and action.  What happens after is quite unconventional in Pixar films.  The film has strong political themes and actually depicts a lot of violence, including the death of several characters, something we haven’t seen on screen since The Incredibles.  The World Grand Prix is created by a wealthy alternative fuel car by the name of Miles Axelrod (voice by Eddie Izzard). He has created the alternative fuel Allinol he believes will reduce our dependence on fossil fuel and requires that all cars in the race use this as proof.  However, there is someone behind the curtain that isn’t too fond of that idea. It’s up to Mater, who is forced to team up with  Field Agent Finn and desk jockey Agent Holley Shiftwell, (Voiced by Emily Mortimer) to find the mastermind behind all the evil doings.  Both of these new characters add so much to the film I can only hope they return to do more in future installments.

The film is Mater centric, so if you didn’t like him in the first one, you may have a hard time with the amount of screen time he gets.  If you are one of those people though let me start by saying you’re not alone.  Mater was my least favorite character in the first film, but there is something about his journey that I really like. With the addition of Holley Shiftwell, we get to see two of these characters take very similar journeys alongside each other and eventually towards each other.  I also think the emergency brake-180 burnout this film does helps quell anything you may have disliked in the first.  Sure there are some plot devices that seem to make no sense whatsoever and some obvious humor that seems a bit over the top for Pixar. But overall this film brings back memorable characters in a totally new adventure that leaves the original in the dust.

I think Cars 2 is the standout film thus far in a very hectic summer movie season.  With the addition of great new characters and amazing locations you’ll also want to see it in 3D.  I was fortunate enough to see the film at its world premiere so the bulbs were amped up and the glasses didn’t darken the image all that much.  But I mention being at the World Premiere, thanks to Disney, only to stress the point that I would gladly pay to see this film again. At the end of the day isn’t that what we moviegoers expect from our films, to be worth every penny?

****~ (4/5)

“Cars 2” opens in the US on the June 24, 2011 an in the UK on the 22nd of July.

This Friday sees the release of Disney Pixar’s latest movie, Cars 2 and yesterday morning, the UK premiere was held with director John Lasseter, stars Sir Michael Caine, Jason Isaacs and producer Denise Ream all in attendance. Our friends from Upbeat were there to interview them all and have very kindly passed over their footage. Check out the interviews in the video below.

Cars 2 is directed by legendary John Lasseter and features a voice cast which includes Owen Wilson , Larry The Cable Guy, Michael Caine , Emily Mortimer , Bonnie Hunt , Tony Shalhoub , Cheech Marin , Jason Isaacs , Joe Mantegna , Peter Jacobson , Thomas Kretschmann , Guido Quaroni , Lloyd Sherr , Paul Dooley, John Ratzenberger , Jenifer Lewis, Michael Wallis , Katherine Helmond , John Turturro , Franco Nero , Vanessa Redgrave , Eddie Izzard , Bruce Campbell, Michel Michelis, Jeff Gordon, Darrell Waltrip , Lewis Hamiltonand David Hobbs. Rather extensive eh!

You can keep up to date with all our Cars 2 coverage here and watch it when it hits UK cinemas 22nd July.

Synopsis: Star racecar Lightning McQueen (voice of Owen Wilson) and the incomparable tow truck Mater (voice of Larry the Cable Guy ) take their friendship to exciting new places in “Cars 2″ when they head overseas to compete in the first-ever World Grand Prix to determine the world’s fastest car. But the road to the championship is filled with plenty of potholes, detours and hilarious surprises when Mater gets caught up in an intriguing adventure of his own: international espionage. Torn between assisting Lightning McQueen in the high-profile race and towing the line in a top-secret spy mission, Mater’s action-packed journey leads him on an explosive chase through the streets of Japan and Europe, trailed by his friends and watched by the whole world. Adding to the fast-paced fun is a colorful new all-car cast that includes secret agents, menacing villains and international racing competitors.

Tech Sergeant Epps and Captain Lennox quickly worked out in 2007′s Transformers that their conventional ammunition wasn’t going to cut it when it came to bringing down a Decepticon. Instead, they needed to use Rapier rounds (or something) because they burn at a higher temperature (or something). What neither of them knew then, what none of us could have known then, is that the franchise as a whole would evolve to become entirely bullet-proof within four short years.

For the most part, Transformers (2007) was well-received. Of course it was not everyone’s cup of tea and it was loud and silly, but the special effects were outstanding and the action sequences breath-taking, with a fairly arch and knowing script touching the right bases on its way from A to B. 2009′s sequel, Revenge of the Fallen, very much eschewed the “less is more” ethos in favour of “a lot more is a lot more”. We had lots more Decepticons, we didn’t really know who they were or what they were doing, Megan Fox gratuitously spread herself over a motorbike in order to keep teenage boys (and middle-aged fathers) happy, pyramids got trashed, outrageous racial stereotypes were perpetuated, we were treated to a giant swinging set of Decepticon testicles and Michael Bay just kept turning up the volume. As a film it had moments of fun and entertainment, but it fell way short of the first in terms of quality, coherence and cohesion and yet, here’s the thing; it made $836m to the $708m of the first instalment.

Clearly these films were becoming increasingly critic-proof, as Revenge of the Fallen was roundly lambasted by film journalists. Two stars seemed to be the order of the day (for whatever that is worth) and Mark Kermode in particular savaged the film as misogynistic, crass and racist. A year down the line, Bay himself confessed that ROTF had fallen short of expectations in terms of quality and that the next film, which by then was underway would correct its shortcomings as a way of making things up to the audience, who he acknowledged deserved better. This was quite an admission and heightened expectations that Dark of the Moon (as it came to be known) would be more akin to the 2007 in terms of quality. But consider those box office numbers again for a moment. No doubt Michael Bay has no desire to be known as some sort of hack who gets good box office but remains dismissed by the critics fraternity. He plays to his strengths (great set-pieces, high-quality action direction, lots of explosions), but he won’t be wholly indifferent to his critical reputation. Having said that, Paramount would have taken a long, hard look at those figures and, one would assume, leaned towards Bay’s ear to whisper, “if it ain’t broke…”. What they clearly had on their hands here was a combination of product and director with alchemic qualities, able to produce pure gold out of base components. It didn’t make any difference whether the critics liked it or not, audiences were pouring in, fortunes were made and all of a sudden the franchise became boxed in.

So here we are in 2011 and Dark of the Moon is now with us. It is every bit the bullet-proof juggernaut that its’ predecessor was. In excess of $400m in its first week, worldwide. This despite some unbelievably vitriolic reviews. Film Freak Central says:-

Transformers: Asshole holds the distinction of being the first movie this year I’m actually ashamed of. In it, I recognize every failing of we the people, paraded before us as though they were virtues.

Roger Ebert says:-

a visually ugly film with an incoherent plot, wooden characters and inane dialog. It provided me with one of the more unpleasant experiences I’ve had at the movies.

Mark Kermode had nothing nice to say at all, dismissing it as soft-core porn, crass, leering and obscene. Reviews were, in the interests of fairness and balance, more positive elsewhere, but certainly no-one hailed it as a masterpiece. Empire Magazine captured the inevitable outcome best with their summary:-

An improvement on Transformers 2, but then what isn’t? To paraphrase the Bard, it’s a tale, full of sound and fury and extremely stupid dialogue and nonsensical plotting and preposterous stunts and robots punching each other’s heads off, signifying nothing. Needless to say, it’s going to be huge.

Exactly. It didn’t matter what anyone thought of the film, it didn’t matter whether it was better or worse than the previous films, it didn’t matter whether Bay learned his lessons and gave us the Transformers film we deserved. It was bigger, louder, longer, more exciting, better-rendered and most importantly, in 3D. Yes, you get to wear uncomfortable shades for 160 minutes as well. To be honest, I quite enjoyed a lot of it, though Bay insistence on salivating over Rosie Huntington-Whiteley’s body every five minutes was dreary and unpleasant. But, IT DOESN’T MATTER. This franchise has become indestructible, death proof. The critics have turned on the film and it has made no difference at all.

Bear in mind that this isn’t the first critically-mauled, effects-heavy film to reach the cinema recently. Skyline performed wretchedly and Green Lantern has fared far worse than hoped by the studio. Neither of these could escape from the impact of negative reviews and ambivalent audience reactions. But where they stumbled and fell, Dark of the Moon has shrugged and carried on pounding. The difference must be that regardless of what it says about our taste in films, regardless of whether we should like it or not, Bay is giving the audience what they want and we are lapping it up. No-one is going to be able to convince Bay or Paramount that a wrong turn has been taken and that the franchise needs to be scaled back, rebooted and the quality improved (as seems to be happening now with Spider-Man). Successive franchise entries have been louder, longer and less refined and the money just keeps pouring in ever more abundantly.

I’m not sure what if anything can stop this juggernaut. Unless the studio decides to grasp some higher ideal of not sacrificing quality and artistic integrity on the altar of commercial success, we will surely just get more of the same. For these sorts of projects, money talks. It took the unmitigated failure of Batman & Robin to wrestle the franchise away from Schumacher and entrust it to Nolan, which has resulted in The Dark Knight, Oscar success and greater box office returns than any other entry in the franchise. Unless and until we stop watching these films, they won’t change. Why would they? Why should they? We have only ourselves to blame.

Well, this could go either one way or the other…..

Young UK writer Marie Phillips’ comedy novel about Ancient Greek Gods living in modern-day Hampstead, Gods Behaving Badly, is heading for the big screen, albeit in a different setting.

The story is being transposed from that London location to the US, where Zeus and Co. will be mingling with mere mortals on the streets of New York City. The fish out of water scenario features a human couple (to be played in the film by Alicia Silverstone and Ebon Moss-Bachrach) who come into contact with the assortment of gods (to be played by the likes of such heavyweights as Christopher Walken, John Turturro, and Edie Falco) who have been stripped of their deity-like powers and are all are now forced to work in menial jobs, such as phone sex operators and dog-walkers.

Production begins this July in New York, and it sounds like the makers have a real challenge on their heads to make this work, but with such a strong cast (Oliver Platt, Sharon Stone and the long-time AWOL Rosie Perez are also on hand to play the immortals) it may turn out to be far from  a Greek Tragedy.

Stroy via Movieline.

We’ve featured some of the videos from The Soundworks Collection before and every time they shine a light on a world heard but not seen.

Even today when DVD special features are commonplace there is a growing tendancy for discs to be stuffed with blooper reels and ‘featurettes’ culled from press kits with no actual added value, so we’re lucky then that there are these videos available for free.

Michael Bay’s third Transformers films, Dark of the Moon, has traveresed the inevitable line between disgusted critics and satisfied audiences (with exceptions on both sides of course) but for all the talk of 3D and visual insanity the sound design of the films hasn’t had much attention.

Enter the Soundworks Collection, who have done another excptional job in giving us a look at the people and techniques behind the aural assualt.

Have a look below and check out their homepage for much more.

Soundworks Collection: The Sound of Transformers: Dark of the Moon from Michael Coleman on Vimeo.

After a nifty opening which is comprised of both stock footage and newly-shot film (think JFK meets Apollo 13) revealing that the US moon landing was part of a covert mission to explore a marooned alien vessel from the Transformer’s home plant of Cybertron, we’re back in present day where the surviving Autobots have now settled on earth and act as a convoy of world-scouring do-gooders.

Sam (Shia LaBeouf) has graduated from University and is struggling to find work in the big, wide world. Required to keep quiet about his fantastical adventures with those robots in disguise, he’s frustrated that he has to take a menial post room job offered to him by a maniacal control freak (an initially humorous turn by John Malkovich). Luckily, Sam has a new love (British lingerie model Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, making her big screen debut) who we’re introduced to via a roving, pervy camera, which is titled up at her behind as she bounces upstairs to give her new beau a present. Forget talking robots that can magically transform into different disguises, the chances of LeBeouf’s character ever scoring with someone like that far outweighs any of the overtly fantasy elements in the film.

It isn’t long however before Sam’s help may just be needed to save the universe yet again when he uncovers a conspiracy to mount a Decepticon uprising which may implicate the recently resurrected Autobot leader who was discovered in the aforementioned moon mission, Sentinel Prime (voiced by Leonard Nimoy in a nice nod to the 80’s cartoon movie version).

Like May’s X-Men: First Class, Transformers: Dark of the Moon (surely that title must be down to legal wranglings with Pink Floyd?) has an ace up its sleeve with the juxtapositioning of a real world event within a fantasy framework. It’s a nice touch but perhaps unsurprisingly, it’s soon back to the same metal on metal action as the previous instalments. This is not to say that director Michael Bay (shooting on 3D cameras this time around) isn’t able to wring some fantastic moments out of it. Some of the effects work here is truly jaw-dropping. As the Decepticons lay waste to the city of Chicago you realise that how truly epic in scope the film is. You could argue that this is all due to (what must been) thousands of animators who worked on the film, but Bay knows how to shoot action, and the introduction of 3D appears to have reined the director in a little in terms of his normal ratter-tat-tat approach to the edit. What you get are some incredibly impressive Matrix-esque shots where the action beats are delivered in full view and (even more surprising for him) pretty easy to follow for once.

A moment where series regular Josh Duhamel and his crack team of soldiers dive out of their damaged helicopters whilst under attack from flying Decepticons (while huge chunks of destroyed aircraft rain down on them) is as impressive a scene as you’ll see in any big summer blockbuster, but as exciting as all this is, it also highlights the overriding problems with the film. For all its incredible effects and moments, once again, the human interplay, plot twists and reveals just seem really tired and ill-conceived. Even a potentially interesting subplot which involves a secret, decades-old human and Decepticon alliance fails to breathe any real intrigue into proceedings. It’s also maddening to see a whole slew of big talents (some of whom give it their all) fighting a losing battle against a mediocre script. Both returning cast member John Turturro and Francis McDormand are fun here (although it looks like they may have taken a wrong turn when heading to an audition for the Coens) and even LaBeouf is surprisingly strong, and can emote with the best of them when it comes to showing his love and solidarity towards the machines. Not sure what Bay saw in Huntington-Whiteley however, apart from the obvious. She’s no actress, and many of her scenes (particularly towards to end) are extremely painful to watch. Impossible as it may seem, she makes you yearn for those halcyon days of Megan Fox.

It’s pretty darn violent for a kid’s flick too. Robots are decapitated, have their spines ripped out, faces blown apart and generally get pummelled into an oil-splattered pulp. There’s something a little disconcerting about this, and like World of the Worlds before it, actual humans are now annihilated by the robots in full view of the audience.

The film is bound to do huge numbers at the box office in the next coming weeks, but it’s just a shame that even a smidgen of the attention that has clearly been attributed to the CGI and 3D couldn’t have been afforded to the script.

It’s not like Bay does anything new with his own style (that same tired jingoistic vibe is very much present and correct) but even he must have realised that he had to try and transform his jaded audience after the previous effort!

**½~~ (2.5/5)

If you missed the first interview check it out here with Larry the Cable Guy and Emily Mortimer. In this interview, I get to chat with Owen Wilson and Eddie Izzard about their roles in the brand new Pixar movie, Cars 2 which comes out in the UK 22nd July.

I enjoy Eddie’s flamboyant comedy and loved his work in “Oceans 12/13” and “Valkyrie”. For me Owen shines when working with Wes Anderson but “Wedding Crashers” is one of my favourite comedies of all time. Needless to say I was extremely excited at the opportunity to talk to both of these men.

I was sort of split going into my interview with Larry the Cable Guy (Daniel Lawrence Whitney) and Emily Mortimer.

My wife and I are huge fans of Emily’s work in such films as “Dear Frankie”, “City Island” and her hilariously brilliant stint on NBC’s “30 Rock”.  On the other end is comedian Larry the Cable Guy, who I only know because of his involvement in these Pixar films and that his catchphrase “get ‘er done” was quite popular for a time.

As actors they have very different bodies of work so I was extremely curious how they would interact with each other during the press questions.  In the film, Mater and Holley Shiftwell (Mortimer) spend most of their time on screen together trying to foil the bad guys.  However, most people are aware that voicing animated characters doesn’t allow a whole lot of face time between actors, so it seemed interesting that they would pair these two together during the junket.

What happened is exactly how I hoped my first junket would turn out.  They were extremely receptive to my questions and seemed to genuinely enjoy each other’s company.  Before the interview started they were joking and laughing with me regarding my lack of a UK accent considering I was covering the event for HeyUGuys.  It was interesting to find that Whitmer isn’t always in character.  I was fully expecting him to be Mater or Larry the Cable Guy, All in all I think this was the most fun I had at the event. The fact that they still had a sense of humor after three solid days of press put me at ease, and seemed like they put their actual chemistry to good use on screen and off.

Here’s the interview,

On Thursday night, Russia’s Red Square in Moscow played host to the world premiere of Michael Bay’s third installment of the Transformers franchise: Transformers: Dark of the Moon. Also at the event were stars Shia LaBeouf, Tyrese Gibson, Rosie Huntington-Whitely, and Patrick Dempseyl. Linkin Park were also there to play a gig for the massive audience that gathered for the event.

Patramount have sent over a video from the event which looks amazing and I wish we’d were there. Fortunately for us, we’ll be at a fan screening of the movie today at the BFI in London where MIchael Bay and Rosie will be showing up so stay tuned for photos and our report from that event.

Transformers: Dark of the Moon is directed by Michael Bay and stars Shia LaBeouf , Josh Duhamel , Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, John Malkovich , Patrick Dempsey , Ken Jeong , John Turturro , Frances McDormand , Peter Cullen and Tyrese Gibson.

Synopsis: Shia LaBeouf returns as Sam Witwicky in Transformers: Dark of the Moon. When a mysterious event from Earth’s past erupts into the present day it threatens to bring a war to Earth so big that the Transformers alone will not be able to save us.

The movie will hit both US and UK cinemas on 29th June.

The footage below has interviews with all the main cast and director Michael Bay. Check it out below.

I remember seeing “Toy Story” in my local movie theater in Whittier, Ca. I was 10 years old when that film came out. So having the opportunity to interview John Lasseter was a nerve racking and surreal experience.  I told myself if I ever got the chance I would simply tell him “Thank You”.  Last week I got the chance I didn’t miss the opportunity.  Before cameras started rolling on our conversation I explained to the “Cars 2” Director that his feature film debut basically defined my childhood and planted the seeds of what would become my infatuation with film.  We also briefly chatted about the fact that we both grew up in the same Los Angeles suburb of Whittier.  He talked about how his love of cars grew while working at his dad Chevrolet dealership and I explained that I went to a high school called Whittier Christian High School that wasn’t actually in Whittier (he attended Whittier High – which is actually in Whittier). He’s the kind of guy I felt like I could talk to for hours, and I would have if they didn’t tell me that cameras were rolling.  I now had the obligation to start asking some questions.

While I loved “Cars 2” so much more then the original “Cars”, I didn’t really feel like asking a whole lot of questions regarding the film. Actually you’ll see that same theme in my interviews with the voice cast as well. I figured they had probably talked enough about the film over the past three days that I didn’t want to get the same stock answers.  I decided I would ask questions from the stance of a Pixar fan in general.  With Lassester, my questions were more themed on how he approaches his films as a Director and as the Chief Creative Office for Walt Disney Animation.

And while John Lasseter wears many hats at Disney and has become more or less a household name (I mean my dad knows who he is for christ sakes), I still think of him as the guy who directed “Toy Story”. And now he’s the guy who has directed my favorite film of the summer.

“Cars 2” Opens Today in the US and July 22^nd in the UK. My Cars 2 review is here. Check out my interview with John below.

As we’re getting closer to the 29th June release date for Transformers: Dark of the Moon, we’re seeing the last of the advertising campaign  for what is set to be an immense final instalment in Michael Bay’s Transformers films.

Linkin Park have released via their YouTube page a minute-and-a-half video of footage from Dark of the Moon set to their track, Iridescent, featured on the film’s soundtrack, and MovieWeb have posted another fifteen-second TV spot for the film too.

The video Linkin Park have put up features a lot of the footage we’ve seen in previous trailers for the film, but it also gives us some incredible new footage and some extensions of the clips that we’ve already seen. Whatever you think about the Transformers films themselves, you cannot deny that their visual effects are stunning, and this new video really shows what we can look forward to when the film comes out next week.

The music set to the video works perfectly with the footage. The song opens stripped pretty bare, with Chester’s vocals against a piano, and against these words, we see the Decepticons taking over America. But then this raw guitar kicks in,  with a choir-like “Let it go” sung out, and Bumblebee makes a life-saving catch, and it just makes your spine tingle.

The TV spot is a slightly different affair, and is essentially pretty average. Rather than go for the epic footage like the music video, it goes for a bit of humour instead with the bite-sized Decepticons, one of which is taking a dog for a ride. It isn’t the best TV spot, but worth fifteen seconds to see the second, blue-haired mini Decepticon.

Just like a lot of people will be, I cannot wait for next week to roll around, because I have a feeling that Michael Bay and everyone involved in the film will be bringing us something extra special for what is set to be their last film together. It’s going to be immense. And here are those two videos for your viewing pleasure to whet your appetites.

I always like a nice marketing campaign but it would be nice if Paramount brought out a different style of poster for their new movie, Transformers: Dark of the Moon. All three films have now been the same sort of thing with a Autobot or Deception smashing something up with a city behind them. Have a look at the awesome Potter posters guys and get something cool done or better yet, get Drew Struzan in!

Transformers: Dark of the Moon is directed by Michael Bay and stars Shia LaBeouf , Josh Duhamel , Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, John Malkovich , Patrick Dempsey , Ken Jeong , John Turturro , Frances McDormand , Peter Cullen and Tyrese Gibson.

Synopsis: Shia LaBeouf returns as Sam Witwicky in Transformers: Dark of the Moon. When a mysterious event from Earth’s past erupts into the present day it threatens to bring a war to Earth so big that the Transformers alone will not be able to save us.

The movie will hit both US and UK cinemas on 29th June.

Source: Fandango

Disney Pixar have just sent over the official Cars 2 music video and song named ‘Collision of Worlds’ which is performed by Robbie Williams and Brad Paisley. If you’re a fan of either artist, you’ll probably like this + we get to see a little more footage from the latest creation from the legends at Pixar. Williams have previously worked with Disney on the Fidnign Nemo soundtrack so parents will have yet another audio delight to listen to over and over again!

The voice cast in the movie includes Owen Wilson , Larry The Cable Guy, Michael Caine , Emily Mortimer , Bonnie Hunt , Tony Shalhoub, Cheech Marin , Jason Isaacs , Joe Mantegna , Peter Jacobson , Thomas Kretschmann , Guido Quaroni , Lloyd Sherr , Paul Dooley, John Ratzenberger , Jenifer Lewis, Michael Wallis , Katherine Helmond , John Turturro , Franco Nero , Vanessa Redgrave , Eddie Izzard , Bruce Campbell, Michel Michelis, Jeff Gordon, Darrell Waltrip , Lewis Hamilton and David Hobbs.

You can keep up to date with all our Cars 2 coverage here and watch it when it hits UK cinemas 22nd July.

Synopsis: Star racecar Lightning McQueen (voice of Owen Wilson) and the incomparable tow truck Mater (voice of Larry the Cable Guy ) take their friendship to exciting new places in “Cars 2″ when they head overseas to compete in the first-ever World Grand Prix to determine the world’s fastest car. But the road to the championship is filled with plenty of potholes, detours and hilarious surprises when Mater gets caught up in an intriguing adventure of his own: international espionage. Torn between assisting Lightning McQueen in the high-profile race and towing the line in a top-secret spy mission, Mater’s action-packed journey leads him on an explosive chase through the streets of Japan and Europe, trailed by his friends and watched by the whole world. Adding to the fast-paced fun is a colorful new all-car cast that includes secret agents, menacing villains and international racing competitors.

To mark the release of Disney Pixar’s new movie, Cars 2 on July 22nd, we’ve been given 4 tickets to give away to a lucky reader for a screening of the movie a month before it’s official release date! The screening will take place in London’s West End on Sunday June 26th. Doors open at 10am with the screening starting at 11am.

John Lasseter is back to direct while the the voice cast includes Owen Wilson as Lightning McQueen, Larry The Cable Guy, Michael Caine , Emily Mortimer, Bonnie Hunt , Tony Shalhoub , Cheech Marin , Jason Isaacs , Joe Mantegna , Peter Jacobson, Thomas Kretschmann , Guido Quaroni , Lloyd Sherr , Paul Dooley, John Ratzenberger , Jenifer Lewis, Michael Wallis , Katherine Helmond , John Turturro , Franco Nero , Vanessa Redgrave , Eddie Izzard , Bruce Campbell, Michel Michelis, Jeff Gordon, Darrell Waltrip , Lewis Hamilton and David Hobbs.

You can keep up to date with all our Cars 2 coverage here and watch it when it hits UK cinemas 22nd July.

Synopsis: Star racecar Lightning McQueen (voice of Owen Wilson) and the incomparable tow truck Mater (voice of Larry the Cable Guy ) take their friendship to exciting new places in “Cars 2″ when they head overseas to compete in the first-ever World Grand Prix to determine the world’s fastest car. But the road to the championship is filled with plenty of potholes, detours and hilarious surprises when Mater gets caught up in an intriguing adventure of his own: international espionage. Torn between assisting Lightning McQueen in the high-profile race and towing the line in a top-secret spy mission, Mater’s action-packed journey leads him on an explosive chase through the streets of Japan and Europe, trailed by his friends and watched by the whole world. Adding to the fast-paced fun is a colorful new all-car cast that includes secret agents, menacing villains and international racing competitors.

To be in with a chance of winning all four tickets, simply answer the following question using the form below:

Who voices the character ‘Lightning McQueen’ in Cars and Cars 2?

COMPETITION NOW CLOSED

The small print:

• Open to UK residents only
• Only one entry per household will be counted
• The competition will close 22nd June at 23.59 GMT
• The winner will be picked at random from entries received
• No cash alternative is available
• Expenses to get to and from the the screening are not covered in the prize

The usual T&Cs can be found here. Good Luck!

How Michael Bay convinced Frances McDormand and John Malkovich to sign up for the third Transformers film is beyond me, but there are pictures to prove it below, as well as a new TV spot which features Optimus Prime sitting and having a good old think about his life*.

Michael Bay’s 3D robotravaganza is almost upon us and it seems churlish to lower expectations for this film more than the second TF film did but with a few teaser trailers looking ‘good’ chances are that Bay and Co. have learned from their big expensive mistakes.

Here’s a TV spot,

Point those eyes at the gallery and imagine a blzaing sunset with the faint whiff of a heavy rock soundtrack somewhere in the distance. Click them.

Getting all sourcey for a moment, the TV spot came in from Latino Review and the pics flew in from Yahoo via Collider. A chorus of thanks to each and all.

*Not really.

Disney Pixar have released a new clip from their new movie, Cars 2 and in the clip, we get to see Formula One World Champion, Lewis Hamilton attempting to act! It is quite a sight to be seen (or heard I guess!).

The voice cast in the movie includes Owen Wilson, Larry The Cable Guy, Michael Caine, Emily Mortimer, Bonnie Hunt, Tony Shalhoub, Cheech Marin, Jason Isaacs, Joe Mantegna, Peter Jacobson, Thomas Kretschmann, Guido Quaroni, Lloyd Sherr, Paul Dooley, John Ratzenberger, Jenifer Lewis, Michael Wallis, Katherine Helmond, John Turturro, Franco Nero, Vanessa Redgrave, Eddie Izzard, Bruce Campbell, Michel Michelis, Jeff Gordon, Darrell Waltrip, Lewis Hamilton and David Hobbs.

You can keep up to date with all our Cars 2 coverage here and watch it when it hits UK cinemas 22nd July.

Synopsis: Star racecar Lightning McQueen (voice of Owen Wilson) and the incomparable tow truck Mater (voice of Larry the Cable Guy) take their friendship to exciting new places in “Cars 2″ when they head overseas to compete in the first-ever World Grand Prix to determine the world’s fastest car. But the road to the championship is filled with plenty of potholes, detours and hilarious surprises when Mater gets caught up in an intriguing adventure of his own: international espionage. Torn between assisting Lightning McQueen in the high-profile race and towing the line in a top-secret spy mission, Mater’s action-packed journey leads him on an explosive chase through the streets of Japan and Europe, trailed by his friends and watched by the whole world. Adding to the fast-paced fun is a colorful new all-car cast that includes secret agents, menacing villains and international racing competitors.

Disney Pixar have released this brand new featurette for their new movie, Cars 2 called ‘Spy Cars Like Us’. In the featurette we get to find out more about the Spy Cars that we get to meet in Cars 2 introduced by Director, John Lasseter.

The voice cast in the movie includes Owen Wilson, Larry The Cable Guy, Michael Caine, Emily Mortimer, Bonnie Hunt, Tony Shalhoub, Cheech Marin, Jason Isaacs, Joe Mantegna, Peter Jacobson, Thomas Kretschmann, Guido Quaroni, Lloyd Sherr, Paul Dooley, John Ratzenberger, Jenifer Lewis, Michael Wallis, Katherine Helmond, John Turturro, Franco Nero, Vanessa Redgrave, Eddie Izzard, Bruce Campbell, Michel Michelis, Jeff Gordon, Darrell Waltrip, Lewis Hamilton and David Hobbs.

You can keep up to date with all our Cars 2 coverage here and watch it when it hits UK cinemas 22nd July.

Synopsis: Star racecar Lightning McQueen (voice of Owen Wilson) and the incomparable tow truck Mater (voice of Larry the Cable Guy) take their friendship to exciting new places in “Cars 2″ when they head overseas to compete in the first-ever World Grand Prix to determine the world’s fastest car. But the road to the championship is filled with plenty of potholes, detours and hilarious surprises when Mater gets caught up in an intriguing adventure of his own: international espionage. Torn between assisting Lightning McQueen in the high-profile race and towing the line in a top-secret spy mission, Mater’s action-packed journey leads him on an explosive chase through the streets of Japan and Europe, trailed by his friends and watched by the whole world. Adding to the fast-paced fun is a colorful new all-car cast that includes secret agents, menacing villains and international racing competitors.

Ever since the release date changed for Michael Bay’s third Transformers instalment changed, it would appear the marketing campaign has too. All the clips and images that we’ve seen in the past couple of weeks for Transformers: Dark of the Moon have been based around the characters in the movie rather than on the robots which were used much more to sell the first two movies.

Thanks to Collider, we get to see a new batch of images for this latest installment and as I said above, all images are based around the characters.

Transformers: Dark of the Moon stars Shia LaBeouf, Josh Duhamel, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, John Malkovich, Patrick Dempsey, Ken Jeong, John Turturro, Frances McDormand, Peter Cullen and Tyrese Gibson.

Synopsis: Shia LaBeouf returns as Sam Witwicky in Transformers: Dark of the Moon. When a mysterious event from Earth’s past erupts into the present day it threatens to bring a war to Earth so big that the Transformers alone will not be able to save us.

The movie will hit both US and UK cinemas on 29th June.

Love the image of Michael Bay just sitting and seemingly chilling out while watching his actors. Click the images below to enlarge.