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Transformers Dark of the Moon DVD Review

Jon Lyus — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 10:00:21 +0000

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.

Win Transformers: Dark of the Moon on Blu-ray + A Graphic Novel

Competitons — Thu, 10 Nov 2011 22:50:05 +0000

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.

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!

Elsa Pataky Talks Furiously About Fast Five

Jon Lyus — Sun, 11 Sep 2011 13:00:04 +0000

Fast Five was Justin Lin’s third film in the popular car driving/face hitting series and it turned out far better than anyone expected with Dwayne Johnson entering the series with the subtlety of a fifty foot fist to the face.

What Lin got right with this installment was to wrap a decent heist thriller around the trappings of a F’n'F film, not forgetting to add a smidge of family drama and the requestite semi-nakedness, some of which can be seen in the clip below.

It’s a lot of fun, looks great on Blu-ray and we have a brief chat with actress Elsa Pataky, who prior to this film was perhaps best known in the UK as Ilze in Bernard Rose’s Mr. Nice with Rhys Ifans.
Take it away Elsa,

Win Fast & Furious 5 on Blu-ray Triple Play

Competitons — Thu, 25 Aug 2011 21:23:35 +0000

To mark the release of Fast Five on DVD and Blu-ray 5th September, Universal Pictures (UK) have given us five copies of the movie to give away on Blu-ray Triple Play (contains the movie on Blu-ray, DVD and Digital Download). You can pre-order your copy here or scroll down to win the movie.

To be in with a chance of winning a copy of the movie on Blu-ray Triple Play, simply answer the following question using the form below.

What is the name of Vin Diesel’s character in the Fast and Furious franchise?

COMPETITION NOW CLOSED

The small print:

Open to UK residents only
Only one entry per household will be counted
The competition will close 12th September 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!

Transformers – Are They Bullet Proof?

Dave Roper — Mon, 11 Jul 2011 11:00:23 +0000

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:-

Roger Ebert says:-

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:-

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.

The Soundworks Collection: The Sound of Transformers: Dark of the Moon

Jon Lyus — Sat, 02 Jul 2011 17:00:48 +0000

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.

Transformers: Dark of the Moon Hits Moscow’s Red Square at the World Premiere

David Sztypuljak — Sun, 26 Jun 2011 11:00:11 +0000

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.

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.

Some Epic Footage In New Transformers: Dark Of The Moon Music Video And Another TV Spot

Kenji Lloyd — Mon, 20 Jun 2011 20:00:51 +0000

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.

IFRAME Embed for Youtube

Another Transformers: Dark of the Moon Poster – Same as the Rest!

David Sztypuljak — Sat, 18 Jun 2011 09:00:51 +0000

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!

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

Source: Fandango

Transformers: Dark of the Moon Media Facepunch – Stills, TV Spot

Jon Lyus — Mon, 13 Jun 2011 21:00:26 +0000

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.

Transformers Featurette – You’ll Belive a Man Can Fly

Dave Roper — Fri, 03 Jun 2011 17:00:55 +0000

You will have noticed the brief snippets in the assorted trailers for Transformers: Dark of the Moon, showing those guys in funky gliding suits hurling themselves out of perfectly serviceable aeroplanes in order to glide slowly towards certain death at the hands of marauding Decepticons.

If you’re wondering how they do that stuff, wonder no longer, for here is a short featurette with a host of technical crew on hand to explain what they do and how they do it. We get lots of helmet-cam action, input from Josh Duhamel and Tyrese Gibson and for those of you who can’t be bothered with all of the flapping around, some nice explosions at the two-minute mark.

For what it’s worth, Michael Bay seems to be true to his word. He admitted the shortcomings of Revenge of the Fallen and seems willing and able to strike out on some relatively new ideas here, rather than just giving us more of the same. Some would say if it ain’t broke and all that, but that merely gives merit to box office takings. In terms of quality, we need something fresh, something new. I know that a few sky-diving soldiers does not exactly make this Batman Begins to Schumacher’s bat-nipples, but let’s give Bay the benefit of the doubt. Maybe he’ll pull something out of the bag for us.

Source: AOL.

You’re watching Transformers: Dark of the Moon – Clip No. 1. See the Web’s top videos on AOL Video

New Batch of Images from Transformers: Dark of the Moon

David Sztypuljak — Thu, 02 Jun 2011 10:00:26 +0000

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.

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.

Transformers: Dark of the Moon Effects Featurette

David Sztypuljak — Thu, 26 May 2011 21:00:31 +0000

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen may have been a pretty poor film but I’m sure one thing that we can agree on was the effects in the movie were bloody brilliant! Like the first movie, those effects were created by a huge host of people who worked for Industrial Light and Magic and Digital Domain. Michael Bay’s third instalment in the franchise, Transformers: Dark of the Moon sees those companies back doing the effects and Paramount have released (via Trailer Addict) a featurette featuring an interview with Industrial Light & Magic visual effects supervisor, Scott Farrar, who discusses the effects that we can expect to see in this third movie.

This third instalment stars Shia LaBeouf, Josh Duhamel, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, John Malkovich, Patrick Dempsey, Ken Jeong, John Turturro, Frances McDormand, Peter Cullen and Tyrese Gibson.

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

New Transformers: Dark of the Moon 3d Trailer

David Sztypuljak — Fri, 20 May 2011 20:18:14 +0000

No doubt to coincide with the Q&A with James Cameron and Michael Bay and the two news clips we’ve had this week (here and here), Paramount have released this brand new 3d trailer for their new movie, Transformers: Dark of the Moon.

The trailer has come from the official website and will run in 3d ahead of Pirates of the Caribbean although that’s been our here for 3 days now and I don’t beleive it ran before it in the UK. This third instalment has the title Transformers: Dark of the Moon and 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: TF3 Official website

Michael Bay & James Cameron Q&A + 20 Minutes of Transformers 3 Footage Detailed

Ezequiel Gutierrez — Fri, 20 May 2011 14:00:54 +0000

Living in Los Angeles I am afforded certain things that sometimes I feel I take for granted. I live twenty minutes from snow-covered mountains and in the opposite direction, twenty minutes from the warm beaches of the Pacific Ocean. How often do I partake in those activities? Rarely. Sad I know. So one of the things that I try NOT to take for granted is the close proximity to one of my favorite things on this planet. Film. Just minutes away from my home are the motion picture studios that have created some of the greatest cinematic adventures of all time. So whenever I get the chance to visit the studios I’m quick to respond. One of my favorite studios is one of the oldest working in existence, Paramount. Through those historic gates walked legends of the filmmaking world. Names like Gloria Swanson and Cecil B. DeMille come to mind. However, Wednesday night I was there to see and listen to a couple of living legends in the form of Directors James Cameron and Michael Bay. Not only have these men created the top two highest grossing films, respectively, for Paramount Studios, their mark on the current cinematic landscape won’t soon be forgotten.

Paramount Studios and The Hollywood Reporter sat these two men down for a conversation about the future of 3D filmmaking and HeyUGuys was there to capture every moment. I know that you really want to know about the 15 minutes of “Dark of the Moon” footage we saw, but before I do that (and I will, in great detail) let me bullet-point some of the great conversation moments from this hour-long event:

Moderator Jay Fernandez (THR) opened the conversation up with a clip of Michael Bay’s acceptance speech at the 2009 ShoWest Convention, calling 3D a gimmick.
Bay visited the set of “Avatar” and quickly realized what a nightmare it would be for him to shoot in 3D “Cables everywhere…looked awful” Bay finds beauty in being able to touch actual film and hates the way digital looks. However, he found shooting on 3D to be extremely enjoyable.
Bay told a story how on his first day on “DotM” he was having a blast with the 3D cameras and figured that production was going to be great, until he got a call on day two saying they had lost all of day one. (Digital footage is stored on hard drives leaving them vulnerable to crashes and the like) Needless to say he wasn’t thrilled.
Dark of the Moon was filmed in a “transitional period” for 3D cameras and rigs. New technology was being invented but was very “glitchy” and a nightmare for Bays team to work with. Cameron jokes that shortly after production on “DotM” ended, all the issues had been fixed. However, after this experience Bay calls 3D a fun tool or “toy” to work with to tell audiences an interesting story. “I had a blast”
Bay hired Camerons “Avatar” film crew to manage the cameras and they convinced him that he could only complete 10 shots per day with the heavy equipment. Bay generally shoots 50-60 shots per day and said that 10 just wouldn’t fly.
Bay discusses that the more intimate shots in “DotM” were his favorite to shoot and that the most difficult thing to film was just about everything else. With his frenetic style he couldn’t pan too quickly or it would blur, the rigs forced him to take his time with shots and he eventually had to dial back some of the 3D when he knew it wouldn’t translate.
Cameron talks about how shooting 3D for green screen and shooting 3D in the real world are two very different animals. He applauded Bays work on “DotM” and thinks it’s the perfect project to push 3D forward.
Both filmmakers call post converted 3D films “Bullshit” (this seems odd since yesterday they announced Titanic was to be re-released in 3d!) and claim that they hurt the forward motion of 3D as a legitimate medium in which to tell stories. Bay states that if you are going to spend the money to do bad post-converted 3D, why not spend a few more bucks and film IN 3D. Bay stated shooting IN 3D currently adds an additional $30-50 million to a films budget.
Cameron chatted about how one of the main problems he’s currently having is with the theater chains. They need to be willing to spend money on brighter bulbs. “They buy the bulbs but then use half the energy to save money” The audience is then left with a sub-par and dark image. (Many of you remember that Cameron created 18 different versions of “Avatar” to correct that issue.)
When asked about a 4^th “Transformers” film, Bay joked that “I can’t say since we’re here at Paramount” but continued with a simple “I don’t know”
Cameron compares the current state of 3D to the car industry of the early 1900’s and says “There is nothing you can’t do digitally, it just comes down to time and money” He confesses that he hasn’t shot on film since 1997 and has no intention of returning.

I feel that’s a pretty good representation of the conversation between these two titans. I am convinced that between Bay’s vision and Cameron know-how, we are going to see something amazing on screen when “Transformers: Dark of the Moon” is released. The highlight of the night, of course, was the close to 20 minutes of footage screened just for us. We caught a glimpse of the opening sequence of the film, the new 3D trailer, (which will be attached to prints of “Pirates: On Stranger Tides”) a montage of money shots and the extended wing-suit scene (part of which we have here). I have described in detail, along with my reactions to the footage, below.

Note: If you want know nothing about Dark of the Moon, don’t read on. If however you want to know certain bits…. go right ahead!

——————

The opening starts with the iconic Paramount logo as it always has, we track the stars as they form up around the mountain with those iconic metallic sounds accompanying them. The camera then pans into space as we get a Voice Over of Optimus Prime (Peter Cullen reprises his role). He’s talking about how the Autobots were a peaceful race and that war ravaged Cybertron. As his speech continues, we get the first glimpse of the shear scale of this film. As the camera pans around Cybertron, you see hundreds of fighting Decepticons and Autobots. We get a glimpse of not only the humanoid robots we’ve come to enjoy, but a great deal of animal bots as well. We begin tracking a jet very closely as Optimus continues his voice over about how the Autobots were outnumbered and their last hope of survival was aboard this ship. The ship is massive and houses many Autobots fending off attacks from Decepticon jets. However, when the camera pulls away from the jet we take in the sheer size of the planet and its metallic inhabitants. It makes the jet and its enemies seem tiny in comparison. The jet makes one final push to leave Cybertron just as a Decepticon missile is fired. The missile breaks up into 5 smaller missiles that track the jet as it spins and rotates, leaving us with this beautiful shot of a lone jet amongst the stars and a column of fire and destruction twisting right behind it. The missiles hit their mark and the jet is destroyed. That jet would eventually crash land on the moon (which you see in the trailer). The next scene is a NASA control room as we discover that the US has been tracking this object falling to the moon. It’s brought up that Russia has also been tracking the object. The Great Space Race is born. We are then treated to a great little mix of actual historical footage of Kennedy talking about landing a man on the moon and a digital re-creation of JFK in the Oval office…think “Forrest Gump”. It actually looked great. We learn that the motive to land a man on the moon actually had to do with these autonomous robotic organisms.

The next 10 minutes or so we were treated to a montage cut specially for us. We get a look at a great many new robots and the sheer scope of the film. Bay is pulling no punches on this one. The shooting style is very unlike Bay, which I think serves the film much better. The fast and furious way in which Bay shoots would have been a small disaster in 3D and while I think Bays signature is all over this movie, the 3D camera rigs forced him to stay on shots longer, giving us some breathtaking moments. One such moment, which you’ll see a bit in the new trailer in front of Pirates this weekend, is this spectacular slow motion action shot of bumblebee and Sam. Sam is in the passenger seat when it’s required of bee to begin transforming from car to robot to defend them both. He throws Sam out of the car as he’s transforming. As bee locks into robot mode, he simultaneously tracks Sam, swats away debris and fires off a couple shots. As Sam begins to fall back to the ground, bumblebee transformers back into a car grabbing Sam and placing him back into the passenger seat. Sam’s reaction when it’s all over is priceless. The scene plays out a lot like a Zach Snyder moment but is on a whole different level. As a Transformers fan, this is one move I’ve been waiting to see and Bay delivered.

The highlight of the night, I think for everyone looking for some awesome visuals, came in the form of the wing suits jumpers. During the discussions Bay admits that he had seen these men flying down mountains and told his people to “get those guys in my office now, I’m writing a scene for them in my next movie!” The newest trailer has a longer glimpse at these daredevils flying through the buildings in downtown Chicago, but we were treated with what seemed like the entire sequence. Let me tell you right now that I don’t remember breathing at all during this scene. Bay strapped a 3D camera to the helmet of the lead flyer as they plummeted through the city. We get a few close ups and a few shots from afar that show you how small these men are in contrast to the skyscrapers and the robots that dwarf them. The sheer depth of the 3D in this scene is awe-inspiring. I’ve never felt like I was in a film more then during this moment. It’s a moment I would warn people who are afraid a heights that they might get a bit uncomfortable during this sequence. It’s hard to describe but I’m telling you right now, that scene alone made up for the flaws in “Revenge of the Fallen.”

Whether you’re a fan of Bays or not, you’ve got to give this guy some respect for doing something with this technology. Not since “Avatar” have I seen 3D used in such a positive way. This film is reaching for the stars and I think it might just pull a few down.

Transformers: Dark of the Moon is released in the US and UK 29th June.

Ezequiel Gutierrez is the editor for bestgeekblogever.com and Host of The Film Geeks Podcast.

On twitter @ezgoo

Transformers: Dark of the Moon Clip #2 Features Rousing Speech from Josh Duhamel!

David Sztypuljak — Fri, 20 May 2011 13:00:53 +0000

Still no robots to be seen in this second clip from the Michael Bay directed movie, Transformers: Dark of the Moon, the third instalment in the Transformers franchise. One think that I can promise you however is a rousing speech that will get you, and multiple US Special Forces Marines jumping out of a plane! We also have a new image showing Josh rather beaten up no doubt after fighting numerous angry Decepticons!

This third instalment has the title Transformers: Dark of the Moon and 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.

As the poster suggests, the movie will hit both US and UK cinemas on 29th June.

Source: Twidvid via CBM

First Clip from Transformers: Dark of the Moon – ‘My Secret Weapon’

David Sztypuljak — Wed, 18 May 2011 21:29:12 +0000

Paramount have sent over the first clip from Transformers: Dark of the Moon. In the clip you’ll see newcomers to the franchise, Patrick Dempsey and Rosie Huntington-Whiteley throwing some dialogue around. This is the first time we get to see Huntington-Whiteley acting. I think from this clip we’ll give her the benefit of the doubt for now but lets hope that it gets a bit better than this. No robots in this one I’m afraid people.

As the poster suggests, the movie will hit both US and UK cinemas on 29th June (notice change in release date!).

New French Teaser Trailer for Transformers 3 Shows New Footage

David Sztypuljak — Wed, 11 May 2011 15:05:38 +0000

It may be in French but let’s face it, we don’t watch Transformers for the dialogue do we? We watch it for the Bayhem and this new French teaser trailer features plenty of that!

As the poster suggests, the movie will hit both US and UK cinemas on 1st July.

Source: Allocine with a nod to ComingSoon.

First Official Poster for Transformers: Dark of the Moon

David Sztypuljak — Tue, 03 May 2011 12:00:01 +0000

Paramount Pictures have unveiled the first official one-sheet poster for Transformers: Dark of the Moon, the third instalment in the Michael Bay directed franchise. In the poster we get to see some serious Bayhem with Shia LaBeouf in a usual worried looking pose next to his new co-star, British lingerie model, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley with Optimus Prime acting as overlord while being attacked by those nasty Decepticons!

This third instalment stars Shia LaBeouf, Josh Duhamel, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, John Malkovich, Patrick Dempsey, Ken Jeong, John Turturro, Frances McDormand, Peter Cullen and Tyrese Gibson.

As the poster suggests, the movie will hit both US and UK cinemas on 1st July.

Click the poster to enlarge.

Source: Yahoo

Theatrical Trailer for Transformers: Dark of the Moon

David Sztypuljak — Thu, 28 Apr 2011 21:41:35 +0000

We’ve been waiting all week for this one with teaser images galore being released but it’s finally here, the second trailer for the Michael Bay directed third movie in the Transformers franchise known as Transformers: Dark of the Moon. As expected, this new trailer brings us even more Bayhem but that’s why we love him!

This third instalment stars Shia LaBeouf, Josh Duhamel, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, John Malkovich, Patrick Dempsey, Ken Jeong, John Turturro, Frances McDormand, Peter Cullen and Tyrese Gibson.

As the poster suggests, the movie will hit both US and UK cinemas on 1st July.

Click here to view on Apple for High Definition