Hey there everyone! Hope everyone's doing well. Soo, what's this you ask? Well, it all started on a tiny basis: I LOVE movies and TV shows. I've always wanted to do reviews for both of these (and, at times, other entertainment mediums, such as CD's and books) and I started doing them about a few months ago and posting them on the blog I have.
Thing is, I was thinking to myself, well, why don't I post them somewhere else to attract a group of readers who like reviews? After going through some fan review websites I know of, I finally decided: To share it with you guys!
Everytime I see a new movie or TV show (or anything else worth mentioning), I shall post it here! Sooo, here's the two reviews that I want to present first:
Transformers (I did this review back a month ago now, but since the DVD came out recently, thought I should put it on here) and a review of the highly anticpated Battlestar Galactica: Razor! (I know some of y'alls out there are BSG fans as well, so I thought I should put that up, haha.)
Lastly, I know the reviews I write are somewhat long. If you just want the short-sweet-and-to-the-point reviews, check out the last paragraph. I do that for everyone who doesn't want to read all the tiny details I talk about.
_______________________________________________________
MR: Transformers
The trailers. The promos. Endless advertising I saw for this movie through the whole summer, and I still kept watching them. Michael Bay film? Check. Big giant robots fighting each other? Check. Massive and probably mindless action sequences? Check. Based on a series/franchise of toys? Check. What did everything add up to? A mindless summer flick made for giant explosions, mindless action, and nothing but bone crushing fights. Wow...was I wrong.
Michael Bay, I have no idea whatever the heck happened to you, if you had some religious experience or is the under influence of some muse somewhere, keep doing whatever the heck you're doing! I thought one of my favorite Scifi movies of all time, done my Bay, 2005's "The Island", was just an epiphany of his, not like something changed him, cause Bay is known for doing mindless action sequences that reveal no plot details or storylines in between. I can proudly say though, that The Island, and now Transformers, can be heralded as finally Bay at his best: to prove there's an actual storyline and plot to his movies and a reason for why everything is happening the way it is, and some big thinking questions added along to that as well.
A huge factor as well, is that it looks like he FINALLY got his own directing style, and I don't know what it's called, but I LOVE it. It's known to be very realistic, and it's VERY effective. (My opinon right there) If anyone has ever seen the movies Man on Fire or Deja Vu (done by Ridley Scott's brother, by the way), it's basically the same thing, but with Bay's directing, it's put to great use and to it's full advantage. It affects the lightining, sets, and everything. Absolutely great.
Sooo, down to the nitty gritty. This movie impressed me a lot. Both of course in visual terms, but also music wise. Music wise, it was done by The Island's own Steve Jablonsky, (who also does music for Desperate Housewives, believe it or not) and can be seen that he definitely has the reins on this one, as he's still a relatively new composer in the field, as a protege/apprentice to another composer I know of, the famous Hans Zimmer. The themes in the movie are absolutely great. Acting wise, everyone does a great job, and Shia LaBeouf, is his casting streak, definitely shows he is the right guy to be used to action for the Indy 4, but is he good enough to be his son? Still hard to tell as he's typecast as the teen who gets in trouble for right now. His true potential and judgement as an actor still lies ahead. A huge factor in this movie that I liked, was how the mystery of what the Transformers were, was kept until the rest arrived, and everything was laid out step by step, which was a great thing for those who aren't fans of the original cartoons back in the 80's and early 90's or don't know the mythology real well. Another huge deal is how they put lots of individuality into each and every one of these Transformers has their own personality and charm to their character, and it really makes you feel for them.
The only issues I had with this movie were only 3 things (one of which might be something storyline wise I didn't pick up): One, how did the cube get so small after Bumblebee touched it? Two, the only VFX problem was how it was handled at times, espeically in the big battle at the end. I couldn't tell who was fighting who and to keep track of the characters there was a bit of a hassle. That, and doesn't anyone else think that this movie sometimes looks like a military advertisement during some sequences? I know, obviously, the military is involved in the storyline, but the way they shot it at times felt like a US Army or Air Force commercial. (I'm not ranting on that, just making a note of it.)
Overall, a fantastic surprise and a movie that was definitely worth the hype and worth your time.
Score: 4 1/2
__________________________________________________
MR: Battlestar Galactica: Razor
Let me start off by saying that I'm a HUGE Battlestar Galactica fan. I've been in love with this show since it first premiered as a miniseries back in 2003, and I've been devoted ever since. (That's why I pretty much 500 feet into the air to see that this was leaked online 22 days before it hit TV screens, haha) It's been a huge uphill battle to get people to watch this show, as most dismiss for various reasons. Reasons?: Dismiss it cause it's scifi; Cause it's on the SciFi Channel; Involves space and saceships and robots that basically went wacko; and also, because of it's predecessor was the most cheesiest thing in the universe of scifi that happened in the 1970's was declared stuff of nerds; so people ask, "WHY should we see it if we know it might be bad as heck?" Welll, like all things, watch before critizing. Most critics admitted to plopping the DVD of the earlier seasons and miniseries, thought it was gunna be complete garbage, and yet, they got hooked. Since then, most critics have put BSG on their top series in their list of best TV shows, and criticized as being as having the political plot points of "The West Wing", with the action and suspsense of "24", and the plot twists of "The Sopranos".
Why you ask? To put it simply, it's been, as the writers say, 'reimagined'. Besides the name of the ship, series, and characters, nothing is the same. This was a series made for our time and developed as real situations were happening in the real world. Dark, brutal, political, complex, and yes, at times, depressing. When the 12 Colonies were destroyed, what was the inspiration? September 11th. What is the whole war against the Cylons based on? The War in Iraq. Now you must be asking yourself, how do robots have anything to do with terrorists and the war? Simple. As the plot dictates, the Cylons evolved from their regular silver Centurion models to start to look like an everyday human. Nothing to distinguish them from humans. Same blood, smae hair, thoughts, emotions. They can do anything and look like regular people, hidden away. Religion bases them on everything they do, saying they do God's will, and, interestingly enough, the Cylons are monotheistic, while the humans are polytheistic. How can you tell who's a terrorist and who isn't? What will your motives for waging a war would be?
These and many more heavy questions are asked on BSG regularly, shown brutally at times, but what's the method and genius behind the madness? The questions are never answered. YOU have to make up your mind about what's going on. The same goes for BSG: Razor. Razor takes place during one of the most darkest and realistic periods for the series. While we're left off waiting for Season 4, this actually takes place after the events the middle of Season Two, the triumvirate of episodes, "Pegasus" and "Resurrection Ship, Parts 1 and 2". It tells the story of Lee "Apollo" Adama's first mission as the commander of the Pegasus, the only other battlestar that made it out of the opening onslaught. When he assumes command of the Pegasus, he appoints Captain Kendra Shaw as his second in command, and through her eyes, we finally learn what the crew of the Pegasus did 10 months before they met up with the Galactica.
We get to see how Admiral Cain was, being self-sufficent as always, and ruling her crew with an iron hammer. **SPOILER TO BSG FANS** Razor adds a tragic plot point, in how Cain was in a relationship with the lead of the upgrades board the Pegasus, Gina, which ultimately lead to Cain's downfall and was her greatest weakness in the end. **END SPOILER** We learn how Gina turns out to be the outlet of most of the crew's anger and guilt, as we see in the episodes of Season Two, becoming tortured and abused in the process (An allegory to the real world's Abu Gharib prison scandal). I love the questions that are asked throughout the whole film: What should we do during a time of war? What's not right and what is just? What is considered a survival tactic rather than an actual need? Were the decisions taken by Cain and her crew acceptable or downright disgusting?
Admiral Helena Cain, played by Michelle Forbes, is proven again, just as she was in Season 2, that she is a force to be reckoned with as a leader who, after the attacks, promotes revenge as the crew's main purpose to eliminate their enemy and that anything that could happen for the benefit of the military, WILL happen. In her icy ideals, "Military needs comes first." When compared to the Galactica, while the Galactica has some dark sins on themselves, they look like angels and saints compared to how the crew of the Pegasus was. Under Cain, they were brutal, ruthless, loyalists to the cause that did anything and everything to achieve their cause. I still can't believe how some fans prefer Cain over Adama. Let me say my opinon in a simple sentence: At least Adama has a conscience.
The acting, as always on BSG, is top notch. Shaw, as a new character in the BSG universe, does a compelling job of showing what she went through in those times. While we don't see many of our old characters from BSG, the ones that do show up, Apollo, Starbuck, Adama, and Roslin, make up for it. The plot is great, and in the end, does pave the way for plot details coming up now in Season 4, including yet another prophesy from the Cylons to another fellow character we know of, only this time, the shock factor just plussed 300+ times. The music by genius composer Bear McCreary is absolutely great, and while it's more atomospheric in this case, I still love it.
All in all, this is yet another fantastic yet dark voyage through the BSG universe. This series is always one to recommend, and I DO heavily recommend it to those who love deep thinking questions or those who just live hardcore dramas. Do you need to watch the earlier episodes, "Pegasus" and "Resurrection Ship, Parts 1 and 2" to understand it? Not exactly. They do recap what happened in those episodes briefly in the beginning, but if you want the whole entire story and effect of it, then yeah, it's suggested that you should. As much as I did love it, I got angry at the end. No, not the film's fault actually. Just at SciFi execs. Why? Cause us fans have just gotten our first BSG fix since March of 07...and it will hopefully hold us until April of 08, when the 4th and final *tear* season will begin to air. In the meantime...patience and soundtracks will do, haha. So Say We All. BSG IS the allegory for our time.
RAZOR AIRS NOVEMEBER 24th AT 9PM ON SCIFI!!
NOTE: BSG can be VERY violent at times. Quite a few episodes before have had the "Viewer Discretion Advised' warnings before. Razor definitely fits into that category, so just a warning if you have a queasy stomach.
Score: 5
PS - The song, "Unknown Soldier" by Breaking Benjamin is just an excellent match with BSG: Razor in tons of ways. That, and it's an awesome song in and of itself. If anyone's a BSG fan and does a music video of Razor using this song...Would be sooo awesome, haha; Also, if anyone wants to see the commercial preview for Battlestar Galactica: Razor, it's in my signature.
___________________________
Enjoy! If you guys like it, I will continue to do this!
Thing is, I was thinking to myself, well, why don't I post them somewhere else to attract a group of readers who like reviews? After going through some fan review websites I know of, I finally decided: To share it with you guys!
Everytime I see a new movie or TV show (or anything else worth mentioning), I shall post it here! Sooo, here's the two reviews that I want to present first:
Transformers (I did this review back a month ago now, but since the DVD came out recently, thought I should put it on here) and a review of the highly anticpated Battlestar Galactica: Razor! (I know some of y'alls out there are BSG fans as well, so I thought I should put that up, haha.)
Lastly, I know the reviews I write are somewhat long. If you just want the short-sweet-and-to-the-point reviews, check out the last paragraph. I do that for everyone who doesn't want to read all the tiny details I talk about.
_______________________________________________________
MR: Transformers
The trailers. The promos. Endless advertising I saw for this movie through the whole summer, and I still kept watching them. Michael Bay film? Check. Big giant robots fighting each other? Check. Massive and probably mindless action sequences? Check. Based on a series/franchise of toys? Check. What did everything add up to? A mindless summer flick made for giant explosions, mindless action, and nothing but bone crushing fights. Wow...was I wrong.
Michael Bay, I have no idea whatever the heck happened to you, if you had some religious experience or is the under influence of some muse somewhere, keep doing whatever the heck you're doing! I thought one of my favorite Scifi movies of all time, done my Bay, 2005's "The Island", was just an epiphany of his, not like something changed him, cause Bay is known for doing mindless action sequences that reveal no plot details or storylines in between. I can proudly say though, that The Island, and now Transformers, can be heralded as finally Bay at his best: to prove there's an actual storyline and plot to his movies and a reason for why everything is happening the way it is, and some big thinking questions added along to that as well.
A huge factor as well, is that it looks like he FINALLY got his own directing style, and I don't know what it's called, but I LOVE it. It's known to be very realistic, and it's VERY effective. (My opinon right there) If anyone has ever seen the movies Man on Fire or Deja Vu (done by Ridley Scott's brother, by the way), it's basically the same thing, but with Bay's directing, it's put to great use and to it's full advantage. It affects the lightining, sets, and everything. Absolutely great.
Sooo, down to the nitty gritty. This movie impressed me a lot. Both of course in visual terms, but also music wise. Music wise, it was done by The Island's own Steve Jablonsky, (who also does music for Desperate Housewives, believe it or not) and can be seen that he definitely has the reins on this one, as he's still a relatively new composer in the field, as a protege/apprentice to another composer I know of, the famous Hans Zimmer. The themes in the movie are absolutely great. Acting wise, everyone does a great job, and Shia LaBeouf, is his casting streak, definitely shows he is the right guy to be used to action for the Indy 4, but is he good enough to be his son? Still hard to tell as he's typecast as the teen who gets in trouble for right now. His true potential and judgement as an actor still lies ahead. A huge factor in this movie that I liked, was how the mystery of what the Transformers were, was kept until the rest arrived, and everything was laid out step by step, which was a great thing for those who aren't fans of the original cartoons back in the 80's and early 90's or don't know the mythology real well. Another huge deal is how they put lots of individuality into each and every one of these Transformers has their own personality and charm to their character, and it really makes you feel for them.
The only issues I had with this movie were only 3 things (one of which might be something storyline wise I didn't pick up): One, how did the cube get so small after Bumblebee touched it? Two, the only VFX problem was how it was handled at times, espeically in the big battle at the end. I couldn't tell who was fighting who and to keep track of the characters there was a bit of a hassle. That, and doesn't anyone else think that this movie sometimes looks like a military advertisement during some sequences? I know, obviously, the military is involved in the storyline, but the way they shot it at times felt like a US Army or Air Force commercial. (I'm not ranting on that, just making a note of it.)
Overall, a fantastic surprise and a movie that was definitely worth the hype and worth your time.
Score: 4 1/2
__________________________________________________
MR: Battlestar Galactica: Razor
Let me start off by saying that I'm a HUGE Battlestar Galactica fan. I've been in love with this show since it first premiered as a miniseries back in 2003, and I've been devoted ever since. (That's why I pretty much 500 feet into the air to see that this was leaked online 22 days before it hit TV screens, haha) It's been a huge uphill battle to get people to watch this show, as most dismiss for various reasons. Reasons?: Dismiss it cause it's scifi; Cause it's on the SciFi Channel; Involves space and saceships and robots that basically went wacko; and also, because of it's predecessor was the most cheesiest thing in the universe of scifi that happened in the 1970's was declared stuff of nerds; so people ask, "WHY should we see it if we know it might be bad as heck?" Welll, like all things, watch before critizing. Most critics admitted to plopping the DVD of the earlier seasons and miniseries, thought it was gunna be complete garbage, and yet, they got hooked. Since then, most critics have put BSG on their top series in their list of best TV shows, and criticized as being as having the political plot points of "The West Wing", with the action and suspsense of "24", and the plot twists of "The Sopranos".
Why you ask? To put it simply, it's been, as the writers say, 'reimagined'. Besides the name of the ship, series, and characters, nothing is the same. This was a series made for our time and developed as real situations were happening in the real world. Dark, brutal, political, complex, and yes, at times, depressing. When the 12 Colonies were destroyed, what was the inspiration? September 11th. What is the whole war against the Cylons based on? The War in Iraq. Now you must be asking yourself, how do robots have anything to do with terrorists and the war? Simple. As the plot dictates, the Cylons evolved from their regular silver Centurion models to start to look like an everyday human. Nothing to distinguish them from humans. Same blood, smae hair, thoughts, emotions. They can do anything and look like regular people, hidden away. Religion bases them on everything they do, saying they do God's will, and, interestingly enough, the Cylons are monotheistic, while the humans are polytheistic. How can you tell who's a terrorist and who isn't? What will your motives for waging a war would be?
These and many more heavy questions are asked on BSG regularly, shown brutally at times, but what's the method and genius behind the madness? The questions are never answered. YOU have to make up your mind about what's going on. The same goes for BSG: Razor. Razor takes place during one of the most darkest and realistic periods for the series. While we're left off waiting for Season 4, this actually takes place after the events the middle of Season Two, the triumvirate of episodes, "Pegasus" and "Resurrection Ship, Parts 1 and 2". It tells the story of Lee "Apollo" Adama's first mission as the commander of the Pegasus, the only other battlestar that made it out of the opening onslaught. When he assumes command of the Pegasus, he appoints Captain Kendra Shaw as his second in command, and through her eyes, we finally learn what the crew of the Pegasus did 10 months before they met up with the Galactica.
We get to see how Admiral Cain was, being self-sufficent as always, and ruling her crew with an iron hammer. **SPOILER TO BSG FANS** Razor adds a tragic plot point, in how Cain was in a relationship with the lead of the upgrades board the Pegasus, Gina, which ultimately lead to Cain's downfall and was her greatest weakness in the end. **END SPOILER** We learn how Gina turns out to be the outlet of most of the crew's anger and guilt, as we see in the episodes of Season Two, becoming tortured and abused in the process (An allegory to the real world's Abu Gharib prison scandal). I love the questions that are asked throughout the whole film: What should we do during a time of war? What's not right and what is just? What is considered a survival tactic rather than an actual need? Were the decisions taken by Cain and her crew acceptable or downright disgusting?
Admiral Helena Cain, played by Michelle Forbes, is proven again, just as she was in Season 2, that she is a force to be reckoned with as a leader who, after the attacks, promotes revenge as the crew's main purpose to eliminate their enemy and that anything that could happen for the benefit of the military, WILL happen. In her icy ideals, "Military needs comes first." When compared to the Galactica, while the Galactica has some dark sins on themselves, they look like angels and saints compared to how the crew of the Pegasus was. Under Cain, they were brutal, ruthless, loyalists to the cause that did anything and everything to achieve their cause. I still can't believe how some fans prefer Cain over Adama. Let me say my opinon in a simple sentence: At least Adama has a conscience.
The acting, as always on BSG, is top notch. Shaw, as a new character in the BSG universe, does a compelling job of showing what she went through in those times. While we don't see many of our old characters from BSG, the ones that do show up, Apollo, Starbuck, Adama, and Roslin, make up for it. The plot is great, and in the end, does pave the way for plot details coming up now in Season 4, including yet another prophesy from the Cylons to another fellow character we know of, only this time, the shock factor just plussed 300+ times. The music by genius composer Bear McCreary is absolutely great, and while it's more atomospheric in this case, I still love it.
All in all, this is yet another fantastic yet dark voyage through the BSG universe. This series is always one to recommend, and I DO heavily recommend it to those who love deep thinking questions or those who just live hardcore dramas. Do you need to watch the earlier episodes, "Pegasus" and "Resurrection Ship, Parts 1 and 2" to understand it? Not exactly. They do recap what happened in those episodes briefly in the beginning, but if you want the whole entire story and effect of it, then yeah, it's suggested that you should. As much as I did love it, I got angry at the end. No, not the film's fault actually. Just at SciFi execs. Why? Cause us fans have just gotten our first BSG fix since March of 07...and it will hopefully hold us until April of 08, when the 4th and final *tear* season will begin to air. In the meantime...patience and soundtracks will do, haha. So Say We All. BSG IS the allegory for our time.
RAZOR AIRS NOVEMEBER 24th AT 9PM ON SCIFI!!
NOTE: BSG can be VERY violent at times. Quite a few episodes before have had the "Viewer Discretion Advised' warnings before. Razor definitely fits into that category, so just a warning if you have a queasy stomach.
Score: 5
PS - The song, "Unknown Soldier" by Breaking Benjamin is just an excellent match with BSG: Razor in tons of ways. That, and it's an awesome song in and of itself. If anyone's a BSG fan and does a music video of Razor using this song...Would be sooo awesome, haha; Also, if anyone wants to see the commercial preview for Battlestar Galactica: Razor, it's in my signature.
___________________________
Enjoy! If you guys like it, I will continue to do this!
