Movie Review: "Transformers: Dark of the Moon"

Seen on: June 29, 2011

The players: Director: Michael Bay, Writer: Ehren Kruger, Cast: Shia LaBeouf, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, Patrick Dempsey Tyrese Gibson

Fact of interest: None.

The plot: The Decepticons attempt to pull the damaged planet of Cybertron into Earth's atmosphere. Sam and the Autobots must stop them.

Our thoughts: Here’s the good news: Michael Bay’s latest sci-fi spectacle “Transformers: Dark of the Moon” is a tad better than its utterly forgettable predecessor “Revenge of the Fallen.” That said, the not-so-good news is that the latest installment in the popular (and ridiculously profitable) big-screen franchise isn’t exactly a memorable experience either.

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'Transformers: Dark of the Moon' bags $37M

Paramount's "Transformers: Dark of the Moon" jumped to the top of the North American box office Wednesday, earning a solid $37.3 million in ticket sales, according to studio estimates. The film scored the biggest opening day so far this year.

Michael Bay's crazy 3D sequel, however, failed to beat the stellar performance of its predecessor, "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen." That sequel took home a strong $62 million. "Transformers: Dark of the Moon" is now playing at 4,011 locations.

Needless to say, the third film in the franchise will make a lot of moola this weekend, and it will probably rank somewhere between the first "Transformers" and "Revenge of the Fallen." Wednesday midnight showings, by the way, only brought in $8 million.

LaBeouf says new 'Tranformers' is 'Greatest 3D film ever made'

With a little over a week away from the release of the third installment of the "Transformers" series, star Shia LaBeouf seems to be churning out grandiose statements in hopes to pack theaters. With the recent trend of theatergoers opting for a 2D rather than a 3D experience, LaBeouf must feel the need to dabble in hyperbole in order to get people excited for the film. 

According to Moveline, not only did he recently state that this newest installment was the "Greatest 3D film ever made", he went on to say, “The last hour of this movie is the greatest action sequence of Mike’s career, which would put it on the same level as the greatest action ever made,” LaBeouf said.

“You don’t breathe for the last hour. There’s just no letup, but it’s also not completely overwhelming and disconnected, as the second movie was. You didn’t know what was fighting what or where you were geography-wise.

There was no way to be able to tell a story, whereas this is very ‘Black Hawk Down’ action. The geography is very clear. There’s only four or five dudes you need to be following. The enemy is very clear. The second movie was so … complicated. The best movies are simple.”

I wonder if he will have to backpeddle a little bit when the first batch of negative reviews start coming in...

LaBeouf and Bay done with 'Transformers'?

As director Michael Bay and star Shia LaBeouf are gearing up for the release of "Transformers: Dark of the Moon," which lands June 29, 2011, there is reason to believe that their involvement with the popular franchise may soon come to an end. 

Talking to MTV, LaBeouf stated that after the release of this film, he is done with the "Transformers" franchise. Not only he will be finished, but LaBeouf also said he believes Bay might ditch the series as well. LaBeouf went on to declare, “It still is a hot property, I think, especially coming out of the third one. So I imagine they'll reboot it at some point with someone else.”

The Transformers series in the hands of someone other than Michael Bay? That could be interesting. Let's say all this is true and the series will be continued - who would you want to come onboard to direct? Any favorites?

Shia LaBeouf says 'Indiana Jones 5' isn't far off

"Transformers" star and Spielberg darling Shia Labeouf recently gave word that the next installment of the "Indiana Jones" franchise might be closer than you think. This is surprising to hear him say this after he recently stated that the previous film, "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull," was an unworthy entry in the series.  

In an interview with MTV, LeBeouf explained that he had recently spoken with co-star Harrison Ford and that, "He said he's staying in the gym, he said he's heard no word, but he does know that [George Lucas] is out there looking for a MacGuffin. He said he's staying in the gym, so it means [the movie is] not so far off."

Let's just hope Lucas finds a story that LeBeouf will find worthy of being included in the Indiana Jones pantheon. 

Boring new 'Transformers: Dark of the Moon' clip

Here is a brand-new clip from Michael Bay's upcoming sequel "Transformers: Dark of the Moon," but as you can see after the jump, it looks like they're going to save all the action for the movie. This clip is pretty uneventful, unless you have a thing for Rosie Huntington-Whiteley or Patrick Dempsey, of course.

Anyway, Dempsey plays a dude named Dylan, and in this footage, he proves he's quite the show-off. Shia LaBeouf returns as Sam Witwicky, and Huntington-Whiteley pretty much replaces Megan Fox. Also part of the cast are Tyrese Gibson, Josh Duhamel, John Malkovich and Frances McDormand.

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ET's 'Transformers: Dark of the Moon' set visit

Entertainment Tonight recently visited the set of Michael Bay's "Transformers: Dark of the Moon," and you can watch the video now via the YouTube embed below. Shows you how gigantic these sets can be.

Now, the hosts of this silly show and the entire editing of the piece couldn't be any worse, but the video provides a glimpse at the madness Bay and co. created in Chicago. That is truly impressive.

Either way, LaBeouf acts incredibly energetic in this video, claiming this third flick will be the best. And Bay even makes a statement saying his 3D action on a real set is better than doing blue screen stuff.

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Movie Review: "Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps"

Seen on: September 24, 2010

The players: Director: Oliver Stone, Writers: Allan Loeb, Stephen Schiff, Cast: Michael Douglas, Shia LaBeouf, Carey Mulligan, Josh Brolin

Facts of interest: None.

The plot: Gordon Gekko gets out of prison and tries to get back into the game while a young Wall Street trader learns his lessons the hard way.

Our thoughts: The global financial meltdown is just what Oliver Stone needed as the backdrop for a “Wall Street” sequel, and 23 years after the original’s release, here we are: “Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps” has landed in theaters, and Gordon Gekko (Michael Douglas) is back in action and still looking sharp. Too bad he doesn’t have a bigger role in this moderately entertaining follow-up.

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First 'Transformers 3' set photos are here

Michael Bay's "Transformers 3" is now shooting, and here is the evidence. Specifically, these are the first set photos from the upcoming action sequel, which will hit theaters July 1, 2011. More below...

Don't expect anything exciting in these pics though. They're just shots of Shia LaBeouf, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley and Tyrese Gibson involved in an action scene. Head over to Just Jared for more.

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No 'Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps' this April

Oliver Stone's upcoming "Wall Street" sequel "Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps" was originally scheduled to open in theaters April 23, 2010, but 20th Century Fox just took the film off this date. The new date: September 24. No details about this change have been released.

Word is though that "Money Never Sleeps" may be considered for Cannes, and in that case, a release shift like this one would make sense. Shia LaBeouf plays Jacob Moore, a Wall Street trader who tries to alert the financial community to a coming doom and find out how his mentor died.

Also starring in the film are Michael Douglas, Charlie Sheen, Josh Brolin, Carey Mulligan, Susan Sarandon, Vanessa Ferlito and Frank Langella. Fans will now have to wait a little longer for the big return of Gordon Gekko and his wonderful attitude.