Editorial: The crazy films of Michael Bay

Yes, Michael Bay occasionally likes to brag about how spectacular his films are. Who could blame him? After all, the man does occasionally pull off a pretty entertaining movie, right? That said, Bay is not the kind of guy you will see in the race for a best director Oscar anytime soon, and truth be told, it seems like he's not even after that kind of recognition. He has settled into his own genre, and he seems to have a blast.

Bay's films always make tons of money at the box office, and yet, he doesn't have the best reputation in town. In fact, many folks out there - cinemagoers and critics alike - tend to bad-mouth the director and his work whenever they can. Why? Because it's so easy. Yes, some of Bay's films truly suck (for the lack of a better work), but let's not forget he's also responsible for a solid dose of wildly intriguing cinema.

With "Transformers: Dark of the Moon" in theaters right now, I thought it would be good to look back at Bay's films and explain my answer to the question: Is he really that bad? To tell you right away, my answer to that one is no. He's a dab hand at what he does, and while he's got some lows on his record, he also generated a few movies that, heck, I absolutely love. Let's take a closer look.

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Daily news dose: 'Battleship' gets release date; Harrison Ford says 'Indy 5' story in the progress

Here is a collection of short but important movie news out of Hollywood and from the Web:

• Universal plans to release Peter Berg's "Battleship" July 1, 2011. The film is a live-action version of the popular Hasbro board game. Berg told Variety the film is "a contemporary story of an international five-ship fleet engaged in a very dynamic, violent and intense battle."

• Harrison Ford apparently can't wait to return to the world of Indiana Jones. Speaking with France's Le Figaro, he said the story for a fifth "Indiana Jones" flick is already taking shape. George Lucas is busy working on the story, he said. I think they should just leave Indy alone for good. Enough is enough.

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Everybody hates Megan Fox, even film crews

This is not exactly intriguing film news or anything, but it is darn funny and quite entertaining. Three crew folks who worked with Michael Bay before wrote an open letter complaining about Megan Fox and how she behaved on set for the two "Transformers" flicks.

The letter comes after Fox bashed Bay recently. I guess these guys thought that was the perfect opportunity to get their frustration out as well. I don't care who Megan Fox is, really, but if she acts like this indeed, I would probably never want to work with her.

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Watch three explosive 'Revenge of the Fallen' spots

We're just a little more than a month away from the release date of Michael Bay's anticipated action sequel "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen," and Paramount is stepping up promotion a bit by releasing new television spots. You can find three new ones after the jump, and although most of what you see here comes straight from previous trailers, you'll see a second or two here and there of new footage.

Shia LaBeouf, Megan Fox, Rainn Wilson, Tyrese Gibson and John Turturro star in the sequel, which opens in conventional theaters and IMAX June 24, 2009. Love him or hate him, but Bay has delivered a top-notch action blockbuster with "Transformers," and something tells me this follow-up will deliver twice as much robots and explosions. I'm really craving that right now.

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Rewind This: Bernie Mac

Welcome to our very first edition of “Rewind This,” a series of galleries we use to pay special tribute to a particular personality in the movie business. But don’t expect hundreds of pictures in these galleries. The sole purpose of this feature is to gather some good screenshots of a film star in order to highlight his or her career on the big screen.

In memory of comedian Bernie Mac, we chose to dedicate this first edition to him. By clicking right here, you’ll be able to look at 13 stills and wallpapers from some of Bernie Mac’s most popular movies, including “Ocean’s Eleven,” “Bad Santa” and “Mr. 3000.” Enjoy.

Click right here to access the fully Bernie Mac gallery.