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Bong Mines Entertainment (15 KP) rated Psycho But Ya Love It - Single by Juliet Carina in Music
Jun 17, 2019
Juliet Carina is a singer-songwriter from Brooklyn, New York. Not too long ago, she released a music video for her “Psycho but Ya Love It” single.
“This collaboration was the brainchild of Cindy Valentine. But while in the studio working with her, I kept whispering something that sounded like ‘Psycho’ and we were laughing at how crazy we both are when we work together that we thought why not. Niko the kid, came next and while in LA with him, the laughs kept coming and that’s when Cindy decided we needed an Indian chant. So, she jumped on the mic and was possessed by a past life. For the bridge, I channeled my nasty alter ego and was petrified but encouraged to go for it.” – Juliet Carina
‘Psycho but Ya Love It’ contains a relatable storyline, pleasing vocals, and lush instrumentation flavored with a commercial-pop aroma.
“I had so much fun with this project that I really hope people love it as much as I do!” – Juliet Carina
Juliet Carina is from a diverse background. Her mother is of Italian descent and her father is Chinese.
With that dynamic combo, you can’t help but see that Juliet’s look is unique with the best of both worlds. But above all, she has a lot of talent and ambition.
https://www.bongminesentertainment.com/juliet-carina-psycho-but-ya-love-it/
“This collaboration was the brainchild of Cindy Valentine. But while in the studio working with her, I kept whispering something that sounded like ‘Psycho’ and we were laughing at how crazy we both are when we work together that we thought why not. Niko the kid, came next and while in LA with him, the laughs kept coming and that’s when Cindy decided we needed an Indian chant. So, she jumped on the mic and was possessed by a past life. For the bridge, I channeled my nasty alter ego and was petrified but encouraged to go for it.” – Juliet Carina
‘Psycho but Ya Love It’ contains a relatable storyline, pleasing vocals, and lush instrumentation flavored with a commercial-pop aroma.
“I had so much fun with this project that I really hope people love it as much as I do!” – Juliet Carina
Juliet Carina is from a diverse background. Her mother is of Italian descent and her father is Chinese.
With that dynamic combo, you can’t help but see that Juliet’s look is unique with the best of both worlds. But above all, she has a lot of talent and ambition.
https://www.bongminesentertainment.com/juliet-carina-psycho-but-ya-love-it/
Matthew Krueger (10051 KP) rated Pirates of the Caribbean: At Worlds End (2007) in Movies
Nov 20, 2019
Drunk Johnny Part 3
This one, this one is my favorite out of all of them. Let my explain, this one ends the trilogy, this one continues off from the second movie and does it excellently. This one has the most epic battle out of all the movies, this one you see the chacters at their best, you see them at their peak, you see them battle for their lives. You see Keith Richards in this one, wait what? Yes you read that correctly, Keith Richards is in this one and he plays as Captain Jack Sparrow's Father, of course he does. Cause Johnny Depp is playing a drunk verison of pirate Keith Richard's. Anyways the plot:
Will Turner (Orlando Bloom) and Elizabeth Swann (Keira Knightley) join forces with Capt. Barbossa (Geoffrey Rush) to free Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp) from Davy Jones' locker. Meanwhile, the crew of the Flying Dutchman ghost ship wreaks havoc on the Seven Seas. The friends must navigate dangerous waters to confront Chinese pirate Sao Feng (Chow Yun-Fat) and, ultimately, they must choose sides in a battle where
in the pirate life hangs in the balance.
At World's End is the pefect title for a perfect trilogy and should of ending with this one, but nope had to make two more after this one.
Will Turner (Orlando Bloom) and Elizabeth Swann (Keira Knightley) join forces with Capt. Barbossa (Geoffrey Rush) to free Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp) from Davy Jones' locker. Meanwhile, the crew of the Flying Dutchman ghost ship wreaks havoc on the Seven Seas. The friends must navigate dangerous waters to confront Chinese pirate Sao Feng (Chow Yun-Fat) and, ultimately, they must choose sides in a battle where
in the pirate life hangs in the balance.
At World's End is the pefect title for a perfect trilogy and should of ending with this one, but nope had to make two more after this one.
Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2097 KP) rated The Art of Betrayal in Books
Jun 9, 2021 (Updated Jun 9, 2021)
Murder of a Recluse, Theft of an Antique Jar
Kate Hamilton is back in the village of Long Barston to help her friend with his antiques business while he recovers from surgery and spend more time with Detective Inspector Tom Mallory. One afternoon, a woman comes into the store with a valuable piece of Chinese pottery she wants to sell on consignment. But that night, she stumbles onto the stage of the village’s May Fair pageant and dies. Almost immediately, Tom gets a call about the antique shop, and he and Kate go there to find that the pottery is missing. Can Kate figure out what is going on?
It was a pleasure to be back with Kate and Tom in England. This is a fantastic mystery with plenty of twisty threads for Kate to follow before she resolves things. I had a part or two figured out, but most of it didn’t come together for me until Kate had figured it out. Then I couldn’t believe I had missed it. The characters are strong. Kate is a little older than a traditional protagonist, something that I enjoy. I quickly got reacquainted with the returning characters and enjoyed getting to know the suspects, who were strong enough to make me care about the outcome. This book will please Kate’s fans and should bring her some new ones.
It was a pleasure to be back with Kate and Tom in England. This is a fantastic mystery with plenty of twisty threads for Kate to follow before she resolves things. I had a part or two figured out, but most of it didn’t come together for me until Kate had figured it out. Then I couldn’t believe I had missed it. The characters are strong. Kate is a little older than a traditional protagonist, something that I enjoy. I quickly got reacquainted with the returning characters and enjoyed getting to know the suspects, who were strong enough to make me care about the outcome. This book will please Kate’s fans and should bring her some new ones.
Bob Mann (459 KP) rated The Farewell (2019) in Movies
Sep 28, 2021
Simply brilliant. Go see it!
The Long Goodbye.
With “Downton Abbey” and now “The Farewell”, the excesses of the summer blockbusters are fading away. (Though I’m sure Rambo might have something to say about that!)
The Plot.
Billi (Awkwafina) is a young Chinese New Yorker struggling to make her way in the world. She has a place of her own to distance herself from her parents – Haiyan (“Arrival“‘s Tzi Ma) and Lu Jian (Diana Lin) – but is struggling to fund it. But despite a typically spiky teenage relationship with her parents, family is important to her.
There’s a big shock then when her beloved “Nai Nai” (Shuzhen Zhao) is diagnosed back in China with terminal cancer. The slight complication is that no-one has told her. Her younger sister (Hong Lu) has taken the decision to keep the news from her. This is in line with the Chinese saying “When people get Cancer they die”. (Based on the rationale that it is not necessarily the disease that kills you, but the fear that destroys your useful life).
The whole extended family sign up – reluctantly – to the decision. They stage a final get together back in China around the pretence of a trumped-up wedding. This is between the comically reluctant grandson Hao Hao (Han Chen) and his new Japanese girlfriend Aiko (Aoi Mizuhara).
Faced with seeing Nai Nai face-to-face, and being forced to “celebrate” together, can the family – and the emotionally attached Billi in particular – hold it together and keep the secret?
A laff a minute then?
You might naturally assume that given the subject matter that this was going to be SERIOUSLY heavy going. And in many ways you would be right. Most of us over 50 will have lost an elderly relative. And, unless it was a sudden event, you have probably been through the mental pain of having to drive away from a nursing home certain that that will be the final time you will see your loved one alive. If you are therefore not affected by this film, you are not human.
So I was frankly bracing myself.
However, the film is so beautifully put together, and the comedy – albeit some of it very dark – so brilliantly inserted that the film is an UTTER DELIGHT from start to end. There are truly insightful scenes that get under the skin of the well-developed social approach in China to family. (Like the illustrious Mrs Movie-Man, they love big family dinners around a round-table!) Although there is always the teen – Bau (Jinhang Liu) in this case – with his face permanently in his phone!
There are also scenes familiar to anyone who’s visited China. The gaggle of “helpful” taxi drivers outside the airport made me laugh out loud.
Also (unintentionally) funny are the multiple company logos at the start of the film. This is reminiscent of the classic “Family Guy” scene (I think “The Simpsons” also did a similar spoof).
Cinematic.
For such a ‘small’ film, the scale is sometimes truly cinematic. Director and writer, Lulu Wang, achieves some gloriously memorable movie moments. A stony-faced, determined march of the key players towards the camera – which could be subtitled “The Magnificent Eight” – is slo-mo’d for about 30 seconds and is utterly mesmeric.
And a scene at a cemetery is a comic masterpiece of Chinese tradition. Bau of course still has his face in his phone throughout!
This is only Lulu Wang‘s second feature, but it makes me now want to check out her first film (“Posthumous”).
Not afraid to offend either country.
What I found particularly interesting is that the film is truly multi-cultural. It’s not an American film with some local content crudely inserted to cater for the Far East markets. The film is an almost equal blend of American language and Mandarin language with subtitles.
Lulu Wang is also not afraid to upset officials in either country. Which is better: US or China? The question keeps getting posed to Billi and discussed among the family. And – as you might expect – there are positives and negatives on each side. The film doesn’t really take sides. It’s a really balanced position to take.
A quirky soundtrack.
The music is by Alex Weston, and its one of the stars of the film. It’s truly quirky with everything as diverse as a vocalised version of Beethoven’s Sonata No. 8 “Pathetique”; a karaoke version of “Killing Me Softly”; and a hugely entertaining Chinese version of Niilson’s “Without You” over the end titles.
A brilliant ensemble cast.
It’s a great ensemble cast (SAG awards, are you listening?), and everyone pulls their weight. Even the minor members of the cast are superb: Aoi Mizuhara in particular displays acute awkwardness brilliantly!
But leading the charge is Awkwafina. She was in the disappointing “Ocean’s 8” but much more memorable in “Crazy Rich Asians” as Rachel’s wacky Singapore friend. Here it’s a bravado performance that is genuinely moving. She IS the slightly sulky but emotionally crushed teen.
Sub-titles? I don’t do sub-titles.
Get a grip! Yes, this is a film that has sub-titles. But it uses them when required (unless you happen to be fluent in Mandarin that is!). There is also a large percentage of the film that is in English. It’s all eminently watchable, even for “sub-title-phobes”.
This is a feelgood film about a tough subject. The ending of the film pulls off the trick of being both devastating and uplifting at the same time.
So get yourself to the cinema and see this film! Without question, it gets my “highly recommended” tag. It’s also firmly placed itself very high up in my “Films of the Year” list.
And it’s all “based on a true lie”!
With “Downton Abbey” and now “The Farewell”, the excesses of the summer blockbusters are fading away. (Though I’m sure Rambo might have something to say about that!)
The Plot.
Billi (Awkwafina) is a young Chinese New Yorker struggling to make her way in the world. She has a place of her own to distance herself from her parents – Haiyan (“Arrival“‘s Tzi Ma) and Lu Jian (Diana Lin) – but is struggling to fund it. But despite a typically spiky teenage relationship with her parents, family is important to her.
There’s a big shock then when her beloved “Nai Nai” (Shuzhen Zhao) is diagnosed back in China with terminal cancer. The slight complication is that no-one has told her. Her younger sister (Hong Lu) has taken the decision to keep the news from her. This is in line with the Chinese saying “When people get Cancer they die”. (Based on the rationale that it is not necessarily the disease that kills you, but the fear that destroys your useful life).
The whole extended family sign up – reluctantly – to the decision. They stage a final get together back in China around the pretence of a trumped-up wedding. This is between the comically reluctant grandson Hao Hao (Han Chen) and his new Japanese girlfriend Aiko (Aoi Mizuhara).
Faced with seeing Nai Nai face-to-face, and being forced to “celebrate” together, can the family – and the emotionally attached Billi in particular – hold it together and keep the secret?
A laff a minute then?
You might naturally assume that given the subject matter that this was going to be SERIOUSLY heavy going. And in many ways you would be right. Most of us over 50 will have lost an elderly relative. And, unless it was a sudden event, you have probably been through the mental pain of having to drive away from a nursing home certain that that will be the final time you will see your loved one alive. If you are therefore not affected by this film, you are not human.
So I was frankly bracing myself.
However, the film is so beautifully put together, and the comedy – albeit some of it very dark – so brilliantly inserted that the film is an UTTER DELIGHT from start to end. There are truly insightful scenes that get under the skin of the well-developed social approach in China to family. (Like the illustrious Mrs Movie-Man, they love big family dinners around a round-table!) Although there is always the teen – Bau (Jinhang Liu) in this case – with his face permanently in his phone!
There are also scenes familiar to anyone who’s visited China. The gaggle of “helpful” taxi drivers outside the airport made me laugh out loud.
Also (unintentionally) funny are the multiple company logos at the start of the film. This is reminiscent of the classic “Family Guy” scene (I think “The Simpsons” also did a similar spoof).
Cinematic.
For such a ‘small’ film, the scale is sometimes truly cinematic. Director and writer, Lulu Wang, achieves some gloriously memorable movie moments. A stony-faced, determined march of the key players towards the camera – which could be subtitled “The Magnificent Eight” – is slo-mo’d for about 30 seconds and is utterly mesmeric.
And a scene at a cemetery is a comic masterpiece of Chinese tradition. Bau of course still has his face in his phone throughout!
This is only Lulu Wang‘s second feature, but it makes me now want to check out her first film (“Posthumous”).
Not afraid to offend either country.
What I found particularly interesting is that the film is truly multi-cultural. It’s not an American film with some local content crudely inserted to cater for the Far East markets. The film is an almost equal blend of American language and Mandarin language with subtitles.
Lulu Wang is also not afraid to upset officials in either country. Which is better: US or China? The question keeps getting posed to Billi and discussed among the family. And – as you might expect – there are positives and negatives on each side. The film doesn’t really take sides. It’s a really balanced position to take.
A quirky soundtrack.
The music is by Alex Weston, and its one of the stars of the film. It’s truly quirky with everything as diverse as a vocalised version of Beethoven’s Sonata No. 8 “Pathetique”; a karaoke version of “Killing Me Softly”; and a hugely entertaining Chinese version of Niilson’s “Without You” over the end titles.
A brilliant ensemble cast.
It’s a great ensemble cast (SAG awards, are you listening?), and everyone pulls their weight. Even the minor members of the cast are superb: Aoi Mizuhara in particular displays acute awkwardness brilliantly!
But leading the charge is Awkwafina. She was in the disappointing “Ocean’s 8” but much more memorable in “Crazy Rich Asians” as Rachel’s wacky Singapore friend. Here it’s a bravado performance that is genuinely moving. She IS the slightly sulky but emotionally crushed teen.
Sub-titles? I don’t do sub-titles.
Get a grip! Yes, this is a film that has sub-titles. But it uses them when required (unless you happen to be fluent in Mandarin that is!). There is also a large percentage of the film that is in English. It’s all eminently watchable, even for “sub-title-phobes”.
This is a feelgood film about a tough subject. The ending of the film pulls off the trick of being both devastating and uplifting at the same time.
So get yourself to the cinema and see this film! Without question, it gets my “highly recommended” tag. It’s also firmly placed itself very high up in my “Films of the Year” list.
And it’s all “based on a true lie”!
Darren (1599 KP) rated Revenge of the Green Dragons (2014) in Movies
Jun 21, 2019
Story: Revenge of the Green Dragons starts as we follow the two young boys that immigrated from China to America and New York City, in a neighbourhood that is run by the Chinese gang known as the Green Dragons.
Recruited at a young age Sonny (Chon) and Steven (Wu) have grown up as part of the Green Dragons under the leadership of Paul (Shum Jr) a businessman that uses the gang to get what he wants. We get to see how the two rise through the ranks in the Green Dragons that even grabs the attention of the FBI.
Thoughts on Revenge of the Green Dragons
Characters – Sonny is the quieter of the two friends that gets taken in by the gang, he is the one that would like a life outside the gang which isn’t as easy as it seems, even when he falls in love. Steven was built for the gang, even after he gets seriously injured in the battle between the gangs, he becomes the one that won’t hesitant to pull the trigger. Paul is the leader of the Green Dragons, a businessman on the outside, that uses his intelligence to make sure he can stay ahead of the game in the gang battle.
Performances – The performances in this movie are fine, nothing is great or bad, we get to see the different ranges of emotions that the two friends must face during their decisions. We don’t have any of the performances that stand out though.
Story – The story follows the gangster storylines we have seen before, two young men or in this case boys get recruited to a rising gang to become big players in their gang in a war against another gang, until they step out of line. This time we follow Chinese immigrants in New York and it shows how they would never hold back on anybody of any age or gender. This does give us a brutality in the story, but in the end it is just more of the same.
Action/Crime – The action is just gun battles and brutality to the people who get in the way of the crimes being committed by the Green Dragons, as we see how they try to stay off the radar while conducting their business
Settings – New York will always be a great choice for settings for crime movies, this is unlike any other showing us how gangs had neighbourhoods and always want more.
Scene of the Movie – Put the gun down, it brings a clever kill.
That Moment That Annoyed Me – It offered nothing new to the genre.
Final Thoughts – This is a by the book crime movie, it shows the rise of two in a gang and just where they would go onto be in the gang, but otherwise gives us nothing we haven’t seen before.
Overall: Been Here Seen This.
https://moviesreview101.com/2019/06/18/revenge-of-the-green-dragons-2014/
Recruited at a young age Sonny (Chon) and Steven (Wu) have grown up as part of the Green Dragons under the leadership of Paul (Shum Jr) a businessman that uses the gang to get what he wants. We get to see how the two rise through the ranks in the Green Dragons that even grabs the attention of the FBI.
Thoughts on Revenge of the Green Dragons
Characters – Sonny is the quieter of the two friends that gets taken in by the gang, he is the one that would like a life outside the gang which isn’t as easy as it seems, even when he falls in love. Steven was built for the gang, even after he gets seriously injured in the battle between the gangs, he becomes the one that won’t hesitant to pull the trigger. Paul is the leader of the Green Dragons, a businessman on the outside, that uses his intelligence to make sure he can stay ahead of the game in the gang battle.
Performances – The performances in this movie are fine, nothing is great or bad, we get to see the different ranges of emotions that the two friends must face during their decisions. We don’t have any of the performances that stand out though.
Story – The story follows the gangster storylines we have seen before, two young men or in this case boys get recruited to a rising gang to become big players in their gang in a war against another gang, until they step out of line. This time we follow Chinese immigrants in New York and it shows how they would never hold back on anybody of any age or gender. This does give us a brutality in the story, but in the end it is just more of the same.
Action/Crime – The action is just gun battles and brutality to the people who get in the way of the crimes being committed by the Green Dragons, as we see how they try to stay off the radar while conducting their business
Settings – New York will always be a great choice for settings for crime movies, this is unlike any other showing us how gangs had neighbourhoods and always want more.
Scene of the Movie – Put the gun down, it brings a clever kill.
That Moment That Annoyed Me – It offered nothing new to the genre.
Final Thoughts – This is a by the book crime movie, it shows the rise of two in a gang and just where they would go onto be in the gang, but otherwise gives us nothing we haven’t seen before.
Overall: Been Here Seen This.
https://moviesreview101.com/2019/06/18/revenge-of-the-green-dragons-2014/
Whatchareadin (174 KP) rated Shanghai Girls (Shanghai Girls #1) in Books
May 10, 2018
Learning about the history of other cultures has always been something I've been interested in. All of our ancestors came to the United States in various ways. They all had to struggle to find their own ways in this world. Pearl and May are no exception.
Living in Shanghai, China in the '30's Pearl and May were considered beautiful girls. Their pictures were on calendars and other forms of advertising for the city. Their father owned a rickshaw company and they spent many nights out in Shanghai. Then one day it all came to a screeching halt. The girls learn that their father had gambled all their money away and now they were to have arranged marriages and a new life in America. The girls were not too happy about this and avoided the situation at all costs. Including the costs of life, freedom and the opportunity to have children.
Through all of the struggles to get from China to America, Pearl and May stood together always. They suffered through everything together.
I'm not sure that I could ever survive the things that they had to endure, with or without my sister. And I never knew of the different struggles that Chinese-American's had to suffer once they were in this country. For this reason, it made the book much more interesting. The writing was smooth and easy to read and comprehend. I enjoyed this book and look forward to reading more by Lisa See.
Living in Shanghai, China in the '30's Pearl and May were considered beautiful girls. Their pictures were on calendars and other forms of advertising for the city. Their father owned a rickshaw company and they spent many nights out in Shanghai. Then one day it all came to a screeching halt. The girls learn that their father had gambled all their money away and now they were to have arranged marriages and a new life in America. The girls were not too happy about this and avoided the situation at all costs. Including the costs of life, freedom and the opportunity to have children.
Through all of the struggles to get from China to America, Pearl and May stood together always. They suffered through everything together.
I'm not sure that I could ever survive the things that they had to endure, with or without my sister. And I never knew of the different struggles that Chinese-American's had to suffer once they were in this country. For this reason, it made the book much more interesting. The writing was smooth and easy to read and comprehend. I enjoyed this book and look forward to reading more by Lisa See.
Sean Farrell (9 KP) rated The Three-Body Problem in Books
Mar 15, 2018
If you're looking for something out of the ordinary to read this year, I strongly suggest this book. A best-seller in its native China, it has only just been released in the US. The plot spans several decades of China's history, and neatly incorporates that tumultuous story into the book's own, with some smartly used footnotes to help explain any cultural events that us Westerners might not be familiar with. Telling the story of Chinese scientists looking to stop a mysterious global catastrophe that may have extraterrestrial origins (the less known about the central mystery going in the better), the plot mostly moves along at a breakneck pace, especially as it reaches the conclusion. There are a few points that get bogged down in some pretty deep scientific explanations, but given how out there some of the story can get, it's also necessary to keep it in the realm of the possible. And believe me, this story can get pretty out there, delving into some highly theoretical territory; but that winds up being where it held a lot of its appeal for me. Even still I find myself thinking over some of the ideas posited within. It also holds some surprisingly liberal notions and is more directly and indirectly critical of China than I would have thought a book the government of that country hadn't censored would allow. It is a fascinating, thrilling piece of science fiction that I highly recommend to fans of the genre.
Jean-Pierre Gorin recommended Shadows (1959) in Movies (curated)
Gareth von Kallenbach (971 KP) rated Transformers: Age of Extinction (2014) in Movies
Jun 19, 2019
Director Michael Bay and the shape shifting Transfomers are back in a new cinematic adventure, “Transformers: Age of Extinction” which continues Bay’s fondness for over the top pyrotechnics, action, and chases.
It has been five years since the Autobots and Decepticons waged war in Chicago and in the aftermath, the U.S. government has ended working with the Autobots and has begun hunting down their enemies that are still in hiding.
Under the leadership of C.I.A. agent Harold Attinger (Kelsey Grammer), a covert group known as Cemetery Wind has been hunting down and killing all Transformers regardless of their allegiance as Attinger believes that it is time to keep humanity safe from the threat the pose.
At the same time in a small Texas town, an inventor named Cade Yeager (Mark Wahlberg), is trying to keep his home and deal with mounting debt and foreclosure while trying to get his daughter Tessa (Nicola Peltz), into college.
Convinced that one of his inventions will work and will allow them out of their financial mess, Cade purchases a derelict semi-truck convinced that the parts alone will get them an infusion of cash.
During his work on the truck, Cade uncovers that it appears to be a damaged Transfomer, which is confirmed when Optimus Prime transformers from the wreck.
His friend and daughter are convinced Cade should call the authorities and collect the sizeable reward for his find, but Cade decides to repair Prime who said he was injured in an ambush.
Soon after, Cemetery Wind arrives and threatens the life of Tessa and Cade which forces Prime into action. Soon, the humans along with Tessa’s secret boyfriend Shane (Jack Reynor) are racing for their lives from the deadly pursuit who is working secretly with a deadly Transformer.
As if this was not enough chaos, remember this is a Michael Bay film, a wealthy industrialist named Joshua Joyce (Stanley Tucci), has figured out the secret of the Transformers and working with Attinger in secret, plans to build and army of his own to usher in a new area of technology for humanity and of course lining his and Attinger’s pockets even further with their discovery.
The need to obtain more of the building components is key, and soon the action shifts to a new locale with the fate of a major city and humanity hanging in the balance.
Bay has crafted a film that is technically brilliant as it is an amazing visual spectacle, but yet is as cold and soulless as the very toys that inspired the series.
The film plays like a gigantic pyrotechnic and CGI demo reel as you can see countless examples of Bay orchestrating his fireworks to end in a grand finale.
It was almost comical how many explosions and car chases there were at the expense of the story. I think my wife summed it up best when she said that if the script was 50 pages long, at best 3 pages were devoted to dialogue.
I think it must have read something like this… explosion, explosion, gunfire, gunfire, car chase, explosion, Tessa!!, Dad!!! Vroom, vroom, explosion, car chase, bad line, repeat.
I do not see a film of this type expecting great acting or lines but some of them were so bad and out of place you could almost hear the cast of Mystery Science Theater chomping at the bit to get their hands on this one.
The film also blatantly sells out to appease Chinese audiences as we have a good segment of the film set in mainland China and Hong Kong which we get scenes of Chinese leaders being strong, decisive, and caring for the people, and other events in such a blatant Kowtow to ensure the film gets played in the all-important Chinese marketplace.
In the end the film does have plenty of visual entertainment but it drags out to the point where even the action and technical brilliance of the film and the 3D effects grows old. The biggest issues is that they have a strong and appealing cast, yet they are literally just along for the ride and are not given much to do.
The film is the first in a planned new trilogy so it is a safe bet, Bay and company will be back in a few years.
http://sknr.net/2014/06/27/transformers-age-of-extinction/
It has been five years since the Autobots and Decepticons waged war in Chicago and in the aftermath, the U.S. government has ended working with the Autobots and has begun hunting down their enemies that are still in hiding.
Under the leadership of C.I.A. agent Harold Attinger (Kelsey Grammer), a covert group known as Cemetery Wind has been hunting down and killing all Transformers regardless of their allegiance as Attinger believes that it is time to keep humanity safe from the threat the pose.
At the same time in a small Texas town, an inventor named Cade Yeager (Mark Wahlberg), is trying to keep his home and deal with mounting debt and foreclosure while trying to get his daughter Tessa (Nicola Peltz), into college.
Convinced that one of his inventions will work and will allow them out of their financial mess, Cade purchases a derelict semi-truck convinced that the parts alone will get them an infusion of cash.
During his work on the truck, Cade uncovers that it appears to be a damaged Transfomer, which is confirmed when Optimus Prime transformers from the wreck.
His friend and daughter are convinced Cade should call the authorities and collect the sizeable reward for his find, but Cade decides to repair Prime who said he was injured in an ambush.
Soon after, Cemetery Wind arrives and threatens the life of Tessa and Cade which forces Prime into action. Soon, the humans along with Tessa’s secret boyfriend Shane (Jack Reynor) are racing for their lives from the deadly pursuit who is working secretly with a deadly Transformer.
As if this was not enough chaos, remember this is a Michael Bay film, a wealthy industrialist named Joshua Joyce (Stanley Tucci), has figured out the secret of the Transformers and working with Attinger in secret, plans to build and army of his own to usher in a new area of technology for humanity and of course lining his and Attinger’s pockets even further with their discovery.
The need to obtain more of the building components is key, and soon the action shifts to a new locale with the fate of a major city and humanity hanging in the balance.
Bay has crafted a film that is technically brilliant as it is an amazing visual spectacle, but yet is as cold and soulless as the very toys that inspired the series.
The film plays like a gigantic pyrotechnic and CGI demo reel as you can see countless examples of Bay orchestrating his fireworks to end in a grand finale.
It was almost comical how many explosions and car chases there were at the expense of the story. I think my wife summed it up best when she said that if the script was 50 pages long, at best 3 pages were devoted to dialogue.
I think it must have read something like this… explosion, explosion, gunfire, gunfire, car chase, explosion, Tessa!!, Dad!!! Vroom, vroom, explosion, car chase, bad line, repeat.
I do not see a film of this type expecting great acting or lines but some of them were so bad and out of place you could almost hear the cast of Mystery Science Theater chomping at the bit to get their hands on this one.
The film also blatantly sells out to appease Chinese audiences as we have a good segment of the film set in mainland China and Hong Kong which we get scenes of Chinese leaders being strong, decisive, and caring for the people, and other events in such a blatant Kowtow to ensure the film gets played in the all-important Chinese marketplace.
In the end the film does have plenty of visual entertainment but it drags out to the point where even the action and technical brilliance of the film and the 3D effects grows old. The biggest issues is that they have a strong and appealing cast, yet they are literally just along for the ride and are not given much to do.
The film is the first in a planned new trilogy so it is a safe bet, Bay and company will be back in a few years.
http://sknr.net/2014/06/27/transformers-age-of-extinction/