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Movie Metropolis (309 KP) rated Transformers: The Last Knight (2017) in Movies

Jun 10, 2019

Has anyone got an aspirin?

Shhh! Don’t tell anyone I told you this but I’m a little bit of a Transformers fanboy. As a child I had many of the series’ toys and adored the animated series. Heck, I even have an Optimus Prime bobblehead next to my bed.

So when director Michael Bay announced in 2005 that he was planning a Transformers live-action movie with Steven Spielberg as producer, my heart skipped a beat. 2007 came and the film was everything I wanted.

Fast forward ten years and the series has, rightly or wrongly, become a laughing stock for critics the world over. Derided for nonsensical plots, messy special effects and in some cases racism, it’s been regarded as one of the worst film franchises of all time. Does the fifth entry in the franchise, The Last Knight redeem the series somewhat?

Humans are at war with the Transformers and Optimus Prime (Peter Cullen) has disappeared. The key to saving the future lies buried in the secrets of the past and the hidden history of Transformers on Earth. Now, it’s up to the alliance of Cade Yeager (Mark Wahlberg), Bumblebee, a Lord (Sir Anthony Hopkins) and an Oxford professor (Laura Haddock) to save the planet.

Michael Bay’s swansong is definitely the best of the series since the 2007 original, but suffers from all the problems of its 3 sequels.

On a budget of $260million, there was no doubt The Last Knight would look spectacular, but things really have stepped up a gear. The CGI is some of the best put to film and makes the uncharacteristically sloppy special effects of Age of Extinction look incredibly dated.

The Transformers themselves all look great with Bumblebee in particular taking on the role of “lead bot”. Newcomer Squeeks is sure to become the BB-8 of the franchise and is predictably adorable despite his limited screen-time.

Of the cast, it’s a story of same old. The voice acting on all the Transformers is good with a disappointingly underused Peter Cullen stealing the show once again. Mark Wahlberg is permanently likeable and it’s always a pleasure having John Turturro’s Agent Simmons returning to the screen. Laura Haddock is the typical Michael Bay choice of female lead, channelling Megan Fox, Rosie Huntington-Whitely and Nicola Peltz.

However, Sir Anthony Hopkins is where this film raises itself above the parapet. The veteran actor is really exceptional and brightens the movie in every single scene he appears in. You can tell he’s not taking it too seriously, and that is exactly the point of this series.

Sure, the plot is a hot steaming mess of nonsensical dialogue with loose strands of story, and at 149 minutes it’s a good half hour too long, but with all the fear and hate in real life, sometimes it’s nice to switch your brain off and escape to a world where robots exist – and there’s nothing wrong with that.

Michael Bay may not be the subtlest of directors. Give him a classy love story and he’ll turn it into Fifty Shades of Grey, but he’s clearly a very clever man. The critics have savaged this franchise but audiences keep coming back for more and who can blame them?

If this is, as has been said by the man himself, Michael Bay’s last entry into the Transformers canon, then it’s not a bad film to leave on whatsoever.

You know the score by now. Don’t go in expecting Shakespeare or Oscar-winning performances and you’ll be fine. Just make sure you take some paracetamol; crikey it’s loud.

https://moviemetropolis.net/2017/06/24/transformers-the-last-knight-review/

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Sonofdel (6291 KP) rated Harry H Corbett: The Front Legs of the Cow in Books

Oct 31, 2019

Told by his daughter, excellent series of interviews and contributions (0 more)

Insightful, Poignant and Revealing

I started reading this after only knowing of Harry H Corvett in Steptoe and son as Harold the long suffering son of Albert (Wilfrid Brambell) and also n Carry on Screaming as Sidney Bung. I never realised what an accomplished actor he was at this point. After reading this amazing insight into his life i have realsied how versatile an actor he really was. With this being written by his daughter i expected a lot of fawning sentimentality and i am glad that i was proved wrong. This is a very revealing, moving and motivational book written with care and consideration. As well as her own personal experiences she draws on people from stage and screen that include but are not limited to Bryan Murphy, Lynda Baron and writers such as Ray Galton and Alan Simpson. One of the best bigraphies i have read for a very long time. Its a long book and tells of the history of the various theatres that Harry worked at and for but i found this interesting rather than distracting. This also includes a section at the end that debunks some of the myths associated with Steptoe and Son (them hating each other, Wilfrid Brambell always being drunk etc). All in all a five star read.