There was a time, just a little more than a year ago, that we were about to say “goodbye” to Dreamworks Animation Studio. The past few films in their repertoire, mostly sequels to franchises like Kung-fu Panda, Madagascar, and classic property revivals like Mr. Peabody and Sherman, were simply not making enough to fund the creation of multi-million dollar budget animation in the long run. The studio was ultimately saved when it was purchased by FOX, and Trolls is the first film to arrive in theaters from that purchase.

It comes as no surprise, then, that this movie tends to do a lot to keep itself safe in the animated film landscape. It is, like most current kids’ movies, based on a toy property, the trendy troll dolls created by Thomas Dan and made popular throughout the ’90s due to…copyright abuse and trademark plagiarism. It has an animation style that evokes the very cartoonish CG made popular by Sony’s Hotel Transylvania and Blue Sky’s The Peanuts Movie. It is partially produced by a figure of Dreamworks’ past: Justin Timberlake, who was in Shrek the Third, and due to his musical involvement, features a soundtrack that turns everything from “Clint Eastwood” by Gorillaz to Edvard Grieg’s “In the Hall of the Mountain King” into saccharine pop songs sung gleefully by him and his co-stars Anna Kendrick and Zooey Deschanel.

The plot itself also doesn’t stray too far from its Dreamworks ancestry, taking quite liberally from the very first Shrek: The oppressed troll kingdom, composed of the familiar multi-colored half naked little dolls, are frequently harvested from a tree and eaten by a more literal troll race called the Bergens on a holiday known as “Trollstice,” in order to maintain their own happiness. The troll king, Peppy (Jeffrey Tambor) mounts a revolution to flee the troll tree and set up a new community deep in the forest where the Bergens won’t eat them, and they can sing and dance all day.

Princess Poppy (Kendrick) enters the scene here. She’d like to be as important to the troll race as her father, but knows little more than how to throw elaborate parties, and bang on her trademark cowbell. She also faces opposition from a greyish-blue troll named Branch (Timberlake) who is the “type A,” perpetually in a bad mood and paranoid about keeping himself safe from the Bergens. His fears are made real when, amidst a loud party thrown by Poppy, the politically influential Bergen Chef (Christine Baranski) kidnaps several trolls to return to the Bergen prince Gristle Jr. (Christoper Mintz-Plasse) and restore her claim as the secret leader of the Bergens.

Predictably, it becomes up to Poppy and Branch to move past their differences and rescue the kidnapped trolls. Along the way, they also work to create a literal Cinderella story for a Bergen dishwasher named Bridget (Deschanel ) who uses a hairdo made of several trolls to gain the attention of Prince Gristle Jr. This ultimately leads to a climax where the trolls can teach the Bergens to find happiness within themselves, instead of relying on the devouring of an intelligent race.
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The plot works, the music is toe-tapping, and the animation is amazing, with every character resembling some form of hand-made felt or glitter object, with lots of troll hair, glitter, and scrapbook-style special effects patterned all through the film. However, there’s an inconsistency with what the film wants to be artistically. There’s a music video sequence in the middle where Poppy goes through the cartoony enchanted woods, which I could swear was animated by a Cartoon Network alum. (Yes, Gennedy Tartakovsky did a tiny amount of consulting on this.) Sadly, that style doesn’t stay through the film, as 60% of it takes place in the depressing Bergen village, leaving the trolls to carry whatever colorfulness remains. Musical sequences are interspersed with slapstick gags and corny humor, once again evoking Shrek, and cameo after cameo of celebrity voices, including Russel Brand, James Corden, Gwen Stefani, and John Cleese, that are all completely forgettable.

Like the trolls themselves, this film is a mixed bag of party favors. Look into it and you’ll find at least two things you like, whether it is the happy soundtrack, the cartoony visuals, or the silly sight gags. It seems, though that someone cut the scrapbook pages too close, and as a whole the film is muddled by an overabundance of glitter, and a zip-dash pacing towards the finish line.  

I missed this movie in theaters and while I was upset at first that I let that happen, in the end that really worked out for the better. Let’s get a little background out of the way here, I have watched and loved all of the X-Men movies over the years and being a kid from the eighties, I also grew up with the X-Men animated series, something that I would never miss. I even have a couple comic books and a deck of X-Men trading cards that I refer to when a character I do not remember comes into play. I've really been a huge fan of this series over the years, but I must admit that when I watched the latest movie, I was more than disappointed, and here are a just a few of the things that continue to bother me when it comes to this movie.
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Let us start with Ivan Ooze, I mean Apocalypse. I love how the story took us back to ancient Egypt and showed us what the golden top of the pyramid was for, that was pretty epic, but the rest of what is going on with him leaves plenty to be desired. One of my biggest problems with Apocalypse is that no matter where he is, he is surrounded by purple, which is what we saw in the EW issue that stirred the early outrage for his character. But that is not the only thing that got to me as he is the same height or shorter than his new horsemen. I understand that people back in the day were much shorter and a five and a half foot tall person may have been known as big, but seen as a God? Really? I remember Apocalypse being head and shoulders bigger than everyone that he faced and while they did give us that effect in a ‘mind fight’ sequence with Charles, it really was too little too late for me. Along with the False God talk that came straight out of Batman v. Superman, I am still not sure what they were trying to do with one of the better villains from the X-Men franchise.

The storyline had plenty of issues and while this stands true for most of the X-Men movies, it just seemed to be recycled from the previous movies that did well. I would start with Magneto in this, since he has been through the most pain of any of the characters. Living through the Holocaust, seeing his mother killed to invoke his mutation and being betrayed by his friends when trying to kill the president ten years ago, you really think that killing his wife and kid would have the same effect on him in the future, allowing for him to put a calculated and powerful plan together to exact revenge upon humanity. Instead, I just think back to X-Men Origins: Wolverine when it comes to the rage that Logan unleashed because Erik does the exact same thing. With all of the talk about there being more to Erik Lehnsherr than just rage, there is nothing more to him in this story than that, taking him off of the list of bad ass bad guys and making him into a one dimensional weak character that only knows how to do one thing, kill. Besides that, where are his powers as he gets older and shows up in the nineties? He should be able to destroy the planet now with the power that Apocalypse gave him, but the best he can do is move a bridge? Kind of a fail as to where that power went considering his role as one of the two remaining horsemen.

The overall storyline has left me longing for so much more as it seems to be copied and pasted from The Last Stand. Let’s see, an all-powerful mutant wants to take over the world, check. Humanity must bend to their will, check. Only one that loves me can defeat me, in a roundabout way with Mystique and Magneto, check. Make mutants the most powerful beings on the planet, if the cure would have been destroyed, it would have happened, check. It is far too familiar and something needed to change when all was said and done. With new characters and a quote/unquote new timeline to play with, they still deliver the same old story, it is really sad. 

I could also go on and on about the acting and the direction of the movie, but these are my three biggest issues with X-Men: Apocalypse when all is said and done. If they did not have a budget or any of the star power to bring to the table, this would have been a much better movie, and it will be one of the greatest superhero ‘B’ movies in my book, falling short to only The Toxic Avenger. Like I said in my review of the movie, I did like the turn Jean Grey and Mystique took in the movie to be the strongest characters, but I can also tell that the storyline did not want them to be strong and everything changed midway through to try and make you like them a little bit more. I think I hate to say this, but an X-Men movie that does not feature Wolverine in a prominent role will never be accepted by the masses and while Weapon X did make an appearance and went berserker on everyone, it was far from enough to make this movie as good as The Last Stand. 

Nobody ever said that life would be easy and anyone that tells you otherwise, is lying to you. With every decision that you make determining what happens next, it can be beneficial to try and look forward and see what the outcome can be. I'm not saying that you should never take a shot at something new, since the rewards can surely outweigh the risks, but there are some things that you know you should never do and yet people continue to do them. Just make sure you are making an educated decision when choosing to make life changing events, especially if the results can be catastrophic. 
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While following a lead on where to find one of the first possible mutants to ever exist on the planet, Agent Mactaggert has been able to locate a cavern that has not seen the light of day for many years. When watching as believers of En Sabah Nur start to pray, Mactaggert sees something that has not happened in thousands of years as the golden tip of a lost pyramid is activated by the sun once again. That discovery, combined with a worldwide earthquake, clues Mactaggert into the fact that something has been awoken from the depths, but she has no idea what force it could bring to the world once again. But when she gets a visit from Professor Charles Xavier, she starts to understand that it is possible an all-powerful mutant has been released and if the stories are true, an apocalypse has been unleashed upon the world.

Staying out of the spotlight and raising a family in Poland, Erik Lehnsherr keeps his head down, but when the shaking comes through and causes one of his friends to almost be killed at the office, he is forced to show his powers one again. With locals fearing that Magneto is in their town, the police are sent to investigate and wind up killing his wife and daughter causing Magneto and his hatred for humanity to rise again. Not too far away in the world, Mystique is trying to liberate her fellow mutants and get them safe passage to anywhere that they are not known, but when getting word the Erik has resurfaced, she needs to talk to Charles about what options they have to control him. Bringing a couple of the original members back together and with the knowledge of what is happening around the world, Charles and his crew need to find a way to keep humanity safe since En Sabah Nur has risen from the ashes.

​En Sabah Nur has only one thing on his mind and with one of his mutations, he is able to make any of his fellow mutants that follow him more powerful than they have ever been before. Being able to gather up a few of his four horsemen quickly, the addition of Magneto will be his greatest find since the young man’s power can tear the world from the inside out. While trying to find out where his old friend is, Charles is able to contact Erik, but when his psychic abilities are discovered by En Sabah Nur, he takes them over and puts the world on alert. Launching all of the nuclear warheads on earth, the old mutant shows his true power, but when Charles is able to regain control for a moment, he keeps them from coming back home. With one of the strongest mutants he has ever felt, En Sabah Nur wants to merge with Charles to make his powers complete, but the small group of X-Men that remain have something to say about that, as it is their world as well and do not want to see the powers of old return while the Earth is ripped into shreds.

Well, another X-Men trilogy has come to a close and I hate to say it, it was not any better than The Last Stand which many people did not like. I will admit that there are some bright points in this movie with En Sabah Nur in ancient Egypt and the golden top of the great pyramid being shown for its true purpose and the two female leads Jean Grey and Mystique are the strongest characters in this movie by a long shot. Outside of that and the stunning special effects, they simply tried to do too much in this movie with countless storylines that don't allow you to care about any of one of the characters. I would have liked to see a story that was more original than just recycled X-Men scripts from the past, but that is just my opinion on the matter and am happy that it is finally finished.Bringing Quicksilver back had to have been the best thing that was done in this movie as all of his scenes are fantastic and he really steals the movie from his first appearance.

Five Takeaways

1. If a secret entrance is covered, make sure you keep it covered when sneaking into a place or you may find yourself in trouble for starting an international incident.
2. Putting your hand on a television in the eighties can give you all the knowledge you need to make your way through life, but not a sense of humor.
3. When you have the power to turn people into sand to blow away, it is easier to make them mysteriously sink into the floor.
4. Releasing an animal in a secret facility is always a good idea, especially when he does not know how to speak.
5. When you have a blue character that has been already been criticized for looking like Ivan Ooze, make sure to have all the special effects around him be purple to make it true.

Bonus Takeaway

1. When one of the main characters says the third movie is ‘never that good,’ run out of the theater.

Every so often a film comes along that breaks the mold, a film that defies paradigms and blurs the lines between genres until what you’re left with is not just entertainment, but an experience. The Handmaiden is one such film. If I had to name its genre, I’d say The Handmaiden is a psycho-sexual thriller, romantic horror, LGBT/feminist foreign film and quite honestly that doesn’t even begin to describe the multi-faceted nature of director Chan-wook Park’s masterpiece.
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I’d like to take a moment to reiterate the spoiler alert warning atop this page because, trust me, the plot twists of this film are better when experienced firsthand. If you are choosing to read on then I’m assuming you’ve already seen the film or else you are too curious for your own good.

The film begins simply enough as the quintessential hero’s journey to a distant and unfamiliar land. Sook-Hee (played by Kim Tae-ri) is a young Korean woman who leaves her home and family to become the handmaiden to Lady Hideko (played by Min-hee Kim). The film quickly shifts gears however when we learn that Sook-Hee is the daughter of a famous thief and that she herself is a pickpocket and con artist, employed by Count Fujiwara (Jung-woo Ha) who seeks to seduce and rob the Lady Hideko. What follows after this first twist is a bevy of shocking discoveries and gut wrenching reveals as the three part film toys with the audience’s emotions and our naïve assumptions about what’s coming next. 

The quintessence of this film, however, is the relationship between Sook-Hee and Lady Hideko. If the plot twists and gorgeous cinematography are this film’s body, then the tour de force performances by Kim Tae-ri and Min-hee Kim are the soul. We watch as both women reveal the secret selves they keep hidden from the world, first to us and then to each other. Lady Hideko has been alone in the world since her mother died, leaving her at the mercy of her sadistic and perverted Uncle. Sook-Hee was left likewise motherless and has spent a lifetime trying to free herself from the confines of her station as the daughter of a thief. It is in loving one another that both women find freedom, both from their metaphorical cages and from the literal men who seek to keep them imprisoned.
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There are people who may disagree with me on this, but in my opinion the climax of The Handmaiden, the moment when Hideko and Sook-Hee are preparing their escape from her Uncle’s home, is easily one of the most moving scenes I’ve ever seen immortalized on film. Before leaving, Hideko takes Sook-Hee to her Uncle’s library, the place where he forced her to read erotic fiction and perform sex acts for the enjoyment of rich perverts who visit the estate. The fear in Hideko’s eyes as she confides her past and pain in Sook-Hee is enough to break the heart of any compassionate human being. However, it is the relief on her face when Sook-Hee begins destroying the library, the place that caused Hideko so much harm, that had me in tears. In one scene, this film gives us the epitome of radical female love overcoming the heteronormative patriarchy that cannot even begin to fathom the power of women.

This film will undoubtedly face criticism, as all films do. Perhaps people will argue that it is too sexual or else that certain scenes are merely there for shock value rather than actual plot development. To these critics I would say that this film is a masterpiece because it challenges conventions, both in film making and society. Which, if we’re honest, is precisely what good art does.

Many people have a hard time making ends meet, even in this day and age. As prices continue to skyrocket on everyday items, the average wages cannot keep up forcing people to have more than one job. As this does not seem to be changing in the near future, hopefully someone is keeping their eyes on this to help the country from going into another recession. Times can be tough and there is always a light at the end of the tunnel, but you have to get there first.
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Cade Yeager may not be happy with his situation, but there is nothing he can do about it. Being an inventor has left him and his daughter Tessa in the poor house, but Cade is never down and out, as he has plenty of ideas that could make the family some money. Being the local repair man in town gives Cade plenty to do as well and with a couple bucks coming in here and there, he knows that things will turn around. When checking out the local junkyard, Cade sees an old beat up truck that could be a good payday for him if he is able to get it running. Borrowing a couple bucks from his friend and employee Lucas, the truck makes it home with him, but little does he know what he has really found.

Cemetery Wind, formally the NEST commandos now have a new purpose, to hunt down and kill all of the Decepticons with no mercy, but they have gone beyond that, they are hunting every Cybertronian that they can find. Since the partnership with the Autobots had come to an end after the battle of Chicago, Harold Attinger has given the kill order to all robots that are not of this planet. Making a deal with Lockdown to obtain the Seed once he is able to collect his bounty on Optimus Prime, Attinger will stop at nothing to rid the planet of all of the alien robots he can find. Sending all of the destroyed robots to KSI to experiment on, a new race of transformers will be created to defend the planet from any further threats, but this team will be controlled by the humans, the way it should be.

Removing a missile from his old broken down truck, Cade sees that he has discovered a transformer. As Optimus Prime wakes up, he wants nothing to do with the humans since they have turned on the Autobots and are trying to eradicate the race. Being in very bad condition from his last run in with Lockdown, Optimus is in need of repairs and Cade offers his services. But before he is able to make it too far, Cemetery Wind comes rolling onto his farm and discovers the inventor is hiding the alien. No longer sticking to his rules of not harming humans, Optimus is forced to jump into action to protect his new friends from these government thugs. Being put on the run, Cade, Tessa and her boyfriend Shane take to the road to find out who is behind these hits on the Autobots, while Optimus needs to find whomever is still alive from his group to take action against Attinger and his minions.

I am actually surprised that people did not like this movie more, as I was told that it was not worth watching. I rather enjoyed it even though it did feel like it ran a bit long. I like how the history of the Earth keeps changing in the series and every time you look, it goes further back. Now there is a race called the Creators that wants all of its Knights back and the bad ass Lockdown is able to deliver on their wishes. The hatred towards the all of the transformers may have come from the battle of Chicago, but Attinger is fueling it to be much more. With his own plans of what to do to defend Earth, it still comes down to money for him, which makes him not an overall bad guy, just human, I like that. With every character having the option to redeem themselves, I was impressed how many were willing to do so in this film and I also liked that the Dinobots finally made an appearance, but was upset that they did not have any lines, maybe that will change in the next one since they were just woken up after countless years of being on board Lockdown’s ship. Well, I guess there will be another movie coming out next year, so keep your eyes open for The Last Knight. Now I have to find something else with robots in it to keep me from having withdrawals from the Transformers series.

Looking for a new job is never easy, especially if you know what you want to be doing and no one will give you the opportunity fresh out of the gate. Everyone wants the jobs that are a couple positions down the road before they have proven that they are worthy of being there. I have been there more than once and looking back, I am glad that I traveled the path that I did since I learned so much more in doing so. You have to be able to walk before you can run, although most people do not believe this, it may prove to be beneficial in the end.

Not only wanting, but needing a job, Sam Witwicky is on the hunt fresh out of college, but is finding that getting a real job requires much more than he expected. Helping to save the world from the Decepticons more than once, Sam knows that he is better than any of the entry level positions that he is being offered, but will need to prove himself before he can advance. Wanting to become a provider in the house with his new girlfriend Carly, Sam is finding it difficult to find the right fit, especially after meeting her boss and seeing what kind of life she could move on to when she leaves him. After getting his first job as a mail clerk, Sam is approached by a co-worker that knows what is going on in the world with the alien robots that have taken refuge on the planet, but what Sam does not know is that there are more cards in play than even the government is willing to acknowledge. 

While on a mission in Chernobyl, the NEST team and Optimus Prime make a startling discovery, a piece of an ancient space ship from Cybertron that should not exist. Talking to the new liaison in place, Optimus finds out that there was a crash landing on the moon that has been hidden from the public since the sixties. Upset at this revelation, Optimus takes his team up to the moon and finds his predecessor in power down mode and brings him back to Earth, along with a handful of pillars that could have changed the war on Cybertron years ago. Awakening Sentinel Prime, the NEST team finds out more about the Autobot's history, but the importance of these ancient pillars is called into question. Locking the pillars up, the NEST team gets reports of Decepticons once again as Sam Witwicky has been targeted by them and is on their list for extermination. 

Finding out that the Decepticons are killing anyone with knowledge about the moon landing, Sam turns to his old friend Agent Simmons who is trying to get himself to calm down about the alien robot fiasco that has taken over his life for so many years now. Knowing that everything is not what it seems they are able to ask the right questions and find out that Sentinel is the key to everything, but what they do not know is that he has changed sides in the fight for survival. Working with Megatron, Sentinel is ready to put his pillars to good use and give Cybertron a rebirth on Earth. Bringing many Decepticons to the planet, Sentinel holds all of the cards and orders the Autobots to leave or else the citizens of earth will suffer his wrath. Leaving the planet, the Autobot's ship is destroyed and the Decepticons take over the city of Chicago to set up their main base of operations. With hope fading, and with Carly being held hostage in the city, Sam is able to get a little group of ex-NEST fighters together to head into the city to save Carly and fight back. But Chicago is in ruins as the Decepticons impose their will against their future human slaves. 

You know, after watching this movie again outside of the theater, it is not as bad as I remember it being. I cannot get enough of the tiny Autobots and the Wreckers that seemed to steal the movie from the big names that we all know and love.  With more interaction between the robots and seeing how Optimus is destroyed when his predecessor turns to the dark side, it is almost like the robots are developing more human like feelings, at least that is what they say in the movie. I think that they had feelings all along, hence why they are trying to protect the humans on the planet and not leaving after the second movie to let them fend for themselves. I was surprised that Epps made an appearance in the movie as well, not being on the NEST team any longer seems to be a huge step back for him, but when getting the call to help out, he is the first one to come back to the playing field. There are also so many more action sequences in this movie and even if they seem to be hard to follow, you can tell who is winning in the fights between the robots. A good way to finish up a trilogy, but wait, there is more as Age of Extinction made an appearance a couple years back, so I guess that is next on my list.  

For every blockbuster and Academy Award winning film you've ever enjoyed...there exists a flip side to them. Where the acting makes you groan and the special effects leave something to be desired. These are movies we catch late at night on cable, or discover on Netflix, or back in the day...on the new release wall at the video store. These types of motion pictures are what are known as the 'B Movie', a film that's not quite as perfect as our everyday entertainment but over the years one or more of these cheesier flicks have found their way into our hearts.

As of late, these types of films can essentially be found everywhere, we celebrate them in popular culture, text our friends immediately when we uncover one that we thoroughly enjoyed and now...they've become an annual event on television courtesy of The Asylum and Sharknado, but there was a time when these films weren't always celebrated. In fact, not too long ago, these movies were reserved for direct to video releases, placed with care in the corner of the new release wall, where a niche viewing audience would find them and enjoy them, spreading word of mouth amongst their pals upon their discovery. They were simply an afterthought, films that would lose someone their investment but were part of the business none the less and despite their pseudo popularity in the 1980's and 1990's, the B Movie was nothing new.

After all, the filmmakers of those two eras were influenced by a B Movie King in Ed Wood Jr., whose silly over the top work was reviled upon release but celebrated years later because of Wood's ability to throw caution to the wind and simply create a film that he thought was outright fun. But the inspiration that Wood provided to so many, the B Movie was still something celebrated by a specific audience. So what then truly brought about the wonder of these cheesy flicks? How did they come to be something to be celebrated at every turn? The answer to that is simple...the wonder of cable, and the production company I mentioned earlier...The Asylum. 

Now if that name sounds familiar, there's a reason for that. You've seen their movies, including their most popular offering but before they took the popular culture world by storm, The Asylum was primarily a distributor and along the way, they became a production house, putting together parodies/B Movie interpretations of mainstream films in addition to original content and much of their work found its way onto the SyFy Network. This pairing as time would go on, would become a perfect storm if you will (yes, Sharknado pun intended), because these earlier films would lay the groundwork for the phenomenon to come. These were films that understood the fundamental needs for a B Movie to be successful. They had to be fun, they had to have colorful characters and wild scenarios and as time went on, a few well known names would suddenly appear in these films as well, giving them a bigger draw come airtime.  

But the grand moment, where everything came together, is when The Asylum tried something new. They were overseeing a project so wild and carefree in its design that it required different care when it came to production and marketing. Yes, it was fun, sure it had big names, but the sheer concept could make or break the future of the B Movie. But somewhere along the way, a light bulb came on. The greatest mistake that B Movies made when it came to marketing was that they were always acknowledged as an homage or a re telling so as to only appeal to that niche audience, but what would happen...if everyone embraced the silly? What if by chance the wild and crazy idea that this film was going to present was played straight, and advertised like any other Hollywood blockbuster out there? It was a bold decision, but one that paid off because Sharknado was immediately embraced by fans, and at long last a B Movie was produced and celebrated for being something off the wall and silly. 

The rest as they say is history. Sharknado was a smash hit on cable, it produced three equally popular sequels and well, the B Movie is no longer a film relegated to Saturday Nights for a handful of people. They are loved and embraced and suddenly there is a hunger and a desire to see something new and silly from the film industry and much of that is thanks to The Asylum for taking a chance on a film like Sharknado and allowing for director Anthony C. Ferrante to bring something original to life in a sea of remakes and tentpoles and sequels and for those of us who grew up on B Movies, and had to work to find them and others that enjoy them...we thank The Asylum for making them legitimate forms of filmmaking and for showing everyone just how much fun movies like this can be. 

One of the things that I love in movie sequels is when they follow the original storyline. Let’s be frank, I know that there can be some massive plot holes in movies, but when they are able to clear them up in the overall storyline, it makes the viewing that much better. So to catch you up, Megatron has been defeated by Sam Witwicky and the power of the All Spark and the cube that housed this incredible power was destroyed. Without a leader, the Decepticons have left the planet for fear of defeat once again, but it does not appear that they will venture too far since a new leader has his sights set on Earth and all of the treasures that it possesses. 

With Decepticons showing up all over the world, the NEST team, now being led by now Major Lennox, are finding themselves extremely busy. Being teamed up with the Autobots, the team is powerful enough to take out their opposition, but things are starting to get out of hand. When a basic elimination mission goes awry, the team's leader is taken out of his role and his team is now facing an extinction of their own as the President of the United States is worried about the reason why the Decepticons are still on our planet. Thinking that they are only looking for a fight, it is being tossed around that it is time for the Autobots to leave and find a new home, but the Decepticons have found something and if they are able to get it, the human race will be left to fend for themselves and be able to oppose little of what the machines can do.

Not knowing what is happening on the other side of the world, Sam has problems of his own as he is getting ready to leave for college. Leaving his parents, his car and his girlfriend behind will not be easy and none of them are making this a simple transition for him. Finding a shard from the All Spark in his pocket while getting ready to leave, Sam suddenly sees symbols and he has no idea what they mean. Hiding the shard with Mikaela, he thinks that things will go back to normal, but when getting to school and meeting his new roommate, he does not know what normal means. Making new friends and having a hottie chasing after him is not what Sam is accustomed to, and thinking very little about them and only being able to focus on the new visions in his head, he does not know the secret that he is keeping from the Cybertronian race.

The Decepticons have been able to locate another piece of the cube that was left behind and use it to bring their old leader back to life. Now with Megatron running things and his new assistant the Fallen at his side, the two have found a way to destroy the planet. Needing only one more piece of information that is inside of Sam’s head, the race to the college boy is on and one of the two teams will be the winner. Knowing that Sam is the key to the earth's survival, Optimus Prime puts his life on the line for the boy and without a leader for the Autobots, they are left to question their place on the planet. But when Sam is educated more about what the symbols in his head mean and how to stop his world from being destroyed, he can also find away to bring his guardian back from the dead. Needing to find the old hidden Tomb of the Primes, Sam just might be able to save the day once again.

Sometimes I don’t look forward to sequels, but this one did the original justice in my mind, mainly because of the way they started to re tell history. I am a history nut and seeing how long the Transformers have been on Earth has excited me a little more than I think it should have. All of the scenes in Egypt blew my mind and seeing a machine that could destroy the planet hidden in a pyramid just made me wonder what else is hidden under the sand. Putting the action to the side for a couple minutes, I loved Sam’s parents in this movie, especially when Sam is going off to school and his mother loses her mind completely, been there. But the comedy was not only be had by the couple as Agent Simmons is called back into action and is able to redeem himself for his past failures. Well, time to hit up the next one in this series, Dark of the Moon, and I am so ready to find out what that movie will reveal when it comes to the fate of the world.

There have always been questions about where exactly we come from and how long our race has been at the top of the food chain. I love watching shows about aliens that discuss their possible visitation to our world and how they potentially helped us grow as a species or possibly enslaved some of mankind. As nobody can give a firm answer on this whether or not this happened, since alien landings may or may not have been covered up by the government, or they never happened, or it was a prototype, it would be nice to know what is really happening outside of our planet. With so many unanswered questions, there may never be answers in our life time, unless of course the aliens come back and make us finally take note of their existence.

Sam Witwicky wants nothing more than to be noticed in his classes, but not by everyone, just by one special lady, Mikaela. Being able to meet his father’s criteria to get a car, Sam finds an old clunker that has an appeal to him, since it may help catch Mikaela's eye, but little does he know that the car has chosen him. Watching as the car takes off, Sam sees that it is more than meets the eye as it transforms into a large robot. Not knowing what this means, or who might be behind it, Sam is introduced into the Autobot family being led by Optimus Prime who needs something that Sam actually possesses.

Captain Lennox and his team are returning from combat and looking for some well-deserved down time, but find that he and his group are up against something new. When a ghost helicopter makes its way to the base, it turns into a large robot that single handily destroys the base, but it is looking for more than bloodshed. Being able to hack the defense grid in seconds, it is looking for something in the files, but nobody knows what it is looking for. Calling in all of the brightest young minds to take a look at the signal, Defense Secretary Keller finds that he has someone that might be able to track the signal as Maggie is able to detect a hack taking place on Air Force One. But not knowing everything about what is going on, Maggie has to turn to her good friend Glen to help decipher who or what is behind this security threat.

Being able to find out that Sam is in possession of a pair of glasses that house the coordinates of the All Spark, a device that the Cybertronian race needs to rebuild their civilization, the Autobots and Decepticons are in a race against time to locate the boy and his treasure. With the leader of the Decepticons being frozen on Earth for many years now, his minions have a clue to where the All Spark is, and quickly work to bring their leader back to life. With information bouncing throughout the internet, everything is fair game, but after seeing one of their own being taken prisoner, the Autobots are on a mission to gather the All Spark before Megatron can be awakened and wreak havoc on the planet.

This is just an action packed thrill ride for the ages and I never thought that one of my favorite cartoons growing up would ever make it into a live action movie. The effects are just off the wall crazy and it is a great first movie that will prepare you for the ride of a lifetime with the Transformers. What I really enjoyed most about this movie however is the interactions between the characters, they were just fantastic, especially from the people that stole the show. That's important because one of the things that I think takes away from a lot of movies are the scene stealers that only get a couple of minutes of screen time, but these are the characters everyone is always talking about when the movie ends. Even though there are several of these in this movie, I don’t think it took away from anyone’s storyline, as there were several to keep track of throughout. Well, now that I have committed myself to watching this series once again, I guess I will have to keep the trek going, on to Revenge of the Fallen.