Firstly, I have to say that the special effects are really spectacular. The strongest part of the film is the seamless way that the CGI characters are integrated into the film … I really could see no errors in the effects. Other than that, tho, I was far from impressed. There was zero attempt to tell a story … the writing is just horrible. I know many people think that big budget action films don’t need a story to be good but I would argue otherwise. I mean … the writing was really just bad. At almost every plot development I kept thinking how stupid the movie plotline really is … and it just keep getting worse thruout the film. I wasn’t expecting Shakespeare but I was expecting not to feel like an abject idiot. It really felt like the story was the least important thing in the production of this film. The focus is really on the CGI, the loudness and the huge explosions. On that account, the movie succeeds. On all others, IMHO, it fails. It really occurred to me that this film was Michael Bay’s latest attempt to say to the world, I HAVE A BIG PENIS! I SWEAR!! I will say that barring the insipidness of the tale, I did enjoy seeing new Transformers on the big screen so I didn’t totally hate the film but, believe me, it’s not that good. Compared to the first film, this one is junk. Even still … I think fans of Transformers should see the film, if for the nostalgic purposes only. But my honest advice is to wait to rent the DVD or see it on cable for free.

Not sure what the plan is for tonight but I have a couple ideas in mind. It’s a beautiful day here in SoCal today … I wanna be outside :)

When sharing a red carpet with a 16 foot robot, Megan Fox knew she’d have to go the extra mile to get attention. The actress guaranteed she made a maximum impact at the world premiere of Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen in Tokyo with a striking figure-hugging purple gown. Taking a style tip from seasoned red carpet veteran Liz Hurley, Megan showed off her fabulous legs in a slashed-to-the-thigh satin gown. The 23-year-old beauty joined co-stars Shia LaBeouf, Isabel Lucas, Josh Duhamel, Ramon Rodriguez and Tyrese Gibson at the Toho cinema in Roppongi Hills for the first screening of the sequel to the 2007 blockbuster. Hundred of Japanese fans queued for hours to see their idols, while only a lucky few managed to see the eagerly-anticipated film. The new movie sees Shia and Megan reprises their roles as teenage couple Sam Witwicky and Mikaela Banes, who team up with their Autobot robot friends to stop the Decepticons from destroying the planet. Speaking on the red carpet, Megan thanked director Michael Bay for giving her a role in the original film, which launched her Hollywood career. She said: ‘It’s mind-blowing. I think it has opened a lot of doors for me career-wise, but there is a certain loss of anonymity, like leaving your house and having people take your picture all the time. That is a different kind of life.’

I’m curious to hear what the reviews for this sequel will be like. As of yet, I’ve not read anything substantial … but now that the film is premiering, I’m sure we’ll be hearing about it soon enough. I am really looking forward to the release of this film … I hope it’s as fun as the first movie. And here we go … the promo machine for Transformers 2 is officially underway. Who’s excited?

[Photo credit: Splash News; Source]

This time around, many of the same Transformers robots will be back for more action … but we will also get a new batch of Transformers characters thrown into the mix. After the jump, check out a few new photos of some of the Transformers that will be featured in the movie and see a full list of characters that will appear in the upcoming sequel — some of the Transformers in the film will come as a surprise, I think …

It’s always the quiet ones you need to fear. Ninjas. Serial killers. Boba Fett. Gastrointestinal functions. In Transformers lore, the mechanical jaguar Ravage has been a villain favorite since the 1980s for his stealthy tactics and deadly force. Ever since a four-legged mechanical beast prowled through the trailer for summer’s sequel, Revenge of The Fallen, fans have been awaiting more word about the feline-ish Decepticon. As more robots in the June 24 movie are revealed, Ravage comes into focus. “In the spirit of ‘more than meets the eye,’ Ravage isn’t just lethal because of his sharp teeth,” says screenwriter Alex Kurtzman. “There’s actually another skill set Ravage has that didn’t exist before, so there’s going to be a surprise for fans.” This version of the cat already looks far different from the original, with a single glowing red eye and a swinging, mace-like tail, but his role will be similar to the 1980s cartoon and Hasbro toy — the ultimate spy. Ravage often was dispatched to monitor the heroic Autobots and their human allies, reporting back to the Decepticons by transforming into a cassette tape and replaying his recordings through the larger robot master Soundwave, who switched into a Walkman-sized tape deck. (How a giant robot became a small piece of sound equipment was a comical hole in logic never fully explained.) The cassette tape transformation is gone, of course; Ravage doesn’t turn into anything. But Soundwave will appear, again serving as an evil communications expert but this time in the form of an orbiting space satellite. “They are still connected,” fellow screenwriter Roberto Orci says of Soundwave and his pet. “But rather than trying to hold onto a notion as antiquated as an audiotape, which some members of our audience have maybe never laid eyes on, we wanted to go a new way.” And Ravage, as before, won’t speak like the other Transformers. “We wanted to stay true to the idea that Decepticons who take visual clues from beasts maintain that,” says Orci. “It would be strange to have a talking jaguar, or a scorpion with an English accent.” Filmmaker Michael Bay has ensured that Ravage has lots of company, including many redesigned favorite robots from the original 1980s incarnation, in the new film. “We have big guys, some little guys. We have a lot of littler ones, too. Little weirder ones,” Bay says. Like the Insecticons, which were giant bugs in the original series and Hasbro toy line, but are now tiny creepy-crawly infiltrators.

While I don’t mind the character changes that have been made for the big screen live action adaptation (especially for the characters that used to transform into cassettes), I do miss the simplicity of the original incarnations of the characters. These new Transformers are cool but they do not have the nostalgic spark of the originals. That said, I love it all … change can be good and these changes are necessary for a new era of the saga. Here is a list of the Transformers characters that will be featured in the film:

AUTOBOTS

Noticeably absent from the list is the Decepticon leader, Megatron, who was killed at the end of the previous movie and last seen being dumped in the ocean. Michael Bay denied that Megatron is in the movie, but actor Hugo Weaving said in an interview that he had recorded dialogue for the part. We’ll see if and how he returns when “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen” opens on June 24th.

Um, Megatron ain’t dead … Megatron cannot be dead. The end. I am excited about this list of characters … Devastator is a very popular character and I’m totally geeked that he is featured in this sequel. Much like Jolt was originally a Decepticon that has turned into an Autobot for this movie, Wheelie was originally an Autobot who has been turned into a Decepticon for this movie. All these changes are interesting but, again, I still have a special place in my heart for the original incarnations of these characters. I think Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen is the movie I’m most looking forward to seeing this Summer. I can’t wait!!

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After the jump, for those of you who just can’t wait, check out a bootleg version of the new trailer of Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen that will play in front of showings of Friday the 13th — watch it while you can, it may not stay online for long …

Yahoo! Movies has debuted the new poster for Michael Bay’s Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, opening in conventional theaters and IMAX on June 26. The anticipated sequel stars Shia LaBeouf, Megan Fox, Josh Duhamel, Tyrese Gibson, Kevin Dunn, Julie White, John Benjamin Hickey, Ramon Rodriguez, Isabel Lucas and John Turturro.

EEEEEEERIE, ain’t it? It looks like Megatron, leader of the evil Decepticons, is seeing red and is lookin’ for … well, revenge! After the jump, check out a more detailed version of this poster which gives a more clear view of what the bad guy looks like …

Yipes! It may not be Megatron after all! It looks like the heroic Autobots might be in for some trubble … will they be able to save Earth? And just what dastardly plan does Megatron have up his sleeve in his plans for revenge? All will be revealed when Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen opens in theaters this June. Who’s excited?

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If there’s one film out next year that sums up the word ‘blockbuster’ it’s Michael Bay’s monster sequel to 2007’s Transformers. It’s perhaps appropriate then that Transformers 2 kick starts our big 2009 preview feature in the latest issue of Empire (on sale now). You can read all about our exclusive visit to the Cairo set of the film in the issue and, in the meantime, cast your eyes down to see some exclusive new images from the film.

Woot! I am very much looking forward to the release of this movie. As you may recall, we got to see both Shia LaBeouf and Megan Fox on the desert set of this Transformers sequel earlier in the year and it looks like they’ve got a lot of production on the film already in the can. After the jump, check out a few more pics which are featured in the new issue of USA Today …

Cast and crew actually got permission to shoot in Giza so that the actual pyramids could be featured in the film. It really sounds like they went all out to make Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen into an even bigger blockbuster than the first film was. That being said, I just loaded the original 1985 animated Transformers: The Movie onto my iPod so that I can watch it on the plane to Iceland. As much as I love the new computer animated Transformers, my heart will always belong to the original animated version ;)

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I suppose it turns out that Shia can hold his own, I guess. That make-up looks pretty nasty, I suspect his Transformers character Sam Witwicky is gonna be hurtin’ something awful in the upcoming sequel. After the jump, check out a couple more photos of Shia showing off his “battle scars” on set …

Yeah, it’s unclear if Shia was lying on the ground shooting a scene where his character is injured … or if he was just taking a break in between takes to catch a few rays (which he known to do from time to time) but in either case, it doesn’t look like he’s struggling very much. Looks like good work if you can get it.

[Photo credit: X17]

Apparently, Shia’s thing is to just mess around on set, smiling for the camera every now and then and his stunt double has to do all the dangerous stuff, lookin’ hawt all the while. It’s pretty amazing how much the double looks like Shia … but more grown up and less kid-ish. I think I vastly prefer the double over the real thing … how ’bout y’all?

[Photo credit: INFdaily]

Aww … it looks like Megan has got a lot of nervous energy to work out. She’s a beauty tho and I kinda just wanted to post new pics of her ;)

[Photo credit: X17]

This looks like a positive step forward in the lad’s rehabilitation. Firstly, this little brace looks much smaller than the huge one he was rockin’ in the days just after his accident. Secondly, if he is able to take off the brace if needed, I suspect his injuries aren’t as dire as we were led to believe (it was also reported that Shia’s injury was so bad and his rehabilitation would take so long that it would be written into the storyline of Transformers 2). I suspect that Mr. LaBeouf will, once again, be back to his old tricks in no time.

[Photo credit: X17]