Walking Leaf

Based on a toy franchise by Hasbro, Transformers tells a story of an epic intergalactic war between the Autobots and Decepticons. In this live action movie directed by Michael Bay, the giant robots are fighting over a cube, the Allspark.

The Allspark holds the key to the Autobots and Decepticons as the relic can bring mechanical objects to life. In fact, anything that is exposed to the Allspark can both repair Cybertronians and convert Earth electronics and vehicles into Transformers.

But to locate the cube, first the robots need to acquire a map and thanks to the Internet plus eBay (yes really!) Optimus Prime and his group of Autobots track down a teenager who has it. The item in question turns out to be a pair of glasses, which happens to have an imprint of the location on the lens!

Rising Hollywood star Shia LaBeouf plays Sam Witwicky, who receives his first car from his father. The car was no ordinary vehicle however, but it turns out to be Autobot Bumblebee! But unlike the original cartoon series, the yellow car with black racing stripes is based on a 1977 Chevrolet Camaro instead of a Volkswagen Beetle.

The alien robot is tasked to protect Sam, who is in a possession of something his great-great-grandfather (Captain Archibald Witwicky) owned. If the item falls into the wrong hands such as the evil Decepticons, then the world and mankind will be destroyed.

Meanwhile, as the US military led by Secretary of Defense John Keller (Jon Voight) and his team of advisors are trying to figure out who is hacking into their computer system and stealing classified files, Sam and his girlfriend Mikaela Banes (Megan Fox) must evade the Decepticon Barricade as well as Agent Reggie Simmons (John Turturro) from the secret government group Sector 7.

Being a Michael Bay movie, the action scenes speak louder than words and it is not surprising that the CGI-heavy fighting sequences take centre stage in this two-hour plus film. The poor dialogue, humour and a lack of plot doesn’t help but to make up for that are some of the most impressive special effects thanks to the creative geniuses at Industrial Light & Magic (ILM). The detail of each robot when transforming are stylish and far more complex compare to the original.

Overall an entertaining film that will please fans but for others, a lack of character development and its ridiculous story will put off many.

One of my favourite actress – Elisha Cuthbert - might be coming back to her familiar role in a movie adaptation of the hit ‘real time’ drama 24, but only if her character plays a more significant part. The Canadian star used to play the part of Kimberly Bauer, the on-screen daughter of Kiefer Sutherland’s agent Jack Bauer of the Counter Terrorist Unit in Los Angeles.

However, Elisha would prefer that the TV producers let her share some of the action with her busy on-screen dad. She says: “There’s definitely room for (a movie). But it depends on whether or not Kiefer can take it any more! The poor guy’s been hacking away at Jack Bauer for years.

“If he’s into it, it’ll be great, because everything he does is awesome [damn straight Elisha!]. People love to watch my character Kim, but she’s also a bit of a spanner in the works and I wouldn’t want her to be that [like that infamous cougar scene]. Three years ago I wanted her to be Jack’s partner and kick ass [Kim was working at CTU], but to the producers it was like, ‘We’ve got to be realistic about this.’ But if the movie comes round and it works to have her there, then I’d love to play her again.”

It would be fantastic if she came back in the role of Kim Bauer in the highly anticipated movie based on my favourite television show. I am aware that her current film, Captivity, is considered to be the worst movie in her short career as a serious film actress but to return to her famous role, as daughter of Jack Bauer is a dream came true.

Yippi-kay-yay! Bruce Willis is back as detective John McClane – the all-action American hero – as he single-handling takes down a group of computer hackers set to terrorising the United States by crashing all transportation, telecommunications, financial and power networks.

Inspired by a magazine article in Wired, “A Farewell To Arms”, by John Carlin, the plot to this exciting movie describes a likely-scenario in which the country is under cyber-attack. Willis reprises his 19-year-old role as the super New York cop set out to kick some bad guys ass and with it cause as much destruction as possible!

Deadwood’s star Timothy Olyphant plays computer guru Thomas Gabriel, who is hell-bent on seeking revenge against the US government that shunned him. Gabriel’s mission is to show how vulnerable the country’s security system is by systematically taking down major parts of the network causing chaos and mayhem.

Enter John McClane, to sort out the mess! The detective is called up to do a “favour” by picking up a student (Justin Long) who happens to be computer wiz-kid. When the student, Matt Farrell, becomes a target for the terrorist group under Gabriel, McClane is drawn to the same old routine once again.

Working together, McClane and Farrell attempt to stop Gabriel from basically “resetting” the entire country. Add into the mix of McClane’s daughter (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) being kidnapped by Gabriel to keep John in line, and the conflict gets much more personal.

Underworld director Len Wiseman has produced a stunning and adrenaline-filled motion picture with some of the most impressive (and outrageous) stunts ever seen this year. These include: Driving a SUV down an elevator shaft after ramming into Mai Lihn (Maggie Q), smashing into a helicopter with a car (because he didn’t have any bullets…) and pulling off a wheeling with a big trailer truck under missile attack from a fighter jet!

The spectacular results of Wiseman’s efforts makes Die Hard 4.0 a ludicrously but entertaining popcorn movie. But despite the fun, it showcases the chilling and scary concept of what might happen if virtual terrorism took effect. Imagine the panic that might ensure when traffic signals go wrong, broadcast media and phones are hijacked, bank accounts evaporate and the electricity cutting out…

Live Free or Die Hard would have worked as a dark thriller on a post 9/11 world – but thanks to its unique blend of humour, including those witty McClaine’s one-liners, makes this a thrilling ride for the viewer.

The final instalment of the popular Pirates of the Caribbean movie proves to be hit and miss, despite the best efforts from Johnny Depp in the role of Captain Jack Sparrow. The plot is extremely difficult to follow, leaving the viewer dazed and confused as to what the hell is going on.

It doesn’t help that the film involves lots of twists and turns, with everyone double-crossing and backstabbing each other. However, the action sequences are pretty spectacular with some of the most impressive CGI effects this year. It’s just a shame that the charm and personality from the 2003 original – The Curse of the Black Pearl – are cast aside with a hollow and uninspiring narrative.

Despite the poor storyline, you can’t fault the performances by the leading players. Johnny Depp is superb and it was amusing to see multiple Jack Sparrow as he suffers from his hallucinations. Depp’s enthusiasm carries the whole weight of the film with some of the best dialogue and comic timing you come to expect.

Geoffrey Rush also provides top quality entertainment in the role of Hector Barbossa and it was great to see the two captains upstaging each other over who gets to command the Black Pearl. Davy Jones makes a reappearance, played by the talented Bill Nighy, along with Hong Kong action star Chow Yun-Fat as the evil Captain Sao Feng, though this character was underused in the story.

And what about the two ‘eye-candy’ stars, Keira Knightley and Orlando Bloom? Both seem to be enjoying themselves but you can’t help but notice that Keira and Orlando were being upstage by a multi-talented monkey! The simian even had more screen-time than Rolling Stones’ Keith Richards playing Jack’s father…

As for the action sequences, the cinematography is a work of art in itself with some truly beautiful imagery. So is this the end for Pirates of the Caribbean? Well, the final scene in this epic 168-minute film might suggest a possible fourth sequel, so it all depends how well it receives in the box office. But for the viewer, At World’s End can be seen as a high sea adventure with action and humour in the company of the charming Jack Sparrow.

The third instalment of Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man movie is an ambitious but deeply flawed story. The director wanted to set a more sinister mood to the film with more action featuring not one or two, but three villains taken from the popular Marvel comic books.

By introducing the Sandman, Venom and the second generation Green Goblin into the narrative, the film struggles by not providing significant character development for the three actors playing these roles – Thomas Haden Church, Topher Grace and James Franco respectively. It feels as if the villains were placed in to provide nuisance for our hero, who would later take them all on in separate dramatic and heavy CGI-influenced fighting sequences.

Worst still, the love story between Tobey Maguire’s Peter Parker and Kirsten Dunst’s Mary Jane Watson means certain scenes resembles more like a light-hearted romantic comedy than an action movie… At one point, Peter’s confidence in wearing the new black Spider suit (which was infected by a strange alien symbiote) transformed him to a Travolta-like figure from Saturday Night Fever – including those hip-thrusting dancing moves!

Despite all that, Spider-Man 3 still provides some exciting moments – in particular the chase and fighting scene featuring Spider-Man and the Green Goblin – it just a shame that the movie lacks direction with too many characters and situations.

It is unclear whether there will be a Spider-Man 4 as this outing is likely to be Raimi’s last involvement. Judging by the disappointing ending, this could be the last of the trilogy, unless Sony Pictures has other ideas…

Following on from the success of Sin City, comic book writer Frank Miller has created a stylish look with this brutal and violent movie. Based on his graphic novel, 300 focuses on the Battle of Thermopylae in 480 B.C.

Spartan King Leonidas (Gerard Butler) and 300 of the finest warriors are led to an epic battle against the advancing Persians. This struggle is said to have inspired all of Greece to band together against the Persians, and helped usher in the world’s first democracy.

The fighting sequences in 300 are truly breathtaking with strong uses of gore and slow motion. Director Zack Snyder (whose previous work includes a remake of the cult horror classic Dawn Of The Dead) has done a spectacular job in creating a visual masterpiece that seems to be lifted straight off Miller’s comic book. The heavy use of blood splatter and CGI may seem over-the-top, but the end result works well.

Even though the dialogue consists of much shouting including the well-known phrase that is “Madness? THIS IS SPARTA!” the action is the true star in this two-hour film. And it delivers with fancy editing that puts the viewer right into the heart of the battle.

As for Gerard Butler playing the lead role, his presence on the screen is immensely powerful. You could feel the fire burning inside of him, with the sadness, inner struggles, but also the dignity and the kindness of the King.

300 is a movie that integrates the potentials of film-making and story-telling in a wonderful new way that is the best of both entertainment and artistic achievement.

Elisha Cuthbert’s new horror movie Captivity has received a string of complaints due to a set of disturbing posters advertising the film.

The adverts show a panel of photographs of actress Elisha Cuthbert being abducted, confined, tortured, and killed. People felt the images of this young woman were too graphic and insisted they be ripped down.

The film producers insist the billboards went up by mistake, and have agreed to pay for the removal of the ads in Los Angeles and New York City.

How did this happen? Production house After Dark Films CEO Courtney Solomon explains that the wrong files were sent to the printer, who then passed them on to the billboard company without approval from any executives…

Despite this PR disaster, I don’t think this film will be any good. A real shame as Elisha is a talented actress and deserves so much better.

Yet another movie adapted from Marvel Comics. Ghost Rider tells a story of a superstar motorcycle stunt rider named Johnny Blaze (played by Nicolas Cage). Who strikes a deal with the devil to save his dying father (who is suffering from cancer) with his immortal soul.

When his father was killed in a stunt, the young Johnny was filled with emotional pain that he decided to run away, leaving his childhood sweetheart Roxanne Simpson (the sexy Eva Mendes) behind.

Years later, Johnny’s path crosses again with Roxanne, now a TV news reporter along with the devil – the fearsome Mephistopheles (Easy Rider’s Peter Fonda) – who offers to release Johnny’s soul if he becomes the fiery and ruthless Ghost Rider, a supernatural agent of vengeance and justice, who happens to have a skull on fire!

His only hopes of getting his soul back is to kill Mephistopheles’ own son, Blackheart, who plans to displace his father and create a new hell even more terrifying than the old one.

Ghost Rider is an enjoyable movie and director Mark Steven Johnson has done a creditable job in adapting a character from the comics onto the big screen. As for Cage, some believe he was too old to play the role, but the actor has managed to pull it off with some style and substance.

The main highlight was the chase scene in downtime Melbourne, when the Ghost Rider leads the police force over bridges, under water, down dark and narrow alleyways and even up the side of a skyscraper!

The visual effects are also impressive, creating a stunning look to the fiery Ghost Rider.

A fun and amusing movie that will appeal to fans of the series and the average moviegoers. And yes, it won’t generate the same box office success compared to Marvel’s other big movie – Spider-Man – but as an action film in its own right, it’s certainly entertaining.

How do you follow up to the critical acclaim Shaun Of The Dead? That was the scenario for Simon Pegg, Nick Frost and director Edgar Wright after setting a true high standard in film making with a romantic comedy featuring zombies.

And yet the former Spaced team has done the impossible and managed to create a film that feels fresh with new jokes and clever references to other action movies.

Simon Pegg plays Nicholas Angel, one of the finest police officer in London. He is so good at his job, that he makes everyone in the police force look bad. So his superiors decided to send him off to a place where his talents won’t be quite so embarrassing – the sleepy and seemingly crime-free village of Sandford, where there hasn’t been a recorded murder for twenty years.

Once there, Angel meets an enthusiastic police officer named Danny Butterman (played by Nick Frost). Danny is a huge fan of action movies and after a few drinks with his new partner; he invites Angel back to watch a couple of his favourite cop films.

Danny believes that Angel has seen all kind of action in the big city including gunfights and car chases. But he stressed the point that this wasn’t the case.

All this changed when a series of grisly “accidents” rocked the village. Angel becomes suspicious that all these were linked somehow but no one believed him – apart from Danny.

Angel sets out to investigate and was shocked to discover that a secret organisation named NWA (not the rap group, but Neighbourhood Watch Alliance) was behind all these accidents.

The NWA members were murdering anyone who lessens the character of the village, claiming that it is for the “greater good”. But this obsession of claiming the title of Village of the Year was madness for Angel.

So Danny and Angel set out to dispatching the members of the NWA in a series of frantic and over-the-top gunfights. That’s one way of settling the matter!

Hot Fuzz is packed full of references, which will take multiple viewings to catch. Director Edgar Wright’s continuous use of quick cuts moves the action at a rapid pace but for the viewer, it’s an entertaining ride in this 120-minute movie.

Both Pegg and Frost certainly make this film worthwhile due to their chemistry together. They are good mates in real life and it shows on-screen.

But it was ex-Bond star Timothy Dalton who stole the limelight. To see the former spy playing the sinister Mr Skinner with a moustache twirling relish!

Hot Fuzz is definitely the film of the year so far and it goes to show that the British can do Hollywood-style action movies.

Richard Kelly’s psychological thriller tells a fascinating story on a bright but troubled young man, who suffers from a mental illness. After narrowly escaping death by a falling jet engine, Donnie Darko (Jake Gyllenhaal) experiences repeated visions of a six-foot tall rabbit named Frank.

The grotesque giant rabbit warns Donnie that the world will end in 28 days, 6 hours, 42 minutes and 12 seconds. He then encourages Donnie to commit seemingly random acts of vandalism, including flooding his school and burning down Jim Cunningham’s (Patrick Swayze) house.

Donnie is an emotionally troubled teenager, who is trapped in a world where teachers, parents and other adults want to simplify everything into two extremes – fear and love, right and wrong, Republicans and Democrats.

Kelly has skilfully directed this movie by allowing the viewer to experience the insane and hallucinate visions from Donnie’s point of view. The director also makes great use with the 1980s soundtrack, in particular the scene when he pans the camera to each of the characters – Magnolia-style – to Tears For Fear’s Mad World. This indeed is a strange and troubled world we live in.

Donnie Darko has been described as a high school movie directed by David Lynch (made famous by Twin Peaks) with themes on time travel, love, sacrifice and existentialism. The movie presents paradoxes never fully explained and a cryptic storyline open to multiple interpretations. A modern cult classic, with exceptional performance from Jake Gyllenhaal and a breathtaking cinematography, creating a dreamlike atmosphere that sets the mood of the film.