Movie Reviews
Transformers One Movie Review – A Origin Story We Didn't Know We Needed
Transformers One is a 2024 American animated science fiction action film based on Hasbro’s Transformers toy line. It was directed by Josh Cooley from a screenplay by Eric Pearson and the writing duo of Andrew Barrer and Gabriel Ferrari, based on a story by Barrer and Ferrari.
The ensemble voice cast includes Chris Hemsworth, Brian Tyree Henry, Scarlett Johansson, Keegan-Michael Key, Steve Buscemi, Laurence Fishburne, and Jon Hamm.
Overview
The untold origin story of Optimus Prime and Megatron, better known as sworn enemies, but who once were friends bonded like brothers who changed the fate of Cybertron forever. It is set on Cybertron, the home planet of the Transformers, and depicts the origins and early relationship of Optimus Prime and Megatron.
In March 2015, following the release of Transformers: Age of Extinction (2014), Paramount Pictures tasked Akiva Goldsman to set up a writers’ room to create ideas for potential future Transformers films.
By May 2015, Barrer and Ferrari had signed on as writers, and they came up with the idea of an animated prequel set on Cybertron. The film was announced in August 2017, and by April 2020, Cooley had been hired to direct.
Story
Sworn enemies, once friends. An untold story for Orion Pax and D-16. The story followed the early days on Cybertron where Orion Pax wanted more from life whereas D-16 was just happy following the ideas and rules of Sentinal Prime.
The story showcased the friendship between the two enemies and how they always looked out for each other mainly D-16 saving Orion Pax from the trouble he gets into. The story shows that not everything is what it seems which ultimately ends in a war for Cybertron.
The story delivered the origins of Optimus Prime and Megatron. The story showed that Orion wanted to find the spark and become something other than a miner whereas this was also the beginning of D-16 turning into Megatron.
While the story focused on the origins of Orion Pax and D-16, in the background it delivered the origins of the two factions that ultimately go to war for centuries. The story delivers a fresh look into the war, the connections, and the uphill struggle for leadership on Cybertron.
Characters
Obviously, the characters within this movie would not be the same characters we see later in their history, the rugged, war-torn Cybertronians we saw in later movies. The characters within this movie were all light-hearted, friendly, and well-respected in the sense that everyone got along with each other, there were no Autobots vs Decepticons.
Chris Hemsworth as the voice of Orion Pax was such a great choice for the voice acting, Chris has a voice that is friendly but also can be a mean leader when needed. Bryan Tyree Henry as the voice of D-16 was a unique choice but ultimately was able to capture slow turn into evilness.
One of my personal favorites within the movie was B-127 voiced by the incredibly funny Keegan-Michael Key. While we’ve seen some early days of Bumblebee within different Transformers projects, this one gave us a new spin on the character as someone who essentially was forgotten about on Cybertron, left on a floor of Cybertron that no one went to.
For the full cast list, you can visit IMDB by clicking here.
Hype
Now the hype for this movie seemed to be very well. People were generally excited to see it. I continued to see people talk about the movie even after its release in the States. From comments such as “The best Transformers movie” to “It didn’t need to go this hard”.
The hype has been hurt because of the box office performance as of now. The movie had a budget of 75 – 147 million dollars but at the box office has only reached $100 million.
Favorite Moments
1. Seeing just how smart and curious Orion Pax actually was before coming Optimus Prime. He would break into the archives searching for the answer to what happened to the first Primes and the matrix. While he does get caught, he gets away by his best friend, D-16.
2. Seeing how easily Orion gets D-16 into some adventures. Orion manages to get D-16 into the race to prove they are more than just minors but ends up losing the race and gaining the respect of Sentinal Prime.
3. The introduction to B-127. We are seeing how forgotten he was by other Cybertronians and forced to work in the garbage incineration. He’s just full of life and is always at 110% energy to the point where he still speaks when knocked out.
4. Trion provides cogs to the group to allow them to become full transformers and see how gaining a cog and some information revealed changed the group. You saw Orion, B-127, and Elita-1 all become better while D-16 slowly began to turn evil.
5. After a battle. D-16 shoots Orion but catches him before he falls to his death, although, this was the moment Megatron was born as D-16 tells Orion that he’s done catching him and lets him go. Orion falls into the spirit of the Primes where he receives the Matrix of Leadership and revives him as a new prime, Optimus Prime.
Dislikes
Honestly, going into this I thought I would have some dislikes but I was surprised to see that I didn’t have a single dislike.
Recommend?
Would I recommend this? For sure! It’s everything. This movie is for the children who like Transformers and animated movies and this is for the Transformers fans who want to see the early days of Cybertron.
Verdict
A fantastic prequel movie that sheds new light on the time before Cybertron was ravaged by war and destruction. The movie showcases a friendship between Optimus Prime and Megatron long before they were enemies. The action was fantastic. The story was great and the animation was incredible.
Rating: 9.4/10
Transformers One is available in cinemas worldwide. You can visit here for more information on Transformers One.
For a limited time, Paramount+ plans start at $2.50/mo. for 12 months! Billed annually. Stream the NFL on CBS live and more. Redeem now!
Story – 10
Structure – 9
Quality – 10
Action – 10
Characters – 10
Entertainment – 10
Antagonist – 8.5
Hype – 8
9.4
Amazing
A fantastic prequel movie that sheds new light on the time before Cybertron was ravaged by war and destruction. The movie showcases a friendship between Optimus Prime and Megatron long before they were enemies. The action was fantastic. The story was great and the animated was incredible.
Movie Reviews
Classic Film Review: Damon, Norton, Famke, Turturro and Landau deal the cards — “Rounders” (1998)
The knock on “Rounders” (1998) was always that it was, to quote a review or two at the time of its release, “lazy.”
It’s a genre pic, gamblers’ ups and downs as one (Matt Damon) tries to focus on law school and his law school classmate/girlfriend (Gretchen Mol) and law school mentor (Martin Landau) as his disreputable hustler pal (Edward Norton) drags him back into his favorite vice.
There aren’t a lot of ways for this hand to play out, and director John Dahl (“The Last Seduction,” lots of TV in recent years) and two screenwriters pick the lightest and one could make the case, the lamest.
Damon was young, with a young Hollywood haircut, playing another version of that smart, motormouthed working class knowitall “type” that launched his career in “Good Will Hunting” the year before. So the writers wrote him lots and lots of little “read the player/read the room” monologues, some delivered in the lazy screenwriter’s best friend — voice-over narration.
“I’ve often seen these people, these squares at the table — short-stacked and long odds against them, all their outs gone — one last card in the deck that can help them.
“I used to wonder how they could let themselves get into such bad shape, and how the hell they thought they could turn it around?”
Very Matt Damon speech to make. Very lazy screenwriting to give it to him.
But it’s a GENRE picture. It’s not about the surprises, but the execution, the immersive milieu, the colorful characters. “Rounders” delivers that to perfection. It’s a film that captures a moment in time. And it prefigured the global “Texas Hold’em” poker craze. Hell, even James Bond found himself playing Hold’em and not Bacarat when “Casino Royale” was remade.
I swear I never pass by this film while channel-surfing without stopping to savor Damon, Norton and a long line of colorful supporting players — Chris Messina, Michael Rispoli and Bill Camp before they were famous, Turturro and Oscar winners Damon and Landau, Oscar nominee Norton and future X-woman Famke Janssen.
Damon, a great raconteur and chat show guest (Jimmy Kimmel be damned), has long been telling this hilarious story about working with the odd-accent-slinging John Malkovich, who plays Russian mobster/poker room operator and player Teddy KGB, that’s become a part of the film’s lore.
So there’s a lot to relish in “Rounders,” as it’s become one of those mainstream “cult” films that gets better with age — like “Fight Club.”
The story — Mike McDermott’s a New York law school smarty with a beautiful classmate/live-in girlfriend. He likes to play cards and swim with the sharks, but he keeps that under control for her sake, and to ensure his future.
But when his old running mate Worm (Norton) gets out of prison, Mike finds himself going on a gambling bender to help settle Worm’s gambling debts with Teddy KGB (Malkovich) and the thug called Grama (Rispoli).
Everwhere Mike turns, there’s an old rival/friend (Turturro) who sighs at the lost potential of a player who is great at “reading” the table, the cards and his chief rivals, or a gambling debt collector/barmaid (Janssen) he used to have a thing with. Even the judge (Landau) who is his law school mentor has a “friendly” game of academics and other lawyers that Mike interrupts and “reads” like an old pro.
“You were lookin’ for that third three, but you forgot that Professor Green folded on Fourth Street and now you’re representing that you have it. The DA made his two pair, but he knows they’re no good. Judge Kaplan was trying to squeeze out a diamond flush but he came up short and Mr. Eisen is futilely hoping that his queens are going to stand up. So like I said, the Dean’s bet is $20.”
Worm weasels Mike back into the then-underground world of poker rooms as these “Rounders” — slang for hardcore players — travel from Rahway to Bronxville, Newark to Atlantic City and the bowels of NYC in search of quick cash.
Worm’s a known cheat, but Mike lets him dragshim to the games, winning legit until Worm worms his way onto the same table and starts looking for shortcuts.
That never works out. The movie is about the ballooning nature of Worm’s debt, the beatings and threats to his future Mike endures. Beautiful, rich and about to get richer girlfriend? Law degree?
Norton is in rare, antic form here, showboating about how he doesn’t know Mike when they’ve weaseled into a game with strangers, losing sorely to ensure Mike can win big, taking a bunch of frat boys for a ride, for instance.
“Like my uncle Les used to say “When the money is gone, it’s time to move on”. So enjoy it, you secret handshaking assholes.”
Landau gets to make the big “disappointment to my father” old Jewish judge speech. Mol plays the “It’s me or poker” card as the girlfriend.
“Lazy?” Sure. This movie lays down a straight or a flush, never a straight flush.
But this world is a rare thing, a piece of the “California Split” past before poker and gambling blew-up and ate the early 2000s. We watch gambling movies like that Altman classic and this Dahl classic and “Mississippi Grind” to sample a lifestyle we’d never have the nerve to try. That’s all we really want from this genre.
Hearing Damon recite the script’s poker-professional slang and pro poker player name-dropping might seem “lazy” and heavy-handed. But it’s musical in Damon’s hands. The guy can tell a story.
“Listen, here’s the thing. If you can’t spot the sucker in your first half hour at the table, then you ARE the sucker.”
And there’s no dishonor in critics’ dismissing a film that goes on to become a classic of its genre and a cultural touchstone. Well, maybe a little. But I guess J. Hoberman’s glad to be remembered for something.
Rating: R, violence, drug abuse, profanity
Cast: Matt Damon, Edward Norton, Famke Janssen, Martin Landau, Gretchen Mol, John Turturro, Michael Rispoli, Chris Messina, Bill Camp and John Malkovich
Credits: Directed by John Dahl, scripted by David Levien and Brian Koppelman. A Miramax release on Pluto TV, Amazon, etc.
Running time: 2:01
Movie Reviews
Jigra Movie Review – Gulte
2/5
2 hrs 35 mins | Action Drama | 11-10-2024
Cast – Alia Bhatt, Vedang Raina, Manoj Pahwa, Rahul Ravindran, Vivek Gomber
Director – Vasan Bala
Producer – Karan Johar, Apoorva Mehta, Alia Bhatt, Somen Mishra, Shaheen Bhatt
Banner – Dharma Productions, Eternal Sunshine Productions
Music – Achint Thakkar, Manpreet Singh
Jigra is an action entertainer headlined by Alia Bhatt. This film is also the first film she signed after the birth of her daughter Raha. This action drama has a strong underpinning of a brother-sister relationship, with Alia Bhatt and Archies-fame actor Vedang Raina playing orphan siblings. Jigra is written and directed by Vasan Bala. Vasan was the former assistant of director Anurag Kashyap. He later went on to helm the films Mard Ko Dard Nahi Hota and Monica O My Darling. Vasan has co-written this film with Debashish Irengbam. Jigra is set in the fictional country of Hanshi Dao, which largely resembles Singapore.
What is it about?
Satyabhama (Alia Bhatt) and Ankur (Vedang Raina) are orphans who witness the traumatic suicide of their father as children. As adults, Satya works as a household manager for her wealthy relatives while Ankur studies to become an engineer. When Ankur and his cousin/boss’s son Kabir go to Hanshi Dao to pitch for a tech startup, Kabir gets caught with drugs. In Hanshi Dao, drug offenders are punished with a quick death sentence and there is no leniency offered. Kabir’s family helps him get out of this mess, but they manipulate Ankur into taking the fall. Ankur gets a death sentence in an electric chair and Satya rushes to Hanshi Dao to save her brother. How she saves her brother forms the rest of the story.
Performances
Jigra is Alia’s show all the way. This is also her first full-length action role. Satya is a dark, repressed and somewhat traumatised and violent character, who only wants to protect her brother and make sure he is safe. Alia nails the emotional arc of Satya perfectly and also aces the action sequences, most of which involve hand-to-hand combat.
Manoj Pahwa delivers an endearing and relatable performance as Bhatia, who helps Satya with her plans in Hanshi Dao. Actor and Chi La Sow-fame director Rahul Ravindran makes his Hindi debut with Jigra, playing the role of Muthu, an ex-police officer who wishes to get somebody out from the prison. He plays a jaded yet sensible character with restrained expressions and measured body language. Newcomer Vedang Raina looks great and sings well, but he needs to work a lot on his performance.
Technicalities
The production design of Jigra is loaded with inspired aesthetics and necessary realism. Most of Hanshi Dao has been recreated and shot in Mumbai, and it is commendable how well the recreation is, given the budget and original locations. There are some VFX portions in the film, involving the ocean and the prison, and they look so real that nobody will think it is VFX.
Alia Bhatt’s character Satya is entirely dressed in masculine outfits like oversized shirts, jeans and business suits. Fans who love seeing the actress in more glamorous garb might be disappointed. The music of the film, which includes a recreation of RD Burman’s famous son Ek Hazaaron Mein Meri Behna Hai, hit all the right notes, leaving the audience humming long after the end credits roll.
Thumbs up
Alia Bhatt
Story’s novelty factor
Production Values
Thumbs down
Pacing issues in screenplay
Niche subject
Predictable story
Analysis
Jigra has the 80s-90s template of a traditional, straightforward siblings emotion story. What makes it different is a female protagonist and a foreign backdrop. The story is full of details about Hanshi Dao, and it’s politics and legal system and why Satya must decide to break everything instead of following the rules laid down by the system.
While the emotional factors of the film will keep everyone connected, these Hanshi Dao details may interest some deeply while alienating others. The film is both mainstream and niche at the same time.
Jigra is mostly an events-based film but the problem is we know how the film is going to end so the events become predictable after a point. Instead of taking us only through the events, Jigra should have been more of a character drama.
Vasan Bala is definitely an talented and interesting director and it is good to see his work get mainstream attention. The film (at 2hrs 35 mins) feels a bit too long due to its pacing and some of its creative calls.
This could have been worked around, in order to give a racy, edge-of-the-seat experience to the audience, instead of a mellow, meditative one. In short, Jigra reminds the audience that it is an emotional story and an action story separately but not together.
Verdict – A Fighter With Weak Drama
Rating: 2/5
Related
Tags Jigra
Movie Reviews
‘Oh, Canada’ Review: Paul Schrader Dissects an Dying Director's Mortality in Soulful, Reflective Drama
NR
Runtime: 1 Hr and 31 Minutes
Production Companies: Foregone Film PSC, Fit Via Vi Film Productions, Lucky 13 Productions, Ottocento Films, SIPUR, Vested Interest
Distributor: Kino Lorber
Director: Paul Schrader
Writer: Paul Schrader
Cast: Richard Gere, Jacob Elordi, Uma Thurman, Victoria Hill, Michael Imperioli, Penelope Mitchell, Kristine Froseth
Release Date: December 6, 2024
-
World1 week ago
Ukrainian stronghold Vuhledar falls to Russian offensive after two years of bombardment
-
World1 week ago
WikiLeaks’ Julian Assange says he pleaded ‘guilty to journalism’ in order to be freed
-
Technology1 week ago
Beware of fraudsters posing as government officials trying to steal your cash
-
Health1 week ago
Health, happiness and helping others are vital parts of free and responsible society, Founding Fathers taught
-
Sports1 week ago
Freddie Freeman says his ankle sprain is worst injury he's ever tried to play through
-
News1 week ago
Lebanon says 50 medics killed in past three days as Israel extends its bombardment
-
Entertainment3 days ago
Hold my beer can: Museum says a worker thought unique art installation was trash
-
Entertainment4 days ago
'The Office' star Jenna Fischer reveals private breast cancer battle: 'I am cancer free'