Vicky Cristina Barcelona

Oh where to begin? Vicky Cristina Barcelona is Woody Allen's latest addition to his legendary vault of flicks with hot chicks. Over the last few years he has been quite taken by Scarlett Johansson, who plays the part of Cristina, the whimsical and sexual hippie American tourist. Rebecca Hall is her polar opposite best friend, and you guessed it, the movie takes place in Barcelona!



This is basically a PG foray into the sexual experimentation of young American women that go to Spain for the summer. Woody grabs the cliche that the beautiful woman will go to Europe and find the dashing, romantic, bohemian artist to show them what love and sex are all about. Fair enough, but I have heard this before, I think in Beverly Hills 90210. Didn't Brenda do that? Anyway...

It's a pretty good movie but I would be lying if I didn't say that I was let down. I was expecting an amazing romantic dramedy lead by two of Hollywood's most beautiful actresses.















So hear is how I see it. Rumor has it that Scarlett has been complaining about her beauty. She is "tired of being seen as a sex symbol." News flash...If you did not have your looks, you would be just another pretty face on the street. I am so unimpressed by her work.

Penelope, on the other hand, is the complete package. She is not only beautiful but her skills are crazy good. She stole the show and received an Oscar nom for it. Without her turn this film would be a failure. Thankfully I new she was coming or I may have turned it off.

The film does take a turn for the good when she comes into play and it stays pretty strong. She makes it worth your while.

Javier Bardem also does a commendable job as the leading man, Juan Antonio. If nothing else, he is much better to look at then when he played Anton Chigurh.















The Blu-Ray format is not to be missed. There are some fabulous shots of Barcelona and it makes you feel as if you are on the set. The audio is completely dialogue driven so you won't get any action from your sub or surrounds.

This is a 3 star movie, but could have easily been so much more. Give it a look...

Transformers

I totally missed it. I am a big fan of action/sci-fi/fantasy flicks. A big budget flick that pulls it off is even more rewarding because you get those big budget effects. Large booms from your sub, awesome and flawless 1080p Blu-Ray, etc. makes it so enjoyable.






Transformers got it right! I ignored this movie for so long and I paid the price. Now, I have not been a fan of Michael Bay. Most of his movies have been stinkers. Armageddon and Pearl Harbor come to mind as bogus attempts at entertainment. The Island was decent, but would anyone have liked it without Scarlett Johansson running around in tight outfits as Jordan Two Delta? That's a valid question...

I am not one to rehash plot lines. You can do that elsewhere and/or watch the trailer that I embedded for you. What I will do is tell you that this is plain old good fun. You have an ancient battle between robots/transformers that re-erupts on earth. And the aloof Shia LaBeouf doing a fabulous job in selling his starring role. Throw in David Silver's fiance, Foxy Megan, and you have a winning cast.





















































Self serving? Perhaps. But I couldn't help myself. Point made.

Anyway, tons of good action. It is certainly ridiculous, it IS robots for crying out loud. But it knows it's ridiculous. It eats it up. It has its corny moments, its schmaltz, and all that "good" stuff. Grab a copy and enjoy the 140 minutes of fun. And grab that Blu-Ray copy and you have a serious demo disc for your home theater. It's nearly flawless.

4 stars all around. Hopefully this is a turning point for Michael Bay.