‘Transformers One’-Best I’ve Seen In 2024

‘Transformers One’ poster. Taken by William Beavers. Copyright 2024, Paramount Pictures.

 “What defines a Transformer is not the cog in its chest, but the spark in its core.”

Josh Cooley of Toy Story 4 fame directed Transformers One, an epic, tragic, funny origin story of Optimus Prime and Megatron and their factions, the Autobots and the Decepticons, respectively. Watching Transformers One felt like watching Marvel Studios films and Disney animated classics all rolled into one, and it was the best film I’ve seen in 2024 and the best portrayal of Transformers.

Chris Hemsworth voices Orion Pax/Optimus Prime in 'Transformers One.' Courtesy of Paramount Pictures.

Brian Tyree Henry is the voice of D-16/Megatron in 'Transformers One.' Courtesy of Paramount Pictures.

Transformers One was an origin story of Orion Pax and D-16, voiced by Chris Hemsworth and Brian Tyree Henry, as brother-in-arms before becoming Optimus Prime and Megatron. As the young automatons sought their purposes while mining for Energon reserves during a war between Cybertron and the Quintessons, they chanced upon a mission in the surface world that changed their lives forever in good and bad ways. Joining them were excitable B-127/Bumblebee, voiced by Keegan-Michael Key, and their feisty mining supervisor Elita-1, voiced by Scarlett Johansson. 

It was amusing how young Orion Pax and D-16 had a role reversal, with Orion being a renegade and D being the voice of reason. Also funny were the personality clashes with Bee's energetic behavior and Elita's sassy and distant outlook. Hemsworth, Henry, Key, and Johansson sure brought some fun to their voice roles.

Scarlett Johansson voices Elita-1 in 'Transformers One.' Courtesy of Paramount Pictures.

Keegan-Michael Key voices B-127/Bumblebee in 'Transformers One.' Courtesy of Paramount Pictures.

The landscape of Cybertron gave nostalgic views of Asgard from the Thor movies, Haven City from Daxter, and some parts of Star Wars Episode I-II. For a moment, the surface above Cybertron looked like the beautiful aurora borealis lights you could see in the Arctic areas. The animation also made it look like The Lego Movie.

Jon Hamm voiced Sentinel Prime, and his character brought Apollo Creed-level flamboyance acting like a big shot in his role in the war between Cybertron and the Quintessons.

It took a minute to recognize that the musical score was from Brian Tyler because it echoed parts of Steve Jablonsky's scoring from Michael Bay's live-action Transformers movie. Nevertheless, it was powerful music, and you should all feel free to bob your heads to the cool song "If I Fall" written by Tyler and performed by Quavo and Ty Dolla Sign.

As the main Autobots continued their trek, it was funny how it took them a minute to master transforming into their alternate vehicle modes, such as Orion feeling he lost his head while turning into a truck. But they made up for it with excellent mecha action, Autobots and Decepticons, e.g. Bee showing off his knife hands.

As I said, Transformers One talked about Megatron before he became Optimus Prime's archenemy. But the nice thing about it was this film kind of humanized him; gave him a reason why he became a tyrant. Something heavy and comical was when he started sounding like The Rock as he became more arrogant. 

And though Orion was running around like Aladdin before learning to be the man of valor he is today, with guidance from Alpha Trion, voiced by Laurence Fishburne, and his teammates, he learned transforming isn't just about morphing into cool vehicles, but about transforming one's world for the better./

Fishburne sounded like a wise sensei as his character helped Orion and his friends save Cybertron.

Great voice acting, story, animation, and scoring were all why I loved Transformers One. I hope the same cast and crew can bring the great vibes to another animated power tale. 10/10!

‘Speak No Evil’ Has Laughter, Chills, and Thrills

On Saturday morning, September 14, 2024, I had the funny, chilling, and thrilling pleasure of watching James McAvoy steal the show in the latest Blumhouse production, Speak No Evil. McAvoy began as an uninhibited hipster, then brought out his inner monster on the family led by Mackenzie Davis and Scoot McNairy. Then Davis and McNairy brought the thunder in protecting their kids similar to Fox's The Gifted TV series, and let’s just say it’s awesome that both the adults and their kids went toe-to-toe with James McAvoy.

James McAvoy and Aisling Franciosi as Paddy and Ciara in 'Speak No Evil.' Courtesy of Universal Pictures.

While on vacation in Italy, the Dalton family, consisting of Louise, Ben, and their daughter Agnes, played by Davis, McNairy, and Alix West Lefler, respectively, met Paddy, Ciara, and their son Ant, played by McAvoy, Aisling Franciosi, and Dan Hough. The interaction went well, despite the Dalton parents being put off by Paddy's unhinged friendly demeanor. When they met again at Paddy's farmhouse, Paddy's aggressive behavior and secrets about it began to unfold.

James McAvoy as Paddy in 'Speak No Evil.' Courtesy of Universal Pictures.

For a psychological horror, it was jocular from McAvoy's character of Paddy borrowing and dragging a chair from the Daltons at their hotel to his and Franciosi's characters showing more affection than them. McAvoy may have had some of the young Charles Xavier charm return to him. Then, once he began to let out his inner thriller character,  it was like watching a repeat of his prior role as Wesley Gibson from Wanted. 

Back to the humor, it was funny when Paddy sang along to 'Eternal Flame' by The Bangles in a driving scene early on, then sang it again as he was wreaking havoc on the farm. He also appeared to be in great physical shape for the role, so great job for that, Mr. McAvoy.

The praise should also go to Mackenzie Davis as Louise Dalton. Despite occasional marriage, parental, and personal trials, she brought out her warrior instincts and fiercely fought off Paddy to save her husband and child.

From left to right: Alix West Lefler as Agnes Dalton, Mackenzie Davis as Louise Dalton, and Scoot McNairy as Ben Dalton in 'Speak No Evil.' Courtesy of Universal Pictures.

As for the kids, I don't have much to say about the performance of Lefler as Agnes Dalton or Hough as Ant, but more about their characters. Throughout the film, Ben is annoyed with Agnes' attachment to her bunny, Hoppy, and wants her to grow up. It was crazy that for Agnes to mature, she had to spend a weekend on a farm owned by a countercultural psycho. The same thing goes for Ant, who like Ferb from Phineas and Ferb, made up in action what he lacked in speaking. The other thing to appreciate besides that was the scene where the kids danced to 'Cotton Eye Joe' by Rednex. 

This was my first time watching a psychological horror starring James McAvoy, and I was impressed that he went from pacifist Professor X to amiable yet crazy Paddy. In addition to McAvoy, Davis, Lefler, and Hough, great work to Jessie Harrison, the Hair and Makeup Supervisor, Nicole Stafford, the Hair and Makeup Designer, and Jason Evans, the Visual Effects Supervisor, on-set.

I give 'Speak No Evil' a 7.5/10. Keep up the good work, cast and crew. And though it was filmed in Canada for a bit, it was nice to see the English countryside in the final result. And it turned out to be a remake of a film from 2022 with the same name. Check it out if you can.   

Beetlejuice 2: Not Necessary, But Still Funny

Michael Keaton returns as the lead in Tim Burton's 'Beetlejuice Beetlejuice.' Courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures.

Despite some good undead makeup and laughs brought back by returning Michael Keaton, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice was not a sequel that needed to happen. Most of the cast was funny and goodhearted, the new addition Willem Dafoe, in particular, but the problems were Beetlejuice being stuck in his old ways instead of evolving, and the plot was confusing. It wasn't better than the first film.

Taking place almost 40 years after the original Beetlejuice, a now-grown Lydia Deetz (played by Winona Ryder) has a daughter, Astrid, played by Jenna Ortega, Wednesday. And though not as big with the undead as in her teenage years, she is still haunted by Beetlejuice, played by Keaton. And Beetlejuice has his own hauntings to deal with now that a soul-sucking ghost, played by Monica Bellucci, has a bone to pick with him.

Catherine O'Hara, Jenna Ortega, Winona Ryder, and Justin Theroux as Delia Deetz, Astrid Deetz, Lydia Deetz, and Rory, respectively in 'Beetlejuice Beetlejuice.' Courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures.

The good parts of the film were Justin Theroux as Rory, Lydia's boyfriend, trying to be the hip, yet awkward father figure to Astrid, Willem Dafoe as Det. Wolf Jackson trying to be a macho cop like Clint Eastwood in the undead police department, and a romance blooming between Astrid and Jeremy, played by Arthur Conti, who seemed like a young doppelgänger of Evan Peters from X-Men: Days of Future Past. 

Willem Dafoe as Detective Wolf Jackson in 'Beetlejuice Beetlejuice.' Courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures.

Other good parts were when Beetlejuice acted like a couples therapist, there was pop or blues music played during the treacherous scenes, such as Beetlejuice lip-syncing to Richard Marx, and there were some occasional gags such as "Ouija board curfew."

It was funny watching Lydia get panicky when overwhelmed by Beetlejuice's tricks, given how she used to be so dark. And Rory dressed like Shakespeare and John Travolta at the same time while trying to fit in with the Deetz family curse. Another funny part was seeing dead people looking so calm in the waiting room in the afterlife, namely a dead surfer.

It was ironic how Ortega seemed so tame to all this horror and fantasy given her scream queen status. But once she dressed as Madame Curie, teased her hair, and entered the afterlife, her character was like Lydia reincarnated. And as for entering the afterlife, how's that for radiation, Madame Curie?

Despite the zany throwbacks to the original film and good new additions, one problem for me was Beetlejuice was up to his old tricks with the Deetz family and was more a villain than a hero. And the subplots threw me off sometimes, meaning I couldn't tell if it was just about the Deetzes.

Having said all this, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice is not something you need to see, and it didn't have to happen. There was good joking and music, on the upside. Good job on the makeup and hair design, Christine Blundell, and the visual consulting work, Bo Welch. 

I give Beetlejuice Beetlejuice a 7/10.

Deadpool and Wolverine: Chaotic Buddy Work

From a John Wick-style fight with "Bye Bye Bye" in the background to the tricky yet humorous inclusion of past Marvel characters, Deadpool and Wolverine did have its great moments in showing the characters played by Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman embracing their inner heroes, even with more than their fair share of bloodshed on the battlefield and rocky budding friendship along the way.

After his last time-travel adventure, Wade Wilson/Deadpool, played by Reynolds, finds himself in trouble with the Time Variance Authority from Loki. He switches from time-traveling to multiverse traveling to stop a corrupt TVA agent, Paradox, played by Matthew McFayden, and protect his loved ones. Along the way, a variant of Logan/Wolverine, played by Jackman, ends up reluctantly teaming with Deadpool while he's dealing with some baggage of his own. And I don't just mean Logan hiding his insecurities behind beer or cigars.

I didn't think too highly of the movie at first because I'm not a fan of Deadpool using more "anti" in antihero, specifically how he chose to kill Francis over becoming a disciplined X-Man in his first solo movie, and how he treats nobility like a joke too much in general. But when I learned to open my mind about him a little, I saw some good stuff in him from his choice of pop or electronic music in battle or allowing himself to be a hero, not just a dishonorable fighter. One amusing moment was watching him and Logan duke it out in a minivan with "You're the One That I Want" from Grease in the background.

I also didn't expect to like bringing back Hugh Jackman as Wolverine after his character died a hero's death in Logan. But I did like it after seeing this variant had a good heart and learned from his predecessor's mistakes. The only thing just as cool as that was seeing him finally wear the yellow and blue spandex suit from the comics, mask occasionally included. Deadpool and Wolverine are like the main characters from Cobra Kai, different but same.

Beyond the quarrelsome relationship with the lead characters and ironic pop music during the gory moments, other things to enjoy were sets that gave vibes of past films like Ant-Man and the Wasp, great scoring by Rob Simonsen, and, though I won't say who, inclusion of past Marvel film characters. Overall, Deadpool and Wolverine had a chaotic buddy friendship and they made it work.

7.3/10.