Wednesday, June 24, 2009

Why I Dont Give A Shit What Reviewers Say About Transformers 2

Im so tired of critics. Movie critics, food critics, art critics, TV critics. Im tired of people who tear down the work of others because they somehow are some kind of expert, even though they havent made anything themselves. Theres a line between a journalist and a critic. A journalist reports objectivly and a critic is all opinion. I love journalists.

Good example of a journalist? Mo Ryan of the Chicago Tribune. Shes a great TV journalist who gives great reviews and interviews of the new TV shows out there.

Bad example of journalist? Lately, Aint it Cool News. Dont get me wrong, I will always thank them for getting me in to see an early screening of Star Trek(2009) with my dad, but Harry Knowles recent reviews, especially about Terminator Salvation...its just become a place where people with no actual accomplishments other than creating a website, sit and crap on the work of other people.

So someone creates something you dont like. Ok. Understandable. I dont like certain things. Does that give me a license to spew vomit, bile and profanity about them all over the internet? No. There is still a code of human decency in the world(at least i like to think so).

So this brings me to Transformers 2. Noone can garner more hate(save george lucas) about their films more than Michael Bay. The man makes blockbusters. He makes big movies with big characters and big explosions. He likes big action and big boobs and big military machinery. Guess what, so does the american(and even worldwide) public. People flock to his movies. Critics tear them apart. Shred them. Eviscerate them. Why? Cause its not the latest movie about a gay wrestler who falls in love with his pet dog or some foreign film about homeless people winning a game show.

If you fancy a self imposed frontal labotomy, here read this review of Transformers 2 by Roger Ebert, the so called "King" of movie reviews.


Cinema is about entertainment. Entertainment is key. Some say its storytelling. Storytelling is a key part of entertainment. If the story is trash, people wont be entertained. That being said, entertainment means different things to different people. While at times i bemoan the american public because of things like jon & kate plus 8, i also am part of the public.

I love Michael Bay's movies. I love all of them. Armageddon is easily my favorite action movie of all time. Its perfect in every regard for an action film. Great acting, great storytelling, great effects. Is it 100% scientific? No. Do i care? Of course not. If i want that, ill go watch the discovery channel. Wait, no i wont. I want to be entertained, not taught.

Transformers 2 comes out today and ill be seeing it in IMAX tonight. While im not expecting to love it in the same way i loved Star Trek(no, not a gay way..ok maybe a little gay) im still looking forward to it. Am i looking to be spiritually changed? No. Am i looking to be moved emotionally? Only in going "DAMN" when theres an awesome action scene. Critics claim Pearl Harbor is Bay's worst film. If thats his worst film, its better than most trash released out there. Paul Blart: Mall Cop? Sex in the City: The Movie? Dunno folks. Dunno.

Critics are out of touch with the general public. The public wants entertainment. Only a small subset of the public wants the kind of "Art" that critics look for. Ask most people what they thought of the oscar winners of the past 5 years. Wait no. Ask people if they even KNOW who won the best picture oscar in the last 5 years. Aint gonna happen.

I cant wait to see giant alien robots kicking ass. Oh, and Megan Fox isnt bad either.

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