Spoilergeddon is here! New Transformers 2 reviews include mountains of bizarre details. David X. Cohen talks you through Futurama's next season. Supernatural has a very special casting call. Plus Torchwood hints, Reiko Aylesworth on Stargate, and Gamer, V and Heroes.
Transformers: Revenge Of The Fallen:
Some U.K. outlets have gone ahead and reviewed this film, including fair share of spoilers. Total Film says the movie starts out with an "Apocalypto-like prologue" set in 17,000 B.C., and there are sequences in space as well as in New York, Paris and Egypt. There's a forest smackdown between Optimus and three Decepticons that's a thing of beauty to watch. There's ship-sinking a la Pearl Harbor, cities being destroyed as in Armageddon, and a Bad Boys II poster on Sam's dorm room wall.
IGN says we zip between scenes on Cybertron, Sam's first day at college, and drama at various military bases — with robot-on-robot violence in between. And the action is less confusing this time around, really. And IGN agrees that the forest fight scene is the best thing in the movie — and it's an hour in, leaving the remaining 80 minutes a bit of a letdown. And generally, the film is about an hour too long.
The Shizznit says the movie's dialog consists of ridiculous one-liners. The soldiers say things like "Bring the rain!" and the baddies say "This isn't over!". The movie's first half hour is light on robots, but Sam's parents pretty much carry it. The Fallen is spindly and doesn't get much screen time. Devastator, likewise, is underused but at least he looks awesome. Sideways crashes through an apartment building. Bumblebee takes an opponent's head off.
The Mirror says that 17,000 B.C. prologue actually features cavemen fighting robots, which I'm utterly down for. And the sequence where Sam and Mikaela find Jetfire in the Smithsonian comes after that forest fight scene. Also, Megan Fox somehow finds the time to change her jeans during all of the robot battles, so she has blue jeans in the U.S., and white jeans in the desert. Oh, and the movie is crammed with "turgid" backstory.
My favorite part is still the "cavemen versus robots" thing.
And a fan saw the film as well, and posted a detailed reaction over at the TFW2005 boards. Among other things: Barricade isn't in the movie. Megan Fox changes into a white dress and holds some flowers for no reason at one point. The three pink motorcycles never combine into a robot, and then one of them is destroyed. Optimus and Jetfire only combine temporarily during the final battle, and then what's left of Jetfire is damaged. When the battle ends, Optimus removes the Jetfire remains. Jolt appears randomly, and only gets about five seconds of screen time total, and his hands sizzle like Emperor Palpatine's. Sideways only appears in his robot mode for a split second, then changes back to a car, whereupon Sideswipe cuts him in half lengthwise. You see Megatron as a robot, a tank and a jet.
The Twins get the best lines, like "That hurt!" "It's an ass-kicking, it's supposed to!" and "Maybe he's just a pussy!" And when they see Devastator: "Look at that motherf—" (followed by an explosion). Meanwhile, the British-accented Jetfire says "Oh, bollocks" and "I'm too old for this crap." Sadly, the "Sam's mom gets stoned" scene is a waste of time, and Devastator is totally wasted in the film. Also, there's a "WTF" scene where "Sam dies and goes to Autobot heaven." [TFW2005 via IESB]
Gamer:
Here's a new still from this human-video-game movie, which is pretty similar to the one we premiered a while back, only flipped over. [IGN]
Futurama:
Series co-creator David X. Cohen explains what to expect when this show returns in 2010. The stories will delve into the everyday lives of the characters, and the everyday technology they use. The show will explore the dark side of current geek addictions like the iPhone and Twitter. Says Cohen:
I keep thinking of the insidious possibilities of the iPhone, which I use every five seconds of the day. How you can track anyone anywhere, or market your taco stand to people standing 4 feet away. Or the sinister possibilities of Twitter, and so forth. Cellphones were the size of bricks when we first went on the air, so we made jokes about tiny cellphones. Now, they're everywhere.
After the epic scope of the direct-to-DVD movies, expect the TV stories to be somewhat smaller again, and focus on exploring "the society of the future." And lots more of Bender saying mean things. And there will be at least one bizarre sexual relationship. Hot damn! [Wired]
Supernatural:
Are you somehow not pumped up for this show's fifth and maybe final season? Then here's the casting call for Lucifer, a new regular character:
30s – 40s, male. This is the devil – he is soft-spoken, strangely sympathetic, more vulnerable than evil and should have piercing eyes. This is an amazing role that will be heavily recurring...HEAVILY RECURRING GUEST STAR
"More vulnerable than evil"? Holy crap. [SpoilerTV]
Also, I don't think we showed you this promo which includes snippets of Smallville, Supernatural and Vampire Diaries. Honestly not sure if there's much new there, but here it is. [E! Online]
V:
In this ABC remake of the classic series, Laura "Supergirl" Vandervoort says she plays Lisa, an alien. "She's the seductress who has been given the task to lure the young human folk." And she sets her sights on the son of Elizabeth Mitchell's character, a resistance leader. And Vandervoort says her blue jumpsuit has been "cut in a way that is meant to be alluring, so that the humans like us right away." [TV Guide Magazine via OSCK]
Torchwood:
Russell T. Davies showed off the first episode of the miniseries "Children Of Earth," which airs July 20-24 in both the U.S. and the U.K. People posted reviews on Twitter, calling it "brilliant" and the best hour of Torchwood so far. And Davies hinted that the Doctor gets namechecked — but doesn't actually appear — in the final episode of "Children." Also, Davies said he's all set to go with a fourth year of Torchwood, if the third season gets decent ratings. Plus more rumors that Matt Smith's TARDIS interior will be getting a more "retro" look, and that Smith's Doctor will face the Daleks in his first story. [Den Of Geek and Bleeding Cool]
Stargate Universe:
Reiko Aylesworth (24, Lost) plays Sharon, the long-time life partner of Camille Wray, and she turns up in the ninth episode, "Life," where she produces a "touching turn" that's alternately heart-rending and uplifting, says producer Joseph Mallozzi. Also in "Life," Sarah Smyth plays a struggling character named Annie Balic and turns in a "wonderfully nuanced performance." Also, Mallozzi praised Jennifer Spence, who plays Dr. Lisa Park — a minor supporting character in the pilot, who's gotten a much bigger role since then because the producers liked her performance and gave her more to do. (So I guess she's not one of the early deaths.) [Gateworld]
Heroes:
The show started filming its fourth season, and Adrian Pasdar posted a brief update:
What a great first day we had. Shot a load of stuff in my office, no dialogue, just me acting up a storm. Solo. Then Mr Q joined us and the fireworks began. What a gentle man. This is going to be an amazing season. Everybody dropped by the set at one point or another today. This is one seriously tight cast. I am a better person for knowing all of them. I feel lucky.
I love the idea that he "acted up a storm" without saying anything. I'm picturing bulging eyeballs. [The ODI and Heroes Television]
Also, apparently, the first two episodes of the season will be called "Orientation" and "Jump, Push, Fail." [HeroSite]
Vampire Diaries:
Oh, come on. You never know: This show could be better than it looks. I was prejudiced against Supernatural for ages, and now it's pretty much my favorite show. Would it help if I showed you a gallery of stills from the pilot, featuring abmormally pretty people? [VampireSite]
Additional reporting by Alexis Brown.