Mapping the Transformers Series – Map-It

TL;DR – We map the many locations featured in Transformers, including that one time that all the Transformers went on holiday to Havana for some reason.  

Optimus Prime.

Mapping Transformers

With the release of Transformers: Rise of the Beasts, I decided it was a good time to go back and look at the Transformers Series as a whole. There are some areas where it is still the trailblazer it was and others that have aged, as well as blue cheese, left out in the summer sun. You can read it all HERE.

However, as I started this process, I wondered how global the series got, given its first very American focus and then that odd moment when China was bribing good coverage in Hollywood. Before I knew it, a map was being made, and it might have been the best part of looking back.  

Continue reading

Transformers Series Review – Exploring the Past

TL;DR –.We explore the highs and lows, and lows, of the Transformers film series.

Disclosure – I paid for the Paramount+/Amazon Prime services that viewed these films.

Transformers

We might be in the era of nostalgia, but that does not mean that current films can capture what made those original properties soar. An excellent example of this is Transformers, a series that swings wildly in quality and in how it connects with the series it is based on, and now I have watched them all.

Continue reading

TV Review – Transformers: War For Cybertron Trilogy – Siege [Chapter One]

TL;DR – While presenting some new ideas and context for this Transformers world, I couldn’t help but walk away feeling hollow by the experience.  

Score – 3 out of 5 stars

Transformers: War For Cybertron Trilogy – Siege. Image Credit: Netflix.

When it comes to the little franchise that could, Transformers has always been the one ready to well transform itself and come back as something new. From the original Gen 1 to the hit and miss movies, and all the many animated shows in-between. No matter the case, it always has ready to put on a new coat of paint, or fathers and scales that one time, and now is no different. Today we will be looking at a show that takes us right back to the beginning with the War for Cybertron.

So to set the scene, we open amid a millennia-long civil war between the Decepticons led by Megatron (Jason Marnocha) and the Autobots led by Optimus Prime (Jake Foushee). Cybertron, once an ecumenopolis of shining lights is now rubble pocketed with the damage of the conflict. The Autobots however, have been on the losing side of this war, and now are struggling to survive. They need energon to escape on their Arc, but Megatron is planning something worse that may destroy them where they stand, and no one will be able to hide from it. Now we will be looking at the series as a whole, and as such there will be some [SPOILERS] ahead.  

Continue reading

The Films from 2018 That Put Some Fun Into Our Lives

The Films from 2018 That Put Some Fun Into Our Lives

In a world full of dower grittiness, it is nice sometimes to sit back, crack a cold one, and just enjoy some fun, and God knows in 2018 we needed it. So today, I take a moment to champion those films that brought the fun, whether through upbeat action, one laugh after another, or that silliness that brings a smile to your face.

So without further ado, these are films that brought the fun in 2018. Be warned that there may be some slight spoilers ahead for the films in question.

Continue reading

Movie Review – Bumblebee

TL;DR – From start to end this film is just fun, with more humanity than the last films combined.     

Score – 4 out of 5 stars

Post-Credit Scene – There is a mid-credit scene

Bumblebee. Image Credit: Paramount

Review

I have always had a difficult relationship with the Transformers films, at the start I was so glad to see them be brought to the big screen. But Transformers I failed to stick the landing, and every other film from then was well … okay, sorry, they are not great. Yes, you get the big fight scenes and explosions aplenty, but Michael Bay’s very particular style just did not match the franchise. All of this combined into The Last Night (see review) which was just painful to watch at times with its awfulness. With all of this, when they announced that they would be doing a spin-off prequel, I gave a sigh in exasperation, as the thought of sitting through a Transformers cinematic universe when it was being handled so poorly was not a great feeling. However, as more information was released, it became clear that this was going to be a different type of film, and after seeing it, I can tell you that this is the best Transformers live-action film to date.

Continue reading