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Knocked Up (2007) --> Judd Apatow has another smash comedy with Knocked Up starring Seth Rogen and Grey's Anatomy beauty Katherine Heigl. Apatow can now be considered Hollywood's best romantic comedy writer/director in recent times as Knocked Up and his previous outing 40 Year Old Virgin are both smash successes.

Knocked Up tells the story of a beautiful young woman who gets pregnant from a one night stand with a lazy pot-smoking man-child. We see their relationship develop into a life long one after the ups and downs of getting to know each other passes. Although the film is billed as a comedy, at its heart it is more of a drama. The interaction between the two main characters is taken seriously. It is the secondary characters who are the catalysts for Apatow's wit. When you mix both, you get a romantic comedy that men can feel comfortable in attending the theatre to watch and that might be the reason Apatow's young career is so successful.


Scott D. Brown

The Transformers (2007) --> Michael Bay is not a liked director in many movie lovers' opinions and you can see why with his take on the Transformers franchise. The movie was a mess. The story was simple yet it took almost half the movie before we see any movement in the main plot. We don't see any action until over half the movie has passed. We don't see Megatron kick any ass until the end and when he does throw down with Optimus Prime, the action is hard to follow.

It is time for Hollywood to realize that directors coming out of the MTV music video scene do not make great feature film directors (with the glaring exception that David Fincher. The fast edit and cut that is needed in the music video world works because it becomes quite boring to see a band or singer face the camera and play their instrument or sing. You need to spice it up to keep the watcher interested. But when you transfer that ideology to a 90 minute film you lose all sense of direction. Movie goers do not have a 60 second attention span and fast food film making is a dirge. Just ask Tony Scott who tried it with Domino.

If Bay wanted to create a film that would do justice to the legacy of the Autobots and Decepticons, he would have had the transforming robots as the main characters and their story be the only focus of the film. Who cares whether Shia LaBeouf gets the girl or has a cool car to drive her around in. The story should have focused on the battle between Optimus Prime and Megatron. The humans and their troubles should have been secondary.

Why didn't we see Megatron transform into a gun which was the reason he was the leader of Decepticons in the first place? Soundwave was a large robot, who always held the transformed Megatron to deal out powerful blasts against anyone who opposed Megatron's megalomania, not a cute spidery character. Where was the fight for dominance between Megatron and Slipstream as to who should lead the Decepticons? And to add insult to injury, how the hell could Bay think that a leader as strong as Optimus Prime would play hide and seek with a human in order to not get a teenager in trouble with his Dad? The only thing that saved this movie was the final battle in the city which, although had too many close up shots, were fun to watch. But then you have to ask the question, if the cube is so important to Megatron, and he has no problem with destroying anything that gets in his way to possess it, then why anyone with half a brain take it into a city populated with thousands of people.


Full Spectrun Staff

Shrek the Third (2007) --> Although not as fun as the first movie in the franchise, the third installment of Shrek was enjoyable to watch. We see Shrek and Fiona battle against Prince Charming to keep control over the Kingdom of Far Far Away when Fiona's father falls ill. Highlights of the film and its funnier bits happen when Donkey and Puss are transferred into each other's bodies and we see the offspring of Shrek and Fiona show why they are ogres.


Full Spectrum Staff

Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End (2007) --> Better than the second installment, Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End takes us on a wild ride where a final battle between the British Empire and the pirates who dog them will determine who takes ownership of the waters around the Islands of the South Atlantic.

The vortex scene where the Black Pearl battles the Flying Dutchman is worth the price of admission alone. Who cares if they gather the 9 talisman to release the goddess Calypso? Who cares if Will and Elizabeth finally marry? Who cares if Will releases his father from bondage? When you see the CGI in this film, and the aforementioned vortex scene particularly, you will be blown away.


Scott D. Brown

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