Blades of Glory / Transformers

Blades of Glory (2007, d. Will Speck, Josh Gordon)

As any iceskating fan knows, deep in their heart, it is a sport ripe for mocking. Some parts of the movie were just so spot on in its ridiculousness (the costumes! the over-the-top commentary!) though as a satire it needed to be sharper and more critical. It works quite well just as a visually amusing and irreverant comedy it works quite well. The absurdist humour is hilarious, a great example being the ice-skate chase towards the climax, though it also serves to highlight the strength and weaknesses of the cast and the script. Will Ferrell (as Chazz Michael Michaels) does a great job as the annoyingly arrogant skater-jock; as his nemesis-turned-partner, Jon Heder (as Jimmy the effeminate epitome of male ice-skater) unfortunately doesn't manage to project much apart from a shaggy goodnatured bemusement. Will Arnett and Amy Poehler do their best as psuedo-incestuous skating rivals, and considering their comedic pedigree, could have been given more to do, particularly as they made the most of their brief scenes. Jenna Fischer was sweet and efficient, but about as memorable as her counterpart in her role as the object of Jimmy's affection.


Transformers (2007; d. Michael Bay)

This was highly enjoyable; early expectations were only to be entertained by something flashy and dumb and noisy, and yes it was all that, but somehow managed to be more.

The first attack at the beginning sets the tone so well - an awesome set-up of action and explosions, tense and gloriously tummy-crunching as the badass Decepticon proceeds to destroy a desert army base - and the energy rarely flags after this. The special effects in this were amazing - the transformations are complex but not clunky, visually interesting but not unbelievable.

More suprisingly, the screenplay, while maintaining broad appeal with that brand of action-movie cheesiness at times, is never risible, blending fanboy-pleasing references to the original and a wise-cracking sense of humour, helped along by Shia LeBeouf's great knack of playing fast-talking, adorably neurotic teens. The romantic subplot is not intrusively irksome, even if it does feel terribly convenient that Megan Fox's character is the complete package - hot, bitchy, scantily-clad AND mechanically minded - though it was refreshing enough that she played a major active role in the finale. The most disturbing aspect of their relationship was **spoiler** when Sam and Mikaela were making out on top of Bumblebee at the end....THE CAR IS SENTIENT.