Hugh Jackman flick’s ‘well-staged’ fighting sequences and father-son spats leave critics ‘pleasantly surprised.’ By Josh Wigler Hugh Jackman and Evangeline Lilly in Real Steel Photo: DreamWorks Pictures Moviegoers have proven their affection for gigantic robots smashing the ever-loving sparkplugs out of each other in the heat of war — thanks for that, Michael Bay! — but machines beating each other into a tarry pulp purely for sport in the middle of a heartfelt family drama? That’s something the Autobots and Decepticons have yet to cover. But it seems that “Real Steel,” from “Night at the Museum” director Shawn Levy and “Wolverine” leading man Hugh Jackman, is more than meets the eye. Those who originally targeted Levy’s first foray into the action arena as nothing more than a big-screen Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em Robots have seemingly been proven wrong, with critics praising “Real Steel” for its strong performances, moving story and, yes, the primal pleasure derived from watching two cybernetic gladiators tear each other to bits. Read on for a veritable scrap heap of “Real Steel” reviews: The Story “Taking place in a not-too-distant future that’s neither utopian nor dystopian, but kind of semi-topian, ‘Real Steel’ follows Charlie Kenton (Hugh Jackman), a former boxer who participates in the sport of robot fighting. (According to the ‘Steel’ timeline, human boxers will get out of the game soon because they can’t hit hard enough to make audiences happy — so enjoy those humans pounding on each other while you still can.) In a world where there’s no more human boxing, Charlie is a charmer/degenerate/bum lugging around a scrappy bot who fights at state fairs. He’s not at the level of ‘league fights’ — you know, the World Robot Boxing League, which is known, because it must be, as ‘the show.’ ” — Linda Holmes, NPR The Man and his Boy “As Charlie, Jackman is mostly surface gloss — he knows how to work a greasy tee and a bad attitude, glaring and growling at everyone. He softens slightly with [Evangeline] Lilly’s Bailey (so nice to see her bruised, buff beauty back since ‘Lost’ wrapped). But it is with [Dakota] Goyo that Jackman warms up. Their father-son spats, truly some of the film’s best sparring, is what gives it heart. Not ‘Rocky’ heart, or ‘Raging Bull’ heart, mind you, but ‘Real’ enough.” — Betsy Sharkey, Los Angeles Times The ‘Bot Bouts “The robot, despite its unyielding metallic expression and the glowing blue eyes, is surprisingly endearing, especially when he’s doing the pre-match two-step with Max. … As a ‘sparring’ robot meant only for practice fighting with other robots, he’s a long-shot contender in the ‘Rocky’ mold. But with ex-boxer Charlie’s moves — transmitted via voice command software — he’s suddenly got a shot at the title against the unbeaten Zeus. And, as in the original ‘Rocky’ mold … well, that would be too much of a spoiler. … Lovers of blood sport action (or perhaps crankcase oil in this case) are going to enjoy the well-staged fighting sequences, which are tension-filled and exciting and will have many writhing in their seats.” — Bruce DeMara, Toronto Star The Mechanic Message “As much as ‘Real Steel’ is an escapist pop confection, it forces you to consider the evolving relationship between humans and machines at a time when robots are replacing people in the workplace and in war. The movie doesn’t question our ever-deepening love affair with technology and foolish trust in it. As increasing numbers of people are kept mobile through spare parts, whether flesh, plastic or metal, we are ourselves becoming more droidlike every year. Behind it all is a collective fantasy of invulnerability, omnipotence and eternal life. ‘Real Steel’ at least acknowledges that machines require maintenance to be superhuman.” — Stephen Holden, New York Times The Verdict ” ‘Real Steel’ is a real movie. It has characters, it matters who they are, it makes sense of its action, it has a compelling plot. This is the sort of movie, I suspect, young viewers went to the ‘Transformers’ movies looking for. Readers have told me they loved and identified with their Transformers toys as children. [The robot] Atom must come close to representing their fantasies. Sometimes you go into a movie with low expectations and are pleasantly surprised.” — Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times Check out everything we’ve got on “Real Steel.” For breaking news, celebrity columns, humor and more — updated around the clock — visit MTVMoviesBlog.com . Related Videos MTV Rough Cut: Hugh Jackman MTV After Hours With Josh Horowitz
‘It would be kind of sad if she didn’t come back,’ Naima Adedapo says. By Jocelyn Vena, with reporting by Matt Elias Jennifer Lopez and Randy Jackson on “American Idol” Photo: FOX While Randy Jackson and Steven Tyler are locked in for another season of “American Idol,” Jennifer Lopez’s presence at the judges’ table next year is still to be determined. While the top 10 finalists on Tyler and Lopez’s rookie season were rehearsing for their Idols Live! Tour, they told MTV News they’d be pretty upset if Lopez didn’t return. “I love Jennifer Lopez; she’s been nothing but nice to all of us, and backstage, she is as nice as she comes across on TV,” Paul McDonald told MTV News. “It’d be great for her to come back. It kind of depends on what path she wants to do with her own life now. Obviously, I’d want her back. I’ll watch the show next year if she comes on there.” Naima Adedapo fondly remembered J.Lo’s warm demeanor on the set. “That was a big part of our experience: seeing her across from us and seeing her do her little rock while we were singing and what not,” she recalled. “I feel like it would be kind of sad if she didn’t come back. I think that’s something we look forward to, just because it was something that we had.” Pia Toscano also seemed to be bummed out by the possibility that Jenny from the Block might not come back to judge the reality show again. “She’s amazing [and] such a great addition to the show,” she said. “I think the panel this year was awesome. Jennifer was pretty spot on every time with her critiques and her constructive criticism. I’m gonna miss her if she goes. I think she added so much to the show.” Scotty McCreery admitted that he was initially unsure the show would work with the new class of judges, and without Simon Cowell. However, once he was on he felt differently. “It was such a great a season for us,” he said. “Now it’s like I couldn’t see it any other way. For us, it’s weird to think about.” Casey Abrams mirrored those remarks, adding, “First of all, they’re incredible judges. We pulled in lots of viewers, and there’s more votes than ever, and I hope she comes back.” Haley Reinhart kept a sense of humor about Lopez’s decision. “You know, maybe she figured we already made her the most beautiful woman in the world , and she can leave now, walk away,” she joked. Get your “Idol” fix on MTV News’ “American Idol” page , where you’ll find all the latest news, interviews and opinions. Related Videos Interviews From The ‘American Idol’ Red Carpet Related Photos ‘American Idol’ Finale Performances ‘American Idol’ Finale 2011 Red Carpet Related Artists Jennifer Lopez
‘If they’re going to do it again, they have to attempt it with somebody else,’ LaBeouf told MTV News By Josh Wigler Optimus Prime in “Transformers: Dark of the Moon” Photo: Paramount Ask the stars, ask the critics, ask your friends: It looks like the universal consensus is that “Transformers: Dark of the Moon” is the very best of the bunch. But it also might be the very last of the bunch, at least for director Michael Bay and leading man Shia LaBeouf, who have both announced their intentions to depart the series following this latest battle between the Autobots and Decepticons. “If they’re going to do it again, they have to attempt it with somebody else,” LaBeouf told MTV News at the New York City premiere of “Dark of the Moon” on Tuesday night, reaffirming his plans to leave Sam Witwicky right where he is. “We took it to the limit. We tried as hard as we could. I don’t think we can turn in a movie that’s better than this, really.” The question has been raised before: Can “Transformers” continue without Bay and Shia? From producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura’s perspective, it would certainly be tricky. “You can’t replace them. You’d have to go about doing it another way, that’s what you’d do,” he said. “Another way” is exactly the idea Shia had in mind for how to continue moving the multimedia franchise forward without him and Bay at the helm. “If you want to keep making more ‘Transformers’ movies, you need another anchor,” he explained. “It’s different than, like, ‘Indiana Jones.’ Harrison Ford has an age. He’s human. Optimus Prime is going to be Optimus Prime forever. He’s never going to grow older. So you just need another human anchor. I think you just need to find it. There’s tons of great actors.” But Shia says he won’t be that anchor anymore. “I think I’ve taken Sam as far as I can, creatively,” he said. “We set out to make a certain thing. We wanted to make the best movie we could, and we had three shots at it. On the third one, we did it. I don’t think that either one of us wants to return to it and attempt it when it was this good.” That’s LaBeouf’s perspective, at least, but what does Bay think? When we caught up with him on the red carpet, the Master of Bayhem reflected on not just what the series has meant to him, but what it’s meant for fans across the globe. “I gotta tell ya. It’s been a touching moment for me. It’s bittersweet for me, having done this franchise for six years,” said Bay. “Today we got an urgent call from Make-a-Wish . They said, ‘There’s a little boy in Texas. He’s got two days. He wants to see ‘Transformers 3.’ So we made a special print. We’re flying [the copy] to his hospital room right now in Texas so he can see it. That’s the power of these movies. That touches your core, you know?” Still, for the moment, Bay is busy enough “birthing this one now. The movie’s coming out tonight. Let’s just enjoy this one!” It certainly seems as though the fans are following those orders, as are the film’s castmembers. In fact, it’s one actor in particular who feels the most confident that Bay and LaBeouf aren’t done with “Transformers.” “Let me tell you, I’m going to see what I can do. Leave it with me,” grinned Rosie Huntington-Whiteley . “The boys listen to me. I’ve got it under control, people — don’t worry. Who knows [if there’ll be a fourth film], but you can never say never.” Check out everything we’ve got on “Transformers: Dark of the Moon.” For breaking news, celebrity columns, humor and more — updated around the clock — visit MTVMoviesBlog.com . Related Photos ‘Transformers: Dark Of The Moon’ Crashes Into New York City ‘Transformers: Dark Of The Moon’
Life handed us a traumatizing poster for Final Destination 5 , and we’re left to figure out why it’s so dumb and scary. Remember that horrifying Green Lantern poster featuring a yellow-eyed Peter Sarsgaard ? This is easily worse than that. Here’s our list of 10 images that the new poster conjures; please contribute your own and help paint a word picture with us.
Skids and Mudflap don’t actually appear in Transformers: Dark of the Moon , but you’d be forgiven if you thought they did. That’s not because Dark of the Moon is as hard to follow as the derisible Revenge of the Fallen , but rather because Skids and Mudflap are no less ridiculous as character names than Wheeljack and Ratchet — two Transformers who actually appear in the new film. In honor of this nonsense, Movieline has compiled a collection of 25 possible names for the Autobots and Decepticons in Dark of the Moon . Can you guess which are real? Take the quiz ahead!
Robot flick nabs $13.5 million from Tuesday-night screenings. By Morgan Schwartz Shia LaBeouf and Rosie Huntington-Whitely in “Transformers: Dark of the Moon” Photo: Paramount NEW YORK — The “Transformers: Dark of the Moon” red carpet in Times Square on Tuesday evening was packed with fans, stars and possibly a few Autobots eager to see the third installment of Michael Bay’s explosive franchise . Theaters across the country were similarly swarming during evening screenings on opening night, with the alien robot flick nabbing $13.5 million in pre-midnight and midnight screenings, according to Deadline.com . And though the atmosphere in front of the screening that MTV News attended was excited, several in the crowd were cautious about their hopes for the flick. “I’ve actually had lower expectations since the second one,” Joseph Dornoff told us before he walked in. “So, I’m not expecting anything from it.” His friend, Patrick Farace, who has been anxiously waiting to see the third film since he heard of its release, also shared his hope to see “a better plot than the last one, amazing action. I’m excited to see Shockwave — he’s the new villain.” Judging by the reaction in the audience, “Dark of the Moon” surpassed many people’s expectations. Fans clapped, cheered and possibly even shed a tear as the Autobots battled the evil Decepticons in their quest to bring home planet Cybertron to Earth. Although the third film featured the same basic good vs. evil fight peppered with romance as the first two, everything seemed to be bigger in this one. The battles between Megatron, Sentinel Prime, Bumblebee and Optimus Prime were the clear fan favorite. “[It’s great] when Optimus comes by and just starts ripping everybody apart,” said Wesley Arocho after the movie was done. “This action is made even more exciting by the fact that for the first time, audiences got to view it in 3-D .” “The 3-D was great. All the special effects were great,” Carlos Barrozi added. “It was better than past movies. It didn’t hurt your eyes. You were able to watch it without wanting to take your glasses off,” said Briana Brink-Rivera. Two friends, Mustafa Ahmed and Munawar Ali Mohd, even went so far as to say seeing the epic Chicago action in 3-D was “a dream come true.” Even Sam Witwicky’s (Shia LaBeouf) love life seemed to be hotter in the third film. When asked which of Sam’s love interests they preferred, newcomer Rosie Huntington-Whiteley or former franchise hottie Megan Fox, brothers Brandon and Bryce McCright responded simultaneously, “Rosie!” If the response on opening night is any indication, Bay and company can rest assured that they’ve redeemed themselves after “Revenge of the Fallen.” Now, the only question that remains is: Can we expect a fourth? Check out everything we’ve got on “Transformers: Dark of the Moon.” For breaking news, celebrity columns, humor and more — updated around the clock — visit MTVMoviesBlog.com . Related Videos MTV Rough Cut: ‘Transformers: Dark Of The Moon’ Related Photos ‘Transformers: Dark Of The Moon’ Crashes Into New York City ‘Transformers: Dark Of The Moon’
Michael Bay’s summer blockbuster has critics praising his deft handling of eye-popping 3-D. By Eric Ditzian Sentinel Prime in “Transformers: Dark of the Moon” Photo: Paramount Pictures As even Michael Bay has admitted, “Transformers: Dark of the Moon” had almost nowhere to go but up after the writers’ strike-affected, audience-alienating previous installment . And insofar as Bay and company had something to prove — and to improve — this time around, they’ve succeeded. While “Dark of the Moon” isn’t currently the highest rated film in the franchise, according to the Rotten Tomatoes review aggregator, the general consensus among critics is that the new 3-D flick is best of the “Transformers” bunch. That’s not to suggest reviews have been universally positive; many have been as brutal to the film as the film’s robots have been to certain American cities. Reviewers have taken issue with poor plotting, weak characters and brain-scrambling action set pieces. But then there are a slew of reviewers utterly onboard with what Bay has created, celebrating some of the finest 3-D visuals since “Avatar” and a story that is the most fully fleshed out of the series. For those opinions and others, take a deep dive into the “Transformers: Dark of the Moon” reviews. The Story “A sweet prologue (marred only by a phony-looking digital JFK) recounts the war for Cybertron and the real reason behind the U.S.-Soviet space race of the 1960s. Cut to the present where Sam Witwicky (LaBeouf) struggles to find his first post-college job, while the Autobots led by Optimus Prime and the U.S. military’s NEST team led by Lt. Col. Lennox (Josh Duhamel) work in tandem to take out the remaining Decepticons around the world. However, the evil ‘bots eventually get the upper hand and begin an invasion to conquer the Earth with Chicago as Ground Zero in this final war between the Autobots/humans and Decepticons. There’s more going on, but for the sake of spoilers we’ll keep it at that. Transformers: Dark of the Moon definitely has more of a plot than either of its predecessors. There are genuine stakes this time.” — Jim Vejvoda, IGN The 3-D “[For] the first time since ‘Avatar,’ I am going to recommend that you find the biggest and best 3-D theater you can find and buy yourself a ticket, because ‘Transformers: Dark Of the Moon,’ especially seen in IMAX 3-D, is an overwhelming sensory experience. The sound mix alone is more exciting than anything in the billion-dollar-bore of ‘Pirates 4.’ This is gigantic action we’ve never seen before, and Bay’s reaction to shooting and cutting his film for 3-D is to get better at what he does. It raised his game, and as a result, I feel like we just saw a dare thrown down by one of Hollywood’s biggest action specialists: ‘Top this.’ — Drew McWeeny, HitFix The Comparisons “Bay’s hammering technique works, in a commercial sense. Executive producer Steven Spielberg is the richer for it. But it’s telling to compare any good minute in Spielberg’s ‘War of the Worlds,’ for example, with any of the 153 minutes in ‘Dark of the Moon.’ The former, which isn’t even Spielberg at his best, offers the thrill and the uneasy, complicated spectacle of destruction you get from a first-rate entertainer. Bay’s endless love of nastiness and chrome and aggression offers less. And that’s the only ‘less’ about it.” — Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune The Characters “All that matters is the long, slow slog to the Chicago-set, theater-rattling finale, which seems to last about four hours. That’s not a compliment, by the way. There’s so much potential in a Transformer, which can, after all, transform into anything. But Bay misses every opportunity to make something interesting out of his characters; instead, he’s content to spend his enormous budget on grinding destruction so generic and visually convoluted, it’s often hard to tell who we’re supposed to be rooting for.” — Elizabeth Weitzman, New York Daily News The Final Word “More than either of the previous films, this ‘Transformers 3’ feels like an ultra-violent version of the two-dimensional cartoon it’s based on. I think I’m almost alright with that, when it’s done this well, in this kind of summer blockbuster. We’d probably all be happier watching another movie like ‘Inception,’ but as long as those movies still get made, I guess there’s nothing wrong in sitting down with a ‘Transformers: Dark of the Moon,’ once in awhile.” — Josh Tyler, Cinema Blend Check out everything we’ve got on “Transformers: Dark of the Moon.” For breaking news, celebrity columns, humor and more — updated around the clock — visit MTVMoviesBlog.com . Related Videos MTV Rough Cut: ‘Transformers: Dark Of The Moon’ Related Photos ‘Transformers: Dark Of The Moon’
Breaking Sports Video
