Boxoffice Round Up: Transformers vs. Everyone Else

Videos

Transformers - Soundwave Breakdance

see larger video

uploaded by jordan

Movie record history was made with Transformers bringing in US$ 27.4 million on the biggest Tuesday ever . That beat last year's record holder, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest  by more than US$10 million!

The Michael Bay and Dreamworks had a lot of fans drooling over the trailer for Transformers with blogs and websites pirating the trailer the second it was released. On set shots of the cars, the actors -heck there was even a section on one site to discuss the Porsche Cayenne S live action rig with photos of the video cameras strapped to it.

Like many fans of the 1980s Hasbro toys and Saturday morning cartoon on TV, I had to see this movie. After all it was the 4th of July and I wanted to see some good fireworks -why not see Transformers? I sat about one third up from the bottom of the screen -not too high in the seats and in the middle of the row, what I like to call "the good action flick" seats. The movie had a great pace with only a little of Michael Bay's trade mark "cheese factor". Most of the comedy relief had me and other audience members laughing. The action scenes were intense with camera angles that were up close and personal -making me wonder if the camera guy was using bomb-proof gear. Many times the angles were dizzying and left me disorientated in the scene, but I felt like I was in the film...falling, rolling and flying.

The theater's air conditioning was on full blast, but instead of being cold I left the theater wet with sweat as I never left the edge of my seat. My friend commented "I need drops for my eyes, I don't think I blinked once during the movie!" 

Other Tuesday movie hits:

• Ratatoutille US$7.9
• Live Free or Die Hard US$4.5 million
• License to Wed US$2 million
• Sicko US$750,000

Still having some energy in the evening, I headed to see License to Wed, a comedy about marriage starting Robin Williams as a priest. I laughed, I winced and I wanted to scream -like a CIA psych test to get into your head, Robin Williams makes the couple go through hell as they get ready to tie the knot.  Slow in a few parts, but still worth the laughs. Cast from the TV show The Office are all over the screen
while Mandy Moore plays the bride to be.

If you want action, see Transformers on the big screen. If you want to laugh, see License to Wed for a fun summer comedy; otherwise, see it when it hits your local rental shelf