Ranking 2011's Oscar Nominated Films

I've had the feeling that I saw less Oscar nominated movies this year than in previous years. Not so. In fact I feel less complete in Oscar knowledge this year than in previous years when I had seen more films nominated. This year, it scales out to 24, only 5 of which I'd profess to truly love, and only one of those is nominated where it most matters. "Drive" only has one nomination to its name. The worst film I saw of the bunch, until today, was "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2", and it has three, which I suppose is somewhat deserving, but it only repeats the Academy's favoritism towards glitzy, gaudy, and obvious.

If nothing else, this gives me an outlet for ranking some of the other films that didn't make the cut past the top 20. I have no doubt people will think I'm crazy in ranking "Transformers: Dark of the Moon" above "The Tree of Life", "The Descendants", and "The Adventures of Tintin", but for the life of me I had more of an experience in Michael Bay's rampant actioner than I did with those that rank lower than it. Anything lower than 20, I did not like, so the majority of the films nominated that I've seen, I do enjoy them. I think that they are rather good. It doesn't change the fact that there are better films out there that simply aren't being represented here, and that's a shame.

OSCAR 2011 PREDICTIONS: Visual Effects

In spite of everyone's deep angers usually incurred by the Oscar nominations, mostly involving films that we didn't want to see and now must out of obligation, things still operate in a forward motion as we hurtle towards the eventually depressing ceremony. And what safer way to head into the predictions than with visual effects, which seems set predictably in stone months in advance. The fact that "The Tree of Life" isn't here clears up competition to a predictable fit for what it always has been. What are the flashiest, showiest, and most obnoxiously sparkly films in play? They don't really care about technique so much until they really have to make a decision.

The inclusion of "Hugo" just seems to be riding on a wave of buzz for it to clean up house entirely. I have considerable doubts about it, but it could very well take this and many others if it proves to be an inexplicable sweep. "Real Steel" is only here for flash points, and it does have some admittedly stylish moments, but they are amongst a great deal of nonsense going on. Even though the film would be nothing without it, it doesn't feel like they really fuel the film. It would go on without them, though not nearly as convincingly. "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2" is a mixed bag, as there are times when it is kind of pretty, but the rest of the time it just looks utterly stale and lifeless. It's not a manifestation of magic so much and computer engineering, and you can feel that.

Carpet-Bagging: Visual Effects Race Down to 15

The Oscar races are cracking down towards their endgame, with the longlist for the visual effects race finally announced. I'm not sure there are many notable absences from this list, but though it's no surprise that "Melancholia" isn't here, I personally have deeper appreciation for the visual effects in that film than sure-to-be-nominated "The Tree of Life". Yes, Lars' visuals are less "real", but that's most of what clinches them for me. But I didn't expect them to make the cut anyway, so lets move on to what is most definitely not going to end up nominated. I think we can rule out "Captain America", "Cowboys & Aliens", "Pirates", "Real Steel", "Sucker Punch", "Super 8", and "Thor".

From there I can narrow it down by axing "Sherlock Holmes", "Mission: Impossible", and "X-Men: First Class". The automatic response is "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2", "Hugo", "Rise of the Planet of the Apes", "The Tree of Life", and "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen". But again, this could all change ever so quickly. Check after the jump for the full list of potential candidates.

• Captain America: The First Avenger
• Cowboys & Aliens
• Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2
• Hugo
• Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol
• Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides
• Real Steel
• Rise of the Planet of the Apes
• Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows
• Sucker Punch
• Super 8
• Thor
• Transformers: Dark of the Moon
• The Tree of Life
• X-Men: First Class

Carpet-Bagging: The Big & Loud Bracket

I'm officially kicking off this official segment to discuss any and all things Oscar and awards related, as last year was very loose with its designation. I'm still not into making predictions until September is well underway. In fact, I don't feel comfortable making guesses on films I haven't had the chance to see yet. The only mildly certain bet I can place is that Alexandre Desplat will be nominated in Best Original Score again, and he will, in all likelihood, not win. As far as what I've already seen, I wouldn't say his work on "A Better Life" has much traction, but he may find an unexpected push in "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2".

In spite of my downtrodden pan of the film nearly a month ago, his score had me padding my eyes quite a few times. Unfortunately, it was whilst I was at home listening to it, wishing the film had only lived up to it. Talking of the massive blockbuster of the summer, Warner Bros. is clearly intent on a Best Picture push for their biggest cash-cow of the year. While I doubt it will get the 5% of the votes needed to secure a nomination, and sincerely hope that's the case, the film has insurmountable box office power and a frankly unbelievable critical backing to boot. It could get enough of a passionate vote to make it in.

However, I expect it to find more success in the technical categories, which I'd be so happy about if they weren't so poor this time out. Desplat's score is the best of the series, and that's the biggest recommendation I can push. However, I had nothing but contempt for the stale and obvious approach to the cinematography, and only a little less for the visual effects. They were competent most of the time, but the broomstick scenes in the Room of Requirement are the worst visual effects I've seen in the entire series. Art Direction is almost guaranteed, and it's been the film's strongest player in past years. No acting, directing, or writing accolades to be nominated here.

Box Office Update: Substantial "Rise" as summer falls

I know it's strange, but I miss this site being, or at least feeling, important. Across the past few weeks I've fallen into a bit of a slump, and I am dearly sorry for that. I'm not in a very endearing or motivating environment, so that makes me feel quite often like I'd rather do nothing. So for the next few weeks leading up to September you're going to be seeing a major resurgence in activity on the site. I'm going to try to talk about something every day, even if there's nothing to talk about in the news. I'm going to get back to my roots of indulging in more trivial news for the sake of anger and enjoyable reading.

So now on to the box office, which was surging this weekend. I'll be getting to my thoughts on Rise of the Planet of the Apes soon enough, and though I'm not quite ecstatic about it, it is better than the film that debuted in this frame last year, The Other Guys. I was surprised by how well the film played with audiences, and should continue to play in the coming weeks of the summer. With little competition in its way, it could have stood out as a sleeper hit if the opening wasn't so great. It still could stick out in that way, but that's for next weekend to tell.

The rest of the box office was successful, but disappointing due to the films they belonged to. The Smurfs rose to $76 million, beating out Cowboys and Aliens after an indecisive finish last weekend. The latter film rests a gulf of $10 million behind, and that gap will only increase in the coming weeks. The Change-Up happily disappointed, with one of the lowest opening for a comedy this summer. Ryan Reynolds has not had a good summer, nor has he deserved one. Captain America still lags slightly behind Thor, but is generally positive at the present time.

Summer 2011 a disappointment?

This is pretty much the last week of the blockbuster season of this Summer that kicked off with Thor, an unassuming and seemingly silly superhero film that many wrote off within the first trailer. Admittedly, I did to. I realize how wrong I was, and in fact Thor is still the most competent blockbuster of this year. Since then things have been hardly keeping themselves afloat, at least in this viewer's opinion. I know many who were more than pleased with Super 8, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2, and X-Men: First Class, even if I wasn't. Hell, I even found Captain America of all things to be a somewhat welcome and campy reprieve from all the disappointment.

And that's just scraping the surface of what the viewing public critically approved of. How can we forget about all the warranted cynicism surrounding Priest, the blatant distaste of On Stranger Tides, and the unimaginable stupidity of The Hangover: Part II. And I almost forgot to mention Green Lantern, but it managed to disgust even the most hardcore of fanboys. And (dis)honorable mentions are needed for Zookeeper, Cars 2, Bad Teacher, Horrible Bosses, and others I'm too tired to list. All this hatred makes me forget the few real successes of the year.

Remember Kung Fu Panda 2, and how it brought us the greatest supporting actor performance of the year out of the mouth of a peacock? If Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy bottoms out, unlikely as it is, I'd suggest Gary Oldman just be nominated for that. How about Bridesmaids? Absolutely hilarious for almost two straight hours, and surprising depth from Kristen Wiig of all nutty characters. And I know this isn't a common opinion, but Transformers: Dark of the Moon was the most guiltily enjoyable romp of the summer. I feel no shame in admitting my enjoyment of Bay's loud stupidity.

So the season effectively ends this weekend with Rise of the Planet of the Apes, which is about as unassuming as film as Thor was at the start of the year. Fittingly enough, both films look to feature fantastically strong leading performances from unlikely actors. Having seen just seen it now, I can say that it keeps up this summer's streak of being adequate but not at all outstanding. I'll get to that later, but I didn't hate everything about the film. In particular, one thing is truly amazing.

Box Office Update: "Cowboys" Gets "Smurf"ed

I'm sorry Damon Lindelof, but you really shouldn't have brought it up in the first place. While some will gripe that both films opened about equally, Cowboys and Aliens had more potential and expectation going into this weekend, so the adequate opening weekend gross just doesn't match up. The Smurfs, on the other hand, played higher than it was expected or deserved to, so it's kind of the champion of this weekend, regardless of what Monday's numbers say. In other news, completely unrelated to the colossal debuts this weekend, Captain America dove 61% from last weekend, showing that it doesn't have quite the same staying power as Thor did in May.

Deathly Hallows: Part 2 continues to do really well despite the expected massive drop in its second weekend. Sadly, you can tell my disposition about the film from how I only refer to it as Deathly Hallows: Part 2, and not Harry Potter. Crazy, Stupid, Love is faring as you'd expect a standard rom-com to nowadays. The superior Friends with Benefits dipped precisely 50%, and should hopefully hold up better than the former. So expect the box office to hit a massive slump after this weekend, much like it did last year.

1. The Smurfs (First Weekend; $36.2 million)

2. Cowboys and Aliens (First Weekend; $36.2 million)

3. Captain America: The First Avenger (Second Weekend; $24.9 million)

4. Deathly Hallows: Part 2 (Third Weekend; $21.9 million)

5. Crazy, Stupid, Love (First Weekend; $19.3 million)

6. Friends with Benefits (Second Weekend; $9.3 million)

7. Horrible Bosses (Fourth Weekend; $7.1 million)

8. Transformers: Dark of the Moon (Fifth Weekend; $6 million)

9. Zookeeper (Fourth Weekend; $4.2 million)

10. Cars 2 (Sixth Weekend; $2.3 million)

Box Office Update: Victory for "America"

I'm still getting a weird sense of polarization after giving Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 a pan last weekend, and I almost gave Captain America: The First Avenger a decent review this weekend. Then I thought, "Did I really enjoy it more than Harry Potter?" Thank heavens I didn't, because this weekend is lining things up rather agreeably for most films. Captain America came in first, which was a tad surprising, but it's income was exactly as expected. Deathly Hallows: Part 2 was the one that took a pretty big tumble. It fell all the way down to $48 million from it's highest opening weekend ever.

So it looks like The Dark Knight is still moderately safe, and I'd attribute Potter's massive success to opening day madness. The films in that franchise always were a bit front-loaded in terms of income, but still pretty successful. Other than that, I'm not quite sure what else is big about this weekend. Friends with Benefits opened to third place, just below $20 million. That is a tad lower than its counterpart No Strings Attached, but that released during the most depressing time of the year in box office terms. People were looking for something mildly good, and it was only that.

1. Captain America (First Weekend; $65.8 million)

2. Deathly Hallows: Part 2 (Second Weekend; $48 million)

3. Friends with Benefits (First Weekend; $18.5 million)

4. Transformers 3 (Fourth Weekend; $12 million)

5. Horrible Bosses (Third Weekend; $11.7 million)

6. Zookeeper (Third Weekend; $8.7 million)

7. Cars 2 (Fifth Weekend; $5.7 million)

8. Winnie the Pooh (Second Weekend; $5.1 million)

9. Bad Teacher (Fifth Weekend; $2.6 million)

10. Midnight in Paris (Tenth Weekend; $1.9 million)

Box Office Update: "Hallows" Kills It

Well you can't say that the highest grossing motion picture franchise in history wasn't going to go out without making a huge dent in our wallets. This was inevitable since Friday, but Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 has broken The Dark Knight's opening weekend record by a clear $13 million. The film did earn most of that from the gargantuan Friday debut, but despite the fall from Friday to Saturday, it held on rather respectfully from Saturday to Sunday. It's to be seen how off that estimate is when the final numbers hit on Monday, but I wouldn't be surprised if it's a couple million up or down.

It's a massive accomplishment, but there were other milestones to be had this weekend. For starters, Transformers: Dark of the Moon became the first film of 2011 to bust past that pesky $300 million mark. I'll admit to playing a slight hand in that, as I saw the film a second time last evening. Both Horrible Bosses and Zookeeper held on honestly, as no threatening new comedies entered the market. That'll change when Friends with Benefits swings around the corner next weekend.

The most shocking failure of this weekend was poor Winnie the Pooh, which landed in sixth place with only $8 million. People complaining that their childhood was over after Potter debuted were clearly looking in the wrong place. My favorite success of the weekend, however, was Midnight in Paris, reentering the top ten this week just in time to blow past Hannah and Her Sisters to become the highest grossing Woody Allen film to date. So obviously this weekend at the box office was an improvement (a 46.4% improvement at that) upon last year, when Inception opened to the top spot.

1. Harry Potter...Deathly Hallows: Part 2 (First Weekend; $168.5 million)

2. Transformers: Dark of the Moon (Third Weekend; $21.2 million)

3. Horrible Bosses (Second Weekend; $17.6 million)

4. Zookeeper (Second Weekend; $12.3 million)

5. Cars 2 (Fourth Weekend; $8.3 million)

6. Winnie the Pooh (First weekend; $8 million)

7. Bad Teacher (Fourth Weekend; $5.2 million)

8. Larry Crowne (Third Weekend; $2.5 million)

9. Super 8 (Sixth Weekend; $1.9 million)

10. Midnight in Paris (Ninth Weekend; $1.8 million)

Box Office Update: "Bosses" Rise Against "Moon"

Forgive me if things have been too silent for your liking lately. Balancing my work online and an actual job is a bit of a chore, and some things rightly take a back seat. I promise that things will pick up considerably after the summer, but you can expect things to be slow around this time of year. Obviously the box office is not one of such things, so that's something I'll always comment on. As for this particular weekend, nothing is truly changed or different. Transformers: Dark of the Moon remains the one to beat for the year, though that could certainly change very soon.

Michael Bay's trilogy capper fell a heavy 52% from its giant debut, and it raises a question of how much higher than $300 million it will reach domestically. Still, the film is performing quite admirably given the constant assault of critical backlash. I realize I never did weigh in on the film, so I'll take just a moment to give my thoughts. It's perhaps the worst film of the entire series, but it's also the most enjoyable, stupidly hilarious, and just plain fun films I've seen in a long time. I enjoyed Revenge of the Fallen more than Transformers, and I enjoyed Dark of the Moon even more. Call me insane, but that's my standing on the matter.

In the meantime, comedic films tried to add an inch of levity to the summer, and somewhat successfully if you look at the money charts. Horrible Bosses, which I hear has received a handful of good reviews, would've reigned champion this weekend if it weren't for Bay's machines. Zookeeper, was the weaker of the two, but give it credit for inching just above the $20 million mark this weekend. Cars 2 is taking smaller drops now, but I'd expect it to end below even Ratatouille, one of Pixar's toughest sells. Rounding out the top five is Bad Teacher, which I saw and was somewhat appalled by on Thursday. Still, it's been holding on well, and could make it to $100 million if all continues as it is. Sure, the weekend was down from last year when Despicable Me placed first, but expect an uptick in good time.

1. Transformers: Dark of the Moon (Second Weekend; $47 million)

2. Horrible Bosses (First Weekend; $28.1 million)

3. Zookeeper (First Weekend; $21 million)

4. Cars 2 (Third Weekend; $15.2 million)

5. Bad Teacher (Third Weekend; $9 million)

6. Larry Crowne (Second Weekend; $6.3 million)

7. Super 8 (Fifth Weekend; $4.8 million)

8. Monte Carlo (Second Weekend; $3.8 million)

9. Green Lantern (Fourth Weekend; $3.1 million)

10. Mr. Popper's Penguins (Fourth Weekend; $2.9 million)

Your point being?

I haven't a clue why this is suddenly adding fuel to people's bashing of Michael Bay. All I can see this as is an interesting easter egg. I have problems with Michael Bay, like anyone else, but people are just making up unsubstantiated reasons to disapprove.

Box Office Update: Under Light of "Moon"

It seems like the box office is thriving, with another major hit having taken a huge chunk of the earnings this weekend, be it one that we expected. To be honest, I would have expected bigger numbers from Transformers: Dark of the Moon, but I guess the weak(er) start had to do with the general anger towards the second film. As most know, I quite enjoyed the second film, and I quite enjoyed the third film for the same basic reasons. It's big, loud, stupid, hilarious, honest, and quite obviously beautiful. Every artist has a certain style, and Bay's is with the degenerate and flashy. You can't simply watch this film and lump it in with the crowd of failing blockbusters.

Cars 2 took a massive drop from last weekend, by far the largest drop of any Pixar film, but there's no surprise there. Larry Crowne failed on impact, not making a huge dent with the opposite demographic of Transformers. Monte Carlo also didn't make a big impact, but it did well for what was expected of it. That's the main thing you can say about it, is that it did exactly what it was expected to do, and that's fine. In the scheme of total grosses, Bridesmaids passed the $150 million point, which I'm quite happy about. Pirates 4 passed $1 billion worldwide, which I'm not at all happy about. It certainly puts Alice in Wonderland in perspective in terms of quality.

1. Transformers: Dark of the Moon (First Weekend; $116.4 million)

2. Cars 2 (Second Weekend; $32.1 million)

3. Bad Teacher (Second Weekend; $17.6 million)

4. Larry Crowne (First Weekend; $15.7 million)

5. Super 8 (Fourth Weekend; $9.5 million)

6. Monte Carlo (First Wekend; $8.8 million)

7. Green Lantern (Third Weekend; $8 million)

8. Mr. Popper's Penguins (Third Weekend; $6.9 million)

9. Bridesmaids (Eighth Weekend; $4.4 million)

10. Midnight in Paris (Seventh Weekend; $4.3 million)

The Weekend Report: The Ol' Flash and Bang

I almost entirely forgot to give this a proper write-up, but figured that it's better late than never. This week has been an exercise in leisure and relaxation, but it's time to get back to business. The box office isn't showing many signs of decay or slowing down, but after seeing so many films go by without passing $100 million in the first three days, I can't help but be a little pessimistic. I hold out hope that that will change with Transformers: Dark of the Moon, but there's never any real guarantee. Audiences are naturally still pissed after being so disappointed with Revenge of the Fallen, but I didn't think the effects would be so adverse.

The film has only managed to pull in nearly $65 million in the first two days, which its predecessor pulled off in just a day. It'll be interesting to see how the film plays over the long weekend, but it's apparently been playing really well with audiences. It may have some sort of unexpected staying power in the coming weeks, but rest assured that it will die quickly upon Harry Potter's arrival. So what of the other two releases? Well I had completely forgotten that Larry Crowne even existed, so much as to miss posting a clip from it earlier this week. I didn't forget Monte Carlo, but then again, how could you? It's the sort of thing that demands attention, but not for the better.

Midpoint 2011: What's worth remembering?

To get yet another pet peeve out of the way, it is never appropriate to write in a review of any film, no matter how great it is, that it's the best film of the year thus far. After a time, it becomes far too redundant and honestly irritating. I don't like revealing my cards before they're played, and for that reason it seem ridiculous to remark on the best films of the year thus far. We're six months in and we haven't really gotten much to show for it. The first three months were a depressing slog through the gutters, and April was only refreshing in the most carnal of fashion.

How do I believe that? Well, you look at the standouts of the month, such as Hanna and Source Code, and while they are entertaining mainstream efforts, they offer little more than basic thrills and stylish conceits. Then May came along and the onslaught of fire, explosions, and death began, but not without a few small achievements. Thor proved to be a solid fantasy blockbuster adventure, Bridesmaids was a fascinating introspective comedy that succeeded where most failed, and Kung Fu Panda 2 is commendable for bringing us another fantastic performance from Gary Oldman.

June is where things got decidedly dicey, with anticipated films like X-Men: First Class, Super 8, and Cars 2 leaving this viewers infinitely disappointed. Even Transformers: Dark of the Moon, a film I was honestly ready to enjoy for what it was, managed to fail on a few levels that Revenge of the Fallen just didn't. I know! I really need to stop being so dead inside. I'll get my review for the film up by tomorrow, but the fact of the matter is that this year has thus far been largely a disappointment. I'd write it off as irrelevant when it comes to what I remember at the close of the year, but there are things worthy of mention.

Films to See in 2011: July

So June went by with a deafening whimper, and as for how a whimper can be deafening, it's because you can't really hear anything. As May provided an excess of revitalizing filmmaking, not so much stunning as it was refreshing, June was the inevitable hangover. July is a spring of steady euphoria as we get back to some sense of sanity and stable thought. Transformers: Dark of the Moon switched months just after I posted my most anticipated films of June, so I'm tempted to rule July as an utterly depressing wreck starting out. Still, it will have that transforming robot heat going forward a few days ahead of time.

There are films that I am somewhat looking forward to, but don't quite break the top three. Horrible Bosses and Crazy, Stupid, Love both seem to go for the same sort of comedic demographic, with the latter having some sort of edge going for it, but both being general degradable. Friends with Benefits has more certain comedic spark, but I remain quietly skeptical. Captain America: The First Avenger seems to be on the same level of entertainment as Thor, so that's perhaps promising, but possibly disastrous. The biggest surprise omission is Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2, because even though I really loved Part 1, I expect a disappointing conclusion to the saga. That being said, I'm still very excited. So here are my picks, and you can comment below to tell me yours.

3. Tabloid

Directed by Errol Morris

The biggest barrier that modern moviegoers need to overcome is documentaries, because they're not always as depressing as Waiting for "Superman". Sometimes they're incredibly revealing and intense (The Cove), or spryly entertaining with a unique touch (Exit Through the Gift Shop). Tabloid looks like it's setting itself up in the ranks of the latter, looking at the true story of a woman who is either a monster or a victim, and I tend to believe the former. Then again, so little is told by the trailer that it's impossible to tell the eventual outcome of this film. I'm impressed when a doc tackles a little told and narrow subject only to reveal how fascinating it is.

For Your Anticipation: Is This Some Kind of Date?

Michael Bay, oh how we've so missed you. Or how I so have, because I'm apparently still the only soul alive who finds some mindless enjoyment from Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. I'm sorry, but I'd sit through that one 12 times before sitting down for Green Lantern, Cars 2, X-Men: First Class, or Super 8 again. I greet the third film as an old friend returning to the fold, with some stylish spectacle wrapped around illogical plot manipulations. Michael Bay seems to have done quite a bit to make the latest one mildly legitimate, casting Alan Tudyk, Frances McDormand, and John Malkovich in roles that could've gone to lesser men. I'm excited to see this in all its 3D stench. Take it for what it is.

Theatrical Trailer: Transformers: Dark of the Moon

I've said it before, and I'm surprised that nobody has called me crazy yet, but I really enjoyed Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. The facilitating problem with the first film, in my opinion, was that it took itself too seriously. That's a problem that Michael Bay has. It's not that his ideas are ridiculous as much as it is how he executes them. Revenge of the Fallen didn't take anything seriously, and as such, it was a lot more fun. So now we get to Dark of the Moon, which doesn't look to have that same ridiculous attitude. In fact, it looks rather serious. Regardless of whether there's any good characters or material, the visuals in this one are spectacular. It further validates my previous suggestion that the film is worth it in 3D. I'm looking forward to it out of a pure sense of, "Wow! That's cool!"

Transformers 3 Dark Of The Moon Theatrical Trailer from Michael Bay Dot Com on Vimeo.

2011 Super Bowl TV Spots

I honestly couldn't care less about the outcome of the Super Bowl. I don't care about football. I don't really care about any sports. Truth be told, I don't even care about the halftime show. When all is said and done, I only tune in for the commercials, and I'm not talking about the countless senseless Doritos and Budweiser ads. The money that is spent for 30-60 seconds of ad time during the show is ridiculous, and it's always a draw for high profile film previews. Tonight that included a long list of films like Cowboys & Aliens, Thor, Captain America: The First Avenger, and Transformers: Dark of the Moon. However, the one that everybody is going to be talking about until the first trailer premieres is Super 8. This is our first comprehensive look at the film, and it looks breathtaking in any classic sense of the word.

Thor was nothing new in the slightest, but our first look at Captain America: The First Avenger was slight confirmation of all of my fears. Quite honestly, Thor is looking like a sensible alternative.

I had a bit of a quarrel with a few new friends on how Cowboys & Aliens looks to them, and I was dispirited to hear them call it stupid. I doubt they'd have said that if it had a different title, and the new TV spot added onto the favorable buzz going out for the film.

Closing on a mildly hopeful note, the new TV spot for Transformers: Dark of the Moon brought the awesome flashy visuals we expected, and the hope of something better. On a slightly geekier note, THEY HAVE A ROBOT DRAGON!!!!!

Oh, and just to propel forward my support for advertisements that aren't done with mind-choking stupidity such as Doritos ads, here's the clever ad for House.

Teaser Trailer: Transformers: Dark of the Moon

We start today off with our first substantial trailer in a while, and it actually looks good for a film that probably won't be. I'm not going to say that Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen was in any way considerable as quality filmmaking, but it was fun. I personally enjoyed it as flashy and mindless entertainment. So if Transformers: Dark of the Moon actually ends up delivering that again, I'll be okay with it at the very least. This trailer, oddly enough, looks rather good to tell you the truth. Before it went into Michael Bay mode, it actually looked kind of inspirational. The sense of mystery and suspense when Neil Armstrong heads into that space ship works really well. I imagine the final scene in the film will probably be about six minutes long, but this is a wonderful sneak peek, and it gives confirmation to conspiracy theorists that it is indeed possible to film the moon landing on a sound stage. Check it out, and let me know what you think!

Transformers Dark of The Moon Teaser (1080p) from Michael Bay Dot Com on Vimeo.