Today I went and saw Transformers. From the time I saw the short teaser over a year ago, I had been excited to see this live action adaptation of the cartoon I used to enjoy as a kid. I have to say, it was well worth the wait.

The movie opened with a narrrative, a backstory that leads into the plot of the movie. The narration was done by Optimus Prime. Of course you aren’t told it is OP, but the voice is instantly recognizable. At least it was to me, and I hadn’t seen the show in like 20 years. Just that alone was exciting for me.

The movie did not disappoint. Shia LeBouf was Sam, the central character of the movie. It starts with his father buying him a new car. Actually a beat up old Camaro which turns out to be the Autobot Bumblebee. The plot moves quickly from one action scene to the next as Sam and Makaila try to escape the Decepticons that want something that he has.

One of the coolest “geek” moments was when the rest of the Autobots arrive and take on their shapes, especially seeing Optimus Prime take on the familiar form of the semi truck, and when all the Decepticons were revealed and named, including the infamous Megatron. I couldn’t help but smile, even knowing that they were the badguys. It was almost satisfying in a way. Like I said, it was probably just the inner geek in me.

Director Michael Bay failed to disappoint. I enjoyed other movies he directed, such as The Rock, Armageddon, and the Island (among others). He also couldn’t resist a crack at his own movies, when after a few asteroids crash into earth, one teen is shouting “This is better than Armageddon.”

The action was intense, almost from beginning to end. From an attack on an Air Force in the Middle East at the beginning of the movie, to the final showdown at the end of the movie. There were a few slower story points, but the action was almost non-stop, with plenty of Michael Bay explosions thrown in for good measure.

I wish I could say that I loved every scene in the movie. I was disappointed with Sam’s parents. While they weren’t central to the story, they were very one-dimensional. Their purpose in the movie was wasted, I think. Many of their lines and scenes were unecessary for the plot, pointless, and very unrealistic. Not that 25-foot giant transforming robots from Cybertron were any more realisic, but I think you get my point.

So, with that said, I definately give this movie a thumbs-up. I’d love to go see it again.

technorati tags:movie, review, Transformers

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Technorati Tags: Entertainment, Movie, Review, Transformers

I found this at Shooting yourself in the foot in various programming languages. There were a few different one’s posted on this site as well: How to Shoot Yourself in the Foot in Any Programming Language.Here are some of the items that I particularly enjoyed, from languages I actually know:

• ASP
  You try to shoot yourself in the foot, but the most advanced thing you can manage is to cut your wrist.
• ASP.NET
  Find a gun, it falls apart. Put it back together, it falls apart again. You try using the .GUN Framework, it falls apart. You stab yourself in the foot instead.
• BASIC
  Shoot self in foot with water pistol. On big systems, continue until entire lower body is waterlogged.
• C#
  You shoot yourself in the foot, but first have to switch to unsafe mode.
• CSS
  You shoot your right foot with one hand, then switch hands to shoot your left foot but you realize that the gun has turned into a banana.
• HTML
  You cut a bullethole in your foot with nothing more than a small penknife, but you realize that to make it look convincing, you need to be using Dreamweaver.
• Javascript
  You’ve perfected a robust, rich user experience for shooting yourself in the foot. You then find that bullets are disabled on your gun.
• .NET
  You can now shoot yourself in the foot with any of fourteen weapons, ranging from an antique medieval crossbow to a laser-guided Destructo-Beam. However, all these weapons must be manufactured by Microsoft and you must pay Microsoft royalties every time you shoot yourself in the foot.
• PHP
  You shoot yourself in the foot with a gun made with pieces from 300 other guns.
• SQL
  SELECT @ammo:=bullet
  FROM gun
  WHERE trigger = ‘PULLED’;
  INSERT INTO leg (foot)
  VALUES (@ammo);
• Visual Basic
  You’ll only appear to have shot yourself in the foot, but you’ll have so much fun doing it you won’t care.
• XML
  You can’t actually shoot yourself in the foot; all you can do is describe the gun in painful detail.

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Technorati Tags: Entertainment, jokes, Programming