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Weekend Movie Forecast: Optimus Prime Vs. Tom Hanks

Another summer, another Transformers movie. This time around Shia LaBeouf is riding solo, after various reports that the hot mess known as Megan Fox was saying kinda sorta anti-Semitic things during interviews. Anyhoo, Michael Bay apparently tried to take care of the first two movies' flaws (plot, character, etc.) and trimmed the third one down to just robot action sequences. As long as there's no robot-human interaction or human-human interaction, it might prove to be entertaining. We'll have to wait and see.Reviews have been mixed (which for a Transformers movie is pretty good), with Tasha Robinson from The A.V. Club saying: "So wait, has Michael Bay actually been listening to his detractors? As difficult as that is to believe, given the director/producerâs legendary arrogance (and massive box-office success), his third Transformers movie suggests heâs actually taken some of the backlash to heart. Gone are the embarrassing racial stereotypes and crass body-parts humor. The slapstick and humiliation comedy have been dialed down to token levels. Thereâs a competent, authoritative female character (a high-ranking government functionary briskly played by Frances McDormand) and a competent, authoritative African-American hero (Tyrese Gibson, revisiting his character from the first two movies, but as a leader instead of a comedic second banana). Many of the action scenes are coherent enough to follow with the naked eye. And while the female lead (Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, stepping in for the banished Megan Fox) is alternately a bimbo, a shrew, and a princess-in-peril, at least the film treats her sexuality frankly, without fetishizing, sniggering, or cringing from it. Itâs as though Bay has upgraded his ideal audience from 13-year-old boys to 18-year-old boys." — Gothamist

Published Jul 1, 2011

Modified Jul 1, 2011

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Click on the film stills for details and reviews on this week's new releases and repertory screenings, which include: Transformers: Dark of the Moon, Larry Crowne, Aurora, Crime After Crime, Terri, Small Town Murder Songs, New York Asian Film Festival, Delhi Belly, Muhammad Ali, the Long-Lost Movie, Dark Days, and Independence Day.