There's really no excuses here. Despite not one single person clamouring for a rebooted Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie, Paramount went and did it anyway - throwing $125 million at the thing and letting Michael Bay produce. The early on-set shots looked frankly ridiculous and it seems all the post-production in the world couldn't have saved this one.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is out now

The movie stars Megan Fox as April O'Neil, the Gotham reporter who works with the mutant turtles to save the city from Shredder and his evil Foot Clan. Bay had angered die-hard turtle fans (there are some, apparently) when, in 2013, he suggested scrapping the original backstory of radioactive ooze and anthropomorphic powers to have the turtles become "loveable aliens". Well, despite backing down on those threats, Bay and his team appear to have made a movie that nobody - nobody - understands.

Continue reading: So, Yeah...'Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles' About That...

'Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles' Premiere Hits Los Angeles [Pictures]

By Charlotte Court in Movies / TV / Theatre on 05 August 2014

Megan Fox Michael Bay Will Arnett William Fichtner Alan Ritchson Johnny Knoxville

The TMNT reboot has its Los Angeles premiere - but will it be good enough to shake off the critics of this remake?

The stars of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles reboot were out in full force on Sunday 3 August for the film’s premiere in Los Angeles. Megan Fox, who plays intrepid reporter April O’Neil, stepped on to the red carpet with her fellow co-stars Will Arnett, William Fichtner, Alan Ritchson and Johnny Knoxville, as well as the film’s producer, Michael Bay.

Megan Fox wows at the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles premiere

The Jonathan Liebesman-directed action movie was screened at the Regency Village Theatre where Fox and her co-stars stopped to pose with fans and for a whole cast line up picture.

Continue reading: 'Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles' Premiere Hits Los Angeles [Pictures]

The Purge: Anarchy Review

By Rich Cline

Good

After last year's break-out hit thriller, writer-director James DeMonaco is back with the flip-side of the story, which jettisons the irony and and thematic subtlety in favour of in-your-face brutality. This time the account of a night of lawful violence is told from the opposite perspective, poor people who are targeted by sadistic rich people who are trying to cleanse their souls with a bit of grisly murder.

It's set one year later, in 2023 Los Angeles as the annual 12-hour Purge is about to begin. The idea is to cleanse society of its violent urges, but this has turned into an all-out war between heavily armed militias hired by the wealthy to capture poor people for their own homicidal entertainment. As an underground activist (Michael K. Williams) calls for a grassroots uprising, the waitress Eva (Carmen Ejogo) is just trying to get through the night alive with her teen daughter Cali (Zoe Soul). When they're attacked, an unnamed stranger (Frank Grillo) comes to their rescue, and they're soon joined by a couple (Zach Gilford and Keile Sanchez) whose car picked the wrong time and place to break down. Together, these five attempt to escape pursuit by two vicious gangs: lowlife mercenaries looking for fresh blood to sell to wealthy clients and a high-tech army bent on all-out massacre.

It's deeply contrived that these two gangs are deliberately, tenaciously and seemingly supernaturally pursuing these five people, but DeMonaco never flinches, so the audience just has to go with it. Much of the movie consists of massive nighttime street battles, but there are some more deranged interludes that hold the attention much better. At one point, they take refuge in the downtown home of one of Eva's colleagues (Justina Machado), a drunken party that is clearly spiralling out of control even before they arrived. A little later, they are dragged right into a variation on The Hunger Games. And while four of our heroes are running for their lives, Grillo's character has something more violent in mind: he's seeking revenge against the drunk driver who killed his son.

Continue reading: The Purge: Anarchy Review

Transformers: Age Of Extinction Is Rubbish, But Just How Much Money Can It Make?

By Jack de Aguilar in Movies / TV / Theatre on 02 July 2014

Mark Wahlberg Michael Bay

Films don't really have to be good to make loads of money, as Age of Extinction proves

It’s been a mixed week for Michael Bay, Mark Wahlberg and Transformers: Age of Extinction. First off, weak reviews emanated from the press, threatening to derail the bandwagon that had, until then, been moving pretty steadily.

Transformers: Age of Extinction has been a flop with the critics, but the money is rolling in

Of course, studios will happily ignore reviews if the box if good, and Age of Extinction seems to be making up for that poor critical reception with cold, hard, countable cash - $312,642,664 of it to be exact.

Continue reading: Transformers: Age Of Extinction Is Rubbish, But Just How Much Money Can It Make?

'Transformers: Age Of Extinction' May Be Bad, But It's Making A Ton Of Money

By Michael West in Movies / TV / Theatre on 01 July 2014

Michael Bay Mark Wahlberg

'Transformers: Age of Extinction' is over $100 million in profit.

'Transformers: Age of Extinction' has claimed over $100 million in North American ticket sales alone for its opening weekend. Paramount Pictures said on Monday that Michael Bay's big budget epic sold $100,038,390 of tickets in the U.S and Canada from its debut Thursday through Sunday.

Transformers Age of Extinction Transformers: Age of Extinction

If you haven't checked out the reviews yet: the latest Transformers movie bombed with the critics. It holds just 16% on Rotten Tomatoes after a slew of reviews.

Continue reading: 'Transformers: Age Of Extinction' May Be Bad, But It's Making A Ton Of Money

Bound For Extinction? When Will Michael Bay Stop Making Transformers Movies?

By Michael West in Movies / TV / Theatre on 28 June 2014

Mark Wahlberg Michael Bay

When will Michael Bay call it a day?

Let's talk about Transformers: Age of Extinction. It begins after an epic battle left a great city torn apart. It has a shiny new cast including Mark Wahlberg. Optimus Prime is back. It's billed as an "incredible adventure". It's not very good. It has 17% on Rotten Tomatoes. Everyone hates it.

Transformers Age of Extinction Transformers: Age of Extinction

"The movie's crammed with useless nuts and bolts, the storytelling equivalent of a mechanic who lifts the hood of your car and says, "That's everything, fix it yourself."" said Amy Nicholson of LA Weekly.

Continue reading: Bound For Extinction? When Will Michael Bay Stop Making Transformers Movies?

Time For "Transformers: Age Of Extinction" To Prove Its Metal With Early Release In China

By Victoria Pavlova in Movies / TV / Theatre on 26 June 2014

Michael Bay Mark Wahlberg Kelsey Grammer Stanley Tucci

Chinese profits are expected to come close to the US market this time around.

Transformers: Age of Extinction opens in Hong Kong today, after months of anticipation. Since the previous movies of the franchise performed so well on the Chinese market (which is now the second biggest film market in the world), Paramount Pictures are expecting to gain a sizeable advantage on release weekend, thanks to the early release in Hong Kong. Transformers will open in theatres worldwide one day later.

Transformers: Age of Extinction Poster
Clever marketing and strong ties to China are likely to give Transformers an edge on the market.

Age of Extinction has been courting the sizeable Chinese audience since its conception, hense it has a built-in advantage on the local market. It was shot in Hong Kong and three mainland cities including scenes at the Great Wall. Chinese actress Li Bingbing was cast in the film, and four smaller parts were filled by actors chosen from a Chinese TV reality show.

Continue reading: Time For "Transformers: Age Of Extinction" To Prove Its Metal With Early Release In China

'Transformers: Age Of Extinction' First Reviews: Another No-Go?

By Lauren James in Movies / TV / Theatre on 25 June 2014

Mark Wahlberg Michael Bay Kelsey Grammer Nicola Peltz

What are the early bird critics saying about Michael Bay's new action installment?

The release of Transformers: Age of Extinction is just days away in the USA, meaning fans of Michael Bay's franchise will soon be gingerly heading back into cinemas once more to see whether the new movie lives up to the hype.

Transformers Bumblebee
Critics Haven't Trashed 'Transformers 4' But It Seems That, Like Its Predecessors, It's A Pretty Flawed Film.

After kicking off with 2007's Transformers, the (nevertheless commercially successful) franchise has suffered a decline in ratings with Bay's direction consistently caught in the crosshairs. In other words, there's a lot riding on film four, not least the filmmaker's reputation as he bows out of the sci-fi action movie series.

Continue reading: 'Transformers: Age Of Extinction' First Reviews: Another No-Go?

Michael Bay & Mark Wahlberg Grew To Love Filming 'Transformers 4: Age Of Extinction' In Hong Kong

By Nick Hill in Movies / TV / Theatre on 22 June 2014

Michael Bay

The film-maker revealed Jackie Chan was his own personal tour guide, and the 43 year-old actor confessed to putting on weight due to Hong Kong's delicious cuisine.

Director Michael Bay and actor Mark Wahlberg grew to adore the city of Hong Kong when filming the hotly anticipated sequel 'Transformers 4: Age Of Extinction,' which began in May 2013.

Michael Bay
Bay grew very fond of filming in Hong Kong

This may come as a surprise since the filmmaker was attacked during shooting scenes in Quarry Bay by two men, with one of them swinging an air conditioner after asking him for money. The two perpetrators were brothers with the surname 'Mak', aged 27 and 28, and they demanded HK $100,000 ($12,900 USD) from the 49 year-old because they felt he owed them money for filming on that location.

Continue reading: Michael Bay & Mark Wahlberg Grew To Love Filming 'Transformers 4: Age Of Extinction' In Hong Kong

A Week In Movies: The Fault In Our Stars Hits London, Transformers Bows In Hong Kong, New Trailers For Washington, Daniels, Carrey And More

By Rich Cline in Movies / TV / Theatre on 20 June 2014

Shailene Woodley Michael Bay Mark Wahlberg Ed Westwick Chris Pratt Bradley Cooper Simon Bird James Buckley Denzel Washington Jim Carrey

Fans meet the cast of The Fault in Our Stars in London, actors hit the red carpet for Transformers 4 in Hong Kong, Take Down shoots in Wales, and new trailers bow for Guardians, the Inbetweeners sequel, the Equalizer movie and the Dumb and Dumber reunion ...

The Fault in Our Stars

Fans lined the streets outside London's May Fair Hotel to glimpse the cast of the teen hit The Fault in Our Stars as they attended a special gala screening in advance of the film's opening in Britain this weekend. Ansel Elgort, Nat Wolff and Laura Dern chatted to the fans as they attended the event along with Greg Wise and Game of Thrones' Maisie Williams. Read our The Fault in Our Stars review here.

Meanwhile in Hong Kong, cast and crew turned out for a rain-soaked world premiere of Transformers: Age of Extinction, including director Michael Bay and stars Mark Wahlberg Jack Reynor, Nicola Peltz, Kelsey Grammer, Stanley Tucci and Li Bingbing. The Imagine Dragons did a live performance as part of the film's celebrations. Mark Wahlberg and his Transformers: Age Of Extinction castmates had to brave monsoon conditions for the world premiere of the action film in Hong Kong on Thursday (19Jun14).

Continue reading: A Week In Movies: The Fault In Our Stars Hits London, Transformers Bows In Hong Kong, New Trailers For Washington, Daniels, Carrey And More

Transformers: Age Of Extinction Trailer

Taking place after the events of 'Transformers: Dark Of The Moon', we see a new part of the Transformers story in 'Transformers: Age Of Extinction' where the human race must rebuild from a great battle between the Autobots and Sentinel Prime. However a new evil force is at hand attempting to change history, which will send Earth into a new crisis. New human friends will help Optimus Prime and the Autobots face their most difficult task yet, on an amazing journey around the planet that will decide who will win between good and evil.

'Transformers: Age Of Extinction' will see a new live action cast featuring Mark Wahlberg as Cade Yeager, Nicola Peltz as Cade's daughter Tessa Yeager, Stanley Tucci, Li Bingbing, Kelsey Grammer, Sophia Myles, T.J. Miller, Jack Reynor and Titus Welliver. Peter Cullen will once again voice Optimus Prime.

Michael Bay reprised his role as director for this instalment of the franchise. The film is written by Ehren Kruger, who wrote the previous two Transformers films 'Revenge Of The Fallen' and 'Dark Of The Moon'. 'Age Of Extinction' also has the same producers as the previous three films Don Murphy, Tom DeSanto, Lorenzo Di Bonaventura and Ian Bryce.

Continue: Transformers: Age Of Extinction Trailer

New Transformers: Age Of Extinction Trailer: "This Isn't War - It's Human Extinction" [Trailer + Pictures]

By Jack de Aguilar in Movies / TV / Theatre on 23 May 2014

Mark Wahlberg Michael Bay

As anticipation for Michael Bay’s latest Transformers mega-popcorn super movie reaches new heights, a new trailer featuring heavy emphasis on all-out Transformer v Decepticons with thrown in dinobots warfare. But as the trailer warns us: “This isn’t war – it’s human extinction”.

Transformers Age of Extinction

Mark Wahlberg, Kelsey Grammer, Stanley Tucci, TJ Miller, Sophia Myles and up-and-coming Irish actor Jack Reynor all star in a new cast marking a fresh new direction for the film.

Continue reading: New Transformers: Age Of Extinction Trailer: "This Isn't War - It's Human Extinction" [Trailer + Pictures]

Transformers: Age Of Extinction - Trailer

Following the destruction caused by Optimus Prime's benign Autobots and, their nemeses, the evil Decepticons led by Megatron, the US government have decided to sever ties with the Autobots in a bid to reclaim their crumbling world. After a while, it seemed that they had indeed disappeared completely but Cade Yeager, a struggling inventor who is desperate to put his daughter Tessa through college, is about to make a discovery that would change his life forever when he uncovers the unusual metal properties of the new vehicle he has bought. It isn't long before the government and the Decepticons are swooping in on Cade's home, demanding to know where he is hiding Optimus Prime; America wants to destroy the living machines despite the Autobots past help, and the Decepticons simply want to destroy everything. If the humans want to survive, their old friends may be their only hope.

Continue: Transformers: Age Of Extinction - Trailer

Grab Your First Slice Of 'The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles' [Trailer + Pictures]

By Jack de Aguilar in Movies / TV / Theatre on 28 March 2014

Michael Bay William Fichtner Megan Fox Will Arnett Noel Fisher

Take a look at the more sinister looking turtles.

Leonardo, Raphael, Michelangelo and Donatello and their sensei, Master Splinter are all back from the depths of your childhood TV set to make it big on the silver screen.

The Michael Bay-produced reboot of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles has finally got its first trailer, giving us a chance to see how the motion-captured turtles look compared to their traditionally animated/live-action predecessors. And they look kind sinister.

Continue reading: Grab Your First Slice Of 'The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles' [Trailer + Pictures]

Transformers: Age Of Extinction Trailer

It's been four years since the disastrous conflict between the benevolent Autobots, led by Optimus Prime, and the evil Decepticons, led by Megatron. Now, it appears that the US government is no longer willing to work alongside the Autobots and instead long for Earth to be reclaimed by mankind. Cade Yeager is an inventor who is struggling to find the money to get his daughter Tessa through college, but he's about to make the breakthrough of a lifetime when he discovers that a vehicle he has newly purchased is made from no ordinary metal. On realising that he is housing Optimus Prime in his workshop, the government and the Decepticons are quick to attack, though when it becomes clear that Megatron is still hellbent on taken over Earth, he must band together with Optimus to save themselves and everybody else on the planet from total extinction.

Continue: Transformers: Age Of Extinction Trailer

"Transformers: Age Of Extinction" Trailer - Explosions, Mark Wahlberg, More Explosions

By Victoria Pavlova in Movies / TV / Theatre on 05 March 2014

Michael Bay Mark Wahlberg

This might just be Bay's most explosive production yet. Literally. More explosions than ever.

Shia LaBeouf may have been replaced from the Transformers franchise, but all that matters is that Michael Bay is staying, as he reminded us with the flashiest, most-explotion filled trailer of forever. The new installment, now starring Mark Wahlberg, has a trailer as of yesterday and in case viewers ever miss the hint of a coherent story that Bay’s flicks have been lacking from the beginning, there are a lot of explosions and loud music to distract them from those shortcomings.

Transformers: Age of Extinction Poster
It seems like Michael Bay got almost free reign with the budget on his final installment.

Written by Ehren Kruger and directed by Bay, the new film sees Mark Wahlberg, playing a mechanic named Cade Yeagar, join the series about warring tribes of alien robots with a propensity for causing massive destruction here on planet Earth. To be fair, it’s only a teaser trailer, so there is plenty of time to reveal more of the story.

Continue reading: "Transformers: Age Of Extinction" Trailer - Explosions, Mark Wahlberg, More Explosions

Man Jailed For Blackmailing 'Transformers' Crew, Scuffling With Michael Bay

By Michael West in Movies / TV / Theatre on 26 February 2014

Michael Bay Transformers

The two men played loud music in an attempt to disrupt the Transformers 4 shoot in Hong Kong.

A man has been jailed for attempting to blackmail the Transformers 4 film crew while they were shooting scenes in Hong Kong. Mak Chi-shing was sentenced to two years in jail and his brothers six weeks for assaulting a police officer, according to BBC News.

Michael Bay Got Caught Up In A Scuffle in Hong Kong

The men ran a shop near where the crew were filming in October. They refused to close the store to accommodate the crew and demanded $13,000.

Continue reading: Man Jailed For Blackmailing 'Transformers' Crew, Scuffling With Michael Bay

Director Michael Bay Storms Off Stage After The Teleprompter Fails In Awkward Interview [Video]

By Nick Hill in Movies / TV / Theatre on 07 January 2014

Michael Bay

Michael Bay found himself in a very uncomfortable situation as he walked off stage a Samsung CES event after there were technical issues with the teleprompter, the film-maker admits, "I guess live shows aren't my thing."

Director Michael Bay appeared very awkward and uneasy during an appearance at a Samsung CES event in Las Vegas on Monday afternoon (Jan 6th).

The 48 year-old was left speechless shortly after entering the stage when he was trying to discuss why he makes big blockbuster movies.

Bay even pointed out, in front of the live audience, that the teleprompter was not working properly which led him to say 'I'll just wing this."

Continue reading: Director Michael Bay Storms Off Stage After The Teleprompter Fails In Awkward Interview [Video]

Transformers 4 Director, Michael Bay, Attacked On Set In Hong Kong

By Nick Hill in Movies / TV / Theatre on 20 October 2013

Michael Bay

Michael Bay was attacked by two men asking for money on the Hong Kong set of 'Transformers: Age Of Extinction'.

American director Michael Bay, was attacked by two men on the set of 'Transformers: The Age Of Extinction' in Hong Kong on Thursday (Oct 17th).

One of the men attacked Bay with an air conditioner after asking him for money, the studio released a statement describing the incident as "a bizarre encounter with a man allegedly under the influence of a narcotic substance".

The statement also said, "The man, who had earlier accosted several other crew members, rushed onto the set in Quarry Bay and swung the air conditioning unit directly at Bay's head."

Continue reading: Transformers 4 Director, Michael Bay, Attacked On Set In Hong Kong

Pain & Gain Review

By Rich Cline

Good

Spirited and very funny, this movie should actually be rather disturbing since it's a true story about torture and murder. But director Michael Bay is so slick with the action and comedy elements that he lulls audiences to sleep, entertaining us with events that really should send chills down our spines. So the movie feels rather tasteless when you begin to think about it.

Wahlberg stars as Daniel, an obsessive bodybuilder in 1990s Miami who works as a personal trainer at a local gym. But he's becoming increasingly annoyed by the fact that his clients are much wealthier than he is. So he convinces his steroid-addicted colleague Adrian (Mackie) to help him kidnap a customer (Shalhoub) and steal his fortune. Realising that they need some help, they enlist born-again ex-con Paul (Johnson) in their plan. But none of them is very smart, and the kidnapping goes badly wrong from the start. Still, they manage to steal quite a lot before a tenacious private detective (Harris) notices something isn't right.

For a story that deals with such intensely serious themes, this is an oddly broad comedy. Bay never even tries to find dark irony here; he just focusses on how stupid these criminals are, convinced that they are as cool as the characters from their favourite movies and eerily unbothered by the fact that they are inflicting pain and even death on people for their own greedy ends. The actors inhabit the roles with a disarming naivete, so we can't help but laugh at their idiotic actions. Wahlberg plays Daniel as a muscle-head so focussed on getting what he wants that he doesn't notice the carnage in his wake; Mackie at least gives Adrian a sense of self-doubt, plus some comical romance (with scene-stealer Wilson); and Johnson has a tricky role as a religious guy with a weakness for drugs and women.

Continue reading: Pain & Gain Review