I’ll preface by saying that I knew full well what I was getting into. I’ve read the reviews and have watched enough of Michael Bay’s on-screen vomit to know to keep my expectations low. I was pretty entertained when I watched the first one, but realized soon after that the movie was pretty much a strobelite honey. So I figured that maybe I could put the beer goggles on again for the second installment. I mean, Michael Bay couldn’t further ruin iconic figures from my childhood anymore, could he? Umm…

SPOILER ALERT

TRT (total running time) – The summer movie season allows you to shut your brain off for 1.5 – 2 hrs in an air-conditioned room. And you know, I’m generally willing to do that…if it’s under 2 hours. But expecting me to ingest mindless garbage for 2.5 hrs is abusing the privilege. If you’re going to ask an audience to commit to this movie, please give them something more than fighting robots. At least give me a character to care about – let me watch Brad Pitt age backwards or a bunch of hobbits traipse around Middle Earth. Don’t get me wrong, robot fighting kicks so much arse, but there is absolutely no good reason for this movie to last this long.

Characters – I did not care about any of the characters in this movie – human or robot. When major events happen during movies, the audience is supposed to care because they see the characters care. Not in this movie. What happens after Optimus Prime dies? I don’t remember. Ask me if I remember what happens when Optimus Prime died in the animated version.

Bad Screenwriting – Of course, I should know better not to expect a good script, especially since it was written by Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci, the same pair who penned the first one. But they also wrote Star Trek, which wasn’t perfect, but was a great summer flick. There was a good mix of action, cheese, and character development. There was an opportunity to step up their game, but they airballed a free throw – and one of the Adonal Foyle variety, no less. I think the vast difference in quality between the two scripts is a testament to the main storytellers – the directors. I’d like to think that directors fight to tell the story they want to tell. It’s not uncommon for scripts to be tweaked according to the director’s interpretation of the script. I’d be willing to guess that J.J. Abrams cares more about story and character than Michael Bay does.

These screenwriters also tend to write a lot of exposition into their scripts. It’s obvious with the first Transformers and even holds true with Star Trek. You can hide exposition easier with a Vulcan mind-meld. Not the case with T:ROTF. EVERYONE had expository dialogue. There was sooooo much to explain, especially the history of the Fallen, the sun-destroying energon farmer, and the matrix of leadership. Was it me or was the matrix the same thing as the sacred scroll thingy in Kung-Fu Panda? Not to say that I can do better, but this is LAZY writing.

Other Examples of Lazy Screenwriting:

• Bumblebee can talk at the end of Transformers, but he can’t talk in the beginning of T:ROTF. Please commit to the decisions you make. Having Michaela explain why he can’t talk is super lazy.
• Sam’s parents randomly appearing in Egypt was stupid. They’re there to add extra “umph” to the “you have to let him go” scene, which wasn’t set up very well to begin with.
• A teleportation gag to get the characters to Egypt. Apparently, this is Jumper too.
• They made a HUMAN transformer. WTF is this, Terminator?! So this character was supposed to keep tabs on Sam, but clearly, she’s there to add some sort of conflict between Sam and Michaela. Because the audience doesn’t really care about this conflict in the beginning, this plot point was just laughable.

Look, I really wanted to find something redeemable about this movie. There is certainly mind-blowing CGI, but I expected that. I wanted to say, “I kept my expectations low, so I was pleasantly surprised that I enjoyed it…despite Roger Ebert’s review” There were way too many flaws to overlook, unfortunately. Well, maybe I should watch Terminator: Salvation now?

Just figured I’d share with err’body:

• It’s been a while since I’ve worked on a set, but memories of the bad jobs flooded my brain after reading this post from the Hollywood Juicer. If only I could be as eloquent and focused with my writing. While I’m sure he’s an excellent technician, reading his posts convinces me he’s got another calling in life.
• I’ve had Pixar’s Up on the mind lately and stumbled across some interesting opinions on the symbolism in the movie, as well as Pixar’s inability to create unique female characters. There are strengths and weaknesses in each of the arguments, but thought fodder nonetheless.
• I was just starting to get over the fact that Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles was not coming back next year. The awesome cliffhanger season 2 (and ultimately, series) finale would’ve taken the show in an entirely new and fresh direction. I guess we’ll never know…but one of the producers might.
• It’s mindboggling how much this remake of a childhood classic will blow. The speech bubble is gold.
• Really excited about Michael Mann’s Public Enemies
• The decision to make Cylons look like humans in BSG stems from financial issues in production. (I was at this panel and totally forgot about it)

Anyway, that’s it for now. I’ll share more as they come up.

So despite a 2-hour production meeting for Steve Sprinkles’ Pincushion in the Valley, I was able to get in a two 30-minute writing sessions before calling it a night. I’m setting some rules for myself:

I set the timer for 30 minutes. For now, this is all that is required, but I can extend the session if I’m on a roll. But any additional sessions must be for the full 30-minute term. If I feel like I only have another 10 minutes of writing in me, then I’ll just stop there and save it for the next day.

Only writing programs can be open. In my case, I’m still working on the treatment, so I only have MS Word open. No iChat, no email, no surfing…period.

I didn’t have to do this today, but I will also keep a journal or notebook next to me. So in case I come to a screeching halt with the script, I can flip open the notebook or journal and write something – notes for character, or another script idea, or even a journal entry – anything. The important part is to keep writing.

I also thought it would be helpful to start tracking exactly what I changed/added to the story every once in a while. It’s pretty hard to track the day-to-day evolution of the story, so I think it will be a good way to evaluate effective each session is. (NOTE: this is mainly for me since the notes will be in shorthand and too lengthy to expound upon in this arena) As a primer, here’s a quick synopsis of my story, tentatively titled Losing Baggage.

Greg moves to New York to live with his girlfriend but discovers she is cheating on him. Convinced he has made a mistake moving in the first place, Greg looks for the next flight back home. Of course, there are no flights back to his hometown for a few days, so he impulsively decides to spend a weekend with Kay, a girl he meets at the airport, who was stood up by Alex – who happens to be married – for their weekend rendezvous. In the vein of Before Sunrise/Sunset, Greg and Kay roam about New York City learning about each other, themselves, and the importance of connection.

TODAY’S UPDATES:

• Taqueria menu gag – shows how “safe” and “predictable” Greg’s decision-making is
• Kay’s family lies – Greg notices inconsistencies with her “story” about her reasons to be in New York
• Greg and Liza’s fight – Early in the story, you don’t see what happens when Greg finds out about Liza’s cheating. This scene glazes over what happened. I’m still unsure how much of this I want to show. What happens isn’t quite as important as how he reacts to it.
• Greg’s subway ride – Instead of taking a cab into the city the first time, he’s taking the subway. I’m saving the cab ride for both Greg and Kay together.

Training starts this week. Tess and I have flirted with the idea of running the Long Beach Half Marathon in October. We got fitted for and purchased running shoes about a month ago and we “unofficially” start the training program tomorrow. It’s unofficial because the 12-week program should actually start in July in order to finish right before the race. But I thought it would be a good idea to start a bit early so I can get used to how this commitment will affect my time budget.

I’ve also made it a point to work in some writing. I’ve recently finished hammering out the first draft of a treatment for a script that has been festering on my computer for the past two years. I feel I still need to insert some plot points for the second and third act, but I’m comfortable with the main tentpoles of my story. Most people are unaware of how much structure goes into the writing of a screenplay. And if you’re ever unsure of what will happen during the big events throughout your script, it’s VERY difficult to get there – you’re lost and the scenes you write have no purpose. This is where I’ve been the past few years. I was only sure of a few destinations on my itinerary. And because I did not have it all laid out for me, it was hard to make any progress.

So now it’s all about focus and discipline. My goal is to hammer and hammer and hammer out this treatment. I have to know how each scene will lead to the next before I start actually writing the screenplay. Some of it is already written, mind you. In fact, I have about 30 or so pages. A good chunk will stay intact, (these are the destinations I was absolutely sure of) while others will either get cut or re-written. Part of maintaining focus and discipline is budgeting the time to write.

I’ve heard you’re more productive when you’re busy. When you know you have things to do within a certain time frame, you want to make every second count when performing a task. And now that I have this half-marathon training and this screenplay I’d like to finish this year, I really have to be disciplined.

Like the half-marathon training regimen, my writing regimen will start off small – maybe 30 minutes per day. As I get into a good rhythm, I’ll up it to 45 minutes, then maybe cap it 1 hour. It may not be mathematically possible to allot time for say, a 5 mile run AND a 2.5 hour writing session on a weeknight, you know?

So it all starts on Monday. As far as I’m concerned it’s in writing, so I HAVE to follow through. I’m done being all talk – it’s time to work for real results.

Progress reports – from both marathon training and writing – will come. I may even put up some excerpts of my script for folks to read.

Some good stuff the last week or so – starting with the movie I enjoyed most.

Up – This movie proves I am not a robot. While the waterworks weren’t crazy, there are three tear-enducing moments throughout the movie. I can’t say enough how great this movie was. The script was rock-solid, visuals were beautiful (though I have yet to see it in HD), and the characters were loveable. All Pixar scripts are pretty much master classes in screenwriting – with air-tight plotting, clear and distinct voices, and relatable themes. While a movie like Wall*E suffered being a bit too preachy towards the end, Up had something for everyone.

Although, I’m not sure where kids would rank Up among the Pixar filmography. There’s a certain maturity about this film. And while it does feature a kid and animals as supporting characters, it’s an interesting choice to not have the animals speak through their mouths. In Up, the dog speaks to humans through a collar that translantes dog to English. The creators could’ve easily made the dog talk directly to humans, but this device suggests they were going more for realism, over fantasy.

Up resonates with me because I’ve been around the block a few times – I am very aware of how valuable relationships are to me. And as the protagonist Carl Hendricks is stripped of the most important relationship of his life, I see him cope with the loss – and the tough decisions he has to make. It’s heartbreaking and heartfelt all at the same time.

This film should be nominated for Best Picture. And if the Academy does not promote this film from the Best Animated Film category (where it would most certainly win) to play with the big boys, I doubt they ever will.

The Hangover – Todd Phillips is back! This movie is just fun. Apatow is a solid comedy option as always, but man, this was DAMN funny. Nothing really to discuss from a “cinema” standpoint, but Todd Phillips sure knows how to work with ensemble casts – as evidenced by Road Trip and Old School, which were superior to his other films  Starsky & Hutch and School for Scoundrels.

Away We Go – A mature coming of age road movie starring Jim Halpert and Maya Rudolph directed by Sam Mendes. Watching this was a no-brainer. Most would probably say this is a typical indie character piece with great moments, but I probably liked it more than those people. The script was good and the acting was solid. Some of the smaller characters may have stole some scenes (Maggie Gyllenhaal was off the hizzy) but since the intent was to contrast the personalities to those of the protagonists’, it was a good device.

I would be interested to see interviews or behind-the-scenes footage of the director-actor process on this film. With Mendes’ theater and studio film experience and Krasinski and Rudolph’s TV experience, I’d love to hear how they worked out scenes. Maybe on the DVD.

So my summer movie viewing has been positive so far. We’ll see how it goes in the next few weeks!