Two popcorn flicks in brief (Die Hard 4, Transformers)

Live Free or Die Hard -

what's the point of Crank or The Transporter when even the standard action franchises aren't even trying anymore? This is... ridiculous. Fun, but really, really ridiculous. Timothy Olyphant got some money this year, and I'm okay with that, but he and everyone in this should be kinda ashamed of themselves... especially The Bruce, who made John McClane so popular as a normal guy who made it through a tough situation, but is now steering trucks while a jet shoots him with missiles, and sending cars into helicopters. Gawd.

Speaking of mindless action....

Transformers -

Yeah, I couldn't resist. I was ready to give this a shot for one of my childhood treats, and, well, it gave us what we wanted. You could say that least Michael Bay is winking at how impossible this is and adding a little humor, but then, of course, he goes too far. Shia LeBeouf is for real, though. He's genuinely good comic relief while others are flailing.

But what is it about these action movies that boils all conflicts down to a few random people in a room? I call it the Independence Day Effect (which, by the way, is ripped off here repeatedly). What if I told you that the fate of the world was in some room in the Hoover Dam, and the only people in that room were Anthony Anderson, Jon Voigt, some British too-hot-to-be-a-nerd girl, and a possibly drunk John Turturro? Why not?