NASA's 1969 moon landing was in fact a secret mission to inspect the wreckage of a crashed alien spacecraft, which it turns out was from the machine planet of Cybertron – a fact the US military kept secret from the benevolent Autobots.
Now the race is one between the Autobots and their evil counterparts, the Decepticons, to recover that wreckage.
Part of the action takes place in Chicago, where Decepticon weapons snake around a skyscraper, strangle it and make it topple to the ground, creating much destruction.
Transformers: Dark of the Moon, the third movie in the franchise, aims to be even more epic than the previous two.
For this one, director Michael Bay turns to 3D, joining the film industry's revolution after first resisting it. However, Avatar director James Cameron convinced Bay that 3D was the way to go.
Back for Transformers 3 is the everyman hero Sam Witwicky, played by Shia LaBeouf.
Transformers: Dark of the Moon, the third movie in the franchise, aims to be even more epic than the previous two.
For this one, director Michael Bay turns to 3D, joining the film industry's revolution after first resisting it. However, Avatar director James Cameron convinced Bay that 3D was the way to go.
Back for Transformers 3 is the everyman hero Sam Witwicky, played by Shia LaBeouf.
Others returning include Josh Duhamel and Tyrese Gibson as American soldiers and airmen who are allied with the Autobots. John Turturro also returns as a former member of a shadowy government agency.
New to the series is Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, a Victoria's Secret model. She plays Carly, the new love interest for Sam. She replaces sultry actress Megan Fox, whose mouth got her fired from the franchise when she compared Bay to Hitler, a joke that executive producer Steven Spielberg did not find funny.
Others new to the Transformers franchise include Ken Jeong from The Hangover movies, Patrick Dempsey, the racecar-driver boss of Carly, Frances McDormand, playing the secretary of defense, and John Malkovich, Sam's boss.
Critical reception mixed, though perhaps a bit more positive than the previous entries in the series. It's in 3D, including Imax.
Also showing
The Star (Zvezda) – During World War II, a team of Russian scouts is sent behind enemy lines to find the location of the German armor. Directed by Nikolai Lebedev, this 2002 Russian war drama is based on a short story of the same name by Emmanuil Kazakevich and is a remake of a 1949 Soviet film. It screens at 8 tonight (Thursday, June 30) at the Foreign Correspondents Club of Thailand. Entry for non-members is 150 baht and 150 baht for anyone wanting to sample the vodka, wine and snacks being laid on by Russian Ambassador Alexander G Mariyasov.
Double Dhamaal – Four good-for-nothing jokers, Riteish Deshmukh, Jaaved Jaafery, Arshad Warsi and Ashish Chowdhry, are dreaming of the high life, where they have everything by doing nothing. A chance encounter with their old archenemy, a corrupt ex-cop (Sanjay Dutt), gives them the idea to hatch a blackmail plot. Kangna Ranaut also stars, as does Mallika Sherawat, who had a bikini scene that was chopped. This is a sequel to Dhamaal, a hit 2007 comedy. Indra Kumar directs. It's at SFW CentralWorld on Sunday at 4. Call 0894882620 or 022257500 or visit www.BollywoodThai.com.
Take note
Only one movie is opening in Bangkok cinemas this week, with the multiplexes and distributors clearing the decks to make way for the behemoth that is Transformers: Dark of the Moon.
If you want to watch something else, head over to the Lido cinemas in Siam Square or House on RCA.
Cinephiles can look forward to July 7's scheduled release of the much-acclaimed new movie from auteur Terrence Malick, The Tree of Life, which will be at Apex Siam Square, SF World and Paragon. There's also Bioscope magazine's Indy Spirit Project, which will screen the pan-Asian indie female-directors short-film compilation Breakfast Lunch Dinner and the Thai boxing documentary Lumpinee at CentralWorld.
The week after that, July 14, it will be another summer blockbuster, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part II, which marks the final chapter of that franchise.
New to the series is Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, a Victoria's Secret model. She plays Carly, the new love interest for Sam. She replaces sultry actress Megan Fox, whose mouth got her fired from the franchise when she compared Bay to Hitler, a joke that executive producer Steven Spielberg did not find funny.
Others new to the Transformers franchise include Ken Jeong from The Hangover movies, Patrick Dempsey, the racecar-driver boss of Carly, Frances McDormand, playing the secretary of defense, and John Malkovich, Sam's boss.
Critical reception mixed, though perhaps a bit more positive than the previous entries in the series. It's in 3D, including Imax.
Also showing
The Star (Zvezda) – During World War II, a team of Russian scouts is sent behind enemy lines to find the location of the German armor. Directed by Nikolai Lebedev, this 2002 Russian war drama is based on a short story of the same name by Emmanuil Kazakevich and is a remake of a 1949 Soviet film. It screens at 8 tonight (Thursday, June 30) at the Foreign Correspondents Club of Thailand. Entry for non-members is 150 baht and 150 baht for anyone wanting to sample the vodka, wine and snacks being laid on by Russian Ambassador Alexander G Mariyasov.
Double Dhamaal – Four good-for-nothing jokers, Riteish Deshmukh, Jaaved Jaafery, Arshad Warsi and Ashish Chowdhry, are dreaming of the high life, where they have everything by doing nothing. A chance encounter with their old archenemy, a corrupt ex-cop (Sanjay Dutt), gives them the idea to hatch a blackmail plot. Kangna Ranaut also stars, as does Mallika Sherawat, who had a bikini scene that was chopped. This is a sequel to Dhamaal, a hit 2007 comedy. Indra Kumar directs. It's at SFW CentralWorld on Sunday at 4. Call 0894882620 or 022257500 or visit www.BollywoodThai.com.
Take note
Only one movie is opening in Bangkok cinemas this week, with the multiplexes and distributors clearing the decks to make way for the behemoth that is Transformers: Dark of the Moon.
If you want to watch something else, head over to the Lido cinemas in Siam Square or House on RCA.
Cinephiles can look forward to July 7's scheduled release of the much-acclaimed new movie from auteur Terrence Malick, The Tree of Life, which will be at Apex Siam Square, SF World and Paragon. There's also Bioscope magazine's Indy Spirit Project, which will screen the pan-Asian indie female-directors short-film compilation Breakfast Lunch Dinner and the Thai boxing documentary Lumpinee at CentralWorld.
The week after that, July 14, it will be another summer blockbuster, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part II, which marks the final chapter of that franchise.
