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Optimus Prime in the Transformer’s movie by Michael Bay.

Now that’s a movie I want to go see (480p HD Trailer Link).

After a few boring trailers, they finally deliver on the good stuff and I think this preview shows plenty of what the public needs to see, big robots transforming and fighting each other.

Unlike the sequels that dominate the summer (Spider-Man 3, Pirates 3, Shrek 3, Fantastic Four 2), the Transformers are making their first appearance on the big screen. They’re an unknown to a large audience and that audience wants to have an idea of what they’re going to get for their $8 movie ticket. Heck, I grew up watching Transformer and it wasn’t until this trailer that I actually got excited (just watch Optimus transform and tell me you don’t grin when you hear “the sound”).

That’s not to say I don’t have complaints. When the guy at the end says “Bring It!” it makes me want to cringe. But another part of me cracks up at Shia LaBeouf’s line “It’s a big robot, it must be from Japan.” I’ll go in expecting Independence Day and perhaps I won’t be disappointed. How hard can it be to mess up giant robots that transform and beating each other up?

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The Human Torch (Johnny Storm) from Rise of the Silver Surfer

The final trailer for the new Fantastic Four movie Rise of the Silver Surfer was released on Monday. I know a lot of people may disagree, but I think it looks great. The Silver Surfer looks great and the movie looks to take a fun tone, which is what a lot of people may not like.

As the father of a superhero / Star Wars obsessed 3.5 year old, I’m glad the new FF movie looks fun. He’s been talking about Spider-Man for months now, but Jill and I think Venom may be a bit too much for him to see, in the theater at least. Just last night I was showing him some preview and he said he didn’t want to watch the scene where Toby Maguire turns into Venom, so I covered his eyes.

Just a few minutes before, he laughed out loud at the part in the FF trailer Johnny and Ben switch powers and he said “the Thing’s got hair!” So, with Spider-Man 3 looking a little too intense (same for Transformers), I’m glad that Fantastic Four is a movie we can both see and geek out over together.

Speaking of geeking out, check out the image above. It looks that Johnny won’t just be switching powers, but he’ll be pulling a Super-Skrull and wield the powers of all 4 members of the FF. The image shows Johnny with a flaming Thing hand (which later stretches in the trailer).

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Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix poster
The poster for the fifth (has it been that long?) Harry Potter film, The Order of the Phoenix, has been released and it made me think about the series as a whole.

I’ve never read more than a few pages of the books. I have them all and fully intend to read them, but so far, they’ve escaped me. I’ll admit, I was surprised when I watched the first film (Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone) and enjoyed it quite a bit. It was enough to see the second (Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets) and then finally be amazed by the third (Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban ) –thanks mostly to director Alfonso Cuaron. The fourth (Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire) was again very entertaining and added many new, good elements to the series, with the Tri-Wizard tournament being the best.

So, I eagerly await the fifth film and seeing the poster made me realize one reason why. It’s the cast. I’m not saying they’re all amazing actors, but the continuity of it all makes the series as a whole much more fun. Seeing characters like Neville Longbottom and Ginny Weasley emerge from background parts to starring roles (even on the poster) is just cool.

I guess the experience is similar to episodic TV, such LOST, Heroes, and The Sopranos (all of which I enjoy). Even those are very similar to comic books when relating to story telling methods. TV and comics can take months to build up and play out stories, all the while the viewer/reader anticipates the next chapter and even knows when to expect it. The Harry Potter films are the cinematic equivalent of this.

Even with Spider-Man, X-Men, and others, there is a delay, a decision on whether or not to make a new one. With the Potter films, they put them out regularly enough that they feel reliable. Now, I know that’s because they are on a time-table. The young cast is growing older and Warner Bros. wants to finish the series (7 films in all) with the same actors/actresses in place, and I hope they do.

Recently, actress Kirsten Dunst was quoted by Entertainment Weekly as saying something along the lines of “people aren’t stupid, they wouldn’t see a Spider-Man film without me, Tobey, or Sam (Raimi).” I have to disagree. I want to see Spider-Man and unless I’m wrong, he wears a mask most of the time. A different Harry, Ron, Hermione, or any of the other characters I would have a hard time accepting other actors/actresses in the roles.

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I guess this is the final, final trailer for Spider-Man 3 (May 4, 2007). Yahoo! Movies has an exclusive trailer and the only difference I see between this one and the Comcast Exclusive trailer is the above shot or Venom. The rest of the shots may be edited in a different order, but only one new image/sequence to see. Yahoo! also has the 7-minute preview that was previously only available on NBC.com for a 24-hour period. It’s definitely worth checking out.

Back to the Yahoo! preview, I’ve got to say Venom looks great. I wish he were a little bigger than Spider-Man (and I miss the white logo), but they’ve pulled off what I thought would be an almost impossible character to visualize. Throw in the Sandman, who is probably one of my all time favorite Spider-Man villains and this could easily be my favorite of the trilogy of Spider-Man films.

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Comcast has a Spider-Man 3 site that features the “final” trailer for the film being released on May 4th. Aside from several new shots, a few seconds on the origins of the black costume, and lots of good Spider-Man action, it features the first real good shots of Topher Grace as Eddie Brock (Venom).

It’s looks like Venom will play a large role in the film and could possible be the main villain (and not the Sandman). It’s interesting that Sony has not really released any info about Venom to the “public,” with the only appearances of the character appearing in an NBC.com exclusive clip and this Comcast clip. If it weren’t for the Venom toys that appeared in stores this past Saturday, his appearance would almost be a secret.

Every preview I’ve seen looks better and better and I have no doubts, but I wonder how the public is going to react. I’m glad they’ve used Venom as a villain. Sam Raimi was originally opposed, but the character was a great villain in the comics before he became over-exposed and watered-down. From the few snippets in the trailer, the character of Eddie Brock (Venom) has similar motivations and that should provide quite a few dramatic moments.