The Time traveler, Doctor Who is back! Or will be. On Saturday, August 23 2014. 
Peter Capaldi will play the eccentric Time Lord.

In the trailer, we heard the Doctor asking Clara if she thinks that he is a good man.
“I don’t think I know who the Doctor is anymore,” she replies.
Source: http://www.bbcwpressroom.com/bbc-america/programs/doctor-who/

This is one franchise that has a hate-hate relationship with film critics. Its best review, on rottentomatoes.com is 57% which went to the first edition. Normal folks on the other hand, generally rate the franchise highly. Why is it that? Could it be the fast cars and explosions? It will be fool hardy to expect drama, from a movie about warring alien races for one. Though there are times, one wonders , aside the pyrotechnics and beautifully choreographed chaos, if this movie might have been more intelligent in other hands.  Not taking anything away from Micheal Bay- The master of destruction. He has built a risky venture into one of the most commercially successful movie franchises.

Prelude to this sequel, Micheal Bay recognized the shortcomings of the previous installments and promised a different take on it. 

That promise only lasted about 30 minutes into the movie. After all the major characters were introduced, it was back to the same 'ol, same 'ol. Funny thing is, the audience love it. 

Transformers: Age of Extinction is a 2014 American science fiction action film based on the Transformers franchise. It is the fourth installment of the live-action Transformers film series and stars Mark Wahlberg in the lead role. A sequel to Transformers: Dark of the Moon, the film takes place four years after the invasion of Chicago. Like its predecessors, the film is directed by Michael Bay and executive produced by Steven Spielberg. The screenplay is written by Ehren Kruger, who has served as screenwriter since Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. The film features an entirely new cast of human characters and is the first in the series to feature the Dinobots. Returning Transformers include Optimus Prime, Bumblebee, Ratchet, Leadfoot, and Brains (Wikipedia).

(Spoiler Alert)

The autobots are being hunted after the aftermath of the battle of Chicago. Optimus Prime and co. are in hiding. Mark Wahlberg- inventor, cum scientist cum hacker and as you will soon discover in the movie, cum "Rambo", discovers a dilapidated truck and tows it off to his house. In his barn, he discovers the truck is a transformer. Meanwhile, a black ops unit of the C.I.A are on their tail and soon accosts, Mark and his family in their home. Well not technically their home anymore, since the house is for sale.

Anyway, Optimus transforms; save the day. and they become fugitives, on the run. The Autobots then rendezvous to strategizes. At this point, the movie goes off a tangent. We discover, the humans have mapped the genome of the transformers and can now build their own. With this technology, Business Tycoon, Joshua Joyce-owner of Kinetic Solutions, intends to build an army of robots to restore world peace. Not if Megatron or the re-christened Galvatron would have anything to say about that. Galvatron has secretly  manipulated the entire manufacturing process and is reborn.

The action sequences and visual effects were mind-blowing. And some of the action, flowed along with the storyline. Anyway, don't be perturbed, when you see a nerdy-scientist skillfully using a high-powered alien gun like a trained commando; he is from Texas.

The ridiculous dialogue during the entire commotion especially from Joyce, did not work. The conversations between Mark and his daughter's boyfriend felt awkward and I dared say, disturbing. For a movie with so much collateral damage and high body count, it was a shame to see many characters survive. 

The movie could have earned more credibility by "killing" a few more main characters. Using that as a plot device to create more drama or a greater sense of danger for the audience. George Martin won't have minded.

Rating 6.5/10

Looper director Rian Johnson is WRITING AND DIRECTING Star Wars Episodes VIII and IX!

This makes sense as this bombshell of a news report updates throughout the day…slowly, the pieces are falling in to place. I’ve already had a source CONFIRM that Rian is not only in talks but has signed on the dotted line for Episode VIII. And it makes sense that his directing VIII will set a template for IX so yeah, he will write a treatment. This leaves speculation open that perhaps another director will come on board for Episode IX; a sincere nod to the OT where a different director took on each chapter.

So yeah, it feels like Rian is in charge of making Episode VIII the Empire Strikes Back of the new trilogy. A nice call on everyone in Schmoeville who is saying as much. So now we see who (if any) will take on IX or if Deadline’s original report (below) will shake out to be true.

ORIGINAL ARTICLE:

Says Deadline:

Rarely have I seen the revival of a film franchise stir so much fervor as Star Wars, among hot young filmmakers who grew up loving George Lucas’ original film trilogy. In a bombshell move, I’m told that Lucasfilm is making a deal with Looper writer-director Rian Johnson to write and direct Star Wars Episodes VIII and IX. Essentially, that means that the intention is for Johnson to take the baton from JJ Abrams, who has gotten the space franchise off the ground and is right now helming Episode VII. I don’t know too much more at this point, but it is in keeping with Disney and Lucasfilm’s strategy of entrusting the venerable franchise to the best and brightest writers and directors, including the spinoff films that are being directed by Chronicle‘s Josh Trank and Godzilla‘s Gareth Edwards.

Source:http://schmoesknow.com/breaking-loopers-rian-johnson-to-write-direct-next-two-star-wars-films/25319/

The first, How to kill your Dragon movie, is a classic and one of the best animated movies of all time.  The story of  boy from a dragon-infested village,who could not bear to kill the "pests" as his kinsmen did gleefully. And ends up being, best mates with the deadliest  of them- The dreaded Night Fury. It proved that Dreamworks could compete with Pixar, in the "crayon" world that the latter had dominated since the turn of the millennium.

As a classic, one always felt a sequel would need something really special to meet its predecessor's  lofty standards.  Sadly, it didn't.

The film is written and directed by Dean DeBlois, and stars the voices of Jay Baruchel, Gerard Butler, Craig Ferguson,America Ferrera, Jonah Hill, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, T.J. Miller and Kristen Wiig with the addition of Kit Harington,Cate Blanchett and Djimon Hounsou (Wikipedia).

The story, huffed and puffed and tried to be too many things, but ended up short. 

The animation is mind-blowing as usual. The characters exhibiting life-like movement and facial expressions.

The movie starts five years from the last iteration. Citizens of Berke and the Dragons have truly become compadre. Hiccup and his Night Fury, Toothless shared a special bond. And go on mapping expeditions. Astrid follows suit and along the way, they meet a group of Dragon catchers. After the melee, they discover the existence of a feared Dragon trainer named Drago who is also assembling a dragon army. Hiccup and Astrid run back to Berk to warn the others. Stoick, Hiccup's father  and his protege disagree on the proper approach. Hiccup wants dialogue with Drago despite his father warning that Drago can't be reasoned with. The warning falls on deaf ears. Hiccup flies off with Toothless, with Astrid following, till they reach, first - Eret, Drago's dragon trapper. Then Hiccup flies off again after his father finds him on Erets ship. While in the air, a mysterious Dragon rider accosts him and takes him to a hidden dragon lair. The mysterious dragon rider is later revealed to be his mother. The entire family later unites against Drago's invasion.

It is truly hard to find a story that could improve on the first movie.  But should not excuse the sequel's lack of trying. Majority of the story was spent, advertising the depth of the 3D computer animation.A dismal imitation of the original. Kids' stuff.

5/10

Edge of Tomorrow gives one, 1000 reasons to love Tom Cruise all over again. Smart and carefully done. Edge of Tomorrow is a 2014 science fiction film starring Tom Cruise and Emily Blunt. It is based on the Japanese light novel All You Need Is Kill by Hiroshi Sakurazaka (Wikipedia). 

The story revolves round, humanity's battle against an alien invasion. The alien conquest had devastated much of Europe. Buoyed by their first victory at Verdun, the human decide to mount a major assault in northern France. Unknown to them, the aliens have seen them coming. And it was a slaughter. 

Tom Cruise plays Major William Cage, a spokesman for the war effort. In the beginning of the film,he meets the General of the UDF(United Defense Forces), who sends him to the front lines to documentary the anticipated victory. But the Cage refuses and tries to blackmail the General, who then arrests Cage and strips off him of his rank. 

Cage wakes up at Heathrow, demoted. He is in the first wave of attack. On the beech, Cage kills an usually large blue "Mimic", but  is covered in its blood which erodes his body and kills him. He re-awakes again in the same spot at Heathrow Airport. After a few more repetitions, he discovers he is in time-loop. In one of the iterations, he saves "The Angel of Verdun", Rita Vrataski,who tells him to meet her when he wakes up.

When he meets her and discovers that she also had the ability to reset time but lost it after a blood transfusion. They both formulate a plan to find and destroy the Omega- according to the mimic biology, the central nervous system of aliens.

Skillful editing ensured that the repeative time looping did not feel boring. Tom Cruise's performances was brilliant. It is so good to finally see him succeed in another sci-fi flick after the not-so-good Oblivion.Emily Blunt did extremely well in her role. Such storyline really stretches the levels of acting because different iterations in time demands different reactions. 

The movie definitely feels like the sci-fi version of Groundhog Day. And it is worth the watch. 

rating 9/10

A Complete list of winners of the 2014 MTV Africa Music Awards follows:

Best Male: Davido (Nigeria)

Best Female: Tiwa Savage (Nigeria)

Best Group: Mafikizolo (South Africa)

Best New Act: Stanley Enow (Cameroon)

Best Live Act: Flavour (Nigeria)

 Best Collaboration: “Y-tjukutja” - Uhuru Ft. Oskido, DJ Bucks, Professor and Yuri Da Cunha (South Africa/Angola)

 Best Hip Hop: Sarkodie (Ghana)

 Best Alternative: Gangs of Ballet (South Africa)

 Best Francophone: Toofan (Togo)

 Best Lusophone: Anselmo Ralph (Angola)

 Artist of the Year: Davido (Nigeria)

 Song of the Year: “Khona” - Mafikizolo ft Uhuru (South Africa)

 Best Video: Clarence Peters (Nigeria)

 Best Pop: Goldfish (South Africa)

 Best International: Pharrell

 Personality of the Year: Lupita Nyong’o (Kenya)

 MTV Base Leadership Award: Ashish J. Thakkar (Tanzania)

 Transform Today Award by Absolut: Clarence Peters (Nigeria)

source:http://www.billboard.com/articles/news/6113980/davido-and-tiwa-savage-top-winners-at-mtv-africa-music-awards-marlon-wayans