Movie reviews: The Transformers (2007) – Part 76

Going into “Transformers” I did not expect much out of the movie, and I did not think much of it coming out. Although the plot of the movie is quite interesting and there are a few laugh-worthy parts, I was not impressed overall. The movie is far too liberal with its action sequences; one person can only stand to watch so much destruction. The last 30 minutes of the movie was so repetitive (crash, boom, crash, boom, explosion, etc.) that I found myself staring at the ceiling and praying for the movie to end sometimes soon.

In my opinion, the best parts of the movie were parts which did not contain any traces of transforming cars. During one particular scene when the boy’s parents venture into his room during a power outage, I was laughing so hard I had tears in my eyes.

Although the movie got much applause from the audience (especially the appearance of Optimus Prime), I was not particularly impressed and feel that the movie could have been much better.

 

Do children need educational toys?

For me the very essence of a toy is at its very base a recreational object, whether it can offer educational or other prospects is secondary.

A child will basically be very inquisitive about all things in life, and even if a so called educational toy can at its best ‘help’ enhanced the child’s intelligence, it will really be up to that child to show interest in it so that it can get useful as intended by manufacturers.

I would much prefer seeing my child enjoying a toy with laughter and enthusiasm rather than having her seated in a remote corner trying to solve a riddle.

I was among those who were stressed with the fact that educational toys were a must for my daughters first birthday, as all baby and toddler related books would emphasize on their importance in a child’s social and psychological growth.

My mother, who happens to be a retired teacher with a 40 year experience in the field of education, asked me one simple question which gave me ground to think and assert that all the rubbish injected to us via hidden advertisements or neo-educational bla-blas should be played down or ignored outright.

Did you play with such toys when you were a kid?

Well, I had the normal standard toys as a kid of my generation (the transformer robots, remote controlled cars, etc.). I don’t think they were educational but they did make me feel complete as a kid.

And for my child I want that same sense of joy, the very exact moment of dream I use to share with my toys.

As parents we will be educating our children every elapsing minute of their lives, so manufacturers ‘leave us kids alone’ as goes the song.