In an unexpected turn-of-events, it appears that actor Shia LaBeouf is going to pass on starring in the feature film adaptation of Brian K. Vaughan‘s brilliant graphic novel, Y: The Last Man, as Yorick Brown — a role that he had long been rumored to be a lock for.

It seems like an eternity ago that we heard that a movie based on Y was on the way. Then it was announced that Disturbia director D.J. Caruso would be directing the movie, and that the then-budding superstar LaBeouf would be starring. All was good in the world then.

Since that time, LaBeouf has become one of the top young faces of Hollywood, starring in blockbuster franchises with Transformers, Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, and Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. This explosion of popularity has ultimately left a bitter taste in many a mouths and the once-perfect fit for Y: The Last Man suddenly didn’t seem so appealing anymore.

A new set of images from Michael Bay‘s Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen have been released by Paramount Pictures. Most notably, you get a look at Devastator from a good distance away so you can feel the scale, and a shot of Optimus Prime with some ultra-heated God of War-like blades, which means he just ruined a few robots’ days.

The movie has been preparing for its massive charge, with tickets now officially on sale. At the moment, it is looking like a strong probability that this will be the King of Summer…especially after the less-than-impressive splash that Terminator Salvation made.

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen returns us to Sam Witwicky (Shia LaBeouf) and his discovery of the ancient origins of the Transformers. Because of this discovery, the Decepticons go all-out in an attempt to capture him while Optimus Prime joins forces with the military to fight and save all humans.

The movie also stars Megan Fox, Josh Duhamel, John Turturro, Tyrese Gibson, and Rainn Wilson.

Click over to the other side to check out the images. Click for big and beautiful.

The new teaser trailer for Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen has debuted online. This is coming off the very explosive (literally) Super Bowl TV spot, and already, they’ve one-upped themselves.

The teaser starts off showing a bunch of fireballs of debris raining down through buildings and even tearing apart a massive aircraft carrier. Then we see that this debris is actually a horde of angry bots who are obviously on some sorta mission. This sets in motion a collection of shots of screaming, scared faces, and some big f’n robots wreaking havoc — including the gigantic bot at the end, throwing around Optimus Prime like a kid playing with his Transformers. (See what I did there? Gold Sticker for me.)

One very interesting thing that I noticed about the trailer is that it’s surprisingly dark for the type of movie it is. We’re used to director Michael Bay selling his movies based on huge explosions and car chases, which are obviously going on full-force here — but there’s also usually a hint of that panicky, “I think we’re going to die” humor that’s always used plentifully in Bay’s movies. Maybe it’s just me, but it seems like there’s more of a “we’re actually going to die” darker tone going on than we’re used to with Bay. Good times.

Click on over for the trailer!

Eagle Eye
Blu-ray Edition
Directed by D.J. Caruso
Starring Shia LaBeouf, Michelle Monaghan, Billy Bob Thorton, Rosario Dawson, Michael Chiklis
Paramount Home Entertainment
Release date: December 27, 2008

Let’s get this out of the way upfront — Eagle Eye isn’t a bad movie. I’ve seen it listed on more than a few “Worst of 2008″ lists, and I just don’t agree with that assessment. Trust me, there’s much worse floating around out there.

What it is is a middle of the road “Big Brother” paranoia thriller with serviceable acting and a bunch of rather fun set pieces and action sequences. That’s it; nothing more, nothing less. Where it suffers is in its woefully late-to-the-ball timing. If this flick had been released 15 to 20 years ago, it would have worked a lot better.

The film hinges on the audience being pulled into the paranoid realization that we can be watched, tracked, contacted, and controlled at all time due to the alarming amount of technology we allow into our daily lives. The problem is, as a society, we already know that. Who out there under the age of 60 isn’t well aware that much of our lives are out on the internet for the taking? I’m guessing not many”¦ So without being able to build that paranoia in the audience, the “thriller” part of this thriller just doesn’t work.

Let’s be honest with ourselves here: War Games was probably the last time this notion was really going to fly.

Eagle Eye
2-Disc Special Edition
Directed by D.J. Caruso
Starring Shia Labeouf, Michelle Monaghan, Rosario Dawson, Michael Chiklis, Billy Bob Thornton
Paramount Home Entertainment
Released Date: December 27, 2008

Eagle Eye is the next adventure in technological thriller genre, following Jerry Shaw (Shia Labeouf) who after the death of his twin brother Ethan finds a bunch of money in his bank account and an apartment full of military gear and weaponry. Almost immediately, he’s contacted by a mysterious woman’s voice who tells him to leave immediately, the FBI is coming to arrest him. He, of course, think she’s insane and ignores the warning, only to be quickly arrested and interrogated thoroughly by Agent Tom Morgan (Billy Bob Thornton). After this, he’s contacted again by the mysterious voice and this time, not surprisingly, he’s a little more believing, although still very skeptical. She leads him on a daring and dangerous escape where he ultimately meets up with Rachel Holloman (Michelle Monaghan), who is also being directed by the voice, who is threatening that if Rachel doesn’t do what she’s told, her son will be murdered. From then on out, the two follow the voice’s instructions, while trying to figure out what it wants and what’s going on, as well as how it ties to Jerry’s deceased twin brother.

Eagle Eye is the embodiment of what a modern day action movie is. The incredible amount of technology used as the framing for the story sets the table perfectly for that sort of sub-genre.