TERMINATOR SALVATION.

Terminator is the kind of movie you can't go in expecting realism. I went with a group of friends to see this latest installment. One of them (and her boyfriend) were like me and enjoyed it. Another would thought it was awful. And the last believed it was a plague on all mankind and made her want to destroy things because it angered her so much. But she was also mostly discussing negatives that came from a realism perspective. Keeping that in mind, let's get into the review.

Terminator Salvation brings the story to the future and tells it through the perspective of 3 characters: Marcus Wright (Sam Worthington) wakes up years after given the lethal injection having no idea what's going on, and he eventually comes across the next bunch. Kyle Reese (Anton Yelchin) is trying to keep safe with Star (Jadagrace) and do his part to help with the Resistance. And, of course, John Connor (Christian Bale) and wife Kate (Bryce Dallas Howard) are heading up the Resistance--or trying to, anyway. The upper echelon of the Resistance discovers a signal that could bring the downfall of the machines. By they also find a list of names of people who are to be assassinated within 4 days' time. At the top of the list are Kyle Reese and John Connor, and John must find Kyle and bring him to safety, as Kyle eventually becomes his father, so if Kyle dies, a crazy paradox happens and the future changes.

I've read plenty of reviews saying this is Sam Worthington's film, yada yada. And he does a pretty damn good job at his part. But the actor getting very little recognition, at least from what I've read, is Anton Yelchin as Kyle Reese. When I first heard that Yelchin was going to be in the movie, I raised an eyebrow. Then I heard he was Kyle Reese (much more recently, actually), and I started to really question. Don't get me wrong, I think the kid is a really good actor, but he didn't scream "badass action star" to me. However, I think he did a very great job in his role. He even managed to make his voice a little less nasally to help with the badassness.

I can go on and on about the really fun and mindless action of the movie, or any of the really well done CGI (even a particular CGI cameo looked loads better than, say, The Rock in The Mummy Returns). Even the camera shots and cinematography was excellent. But most other reviews have probably done those to death already.

The movie isn't without its flaws, but what Terminator movie is? None of the time travel stuff has ever made sense (the core of the story is paradoxical). Going into a film like this and then scoffing at the mindless action, the nonsensical occurrences, or the fanfare (like two specific lines, or the aforementioned CGI cameo) is to miss the entire point of this film and the ones that came before it. If I nitpicked, I could go on and on about issues with the movie, logical or not. Why would a metal android skid across water like that? How does the electronic device not short out in the lake? How can they do open surgery in the middle of the desert like that (Well, I suppose if LOST can do it...)? Not to mention issues that came with the surgery itself. And what was the point of the little mute black girl? She does one important thing in the movie, and that could easily have been done by Kyle instead. Was Moon Bloodgood's character necessary beyond a plot device? Why do the machines not recognize you-know-who as a machine earlier, but they do later once it's convenient? Was it really necessary to show the title twice within the opening credits? I could continue with logic issues, but I'm not.

I enjoyed the movie for what it was. It had great action, some good comedy, decent acting, and fun fanfare. I think it's a good addition to the series. Just don't go in with super high expectations or the need for realism. Take it for what it's meant to be and you'll enjoy it. For the record, the following score was really difficult to give. I wanted to give it higher (particularly for one of the ending revelations being pretty cool), but something was holding me back. Very enjoyable, though.


I Am McLovin!

R2D2... The One With Five Trailers.

I haven't posted anything in a couple days, I know... but just to appease everybody, here are some interesting trailers!

- First, we have the ever-so-popular (and newest) trailer for Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. Even the music is epic!

- Now, this trailer for Fast and Furious is pretty cool... it shows how all the original cast are back, too... and there's just something about the music that pumps me up.

- Dragonball Evolution? Almost nothing like the show, but at least James Marsters is Piccolo... and to hear Goku powering up for the Kamehameha at the end is pretty fun.

- Is it just me, or is The Unborn actually looking to be a good horror movie? It's just so rare for that to happen these days (I think one of the last great horror movies to grace the silver screen was 28 Weeks Later... though I might be forgetting one). Maybe it's just the fact that Gary Oldman is in it that gives it some form of credibility. I mean, Gary Oldman wouldn't be in a crappy movie, right? ... right?

- Finally, I'll leave you with the newest of the trailers (next to the Dragonball one), Terminator Salvation. The full trailer just was released the other day, and it actually looks pretty good. It doesn't even look like it's being directed by a guy named McG. Although... it does kind of set up the whole mystery of the film... and then spoil it by giving us the answer about a minute later.

R2D2... The One With Trailers.

Just wanted to give a quick update on some random thoughts. I'm working on a new article that I'm too lazy to do right now and put up, but it's in the formation process. So here we are. I just thought I'd give some random comments on some trailers (all available trailers are linked, for those who haven't seen some that are mentioned).

-The brand new teaser trailer for Terminator Salvation has gotten my hopes up a bit. And it is Christian Bale, so that automatically boosts it up quite a few notches. Looks epic and cool.

-When the hell are they going to release the bloody trailer for Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince already? The movie comes out in 4 months, and they haven't even released a teaser yet. It's ridiculous. The teaser for Twilight (which is awesome, by the way) has been out for about 2 months now, at least, and it comes out in December! Though rumors are flying that a trailer, whether it be teaser or full (hopefully full by this point in the game), is to come out with The Mummy 3. There were also rumors, though less reliable than the ones for The Mummy release, of it being released with The Clone Wars, but I wouldn't even grace that movie with my presence just to see the trailer (which I have done with movies before for a Harry Potter trailer). Whatever... just release the damn thing already.

-Speaking of Twilight, a second teaser (or at least new footage) was shown on Entertainment Tonight... it's not high quality or without narrative voice-over from the ET host, but it's still cool.

-I'm not one for political thrillers, but Traitor actually looks pretty good.

-I want to stab (in as many inventive ways as possible) whoever came up with the idea for Beverly Hills Chihuahua... and then stab them some more for putting it with that horribly so-annoying-it's-catchy song in the teaser trailer.

-Say what you want about Vin Diesel, but I'm really excited for Babylon A.D. It just looks like one awesome movie. He might not be the best actor in the world, but his action movies are always fun. This movie looks like what would happen if you mixed The Transporter with Children of Men (if the future of CoM was more high-tech). And then throw in some other awesome looking stuff...

-And some people thought Wanted looked like a Matrix rip-off? Just check out the teaser trailer for Eagle Eye. However, now that the full trailer is out, almost all similarity goes out the window, and the new trailer is awesome. I so can't wait.

-Blindness. Wow. This movie looks amazing. I'm tempted to check out the book. Spanish literature is always poetically beautiful, and the trailer for the movie alone gives that same feeling. I really can't wait for this one.

-Once again I'll mention Quarantine. The movie is a remake of [REC], an amazing Spanish horror movie, and this movie, at least from the trailer, looks like it's taking [REC] and making it even better... so here's to hoping. Though... if the ending is the same as the original movie (and they don't add to it), they totally gave the ending away in the trailer.

-Is it just me, or does it seem like the trailer for The Curious Case of Benjamin Button tells the entire movie just within its small time frame? Still, it looks good.

-The Tale of Desperaux, on the other hand, will probably be a skip for me. I attempted reading the book a while back and couldn't. I honestly couldn't get into it... though it was mostly due to the writing style (there were only a few words on each page, though the book made it feel like it was a bigger story than it really was). From my literary opinion, I don't think it's worth all the praise it's been getting. And I have no idea how they turned it into a movie... don't think I'll find out, either.

-While it is a little kid's movie (and starring the voice of Miley Cyrus), for the most part, Bolt actually looks like it could be funny... specifically the hamster in the rolling ball.

-Disaster Movie. One Word: WHY? Seriously, those movies don't even make money anymore. They're almost as bad as Uwe Boll. And none of the movies that are ever portrayed in them, or at least shown to be portrayed in them via the trailers, are even remotely close to being what the title of the movie implies. Since when were Enchanted, The Incredible Hulk, Sex and the City, Iron Man, or Juno disaster movies? The only disaster that I know of being portrayed here is The Love Guru.

Anyway, I think that's about it... all I really wanna talk about for now. Later!