Friday, May 29, 2009
Up Discussion
Sam and Jordan discuss Up, its effect on their tear ducts (or its effect on the reviewer WITH tearducts, anyway), and the seeming infallibility of Pixar in the comments section. Enjoy!
Sam's Review: UP
Pixar just doesn’t care. It does not give one shit. This new movie UP was just the biggest middle finger they could give to every Disney marketing executive. So here’s the pitch, an old man named Carl Fredrickson (Ed Asner) goes on a balloon adventure with a boy scout named Russell (Jordan Nagai) who accidentally joined him on his journey to South America to fulfill his late wife’s wish of having a house there. Oh yeah the movie starts with maybe the most devastatingly sad (but beautiful) sequence of an entire life in a Disney movie (I cried, like tears cried. Deal with it.).
After being told he had to leave his house which he built with his late wife, Carl decides to embark on this adventure by floating away by attaching hundreds and hundreds of balloons. Carl is a balloon salesman so that’s how he got that many balloons. OK? Carl discovers Russell was on his porch so he comes along for the ride. What started Carl and his wife Ellie’s obsession with going to South America was the adventurer Charles Muntz who is introduced at the beginning of the film in a well made sequence of a newsreel in the 30’s. Carl and Russell go on a wild adventure and meet some really great characters in Dug the talking dog (well, his collar talks) and Kevin who happens to be an extremely rare bird. Both Dug and Kevin are played for laughs and they both succeed. Of course things aren’t easy for the crew to get to the special spot called Paradise Falls. Turns out Kevin is being hunted. Hmmm.
I know the plot doesn’t sound like much but I don’t want to give too much away because I know the millions of people who read this blog would be oh so upset. But it actually works very well and is not as thin as it seems.
When judging a movie I try to keep it simple separating what I liked and what I didn’t like. Honestly, I can’t think of anything I didn’t like. Director Peter Docter did a magnificent job at making me care for these characters. Who knew an old man could carry a Disney movie? But the film packed so much of an emotional punch it was almost shocking. Thinking about this, I realized this isn’t Disney, this is Pixar. Disney is the company that made Bolt and will be releasing the not anticipated at all adaptation of Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs. Pixar made Toy Story and Wall-E. Before the film started I saw a preview for another Disney movie called G-Force. It’s a collaboration between Disney and Jerry Bruckheimer. It’s about guinea pigs who are also spies. Genius! There was also a preview for the new Ice Age movie where they meet dinosaurs. Anachronism! So then I saw UP and was actually moved to tears in the first 10 minutes. Is there anyone else making these movies?
The animation in this film really shows how Pixar is the dominant force in more than just storytelling but in artistic merit. I always look for what Pixar is working on and improving in each movie. In this movie the small details like how balloons floated in air and how dogs walked and ran were brilliant and just showed how they’re a step above everyone else. The storytelling is also incredibly well done, using flashback to start the movie which really ties many of the things in the film together. Amazingly, Pixar was able to make a movie that kids could enjoy that was about growing old.
Confirmation of what I already knew was given to me by people around me in the theatre. A couple of adults behind me (no children with them) were laughing throughout the movie. One of the six little kids in front of me gave her review of the movie as soon as the credits rolled saying, “This was the best, longest movie ever!” And some good for nothin’ teenager, likely early high school age, said, “This was so sad. Disney movies aren’t supposed to be this sad!” He was right. Thank god Pixar doesn’t give a shit.
A
Note: Another great thing about Pixar are the shorts before the movies. For UP it started with a short called Partly Cloudy, which was cute and funny. Basically every Pixar short ever.
After being told he had to leave his house which he built with his late wife, Carl decides to embark on this adventure by floating away by attaching hundreds and hundreds of balloons. Carl is a balloon salesman so that’s how he got that many balloons. OK? Carl discovers Russell was on his porch so he comes along for the ride. What started Carl and his wife Ellie’s obsession with going to South America was the adventurer Charles Muntz who is introduced at the beginning of the film in a well made sequence of a newsreel in the 30’s. Carl and Russell go on a wild adventure and meet some really great characters in Dug the talking dog (well, his collar talks) and Kevin who happens to be an extremely rare bird. Both Dug and Kevin are played for laughs and they both succeed. Of course things aren’t easy for the crew to get to the special spot called Paradise Falls. Turns out Kevin is being hunted. Hmmm.
I know the plot doesn’t sound like much but I don’t want to give too much away because I know the millions of people who read this blog would be oh so upset. But it actually works very well and is not as thin as it seems.
When judging a movie I try to keep it simple separating what I liked and what I didn’t like. Honestly, I can’t think of anything I didn’t like. Director Peter Docter did a magnificent job at making me care for these characters. Who knew an old man could carry a Disney movie? But the film packed so much of an emotional punch it was almost shocking. Thinking about this, I realized this isn’t Disney, this is Pixar. Disney is the company that made Bolt and will be releasing the not anticipated at all adaptation of Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs. Pixar made Toy Story and Wall-E. Before the film started I saw a preview for another Disney movie called G-Force. It’s a collaboration between Disney and Jerry Bruckheimer. It’s about guinea pigs who are also spies. Genius! There was also a preview for the new Ice Age movie where they meet dinosaurs. Anachronism! So then I saw UP and was actually moved to tears in the first 10 minutes. Is there anyone else making these movies?
The animation in this film really shows how Pixar is the dominant force in more than just storytelling but in artistic merit. I always look for what Pixar is working on and improving in each movie. In this movie the small details like how balloons floated in air and how dogs walked and ran were brilliant and just showed how they’re a step above everyone else. The storytelling is also incredibly well done, using flashback to start the movie which really ties many of the things in the film together. Amazingly, Pixar was able to make a movie that kids could enjoy that was about growing old.
Confirmation of what I already knew was given to me by people around me in the theatre. A couple of adults behind me (no children with them) were laughing throughout the movie. One of the six little kids in front of me gave her review of the movie as soon as the credits rolled saying, “This was the best, longest movie ever!” And some good for nothin’ teenager, likely early high school age, said, “This was so sad. Disney movies aren’t supposed to be this sad!” He was right. Thank god Pixar doesn’t give a shit.
A
Note: Another great thing about Pixar are the shorts before the movies. For UP it started with a short called Partly Cloudy, which was cute and funny. Basically every Pixar short ever.
Jordan's Review: Up
There is little doubt in my mind that Pixar has the best track record of any studio around. It can be argued that they have yet to make a bad movie (I didn’t see Cars myself, but I’ve never heard it was anything worse than mediocre), so when the new Pixar movie comes out, you can inevitably count me in. To say that I was excited to see Up would be an understatement—I expected it to be nothing less than phenomenal, and I’m glad to say that its easily the best movie released so far this year (though, as a qualifier, it has been a fairly weak year so far).
The film opens with a young boy watching a news reel of his favorite explorer Charles Muntz (Christopher Plummer) as he sets off for South America. On the way home from the film, the boy meets Ellie, a young girl with a penchant for adventure. Soon viewers are whisked, via an engaging, moving, and nearly wordless montage, through the lives that these two characters make together. They are married, they buy the house in which they met, and they begin saving to take their own adventure to the place where Muntz went before them—Paradise Falls, South America. The segment beautifully captures an entire life—both the joys, like picnicking together, decorating their house, and reading side-by-side, and the tragedies, from the pitfalls of everyday life that keep draining their vacation savings to their deterioration into an elderly couple, and finally to Ellie’s death. Where their relationship ends, however, is where the film truly begins.
Carl Fredericksen (Ed Asner) is 78 when the story picks back up, and about to lose his house to a development project. He’s pretty much your standard curmudgeon, annoyed by a neighborhood kid named Russell (Jordan Nagai), and ready to take his cane to one of the developers who destroys the mailbox he and Ellie built together. His act of desperate passion ends up costing him his house, and he must prepare to be shipped off to a retirement home. Carl doesn’t plan to be defeated that easily, and so he rigs his house with thousands of balloons and takes to the sky, determined to have the adventure he and Ellie never got to share.
The film is surprisingly moving for one directed at kids, partially because of Asner’s wearied, pained vocals. Carl misses his wife dearly, and still talks to her as if she was there. And Russell, the neighborhood kid who winds up tagging along on Carl’s quest, is neglected by his father and desperately seeks approval. As the two wind up in South America, and Carl sets about pulling his own house (in an act of committed strength that is downright Sisyphus-ian) to the spot Ellie had dreamed of, they encounter some odd wildlife—both a giant, rainbow colored bird, and a talking dog, who complicate Carl’s quest.
The film is as visually dazzling as it is heartwarming; a gem of a story told in a way that both amuses and endears. Up lacks the tight plotting of some other Pixar projects, which allows it to wander to unexpected places, and actually makes it in many ways more tense and exciting. Several times throughout the movie I actually found myself on the edge of my seat, so committed to these characters that any potential danger legitimately worried me. The studio has always excelled at economy of storytelling, and that is present here too, with the opening montage serving as a perfect encapsulation of an entire life and brilliantly setting up Carl’s character in a way that allows the audience to empathize with his grief and cheer for him even when he is off-putting towards the needy Russell. Pixar continues to push the boundaries of what is acceptable in children’s movies and refuses to talk down to its audience, two qualities I greatly respect.
The movie is complex, both narratively and emotionally, yet it always has faith that the audience will keep up. With a perfect mixture of heartfelt emotion (both tragic, in Carl’s remembrances of his wife, and heartwarming, as Carl forms a bond with Russell) and kid-friendly comedy (the talking dogs provide plenty of laughs for all ages), Up is a marvel of a movie from a studio that has proved gems are their stock in trade.
Grade: A
The film opens with a young boy watching a news reel of his favorite explorer Charles Muntz (Christopher Plummer) as he sets off for South America. On the way home from the film, the boy meets Ellie, a young girl with a penchant for adventure. Soon viewers are whisked, via an engaging, moving, and nearly wordless montage, through the lives that these two characters make together. They are married, they buy the house in which they met, and they begin saving to take their own adventure to the place where Muntz went before them—Paradise Falls, South America. The segment beautifully captures an entire life—both the joys, like picnicking together, decorating their house, and reading side-by-side, and the tragedies, from the pitfalls of everyday life that keep draining their vacation savings to their deterioration into an elderly couple, and finally to Ellie’s death. Where their relationship ends, however, is where the film truly begins.
Carl Fredericksen (Ed Asner) is 78 when the story picks back up, and about to lose his house to a development project. He’s pretty much your standard curmudgeon, annoyed by a neighborhood kid named Russell (Jordan Nagai), and ready to take his cane to one of the developers who destroys the mailbox he and Ellie built together. His act of desperate passion ends up costing him his house, and he must prepare to be shipped off to a retirement home. Carl doesn’t plan to be defeated that easily, and so he rigs his house with thousands of balloons and takes to the sky, determined to have the adventure he and Ellie never got to share.
The film is surprisingly moving for one directed at kids, partially because of Asner’s wearied, pained vocals. Carl misses his wife dearly, and still talks to her as if she was there. And Russell, the neighborhood kid who winds up tagging along on Carl’s quest, is neglected by his father and desperately seeks approval. As the two wind up in South America, and Carl sets about pulling his own house (in an act of committed strength that is downright Sisyphus-ian) to the spot Ellie had dreamed of, they encounter some odd wildlife—both a giant, rainbow colored bird, and a talking dog, who complicate Carl’s quest.
The film is as visually dazzling as it is heartwarming; a gem of a story told in a way that both amuses and endears. Up lacks the tight plotting of some other Pixar projects, which allows it to wander to unexpected places, and actually makes it in many ways more tense and exciting. Several times throughout the movie I actually found myself on the edge of my seat, so committed to these characters that any potential danger legitimately worried me. The studio has always excelled at economy of storytelling, and that is present here too, with the opening montage serving as a perfect encapsulation of an entire life and brilliantly setting up Carl’s character in a way that allows the audience to empathize with his grief and cheer for him even when he is off-putting towards the needy Russell. Pixar continues to push the boundaries of what is acceptable in children’s movies and refuses to talk down to its audience, two qualities I greatly respect.
The movie is complex, both narratively and emotionally, yet it always has faith that the audience will keep up. With a perfect mixture of heartfelt emotion (both tragic, in Carl’s remembrances of his wife, and heartwarming, as Carl forms a bond with Russell) and kid-friendly comedy (the talking dogs provide plenty of laughs for all ages), Up is a marvel of a movie from a studio that has proved gems are their stock in trade.
Grade: A
Monday, May 25, 2009
Terminator Salvation Discussion
Note: The following conversation is filled with SPOILERS so beware. As you were.
Trying something a little different this time. Sam and I debate our vastly different reviews via AIM. Sam is FrogCD and I am BobChanning2o5. Enjoy!-Jordan
FrogCD (8:13:10 PM): very different reviews
BobChanning2o5 (8:13:34 PM): indeed
BobChanning2o5 (8:13:39 PM): i knew id like it more than you
FrogCD (8:15:21 PM): i'm not excited to see what's next it ended with james cameron in my mind
FrogCD (8:15:33 PM): t2 was one of the best sequels ever
FrogCD (8:15:46 PM): i truly believe that and i wish cameron made this movie instead of mcg
FrogCD (8:16:03 PM): and that the third didn't exist
BobChanning2o5 (8:16:54 PM): hehehe
BobChanning2o5 (8:17:05 PM): i agree that T2 was a great sequel
BobChanning2o5 (8:17:15 PM): but i think if the next one is more robot killing, ill be happy
BobChanning2o5 (8:17:20 PM): i guess we had different expectations
BobChanning2o5 (8:17:26 PM): lets do the discussion
FrogCD (8:17:43 PM): i think ultimately i would not want this movie to be made at all
FrogCD (8:18:17 PM): the idea of the first two was that by saving john connor (unborn or scrappy pre-teen) the humans would win that's it
BobChanning2o5 (8:18:25 PM): right
BobChanning2o5 (8:18:27 PM): and they will
BobChanning2o5 (8:18:32 PM): but they were always going to
BobChanning2o5 (8:18:38 PM): its not really a nihilistic series
FrogCD (8:18:41 PM): those movies also had emotional depth because they discussed the future of the world
BobChanning2o5 (8:18:43 PM): now we just get to see how they do
FrogCD (8:18:53 PM): now the future already happened and its who gives a fuck?
FrogCD (8:19:20 PM): i don't know, i'd have to believe cameron stopped for a reason
BobChanning2o5 (8:19:38 PM): i was never really invested in the "emotional punch" f the future thing
BobChanning2o5 (8:19:50 PM): i got invested in the relationship between john and the terminator in t2
FrogCD (8:19:52 PM): that's what makes a great action movie great, provides the 'splosions and gives u something to think about
BobChanning2o5 (8:19:57 PM): other than that it was all about killing things for me
BobChanning2o5 (8:20:03 PM): and they do a lot of that in this movie
FrogCD (8:20:03 PM): its the tradition of the franchise even if its not the goal of all action moives
FrogCD (8:20:39 PM): like the goal of die hard was to blow the fuck out of shit, and it was perfect
FrogCD (8:20:42 PM): and had some laughs
BobChanning2o5 (8:20:58 PM): why are we doing this here?
FrogCD (8:20:59 PM): the terminator series was like we gotta stop this terrible shit from happening to earth. Are we doomed
BobChanning2o5 (8:21:11 PM): but you already knew the stuff would happen to earth
FrogCD (8:21:14 PM): cause i'm lazy, y don't u just copy and paste this convo
BobChanning2o5 (8:21:20 PM): not a bad plan
BobChanning2o5 (8:21:29 PM): 9how meta of this once its published)
FrogCD (8:21:29 PM): they still try to stop skynet in the second movie
BobChanning2o5 (8:21:36 PM): right, but clearly they fail
BobChanning2o5 (8:21:42 PM): or no terminators would ever come back
BobChanning2o5 (8:22:01 PM): you know at the end of the second movie that they fail, if memory serves
BobChanning2o5 (8:22:09 PM): which was resonant for me as well
BobChanning2o5 (8:22:17 PM): they knew they would fail, but they tried anyway
BobChanning2o5 (8:22:23 PM): because it was the right thing to do
FrogCD (8:22:33 PM): yeah which is about trying to control one's destiny
BobChanning2o5 (8:22:41 PM): right
BobChanning2o5 (8:22:51 PM): and the terminator movies say pretty clearly that you cant do that
FrogCD (8:22:55 PM): that's something to think about that isn't just someone yelling "Hold On!"
BobChanning2o5 (8:22:57 PM): whats bound to happen is bound to happen
FrogCD (8:23:03 PM): yeah but they said something
BobChanning2o5 (8:23:21 PM): i may disagree with that point, but its maintained throughout the three movies worth talking about
FrogCD (8:23:25 PM): this movie basically grabbed a handful of already used sci-fi cliches and threw them on the screen
FrogCD (8:23:35 PM): what makes us human?
BobChanning2o5 (8:23:36 PM): i mean you know that john and kyle live, but you always knew that
FrogCD (8:23:37 PM): c'mon
BobChanning2o5 (8:23:55 PM): from the original you knew how kyle died and that john would save humanity
BobChanning2o5 (8:24:35 PM): so watching him do that becomes an exercise in the definition of humanity (which is overdone, but an exceptible "idea" to explore in an action movie) as well as kick ass action
FrogCD (8:24:36 PM): but in the second they send ANOTHER terminator to try to change the future which is what it's all about. can you change the future? in this movie we are already in the future
BobChanning2o5 (8:24:45 PM): ill buy the premise of an overdone idea if the action is good
BobChanning2o5 (8:25:23 PM): well, sort of
FrogCD (8:25:24 PM): the action was fine but this did not hold a candle to T2.
FrogCD (8:25:38 PM): it wasn't great but its not only about the action with series
BobChanning2o5 (8:25:40 PM): i mean, really "the future" talked about throughout the series would be humanity's victory over skynet
FrogCD (8:25:50 PM): its the ar
BobChanning2o5 (8:25:50 PM): it does seem like a sort of forced extension of the story
FrogCD (8:25:53 PM): *war
BobChanning2o5 (8:25:57 PM): but i think they made it seem natural
BobChanning2o5 (8:26:21 PM): see, i think we strike on a fundamental difference between our views here
BobChanning2o5 (8:26:27 PM): i never LOVED the terminator movies
FrogCD (8:26:32 PM): it didn't feel like a terminator movie to me, it felt like a normal sci-fi, featuring special guest...the terminators
BobChanning2o5 (8:26:33 PM): i just thought they were good action flicks
BobChanning2o5 (8:26:42 PM): and so was this one
FrogCD (8:26:52 PM): i thought T2 was an example of a brilliantly done sci-fi/ action
BobChanning2o5 (8:26:56 PM): plus, my expectations were so tremendously low that i came out surprised
FrogCD (8:27:30 PM): my expectations were in the middle, if that makes sense. after the third one i thought it could only go up
BobChanning2o5 (8:27:54 PM): really? you though McG guaranteed an improvement
BobChanning2o5 (8:27:55 PM): ?
BobChanning2o5 (8:28:05 PM): i though Christian Bale was the one thing this movie had going for it
FrogCD (8:28:08 PM): over the last piece of shit, yeah
BobChanning2o5 (8:28:18 PM): turns out he wasnt even the strongest performance in it
FrogCD (8:28:21 PM): i think he kinda slipped in and out of his batman voice
FrogCD (8:28:34 PM): which was a bit annoying
BobChanning2o5 (8:28:41 PM): i think John Connor could have been more compelling, but that wasnt the aim
FrogCD (8:28:43 PM): sam worthington's accent drove me nuts
BobChanning2o5 (8:28:45 PM): this was really Marcus' story
BobChanning2o5 (8:28:56 PM): heh...i just ignored it because he was killing things
FrogCD (8:28:57 PM): they should have just made him austrailian
FrogCD (8:29:05 PM): and made it easy for the poor guy
FrogCD (8:29:24 PM): bale is allowed to do an american accent cause he can pull it off, worthington didn't even seem to try
BobChanning2o5 (8:29:28 PM): let me put it to you this way, to perhaps justify what must seem like a high grade
FrogCD (8:29:36 PM): how about the impossibly sexy fighter pilot
BobChanning2o5 (8:29:44 PM): I measured this movie by the "awesome" quotient
FrogCD (8:30:06 PM): i judged it by the "how good is the movie" quotient
BobChanning2o5 (8:30:06 PM): i.e. i looked at how many times I said "Awesome!" vs. how many times i rolled my eyes or way annoyed by something
BobChanning2o5 (8:30:13 PM): was*
FrogCD (8:30:20 PM): i likely rolled my eyes a few more times than you
BobChanning2o5 (8:30:31 PM): yeah, i was clearly just pulled in by the movie
FrogCD (8:30:33 PM): i laughed out loud for reals at one line
BobChanning2o5 (8:30:34 PM): which speaks well to it
BobChanning2o5 (8:30:40 PM): see, i didn't
BobChanning2o5 (8:30:46 PM): and im usually the guy mockingthe movie
FrogCD (8:30:46 PM): "your heart is so strong"
FrogCD (8:30:49 PM): i just had to laugh
FrogCD (8:31:05 PM): because-he-is-a-ro-bot
BobChanning2o5 (8:31:14 PM): for some reason i was willin to overlook all of the eye-roll moments because the action was incredibly well done
FrogCD (8:31:15 PM): a lot of it reminded me of jack's little short movie
BobChanning2o5 (8:31:34 PM): everybody loves a robot, indeed
BobChanning2o5 (8:31:37 PM): especially moon bloodgood
BobChanning2o5 (8:32:27 PM): i mean, ill admit my grading was a little soft on it
FrogCD (8:32:47 PM): on a normal action movie i'd probs be softer, but this is an established franchise
FrogCD (8:32:58 PM): which is why i think so lowly of the third as well
BobChanning2o5 (8:33:04 PM): but i stand by it because i was so drawn in by what was supposed to be drawing me in that i avoided mocking the stuff that wasnt
BobChanning2o5 (8:33:10 PM): i looked at this as straight up action
BobChanning2o5 (8:33:19 PM): anything not an action scene wasn't of much use to the movie
BobChanning2o5 (8:33:26 PM): and the action scenes were ncredibly strong
BobChanning2o5 (8:33:33 PM): something you failed to really note in your review
BobChanning2o5 (8:33:40 PM): can we agree on that point at least?
FrogCD (8:33:51 PM): no i noted it , i just disagreed. biig difference
BobChanning2o5 (8:34:14 PM): you didn't think the action was very solid?
BobChanning2o5 (8:34:38 PM): that motor-home chase, ending with him leaping onto the hovercraft?
FrogCD (8:34:41 PM): it was solid, but not great, there weren't any memorable action scenes in my mind, that i will remember
FrogCD (8:34:45 PM): that's redundant
BobChanning2o5 (8:34:52 PM): im definitely remembering that for a while
FrogCD (8:34:57 PM): sorry
FrogCD (8:35:03 PM): the part you just said i forgot
BobChanning2o5 (8:35:29 PM): heh
BobChanning2o5 (8:35:53 PM): so, to sum up: you wanted this to be an emotionally resonant, philosophically deep action/sci-fi thriller?
BobChanning2o5 (8:36:03 PM): if thats true, youre grade makes sense
BobChanning2o5 (8:36:07 PM): and is even, perhaps, a bit high
FrogCD (8:36:43 PM): i wanted it to have a bit more of a brain than it did, the cameron movies were not just sitting and sulking but they gave you something to actually think about for a minute unlike this movie
BobChanning2o5 (8:36:56 PM): i get that
BobChanning2o5 (8:37:04 PM): it might just be that i havent seen the others in so long
BobChanning2o5 (8:37:13 PM): i usually go back and marathon through a series before the new one
BobChanning2o5 (8:37:29 PM): but, as my review noted, i only bought them hours before i saw the new one
FrogCD (8:37:37 PM): don't get me wrong, they're not 2001 or anything like that but they at least give you a little something to take away other then 'splotions
BobChanning2o5 (8:37:42 PM): I intend to go back and re-watch them with my brother soon
FrogCD (8:38:11 PM): i think 2 is far superior to 1, but at the time both movies were incredibly innovative
BobChanning2o5 (8:38:13 PM): i dont recall being that provoked to thought by them though
BobChanning2o5 (8:38:25 PM): i remember thinking one was a very solid genre flick
BobChanning2o5 (8:38:34 PM): and 2 was a flat out awesome action movie
BobChanning2o5 (8:39:13 PM): after i saw one, i was blown away by two
FrogCD (8:39:35 PM): i think 1 and 2 may have more thinkin' just because they dealt more with the plot and dealing with skynet, in this movie it all already happened so they could clear it up really quickly in a few lines
BobChanning2o5 (8:40:09 PM): yeah, i think i noted throughout my review this wasnt a plot heavy movie
BobChanning2o5 (8:40:20 PM): perhaps my distance from the series allowed me to not mind that
BobChanning2o5 (8:40:37 PM): just a quick aside: how much do you love helena bonham carter?
FrogCD (8:40:57 PM): a lot, but not that much in this movie, i mean she was only in it for like 5 minutes
BobChanning2o5 (8:41:05 PM): sshe was really the non-action high point for me though
BobChanning2o5 (8:41:26 PM): when she was the voice of skynet, i actually thought "wow, the movie has a bad guy...with a plan!'
FrogCD (8:41:39 PM): sure, she was the best actor in the movie probs. except bale might beat her on a good day, and her on a bad day
BobChanning2o5 (8:41:48 PM): whenever it switched to another actor, i just wanted it to still be her
FrogCD (8:42:54 PM): i didn't understand why john was so fucking surprised to see a robot that looked like a human, uhhh the 2nd terminator when he hung out with a terminator that looked human
BobChanning2o5 (8:43:14 PM): i think he was just shocked when it started moving and kicking his ass
BobChanning2o5 (8:43:24 PM): the resistance new those terminators were being designed
BobChanning2o5 (8:43:29 PM): they just didnt know they were ready
FrogCD (8:43:56 PM): but still, john was acting like he never saw one before, which he had
BobChanning2o5 (8:44:08 PM): i didnt get that
BobChanning2o5 (8:44:32 PM): i think it was like if you saw your cool uncle who died thirty years ago walk out of a room when you were in a high stress situation
FrogCD (8:44:41 PM): perhaps
BobChanning2o5 (8:44:45 PM): when he knew the terminator, they were only allies
BobChanning2o5 (8:44:50 PM): and they had a strong bond
BobChanning2o5 (8:45:09 PM): then, however long in the future, one pops out before he knows its ready and starts throwing him around
FrogCD (8:45:12 PM): yeah but his mom freaked the fuck out, rightfully so, when john and the terminator came to get her
BobChanning2o5 (8:45:25 PM): yeah, because she knew it as a villain
BobChanning2o5 (8:45:30 PM): he only knew it as a hero
FrogCD (8:45:40 PM): ur talking about when the arnold robot was fighting john
BobChanning2o5 (8:45:44 PM): the series really misses linda hamilton, btw
FrogCD (8:45:48 PM): i'm talking about when john found out marcus was a robot
FrogCD (8:45:56 PM): totally missed linda hamilton
BobChanning2o5 (8:45:57 PM): well he was a new kind of robot
FrogCD (8:46:03 PM): but thanks to the third movie she died of cancer
BobChanning2o5 (8:46:08 PM): yeah
BobChanning2o5 (8:46:17 PM): that whole movie was cancer
FrogCD (8:46:20 PM): how was he different then arnold in the second
BobChanning2o5 (8:46:28 PM): if she didnt have it before hand, it wouldve given it to her
BobChanning2o5 (8:46:34 PM): ...fictionally speaking
FrogCD (8:46:43 PM): yeah, i was gonna say
BobChanning2o5 (8:46:48 PM): marcus is half robot haldf human
FrogCD (8:46:53 PM): meh
BobChanning2o5 (8:46:53 PM): arnold was always all robot
FrogCD (8:47:04 PM): i'd say like 95% robot
FrogCD (8:47:10 PM): he had a human heart
BobChanning2o5 (8:47:11 PM): ok, now we're quibbling
BobChanning2o5 (8:47:16 PM): i have to go
BobChanning2o5 (8:47:21 PM): so lets sum this whole thing up
FrogCD (8:47:26 PM): c+
FrogCD (8:47:28 PM): there
BobChanning2o5 (8:47:32 PM): hehehe
BobChanning2o5 (8:47:35 PM): fair enough
BobChanning2o5 (8:47:43 PM): whereas, i defned it as a very solid action movie
FrogCD (8:47:47 PM): u want me to try to copy and paste this bad boy?
BobChanning2o5 (8:47:59 PM): ill do it
FrogCD (8:48:03 PM): thanks
BobChanning2o5 (8:48:05 PM): sure
BobChanning2o5 (8:48:16 PM): Coming this week: Up
Trying something a little different this time. Sam and I debate our vastly different reviews via AIM. Sam is FrogCD and I am BobChanning2o5. Enjoy!-Jordan
FrogCD (8:13:10 PM): very different reviews
BobChanning2o5 (8:13:34 PM): indeed
BobChanning2o5 (8:13:39 PM): i knew id like it more than you
FrogCD (8:15:21 PM): i'm not excited to see what's next it ended with james cameron in my mind
FrogCD (8:15:33 PM): t2 was one of the best sequels ever
FrogCD (8:15:46 PM): i truly believe that and i wish cameron made this movie instead of mcg
FrogCD (8:16:03 PM): and that the third didn't exist
BobChanning2o5 (8:16:54 PM): hehehe
BobChanning2o5 (8:17:05 PM): i agree that T2 was a great sequel
BobChanning2o5 (8:17:15 PM): but i think if the next one is more robot killing, ill be happy
BobChanning2o5 (8:17:20 PM): i guess we had different expectations
BobChanning2o5 (8:17:26 PM): lets do the discussion
FrogCD (8:17:43 PM): i think ultimately i would not want this movie to be made at all
FrogCD (8:18:17 PM): the idea of the first two was that by saving john connor (unborn or scrappy pre-teen) the humans would win that's it
BobChanning2o5 (8:18:25 PM): right
BobChanning2o5 (8:18:27 PM): and they will
BobChanning2o5 (8:18:32 PM): but they were always going to
BobChanning2o5 (8:18:38 PM): its not really a nihilistic series
FrogCD (8:18:41 PM): those movies also had emotional depth because they discussed the future of the world
BobChanning2o5 (8:18:43 PM): now we just get to see how they do
FrogCD (8:18:53 PM): now the future already happened and its who gives a fuck?
FrogCD (8:19:20 PM): i don't know, i'd have to believe cameron stopped for a reason
BobChanning2o5 (8:19:38 PM): i was never really invested in the "emotional punch" f the future thing
BobChanning2o5 (8:19:50 PM): i got invested in the relationship between john and the terminator in t2
FrogCD (8:19:52 PM): that's what makes a great action movie great, provides the 'splosions and gives u something to think about
BobChanning2o5 (8:19:57 PM): other than that it was all about killing things for me
BobChanning2o5 (8:20:03 PM): and they do a lot of that in this movie
FrogCD (8:20:03 PM): its the tradition of the franchise even if its not the goal of all action moives
FrogCD (8:20:39 PM): like the goal of die hard was to blow the fuck out of shit, and it was perfect
FrogCD (8:20:42 PM): and had some laughs
BobChanning2o5 (8:20:58 PM): why are we doing this here?
FrogCD (8:20:59 PM): the terminator series was like we gotta stop this terrible shit from happening to earth. Are we doomed
BobChanning2o5 (8:21:11 PM): but you already knew the stuff would happen to earth
FrogCD (8:21:14 PM): cause i'm lazy, y don't u just copy and paste this convo
BobChanning2o5 (8:21:20 PM): not a bad plan
BobChanning2o5 (8:21:29 PM): 9how meta of this once its published)
FrogCD (8:21:29 PM): they still try to stop skynet in the second movie
BobChanning2o5 (8:21:36 PM): right, but clearly they fail
BobChanning2o5 (8:21:42 PM): or no terminators would ever come back
BobChanning2o5 (8:22:01 PM): you know at the end of the second movie that they fail, if memory serves
BobChanning2o5 (8:22:09 PM): which was resonant for me as well
BobChanning2o5 (8:22:17 PM): they knew they would fail, but they tried anyway
BobChanning2o5 (8:22:23 PM): because it was the right thing to do
FrogCD (8:22:33 PM): yeah which is about trying to control one's destiny
BobChanning2o5 (8:22:41 PM): right
BobChanning2o5 (8:22:51 PM): and the terminator movies say pretty clearly that you cant do that
FrogCD (8:22:55 PM): that's something to think about that isn't just someone yelling "Hold On!"
BobChanning2o5 (8:22:57 PM): whats bound to happen is bound to happen
FrogCD (8:23:03 PM): yeah but they said something
BobChanning2o5 (8:23:21 PM): i may disagree with that point, but its maintained throughout the three movies worth talking about
FrogCD (8:23:25 PM): this movie basically grabbed a handful of already used sci-fi cliches and threw them on the screen
FrogCD (8:23:35 PM): what makes us human?
BobChanning2o5 (8:23:36 PM): i mean you know that john and kyle live, but you always knew that
FrogCD (8:23:37 PM): c'mon
BobChanning2o5 (8:23:55 PM): from the original you knew how kyle died and that john would save humanity
BobChanning2o5 (8:24:35 PM): so watching him do that becomes an exercise in the definition of humanity (which is overdone, but an exceptible "idea" to explore in an action movie) as well as kick ass action
FrogCD (8:24:36 PM): but in the second they send ANOTHER terminator to try to change the future which is what it's all about. can you change the future? in this movie we are already in the future
BobChanning2o5 (8:24:45 PM): ill buy the premise of an overdone idea if the action is good
BobChanning2o5 (8:25:23 PM): well, sort of
FrogCD (8:25:24 PM): the action was fine but this did not hold a candle to T2.
FrogCD (8:25:38 PM): it wasn't great but its not only about the action with series
BobChanning2o5 (8:25:40 PM): i mean, really "the future" talked about throughout the series would be humanity's victory over skynet
FrogCD (8:25:50 PM): its the ar
BobChanning2o5 (8:25:50 PM): it does seem like a sort of forced extension of the story
FrogCD (8:25:53 PM): *war
BobChanning2o5 (8:25:57 PM): but i think they made it seem natural
BobChanning2o5 (8:26:21 PM): see, i think we strike on a fundamental difference between our views here
BobChanning2o5 (8:26:27 PM): i never LOVED the terminator movies
FrogCD (8:26:32 PM): it didn't feel like a terminator movie to me, it felt like a normal sci-fi, featuring special guest...the terminators
BobChanning2o5 (8:26:33 PM): i just thought they were good action flicks
BobChanning2o5 (8:26:42 PM): and so was this one
FrogCD (8:26:52 PM): i thought T2 was an example of a brilliantly done sci-fi/ action
BobChanning2o5 (8:26:56 PM): plus, my expectations were so tremendously low that i came out surprised
FrogCD (8:27:30 PM): my expectations were in the middle, if that makes sense. after the third one i thought it could only go up
BobChanning2o5 (8:27:54 PM): really? you though McG guaranteed an improvement
BobChanning2o5 (8:27:55 PM): ?
BobChanning2o5 (8:28:05 PM): i though Christian Bale was the one thing this movie had going for it
FrogCD (8:28:08 PM): over the last piece of shit, yeah
BobChanning2o5 (8:28:18 PM): turns out he wasnt even the strongest performance in it
FrogCD (8:28:21 PM): i think he kinda slipped in and out of his batman voice
FrogCD (8:28:34 PM): which was a bit annoying
BobChanning2o5 (8:28:41 PM): i think John Connor could have been more compelling, but that wasnt the aim
FrogCD (8:28:43 PM): sam worthington's accent drove me nuts
BobChanning2o5 (8:28:45 PM): this was really Marcus' story
BobChanning2o5 (8:28:56 PM): heh...i just ignored it because he was killing things
FrogCD (8:28:57 PM): they should have just made him austrailian
FrogCD (8:29:05 PM): and made it easy for the poor guy
FrogCD (8:29:24 PM): bale is allowed to do an american accent cause he can pull it off, worthington didn't even seem to try
BobChanning2o5 (8:29:28 PM): let me put it to you this way, to perhaps justify what must seem like a high grade
FrogCD (8:29:36 PM): how about the impossibly sexy fighter pilot
BobChanning2o5 (8:29:44 PM): I measured this movie by the "awesome" quotient
FrogCD (8:30:06 PM): i judged it by the "how good is the movie" quotient
BobChanning2o5 (8:30:06 PM): i.e. i looked at how many times I said "Awesome!" vs. how many times i rolled my eyes or way annoyed by something
BobChanning2o5 (8:30:13 PM): was*
FrogCD (8:30:20 PM): i likely rolled my eyes a few more times than you
BobChanning2o5 (8:30:31 PM): yeah, i was clearly just pulled in by the movie
FrogCD (8:30:33 PM): i laughed out loud for reals at one line
BobChanning2o5 (8:30:34 PM): which speaks well to it
BobChanning2o5 (8:30:40 PM): see, i didn't
BobChanning2o5 (8:30:46 PM): and im usually the guy mockingthe movie
FrogCD (8:30:46 PM): "your heart is so strong"
FrogCD (8:30:49 PM): i just had to laugh
FrogCD (8:31:05 PM): because-he-is-a-ro-bot
BobChanning2o5 (8:31:14 PM): for some reason i was willin to overlook all of the eye-roll moments because the action was incredibly well done
FrogCD (8:31:15 PM): a lot of it reminded me of jack's little short movie
BobChanning2o5 (8:31:34 PM): everybody loves a robot, indeed
BobChanning2o5 (8:31:37 PM): especially moon bloodgood
BobChanning2o5 (8:32:27 PM): i mean, ill admit my grading was a little soft on it
FrogCD (8:32:47 PM): on a normal action movie i'd probs be softer, but this is an established franchise
FrogCD (8:32:58 PM): which is why i think so lowly of the third as well
BobChanning2o5 (8:33:04 PM): but i stand by it because i was so drawn in by what was supposed to be drawing me in that i avoided mocking the stuff that wasnt
BobChanning2o5 (8:33:10 PM): i looked at this as straight up action
BobChanning2o5 (8:33:19 PM): anything not an action scene wasn't of much use to the movie
BobChanning2o5 (8:33:26 PM): and the action scenes were ncredibly strong
BobChanning2o5 (8:33:33 PM): something you failed to really note in your review
BobChanning2o5 (8:33:40 PM): can we agree on that point at least?
FrogCD (8:33:51 PM): no i noted it , i just disagreed. biig difference
BobChanning2o5 (8:34:14 PM): you didn't think the action was very solid?
BobChanning2o5 (8:34:38 PM): that motor-home chase, ending with him leaping onto the hovercraft?
FrogCD (8:34:41 PM): it was solid, but not great, there weren't any memorable action scenes in my mind, that i will remember
FrogCD (8:34:45 PM): that's redundant
BobChanning2o5 (8:34:52 PM): im definitely remembering that for a while
FrogCD (8:34:57 PM): sorry
FrogCD (8:35:03 PM): the part you just said i forgot
BobChanning2o5 (8:35:29 PM): heh
BobChanning2o5 (8:35:53 PM): so, to sum up: you wanted this to be an emotionally resonant, philosophically deep action/sci-fi thriller?
BobChanning2o5 (8:36:03 PM): if thats true, youre grade makes sense
BobChanning2o5 (8:36:07 PM): and is even, perhaps, a bit high
FrogCD (8:36:43 PM): i wanted it to have a bit more of a brain than it did, the cameron movies were not just sitting and sulking but they gave you something to actually think about for a minute unlike this movie
BobChanning2o5 (8:36:56 PM): i get that
BobChanning2o5 (8:37:04 PM): it might just be that i havent seen the others in so long
BobChanning2o5 (8:37:13 PM): i usually go back and marathon through a series before the new one
BobChanning2o5 (8:37:29 PM): but, as my review noted, i only bought them hours before i saw the new one
FrogCD (8:37:37 PM): don't get me wrong, they're not 2001 or anything like that but they at least give you a little something to take away other then 'splotions
BobChanning2o5 (8:37:42 PM): I intend to go back and re-watch them with my brother soon
FrogCD (8:38:11 PM): i think 2 is far superior to 1, but at the time both movies were incredibly innovative
BobChanning2o5 (8:38:13 PM): i dont recall being that provoked to thought by them though
BobChanning2o5 (8:38:25 PM): i remember thinking one was a very solid genre flick
BobChanning2o5 (8:38:34 PM): and 2 was a flat out awesome action movie
BobChanning2o5 (8:39:13 PM): after i saw one, i was blown away by two
FrogCD (8:39:35 PM): i think 1 and 2 may have more thinkin' just because they dealt more with the plot and dealing with skynet, in this movie it all already happened so they could clear it up really quickly in a few lines
BobChanning2o5 (8:40:09 PM): yeah, i think i noted throughout my review this wasnt a plot heavy movie
BobChanning2o5 (8:40:20 PM): perhaps my distance from the series allowed me to not mind that
BobChanning2o5 (8:40:37 PM): just a quick aside: how much do you love helena bonham carter?
FrogCD (8:40:57 PM): a lot, but not that much in this movie, i mean she was only in it for like 5 minutes
BobChanning2o5 (8:41:05 PM): sshe was really the non-action high point for me though
BobChanning2o5 (8:41:26 PM): when she was the voice of skynet, i actually thought "wow, the movie has a bad guy...with a plan!'
FrogCD (8:41:39 PM): sure, she was the best actor in the movie probs. except bale might beat her on a good day, and her on a bad day
BobChanning2o5 (8:41:48 PM): whenever it switched to another actor, i just wanted it to still be her
FrogCD (8:42:54 PM): i didn't understand why john was so fucking surprised to see a robot that looked like a human, uhhh the 2nd terminator when he hung out with a terminator that looked human
BobChanning2o5 (8:43:14 PM): i think he was just shocked when it started moving and kicking his ass
BobChanning2o5 (8:43:24 PM): the resistance new those terminators were being designed
BobChanning2o5 (8:43:29 PM): they just didnt know they were ready
FrogCD (8:43:56 PM): but still, john was acting like he never saw one before, which he had
BobChanning2o5 (8:44:08 PM): i didnt get that
BobChanning2o5 (8:44:32 PM): i think it was like if you saw your cool uncle who died thirty years ago walk out of a room when you were in a high stress situation
FrogCD (8:44:41 PM): perhaps
BobChanning2o5 (8:44:45 PM): when he knew the terminator, they were only allies
BobChanning2o5 (8:44:50 PM): and they had a strong bond
BobChanning2o5 (8:45:09 PM): then, however long in the future, one pops out before he knows its ready and starts throwing him around
FrogCD (8:45:12 PM): yeah but his mom freaked the fuck out, rightfully so, when john and the terminator came to get her
BobChanning2o5 (8:45:25 PM): yeah, because she knew it as a villain
BobChanning2o5 (8:45:30 PM): he only knew it as a hero
FrogCD (8:45:40 PM): ur talking about when the arnold robot was fighting john
BobChanning2o5 (8:45:44 PM): the series really misses linda hamilton, btw
FrogCD (8:45:48 PM): i'm talking about when john found out marcus was a robot
FrogCD (8:45:56 PM): totally missed linda hamilton
BobChanning2o5 (8:45:57 PM): well he was a new kind of robot
FrogCD (8:46:03 PM): but thanks to the third movie she died of cancer
BobChanning2o5 (8:46:08 PM): yeah
BobChanning2o5 (8:46:17 PM): that whole movie was cancer
FrogCD (8:46:20 PM): how was he different then arnold in the second
BobChanning2o5 (8:46:28 PM): if she didnt have it before hand, it wouldve given it to her
BobChanning2o5 (8:46:34 PM): ...fictionally speaking
FrogCD (8:46:43 PM): yeah, i was gonna say
BobChanning2o5 (8:46:48 PM): marcus is half robot haldf human
FrogCD (8:46:53 PM): meh
BobChanning2o5 (8:46:53 PM): arnold was always all robot
FrogCD (8:47:04 PM): i'd say like 95% robot
FrogCD (8:47:10 PM): he had a human heart
BobChanning2o5 (8:47:11 PM): ok, now we're quibbling
BobChanning2o5 (8:47:16 PM): i have to go
BobChanning2o5 (8:47:21 PM): so lets sum this whole thing up
FrogCD (8:47:26 PM): c+
FrogCD (8:47:28 PM): there
BobChanning2o5 (8:47:32 PM): hehehe
BobChanning2o5 (8:47:35 PM): fair enough
BobChanning2o5 (8:47:43 PM): whereas, i defned it as a very solid action movie
FrogCD (8:47:47 PM): u want me to try to copy and paste this bad boy?
BobChanning2o5 (8:47:59 PM): ill do it
FrogCD (8:48:03 PM): thanks
BobChanning2o5 (8:48:05 PM): sure
BobChanning2o5 (8:48:16 PM): Coming this week: Up
Sam's Review: Terminator Salvation
The first Terminator was good, the second was great, the third was exceptionally bad, and that brings us to T4, excuse me, Terminator Salvation. This installment stars Christian Bale as the hero of the saga, John Connor, and he fights alongside death-row inmate from the past Marcus who is played by Sam Worthington.
I think everyone can agree that the third Terminator movie was a fucking joke. I least I thought it was. So for logic’s sake, I’m considering director McG’s (of Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle fame) installment the logical third movie in the series. Think about it for a second and it makes sense. Terminator I was about the robot coming from the future to kill the mother of the guy who would bring down Skynet. T II was about killing the kid himself because they messed up last time. For some reason the third movie does not take the logical step to the adult John Connors fighting the machines and that being it. But no, they had to have young-adult pill-popping John Connor fight she-robot with an old Schwarzenegger. Anyway, I digress; this was the movie that should have come after the second film. Oh yeah, it should have been directed by the genius behind the first two movies, James Cameron, not a guy who sounds like a cereal spokes-cartoon.
The plot of the movie is pretty standard if you’re familiar with the series. It’s the not too distant future (2018, really you want the movie to be that dated, I mean I think Skynet was supposed to go apeshit in 1997, why do they date the movies like this? I’ve got to calm down). John Connor is leading the good fight against the machines and is looking for his father to be, Kyle Reese (Anton Yelchin) who will go back in time and protect (and fuck) his mother from the Terminator sent back to kill her. We meet a death-row inmate who mysteriously comes back to life after being executed. I wonder how that comes about. Hmmmm, it’s a Terminator movie, gonna have to stretch the brain cords on that one. Anyway the point of the movie is to blow the fuck out of stuff, oh and also what separates humans from machines.
Ok, so let’s start with the good before we get to the bad and the ugly. I think McG had really good intentions going into this and was clearly a fan of the earlier Terminator movies. The set design and tone of the movie are much more in line with what Cameron set the future up to be. The choice to have many of the robots be actual robots was a nice touch in an age where every fucking thing can be CGI when it doesn’t need to be (I’m looking at you Lucas). It was a fitting tribute to Stan Winston (the movie is dedicated to his memory) who was the man responsible for all the kickass makeup and sfx from the original films. I also think some of the action scenes were pretty cool.
So now the stuff I didn’t like so much. The first thing that was bugging me about the movie was that John Connor seems to have forgotten a bunch of stuff about Terminators considering he hung out with one for a while, like the idea that they can take human forms but that’s me nerding out. Christian Bale’s performance was adequate and that’s it really. He earned his paycheck but did not justify his outrageous tirade. Whatever “zone” he was trying to get in was not worth the verbal lashing that guy got from him. Sam Worthington could not cover his accent for anything. I honestly never heard of him or seen him in anything else and I knew almost immediately that he was Australian and not a good ‘ol boy. Don’t worry there was plenty of good ole fashioned bad acting in this one from Common (who played essentially soldier number 23) and Moon Bloodgood, who aside from having a cool name did not offer anything as the sexy jet pilot who falls for Marcus.
The problem with the movie is out of its control to some extent. Part of what makes an action movie good is building suspense that its main characters are in trouble. In Terminator Salvation I knew that John Connor would be fine. I know the resistance will be fine and they’ll win. I’ve known that since Terminator II. McG tried to make a great action movie but he’s just not James Cameron and this feels just like an empty Sci-Fi movie with the Terminator brand stamped on it. It’s better than the third installment but so was hotel for dogs.
C+
I think everyone can agree that the third Terminator movie was a fucking joke. I least I thought it was. So for logic’s sake, I’m considering director McG’s (of Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle fame) installment the logical third movie in the series. Think about it for a second and it makes sense. Terminator I was about the robot coming from the future to kill the mother of the guy who would bring down Skynet. T II was about killing the kid himself because they messed up last time. For some reason the third movie does not take the logical step to the adult John Connors fighting the machines and that being it. But no, they had to have young-adult pill-popping John Connor fight she-robot with an old Schwarzenegger. Anyway, I digress; this was the movie that should have come after the second film. Oh yeah, it should have been directed by the genius behind the first two movies, James Cameron, not a guy who sounds like a cereal spokes-cartoon.
The plot of the movie is pretty standard if you’re familiar with the series. It’s the not too distant future (2018, really you want the movie to be that dated, I mean I think Skynet was supposed to go apeshit in 1997, why do they date the movies like this? I’ve got to calm down). John Connor is leading the good fight against the machines and is looking for his father to be, Kyle Reese (Anton Yelchin) who will go back in time and protect (and fuck) his mother from the Terminator sent back to kill her. We meet a death-row inmate who mysteriously comes back to life after being executed. I wonder how that comes about. Hmmmm, it’s a Terminator movie, gonna have to stretch the brain cords on that one. Anyway the point of the movie is to blow the fuck out of stuff, oh and also what separates humans from machines.
Ok, so let’s start with the good before we get to the bad and the ugly. I think McG had really good intentions going into this and was clearly a fan of the earlier Terminator movies. The set design and tone of the movie are much more in line with what Cameron set the future up to be. The choice to have many of the robots be actual robots was a nice touch in an age where every fucking thing can be CGI when it doesn’t need to be (I’m looking at you Lucas). It was a fitting tribute to Stan Winston (the movie is dedicated to his memory) who was the man responsible for all the kickass makeup and sfx from the original films. I also think some of the action scenes were pretty cool.
So now the stuff I didn’t like so much. The first thing that was bugging me about the movie was that John Connor seems to have forgotten a bunch of stuff about Terminators considering he hung out with one for a while, like the idea that they can take human forms but that’s me nerding out. Christian Bale’s performance was adequate and that’s it really. He earned his paycheck but did not justify his outrageous tirade. Whatever “zone” he was trying to get in was not worth the verbal lashing that guy got from him. Sam Worthington could not cover his accent for anything. I honestly never heard of him or seen him in anything else and I knew almost immediately that he was Australian and not a good ‘ol boy. Don’t worry there was plenty of good ole fashioned bad acting in this one from Common (who played essentially soldier number 23) and Moon Bloodgood, who aside from having a cool name did not offer anything as the sexy jet pilot who falls for Marcus.
The problem with the movie is out of its control to some extent. Part of what makes an action movie good is building suspense that its main characters are in trouble. In Terminator Salvation I knew that John Connor would be fine. I know the resistance will be fine and they’ll win. I’ve known that since Terminator II. McG tried to make a great action movie but he’s just not James Cameron and this feels just like an empty Sci-Fi movie with the Terminator brand stamped on it. It’s better than the third installment but so was hotel for dogs.
C+
Jordan's Review: Terminator Salvation
Yesterday I found myself, as I so often do, browsing for blu rays in a Best Buy. I came across a sale on all three Terminator movies and automatically picked up the first two. When I didn’t pick up the third, my brother inquired as to why I wouldn’t buy all three (I am, after all, obsessed with owning a full series if I own one movie, even if I dislike one of the movies in said series, just for the sake of having the entire thing). I told him that the third one was not really worth owning, but that if Terminator: Salvation (the colon is mine, as I feel like that is more grammatically correct. They aren’t trying to save the terminators, people!) was good enough, I would have to return and buy it. I will tell you that I am now the proud (ok, somewhat reluctant) owner of Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines.
McG (insert snicker about why he would choose that name for himself or joke about how you’ll never hear, “And the Oscar goes to…McG” here) has honestly outdone himself here, and my never before existent faith in him has grown exponentially. The film is set in the near future, after the nuclear holocaust that ended the last installment. After a brief opening scene set in 2003, which introduces us to Marcus (Sam Worthington) a remorseful death row inmate who signs up for some controversial (read: probably has to do with Skynet, the computer overlord that is yet to be) medical research on his body that will give him a second chance. The offer, by Dr. Serena Kogan (the always excellent Helena Bonham Carter) starts off the movie on an ominous tone.
Meanwhile, in the future, savior in waiting John Connor (Christian “I can carry a franchise excellently” Bale) is a part of a mission lead by the resistance into a defunct lab used by Skynet. There, after his entire team is destroyed in a machine attack, the resistance manages to discover what they believe is the key to winning the war against Skynet. They also manage to awaken the long sleeping Marcus, who discovers the world is not quite as he left it.
Marcus, wandering in a dystopian future that is remniscient of Cormac McCarthy’s The Road, only, you know, with huge fucking killer robot, comes upon a young resistance fight named Kyle Reese (Anton Yelchin, who either has the best agent or the best luck in Hollywood right now, having just appeared as Chekov in Star Trek) who die hard fans, and John Connor, know will eventually travel back in time and impregnate Sarah Connor, conceiving John and giving humanity its last hope. Unfortunately, Skynet knows this too, and so Kyle is put at the top of their kill list.
What follows is pretty much a long train of set pieces, pitting Marcus, Kyle, John, and the resistance as a whole against hordes of robot killing machines as each attempts to fulfill their own agendas—Marcus wants redemption, Kyle wants survival, and John wants Kyle’s survival, as well as ultimately victory against the machines. If the idea of a long train of set pieces in which humans fight robots doesn’t make you jump up and go see this movie, then Terminator: Salvation (Still using my colon, damnit!) may not be the film for you. There are a few scenes of Christian Bale soulfully emoting, a throwaway subplot involving his pregnant wife (Bryce Dallas Howard), and some of the obvious philosophical questions a movie like this raises (what really makes someone human? What would we give away to preserve our humanity? Is it worth it?), but for the most part, it’s all about the action.
And every scene delivers. From an early chase sequence involving a motor home, Terminators on motorcycles, and a hover craft, through the climactic battle against several new off the line T-800s (which allows for a much expected Arnold Schwarzenegger cameo. All I could think was, A. Shouldn’t he be making sure California doesn’t go bankrupt right about now, and B. The Terminator! Awesome!) the film absolutely delivers. As a philosophical treatise, the movie is utterly lacking, but as a pulse pounding action thriller set in a dystopian future, the film fires on all cylinders.
The performances are very good, the action is excellent, and the direction is surprisingly competent from the man who brought you Charlie’s Angels. It of course inevitably sets up the potential for sequels, but unlike the third film, this time I’m excited to see what comes next.
Grade: A-
McG (insert snicker about why he would choose that name for himself or joke about how you’ll never hear, “And the Oscar goes to…McG” here) has honestly outdone himself here, and my never before existent faith in him has grown exponentially. The film is set in the near future, after the nuclear holocaust that ended the last installment. After a brief opening scene set in 2003, which introduces us to Marcus (Sam Worthington) a remorseful death row inmate who signs up for some controversial (read: probably has to do with Skynet, the computer overlord that is yet to be) medical research on his body that will give him a second chance. The offer, by Dr. Serena Kogan (the always excellent Helena Bonham Carter) starts off the movie on an ominous tone.
Meanwhile, in the future, savior in waiting John Connor (Christian “I can carry a franchise excellently” Bale) is a part of a mission lead by the resistance into a defunct lab used by Skynet. There, after his entire team is destroyed in a machine attack, the resistance manages to discover what they believe is the key to winning the war against Skynet. They also manage to awaken the long sleeping Marcus, who discovers the world is not quite as he left it.
Marcus, wandering in a dystopian future that is remniscient of Cormac McCarthy’s The Road, only, you know, with huge fucking killer robot, comes upon a young resistance fight named Kyle Reese (Anton Yelchin, who either has the best agent or the best luck in Hollywood right now, having just appeared as Chekov in Star Trek) who die hard fans, and John Connor, know will eventually travel back in time and impregnate Sarah Connor, conceiving John and giving humanity its last hope. Unfortunately, Skynet knows this too, and so Kyle is put at the top of their kill list.
What follows is pretty much a long train of set pieces, pitting Marcus, Kyle, John, and the resistance as a whole against hordes of robot killing machines as each attempts to fulfill their own agendas—Marcus wants redemption, Kyle wants survival, and John wants Kyle’s survival, as well as ultimately victory against the machines. If the idea of a long train of set pieces in which humans fight robots doesn’t make you jump up and go see this movie, then Terminator: Salvation (Still using my colon, damnit!) may not be the film for you. There are a few scenes of Christian Bale soulfully emoting, a throwaway subplot involving his pregnant wife (Bryce Dallas Howard), and some of the obvious philosophical questions a movie like this raises (what really makes someone human? What would we give away to preserve our humanity? Is it worth it?), but for the most part, it’s all about the action.
And every scene delivers. From an early chase sequence involving a motor home, Terminators on motorcycles, and a hover craft, through the climactic battle against several new off the line T-800s (which allows for a much expected Arnold Schwarzenegger cameo. All I could think was, A. Shouldn’t he be making sure California doesn’t go bankrupt right about now, and B. The Terminator! Awesome!) the film absolutely delivers. As a philosophical treatise, the movie is utterly lacking, but as a pulse pounding action thriller set in a dystopian future, the film fires on all cylinders.
The performances are very good, the action is excellent, and the direction is surprisingly competent from the man who brought you Charlie’s Angels. It of course inevitably sets up the potential for sequels, but unlike the third film, this time I’m excited to see what comes next.
Grade: A-
Saturday, May 23, 2009
Feature: Jordan's Movie Quest: The Year 2001
My journey through the last decade in film continues, with my Top Ten movies of 2001 list, including a blurb about each film:
10. Spirited Away-Hayao Miyazaki’s masterful story of a sullen girl named Chihiro, and her adventure through the spirit world to save her parents. During their move to a new house, Chihiro’s parents decide to stop to check out an abandoned theme park. Upon examination, they find a delicious looking buffet, which they immediately begin gorging themselves on. Their unthinking gluttony results in them being turned into pigs by the sorceress that rules the spirit world. Chihiro’s quest to save them takes her on a journey through a modern day wonderland as she discovers the importance of friendship and the maturity it takes to face your problems with determination and perseverance. A children’s movie that allows viewers to look at the world in an entirely new way, as only Miyazaki can show it to us.
9. Donnie Darko- Gothic girls the world over may sing its praises, but the film has untold merits outside its appeal to the recreationally despondent among us. Donnie Darko (Jake Gyllenhaal) is your normal angsty teenager with apocalyptic visions delivered by a six foot tall invisible bunny rabbit named Frank. Frank tells Donnie that the world is going to end in a month’s time, and Donnie may be the only one able to stop it. With help from his science teacher (Noah Wiley), his girlfriend (Jena Malone), his English teacher (Drew Barrymore) Donnie must try and sort out the metaphysical rules that may be leading to the destruction of the universe in a compelling psychological thriller.
8. Amelie- The story of innocent and adorable Amelie Poulain (Audrey Tautou) who devotes her life to helping the eccentrics around her, including her father, a failed writer, a stalker, a hypochondriac, a suppressed young soul, and the love of her life. When Amelie realizes she cannot live her life simply for those around her, she sets off to win the love of her life. One of the most adorable movies of all time, Amelie is a feel good film about the joy of life and the simple pleasures of human connection.
7. Zoolander-Derek Zoolander (Ben Stiller) is the world’s top male model, at least until Hansel (Owen Wilson) wins the best male model award. After Derek’s friends die in a freak gasoline fight accident he decides to retire, until a scheme by fashion mogul Mugatu (Will Ferrell) to assassinate the Prime Minister of Malaysia by brainwashing Derek with an ‘80s one hit wonder. Stiller, Wilson, and Ferrell are all at the top of their game, and the movie’s inspired idiocy, including brilliant cameos by David Bowie and Billy Zane, makes it a classic comedy.
6. Waking Life-Richard Linklater takes viewers on a quest of questions as Wiley Wiggins travels through life, unsure whether or not he is dreaming. A philosophical epic that dares to ask important questions in thought provoking ways. Animated over live action footage to give the film its dreamlike quality, Waking Life makes us wonder about the line that separates dreams from reality, life from the afterlife, and humanity from true understanding.
5. Iris-Renowned author and philosopher Iris Murdoch ( Oscar nominated Judy Dench) is diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. As her husband (Jim Broadbent in an Oscar winning role) attempts to deal with Iris losing her mind, he remembers Iris as he first met her (played by Oscar nominee Kate Winslet). The story of a lifelong love between two very different people, and the burdens placed on that love by degenerative disease, Iris is excellently acted by all parties, and moving in its depiction of the utter devotion between a husband and wife.
4. Mullholland Dr. - A car wreck on the titular Los Angeles street renders a woman (Laura Harring) amnesic, and she is taken in by a doe eyed aspiring actress (Naomi Watts) trying to make it in Hollywood. As the two try to discover the newly christened Rita’s real identity they become entangled in a web involving a cuckolded movie director (Justin Theroux), a mysterious cowboy, and the terrifying entity that exists in the alleyway behind the local Winky’s restaurant. The compelling, intense mystery garnered director David Lynch an Oscar nomination and features enough chills and twists to stick in your mind long after the credits roll.
3. In the Bedroom-Matt Fowler (Tom Wilkinson) and his wife Ruth (Sissy Spacek) are living an idyllic life in New England. They get along well with their college-age son (Nick Stahl) and are even adapting to his much older girlfriend (Marisa Tomei) when tragedy strikes and threatens to dismantle the relationships of all involved. The wrenching drama from director Todd Field was nominated for 5 Oscars, including Best Picture, Best Actor, and Best Actress and examines the ways that loss can affect those left behind.
2. Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring- Young Frodo Baggins (Elijah Wood) inherits his uncle’s magic ring, and must embark on a quest across mystical Middle Earth to destroy it before it falls into the hands of the evil Lord Sauron who intends to use it to destroy all good in the world. With the help of the powerful wizard Gandalf (Ian McKellan), a mighty ranger (Viggo Mortensen), an elf (Orlando Bloom at his least annoying) and a dwarf (John Rhys-Davies) Frodo and his friends have to climb mountains, delve into mines, and avoid a burgeoning army of Orcs as they try to avoid capture and find their way into Mordor to destroy the ring. Director Peter Jackson created one of the grandest epics of all time, dealing with fate, responsibility, human weakness, loyalty, and the endless struggle between good and evil.
1. The Royal Tenenbaums- The Tenenbaum children were all prodigies in their youth, but two decades of failure, betrayal, and disaster have stripped them of their former glory. Playwright Margot (Gwyneth Paltrow) is trapped in a loveless marriage with neurologist Raleigh St. Clair (Bill Murray) and an equally passionless affair with overwrought writer and long-time family friend Eli Cash (Owen Wilson). Chaz Tenenbaum (Ben Stiller, in his greatest performance) is experiencing a nervous breakdown in the wake of his wife’s death, and is subsequently shielding his sons from the real world. Richie Tenenbaum (Luke Wilson) has retired from tennis and now travels the world aimlessly trying to deal with his love for Margot. Things start to come to a head for the Tenenbaum family when their mother Etheline (Anjelica Huston) becomes engaged to her long time friend Henry Sherman (Danny Glover), the children all move back into her home, and their long-estranged father Royal (an Oscar-worthy Gene Hackman) returns into their lives, claiming to be dying of stomach cancer. The Royal Tenenbaums tells the story of a family strangled by its own successes and restrained in its multitudes of failure. But more than that, Wes Anderson’s gem of a film looks at the ties that bind even the most dysfunctional families together, and what it takes to repair those relationships that have broken apart.
10. Spirited Away-Hayao Miyazaki’s masterful story of a sullen girl named Chihiro, and her adventure through the spirit world to save her parents. During their move to a new house, Chihiro’s parents decide to stop to check out an abandoned theme park. Upon examination, they find a delicious looking buffet, which they immediately begin gorging themselves on. Their unthinking gluttony results in them being turned into pigs by the sorceress that rules the spirit world. Chihiro’s quest to save them takes her on a journey through a modern day wonderland as she discovers the importance of friendship and the maturity it takes to face your problems with determination and perseverance. A children’s movie that allows viewers to look at the world in an entirely new way, as only Miyazaki can show it to us.
9. Donnie Darko- Gothic girls the world over may sing its praises, but the film has untold merits outside its appeal to the recreationally despondent among us. Donnie Darko (Jake Gyllenhaal) is your normal angsty teenager with apocalyptic visions delivered by a six foot tall invisible bunny rabbit named Frank. Frank tells Donnie that the world is going to end in a month’s time, and Donnie may be the only one able to stop it. With help from his science teacher (Noah Wiley), his girlfriend (Jena Malone), his English teacher (Drew Barrymore) Donnie must try and sort out the metaphysical rules that may be leading to the destruction of the universe in a compelling psychological thriller.
8. Amelie- The story of innocent and adorable Amelie Poulain (Audrey Tautou) who devotes her life to helping the eccentrics around her, including her father, a failed writer, a stalker, a hypochondriac, a suppressed young soul, and the love of her life. When Amelie realizes she cannot live her life simply for those around her, she sets off to win the love of her life. One of the most adorable movies of all time, Amelie is a feel good film about the joy of life and the simple pleasures of human connection.
7. Zoolander-Derek Zoolander (Ben Stiller) is the world’s top male model, at least until Hansel (Owen Wilson) wins the best male model award. After Derek’s friends die in a freak gasoline fight accident he decides to retire, until a scheme by fashion mogul Mugatu (Will Ferrell) to assassinate the Prime Minister of Malaysia by brainwashing Derek with an ‘80s one hit wonder. Stiller, Wilson, and Ferrell are all at the top of their game, and the movie’s inspired idiocy, including brilliant cameos by David Bowie and Billy Zane, makes it a classic comedy.
6. Waking Life-Richard Linklater takes viewers on a quest of questions as Wiley Wiggins travels through life, unsure whether or not he is dreaming. A philosophical epic that dares to ask important questions in thought provoking ways. Animated over live action footage to give the film its dreamlike quality, Waking Life makes us wonder about the line that separates dreams from reality, life from the afterlife, and humanity from true understanding.
5. Iris-Renowned author and philosopher Iris Murdoch ( Oscar nominated Judy Dench) is diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. As her husband (Jim Broadbent in an Oscar winning role) attempts to deal with Iris losing her mind, he remembers Iris as he first met her (played by Oscar nominee Kate Winslet). The story of a lifelong love between two very different people, and the burdens placed on that love by degenerative disease, Iris is excellently acted by all parties, and moving in its depiction of the utter devotion between a husband and wife.
4. Mullholland Dr. - A car wreck on the titular Los Angeles street renders a woman (Laura Harring) amnesic, and she is taken in by a doe eyed aspiring actress (Naomi Watts) trying to make it in Hollywood. As the two try to discover the newly christened Rita’s real identity they become entangled in a web involving a cuckolded movie director (Justin Theroux), a mysterious cowboy, and the terrifying entity that exists in the alleyway behind the local Winky’s restaurant. The compelling, intense mystery garnered director David Lynch an Oscar nomination and features enough chills and twists to stick in your mind long after the credits roll.
3. In the Bedroom-Matt Fowler (Tom Wilkinson) and his wife Ruth (Sissy Spacek) are living an idyllic life in New England. They get along well with their college-age son (Nick Stahl) and are even adapting to his much older girlfriend (Marisa Tomei) when tragedy strikes and threatens to dismantle the relationships of all involved. The wrenching drama from director Todd Field was nominated for 5 Oscars, including Best Picture, Best Actor, and Best Actress and examines the ways that loss can affect those left behind.
2. Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring- Young Frodo Baggins (Elijah Wood) inherits his uncle’s magic ring, and must embark on a quest across mystical Middle Earth to destroy it before it falls into the hands of the evil Lord Sauron who intends to use it to destroy all good in the world. With the help of the powerful wizard Gandalf (Ian McKellan), a mighty ranger (Viggo Mortensen), an elf (Orlando Bloom at his least annoying) and a dwarf (John Rhys-Davies) Frodo and his friends have to climb mountains, delve into mines, and avoid a burgeoning army of Orcs as they try to avoid capture and find their way into Mordor to destroy the ring. Director Peter Jackson created one of the grandest epics of all time, dealing with fate, responsibility, human weakness, loyalty, and the endless struggle between good and evil.
1. The Royal Tenenbaums- The Tenenbaum children were all prodigies in their youth, but two decades of failure, betrayal, and disaster have stripped them of their former glory. Playwright Margot (Gwyneth Paltrow) is trapped in a loveless marriage with neurologist Raleigh St. Clair (Bill Murray) and an equally passionless affair with overwrought writer and long-time family friend Eli Cash (Owen Wilson). Chaz Tenenbaum (Ben Stiller, in his greatest performance) is experiencing a nervous breakdown in the wake of his wife’s death, and is subsequently shielding his sons from the real world. Richie Tenenbaum (Luke Wilson) has retired from tennis and now travels the world aimlessly trying to deal with his love for Margot. Things start to come to a head for the Tenenbaum family when their mother Etheline (Anjelica Huston) becomes engaged to her long time friend Henry Sherman (Danny Glover), the children all move back into her home, and their long-estranged father Royal (an Oscar-worthy Gene Hackman) returns into their lives, claiming to be dying of stomach cancer. The Royal Tenenbaums tells the story of a family strangled by its own successes and restrained in its multitudes of failure. But more than that, Wes Anderson’s gem of a film looks at the ties that bind even the most dysfunctional families together, and what it takes to repair those relationships that have broken apart.
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