I Just Watched (Films)

[Raid]

Terminator: Dark Fate

I have a real soft spot for the Terminator franchise. If it involves sending a killer robot back in time, I'll probably like it. ​Almost everyone I know panned Genisys, which I really enjoyed. Perhaps it's just my love of time travel in sci-fi, maybe it's the iconic performance of Schwarzenegger, or maybe it's just the fact that the image of a glistening T-800 skull emerging from a firestorm in the opening of Terminator 2 is permanently burned into my subconscious after it scared the shit out of me when I was 7 and my parents hadn't sent me to bed fast enough.

Anyway, Dark Fate wasn't an exception to the rule, and I rather liked it. It doesn't really do much new with the franchise, it's still a series of set pieces where the hero characters gradually get beaten back but escape from a rampaging killbot. The killbot in question is another T-X-style metal endoskeleton covered with the mimetic polyalloy, although in this the two can separate into two separate killbots, allowing for new hijinks! Sarah Connor's back, and they somehow manage to squeeze Arnie back in there too, despite, well, spoilers.

Spoiler

So this new one is a bit of a weird entry in the franchise. Basically the future where Skynet nukes humanity never actually happens, and instead the new Terminator is sent back in time by an entirely different AI named Legion, which was designed for defence against cyber threats. So where the hell does the T-800 come from? He states he's a Cyberdyne Systems model 101 and has knowledge of Skynet, so he's not from this new future where Skynet never existed. It's not Pops, this doesn't seem to have any connection to Genisys. The T-800 in this is sent back in time and successfully kills John Connor as a child, presumably shortly after the events of Terminator 2 (with I think the most convincing attempt at CGI de-aging I've ever seen - it's so good I had to check it wasn't cleverly adapted from a deleted scene from T2 or something). I know this is beating a dead horse somewhat, but it's the most non-sensical plot in the franchise. And why exactly a Terminator that fulfils its mission, rather than just shutting down, goes on to develop a personality, adopt a family and then start a successful curtain business is just beyond me.

But none of that really mattered to me. It's a fun action film with some entertaining set pieces. I'm under no impression that everyone will like this, but I did.

[Hatredsheart]

Terminator: Dark Fate

I have a real soft spot for the Terminator franchise. If it involves sending a killer robot back in time, I'll probably like it. ​Almost everyone I know panned Genisys, which I really enjoyed. Perhaps it's just my love of time travel in sci-fi, maybe it's the iconic performance of Schwarzenegger, or maybe it's just the fact that the image of a glistening T-800 skull emerging from a firestorm in the opening of Terminator 2 is permanently burned into my subconscious after it scared the shit out of me when I was 7 and my parents hadn't sent me to bed fast enough.

Anyway, Dark Fate wasn't an exception to the rule, and I rather liked it. It doesn't really do much new with the franchise, it's still a series of set pieces where the hero characters gradually get beaten back but escape from a rampaging killbot. The killbot in question is another T-X-style metal endoskeleton covered with the mimetic polyalloy, although in this the two can separate into two separate killbots, allowing for new hijinks! Sarah Connor's back, and they somehow manage to squeeze Arnie back in there too, despite, well, spoilers.

Spoiler

So this new one is a bit of a weird entry in the franchise. Basically the future where Skynet nukes humanity never actually happens, and instead the new Terminator is sent back in time by an entirely different AI named Legion, which was designed for defence against cyber threats. So where the hell does the T-800 come from? He states he's a Cyberdyne Systems model 101 and has knowledge of Skynet, so he's not from this new future where Skynet never existed. It's not Gramps, this doesn't seem to have any connection to Genisys. The T-800 in this is sent back in time and successfully kills John Connor as a child, presumably shortly after the events of Terminator 2 (with I think the most convincing attempt at CGI de-aging I've ever seen - it's so good I had to check it wasn't cleverly adapted from a deleted scene from T2 or something). I know this is beating a dead horse somewhat, but it's the most non-sensical plot in the franchise. And why exactly a Terminator that fulfils its mission, rather than just shutting down, goes on to develop a personality, adopt a family and then start a successful curtain business is just beyond me.

But none of that really mattered to me. It's a fun action film with some entertaining set pieces. I'm under no impression that everyone will like this, but I did.

I quite liked it. Compared to Genisys it was Oscar material.

[Wrathbone]

I'd hesitate to say it's good, but it's the best since Terminator 3. Which I guess is like saying COVID-19 is the best pandemic since the Black Death.

But yeah, I mostly enjoyed it. Particularly Carl.

[Animalmother]

Genisys just had the worst casting choices of any of the films.

[Alan]

No good terminator movie since Terminator!

[Animalmother]

T2 is amazeballs but Terminator is still the best one I agree

[Raid]

Genisys just had the worst casting choices of any of the films.

I have to agree. Emilia Clarke had none of the screen presence that Linda Hamilton had, and I'm really not sure why they chose Matt Smith to represent Skynet's avatar. It kinda felt like they were cast because they were in or recently out of popular cult-TV roles, neither one gave a suitable performance in a Terminator film. The other choices were... inoffensive perhaps, but not particularly memorable. The only person that I felt was a good choice (besides Arnie of course) was Lee Byung-hun as the T-1000, who I think nailed Robert Patrick's intense expression and body movements.

The casting in Dark Fate was better. I really liked Mackenzie Davis as Grace, and I think Natalia Reyes had a similar quality to early Linda Hamilton. I could have seen her playing a T2-era Hamilton if the cancelled sequels had been made.

[Raid]

Terminator: Salvation

I realised the other night after watching Dark Fate that I couldn't remember much of Salvation, so figured I'd give it a rewatch. I don't think Salvation has a particularly good reputation, so I went in with lowered expectations, but I actually quite enjoyed it. It's arguably not a great entry in the franchise, it doesn't quite fit the atmosphere that most of the franchise has, and honestly it all looks a little cheap. It had almost the same budget as Terminator 3, but had to create a complete, destroyed future rather than just adding a few humans pretending to be robots in a modern setting. So rather than the epic, skull-strewn oppressively dark future battlefield that previous films briefly showed, we instead get a bright desert filled with CGI and a few old military vehicles that don't quite fit.

The story mostly makes sense. It doesn't try to retcon the entire timeline like later films, in fact it doesn't have any real time travel whatsoever. As a result, it doesn't really add anything of significance to the franchise.

Spoiler

The story is that of Marcus, a Skynet-built replication of a real human that doesn't know it's a Terminator, with the intention of ingratiating itself with the human resistance in order to lure them into a trap. It sorta works, but unless there's some subconscious programming that the film doesn't mention, and that it arguably suggests doesn't exist because of the "human condition", it relies too much on luck and coincidence. There doesn't seem to be any way for Skynet to reassert itself in Marcus (in the end he just rips out his CPU), so what exactly was the point of him being a Terminator in the first place?

There's a few decent setpieces, and honestly it's nice to see more of the future that Reese describes in the original, but I think this could have done with theming more consistent with the first two films and a bigger budget. There's a lot of potential in setting a film during the post-Judgement Day period.

[Achtung Englander]

Stowaway (Netflix)

6/10. For everythig it does right, there is something it does wrong but overall I did like the fact it approaches the subject matter in a realistic (given the nutty premise) manner. There are lots of plotholes, however the acting and special effects are good. The story is not original as I read a short story Breakpoint (1947) which is very familiar and the anime show, Planetes, had an episode along the same lines. The film is getting slated on IMDB, but I found it engaging and towards the end it kept me on the edge of my sofa. It could be better, but its not that bad. I have seen far worse.

[Achtung Englander]

Terminator films suffer from the same problem that Jurassic Park and Alien franchise suffer from. The concept is one beat and you can only repeat that one beat until strong diminishing returns sets in. The only 2 sequel films in these franchises that did well were Terminator 2 and Aliens, and both of those did something different to the first. The difficulty is that sebsequent sequels either replicate the original or the successful sequel, so you have seen it already. Then they jump the shark and add twists which than begin to ruin the entire franchise altogether.

Hollywood lust for money and to steamroll anything decent is staggering.

Enjoy !

[Mantis]

I don't think any of the subsequent Terminator movies have even come close to trying to replicate the original. The franchise works best when it's framed as a sort of tech-noir horror rather than an outright action movie, everything since the original has definitely more closely echoed Terminator 2 than the first.

I think there's actually some scope to make another movie in the franchise if they properly went back to its roots.

[Wrathbone]

Good point there. All the Terminator sequels have had a terminator fighting humanity's corner, which eventually diminishes the sense of threat because you know Arnie's just going to bash the bad terminator around a bit if it gets close. The dread of the first film where there is no-one and nothing coming to help Sarah and Kyle has not been equalled or even really re-attempted.

[Achtung Englander]

The Irishman (Netflix)

This is a long movie. I read on IMDB this is the longest Hollywood movie released in 20 years. Like the other Scorsese gangster movies, time flies when watching. I was never bored as the film follows the same template as Casino and Goodfellas. A narrator, flashbacks, quick cuts, excellent music choices, yes its another Scorsese film. The funny thing is that Scorsese criticised Marvel films for being samey, I mean talk about kettle, pot and black, but at least with Scorsese films I enjoy them as they at least try and portray reality, if not in some glamorous way you can portray killing.

At first I thought the de-aging of De Niro looked pretty bad as his face did not look right, until I looked up pictures of the real Frank Sheeran and than I was impressed. The only problem and this extends to all principle actors is that they are portraying men in their 30s/40s up to their 70s-90s and for the latter ages that is obviously fine, but from their posture and stance their age shines through. If this film was done 15 years ago it would have been better in my opinion. Joe Pesci was the highlight for me, that guy is just amazing and its a real shame he retired as he added so much gravitas. I am not sure about Pacino. He was so masterful in The Godfather and his other 70s films, but since the 90s I feel like I am watching Pacino (the shouty one). Also he looks nothing like real life Hoffa.

Overall it is another great film by Scorsese. I can definitely see it again and learn more about these set of mobsters.

Spoiler

There is a debate as to whether Sheeran actually killed Hoffa, personally, who cares, either way Sheeran was directly involved.

My favourite scene was when the FBI agent informs the elderly Sheeran that his lawyer is dead, in fact all his mobster colleagues are dead, all of them, so who was he protcting by not confessing.

8/10

[Achtung Englander]

Palm Springs (Prime)

This is a wonderful comedy, that dare I say, as much as I like Groundhog Day, this is funnier and the characters more likeable. Exactly the same premise and with almost the same rhymthic beats. What takes this to the next level is the idea of getting along with another person who is stuck in eternity with you. Great night in viewing.
8/10

[Alan]

I'm No Angel
Mae West is fantastic. Her weird film noir style mumble quips are just great, cracks me up. Basic plot West is a dancer and falls for Carey Grant but when the engagement is broken it ends up in a court case. Its pre-code so its fairly brazen at times and much the better for it.

My Little Chickadee
..on the other hand is a code era Mae West film so its much more tame and worse for it and WC Fields is just really annoying when hes on screen for more than a minute. It has some really funny moments, particularly the scene with the goat

Annie Get Your Gun
Ive been listening to a bunch of Betty Hutton songs lately and I really enjoy them, so many of them give me a big smile. They're silly, funny and full of character which seems like that also describes her. This film is quite racist in regards to native americans but what wasn't in the 40's? The finale is also the worst example of forcing a woman to bend to tiny dick syndrome but theres a lot of great stuff in it too. Its where the classic "anything you can do I can do better" song comes from and I love that scene so much.