Do we really need another Terminator movie?

Movie:    Terminator Genisys

PG-13, 1 hour 59 minutes

Grade:    B-

In a Nutshell:   Fun for The Terminator fans, but not necessary for others.   I mean, do we really need a reboot of this James Cameron franchise?  This is supposedly the first of a new trilogy.  Yikes.   Don’t get me wrong…I really like The Terminator movies.

My biggest gripe about this film is that I just don’t care anymore.  It’s hard to feel invested in a story that will probably be redone AGAIN in another sequel or prequel.  I just didn’t care if any of the characters lived or died, because I knew that a future movie might completely reverse what happened in this film anyway. 

There is a lot of time traveling that will make your brain begin to hurt if you try to figure it all out.   It’s not exactly logical, but it’s sure going to make the studio a lot of money….because, as Arnold says…”I’ll be back”.

Good for Arnold Schwarzenegger for keeping his acting career going.   We all love to watch him kick bady-guy butt.   (Forget he told us he was going to retire.)  As his character, Terminator/”Pops” says in the movie, “I’m old, not obsolete.”

Uplifting Theme:

·         “There is no fate, but that which we make for ourselves.” – John Connor (Jason Clarke)

·         “Straight line.  You just go and you don’t look back.” – Kyle Reese (Jai Courtney) , Sarah Connor (Emilia Clarke)

·         “One thing we know for sure…the future is not set.” - Kyle

Things I liked:

·         The best moment in the movie for me was watching the young Arnold Schwarzenegger fight the old one.   Epic.

·         I loved traveling back to 1984 with punk rock hair do’s and Velcro-strapped shoes.

·         They poke fun at 2017 Americans who can’t live without their cell phones.  True.

·         The script explains away Arnold Schwarzenegger’s older look by saying that the machine has human skin over it, which ages.  Oh, ok.  That works for me.  It’s a good thing Arnold doesn’t have to do much running; The Terminator always walks slow and determined.

·         The jail scene is hilarious.  Bad boys, bad boys!

·         J.K. Simmons (Detective O’Brien) is such a likeable guy. 

·         Lots of action scenes.  Lots.

Things I didn’t like:

·         This Sarah Connor (played by Emilia Clarke) is cranky and barks at everyone during the entire movie, allowing very little time for us to like her.  She’s not vulnerable and endearing like Linda Hamilton in the original The Terminator

·         The T-1000 liquid metal, shape-shifting terminators are extremely cool, but it’s not anything we haven’t seen already before.

·         If you haven’t seen the original, you won’t appreciate the nuances of how the story has veered off in different directions.

      It's so hokey when they change the spelling of a word to make it seem cooler.  (Genesis)

Funny lines:

·         “Bite me!” – Sarah

“That is a very immature response.”  - Terminator/”Pops”

·         “We have approximately 35 seconds.” – Terminator/”Pops”

A bad guy crashes through a window and the Terminator says “One less.”

·         “Can you stop him talking like that?  Is there a switch or something?” –  Kyle  (referring not only to the Terminator’s content, but Austrian accent)  ha ha

·         “We’re not even sure he speaks English.” – random cop in the jail scene   (another funny poke at Arnold’s Austrian accent)

·         “We’re here to stop the end of the world!” – Sarah Connor

“I can work with that.” –  Detective O’Brien

·         “I read about this on GunsandAmmo.com” – The Terminator/”Pops”.   Hilarious.  It’s a real web site.

·         “I thought you were dead.” – Sarah

“No, just upgraded.” – The Terminator/”Pops”

Overly dramatic lines:

·         “We take it tonight or there is no tomorrow.” – John Connor

·         “Come with me if you want to live!  Now, soldier!” – Sarah Connor

·         “We’re exiles in time.” – Reese

·         “You are nothing but a relic from a deleted time line.” – John Connor

Tips for Parents:

·         Like in the other The Terminator movies, you see Arnold Schwarzenegger naked (from the rear) as he transports through the time traveling machine.  A few other people travel through it naked as well, but you don’t see too much.

·         1 F-bomb

·         “Mild” profanity, intense fighting.

       Some of the terminator skeleton robots may be too scary for young children.

Need to catch up on the films in this futuristic franchise?

Project Almanac features "found footage" of time travel

Movie:  Project Almanac

PG-13, 2 hours

Grade: C

In a Nutshell:   The movie uses “found footage” as its film style, which can be slightly annoying.   The camera work is so shaky that it’s more irritating than clever.  Its dizzying effect reminds me of the movie Cloverfield .

The story features a high school senior who gets accepted into M.I.T. and discovers a time travel machine in his father’s basement.   Pre-Teens will get a kick out of the flick, especially if they have never seen Back to the Future or Chronicle , which do it better.  You might wish time travel were real so you could get your money back for your high-priced theater ticket, but the movie is perfect to play at a sleepover when kids are only half-watching it.

Uplifting Theme:

·         If you could travel back in time, what would you do with that power?
*    During a concert, attendees can write with chalk on big boards to answer the question: "Before the world ends..."   What would YOU write?

·          

Things I liked:

·         When I was in college, I dated a guy who attended MIT.  It was fascinating to watch the games he and his genius frat brothers played in their spare time.

·         I thought it was funny that the characters mentioned the movies Timecop , The Terminator ,  Looper , and the entire Star Wars: The Complete Saga (Episodes I-VI) [Blu-ray] movies while discussing time travel.
The cast is young, energetic, and fairly charismatic.

Things I didn’t like:

·         Everyone talks on top of everyone, which often makes it difficult to hear what they’re saying.

·         The CGI is decent, but not the best I’ve ever seen.

·         The science is a bit shaky, just like the camera work.

Funny lines:

·        “I didn’t have time to study.  I’ve been building a time-machine.” – David Raskin (Jonny Weston)

·         Full disclosure, guys.  There’s a slight chance that oxygen and nitrogen naturally found in the air could catalize." - David

“What does that mean?” – Quinn Goldger (Sam Lerner)

“We might explode.” – David

·         “You guys, we invented friggen time travel.  We should sell this thing to Richard Branson for like a zillion dollars.” - Adam Le (Allen Evangelista)

·         “It’s like a second chance machine.” – Adam

·         “I’m going to hire Kim Kardashian to have my baby.” – Quinn

·          

Tips for Parents:

·         Some teenage trash talk, profanity, and pre-marital sex.

·         Lots of teenager girls in skimpy outfits with some sexual innuendo.