Saturday, July 18, 2015

So what was going on at the end of Ant-Man?

MAJOR SPOILERS FOR ANT-MAN

And here we are again.

Though for once, I'm almost as in the dark as everyone else. I have an idea about what's going and what it means, but the specific details are vague and the actual context is deliberately being kept from us. Still, there's enough here for me to make an educated guess. And if you're looking forward to Civil War, well then you may want to pay attention.

Wednesday, July 15, 2015

Terminator: Genisys: A Review


MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD

Since retiring as the Governor of California, Arnold Schwarzenegger has been trying to break back into the movie star game. His first couple movies since returning didn't do much in that regard, so returning to the role that made him famous in the first place seems like a good path. But Terminator: Genisys isn't only trying to reignite Arnold's star, but also breathe life back into the moribund Terminator franchise which flared out with Terminator: Salvation in 2009. To help, the filmmakers have brought in Game of Thrones' Emilia Clarke and other new talent to support Arnold and make Terminator feel fresh. Does it work?

Well, it's certainly an interesting attempt. The film opens during the last days of the future war against Skynet, the evil AI seemingly destined to destroy the world. Human resistance leader John Connor (Jason Clarke, no relation) prepares his final attack, sending Kyle Reese (Jai Courtney) back to 1984 to protect his mother Sarah (Emilia Clarke) from the Terminator sent to kill her. At this point, it seems like Genisys will just be a straight-up remake of the original Terminator film. But something strange happens when Reese arrives in 1984. He's rescued from a liquid metal T-1000 by Sarah Connor, much more prepared for Skynet than she should be and accompanied by an aging T-800 (Arnold). We learn that the timeline as we knew it has been changed and that events are happening out of order. Figuring Time is on their side for once, Sarah and Reese decide to press their advantage and strangle Skynet in the crib before it can harm anyone but find themselves blocked by an unlikely foe.