Terminator 2: Skynet Edition Blu Ray

I found this bad boy at Target for five bucks and that was just way too good to pass up.  It's been a while since I watched this flick and I figured now would be as good a time as any to revisit.  I won't get too wordy, because everyone and their mother knows this movie inside and out.  It was one of the most influential flicks when it was first released, especially in the terms of visual computer effects.  The effects still hold up, after all this time.  James Cameron, Stan Winston and the team of practical and visual effect folks on this movie are at the top of their game, delivering a movie that looks better than a lot of todays FX fests.

I'm one of the few that actually prefer the first one over this one.  To me, the original Terminator was scarier and creepier.  The thought of an unstoppable killing machine on your trail with the only human (yet very resourceful) Kyle Reese to protect you.  It was more of sci-fi meets horror and it was extremely effective in what it set out to do.  The sequel is more of a blockbuster sci-fi action movie that does what it sets out to do just as effectively, so which one you prefer probably depends on what genre you prefer your Terminator in.  That said, Terminator 2: Judgement Day is still flat out full of awesome.  It does a lot of things right; you have Arnold at the very top of his game, Robert Patrick makes a very worthy opponent as the liquid metal T-1000.  The action is top notch and delivers the goods in very satisfying ways.  The major flaw I find in the film is that it suffers "Annoying Kid Syndrome."  I understand that John Conner is an important part of the story and in fact what drives the story along.  But man does he come off as a whiny little brat.  Cameron has a little too much fun trying to make Conner the quintessential early 90s rebel teenager with all the outdated slang and annoying attitude that goes along with it.  Sorry, it just seems too self aware and corny, especially for this day and age.  That aside, I did like the relationship John developed with the Terminator, I felt that part of the story rang true.  A boy and his killer robot.  Like I said, though, I won't get too wordy, you already know if you like this movie or not.

The blu ray portion of the movie, I feel is kind of a mixed bag.  I've always like the blue-tinged look of the movie and it's about as sharp and crisp as I've ever seen it.  I'm currently in between surround sound systems at the moment, so it would have been nice to have a 2.0 audio option to help out with the sound on my TV.  I'll be honest, I don't have the ideal setup to fully take advantage of the Blu Ray experience, but I would imagine that the surround sound audio option is fantastic for those that have it.  For those with wireless internet turned on, the menu (while it does take a loooong time to load) becomes unsettling, as it takes on the persona of Skynet who is tracking your every move.  It's almost durn near convincing as I find myself looking over my shoulder now to see if Skynet is hovering behind me somewhere watching me type this out.  Of course, it's probably in my personal computer too.  Dang.  Anyways, I thought that was a nice touch to give it a feel of Terminator conspiracy.

The special features are where I feel a little cheated.  Now there are directors and crew commentaries, and that's always nice, but other than that, there's a few deleted scenes and promotional trailers for the film.  The regular DVD had a ton of special features and I love me some special features.  I will say that the Blu Ray Live portion of this DVD has the most stuff I've seen in my meager Blu Ray collection.  You can watch a nice 30 minute making of doc, another doc that takes you behind the scenes of the "extended version" of the movie with all the scenes put back in and whatnot.  There's some Japanese promotional trailer material and stuff of that sort.  It sort of makes up for the lack of special features and docs on the main disc, but it would have been nice to see a more current in depth look at the making of the movie with the people involved in the movie.

Despite the gripes, I enjoyed the Terminator 2: Skynet Edition Blu Ray immensely.  It's a fun action movie on a great format for that type of movie that you can find for an outstanding price at the moment.

Horror Movies: Have They Lost Their Effectiveness For Me?

When I was a teenager and on into my 20s, I used to love watching horror movies.  I was talking to a friend recently, and I mentioned that as much as I loved those movies then, they just don't hold the appeal to me that they used to.  I still enjoy a good scary flick when the itch hits, but not like before.  It was a bit of a depressing thought, because for me it was yet another sign of growing up.  As if having a wife and kids wasn't enough of an indicator, but for some reason I can flow with that.  The changing of ones tastes hits a little harder.  The more I thought about it, the more I realized that back then, horror movies were a good bit of catharsis.  Like riding a roller coaster, you can release nervous fear in a non threatening way.  The jumps were good and I always enjoyed the thrill of watching a character I could relate to put into horrifying circumstances, going through hell and coming out on the other side (for the most part) victorious.  As a teenager, I got a rush out of it.

Now as a dude in my 30s, horror has different meaning.  It's no longer about being scared of things that go bump in the night.  Now I have kids.  Fear is not the bogeyman coming to get you, its about "what if my 1 year old sticks a pair of scissors up his nose?  Because that's the kind of thing that little madman would do!"  There's still a bit of fear of the bogeyman, but as an adult, you know it's fantasy.  And the reality of how the heck will I be able to provide for my kids hits a little harder than Michael Myers slicing and dicing moronic teenagers.

Quit Staring!

Don't get me wrong, I still enjoy a good horror flick, but it's hard for me to sit and watch any generic slice and dice anymore.  The wife and I currently enjoyed the two Paranormal Activity movies and found them suitably creepy.  But I've not seen any of the newest installments of the Halloween or Scream franchises and back in the 90s that just wouldn't have happened.  Opening night, baby!  Now: maybe Redbox.  Or Netflix Streaming if I can't jump on the Redbox.

I still enjoy them, though.  The original Halloween doesn't creep me out like it used to, but I still enjoy watching it nonetheless.  Carpenter's atmospheric direction and the great Donald Pleasance as Dr. Loomis still hold up and bear repeat viewings.  Just give me good atmosphere and characters and I'll be all about your movie, horror or not.

Still Number One, Baby.

Now it's October, Halloween time, time of horror movies.  I might have to track down a couple of scary flicks to watch this month.  Maybe I'll even take a crack at the Halloween remake, just to see if I can punish myself that harshly.

I kind of miss the horror and scary things in my life being the harmless make believe stuff.

Woman Sues the movie "Drive" for it's Misleading Trailers.

http://newsfeed.time.com/2011/10/11/woman-sues-because-drive-isnt-enough-like-fast-and-the-furious/

Holy wow, we are suing movies now. Okay, technically, I guess she's suing the studio behind the movie, but still. Come on. This is not bordering on ridiculous, it has crossed the border and has pitched a tent and built a campfire in the heart of ridiculous. Sarah Deming felt the trailers for the movie "Drive" built it up to be more of a Fast and Furious type of movie than the more, I guess character study of a stuntman-turned-getaway driver it delivered. I cannot speak personally for this movie, I have yet to see it. The word from critics is good, and that should have been her first clue. Critics don't "love" movies like The Fast and the Furious.

I can understand the disappointment in going to see a movie and it not quite living up to your expectations. Back in '99, there was a little movie called Wild, Wild West (betcha thought I was gonna say The Phantom Menace :), and I was disappointed that the funny, quirky and imaginative sci-fi comedy I thought I was getting was a long, unfunny snore fest full of actors who are above that type of thing. I didn't like it and simply never watched it again. I didn't file a suit against Will Smith for making a crappy movie that didn't live up to my expectations.

LIAR!!

Here's the thing; trailers are not and never have been the greatest representative of what you are going to get on the screen. They are elements put together to get your butt in the seat and hopefully the movie will pull you in and entertain you. If it didn't, that's a chance you took when you punched your ticket. It's job is to get your interest, and I guess the trailer for "Drive" did it's job concerning Sarah Deming.

In this day and age, there are COUNTLESS ways to get info on your upcoming movie releases. People pretty much crap out reviews by the hour on the internet. You can get professional reviews, movie-going public reviews, geek reviews, women reviews, Christian reviews, reviews from every viewpoint you could never dream existed! There are forums, metacritic, rotten tomatoes, websites that tell you what to expect from the movie. I understand that even with all this info, a movie can still surprise you in a negative way. Again, this is the chance you take as a movie-goer. It's the deal you make with any movie; I hope to be entertained, but there's that good chance you will disappoint me.

Speaking for myself on the subject at hand, I don't know a lot about "Drive", but I don't think I thought it was going to even approach Fast and Furious levels of craziness and testosterone infused action. Here's the trailer....



I actually think it looks like a really good movie, but nothing in that trailer suggests it has anything to do with any movie series that is graced by the thespian superstar known as Vin Diesel.

I just don't see the point in suing because you were disappointed in the movie. She's only suing for the price of the ticket, but that's already been reimbursed by the theater. She's simply grandstanding now. Rip it amongst your friends, or start a flame war on the internet, but don't take this highly publicized stand as if this movie personally kidnapped your puppy.

The Avengers Official Trailer!

Today is a monumental day. For today is when the full official trailer for Marvel's The Avengers is unleashed unto the public! Personally, I think it looks really cool. Nice action, nice humor (especially love Tony Stark's line to Bruce Banner at the very end) and really nice to see the team interacting and fighting with each other.

Like every nerd, I've been looking forward to this movie. Kinda wondering if they could pull it off. Thor came out, it was amazing. Captain America came out, it was awesome. With the release and success of those movies, anticipation for The Avengers is at an all time high for me. I honestly can't see them screwing this up with how well they've handled the movies leading up to it. The trailer is also very promising. See for yourself....

Son's reaction to 'Empire Strikes Back' reveal!

The video below, found on YouTube, of a person taping his little son's reaction to Darth Vader's big reveal to Luke Skywalker is genius. I'm a Star Wars nerd through and through, and this type of video gives me hope for a future generation of nerds. It's nice to see a generation pass it down to another generation.

Also, it must be noted that the parents seem to have decided to show the kids the Original Trilogy before the Prequel Trilogy, otherwise this reaction wouldn't have been much of a shock. I've often wondered, when my kids were finally old enough, which order I would take them through the Star Wars saga. I thought it would be cool to do it chronologically, but this one twist; the twist that the whole saga turns on, is what keeps me from doing that. You gotta get that full "Holy Crap!" effect of that scene, otherwise... well, it just wouldn't be right. I fully endorse this parent's decision. It appears to have been the right one.

John Travolta and Nicolas Cage Face Off: Civil War Style!

In one of the weirdest coincidences I believe I've ever had the privilege of witnessing in my young life is the appearance of old timey photos of "Vampire Nicolas Cage" and "Time Traveller John Travolta" within a week of each other.  Someone posted a picture of what looked exactly like a young Nicolas Cage taken a hundred years ago on ebay for thousands of dollars, claiming it was proof that Nicolas Cage was indeed a vampire.  Not long after, an eerily similar picture of John Travolta, who it was concluded that since he is a Scientoligist, he must have the ability to travel to and fro in time, popped up as well.

You can't argue how similar these photos are to these very modern celebrities.  I usually veer on the skeptical side of things, but let us be honest; it certainly would explain a lot about Nicolas Cage.  The man couldn't figure out what to do about his hair even then.  And if the other guy isn't John Travolta, he certainly passed down his chin of steel to the dance happy actor.

Personally, I see a great opportunity and excuse for a Face/Off prequel set in the civil war where John Travolta's Sean Archer goes back in time to prevent Nic Cage's Vampiric Castor Troy from causing a century's worth of death and mayhem.  Somebody call John Woo and get him on this thing!