Checked out Terminator Salvation yet?

[PC Engine Fan X!]

Today's the debut of the fourth Terminator film franchise known as Terminator Salvation. With an estimated $200 million dollar budget, it's gotta be good. ^_~

I notice that McFarlane Toys didn't get the proper licensing to market and sell the Terminator Salvation toys and action figures this time around, that honor went to Playmate Toys based out of Costa Mesa, California. You might recall that Playmate Toys were the ones who made lots of $$$ back in the 1980s-1990s with it's lineup of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles toys.

There are some new fangled Terminators that make their debut on the big screen including the T-70 (precursor to the T-1 shown in Terminator 2: Judgement Day and was based on a hand-drawn sketch by famous director James Cameron) and the wickedly fast moto-terminators among others. The sleek Hunter-Killers (HKs) make a return appearance this time around. ^_~

Director McG said that he has included some catchphrases mentioned in past Terminator films that are mentioned in this new film as a tribute to them. ^_~

In the Wednesday newstand issue of USA Today dated 5/20/2009, a film reviewer by the name of Claudia Puig gave the new Terminator Salvation film two stars (out of four stars altogether). You have to go see it for yourself to formulate your own opinion about it whether it fits into the Terminator film franchise or not. Director McG has said that he wants to film the next two film installments of the Terminators vs. what's left of the Human Resistance saga but that hinges on just how well this Terminator Salvation film does at the box office. It should be interesting to see just how well it fares during it's intial four-day opening weekend.

PC Engine Fan X! ^_~

[kengou]

This movie looks great to me, from the trailer. I'll be seeing it this weekend.

[PC Engine Fan X!]

Since movie special effects wizard Stan Winston died during the filming of this new Terminator film, his Stan Winston Studios was renamed Legacy Studios in honor of him. Director McG has dedicated his Terminator Salvation film to the late great Mr. Stan Winston in his honor. There are some staff members of that special effects company that have worked on all three past Terminator films -- so they know the intricate details of what makes the Terminators tick. ^_~

PC Engine Fan X! ^_~

[emphatic]

As a fan of the two first films (3 was meh) AND McG, I'm looking forward to it, yes. I've seen his Charlie's Angels movies several times.

[undamned]

I hope this wreaks of the quality of T2. I'm still waiting on a legitimate quality release of that movie. The BluRay version is DVD quality at best, if not worse. There's a reason it's only like $10.
-ud

[E. Randy Dupre]

Since movie special effects wizard Stan Winston died during the filming of this new Terminator film, his Stan Winston Studios was renamed Legacy Studios in honor of him.

Is it just me? I can't see how renaming Stan Winston Studios to Legacy Studios in any way honours the man. Wouldn't it have been more respectful to keep his name in there?

[PC Engine Fan X!]

Since movie special effects wizard Stan Winston died during the filming of this new Terminator film, his Stan Winston Studios was renamed Legacy Studios in honor of him.

Is it just me? I can't see how renaming Stan Winston Studios to Legacy Studios in any way honours the man. Wouldn't it have been more respectful to keep his name in there?

I guess the staff that work there felt that it would be better renamed like that to repay their respects for one of the great former Hollywood special effects maestros of his time. It seems fitting. ^_~

[undamned]

Is it just me?

It's just you.

J/k, I actually agree.
-ud

[Skykid]

McG
Charlie's Angels
Christian Bale

It's going to be absolute shit isn't it.

[GaijinPunch]

Today's the debut of the fourth Terminator film franchise known as Terminator Salvation. With an estimated $200 million dollar budget, it's gotta be good. ^_~

It does look entertaining, but this statement alone is pretty backwards. The huge budget is what destroys most movies these days.

[Skykid]

The huge budget is what destroys most movies these days.

Exactly.

I hate to always play pessimist when it comes to films, but they so rarely come through any more I have little hope left. The last decade of Hollywood's output has been akin to a rattling sewage pipe - nothing works out the way the trailer pretends it will.
Transformers was garbage, X-men was ass, Aliens vs Predator was the most offensive waste of a licence ever - the list goes on.

I have no hope for this. I'm sick to death of Christian Bale too - it's always the same damn non-actors over and over.

James Cameron come back, all is forgiven.

[neorichieb1971]

T2 is seen as the pinnacle of the franchise so far and that is the one which wasted tons of money on special effects. The bit where the T1000 comes out of the floor is just a complete waste of money.

[UnscathedFlyingObject]

Come on, that part was kewl.

Haven't watched it yet but will eventually. Probably not in theaters though because I hate theaters.

[neorichieb1971]

Come on, that part was kewl.

Haven't watched it yet but will eventually. Probably not in theaters though because I hate theaters.

Cool doesn't make it necessary. That T1000 could carve a hole through 10,000 people so why did he have to mould into the floor? Whatever.

Just to make things more interesting he should have turned into a dog the whole movie. T2 was so full of holes it was ridiculous. Its only its big budget and big gun action that really makes it worthy of watching. I did like the judgement day scene though and the bike was cool.

[Shelcoof]

I saw the movie... I really liked it.

Does the Terminator name good!

[emphatic]

McG
Charlie's Angels
Christian Bale

It's absolutely going to be teh shit isn't it.

^^fixed.

[Skykid]

T2 was so full of holes it was ridiculous. Its only its big budget and big gun action that really makes it worthy of watching. I did like the judgement day scene though and the bike was cool.

T2 is the most iconic of the series - it has a lot of memorable scenes (and paced like a video game according to James Cameron).
But the first one is a better film.

[CMoon]

T2 was so full of holes it was ridiculous. Its only its big budget and big gun action that really makes it worthy of watching. I did like the judgement day scene though and the bike was cool.

T2 is the most iconic of the series - it has a lot of memorable scenes (and paced like a video game according to James Cameron).
But the first one is a better film.

I think T2 attempted to do for Terminator what Aliens did for Alien; only it didn't quite work out IMO.

For some reason, T2 is just a little bit too close to that big dumb action movie to make it comfortable for me. I don't mean it isn't one helluva film, but rather most of the sci-fi/horror that worked so well in the first one has been drained out of it.

I'm only hoping this new movie is gritty, ugly and actually a bit scary. That would be nice.

[Herr Schatten]

... just a little bit too close to that big dumb action movie to make it comfortable for me. I don't mean it isn't one helluva film, but rather most of the sci-fi/horror that worked so well in the first one has been drained out of it.

This sounds EXACTLY like Aliens, actually.

[Skykid]

now Aliens, that is teh shit!

[moozooh]

I actually consider the original Alien very drawn-out, if not outright boring. Of 2+ hours of the movie's length, there are approximately 30-40 minutes where something is actually happening.

I can expect it being very good for its time, though. I bet many good directors back in the day were shy of showing puppet monsters in every other scene of the horror movies due to unrealistic looks, so they kind of had to rely on suspense as their driving force. At least until The Thing or somesuch.

[PC Engine Fan X!]

I actually consider the original Alien very drawn-out, if not outright boring. Of 2+ hours of the movie's length, there are approximately 30-40 minutes where something is actually happening.

I can expect it being very good for its time, though. I bet many good directors back in the day were shy of showing puppet monsters in every other scene of the horror movies due to unrealistic looks, so they kind of had to rely on suspense as their driving force. At least until The Thing or somesuch.

The benchmark of John Carpenter's 1982 version of The Thing with real-time alien puppetry has never been eclipsed since then. the idea was to go all-out in terms of hard-core alien effects to push the envelope and they succeeded. ^_~

PC Engine Fan X! ^_~

[zlk]

I saw the movie last night and really liked it. There are several scenes that pay tribute to the original series as well as other famous movies. I say go see it.

[CMoon]

I actually consider the original Alien very drawn-out, if not outright boring. Of 2+ hours of the movie's length, there are approximately 30-40 minutes where something is actually happening.

I can expect it being very good for its time, though. I bet many good directors back in the day were shy of showing puppet monsters in every other scene of the horror movies due to unrealistic looks, so they kind of had to rely on suspense as their driving force. At least until The Thing or somesuch.

Sorry to pick on your post Moozooh, but seriously, most directors don't even understand what suspense is anymore. Alien isn't good for it's time, it's great, period--but it may not be for everyone. Personally I'm thrilled that back in the 70's, directors were limited by their effects (like Jaws not showing up until the end of the film) since it forced them to be create terror in other ways beyond just a big CGI monster. Interesting that The Thing comes up, because that film manages to do both--it has amazing effects AND uses suspense constantly; what more could you want?

Aliens is a weird sort of movie. I think I may rank it higher than T2 because of when I saw it, but the truth is I think it actually still manages to pull off a certain degree of suspense, while actually delivering a big meaty movie. For some reason, T2 has always just struck me as a soulless action movie, and I can't get around it for some reason. It is a whole lot of fun, but it seems to virtually abandon everything T1 was about. The question in my mind is why I don't view Aliens the same way??? Personal bias???

[CMoon]

The benchmark of John Carpenter's 1982 version of The Thing with real-time alien puppetry has never been eclipsed since then. the idea was to go all-out in terms of hard-core alien effects to push the envelope and they succeeded. ^_~

PC Engine Fan X! ^_~

It's a pity they couldn't get the final alien form to work, but all is forgiven in the final exchange between MacReady and Childs. Here's a film that with all the special effects, its what's said between the main characters that's really terrifying.

[Skykid]

The benchmark of John Carpenter's 1982 version of The Thing with real-time alien puppetry has never been eclipsed since then. the idea was to go all-out in terms of hard-core alien effects to push the envelope and they succeeded. ^_~

PC Engine Fan X! ^_~

It's a pity they couldn't get the final alien form to work, but all is forgiven in the final exchange between MacReady and Childs. Here's a film that with all the special effects, its what's said between the main characters that's really terrifying.

CMoon, you nailed it.

The Thing is one all time great movie.

[BIL]

It's a pity they couldn't get the final alien form to work, but all is forgiven in the final exchange between MacReady and Childs. Here's a film that with all the special effects, its what's said between the main characters that's really terrifying.

It's truly a "best of both" horror movie. Kind of on the same note as the nixed final monster, I didn't know until recently that the last death was meant to be incredibly graphic ( spoiler ). I actually prefer the scene they went with... that sudden vanishing worked great as a climax to the monster's relentless off-screen stalking. Not sure how much of the decision was voluntary, but Carpenter certainly rolled with it.

[PC Engine Fan X!]

The benchmark of John Carpenter's 1982 version of The Thing with real-time alien puppetry has never been eclipsed since then. the idea was to go all-out in terms of hard-core alien effects to push the envelope and they succeeded. ^_~

PC Engine Fan X! ^_~

It's a pity they couldn't get the final alien form to work, but all is forgiven in the final exchange between MacReady and Childs. Here's a film that with all the special effects, its what's said between the main characters that's really terrifying.

CMoon, you nailed it.

The Thing is one all time great movie.

I never got the proper chance to see The Thing on the big screen but later learned about it through Nickelodeon's Lights, Camera, Action movie making series hosted by Leonard Nimoy. They showed how some the special effects were done...very intense and labor of love for the sake of promoting/advancing the back-then state-of-the-art special effects. ^_~

The alien as a pack of Siberian Huskies gooey flesh mess is fascinating as it continues to further morph into something else before being torched to death. All done in real time. ^_~

There does exist another version of The Thing with narrative backgrounds on all the science expedition crew towards the early part of the film -- something that Mr. Carpenter doesn't regard as part of his original vision of the film along with the same Husky dog walking off into the background the next morning with Childs and MacReady's fates unknown. I've seen this alternate version with extra film footage not shown in theaters of The Thing broadcasted on NBC and TBS in the past. ^_~

PC Engine Fan X! ^_~

[Marshall banana]

It's awesome! There are so many references and similarities to Terminator 2 (aside from Arnold's famous lines) - locations, scenes, weapons, etcetera. It's very nostalgic.

Marcus isn't as cool as the Terminator, though.

[moozooh]

Sorry to pick on your post Moozooh, but seriously, most directors don't even understand what suspense is anymore.

Have I argued otherwise? My point was that the suspense in Alien was ruined by its length. It crossed the line between "oh my, something must happen any moment now" and "please, make something happen already". When rewatching it recently, I actually noted to myself that Ash's character was more scary than the whole alien ordeal.

Interesting that The Thing comes up, because that film manages to do both--it has amazing effects AND uses suspense constantly; what more could you want?

It's not "interesting", because I regard The Thing as the greatest horror movie, and it's obvious that I'll use it as an example of such. If you reread my post, I say that The Thing was the first movie of its kind which used suspense in conjuction with graphic horror happening on the screen.