Welp, saw this tonight, midnight showing. I got to say, while the movie seemed to try very hard, had all kinds of tributes to the first 3, I was disappointed.
Of course, this is the story we've wanted since T2, "The Future War". And for the first half-hour or so, it's got a good feel. But after a
time, it's not really rough, gritty or grim enough. I believe the PG-13 rating really hindered the full story-telling. The Terminator is really meant to be
R in my opinion, it's about the ruthless genocide of the human race by cold unstopable machines. And while I really liked Marcus Wright (Sam Worthington),
the future John Connor (Christian Bale) doesn't seem to match-up to the previous two. There's just not much soul to the movie, it tries but, I was
still not engaged emotionally. Oh well, it was okay but not really what I wanted. Maybe the next one will be better but I will have to work up my interest to
see it...
Terminator: Salvation (No Spoilers)
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 OGRE3000 |
Terminator: Salvation (No Spoilers) |
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Posts: 2913 05/21/09 1:53 AM Registered User |
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ecgordon |
#1 | |||
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Posts: 5341 05/22/09 8:09 PM Star's Hero |
I was going to see it today, was already at the theater but hadn't bought my ticket yet, but I got a call about a job I needed to do. Otherwise it would
have been Wednesday before I could have gotten to it, since they were going to be out of town over the weekend, I'm off Monday and Tuesday is already
booked.
I should be able to see it tomorrow. |
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 Monkeypro |
Just passing through | #2 | ||
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Posts: 1493 05/22/09 9:30 PM |
"...it's about the ruthless genocide of the human race by cold unstopable machines."
Welp, if you didn't like this story so much, I could recommend a similar series that ran recently on the Sci Fi channel... Heh... Butting out now... :-) :-) :-)
~We must be the change we wish to see in the world.
-Mahatma Gandhi |
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OGRE3000 |
#3 | |||
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Posts: 2914 05/22/09 10:07 PM Registered User |
Oh, you mean Battlestar Galactica? Yeah, that was a great show, Lorne Green and the crew. Oh, the "unvision" perhaps? They had cold unstopable
machines? For like, what 5 minutes and then it was copies of humans that acted/looked like us, but were evil (you know, kind of like liberals)? If you're
going to watch a soap, at least be honest and watch "Days of Our Lives" and be truthful about it...
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Monkeypro |
Passing on Terminator | #4 | ||
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Posts: 1494 05/22/09 11:47 PM |
"If you're going to watch a soap, at least be honest and watch "Days of Our Lives" and be truthful about it..."
Well... I would, but the air schedule interferes with Divorce Court. Heh... Did anyone hear the nasty, abusive language that Christian Bale used to insult a crew member on the Terminator set? I'm not paying a penny to support this guy's abusive, egotistical personality. It's a shame. I liked his performance in The Prestige, but since Batman he seems to have developed a case of primadonna syndrome... Link to rant: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qrvMTv_r8sA :-) :-) :-)
~We must be the change we wish to see in the world.
-Mahatma Gandhi
Last Edited By: Monkeypro 05/22/09 11:57 PM.
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ecgordon |
#5 | |||
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Posts: 5343 05/23/09 6:41 AM Star's Hero |
I can separate my opinion of an actor's personal behavior from their screen performances. I'm sure there are very few of us who haven't screamed
obscenities at someone else from time to time, or else thought about doing so. If the movie doesn't satisfy me or Christian Bale's performance is not
good I won't hesitate to say so, but I won't pre-judge it based on that rant.
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Monkeypro |
Professional standards of behavior | #6 | ||
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Posts: 1495 05/23/09 12:05 PM |
Speaking for myself, I don't think this was personal or private behavior. This was unacceptable professional behavior. It was on a set, in preparation for
filming, during work hours. He was on duty, and was being paid for his time. I know lots of regular people who would have been fired or even jailed for this
kind of abuse.
Now, if he did this at a bar, or at home, or any other place where he can be considered to have privacy rights, then I'd say sure, let it go. Unfortunately, his behavior can affect the reputation, profits, and welfare of other professionals besides himself. This is why we have a concept for professional standards of behavior. I don't wish to change the underlying purpose of this thread, so I'll defer to those who have seen the movie. I'm not pre-judging the movie, but I'll wait for it to come out on DVD. :-) :-) :-)
~We must be the change we wish to see in the world.
-Mahatma Gandhi
Last Edited By: Monkeypro 05/23/09 12:20 PM.
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Eliza DoLots |
#7 | |||
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Posts: 299 05/23/09 11:48 PM |
Well...chances are I won't get to see this until it gets to DVD, but I'm surprised anyone was shocked by Bale's rant. He seems like a ranter to me.
He seems like a performer who would just rip the coffee girl a new one because he'd muffed a scene. Had I been manning the camera or the light or the mike
or whatever, I'd have expected nothing less than to get myself a new asshole at least once a day when the dude was working. It's the nature of the
beast that some artists are temperamental jerks.
Perhaps it's decades of working customer service for photographers--many of whom imagine themselves to be "artistes" of the highest order and have no qualms about ripping into regular folks just trying to do their jobs--but I thought Bale's rant fell well within the realm of acceptable behavior for the "artiste". I've certainly heard worse from people who are far less celebrated for their "art". |
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OGRE3000 |
#8 | |||
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Posts: 2916 05/24/09 10:33 PM Registered User |
Welp, rant or no rant, boycotts, whatever, it got it's ass handed to it by "A Night In The Museum 2"...
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Eliza DoLots |
#9 | |||
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Posts: 302 05/24/09 11:11 PM |
Yes, so it appears...though the final numbers won't be released until tomorrow. They view this as a 5 day weekend. Star Trek seems to be coming in third at
this point, though it's holding it's numbers far better than the other movies.
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ecgordon |
#10 | |||
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Posts: 5350 05/25/09 6:24 AM Star's Hero |
I don't think it surprising that a family-friendly movie like Museum would do well this weekend. In light of Terminator's budget it is a disappointing
debut, but it would have been worse if it had gotten the R rating Ogre and others wanted. I still haven't seen it, maybe today. I've been cleaning
house instead, and when you wait til nearly summer to do your spring cleaning it takes a loooonnnnng time.
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Eliza DoLots |
#11 | |||
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Posts: 303 05/25/09 8:08 PM |
Well, the reviews are in the toilet and it didn't even win Friday night, which is typically the best night for "man movies" like Terminator. I
rather suspect having the R rating (with the graphic violence, gore and maybe even sex associated with it) would have helped it. By going for the PG-13 rating
they were trying to pull from the family audience. A better tactic might have been to give the Dad's a place to go while the rest of the family went to see
the things come to life at the museum.
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ecgordon |
#12 | |||
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Posts: 5356 05/31/09 3:21 PM Star's Hero |
This is not the first time I've disagreed with Ogre, and I'm sure it won't be the last, but I enjoyed Terminator: Salvation. It was infinitely
better than T3, and most definitely better than Jar Jar Abrams' Star Trek. I went into Trek thinking I just wanted to be entertained but was sorely
disappointed on how weak the story was. I went into T:S thinking I would much rather be watching new episodes of The Sarah Connor Chronicles, but was immensely
surprised at not only how well the story held up, but also how well it tied into events in the tv series. I had read reports that McG and Josh Friedman
didn't share that many notes during production of their respective shows, but that was either erroneous or one or both of them are a bit psychic. Based on
events in the new movie it should be easy for everyone to understand how John Connor changed from someone determined to eradicate all traces of Skynet and the
machines into a person who knew that it was necessary for humanity's survival to use the machines to accomplish his goals.
As for the film's rating, I can't imagine what they could have accomplished with an R that they weren't able to do with a PG-13. There's enough mayhem and explosions for a trilogy's worth here, just having more blood and gore spattered around wouldn't change much of the scope and mood. Besides, I heard that the only thing he had to trim to get the lower rating was a topless scene with Moon Bloodgood. Not that I wouldn't want to see that, but I'd rather get that sort of thing in a more romantic situation. And if seeing a woman's breasts brands a film as an R when they allow so much violence, then we might as well surrender to the machines because man's priorities are truly screwed up. |
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OGRE3000 |
#13 | |||
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Posts: 2919 05/31/09 8:46 PM Registered User |
Welp, I read a few reviews that nailed how I felt, there was no real emotion or investment in the main characters. Save maybe Marcus! I didn't believe
there was any feeling between Connor and Kate Brewster-- matter o'fact I had to ask my friends, was that Dallas Howard's character? I had no clue that
was her! It has plenty of cool scenes, violence, action, Terminators and on and on, but no real heart, no really connection with the humans. Oh well, I still
have a buddy that tried to convince me if I watched Phantom Menace straight on to Return of the Jedi, I would see how the movies came together and would love
the whole thing. Not gonna happen...
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Eliza DoLots |
#14 | |||
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Posts: 306 05/31/09 9:59 PM |
ec, if all they had to trim was a breast shot, then I think you're right. We might as well surrender to the machines. I would have hoped that graphic
violence still warranted an R. I do think that violence is important to a Terminator movie just by virtue of the story. I had imagined that they toned down the
violence to get the PG-13, but it sounds like PG-13 now is, for violence, what R used to be.
To be honest, the scene they show in the trailer where the "man?cyborg?" has his skin ripped away and his metal skeleton first viewed and then shown to him seemed to warrant an R (though, my daughter saw that trailer every time she saw Star Trek and was never bothered by it.....I may just be squeamish). |
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ecgordon |
#15 | |||
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Posts: 5357 06/01/09 5:15 AM Star's Hero |
That might not have been the only thing they had to edit for the rating, but I'm pretty sure I read that PG-13 was what they were going for in the first
place. I for one don't need to see graphic violence to get the point. I do think that graphic violence can warrant an R, but that nudity and/or sex
(depending on the context) shouldn't necessarily get the higher rating.
And I did not say it is a great movie, just that I was entertained and engaged by the story. The original '84 film is still the best of the franchise, followed by T2, but this one is definitely better than T3. As in any post-apocalyptic story, it might be hard to see the "heart" when all the people are trying to do is survive. |
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ecgordon |
#16 | |||
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Posts: 5364 06/07/09 6:59 AM Star's Hero |
I don't recall seeing the exact box-office figures, but IMDb.com shows that T:S out performed Star Trek last week, which is either an error or a total
surprise, even though I preferred the former to the latter.
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OGRE3000 |
#17 | |||
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Posts: 2925 06/08/09 10:19 PM Registered User |
I believe it included the overseas opening, which it opened like, last week or so...
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Eliza DoLots |
#18 | |||
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Posts: 313 06/09/09 12:07 AM |
Yeah...domestically, Star Trek is still in the #5 position just ahead of Terminator (http://www.boxofficemojo.com/weekend/chart/). If you go with international, then I believe Angels and Demons is near the top but I don't have
a link to support that.
**edited to add** IMDB now seems to support that. http://www.imdb.com/chart/ It is close, and this weekend was weird. The predictions after Saturday were that UP would take the lead because the 20-50 year old males who were the target audience for The Hangover would be watching the NBA playoffs...but that didn't happen and The Hangover took the #1 spot.
Last Edited By: Eliza DoLots 06/09/09 12:17 AM.
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ecgordon |
#19 | |||
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Posts: 5370 06/13/09 12:31 PM Star's Hero |
When I posted that about the box office ranking it was early last Sunday, before that weekend's totals had been posted. Yes, Star Trek is doing much better
overall than T:S, but last week shows it is fading fast with just .1 million more in sales that T:S.
I know this is all just a matter of taste and preference, and I'm not trying to argue with anyone about the relative merits of the two films. However, I think we can all agree that popularity is not always an accurate gauge of quality. If that was the case we would have to assume that James Cameron's Titanic is the best film ever made, and I for one am not prepared to accept that. |
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Mohr Stoutbeard |
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Posts: 1260 06/14/09 5:55 PM Administrator |
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