Terminator Salvation

We've had this DVD for months, and I just now got around to watching it. I wouldn't have even watched it tonight (after I got home from work, no less!) except that my husband fired it up, and how can I resist watching an un-watched movie?

I'd seen bits and pieces of the movie before, but never enough to get a good idea of what was happening. Speaking of which, this is not a good Ironing Movie. You really can't take your eyes off it very much. If you try this, you will Miss Things and your husband will become Very Annoyed. If I am not careful, one of these days he's going to break out the duct tape to seal my mouth shut during movie-watching time.

But that wasn't my point. What I meant to say was this: I pretty easily figured out the Big Thing. (Oh yeah, because there is a Big Thing to figure out in this movie). But I think this had more to do with the fact that I'd seen parts of it before than due to my super-excellent skills of observation and intuition. I don't think it was especially predictable. Anyway, it might have been kinda fun to be blown away by the Big Thing, but I wasn't. It was more of a Yeah, so? I already knew that Thing.

This probably is a Must-See Movie if you are a boy (there is much blowing up of large and flammable objects) or if you are a fan of the other Terminator movies. I would rank it as better than the first and third, but not as good as T2. There was one thing I didn't like much about it, though--it mostly takes place in a dirty, gritty dystopia (being the only one of the four movies that occurs mostly after Judgment Day). Dirt, grit and dystopia are three things which, especially when found in combination, can be somewhat depressing for me.

Bonus: Kyle Reese is played by Anton Yelchin, the same actor who was Charlie Bartlett. I KNEW I recognized him from somewhere!

Clash of the Titans (2010)

My opinion of this movie: it's pretty weak. I mean, sure, the special effects are better than those in the original version--especially with Pegasus--but the sorry effects of the original wouldn't take much to exceed. Plus, they re-used the monster from Cloverfield for the Kraken.

This movie wanted to be a cross between The 300 and The Lord of the Rings, but any attempted comic relief (like from the hunters, Lenny and Squiggy), just sucked all necessary dignity right out of it. Although I must admit that I enjoyed Bubo the Golden Owl's little cameo, there were far too many times when I shook my head and disbelievingly lamented that it was just so corny.

I'm not sure how I feel about an ancient Greek with a buzz cut. Sam Worthington looked like an anachronistic marine in a girly little skirt. But at least he's cute.

Maybe I would have been more impressed if I'd seen it on the big screen, or if I had turned the sound up really, really loud. I'm sure I would have liked it more if my expectations hadn't been so high. I thought surely the great old story put together with awesome new graphics would make an amazing movie. But . . . it didn't. I've seen worse movies, but this was not the movie I hoped it would be.

Avatar

If I hadn't heard so many people talking about how great this movie was, I probably never would have been interested in seeing it. It sounded like the kind of thing my husband might like, and of course I would have gone to see it with him if he insisted, but as it turns out, I decided that so many intelligent people couldn't be wrong. I was the one who insisted on going.

It was a really good movie. Great, fast-paced story, visually stunning, and more than once it was so intense that every muscle in my body was rigid and I was riveted to the screen. On the other hand, I must admit that after more than 2 hours I did glance at my watch and wonder how much longer until the end.

I also think perhaps my expectations were a bit high, based on rave reviews from friends. Sorry, Gary, I did not find it a "transformative experience." No, Anne, I can't agree that this was "hands down the best movie ever," although this is not because I can rattle off a list of movies that were far better. I could probably say it was among the better movies I've seen, but by degrees rather than indisputably. Oddly enough, the one friend of mine who did the best job describing Avatar was the one who likened this movie to Fern Gully.

I was definitely impressed by the special effects. I will admit that it had the best graphics of any film I've ever seen--possibly even the best of any film yet made. It was a rare moment during the movie that I was reminded that what I was seeing wasn't real. This is certainly a movie that begs to be seen on the big screen. I saw it in 3D, although I'm not convinced that this added to the experience other than to show off what a great job they did with the effects.

Bottom line: enjoyable movie experience, glad I saw it, it was fun and all, but my favorite James Cameron movie is still Titanic. I guess that proves I'm just a girly girl and always will be.