Dominance War IV - The Finished Product
Well, I guess about a month a little less than a month ago, Dominance War IV concluded - at the moment he doesn’t know how he did. My brother, if you don’t remember, was participating in it. (For more information on the competition and what it’s all about, you can go here.) Anyways, he made it through it and delivered a final and finished painting. Though he obviously has his problems with it, I personally think it came out great. He did a fantastic job, and it makes me very excited to be working with him on a comic book because I know the art is going to be incredible!! If you want to see his thread and view his progress throughout the competition, you can go here. Otherwise, enjoy the final product below:
Terminator Salvation
Terminator Salvation - the fourth installment of the franchise - was one of the movies this year that I was really looking forward to. Having been a fan of the previous films, as well as the Fox series Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles, the anticipation was pretty high. Add that I’m a big Christian Bale fan, and the previews for the film were fantastic, this film had a lot going for it in my eyes. Sadly however, it was not able to meet expectations.
The film stars Christian Bale as the legendary John Connor - the eventual leader of mankind’s fight against the machines, and a new character by the name of Marcus Wright, played by the up and coming Sam Worthington. The setting is 2018 and deals with the battle against the machines in a post Judgment Day world. McG, who doesn’t exactly have the greatest film history directed.
Now, this movie had so much potential, but it was going to be an uphill battle. To begin with - and to my understanding this could be a first - the film was going to be part of a Saga, yet have very little resemblence to it’s predecessors. The previous films before had time travel, thus having a more “present day” feel, Sarah Connor, and Arnold playing a good Terminator, a protector. It was going to be a different type of Terminator movie. It wasn’t going to be the same formula of protect John Connor and there in lies the double edge sword. There is a huge amount of new and exciting territory to cover which has the potential to make a great movie, however, would audiences be open to a new or different formula when it comes to a Terminator movie?
I for one, was ready to see a badass John Connor - or at least the beginnings of one. I was excited to see the creation of the Terminators and the resistance. However, this is where the story didn’t work. It wasn’t the acting - I felt the performances were fantastic and the actors did great with what they were given, and I won’t really put the bulk of the my faults with the movie completely on McG. The cinematography and presentation of the film was fantastic. I felt he did a great job with the world and I bought into it. The issue, in my opinion is all with the plot. I think that anyone who is any kind of Terminator fan has been waiting to see the John Connor that the previous films make him out to be. And I know that we were definitely expecting him - especially from the previews - to be the center of the film. And that my friend is where they messed up. The writers made John Connor practically a secondary character. Why in the heck would you do that? Why would you make him second-billing to a “new” Terminator that has next no backstory or explanation given? This is even more shocking when you realize that Christian Bale wouldn’t have even signed on for the role until they made the Connor role bigger. Makes you wonder what the original script was like. All in all, even aside from all the plot holes and unexplained events throughout the film, I feel that the movie missed the mark because it forgot was it was about. The Saga is about John Connor…NOT the Terminators. (This is one of the reasons it’s a shame that the Sarah Connor Chronicles was canceled. They were doing it right.)
If you are any kind of Terminator fan, you still have to see it - even if you only ever watch it once. I wanted so much to like this movie, and though I did find it enjoyable from an entertainment standpoint, being a fan of the Terminator Saga, I just couldn’t get past that fact that the movie just played out in and way that was unexpected. Last I heard, there was talk that the sequal was going forward - this movie was envisioned as the start of a new trilogy. I still think they can salvage things and make it right in the coming movies. All was not lost in this film. It did a great job creating the world, now they just need to do a great job of writing what happens in it.
Star Trek
Star Trek was a movie I was really looking forward to seeing this year, and let me tell you - it did not disappoint. Entertaining and exciting from the first minute to the last minute, I - as well as many many others - found the experience of watching the movie very exhilerating! For those that don’t know anything about this movie, it is a reboot/resurrection of the classic science fiction franchise of the same name that was created by Gene Roddenberry. J J Abrams, the director, creates a feature that “embraces the rich history of the influential television and film series while also exploring some uncharted territory” (AMG).
The film stars Herores star Zachary Quinto as the Federation Starfleet lieutenant and Vulcan Spock, the character made famous in the original series by Leonard Nimoy. Anton Yelchin, star of Billy Elliot and the recently released Terminator Salvation movie, assumes the role of Pavel Chekov. Zoe Saldana filled the shoes of Uhura. The hilarious and scene-stealing Simon Pegg played Montgomery “Scotty” Scott and John Cho of Harold and Kumar fame played the role of Hikaru Sulu.
Now, aside from Spock, the two most pivotal roles in the film belong to Leonard “Bones” McCoy and the legendary Captain James T. Kirk. Karl Urban and Chris Pine performed these roles, respectively, and similarly with all the cast, did and absolutely phenomenal job. Following in the footsteps of the people that originiated the roles is not an easy task. Everyone was able to embody the character yet still make it their own.
J J Abrams, togther with his screenwriters Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci of Transformers and the upcoming sequel fame, did a fantastic job or reinventing the series. They were able to create an exciting adventure. One that was daring and inventive, yet true in form and function. The idea was to create a movie that would appease both current Star Trek fans as well as create new ones, and this movie definitely delivered. The film featured a number of laughs and was action packed. It was filled with emotion and awe. At the end of the movie, you just wanted more! In addition, they were able to create a new canon without defacing the old one. The world is open to new and exciting possibilities with the franchise. They can proceed without the worry of continuity and canon issues, and to me, that in it of itself is a fantastic accomplishment. If you haven’t seen this movie yet, go see it. Even for the non-sci-fi junkie, the movie is fun for all.