August 12, 2008 - 1:43 am - Posted by Administrator
The fourth installment of the Terminator series, Terminator Salvation is presently scheduled to be released in the summer of 2009, pushed back from an original Christmas 2008 release date. If first appearances are any indication, this installment will be a whole new beginning for the Terminator series.
For the first time, John Connor [Christian Bale–Dark Knight, Reign of Fire] will be the star of the show. No Arnold. For the first time, the Terminator world will be post-apocalypse, not a present day teetering perilously close to the brink.
In the trailer John Connor’s voiceover says “This is not the future my mother warned me about.” I’m running on pure speculation here, but I believe he is making reference to a darker, more horrific vision of the Terminator universe. The trailer seems to insinuate that John (and most of humanity for that matter) is a prisoner in a Skynet prison. He must escape with a female companion–likely Bryce Dallas Howard in the role of Kate Connor first played by Claire Danes in Terminator 3. Together they must face a post-apocalyptic world which Sarah conveniently forgot to tell John about.
According to a blog entry by director McG at the Terminator Salvation website, Arnold Shwarzenegger and James Cameron have been consulted regarding their ideas for the future of the franchise, and Christian Bale is reportedly working on the story as well. According to Visual Effects Supervisor Charles Gibson, McG is attempting to incorporate elements of the horror style as well so viewers can expect this installment to be scarier. Anton Yelchin has been cast as a teenage Kyle Reese, and Sam Worthington as a character named Marcus Wright.
This edition of the Terminator series reportedly happens after Judgement Day, but prior to 2029–the date when Skynet starts producing the Arnold-model T-800. We’re promised our introduction to the bigger, nastier T-600–the cyborg Kyle Reese alluded to in the original Terminator movie when he talked about the early terminators which were easy to spot because they had rubber skin.
For Terminator fans who were never big on the cheese-and-one-liners dimension of the original Terminator films, this one seems to be a departure from that. Terminator Salvation will be a meaner, darker type of science fiction, more serious in tone and bleaker in texture. On the downside,there seems to be a rumor floating around that Terminator Salvation will get a PG-13 rating. Let’s hope not.
Posted in 2009, Artificial Intelligence, Environmental Disaster, Post-Apocalypse, Robots/Cyborgs, The Future, Time Travel, coming attractions | No Comments »
August 11, 2008 - 2:54 am - Posted by Administrator
At the turn of the millennium, we all felt like we were on the verge of something big. And we were… the dawn of a new era in science fiction. In 1999, The Matrix became the first movie to encapsulate the concept of cyber-punk virtual reality and display it in a slick motion picture geared for a broad audience. The natural downside of such a large audience is the audible murmur from too-hip-for-the-room haters, sci-fi purists, and nerds. However, The Matrix’s gigantic audience and box office totals don’t lie… it was the first movie of it’s kind.
The Matrix really became a coming-out party for the Wachowski Brothers as a directing duo, and the signature role Keanu Reeves was looking for when he starred in Johnny Mnemonic. Second time’s the charm I guess.
Torn from the pages of a comic, The Matrix is the story of Neo. He’s a corporate grunt in a nothing job with a one bedroom apartment. Or is he? Through a series of encounters with strangers, Neo (Reeves) is tempted to test the boundaries of the reality he’s been living. A choice - the blue pill or the red pill?
Neo’s choice leads him to an awakening that first-time viewers are not prepared for. I distinctly remember my roomate saying as we walked out of the theatre “Dude, when he woke up in that pod… I was not ready for that!”
The most-intriguing plot point of the Matrix storyline is that physics do not apply. When you’re immersed in a computer-generated world, anything is possible. And of course that point lends itself to a visually flashy and action-packed film. Bullets by the bucketful, martial arts up your ass. Carrie-Ann Moss co-stars as Trinity, a bad-ass chick in latex and Neo’s love interest. Laurence Fishburne is the guru–Morpheus, the man with the answers, and the cool shades.
Morpheus sends Neo on a sort of vision quest to fulfill his destiny. Much like the Star Wars series, the story touches on spiritual themes when Neo visits “The Oracle”. And his battles with Hugo Weaving’s Agent Smith are some of the greatest fight scenes ever choreographed. Weaving’s speech patterns and teeth-baring grimace nearly steal the show.
Not since The Road Warrior (Mad Max 2) has a movie so singlehandedly defined it’s genre. The styles worn by the actors have saturated pop culture, the special effects have been mimicked but rarely equalled, and the concept of virtual reality or synthetic immersion has now been fully crystallized in the film-going consciousness.
***** Five Stars
Posted in 1999, Artificial Intelligence, Environmental Disaster, Five Star Rating, Post-Apocalypse, Robots/Cyborgs, The Future, Virtual Reality | No Comments »
February 17, 2008 - 7:33 pm - Posted by Administrator
Runaway is another of a litany of Michael Crichton concepts that were done about twenty years too early.
Tom Selleck stars as a police officer–an expert in robotics–in a near-future where Amercian life is saturated with domestic robots. Although they perform all the menial tasks that nobody wants to do, they occasionally go haywire and require intervention from Sgt. Jack Ramsay [Selleck]. When Ramsay discovers robots which appear to have been programmed to kill, he goes on a search for Dr. Charles Luther [Gene Simmons], a madman in possession of computerized mini-shells the size of a bullet that function like a guided-missile. Kirstie Alley appears in a supporting role as a pawn in Luther’s evil plan.
Runaway falls short in so many areas… I remember seeing it as a kid and being plugged into the movie until about twenty minutes in. I was transfixed by the images of a near-future where everybody has their own robot. But once the story begins to pursue Luther and his ‘heat-seeking’ bullets, I somehow lost interest. Re-watching as a grown man, I still feel the same way. The story is told in a super-realistic method which is a movie-making technique I’ve always loved. Unfortunately, Runaway was made in 1984 in a pre-cell phone, pre-internet time, so watching today… the movie doesn’t stand up. From Ramsay’s laser weapon in the beginning of the movie, to the refrigerator-sized computers, everything that’s meant to look futuristic now looks dated.
The special effects crew on Runaway used existing technology (presumably for budgetary reasons) to depict the robotic action and the shortcomings are obvious. The arachnid-style six-legged robot minions that so many are familiar with from this movie are literally dropped onto some of the actors to nearly laughable effect. Although they look cool, the robots can’t really do anything else and their most dramatic tactic–attacking in swarms–is brought into the movie too late. The soundtrack couldn’t be more stereotypical eighties either–cheesy synth.
For all it’s defects, the concept for Runaway–a cop who has to fight rebellious robots–is one that could be re-done well.
** Two Stars
Posted in 1984, Artificial Intelligence, Robots/Cyborgs, The Future, Two Star Rating | 1 Comment »
December 16, 2007 - 4:01 pm - Posted by Administrator
The early seventies could be considered a dark age of science fiction films. Both in terms of their modest success at the box office, and the tone of the films holding focus.
Films like The Omega Man (1971), The Andromeda Strain (1971), Soylent Green (1973), and The Stepford Wives (1975), dominated the science fiction box office… all light on special effects and heavy on thought provoking visions of the future. Westworld is another entry in this fraternity of films. It is presently scheduled to get a remake in 2009.
Written and Directed by Michael Crichton [The Andromeda Strain, Jurassic Park], Westworld is a vision of a future where Delos has become the most popular vacation destination in the world, a place where humanoid robots are a reality, slaves to the whim of man, and (supposedly) incapable of harming a human. When robots start going crazy, tourists Peter Martin (Richard Benjamin) and John Blane (James Brolin) find themselves being stalked by a homicidal, unstoppable robot gunslinger, incredibly portrayed by Yul Brynner.
Westworld hit theatres at a time when the public consciousness was consumed by an emerging scandal called Watergate, Vietnam, and the AIM’s occupation of Wounded Knee. At the same time in history, the Supreme Court ruling on Roe vs. Wade overturned the states’ ban on abortions, the World Trade Center and Sears Tower domintaed skylines in New York and Chicago for the first time, and America’s first space station, Skylab, was launched. So it should come as no surprise that Westworld is loaded with questions. Who are we? Where are we going? Will humans be victims of their own ambition?
Westworld succeeds marginally at addressing some of these questions, but falls short, like many flicks of the era, in the special effects department. See Westworld for Yul Brynner’s portrayal of the Gunslinger, and don’t laugh too loud at some of the effects.
*** Three Stars
Posted in 1973, Artificial Intelligence, Robots/Cyborgs, The Future, Three Star Rating | No Comments »
