Tuesday, May 26, 2009

Movie review - Terminator Salvation

I saw T4, AKA, Terminator Salvation last week and I did enjoy it a lot. I saw it at Cinéma Banque Scotia (formerly The Paramount) in theatre 4, which is one of their "smaller" room (it's still big enough, mind you), but selected it because it was a DLP projection. Digital means no scratches, lines, pops and other annoying defects. Purists will say old film is still the best, but I am a digital man...

As a tag line say "it happened". Judgment Day, that is. No time travel in this story, we are in the middle of the war, launched by Skynet. So I was expecting an action movie with lots of explosions, shooting, chases, killer robots and much mayhem. Instead, I got a lovely family story reflecting on the aftermath of global warming on the North Pole. NOT! I got exactly what I was expecting. Lots of action. The story was good enough for this type of movie, but it does have a few holes. But that's not what I was thinking while I was watching, so I don't mind.

One thing that spoiled it a little for me, was knowing in advance a plot element about one of the character, which should have been a surprise, but was revealed before the movie got out. I think it was in the trailer, actually. But that was not enough to completely spoil it. Just a little.

John Connor, played by Christian Bale, is of course a key element in the story, but we also follow other characters throughout the movie. The most important character is probably Marcus Wright, played by Sam Worthington. While the original actors were not really in this movie, there are two "cameos" from T2's characters...

If you are a Terminator fan, do go see this movie. While it didn't get as much praise as another recent SciFi movie, it certainly is worth seeing on the big screen. Personally, the order in which I would put the four movies, starting with the one I like best is: T2, T1, T4, T3.

Last thing I want to mention is that one of the trailer in front of this movie was Surrogates, starring Bruce Willis. What surprised me most about it was that this movie is coming out this year, filming is obviously well under way, but this is the first I heard of it! Looks interesting.

Saturday, May 9, 2009

Movie review - Star Trek

A classic franchise is reborn. Star Trek, from director J.J. Abrams is different from the ones that came before it, as well as the series it is based on, while still remaining true to what Star Trek is. As you probably already know, it's the origin story of the Starship Enterprise NCC 1701 (no freaking A, B, C or D!). We learn how Kirk, Spock, Bones, Scotty, Uhura, Sulu and Chekov became the crew we all love and respect. Of course, they are younger version from the ones we saw in the original series, but the cast was very well chosen and are very credible and you accept them quickly as their respective characters. I was a bit worried that I would see Sylar instead of Spock, but Zachary Quinto absolutely gets into character and made me forget his previous famous role.

The story is excellent, there's lots of action and humour, the special effects are amazing (thank-you ILM!) and the Imax version I saw is stunning. I can't imagine there won't be a sequel with the same actors and production team, which I'm looking forward to. :-) Knowing the characters is a plus, to get some of the jokes and understanding some references, but even if you are not familiar with the 1960's TV series version, you should see this movie, as an introduction to this universe. At least if you are a Science-Fiction fan.

I will likely go see this movie again, as I really loved it. And for once, IMDB and Cinema Montreal, as well as Twitter and other blog sources, seems to be in agreement that this movie rocks! At least half of the spectators of the sold-out Imax theatre I was in stayed with me until the very end, hoping for a last scene, but such was not the case. :-( Needless to say, I highly recommend this movie to all Sci-Fi fans.

Sunday, May 3, 2009

Movie review - X-Men Origins: Wolverine

I've been waiting for this one ever since it was announced some time ago. X-Men Origins: Wolverine tells the tale of how Wolverine, as well as other mutants, came to be who they are today. Or at least until the end of the movie. I hear it's not quite how it was in the comics, the true origin of the characters, but I'm sure I'm not the only one who knows only the big screen version. Actually, I also know the animated series, shown on TV. Anyway, I did like this movie. It covers part of Wolverine's past, how he got his adamantium upgrade, his amnesia and other details.

There's plenty of action, great special effects (except perhaps one makeup job near the end of the movie, which you'll figure out once you see it), interesting characters and the story is pretty good. By the way, about a third of the spectators knew better, just like me, than to leave before the very end of the movie... Are we clear on this? OK, then let me be crystal clear: There is a scene at the very end of the movie, after the credits.

I'm not sure what will come next. Can they fit another story between this prequel and the first X-Men movie? Probably. They can do anything if you throw enough money at it. I'd be curious to see how they would bridge the events that don't quite follow the chronology.

Once again, the notes given to this movie are much better on Cinema Montreal than on IMDB. I'm not sure what this says about us Montrealers, but I guess I'll keep trusting them more then the rest of the world!