At The Movies: Terminator Genisys

I’ve been excited about Terminator Genisys for a while. While I was excited as everyone else that ArnoldSchwarzenegger was coming back I was also excited about the casting decisions of the main roles: Emilia Clarke as Sarah Connor, Jai Courtney as Kyle Reese, and Jason Clarke (no relation) as John Connor.  Matt Smith (Doctor Who) also has a cool part.

In the movie, Reese is sent back in time to 1984 by John Connor to save Sarah Connor from the original Terminator. Little do they know that things have actually changed, and Schwarzenegger’s Terminator is actually on Sarah’s side. So they go forward in time to 2017 just before the birth of Skynet which is at the time called Genisys. They find John there, but find out he’s changed, too, thanks to being attacked by a machine (Smith) just before Reese is sent to save Sarah. He’s now pro-Skynet and he’s what’s standing between them and the launch of Genisys/Skynet.

The movie moved a long pretty well, and there was plenty of action. Despite it being a serious movie there were definite moments of humor, and Schwarzenegger was really good being back in one of the roles that catapulted him to stardom so many years back. Both Courtney and Clarke were solid as Kyle and Sarah, and worked pretty well together. Although there was one plot line that seemed to miss a little buildup (maybe I’ll talk about it in another post later this week after people have seen the movie). Jason Clarke was awesome as John Connor (when isn’t he awesome?).

Also, for the Whovians out there (Doctor Who fans), Matt Smith has a pretty cool part. Oh, there also is one scene after the first part of the credits. It’s kind of important.

I thinks it’s definitely worth a trip to the theaters to watch, especially in IMAX 3D if you can cover the extra cost.

Now, go forth and watch the humans attempt to dismantle Skynet….again.

At The Movies: Jurassic World

There have been many who have been waiting for this movie for a long time, and it’s had so many production delays that many feared it would never happen. But it finally has, and it is so totally worth the wait.

Jurassic World takes place twenty-plus years after the original, and is said to be a direct sequel to the 1993 classic. It takes place in present day with the theme park up and running, and being hugely successful. Behind the scenes finds Claire (Bryce Dallas Howard)  who appears to be in a chief operations officer trying to find a way to add excitement to the park, and draw more attendees.  Of course that means genetically enhancing the dinosaur embryos they create in the labs.

One of those enhanced dinosaurs is a full-grown T-Rex which Claire is told needs to be looked before it can be crowd-ready (whatever that means when it comes to gigantic meat-eating dinosaurs). She is told to bring in Owen (Chris Pratt, America’s current favorite actor), who has somehow managed to train velociraptors to listen to directions in some form. Also interested in the raptors is Hoskins (Vincent D’Onofrio), a military contractor who wants to use the raptors in the battlefield (not part of Owen’s plans).

Everything really starts heating up after they are notified that the T-Rex’s tracking device is outside the enclosed area. That’s when they realize it was more of a diversion to get them in the area. The T-Rex escapes after eating one of guards, and chaos slowly ensues as they try to keep the park open as the enhanced dinosaur makes its way toward the main theme park area. Meanwhile, Claire is also worried about her two nephews who came to spend time with her, but she put her assistant Zara (Katie McGrath, BBC’s Merlin) on them because she had important meetings to attend to. The nephews ditched  Zara are touring a field of dinosaurs when they chaos starts unknown to them (they find out soon enough).

Despite all the production delays it’s well worth a trip to a theater, especially to see it in IMAX 3D. The ticket prices are outrageous (which the employees working there have no control over, by the way), but it’s worth. Chris Pratt’s leading-man skill is undeniable, and Howard’s portrayal of a career woman also dealing with the arrival two nephews (whose names she tends to forget) is pretty spot on. At first, she seems really cold, but she’s clearly used to having two responsibilities: the unbelievable task of making sure a the park stays profitable, and her own life (the ounce of a personal life revealed is her nephews, her sister (Judy Greer), and her failed date with Owen years ago). She tries her best, and scenes with her nephews can be awkwardly comical.

The only way the movie could have been better is with a few appearances by characters from the original 1993 epic. There were two, but no spoilers (it’s time to be surprised again).

It’s a great movie, and there’s a very good chance we can look forward to more installments in the near future (as of this writing the movie took in over $18 million on Thursday, $80 million-plus on Friday, and is on track to end the weekend with $180 million).

Go on, now! The park is open.