They'll be back (maybe)

Terminator: Dark Fate

There are millions of people walking the Earth right now that weren’t alive the last time a great Terminator film was released (1991, in case you forgot). The latest film in the franchise that absolutely will not stop, ever, does nothing to change that, despite bringing back James Cameron in a story/producing role. The kindest thing I can say about it is that it’s the most enjoyable Terminator film since Rise of the Machines. Ignoring all the other sequels after T2, the film opens with teenage John Connor being killed by one last Terminator sent back by Skynet (which no longer exists in this timeline). The most shocking thing about this scene is the digital de-aging on Schwarzenegger, Linda Hamilton and Eddie Furlong, which is still not quite ready for primetime.

Cut to the present and we get yet another remake of the first Terminator, with an unaware young woman called Dani (played by the appealing Natalia Reyes) suddenly forced to abandon her life and go on the run when a Terminator and a protector both travel from the future to find her. It’s completely different this time, though, because the Terminator can use its liquid metal form and actual metal form separately, the protector is an “enhanced” human and Skynet is now called Legion. Totally different scenario.

Anyway, you can probably guess the plot from there but it is nice to see Hamilton and Schwarzenegger back in their classic roles, with Arnie playing the now aged version of the same Terminator that killed JC, leading to some tense scenes with Sarah Connor. But he has a family now (yes, really) so she can’t kill him. Eventually we learn why Dani so important and her connection to her protector, Grace. The film does get a little political at times (especially with a scene in an immigrant detention center) but other than that is fairly unserious throughout. Things are wrapped up fairly neatly, while still leaving the door open for a sequel. The characters are likable and the action scenes serviceable (if not up to Cameron’s standard) but after several movies that ranged from disappointing to disastrous, this needed to be a lot better to restore faith in the franchise. Unless they go for a low budget thriller with a killer script for the next, it might be best to just let it die now.

Maleficent: Mistress of Evil

The first Maleficent was better than the reviews made it seem, and this sequel is also a surprisingly enjoyable reimaging of the fairytale. Angelina Jolie remains impressive in the lead role but the MVP of this installment is Michelle Pfeiffer, killing it as the evil Queen. The final battle between humans and the magical people is fairly exciting on a PG-level. The visuals are splendid and while it doesn’t offer much new it’s nice to see a live action Disney movie that isn’t just a shot-for-shot remake of an animated classic.

October Movie Roundup

Way behind on reviews since I subscribed to Regal Unlimited, so here’s a quick recap of what I watched in October.

Ad Astra

I love some slow-paced, thoughtful sci-fi, and this movie is very slow-paced and quite thoughtful. So why didn’t I love it? Part of the problem is the lack of any emotional connection. Brad Pitt’s morose character’s quest to find his missing dad (Tommy Lee Jones), who may or may not have gone Sam Neill in Event Horizon crazy, should have struck a chord, but I found it hard to care, especially when Pitt does stuff like break into a shuttle during launch and fucking kill every single person on board. Okay, it was mostly an accident but still, he shouldn’t even have been there!

The film is nice to look at and there are some great zero-g action scenes (one involving a psychotic baboon that has to be seen to be believed) but ultimately it’s an interesting disappointment.

Joker

There has been a lot of controversy about this movie glorifying toxic masculinity, but for the most part the Joker in this movie is no more sympathetic or likeable than any of the other Joker incarnations we’ve seen. He’s just a little sadder, but still goes full psycho by the end. As everyone knows by now, this movie is a love letter to late 70s/early 80s Scorsese, and anyone who’s seen Taxi Driver or The King of Comedy can see most of the story beats coming a mile away (Robert DeNiro even shows up for an extended cameo). Joaquin Phoenix fully commits to his role as Arthur Fleck, the man who would be Joker, and it’s his performance that holds the film together even as the gratuitous violence and questionable treatment of mental illness threaten to derail it. As unpleasant as the film is in parts, it’s at least offering a different take on the comic book genre, and if it gets us any closer to DC making a non-canon Batman movie where Michael Keaton returns to the role then I’m all for it.

Zombieland: Doubletap

Belated comedy sequels are pretty hit and miss. Anchorman 2 was an okay follow up that didn’t match the brilliance of the original, while Zoolander 2 was forgotten almost as soon as it came out and the less said about Dumb and Dumber To the better. Zombieland: Doubletap, actually turns out to be one of the better ones. It doesn’t reinvent the wheel, but then neither did the original, which was pretty much Hollywood’s answer to Shaun of the Dead. This one continues the references to the Edgar Wright movie, even ripping off the gag where the heroes meet their doppelgangers. Some of the humour in the sequel does seem dated (calling back as it does to that far off “pre-woke” era of 2009) but it does pretty much everything you want a Zombieland movie to do and the returning cast seem happy to be there so I don’t begrudge them playing around in this sandbox one more time.

The Addams Family

I wasn’t expecting much from this movie based on the reviews, but it’s a perfectly enjoyable animated version of Charles Addams’ cartoons. The voice cast perfectly capture the characters and the plot is true to the spirit of what has come before. Addams Family Values probably remains the high mark for feature length Addams movies, but this is not far behind, though it’s a shame we never got to see the Tim Burton version (but maybe that would have been too on brand).

Countdown

Okay, I was pissed at this movie going in because a clock that tells you when you’re going to die was actually an idea I came up with years ago. In the movie it’s an app, and this is obviously a horror movie whereas my version was sci-fi, so by the end I wasn’t too mad. The movie is fairly enjoyable, though it does over rely on jump scares a little (I didn’t spill my popcorn at one point, honest). Worth a watch for horror fans with low expectations.

The Lighthouse

Now this is one weird fucking movie. Like David Lynch shaking his head in disbelief weird. The basic plot is Robert Pattinson and Willem Dafoe are apprentice and master lighthouse keepers stationed at a remote location. The black and white cinematography and cropped aspect ratio add to a sense of dread and claustrophobia that builds throughout the film before unleashing the full Lovecraftian horror by the end. This is definitely not a pleasant film to watch, but the two brilliant lead performances ensure that you can’t look away, no matter how weird and disturbing it gets.