Movie Review Terminator Salvation

Terminator Salvation (2009) 

Directed by McG 

Written by John Brancato, Michael Ferris 

Starring Christian Bale, Sam Worthington, Anton Yelchin, Moon Bloodgood

Release Date May 21st, 2009

Published May 20th, 2009 

I have not been able to get over the idea that John Connor was not initially meant to be the lead character in Terminator Salvation. As a fan of each of the Terminator movies, even the much maligned Terminator 3:Rise of the machines, I was flabbergasted that the character prophesied as the leader of the human resistance in the future of this time travel action fantasy could somehow be relegated to being a supporting character.

Now having seen Terminator Salvation, some of my fears have been alleviated and others were elevated. Christian Bale's John Connor is the lead in this story but the whole thing is stolen by Sam Worthington as Connor's nemesis/ally Marcus.

Terminator Salvation begins in 2003 with the execution of a man named Marcus. He was convicted of the murder of three men including his own brother, and he welcomes his fate. Before he is put to death, Marcus agrees to donate his body to science, specifically to Cyberdyne systems. Fans of the series are already intrigued, the uninitiated will have to wait and see.

Shifting to the future, 2018, we find John Connor not yet the leader of the resistance. He is the leader of a small band of fighters somewhere in California taking its orders from leaders aboard a submarine constantly moving in the Pacific to avoid detection by SkyNet. When most of Connor's team is destroyed in a recon mission, Connor finds that SkyNet, the robotic system that became sentient in 2007 and destroyed most of the human population, is taking human hostages.

The big question for Connor at the moment is why are robots dedicated to killing humans suddenly capturing them. The leaders of the resistance aren't nearly as interested, especially since a recent raid has given them a new weapon for fighting the machines. They think they can blow up SkyNet using this new weapon but to do so will kill the prisoners, something Connor will not allow.

The real game changer here however is Marcus who somehow finds himself alive in 2018. What he doesn't know is that he is the evolution of what SkyNet has been planning for years, a bonding of human and machine that can be used to infiltrate and destroy.

If that last bit sounds like a spoiler then you must not have seen the trailer for Terminator Salvation. Even still, the opening minutes of the movie make certain that Marcus's fate is well known before it is revealed to him later in the film. It is one of the flaws of Terminator Salvation that what should be a major stunner of a plot point is given away with such poor plotting.

Indeed, director McG, best known for Charlie's Angels, doesn't care so much about plot as he does about special effects. How else to explain how McG could move ahead with a Terminator movie where John Connor is not the lead. Clearly, he doesn't care about this story.

On the bright side, McG cares deeply for his special effects and he has created some of the most seamless and effective special effects since maybe the Lord of the Rings movies. The machines are stunningly lifelike and the big special guest, the Governator himself Arnold Schwarzenegger comes to life in ways you cannot imagine, especially considering that the Governor never stepped foot on the set.

The effects of Terminator Salvation are so impressive that the film's many, many flaws become forgivable. The fact that McG tramples all over the Terminator mythology, tossing bones here and there with little in jokes for the fans, is forgivable unless you are truly hardcore. The wooden, charisma free performance of Christian Bale, forgivable because he's so good at letting the effects be the star.

I am surprised to say that I can even forgive the almost complete lack of plot, forgivable because I was so very entertained by this next generation of computer tech. Schwarzenegger's astonishing cameo alone is nearly enough for me to recommend the movie.

Terminator Salvation is not for those who prefer movies that tell an actual story. Nor is it for those of you, a very small number I am sure, who are desperately tied to the Terminator mythology. It is however for those like me who love a good roller coaster ride and those who are very, very forgiving and especially it is for anyone impressed by things shiny and loud.

If 'blowed up good' makes you break out in chuckles you are definitely the audience for Terminator Salvation.

Movie Review: Alpha Dog

Alpha Dog (2007) 

Directed by Nick Cassavetes

Written by Nick Cassavetes 

Starring Emile Hirsch, Justin Timberlake, Anton Yelchin, Ben Foster, Bruce Willis

Release Date January 15th, 2006 

Published January 15th, 2006

The true story of small time pot dealer Jesse James Hollywood should never have become a movie. Hollywood was just another punk teenager in the San Fernando Valley selling weed and acting like a gangster. He would have gotten popped by the cops eventually and spent a couple of years in jail and never been heard from at all.

One fatal decision, one stupid moment, and Jesse James Hollywood went from poser to being the youngest person ever placed on the FBI's most wanted list. How Jesse gained such infamy is the backstory of the movie Alpha Dog from writer-director Nick Cassavetes. Compelling yet pointless, Alpha Dog wants to be a Shakespearean tragedy but acts more like an out of control episode of MTV's Laguna Beach.

Johnny Truelove (Emile Hirsch) was a low level drug dealer in the San Fernando Valley who lived for money, sex and the adulation of his small band of friends and hangers on. Johnny's father Sonny (Bruce Willis) was a successful criminal with rumored ties to the mob. Johnny used his father's connections to make himself a mini empire.

On the periphery of Johnny's little kingdom is Jake Mazursky (Ben Foster) a tweaked out ex-con with a serious drug problem. Jake owed Johnny 1200 bucks and when he can't come up with the cash a violent encounter leads to a deadly rivalry that escalates eventually to murder. Jake's little brother Zack (Anton Yelchin) gets dragged into the fight when Johnny and his pals Frankie (Justin Timberlake) and TKO (Fernando Vargas) grab him off the street as a hostage.

At first the kidnapping is a bit of a goof. Just a group of teenagers playing gangsters and imitating what they have seen in the movies. As things start to get more and more out of control an air of inevitability settles in and a story that should have ended with Zack heading home and telling his mom and dad he ran away for a few days, ends with murder.

Alpha Dog is a true story. A 20 year old drug dealer named Jesse James James Hollywood is the real life Johnny Truelove. He was a drug dealer and after the death of the younger brother of his rival, he became the youngest person ever on the FBI's most wanted list. What director Nick Cassavetes movie tells us is that we should never have heard of Jesse James Hollywood.

Had Jesse and his pals just let their hostage go, everyone would have walked away unharmed. Sure Jesse and his boys would have ended up in prison eventually but not for this senseless murder.

Writer-director Nick Cassavetes has said that this film is not really about the crime committed as it is about the parents who allowed it to happen. The film is dotted with moments where those who should know better, from Johnny's criminal dad, played by Bruce Willis, to Frankie's pot dealer dad, parents had many opportunities to realize what was going on, but were either too selfish or too clueless to stop it.

One of the sadder moments of Alpha Dog occurs between Dominique Swain as Susan and her mother Tiffany played by Alex Kingston. Susan is the only one of the teens to realize the danger that Zach was in and when she attempted to stop it by speaking to her mother, the blow off she gets is the film's ultimate example of parental neglect.

There are a number of good scenes in Alpha Dog. The one I just mentioned between Swain and Kingston is powerful as are scenes featuring Ben Foster as the crazed Jake Mazursky. Foster is frightening as a tweaked out druggie who is likely more dangerous than anyone else in the story and yet he is more together in the end than Johnny and his crew.

One of the most surprising things about Alpha Dog is the strong performance of pop star Justin Timberlake. With his effortless charm and natural good looks, Timberlake has that “it” quality that defines a star. His Frankie is sympathetic and gregarious and watching Frankie, who takes up more screen time than you expect, makes the film's conclusion seem so devastatingly avoidable.

Anton Yelchin is heartbreaking as Zach Mazursky the kidnapped kid. One of those kids who just aimed to please, Zach never made trouble, even after getting beaten up and tied up and gagged in a strangers bathroom. Zach remained affable and friendly with his captors as they threatened his life. Eventually, his winning innocence won over a few of his captors who made him one of the group, got him high, and helped him meet girls. His acceptance guarantees he never would have talked to the cops about his captors, yet another heartbreaking detail of this horrible story.

The performances in Alpha Dog are, for the most part, quite good. However, the one performance that was needed to really make the film work is missing. Emile Hirsch as Johnny never emerges as the focal point of the picture. Johnny is the driving force of the awful events that take place and yet, too often, he disappears.

Alpha Dog is a sad, awful, terrifying story of what happens when parents don't pay enough attention to their kids. Had one adult injected himself in this story with some authority, that 15 year old kid would still be alive. Unfortunately, the teenagers in the story of Alpha Dog were allowed to run wild in the streets and that kid is dead because of it.

Nick Cassavetes tells this story with urgency and purpose. Parents pay attention to your kids. If you don't stupid, stupid things happen and innocence dies.

Movie Review Like Crazy

Like Crazy (2011) 

Directed by Drake Doremus 

Written by Drake Doremus 

Starring Anton Yelchin, Felicity Jones, Jennifer Lawrence 

Release Date October 28th, 2011 

Published November 12th, 2011 

My eyes welled up with tears when I first saw the trailer for the indie romance "Like Crazy." So, if even a jaded film critic can be this deeply affected by a movie trailer it's fair to imagine that this must be one terrific movie right? Wrong. "Like Crazy" is a mumbling, stumbling, indie bore-a-thon about two exceptionally uninteresting people going through one of the least interesting romances of the year.

Don't ignore your visa

Jacob (Anton Yelchin) and Anna (Felicity Jones) met at college when she left a note on the windshield of his car. She writes lovely poetry and he draws pretty pictures and together they have a chance to be a pretty couple doing pretty things. Jacob even makes pretty furniture for a living while Anna, in the US on a visa that's near expiration, is studying to become a writer. That expiring visa is an important plot point as are the vagaries of US immigration post-9/11 so pay attention.

Long distance relationship

As Jacob and Anna fall madly in love she decides to blow off the fact that her visa has expired and stays an extra three months to be with Jacob. It's Anna's suggestion that they spend the summer in bed and a cute, chaste montage shows them doing exactly that until Anna must leave the country for a family matter. Having overstayed her visa Anna is prevented from returning to America. The two lovebirds try to do the long distance relationship thing but this is a universe that is apparently devoid of Skype and the ability to figure out time zones and so they continually miss each other's calls.

Hey look, it's Jennifer Lawrence

Eventually, Jacob and Anna give up and start seeing other people. At about the 45 minute mark of "Like Crazy" Oscar winner Jennifer Lawrence pops up, seemingly from another movie, and for a moment things improve. It's as if the producers realized the film was getting stale and shoved Lawrence in front of the camera to save the day. It doesn't work; Lawrence's Sam is a sweetheart who with great effort falls for Yelchin's banal romantic lead but she can't compete with the memory of Anna who Jacob runs back to and marries before giving up again after just a few months.

Soul sucking banality

Watching "Like Crazy" is like being trapped in an elevator with a pair of angst-riddled hipsters attempting to overcome apathy long enough to actually break up. Will their effort lead to a resolution? I will leave you to discover that you should go against my recommendation and suffer your way through "Like Crazy." After watching the remarkable trailer for "Like Crazy" I was convinced that this could be the 2011 version of "Once;" a modest, heart-aches little indie romance that converses with our romantic souls. Then I saw the movie and I felt my soul being sucked from body by the utter banality of "Like Crazy."

A winner at Sundance

In fairness, maybe the expectations I placed on "Like Crazy" were too high. I have never before been choked up by a trailer and I allowed that fact to color my opinion of the film. With that said, the film was still a disappointment, a boring, full of itself master-class of indie self-indulgence. "Like Crazy" was a big winner at the Sundance Film Festival. If that makes you want to check it out don't say I didn't warn you. This is one of those movies where the disconnect between the festival audience and the general audience is vast.

Movie Review Fright Night (2011)

Fright Night (2011) 

Directed by Craig Gillespie 

Written by Marti Noxon 

Starring Anton Yelchin, Colin Farrell, David Tennant, Imogen Poots, Toni Collette 

Release Date August 19th, 2011 

Published August 18th, 2011 

"Fright Night" is a mixed bag of a remake. On the one hand there are a few very effective scares and moments of skin-crawling creepiness. On the other hand, the two leads, Colin Farrell as Jerry the Vampire and Anton Yelchin as Jerry's teen neighbor turned Vampire Hunter, are on such awesomely different wavelengths that you're left laughing at Farrell's arch, over the top vamping and yawning at Yelchin's vanilla good guy.

The population of the Las Vegas suburb that is home to the 2011 "Fright Night" is not a very observant group. Their ranks have grown smaller and smaller ever since that handsome overnight construction worker, Jerry (Farrell), moved into the neighborhood. In fact, people keep not returning from his house whenever they visit. Charlie (Anton Yelchin) is among those who don't catch on quickly. Jerry is Charlie's next door neighbor and yet Charlie is quick to deny there is anything odd about Jerry. Charlie's nerdy ex-pal Ed (Christopher Mintz-Plasse) however, is onto Jerry from the get go. 

When Ed falls victim to Jerry it finally gets Charlie motivated to figure out what's going on with his unusual neighbor. "Fright Night" pits Farrell's Jerry against Yelchin's Charlie in a life and death battle in which Charlie must defend his mother, played by Toni Collette, and his hot girlfriend Amy, played by Imogen Poots, while trying not to tell them that Jerry is a Vampire. That notion lasts far too long and causes only a series of painfully awkward scenes where Charlie acts strange and then denies that he's acting strange.

Finally, Jerry puts an end to the awkwardness by flatly demonstrating his Vampire-ness in attempting to kill Charlie, Amy and Mom. This reveal leads to the best sequence of "Fright Night," a late night chase in which Farrell's Vampire chases down the trio in their minivan, gets dragged beneath said minivan, and is eventually stopped, for a few minutes anyway. It's a terrific sequence; unfortunately the rest of "Fright Night" lacks the energy and invention of this sequence and the film as a whole suffers. 

The biggest problem with "Fright Night" is the complete lack of chemistry between Farrell and Yelchin, each of whom is playing a vibe that is completely at odds with the other. In "Fright Night" Colin Farrell chews the scenery so much that Bela Lugosi might advise him to take it down a notch. Anton Yelchin meanwhile, is so staid and low-key you wonder if he has forgotten what movie he's making. Yelchin's entire Vampire fighting comes off as perfunctory as a result of his laconic performance, as if he were only roused to action because the script requires it.

When Yelchin is later partnered with David Tennant, as Vampire expert Peter Vincent, the mismatch of energies becomes even more pronounced. Tennant, a fine actor, best remembered as Dr. Who, sadly comes off as a prancing, slightly more serious version of Russell Brand. You can decide for yourself whether you think that is a good thing or a bad thing; the main point is that Tennant, like Farrell, is more energetic and attention grabbing than Yelchin's dull hero.

Fright Night was directed by Craig Gillespie, whose best work, Lars and the Real Girl, was an oddly sweet movie about an oddball in love with a sex doll. Gillespie used the strange energies of his lead actor, Ryan Gosling, to craft a movie that was unlike any other movie you've ever seen. Gillespie may have been attempting to find something strange in Yelchin's performance but neither he nor Yelchin ever finds that point of uniqueness and the film suffers for it.

Gillespie also, quite unfortunately, is not above hoary clichés like people running upstairs when they should look for a door or a window, or employing a cheap yet popular theme with modern Vampire movies, making up rules for Vampire behavior that are vague enough that Jerry and his Vampire minions can break some rules while adhering to others at the convenience of the plot. I cannot deny that moments of "Fright Night" are honestly scary and creepy but those scenes can't make up for all the stuff that just doesn't work in "Fright Night."