|
|
Post by K-Box on May 25, 2009 22:21:52 GMT -8
I don't hate Summer Glau, like Jesse seems to, but she's just sort of ... blank. Which is weird, because with a character like the Terminator, "blank" SHOULD work (after all, the actor who DEFINED the Terminator role is NOT a brilliant actor), but ... yeah. Maybe it's the fact that, every time I see her, I keep wondering when River Tam got turned into an android, or maybe it's the fact that, even as a supposed robot, Glau has her Waif Factor turned up to 11, but when I look into her eyes, I see less "programmed killing machine" and more "Kate Moss." You don't need a musclebound actor in the role - Robert Patrick was EXCELLENT as the sinister, sleek T-1000 - but if you don't come across like a mecha-suit with flesh, like Ahh-nuld did, then your stare needs to be less glassy and more RAZOR.
She'd never get cast, because Hollywood would think she's too old, but Michelle Forbes would make an AWESOME Terminator - all lean muscles and flinty eyes, with a total poker face.
|
|
|
|
Post by Anders on May 26, 2009 8:18:10 GMT -8
I think she's doing a good job of it, and I certainly don't think she's bad enough that she's dragging the show down; quite the opposite.
That you could find someone better isn't the argument - you can always find someone better.
|
|
|
|
Post by jensaltmann on May 26, 2009 9:04:55 GMT -8
I suppose they picked Glau precisely because of the "innocent look -- killer machine" aspect. "You won't believe what she can do to you." Kind of like that.
|
|
|
|
Post by jessebaker on May 26, 2009 10:21:44 GMT -8
I suppose they picked Glau precisely because of the "innocent look -- killer machine" aspect. "You won't believe what she can do to you." Kind of like that. Or alternatively, Summer got the role because they needed a reasonably well known young actress to play the role of the teenage terminator/possible love interest for John Connor, since hiring Michelle Forbes to play the role would have made for some akwardness of how to play off the UST between Connor and Girl Terminator, if the Terminator is played by a grown woman. |
|
|
|
Post by K-Box on May 26, 2009 10:26:32 GMT -8
I suppose they picked Glau precisely because of the "innocent look -- killer machine" aspect. "You won't believe what she can do to you." Kind of like that. I get that, and to a degree, I accept its necessity, because finding The Next Ahh-nuld (or, worse yet, the next Kristianna Loken) would be the worst thing they could do - after all, these machines should be effective in no small part because they can infiltrate well, and I AM OVERTLY MENACING (or, in Loken's case, I AM AN EVIL VAMP) doesn't quite work. That being said, I'd be more forgiving of the waif persona if she could actually switch it OFF better when she went into Terminator mode. Again, using Robert Patrick as an example, I loved how personable he was (at least, when he needed to be), with little touches like telling John Connor's adoptive parents that John looked like a nice kid in his photos. That way, when he shifted to his STARE OF DOOM, it more clearly conveyed OH SHIT IT'S ON NOW |
|
|
|
Post by K-Box on May 26, 2009 10:27:47 GMT -8
Jesse: I can believe this, but it's a shame, because Cougar!Terminator would be AWESOME.
|
|
|
|
Post by jessebaker on May 26, 2009 10:36:35 GMT -8
Cougar Terminator would make for a better villain than heroic protagonist, since that way you can play up the whole "sexual predator" aspect as far as her going after younger men to seduce for the purpose of finding which one is her intended victim.
|
|
|
|
Post by K-Box on May 26, 2009 20:55:40 GMT -8
Cougar Terminator would make for a better villain than heroic protagonist, since that way you can play up the whole "sexual predator" aspect as far as her going after younger men to seduce for the purpose of finding which one is her intended victim. Michelle Forbes: Are you John Connor? Horny teenage guy: And if I am ...? Michelle Forbes: I'll fuck you to death. Literally. Horny teenage guy: HELL YES I'M JOHN CONNOR |
|
|
|
Post by jensaltmann on May 26, 2009 23:57:19 GMT -8
Seriously, though, they should've hired Forbes as Sarah Connor.
|
|
|
|
Post by K-Box on May 27, 2009 0:18:56 GMT -8
Seriously, though, they should've hired Forbes as Sarah Connor. I could get along with this, yes. |
|
|
|
Post by michaelpaciocco on Jun 29, 2009 6:43:04 GMT -8
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen Was not what I was expecting, in both good and bad senses. The Bad: -Oh god I wanted see those Autobot twins die so badly. SOOOOOOOO BADLY. I for one don't care if they were meant as stereotypes of blacks, inbred hillibillies, or whatever the fuck, I just fucking hated them because they were incomprehensible and NEVER SHUT THE FUCK UP. -Wait, that one robot (and not to spoil, but if you've seen it, you probably know which one I'm talking about) - doesn't that one defeat the POINT of Transformers? -Jetfire - actually, I'm going to say the concept is good, but the execution was totally wrong. -Wait, did the Decepticons that died in the first film come back and I missed it...or did a bunch of new decepticons just take the same shape? I'll stick with the later, because the former means that no Transformer can die, which undercuts this entire war thing. -Typical Bayisms: US=the world, clunky dialogue, some lazy names, lame attempts at humor, explodo-jumping is an olympic sport, etc. -In the final analysis, whether you like this film will depend on whether or you like Shia LeBouf, or at least tolerate him. On the other hand, if you want to beat him senseless with a tire iron, you're going to have a fairly large problem with this film. OK, the Good (and yes, there is good in this film) -Starscream being a cowering, treasonous bastard. Yay! -They did Soundwave justice, I really didn't think they could, but they actually had Soundwave perform the exact purpose Soundwave had in the original cartoon without it being lame in any way. -"I'll take you all on!" - yeah, that was the Optimus Prime I remember. -I actually like that this movie showed that humanity actually developed tactics and strategies for dealing with fighting giant robots. -I liked it even better that the Decepticons seemed to realize this and actually, you know, made it a point of killing the humans whenever possible. -Oh, thank you for more human-crushing in this film! -This movie had a much bigger sense of scope for the battle between the Autobots and Decepticons being truly global. -The robot vs robot battles, while still unclear, are much better than they were in the first film. So final analysis: Not as good as the first TF film, in my estimation, and there's a few "WTF?" plot moments, and Shia LeBouf, but it's not entirely terrible. Also, as usual, Mightygodking nails the funny with a funny-seeking missile: mightygodking.com/index.php/2009/06/29/it-could-have-been-worse/And for his review mightygodking.com/index.php/2009/06/28/things-i-liked-this-week-and-things-i-didnt-6/OK, and watching a couple of the "Coming soon" Previews Aliens in the Attic - I saw the mom from "Everybody loves Raymond" doing wire-fu - this is quite possibly the only reason anyone could have for seeing this film as I literally felt brain cells exploding watching the trailer, but at least it didn't fill me with as much dread as... 2012 - Oy, so apparently, the guys who made "the Day After Tomorrow" didn't actually learn anything from "the Day After Tomorrow", did they? Or maybe they're trying to do an equal time thing - this time, instead of "fringe left planetary environmental collapse disasster movie", they're doing "fringe right conspiracy semi-religous planetary disasster movie"? I dunno, I just saw a bunch of recycled disaster shots that looked sort of neat, and a bunch of that online "2012 is the END OF THE WORLD", and that the US government built a fleet of ships that suspiciously resemble the Galactica...or...you know, if anyone actually sees this movie, let me know, ok? I'm curious, but mostly in a "so that's what happens when a human body hits a wall at 300 mph" way. Michael |
|
|
|
Post by Johann Chua on Jun 30, 2009 5:37:43 GMT -8
Movie listings indicate that over half of all theaters in Metro Manila are showing Transformers 2. Pretty big push. What's the point in having a cineplex if 6 out of 7 screens are showing the same movie?
|
|
|
|
Post by jarddavis on Jul 2, 2009 13:43:31 GMT -8
I enjoyed Transformers 2. It was fun. Half assed plot, a little overly crass, and big robots beating the fuck out of each other. My biggest complaint was that it was sometimes so blurry that you had a hard time telling which robot was which in the fight scenes.
That said... I found this interesting:
Transformers 2 Revenge of the Fallen is going to go down as one of the worst reveiwed summer blockbusters of all time that made $200 million in it's openeing weekend.
What this says, of course, is that critics, like Roger Ebert, who slammed it big time, really have no clue as to what audiences like in movies any more. What's more, it's hard to beleive he even watched the movie.
Dear Roger: It's a kids' movie. Get it now?
Dear Roger: It's a kids movie. Get it now?
|
|
|
|
Post by jkcarrier on Jul 3, 2009 13:06:15 GMT -8
What this says, of course, is that critics, like Roger Ebert, who slammed it big time, really have no clue as to what audiences like in movies any more. Catering to the audience's expectations is Michael Bay's job, not Roger Ebert's. The PG-13 rating probably threw him off. |
|
|
|
Post by michaelpaciocco on Jul 27, 2009 20:48:14 GMT -8
Saw "Public Enemies" - it's good at what it is, but the middle drags a bit. Depp and Bale give their standard good performances. Of course, during a news conference in which reporters are asking Bale's character how he caught a bank robber, I half-expected to hear him say "What are you? Dense? Retarded? I'm the Goddamn Batman!"  |
|
