Day 151: Terminator Salvation – The Machinima Series

Terminator Salvation – The Machinima Series
Director: Tor Helmstein, Kelly Ward and Ian Kirby
Starring: Moon Bloodgood, Cam Clarke and Jim Meskimen
Rated: NR
Length: 74 min.
Release: May 18, 2009
Trailer

Synopsis:
The resourceful A-10 pilot from Terminator Salvation has her own story in this kick-‘bot prequel filmed via the innovative Machinima process that turns video-game elements into a full-blown animated story. Moon Bloodgood reprises her T4 role, providing the voice of Williams as she takes on an explosive mission to track what or who is disrupting comm links during the Resistance’s fierce guerrilla war against Skynet. T-600s emerge, guns blazing. MotoTerminators patrol post-Apocalyptic L.A. Aerostats hover. Hunter Killers rain death. Machinima delivers action and style in a big way. Reboot the future with Terminator Salvation: The Machinima Series.

My Thoughts:
I’m not gonna spend much time on this as it would be a waist of your time to read it…just like it was a waste of my time to watch this stupid collection of lame video game reals with a poorly done voice over dubbed in. Keeping in mind that this collection is really a series of internet shorts created as a precursor to the movie and as a strange promotional of the Terminator Salvation video game. It was a strange promotional that ultimately failed.

The back story on Williams is interesting…but not interesting enough to put up with how poorly the execution of this idea was. The whole time watching it I just couldn’t get past the fact that they used a really bad video game engine to create this waste of space story. The whole video game engine thing doesn’t come off as creative…it comes off as cheep. Really…really…REALLY cheep.

The only reason I sat through this piece of garbage was to write this review. I knew right away it would be bad, but I hoped it would get better…it does not. There is no take away from this story that adequately justifies the need to sit through it. There is no set up to Terminator Salvation that makes this worth your time.

So let this be your warning…don’t waist your time. Seriously…don’t. It’s 74 min. you’ll never get back. .5 stars out of 5.

Day 31: Planet of the Apes

The Planet of the Apes

Directed by: Tim Burton
Starring: Mark Wahlberg, Tim Roth, Helena Bonham Carter, Michael Clarke Duncan, Paul Giamatti & Estella Warren
Rated: PG-13
Length: 119 min
Released: July 27, 2001
Trailer

IMDB.com Synopsis:
It is the year 2029: Astronaut Leo Davidson boards a pod cruiser on a Space Station for a “routine” reconnaissance mission. But an abrupt detour through a space time wormhole lands him on a strange planet where talking apes rule over the human race. With the help of a sympathetic chimpanzee activist named Ari and a small band of human rebels, Leo leads the effort to evade the advancing Gorilla Army led by General Thade and his most trusted warrior Attar. Now the race is on to reach a sacred temple within the planet’s Forbidden Zone to discover the shocking secrets of mankind’s past – and the key to its future.

My Thoughts:
To start this one off I must bring full disclosure. I have not seen any of the original Planet of the Apes movies. I know…I know. How horrible of me…right? I’ve seen portions of the others and the only thing I remember is people who kind of looked like monkeys in terrible makeup and special effects. The new one was way better on the believability scale.

The special effects of this were just amazing. Most of the main actors that were in the monkey makeup…I wouldn’t have thought it was actually them. Especially Tim Roth (seen just a few days ago in The Incredible Hulk on day 29) Some of them I still don’t! I mean look at them!…

Tim Roth

Helena Bonham Carter

Paul Giamatti

Now grant it the old a actors were pretty unrecognizable too, but they didn’t look as realistic. Also the action sequences are nice (and even better on a bigger screen…as always). The ending didn’t quite work for me though. It’s such a confusing way to close the movie, and some of the acting on the part of the humans was less than stellar, but the special effects are well worth the watch. Tim Burton did a marvelous job updating the level of realism and believability to this long lost franchise. Unfortunately it didn’t do so hot at the box office because the story was a bit weak. I’m giving this one 3 out of 5 stars because of the superb job on the makeup and other special effects.