Terminator Salvation

Ok - so fair disclosure - I love the Terminator series in a big old geektastic way. I don't think any of the four are in any way shape or form great art, I do think they are in many ways fabulous entertainment.

I read a critique of this movie the other day that basically said it was a miserable failure, and I had to ask myself if they had actually watched the same movie that I had. Because I thought Terminator: Salvation was the second best of the series (because c'mon - what's gonna top T2?)

So to list the great things about this movie:
Things go *boom* - ALOT.
Sam Worthington doesn't make my eyes bleed. Neither does Christian Bale. Moon Bloodgood also doesn't suck to have to look at.
The kid who plays Kyle Reese (Jon Conner's dad) is just one of my new favorite adorkable actors.
The sound effects for the machines! (and seriously - all those who compare the machines to the Transformers? While the cartoon was out before this movie series began - the way the machines looked and acted had already posited years before Michael Bay gave us his vision of the Decipticon. So McG wasn't *stealing* from those movies - it was sticking to what had come before in this series - so get over your damn selves.)
The DETAILS they kept and used from the first three - awesome continuity! I LOVE when they do that. Makes my nerd heart beat faster in glee.
Things go boom - alot.
It's ugly in the future after Judgement Day - just like Kyle Reese came back and told us in that first movie, I enjoy watching the whole series and it's ever decreasing since of hope for the future, even as it's the only thing that is left to which to cling.

I think it's a good story. I think it's well told. I think it fits beautifully into the storyline of the Terminators. I think it has lots of good effects and action.

I love this movie. But - it's only a sci/fi action flick! Don't expect depth! No one is winning an Oscar for acting in this thing either! Be excited by the little geeky things, and have fun with it, and I think you might at least think it was worth the rental

Contagion

This movie is excellent, but it's not a feel good "the world is gonna end but true love wins in the end" tale like, oh say Outbreak was back in the day. It's gritty, unnerving and - worst of all - real.

I love movies that explore what might happen in a worst case scenario - disaster porn I call them. But this one, while on the surface looks like it could be described as such, is not the same critter at all.

This movie posits what might occur in our modern, linked in fast moving world if a true pandemic virus was to be born and start to spread. And let me tell you, it's damn scary (especially when they've sat the story in your hometown *shudders*.)

The acting is amazing - there are several big name stars in this movie -  but the screenplay must have been written by a George RR Martin fan - in other words, don't get too attached to any character.

I think the thing I liked best about this movie - is that everyone was human. What I mean by that is there were no "good guys" or "bad guys" there were people who were stuck in a craptastic situation who made choices based on human emotions and desires. Some were altruistic, some were self-serving - but no one was all one or the other.

So if you are in the mood for a more serious drama some night, with no happy ending and no clear cut answers - I recommend this movie. Totally worth the money.

Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy

A classic spy tale - this is a slow developing movie. This does not make it a *bad* movie, but you should know right up front there aren't any explosions, car chases or grand fight scenes, like we have come to expect in today's "spy" movies. This is the classic spy movie set in 1970s England - shot in such a way that when the first shot comes on screen, you might actually question if you came to a new movie, or if this was re-released to the big screen.

What you will get from this movie is some amazing acting from everyone involved. There is not a weak link in this when it comes to the performances of the cast - they are all riveting. And it's fun to see them in the 70s styles to be honest - the 70s were nicers to some of them than others (Benedict Cumberbatch especially, although the eye candy for me was once again Tom Hardy.)

Slow moving the story might be, but it's enthralling nonetheless - by the end of the movie you should be leaning forward in you seat in anticipation of the big reveal of the identidity of the double agent. But all in all you have to be in the right frame of mind to watch this movie - it's not an easy piece of fluff to be watched to unwind. But if you want to watch something that keeps you guessing, and unwinds slowly and carefully - it's worth a watch