Trailer Watch

It seems that there is an emerging trend of using Nine Inch Nails songs in trailers. First "The Day The World Went Away" in Terminator: Salvation, and now "The Wretched" in A Perfect Getaway. Yes, that is Milla Jovovich. It's nice to see her branch out of sci-fi video games. Also staring is Steve Zahn (Daddy Day Care) who is one of my favorite comic actors. Timothy Olyphant, who played the title character in last year's Hitman also stars. A lot of people slammed Hitman, but he was fantastic in the last season of Damages, so I'm kind of excited to see more from him. However, this movie has very little chances of being good, but it does promise to be fun and not take itself seriously at all. How do I know this? David Twohy wrote and directed it. Keep in mind that he is the writer of Waterworld, Pitch Black, and The Chronicles of Riddick. At this point you may be wondering why Hollywood hasn't stopped him from making movies, and the answer is that he also wrote GI Jane and The Fugitive. His directing credits include Pitch Black and The Chronicles of Riddick. On a final note, no, I don't know why they picked the Nine Inch Nails song they did. It makes absolutely no sense.

~Lauren

Terminator 101: "The Future Is Not Set"

I happen to know that a few readers (Jonathan) are not familiar with the Terminator series. I feel bad if you aren't familiar with it, because I think that the trailer might not have been quite as epic if you aren't a fan. To help out those who need to brush up on their Terminator lore, here is a brief guide to the series. Note: I am in no means an expert, and this will not be perfect.

Here's the skinny. In Terminator, young, unsuspecting dimwit Sarah Connor is minding her own business when suddenly people are shooting guns and trying to kill her. A young, scruffy man saves her from the Governator. He tells her his name is Kyle Reese and he's from the future. Wait for it, it gets better. She's the mother of the unborn leader of the human race. And this kid of hers is named John Connor (coincidentally Kyle's best friend). As if this wasn't enough to digest, he tells her that in the very near future, humans are going to create an artificial intelligence computer system called Skynet which is going to declare war on humanity and nuke us with our own bombs. Kyle has been sent from the future to protect Sarah, because an evil robot called a Terminator has also been sent back from the future, and the Terminator is hell bent on killing Sarah before she can have her baby. Yeah, you can imagine how this goes over with Sarah. So, Kyle and Sarah go on the run while the Terminator kills everyone in his path. Kyle and Sarah end up sleeping together, because Sarah is freaking out and Kyle has long had the hots for Sarah after seeing her in a picture John had. Thus, Kyle becomes the father of best friend. Yeah. This is why time travel gets complicated folks. In the end, Terminator kills Kyle, Sarah kills Terminator, Sarah goes on the run.

Flash forward several years and you get Terminator II, one of the best action flicks of all time. It's been ten years or so since Sarah killed the Terminator. She's in a mental hospital and a complete bamf. She's also lost the bad 80s hair, but it still doesn't make her much more attractive. John is a punk preteen who hacks atm machines for cash to blow at the local arcade, since staying at home with his foster parents is not on his to-do list. He also thinks his mom's ravings about the future are crap, since she's in the quack house and what not. Of course, since it worked out so well the first time, the machines have sent another robot (T-1000) back in time to kill John, but this one is a lot spiffier than good old Arnold. And the resistance leaders, realizing that the T-1000 is way too much for them to handle, reprogram the Terminator model from the first film to go back with the sole mission of projecting John. So, T-1000 tracks down John, kills John's foster parents, and Terminator saves John. This all forces John to realize that his mom isn't nuts, and he orders the Terminator to help rescue her. Sarah, meanwhile, has been beaten up by orderlies several times and mounts her own escape plan, which coincidentally goes down at the same time as everyone else's rescue plan. Just to make things even more complicated, the T-1000 shows up to kill Sarah at the mental hospital, because apparently that would force John to show himself. Yeah, makes no sense. So, Sarah kicks some ass, flips out when she sees the Terminator, and has a brief tearful reunion with John. Then of course it's back to Sarah bamf mode and she kicks but with the Terminator. The Terminator, John, and Sarah escape the hospital and the T-1000. They go to the desert. Sarah gets out of hospital clothes and into military gear. Sarah sets off to kill Miles Dyson, a computer programer who is building Skynet. Terminator and John go after her. Sarah fails to kill Dyson. Terminator and Sarah tell him about the future. Dyson appropriately hates himself. Everyone, Dyson included, go to blow up Dyson's lab. The cops show up, along with the T-1000. Huge showdown ensues. Dyson gets shot, building goes kaboom. Unfortunately, the stupid T-1000 will not quit. It chases our heroes in a big car chase scene. There's an ultimate showdown and both terminator models die. John gets all upset because the Terminator was the closest thing to a father he's ever had. Sarah is happy, because she thinks she's changed the future. 

And finally, there is the third movie. It turns out, Sarah did change the future, sort of. Judgement Day (when Skynet kills everyone) didn't happen, at least not on schedule. Sarah has died of leukemia. John is a roaming, homeless, purposeless loser. You can't really blame him. One day you're the future leader of the human race, the next that future doesn't exist anymore. Or so he thinks. Anyways, he's just driving along on his bike when he swerves to avoid hitting a deer. So the bike gets destroyed and John, despite the fact that he crashed going 70 mph, gets up, limping a bit, in search of medical supplies. Meanwhile, a new terminator model, the TX, appears. This one is different from previous models. She looks like a super model for starters. I'm sure the guys will enjoy the naked TX, but moving on, she kills a chick, takes her car, and drives off in search of her 28 targets, all the while paving the way for several not so subtle sexual jokes. We then get to meet Kate Brewster, her canon fodder fiance, and military father. Daddy Brewster, is working on a, wait for it, secret government military computer system. Yep, you guessed it, Skynet. Then, the Terminator appears and enters a male stripper club and steals clothes from fairly effeminate male stripper. He steals a car and drives off to find John. John, meanwhile, is a little banged up. He breaks into a Vet clinic to get some meds. The TX kills a guy named Jose and two siblings. Kate (a Vet) goes to the clinic, catching John and locking him in a dog cage. She then realizes who he is - apparently, they went to middle school together and made out in someone's basement. Of course, this reunion is broken up because the TX shows up to kill Kate. the Terminator shows up in the nick of time, saving Kate from the TX. He grabs John and everyone piles into Kate's truck, with kate locked in the back. Car chase ensues. Cops get involved as well. after chase ends, John learns that this is not the exact same Terminator from the last movie, so Terminator doesn't remember him. Kate has her best line - "Drop dead you asshole." Kate really doesn't like being kidnapped. Terminator drives them out into dessert. Terminator admits he must protect Kate too. TX is after all John's lieutenants. Apparently, they only postponed Judgement Day in the last movie. Terminator also admits that TX is way more badass than him. Kate still doesn't like being kidnapped. John gets the Terminator to tell Kate who John is. John tries to explain everything to Kate. TX tracks down and kills Kate's fiance. TX and company arrive at a cemetery and crypt, where John finds a grave for Sarah Connor. He starts to get all sentimental. The Terminator punches into the grave and opens coffin, which, in true Sarah fashion, is filled with weapons. Kate flips out, again, and shoots the Terminator, who spits out the bullet. Then the cops show up. Fight scene ensues. Dr. Sliberman (Sarah's former loony bin doctor) shows up. More fighting. kate makes a run for it. Terminator tells John that kate is important and they must get her back. She's his future wife and the mother of his children. TX makes another go at killing Kate. Kate rejoins the rest of the heroes. All make a run for it. Another car chase ensues. They finally ditch the TX and Kate gets all upset that her fiance is dead. Kate then flips out again when she finds out her father is one of the TX's targets. John finds out her father runs Skynet. John insists on a rescue mission to save her father and to stop Skynet. Terminator says there isn't enough time, since Judgement Day is in a matter of hours. John goes all existential and tries to commit suicide. This time Kate orders Terminator to save her dad, and he complies. Road trip to save dad.  Terminator explains that Kate reprograms him in the future to save John after he killed future John. Kate also finds out she's going to marry John. Kate's dad is pressured into releasing Skynet. And of course, it goes evil and destroys everything just as Kate, John, and Terminator arrive. TX shoots Kate's dad. Machines kill everyone. Big fight ensues. Kate's dad gives them a set of codes and tells them to go to Crystal Lake to destroy Skynet. Dad dies. John grabs Kate and al make a run for it. Terminators face off, and TX wins. John and Kate make a run for it to get a plane. Kate grabs a gun and shoots a robot, proving she can be a badass. John is impressed. John and Kate run from TX and manage to escape temporarily. They get to the hanger, where coincidentally there is a plane Kate knows how to fly. Terminator shows up, but his files have been corrupted and he tries to kill John. Terminator stops himself in the nick of time. John and Kate get on the plane. They arrive at Crystal Lake, a bunker-like facility. Before they can get in, TX shows up. Then Terminator shows up and saves them. Again. They get inside the bunker. Terminator says goodbye with "We'll meet again." Terminator and TX kick it. Once inside the bunker, John realizes Skynet isn't there. He's understandably furious Kate's Dad lied and sent them to a fallout shelter. Film ends with John saying over military radio, "This is John Connor" and military people asking him for help. John admits that maybe the future can't be changed, but he'll never stop fighting.

The fourth movie...hasn't come out yet so I can't tell you squat. It is, however, unique in that it is both a prequel and a sequel to all the other three films. Cool, huh?

So, that's one of the best sci-fi series ever. Sorry I couldn't find anything for the second movie in terms of links. Youtube used to have it, but guess it got removed (Note to friends: have the second if you want to borrow). Excited for the fourth movie?

~Lauren

Review: Best. Trailer. Ever!

UPDATE - Read after watching

OK, so now that I'm no longer running around freaking out, making all my non-Terminator friends watch this glory, I feel I can write a somewhat more calm review of this trailer. First of all, I'm planning, even if it kills me, to go see the midnight premiere of this sucker, preferably in IMAX. In fact, I'm pretty sure the only thing that could stop me is a Nine Inch Nails concert within a five hour driving distance. This leads me to my next point. In case I didn't make it clear earlier, the song used up until the Terminator theme at the very end is "The Day The Whole World Went Away" by Nine Inch Nails. I'd give you a link to the full song, but I'm having trouble finding anything other than the quiet version on youtube (Note to friends: I have every NIN halo, let me know if you want to raid my music library). Also, what an interesting song choice. Fans of the band, if you had known there was going to be an NIN song, would you have picked that? I'd have figured they'd go for something off Year Zero or maybe "And All That Could Have Been," but now that I've seen/heard it, perfect choice. I'm kind of bummed there were only two lines from the song, but dear lord, the placement of those lines were excellent. And the break into the guitars with the shooting of the Terminator's head? Epic. 

My favorite moment is when Marcus looks down at his chest and screams, then the cut to Connor backing into the shadows, followed by the collapsing building...goosebumps every time (and I've watched it about ten times now). For all you car chase fans out there, how mind blowing was the part with the car flipping over and the motorcycle/scout terminator sliding underneath? Breathtaking. And let's not forget the visual look of the film. I'm loving what adding the silver has done. The effect is beautiful. Also, I loved the bombing/terminator head visual at the end. It's been up on the movie's site for a while, and it was nice to see it make it into the trailer.

All in all, I can only complain about three things. 1) The lack of Kyle Reese. 2) The lack of Common. 3) The music transition at the end from NIN to Terminator theme isn't working for me. Wish it did, but it doesn't. 

In case you weren't statisfied before, here is a bigger hd link.

Finally, major cool points if you knew what the word "Fraking" came from. For those that did, I was tempted to start this post with "fraking toasters" or "Fight 'Em Til We Can't," but I wasn't sure that everyone would get the references. I guess I'll save it for later.

Oh, and since I'm going to get crap for it anyways, I'll go ahead and admit (Jonathan, Alyssa, Katie) that I knew it was "The Day the Whole World Went Away" from the second the trailer started. Yeah, I know, I'm pathetic. But if you think I'm bad, ask Katie about The Smiths.

~Lauren

Best. Trailer. Ever!

HOLY FRAKING FISHSTICKS BATMAN!

In all seriousness, I just watched this trailer about two minutes ago and nearly jumped out of my skin. I have died and gone to heaven. I'm really, really big on music used in trailers. It can make a movie. Seriously, look at the people putting together the Watchmen trailers - Massive Attack, Muse, Smashing Pumpkins...I never though it could get any better. Then this happened...

Nine Inch Nails. In a Terminator trailer. I love you, God. There is absolutely no way I'm not seeing this movie. If you want a direct link in case this whole embedding thing doesn't work for you, try here.

I love life.

~Lauren

McG's attempt to make a good movie

I love Terminator. Love, love, love it. You know what I love even more? Terminator 2. You know what movie is number five on my list of top ten worst movies ever made? Terminator 3. Hence, I was really, really worried when I heard there was going to be a fourth installment in the series. I almost threw up when I heard McG was directing this project. I felt slightly more hope when I heard that Christian Bale was signed on to be John Connor. I mean, if anyone would be the perfect John Connor, it would be Bale.

If you, like me, are still really worried about how much Terminator: Salvation could potentially suck, here's an interview with McG which may or may not give you hope. I'm liking the new terminator designs. It's sort of like the sentinels in The Matrix at times, but nowadays there isn't an action movie made that doesn't draw some kind of inspiration from that movie. What's really interesting is the process used to develop/corrode the film. Thoughts anyone?

~Lauren