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Terminator 3 : Rise of the Machines, a review by Dragonfire

Arnold Schwarzenegger is back as a time-traveling T-101 Terminator in this smash hit directed by Jonathan Mostow. With dazzling effects, bravura thrills and a story that boldly spins into the unexpected, this is an event spectacle to see and see again.

My Thoughts

This completes my Terminator movie marathon..now on to the show.
For the most part, this was a decent action movie, but it wasn't as good as the first two movies.  I really didn't like that Sarah wasn't around and I really, really didn't like the explanation for why she was missing.  John had some ...attitude issues at times that were annoying.  I did think that the explanation for how Skynet was still created despite what happened in Terminator 2 made sense, though it would have been nice if there had been some more...specific information about how the same types of machines were created even though all the evidence was supposed to have been destroyed. 

There were some inconsistencies with what had been previously established though.  The biggest one was that during Terminator 2: Judgment Day, it was established that John was 10 years old when those events happened.  During the first few minutes of this movie, John did a voice over and said that the T-1000 had been sent to kill him when he was 13.  That is a minor thing, but it still bugged me.  Also, the Terminator that was sent back to protect looked the same, but was not the same Terminator from the second movie.  He knew certain things, but not specific things that had been done.  In the second movie, John ordered the Terminator to not kill anyone, so he didn't.  Right away in this movie, without him being given the order, he wasn't killing people during fights.  There wasn't any explanation for why he did that.  I'm guessing that maybe that was added when his programming was changed in the future.  It was a small thing, but it bugged me. 

The movie could have been better..and I'm thinking that if James Cameron had been involved it would have been, but it wasn't horrible. 

 

I did write up a review that I posted on Epinions back in 2003 after seeing the movie in the theater.

Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines

(From Dragonfire: What I've Been Watching on January 15th, 2009)

Illuminata, a review by goodguy

Illuminata (1998) Written by: Brandon Cole & John Turturro Directed by: John Turturro Starring: John Turturro, Katherine Borowitz, Susan Sarandon, Christopher Walken DVD: R2-DE Kinowelt/Arthaus (2007) My rating:

John Turturro is mostly known as an actor, but he has also written and directed three movies. I already wrote about his gorgeous Romance & Cigarettes (2005) here. Illuminata is about a theater company in New York at the beginning of the 20th century. The movie disguises itself as comedia del'arte and has probably half a dozen dangling subplots, but its main theme really is the problematic relationship between two creative people. It's a bit like Fellini crossed with Bergman. The big names like Sarandon and Walken all deliver great performances, and so does Turturro himself, but Katherine Borowitz (a stage actress and Turturro's real-life partner) absolutely stands out.

(From goodguy's Watch Log on August 31st, 2008)

My Pilot/Finale Episode Marathon, a review by addicted2dvd

Adventures of Superman

Pilot::
Superman on Earth
Recounts Superman's flight from doomed Krypton, being raised by the Kents, his arrival in Metropolis, and getting hired as reporter Clark Kent at the Daily Planet when scooping Lois on Superman's debut.

My Thoughts:
The first episode of this series decided to start at the very beginning... the destruction of Krypton and Arrival of Superman on Earth. Was definitely a good episode. There was however 1 very big noticeable difference from any other Superman show or movie I ever saw before... for some reason the Kents name is Eban and Sarah Kent instead of the normal Johnathan and Martha. Which is something I found strange but didn't take away from the enjoyment of the show any.

Fanale::
All That Glitters
What if? After a whack to the head, Jimmy dreams he and Lois has the same powers as the Man of Steel.

My Thoughts:
This was basically no more then a fun episode. I definitely enjoyed seeing Jimmy and Lois with Superman's powers. It kinda gave me a chuckle. The finale of this series was no different then any other episode... leading me to believe that when it aired they most likely didn't realize the 6th season would be the series last. though who knows for sure... what with the age of this series... they could have done things differently back then.

(From My Pilot/Finale Episode Marathon on May 11th, 2008)