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Terminator 2, a review by Dragonfire

Skynet, the 21st century computer waging a losing war on humans sends a second terminator back in time to destroy the leader of the human resistance while he is still a boy. His mother is the only one who knows of the existence of the Terminators, human-like robots that exist only to kill and are nearly indestructible, and Sarah, the boy's mother is currently in a state mental hospital because of her 'delusions'. A second protector is sent back to the past by the Human resistance to protect John Connor, their future leader, at all costs.

My Thoughts

I saw this one when it was first released in the theater - I actually won tickets to an early screening from a local radio station. Anyway, I enjoyed the movie then and I still like it.  It has been a while since I last saw it, so I had forgotten a few small things.  For a while I was thinking that I had forgotten whole scenes and sequences, then I remembered that my DVD had 16 or 17 extra minutes added back into the movie.  Some of those minutes did help to add some explanations while others didn't seem as...important.  I liked that Arnold's Terminator had been reprogrammed to protect John.  The new Terminator..T-1000 I think was really cool, especially the whole liquid metal shape changing thing.  Of course that made him harder to kill..but it was still cool.  The action scenes were done well and helped to keep things interesting.  I remember being surprised by how...buff Sarah was in this movie.  It was almost like she was trying to give Arnold some competition in the muscle department.  lol

I watched 2 short extras on the making of the movie..the first one had lots of interesting stuff on how the effects were done.  It was talked about how the liquid metal thing built on what had been done in The Abyss.  There are more extras that can only be accessed through the DVD-ROM, which I haven't checked out yet.  I do really like the movie.  It is a very well done action movie.

 

I've started working on a longer review to post at Epinions, but it isn't done yet.

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

L.A. Confidential, a review by Dragonfire

L.A. Confidential My Thoughts I wasn't interested in this one when I first saw previews for it.  I just didn't think I would like it.  Then I kept seeing the trailer and I started changing my mind and I eventually saw the movie..and I loved it. The plot is rather complicated, so people could get confused or lost if they don't pay attention.  Things do start off slower while characters are introduced and situations are set up.  Some of what is shown doesn't seem that important at first, but it all ends up being tied to what is going and adding to the set up of things.  I think there ends up being a decent amount of mystery and I didn't find the movie to be predictable at all.  I remember being really shocked by one thing that happens - though it does make sense for the story.  I did end up reading the book after I had seen the movie.  I think I'd seen it a few times by that point.  The book is even more complex than the movie with even more characters and events going on.  I think the movie is a really good adaptation since it focuses in on the most important elements of the story.  From what I remember, a lot more time is covered in the book. Even though there aren't any actual sex scenes in the movie, sex does have a big impact on the story.  Sid, the tabloid reporter, is always hoping to catch famous or sort of famous people in some sort of compromising sexual situation.  Sid even sets some of them up, promising one person that no one else will ever know..and then he plasters the pictures all over the cover of Hush-Hush, the tabloid magazine he writes for.  Lynn, the main female character, is a call girl who looks like Veronica Lake.  There are other call girls who look like other actresses, though they are mostly just talked about and only one of them is briefly seen.  Bud and Lynn have a relationship and it is very clear that it involves sex even though not much is shown.  There is a lot of violence in the movie, some of which is rather graphic and extreme.  There are shoot outs and fights with several people getting hurt or killed.  The violence didn't really bother me, though some people may feel differently.  The movie definitely deserves the R rating and it isn't one for children. Several of the characters are just in a few short scenes, but they still manage to be interesting.  This was the first movie I saw Russell Crowe and Guy Pearce in.  I really didn't like Pearce's character Ed at first.  Technically he is the good guy since he is out to end corruption, but his attitude at first makes him unlikeable.  I don't see Bud as really a bad character, though he isn't all good either.  Jack has gotten use to being a bit of a celebrity thanks to the exposure from working with a tv show and the busts that he sets up for Sid to take pictures of.  Jack is a bit corrupted, but no where near the level that some other cops are.  The cast is wonderful in their parts. I really like this movie and think it is has held up very well. At the time, I was ok with Titanic winning more Oscars, including best picture.  Now I'm thinking this one really should have won.  I posted a review on Epinions last night - my 1300th review there.  L.A. Confidential

(From L.A. Confidential on June 16th, 2010)

The Flash Marathon, a review by addicted2dvd

Guest Stars:
Vito D'Ambrosio as Bellows
Biff Manard as Murphy
Mike Genovese as Lt. Warren Garfield
Stan Ivar as Dr. Carl Tanner

My Thoughts:
A good episode... but not as good as the pilot movie. The transformations were done rather well. They definitely looked cool. Basically the story of a scientist that forgets his ethics while working on experimental gene mutations trying to cure disease. A case of someone doing the wrong thing for good reasons. But ends up getting lost on the way.

My Rating:

(From The Flash Marathon on April 7th, 2010)