And He Said ... I'll Be Back

In 1991 we never expected that Arnie would return as the Machine that terrorised Sarah Conner in the Original 1985 film The Terminator, created by the legend of all things CG and Sci Fi that is James Cameron.

So what do we know... well as expected since the first film after the Terminator was destroyed the FBI and the CIA have made sure that  Sarah Conner cannot speak the truth and have the remains of the machine that was sent to kill her from the future. This is how Sky Net is born, from the information collected from the chip found in the crusher at the factory in the last film.
 Sarah Conner has changed, she is tougher, more toned and completely the best female lead ever!!!
She bore a son, the leader of the human resistance against the machines in 2029 John who in the film is a troubled child, not the leader of a human resistance that we all hear of coming out of Sarah Conner's mouth. John is a foster child, and a bad ass at that... he rides bikes, steals money and blasts Guns 'n' Roses 'You Could Be Mine' (The theme song to this film!) causing trouble and being a damaged kid who hates his mother.  He has no idea what is to become of him, or what the near future will hold as be known to him, he has sent the original terminat

or back in time to make sure he is protected from the new versions of terminators the T-1000's, made of liquid alloy they can transform into anything they touch if it is of equal size.

T-1000's 

So how has that changed the game, well throughout there is a prediction in 1997 a nuclear blast will destroy and kill the human race,  caused by a computer that can think for itself. Created in America for defence purposes it begins to think for itself, releasing a nuclear war head onto Russia... Russia Counter act this attack and blow up America. The Machine has won and the fight begins.

There is that Iconic scene from Sarah Conner's dream which is quite gruesome from the outset although this film is full of gore.... after all it is The Terminator!  Sarah Conner is watching herself playing in a playground with a younger version of John, screaming at herself to pick her children up and run for cover... well actually she's screaming at all of them when the bomb hits burning her alive.


Sarah has changed you can she that, wearing combats and army gear she looks like a warrior, again James Cameron doesn't hold back on the strong female lead, she looks feminine but is still strong... she is still a mother who loves her son but she is still a warrior determined to stop Sky Net before it is even created going after the man who is responsible for 3 million deaths and the eradication of the human race.



So what about the film well after this there were 2 more films although  T4 was mainly about John Conner in 2029 played of course by the hunk that is Sam Worthington (who also played Jake in Avatar) which shows what the future looks like. I need to watch T3 as i haven't had chance to... but the thing about T2 is the special effects. James Cameron is known for making sure that he has the state of the art technology on all of his films, but to create the T-1000 the actual CG must of been tough back in 1991. This is before the days of when Pixar where one of the biggest animation studios in the world specialising in Computer Generated Graphics and where CGI was mainly primitive so to pull of the liquidation of a terminator or a solid object was awesome and as a geek brilliant to watch. T1 was brilliant from 1985 but that metal skeleton was just bad.... you know the scene .... it just shook ... T1 was an independent with a limited budget but still I burst out laughing and holding my sides when I watched it... listening to people saying:
"In 85 that was scary!"

Maybe it was, but in the space of 6 years the technological advancement in that film franchise was amazing... and this is why I have a passionate love for Terminator and for James Cameron. I bet he was still writing Avatar and figuring out how to film it when this was made.

Terminator is scary as the realisation for most of us is that we use machines everyday and we as a human race allow them to actually control out everyday lives. Terminator was in it's own way through fiction showing us what could happen!!!!

Chain Reaction

Chain Reaction from the outset it just looks like another action filled Hollywood blockbuster with some  big names which it has... the cast names are like the golden cast for any film!
Morgan Freeman of course, Keanu Reeves and even the lovely Rachel Wiesz, so it's no surprise when Sky 1 put on this belter that I sat down on the lazy boy, curled up under a sleeping bag and ordered myself a take away and watched it the whole way through.
 So whats it about???
Well like i said it's not your typical action film, filled with action packed scenes to make any man squeal like a little girl with excitement... this also has an underlying narrative of green energy, James Bond type Espionage  and of course Bourne like running away from not only the FBI and the CIA. 

So imagine you're an under-graduate lucky enough to work with some of the best scientists and physicists in the world working to find a fuel that is completely green and that will free the world into cheap reliable engergy that will not harm the planet only to find out that it is an undercover CIA operation later on that will frame you up with the event that will indeed set up the chain reactions that will lead you to finding the truth like the film title suggests.

So Eddie (Reeves) has managed to unlock the frequencies needed to make an unstable experiment   work whilst trying to work on the plans late at night, going into the research facility the next day as the hero testing it out and it works successfully. Everyone is happy, elated even as their hard work is now complete and they throw a party to celebrate Lilly (Wiesz) gets of course very drunk and can't drive home so our hero takes her home on the bus before going back to the facility to pick up his bike. Seeing a suspicious van leaving the facility, he is confused.

Going into the facility he realises the people left there are dead or missing and the test green fuel is rigged to blow, panicking and performing CPR on his dead professor  he hasn't got time before the whole research facility is going to blow in true Hollywood style! He tries to disable it... but of course the computer programme has been over rided and he has ro get out before the explosion. So running out and grabbing his bike like a macho man Eddie begins to drive as the explosion happens... like I said in Hollywood style the  expolsion resembles a nuclear attack and the whole of Chicargo can see it unfolding in front of their very eyes. Eddie of course is running away from this fire ball as it starts coming towards him and ends up sliding off his bike and cunningly roles into a convienant ditch.

Again machinery is flying through the air, bits of buildings and a couple of balls of flames added in for good messure are everywhere and all we see is Eddie a cut on his face. 

This is just the start of the first act, with a punch and a kick that would have your eyes nearly popping out of your head (Like Arnie in the original Total Recall) you are instantly hooked. 

And so the fit up begins, the morning after the night before , there is a massive police, fire and FBI investigation launch into the 'murder' and the cause of the explosion... Eddie is the number one suspect and here comes the storm that will have you constantly on the edge of your seat throughout the second and third acts! 

With a Chinese scientist in there, you know the FBI are going to be paranoid from start to finish... and the search of Eddie's Apartment (Flat) finding documents that are from the Chinese and  $250,000 in cash it's no surprise that the fit up has been set into motion (allow yourself to shake your fist at the CIA in this film) and Eddie along with Lilly have to now run. 

And now you can guess the actual narrative from here on in, as it follows the same format as most Thrillers as this film is.... but you always have a funny feeling of Morgan Freeman's character as he's not to be trusted... I really don't want to give the film away but it is amazing.

So the verdict :

I actually enjoyed it, being a Bourne Fan and of course a James Bond Fan... this for me is a cracking film... acting was good as always, fast paced ... full of action and over all a great film to watch. 

I would recommend it to anyone, film in 1996, pre-Matrix and post-Bill and Ted/Point Break it shows that Reeves is a versatile actor taking on any role you throw at him.

Wiesz is quint essentially British in this film, with the traditional accent and Freeman is just amazing ... 

And so in the words of most film critics i have to award this film a 4/5 stars for great action, good pacing, brilliant narrative and brilliant acting. 

Sliver Linings Play Book

What can I actually say apart from the fact I love this film... It's a great film to watch.
You can understand why Jennifer Lawrence won an Oscar for her performance in the film, her characterisation is just to the point. So is Bradley Cooper's, to play someone with a
Mental Illness must be difficult if you have never experienced it before or been in the situation to understand how the Illness can impact on the family, friends and more importantly the person who is dealing and battling with these issues.

The great thing about the actual adaption was it was so pure, it didn't try to over play the mental illness or try to ram it down your throat, the actual process of sitting and watching it was just you and these people. It was like being a spectator.

The narrative is simple and not overly complex, a guy who is having mental health issues is released from hospital back home to live with his parents. He is Bipolar (Manic Depressive) and is dealing with the issue of his wife cheating on him with a different man, which then lead him to beat h
im half to death.
So in the beginning we are faced with his emotional problems and how he has for the past 8 months been dealing with it, with thinking positively, exercising and losing weight. But things from his marriage still haunt him.

His wedding song (his first dance) is a trigger and there is a scene in the doctors office where the doctor tests him by playing it in the waiting room to see what effect it has, which of course has the negative effect rather than positive. He is still hung up on his wife and the fact that he can't talk to her, see her and explain to her how he is feeling.

Bradley Cooper who plays Pat was perfect I have nothing bad to say about the way he treated that role, he knew exactly how to play it...

Jennifer Lawrence for me is the star of that film, her character has been through a really tough time, she has got an over baring control freak of a sister who throughout I just wanted to shake and go STOP IT!!! As for most of the time it was her sisters actions that made her mental state worse. Tiffany (Jennifer) had recently lost her husband in a hit and run and was depressed before the incident, but the that event triggered it to get worse. She is a very awkward character and very hard to read... on many levels due to the fact that most people with mental illness can't really express the way they feel.

I'm not being patronising... I have Anxiety Disorder and also Asperger's and have been in a mental health unit when I was younger so I knew what the characters on some level went through.

I think the film for the most part is giving the audience an insight into life living and dealing with a mental illness although it is in fact a Romantic Comedy... I found that I didn't laugh that much... i actually sat there and thought this is more of a powerful drama, or maybe that was my interpretation.  

This film is powerful and well worth a watch it can be hard to get through as the characters are all manic, no one really in that film hasn't got a mental health problem of sort.... Robert Dinero's character had Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, Pat's best friend was in the early stages of Depression/Anxiety which was a lovely thought.




At the end I nearly cried and I really don't want to give away the ending as you'll have to see for yourself, I wouldn't want to spoil it as it is beautiful and I think this has become one of my favourite films ever!!!

Silver Linings Playbook

I had to watch it ... It has won a BAFTA , Oscar and a Golden Globe !!! 

Behind The Wolverine - Hugh Jackman

The man we all love returns as Wolverine. Yes Hugh Jackman hasn't been off our screens since his performance as Jean Valjean in the amazing Oscar and BAFTA nominated Les Miserable, but this time he comes back as Logan the mad Immortal superhero that we all know and love. 

Jackman wasn't actually cast for the role originally with an actor having to pull out before he could step into the role with an Afro/permed haircut following on from a stint in London's West End. He isthe longest  serving superhero in film with 7 films under his belt. Although he loves. to play the character he told Empire that the gruling training sessions and diet of strictly chicken could sometimes to be to much to bare. Waking up at 4am after the Oscars is not what i would call fun, let alone trainingdoing squats   with the once a week treat of peanut butter on toast (hmmmm yummy)... so what will the latest Wolverine film be like after the really not so good X-Men Origins Wolverine... i'm hoping for a kick ads film that will show that Wolverine and the X-Men are here to stay ... just like The Avengers !!! 

A little Announcement

Forgot to mention but i will not be on here for a week as i am going to Spain for a week on holiday so thats from the 28th June ... to the 5th July ... keep reading and viewing :)

What films make me cry...

I've just talked about it in the video i've just posted... yes please excuse the way i look at the minute i looked rough!!!

Anyway the films that make me cry, they're usually more likely to be children's films that i used to watch when i was a kid... so The Lion King is definitely the top of the list as I remember watching this as a kid and balling my eyes out!!!

So here we go....
 1) The Lion King makes me cry when Simba's dad dies...

 Yes this scene is of course the stampede  the evil Scar has set Simba up in a trap to ultimately kill his father and become the King of the Pride! The Scene you see here on the youtube videos uses actually CGI animation into the traditional drawn Disney animation. The way in which this scene gets to my heart is down to the fact that I literally feel how Simba feels... it's wired to be so connected to a cartoon Lion .... but then that is the characterisation of the actual animation behind the film. The amount of effort that has gone into that is amazing.

Anyway it does make me cry like a baby ... and also can you feel the love tonight when he is reunited with Nala... I love it... Lion King 2 does as well!!!

2) ET when he dies .... and when the doctors are doing tests on him.... Oh my god i cry my eyes out !!!

I cry like a baby as it's again all about the narrative and the characterisation, a little boy and an extra terrestrial who he has cared for and has bonded with and suddenly he dies... and that connection is what makes ET come back to life ... I never knew a Alien could make me cry let alone a kid... when he cries (Eliot) thats it i'm gone!!!!

It's really really sad .... Steven Spielberg's fault!!!!







3) When Black Beauty Dies!!!

I can only get the trailer, based on the novel by Anna Sewell The 1994 film makes me ball my eyes again throughout all over a beautiful horse!!!

When his friend Ginger dies thats it i'm gone... the horse nuzzles her begging her to wake up and it's so painful... there are many moments in this film that are so touching and also a brilliant film with an all star British cast.


Don't watch without tissues!!!




4) When Satine Dies in the Moulin Rouge...

Yes again all I could find is the trailer, but this  scene is just painful to watch, throughout we have had the love building and blossoming ... the forbidden fruit... Romeo and Juliet but set in France... Christian is in Love with Satine... Satine is in Love with Christian but she can't fall in love with her... the pain and misery and the drama that unfolds to then right at the very end she dies from TB! Frustrating but heart braking.... my heart literally broke into two ... when Christian holds her in his arms and just screams and cries.
Amazing film but i need tissues!!



5) When MeatLoaf dies in the Rocky Horror Picture show

 The full clip YES!!!!

Why do I cry I have no explanation ... maybe it's the horror and disbelief that someone could actually put an axe into Meatloaf's head.... it's actually not very nice!!!! Anyway Short version is I cry!!!








6) Avatar when Neytiri finds Jake in Human Form and they say I see you!!
I ball like a baby throughout this film, the moment when Jake takes his first steps as an Avatar and ends up running. When Home Tree is destroyed and of course when Jake is found by Neytiri in the pod thing and he's unconscious and OH WHEN GRACE DIES!!!!

Yes Avatar is an emotional ride on an epic scale with Alien/human Love and the threat of a race being wiped out due to the Human vistors ... James Cameron I salute you!





and thats all i can think of for now !!!!!

VLOG POST NUMBER 1 !!!!

Please excuse the way I look .... I look rough!!!

Look out for new posts coming soon :)