Terminator: Dark Fate, The franchise should be terminated

After 35 years the Terminator franchise has had high and low points, more recently low points. Every terminator movie made after Terminator 2: Judgement Day, has been met with mixed and poor reviews by fans and critics and has been trying to fix the franchise ever since. (Even though I loved Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines.) Terminator: Dark Fate takes place roughly 30 years after T2: Judgement Day.

We see a new young protagonist played by Natalia Reyes, being chased by a new terminator played by Gabriel Luna, and being protected by enhanced human Mackenzie Davis. Natalia Reyes gives a very underwhelming performance and Gabriel Luna is ok given his character. Mackenzie Davis is decent and has the most developed character. Its when Linda Hamilton and Arnold Schwarzenegger show up that things go south. Almost of Hamilton's character and dialogue is comic relief to the point of frustration. Its ok to have so spread out jokes but they come every five minutes. Arnold's character is even more ridiculous with some of the worst dialogue and plot in the movie.

Tim Miller who directed Deadpool, directed Terminator: Dark Fate and you can really see has style in the action and fight scenes. That is where this movie shines because the action is unique to anything seen in any previous Terminator movie. The plot is also a lot simpler and less convoluted than the previous movie. Unfortunately there is never a sense of something at stake or consequences which i feel is due to all the constant jokes throughout. It felt as though the writers(There are seven writers of this movie.) were to focused on jokes and reused plots from previous terminator movies to really make anything fresh. I think it's time to terminate this franchise. 🍔🍔

Harriet: Leader of the Underground Soap Opera

When movies get made depicting historical events, they aren’t always depicted correctly. With the case of Harriet the audience doesn’t really get a sense of who Harriet Tubman really is. The movie gives her back story about being close with her slave owners son and the family falling on dark times and having to sell her family. She runs away and fakes her death then the movie forgets about Harriet for about 30 min.

Cynthia Erivo stars as Harriet Tubman and she isn’t bad but not anything special either. The movie makes good use of Cynthia’s singing voice. The script for this movie feels like a television soap opera, with its silly dialogue and dramatic music. The movie briefly shows Harriet using the Underground Railroad to free slaves and fades to black with text on screen about the rest of her life. The audience deserves a better representation. 🍔

Black and Blue: An outsider to both sides of the law.

Black and Blue stars a war vet turned rookie cop in New Orleans. She doesn’t fit in with the other cops because she is new and she doesn’t fit in with her old friends from town because she became a cop. She’s on outsider on both sides.

The movie does a good job showing the police world in New Orleans and the corruption of this town. The main character played by Naomie Harris witnesses a dirty cop shoot an informant and gets it on tape on her body camera. The cops tell the local gangs and put a price on her head so now the gangs and cops are after her.

The movie doesn’t show the criminal side of this world until near the end and the characters weren’t as develops as the cops. Mike Colter plays the head of the drug gang in town and its nice to see him play something other than a hero. Also the main villain played by Frank Grillo had an underdeveloped motivation. He is good at playing these types of characters though. Certain plot points were obvious throughout like the dirty cops and people helping the main character just at the right moment. The film had a satisfying ending though and really made the main character feel like an outsider until the end.  🍔🍔🍔

Jojo Rabbit: Political satire through a child’s eyes.

Many social and political satires have come and gone over the years, but Jojo Rabbit really stands out. Jojo Rabbit stars a boy in Nazi Germany in the Hitler youth with the ultimate goal of becoming best friends with Adolf Hitler played by Taika Watiti.

The film uses Adolf Hitler as Jojo’s inner voice and thought process. He acts just like a child when trying to reason and problem solve, as well as reassuring Jojo about what he is doing is right. Hitler never knows more or less than Jojo unless they start to have different ideas.

Political satire is also used by how the Germans have preconceived notions about the Jews. They think the can read each other’s minds or sleep upside down like bats. Jojo is making a book about Jews to give to Hitler. It all feels innocent enough because Jojo is only about 9 or 10 years old. This is a must see. 🍔🍔🍔🍔

Maleficent: Reimagining a classic story with a purpose

In a world with so many Disney remakes do any of them have anything different to say? Maleficent does what Cinderella, Beauty and the Beast, Dumbo, Aladdin, and The Lion King remakes couldn’t seem to do and that’s tell a different story with the same characters. Maleficent: Mistress of evil continues the story and the lore of the characters and shows a parallel between Maleficent, played by Angelina Jolie and Princess Aurora, played by Elle Fanning.

Both Maleficent and Aurora go through parallel plot points. Both have a voice of reason and a voice of impulse/aggression represented by different characters. In both cases the voice of reason is silenced and the voice of impulse becomes dominant. While there’s nothing wrong with that, the movie does it so much to Maleficent and Aurora that the movie somewhat beats the audience over the head with this notion of parallel journeys.

Angelina Jolie and Michelle Pfeiffer both command the screen especially in scenes together every time they are in the same scene you can cut the tension with a knife. Their dueling wits and sarcasm are wonderful and setup great conflict. I wish the other Disney remakes would take this approach but I also wish this movie let the audience figure out the parallel character paths a little more for themselves. 🍔🍔🍔

Lighthouse: A wonderful descent into madness

If you had to spend over a month working as a lighthouse keeper you would probably go crazy too. Willem Dafoe and Robert Pattinson star in The Lighthouse, as they slowly lose their minds. Robert Pattinson has a mysterious past and elements of his past show up in dreams and hallucinations throughout the movie. He has trouble distinguished reality and hallucination.

Willem Dafoe plays the drunk lighthouse keeper in charge who is the only one allowed to be up in the lighthouse as he protects the light with a possessive manner.  The only time the two men get along is at night while drinking themselves silly. They discuss how drinking is the only way to avoid succumbing to boredom and madness while they go mad anyway.

Both actors do a great job of trying to figure out the others motives. By the end of the movie the audience can’t tell who is more insane and the mystery of the movie is left open ended and for interpretation. Both Dafoe and Pattinson give great performances since they the only to people in the movie and keep the audience focused on them. Some people may not like the movie if they don’t like abstract storytelling or the movies slow burn approach to the conclusion, but if you do like abstract then this is for you. 🍔🍔🍔🍔

Returning to Zombieland to see if there’s fresh meat.

When a sequel comes out so many years after the original, moviegoers are sometimes skeptical. There have been many failures like Zoolander 2 and Dumb and Dumber To. Will the same jokes and characters be relevant after so many years? Will the actors still have the same energy and charisma playing the same characters again after so long? Zombieland: Double Tap feels like the first one and it’s like the audience never left this world we were introduced to 10 years ago. Especially with most of the main actors looking the same age.

Some typical sequel tropes appear as the relationship between Columbus, played by Jesse Eisenberg and Wichita, played by Emma Stone fall into a lull and old tendencies resurface. One character in the relationship gets bored and scared about normalcy and marriage and runs only to find they had everything they wanted all along. Tallahassee, played by Woody Harrelson has become a father figure to Little rock, played by Abigail Breslin and he's almost overbearing.  The characters poke fun at the 10 year return and they also have doppelgängers played by Luke Wilson and Thomas Middleditch. The doppelgängers serve as meta humor and a possible future if they don’t find a home. The fight between the four characters stands out because the camera really follows the fight through the scene, pausing to see every detail and have some clever stunt choreography.  It sticks out from the many scenes of beating and shooting zombies.

One of the most important things that the first Zombieland did that this does as well is just have fun. Nothing is taken too seriously and it’s a nice escape for the audience. Woody Harrelson and Jesse Eisenberg still have a great chemistry after so long as well as Emma Stone and Abigail Breslin. They really feel like a family. If you enjoyed the first Zombieland you’ll more than likely enjoy the sequel. 🍔🍔🍔

Shannon and Cumberbatch give powerhouse performances in The Current War

After the discovery of electricity many people tried to harness and perfect its use. Thomas Edison played by Benedict Cumberbatch and George Westinghouse played by Michael Shannon are two major ones and the two key players in The Current War. While Edison had better light bulbs Westinghouse had cheaper current prices and better expansion. Nikola Tesla played by Nicholas Hoult was part of this race too but couldn’t get most of his ideas made.

While Tesla worked for both Edison and Westinghouse at different times his parts of the movie sometimes felt like they were interrupting the rest of the movie. Shannon and Cumberbatch command the screen with their performances while Hoult is good but forgettable due to limited screen time. While the performances are good and some of the backstory is entertaining they can’t carry the movies plot far enough to make a lasting impression. 🍔🍔🍔

Will Smith fights a predictable script

Will Smith may be the world's leading government assassin but can Ang Lee’s visual style save him from this predictable plot? Gemini Man stars Will Smith as an aging hit man who’s government sends a younger clone of himself to kill him. This sounds like a script that would have come made over 20 years ago right? Well that’s because it was originally written and developed in 1997 and almost starred Harrison Ford or Mel Gibson, among many others. It was purchased by Skydance in 2016 and Ang Lee signed on to direct in 2017.

This films plot is very predictable and unimaginative. This script went through several rewrites over the years. SPOILERS! Will Smith’s own government betraying him and his old boss setting him up and pulling all the strings can be seen from a mile away. Clive Owen plays Will Smith’s old boss and from the first minute he’s on screen, Clive Owen plays his typical character who’s clearly trying desperately to hide the fact that he’s the villain. Will Smith is good at playing Will Smith like he has been in his last few movies.

The action scenes and visuals are where Gemini Man shines. Will Smith’s characters are so precise in their attacks on each other they know each other’s moves inside and out. The fighting style between old and young Will Smith is almost like a choreographed dance. All of the near misses between both hit men are just visually interesting which is an advantage. In a world where the action scenes in a movie have become tedious and boring in a lot of movies, differences in visual action are desperately needed. The digital de-aging technology used on Will Smith in night scenes looked OK but during the day it was distracting. The film also had some HFR(high frame rate) showings in which it was meant to be viewed. Overall good action but very predictable. 🍔🍔🍔

The Addams Family Misfire

In a world of remakes, reboots, and revivals is the Addams Family worthy of one? While something interesting could have been done, Addams Family plays it safe, perhaps too safe. The movie gives a basic origin story about the family on the run from the old country and finally settling down in an abandoned mental institution and living in solitude. They are discovered when a TV home makeover personality is trying to sell all the homes in the town. The family and their house don’t meet the look of “normal middle America”.

While the voice cast stars a mainly a-list cast including Oscar Isaac, Charlize Theron, Finn Wolfhard, Chloë Grace Moretz, Nick Kroll, and Allison Janney, the only performances that really shine are Chloë as Wednesday and Allison as the tv personally/main antagonist. While Nick Kroll as Uncle Fester is funny, the rest of the cast are pretty forgettable.

The movie has four writers who have all written animated children’s films. Some have written more mature kids films than others. There were some clever horror movie references and a positive overall message about accepting people for who they are. While kids may laugh and enjoy the visuals, people who are seeing the Addams Family characters for the first time may find them mostly bland and restrained. As for adults who know the characters they might feel bored with the lack of imagination when there could have been more interesting choices made. I will probably never see this movie again nor will I remember it in a year. I doubt most of its audience will either. 🍔

“Hey Jexi, stop using predictable plot points!”

Most people have a smartphone and are attached to them. So making a movie about an out of control phone operating system is very relatable. Usually, when a movie genre uses a current topic to appeal to youth it is a poor attempt at best. The Emoji Movie and Countdown are examples of failed attempts. But Jexi shows how people avoid human contact and prefer interacting through smartphones and social media.

Jexi does a decent job of showing the awkwardness of social interactions and attachment to phones and social media, but falls prey to predictable romantic comedy plot points. Boy meets girl, boy and girl get along, either boy or girl do something to briefly break them apart, and finally boy and girl get back together due to some crazy gesture. Most movie genres have to follow a plot structure, but romantic comedies seem to be the most predictable. Every one of them has to hit the previously mentioned plot points and Jexi is no exception.

Adam Devine is funny as always and Rose Byrne is great as the voice of Jexi with her monotone performance and dry humor. Michael Peña plays Adam Devine’s boss and head of a click-bait website where Adam Devine works. His character is incredibly annoying and his bits go on far too long. So you don’t need to rush to go see Jexi but if you want some laughs and some social commentary rent it. 🍔🍔

Joker portrays a classic comic book character with a non comic book style

When everyone thinks of the term "comic book movie", they think of big battles, explosions, and special effects.  Joker doesn't follow that formula.  Instead it lets Joaquin Phoenix's creepy performance drive the film.  Joaquin Phoenix plays Arthur Fleck, who is detached from society and has mental and psychological issues. He previously played a character with the same traits in the film You Were Never Really Here. There are many scenes in which the audience isn't sure if his performance is supposed to be funny or chilling and that really works. His motivations are genuine but one bad situation after another drives him to madness.

Director Todd Philips comedy background helps this film with the darker jokes by putting a comedic spin on such heavy material. Its nice which actors and directors step out of their element. In this case it really works and shows Philips range as a director. The shots of Joaquin Phoenix during his monologues are disturbing and also mesmerizing.

This film is good for non comic book fans and people unfamiliar with the Joker character because its simply about a person who is the product of a toxic society. How mental illness is handled in Joker is very reflective of today's society with limited funding and lack of compassion. One of the first things that leads Arthur Fleck into his descent is his public therapist losing the public funding to counsel him and give him medication. His uncontrollable laughing is also met with fear and disgust from the public.  This take on the Joker is unique because it tells the story of a comic book character in a very non comic book way.  It also drops just enough hints and easter eggs for the more knowledgeable fans without alienating the majority of the audience. Let’s hope the Warner Bros take this approach with future DC comic movies. This is a must see. 🍔🍔🍔🍔🍔

Hello World!

Hello!

My name is Scott Berger and i love movies! I've been watching movies hardcore since about 2005. I started working at a movie theater in 2010 which grew my love for movies and expanded my horizon. I have since left the movie theater but i still see all the movies i can. My reviews are mainly opinion based and observational. Since this is called CinemaBurger my rating system will be from 1 to 5 sesame seed buns. 1 being the lowest and 5 being the highest. i hope you all enjoy.