Skyline (2010)

Ever seen something that was so horrible that you couldn't take your eyes off of it?

Well, if you want to experience that feeling again, watch Skyline.  Seriously.

The most recognizable actor in this movie is Donald Faison, the guy who played Turk on Scrubs.  The main character is played by Eric Balfour, who I didn't recognize, but he has a lengthy filmography on IMDB, most of it TV work.  His girlfriend is played by Scottie Thompson, who's only other credited film role was Nero's Wife in Star Trek(2009).  Yes, Nero's wife... the hologram on screen for all of  fifteen seconds or so.

This movie has alot of the sci-fi horror cliches down -

You sleep around? You get killed.

You are a minority? You get killed.

You are military? You get killed.

The aliens motivation is completely implausible.  They need human brains to reproduce.  Apparently, human brains must be pretty prevalent throughout the universe, because their society has managed to thrive to the point they have massive space ships and can travel the universe.

Do you want the plot synopsis?
People run around on/in the building.  That's it.  There is no real overarching storyline, basically they run around and are picked off one by one.  And all I want to say about the ending is that sudden plot twists only work if they have some basis in sanity.

My vote: 3/10.  Sadly, I have seen worse.  This film is a good example of how spending most of your time/budget on special effects can make a visually pretty, however HORRID film.  Unless you want to laugh at it, don't waste your time!

Terminator Salvation (2009)

The fourth film in the Terminator franchise gets one compliment from me from the beginning... it's better than the third.

Alot of films were better than the third.  I think I have made better films on my droid  than the third.

Other than that, I didn't find too much to love in Terminator Salvation.  Here is a bulleted list of what I enjoyed:

• Christian Bale didn't use his raspy "Batman voice."

And here is a bulleted list of what I didn't enjoy:

• The plot.
• The characters.
• The scene where Kyle Reese (Anton Yelchin) says "do you see that red? it represents blood.. yada yada", yet the scene is filmed almost entirely in a colorless gray sahde and there is no red to be seen anywhere.
• At no point did Anton Yelchin say "wessel".  Several times he was in scenes with wessels, and failed to say it.

I appreciated the frequent references to previous Terminator films, but it made me wish I was watching the other films.  This film simply lacks the depth, character development and suspense of the first two films.  

I think it's probably best to leave the Terminator franchise terminated at this point.  Research shows that the production company went bankrupt and was unable to sell the rights, so it seems that fate may work out in our favor.

Overall score: 5/10. 

People have asked why I can bash a movie repeatedly, yet give it a score that seems high comparatively.  Watch Terminator 3, you'll understand.

Morning Glory (2010)

Morning Glory is the best movie I've seen in 2011.  It might also be the only new movie I've seen this year, but that doesn't mean I like it any less.

Morning Glory is the story of Becky Fuller (Rachel McAdams) and Mike Pomeroy (Harrison Ford).  Becky is a morning news producer who gets fired from her job due to 'organizational changes', and then "lucks" into the producers job on Daybreak, the morning news show of the fictional IBS.

Daybreak is bottom of the barrel on ratings, and Becky's arrival at the show does little to help.  She immediately fires the pompous co-anchor, leaving the show with just Colleen Peck (Diana Keaton).  Desperate to reinvent the image of the show, Becky finds Mike Pomeroy, a former serious evening news host on contract with the station, and forces him to complete his contract by being anchor on Daybreak.  Pomeroy considers himself to be far, far above this, and goes through the motions of the show, doing his best to be as least helpful as possible.

I have seen Ford's performance viewed negatively by critics, but I think he nailed it. He plays the pompous, uncaring Mike Pomeroy perfectly.  Other than Indiana Jones, I haven't seen many recent Ford films, but I hope that his voice in this film was acting, and not a permanent change.  If so, I feel sorry for him.  I enjoyed McAdams performance as the hyperactive yet awkward Becky as well.

The film takes a hilarious turn as Daybreak is almost cancelled, and Becky pulls out all the stops to get the ratings up by deadline.

As a simple comedy, Morning Glory succeeds greatly.  I have read reviews of it bashing it for not giving a harsher criticism of morning TV, or the entertainment industry.  But why? Why would you condemn a movie for not being something that it isn't?  At no point while watching did I get the impression that I was watching a satire on the news industry.

Overall, I give Morning Glory an 8/10.  Very entertaining, solid performances, and one of those movies that you feel good after watching.

THX 1138 (1971)

It seems that "updating" his films is a standard practice for George Lucas.  Before watching THX 1138, I thought that Lucas had kept his tinkering to just the Star Wars films.  Further research has shown that the original theatrical version of THX 1138 isn't even available on DVD. I'm not surprised.

The film focuses on the character of THX, and his life in a underground futuristic society.  We aren't told much about the society, except that everyone has a specific assigned job, sex is outlawed, individuals use drugs to manage their emotions and mental stability, and laws are enforced by robotic guards.  We aren't told any of the 'why' for these things.

THX lives with his female roommate LUH, who has decided to break free from the drugs affecting her.  She begins swapping out THX's drugs, so that he too can be free.  After an initial sickness, THX likes the mental freedom, and he and LUH hook up.

Being off his drugs causes THX to screw up his work, dropping a small 'yellow cylinder of doom' on the floor, which threatens to destroy a chunk of the city.  About this time, THX is put into a weird mental state by the government, as they have caught on to his illegal connection with LUH.  Eventually they release the hold, and THX picks back up the yellow cylinder, and the explosion is avoided.

THX is thrown into prison for his crimes of sexual perversion and drug evasion.  He is apparently put in the same cell with LUH, and they proceed to get their perversion on.  I don't quite understand how this happens, as it seems society would be a bit smarter by then.

The robot guards show up, and THX is beaten and then thrown into a cell with a bunch of men.  He eventually escapes with the aide of another prisoner, runs into a third prisoner, and a long chase scene happens.  The chase scenes seem to be the ones that Lucas chose to update, as CGI abounds in these scenes.

Eventually, THX is alone, and almost caught by the robot guards.  But guess what?  Apparently the chase is "over budget", and THX is allowed to escape.  I could be wrong, but I think the only references to money in this movie are in relation to the escape.  

Overall, I wasn't super impressed with THX 1138.  Maybe I was expecting more from a supposed 'sci fi classic', but I should have known better with George Lucas.  I can tell from the "upgrades" made in this director's cut that Lucas was once again likely more focused on having pretty action scenes than with enhancing his story, characters or plot. 

Overall - 7/10.  I'm sure the original was better, and I wouldn't be surprised if Lucas went back and made a version I would give a 6/10.