Terminator Salvation

Wow. This movie didn't suck hardly as much as I expected it to. Who knew? After the epically underwhelming Rise of the Machines, I couldn't help but go into this one with extremely low expectations. After all, it was directed by McG, the dude best known for his work on the Charlie's Angels flicks. Plus, I've never found the post-Judgement Day era as the most compelling part of this story. In fact, I always thought those future sequences were pretty lame. But to my surprise, the script keeps things interesting, presenting several chicken-egg quandaries as John Connor seeks to save his teenage father, Kyle Reese, played by Anton Yelchin; also seen as Chekov in the new Star Trek movie. It appears the movie branches off of the last film, seemingly ignoring the events of The Sarah Connor Chronicles TV show, which picks up the story after T2. Maybe there is a connection between the two, but I couldn't figure it out. Anyway, the movie does showcase some major events in Terminator lore including the origins of the legendary T-800. Unlike the last film, this one gives us plenty to think about while delivering solid top-notch action sequences. Some of the larger machines looked like leftovers from the Transformers movie, evoking an involuntary gag reflex. But such moments were fleeting. Overall, this is a good Summer popcorn flick, especially if you've brushed-up on the mythology of the series.

Angels & Demons

Of the two Dan Brown novels I've read, I liked Angels & Demons the best. So I was quite eager to check out this movie, especially considering the (limited) access Ron Howard was given to the Vatican. Plus, I thought he did a commendable job of bringing The Da Vinci Code to the big screen, despite Tom Hank's horrific hair. But unfortunately, Angels & Demons is a mess. Granted, this might be one of those unfilmable books. For most of the film Robert Langdon's mental process is expressed through dialogue, helping fill the audience in at a rapid pace as he describes the significance of statues, symbols, and minutiae of church history. Much of the insights offered in the book are totally lost in these heavily abridged dissertations. Beyond that, the entire premise is completely ridiculous, something I was willing to overlook in the book. It's one of those movies where the bad guy goes out of his way to drop clues so the protagonist has a fighting chance at thwarting the dastardly scheme. Sure, it makes for good drama as Langdon and crew ping pong all over Rome looking for the next clue. But when you apply logic to the narrative, it just doesn't work. However, I do give the movie credit for one improvement over the novel. We were spared the scene of Langdon plunging out of the helicopter and creating some sort of MacGyver-style parachute mid-air before splashing down in the Tiber without a scratch. That's the point in the novel where I totally gave up. I gave up on this movie long before that omitted scene.

Star Trek

I've never been a huge fan of the Star Trek movies. Sure, Wrath of Kahn is decent, but all the others were pretty mediocre, even when compared to the significantly older and lower budget original series. The TNG movies weren't much better. So when this J.J. Abrams reboot was announced, I couldn't muster an ounce of enthusiasm. But as the release date got closer and closer, I fell victim to the buzz and began to show some interest. After all, it was the first big event movie of the Summer. So I went and saw it on the opening weekend before I could be swayed by what I felt would be mostly negative reviews. To my surprise and delight, this is the best Star Trek movie yet. The pace, tone, and casting are near perfect. Chris Pine really blew me away as the new Kirk. But everyone else is great too, in particular Simon Pegg as the new Scotty. There were moments when I thought the movie tried too hard to appeal to the original's fans. As a result, there were moments where the sense of homage edged dangerously close to parody. Really, how many "Damn it Jim, I'm a doctor..." lines do we need out of Bones? But overall, it's a great piece of entertainment whether you're a hardcore fan or not. And I hear everyone has signed on for at least two more films so I can't wait to see where this new crew goes next.