Review: Terminator Genisys (2015)

UPDATED POST: Now that Jenna's seen the movie!

I’m doing fairly well with the summer blockbusters so far, which is unusual for me. Thanks to my local Odeon sending me a 50% off tickets for the weekend offer, I got to go and see Terminator Genisys on a Sunday evening. I’m so glad Jenna and I watched the original Terminator movie a few weeks ago, or I would have been tempted to skip this one all together. Sadly, I didn’t get a chance to see Judgement Day, which I now think would have really helped.  Seven months after the original post, I managed to get round to seeing it.  I'm now annoyed that I waited so long!

Excuse me now while I set the scene badly. John Connor (Jason Clarke) sends Kyle Reese (Jai Courtney) back in time to 1984 to protect Sarah Connor (Emilia Clarke) from the Terminator (Arnold Schwarzenegger), just like in the original. However, something goes wrong, and now Kyle has been sent back to some kind of alternate timeline where Sarah is already tough as nails, and has her own Terminator looking after her, named Pops.  That was pretty good!

Let me start with what I loved. The nods and references to the original movie were awesome and are the reason I’m so glad I watched it. There was even (were even?) purple pew pew lazers at the start! Arnie as Pops was my favourite character, as terrifying as his smile was. I only know Emilia Clarke from Game of Thrones so it was nice to see what else she can do, and damn that girl kicks ass!  Loved that smile, it was hilarious, i'm guessing there would be a few out-takes from those scenes because how could you not laugh at this face:

I can’t help but feel that a viewing all the previous movies is mandatory before watching Genisys. As clear as the references to the first movie were, I got the distinct feeling there were many moments from the others as well, and that really hindered my enjoyment of the whole thing. I knew enough to (almost) understand what was going on, but I might have to revisit this review in the future after watching the full series.  This is surprising because I noticed a few mentions of Judgement Day but I didn't feel like I was missing anything having not seen it.  However, I do now REALLY want to see it!  

Now, I feel like I should say that I love time travel. You can do almost anything you want with it, and I love trying to work my head around alternate timelines and what not. This was too much for me though. I think I was doing okay and then I got myself confused halfway through and missed probably 20 minutes of the movie trying to get my head around it. Again though, I think the knowledge of the previous movies would help.  I struggled with the timelines and such for a while but about half an hour in I got to grips with it and I think I managed to hold onto it until the end.  I've lost is now though so don't ask me to explain it! I feel like I may have watched the films in the wrong order as I started with 4, then 1, now 5 and I still haven't seen 2 and 3 but I'm desperate for number 6 - now I am confused!

I loved this way more than I thought I would and personally, I preferred the chemistry between Emilia Clarke and Jai Courtney than I did the original cast (this comment may get me some stick but hey ho!).  I really did enjoy trying to keep track of the timelines and how it differed from the original.  One thing that did throw me was how Sarah knew how her entire life was supposed to play out, I pondered over that one for a good half an hour before I clocked that Pops obviously told her!

Ahhhhh how could I forget JK Simmons, love him!!  Didn't know he was in this, loved watching him bumbling around, tripping over stuff.  He can play anyone and I will automatically love him!

That said then, my score is a placeholder for now based solely on my enjoyment of the screening (as always). I’ll watch the other movies and revisit this at a later date. Or should I say...I’ll be back.  Now's your chance....

Review: Whiplash (2014)

Along with The Theory of Everything, this was my most anticipated Oscar tipped movie so I had to see it before the ceremony on 22nd February.  I'm definitely making the most of the Unlimited Cinema Card this month!! (For those not UK based, a local cinema here in the UK does an Unlimited card that means you can go as many times as you like for a monthly fee!)

When I went to see The Imitation Game last November, we had trailers for almost every other Oscar bait films. It was the first time I saw American Sniper, and realised I held my breath throughout the whole trailer. Typically, I missed that one and won’t get a chance now till the DVD release. When I saw the Whiplash trailer however, I laughed. So did the rest of the cinema. How could they make a drama out of a kid playing drums?

Andrew (Miles Teller) is a promising drummer who is attending Shaffer conservatory, the best music programme in the US.  He is hand picked by Terence Fletcher (JK Simmons) the most respected professor at the school for his studio band.  Fletcher shows no remorse for bullying and intimidating his students to be great which pushes Andrew to near obsession to be the best.

I think I held my breath for this whole film, I was on the edge of my seat willing Andrew to succeed and for Fletcher to give him a break.  I was so involved in the movie, I very nearly shouted at the screen, cheered and clapped along with Andrew's journey, I felt like part of it myself.  I thought I knew where the story was heading from one scene to the next and I was promptly proved wrong, it twisted and turned on itself, by the end I had no idea what to expect. 

According to IMDB, Whiplash is one of the lowest grossing movies ever to be nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture. It’s also part of a huge debate as to whether it should be classed as an Original or Adapted Screenplay, although the Academy are adamant that it’s Adapted. I can see the story from both sides really. Whiplash started out as a short movie at Sundance (and won), and that’s the reason it’s fallen under Adapted Screenplay.  But after some further research, I found out that they only released the short film in order to generate funds to make the feature length movie - the plot thickens....

JK Simmons was incredible and truly terrifying as Professor Fletcher, I was willing Andrew to do better to avoid him having to glare at him or throw something.  He had me on the edge of my seat and didn't falter from his alter-ego for even a second.  Miles Teller was a close second but nonetheless brilliant (it's hard to believe he only learnt to play the drums for this film!!), his steely determination to be the best is portrayed through (literal) blood, sweat and tears makes you sympathise with him to a certain degree but his inability to see beyond his success limits his likability.

Is there an actor out there who looks exactly like Miles Teller? I could have sworn I’d seen him in a few things, but after checking out his filmography, apparently I must be thinking of someone else (he was in That Awkward Moment?!).  Anyway, I thought he was brilliant in this. Although I was rooting for him, he wasn’t a completely likeable character. He’s lived in the shadow of his brothers all his life it seems, and his parents don’t understand his aspirations as a musician. His treatment of Nicole was uncalled for though, and he’s too cocky. He will stop at nothing to get what he wants however, which is admirable if nothing else.

J.K. Simmons on the other hand, absolutely blew me away. He’s the only actor who’s ever made me laugh out loud, and then sh*t my pants in the same minute, if you’ll excuse the expression. Terence is a character you love to hate. Every scene he was in, I was holding my breath waiting for him to just explode. Simply amazing!

The songs used throughout the movie, in the studio band, were perfect for this.  Caravan particularly showed how hard Fletcher could be on his students, lining up three drummers to sweat and bleed for hours to reach the 'his' tempo - the whole scene had me on edge waiting to see if he was going to snap or just keep making them play.  It was worse that a horror movie!

Without ruining the ending for anyone, the credits took me by complete surprise and I could help but cry ‘Noooo!’ because I just didn’t want it to end. I wanted to see the reaction to what had just happened! Whiplash is one of the most intense films I have ever seen. I might not have been able to appreciate the musical academic parts, but it was still one hell of a ride.

Brilliant casting and a twist and turning story of fear, pride and the will to succeed no matter what.