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: Pride and Prejudice and Zombies (2016)

I like to think that I’ll give any movie a shot if someone recommends it to me, but there are two specific movies that I have zero interest in watching. Period Dramas and Zombie Horrors. I’m trying this year though to be more open minded, and with the arrival of Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, I got the chance to put a tick in both boxes. Plus, the lovely Ruth at FlixChatter is crushing hard on Sam Riley right now, and I feel like I owe it to her to check him out!

Now, I’ve never watched or read the original Pride and Prejudice so forgive me if I manage to completely butcher the plot or make a fool of myself in any other way, but the plot of this movie goes something like this. In an alternative 19th century England, Elizabeth (Lily James) and her sisters are desperately trying to avoid being pushed into marriages whilst also learning how to protect themselves from the zombies that plague the Earth. Along the way, Elizabeth meets Mr Darcy (Sam Riley) who is investigating a possible outbreak.

What struck me first of all was how funny this movie was! I’m not saying I was expecting a straight-faced horror or anything, and I can’t even think of a specific moment to mention, but it was multiple subtle moments in expressions and timing that had me laughing throughout. Plus Matt Smith’s character Parson Collins who was just hilarious every time he was on the screen.

The main reason I can’t get on with period dramas is that the female characters tend to rub me up the wrong way. I don’t know how zombies solved this problem for me but they did! The 5 sisters in this movie are brilliant, they can hold their own ground, stand up for themselves and ultimately - kick ass! The scene where they all got ready for the dance, holstering their knives under their skirts was just great. This brings me on to the rest of the cast. When I first saw the trailer I didn’t recognise many faces, but now, I seem to know everybody! It's always fun trying to remember just where you saw that face.

I think what let me down was my own knowledge of the genre to be honest. I’m sure there were many nods to the original Pride and Prejudice and they would have flown straight over my head. In fact, I might just have to watch it now to find out, but I’m not going to be able to take it seriously anymore!

Now, I can’t finish this review without telling Ruth what I thought of her beloved Sam Riley. Whilst he’s not going to knock Oscar Isaac off the top of my obsession throne, he was rather yummy I must admit! And Ruth I have to know, is his voice always that husky? I could listen to the man talk all day!

Anyway, as someone who dislikes horror and period drama, I had so much with this movie. In fact, I dare say I’m going to be rewatching it soon. 

Edit: I’ve just realised that the movie’s tagline is ‘Bloody Lovely’ and I’ve been laughing for about 10 minutes straight.