Flies on the Horse

Shake My Head

Recently, I observed a horse that had hundreds of flies circling it and sitting on it. The horse flinched, but only slightly. The fat under their skin must be as thick as leather.

Fuel Tank

 Imagine that.

Why I Like Terminator Genisys (Sort of)

I have to admit something embarrassing: I saw Terminator Genisys in the theater twice and really liked it. Even though the movie isn’t objectively good, The Terminator universe is richer and more interesting than the Mad Max universe. (Kiss super fans in the desert? Ok…)
I like the idea of the movie: focus on Kyle Reese’s journey and motivation. He’s only been in two Terminator movies (a supporting player in Salvation), so there’s some new turf. Sadly, they cast Jai Courtney. He doesn’t totally screw up Genisys but he doesn’t elevate the movie either.

The writing and set pieces aren’t that much better. The writing, especially the second time travel sequence, was too similar to the Sarah Connor Chronicles. A lot of the action sequences look like rip-offs from previous Terminator films and other action films. Golden Gate Bridge bus scene? What a mash-up of Rise of the Planet Apes and Jurassic Park. All of these random shoot-ups were resolved too quickly, and there wasn’t a single chase scene that played to a satisfying climax. Could you at least shoot to equal the multi-car and crane chase scene from Terminator 3?

Like every Terminator movie, this one changed the continuity, even while recreating the some of the first film shot-for-shot. If they had waited another five years to do this movie and called it a remake, that’s one thing. After Terminator Salvation and Sarah Connor Chronicles came out so close together and followed different continuity, this can’t be defended. 

But I liked the movie because it dealt with the themes of fate and destiny, and if you can really change the past. Even poorly executed, those themes are so much more interesting than half of the straight up action movies we see every summer.