REVIEW: Terminator - Genisis

Well, I got a chance to watch the newest incarnation (maybe the last?)  of the Terminator series Terminator Genisis.  This film was, I suspect, meant to tie up
loose ends. However according to the Wikipedia, Genisis is the first of three.

I don't want to give too much away as some may not have seen the film. (if you have see the film, check out Genisis on the Wikipedia site for info, you may
have missed.

I really liked the masterful use of Terminator 1 and 2, but you have got to see how they missed the mark on the time line.  If you are going to set the timeline
in 1, continue it in 2 with 3 and 4 playing around the edges of the time-line  (all though 4, took some liberties that left me wanting) only to have Genesis pretty much throw it all out.....and ageing?  really?!

I like the idea of bringing back Arnold, he really owns the Terminator 850.  I
could say more about Sarah, John and Reese but again, I am getting too close to
a spoiler.......

The movie isn't bad but isn't stunningly good either.  I would give it a 7.

short Film: Future Hero

Future Hero from Loveless Movie on Vimeo.

Here is a short film that is a bit time traveler and maybe one messed up Terminator

Intel Working to Incorporate Augmented Reality into Their Chips

Gizmodo has an article out that outlines Intel's work in bringing augmented reality technology into its' chips.

Ultimately this would mean that instead of complicated software, an operating system could take advantage of overlay graphics and information by simply making calls to drivers.

Then you could have those cool pull down menus and graphics through spectacles, flip down monocle or even straight to contact lenses.

Ohhhhh I fell like a terminator now!....whooooooooooo hooooooooo

and no the graphic is just some old broken chip thing that is supposed to look like terminator chips...lol


Complete Gizmodo article here

Petman: Boston Dynamics New Humanoid Test Platform

Hey, check out this video of PETMAN from Boston Dynamics. You know, the makers of that whacked quadruped Big Dog? Now they have this full body sim. No, it's not for fighting (yeah right, I think Skynet would have something to say about that...you know, minigun here, rocket launcher there....and you are well on your way to a t-500 or maybe even a 800 series....) But as the Dvice article puts it:

• engineers are using this ..... hardware to (test) chemical suits that could protect military personnel from attack

Not only can it simulate body movements but it:

• is able to simulate sweating, respiring and changes in body temperature.

Check out the unit in action below and you can read the complete Dvice article here

Happy Birthday Sky-Net!

You have got to love IO9, they are always coming up with bizarre facts! According to one of my favorite blogs: today's the day. According to Underwire: According to the Terminator clock, April 11 at 8:11 p.m. Tuesday, Skynet will become self-aware, this according to Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles. Judgment Day should hit Thursday.

See, this shows you how screwed up time became in the past. According to the Wiki listing: In the Terminator storyline, Skynet was originally installed by the military to control the national arsenal on August 4, 1997. On August 29 2:14 am Eastern Time it gained self-awareness, soon after it determined that humanity was a threat and launched nuclear missiles under its command at Russia which retaliated.

And you know what comes next kiddies! Yep, the nuclear Armageddon happens in a couple days. So if your name is Sarah Connor, you are about to have a VERY bad day.

Check out the IO9 listing here for some other great Terminator related posts

The Wiki Skynet Terminator site

Underwire Skynet site

Follow the paradox issues at the Wikja Skynet wiki site

Syfy to Host Sarah Connor Reruns

According to Mark at Mark's SF & Fantasy Blog on About:

• Syfy will start airing (The Sarah Connor Chronicles) on April 7; after the two-hour premiere, they'll air four episodes a week on Thursdays starting at 7 p.m.

SyFy will play all of the series 31 episodes starring Lena Headey, Thomas Dekker, and Summer Glau...

SpongeBob Sqaurepants uncovered!

Beneath the mild mannered sponge covering lies an unstoppable killing machine. Sponge Bob Terminator! From a recent article in Dvice, comes the creation from Flickr user, rack911 and his Lego creation. We will never look upon our obnoxious sponge the same again. Check out some of the other photos of this twisted creation here.

Review: Terminator Salvation

Terminator Salvation
Director McG
John Connor (Christian Bale)
Marcus (Sam Worthington)
rated pg13 116 minutes

This is the fourth movie in the Terminator series. This time we have a very radical departure for the Terminator franchise. This time we move into the future and meet the adult John Connor as organized military resistance to Skynet is failing and it becomes clear to John that he must make a push to organize and guide what is left of human resistance to the machines.

Curiously the movie doesn't start with Connor in the future, but the mysterious Marcus in present day, who is scheduled for some unknown reason for lethal injection - donates his body for medical research. Marcus wakes up to a world in chaos. In his efforts to discover what happened, saves and befriends not Connor but a teenage Kyle Reese.

After Reese is captured by Skynet, Marcus befriends a downed resistance pilot in hopes of finding Connor and aid in rescuing Reese. For those that may not have seen the movie, I am not going to give away some crucial elements in the movie. Needless to say there are more plot twists than a murder mystery.

The first thing I can pleasantly say about the film is that it is the best movie in the series since the first. With the first Terminator, we were always guessing and never quite sure what was really going on. Reese was great for clearing up some problems, but often causing more questions to arise than he cleared up. The follow on movies played it very safe and really didn't introduce anything new. Sure a new terminator here or there but it was still bad old Skynet sending back bad ole Terminators to get Sarah or later John. Now we are treated to a whole new piece of the Skynet/Terminator time-line. Terminator fans will really find this fascinating.

So, how is Salvation as a movie? Well considering the whole franchise is pure action / drama, Salvation holds the course rock steady. But it takes a few chances brings a whole new time-line segment and comes really close to ensemble acting. So for me that was a pleasant departure. Yeah the ending was like telegraphed 3 movies ago, but at least you are not groaning "not another one!?"

Don't get me wrong, its a fan movie and doesn't even pretend to try and stand on its own merit, but the box office showed that no one should have worried...but if you have never seen a Terminator movie (really? were you in a coma?) go watch the first movie...the others are a waste (if for no other reason than you are trying to figure out whats going on...) and you will already know all you need to.

Not even going to bother rating the DVD...I rented the WS version and it should be the ONLY you view, blue ray or regular because the action is non stop corner to corner. The movie is worth watching and dvd worth renting just for the action and with the DVD that's all you get. Do I have any bitches? Surely! Like someone smack the editor please! One of my favorite character actors, Michael Ironside (not the first time he worked with Arnold in a sci-fi flick) had virtually no on screen time. You could say that about Arnold, but that was all CGI. Editing in the beginning at least was chaotic, but seemed to relax in the second half. Oh you could nit pic I suppose, but it really is a pretty well made film.

Overall I would give it an 8 just because it really is not a stand alone film and NO special features. But if your a Terminator fan This is a worthy rental.

Another step closer to Terminators?

You may laugh at the thought of Skynet giving humanity the big spanking, or discount it completely, then stuff like this comes along just to let us know that the pieces at least are in place.



Thanks to Dvice for the heads up!

Fox may renew Dollhouse

From SF Fy Portal Headlines and Airlock Alpha comes news that Fox is looking to shake up it's Friday schedule. It looks as though one show will be canceled and Dollhouse will be given another season in hopes that the show will find an audience.

Things may not be all that rosy for Terminator: The Sarah Connors Chronicles. The series has struggled badly through it's second season and is due to end it 22 episode run April 10th. The producers of the series, Warner Brothers Television, made some major concessions to Fox in an attempt to bolster support for the program. This, according to Airlock Alpha, may be a way to help it promote its upcoming "Terminator: Salvation,"(movie) which premieres May 21. Which leads one to wonder if there will be this much support AFTER Salvation's release.

"Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles" airs Fridays at 8 p.m. ET on Fox. "Dollhouse" airs Fridays at 9 p.m. ET on Fox.

Read complete article here

The Terminator : Timeless piece of history?

When Arnold uttered those now famous words, one wonders if he knew to what extent? Well the National Film Registry, for one, seems to think so. The Terminator is one of 25 other films, to be protect from deterioration that otherwise strikes nitrate and acetate-based films. Also on the list of films targeted for preservation: the original 1933 Invisible Man.

According to the BBC article:

• The Library of Congress is working to digitize and preserve endangered film and audio files. It also acquires a copy for preservation in its own vaults.

• The nation has lost about half of the films produced before 1950 and as much as 90% of those made before 1920.

• The registry, established by the Library of Congress nearly 20 years ago, works with film studios that own the rights to the selected films to ensure original copies are kept safe.

• Among the oldest films to join the list this year are the ground-breaking 1929 film Hallelujah, featuring an all-black cast, and 1910's White Fawn's Devotion directed by James Young Deer, the first documented American Indian movie director.

<- bbc article ->

Terminator Sarah Connor Chronicles still on chopping block?

From TV Squad comes the persistent rumor that SCC may still be meeting an untimely end at the hands of Fox tv schedulers. There are reports that the network is going to cancel the Monday night show because of bad ratings worse than FOX expected. The show is down 34% from last year. Even the 18-49 demo loved by networks and advertisers aren't watching the show.

Reviews and fans seemed to have drifted away from the show. I for one look for it. If I miss it on TV then I hit it on the Fox site. Maybe that is where Fox might be dropping the ball. There are no ads on any of the SCC shows, which I find it hard to believe that no one can be found to throw money at the show? Are the watchers of the online version even counted? Besides that, I think Allison from Palmdale was a great show. I was never quite sure who the off camera interrogator was until the very end of the program. There is still some indication that John's "repair" boardered on a reset instead of fix. The head on a pike line was chilling. I hope they don't axe the show too quickly. I'm really getting into it.

Skynet Development Team!

Here is a T that the geek in you will just have to have. Bold yet obscure reference all on good ole black! Tech Republic always finds the coolest stuff. From Split Reason, even the copy is cool

• Unwittingly or not, you're now a direct contributor to the mass slaughter of mankind. Never thought that comp-sci degree would lead to billions of deaths did you? Well at least you built something cool!

Skynet t-shirt design @ © SplitReason.com

And like Techrepublic says:

• .....subtly advertises that you’re a minion of Cyberdyne Systems, .... developing The Terminator but then, if more Terminators looked like Summer Glau, who could blame you?

<- More from Tech Replublic ->

Pictures From Sarah Connor Chronicles Season 2

From Just Jared via Scifirama we get some pics of season 2 of The Sarah Connors Chronicles. All I can say is Summer is hot even with GSWs

Click here for more pics

All 'round Good News For Terminator Fans!

Some sites have been reporting some pretty bleak news about the Terminator franchise, however I read some good stuff over on IO9. First off Fox has made it official - Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles will have a second season on Fox, though they are playing their cards close to the chest as far as Summer Glau is concerned. Also, rumor has had it for a bit that the movie Terminator 4 was canceled has proved wrong. Moon Bloodgood (the time-traveling x-wife from TV's Journeyman) will co-star in T-4 as a resistance fighter suffering from survivor's guilt because she survived the nuclear holocaust. And the movie starts principal photography May 5.

Certainly has peaked my interest again!

Sarah Connor Bulking Up for Season 2

Good news for Terminator: Sarah Connors Chronicles, TV Guide reports that insiders hint that Fox is green lighting production for the fall season. Even though Fox is officially saying that there has been no official decision, the show is being told to go ahead and hire directors for the first three shows of the fall season.

Thanks to SF Signals for the original story

Graphic FoxTV

How To: Terminate a Terminator (Updated)

I love this kind of stuff! Wired's Danger Room online page delves once again into how to take down a Terminator. Going through classes of armor, and weapons choices both indoor and outdoor, to get the most effective damage results. What makes this exercise fun is they tie it into the Terminator movies for hints on what will and what will not work against what director Cameron calls "chrome plated death". As Wired puts it: Generally speaking, Terminators appear to be able to shrug off small-arms fire. However, as a military technology enthusiast, you have to ask exactly how good their protection is. They have done their research, you can say that. The classes of armor even have hotlinks to detailed ballistics and the types of armor that will stop them. Also is a discussion on metal armor (which director Cameron went for for asthetic reason....lol) vs the real life adoption of unique ceramic composites. Each round and firearm type has links to realworld pages on these weapons, which give you a real insight into the power that some of these modern weapons can develop. Many of which were not even available when the first Terminator appeared. Makes you wonder what influenced what? Click the link for the complete article

Terminator Salvation: The Future Begins 5/2009 release

Mark Wilson in Mark's sf/fantasy blog wrote about the newest Terminator movie:

The fourth film in the series, Terminator Salvation: The Future Begins, is now slated to be released May 22, 2009. Terminator Salvation is in fact expected to launch a new trilogy of films documenting the rise of the machines, with John Connor -- the one man identified by artificial intelligence Skynet as capable of stopping them -- played here by Christian Bale. The film is directed by McG, who's best known for Charlie's Angels and Supernatural (as executive producer). The film reunites writers John Brancato and Michael Ferris from Terminator 3.

Robot warriors possible within 10 years says experts

Shaun Saunders sends in a piece from The Daily Mail online that suggest that far from being the realm of Science Fiction, the robot warrior could be a real possibility on the battlefield within ten years according to robotics experts. We are not talking about the present crop of remotely controlled machines. No, as the experts suggest, "Robot soldiers that can decide who to attack" and more to the point when to take action on an autonomous basis. How close are we now? Closer than you think. The article reports that "Over 4,000 robots are currently deployed on the ground in Iraq and by October 2006 unmanned aircraft had flown 400,000 flight hours". And that was over a year ago. The point being made : At the moment, humans can make the decision whether to attack or not but a recent policy shift in the U.S means that 'intelligent' autonomous attack robots .... that can make the decision to apply lethal force, when to apply it and who to apply it to are becoming a very real possibility. With the drop in cost of development and manufacture, these weapons need not be the sole territory of the military either.

Behind the Cybernetics with the Next Terminator Generation

Just in case you felt there was something missing in your knowledge of Terminator models and developments since the advent of Summer Glau on The Sarah Connor's Chronicles, the good folks over at IO9 has put together an exhaustive study of the big bad meanies. Some of the models and model descriptions never made it out of the cutting room, so be prepared to be informed!