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Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines (2003)
So much potential that went unfulfilled
Since I first saw this movie in theaters back in the summer of 2003, I've had mixed feelings about it since then. For many years, I thought it was great, not as good as the first two, but good enough on its own. Granted, when I first saw it, I had only recently watched the original two films so I was not a hardcore fan of the Terminator franchise at that point. As the years went on, I began to better appreciate the quality of the first two films, and unfortunately, Terminator 3 really lost it's shine. There were some good parts but they were far few in between nods to the first 2 movies and goofy humor that did not work with this film, given the circumstances taking place.
In 2004, a decade after the events of Terminator 2, Judgment Day was averted, Sarah Conner is dead, John is a "living off the grid" for fear that Terminators may still come after him from the future. And one does. Only this time, he's not the only target. John's future wife, Kate, is also on Skynet's hit list. And she also happens to be the daughter of the guy who oversaw the creation of Skynet. And Judgment Day is also taking place... on the same day.
The problems with this movie is that it had a lot of potential to be great, maybe not greater than Cameron's duology, but close enough to them. But the people behind this film didn't seem to care that much about it. The start of the film is a big hint. They screwed up John's age. In the narration, John says the machines tried to kill him when he was 13. He was 10 in Terminator 2. Judgment is inevitable but there is barely a discussion about it. The whole climax of T2 was based on preventing Judgment Day and the characters just shrug it off. No explanation of how Skynet still came into being, how any of Miles Dyson's research survive when they blew up Cyberdyne, nothing. Judgment Day is happening within hours and the characters don't find out until halfway through the movie. I guess that wasn't important enough to bring up until after the "talk to the hand" gag and all the other pointless humor. And that's another thing, the humor was so out of place for this film, especially considering that 3 billion lives are at risk of being wiped out. And this is just to tip of the ice berg.
Now, these could be seen as nitpicks but during the commentary for the film, the director (not Cameron) states that he doesn't know why Terminators arrive from the future naked. This was explained in the interrogation scene in the first Terminator film. The way how the director ignored basic lore established in the previous films makes me furious. How did we end up with people who cared so little about this universe? It's something to this day that still has me shake my head in disappointment. And it's another reason why Salvation has garnered more appreciation (the people working on that movie actually cared about the universe Cameron created).
The character of John Connor was okay, I can find it understandable why they made him the way he was. Kate Brewster was tolerable, I mean was Claire Daines the best actress they could find for the role? And of course, it was great seeing Arnold back as the Terminator even though at this point, his age was very apparent here. Kristina did a decent job as the Terminatrix, though the TX was not as menacing as the T-1000. I was disappointed Linda Hamilton didn't come back as Sarah Conner but when I found out why she refused to be in this movie, I totally understood her decision. She was barely going to be ion it and was going to die and the characters were not going to mourn her. Is it really too harsh to say the people behind this movie didn't care about it, when they were going to write the character who was the heart of the franchise in such an insulting manner.
There were some good parts such as some of the action scenes. But a lot of those were underscored by the badly placed humor. And the movie did not have the gravity of the previous films, even though there was much more at stake in this film. Even though it came out over a decade after T2, T3 has aged worse. It feels like a made for TV movie than a feature film. The ending was the best part. It was a good shock and great setup for a sequel. If only 90% of the movie was just like it.
What should have been a great addition ended up being a forgotten, lackluster entry in a dying franchise.
The Simpsons: Make Room for Lisa (1999)
Love this episode
One of the best Homer and Lisa centered episodes, If anyone forgets how likable and sympathetic Lisa used to be, they should watch this episode. After Homer kicks Lisa out of her room so that a cell phone company can build a cell tower on their house (as payment for when Homer ruined the Bill of Rights) , Lisa grows more stressful and eventually has to go to the doctor. Dr. Hibbert suggests Lisa try some new age solutions rather than antacids. Homer and Lisa go into a hippie store and decide to try some sensory deprivation tanks. The result is Lisa seeing things from other character's point of view such as the cat and ultimately her Dad when he takes her to events he doesn't enjoy but only goes to spend time with Lisa. Homer's tank goes on a hilarious adventure from being repo'ed to falling out of a truck, being buried, falling into a sewer, and eventually ending back at the hippie shop. I really miss episodes like these where Lisa isn't just nagging or being a preachy know-it-all. I like how she develops as a character, learning to see the world through other people's perspectives, including that of her father. It's a touching episode with a good amount of humor and one of the best Lisa focused episodes.
Ed, Edd n Eddy: If It Smells Like an Ed (2002)
Bad episode of a great show
Ed, Edd n Eddy is arguably one of the best animated shows in the past two decades. 20 years since it first aired, the show holds up incredibly well and most of the humor still gets a laugh out of me and many others who grew up watching it.
Which is why this episode tends to maligned by the fans. Usually, when the Eds are up to no good, they get their comeuppance (and rightfully so) as do many of the characters. However, this episode just leaves a bad taste in my mouth. Most of the characters are extremely mean spirited and the Eds get punished and humiliated for incidents that they had nothing to do with. And it takes one generally liked character and turns them into a despicable one. If this had been the usual 11 minute episode, I don't think it would've gotten as much hate. There were some jokes though that were good but they weren't enough to save this episode. Having to sit through 22 minutes of the Eds being unfairly agonized until the very end makes this the worst episode of the show.
The Simpsons: Lisa the Treehugger (2000)
Very memorable episode
One of my favorites, I still watch it from time to time. Lisa falls in love with a teen environmental activist, voiced by Joshua Jackson, and goes out of her way to impress him by sitting in a tree that is going to be cut down. The jokes throughout the episode are pretty good and neatly written, especially ones with Homer and Bart (although not as funny as the humor in classic episodes from earlier seasons). Episodes centered around Lisa's activism tend to be not as popular, especially in the latter seasons where her character just becomes a preachy know-it-all. So it's nice to have an episode where her activism plays a big role be really good, especially when it treated as a trait, not her whole character. I wish modern Simpsons writers would take note or care. The best episodes with Lisa are always the ones that make you sympathize for her, this being one of them.
This is also the episode that made me watch the Simpsons more often. I first saw it when I was in fifth grade and that's when I started picking up on the hidden humor and references. If you haven't seen this one, I recommend it.
13 Reasons Why (2017)
I really, really do not like this show
Before I begin, yes, I have read the book, not once, but twice. And I understand with adaptations that changes will be made. If this had been a movie or had less episodes, there definitely would have been less problems. The idea to make this thirteen hour long episodes may have seemed brilliant but when you figure out that making an episode longer than it takes to read the chapter it is based on, it really loses its shine. And that's why this show fails. Not just as an adaptation, but as a series in general.
First off, there is way, WAY too much filler and padding material here. The book took place in a single night, the show takes place over a week and is filled with pointless subplots which dragged the overall plot.
Second, the acting is horrendous, but I think that has more to do with the writing. None of the characters are interesting or likable.
Season 2 was the final nail in the coffin. Why do these streaming websites insist on making sequels to books that had none or don't need them?
This show is horrendous and needs to end and be forgotten about.
The Titan (2018)
San Worthington either needs to stop playing the same character or stop acting
This movie is just bad. First off, Worthington is yet playing another role similar to his character in "Avatar", being as charismatic and nuanced as a sack of potatoes. No joke, watching him act is like watch paint dry. The audio is bad, I needed to use subtitles to hear what the characters were saying. This movie takes place on an Earth engulfed in economic and environmental disaster yet all we see of any of that is lazily shown through a news clip on a tablet (Environmental dystopias just need to go away). Yet the characters inhabit a suburban like base surround by idyllic landscapes and act like upper middle class yuppies. The alien form is just really bad and laughable, not to mention a rip off of the design from "Prometheus." The premise of the film is intriguing at first but executed idiotically. None of the characters are interesting. I couldn't get half way through this movie because it was so bad.
The Secret of NIMH (1982)
Now here's something different for sure
Of all Don Bluth's films, this happens to be the one I've never seen during childhood. I got interested in this after how much the Nostalgia Critic kept talking about it and I'm glad I saw it. The animation was amazing, even by today's standards, and the premise was creative and had a good mixture of science fiction and fantasy. The plot was decent, but doubt it would have sit well with younger viewers due to its complexity, but nonetheless, a great movie. I got to say, it sure beats some of the contemporary Disney classics such as The Little Mermaid, Hercules, and Brother Bear with their simpler storyline. In fact, this film was a great reminder of how Bluth's films (his good ones) were always a much needed break from the mostly campy nature of Disney and proved that children can take a little darkness as long as it is patched up with a happy ending. Even as a child I liked darkness in animated movies. It's quite sad how this film isn't talked about much, along with other Don Bluth classics.
National Security (2003)
They should have really kept race out of it
National Security is about two guys, a ex police officer (Zahn) convicted of beating up a black guy, and the same black guy (Lawrence)who is dying to become a cop, are forced to work together as security officers to find the killer of the ex cop's partner.
Seems like a good plot right? Wrong.
The film starts out as any average action film of the 2000s, boring intro to the characters who are acting on patrol, they come across suspicious activity, than they chase the suspects than bang, partner gets killed by shotgun wound and other partner goes through a very flat dramatic grief. Partner wants revenge so he goes out to find who killed his partner. Comes across police academy failure who locked his keys in the car and let the widow slightly open, which looks like suspicious activity to cop. Cop pulls over asks the black man what he is doing, black man, angry at white cop, scorns him, cop gets angry and decides to detain scornful black guy. A bee, yes,a BUMBLE bee comes along and the cop gets scared of it and tries to whack it with his knight stick. Black man allergic to the bee starts panicking and yells for help. a family videotaping a family moment are near by and record what looks like to be a white cop beating a black man. Tape becomes widespread, black community up in arms, cop is fired and taken to court with a all black jury, judge, and prosecutors. Gets sentenced to six months in prison. stays in solitary to avoid being shanked by the black inmates. Gets out, becomes security guard and partners with, you've guessed it, the black man accusing him of the beating. They hate each other than next ting they're best friends and save the day! Black guy gets no punishment for lying about the beating.
When they were writing this, did the producers think they were making a lethal weapon or rush hour film? I hope not because this was downright embarrassing. and not to mention the elements of race they threw in with the boot. even though I'm not white myself, I did feel angry at the"beating" scenes. What angered me the most was Lawrence character got away with it. Its as if they were mocking all white people (nd black people too) that a white cop cant politely ask a black man who is doing something suspicious any questions because that would be racial profiling and the cop could get sued for beating the guy. I literally wanted to jump in the screen and call everyone in the film a race baiting sissy. This wasn't an action film, just a mockery of racial tensions disguised as one. It was as if every black character in the movie was some obnoxious self righteous asshole which really does not do any good for that minority in a still racially intensified period in our history. Aside from bad boys, I never liked Lawrence because of his obnoxious behavior and insensitive mood swings that are supposed to be taken as funny. I felt so lad to see Steve zahn punch that moron. speaking f which, Zahn as actually the only one who pulled off his character as the angry guy, but then again I guess that was really him because he must have not liked being the mocked white guy who didn't do anything wrong. but had to be because no one will put him in any real films. The rest of the acting was average but the plot sucks and was predictable.
It makes me feel superb to know this film plain out failed at the box office, and deserved it. Of Lawrence, this couldn't get nay lower for him, but Zahn deserves better than this.