TERMINATOR: DARK FATE (2019) – My rating: 8/10

Terminator: Dark Fate is a science fiction action film directed by Tim Miller. The screenplay is by David Goyer, Justin Rhodes, and Billy Ray from a story by James Cameron, Charles H. Eglee, Josh Friedman, Goyer and Rhodes. Cameron also produced the film, alongside David Ellison. It is the sixth installment in the Terminator franchise, and acts as a direct sequel to The Terminator (1984) and Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991), while retconning other related works such as Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines (2003), Terminator Salvation (2009), Terminator Genisys (2015), and the television series Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles (2008–2009) from the franchise’s canon following the return of creative control to Cameron. It’s sad when we go to a movie starring old stars to see how well they perform and what they look like now.  Terminator is such a movie but I must say, Arnold and Linda were great.

It is now 1998, Sarah Connor (Linda Hamilton) and her son, John Connor (Edward Furlong) are enjoying life without the threat of being hunted by a Skynet Terminator from the future.  For three years, John and his mother were free.  However, while on a beach in Livingston, Guatemala, John is attacked and killed by a T-800 Terminator / Carl (Arnold Schwarzenegger), sent by Skynet prior to its demise. Twenty-two years later, an advanced Rev-9 Terminator is sent back in time to Mexico City, to kill Daniella “Dani” Ramos (Natalia Reyes), at the same time a cybernetically enhanced soldier named Grace (Mackenzie Davis) is sent to protect Dani. So we end up with good (Grace) vs. evil (REV-9) + Sarah who Grace has never heard of because Sarah nor John existed in Grace’s timeline.  Humanity is now threatened by an AI called Legion, which was developed by SAC-NORAD for use in cyberwarfare.

You can expect the usual special effects, which are fantastic, an older Arnold and an older Linda.  Both are brilliant actors and their age is just a number. It also helps to have Mackenzie Davis, who is energetic and just the right cup of tea for this role.  Being human and unknown, Sarah had to gain Grace’s respect. You will learn the plight of mankind, Dani, Grace, Carl and Sarah in Dark Fate in what promises to be the last Terminator in this series.  Following the film’s underwhelming opening at the box-office, sources close to Skydance told “The Hollywood Reporter” that there are no plans for further films. Dark Fate was very entertaining and has an excellent plot.  It received mixed reviews from critics, who believed it to be an improvement over previous installments and praised the performances and action sequences but criticized the recycled plot points and narrative choices. The film also became a box-office bomb, having grossed $249 million against an estimated production budget of $185–196 million. With a break-even point of $450–480 million, projected losses for the studios involved are estimated to reach $130 million. Despite the earnings, I recommend Terminator: Dark Fate to all.  Check It Out!

 

A STAR IS BORN (2018) – My rating: 9.5/10

A Star Is Born is a romantic musical drama produced and directed by Bradley Cooper (in his directorial debut) and written by Cooper, Eric Roth and Will Fetters. This film is a remake of the 1937 film of the same name. It marks the third American remake of the original 1937 film (which starred Janet Gaynor and Fredric March), after the 1954 musical (starring Judy Garland and James Mason) and the 1976 rock musical (with Barbra Streisand and Kris Kristofferson).

Jackson Maine (Bradley Cooper) performs at sold out concerts but has a serious drinking problem, which he hides from the public (“Black Eyes”). Jackson’s main support and manager is his older brother Bobby Maine (Sam Elliott) who is always there for him. One night, after preforming a show, Jackson has his driver drop him off at a bar so that he can continue to drink.  There he witnesses Ally (Lady Gaga), a singer/songwriter perform (“La Vie en rose”).  Ally also works as a waitress with her friend Ramon (Anthony Ramos), while moonlighting as a singer at a drag bar. Amazed by her talent, they have a drink together and Ally reveals that she has never pursued a professional career due to being told that she has a big nose, something Jackson admits that he finds attractive and they share songs together.

He drops her off at her home where she lives with her widower father Lorenzo (Andrew Dice Clay) who runs a driving service with his friends. Jackson asks Ally to come to his show that night, but she refuses even when her father insists that she go. She eventually changes her mind and takes Ramon with her where Jackson asks Ally to sing on stage with him. After some hesitation, she relents and is praised on social media (“Shallow”).  Jackson has Ally perform at several concerts with him and they slowly begin to form a relationship (“Maybe It’s Time”).

A Star is Born is an intense love story of two singers of which one of them is an alcoholic.  I cannot say enough about the performances of Lady Gaga, Andrew Dice Clay, Bradley Cooper and Sam Elliott.  I was memorized by Clay’s performance as Ally’s father.  It was the first time I’ve seen him in a serious role.  Bradley Cooper was more than convincing as a hopeless, love sick, drunk. I was also surprised at his singing abilities.  Lady Gaga was her usual kick ass singer self.  It was worth seeing the movie just to hear her sing.  A Star is Born was totally believable and very entertaining.  I loved this movie and shout out kudos to Bradley Cooper, what a debut.  The story gets very deep and shows the ups and downs of an alcoholic as he tries to change his life around.  A Star is Born is well worth your time and money to see it.  Check it out!

[A Star is Born is Oscar nominated for BEST: Picture, Actress, Actor, Supporting Actor, Adapted Screenplay, Cinematography, Original Song and Best Sound Mixing]

 

CHEF (2014) – My rating: 8/10

Chef is a feel good comedy with lots of stars contributing.  I especially liked all the displays of delicious food.   Jon Favreau, who also wrote and directed this movie, plays Carl Casper a divorced chef working for a controlling restaurant owner named Riva, played by Dustin Huffman.  Martin (John Leguizamo) and Tony (Bobby Cannavale)  play Carl’s sous-chefs.  When Carl and Riva can’t agree on an appropriate menu for Ramsey Michel, the food critic played by Oliver Platt, he quits and goes in search of his destiny.  Carl has a technically savvy young son named Percy played by Emjay Anthony who was instrumental in helping Carl get recognition and get on his feet.  Carl also has an x wife named Inez played by Sofia Vagara.  Inez solicits her other X husband Marvin, played by Robert Downing Jr. to help out by giving Carl an old food truck.  The dynamics are very interesting and the movie was well done (no pun intended).  Scarlett Johansson plays molly the restaurant hostess who always has Carl’s back.  While Chef is very good, I would wait for the DVD since there’s nothing happening that rates the cost of a movie ticket or the big screen.

SHAMELESS – MY Rating: 8.5/10

Outrageous is the one word that comes to mind when defining this  realer than real Showtime series.  With William H. Macy at the helm as a fall down, sloppy, disgusting drunk with 7 children, this series makes for a pretty interesting story.  William H. Macy plays Frank Gallagher.  Frank’s children include 1 genus son named Phillip but called Lip, 1 gay son named Ian, 1 (2) year old son named Liam, 1 potential sociopath and arsonist son who stands by Frank, named Carl, 1 adolescent daughter, named Debbie, 1newly discovered daughter named Sammi and his oldest daughter, named Fiona,  who takes care of the entire family while Frank stays in a drunken stupor most of the time.

BTW: the Gallagher’s do have a mom but she’s in and out of the picture, named Monica.  Shameless shows how a dysfunctional family evolves when the living conditions are unfavorable and the children are self raised in poverty and discord when there are no decent parents around for guidance.

There are so many other characters that help make this series successful.  Joan Cusask has a recurring role as Sheila, who is now head of her dysfunctional family since her husband died.  Fiona’s best friend, Veronica Fisher, who is the Gallagher’s next door neighbor and can at best be described as a real character, married to a bartender, who at times, is a bit of a block head.  Should you find this interesting enough to watch, here are some additional facts:

Resource:  Wikipedia
Brennan Kane Johnson & Blake Alexander Johnson as Liam Gallagher

The youngest of the Gallagher children, 2 year old Liam, is black despite having two white parents due to a recessive black gene the Gallagher’s acquired from Frank’s grandmother, who (allegedly) had an affair with a jazz musician. Liam is starting to verbalize more, however, his character has yet to be developed.
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Resource:  IMDB
William H. Macy also plays his brother Jerry Gallagher.

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***SPOILER***
Veronica, thinking she couldn’t get pregnant, lured her mother into getting pregnant for her, using her very own husband so that their child would be half their own.   Since then, Veronica turned up pregnant with triplets and now is expecting 4 babies.  In reality, at the age of 36, Shanola Hampton, who plays Veronica,  gave birth to her first child, a daughter, named Cai MyAnna Dukes on January 20, 2014.  Child’s father is her husband, Daren Dukes.