It’s always tricky to make a prequel, but to make a prequel/sequel? Terminator Salvation must be the first in movie history to accomplish this goal. Although I loved it (and I LOVE the Terminator franchise), I left the theater, thinking, OK, when will the next installment come out? I want more. You see, Salvation makes it sound finished, but it’s really just the beginning. We already know this story; this is the story that brings the first scary Arnold to screen in 1984 and continues with the buff Sarah Conner in 1991 and leaves John Conner disillusioned in 2003.

If you’re not a fan, I can’t imagine that you would even have a clue as to what is going on here. But for us fanatics, the subtle working in of the best catch phrases like “I’ll be back” and “come with me if you want to live,” give this prequel/sequel just the right amount of origins in John Conner. Christian Bale as John Conner is just gritty, the soft and hard unleader of the resistance. The exquisite Byrce Dallas Howard is more than believable as his loyal wife, his partner in this bloody war.

WARNING: SLIGHT SPOILER
The part of the story we don’t know begins with Sam Worthington as Marcus Wright, a death row inmate who volunteers, unknowingly, to be the next Terminator, both human and machine. He is the machines future, their ultimate plan to defeat the humans. Although he has a human heart, his body is machine, but he does not know this. He thinks he’s human, but is he? This is the question the resistance must ask itself. How will they separate themselves from the machines without being duped by them? What makes us human? This is the question of the Terminator franchise.

I want you to see this movie, and since it’s a prequel/sequel, maybe you should see this one first. Then, rent Terminator, Terminator: Judgment Day, and Terminator: Rise of the Machines and let me know if it makes the story better.

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Martyrs is in French. This may seem a strange way to start an article but it is a fact that some people have a natural aversion to watching foreign films. Now that we have got that nasty business aside let’s get to the goodness. Martyrs may be one of the most disturbing yet intriguing horror movies I have ever set my beautiful brown eyes upon. It mixes horror and mystery in a way that I have not seen in a long time and is a must watch for any die hard horror fan. But a very strange must watch at that.

The movie is about to young women named Anna and Lucie. These two young women become friends at a youth home after Lucie has been held captive for an undisclosed amount of time. The torture that she is submitted too is shown only briefly, but is brutal nonetheless. In the youth home she is haunted by a ghostly figure that mutilates her, and makes her friend swear to never tell anyone about it. The movie jumps forward to a confusing quest of revenge as Lucie goes completely out of it. I’m talking scorched Earth shotgun work here folks. Things soon become very confusing as the line between reality and fantasy is blurred and the audience is unsure of whether or not Lucie is insane or legitimately visited by a ghostly figure.

I could go further to the plot but this mysterious segment of the movie contains several twists and turns integral to the plot. So let’s talk about the gore. This movie has some excellent gore effects and with the use of some clever cutaways completely disregards CGI. This is all good, this movie does take a very unpleasant turn. Which is to say that the last 15 minutes of this movie are almost completely unwatchable. Not as in poorly done or cheesy but just completely disturbing. I found myself cringing and coming very close to turning it off several times. But something about it made me keep it on, I had to see this movie through to the end to get some sort of payoff. There is payoff, but in accordance to the style of the rest of the movie.

When this movie finally faded out I found myself just sitting there awestruck. Not knowing what to say. If you find yourself in the mood for a movie that is unlike anything you have seen then definitely give this shot. The acting is fantastic and if you are up to reading some frantic French subtitles than all is good. This is one of those movies that I really enjoyed, but after watching Martyrs once I will probably never watch it again. It’s that intense.

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Basically, you have me at Dakota Fanning. She was born to act. But then add in Chris Evans (I really liked him in Cellular, although that movie not so much) and Djimon Hounson (in Blood Diamond, one of the best movies EVER) and you’ve secured one excellent movie. I saw the previews a few months back, but I guess I just didn’t expect to be moved.

The basis is much like Heroes: there are “normal” people around us with incredible abilities like Pushers who can make you believe anything; Shifters who can shape shift objects; Movers who can move objects with their mind; and Watchers who see the future. There’s more abilities too like Sniffers and Bleeders. Divison agents (aka the government) seek these people to perform experiments and create the “ultimate” army. Enter Djimon Hounson, the evil agent Carver with the black eyes.

Tokyo is a haven for cast outs which is where we find Chris Evans who plays Nick, the reluctant hero. Nick is a mover, but not even a very good one. Dakota Fanning’s character Cassie “watches” him and solicits his help to save her mom and really, the world (go figure!). She is not only believable, but lovable as the thirteen year old girl caught in this messed up world. She also provides a lot of the comic relief.

Nick and Cassie set out to find the missing girl that everyone wants. In their journey, we meet other special people and soon it’s the good outcasts versus the big bad Chinese mafia and US Government. It gets better, but I won’t spoil it for you here. I’ll just say that the story is fascinating, tension-filled and full of subtle suspense and the acting is top notch.

In reflection, what I love most about it is the simplicity of not so normal people trying to live ordinary lives. Push is a keeper.

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After the likes of Bleeding Love, the door dance, Joshua/Katie, and the bed dance of season 4, I skeptically tuned in to watch the Top 20 perform on Wednesday. Well, these dancers did not disappoint! The very first couple slammed on the floor with a lyrical Napoleon and Tabitha hip hop number. Executed beautifully by Phillip and Jeanine, the story relates the ecclesiastical saying, “Don’t let the sun go down on your anger.” What makes it even more unbelievable is Jeanine’s lack of experience doing hip-hop. In true Chelsea Hightower fashion, she nailed it. And Philip, well, I’d be surprised if he’s not in the top 4.

I’ll just highlight a few dances ranked for your reading pleasure. You can watch for yourself at the SYTYCDism.com. Everything you’d ever want to know is on that blog. I’ll just tell you the good parts.

So, Rank 1, Philip/Jeanine. Rank 2, Kayla/Max. Again, Kayla has no ballroom experience and looked like an expert doing the samba. I think it is incredible to have a week to learn a dance and then make it look like you’ve been dancing like that forever. This is Max’s genre and you can tell why.

Rank 3, Evan/Randi. Evan and Randi are a unique couple because, as we found out in the pre-dance shoot, Randi is married and Evan is humorous. I often wonder how dancers do it; these dances can be so romantic with lots of touching. Randi let us know she was uncomfortable acting “in love” with Evan and Evan said, “well, I’m a little worried because I don’t know how big Randi’s husband is.” But for all their worries, this Mandy Moore contemporary ballad looked like the most natural first love experience. Can’t wait to see Evan and Randi tackle hip hop.

Rank 4, Jason/Caitlin. Bollywood uses every facet of a dancers body and skill. Fingers and feet all have their place in this fast-paced combination of traditional Indian dance and hip hop. Joshua and Katie nailed the introduction to Bollywood last season, but they’d been dancing together 4 weeks at that point. This was the FIRST dance for Jonathan and Caitlin. Caitlin did a handstand with her feet pointing to opposite walls. She must have held that handstand for 30 seconds. Incredible. I hope they use Bollywood sparingly, however, because I think it will lose it’s appeal if attempted every week.

Rank 5, Melissa/Ade. Melissa is the oldest contestant, a whole 29 years. But they paired her rightly with Ade, a powerhouse dancer. Both of these trained dancers contain the ability to go far this season. Their chemistry really worked and their lines compliment each other. Not to mention, Ade hoisted her up with nary an effort, flipping her from back to front while Melissa kept the splits in true form.

Rank 6, Brandon/Janette. Now getting the foxtrot on any round can be close to a death sentence. It is just so boring for me. That and the quick step do not have enough fun in them. But it will take a lot more for Brandon to lose. He is an amazing dancer. He exuded the calm air of Fred Astair while Janette, the Cuban hot, salsa dancer, eased into her Ginger with all the coldness required of that role. I look forward to seeing real choreography from this couple in the future.

These rank as the most memorable dances of the first night with Season 5’s Top 20. On Thursday, the bottom three couples consisted of Vitolio/Asuka, Jonathan/Kayla, and Tony/Paris (none of my favorites from above *wink*). From the solos performed, Vitolio and Jonathan stood out for me. We do need to see more of them. The women all seemed the same and will really have to prove themselves in the coming weeks.

The only other draw that is almost certain death is getting your genre and failing it. That’s what happened to Tony. He drew hip hop and although, Napoleon and Tabitha produced kickin’ choreography, the fight wasn’t there. Paris didn’t seem connected to Tony at all. As a result, this is the first couple eliminated Thursday night.

Now, we’re down to 18, 9 couples. Who will survive another week and who will blow us away? Tune in next week!

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Whoa! This was a week to remember on So You Think You Can Dance! The choreography stepped up to the dancers and the choreographers provided original and artsy dances to make even the Quick Step interesting for probably the first time on any season. The results surprised the judges (and me), but it’s just going to get harder and harder from here on out. Karla and Vitolio picked the Quick Step, which is widely known as the Kiss of Death out of the hat. Although Vitolio really worked at it, Karla seemed uncomfortable the whole time. Her “star quality” as Nigel calls it didn’t shine. Both are great dancers who had many off weeks on the show. To their credit, this was seriously the most entertaining and well-danced Quick Step ever complete with Karla changing her dance IN MID TWIRL. Definitely worth watching on SYTYCDism.com.

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You know that funny that’s just so embarrassing, like it could be slapstick but it’s not because it’s too true? Paul Blart: Mall Cop resides somewhere between there and the super uncomfortable embarrassment that shows up with Ben Stiller in Meet the Parents. There’s no doubt that Kevin James is a funny man. But he’s also endearing as a single dad with a hispanic daughter who lives with his mom (his wife left him after obtaining her green card).

He takes his job seriously as a mall cop with such care and determination even though all those around him not only don’t care, but make fun of him for caring. He’s even encouraged to give up and let the mall fall to bad guys rather than play the hero. “I took an oath to protect this mall and everyone in it,” he replies. “But we don’t have an oath,” counters his boss. “I made one up, sir.” This is Paul Blart, unknown hero extraordinaire! He’s an inspiration to everyone who loves what they do regardless of how much you’re supposed to hate your job.

There are several good supporting roles including Bobby Cannavale (Cupid), who plays the FBI “hero,” Raini Rodriguez, who plays his endearing daughter and Jayma Mays, “Amy,” his from afar mall love. If you don’t mind uncomfortable silences and the occasional fat joke, you’ll enjoy Paul Blart: Mall Cop.

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Let me clear something up right away. Wrestling is not fake! That’s right, I’m talking about World Wrestling Entertainment. Actually, it’s acting at it’s most dramatic; it’s a soap opera for beefy guys. But the wrestling IS NOT FAKE. Those guys seriously get beat up; the blood’s not fake; the bruises and injuries aren’t fake. When a wrestler wants to break into acting, it’s not that much of a stretch. Many politicians with their “uhs” between every other word in speeches, could learn a lot more from watching Smackdown on WWE than joining a Toastmasters Club.

Following in the “break into Hollywood” footsteps of Hulk Hogan and The Rock comes John Cena, the young, fresh rapper from Massachusetts. He’s fun to watch. When we sat down to view 12 Rounds, I totally expected The Marine, part 2. John Cena, The Marine, who kicks some serious bad guy booty.

With my expectations so low, I couldn’t help but enjoy myself.  John Cena is not The Rock, well, not yet anyway. I look back on The Scorpian King and then consider Dwayne Johnson’s acting improvement in films like The Run Down and The Game Plan. He is seriously a successful actor now.

So if The Rock can do it so can John Cena. In 12 Rounds, Cena plays Danny Fisher, a beat cop who takes his job to heart. When he accidentally kills the twisted bad guy’s girlfriend, the game is on. Fisher finds himself helpless in a horrible life and death game.

The supporting acting of Steve Harris (The Practice) and Brian J. White (Stomp the Yard) compliment Cena, taking the total focus from him and developing characters worth watching. It’s a nonstop action spree in the vein of Speed. It’s predictable, but it works. Definitely worth a Redbox night.

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I find it really amazing at what lengths a company will go to dramatize an 80’s cartoon. Before I start this review might I start out by saying I was never a huge fan of Transformers so I’m not going to go all fan boy on this review (I was more of a Beast Wars kind of guy, Maximals and Predacons forever!). I think it should go on the record that this will be my first negative review for a movie that I have done for Metroglow. All my others have been pretty positive, probably giving me the appearance of some squealing message board kid who loves celebs just a bit too much.. But here I am to say that Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen is a shiny explosion-filled cliché love story squeezed in to a trim two hour and forty minute run time.
This is the highly anticipated big budget sequel to 2007’s Transformers, it continues the storyline of Sam (Shia LeBeouf) as he is about to go to college. He is still with his girlfriend (the extremely popular Megan Fox, I actually heard men swooning in the theater) and they are trying to deal with a long distance relationship. Oh, and there are still gigantic robots waging war on on our planet. However this love story fights for A-plot status with some very dizzying spin kiss scenes and some adorably cute phone conversations. Honestly Megan Fox, who fixes a motorcycle that way? The movie then kicks in when Sam realizes he still has a piece of the cube from the first movie. Optimus Prime tells him that there is still work to be done and robots continue fighting each other. Something that should be mentioned for fan boys is that even original villain Megatron is pushed aside for the new villain known as the Fallen. Being a 21 year old man I still found myself getting confused during the fight scenes. During critical moments in the fight, the camera would go in to slow motion to show what was being done. However most of them are an indistinguishable mass of shiny metal clacking and breaking off against each other.
I think I should pause to say that despite some moments of confusion that the special effects as a whole are pretty amazing. After all that’s what this movie is about. However a movie relying on pure special effects should not try to squeeze in a cheesy love story and crude humor. Transformers was a kid’s show after all, and I’m sure few adults would complain if they took out some of the foul language and lame sexual jokes. Ebonic-speaking robots would also probably not be missed (that’s actually become kind of a hot button about this movie). There was a slew of other lame moments, but I’ll just leave you with ‘robot heaven’.. that about sums it up.
If special effects are your cup of tea then definitely consider seeing this movie. After all it is not completely unwatchable. The explosions and chases should keep you entertained. Also if you are wanting to leer at Megan Fox this movie gives you ample opportunity. This movie barely passes as PG-13 so beware of that factor if you plan to take the kids. Just know that you are in for an almost three hour movie based off of an 80’s cartoon..

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Oh snap! Somebody stole the Magna Carta! Perpetual funny man Steve Martin is back as the finest detective in all of France: Inspector Jacques Clouseau. When the famous Pink Panther diamond is stolen (again) along with other internationally coveted artifacts, a dream team of world renowned detectives are on the case! Starring Jean Reno, John Cleese, Emily Mortimer and Andy Garcia, this sequel is sure to have you laughing. (I’d even bet you’ll like it more than the first.)

Also new on DVD this week:

1.Inkheart
2.Confessions of a Shopaholic
3.The Code
4.Waltz With Bashir

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