The Terminator Tagged Articles at Cinematical

Apocalypse you say? Then armageddon outta here. Whether it's war, pestilence or one of the other Four Horsemen, the end of civilization as we know it has been a recurring theme since the beginning of science fiction cinema. This Friday sees the release of Knowing, a film in which a looming global cataclysm plays a major role -- so let's take a look back at seven films with different versions of how it will all end.

I Am Legend (2007)
Let's start with one that's still fresh in everyone's mind. In this film based on the Richard Matheson novel, Will Smith plays Robert Neville who, at the start of the film anyway, appears to be the last man on Earth thanks to his immunity to the virus that has stricken everyone else. The majority of the population has died from the disease, while the remainder have been mutated into animalistic rage-driven creatures who fear the daylight. Neville is a virologist and spends his days looking for a cure and his nights locked away in the safety of his Manhattan home.

It's interesting that this is one of the few such films where the end of civilization is not brought on by an act of aggression, but by a noble cause: a man-made virus intended to cure cancer that goes horribly wrong. The film is entertaining, but personally I find the CGI Darkseekers distractingly unconvincing. They leap around as if they have no weight and when they shriek their jaws distend like an anaconda swallowing a pig. Also, the film's original ending, which you can see on the DVD, made a lot more sense to me. Of the previous adaptations of the novel, The Last Man on Earth with Vincent Price remains my favorite. Charlton Heston's The Omega Man has its moments but hasn't aged well and starts to run out of steam early on.

"I'll be back" now has a whole new meaning.

The Hollywood Reporter posts that good ol' Arnold Schwarzenegger will soon be immortalized in DC not for his politics, but for his killing machine. The Library of Congress/National Film Registry has selected 25 films to be preserved in the registry. The choices must be "culturally, historically, or aesthetically" significant, and James Cameron's 1984 film The Terminator leads the pack with its "ingenious, thoughtful script ... and relentless, nonstop action."

And it's a pretty interesting mix of films that will go along with Arnie. We're talking The Invisible Man, Deliverance, In Cold Blood, The Pawnbroker, The Killers, Johnny Guitar, The Asphalt Jungle, A Face in the Crowd, Sergeant York, Disneyland Dream, Flower Drum Song, Free Radicals, Hallelujah, The March, No Lies, On the Bowery, The 7th Voyage of Sinbad, George Stevens WWII Footage, Water and Power, White plus silent films like The Perils of Pauline, One Week, So's Your Old Man, White Fawn's Devotion, and Foolish Wives.

Does Schwarzenegger fit right into this list? Are there others that should trump the Terminator? Sound off below!

Though he won't be appearing in the latest installment of the Terminator franchise, Arnold Schwarzenegger can still be considered involved, at least as an authority on the series. Unfortunately, as such an authority, he's apparently confused and underwhelmed by the early footage he's seen of Terminator Salvation. According to the Los Angeles Times, the "Governator" was recently given a private screening of scenes from the sequel -- either the same as or similar to the stuff shown at Comic-Con. In response, Schwarzenegger reportedly said: "They showed me some footage, but I don't have a feel for the movie. I didn't see enough. I wasn't sure who the Terminator was. I don't know if there is one or if he's the star or the hero. These are the things that determine the success and how strong the movie will be."

Well, that isn't so negative. Schwarzenegger is merely unsure of what's going on in the movie after seeing scattered sequences. Why nobody told him the basic plot is unclear, and it is strange he'd have no clue if any of the characters he was watching were Terminators or not. Still, that's not his fault nor a specific problem with the footage. However, the way he seemed to shrug it off and wish the filmmakers well is unfortunate. Meanwhile, he's claiming how much he loves Wanted and Will Ferrell movies, including Step Brothers and Semi-Pro and getting excited about this summer's box office numbers. But Terminator Salvation? He just says that if it's good it could break records and hopes it will make a lot of money, acting as if he might not even see it.

Despite the California governor's seemingly less-than-thrilled reaction, I remain excited about the fourth Terminator movie.

[via Rotten Tomatoes]

As usual, I'm not going to pretend to understand the technologies behind modern home entertainment. And so, before I begin, I'd like to prematurely thank any commenters who choose to weigh in on things such as "selectable output control," "the analog hole" or any other terms I might misuse or incorrectly explain. The only thing I comprehend about those electronic doohickeys in my living room is that they each somehow connect to my antiquated analog television and through the magic of, well, I don't know, I'm able to watch the occasional classic movie and mindless cake design program.

Those familiar with this column should know that I'm not here to necessarily explain how threats to movie theaters work. I'm just here to yell, "the sky is falling!" from within the lobby of the local cinema and hope that you Henny Pennys and Goosey Looseys are listening to my rants and ramblings and at least try to go to the movies more often (and hopefully buy at least one thing at the concession stand). This time, however, I feel even less knowledgeable about the latest threat, and I feel even more fearful that this is the beginning of the end. The cinemapocalypse, if you will.

Make-up, animatronics and effects legend Stan Winston passed away on Sunday at the too-young age of 62. In memoriam, Cinematical humbly presents this list of the man's most enduring achievements.

Some of my most treasured movie memories -- childhood and otherwise -- are courtesy of Stan Winston. What impressed me about this list as I was making it was that Winston specialized in realizing the imaginations of our greatest filmmakers -- directors like Burton, Spielberg, Cameron. Winston was a genius himself, of course, but he also facilitated genius, and that's just as important. Those guys owe him so much.

He had many accomplishments beyond the ones I've listed. That's what the comment thread is for.


1. Jurassic Park's Dinosaurs.

It's hard to describe the impression Jurassic Park made back in 1993. I was 9 years old, which was just old enough to be properly amazed. This was the new generation of popular cinema: perfect, lifelike wonders on the screen as if it were the most natural thing on the planet. Earlier technicians did a lot with simple puppetry, stop-motion and miniatures, but now all bets were off, and all barriers seemed lifted. Once you accepted the scientific goofiness of the film's premise, no further suspension of disbelief was necessary. Winston opened the gates to a whole new cinematic playground.

Well it's not like there have been a shortage of rumors surrounding the return of everyone's favorite cyborg. But it's a nice change to finally get some concrete information. Variety reports that Warner Bros. have purchased the distribution rights to the latest installment in the Terminator franchise. Now for the big news: we've finally gotten a title -- drum roll please -- Terminator Salvation: The Future Begins. Not bad, and it definitely gives me the impression that WB is in this for the long haul. According to Variety, WB are planning to, "reinvent the cyborg saga with a storyline to be told over a three-pic span". Executive producer Moritz Bowman told The Guardian UK, "The third film was really the conclusion of what happened in the 'now.' You will find the most-loved characters, but the intention here is to present a fresh new world and have this be the first of a trilogy". The project has been struggling through legal battles with MGM over distribution rights. But all of that is behind them, and WB is anxious to get the project moving.

More importantly, this means that the film has been kicked into high-gear and now has a start date set for 2008. John Brancato and Michael Ferris (the writers behind Terminator 3) have already handed in a completed script, but there has still been no official announcement regarding a director (the bad news is that McG seems to be the front runner for the job). Already WB is promising one heck of a spectacle for the film, with what was described as "an event-size" budget. Hopefully, they will be able to keep it under T3's $200 million price tag. Now if they can only figure out who will be playing The Terminator, we might have something. Sure, there was that wacky story about Vin Diesel taking over but nothing has been made official. Terminator Salvation: The Future Begins is scheduled for release in the summer of 2009.

I know I'm not completely in the minority with this, but I have to admit first off that I loved Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines. I really thought Jonathan Mostow did a great job delivering the action -- obviously not close to as good as James Cameron would have done, but better than many others could have. When it was revealed that a fourth Terminator was in the works, I hoped Mostow would be rehired for the gig. But I guess he's either doing something else (Swiss Family Robinson perhaps?) or for some reason he's not welcome back. According to CHUD.com, his replacement on the franchise may be McG, who I find to be one of the most annoying guys working in Hollywood these days. Really, though, I just hate on the guy because of his stupid name. I guiltily kinda enjoyed his two Charlie's Angels movies. Apparently, McG is currently in talks to take the helm of the sequel, for a pre-strike production start, but it isn't for certain that he'll get the job.

I'm sure many of you will probably be upset if McG officially signs on, even if you too just criticize him for his name. It could be the nail on the coffin for a lot of fans already nervous about the continuation of the storyline without any definite sign of Arnold Schwarzenegger, Linda Hamilton, Michael Biehn, Robert Patrick, Edward Furlong, Nick Stahl, Claire Danes or anyone else who has previously starred in the series. From what we've so far heard, it seems part 4 will focus on the post-apocalyptic period involving the war between the machines and John Connor's army. Everything else, regarding an Arnie cameo, or whatever, I'm still considering to be hearsay. Anyway, all I care about now is that at least Terminator 4 has been scripted by T3's Michael Ferris and John D. Brancato, a duo I'm sure are well-enough-versed in the Terminator universe to make this next installment interesting and worth seeing.

Intrepid Pictures, which recently gave us that bad remake of The Hitcher, will soon be giving us a weird knock-off of The Terminator. At least, that's what it sounds like from the synopsis given for a script titled The Fourth Horseman, which Intrepid just acquired, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The "original" screenplay, written by Marshall E. Uzzle and Perry Fair, is about a young priest sent to kill a teenage girl because she's supposedly about to give birth to Death. As in the last of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. Apparently the girl already has three children, named War, Pestilence and Famine, because the synopsis calls them "siblings," but I'll assume someone got that bit confused. Still, if this is to be the birth of the "fourth horseman" as the title suggests, it should also be assumed that the other three are already out there somewhere.

Anyway, the best part, which also parallels the plot of The Terminator (in which the baby-to-be was a future good guy), is that the young priest falls in love with the teen and, of course, impregnates her. Seems like he really paid attention when studying for the priesthood; his seminary school must have forgotten to stress the part about not sleeping with teenage girls and spawning evil forces of destruction.

The Fourth Horsemen probably won't have anything as cool as robotic killing machines from the future, but it better at least have some apocalyptic teasers in it. If it's just another bad religious-themed thriller a la Lost Souls, then Intrepid is probably wasting its time. But that's easily cynical for me to say, since other than Rosemary's Baby, I hate those kinds of movies (though I admit I've never seen the original The Omen). Currently Uzzle and Fair's script is being rewritten by scribes F. Paul Benz and Steve Tomlin, who last gave us Blind Horizon, a 2003 thriller starring Val Kilmer and Neve Campbell. And if that doesn't sell the project's worth to you, it's also being produced by Mike Karz (Malibu's Most Wanted; Good Luck Chuck).

There are a bunch of different jokes I can throw out regarding this story, but let's start by being serious. Governor Schwartzeneger has received 15 stitches after colliding with another car while driving a motorcycle with his son. The accident occurred Sunday afternoon and it seems as if it's the fault of the other driver for backing out, unaware the Terminator (okay, I had to go there) was heading straight for him.

All parties are said to be fine and the governor was expected to keep all of his appointments Monday. I mean, why should we expect less - the dude is huge. He's still huge, right? Ahnold's son was riding in the Harley Davidson's sidecar at the time and was treated for minor cuts and bruises. See, I'm the guy that would vote for him just because he drove a Harley with a sidecar. I'm that guy.