Terminator Salvation
The following review may contain spoilers: read something else if you plan to go see Terminator Salvation any time soon!
I don’t remember who I saw the first Terminator movie with. Did I see it with my ex-husband, here in Saskatoon, when it first came out? I don’t think so; I don’t remember seeing it in a theater. Did I see it, on television, with my boyfriend in Montreal? I don’t know.
The first Terminator movie came out in 1984. I have vague memories in my head of watching it on a small screen. The second Terminator movie, the one that starts with images of Judgment Day, that I remember seeing loud and bold. But again, I couldn’t tell you where I saw it?
I’m a fan of the Terminator series – I like the boldness of Sarah Connor, the paradoxes of time travel and, on occasion, loud, tense movie scenes. I miss watching Linda Hamilton in this role. There are still so few kick ass heroines out there for a feminist to emulate.
I’ve seen all the Terminator movies and was just getting into the television series. (I’m annoyed that it got canceled just as I was getting drawn in). It concentrated on telling a story – I liked that.
I was looking forward to the new movie. I wanted to know what was going to happen to the characters I cared about! I should have waited for the DVD.
The movie started out loud & bold. It takes you straight into the action. The problem, for me, was that was all it did. There was too much action, in my opinion, and no consideration given to plot. Where was the story? Why should I care about these people? I almost started to root for the machines and looked forward to watching & wondering what the machines would do next.
If you own this image, let me know and I will remove it
The problem with Terminator Salvation is that it is missing a plot. Where is the story I’ve come to know and love?
I have so many questions:
If John and his wife were locked up before Judgment Day (the end of movie 3) – how and when did he join the army and get his skills? Who else knows about him being the savior of all? How and when did Kate, his wife, stop being a vet and start treating humans? Why are the others blindly following him to death?
The Inefficient killing machines annoyed me; why not just kill Kyle Reese? Why would machines take prisoners? What could they possibly gain by this when it has been stated, time and again, that their goal is the elimination of all mankind?
Of course killing Kyle would result in a major time paradox – what would happen if the machines killed the teen aged Kyle Reese before he got a chance to go back and meet Sarah? What would happen to the John there in the future? Who invents/controls time travel? Who, actually, is the enemy here? Can’t we all just get along?
Deus ex Machina was the prominent phrase rattling around in my brain as I left the theatre. For those who don’t know, Deus ex Machina, literally means “God by machine.” It is when the author takes the easy way out to solve problems, rather than have the characters work things out themselves. Basically, God steps in and makes everything work!
This is how I felt leaving Terminator Salvation – that everything got worked out and logic, story and plot be damned!
For an expanded point of view, better articulated then mine (LOL), go read this:
Carrie, I would so go see your version 
. Read the rest of this entry »
Star Trek
Here in Canada it was Victoria Day weekend so yesterday was a holiday.
A friend and I went to see the new Star Trek. She for the second time; me for the first.
I’m not a Trekkie. I couldn’t tell you most of the minutia of the Star Trek Canon. My friend probably could – the most minute details stick in her head. I’m much better at banal trivia.
So why was I interested in seeing this movie?
I’m old enough to remember the original series. It was a show my younger brothers watched and we girls ignored. I grew up in a one television household. We mostly watched T. V. in the summer. Mom only had a T.V. for her soaps and family friendly evening shows. When we went to visit my dad and my other siblings there were two televisions. (Dad worked as an electronics repairman). The television in the Living room was controlled by Dad and off when he wasn’t home. The T.V. in the Family room was ours – whoever got to it first controlled it. This would usually be the boys because the Family room was also their bedroom.
Thus, lots of Star Trek and other such shows. So, what I know of Star Trek I picked up in the back regions of my brain as I traveled through the Family room or sat reading in a back corner. And by watching my brothers. It was obvious they enjoyed the show a lot. What wasn’t always obvious was why. The original Star Trek wasn’t actually great literature!
However, It was okay background noise. There was an inter-species cast and comforting commonalities from week to week. There was a woman in the cast and, even though she didn’t get to do much, she was out there exploring space. It wasn’t hard to figure out what was going to happen, who was going to die, or who got the girl. Yes, Kirk was and is a man whore!
This new movie incarnation was familiar and fun. Lots of space and excitement and old friends. Uhura’s character was fleshed out. Maybe she’ll get more responsibility in the next movie and become more of a feminist (please). And it would be nice to see more alien races studying at Starfleet.
But, for now, for me, it was a perfect summer movie to see on the big screen. My television at home is barely bigger than my computer screen – there are just some movies that I need to see in the theater.
Movies like Star Trek and last year’s Die Hard and next week’s Terminator! It is summer. The season for loud noises, bar fights, excitement and men chasing each other with loud, noisy vehicles. When do I get my turn to shoot at things and be destructive?
Copyright Paramount Pictures
ABCs of Me
I’m Blocked; so you’re getting A Meme! Enjoy…
A is for age: Almost fifty. Old enough that I had wooden blocks that looked exactly like these.
B is for Beer: Don’t drink any. It aggravates my migraines.
C is for Career: I’m on my second. I was in Child Care, I’m now a Librarian and I’m in the process of searching for my next career. I’m anticipating a change in the next year or so!
D is for my Dog’s Name: Don’t have a dog. Coco is my mom’s boyfriend’s dog; Jake is my sister’s lab. I have walking rights whenever I see them.
E is for Essential Item I Use Everyday: Books, books and more books. I’d use them every day even if I wasn’t a Librarian.
F is for Favorite T.V. Show: The last, couldn’t ever miss favourite, was Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
G is for Favorite Game: Monopoly or maybe Trivial Pursuit or Jeopardy!
H is for Hometown: Small town Saskatchewan.
I is for Instruments I Play: None, but I’d love to learn the Flute someday.
J is for Favorite Juice: Grape.
K is for Whose Butt I’d Like To Kick: In a good, competitive way or in a you annoy me way?
L is for the Last Place I Ate: McD’s…I should have packed a lunch. All I enjoyed was the Cinnamon Melts.
M is for Marriage: Nope, divorced & never again!
N is for my Name: gigi; okay, that’s a nom de plume, aka pen name.
O is for Overnight Hospital Stays: One, no two. Tonsils at age seven or so and pneumonia at age Sixteen.
P is for People I was With Today: My co-worker and my boss – we have a small staff on mondays.
Q is for Quote: The second line to Curiosity Killed the Cat. Look it up!
R is for Biggest Regret: It used to be B (post upcoming someday).
S is for Sport: If I have to pick one it would be Badminton.
T is for Time I Woke Up Today: 7:00 am, they were vacuuming outside my apartment. I still had forty minutes according to my alarm. This keeps happening and making me grumpy! 
U is for Underwater: I’d like to explore underwater caves but there’s this fear of drowning phobia lurking inside me. (See future post about B!)
V is for Vegetable You Love: Peas - fresh, frozen and creamed.
W is for Worst Habit: I spend too much money on Junk food.
X is for X-rays I Have Had: Teeth and lungs.
Y is for Yummy Food You Ate Today: Homemade Chocolate Raspberry Cheesecake. Made it myself. Here’s a tip, if you want the best taste – don’t buy the cheap cream cheese!
Z is for Zodiac: Aries. 1st sign of the Zodiac and a Metal Rat which is supposed to attract money. (I’m still waiting).
How Many Mothers?
How many mothers do you have?
I have one mother. She is very different from me. She is all sunshine & mornings & friends & family. She is social.
I am grey.
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I have one stepmother. She was young when she met my father. She & I are more alike. We understand each other.
I did not like her, at first, and now I can see that there are many times that she “gets” me better than my mother does.
My mother thinks I am her…my stepmother knows I am not.
I love them both. <3
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I have at least four grandmothers. My mother’s mother, my father’s mother, my stepmother’s mother, my mother’s aunt (her mother’s sister), two adopted grandmothers, my sister’s mother-in-law and on and on…
I call them grandmother except for my mother’s aunt who was Tanta.
None of them had cats. LOL. They all kept busy and knew how to cook – which I am trying to learn.
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All of my mother figures have let themselves grow old naturally. No face lifts or wrinkle creams for them. My eldest sister, not a grandmother yet, recently let her black hair go salt & pepper. I think she looks tres magnificent!
My grandmother role models plant flowers and cultivate their own gardens. 
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One of my elderly next door neighbours (an adopted grandmother) had the most beautiful garden from May to October. She made us coloured popcorn every holiday and let me and my friends use her oven to bake imaginary cookies made up of peanut butter & oatmeal.
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I also have many aunts. I am an aunt.
I am the type of aunt who bakes cookies & sends you packages through the mail.
My aunts were the sort who listened and treated you the same as they treated their own children.
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My aunts mostly lived on farms. They were farm wives. They knew how to milk cows & make butter. They appreciated the beauty of sunrises and sunsets. They were early risers – I was not. They reinforced my belief that I was not suited to farm life!
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These women – mothers, stepmothers, aunts, grandmothers – introduced me to many things I would not have been able to experience if I had only my poor, divorced mother to raise me.
My other adopted grandmother,another neighbour, had a summer cottage. I did not think such a luxury was possible. To have both a house in town and a house by the blissful, quiet lake.
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I am a city aunt. I would like to be seen as an Auntie Mame. Someone who would take you to plays & festivals & magnificent stores.
This is what I aspire to.
I am not there yet.
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I have no flower gardens. I only have memories of gardens & sunshine & happiness.
I have no cottage. I only have memories of soft breezes & warm mornings & laughter.
I have no children. I will never be a mother.
I am an ant {:-O} I am lucky in having had a multitude of mothers to teach me and love me and nurture the very essence of me.
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How many mothers do you have? Count them
Tribbles and Bits
May 31, 2009 at 9:01 pm (Book Commentary, Life, Weather) (Children's Festival, Just After Sunset, Lilacs, Saskatoon, Stephen King, Summer, Sun, The Necklace)
I don’t hate everything about Summer just the heat. The Children’s Festival will start next week and starting tomorrow my walk to work will be festooned with ribbons. Not the whole walk, just the last part by the park. They will have bright ribbons hanging over the trees which are already a canopy of green but for one week will be joined by a rainbow of ribbons and hoards of children when I go out for lunch. This week makes me wish I still had little ones in my life to enjoy the festival with.
Today is Sunday. It was a beautiful day but I did not go out into it. Except to take out the garbage. I stayed inside reading, enjoying the sun like a cat. I finished two books and the Saturday paper. I did notice when the sun went behind the clouds but I was not tempted to leave my apartment. I’m a little tempted now but it means I’d have to put on a bra and I don’t want to!
What books did I finish, you ask?
One of the books was The Necklace. This book is the story about thirteen women who buy a 15,000.00 dollar necklace to share. The book details this social experiment and how sharing the necklace affects each woman. I couldn’t do it! For one, I couldn’t spend that sort of money on jewelry (over 1,000.00 dollars each) and two, I wouldn’t be able to share something like that. Either I would want to have it safe with me always or I would prefer not to have it. I do recommend the book. I found the concept to be a courageous one; I just couldn’t do it!
The other book was Stephen King’s latest book of short stories, Just After Sunset. I think Mr. King does short stories better than he does novels. The best short story in this collection was The Things They Left Behind which is about 9/11. Here is the synopsis from Stephen King’s website and here is what Wikipedia says about it. The glasses, below, play a pivotal role in the story.
I cried. Stephen King usually doesn’t make me cry.
So here you have it – some bits about my life but no tribbles (not this time anyway).
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