A Certain Point of View: Writing, Film and Stuff

Pros:  Interesting premise, cast performs decently and the special effects are great Cons:  No single dominant villain, too dependent on action sequences After the success of director Jonathan Mostow’s  Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines (T3),  a film which depicted the “birth” of the murderous computer network known as Skynet and the nuclear attack it launches against humanity on July 24, 2004 – Judgment Day – many fans of the science-fiction genre figured that the series would continue with more sequels, perhaps focusing on the battle between the survivors of the nuclear holocaust and Skynet’s armies of Terminators and Hunter-Killers. There were, of course, various issues that needed to be addressed, the biggest one being the non-availability of Arnold Schwarzenegger, who stars in the previous three films as the original Terminator and two reprogrammed T-800 Model 101 copies and is the big audience draw for the franchise.  Schwarzenegger had lef...

(C) 2005 Warner Bros. Pictures If someone stands in the way of true justice, you simply walk up behind them and stab them in the heart. Director Christopher Nolan’s “Batman Begins”  is essentially the “origins” installment of the saga, doing to the Caped Crusader what Richard Donner’s Superman: The Movie did for the Man of Steel over 30 years ago. Starring Christian Bale (“Empire of the Sun,”  “Terminator Salvation”) in the dual role of billionaire Bruce Wayne/Batman, Nolan’s reimagining of the beginning of the Dark Knight saga borrows heavily from Bob Kane’s original 1930s comic book story and Frank Miller’s 1980s graphic novels. The movie, co-written by Nolan and David S. Goyer (“Dark City,” “Blade’) begins with a flashback that takes the viewer back to when Bruce Wayne was eight years old and living in Wayne Manor with his parents Thomas (Linus Roache) and Martha (Sara Stewart). While playing with his friend Rachel Dawes, Bruce falls into a well and n...