Terminator Salvation is the fifth installment of the Terminator series and focuses on Resistance leader John Connor (Christian Bale) and his battle for humanity against Skynet. The story however seems to focus more on the newly introduced character Marcus Wright (Sam Worthington) and detracts attention from what I was more interested in seeing, which was John Connor’s rise to power and his interaction with tapes that his mother Sarah Connor leaves behind.

The entertainment value is still there and some of the action sequences were nice.  The film does manage to recreate San Francisco as Skynet and showing a very raw machine world.  I think the nostalgia that comes attached from the original 1984 and 1991 follow-up made expectations too high and I can only hope that the next installment manages to respark my interest in the battle of epic proportions which is supposed to take place between man and machine.  If you are a fan of the series you might see some flaws but the story does manage to move the story forward even if it only takes a few baby steps.

The background for the story is a private corporate spy war between industrialists Howard Tully (Tom Wilkinson) and Dick Garsik (Paul Giamatti). The two titans truly hate each other for reasons that are never made apparent in the movie. As they strive to gain the upper hand someone in this movie will be swindled, conned or out maneuvered, but who and by whom is not clear until the last few minutes of the movie.

There were a few plot points that I did not think tied up neatly but this was a good film and you should see it in the theatre before someone tells you the ending.

Academy Award winners Dustin Hoffman (Rain Man) and Emma Thompson (Sense and Sensibility) reunite in Last Chance Harvey, a hopeful romance that celebrates new beginnings—at any age. The film is directed and written by Joel Hopkins (Jump Tomorrow).

New Yorker Harvey Shine (Dustin Hoffman) is on the verge of losing his dead-end job as a jingle writer. Warned by his boss (Richard Schiff) that he has just one more chance to deliver, Harvey goes to London for a weekend to attend his daughter’s (Liane Balaban) wedding but promises to be back on Monday morning to make an important meeting – or else.

Harvey arrives in London only to learn his daughter has chosen to have her stepfather (James Brolin) walk her down the aisle instead of him. Doing his best to hide his devastation, he leaves the wedding before the reception in hopes of getting to the airport on time, but misses his plane anyway. When he calls his boss to explain, he is fired on the spot.

Drowning his sorrows at the airport bar, Harvey strikes up a conversation with Kate (Emma Thompson), a slightly prickly, 40-something employee of the Office of National Statistics. Kate, whose life is limited to work, the occasional humiliating blind date and endless phone calls from her smothering mother (Eileen Atkins), is touched by Harvey, who finds himself energized by her intelligence and compassion.

The growing connection between the pair inspires both as they unexpectedly transform one another’s lives.

It is difficult to describe the movie without giving away too much. But for me at the point where one of the few sympathetic characters was killed I felt the movie spiraled into a confusing mess. I started to realize that I did not care about most of these very flawed people. Most of the characters are unfaithful, angry , profane or cold. Most of them are some combination of the four.

This is not a bad film. My daughter saw it with me and liked it. It has moments of humor. It has good performances by the cast which included George Clooney, John Malcovich, Frances McDormand, Tilda Swinton, and Brad Pitt. No doubt some people will love this movie but personally I think the title of the script provided the appropriate instructions.

Pixar Studios has been trying for years if not to bring back this lost art at least to make us appreciate it. When you go to see one of the pixar films like Wall-E you are treated to a short Pixar featurette before the main attraction. The latest of these short stories is “Presto”. It is the story of a magician, a hungry magician’s bunny and a couple of magic hats. There is no dialog which is good because you will be laughing to hard to hear dialog anyway.

Marvel made some good choices in this movie. The directing, writing and acting were all a step up from the previous incarnation. This movie ignores any previous work and starts the story from scratch, but unlike most comic book movies it disposes of the origin story by the time the credits are finished. Instead we start the story 5 years after Bruce Banner (Edward Norton) had his run in with gamma radiation. He is now living in exile in a very cinematic favela in Rio (supposedly a different city or some strange reason in the movie). Banner is looking to get rid of the monster, but it is no surprise to the audience that he does not. But it is Norton that anchors this movie with help from Liv Tyler, Tim Roth and William Hurt.

There is plenty of action but there are also humorous spins of famous lines like “Don’t make me angry. You won’t like me when I’m angry”.

My recommendation is to see this movie before it leaves the big screen. The chase scene in Brazil alone would be a reason to see this movie in the theatre.

“Marshall” features Jason Segal as main character Peter Bretter, a semi-successful loser who is dating Sarah Marshall (Kristen Bell), the star of the show he writes music for. At least, until the opening of the film, when she dumps him. After a few unsuccessful attempts to rebound her out of his system, he decides to take a trip to Hawaii to clear his head – and, of course, runs into his ex and her new squeeze, the super-sexually charged rock star Aldous Snow, played brilliantly by Russell Brand. While Peter tries to stave off a total breakdown, he ends up meeting Rachel (Mila Kunis), a resort employee who is basically the first to get Peter to smile since the breakup.

The script was written by Segal, and a number of the incidents are based on actual experiences he’s had. For example, in the opening of the film, Peter is naked when he is dumped, something that Segal says he’s actually experienced. And yes, in that scene, you see everything a couple of times. Which may be unnecessary, but it certainly makes us as awkward as he is in that scene.

The fact that certain plot points are based on actual events keeps the film from going too far into the absurd, like most comedies do. Similarly, although i doubt all the characters are based on actual people, they all seem very real. Even Aldous Snow, the oversexed “other man” is redeemably cool when the character gets to know him. The script is full of details that keep it grounded, without loosing its initial edge.

However, this is not a perfect date movie. This is a romantic comedy that guys will probably enjoy more than girls, so fellas, use discression before you take your lady. She might love it, but she also might hate it. You, on the other hand, will probably just love it.

Have fun.