Popcorn Perspectives with Danny Minton
Week of October 28, 2019
Terminator: Dark Fate
Rated R for violence throughout, language and brief nudity
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 67% at time of writing
In Theaters
The beauty of the Terminator franchise is that with time travel, none of the storylines are set in stone, creating the freedom to build new stories whenever and wherever they want. This new edition, produced by James Cameron and directed by Tim Miller (Deadpool) starts off where T2 left off, beginning with the revelation that a new terminator kills young John Connor in Mexico right after the events of that story. Now decades later, Sarah Connor travels around Mexico killing new terminators as they arise, when she comes across an enhanced human (Mackenzie Davis) protecting a new person (Natalia Reyes), who plays some important part in the future of mankind, from a seemingly invincible terminator called a Rev-9 (Gabriel Luna). There is a lot to like in this new adventure, including huge set pieces and non-stop action, as well as the return of Linda Hamilton and Arnold Schwarzenegger. It also has a great sense of humor and social/political relevance as it dives into our country’s immigration issues as the heroes try to cross the border into the U.S. If you can turn your brain off long enough, you will really enjoy the fun and the creativity on display. What bothered me was all of the things that didn’t make sense, like an aging, bearded terminator robot, the lack of tools necessary to kill even an older model robot, and the improvised third act at the dam which they would like to make you think they planned on all along. Still, the special effects were as fantastic as you would think they would be and you can have a good time watching it. It blows my mind that they would have waited until now to release the film, as this would have made the perfect summer movie in a summer almost completely lacking in them. B
David Crosby: Remember My Name
Rated R for language, drug material and brief nudity
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 92%
Available on Disc and Streaming
This documentary follows the life of famed rock star David Crosby of Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young, tracing his beginnings in the industry through his struggles with addiction, depression and self-destructive behaviors. Through his sometimes uncomfortable interviews here, the film gives an honest third-party viewpoint while at the same time allowing Crosby to provide his self-examination of the many previous decades. Being that the music was before my time, I only had the songs in my head and not the image of people and events behind those songs, so I personally found the film to be a wonderful Rock history lesson. But the film also works as a psychological investigation into the life of a very interesting man with a sordid past and a great story to tell. B+