Movies

Movie Review: Alienator

Dr.W

AlienatorWell, its a lazy sunday and while surfing through my on-demand menu, i stumbled across this gem: Alienator [ IMDB , Trailer ]. Obviously, the name drew me in at once.  I wasn’t sure what to expect, but turns out this is a terrible 80’s scifi action movie. The kind where the bad guys are wearing headbands over their mullets, the good guys are wearing space-uniforms with baseball caps, the doors are all outlandish shapes, and the soundtrack is 100% synthesizer.  So far so good, I love me a cheesy 80’s flick.  The cheesier the better.  Simple plot: a prisoner escapes a space-jail and The Alienator hunts him down on earth.

Unfortunately, this movie is about as SciFi as dirt. The first ten minutes are some pretty good ridiculous space scenes on the spaceship (just a made-over industrial warehouse) where all the computers are just blinking lights. But within 10 minutes the action shifts down to Earth, and the movie gets overrun with hillbilly’s and trailer trash chugging their Bud while driving down the road in their campers.  And the biggest disappointment of all is there is no Aliens!  What kind of movie do you call Alienator without Aliens!

Well, ok, I guess the Alienator was supposed to be an Alien. Turns out he was just some sort of David Bowie Action Hero she-male-robot hybrid decked out with a white hair-band wig, silver KISS make-up, and a cybernetic bra.

I have to say that after sitting through this entire horrible movie, the climax made it all totally worth it.  Now if only they would cut out all the back-woods scenes/actors, we’d have a good 15min of cheesy SciFi flick.  If you’ve got a spare 20 min, watch the first 10 and the last 10 and you’ll be good.

So if you’re the type of person that loves terrible movies (like I am), this is the terriblest!

Netflix for iPhone

mg5v

I have been messing around with the new Netflix iPhone app for about a week now. My initial impressions are below.

Why Do I Care:
I don’t typically watch much video on my iPhone unless I am traveling. Since Netflix requires a network connection, I figured this service wouldn’t fill the important “bored on an airplane” need, and consequently be of little use. With that in mind, I was a bit curious to see if I would actually use the app. As it turns out, it’s been great.

I share a TV with my wife and young daughter. My viewing preferences often conflict with theirs. Last night while my wife was watching cooking shows, I watched a documentary on the Rolling Stones. I could have done this on my computer of course, but I sit in front of a computer all day at work, and don’t really care to be desk-bound at home. I took my documentary outside and watched by the pool. Later, I watched Black Adder in bed, then in the bathroom, then outside while walking the dogs (OK, I was just listening to it at that point). I’ve never had this kind mobility before!

It’s also been nice to have a huge library available instantly, wherever I am. A friend sent me a few Big Lebowski quotes at work the other day. 90 seconds later I was watching the film on my iPhone. (Netflix is blocked on my work network). I could get used to this.

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Movie Review: Terminator Salvation

Dr.W

(SPOILER ALERT)

Just got finished watching Terminator Salvation. I seem to remember this didn’t get stellar reviews in the theaters. Overall, I didn’t think this was a terrible movie though.  Maybe I just had lower expectations from all the talk. But the action was pretty good. You definitely can’t go wrong with Robots & HK’s of all sizes, Battles, and Explosions. Great effects too, especially on Marcus.  This recently perfected effect (ala Harvey Two-Face) continues to amaze me.  The story was ok, but seemed a bit forced.  Just too much going on, without that much depth to it.

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