Terminator Salvation

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Plot

Set in 2018, Christian Bale stars as John Connor, the man who has the unenviable task of leading the human resistance against the Terminators and Skynet.

But the future Connor was raised to believe is completely different to that his mother told him.

Part of this altered future is Marcus Wright (Sam Worthington), a man who doesn't know what day or year it is, his last memory is being on death row.

Connor must decide whether or not to trust Wright. As Skynet prepares its final assault, Connor and Marcus find themselves in the Skynet’s operations, where they uncover the secret behind the possible destruction of the human race.

Summary

I am a massive fan of the Terminator franchise, I was really looking forward to what direction this movie would take.

Kyle Reese's (Anton Yelchin) vision of the future from the first film, has changed widly from what we see in Terminator Salvation and I feel that is a good touch.

I enjoyed director MCG's (Charlies Angels: Full Throttle & We Are Marshall) vision of what the future was to look like.

The problem with the film is that the main plot line of the resistance fighting against Skynet is lost and becomes secondary to the story of Marcus Wright and his befriending of Reese.

The worst part about the film was that I cared more about Wright than the Connor character, that should not happen.

John Connor is the man who ties everything together. Sympathy and emotion is built for him in T:2 and dare I even say T:3, but not here.

This film lacked the connection with Connor and instead of being a guy who has lived through this before he seemed to be just a badass rebel.

Overall

It's a film that serves a purpose in the Terminator franchise, but only just.

I like the fact the ending opens up the possibility for a sequel, but I was left wondering what actually was achieved by Connor and Wright.

If it is a superb action flick with great effects you are looking for then by all means see this film.

If you are a fan of the series, then unfortunately this is not a worthy successor to the first two films.

Crunch Rating -

Bruno

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Plot

Bruno is the sequel to the highly successful 2007 film starring Sacha Baron Cohen.

This sequel focuses on Bruno, a gay charismatic TV presenter.

He is fired from his TV show in Austria and loses his celebrity status, in a bid to recapture his glory Bruno travels to Los Angeles.

He tries a number schemes to get his status back, with hilarious results.

Summary

There was something about Borat that made him connect with the audience. Maybe it was his charm and the fact that he just didn't understand the difference between his culture and that of a western country.

There just isn't the same connection with Bruno.

It feel like most of the jokes from Borat are rehashed here, which is a shame.

The storyline again feels like a rehash of the previous film with our main character having a disagreement with his agent.

Overall

Don't get me wrong there are some hilarious scenes in this movie and it is better than a lot of the comedies that have come out earlier this year.

If you go into this movie with your eyes open and just to enjoy it then you will have fun.

I was more than likely thinking it may end up being better than Borat, which realistically was never going to be the case.

Crunch Rating -

Public Enemies

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Plot

Public Enemies is a true story set in the great depression of the 1930's.

It focuses on legendary gangster John Dillinger (Johnny Depp) who because of his bank robberies, quickly gets named as America's public enemy #1 by J.Edgar Hoover (Billy Crudup) and the FBI.

Dillinger with his ridiculously infectious charm manages to endear himself to almost everyone including the public who love his audacious jailbreaks and charismatic charm.

Not to mention the fact that the public have no sympathy for the banks that helped make the country in such a depressed state.

Hoover sends top FBI agent Melvin Purvis' (Christian Bale) to stop Dillinger.

Summary

Depp plays Dillinger brilliantly and director Michael Mann (Heat, Collateral) portrays his cocky and arrogant nature well on screen.

Bale as Purvis' is equally brilliant as the straight-laced cop intent on catching Dillinger.

One thing that is so good about Mann's previous films is the character development he shows, in this film there really was no character development.

Being a true story this film should educate the audience about the main characters, I still do not really know anything about Dillinger or Purvis.

The attention to the period detail in this film is incredible and there are a couple of really good, intense and realistic gun shoot-out scenes.

Highlighted more should have been the cat and mouse aspect of the film. While it is intriguing to see when Purvis will get his man, more could have been done to highten the drama of his impending capture.

Overall

It is so refreshing to see Johnny Depp play a character that is not crazy, weird, or a pirate. Reminding us all what a damn fine actor he is when given a suitable role.

Public Enemies has some magnificent acting and showcases two of Hollywood's biggest leading stars in Christian Bale and Depp, but I feel they never are really allowed to expand on the script they are given.

The action scenes are very well done and it does feel like as an audience you are right in the thick of the gun shoot outs.

Crunch Rating -