No pain. No fear.

It's Ahhhhhnold! Like I said in the last post, I go through phases. I noticed that The Terminator (1984) was getting ready to come on HBO the other afternoon and I couldn't pass on it. The edited version is on tv all the time. (Disgrace!) And for some reason, I've never bought it, even though I own Part Two and Three. So of course I had to watch Terminator 2: Judgement Day (1991) after finishing the first one. And I'm sure #3 will find its way into the DVD player sooner than later. Good old sci-fi action movies never get tiresome to me.

Speaking of sci-fi action movies, one of my newest favorites is The Island (2005). I shared it with my parents over the weekend. My dad loved it, but my mom just complained the whole movie. "Oh, that couldn't happen." It's a M-O-V-I-E... enjoy it, don't whine because it may not be realistic. I had this discussion with a friend the other night on the phone. Forget what all the critics say, we go to the movies to escape from reality for a few hours. Whether or not the movie depicts realism or fantasy, it is NOT real. Roger Ebert can sit there in Chicago with a corn cob stuffed up his butt and complain that the plot and character development of a movie is a failure, but that doesn't mean it's not entertaining. Take the movie Van Helsing (2004) for instance... Yes, I agree that the acting, plot, and overall story was lacking substance, but who cares!? The special effects and sound are awesome. Vampires and werewolves are always cool too. So it had no chance to win any awards. Big deal...

Which leads me to the next movie I've seen recently... Million Dollar Baby (2005). This is the type of movie that receives unbelieveable recognition for acting, writing, screenplay, etc. And I didn't like it. Which is generally the case. For me, I want to enjoy a movie, not be utterly depressed because I watched it. It's fine to appreciate the artistic nature of making a film, but entertain me please! The first half of the film was great, almost like a Rocky movie with better acting and a flowing storyline. But once the film took a left turn at Albuquerque, the tragic drama engulfed the remainder of the film. I have great respect for the realism in the story, and the fact that it teaches us that everyone can't always bounce back up and win the championship, but it's not what I want to see when I watch a movie. The world has enough tragedy and somber storylines as it is right now without help from Hollywood. I'll flip on CNN or Fox News if I want to get depressed.