PINUP TIME: LINDA HARRISON IS NOVA

 

TERMINATOR 2: IT'S JUDGMENT DAY ONCE MORE, VIA FATHOM EVENTS

One of the greatest sequels ever made returns to theaters for one night only (August 28), to celebrate its 35th-anniversary release in 4K, RealD 3D, thanks to Fathom Events (in conjunction with StudioCanal and Rialto Pictures). 

James Cameron's Terminator 2: Judgment Day was an earth-shaking smash in 1991, and its thunderous impact has never faded. Its spellbinding effects are a huge part of why it endures, and its plot swings things in a unique direction from the original, as a heroic cyborg protects young John Connor from a liquefied, shape-shifting entity that wants the boy dead. 

T2's cast emboldens the explosive thrills, with Arnold Schwarzenegger, Linda Hamilton, Edward Furlong, Robert Patrick and Joe Morton in the top slots. The performers create a palpable, emotional intensity throughout, which reinforces their engulfing escapade. 

It'll sure be great to catch this mega-blockbuster again on the big screen. Opportunities like this don't come often, so why not seize Judgment Day and enjoy it in the way it was meant to be seen--big, bold and sprawling!

Check your local listings for theaters and showtimes.

PINUP TIME: LINDA HARRISON

I SAW MUTINY (2026)

Jason Statham movies deliver the goods and are a breath of fresh air among the suffocating, "sensitive" dreck Hollywood peddles, which isn't all that sensitive, considering its bigoted views and anti-virile pledges. 

The latest Statham entry, Mutiny, coproduced by its star, directed by Jean-Francois (Plane) Richet and written by J.P. Davis and Lindsay Michel, features the successful, action hero as Cole Reed, a security officer/bodyguard for a compassionate entrepreneur named Taren, played by Jason Wong, who's murdered in Reed's presence, with Reed framed for the deed. 

The resolute Reed sets forth to clear his name, which leads him to a cargo ship and a human-trafficking ring (all set for Reed's "mutinous" reveal). This heinous criminality, which reflects a monstrous practice that continues to plague our real-life, modern world, is administered by Roland Moller's Captain Marko Madsen, a coldhearted son of a bitch, who one will relish hating.

The plot captures aspects of Statham's The Beekeeper and A Working Man, but it also grazes The Fugitive and Warning Shot (an underrated 1960s melodrama that stars the star of the original, Fugitive series, David Janssen). As much as Reed is required to beat up the bad guys, he must also peel away layers to unveil why his friend was killed (and sometimes those details come more by accident than plan). Moreover, he must help those who've been captured, which is truly the ultimate point of the story. (This angle could have been--should have been--the official slant of Daredevil Born Again: Season 2.) I suppose the approach makes Mutiny a semi murder-mystery with a righteous cause, albeit of the high-adrenalin, Die Hard/Under Siege sort. 

Though Statham and Moller rule the roost at opposite ends, the rest of the cast, including the aforementioned Wong, gives worthy support and includes Annabelle (Malignant/The Mummy 2017) Wallis, Chaniel Kular, Adrian Lester, Steven Blades and Arnas Fedaravicius. Their foundation is a commendable one, but not enough to eclipse Statham/Reed's recompensing thunder. 

One might argue that the cause and effect of Reed's exploit isn't as important as its execution, which is tight and fight-oriented, with fists and bullets flying at a steady rate. It has the right, formidable verve to please its intended, male audience: something that certain sensitive factions will denounce, but trust me, this one fills the principled bill, just as a John Wayne, Clint Eastwood, Charles Bronson, Sylvester Stallone or Chuck Norris movie would back in the day (and still would). 

I hope Mutiny does well, and the odds favor such, considering Statham's popularity and this movie's revealing message. It would be great to see more such examples, delivered by Statham or others of comparable fortitude. Lord knows we need this type of entertainment in this insufferable, socio-political, age of sympathy-for-the-devil pretension.✊

FOR THE FUN OF IT:

 

THE KNOW-IT-ALLS OF OAK STREET

It amazes me how the know-it-alls (the self-proclaimed oracles) feel fit to judge why a movie flopped. 

The latest, infuriating example relates to David Robert Mitchell's time-travel/dinosaur picture, The End of Oak Street. Know-it-alls claim that its lackluster, ticket sales are due to the following: It's too violent/gory for general, family consumption or it's too carefree for its own good, working off the ol' sappy, Amblin strand. Others claim that the two aesthetics clash: a recipe for melodramatic disaster.

Hmmm. How are these explanations viable if a large number of people didn't bother to see the movie? Could basic word of mouth be the cause, but then word of mouth implies that a hardy sum of people saw the movie to besmirch it.  Also, would it not underperform more so during its second week than at its outset? 

Here's a radical notion: Oak Street got lost in the shuffle, since Spider-Man: Brand New Day and The Odyssey remain the big, box-office draws. In other words, maybe it's more the timing that's hurt Oak Street and not its execution. (If one may recall, in 1982, Blade Runner, The Thing and Tron were considered flops, though that was only because they were released among E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, Poltergeist, Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, The Road Warrior and Rocky III, all of which had secured the spotlight, along with consistent audiences.) 

Ah, but the know-it-alls know better than me. They've nailed this one, even though I bet most haven't even seen the movie. They've most likely relied on clips and pre-publicity nuggets to form their uninformed opinions, but that's more than enough for the know-it-alls to spout off. As always, logic isn't part of their clumsy creed. They know because, well, they know!

FOR THE FUN OF IT: