TJ1380

Ever since I was a kid, I've wanted to see a movie based on "The Legend of Zelda," so you can probably imagine my surprise and delight when I stumbled across this film online. It looks like the movie I've wanted to see for years, but is it really any good? Well, yes and no.

The thing to keep in mind when watching this movie is that it is an independent film made by "Zelda" fans on a really low budget. The acting ranges from passable to awful, most of the special effects consist of obvious green screen effects and the editing and camera-work are often clumsy. The plot is fairly faithful to the fan-favorite "Ocarina of Time" game, but that means it eventually consists of the heroes running around and collecting things so they can kill the bad guy and save the world. The characters have little motivation beyond that, so they come off as kind of bland.

And yet, I can't bring myself to hate this movie. Everyone involved in this film put a lot of effort into it, and their love for the source material is evident. It is flawed, but I have to appreciate the fact that it exists at all.

"The Hero of Time" is definitely a movie for "Zelda" fans. I don't think I can recommend it to anyone else, but it's worth a look for fans of the games. It's easy to find online, so check it out.

I will admit that I wasn't expecting much from this movie. After the jokey "Terminator 3" I figured the best days of this franchise were long gone. Still, I decided to give this movie a chance since it was telling a story that I have wanted to see since I saw the first "Terminator" film, and I'm glad that I did. It's not perfect, and it certainly isn't as good as the first two films in the series, but it still manages to be an entertaining sci-fi action movie.

The thing that really made this movie work for me was the setting. We finally get to see the war against the machines as it was foretold way back in the first "Terminator," and it doesn't disappoint. The movie does a great job at showing this hellish new world in which humanity is forced to live in city ruins and dusty wastelands in which they can be attacked at practically any time by nearly indestructible machines. It's bleak, grim, and absolutely the last place anybody would want to live. The war seems almost hopeless, and if not for the promises made by a possibly crazy woman via old cassette tapes that her son is destined to lead humanity to victory I would imagine that everyone would just give up the fight. The action scenes are effective as well. For the most part they look like battle scenes from old war movies, except the combatants on one side are futuristic unmanned tanks and metallic skeletons. It's simple, but it works because it's easy to follow and still manages to be very exciting. They do tend to occasionally go a little over-the-top towards the end, but since it's a sci-fi film about humanity fighting against killer androids it never feels out of place.

I guess the only thing in this movie that didn't quite work for me is that the acting is kind of hit and miss. While I thought Sam Worthington was good as Marcus Wright (the real star of the film, who plays a role in the story that I don't want to spoil here) and Anton Yelchin's portrayal of a teenage Kyle Reese was pretty spot-on, I didn't always buy Christian Bale as John Connor. There were times when I took his demeanor to be that of a haunted, shell-shocked soldier who presses on only because he knows that it's his destiny to do so, but there were also times when he just came off as an actor sleepwalking through a role. He's supposed to be a messianic hero, and although I like the idea of the legendary status of a hero being exaggerated for the sake of drama, Bale just comes off as stiff, humorless, and boring. It's really a shame since I like Bale, and I was really excited about seeing him in this role. Bryce Dallas Howard is another actress that I usually like, but she's wasted here; she seriously isn't given one solid scene as Connor's pregnant wife. I tended to forget she was even in this movie at times.

Aside from a rather boring savior of humanity, "Terminator: Salvation" is still a pretty good sci-fi action film. It's not the greatest film in the series, but it has a decidedly different feel from the other films that makes it worthwhile.

Earl Brooks seems to have everything a person could ever want in his life. He's incredibly wealthy, he runs a successful business, he has a seemingly wonderful family, and he has just been named Man of the Year for his business ventures and humanitarian efforts. Unfortunately, he's also addicted to killing people. He's a serial killer known as the "thumb print killer" (named for the thumb prints of his victims that he leaves in their own blood). He wants to stop killing people, but his addiction and his id (personified in his mind by an imaginary friend named Marshall) prevent him from doing that. After two years of fighting his urges, Mr. Brooks gives in and kills again. Although he has been careful about covering his tracks before, this time someone has witnessed his crime: a wannabe killer who calls himself Mr. Smith. Mr. Smith has photos of the murder, and if Mr. Brooks doesn't agree to take him along on his next kill the photos go to the police.

Basically, what we have here is a movie about a serial killer told from the killer's point of view. It's an interesting concept, and one that works very well thanks to the character of Mr. Brooks. Although Mr. Brooks is a cunning and brilliant serial killer, it's clear that for the most part he does not want to be. His desire to never kill again is totally believable, and he is just as horrified by his actions as everyone else is. At the same time he also comes off as very sinister, especially when he is in full serial killer mode and is plotting someone else's death. He comes off as genuinely scary and sympathetic at the same time, which is not an easy thing to pull off. Of course, this is all helped by the fact that Kevin Costner's performance as Mr. Brooks is one of his best in years. He goes from being a benevolent businessman to a loving husband and father to a cold-blooded killer to someone praying for forgiveness almost constantly throughout the movie, and it's all perfectly believable. As good as Costner is, the real scene stealer turns out to be William Hurt as Marshall. Marshall is the representation of Mr. Brooks' dark side, or the force that drives him to kill. He only appears to Mr. Brooks, and he is the one whispering in his ear telling him to give in to his addiction. Like all good tempters, Marshall is charismatic and sinister at the same time; as much as Mr. Brooks doesn't want to listen to him, it's hard not to. William Hurt plays Marshall not as a sinister devil, but as a friendly companion. Even when he's at his slimiest and most evil it's hard not to like him. Marshall and Mr. Brooks constantly have conversations with each other (within Brooks' own head, of course) about just about everything that happens in the movie. He's Brooks' best friend, and although he should also be his worst enemy it's clear that Mr. Brooks enjoys his company.

As long as the movie focuses on Mr. Brooks and Marshall, it does just fine. The only problem here is that there are also way too many subplots to deal with. Not only do we get Mr. Smith as Mr. Brooks' tag along sidekick and wannabe killer (an interesting subplot in itself), but we also spend a lot of time with Demi Moore as the detective trying to catch Mr. Brooks. Seeing her trying to solve the latest thumb print murder is fine, but when the movie focuses on her divorce or her problems with catching another serial killer it just gets bogged down and contrived. I often felt like I was watching two movies at the same time, and I found myself struggling to see how the two plots are supposed to intersect. There's also some business with Mr. Brooks' daughter that further complicates things, although since that made a much more interesting subplot I can forgive its inclusion.

Fortunately, the good definitely outweighs the bad for this movie. Although I definitely could've done without hearing about Demi Moore's divorce, the lead performances of Kevin Costner and William Hurt as well as its fresh take on serial killers make this movie worth seeing.