Review: Southpaw

The history between Boxing and the film industry is quite an astonishing one.
With Best Picture winners such as Rocky and Million Dollar Baby leading the way, there are also successes such as Cinderella Man, The Fighter and Ali. Even Warrior and Real Steel would fit under this category.

The now heavily cliched underdog and from rags to riches story-lines have become tough for the genre to bring something new to the table.

Now we have new release Southpaw. Directed by Antoine Fuqua who is known for directing Oscar winner Training Day.

There is definitely nothing original when you break it down. However, through the directing of Fuqua, excellent performances and wonderful fight sequences, Southpaw manages to make it entertaining viewing.
You have definitely seen it all before. But with, its old fashioned themes and unoriginality, the crew seem to almost thrive on it. The bleak moments are definitely a tough watch, the underdog moments really inspire you and basically everyone does the job right.

When you see it, you will not call it a classic. There are glimpses of greatness, and that is mainly due to the performances. The build-up of this film had everyone talking male lead Jake Gyllenhaal, and that this was his push for glory at the Oscars. For me it is not awards worthy, but his performance is definitely a big attraction.
After the transformation he made in Nightcrawler, Gyllenhaal then beefed up in the space of nine months and made another movie in-between to give us something quite extraordinary to watch.
You can easily tell that he has done the training and been in the ring. It is hard to believe that his role was originally for Eminem as it was initially going to be a companion piece to 8 Mile.
As Gyllenhaal's wife, Rachel McAdams thankless supporting role was good while it lasted. It is just a shame we did not get to see enough of her. Her chemistry with Gyllenhaal was believable and gave great weight to the opening quarter of the movie.
Oona Laurence is Gyllenhaal and McAdams' daughter is a real find. Her innocence, vulnerability and steely determination made her essential viewing. 50 Cent's performance as Gyllenhaal's promoter was a nice surprise. With little experience in a major feature, I felt he did a solid job and played his part well as the story progressed.

But the star of the show for me, was Forest Whitaker. His effortless performance as Gyllenhaal's trainer in the second half of the film really made this film important. The development of his character is fascinating to watch. His character also gives the only comedic relief.
To be honest, Whitaker can roles like that in his sleep.

Despite it's obvious predictability, Southpaw is compelling, touching at times and felt amazingly truthful. Fuqua's direction is key as he tackles the predictable moments with a sensitivity that I think not many would have been able to achieve. Plus, there are great relationships with certain characters that will never make this a boring watch. I loved the televisual nature of the fighting scenes and the choreography should be applauded.

Truth be told, there are better Boxing movies out there. But somehow, Southpaw manages to be predictable and compelling at the same time.
The ending may never be in doubt, but you will have a certain pleasure when leaving the cinema. If it does not quite work for you, then the performances are an attraction in itself.

Rating: 7/10

Review: Inside Out

When people hear Pixar, they think of some of the best animated films of all-time.

However over the last few years, the Californian studio has made films that were pretty solid. But we all know Pixar can and should do better.

Cars 2 was probably Pixar's first dropped ball. Overall, it was solid enough. But with it being Pixar, it was a disappointment.
Brave was good, but did not have as much of an impact as its previous material. The last Pixar feature film was Monsters University, their first prequel. The more times I watched it, I have definitely enjoyed it more. However, there is nothing exceptional about it. This shows how much people expect of Pixar.

With Inside Out, we see a brand new story that is all about memories and emotions. Pixar have set it in the mind of an 11-year old girl, which is the age that usually sees a lot of change in a persons emotions.
With Pixar creating emotions into five characters, Joy, Sadness, Fear, Anger and Disgust, we have our story set and ready to go.

This idea alone got every Pixar fan talking, and every time I saw the trailer before a film at the cinema, it always got high amounts of laughter.
Now that I've seen the film, I can safely say that Pixar are back with another instant classic that can compete with its all-time greats.

With its unlimited imagination, wonderfully developed characters and number of highly emotional scenes, this is surely going to be the family film of the year.
One thing that Pixar is well known for is its wide range of comedy. They manage to make jokes that appeals to every age category. Sometimes, it's done in the same joke. That is impressive, especially when the younger generation re-watching it over the years will get the other jokes as they get older.

From the very first scene, we see how creative this film is with the premise. The mind is always a discussion topic that bring out all sorts of theories. Inside Out manages to pretty much present every one. They even did some that I would never have even thought of.

I don't really need to say how gorgeous the animation is. The design of the main setting in the film was so grand in its scale, and it really made me want to explore it.

The voice acting is top-notch. Until after reading the credits, I had no idea Amy Poehler voiced the Joy emotion. She lead from the front and gave us such a memorable character that we all can support. Lewis Black as Anger was very entertaining and had a lot scene stealing moments that the trailer was hinting at. Phyllis Smith as Sadness was a nice surprise. Her performance actually made me hate her character so much in terms of the actions Sadness made in the film. But as a performance, I give her huge props. Bill Hader as Fear had enough moments on screen to feel well developed. The only emotion that I felt was under-used was Disgust (voiced by Mindy Kaling). I did not really think Disgust would be a main emotion in anyone's mind. This is probably why that character was not used in many situations.
The girl that the emotions are controlling was a great character that you would easily associate with Pixar. There is one minor character that definitely steals the show. The idea of this character was cleverly introduced and developed. I even got a bit blubbery in certain scenes that involve this minor character.

The only negatives are minor ones. There were a few small flaws mainly towards the end. But thankfully, they did not detract me from the enjoyment of this film.

I almost got the same reaction after watching some of their iconic features such as the Toy Story trilogy, Wall-E, Monsters Inc. and Finding Nemo. This is how good Inside Out is.
Everything right about it is what you expect from Pixar. The incredible writing makes the characters loved and cared for, the jokes are smart and the animation is carefully made.
And as always with Pixar, there is great maturity in the themes and story telling of this film.
I think this film will appeal more to adults than kids which Pixar always managed to do in a lot of their best features.

What else can I say other than, Pixar is back.

Also, like all Disney and Pixar films, there is a really nice short film before the feature. And finally, don't leave your seat straight away as their is a segment during the early part of the credits that is very funny.

Rating: 8/10

Review: Ant-Man

It's part two of three in Marvel's films of 2015.
However, this latest venture is only their second original release in the last four years.

The other one was Guardians Of The Galaxy and that ended up being the highest grossing-film of 2014 in the United States.

However, the hype surrounding Ant-Man was nowhere near as much as GOTG. But I think these days, the film will be successful. That is because, if it says Marvel, it will sell. It is quite hard to believe that superhero films are so popular, that we are now seeing films like Ant-Man being made with a blockbuster budget.

I tried to avoid as much trailer footage as possible to go into my screening with as much of an open mind as possible.

I'm glad I did, as I feel Marvel have made another fun and action-packed flick. It has a great mix of a superhero movie and a heist movie and is definitely a solid addition to the MCU.
This may be the film that ends phase two of Marvel's Cinematic Universe, but it managed to be done on a small scale (no pun intended) which was nice to see after Age Of Ultron.
About a third of the way through watching it, I thought that 'Honey, I Shrunk The Kids' would make a great companion piece.

The general structure of the plot was very general and basic that has been seen far too often in superhero/action films. But that usually works and Ant-Man fits into that category.
It is easy to see Ant-Man as a well produced mess because the name sounds silly. But there is a lot of logic in the mythology of this superhero that worked nicely into the tone of the film. For anyone unsure about whether or not to see it, there are some nice references to other Marvel films, including a few special appearances.

It was nice to see Paul Rudd take a lead in a film that is not a comedy or a rom-com. His presence was pretty solid all-round. Evangeline Lily played a good powerful character that seems to be her best quality. Michael Pena has nice comedic moments in his role. However, the real star of the show is Michael Douglas. You instantly feel safe every time he is on screen and his character has a wonderful father figure to all the other main characters.
Sadly, Corey Stoll played a very weak and heavily cliched villain which seems to be all too common in Marvel films.

The big positive is obviously Douglas. But I think the way the crew approached the source material was the right way in doing it. The action was well choreographed and fun as always, and there are some good laughs. Not all the comedy works, but the majority does especially towards the end.

Sadly the main negative is pretty much the same as any other Marvel film. The villain is weak and not memorable at all. The plot may not be a negative, but it is just not that spectacular and a bit too safe.

All in all, it is another welcomed addition to the MCU. Everything about it is passable, but nearly all of it is what you would expect from a Marvel. The plot was simple to follow, but a bit too basic for me. But it was nice to see the film work on a small scale compared to the star studded Avengers films. The only exceptional part of the film is Michael Douglas. It is easy to forget how great he is.
It was sad to see the villain be so forgettable. He could be the worst developed villain in the MCU.
However, another positive that I haven't mentioned is the soundtrack which definitely felt a lot different to other Marvel scores. Also, the visuals were quite impressive, especially in the final action set-piece which had its best comedic moments as well.

As this is a Marvel film, there is some bonus scenes during the credits. Unlike Age Of Ultron, we are back with a mid and post credits scene. The mid one is predictable but good, but the post-credits scene is interesting and gives us a nice flavor for the next film within the MCU.

Rating: 7/10

My Top 10: Pixar Films

It is hard to believe that 25 years saw the birth of Pixar's first feature film, Toy Story. It then became a landmark in film history. It was also the first film I ever saw at the cinema. It was for my 6th birthday and I remember the cue extending to outside the cinema and round the corner.

After that, every next feature release seem to become an instant classic be a proud member in everyone's top films of all-time list. In my all-time top 100, there are currently five Pixar films with one other film recently leaving my top 100 unfortunately.

The stuff I see in the behind the scenes DVD extras from their California studio is simply astonishing. It is like the staff members live there and it is the ultimate place to discuss ideas. From the early 90's, that studio has changed the face of the animated genre and has showed that animated films don't need songs to be successful. Instead, well developed characters and emotional stories have made Pixar become a juggernaut studio.

Also, with a lot of their films being accompanied with a magical short film before the feature, Pixar really give you an unforgettable cinematic experience.

With everyone new feature having extremely high expectations from the audience, a few of their last features have unfortunately missed the target. If it was done by another studio, they would be seen as an welcomed addition to their filmography. But thankfully, Pixar are still releasing terrific films and the anticipation is always sky high.

Pixar currently have released 28 feature films and below are the ten films that sadly will be missing out on my top 10 list:

28) Cars 2 - By far Pixar's weakest film. It is a solid feature with nice action that is worth watching. But the whole tone of the film felt a bit out of character for Pixar.

27) Cars 3 - A not bad third installment. Starts off ok with some surprisingly slow scenes until a nice use of nostalgia and a risky finale that works.

26) The Good Dinosaur - It might not be as in-depth or clever as the majority of Pixar's releases, but it still has that classic magic that all the family can enjoy. In a world where the meteorite did not hit Earth and destroy the Dinosaurs, a young herbivore and a voiceless child set out on a journey to return home.

25) Elemental - A mixed bag but better than expected despite the marketing not looking promising. The narrative is familiar with on-the-nose themes. But it moves along at a nice pace, the animation is strong and the characters are pretty engaging.

24) Lightyear - While there is connections to the Toy Story franchise, this is more of a space adventure story. It may lack that Pixar emotion, but it makes up for it in its level of fun.

23) Onward - A good fun fantasy adventure with a strong emotional pay-off. Definitely not an instant classic. But it could well be one of its most fun.
Set in a fantasy world that has forgotten is magical ancestors, two elf brothers embark on a quest to find their Dad with the help of magic.

22) Turning Red - A fun and energetic metaphor on adolescence and accepting change. The vibe is a bit different to your Pixar feature and does lack that vintage emotional heart. But it is a welcome change that continues to show the evolution of this studio.

21) Luca - A nice and simple story with a great message for kids. While the stakes and end result is not as in-depth or profound as a lot of its predecessors, it's a fun time with gorgeous animation and score.

20) Brave - This saw Pixar slightly get back to their standard. But for many, the story felt too basic and not as memorable. I found it to be pretty good, but I would also fall with the majority on this one.
19) Monsters University - After questioning some of it on the first viewing, I have enjoyed it the more times I watch it. The first Pixar prequel sees a great origins story on the biggest friendship within the Pixar universe. It might not be nowhere as emotional as 'Monsters, Inc.', but it is still a lot of fun.
18) Cars - A terrific story about the most famous road in America. With an interesting concept, Pixar gave us another highly enjoyable film. Despite that, at the time of its release it was seen by many as ptheir least favorite which shows you the quality of films Pixar has made.
17) Finding Dory - After the events of Finding Nemo, we see Dory begin her search for her parents that she lost as a kid. While not as good as Nemo, Dory is still a great watch with lovable characters and a very interesting story-line that was really well executed.

16) Inside Out 2 - A more than credible sequel to the 2015 classic. As Riley gets older, more emotions get introduced and we get a pretty good portrayal of the beginning's of puberty and learning to cope and accept your flaws.

15) A Bug's Life - Pixar's second feature was always going to have a hard time to follow from Toy Story's success. But it became a smash hit. It is a great story that has terrific characters and has wonderful comedy.
It is wonderful story-telling, has terrific pacing and has one of the most emotional scenes.
14) Incredibles 2 - The long awaited from the 2004 original is fun, exciting and one of Pixar's strongest follow-ups. It sees Elastigirl being the advocate for supers to be legal whilst a villain called the 'Screenslaver' is causing havoc.

13) Toy Story 2 - The sequel to Pixar's first feature and it became another box-office smash.
When Woody is taken by a toy collector, it is to Buzz and his friends to rescue him.
But Woody suddenly sees his place in the world of toys.
12) Soul - A moving comedy adventure told with such passion and maturity. It sees a music teacher given the chance to live his dream before a near death experience gives him a unique second chance. The animation is wonderfully varied throughout, keeps you guessing where it's going and puts you in that constant dreamlike state that Inside Out did.

11) Coco - A wonderful way of portraying Mexico's day of the dead festival. It's an highly enjoyable adventure story with many memorable characters and some fantastic native music.

Here are my top 10:

10) Ratatouille - A film that really exceeded my expectations.

It sees a rat with an unusual set of cooking skills make an alliance with a young kitchen worker moving up the ranks in a French restaurant looking to get back to its glory days.

It is terrific animation and a story that managed to work in a way that only Pixar can make a success of.

9) Up - With it's first 10 minutes etched in everyone's minds, this terrific adventure story became such a hit with audiences around the world.

It has a great old school feel to it and was one of Pixar's few to be nominated for Best Picture at the Oscars.
Also, checkout the amazing score by Michael Giacchino.

8) Inside Out - Pixar's latest feature and it brings back to a winning formula.

We see what goes inside the mind of a 12-year old and the result something truly clever and entertaining.

The characters are portrayed brilliantly, the story is probably Pixar's cleverest. It almost has an Alice In Wonderland sense to it.

7) Finding Nemo - One of Pixar's biggest projects and it became part of Pixar's masterpieces that will inspire many generations to come.

With a such a heart-warming story, this is certainly one that people of any age will find something really profound from it.

6) Toy Story 4 - Pixar's most precious creation and it continues to flourish with another wonderful piece of work.

When a new toy joins the gang before a family roadtrip, Woody leanrs how big the world can be for a toy.

It may be the first Toy Story film that is actually a 'toy story'.

5) Monsters, Inc. - Many people's first Pixar film that could actually compete with the legacy of Toy Story.

In a world where monsters scare kids in order to power their city, one child gets through to the monster world and the best scare duo are caught right in the middle of this incident.

It is one of those perfect family films that each member can get benefit from.

4) The Incredibles - Writer and director Brad Bird creates something that is beautiful with perfectly timed action and all in all, incredible.

A world where superheroes exist but are banished, one superhero is summoned on a secret mission that could spell the end of super's forever.

It has a great old school setting and tone to it that really makes it something quite extraordinary.

Like Up, composer Giacchino's score is just terrific.

3) Toy Story 3 - I think I can speak for everyone that we were nervous about the release of this one.

Despite the big gap between this and second Toy Story, Pixar still managed to amaze this with a story that tugged at our heart strings.

This has become a beloved franchise. With a fourth one on the way, I am confident that it will be another success as I know Pixar will not screw up the franchise that begun their studio.

2) Wall.E - Probably Pixar's most artistic films that has become something quite special for a lot of people including myself.

Despite very little dialogue, the level of story-telling made me speechless.

This film is gorgeous and made me so close to giving this the perfect score.

1) Toy Story - Any film that becomes a landmark will become timeless in more ways than anyone can imagine.

Toy Story is a film that no-one will forget and one of the perfect films to escape from the world.

It's adventurous, entertaining, ground-breaking, has great characters, clever story-telling and is the perfect animated film.

My Top 10: James Horner Scores

For the past 35 years, James Horner has become one of the most well known composer's in film history.

He frequent mix of orchestral and electronic made his scores some of the most recognisable of all-time. Also he associations with Celtic music made people associate that style of music with Horner instantly.
The directors you usually see him compose for James Cameron and Ron Howard.

He has scored over 100 films, shorts and documentaries and two of them are currently the two highest-grossing films of all-time. But with the announcement of his tragic death, it was a shame to find that we would miss out on not just any future scores, but his initially scheduled score for the three upcoming Avatar films.

It was really tough to narrow his scores to what I believe is his ten best. Some really good scores have unfortunately miss out. One soundtrack that I want to give an honorable mention is The Land Before Time. It is a gorgeous soundtrack that I remember from my childhood and it was a shame that I did not include it in my top 10. But that just shows how accomplished this composer was. Each of my top 10 will have bits of the soundtrack attached, so you can have a listen. Some of them could soundtrack suites, or just my favorite piece of music from that particular score. Here are my top 10:

10) *batteries not included - Despite being directed by Matthew Robbins, this 1980's heart-warming family sci-fi had Steven Spielberg's hands all over it as executive producer.

This particular piece of music is called 'Hamburger Rhumba' and it is from a very amusing part of the film. It also contains a great mix of some of the films main themes.







9) The Pagemaster - It is a terrific fantasy adventure film that is great for family viewing. It was a film I watched a lot as a kid and it somehow was never seen a by a lot of people and has now become forgotten. You may think this is a sympathy vote. It sort of is, but the music is very enjoyable to listen to.

This piece of music I have chosen is during the film's main action set-piece that at the time was quite ground-breaking. It also is the part when we are introduced to The Pagemaster himself.

I would also have a listen to the official songs of the film that he helped composed for called 'Whatever You Imagine' and 'Dream Away'.

8) Braveheart - Winners of 5 Oscars including Best Picture, this 1995 smash hit wowed audiences with its top performances and intense action. One other key aspect was its memorable soundtrack that really captured to the time period and tone of the film.

With its many famous scenes and quote, the score certainly played a vital part in those moments.

This piece is of music is a suite to the entire soundtrack.

7) Star Trek II: The Wrath Of Khan - The film that began Horner's career as a major film composer.

This enjoyable sci-fi adventure really enhanced the franchise to mainstream audiences. It has been a while since I have seen it. So when I revisited the score, I forgot how much Horner blended his style to the usual Star Trek themes that made the score quite impressive.

This piece of music is the epic main title.

6) Apollo 13 - One of the most famous films from the 1990's, this space drama based on true events is wonderfully told by director Ron Howard and has great performances from Tom Hanks, Bill Paxton, Ed Harris and Gary Sinise.

This piece of music is used in the famous launch sequence scene.

5) Troy -  Probably the last epic 'swords and sandals' flick. This really enjoyable Greek war drama has the star-studded cast and is set on a massive scale.

While the audience is in awe of the battle scenes, Horner's score is setting the tone beautifully. With the soundtrack sounding very similar to fellow epics like Ben-Hur, it has that great mix of classic and modern.

This piece of music is a fan-made compilation of the music associated with the film's main character.

Also, check out the films end credits song, 'Remember Me' performed by Josh Groban.

4) Field Of Dreams - My favorite sports films that really affected me, not just in the story but the emotional score.

A film where a corn farmer hears voices in his heard to build a baseball field would sound quite mad. But the direction, performances and the score all managed to make this one of the greatest films of all-time.

Horner's score is mesmerizing and haunting at times and just adds to the tone of the film even more.

This piece of music is a suite of the entire soundtrack.

3) An American Tail - A wonderful and emotional family animated drama that I don't think gets enough recognition.

It sees a Russian mouse family attempt to emigrate to America. But when the son gets separated from his family, they must find him whilst trying to survive in a new country.

The score by Horner has some of the best use of strings from an orchestra ever and it is a soundtrack that I will never forget from my childhood.

I was thinking of putting its sequel 'An American Tail: Fievel Goes West' into my top 10. But as the sequel's score has a lot of the themes from the original, I decided to discount it.

2) Avatar - Currently the highest-grossing film of all-time, director James Cameron came out with visual spectacular on a epic story across space that sees a marine sent out on a mission. He then becomes torn between following orders and protecting a world he now sees as home.

Horner's score fitted perfectly into the environment and it is one I have listened many times.

This piece of music from the collectors edition of the soundtrack. It is a combination of the music used in the final scene and the entire end credits that features the terrific song for the film 'I See You' by Leona Lewis.

1) Titanic - The film that got Horner his two Oscars for Best Original Score and Original Song.

At the time it became the highest-grossing film of all-time, and like Avatar it was directed by James Cameron.

With its terrific re-watch-ability, this modern classic is highly enjoyable to watch, has good performances and one of the most iconic soundtracks of all-time.

If you played a few seconds of the soundtrack, people will instantly be taken back to the 1997 Best Picture winner. It gives me chills every time.

This is the soundtrack that defined Horner's career.

The piece of music I have chosen is the chilling 'Hymn To The Sea'.

Review: Terminator Genisys

The film I was most nervous for this summer has arrived.

The reason I was nervous for the fifth Terminator film, was the trailer.
It looked corny and cheesy. It also showed hints that they could very well be erasing the first Terminator by changing the timelines.

This made me nervous as I would probably be angry once I have seen at the cinema.

When the second trailer came out, I had heard that there was a major plot spoiler in it. I know some trailers are known for basically showing the entire movie. So thankfully, I managed to avoid it.
Now that I have seen the film and now the trailer, I cannot believe they showed that! Apparently, the director is not happy with the marketing team as they were not supposed to do that.

I can safely say that going in with low expectations might be the best thing to do for this film. I found to be good mindless fun that any bog-standard summer blockbuster should be.

Even with its flaws and occasional sacrilege to the iconic first two installments, their is a lot of fun and I was never bored.
Rise Of The Machines had a certain charm to it, Salvation had enough CGI action set-pieces to made it watchable. Genisys was a bit of both.

The action was good, the pacing was consistent and there were not any moments that made me get angry at the movie despite the complex use of time-travel.
Like many of the latest additions to franchises, it ran like a greatest hits album. This can be both good and bad. Thankfully I think they got away with all the references that they used, even the use of some famous lines.

The performances were not memorable, but not terrible. Emilia Clarke was solid as Sarah Connor. She was no Linda Hamilton, but she seemed to hold her own for most of the film. The only major drawback was the lack of presence as she did not seem as commanding as Hamilton was.
Schwarzenegger was actually fairly good and I think his performance will be widely seen as understated.
Jai Courtney was as poor as ever. He is as wooden as ever and I think he would have been better cast as a Terminator. As for Jason Clarke, it was perfectly fine but I still don't know how he is getting all these roles. He has not impressed me yet and all of his performances seem to be sub-standard.
A couple of minor roles that I think were wasted were J.K. Simmons and Matt Smith. They are great talents and too give under-used characters was a missed opportunity in my eyes.

It obviously won't be as viewed so many times like James Cameron's features of the franchise. But you should not expect that. Take it for what it is and you will it as pleasant and mildly enjoyable as I did.
There is a lot to get your head round. I'm pretty sure a lot of it will not fit right in terms of movie time-travel law. But I don't think that will get in the way of your enjoyment of the on-screen action.
The high points is the opening 30 minutes, the chemistry between Schwarzenegger and Emilia Clarke and pacing of it that manages to never fall into any moments of dullness.

I can sort of see why Cameron sees this as the true sequel to Judgment Day. However I would rank it slightly behind Rise Of The Machines, and comfortably ahead of Salvation.

Rating: 7/10

Nostalgic Review: The Terminator Franchise

For people who grew up in the 80's, The Terminator franchise was an integral part of your upbringing.

Director James Cameron began with a vision of a cyborg chasing a human with a knife in its hand. Then with the help of his writing team, his vision became something that I don't think he could have imagined.
It is also of course the franchise that made Arnold Schwarzenegger the star that he is today. From his famous "I'll be back" line, Arnie became a global titan.

It became one of the biggest franchises. Sadly, it has lost steam since it's iconic second feature. I personally it will never get back to what it used to be. But I am always interested in another addition to this franchise.

Below are my reviews of each feature:

The Terminator - The one that started it all. James Cameron's vision comes alive in this sci-fi action blockbuster with a mix of horror slasher.

With great intensity, beautifully made action and a simple premise, this film is so much fun.

Rating: 9/10

Terminator 2: Judgment Day - One of the most memorable sequels to be superior from the original.
Arnie is back and there is a new target for The Terminator.

Everything raised its game and we have a movie that blew everyone away. It still easily stands the test of time.

Rating: 9/10

Terminator 3: Rise Of The Machines - Without Cameron directing, this was obviously going to be a disappointment. It was actually a solid effort, with a surprising amount of comedy that just about holds it together.

It does have that certain charm that makes it watchable, and it has a pretty impressive action set-piece.

Rating: 7/10

Terminator Salvation - Many people's weakest of the franchise, including me. However, I thought it was still a pretty solid romp.

It definitely may not be as ground-breaking as the first two, but it has enjoyable set-pieces that satisfied me.

Rating: 7/10

Terminator Genisys - With the trailers not showing much promise, it actually was solid popcorn fun. Most importantly, it was not the worst of the series.

The story was ambitious and I think it will upset a lot of the hardcore fans. But I felt it was as good as it could have been with the people who were involved. This franchise remains nothing without James Cameron.

Rating: 7/10