Arnold Schwarzenegger

Terminator: Dark Fate

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  • Title: Terminator: Dark Fate
  • IMDb: link

Terminator: Dark Fate movie reviewThe latest desperate attempt to breathe new life into the franchise is awkwardly inconsistent while pushing a laudable girl power message through a mine field of a plot that often blows up in the actors’ faces. Knocking off John Connor in the pre-credit sequence (which apparently cures his mother’s cancer?) creates a new timeline for Terminator: Dark Fate in which Skynet never rose but an almost identical artificial intelligence with time-travelling robots (lamely named Legion) comes to power. Set in the present, a Terminator (Gabriel Luna) and an enhanced soldier (Mackenzie Davis) are sent back in time. The target is a young woman (Natalia Reyes) who will grow to fill the void left by John’s death.

Ignoring all events after T2, the new timeline allows for the return of Sarah Connor (Linda Hamilton) and Arnold Schwarzenegger as Skynet’s final Terminator now passing for human. Although it earns points for removing Terminator Salvation from continuity, the brain-melting Dark Fate is inferior in every way to Rise of the Machines which remains the only Terminator movie that thought out the lasting ramifications of time travel.

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1982 – Conan the Barbarian

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  • Title: Conan the Barbarian
  • IMDb: link

Conan the Barbarian reviewToday’s Throwback Thursday takes us back to harsh lands of Cimmeria, the days of high adventure, and a barbarian known as Conan. On or around this date 37 years ago Arnold Schwarzenegger hit the big screen in the first of several iconic roles which would transform the former body builder into a movie star. Based on the character and stories created by Robert E. Howard, Conan the Barbarian offers an origin story for a barbarian thief raised in slavery and his quest to avenge the death of his parents by the wizard Thulsa Doom (James Earl Jones).

More one-dimensional than his comic counterpart, this Conan lacks the wit found on the printed page as he stumbles through the various obstacles put in front of him. From his journey of slave, to gladiator, to wandering barbarian, Conan picks up companions in the beautiful Valeria (Sandahl Bergman), the wizard Akiro (Mako), and the archer Subotai (Gerry Lopez). The film is hardly the stuff of great cinema, and some of its elements and effects have aged better than others, but more than three decades later it still retains its charm (including Jones’ reptilian villain turn, some enjoyable action sequences, and the memorable score by Basil Poledouris).

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1991 – Terminator 2: Judgement Day

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  • Title: Terminator 2: Judgement Day
  • IMDb: link

Terminator 2: Judgement DayThere may be debate over which movie is the worst of the Terminator franchise, but there is far more consensus as to which film is the best of the series. On or around this date 25 years ago Terminator 2: Judgement Day opened in theaters. Set roughly one decade after The Terminator, in the sequel not one but two Terminators will be sent back in time.

Arnold Schwarzenegger reprises his role as the futuristic killing machine, this time sent back to protect the future leader of the resistance John Connor (Edward Furlong) and his mother Sarah (Linda Hamilton) from Skynet‘s liquid-metal T-1000 (Robert Patrick) capable of altering its form.

After rescuing his mother from a mental institution, John, Sarah, and the Terminator attempt to stay one-step ahead of the advanced killing machine on their heels and make a desperate attempt to change the future by targeting one of Skynet’s key creators (Joe Morton).

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Conan: The Complete Quest

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  • Title: Conan the Barbarian / Conan the Destroyer
  • IMDb: link
  • IMDb: link

Conan: The Complete QuestThe new Blu-ray release collects both original Conan movies starring Arnold Schwarzenegger as the legendary Cimmerian thief and warrior. Focused on Conan’s origin story and his quest for revenge against the evil sorcerer (James Earl Jones) who slaughtered his village as a boy and threw him into slavery, Conan the Barbarian is the better of the two movies. It also gives us Mako (who would return in the sequel) as Conan’s ally.

Following two-years later, Conan the Destroyer feels every bit the half-baked sequel it is as Conan is hired to protect a princess (Olivia d’Abo) with a terrible destiny. While not as strong as the original, Destroyer does offer some memorable moments.

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