Terminator Salvation

I had the privilege to go out on a date with my wonderful wife last night. All our kids had ended up making plans to spend the night at friends' houses, so we had a night to ourselves. With no kids, what do you go see on the opening weekend of "Terminator Salvation?" Duh! And so we did. I would like to very briefly just share my opinion on the matter.
For starters, here's my two cents on the original movies: first one-classic, and because of that you allow your 2009 movie mindset to forgive some of the 1980 effects. Second one - my favorite of the three and still holds up fairly well today from an effects point of view. Third one- While there was one particularly cool chase scene somewhere near the beginning, this movie made it clear that the franchise (and Arnold) had possible run out of steam.
Fast forward a mere six years to a reboot. I'd have to do my homework to make sure the timetable matches up in the films, but six years doesn't seem like a very long time in the whole scheme of things. Rocky: 17 years, Rambo: 20 years, Diehard:12 years, and, of course, Batman: (counting the final Schumaker debacle) 8 years...if you count where the franchise really died (when Tim Burton stepped down) it was 13 years. My point being (the mediocre Batman Forever and the horrid Batman and Robin aside) there seems to have been quite a bit of downtime between the originals and the reboots.
My opinion on Terminator Salvation? Here it is: in one word, "okay." Christian Bale was great as usual, and McG placed himself on the map as an innovative director (at least in some areas), but the story itself was only okay. When I left Transformers a couple of summers ago I wanted to go right to Walmart and buy the toys to add to my collection. I left Terminator and thought, "Okay, I need to got o Walmart and pick up filters and coffee..." I didn't have that psyched up feeling when I left, which I usually do from an action movie that really gets my adrenaline or nostalgia going.
My biggest beef was that they gave away the biggest plot point in the trailers (and as such I'm giving nothing away here). The stranger that makes his way to the base of the resistance fighters is, in fact, part machine...a terminator. That was the only really big twist. I mean they try to make you think that John Connor is going to die, but we know that he can't. I wish they had left the fact that Sam Worthington's character was a terminator (of sorts) be kept hushed so it would have been a surprise when I saw the film.
Aside from that, the only other thing I wasn't sure about (other than some of the dialogue at the end) was the appearance of the T-800 that looked like a CGI Arnold. It took me out of it a bit. However, the acting is solid and the visuals are first rate and entertaining overall.
As much as I like Bale and thought that his little infamous tirade wouldn't effect me at all, I admit that I found myself wondering from time to time, "Is this the scene he blew his top? No, no...it's got to be this one."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zg9ooaozu-8

Just because

It's been a long time since I've done any sort of blogging, so I figured I'd take a few minutes and basically just ramble. For those of you that know me well and see me regularly, that'll come as no surprise.
So, what to blog about...I know! I saw two movies yesterday. X-Men Origins:Wolverine and Star Trek. I enjoyed both films. There were some things that I wish they had gone into more detail with in X-Men, but overall I found it fun to watch and very entertaining. I also learned (again) how hyper conservative www.pluggedinonline.com is with their reviews. I've found their sight to be a decent tool when trying to decided if I should take my kids to a certain movie or not, but over and over I'm seeing that there are some issues that they take and make into huge mountainous looking issues and then I see the film and am like, "What? Really? That's the 'sexuality?'" Based on the review of X-Men Origins my wife and I decided to preview it and found that the "sexuality" was actually very tame and had I not read the review previously I would have barely noticed it in the film. Very tasteful and non-offensive. I found it humorous since the review made it sound almost like "DON'T LET YOUR KIDS SEE THIS!" type thing.
You can check out the review that I'm referencing at:
http://www.pluggedinonline.com/movies/movies/a0004616.cfm



Star Trek. I got to see this one on opening night with some friends and had a great time. I'm not a Star Trek fan and have not followed the movies or the series or spin-offs (I've seen one or two of the films and now I have them all in my queue at Blockbuster Online) so I had no preconception of what to expect. I like J.J. Abrams, I like what he did with MI3, and I figured he'd do a good job with this. It was fantastic...a little heavy on the lens-flares, but still awesome. Fun, witty, entertaining, and from what I gathered, seemed to please many of the "Trekkies" in the audience. I will now go back and watch the old movies to further appreciate some of the humor. A friend of mine said that this new Star Trek movie "was everything 'The Phantom Menace' wished it could have been." I agree whole heartedly.
Just for fun...here's the review from the previously mentioned, pluggedinonline:
http://www.pluggedinonline.com/movies/movies/a0004627.cfm



Okay...what else? We had a good time a couple of weeks ago at the HighBrdige Film Festival where our film "The Love Doctor" won for best comedy. So, that was a good experience and we got to meet some neat people, including the president of Walden Media. Good times.
This summer I'll be working on finally getting our first short film, "Collide," edited and I'm excited about that. I'll be working as a production assistant (PA) on a larger independent film this summer and am looking forward to that. A good friend of mine and I will also be working on co-writing a script for Asbury that they will hopefully shoot in the spring and another friend of mine and I will be working on a script for a directed study that we will shoot in the fall.
Next spring I will be spending the semester in LA to complete my "Film Studies" degree and to do an internship which will hopefully turn into a job when I graduate. I'm excited about that as well. It'll be a bit of a rough time for the family as I will be gone for four months, but we all agree that it is only for a season and is what I'm supposed to be doing.
Anyway, not much else is coming to mind, so I'll end this pointless blog.

You know what really pisses me off?

I'm an interesting paradox of a person. I like to be spontaneous and am certainly not an introvert. However, I can be pretty uptight at times. I like things a certain way and have a certain rhythm in which I live my life. When this rhythm is thrown off due to lack of planning...you get it.
So, my manager at Blockbuster is out on maternity leave and has been for two weeks. That's TWO weeks to figure out how to get our checks to us on time. On time is 10AM Wednesday (every other Wednesday). So, no checks at 10AM today. I promised Thomas and my nephew, Kyle, that we could go out and do something, including buying Thomas a new winter jacket which he so desperately needs. I call the store at 10, and like I said, no checks. I stop by at 11:45...no checks. This really aggravates the ever loving crap out of me. I have bills to pay, a check to the drawer that went to the bank this morning and I don't have a freaking check to put in the bank yet! Guess what...banks are closed tomorrow!
Then to make my life's rhythm even more off-beat...the new movies at work (which we normally get between Wednesday and Friday the week before they are released) came in on Tuesday. Hooray, I'll have a whole week to watch them, right? NOPE! In an attempt to make more money over the holiday weekend the owner put them all out. A WEEK EARLY! Prince Caspian and Wanted are the ones that I wanted to watch particularly. I'm pissed about this for two primary reasons. One, I don't make a lot of money so my free rentals and the ability to watch the new movies before they are released are perks that make it worth while. Two, companies have a release date on their films for a reason. It is technically a violation and subject to huge fines to rent or sell them earlier than the release date. The owner does this on a regular basis with smaller title releases which is also annoying since there are some that I actually want to see. But with a Disney release? As an independent franchise owner, would you like to get fined by a company that large? It would totally sink you! No one else is able to generate extra income on next week's releases over the Thanksgiving weekend. Why should Versailles Blockbuster?
I honestly have half a mind to turn his release-date-violating-butt in.
I feel better now that I've vented.

What's in a name?

Several years ago when I started writing I thought it would be neat to use a variation of my name that stood out. E. Russell Henninger. I still like the way it sounds. However, I've tried to carry that over into my acting, directing, and producing of short films. It has been confusing on a few occasions, even for me. In my auditions class the other day the gentleman conducting out "mock" auditions looks at my resume (which reads E. Russell Henninger) and says "What Russell did here..." And I'm standing on the stage looking around for this guy named Russell. Oh right, that's me! Everyone knows me by Eric. So even when I audition with E. Russell Henninger on my resume, these people get to know me and then bill me as Eric Henninger...posters, IMDB, credits, etc. The only time I've been billed in a short film as E. Russell is when I've produced and edited the film. Aside from my own projects, all the films and theatre productions that I've done have me billed as Eric. So, I thought, what about using E. Russell as my writing name and Eric for my acting and everything else name? Then I figured that could get confusing on a project where I wear more than one hat. For example the last film that Bald Brother's Studio Productions (that's my production company) completed I co-wrote, produced, executive produced, and acted in. This would be very confusing in the credits when they read "Written by: E. Russell Henninger...starring Eric Henninger." See what I mean? I consulted a couple of my most trusted friends on the subject. I honestly felt like a diva for even having to think about what name to use. They confirmed what I was leaning towards anyway...Eric. Worst case scenario...when I am able to become a member of SAG, if there is already an "Eric Henninger" then I can fall back onto E. Russell or maybe just Russell.
Anyway, now that you all know more than you needed to or wanted to know...I bid you adieu.

I hate politics!

I just have to say that I sincerely hate politics in America. Granted, our system seems to be better than any other system out there and I certainly wouldn't want to live anywhere else.
But it seems to me that each party is more interested in being in control than they are in the actual well-being of the American people. Also it seems kind of childish to me the arguments that people are throwing out in opposition to each candidate..."Obama has no experience." Honestly? Is that the best we can come up with? How does one gain experience as a president if not by actually being president? Shy of someone running for their second term, has anyone had the proper experience?
"McCain is too old." What the heck? Really? Is that the best we can do? Most people, I think, would agree that Reagan was one of the finest presidents we've had in the last half a century or so and he was rather old when he took office. And he was a fan of the Rambo movies! No more evidence needed for me that he was a good president!
I'm convinced that if we had a Democrat in office as president and he were to have a ridiculously high approval rating, the Republicans would find something to complain about. And, if we had a Republican president in office with a high approval rating the Democrats would still find something to complain about. Get over yourselves!
Another thing that royally irritates the crap out of me is the "non-biased" press intentionally slanting things to one side. Point and case (regardless of which side of the fence you ride): New York Times front page a few days ago had two pictures. One of a "McCain/Palin" sign in the yard of home that looked decidedly upper middle class. Another photo showed an "Obama/Biden" sign in the yard of of someone clearly less fortunate. No bias there. As it turns out, there's no one in my neighborhood that is wealthy and there are a healthy smattering of signs for both sides. There are as many better-off people voting for Obama tomorrow as there are for McCain. There are also those who are struggling to make ends meet that will vote for McCain, just as there are those who will vote for Obama.
And yet another burr in my saddle is the whole race/sex thing. My daughter (who is 13 and not even able to vote)was asked by another student who she would vote for if she could. We don't typically talk politics in our house unless one of the kids asks our opinions, so I'm proud of my daughter for answering from her own personal conclusions. She told the student that she would probably vote for McCain. The student asking her for her opinion then flat-out called her a racist. What the frak, people? Seriously? Is this what it's going to be about? Vote for Obama/Biden or you're a racist. Vote for McCain/Palin or you're a sexist. The race/sex card should not even be an issue, nor should it be a rebuttle from either side as an excuse for not addressing real issues. I heard someone ask once if "Obama is elected, will the American people be able to be as openly critical and cynical of his administration without being called a racist?" Would they? I don't know. One shouldn't vote for Obama based solely on the basis that he is black. Nor should one vote for McCain based solely on the basis that his running-mate is a woman.
It really shouldn't matter whether someone is black or white/male or female if they are the best qualified to take the helm of our great nation.
I also hate campaign adds of all kinds: federal and local. Why don't we just take the last step down and put our mud-slinging in terms that everyone understands? "Don't vote for so-and-so because he's a moron." "Vote for me because I'm not as big of a poo-poo head as the other person." Can we all grow up and act like we have some degree of pride in ourselves as people and as a country?
So, you ask, which side of the fence to I fall on? Personally, I think that Spongebob and Patrick or even Palpatine and Vader would be better choices. My campaign slogan is "We're Screwed '08."
Seriously, I didn't do this blog to try to convince anyone of my personal political views. You need to vote for who you honestly feel is the best person to lead our country into the future. I motives in this blog have been simply this: to vent my aggravations with politics, regardless of which side I may or may not support. Elections, of any kind, have become a circus and it nauseates me.
No matter what the outcome ends up being, this will be a historic election.
VOTE!

How not to make friends

So I am walking into Corbitt (the main Media-Comm building for you non-asburians) and was signing up for my advising appointment before heading to class. This guy is standing there - I have no idea who he is or was, since I've never seen him before - and he looks at my shirt (emblazoned with a Patriots logo for tonight's game) and says, "Are you really a Patriots fan?" I answer, "Heck, yeah!" "Really?" He asks. "Even with their coach being a cheater?" Now the thing is that there wasn't a hint of playfulness or jest in his voice at all. He was dead serious and his tone indicated that I probably shouldn't call myself a Christian and a Patriots fan - like it was some kind of paradox. Needless to say, it pissed me off. In my most seriously irritated tone I said, "Don't even start with me, buddy." I walked away.
The moral of this story is: if you want to make friends, insulting people is probably not the best way to do it.

Friends and the Spitfire Grill

As most of you know I've had the privilege of being involved with Asbury's fall theatre production entitled, "The Spitfire Grill." It was a good laugh all summer for me that I auditioned for a musical and got cast as the one character with no lines or songs. It's okay to laugh...the irony is very amusing. It's still funny to me. It sounded rather easy since I had no lines to memorize or songs to learn, but I took the role seriously. I read the script, pestered the director to make sure I was giving him what he wanted, and even created an inner monologue for my character. Because my character only made one short appearance in the first act and only a couple in the second act, I tried something different...different for me at least...I tucked myself in a corner and shut myself off from the rest of the cast during each act. It was kind of a method approach. My thinking was that I didn't have much stage time to convey what my character need to convey, so I had to be in character even when I wasn't on stage. It seemed to work out pretty well, although it was emotionally draining. For two shows I tried doing the role without the whole "method" approach. I don't know if the audience could tell a difference, but I certainly did. For the last show I reverted back to the "method" concept. Last night, after our final show, one of the cast member's mother and I were talking. She had seen the show more than once and told me that she felt like there was more intensity to my role when I did the method thing. That's cool, since you hope that what's going on in your head as an actor is being conveyed in your body language and facial expressions. While it was a small role, it was very challenging and fulfilling for me as an actor.
Here's the coolest thing...the cast. What a group of super talented people. Not only are they talented, but they're great people and I have had such a great time getting to know each of them better and am glad to be able to call each of them a friend. In spite of the age difference that exists, they embraced me and accepted me as one of their own. This is cool for me because I don't usually feel as old as I am anyway, and most of my friends are a bit younger than myself. It was my honor to get to be a part of such a great cast of people and I'm a bit sad that it's over-the show's over anyway.
While I love making new friends and getting to know people, I highly value those friends of mine that have been known me for a while and are super supportive, caring, and loving. They took time out of their busy schedules to come see the show and support what I was doing. That means the world to me! First of all, my wife, Lori, is amazing to allow me to pursue this crazy acting thing and she came to three of the six shows. Krysta and Sean, Zack, Katie, Kevin,Tim, and Ryan all made it out to see the show. I felt like that kindergarten student who is so exited that his parents are in the audience that he waves at them during the performance. I didn't wave of course, but I had to fight the urge:-)
So, to all my friends, new and seasoned alike...thanks for who you are and all that you do. I love each one of you!