Movies round up

Ooops, I've got some catching up to do, obviously. (It's been over a month since my last entry.)

Movies I've seen since my last "Movies round up" entry (May 13, 2009):

Terminator: Salvation (2009) (Saw this one opening weekend, ca. May 21, 2009)
I thought it was good but not great. Lots of cool action stuff, of course, but by the end I sort of was feeling a sense of fatigue from the overriding grimness of the picture. The movie takes place entirely in the future, post-apocalyptic world in which the Terminators are at war with pockets of human resistance. John Connor is a soldier in said war but not leading the resistance yet (although some do see him as the spiritual leader of sorts; Connor uses radio broadcasts to rally the troops everywhere and to provide them with intelligence against the machines). Where it gets a bit confusing is in trying to figure out just how much this version of Connor knows about the Terminators and their goals based on what happened in the first three movies (which this movie supposedly recognizes; adding to possible confusion is that it does not recognize the Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles television series). And some of what happens is pretty obvious the way it is set up (such as the true nature of Marcus Wright, Sam Worthington's character). It is obvious that this movie is set-up to lead into a sequel. Presumably, that one will take us to the point where John Connor sends Kyle Reese back in time to protect Sarah Connor from the Arnold Schwarzenegger played Terminator. (There is some pretty good stuff in this movie when John Connor is confronted by one of the Schwarzenegger models. Schwarzenegger isn't actually in the movie but they are so good at visual effects by this point that you can't tell that this isn't a younger version of now current governor of California.)

X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009) (Saw this one about three weeks after opening, ca. May 29, 2009)
I enjoyed this one, too. Probably more so than Terminator Salvation but not quite as much as Star Trek (which I talk about in my last "movie round up" entry). Unfortunately, two months after having seen it, I really can't think of anything else to say about it. Hugh Jackman is, as usual, very good as Logan/Wolverine. The movie fills in a lot of his back story, including his past relationship with Sabretooth and how he got his adamantium laced skeleton and claws. You also see some other noteworthy characters, some from the earlier X-Men movies and some from the comics making their movie debuts.

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2009) (Saw this one Sunday of opening weekend, July 19, 2009)
I'll do a separate entry for this one, discussing the book and the movie in the same entry.