Movies - Softonic English

Which Princess Bride character are you? (Quiz)

Take our quiz to see which Princess Bride character you’d be!

“Fencing, fighting, torture, revenge, giants, monsters, chases, escapes, true love, miracles” – William Goldman’s “The Princess Bride” (directed by Rob Reiner) has it all. From pirates to princesses, swordsmen to six-fingered men, there’s someone out there for everyone. Which character are you most like? Take our quiz and find out:

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Happy with your answer? If not, scale the Cliffs of Insanity and try it again. Have fun storming the castle!

The Princess Bride

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‘Rambo: Last Blood’ gets its first trailer

Rambo draws his bowstring one final time in the first trailer for ‘Rambo: Last Blood.’

At nearly 73-years-old, Sylvester Stallone is showing no signs of retirement in this first trailer for “Rambo: Last Blood.”

As the title suggests, this will be the last movie in the Rambo franchise.

The trailer looks like it takes place a few years after the events of 2008’s “Rambo.” At the end of that movie, Rambo returns home to the U.S. to reconnect with whatever family he has left.

At the beginning of this trailer, we see that Rambo is all alone, and is just trying to have as normal of a life as possible. However, after a group of bad guys force Rambo to relieve his checkered past, he must get back into action in order to get his revenge.

Yes, that was the most cliché plot for an action movie ever.

This looks dumb, but also like dumb fun

The Rambo franchise started off very seriously with “First Blood,” a film about a Vietnam veteran who comes home to find a country that has turned its back on him. However, the serious has gotten more and more silly with films that rely on over-the-top action.

WARNING: VIDEO IS NSFW

That said, over-the-top action can be a lot of fun, and this trailer hints that the movie might get that.

We’ll probably get to see Rambo blow up goons with his bow-and-arrow and lots of hack-and-slashing with his Bowie knife. Also, Rambo appears to have taken a lesson from Kevin McCallister from “Home Alone,” as he set a series of traps in his house to kill goons.

If Rambo’s traps are half as deadly as Kevin’s, these bad guys are in for a world of hurt.

We can’t help but talk about Stallone’s age. At 72, it really seems like he needs to leave action movies to the younger generation. If he does another “Rocky” movie, it will have to be about him fighting his nurse for his pain pills.

The trailer suggests that Rambo won’t be doing as much hand-to-hand combat as we have seen before. Hopefully, we will get traps and explosions like a “Saw” movie, and we won’t see Rambo try to emulate John Wick.

Shut off your brain

This movie probably isn’t going to give you a dramatic insight into the life of a veteran. If you want that, watch a movie like”Born on the Fourth of July” or “American Sniper.”

However, if you are looking for mindless action that will keep you entertained for about 90 minutes, this should keep you satisfied.

11 things you never knew about Jaws

Why did Spielberg sleep with celery under his pillow?

When “Jaws” hit theaters in 1975 it was a smash-success, often called the first true blockbuster. Two years later, George Lucas’ “Star Wars” defeated it in the box office (they shared a playful exchange on the subject), but Spielberg’s “Jaws” was the OG.

Despite the film’s huge success, the production was plagued with issue after issue, roadblock after roadblock. The shoot went on longer than expected, went so over-budget that Spielberg shelled out his own cash for re-shot scenes, the script was still being written during the filming, and even the mechanical shark retreated … by accidentally sinking to the bottom of the ocean.

If you haven’t seen “Jaws,” you can live stream it right here. Before you watch it, though, you may be amused to know these 11 crazy facts. Let’s dive in:

1. The author of the novel makes a cameo

“Jaws” was originally a novel penned by Peter Benchley. He was present on-set for much of the filming, and even got this cameo scene on the beach:

Benchley grew to hate the film, especially its climax, later calling it “an eat-’em-up ending that lacks only Queequeg’s coffin to resemble a bath tub version of Moby-Dick.”

2. The most famous line was ad-libbed

When Brody is first surprised by the shark in this scene, he slinks back to Quint looking shell-shocked. He manages to croak out “we’re gonna need a bigger boat,” before the two head onto the deck. Roy Scheider actually improvised this line, but said it so quietly that it was drowned out by the screams of test audiences. Spielberg had to re-edit it to make the line more audible.

3. Spielberg thought the ‘Jaws’ music was a joke

Jaws opening — Spielberg later said “the score was clearly responsible for half of the success of that movie.”

Spielberg was very aware of John Williams’ talent before he asked him to write for “Jaws.” Spielberg envisioned a score with otherworldy undertones and an eerie theme to match the context of an ominous underwater creature. When John Williams instead shared with him the two-note theme, Spielberg thought it was a joke.

4. ‘Finding Nemo’ wasn’t the first shark named ‘Bruce’

Bruce Ramer is a pretty big entertaiment lawyer in Los Angeles, and Steven Spielberg was one his clients. As a joking tribute (and ominous foreshadowing of the many issues the rig would have), the crew nicknamed the shark rig “Bruce.”

In 2003 “Finding Nemo” paid tribute to this by naming the shark in their film “Bruce” as well.

5. The Orca did actually sink

Orca sinking Jaws — One camera was even submerged during the accident, but the film was salvaged!

While there were issues with practically every aspect of the ocean portion of the shoot, no one expected part of the plot to literally happen: Due to a malfunction one day, however, the Orca did start to actually sink. Robert Shaw, Roy Scheider, and Richard Dreyfuss were all on-board at the time, sending Spielberg on a mad dash to bring boats out to rescue the actors and crew. When they arrived, Sound Engineer John R. Carter reportedly held his tape recorder over his head and shouted, “F**ck the actors, save the sound department!”

6. The shark ate George Lucas

Jaws rig — Maybe that’s where he found inspiration for this scene.

George Lucas was friends with Spielberg as well as “Jaws” screenwriter, John Milius. He came to visit during production, and especially enjoyed his time in the special effects shop … until he got his head stuck in Bruce’s mouth. What started as a prank ended up an actual emergency when the controls jammed, leaving Lucas stuck inside. They ended up having to pry the rig open in order to save him. Good thing too; he hadn’t even made “Star Wars” yet!

7. Spielberg slept with celery under his pillow for the whole shoot

Spielburg Jaws — Spielberg later called the film “my Vietnam. It was basically naive people against nature, and nature beat us every day.”

Spielberg was a perfectionist with his films, and that made the nerve-wracking experience of the “Jaws” shoot especially hard on the young director. Beset by mechanical problems with the shark, mounting pressure from the studio, and horrible weather conditions day after day, Spielberg suffered numerous mental breakdowns and sleepless nights. The cure? Celery. To help the poor man sleep at night, he had a familiar pillow sent from his California home, underneath which he kept a single stalk of celery. Apparently, the smell was comforting to him, and helped ease him to sleep.

8. That’s Spielberg’s dog

Spielberg owned pets throughout his life, and had a particular fondness for dogs. During “Jaws,” his puppy Elma even got to make a cameo, sitting on Martin Brody’s couch.

9. That’s also him on clarinet

Early in the movie, there’s a scene on the beach where a high school band is playing a Sousa march. That’s John Williams’ orchestra as well, but many of them found it difficult to “play down” to a high school level. The solution? Put Spielberg on first clarinet. According to Williams, it “added just the right amateur quality to the piece.”

10. Fidel Castro loved it

“Jaws” was a huge commercial success, breaking box office records left and right. Of all people, Fidel Castro was a big fan of the story, and reportedly loved the book. The year the film came out he called the tale “a marvelous metaphor about the corruption of capitalism.”

11. This scene was shot in a pool

The above is definitely one of the more frightening scenes in the film; there’s something especially striking about the image of Ben Gardner’s head through the chewed up boat. While many scenes were shot in the actual Atlantic ocean, this one actually was not one of them. Instead, it was shot six months after principal photography was finished. Spielberg pored over the original scene, but eventually decided it needed a re-shoot. He borrowed some props and film equipment from the Univeral backlot and set up in the swimming pool of the movie’s editor, Verna Fields. He paid for the re-shoot out of his own pocket.

We hope you’ve enjoyed these 11 odd facts about “Jaws;” enjoy your next trip to the beach!

10 best superhero casting choices

From classic Superman films to the groundbreaking MCU, these performances paved the way for the franchise!

The choice of who you cast in your superhero flick can have huge consequences, both positive and negative.

When Disney cast Brie Larson for “Captain Marvel,” fans who disliked the actress review-bombed the movie on Rotten Tomatoes until it had an artificially low percentage. This was a factor that led to Rotten Tomatoes changing its review system entirely.

Clearly, casting decisions can have a huge impact. That said, which choices were the best? Which actors transcended the screen, and truly became their characters?

Let’s find out!

10 best movie superhero casting choices

10. Ian McKellen as Magneto

As far as comic book villains go, you’d be hard pressed to find a better-written villain than Magneto.

The Nazis put him in a concentration camp after killing his family for being Jewish. After this, Magneto realizes that he must fight back against those who challenge his very existence. Lo and behold, Magneto is a mutant, and there are also people who want him dead because of that.

Ian McKellen captures both his tragedy and motivations perfectly. Also, when showing off his abilities, he does so with such a quiet power. You just have this feeling that he could wipe out an entire building with a flick of his wrist.

McKellen’s final scene as Magneto happens toward the end of “X-Men: Days of Future Past.” In the scene, the last hope for the mutant race is about to be extinguished. Before recent events, Magneto fought against the X-Men as he believed that a future war was coming. Professor X didn’t deny this, but he believed in pursuing peace.

It turns out, both of them were right. However, Magneto realizes that it was his fault that mutants couldn’t come together to find peace with humans.

McKellan makes the character both powerful and tragic. That’s all we could have asked for our favorite master of magnetism.

9. Michael B. Jordan as Killmonger

When it comes to the MCU, villains typically aren’t considered the strong point of the films. Sure, actors like Robert Downey Jr. and Chris Hemsworth can really carry the film as the main hero, but their villains just pale in comparison. Can you even give the names of the villains in all three Iron Man movies?

Michael B. Jordan’s performance as Killmonger in “Black Panther” was what really broke the mold for a lot of fans. He commands the screen in all of his scenes.

Black Panther

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Let’s look at the scene where he reveals to the king’s counsel that he is Wakandan, and he is challenging the throne:

He approaches the situation calmly at first by allowing himself to be taken in as a prisoner. He lets T’Challa make the first move to help dictate how the situation will unfold. However, once he is asked who he is, he reveals that he is Wakandan, by speaking it in isiXhosa, an actual language spoken in Africa.

Once everyone believes him, all the balls are in his court. T’Challa has to accept his challenge in order to abide by traditions. He also compromised T’Challa’s leadership by stating that T’Challa’s father, King T’Chaka, killed Killmonger’s father.

To be fair, one of the things that makes Jordan’s performance so poignant is the phenomenal writing. This line perfect:

Jordan commanded the screen as Killmonger so well, that we actually kinda wish he would’ve ended up on Wakanda’s throne.

10 remarkable facts about Black Panther

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8. Josh Brolin as Thanos

Wow, three villains in a row!

Josh Brolin did not have an easy task ahead of him when he agreed to play the mad Titan Thanos. He had to somehow capture all the hype leading up to a character we had been waiting to see for more than five years.

He not only nailed it, but “movie Thanos” was better than “comic book Thanos.”

Yeah, yeah, yeah. that was a pretty bold statement, but let’s take a look at the comics. There, Thanos wanted to gather the Infinity Stones so that he could woo the female embodiment of death.

Seriously, we’re not kidding.

Sure, Thanos’s motivations in “Avengers: Infinity War” are not pure, but they are stronger than what we were given in the comics.

Brolin was menacing, well-written, and well-performed. There were so many movies leading up to his arrival, and yet Brolin was able to make the wait worthwhile. And he’s a completely digital creation!

Hopefully, Marvel will showcase a great new villain in the MCU now that he’s gone. If not, fans will be at the theaters shouting, “Bring us Thanos!”

5 Marvel villains who could follow Thanos

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7. Michael Keaton as Batman

In major Hollywood Batman films, we’ve had Adam West, Christian Bale, Val Kilmer, George Clooney, Ben Affleck, and, of course, Michael Keaton don the cape and cowl. With so many different Batman (Batmans? Batmen?) to choose from, what makes Keaton come out as the best?

The answer is simple, Keaton was able to be a good Bruce Wayne AND a good Batman.

Sure, other actors who have played the bat have done well. Christian Bale was a menacing Batman, but he was a forgettable Bruce Wayne. Also, don’t even get us started on his voice:

Adam West is the OG Batman for a lot of people, but he lacked the dark and ominous feel the character is known for having.

Ben Affleck was one of the only interesting parts of “Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice” and “Justice League.” However, flat dialogue and meandering storylines gave the bat nothing to work with.

Keaton’s performances in “Batman” and “Batman Returns” were coupled with great writing from Tim Burton. Pair Keaton’s performance with other great villains like Joker and Penguin, and you have something special.

10 things you didn’t know about Batman Begins

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6. Patrick Stewart as Professor X

Patrick Stewart had a difficult task ahead of him when he chose to play Professor Charles Xavier. He had to take the character from humble beginnings as a teacher and leader of the X-Men, to a freedom fighter trying to save the mutant race, to a frail old man seeking redemption.

Despite the varying quality of the X-Men movies, Patrick Stewart was consistently one of the best parts. Each word out of his mouth is filled with hints of both his experience and his pain.

In “Logan,” Xavier is battling dementia and is in recovery after he caused the death of nearly every one of the X-Men. After discovering a child with mutant powers that needs his help, Xavier begins a journey toward redemption.

The story gives a tragic, yet fitting conclusion to Xavier’s journey. That journey would have felt far less fulfilling if not for the work of Patrick Stewart.

5. Christopher Reeve as Superman

Superman is not an easy character to play.

Most superheroes have to overcome overwhelming odds and break their limits in order to save the day, but not Superman. Superman has no limits and instead needs to figure out how to be a god living amongst men.

For this reason, it is often hard for fans to relate to the Man of Steel. However, Christopher Reeve absolutely nailed the character.

Reeve’s Superman is both strengthened and incapacitated by his human upbringing. His Kryptonian biology might make him the strongest being in the universe, but his humanity is what makes him use his powers for good.

In “Superman II,” Supes decides to give up his powers in order to pursue a life with Lois Lane. Despite the fact that others dream of having abilities like his, Supes makes the selfish decision to abandon what can keep the world safe in order to be “normal.”

True, he does end up restoring his powers so he can duke it out with General Zod (complete with him throwing a random cellophane S).

What made Reeve a great Superman was his ability to get us to identify with an unidentifiable character. Superman constantly walked the line between what is good for others and what is good for him.

Sure, none of us can move faster than a speeding bullet, or be more powerful than a locomotive. However, throwing aside what makes us unique for the chance to be normal is something we can all understand. For that, we have Reeve to thank.

4. Robert Downey Jr. as Iron Man

First, let’s do introductions:

Robert Downey Jr. was a very risky pick to play Tony Stark. His battle with addiction made him far from a slam dunk choice, and failure meant that the MCU simply wouldn’t happen.

Luckily, Robert Downey Jr. blew expectations out of the water. If you’ve ever read an Avengers or Iron Man comic book, you probably have a decent grasp of what kind of person Tony Stark is. He’s both cocky and arrogant, but he does have a very blunt view of justice (for better or worse).

Basically, if Stark believes something is right, it’s very difficult to prove him wrong.

That scene took place right after Stark created Ultron. Even after creating what is essentially an AI-powered weapon of mass destruction, he still defends his motives and the need to create it.

This scene made people hate Stark. Nobody could believe that he would still defend his actions after creating such an evil force. Here’s the thing though: that’s exactly who Iron Man is.

Even when faced with the reality of his actions, Stark rejects that reality for his own. Guess what else? He was right!

The world did need more protection, and it did need a suit of armor. Thanos made sure of that. Although the Avengers did defeat Thanos, Stark was right in assuming the team would not be enough.

You can poke holes in MCU movies and in the Iron Man movies until the cows come home. However, at the end of the day, RDJ was right, he IS Iron Man.

3. Heath Ledger as Joker

Nope, Heath Ledger didn’t get our #1 spot.

Sure Jack Nicholson gave us a pretty unbelievable Joker. However, Heath Ledger blew Nicholson out of the water with just one chilling scene from “The Dark Knight“:

Despite what many people think, Joker is actually a very versatile character. Sure, at his core he’s a criminal who dresses up as a clown, but he can be portrayed in many different ways.

Nicholson’s approach was to make Joker act more like a gangster. Cesar Romero made Joker focus more on the clown antics and gags. Jared Leto… did whatever this was:

However, nobody even came close to match Ledger’s madness and sense of anarchy. Throughout the movie, Ledger is two steps ahead of the mob, the police, Batman, and even the audience. There is simply no reasoning behind his actions other than the fact he wants to cause chaos.

He blows up a hospital and almost gets himself killed just for a chance to make Harvey Dent turn on Gotham.

Look, we can talk about Ledger’s Oscar-winning performance all day, and show you clips from the movie, and it still might not convince you. For a last-ditch effort, we’ll try a magic trick:

10 fascinating facts about The Dark Knight

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2. Hugh Jackman as Wolverine

Hugh Jackman played Wolverine in nine different X-Men movies. However, he only needed to be in one to cement himself as Wolverine for all eternity.

From the start, Jackman gave us exactly what we wanted Wolverine to be. He was tough but only had the best intentions. He was strong but also weakened by his unstable mentality. He was tragic but always triumphant.

He was Logan.

Sure, Jackman was able to be an incredible action star when portraying Wolverine, but he was also able to bring some real drama to the character.

Down the road, we are probably going to get a new incarnation for most of the characters we have already named. Heck, we already know about the next Batman.

Robert Pattinson is the next Batman… we’re being serious

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However, there is nobody else who can become Wolverine like Hugh Jackman.

At this point, you are probably wondering, “Who could possibly have the #1 spot?”

Sure, we named off some incredible talent up until now. However, the next entry was someone so good that not only does he represent one of the best parts of the movie(s), but his character has never been recast since.

1. J.K. Simmons as J. Jonah Jameson

Since Tobey Maguire first put on the Spidey suit in 2002, we have had three different live-action Spider-Man, two different Gwen Stacy, three different MJ‘s, two different Harry and Norman Osborns, three different Aunt May, and two different Uncle Ben.

However, we have only had one man and one man only play J. Jonah Jameson, and for good reason.

J.K. Simmons feels like he was ripped right from the pages of the comic books. He’s hammy, he’s over-the-top, but he’s a true comic book character.

Walk over to a comic book store, and find the shelf with all the Spider-Man comics. Throw a rock at the shelf, and read whatever issue it hit. No matter what, you will see that J.K. Simmons’s portrayal was 100% spot on to the comics.

He commands the screen in every scene he’s in. He’s a miserable jerk, but you can’t help but smile every time he opens his mouth. They could have taken out an entire action sequence from one of the movies and replaced it with more J. Jonah Jameson and nobody would have complained.

You can disagree with us all you want. However, before you go throwing this list out the window, answer this one question, “Who else could have played him better?”

Honorable mention

Yes, it hurt us not to include Ron Perlman’s performance as Hellboy.

Perlman captured the character perfectly, giving us the perfect comic book adaptation. Unfortunately, there were just 10 choices that were better.

We still love you, Ron.

Wrapping up

Whether or not you agree with our list entirely, you can’t help but admit that these were all some stellar performances.

At the end of the day, there have been so many other great performances in superhero movies. Emma Stone was the first actress who truly was able to give Gwen Stacy the justice she deserved. Gene Hackman was the only good movie villain Superman has ever had. Chris Hemsworth gave the god of thunder the charisma and character he desperately needed.

We’re in an age where comic book movies are being taken seriously, and aren’t just popcorn thrillers for the summer. These performances are what got them to this level.

Let us know in the comments below who you think should have made the list!

Tickets, please: Rotten Tomatoes wants to see proof of purchase before you review

Internet trolls beware, Rotten Tomatoes has your number!

Rotten Tomatoes now needs you to prove you bought a movie ticket before your review is reflected in the “Audience Score.”

The site also recently replaced the “Want to See” percentage with a “Want to See” tally for upcoming films. Basically, rather than a percentage score for whether or not audience members want to see a film, there is now more of a “like count” for whether or not users want to see a movie.

Combating review bombing

This is an effort to reduce the amount of users engaging in “review bombing.” Basically, users have been trolling the site and leaving harsh reviews for movies they haven’t seen.

For example, before “Captain Marvel” hit theaters, users bombarded the film on Rotten Tomatoes with comments about their hatred for Brie Larson and the movie’s “agenda.”

The review bombing brought the “Want to See” score down to about 28%.

Verified ratings

All users can still leave a review for a film whether or not they have seen it. However, Rotten Tomatoes will be differentiating reviews based on whether or not users can provide a ticket stub from the movie.

Users who provide a ticket stub will be thrown into a “Verified Audience” tab on the review page. As stated before, only these scores will be reflected in the “Audience Score.”

Verifying your ticket

When submitting a review, there is a new box that asks you where you bought your ticket. From there, the site guides you through the verification process.

Fandango, AMC Theaters, Regal Cinemas, and Cinemark have all signed up for the verification process.

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Will this make a difference?

Unless users can figure out how to trick Rotten Tomatoes into thinking they bought a ticket, this should be a significant change.

Only viewing reviews from people who actually saw the movie seems like common sense, so it’s a nice addition to the site. If an internet troll just wants to hate a movie for the sake of hating it, they will first have to pay that movie’s filmmakers. Most likely, these folks will just take to their blogs, and hate on the movie from there.

Movie trailers: what works and what fails with today’s blockbusters?

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Sure, sometimes we can make a good judgment call on whether we want to see a movie before we see it. However, our judgments should be based on the film and not our own gripes.

Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic movie in the works

It’s happening! It’s really happening!!!

Disney is working on a movie derived from Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, according to a report from Buzzfeed.

The movie is being written by Laeta Kalogridis. She’s known for writing good movies like “Shutter Island” as well as stinkers like “Terminator: Genisys.”

What is Knights of the Old Republic?

For those that do not know, Knights of the Old Republic (KOTOR) is the holy grail of Star Wars video games. In 2004, it won Game of the Year from the Game Developer’s Choice Awards.

It’s an action RPG with turn-based combat. The game takes place thousands of years before the events of “Star Wars: Episode IV A New Hope.” In it, you play as Darth Revan, a Sith lord who has had his memory wiped by the Jedi. It is up to you to decide whether or not to join the light side, or go back to your roots on the dark side.

Along the way, you are confronted by Darth Malak, Revan’s old apprentice who betrays his master to become the new Sith lord.

From the story to the gameplay, it is one of the best video games ever created, let alone one of the best Star Wars games.

We’re excited but cautious

When it comes to Disney’s Star Wars side movies, they’re batting .500.

“Rogue One: A Star Wars Story” was okay, but “Solo: A Star Wars Story” was extremely forgettable.

To be fair, we wanted to see Rogue One’s story, but nobody really wanted a standalone Han Solo flick. If Disney holds true to the story with the KOTOR film, we’ll be excited, but we are going to need a good cast to make this really work.

(Hey Disney, you should totally cast Michael Fassbender as Revan. Just saying!)

Fans have been wanting a KOTOR movie since the game came out in 2003. Since Disney bought Star Wars, fans have wanted more movies that show the history of the Jedi and Sith. This could potentially be the best of both worlds, but we will have to wait and see.

Linda Hamilton is back to fight in Terminator: Dark Fate trailer

Lower this trailer into the lava, and protect our future.

The future is not set, so we don’t know if “Terminator: Dark Fate” will score at the box office. But you can judge for yourself with the new teaser trailer:

What looks bad?

The Terminator franchise is meant to have three big human characters: John Connor, Sarah Connor, and Kyle Reese. Every Terminator film is meant to revolve around these characters who fight against, or alongside a Terminator (Arnold Schwarzenegger).

This film throws that out the window and instead only features Sarah Connor who only makes a cameo during the trailer. Instead, the clip prominently features new characters who seem incredibly bland. The most prominent new character is a Terminator with human characteristics named Grace. She is going through an existential crisis as she tries to figure out whether she is human or a machine.

Here’s the problem: filmmakers already tried that in “Terminator: Salvation” and it flopped badly.

If this was a film all about Sarah Connor trying to save the world, we’d have high hopes. Sarah is arguably the best character in all of Terminator, and her psyche is one of the most fascinating parts of the franchise.

One of the biggest reasons why people see these films is to see Schwarzenegger in action.

Unfortunately, we see almost zero footage of him at all in this trailer. No motorcycle chases, no shotgunning Terminators away, none of that. This trailer was just as big an insult as a dropkick to the back.

What might be good?

There are three things that might save this film. The first is that James Cameron, creator of the first two Terminator films, is back.

The second thing is that Linda Hamilton is back to play Sarah Connor after nearly 30 years of letting the part go to other actresses. Weirdly enough, the two most prominent actresses who have played her since Hamilton were “Game of Thrones” alums Emilia Clarke and Lena Headey. In the first two Terminator films, Hamilton went from a damsel in distress, to a hardcore badass who is perfectly capable of fighting off cyborgs.

If we get a lot more Sarah Connor than the trailer suggests, we might be okay.

The final saving grace is Schwarzenegger himself. Sure, he was in the awful “Terminator: Genisys,” but all of his action scenes were still pretty cool.

If anyone can save the movie it’s these three. If they can’t make it work, then the series might need to be terminated.

Terminator as a franchise

Let’s go back in time to the early ’90s. You just saw “Terminator 2: Judgement Day” in theaters, and it blew your mind. The story, special effects, action, and even the acting were all incredible.

Fast-forward nearly 30 years later, and that film is still absolutely incredible.

The Terminator franchise hasn’t captured the same lightning in a bottle since. “Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines” was smart to stick with the main storyline, and some of the action was solid, but it’s otherwise forgettable.

The most memorable part of “Terminator: Salvation” was Christian Bale’s meltdown on set.

VIDEO IS NSFW:

“Terminator: Genisys” was so laughably bad, that it made the second-to-last episode of “Game of Thrones” look like one of the highlights of Emilia Clarke’s career.

If you want to make a good Terminator movie, you need to focus on the following:

* A tight story focused on the Connor family

* Arnold Schwarzenegger as a prominent character

* Huge action scenes that are both creative and fun to watch (come on, even “Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines” did that right)

* Side characters that add to the main cast rather than take the spotlight

* Next-level special effects

If you get these things right, then you can make a solid Terminator movie. Until then, feel free to lower this stinker of a trailer into the lava.

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker photos show Knights of Ren, Luke Skywalker, and more

New “Rise of Skywalker” photos provide clues to the story ahead.

Luke and R2 — Weird green milk does a body good.

New photos from the set of “Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker” show hints that the franchise is moving back in the right direction.

After last month’s trailer hinted at the return of Emperor Palpatine and unveiled the ominous full title of the final film in the trilogy, fans have clamored for more info.

Although the trailer was cool, these photos show that the movie will bring us back to J.J. Abrams’s original idea. You know… before Rian Johnson divided the fanbase with “Star Wars: The Last Jedi.”

The photos:

Probably the most interesting photo from the set was this one of the Knights of Ren. The films haven’t explained who they are, and what they’re doing. What we do know is that Kylo Ren is their leader, so these guys are probably also super evil.

The main issue is that they have done NOTHING in the movies. In J.J. Abrams essentially gift-wrapped these cool side-characters for us, and Rian Johnson proceeded to ignore them.

Hopefully, this photo means that they will be playing a bigger role, and not just a brief appearance.

For fans of the series, this photo is bittersweet in several ways. Although it is cool to see Lando Calrissian back in the Millenium Falcon, he’s only there because Han Solo is dead.

Although we are glad Lando is back in the picture, we would have loved to see him reunite with Han after all these years. At the very least, we would have wanted to see a reunion with Han, Luke, and Leia, but c’est la vie.

The second sad thing in this photo is that we know that we are not seeing Peter Mayhew behind Chewbacca’s mask. Mayhew died earlier this month, and Joonas Suotamo has played the role since.

Star Wars horse fight — In a world filled with lightsabers, blasters, and Death Stars, you brought a bow and arrow?

This photo showed us a bit more of the new character Jannah, played by Naomi Ackie. Given that her outfit resembles Lando’s, many fans have speculated that she might be his daughter.

When asked about it in an interview with Stephen Cobert, Ackie said, “Lando is a very charming man, so he could have children all over the universe, that’s all I’m saying.”

Kerri Russel — Are they making a Rocketeer movie?

Inside that cool helmet is none other than Keri Russell, playing her character Zorri Bliss in the “Thieves’ Quarter of the snow-dusted world Kijimi.” Beyond that, we don’t know anything about the character. However, the costume does look cool. We also like those two weapons she has in both her holsters. Hopefully, we will get to see her in some cool action scenes with those.

Star Wars bad guys — “Don’t talk to me or my son ever again.”

Domhnall Gleeson returns to the franchise as General Hux, but he’s not alone. Richard E. Grant will be playing Allegiant General Pryde, according to an article from Vanity Fair.

These two characters are NOT related, but they do seem to be working together to take down the Resistance. Maybe we will see General Pryde give a Nazi-esque speech like Hux’s from Force Awakens.

Rey and Chewie are really becoming tight.

In this photo, we see Rey, Chewbacca, and BB-8 racing away in what looks similar to a deconstructed pod racer. Is there going to be pod racing in this movie? Probably not, but it is might be a cool little callback.

Rey vs Kylo — Good thing Kylo doesn’t have the high ground.

As we all expected to see, Rey and Kylo Ren are going to duke it out again. The first time these two fought, they were in a snowy forest in the midst of a blizzard. This time, their tension appears to have melted the ice around them creating a literal and metaphorical wave of emotions.

C3P0 — Whatever happened to his red arm?

Here, we get to see C-3PO get some final touches before his close-up.

Rise of Skywalker — Is that guy on the right trying to do the Bernie?

Ya know, we have seen a lot of photos and footage from this desert planet. We can’t help but think this might be Tatooine from the original films, or maybe Jakku from “The Force Awakens.”

This photo of John Williams with his orchestra means that there will at least be one good thing in this film: the music.

His music is just as synonymous with the franchise as the Jedi and Darth Vader. The projection of Leia in the background of the shot hopefully means that we will get to hear his score “Han Solo and the Princess” harmoniously played once again.

Stars Wars 9 — Are those the Ood from Doctor Who?

Uh, who are these guys?

Well, it wouldn’t be Star Wars without some weird aliens. Actually, the one in the bottom right almost resembles the Tusken Raiders from the first film. This is further evidence that we might be back on Tatooine.

These guys are far from the weirdest aliens we’ve seen in the franchise. Remember some of those guys from the famous cantina scene?

The one we’ve been waiting for…

One of the things fans felt was the most egregious in Last Jedi was the handling of Luke Skywalker.

We were left wondering, “If he just wanted to die, why did he leave a map of how to find him.” Also, giving up is simply not the Jedi way.

Even Mark Hamill didn’t seem like it:

This photo and the actual title of the film both suggest that Luke’s journey is not yet over. Hopefully, we will get to see Luke do some more cool Jedi stuff, and do less alien milking.

I’ve (still) got a bad feeling about this

We’re setting our standards to “low” for this one. The movie looks like it is going to be playing a lot of clean-up from “The Last Jedi.”

What do you think? Are we in for a fantastic finale?

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What it’s like being a movie VFX artist

They’re the amazing artists behind Hollywood’s greatest hits. Why are they treated so badly?

Visual effects artists (VFX artists) are now more essential than ever in Hollywood. Right now the box office is being dominated by “Avengers: Endgame” and “Detective Pikachu,” with both movies requiring extensive use of visual effects. If you’ve ever sat around during the credits of a Marvel movie waiting for the post-credits scene, you may have noticed that the VFX section has the most names under it by far. What exactly do those people do? And what are their lives like?

The different kinds of VFX artists

Thanos (Josh Brolin) battles Tony Stark (RDJ) on Titan in “Avengers: Infinity War”

As you might expect, there’re very few general VFX artists in the movie industry. Every frame of a CGI-heavy movie has hundreds of different factors that go into it, requiring a large team of specialized VFX artists. Here are just a few of them:

Rotoscoping

Rotoscoping is a technique where animation is drawn over live-action footage to create fluid, realistic animation, sometimes combining it with live-action characters. This technique has been in place since the earliest days of animation, and it is the technique Walt Disney and his team used to create the revolutionary animation of “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.”

In many of today’s blockbuster films, live-action characters must interact seamlessly with CGI characters, usually in front of a green screen or a partially-built set. In the picture above, Iron Man fights against Thanos on the planet Titan. Since Iron Man’s suit is damaged, parts of Tony Stark’s exposed suitless body are in frame for most of the scene. Rotoscope artists must painstakingly go over every frame of the scene, drawing the Iron Man suit partially over Robert Downey Jr’s body. They must also make sure RDJ fits seamlessly into the mostly-CGI scene by composing objects and scenery realistically behind him.

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Modeling/Rigging

Modelers use computer programs to shape 3D objects and characters in a process extremely similar to sculpting. To realistically sculpt, modelers often pay close attention to real-life reference photos and concept art, though sometimes modelers even sculpt their objects from scratch.

Depending on the object or creature, the model is passed off to various other artists upon completion. Texture artists add realistic surfaces to the objects, making sure the texture reflects whatever the object is supposed to be (ex adding wrinkles and pores for skin, or adding rust and paint to a metallic spaceship). For creatures that require realistic fur, such as the fuzzy Detective Pikachu, groomers are in charge of creating the look of the fur and tuning how it behaves in various situations (such as blowing in the wind, getting wet, or getting dirty).

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After a person or creature is sculpted by a modeler, it is the job of riggers to make it so that creature can move realistically (or stylistically). Riggers add digital skeletons to the creature models, giving it a defined and realistic set of parameters on how it can move. Highly detailed creatures, like Legendary Pictures’ Godzilla, also feature a complex underlying system of muscles and skin that give weight and heft to the creature’s movement. A complex understanding of anatomy is essential to a rigger’s job.

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Tracking

Tracking is an understated but vitally important job for VFX artists. Basically, a tracker’s job is to track the position and movement of the camera in order to make sure both live-action and digital objects move realistically within a heavily digitized scene. If objects aren’t properly kept track of, they will appear to “float” in a scene, completely destroying the illusion that it is actually there. A tracker must make sure it appears that it appears as if a real camera was filming a shot where everything inside it is real. If CGI and live-action objects combine in the shot to look realistic as the camera moves, the illusion is created that the film crew is filming something that is actually there, no matter how CGI-heavy the scene is.

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What is it like to be a VFX artist in 2019?

Despite being responsible for dazzling audiences with beautiful digital effects and iconic characters, VFX artists live a harsh life. Digital effects are a relatively new field of work in the movie industry compared to other jobs, so efforts to regulate or unionize VFX jobs are few and far in-between.

As a result, VFX artists must endure an incredibly volatile job market, with job stability being incredibly low. VFX artists frequently work in contract positions, sometimes for a decade or more. In addition to denying them access to benefits such as healthcare, this leads to uncertainty for VFX artists as to whether they will be let go at the end of each project. In many projects, from indie darlings to summer blockbusters, payment is often delayed for months.

The turnover rate is high, and despite the runaway success of VFX heavy films, VFX studios are folding left and right. Companies like Matte Digital (Titanic, Independence Day) and Fuel VFX (Iron Man 2, Prometheus) have gone bankrupt in the last several years. Even acclaimed VFX studio Rhythm and Hues, responsible for the excellent Oscar-winning VFX of “Life of Pi,” went bankrupt in 2013. At the same Oscars ceremony where they won the award for “Life of Pi,” Rhythm and Hues workers had their mics cut when trying to describe poor working conditions for VFX workers.

Even if one actually makes it into the VFX industry with a stable job, there are still plenty of hurdles to deal with. Hours are never consistent, as they can be scaled back by half or a quarter at a moment’s notice. Even worse, some studios employ unpaid overtime in order to meet incredibly strict deadlines set by film studios. It’s not uncommon for VFX artists to work 12-15 hours a day, with several additional hours added during crunch time post-production. VFX artists say it’s extremely difficult to have a family, as in addition to the long hours, VFX artists are relocated (often across entire countries) constantly to meet the needs of different studios and productions.

Though the work is described as satisfying by many VFX workers, it can be an incredibly tedious task. For just one shot, VFX artists have described being asked to rework the frame over a thousand times by the film’s director, a process that takes hundreds of hours.

It’s sad to see that as VFX-heavy movies sweep the box office, the digital artists responsible are treated worse than ever. Hopefully, unionization efforts can help these talented people get the treatment and recognition they deserve.

Robert Pattinson is the next Batman… we’re being serious

Taking the cape and cowl from Ben Affleck, the next Batman is set to be our favorite sparkly vampire.

Michael Keaton. Christian Bale. Ben Affleck.

These are actors who can play both an intimidating vigilante as well as an extravagant billionaire with grace and excellence. Say what you will about their shortcomings as Batman, each actor in their own right brought their own unique flair to the character, while still being a badass superhero.

For the next iteration of the caped-crusader, Warner Bros. has chosen this guy:

That’s right. For better or worse, the next Batman is going to be the sparkly vampire himself, Robert Pattinson.

Pattinson will don the cape and cowl in a new Batman film coming out in 2021. The film simply titled, “The Batman” is being directed by Matt Reeves.

With Reeves, we see a glimmer of hope. Reeves directed both “Dawn of the Planet of the Apes” and “War for the Planet of the Apes,” and both of those movies were awesome.

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The last actor to play Batman in a live-action movie was Ben Affleck. Affleck played the role in “Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice,” “Suicide Squad,” and “Justice League.” Although Affleck will not be returning to reprise his role in “The Batman,” he has been credited with writing an early screenplay for the film. Given the fact that Affleck is an Oscar-winning writer, his name attached to the project can’t hurt.

Most fans agree that despite all the faults of the DC Extended Universe, the one saving grace was Affleck’s performance. You know… when he wasn’t being stupified by hearing “Martha:”

We’re going to try to go into this as optimistically as possible.

Yeah, Pattinson has been in some stinkers, and he’s not our first choice for who we’d like to see play Batman. However, he’s come a long way from seducing high school girls in his vampire make-up.

Pattinson has had some challenging roles that show he can take on a more macho persona. For example, in 2017’s “Good Time,” he plays a criminal who goes through New York City’s violent underground in order to get his brother out of prison.

Sure, the role is a far cry from Batman, but it’s a step in the right direction. Also, the actor has dropped hints that he was less than thrilled with his character in the Twilight films.

Look, we might be grasping at straws, but we just want a decent live-action Batman movie. Most of everything else from the DC Extended Universe has been a stinker.

Man, here we thought the news about Chris Rock reviving the Saw franchise was random and weird.

We’re keeping our expectations low for this one, but we truly are hoping for the best. If Pattinson is great, then we will be happy. If not, we still can watch and enjoy both “Batman” and “The Dark Knight” any day of the week.