REEL CRITICS:

Christian Bale leaves the bat cave for the year 2018 in “Terminator Salvation,” a noisy and unnecessary addition to the movie franchise that began way back in 1984 when our governor was still an actor and our state was solvent.

Director McG keeps the action fast, furious and loud — no chance of falling asleep here in spite of plodding dialogue (“hold on!”) and Bale as a lackluster John Connor. It takes more than a raspy voice or a cape to make an interesting performance.

For the uninitiated, John Connor is the son of Sarah Connor from the original “Terminator” film, and man’s hope of salvation in the war of humans vs. machines.

In this scenario, a nuclear holocaust has taken out every last Planet Hollywood and made Los Angeles unrecognizable. The “savior” is now teenager Kyle Reese (Anton Yelchin), who is also John’s father. John must save his father so he can go back in time (and hopefully enter puberty) and procreate. With me so far?

Connor/Bale/Batman doesn’t do much here except blast the heads off killer cyborgs (now in a cool variety-pack assortment) and throw tantrums. Oh wait, that was off screen. No matter. The movie really belongs to death row inmate Marcus Wright (Sam Worthington) who seems to have a modicum of personality and scruples.

It’s ironic how in a film that touts the superiority of man over machines, the machine should prove to be the better man.

History’s notables return for family fun 5 /25/09

To: Daily Pilot Entertainment Editor

Pub Date: 5/29/09

Invoice: No charge – Donated Review

From: John Depko

Movie Review: “Night at the Museum — Battle of the Smisthsonian

“Night at the Museum — Battle of the Smithsonian” follows in the obvious footsteps of the original film in this series. Director Shawn Levy pulled in $250 million at the box office with his first effort. He was certain to be offered the obligatory sequel after that huge success. Ben Stiller, Owen Wilson and Robin Williams return in their former roles. But Amy Adams steals the show with her sparkling performance as Amelia Earhart.

To his credit, the second effort at this formula comedy actually improves on the original. It revives many of the memorable characters from the first film. But it adds a whole host of new players from the pages of history. Napoleon, Ivan the Terrible, Al Capone and a Pharaoh of ancient Egypt headline the cast of characters. Lots of sarcastic banter that will appeal to adults as well as older children spices the dialogue between all of them.

Phenomenal special effects really drive the action. Historical figures, animals, statues, even people in paintings and photographs all come to life.

It’s a technical marvel worthy of respect for its professional craft. But clearly silly slapstick farce is the core of the plot. If that’s OK with you, this is basic family-friendly entertainment that will appeal to kids and parents alike.

SUSANNE PEREZ lives in Costa Mesa and is an executive assistant for a financial services company. JOHN DEPKO is a Costa Mesa resident and a senior investigator for the Orange County public defender’s office.