Classic Movies: Terminator by TE Hodden

Classic Movies: Terminator

by T.E. Hodden

Okay, let’s address the elephant in the room: After several sequels, two different reboots, a television series, comics, action figures, and a computer game crossover with Robocop, there is nothing new to be said about the Terminator. I could possibly put the movie in the context of the influence it would have on the industry, how James Cameron’s efficient and exciting direction, and his relationships with cast and crew, would lead to many of them reuniting for the seminal Aliens (and how those two films basically shaped what Sci-fi movies would look like for decades). Or I could talk at length about how the story structure was influenced by the Outer Limits episodes Soldier and Demon With a Glass Hand, both by Harlan Ellison. I could certainly talk about how the film made Arnold Schwarzenegger a household name, and the icon of eighties action movies. I could talk about how it landed at the perfect time to ride on the wave of home video, and became one of the absolute mainstays of VHS culture. It’s even the movie that sets Bill Paxton on his way to being the man killed by more of Hollywood’s coolest monsters than anybody else (a mantle I hope he wears with pride!) But I don’t want to do the film a disservice, because, although there is a lot to be said to why the Terminator became a surprisingly important and influential movie in the history of cinema, it often easy to forget that it is also a really good movie in its own right. For a start, it’s a wonderful piece of story-telling. Those iconic, opening glimpses of the warravaged future, and the on screen text about the future’s final battle being fought in the present establish the movie’s sci-fi credentials, but the slow boil pacing, and the gradually building pressure are pure thriller. Brilliantly, the information we are given is just enough to make us do some of the work ourselves.

Pieces are laid out, clue by clue, point by point, often with sparse dialogue, showing rather than telling. Arnie steps out of his lightning-ball and moves with a cold and ruthless efficiency, which in hindsight is obviously because he’s a machine, but… there’s also a ruthlessness to Michael Biehn’s arrival, his stealing a tramp’s trousers, and the cat and mouse game he plays with the Police. Biehn’s humanity is given in a few clues: the few seconds of bewilderment, when he arrives, wide eyed at the city, and the scars visible on his back.

As Arnie murders his way around LA, hunting down Sarah Connors to kill, we piece together something of Biehn’s mission from his nightmares of the future, and the moments we see pat his stoicism, to the wounded, desperate soul beneath.

For quite a while, as Beihn closes in on Linda Hamilton’s Sarah Connor, we can’t be sure if he’s a good guy or bad, and we feel every ounce of Hamilton’s growing terror and unease, right up into the dramatic nightclub shootout where it all falls into place, and the plot hits a high gear. Speaking of which, let’s address Arnie’s cold, shark-like performance. All the lazy jokes about wooden acting, and the dry monotone miss the point, and more importantly miss the effort it takes to remain that cool, that mechanical, amongst the gunfire and explosions. It’s a great performance, from an unforgiving role, that is eerily and effectively… wrong. There’s a term used in technology circles: “The Uncanny Valley.” When a computer generated model, or an animatronic puppet tries to replicate a human face or expression, and gets it almost right, but, often for reasons that we can’t quite put our finger on, are off, just a fraction, in a way that makes it feel… uncomfortable. It’s a term for something missing, a vital spark, that makes the mannequins look dead eyed, or… wrong. That’s what Schwarzenegger brings to the role, and it isn’t something a bad actor can hit on by accident. It’s too calculated, and too measured. Rumour has it that Schwarzenegger was originally suggested to Cameron for the heroic role of Kyle Reese, but during his conversation with James Cameron talked passionately about the way the villain of the movie could be played, convincing Cameron that the body builder and Conan actor could make a Hell of a Terminator.

And boy, could he. A half dozen different killing machines, in fact (give or take some cheeky CGI in later movies). All of them just a little bit different.

Linda Hamilton gives us the performance of a lifetime too. Her transition from an Everywoman waitress, to a desperate fugitive fighting for her life, finding and losing love in a few short, harrowing, days, plunged into fire, beaten on an anvil, and reshaped into the person she needs to be, to survive the future, is nuanced, endearing, and utterly convincing. And she manages in a script that doesn’t leave her any room to breathe.

For all its relentless excitement and taut plotting, the script is far more than just a rollercoaster between car crashes and explosions. At the heart of Cameron and Gale Anne Hurd’s script, is a perfect closed-loop of a time travel story, the “final” battle in the present both causing, and caused by, the events it mirrors in the future. Disregard any knowledge of sequels or franchises, and the story not only stands on its own feet, but is stronger for it. Hurd was a protégé of the great Roger Corman, and as the film enters the final act, we can see one or two of the tricks from Corman’s horror films being used, but importantly, they are used in a new way. Shots and moments that would once have been slow and lingering strains, holding us teetering on the edge of our seats, are now used to add momentum to the dramatic conclusion. It teases us. We see the heroes huddling together, believing the robot has been blown to pieces in an exploding lorry, but… because we know the language of the screen (even if we aren’t aware of it), and we can see they are still in a wide shot, at one side of the screen, with the roaring inferno in the background, we are begging the fools to get up and keep running, because obviously, inevitably, the robot is about to rise up from the flames once more. Those few seconds should be our chances to relax, and loosen our nerves, but we aren’t released to take a breath. For these, and many more reasons, the film is an undeniable classic.

T.E. Hodden trained in engineering and works in a specialized role in the transport industry. He is a life long fan of comic books, science fiction, myths, legends, and history.

In the past he has contributed to podcasts, blogs, and anthologies. Discover more on Mom’s Favorite Reads website: https://moms-favorite-reads.com/moms-authors/t-e-hodden/

On the First Day of Lockdown

by Stan Phillips

On the first day of lockdown My true love gave to me Instructions to decorate the house.

On the second on day of lockdown

My true love gave to me Two paint brushes And instructions to decorate the house. Please!!

On the third day of lockdown My true love gave to me Three pots of paint

Two paint brushes And instructions to decorate the house.(again) On the fourth day of lockdown My true gave to me Four rolls of wallpaper Three pots of paint Two paint brushes And instructions to decorate the house. (one final time)

On the fifth day of lockdown My true love gave to me Five bold glances Four cold shoulders

Three blank expressions Two lawyers letters And instructions to sleep in the car.

Stan Phillips is an 80 year old poet, musical podcast maker, part-time wannabe male model, and occasional stand up comedian. “I used to be a psychotherapist/counsellor when I had

an honest job. I was born into prewar London, and attended 17 schools (my father believed they couldn’t hit a moving target) and I eventually finished up here in Ireland. Still wondering what I will be when I grow up — but enjoying writing my quirky poetry as I do so.”

Discover more about Stan on Mom’s Favorite Reads website: https://moms-favorite-reads.com/moms-authors/stan-phillips

The Magic of Christmas Eve

by Sylva Fae

It's all to do with magic (And a slice of Christmas pie) The magic sends the reindeer Flying way up high.

The pie gives Santa energy And warms his rosy smile And speeds them all around the world Mile after snowy mile.

The children look for Santa Gazing out with awe and joy Then they climb into their beds Wishing for the perfect toy. The children bring some magic With their innocence and glee And Santa brings the rest To share with you and me.

But here's the thing with magic It only works if you believe So go snuggle in your beds For a magic Christmas Eve.

This poem is taken from the Children’s Christmas Collection – an anthology by Sylva Fae, Suzanne Downes, Kate Robinson, Millie Slavidou, Patricia M Ahern and Paul Ian Cross.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Childrens-ChristmasCollection-Box-Set-ebook/dp/B082XCQZJN/

Sylva Fae is a married mum of three from Lancashire, England. She has spent twenty years teaching literacy to adults with learning difficulties and disabilities, and now works from home as a children’s writer and illustrator.

Sylva has published several children’s books and also writes a blog, Sylvanian Ramblings. Her debut book, Rainbow Monsters won the Chanticleer Best in Category award. Discover more about Sylva on Mom’s Favorite Reads website: