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Terminator Salvation: Why So Serious?

BuzzSugar — Fri, 22 May 2009 10:30:27 -0700

I remember being awed by James Cameron's Terminator 2: Judgment Day when I first saw it in theaters. I was young, but I knew even then that this was the kind of blockbuster that only comes around once in a while. It had heart-stopping action sequences, and parts were genuinely terrifying. I was drawn in by a charismatic, wisecracking teenager named John Connor, who would grow up to become a powerful post-apocalyptic leader of the human race. And the best part was the funny and touching relationship young Connor developed with the Austrian-accented Terminator sent to save him from the future.

Now, here comes director McG, reviving the franchise with Terminator Salvation by taking us into the nightmarish future that previous movies only hinted at. The year is 2018, and Skynet, an evil computer robot dictator, has bombed up the earth. Only a small population of humans has survived. Large and in charge is none other than John Connor, all grown up and looking like Christian Bale. In fact, grown-up Connor sounds just like Bale's other famous Summer movie character, Batman. And like Bale's Batman, his Connor is very serious - because, you know, these are serious times. But this movie would have been a lot more entertaining if both McG and Bale had lightened up a bit. To see why, read more.

The movie actually opens in 2003, where we meet Marcus Wright (played by newcomer Sam Worthington), who is a murderer on death row. He donates his body to science, and before we know it he's emerging muddy from a pile of futuristic rubbish without a clue as to what's gone down. Wright might be human, he might not be, and that's the question that haunts him throughout the movie. Worthington is a godsend in the role, and he manages to infuse his brutish, indestructible character with some humanity.

Things get interesting when Wright bumps into a young teenager named Kyle Reese (Anton Yelchin) - who, we know from previous movies, will become John Connor's father. Some time in the future (even beyond 2018), Reese will travel back in time to impregnate Connor's mom, Sarah (Linda Hamilton, whose voice appears in the movie).

The timeline gets even more mind-blowing when Connor realizes that a teenager out there is his dad and Skynet is working on killing him. I kept thinking, "If Skynet kills Reese does Connor go poof right now?" A big disappointment, though, is that Reese isn't, like his son was once upon a time, more of a smartass. There is so much opportunity in this story to give Wright and Reese some fun dialogue, but alas, they don't say much to each other and spend most of the movie running from a wide variety of incredibly loud robots.

Overall, dialogue is the big thing missing from this movie. There are impressive action sequences galore, but no one really talks. And the talking that is there is earnest but somehow empty. McG and his team don't bother digging into - and having fun with - the lore that Cameron created, and it feels like a missed opportunity. Also, while everything is open to interpretation, I would have thought more effort would have been made to preserve the original tone. Edward Furlong established John Connor as a scrappy and unlikely hero with a wicked sense of humor. Christian Bale is humorless, dour, and void of human emotion. In other words, he's robotic - and the movie follows his course. In the end, it's hard to figure out which robot you want to win.

Photos courtesy of Warner Bros.

Christian and Sibi Bring Terminator Back

Molly — Fri, 15 May 2009 06:00:00 -0700

Christian and Sibi Bale posed together in black at last night's LA premiere of Terminator: Salvation. After his rant, Christian's been cautious about doing press for the movie, though most of you don't hold the incident against him. While he's never one to be lighthearted, he's even tentatively joking about the on-set blowup. Eric Dane skipped out on watching himself on last night's dramatic Grey's Anatomy finale, while Kelly Osbourne showed off her bleach-blond do. The movie doesn't hit theaters until next Wednesday so even if he doesn't love it, Christian's red carpet responsibilities aren't quite over yet.

To see more from the premiere just read more.

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Christian, Bryce and Sam Bring Terminator Salvation To LA

PopSugarUK — Fri, 15 May 2009 03:15:16 -0700

Christian Bale, Sam Worthington, Anton Yelchin, Moon Bloodgood and Bryce Dallas Howard walked the black carpet in the sun for the premiere of Terminator Salvation in LA yesterday. The latest chapter in the futuristic series also attracted support from Eric Mabius, Ben McKenzie, Eric Dane, Kathryn Howard and more, who all got dressed up for the big budget movie screening!

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Spring Awakening Movie in the Works and the Director Is . . .

BuzzSugar — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 11:30:29 -0700

I think instead of a drum roll I'm going to need a record scratch here: McG (yes, the Terminator Salvation director) is in talks to direct and produce the film adaptation of the Tony Award-winning musical Spring Awakening. Interestingly, I was just talking about how fun it would be to see this musical as a movie - but McG wasn't exactly the director I had in mind. Apparently, he's interested in creating an edgier version of the coming-of-age story set in 19th-century Germany.

McG is mostly associated with movies that go "bang," and I figured he was basically the second coming of Michael Bay. The Hollywood Reporter argues he's not actually that strange a choice because he has roots in the music business. These roots include shooting music videos and producing Sugar Ray's first album. Sugar Ray prepares someone to adapt a musical that artfully addresses delicate subject matter related to adolescent sexuality. Intriguing.

What do you think? Are you excited this musical is coming to a big screen someday? Are you baffled by McG's involvement, or are you willing to give the guy the benefit of the doubt?

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BuzzSugar at WonderCon: Star Trek and Terminator Preach to the Choir

BuzzSugar — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 09:30:10 -0800

It was an insane - not to mention insanely fun - weekend at WonderCon here in San Francisco. I already reported back on the exciting Watchmen panel, and now I'm giving the lowdown on the panels I attended for Star Trek and Terminator Salvation. The directors of both movies showed up to explain to a crowd of devotees how they think they've done right by fans with these reboots. To read what J.J. Abrams and McG had to say about reviving beloved franchises with care, read more.

Warning!: The following might be considered spoilery.

Star Trek:

Well, Heroes may not be pleasing all the fans lately, but Zachary Quinto (who plays Spock in the movie) remains a hot commodity to this crowd - the lady screams were loud and long when he appeared onstage. Chris Pine (Kirk) and Zoe Saldana (Lt. Nyota Uhura) also showed up alongside J.J. Abrams for the panel.
Anton Yelchin has big parts in both Star Trek and Terminator but didn't take the stage for Star Trek.
Everyone talked with deep reverence for the Trek canon, though their levels of fandom vary (Abrams admitted he never really watched the show but was still excited about this movie).

It sounded like Quinto got a lot of time with Leonard Nimoy, and Pine said of following in William Shatner's footsteps, "Mr. Shatner's incredibly funny . . . it's that twinkle in his eye that's like, you know, anything can happen. Something I couldn't try to re-create for the life of me."
We saw a brand new world premiere trailer that is similar to the last one, but includes new goose-bump-inducing scenes like a young Kirk sitting down in the captain's seat on the Enterprise bridge for the first time.
J.J. Abrams threw the crowd some Cloverfield sequel news crumbs, too, saying, "We have an idea for something that's pretty cool . . . the idea is pretty sweet!"

Terminator Salvation

Director McG entered the stage and was pumped about his movie. He kicked things off with the premiere of a whole new trailer that fans will see before Watchmen and that is totally different than anything we've seen so far. This one focuses more on story and less on robots, as we learn that humans are being collected and harvested by Skynet.
One of the funniest moments of the panel was when McG responded to the moderator's request to address the now infamous Christian Bale on-set meltdown with, "What don't you f*cking understand?"
Talent included Yelchin (who plays Kyle Reese, Connor's dad), Bryce Dallas Howard (Kate Connor), Common and Moon Bloodgood. They all seemed genuinely impressed and speechless after seeing this new trailer along with the crowd for the first time.
Another cute moment came from Common who answered a question about how he got involved with this movie: "I wanted to do a movie with Christian Bale."
We saw a few more unfinished clips and it's a lot of action, a lot of robots, etc. Pretty heart-pounding, though not at all unexpected.
I thought it was funny how everyone on the panel constantly gushed about the first two Terminator films - the elephant in the room being the third movie, directed by Jonathan Mostow. Everyone sort of agreed to be polite about it but it was clear they consider it a blemish on the franchise.
Finally, McG danced around it a bit, but he made it seem like the odds were pretty decent that the T-800 will make an appearance, which is the model Arnold Schwarzenegger played in the series. Will the Governator make an appearance? I'm betting yes.

McG Calls Christian Bale on His Blackberry Pearl

GeekSugar — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 04:00:48 -0800

As I said on Twitter over the weekend, there was a party going on at Wondercon, and it was called the Terminator: Salvation panel! I witnessed firsthand how quickly McG can get a crowd of geeks excited for a killer robot flick, and he started the hour off with a call to his buddy Christian Bale, who unfortunately was not at the event on Saturday. Whipping out his Blackberry Pearl, we all got a chance to chime in on the message left on Christian's home voicemail, and the director even slipped in a little jab referencing the stars' -ahem- freakout on set. Check out the fun in the video below.

Buzz News Roundup, 1/7

BuzzSugar — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 13:30:23 -0800

Beyonce Knowles, Alicia Keys, and Jennifer Hudson all racked up both acting and singing nominations for the NAACP Image Awards. - AP
Kelsey Grammer will star in a new ABC comedy pilot about a Wall Street executive who loses his job and has to move back to his hometown. Hilarious! - The Hollywood Reporter
Garrett Hedlund will star in Disney's Tron movie, the studio's sequel to the 1982 cult classic. - ComingSoon
Speaking of Disney, the studio has set McG to direct its family film, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea: Captain Nemo. - Variety
CBS's Rules of Engagement will return to TV on Monday, March 2. - The Futon Critic
Taylor Swift notches her fifth non-consecutive week atop The Billboard 200 with "Fearless." - Billboard
Scrubs janitor Neil Flynn will star opposite Patricia Heaton in the sitcom pilot The Middle. - TV Guide
There's lots of haggling going on over ER producer John Wells's next show, Police. - Variety
D.J. Caruso (Disturbia, Eagle Eye) will direct Jack the Giant Killer, a drama that takes an adult look at the Jack and the Beanstalk legend. - ComingSoon

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Chuck is My New Crush

PopSugar — Wed, 18 Jul 2007 13:30:46 -0700

It's official. I have a new obsession. The super cute Zachary Levi is coming to NBC on Monday nights and my TiVo is already set. Chuck is by far my favorite new NBC series. It is created by another favorite, Josh Schwartz (he did a little thing we LOVED called The O.C.). We are still holding out that the now saucy Rachel Bilson will somehow join this cast to make the ultimate best show EVER but Zach was so entertaining that I am warning you now, I will be writing about him a lot. He's a more suburban version of Seth Cohen in a show that is a cross between Alias and The Office (do I have your attention yet?). Oh and did I mention the adorable Zachary Levi is the title character?!? The Less Then Perfect actor (yeah, I never saw that ABC show either) looks better than ever. He shared his inner geek gaming obsession, which includes this hilarious story - click here for more.

To see more of adorable Zachary along with McG, Josh Schwartz and more just read more

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Images include McG, Zachary Levi, Yvonne Strzechowski, Adam Baldwin, Sarah Lancaster, Josh Schwartz, Chris Fedak, Joshua Gomez

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Are You an Egghead? Egg Whites vs. Whole Eggs

FitSugar — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 05:50:23 -0800

If you're looking to cut calories, fat, and cholesterol from your diet, you may choose an omelet made of egg whites instead of whole eggs for breakfast. But is choosing egg whites over whole eggs really the best choice nutritionally? The only way to find out is to do a little comparing, so check out my chart when you read more.

As you can see from the chart, choosing straight up egg whites does lower the omelet's calories, fat, and cholesterol content, but it also makes the meal void of vitamins B2, B12, D, and iron. If you're concerned about getting enough of those nutrients, a good option would be to eat an omelet made of one whole egg and two egg whites. It's still low in calories, fat, and cholesterol, but you'll get some vitamins from the egg yolk.

Therapeutic drug levels

admin — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 19:10:13 -0700

HEALTH GUIDE REFERENCE FROM A.D.A.M

Definition

Therapeutic drug level are laboratory tests to look for the presence and the amount of specific drugs in the blood.

Alternative Names

Therapeutic drug monitoring

How the test is performed

Blood is drawn from a vein, usually from the inside of the elbow or the back of the hand. The site is cleaned with germ-killing medicine (antiseptic). The health care provider wraps an elastic band around the upper arm to apply pressure to the area and make the vein swell with blood.

Next, the health care provider gently inserts a needle into the vein. The blood collects into an airtight vial or tube attached to the needle. The elastic band is removed from your arm.

Once the blood has been collected, the needle is removed, and the puncture site is covered to stop any bleeding.

In infants or young children, a sharp tool called a lancet may be used to puncture the skin and make it bleed. The blood collects into a small glass tube called a pipette, or onto a slide or test strip. A bandage may be placed over the area if there is any bleeding.

How to prepare for the test

Some drug level tests require preparation. Your health care provider will tell you how to prepare.

How the test will feel

When the needle is inserted to draw blood, some people feel moderate pain, while others feel only a prick or stinging sensation. Afterward, there may be some throbbing.

Why the test is performed

With most medications, you need a certain level of drug in your bloodstream to obtain the desired effect. Some medications are harmful if the level rises too high and do not work if the levels are too low.

Monitoring the amount of the drug found in your blood allows your health care provider to make sure the drug levels are within an effective range.

Drug level testing is especially important in people taking drugs such as:

Procainamide or digoxin used to treat abnormal beating of the heart
Dilantin or valproic acid used to treat seizures
Gentamicin or amikacin, antibiotics used to treat infections

Testing may also be done to determine how well your body breaks down the drug (See: metabolism), or how it interacts with other necessary drugs.

Normal Values

Following are some of the drugs that are commonly checked, followed by the normal therapeutic levels:

Acetaminophen: varies with use
Amikacin: 15 to 25 mcg/mL
Aminophylline: 10 to 20 mcg/mL
Amitriptyline: 120 to 150 ng/mL
Carbamazepine: 5 to 12 mcg/mL
Chloramphenicol: 10 to 20 mcg/mL
Desipramine: 150 to 300 ng/mL
Digoxin: 0.8 to 2.0 ng/mL
Disopyramide: 2 to 5 mcg/mL
Ethosuximide: 40 to 100 mcg/mL
Flecainide: 0.2 to 1.0 mcg/mL
Gentamicin: 5 to 10 mcg/mL
Imipramine: 150 to 300 ng/mL
Kanamycin: 20 to 25 mcg/mL
Lidocaine: 1.5 to 5.0 mcg/mL
Lithium: 0.8 to 1.2 mEq/L
Methotrexate: greater than 0.01 mcmol
Nortriptyline: 50 to 150 ng/mL
Phenobarbital: 10 to 30 mcg/mL
Phenytoin: 10 to 20 mcg/mL
Primidone: 5 to 12 mcg/mL
Procainamide: 4 to 10 mcg/mL
Propranolol: 50 to 100 ng/mL
Quinidine: 2 to 5 mcg/mL
Salicylate: 100 to 250 mcg/mL
Theophylline: 10 to 20 mcg/mL
Tobramycin: 5 to 10 mcg/mL
Valproic acid: 50 to 100 mcg/mL

Note:

mcg/mL = microgram per milliliter
ng/mL = nanogram per milliliter
mEq/L = milliequivalents per liter
mcmol = micromole

Normal value ranges may vary slightly among different laboratories. Talk to your doctor about the meaning of your specific test results.

What abnormal results mean

Following are toxic levels for some of the drugs that are commonly checked:

Acetaminophen: greater than 250 mcg/mL
Amikacin: greater than 25 mcg/mL
Aminophylline: greater than 20 mcg/mL
Amitriptyline: greater than 500 ng/mL
Carbamazepine: greater than 12 mcg/mL
Chloramphenicol: greater than 25 mcg/mL
Desipramine: greater than 500 ng/mL
Digoxin: greater than 2.4 ng/mL
Disopyramide: greater than 5 mcg/mL
Ethosuximide: greater than 100 mcg/mL
Flecainide: greater than 1.0 mcg/mL
Gentamicin: greater than 12 mcg/mL
Imipramine: greater than 500 ng/mL
Kanamycin: greater than 35 mcg/mL
Lidocaine: greater than 5 mcg/mL
Lithium: greater than 2.0 mEq/L
Methotrexate: greater than 10 mcmol over 24-hours
Nortriptyline: greater than 500 ng/mL
Phenobarbital: greater than 40 mcg/mL
Phenytoin: greater than 30 mcg/mL
Primidone: greater than 15 mcg/mL
Procainamide: greater than 16 mcg/mL
Propranolol: greater than 150 ng/mL
Quinidine: greater than 10 mcg/mL
Salicylate: greater than 300 mcg/mL
Theophylline: greater than 20 mcg/mL
Yobramycin: greater than 12 mcg/mL
Valproic acid: greater than 100 mcg/mL

What the risks are

Veins and arteries vary in size from one patient to another and from one side of the body to the other. Obtaining a blood sample from some people may be more difficult than from others.

Other risks associated with having blood drawn are slight but may include:

Excessive bleeding
Fainting or feeling light-headed
Hematoma (blood accumulating under the skin)
Infection (a slight risk any time the skin is broken)

Review Date: 8/28/2007

Reviewed By: Daniel R Alexander, MD, Department of Internal Medicine, St. Mary's Hospital, Leonardtown, MD. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network.

A.D.A.M., Inc. is accredited by URAC, also known as the American Accreditation HealthCare Commission (www.urac.org). URAC's accreditation program is an independent audit to verify that A.D.A.M. follows rigorous standards of quality and accountability. A.D.A.M. is among the first to achieve this important distinction for online health information and services. Learn more about A.D.A.M.'s editorial policy, editorial process and privacy policy. A.D.A.M. is also a founding member of Hi-Ethics and subscribes to the principles of the Health on the Net Foundation (www.hon.ch).

A.D.A.M. Copyright

The information provided herein should not be used during any medical emergency or for the diagnosis or treatment of any medical condition. A licensed medical professional should be consulted for diagnosis and treatment of any and all medical conditions. Call 911 for all medical emergencies. Links to other sites are provided for information only -- they do not constitute endorsements of those other sites. © 1997-2010 A.D.A.M., Inc. Any duplication or distribution of the information contained herein is strictly prohibited.

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