Moto-Terminator beefier than Arnold's Harley

If Christian Bale and Sam Worthington are actors who you don't even care about, you have got one more bait to fall for Terminator Salvation. The Moto-Terminator will set the screen on fire with its physics defying stunts and will probably make you fall off the seat at the movies.

Set in 2018, Terminator Salvation follows the battle between Skynet and the resistance led by John Connor. So where does Moto-Terminators fit in? These baddies are best described as Terminators on wheels. Hunting machines built to run down resistance fighters, they are armed to the teeth with guns and rocket launchers. Not your usual list of accessories come retrofitted.

Now for the juicy part. The bike was inspired by a real world machine. The Ducati Hypermotard, a niche bike which has taken the biking world by storm was used as a reference for the visual effects. All the stunt riding featured in the movie involved this torquey little monster. In post-production the bikes were replaced by 3D rendering of the Moto-Terminator.

Alright, it's not a real bike. It's a CGI effect onscreen. But it is one hell of a machine which unfortunately can't be ridden. Even T-800 will stay away from this monster bike.

Terminator burns more

With the deepest regrets and heartfelt condolences I’d like to let the world know that the fourth installment of Terminator series will turn out to be the second biggest disaster of 2009, post Watchmen. The US box office collections till date have not been so much encouraging. It has been 18 days since Christian Bale’s resistance started its battle at the box office. The results are nothing to write home about - a near-numb $105 million in the US and a paltry $25 million in other markets. The comparison with the third movie brings up more disappointments. Turns out that T3 had a better run compared to Terminator Salvation. Matters are getting worse as T4 is witnessing sheer drops in collection with each passing day.The low figure in foreign markets is due to the distributor’s move to postpone the international release to June. T4 releases in many foreign markets in June and July. This in turn will turn out to be the blunder of the year. Even a toddler is wise enough to avoid a release schedule which overlaps with that of Transformers 2. By the time T4 makes it to international markets, the theatres will be fighting for time to fit in more shows of Michael Bay’s robot wars epic. So T4 may not stand a fighting chance. Worst case scenario, it’ll crash at $300 million or if the chances are better it may settle for $400 million. Either way, it’ll not be the hit we all expected it to be.

Mayhem in May - T4 disappoints, Museum receives more vistors

Am I disappointed today? Of course I am. What was hailed and screamed from the rooftops as one of the biggies of the year, surrendering to a "does-anyone-really-care" fantasy comedy - just what I needed. :(

If the opening weekend estimates are anything to go by, Terminator Salvation received something more than a kick on the butt. A dismal $43 million is all that it had on its first weekend. Lower than expectations, lower than its unimpressive predecessor and lower than its current opponent, Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian. Museum had a fine start at $53 million. Not so bad a performance, during these times. But the shock which T4 has given me and the number-crunchers still persists. If Fast and Furious (non-brainer) and Wolverine (some-brainer) could get a sumptuous opening then why didn't T4 manage a similar feat?