Chidi Okonkwo's Blog, page 10

MOVIE REVIEW - MY THOUGHTS ON TERMINATOR DARK FATE: WHY IT GOT TERMINATED, & SOME FOREIGN BOX OFFICE FACTS!

All right guys, I haven't done a detailed movie review in a long time..... today I'll talk about Terminator Dark Fate, which came out this past weekend.  And there will be some SPOILERS, because I can't avoid it as I explain some issues / problems with the flick. And I'll give you 5 Points in my long rant.

That's one of the promotional shots for the movie shown on the right, featuring Dani, Grace and Sarah Connor. I'll talk about them later.

[1.] First of all... the movie bombed, really bad. And apart from a few young-hearted fanboys that give a thumbs-up to everything [you can find a few of them on Youtube too], the general consensus was that the movie had a strong feminist agenda behind it. Btw, strong / courageous female leads in action movies is not a new concept... there was a movie called Alien, released almost 40 years ago in 1979, which had a female lead.

Anyway, the former Terminator movie released back in 2015 called Terminator Genisys made 27 Million dollars in the opening weekend, before making 89 million domestically in the summer of 2015, and also 440 million globally.
And this new movie Terminator Dark Fate has made 28 - 29 million in its opening weekend, although exact numbers are still being awaited at this time. And it was projected to make 125 million globally by Hollywood forecasters... and that didn't happen.

This new movie wasn't expected by the studio or even the critics to open that low - they were hoping for 50 - 60 million domestically. And when the prices are adjusted for inflation, then the older older Terminator Genisys movie from 2015 did better. Plus Terminator Dark Fate had a budget of 185 million Dollars, before the extra marketing budget, which can run up to 50 million.... so.... damn, they're in trouble.

[2.]  Sometimes fans think that the foreign box office will save a movie... but that's not always the case... You see, a movie exec / an insider talked about it some years ago in an article for an entertainment Website. Can't remember who the guy was. But what he said was very insightful to me. He revealed that every foreign country takes a cut of the imported movie's profits; hence the American Studio is not allowed to go to China, Indonesia or Belgium, and milk them dry and take away 100% of the foreign gross, and depart with it.
Instead, the foreign country and its government take roughly 60% of any Profit that comes from the American movie, and then they give the rest of the money to the American Studio. Often, the American Studio has to establish a foreign office that receives the money first; and in that case, even less of the 40% gets back to the American branch, because of foreign Taxes.

Even when you sit and think about it, you realize the truth in what that executive was saying... after all, you can't take a product overseas, sell it in a foreign mall, get all the money, and never pay a dime to the people that hosted you over there or to their government. It's like you came to steal from their economy and go back to your country with their wealth....

[3.]  So now that you consider that issue, and you realize that Terminator Dark Fate has made 28.5 million [estimated] domestically in the USA, and it has made 94 million Overseas so far, then that really does not help the fact that the stated budget was 185 million or more, [and the marketing over several months is at least 50 million extra, for foreign and domestic showcases].
Hence from the foreign / overseas movie ticket sales, the movie is going to take Less Than Half of the 94 million, because all the foreign territories will take different cuts and they never share it 50 - 50 with the American Studio.

Thus the American movie studios always want to make as much profit as possible in the first few days / first weeks from the overseas markets, because it really helps them in their overall gains, when the movie is very profitable. And ticket sales tend to go down from week to week, since newer movies keep coming out to draw away the audience.

[You may need to click on the hotlink that says "Read More" located below on the right side, to see the rest of this article!]




[4.]  Now, lets move into the movie content / core themes:
When the trailers for Terminator Dark Fate were released, there were obvious themes of a strong feminist agenda - it's not necessary, when you have an entertaining badass story, intended for a vast audience of male & female action fans.
Plus, in the new movie, John Connor, one of the former male leads in the original Terminator movies [Terminator 1 released back in 1984 and Terminator 2 released in 1991], was killed off in the first few moments of the new flick.
And a new savior of mankind was revealed to be a young girl called Dani Ramos [shown on the left in the pic above]... and the new protector of the savior is a female cyborg called Grace [shown in the middle]. In true terminator fashion, Grace is sent back from the future, into the present chaotic times, to protect Dani. And they are both guided by Sarah Connor, an original actress / a character from the former movies [shown on the right side, above].

They are the three ladies, leading the charge to save humanity, due to a crisis of killer machines / cyborgs taking over everything, all over the world - Nothing wrong with that.
But the way the story was told, it was bland and unoriginal... and you never really felt like the fate of humankind was at stake.
The story itself had lots of action and explosions, with a new Liquid-Morphing T-cyborg-BadGuy, and cool CGI shots, and also some CGI that looked a bit too cartoony and not realistic; but overall, it was not very appealing. It was like they were trying too hard to do something that had already been done before with higher stakes and a higher level of urgency and fear.

[5.] And Arnold Schwarzenegger, the original Terminator, makes a cameo... but he is reduced to a family guy who sells drapes / curtains... and he has a wife, but he has never had sex with her... so basically, he is a neutered cyborg husband, with no true passion for violence in a post apocalyptic world. And it seems like he is at peace with the fact that his era is over.... truthfully, he should have been the one training the next cyborg, Grace. That would he been so much more appealing to watch and see; imagine the veteran master and the eager trigger-happy apprentice fighting together, as Grace learns to do what Arnold had done for so many past years.

Plus the older mentor lady Sarah Connor kept saying that the new little girl, Dani, is the new John Connor [indicating that she was destined to replace her dead son], which is not really a good point to hammer, because that girl shouldn't be like J. Connor... instead, she should be herself, and possibly, be Greater than John, without stepping upon his legacy in anyway... just be yourself, and be your own kind of hero, not like some dead guy that you've never even met / you never got to know well, before he died at the beginning segments of the movie.

Nevertheless, the marketing of the new movie [both the trailers, commercials and the statement made by the director and some actresses] did have a strong anti-male push... it was like this movie was created for the female audience, to show how strong women are.

Yes, women are strong, intelligent and independent. But... most women don't have the greatest interest in going to see a movie about a killer cyborg, and they won't go and watch it 5 times with their friends in the movie theaters because they loved the gory bloodshed and horrific violence.

When a movie has strong voices from the directors and the cast that attack & alienate the fans prior to the movie's debut, then even the hardcore supporters of the franchise & the lovers of the action genre will not be interested in supporting it.
Hence it's always wise to know your audience, and to focus on giving them a great story, as opposed to releasing something that hammers an agenda in their face, over and over again.

All right, I've said enough for today. You can go and see the movie if you want... or you can just go read a book, like one  of the 22 ebooks from the DSNG Sci Fi Series :)  And my ebooks are over HERE: https://www.amazon.com/Chidi-Okonkwo/e/B0049E9VG2- Article written by the artist & author of the DSNG Sci Fi Series
[http://dsngsfm.blogspot.com]

KOLIDER - ORIGINAL CHARACTER, G.I.JOE CUSTOM ACTION FIGURES BY DSNG!

Another new Custom! Introducing Kolider, one of my Original Characters from the DSNG Sci Fi Series! He is a mercenary and a former Army Ranger / Commando.
The base body of the character was Marvel Legends Thor. I sculpted his armor and added the shoulder spikes and the gauntlets / arm-bands. His knee-pads, shin-guards, belt and boots were sculpted, as was his hair and beard. Plus his chainsaw blaster was custom made, while the other weapons were from ebay. He was hand-painted with Tamiya paints. Thanks for looking, please Like and Share!

 
   

- Article written by the artist & author of the DSNG Sci Fi Series
[http://dsngsfm.blogspot.com]

SPIDER-GWEN FAN ART SKETCHES - PENCILS BY DSNG!

I've been posting more regularly at Instagram [clean art] and at Patreon [exclusive art, clean & uncensored]. And these are some sketches of Spider-Gwen that I did a while back. I made her thicc / thick per my art style. The first two pics show some anime-styled eyes, and the middle pic is more of a serious face. The fourth & fifth pics are more comedy, for a past April fools joke.
Plus there's an older blog article that I posted that shows pencils, inks and colors for a Spider-man poster that I drew over HERE!

     


- Article written by the artist & author of the DSNG Sci Fi Series
[http://dsngsfm.blogspot.com]

THE EX-01 NICEE TOY , BY BIG FIREBIRD - THIRD PARTY TRANSFORMERS ARCEE

Every now and then, a third party toy company comes up with a toy design that blows the fanboys away. That time has come once again. And next year in January - February 2020 [I think], the new 3rd Party Arcee toy, aka EX-01 Nicee , will be launched. She already made waves earlier this year, when the prototype was shown at toy fairs in China / Japan. And the manufacturer, Big FireBird, seems to have infused an extreme anime style into their design, while giving her boobs, hips, booty / ass AND pink high heels.... because she obviously wouldn't be complete without those heels :)
Despite her thicc / thick physique, Nicee does transform into a cybertron car-mode. And she has a variety of detachable weapons and other gear, shown on her back side. I cleaned up all these pics in Photoshop, to make them sharper and brighter than the promotional images. Her additional guns and swords are included in other pics, which I haven't presented in this article.

 

   

The last pic on the right is a fan art image of Arcee from the G1 Transformers Cartoon of the 1980s [drawn by Alex Milne], to give fans an idea of what she originally looked like.
I don't mind the new toy design for Nicee, but the legs and heels are kinda skinny... so I wonder if she 'll be able to stand and adopt dynamic poses without a supporting figure stand. The new toy is priced between $95 - $125, I think..... Anyway, I'll keep you posted as more pics show up, perhaps via my DSNG Facebook Page.- Article written by the artist & author of the DSNG Sci Fi Series
[http://dsngsfm.blogspot.com]

CUSTOM MATT TRACKER AND GLORIA BAKER FROM THE MASK CARTOON [MARVEL LEGENDS SCALE] BY DSNG!

Been a while since I posted in this DSNG Sci Fi Blog. But I've been posting more often in Facebook, Instagram and sometimes Twitter. So make sure you're following me on those sites, so you can stay updated! :)

Anyway, I recently pulled out some old customs and repainted them a bit. This is Matt Tracker and Gloria Baker from the classic 1980s MASK cartoon. They are created in the 6-inch scale. It's been rumored that there will be a MASK Movie in the near future... we'll see how it goes. Enjoy and share!

       


- Article written by the artist & author of the DSNG Sci Fi Series
[http://dsngsfm.blogspot.com]

CUSTOM JINX AND SNAKE EYES FROM G.I.JOE [ MARVEL LEGENDS SCALE ] BY DSNG!

Another new G.I.Joe! This is my version of Jinx and she's shown with one of my former Snake Eyes custom toys.

The base body was Lady Deadpool, while the head and ponytail came from the blonde Valkyrie. The headband tied around her eyes was sculpted, as was her body armor, gauntlets and boots. Her swords, back-harness, and thigh-straps came from Lady Deadpool while her three guns were from ebay. The removable dagger was sculpted and added to her right thigh. She was hand-painted with Tamiya paints. Enjoy and Share!

     

       

   

- Article written by the artist & author of the DSNG Sci Fi Series
[http://dsngsfm.blogspot.com]

CUSTOM CANNONBALL X-MEN TOY [MARVEL LEGENDS SCALE] BY DSNG!

Another new custom, this time it's CannonBall from the X-men!
The base body was CitizenV [Baron Zemo] and I had to create a custom head with goggles for him, using Star Lord. His entire body armor and his jacket's collar were sculpted. His hands came from Captain America Civil War. He was hand-painted with Tamiya paints. I was going to create 2, both the other one broke badly at the hips / crotch area... oh well, shit happens LOL. Enjoy and share!

     
 

- Article written by the artist & author of the DSNG Sci Fi Series
[http://dsngsfm.blogspot.com]

CUSTOM DEATHSTROKE TOY VERSION 3.0 [ DC COMICS COLLECTIBLES MULTIVERSE ] MARVEL LEGENDS SCALE BY DSNG!

I recently finished this toy custom of Deathstroke. He is one of my Top 5 fav characters from DC Comics. The Base body was Marvel Legends Night Thrasher. And I used black putty to create his custom armor, while his helmet was sculpted as well. His belt came from Taskmaster, as well as his sword. Some weapons were bought from ebay and they were customized. The held staff and handgun were both custom made. He was hand-painted with Tamiya and Americana paints. Enjoy and Share!

     

    

       

The former armored Deathstroke toy that I made is over HERE- Article written by the artist & author of the DSNG Sci Fi Series
[http://dsngsfm.blogspot.com]

CHEELAI AND BROLY [BROLI] TWERK TWERKING FAN ART BY DSNG

Haven't posted much on this blog in a while. I've been at Facebook, Instagram and Patreon. Here's Something that I shared on several Websites some time ago. Cheelai and Brolly from the Dragon Ball Super: Broly movie which was released back in 2018. Per my art-style, I made Cheelai thick / thicc. These two characters are actually adults in the cartoon, not kids.
From the DBZ lore, Broli was born in roughly the same month as Goku, back on their Saiyan home world. And presently, Goku has two kids. Thus Broli and Cheelai are adult mercenaries and Broli gets sent on a mission to kill Goku, the main hero in the DBZ franchise...

Three versions of the colored pic were created. And the two extra nude / NSFW versions were posted at my Patreon...

     


- Article written by the artist & author of the DSNG Sci Fi Series
[http://dsngsfm.blogspot.com]

EXPLORING DSNG PART 33 - SUPER SOLDIERS AND SOME MAIN CHARACTERS, SCI FI WALLPAPERS & POSTERS!

Recently I updated some colored posters that showcase some of the main characters in the DSNG Sci Fi Series. These posters date back to 2010 - 2012, hence they were uploaded in my blog a long time ago.
As most of my fans know, DSNG stands for "Destiny Series the Neo-Genesis", and this dynamic Mature sci fi series features the adventures of Prince Azzar Omenus and his associates.

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Above on the left side, the first poster / sci fi wallpaper features the Top 5 Centura elite soldiers. And the Centura are the combined military forces of planet Avera.
The Centura consists of The Alpha Senturis, The Imperial Knights, The Nova XSI Troopers and other law enforcement units. The Alpha Senturis are grouped as a branch of the Navy, while they focus on stealth / black-ops missions.
In that first poster above, their names from left to right are: Barak Konnrad, Trent Terronus, Vince Garroth, Wes Ezen and Obed Primon.
The first three guys are ranked as Commanders, while the last two are Generals. Azzar is just as formidable as they are, but he is ranked as the Senior Commanding Officer of the military, thus placing him directly beneath the Generals, Obed and Wes. These five men are all super-soldiers with various Biothermal abilities, ranging from things like flight and body mass expansion, to fireball projection and shield generation.
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Commander Yatalia [shown on the right] is another formidable warrior. She was shown on the cover of DSNG ebook 4, available over HERE.

Like Azzar and Vince, Yatalia is a highly respected Alpha Senturi back-ops soldier. While having a love for Gothic themes and dark poetry, she has super-strong legs and she's a Muay Thai expert. Yatalia isn't shown in the group of the Top 5 soldiers above, but in one of the storylines, she was actually added to that list, by the bold words of Azzar, some time after Vince "died".

Anyway, the second broad poster above with the bluish background shows Prince Azzar and some of his close associates, adorned in civilian attire.
From left to right, we have: Azzar, Vince, Wandah, Chebeyah, Casey and Voxxana.

Vince is Azzar's best friend, while Casey is Azzar's secretary. Next, Dr. Wandah and Chebeyah are female Katarans from a wolf-hybrid race. Wandah has a laid-back persona, while Chebeyah is more serious and disciplined. Plus Wandah has a really big... heart :D
The Katarans hail from planet Planoris, the Ice World. And I wrote two former articles about the Katarans over HERE and HERE.

On the other hand, Voxxana is a female Scalatan, from planet Scalata. Her people usually have four arms and four eyes. And her race is shown in four articles listed below.
The Scalatans Part 1
The Scalatans Part 2
Beautiful female aliens Part 1
Beautiful Female Aliens Part 2

This article is tagged as Part 33. Stay tuned for more cool stuff! And you can read the other Exploring DSNG Blog Articles with more pics, starting with Part 32, Over HERE!- Article written by the artist & author of the DSNG Sci Fi Series
[http://dsngsfm.blogspot.com]