What to watch on YouTube right now – Part 27

Welcome back, my readers, YouTube viewers and all others who followed this series of articles focused on YouTube videos worth watching. Have you been searching for something fun or interesting to watch on YouTube? Do you feel bored right now and you crave for something to see on the world’s most popular online video destination?

I recommend you check out the following topics and the related videos I found.

#1 John List true crime documentaries – In America, the late John List is one of the most notorious criminals ever in their history. At a very desperate point in his life, List murdered his own family members in 1971 and it took some time for the local authorities to find out what he left behind in their huge home. Having left his home and investigators behind, List traveled across the nation, came up with a fake identity and lived away from the law for almost twenty years. How the law enforcers tracked him down (involving America’s Most Wanted TV show) and arrested him is a great story to follow. All of these are documented in the two videos below.

#2 The Stepfather explanatory video by GoodBadFlicks  – Believe it or not, the story of John List inspired the creation of the 1987 psychological horror film The Stepfather. This video by YouTuber GoodBadFlicks is a must-see.

#3 The assassination attempt on US President Donald Trump – I really cannot ignore the assassination attempt on US President Donald Trump which resulted in the injury on his right ear, the death of a campaign rally attendee and one other person getting injured. Whatever your political views are, this is a tragedy and it clearly was not staged. It was indeed an attempt to kill and already the Satanic Leftist mainstream news media are distorting the facts and lying to you. To get clear insight on what happened and who the suspect (a very young guy who was a registered Republican voter who also donated money to support Democrats and far-left movement), watch the selected videos below.  

#4 HolyLandSite’s Mount of Olives video – Recently, the YouTube channel HolyLandSite published their newest video featuring the Mount of Olives in Israel. I personally visited some of the sites at the Mount of Olives featured in this video and in my experience, I witnessed the Holy Bible come to life and gained insight on what the place was like during the time of Lord Jesus. Mount of Olives was where Lord Jesus last stepped on before ascending into Heaven and He will arrive there sometime in the future. Watch the video below.

#5 Capcom’s failed case against Data East over Fighter’s History – Remember how popular Street Fighter II was in the arcades in the 1990s? Capcom made tons of profit from SFII which led to the production of sequels, spin-offs and other 2D fighting games that followed. Of course, as the fighting game genre became tremendously popular, there were other fighting games that competed with Capcom’s creations. Believe it or not, Capcom sued Data East alleging that their competitor’s game Fighter’s History infringed the copyright of Street Fighter II. To find out what happened, watch the video from Top Hat Gaming Man below.

6. Donald Trump nominated again by Republicans for President of the United States By the time you are reading this, the 2024 Republican National Convention has concluded a few days ago. Donald Trump has been nominated again for US President by the party, only this time the Republicans are very united and they were reinvigorated arguably because of the failed assassination attempt on their candidate. The Democrats meanwhile are divided and already their powerful members stopped supporting the re-election campaign of Joe Biden. The contrasts between the two parties are so great during the last week. If you want to see all the Republican speeches and the nomination acceptance speech of Trump (whose running mate is US Senator J.D. Vance), watch the Republican National Convention (night 4) below.

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Carlo Carrasco’s Movie Review: Terminator: Dark Fate

I will just say it straight and clearly – the Terminator film franchise is truly unnecessary today and, having seen its debut in the year 1984 (written and directed by a very young James Cameron), I should say that the saga really ended with 1991’s Terminator 2: Judgment Day (Cameron’s masterpiece).

Out of curiosity, instead of anticipation, I got to watch Terminator: Dark Fate at the local cinema. Having been disappointed with Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines, Terminator: Salvation (a bad movie notorious for Christian Bale’s loss of self-control) and Terminator: Genisys (the most insulting and most screwed up film of the franchise), I had low expectations for Dark Fate.

Ultimately, I left the cinema disappointed yet again although the experience was not as bad as that of 2015 (with Genisys).

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Clearly, the filmmakers took inspiration from Star Wars: The Force Awakens and mix the more established film franchise stars (in supporting roles) with the younger actors.

To put it short, Terminator: Dark Fate took creative inspiration from 2015’s Star Wars: The Force Awakens. This means it was made with recycled concepts, told the story through its new characters (played by actors who are much younger and who are supposed to appeal to younger viewers) and back them up with the old, more iconic actors (Arnold Schwarzenegger and Linda Hamilton) limited to supporting roles. When it comes to presentation, this new movie felt more like a roller coaster ride than an actual story laced with spectacle stage-by-stage.

That is pretty much how Terminator: Dark Fate turned out. It does not matter that this was directed by Tim Miller, the guy behind 2016’s Deadpool. It does not matter that the great James Cameron got involved with producing and story credit (he shared with a few other names). It does not matter that this movie was made with a large budget of $185 million and relied heavily on computers to generate the visuals (which look fake most of the time). Whatever the preparations made, they did not matter at all because Terminator: Dark Fate is a rushed and creative disappointment that does not deserve your time nor your money.

The movie opened with archived footage of Sarah Connor expressing the darkness of the future coming. This was immediately followed by a scene set in 1998 showing Sarah and her son John living in an age in which Judgment Day did NOT occur on August 29, 1997. Suddenly another Terminator T-800 Model 101 (another Schwarzenegger-type Terminator) appears and actually kills John Connor leaving Sarah in turmoil.

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This is the protector sent through time by the human resistance.

John Connor, who has been a central story element in the 1984 and 1991 (memorably played by Edward Furlong) movies as he was destined to be the human resistance leader in the war with Skynet, was eliminated so quickly in the opening of this new movie very similar to how the character of Dwayne Hicks (played by Michael Biehn in the James Cameron-directed Aliens) got killed in a very dismissive way in the beginning of Alien 3. This move was nothing less than cynical, ill-conceived and even a daring disservice to Terminator fans.

From this point on, Terminator: Dark Fate turns into a “what if John Connor was dead and a new future war followed?” type of story.

Even though Judgment Day got prevented in relation to what Sarah and John achieved in Terminator 2, a new war between man and machines in the far future still occurs only this time Skynet is no more and the new enemy artificial intelligence (AI) this time is called Legion. This new story concept, by the way, is pretty insulting to any fan who loved the first two films directed by James Cameron as those flicks told a complete saga.

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This is the new, future leader of the human resistance.

And then the plot of The Terminator got recycled. A human fighter is sent back through time to protect a person who is destined to become the leader of the human resistance. Also sent back through time is a Terminator designed to look human and infiltrate society with a mission to kill the future human resistance leader. This is essentially what Terminator: Dark Fate truly is and even though Sarah Connor returned (plus another Terminator T-800 played by Schwarzenegger), there really is nothing new, nothing fresh and nothing worth enjoying.

When it comes to quality, this movie does not have much standing for it. The new characters are not engaging at all and their respective performers really had nowhere to go to engage moviegoers. Mackenzie Davis playing the new combat-ready protector only served to beef the film with action and there is nothing compelling about her act, nor did the script provide anything to make her androgynous character memorable. The new human resistance leader played by Natalia Reyes is forgettable and unbelievable even though she tried hard being dramatic. Compared with Sarah Connor in 1984’s The Terminator, the chosen one Dani Ramos in the film was transformed from a struggling, working-class person into a brave fighter in a very rushed and unconvincing manner. Also, if you take a close look at Natalia Reyes, she is too short to be a figure of authority, too small to use weapons and her act is clearly sub-par in terms of quality making her big misfire in terms of casting. The performance, script and directing really had no depth when it comes to developing the characters.

The new Terminator (Rev-9) played by Gabriel Luna was nothing more than an uninspired attempt to outdo the T-1000 of Terminator 2. Luna was decent with playing cold and emotionless but when he acts human to infiltrate human society, he’s just generic at best.

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This is the new cinematic villain that won’t stop to kill the future leader of the human resistance. Oh, the computer-generated visuals are often fake to look at.

As for Arnold Schwarzenegger and Linda Hamilton returning, it is sad for me to say that these two iconic performers of the film franchise got wasted. Sarah Connor in this movie was poorly written and this modern version ruins the legacy the character had since 1991. Schwarzenegger meanwhile played another T-800 Terminator whose adjustment into human society turned out to be unconvincing, even outlandish. A Terminator adjusting into domestic human life? Totally unbelievable!

If there is anything to admire in this ill-conceived movie, it is Schwarzenegger’s delivery of his lines as the Terminator. He was over 70-years-old at the time of filming and he no longer has the super fit, muscular build he was famous for but he still proved to be excellent in being robotic with the dialogue. Sadly, this good stuff from the ex-governor of California was not enough to save this movie from its dark fate.

The film has a lot of action and there is a notable variety of it here. Even though action-packed and the action quality is an improvement over Terminator 3, Salvation and Genisys, Terminator: Dark Fate is ultimately a ride that can only provide temporary relief from the pain of the weak script. Oh, the use of fake-looking CGI hurts the action and stunts

Conclusion

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Let this be the LAST Terminator movie and let it fade away. How? By NOT spending your precious time and money on it.

Terminator: Dark Fate clearly failed to be a solid film and definitely it is NOT worthy of being the official follow-up (the “real Terminator 3”) to the first two films written and directed by James Cameron. Cameron’s involvement with this movie did not really improve the situation of the deteriorating Terminator film franchise and even worse, this big disappointment taints his record of excellence as a producer. Director Tim Miller, in my opinion, should go back to superhero film making or try directing a brand new project of science fiction that does not involve an established intellectual property.

Bottom line – Terminator: Dark Fate is absolutely not recommended. You definitely should NOT spend your money on this movie (the cinema, future release on streaming services, Blu-ray, DVD, etc.). The movie is also woke garbage and the product of DEI (diversity, equity and inclusion).

If you want to experience the cinematic greatness of the Terminator film franchise, go back to watching The Terminator and Terminator 2: Judgment Day instead.


Thank you for reading. If you find this article engaging, please click the like button below and also please consider sharing this article to others. Also my fantasy book The World of Havenor is still available in paperback and e-book format. If you are looking for a copywriter to create content for your special project or business, check out my services and my portfolio. Feel free to contact me as well. Also please feel free to visit my Facebook page Author Carlo Carrasco and follow me at HavenorFantasy@twitter.com

When Superheroes, Politicians and Corporate Media Conspire Together

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In this age of social media and smartphones, watching cable TV news feeds is quite toxic to the mind. It’s not about the ultra-heavy mix of information being dumped by corporate media giants that overwhelm the senses of millions of viewers worldwide. Rather it is about corporate media’s slant on political news and world events that add chaos to the already chaotic world we live in.

Look at MSNBC and Fox News on how they cater to the many millions of Americans divided in the political spectrum. For the most part, MSNBC favored the so-called liberals and the political left while Fox News consistently favored the so-called conservatives and political right. If there is such a thing as the military-industrial complex, then there is also the political parties-corporate media complex.

The funny thing about politically slanted corporate media is that they (the news makers) turn journalism into a commodity, select the facts to be presented to the viewers and eventually find ways to manipulate people’s perception. Meanwhile the viewers who have their respective political ideologies or interests tend to pick a favorite corporate media giant for their daily news. Also corporate media giants know fully well that there are many millions of political news junkies who cannot help but be obsessed and addicted to biased political coverage.

Also behind the scenes, it is very likely that top officials of the existing major political parties (Republicans and Democrats) have discreetly communicated with the top executives of the corporate media giants who in turn made deals with their clients (advertisers) to generate money together as they manipulate people into supporting corporate media’s business model.

I myself am a small press journalist who went around the many BF Homes communities and the cities of Muntinlupa, Las Pinas and Paranaque. I pay close attention to the behaviors of corporate media journalists. Learning from them, I certainly do not want to turn journalism into a commodity nor do I want to report news about useless causes like Catholic parish fiestas. I certainly don’t like ignorance to be the driving factor of news reporting. To be ignorant about what’s going on, who is who, where is where and how things happened is just wrong. Be warned that from the small press to the giant media, there are even news editors who are ignorant and work without really knowing what to do which makes published news reports less journalistic and even misleading for the public. Look at your local community newspaper, the regional paper, the national paper and tell me if you see any headline story that does not deserve the headline.

Don’t forget that there are still other publications other there that serve as propaganda machines whose organizers believe that people are too stupid or too ignorant to see through their manipulation and misinformation tactics.

Anyway since I already mentioned political news bias of corporate media giants, it’s time we take a close look at a particular scene in UltraForce #2 published in 1994 by Malibu Comics under the Ultraverse line.

UltraForce #2
The comic book opened with UltraForce (Hardcase, Prime, Prototype, Contrary, Pixx, Ghoul and Topaz) in the Oval Office meeting with fictional portrayals of United States President Bill Clinton, Senator Bob Dole, UN Secretary General Boutros Boutros-Ghali and the representative of the press.

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Hardcase negotiates with Clinton over a number of matters. UltraForce will help deal with the ongoing conflict overseas with the world “backing up” for them. Contrary says that their team wants to have access to the federal government’s gathered information on ultras (their term describing super humans in the Ultraverse) which irked Bob Dole to express his opposition and tells Clinton that he will “skin” him alive in the media if he agrees to UltraForce’s proposal.

As the difficult agreement came close to being finalized, Hardcase made clear that his team needs the media to reshape public perception of them (and ultras in general) from negative to positive. Unsurprisingly the media representative objected to Hardcase’s idea as it is tantamount to propaganda (or biased media coverage).

Hardcase answered back mentioning that he is an actor in Hollywood and he already knows what it takes to make people feel good or bad about something by means of being selective of the facts for public consumption. He insists that people should start feeling good about them.

The media representative stated that a bipartisan consensus was all it takes for journalists to accept it.

Then Bill Clinton and Bob Dole shake hands which is ironic because in real life history, both men were nominated by their respective political parties for the US Presidency in 1996. Clinton got re-elected then.

My analysis

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The scene, even though it is outlandish in concept, shows clearly that political forces and the giant media have what it takes to manipulate public perception by working together. Of course what reality shows us is that in America, Republicans have Fox News and Democrats have MSNBC to rely on to execute their information manipulation strategies to gain supporters for their own causes.

In the case of UltraForce, it’s about a team of superheroes who need a lot of support from governments and the media in order to be able to resolve the overseas conflict in the story. Their enemy was simply too powerful and too resourceful to defeat so UltraForce played hard-ball with the government and the media.

With regards to biased media coverage in support of UltraForce and ultras that exist in the world of the Ultraverse, it shows that superpowers alone cannot help those who wield it. Without the government and media support, UltraForce will only be perceived by the public as a group of troublemakers (or maybe even as terrorists) even though they fight an obviously evil force that’s been destabilizing the world.

As such, the biased media coverage for UltraForce is what I would call as a morally questionable form of support. On face value, it looks sensible because UltraForce is composed of supposed good guys while their enemies are so destructive and disruptive they are easily perceived as evil. But behind the scenes, supportive biased media coverage for UltraForce kills the spirit of balanced journalism and is pretty much a form of propaganda no matter how good the intentions are.

Could you imagine a special forces team fabricate a situation which would result a tragedy followed by intense coverage by the corporate media which in turn will outrage members of the public and give the administration of the national government the justification to launch a war with superheroes leading the way? Such a situation could lead to even more chaos in this world we live in.

Also Hardcase said it best: Look, I’m an actor in Hollywood. I know this game. I know how you can pick and choose facts to make people feel good or bad about something.

Author’s Note: This article was originally published at my old Geeks and Villagers blog. What you read on this website was an updated and expanded version. In other words, this newest version you just read is the most definitive version


Thank you for reading. If you find this article engaging, please click the like button below and also please consider sharing this article to others. Also my fantasy book The World of Havenor is still available in paperback and e-book format. If you are looking for a copywriter to create content for your special project or business, check out my services and my portfolio. Feel free to contact me as well. Also please feel free to visit my Facebook page Author Carlo Carrasco and follow me at HavenorFantasy@twitter.com