Sabotage (2014)

Watching bloodbath -– not in a good way -– “Sabotage” it makes one wince at Arnold Schwarzenegger’s post-political film career. The light seems sucked from his eyes. Here we follow personality-free ultra-A DEA thug cops who drink, drug, swear, and easily swipe $10M from a drug’s lord’s house. The loot goes missing and the team starts dying in gruesome ways only a screenwriter can imagine. Ugly. Writer/ director David Ayer (“End of Watch”) has that duty, killing one guy by nailing him to a ceiling. By the film’s exhaustive end, you’ll –- or I did -– laugh at the big shock reveal, and still have to muddle through one more shoot out. Terrence Howard, Sam Worthington, Mirelle Enos, and Josh Holloway comprise the team, all screaming “fuck” as if they’re in a contest to out cuss “Wolf of Wall Street.” They fail. Ahnuld has the role of thug leader haunted by the death of his family by drug cartel, watching a snuff film on loop in the dark. We never see his face. But so what? Botox and steroids have rendered Ahnuld inert. What’s he thinking? Is he thinking? Is he a robot? Do I care? No. D

The Debt (2011)

A smart thriller of morals, ethics, and revenge among a trio of Mossad agents played out during the 1960s with Sam Worthington, Jessica Chastain and Marton Csokas, and then in the 1990s with Ciarán Hinds, Helen Mirren, and Tom Wilkinson. The 1960s mission: Capture an ex-Nazi hiding in East Berlin as a gynecologist, and bring him to trial. The 1990s mission: Ensure the tale of what really happened never sees light. When “Debt” focuses on the mission, Jewish anger, and guilt, it is damn exciting. See, Chastain’s agent must kidnap the decrepit Nazi during a pelvic exam, half naked and her feet in stirrups. It’s a riveting scene from director John Madden, who made “Shakespeare in Love.” Yet, the past and present tug-and-pull hardly holds, Worthington becomes Hinds, and Csokas becomes Wilkinson, and the paired men look so vastly different, I kept getting hopelessly lost. To worsen matters, Worthington’s Israeli accent vibes to distraction with the actor’s native Australia cadence. Add in a Hollywood OTT ending, and this remake of a 1990s Israeli film (which I have not seen) suffers. B

Clash of the Titans (1981 and 2010)

I must have watched 1981’s “Clash of the Titans” a hundred times as a child when it debuted on HBO, back when HBO was a fascinating addition to the phenomenon known as cable. (Yeah, I’m that old.) I still watch and enjoy it, stupid robot owl, eyebrow-raising nudity and all. It has powerful gods and goddesses, a kick-ass hero in Perseus (Harry Hamlin) with a woman (Judi Bowker as Andromeda) to rescue, and other-worldly monsters made by the hands of Ray Harryhausen. I still shudder at Medusa’s glowing green eyes and that strange, ticky groove she has. Glorious bad-on-purpose fun in line with “Flash Gordon.” A-

The 2010 remake trashes all that good badness for ugh badness, providing a Perseus (Sam Worthington) who could care less about women. He wants to kill the gods. He’s as mad as hell, and not going take it anymore! Near-MIA Andromeda barely matters. Director Louis Leterrier prefers CGI that fades from your mind the moment the visual effects fade from screen, and a revenge plot best saved for “The Punisher” or any Steven Segal film. For a film about the heavens, this film is earth bound. Liam Neeson dishes authority as Zeus, but Ralph Fiennes plays Hades as Voldermort’s younger, pouty-lipped brother, the sibling you don’t want to sit next to at Christmas. To bring up another son of god. C+

Terminator: Salvation (2009)

Nothing much happens. That may be the most surprising takeaway from “Terminator: Salvation,” the fourth film in the franchise started by James Cameron. Set after military supercomputerthingy Skynet goes berserk, but before John Connor sends comrade-in-arms Kyle Reese back in time to save his … Aw, hell, I don’t have the stamina for tracking this plot. This time travel ball of string makes “Lost” seem like “Pokey Puppy.” The barest fact: Connor must rescue his future pop from death by Skynet or he’s nonexistent toast. In doing this, Connor invades Skynet HQ and comes face-to-face with the T-800 – the killer robot played by Arnold Schwarzenegger 25 years ago. It’s a huge charge to see (CGI) Ahnuld’s evil mask once again. What a blast that film was! But there’s little blast here despite great action and a new, ashen look. Director McG and his army of writers almost provide a game changer that would reset this franchise’s clock, but wimp out. Sam Worthington of “Avatar” cements his rising-star status as a seemingly unkillable fighter. But as the ranting and raving Connor, Christian Bale’s performance is as robotic as the metallic zombies chasing him. C+