Nazi's son turned steroid abuser turned celebrity turned powerful head of state Arnold Schwarzenegger says early test screenings of the upcoming fourth Terminator movie – a franchise he started – have left him nonplussed.

"I still don't know how it will play out with this one," said the star-turned-politician, who said he was given a private screening of early footage from "Terminator Salvation" by producers of the franchise reboot directed by McG. "They showed me some footage, but I don't have a feel for the movie. I didn't see enough. I wasn't sure who the Terminator was. I don't know if there is one or if he's the star or the hero. These are the things that determine the success and how the strong the movie will be."

Who knew such a big man could be so catty? Let's hope Salvation's star, Christian Bale, doesn't "lose his shit" at this news. Then again, a Batman-OG Terminator fight could be one for the record books.

LEDGER OSCAR A 'WISH-FULFILLMENT RUMOR' "When the new Batman movie 'The Dark Night' began screenings last month before its U.S. debut on Friday, some moviegoers saw Heath Ledger as an instant Oscar candidate as the deranged villain, The Joker. But Oscar watchers and veteran critics say the joke may be on fans creating mostly Internet-based buzz … 'Dark Knight' is the type of comic book, action adventure that Oscar voters generally do not favor and there are many movies to see later this year, the experts said. 'All this Oscar talk is a phenomenon of the Internet age that I like to call 'a wish-fulfillment rumor.' If people say it often enough, they think it will happen,' said Leonard Maltin, film critic for TV program 'Entertainment Tonight.'"

We've ranted before about how we can't stand professional critics and find them to be archaic and condescending. And yesterday the backlash against New York's negative Dark Knight review showed us that some of you are similarly irreverent. But is there anyone out there who thinks movie critics are important? To be sure, Anthony Lane's a great read, but does anyone actually give thought to his opinions before going to the cinema? Seriously, we want to know. Do you believe in critics? Does anyone exist whose review of the new Batman would cause you to not go see it?

HOLY BAD REVIEWS, BATMAN! "Even if the death of Heath Ledger hadn’t already draped it in a funeral shroud, The Dark Knight would be a morbid affair: It could only be darker if Batman died. (He does die a little, on the inside.) … We’re now in a modern, untransformed Manhattan, where the Joker’s opening bank heist unfolds in a tense, realistic style with multiple point-blank shootings. It’s a shock—and very effective—to see a comic-book villain come on like a Quentin Tarantino reservoir dog. But then the novelty wears off and the lack of imagination, visual and otherwise, turns into a drag. The Dark Knight is noisy, jumbled, and sadistic. Even its most wondrous vision—Batman’s plunges from skyscrapers, bat-wings snapping open as he glides through the night like a human kite—can’t keep the movie airborne. There’s an anvil attached to that cape."

Nope.

-My Dad's assessment of Vampire Weekend, which is like Paul Simon except not and more overhyped

MALE CRITICS BIASED AGAINST SATC? "As it turns out, Rotten Tomatoes presents 139 reviews, 69% of which are written by men. Only 49% of male critics wrote positive reviews while 51% panned 'Sex & The City.' Meanwhile, only 14 of the 40 female reviewers were negative about the box office sensation with 65% of women giving Carrie Bradshaw and friends the critical 'thumbs up.'"

YOU TALKIN' TO ME? LA Times staff writer Patrick Goldstein on film legends Al Pacino and Robert De Niro: "The two icons of '70s New Hollywood, heroes to a generation of young actors and filmmakers, have become parodies of themselves … they're grumpy old men, relegated to raking in loot from cartoonish comedy and generic thrillers."

Broke media outlets from coast to coast looking to trim some fat have finally come to the realization that publishing film criticisms is about as necessary as running horoscopes: no matter what either divines, it can always be argued and is very often ignored. Now, movie critics everywhere are being served with walking papers.

… the Village Voice [has] axed film critic Nathan Lee … Word has it that revenues are way, way down at the chain and at least one of our friends at the LA Weekly will likely be pounding the pavements before the week is out.

Grim news — and this on the heels of the housecleaning 18 months earlier that resulted in Village Voice Media axing a number of its best critics and consolidating them into fewer posts.

… the fact that there could me more casualties to come signals the ongoing implosion of [the] profession, at least as far as print is concerned. … I think we're fast approaching the point where criticism will become, for the most part, a devotion rather than a job.

Guess we're all stuck thinking for ourselves from now on. Good luck out there!

Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie arrived late to the Critic's Choice Awards last evening in Santa Monica, despite the fact that Jolie was an acting nominee for A Mighty Heart. The show's production staff shuffled the couple in at the first commercial break, and then Jolie lost.

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