Predator


3/4

Starring: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Carl Weathers, Bill Duke, Jesse Ventura

Rated R for Strong Violence/Gore and Language (I guess)

Of the past 30+ years, two creatures have dominated the sci-fi/horror arena: the Alien and the Predator.  Both have spawned their own franchises and they battled each other twice.  In terms of the ability to scare the living hell out of a viewer (such as myself), the Alien wins, hands down.  But the debut of the Predator is not without its pleasures.

On a military mission, Dutch (Ah-nuld) and his crew eliminate a band of guerillas.  But as they go to the extraction point, it becomes clear that there is something in the jungle that is hunting them…

It's not a high concept movie (these kinds of movies never are), but for what it is, the movie is enjoyable, and director John McTiernan manages to create a consistent level of tension throughout the whole film.

This is not an actors' movie, but the cast does their parts.  Schwarzenegger kicks ass without taking names and the Predator kills people.  That's all that this movie aims for and it hits the mark.

There are problems, however.  An editing gaffe here and there, including time inconsistency near the beginning.  The biggest problem is that the film's machismo is so great that it threatens to turn the film into a self-parody.  I've never seen this much man-preening outside a "Twilight" movie.

Lots of violence, plenty of blood and gore, and Ah-nuld doing what he does best.  Do you really need any more reasons to check this one out?

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Desert Flower

2/4 Starring: Liya Kebede, Sally Hawkins, Timothy Spall, Juliet Stevenson Rated R for Some Violent Content, A Scene of Sexuality and Language The problem with "Desert Flower" is not that Waris Dirie's story isn't suited for the cinematic treatment or that the actress playing her isn't acceptable.  The problem is that director Sherry Hormann doesn't do a good job of telling it.  This is a poorly focused film that can't decide what it wants to be about or what it wants to say. As is the case with many a true story, the life of Waris Dirie is too amazing to be made up by a Hollywood screenwriter.  This woman fled an arranged marriage as a child, spent years as a servant to a Somali diplomat in England, survived on the streets, and was discovered by a fashion photographer while working as a janitor.  Then she became a supermodel and UN Ambassador in the fight against female genital mutilation. Waris experienced a lot in her life.  Telling it all in a...
Read more

The Road

3.5/4 Starring: Viggo Mortensen, Kodi Smit-McPhee, Charlize Theron Rated R for Some Violence, Disturbing Images and Language "The Road" has to be the most downbeat, depressing and cynical movie I've ever seen.  That's not meant as a criticism, but a fact.  This is a tough movie to get through, but not a chore.  Those who venture in will find their time well spent, albeit not in a necessarily pleasant way.  Then again, if a movie is based off a novel by Cormac McCarthy, "pleasant" isn't a word one would hope to be used to describe it. The film takes place after the world has ended.  How it happened is not explained because it doesn't matter.  But any hope of the Earth recovering from what happened has long since gone.  A man (Mortensen) and his son (Smit-McPhee) are travelling together, trying to "get to the coast."  There are few people left, although considering what many are doing with the goal of survival, that's a good thing...
Read more

My Left Foot

 2/4 Starring: Daniel Day-Lewis, Brenda Fricker, Ray McAnally, Fiona Shaw, Alison Whelan Rated R (probably for Language and Brief Violence) "My Left Foot" feels like one of those movies designed to win Oscars and nothing else.  In fact, it did win two Oscars for the immortal Daniel Day-Lewis and Brenda Fricker, but apart from their strong work, there's not much else to remember about this movie.  It's well-acted, but all in all it's pretty dull. Christy Brown (Day-Lewis) is getting recognized for his work in order to raise money for the disabled.  Despite being a talented artist and writer, Christy is not the ideal candidate for the job.  He's an alcoholic jerk who makes no secret of his lust for women nor is he above using his disability to manipulate people into doing what he wants.  Interspersed with his attempts to seduce a woman tasked with looking after him while he awaits his entrance are vignettes from his childhood.  Most notably how his mothe...
Read more