I have watched many movies since my last post. Trying to keep up with a blog - well for some, it may be easy. For me, I just need to cowboy up and make it happen. Well, this review is for the latest Predator movie named, simply, Predators. I was so excited to see this as there has not been much to see in the theaters lately. I did watch The A-Team last weekend and I actually enjoyed it. But, The Last Airbender, a movie I was anxiously awaiting to watch is getting crucified by the critics. It's not an even 50/50 split, like The A-Team, as the reviews massacred Airbender. To me, I could not justify spending the money.
Well, Predators opened this weekend. I remember seeing some ad for this movie a while back and saying to myself, "another Predator movie? Sweet!" Well, if you have watched the last, um, three Predator movies, you may ask yourself, "How good can this one actually be?" Well, much to my surprise, the critics are raving about this new one...raving!
The concept is simple - the main character, a mercenary played by Adrien Brody wakes up mid-freefall. He is able to pull the ripcord to a parachute and land safely, albeit quite hard, in a jungle. He is joined by seven other characters recognizing them for who they are, a hit man for a Mexican drug cartel, an Israeli sniper, a Yakuza hitman, a death squad killer from Sierra Leone, a serial killer, a Spetznaz soldier, and a doctor...a doctor??? The seven others arrive in the same way as Brody's character. They are in a jungle, a "game preserve" in which they are the game for a good, old-fashioned Predator hunt.
Some of the actors of the game are fairly recoginzable. Brody, an Oscar winner for The Pianist. He also plays Mickey Rourke's character's brother in one of my personal favorite movies, Bullet. Brody is joined by Topher Grace (Traffic, Spider-Man 3), Alice Braga (I Am Legend), Danny Trejo (Con-Air, Desperado), a cameo appearance by Lawrence Fishburne, and my fave actor in this movie, Walton Goggins as the serial killer.
What I enjoyed about this movie is the concept. Killers in a jungle being hunted by Predators. Multiple Predators. It's a throwback to the original in which one Predator is hunting Arnold's special forces outfit. The humans have the potential to give the Predators a run for their money...the potential. I did enjoy Goggins character, especially the scene in which he shows off a tattoo. And, a great, original scene, in which the Yakuza decides to go toe-to-toe with a Predator armed with a samarai sword. Great scene!
What didn't I enjoy about this movie? Well, let me preface this by saying I am a huge fan of the original Predator movie. A huge fan. Predator was a great movie in the sense that it took conventional movie wisdom and turned it on its head. You have a six-man special forces team played by a veritable who's who of actors t0 include two future state governors being hunted down one by one. Same set up here, only this time, you know what the Predators are all about. You have a eight man outfit in this movie made up of cold-blooded killers being led by a mercenary who is pretty damn skilled at what he does. I don't want to spoil the film, but these characters should have did a hell of a lot more damage. In the original, while Arnold does not know what he is up against, he does know he is up against a formidable hunter and uses his and his team's skills and resources to do what they do and not go down without a fight. These killers, well...they should have done some damage. Fishburne's cameo appearance did not add anything to the movie for me. Neither did Grace's character of the doctor. A doctor??? OK....
Overall, this is a Predator movie. I have to say that after actually see this movie, I am kind of surprised that it received the critical acclaim that it did. A vast majority of critics positively reviewed this flick. I have to say that I did enjoy The A-Team (with its 50/50 reviews) a lot more than I did this movie.
Saturday, July 10, 2010
Tuesday, April 6, 2010
Clash of the Titans
It has been far too long. I apologize. It's a shame really as I have watched and enjoyed so many movies within the past six months, particularly from home. I don't get out to the theater as often as I once did. I now try to hit the theater, maybe...twice a month if I can. So, thinking the other day, I decided that not only will I write about movies I watch in the theater, but movies I watch at home on DVD, Netflix streaming, or cable. I will definitely try to keep up as movies are my thing and I watch a lot....
Clash of the Titans - I watched this in the theater yesterday. It had been a few weeks since I had been to the theater and I wanted a good entertaining movie to enjoy my popcorn with. Clash of the Titans is a remake of the classic 1981 movie starring Harry Hamlin, Lawrence Olivier, and the incomparable Burgess Meredith (Rocky's Mickey). I have not watched the original in close to 20 some odd years. All I remember of the original is Pegasus, the Stygian witches, Medusa, and the Kraken.
This remake contains all the aforementioned. In this remake, mankind wishes to test its strength and starts a war with the gods. Zues releases Hades upon mankind who gives the humans ten days to sacrifice a princess or the Kraken will be released destroying all. As a big fan of the original, I was disappointed with this remake. It seems the filmmakers thought process went something like this: let's take an actor, Sam Worthington, from one of the biggest blockbuster movies of all time - Avatar. Let's get him to share some screen time with some acting heavyweights, let's see, Pete Postlethwaite (The Usual Suspects), Liam Neeson (Star Wars), Ralph Fiennes (Schindler's List - starring Liam Neeson as well), and Mads Mikkelsen (Casino Royale). Let's add them all together in a remake of a classic - we'll pump up the special effects and we'll make a ton of money!!! How can you go wrong? This movie has all the right ingredients....
Well, again, I was disappointed. I was disappointed because this movie felt rushed, there were way too many plotholes, and no character development. Examples:
Perseus (Sam Worthington's character) claims he never had a reason to pick up a sword before. Mikkelsen's character, a seasoned war soldier, decides to test Perseus skills - Perseus not only beats Mikkelsen's character, but expertly and deftly disarms him. Interesting for someone who never picked up a sword before....
When Pegasus is introduced, we are told that no man has ever ridden him before. Later in the movie, Pegasus just shows up and allows Perseus to ride him.
The Stygian witches are reduced to a footnote in this remake.
Who the hell were the characters who were covered in what looked like tree bark???
The more I think about it, the more I can come up with to negatively criticize the movie. Don't get me wrong, the movie does have some great special effects (the Scorpions, the Kraken), the story is very interesting, but when you have the acting muscle this movie has in a remake of a classic, I expect a little better than this. It's disappointing because this movie could have been so much more....
My suggestion, wait for this movie to come out on cable. Better yet, watch the orginal - remember, the original was made in 1981, so you must make allowances for the special effects.
Clash of the Titans - I watched this in the theater yesterday. It had been a few weeks since I had been to the theater and I wanted a good entertaining movie to enjoy my popcorn with. Clash of the Titans is a remake of the classic 1981 movie starring Harry Hamlin, Lawrence Olivier, and the incomparable Burgess Meredith (Rocky's Mickey). I have not watched the original in close to 20 some odd years. All I remember of the original is Pegasus, the Stygian witches, Medusa, and the Kraken.
This remake contains all the aforementioned. In this remake, mankind wishes to test its strength and starts a war with the gods. Zues releases Hades upon mankind who gives the humans ten days to sacrifice a princess or the Kraken will be released destroying all. As a big fan of the original, I was disappointed with this remake. It seems the filmmakers thought process went something like this: let's take an actor, Sam Worthington, from one of the biggest blockbuster movies of all time - Avatar. Let's get him to share some screen time with some acting heavyweights, let's see, Pete Postlethwaite (The Usual Suspects), Liam Neeson (Star Wars), Ralph Fiennes (Schindler's List - starring Liam Neeson as well), and Mads Mikkelsen (Casino Royale). Let's add them all together in a remake of a classic - we'll pump up the special effects and we'll make a ton of money!!! How can you go wrong? This movie has all the right ingredients....
Well, again, I was disappointed. I was disappointed because this movie felt rushed, there were way too many plotholes, and no character development. Examples:
Perseus (Sam Worthington's character) claims he never had a reason to pick up a sword before. Mikkelsen's character, a seasoned war soldier, decides to test Perseus skills - Perseus not only beats Mikkelsen's character, but expertly and deftly disarms him. Interesting for someone who never picked up a sword before....
When Pegasus is introduced, we are told that no man has ever ridden him before. Later in the movie, Pegasus just shows up and allows Perseus to ride him.
The Stygian witches are reduced to a footnote in this remake.
Who the hell were the characters who were covered in what looked like tree bark???
The more I think about it, the more I can come up with to negatively criticize the movie. Don't get me wrong, the movie does have some great special effects (the Scorpions, the Kraken), the story is very interesting, but when you have the acting muscle this movie has in a remake of a classic, I expect a little better than this. It's disappointing because this movie could have been so much more....
My suggestion, wait for this movie to come out on cable. Better yet, watch the orginal - remember, the original was made in 1981, so you must make allowances for the special effects.
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