Reviews

Now here is a textbook case of doing everything wrong in a sequel. 1990's Predator 2 refuses or fails to preserve what made the first Predator any good, makes some terrible creative decisions, and falls into a toxic vat of clichés. It has story problems, casting problems, and originality problems. The novelty of the Predator has worn out in this film, and the whole thing was a bore from start to finish. It's no wonder that this movie isn't brought up much when discussing the Predator franchise; it's overwhelmingly forgettable.

So this time around, the locale has changed from a dense Mexican jungle to the city of Los Angeles. While this film could be admired for risking such a style change, the effect is unoriginal and very out-of- place. It takes away from the Predator's primal mystique. Also, for whatever reason, the script introduces an entirely new cast of characters, without a single returning actor and scarcely a mention of Arnold's original team. Again, this is not a bad change in and of itself, but here it only leads to a rehash of familiar plot devices. The audience already knows that the mystery killer is an alien hunter, but they still have to spend over an hour watching the main characters figure it out. Where's the fun, or the suspense, in that?

The same can be asked of the Predator itself. At this point we've seen what the Predator can do, and this movie doesn't offer any new tricks. It looks the same, acts the same, and shamelessly rips itself off by copying the heat-vision POV (which is utilized randomly and pointlessly here), as well as the mask removal scene. They even reuse the 'ugly motherf@#$er' line. The movie would have been better served if the antagonist was a new variant of the Predator with some new tricks up its sleeve, à la the 2010 sequel Predators.

Like the first film, Predator 2 has some character issues. Replacing the always enjoyable Arnold Schwarzenegger is Danny Glover, who makes a horrendous protagonist. He is constantly angry, overly violent, and completely unlikeable, and is just not believable as an action hero. The rest of the underdeveloped cast is just as bad, relying either on forced exposition to describe characters or painfully obvious archetype clichés to develop them. We hear about how much of a hero Glover's character is even though this is never demonstrated, and about his longtime friendship with his police partner, though this is never proved in their interactions. At one point, a female cop grabs a flirting Bill Paxton by the family jewels and threatens him to leave her alone. Okay, we get it; she's a strong and independent woman who doesn't take crap from anyone. There were many better ways to show it. Ultimately, you won't remember any of these characters ten minutes after you finish the movie.

Put all these factors together and you get a severe lack of entertainment. While the first film was riveting and intense, this one is just an unremarkable bore. The story was lame and unwanted, the Predator itself is now derivative, and the characters are pathetic. The best thing about it was the musical score, and of course it was ripped straight from the original. The most interesting thing this movie had to offer was the possibility of a crossover with another classic sci-fi monster (and we all know how that eventually turned out). Don't waste your time with the lackluster Predator 2. I give it 2 out of 10 stars.

It's a bit difficult to review this film in a conventional way. Normally, I'd be disappointed with a movie that has as many tonal inconsistencies as this does, and also has such a convoluted plot. These are valid concerns, and are enough to make a lot of movies just plain suck. But in the summer of 1984, convention was thrown out the window and an unsurpassed American classic was born. Ghostbusters is enormously entertaining and one of the funniest movies ever, containing some of film's most iconic moments of all time. With vintage special effects, great characters, and large doses of Bill Murray, Ghostbusters is a movie that everyone can, and probably will, deeply enjoy.

The film opens in a mood typical of a horror movie, with an innocent, elderly librarian being terrorized by some sort of ghost. Then suddenly, some great 80s music kicks in and in the next scene, we are introduced to the least scary or serious thing ever: Bill Murray. This man makes Ghostbusters his own, and completely steals the show. His dry, sarcastic humor is so perfect and unique, and he can conjure up laughs with just a look. Nothing fazes him, everything amuses him, and nothing is allowed to be taken too seriously in his presence. Without him, this movie would be vastly different, and probably quite a bit less fun. Interestingly, he has great chemistry with Sigourney Weaver, and it's a joy to watch their characters interact. Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis complement each other (and contrast with Murray) magnificently, playing socially awkward geeks with hilarious results. Ernie Hudson, portraying the last-minute fourth ghost buster, also gets in a few great lines. William Atherton from Die Hard also appears late in the game, playing just as great an antagonist as in said film. Adding more to the spectacle is the inclusion of Rick Moranis, playing one of his best characters ever. Add it all together and you get a brilliant comedy that is completely outrageous, yet at times quietly subtle in its humor. It's also one of the few of its kind that actually gets better with age and repeated viewings.

However, there's still the matter of the utterly inane story to consider. By the climax, any remaining semblance of plot is basically thrown out the window. But the film's rather ridiculous premise actually serves to better the film. Some of the movie's most strikingly memorable moments come from the silliest concepts, such as "crossing the streams," the Slimer ghost, or the colossal Stay-Puft Marshmallow Man (all of which still look fantastic, even by today's CGI standards). And it's examples like these that tell us how much fun the filmmakers were having with the whole concept from the get-go. All the ridiculous backstory with Zuul, Gozer the Gozerian, the Gatekeeper, and the Keymaster doesn't mean much; it's all about being entertaining, and Ghostbusters does this perfectly.

With such a strange foundation for a film- that is, being big- budget, special effects-laden horror-comedy- there were countless things that could have gone wrong. Against all odds, Ghostbusters gets everything absolutely right. It's blast for people of all ages, and an absolute laughter riot. It has an immensely talented cast backing the superb Bill Murray, just doing what he does best, and a plethora of noteworthy scenes and one-liners. It's a must-own, and it deserves 10 out of 10 stars.

Out of all the predictable, cheesy action movies from the 80s, most have been long forgotten. Interestingly, 1987's Predator has only gotten more popular with age, spawning a huge franchise of sequels, graphic novels, and crossovers. It continues to receive sequels to this day! How did this happen? Well, on the surface, the film appears to be your average, explosion-happy B-movie shoot-em-up, Arnold Schwarzenegger and all. But it's more of a science fiction horror picture, something along the lines of Ridley Scott's Alien eight years earlier. It manages to pull off both genre elements pretty well, and in great style. It isn't perfect, but John McTiernan's Predator is still a smart, solid, and highly entertaining sci-fi flick.

There were many factors that led to this film becoming the classic that it is today, but chief among them is most certainly the alien (excuse me, the "Predator"). From its ability to turn invisible to its famous spaceman dreadlocks, the creature has gained considerable repute among fans of the genre. And it completely deserves its status. The suspense for the Predator's introduction is built up in an ingeniously effective way; we get to look at its inevitable victims through its heat-vision eyes. This lets us know that our characters are being relentlessly stalked, and that there is nowhere they can hide from the Predator's wrath. It's fantastic, scary fun. Once everyone but Arnold was killed, the Predator took on a new, less subtle role. It ceased to be a mysterious, invisible killer, and became a straight-up, 80s action villain. But it's a versatile creature, and the new position suits it just as well. Surprisingly large, heavy and muscular, it's even a physical superior (by a great degree) to Arnold himself! This, of course, leads to some great fight scenes, made all the better by the removal of the Predator's mask. Its actual face… Well, as a wise man once said, it's "one ugly motherf#$%er." Now the Predator is great and all, but it's not necessarily enough to make up for the shortcomings of the rest of the cast. Arnold's character Dutch is even more clichéd and undeveloped than most B-movie action stars, filled to the brim with terrible one-liners and hackneyed badassery. The same goes for Carl Weathers as Dillon. There is actually a scene in the beginning where the two of them randomly begin arm wrestling, for the sole purpose of focusing the camera on their massive arms. You'll learn quickly that subtlety is not in their nature. Also in the film is fellow future governor Jesse Ventura, playing a very boring, stereotypical tough guy. We find out later that he and Bill Duke's character were close friends, but this relationship was never developed or even hinted at while they were both alive. It's pretty hard to care about the deaths of a bunch of cardboard cutouts. Awful character development aside, the movie is still a great time. Fleshed out people aren't necessarily required when you know from the start that almost everyone is going to die. But before they do get murdered, they give some great catchphrases that many people today still remember with fondness. Chief among them are gems like "I ain't got time to bleed," or "Get to da choppa!" Just for that, it deserves extra praise.

Despite being cheesy, Predator still manages to be an engaging, enjoyable movie experience. The Predator itself is a brilliant antagonist worthy of all its praise. The cast is clichéd and expendable, but they are classic 80s archetypes with some immortally quotable lines. The resulting mixture is definitely worth your time, and I give it 8 out of 10 stars.

Mix a fairly straightforward story of murderous aliens with deep, metaphorical themes about the creation of the human race, and what do you get? Apparently, you get a confusing mess. Prometheus, the so-called prequel to Alien, is a tad too ambitious for its own good, bringing up far too many questions and ideas that it neither answers nor follows up on. The film's cast is a group of largely unlikeable characters, with the exception of a brilliantly-acted android. The movie was directed by the accomplished Ridley Scott, so of course the movie looks gorgeous, but that's one of the only things it's got going for it. If you're anticipating a welcome return to the Alien franchise, then you've still got some waiting to do.

From the opening scene of the film, it's clear that Prometheus is a bit of a mixed bag. It becomes very obvious that the story is going to revolve primarily around an original science fiction idea, with no more than a few nods to the Alien mythology. The title of the movie is revealed segment by segment, like the first Alien, but that's just about as much similarity as the two films share. If you're paying good attention and you know your stuff, you may find some Alien Easter eggs to appease you, but they are few and far between until the climax of the film.

This leaves the rest of the two-and-a-half hour running time to explain no less than the origins of humanity. Naturally this leads to many profound and thought-provoking questions; but the kicker is that the movie never answers them. This is what's so disappointing, infuriating, and ultimately underwhelming about it. So many questions, big or small, are left unexplained, rendering the entire movie, in many ways, pointless. I hear that the prequel sequel to the prequel (?) will act as a second act to this film and answer these questions for us, which I would absolutely love. But as a standalone film, Prometheus really falls short in the storytelling department. It aches for resolution.

There are also a few problems with the cast in this movie: either they're unlikeable, or their characters are just plain dumb-asses. The main character Elizabeth Shaw, portrayed by Noomi Rapace, is annoying. There's no other way to describe her. This is my own personal opinion here, and everyone else may feel differently, but her naivety, stupidity, and lack of a character arc made her a pretty obnoxious character. Her boyfriend was also stupid and annoying, and wasn't acted very well. I also found myself eagerly anticipating the deaths of the equally obnoxious supporting cast. Idris Elba, Guy Pierce, and Charlize Theron gave serviceable performances in their respective roles. Michael Fassbender as the android David 8 was by far the best part of the film, and he completely stole the show.

Moreover, the movie looked amazing. The special effects were top-notch, the cinematography was inspired and beautiful, and the movie had some haunting and memorable imagery. This is a Ridley Scott film after all; he's pretty damn good at this. The creature design was fantastic, the humanoid aliens looked cool, and the futuristic technology was awesome. The aforementioned opening scene, though lacking explanation, was breathtaking to look at. The 3D added some depth, but is definitely not necessary.

Once this film receives a sequel, I have a feeling we'll all like Prometheus a lot more. In fact, it may go on to become a science fiction classic. But right now, this movie doesn't stand well on its own two feet. I give it an optimistic 6 out of 10 stars.

Who knew that a movie based on a ride at Disneyworld could enjoy such immense success? Incredibly, the Pirates of the Caribbean film franchise is one of the most lucrative to date. However, only the first film is considered a critical triumph. The rest are accused of lacking the quality plot, humor, and originality of the first. I agree completely in the case of the third and fourth films, but I feel that the second installment is highly underrated. Few of the flaws that plague the franchise are present here, and Dead Man's Chest is actually a worthy follow-up to the original.

The only thing that makes these movies watchable is, of course, Johnny Depp's fantastic performance as Jack Sparrow. Without him, there could be no Pirates of the Caribbean. His weird mannerisms, hilariously endearing personality, and total unpredictability have made him one of the most beloved characters in movie history. Dead Man's Chest gives viewers plenty more of Captain Jack, and he's just as wonderful as ever. If anything, I almost felt that he was better than in Curse of the Black Pearl. He's given a great introduction in this movie, and he never fails to bring humor to any situation he's put in. He contrasts wonderfully with the serious and somewhat clichéd love story between Will Turner and Elizabeth Swann, and is always there to lighten the mood when things start feeling too sappy.

One thing I can say for the first movie is that the evil skeleton crew was incredible. I particularly enjoyed fight scenes where they would flash in and out of the moonlight, transforming. They were beautifully and artfully done. It is clear that in this film, they tried to rival it with the creepy, marine life-infested crew of Davy Jones. While special effects have improved drastically, there is sort of a "been-there-done-that" feel to these new characters. Davy Jones himself, though, played by Bill Nighy, was a breakthrough in motion capture effects. Even with a beard of tentacles and complete lack of a nose, his excellent performance shines through and never seems silly. Nighy made quite a wonderful villain, as good or better than Geoffrey Rush from the first film. Plus, something has to be said about the Kraken. That was an awesome creature! It looked amazing, and was built up really well throughout the movie. By the climax, it feels like you're watching an old-fashioned monster movie; and it is great.

Many people complain about the plot of Dead Man's Chest. Personally, I don't assign much importance to the story of movies like this. Admittedly the storyline is rather convoluted, and some may not appreciate the large cliffhanger at the end. But that is kind of the point of the story. The second and third movies were filmed back-to- back, and are really two halves of a whole. They share the same characters, same villains, and some of the same plot threads. Admittedly, there may be too many said plot threads to be completely coherent, but let's be honest: no one came to see Pirates of the Caribbean for the plot. It's either for the incredible action scenes (and boy, are they incredible), Jack Sparrow's character, or Orlando Bloom's face, all of which this film delivers in grand excess. Only in the third and fourth films did the plot to detract from my enjoyment of the movie.

People will compare Dead Man's Chest to the first movie endlessly, and there's nothing anyone can do about that. But as a sequel or a standalone film, it's not at all a bad movie. While not perfect, it's well-executed, well-acted, and a damn good time. I give it 7 out of 10 stars.

The year was 1990, and from the dark, Gothic mind of Tim Burton came perhaps the most overtly dark and Gothic movie of his career: Edward Scissorhands. Sometimes the formula works, like in the cases of Sleepy Hollow or Sweeney Todd. Other times, we end up with weird messes of movies like Charlie and the Chocolate Factory or Alice in Wonderland (notice, in each example, Johnny Depp is featured prominently). Fortunately, this film is an example from the former category. Featuring some excellent performances, an outstanding musical score, and typically Burton-esque visual flair, this film is one for the ages.

Edward Scissorhands, as a character, is a very interesting guy. We're not quite sure if he's a flesh-and-blood human or some sort of cyborg, but we do know that he is capable of love and affection. Having been a recluse in an abandoned mansion for many years, these are acquired skills for him. He's a tragic and highly misunderstood man as well as a sort of embodiment of an emo wrist cutter's psyche. However cool a concept, I don't think Burton was trying to be subtle with the whole 'scissors for hands' idea.

Nevertheless, Edward is a fantastic character. Despite his physically grotesque nature, we as an audience grow to love and pity him, and become emotionally invested in his story. Johnny Depp gives one of the best performances of his career here. Also worthy of note are Winona Ryder and Dianne Wiest, who are sympathetic and relatable in their roles. Anthony Michael Hall plays a great antagonist that everyone loves to hate, and Vincent Price has a great cameo as the inventor (his very last performance, sadly). Depp and Ryder have great on screen chemistry, and share some truly touching moments.

Backing these moments and others is an amazing soundtrack from Danny Elfman, another common Burton collaborator. These men make real movie magic together here, and add a whole new dimension of dark emotion. Through the perfectly orchestrated music we feel joy, sorrow, or rage along with these characters. It gives the film more artistic quality, and continues to resonate long after you've finished watching. I must admit, every time I watch the movie I sit through the entire end credits scene, just to enjoy more of the music.

And while the film is certainly a treat for the ears, it is also very nice to look at. Costume design, makeup, set pieces, cinematography… These are elements of film that Burton and Co. have down to an exact science. The dark and distinctly Gothic look of Edward himself, the mountaintop mansion, and most of the nighttime scenes contrast beautifully with the happy and colorful suburban neighborhood setting. There is typically a lot of the color black, and a fair amount of steampunk machinery, juxtaposed with garish women's clothing and jolly Christmas season decor. It's what fans of these films expect from Burton, and he delivers it in perhaps his most stylish fashion yet. Even now it feels very original, especially when compared to his more recent, contrived outings. Dark Shadows, we're looking at you.

As a work of art, as simple entertainment, or as a visual representation of Tim Burton's insanity, Edward Scissorhands succeeds. It is an excellent modern fairytale and a must-see, and I give it 9 out of 10 stars.