Recent Release Reviewed: Predators

Starring: Adrien Brody, Alice Braga, Topher Grace, Laurence Fishburne, Walton Goggins

Screenplay: Alex Litvak, Michael Finch, based on a script by Robert Rodriguez

Director: Nimród Antal

A group of killers, including soldiers, mercenaries, and criminals, are dropped into a jungle. They quickly realise that they are being hunted, and they are no longer on Earth.

Unlike the Alien movies, the Predator films have never been big on scares. At their best, they're tense chase films, or big fun stupid action movies. This latest effort, guided through production by avowed fanboy Robert Rodriguez, attempts to combine the two, with a clear intention to summon the spirit of the first film. It's not entirely successful, but it's entertaining enough.

We start by being introduced to the team of killers. Brody's performance as de-facto leader Royce is surprisingly solid, despite the Christian Bale voice, while Alice Braga gives good support as the more empathetic sniper. The rest of the cast are rounded out by the usual stereotypes: Giant Russian, silent Yakuza, odd-man-out (Grace), and Danny Trejo. Most fun, however, is Walton Goggins (The Shield, Justified) as depraved death-row inmate Stans, who gets all the best lines. Fishburne also seems to be having a great time in an extended cameo as "The one you don't fuck with."

Made for a relatively modest $40 million, it's competently directed by Nimród Antal, who beat directors like Michael J. Bassett (Wilderness, Solomon Kane) and Neil Marshall to the gig. It would have been great to see what Marshall would have done with this, but never mind, eh? There's some decent chase sequences, the Predator designs are updated with varying degrees of success (do we really need new masks?), and the Predator-vision brings a warm fuzzy feeling to those of us who are fans.

However, there's never really any sense of surprise. It's pretty easy to spot which of Royce's band of rogues is next to go, and once we get over the fun of the premise, with our anti-heroes stranded on an alien planet, the structure is basically identical to the first movie. While Predator 2 was undoubtedly flawed, it did at least shake things up by bringing the monster to Los Angeles. Certain plot-points are mishandled, specifically one character twist that is revealed far too late in proceedings to make any impact.

Predators is far superior to the Alien vs. Predator movies, which is damning it with faint praise, but it's also a decent sci-fi action film that does restore a little dignity to the franchise. It's no masterpiece, and it doesn't hold a candle to the first movie, but it's a fun ride.

6.5/10

Recent Release Reviewed: Life During Wartime

Starring: Shirley Henderson, Allison Janney, Ciarán Hinds, Paul Reubens, Michael Lerner, Ally Sheedy, Michael Kenneth Williams, Chris Marquette

Written and directed by: Todd Solondz

Several years after the events of Happiness, the characters of that film are still struggling along. Joy (Henderson) is questioning her marriage to Allen (Williams), a perverted criminal who is trying to reform. She travels to Florida to visit her sister Trish (Janney) who thinks she may have finally found a normal man in Harvey (Lerner), and may be able to forget her paedophile ex Bill (Hinds). However, Bill has just been released from prison and heads to Florida to ask oldest son Billy (Marquette) for forgiveness. But while Billy knows the truth, his little brother Timmy is preparing for his bat mitzvah, and has realised that his mother was lying when she told him that his father was dead.

Back in 1998, Happiness was one of the most controversial films around. It looked frankly and with some sympathy at what were mostly unlikeable characters. It was tough to watch but impossible to forget. It's strange that, over ten years later, Solondz has decided to revisit them. He's always seemed like a director with no interest in commercial success, so it's safe to assume that this sequel wasn't made for financial reasons. Indeed, with a completely new cast, Life During Wartime doesn't feel like a follow-up.

The big strength here is the film's cast. Solondz has found a group of actors worthy of their predecessors. Shirley Henderson steps in Jane Adams, Allison Janney for Cynthia Stevenson, Ciarán Hinds for Dylan Baker, Ally Sheedy for Lara Flynn Boyle, Michael Kenneth Williams for Philip Seymour Hoffman, and Paul Ruebens for Jon Lovitz. Henderson is excellent, playing a woman starting to wonder if her perpetual optimism has been for nothing, as is Janney, whose Trish is determined to believe that things are finally getting better. The standout, however, is Hinds, bringing a crushing gravitas to Bill, who knows that he can't hope for forgiveness.

For the most part, Life During Wartime doesn't really say anything new. It's neither as shocking as Happiness (nothing here matches Dylan Baker's confessional scene with his son), nor as funny. The jokes about saying inappropriate things in front of family members and medicating children seem a little like Solondz going back over old ground. There are moments, however, when it works. Joy's hau nted by the ghost of Andy (Reuebens), who is desperate to sleep with her, then screams abuse when she turns him down. Reubens' is creepily effective, playing off Henderson's determination to be kind very well. A scene between Bill and Jacqueline (Rampling), a bitter woman who picks him in a bar, resonates, too, with both characters certain of the pointlessness of hoping for forgiveness. "Only losers expect to get it," she spits. Hinds' scene with Marquette is also superbly played, but to discuss that too much would be to spoil one of the best moments of the film.

It's certainly an interesting experiment to see this characters with different faces so many years later. Life During Wartime is occasionally very sharp indeed, and the performances are excellent. However, it doesn't really seem like the ideas abou t forgiveness have enough meat to drive a whole film, and frankly there's not that much new ground being covered here.

6/10

Takeshi Kitano Marathon: Violent Cop (1989)

"[Takeshi Kitano is] the true successor to Kurosawa." - Nagaharu Yodogawa

High praise indeed, but just how good is Takeshi Kitano as a director?  Like most western audiences, I am most familiar with him from his tremendous acting performances in films such as the manic but brilliant Battle Royale and the sombre Merry Christmas, Mr Lawrence.  Since then, like many, I've admired his acting prowess, but I am a bit of a latecomer to his career as a director.  So, over the next few weeks, I'm filling the gap in my knowledge and am going to watch the first seven works in this man's cannon.

Our first stop is, fittingly, Mr Kitano's directorial debut, 1989's Violent Cop (or the literal translation, That Man, Being Violent).  Now, I'm not sure about you, but on seeing that title, I was expecting something akin to a JCVD/Steven Seagal bloodfest but with less fist fighting.  I'm so glad that this couldn't be further from the truth.  That's one reason why I prefer the literal title, it aptly describes the simplicity of the film, but much like the title, the picture isn't straight forward.

Although other articles have done this much better, with great verbal finesse, no piece on this film would be complete without a brief history of its origins.  The original premise for the film was a comedy about a man whose only emotional response to the world around him was that violence.  Now, to me, that sounds like a pitch for another Will Ferrell/Adam Sandler man-child picture and at the time, that's exactly what Japanese audiences would have expected from Mr Kitano.  Back then, he was known primarily as a comedian - one half of The Two Beats (for a western comparison, he was quite similar to the role Vic Reeves plays in his double act with Bob Mortimer).    Closer to home, we know his comedic side better from the platform-game-brought-to-life that is Takeshi's Castle.  The titular Takeshi?  Yep, that's Takeshi Kitano.  In short summary, the original director had to withdraw from the project due to illness and, because Mr Kitano had expressed an interest in direction, the studio allowed him to helm the film.  Extensive rewrites were performed and voilà! the strange beast we know was Violent Cop was born.

"Strange beast" is definitely an apt way to describe this film.  On the whole, the pacing is slow, dialogue is minimal and the movie feels expertly controlled by its director, which is a great complement to his natural abilities in this area.  These qualities are also found in any scene when violence is committed by its main character.  The timing almost veers towards slapstick (my mind instantly turns to the Three Stooges-esque slap that Kitano gives to a man after a bus has pulled off).  However, there are several sequences dotted in the film where violence (literally in one case) explodes onto the screen, chaotic and free.  Not only does the gratuitous violence from these scenes feel pulled from a different picture, but each feels different to another.  Violence may be presented with great variety, but it is never in a complimentary manner.  It is always shown as the horrid perversion it is.

Visually, the film is dreamy.  Well composed and carefully shot, it is definitely a beautiful film to watch.  This is nowhere more apparent then the finale, with its clever use of light and shadow.  Except for this sequence, it is a refreshingly direct film, lacking in any pretense or "quirky" angles.  Mr Kitano also shows that he is not afraid of alienating an audience and his bravado is rewarding and inspiring.  There are several long sequences where it seems that Mr Kitano is declaring that this is his film and his story, he is going to tell it exactly how he pleases and the movie is definitely better for that.  By allowing him to develop a distinctive sense of image, the film improves as it progresses.

Plotting wise, well, there is barely a plot - in fact, there is a strong argument that the first hour simply introduces the players in order for some sense of a story to begin in the final half hour.  This is not a problem however as it gives us time to realise that the titular character may be violent, but he is not fundamentally a bad man.  It is his incorruptability that keeps him his job after his violence once again lands him in trouble.  In this sense, he is a very pure character, easily to work out and therefore easy to get behind.  Mr Kitano has also surrounded himself with some very capable actors who aid in making this first hour so interesting.  In spite of a couple of amateur-esque supporting actors, the film is incredibly well developed by its actors.

Overall, what is most impressive about this film is the control that Mr Kitano has over his camera.  One film into his oeuvre and he already feels like an accomplished auteur (yes, I speak pretentiously and yes, those are probably the only French words I know).  The film definitely has its flaws and its intentions seem muddled at times, but it is one hell of a début and I eagerly await the next.

Next up: Boiling Point