Predators

Do you ever have one of those movies that you are super excited to go see on opening day, even though you know it will be a major disappointment? Predators is that movie for me this summer. A true fan of the Alien and Predator franchises (and admittedly their retarded hybrid children as well), I thought Robert Rodriguez would bring life back into this series and make the sequel that we have all been waiting for since 1987. Unfortunately it's not so much a sequel as a remake.

The plot can be surmised from watching one of the previews. A group of warriors and one doctor (I know, Topher Grace in an action flick?) are dropped on an alien planet to serve as prey for three predators who are probably on safari. You have the Russian heavy gunner, the death row inmate, Yakuza assassin, African freedom fighter, Mexican drug enforcer, etc. and finally, Adrien Brody.

I know, Adrien Brody? This is his first try at action to the best of my knowledge, and he overplays the gravelly accent worse than Christian Bale's Batman, though he did add some considerable weight for the obligatory shirtless climax battle scene.

The rest of the cast is recognizable, but not memorable. Laurence Fishburne is an absolute waste of screen space as a crazy hermit surviving in this alien planet, and Topher Grace and Walton Goggins are thrown in for comic relief, but both of their roles seem a little out of place when contrasted with the rest of the killers, especially Grace. I am still scratching my head as to why he was there in the first place. There is no real explanation aside from an opportunity for a flat twist.

It wasn't all that bad though. The music was almost identical to the original, and there are many references to that film throughout this one, either through dialogue, homage, or just plain imitation. In the jungle, die one by one, leader takes his shirt off, man defeats the predator. Just not the most likely of stories.

They could have done a lot more with the alien planet. It seemed like a typical jungle with some photoshop done to make plants look extra exotic. They also added some new creatures and technological advancements on the predators, but they were unimaginative and needed a little more screen time. You would think I hated this movie by this point, but it was the second best of the series...

Brody will take a little getting used to, and he needs better dialogue and delivery if he wants to make it in action (my advice to an Oscar winner...). Arnold he is not, but it looked like he had fun doing it.

Perhaps the bar was too high, or perhaps I expected more from a director whose best work so far is a toss up between Vacancy and Armored. There just is so much potential with this franchise and this story, and it keeps disappointing. Oh well, I will still go see the sequel. 6/10.

Inception

Chris Nolan's latest endeavor places Leo DiCaprio and his team in a Matrix-like world where dreams can be shared and influenced by the visitors. Sounds a little hoky and confusing? Perhaps a little redundant or overly ambitious? It's actually not.

Unlike the Matrix, which relied on breakthrough visual effects and incredible choreographed fight sequences, Inception follows a more mainstream approach with a deep, layered story and A-list actors. The sci-fi element is unbelievable, but they do a nice job masking that with the dialogue and acting.

Inception refers to planting a seed of an idea into a dreamer's head thus deliberately influencing their subconscious into making decisions that benefit the client. Leo plays Cobb, an expert extractor, or team leader who goes into other dreams to get valuable information. His supporting cast includes Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Ellen Page, Michael Caine, Cilian Murphy, Tom Berenger, Marion Cotillard, Ken Watanabe, and Tom Hardy.

Most of the film is setup for the big extraction, or in this case the inception, and the introduction of the various characters and their roles in the job. There is the architect, the chemist, the dreamer, etc.

Particularly effective are Joseph Gordon-Levitt as Leo's right hand man, Arthur, and Tom Hardy as Eames, a sort of chameleon operator. Levitt is a rising star even though he is approaching 30. He's been cast in some choice roles lately, and will continue with an upcoming action flick, and a Seth Rogen cancer comedy (that's not a typo). Hardy on the other hand, has been on my radar since his stunning role in the little known 2008 biopic titled Bronson, about a psychopathic inmate with a serious penchant for violence. He is a great actor, and gives Inception just the right jolt of action and some quick one-liners.

Leonardo DiCaprio, one of my favorites, just seems to go through the motions with this one, overshadowed by Nolan's haunting score and vivid scenes (see Dark Knight) the true beauty of this film lies in the dreamworld visual effects and the intrigue of the story. The supporting characters pick up the slack (if you could even call it that) and are the perfect assemblage of talent.

Truly original and suspenseful, the viewer gets sucked in as the team dives deeper and deeper into dreams within dreams, until the brilliant climactic conclusion. Some people may balk at the Sopranos-like ending, but it was perfectly complementary to the style and tone of the rest of the film.

All in all, this is a great film. If you enjoy the mindbending entertainment and can put on your disbelief suspenders, you will love it. We haven't seen a story this original in the action genre since the original Matrix, and probably won't again anytime soon. It was an excellent project for Nolan to slip in between Batman's, and I can't wait to see what he comes up with for that one in the next couple of years.

My only complaint, albeit a minor and insignificant one, is that Ellen Page seemed wildly miscast as the young, cynical architect joining the group. I can't get her cute, silver-tongued Juno out of my mind, and I really think the film would have benefited from a young male actor. This would have obviously cut women almost completely out of the picture, which was clearly a conscious decision on the Nolans' part, but I think for the story it would have been both more appropriate and more believable (take that very lightly).

I really enjoyed this film. Great film to kick off July. 9/10.