Predators

OPENING: 07/09/2010

STUDIO: Fox

RUN TIME: 106 min

ACCOMPLICES:
Trailer, Official Site

The Charge
Fear is Reborn

Opening Statement
While I’m a fan of John McTiernan’s savage sci-fi thriller Predator, pretty much everything else about the Predator franchise to date has been uniformly unimpressive. Sure, Predator 2 and even the two Alien vs. Predator movies have their defenders, but to me they all played like weak attempts cash in on the popularity of the original. Now we have Nimrod Antal’s Predators, which easily bests the other sequels but still fails to match the first film.

Facts of the Case
The film begins with our hero (Adrien Brody, The Darjeeling Limited) falling from the sky. He doesn’t seem to know how he got in this predicament, but soon a parachute opens and he floats into a mysterious jungle. Within moments, several others are floating in around him. Brody and the others (a motley crew played by Topher Grace, Alice Braga, Danny Trejo, Walton Goggins, Oleg Taktarov, Louis Ozawa Changchien and the spectacularly-named Mahershalalhashbaz Ali) tensely introduce themselves, and soon discover that they all have one thing in common: they’re hardened individuals well-equipped for a situation like this. Well, everyone except Topher Grace, who is a mild-mannered doctor.

After some searching, the group makes a startling discovery: they’re not on planet earth anymore. It seems they’ve been transported to another world and dumped into some sort of game preserve. The incredibly deadly aliens that brought them to this place are planning on hunting the humans for sport. And so the fight for survival begins.

The Evidence
It’s clear that those involved in making Predators are big fans of McTiernan’s 1987 film. The jungle setting is near-identical, the structure is very similar and various references are made to that iconic film. Director Nimrod Antal and producer Robert Rodriguez make an impressively valiant effort at recapturing what made the first film so memorable, and they almost succeed. Like the first movie, this one waits a pretty long time before it actually allows the monstrous Predators to appear. This is meant to build suspense, but the one thing the film fails to take into account is that we’re already very familiar with what the Predators are and how they work. Scenes that are nearly mirror images of scenes from the first movie just don’t work as well simply because we’ve already seen them.

Lest you think that I regard the original Predator as a flawless piece of cinema, let me assure you that isn’t the case. That movie has some significant flaws, but it’s quite well-directed and the primitive final half-hour is strong enough to erase one’s memories of the weaker moments. Predators is weak in precisely the areas where the original was strong, as the movie just sort of runs out of steam by the time Adrien Brody gets into mud-coated Predator-hunting mode. The action scenes are directed in a rather generic, uninvolving manner, so it’s only natural that the action-heavy third act would be the weakest.

I had hopes that a gifted actor like Adrien Brody might bring something meaty to the proceedings, but Brody proves surprisingly bland in the central role. Beefing up a bit and adopting Christian Bale’s Batman rasp, Brody humorlessly stomps through the proceedings without making much of an impression. Most of the other actors are one-dimensional character types who each bring a single element of personality to the proceedings. There are some highlights, though: Walton Goggins is gleefully creepy in his turn as a serial killer, while Laurence Fishburne melds his usual gravitas with an appealing loopiness as a man who has been surviving on this planet entirely longer than any human should have to.

If Predators is weak where Predator was strong, it’s only fair to note that Predators is occasionally strong where Predator was weak. Some of the less explosive moments in the film actually manage to resonate, particularly a brief scene between Brody and Braga in which they contemplate whether this new environment is actually better-suited to humans such as themselves. The characters are constantly forced to choose between survival and clinging to whatever they have left of their humanity. They are presented with variations on this choice on numerous occasions, and it’s quietly moving every time.

Closing Statement
I do genuinely appreciate the effort Antal and Rodriguez have put into restoring the franchise; and those who are fans of the series in general should find this one of the more satisfying efforts. I can’t really recommend it to those who aren’t already big fans of Predator, but you could certainly do a lot worse at the movies right now.

The Verdict
6/10

Splice

OPENING: 06/04/2010

STUDIO: Warner Bros.

RUN TIME: 104 min

ACCOMPLICES:
Trailer, Official Site

The Charge
The future is born

Opening Statement
The first time I saw a trailer for Splice, I couldn’t help but roll my eyes a little. It looked like the sort of disposable creature feature that we’ve seen all too many times. Thankfully, the actual film is a surprisingly thoughtful and intelligent effort that stands out nicely in a crowd of underwhelming summer movies.

Facts of the Case
Clive (Adrien Brody, The Darjeeling Limited) and Elsa (Sarah Polley, Dawn of the Dead) are genetic scientists who are involved with each other both professionally and romantically. They’ve been doing groundbreaking work in the world of genetics, splicing together various sorts of animal DNA in the hopes of creating hybrids that will lead to cures for various diseases. Unfortunately, once they make a breakthrough the company forbids them from doing further research and orders them to do whatever is necessary to milk whatever money there is to be made out of the work they’ve already done. Clive and Elsa begrudgingly comply with the latter part of this request, but ignore the former in favor of continuing to do their own experiments on the side.

Dismissing questions of ethics and morality, Clive and Elsa attempt to splice animal and human DNA. Their efforts are a success. The initial plan is simply to observe their creation for a while and terminate before it even comes to full term, but the plans are disrupted when the fully-developed creature emerges far sooner than anticipated. Clive and Elsa can’t help but form an emotional attachment to the curious beast, naming her “Dren” and determining to care for her. Alas, Dren is aging at a remarkably rapid rate, meaning that she moves from infancy to adolescence in a matter of days. As Dren develops new tendencies and physical features, Clive and Elsa are torn between their feelings of compassion for their creation and their concerns about what she is capable of.

The Evidence
Though the film loosely takes on the structure of a horror film (and it’s certainly being marketed to that audience), Splice is essentially a science-fiction-driven drama with elements of horror sprinkled on top for flavor. The film takes place in a world that isn’t too far removed from our own; it isn’t very difficult to imagine a scientific breakthrough along the lines of what is seen. Granted, the specific elements would probably be quite different, but Splice is a reasonably realistic “what if?” tale that’s up to far more than merely making the wheezy old statement that man ought not attempt to play God. Sure, the old “how far is too far?” debate is part of the proceedings, but the film digs deeper than that.

Splice explores the family dynamic in ways that are alternately emotionally affecting, subversive and flat-out sinister; offering a look at two people who are essentially having to adjust very quickly to a creature moving through every stage of childhood at a rapid rate. Raising a child is something that can be both a joyous experience and a very frustrating one, and in this instance the joys and sorrows are elevated immensely given the specifics of Dren’s existence. Imagine the delight in Elsa’s discovery that Dren is able to make sophisticated neural connections, and the terror in the discovery that Dren may have deadly carnivorous tendencies. The stakes are higher than usual, but there are very familiar echoes in the relationship between Dren and her “parents.” However, being forced to adjust so quickly to Dren’s changes eventually leads the scientists to make decisions based less on carefully-considered thought and more on emotional impulses, which naturally leads to further complications.

The trailers suggest that Dren is a savage monster that has been unleashed by irresponsible scientists, and some may actually come away from the film feeling that’s the case… but I don’t think so. I couldn’t help but feel a great deal of pity for her; she isn’t an instinctively evil creature. The film quietly suggests that if splicing together animals and humans is immoral, it isn’t because we would be creating some horrible thing but because we are currently incapable of giving that creation an appropriate environment to grow in. Dren is a unique being with unique needs; it’s incredibly difficult for humans to respond to her correctly without doing something to cause damage. I think a case can be made for the idea that almost everything negative Dren does over the course of the film is a result of specific decisions that were made by the humans responsible for her (and I’m not talking about the decision to create her in the first place).

The film tackles a lot of weighty material; the topics range from abortion to child abuse. However, the movie succeeds because it manages to work on both a metaphoric level and on a basic surface level. I will confess some disappointment at how conventional the final 15 minutes or so feels, as it seems like a requisite sacrifice made to those who came for the standard-issue shocks and jolts. Despite this, even the moments of convention do make sense in context and continue to work well in that dual-layered manner. The performances by Adrien Brody and Sarah Polley are both quite good, as each is asked to run the emotional gamut and tackle some rather complicated scenes. Good as they are, the show is stolen by French actress Delphine Chaneac; so intensely expressive as Dren under all the heavy makeup and CGI effects. Using only a collection of purrs and screeches, she tells us everything we need to know about her.

Closing Statement
Though it stops short of achieving greatness, Splice is an uncommonly good genre film that kept me involved and intrigued from beginning to end. Recommended.

The Verdict
8/10

Cadillac Records

OPENING: 12/05/2008

STUDIO: Sony

TRAILER: Trailer

ACCOMPLICES: Official Site

The Charge
Follow the beat to its source.

Opening Statement
Cadillac Records tells the true story of the famed Chess Records label. In addition to this, Cadillac Records is every musical biopic you’ve ever seen. Yes, it’s giving us a look at the life of Chess Records founder Leonard Chess (the co-founder, Leonard’s brother, is nowhere to be found in this movie). Chess Records was home to a number of influential and immensely talented African-American musicians, including Muddy Waters (Jeffrey Wright), Willie Dixon (Cedric the Entertainer), Howlin’ Wolf, Little Walter, Chuck Berry (Mos Def) and Etta James (Beyonce Knowles). The film does indeed tell their story, but I wish that this story didn’t feel so much like every other story about musicians.

Facts of the Case
If VH1 has taught us anything, it’s that the life of every musician is more or less the same. In the first act, we meet the aspiring dreamers. Quite often these folks are down-on-their-luck nobodies with a lot of talent. They begin to rise to fame and become very popular. In the second act, the artist starts to get too cocky, acts like a jerk, starts doing drugs, drinking, and/or cheating, and begin a terrible downward spiral. In the third act, the person realizes how foolish they have been, vow to change their ways, and find some measure of success again. The end credits then tell us about all the awards the person has won and all of the wonderful things that happened in their life. Ho-freaking-hum. The formula was still working okay when Jamie Foxx wowed everybody in Ray, but it’s getting very old very fast.

The Evidence
I honestly didn’t think that Cadillac Records would be able to employ this formula. Because it was about a diverse group of individuals who had different lives, surely it had no choice but to be different? The film is almost fiendishly determined to make sure that it is not unique in any way. Since it can’t focus on a single individual who happens to be going down the acceptable plot path, it keeps the formulaic structure in place and simply inserts the pieces that fit along the way. Need some success in act one? Focus on Leonard Chess and Muddy Waters. Need some bad behavior and failure in act two? Focus on Little Walter and Chuck Berry. Need some redemption in act three? Focus on Etta James. It’s a fiendish scheme, I tell you.

But you know what? I fell for this sucker one more time. Despite the fact that I profess to hate formulaic biopics, despite the fact that nearly every moment in the film was predictable… I kind of liked the movie. As a movie, it’s kind of lousy, but as a musical… great googly-moogly, Cadillac Records works like gangbusters. The film keeps a steady stream of soulful blues flowing from start to finish, and the bland bits of formula wind up feeling more like commercial breaks in the middle of an exceptionally enjoyable television special. If you’re coming for the drama, you’ll be disappointed, but if you’re coming for the music, you’ll get your money’s worth.

I was also impressed by just how smoothly the film is cast. By that, I mean that every actor playing a famous figure immediately becomes that figure. We aren’t watching Adrien Brody, Jeffrey Wright, Beyonce Knowles, and Mos Def… we’re watching Leonard Chess, Muddy Waters, Etta James, and Chuck Berry. Wright in particular is just superb here, demonstrating yet again that he is one of cinema’s finest character actors. Meanwhile, Brody manages to make Leonard Chess a very compelling figure. He isn’t a civil rights activist or a noble saint… he’s just an ambitious, somewhat compassionate and financially irresponsible businessman who wasn’t going to let something as stupid as racism get in the way of a big pile of money. The scenes Wright and Brody share are some of the only strong dramatic moments in the film, as they offer a reflective complexity that can’t be found elsewhere in Cadillac Records.

Closing Statement
So, does the movie work? Yes, but only on a surface level. If some terrific music and convincing performances are enough to earn your 10 bucks, then by all means go for it. If you’re hoping for a musical biopic as effective or insightful as Ray or Bird — or heck, even Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story — then you’ll undoubtedly be a bit disgruntled at the conclusion.

The Verdict
7/10