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Horror

Bird Box (2018) Movie Review By Philip Henry

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Bird Box Review, Five years after an ominous unseen presence drives most of society to suicide, a mother and her two children make a desperate bid to reach safety.

Director: Susanne Bier
Writers: Eric Heisserer (screenplay), Josh Malerman (novel)
Stars: Sandra Bullock, Trevante Rhodes, John Malkovich

Netflix continues its commitment to high quality original content with this adaptation of the best-selling novel by Josh Malerman starring Sandra Bullock in her first major role for the small screen.

The film begins with Sandra Bullock loading two children into a boat and heading down river on a treacherous, two day journey. We flash back and forth between this journey and the five years leading up to her getting into that boat and explaining how she got there.

Bullock plays Malorie, a heavily pregnant artist who has largely disconnected from the world and uses her sister (Sarah Paulson) to bring her groceries and relay messages to her mother while she stays in her apartment painting dark images on canvas. Malorie is so out of touch with the world she isn’t even aware that a major unexplained event is happening in Russia that is causing people in their thousands to commit suicide. When her sister takes Malorie for her check-up at the hospital we realise that whatever is happening in Russia has now reached LA and things go apocalyptic very quickly.

In your usual post-apocalyptic setup, she takes shelter with a group of survivors. As they try to stay safe and figure out what the hell is going on there are the usual trust issues with each other and especially with anyone new who comes knocking. I have to give a special shout-out to John Malkovich at this point who is perfect (sorry, John) as the self-confessed ‘asshole’ of the group.

It’s soon discovered that strange creatures are to blame, and to merely look upon one of them makes you want to kill yourself instantly with whatever’s closest to hand. This is why any stills you’ve seen for this film probably show Sandra Bullock wearing a blindfold; apparently if you can’t see these creatures, they can’t hurt you. This is a brilliant plot device for creating suspense and fear, and the director does an excellent job using both.

Apart from the scene where the first outbreak of the phenomenon wreaks havoc on LA, this is mostly low-key character-driven sci-fi. If you’re looking for multiple explosions, spaceships and cyborg armies going to war with laser guns, you’re looking in the wrong place. In tone this is more akin to A Quiet Place, but where they had to keep quiet or the monsters would get them, Bullock and Co. have to avoid looking at them. Same problem, different sense.

There have been a lot of people comparing it to A Quiet Place, but another film it reminded me of was M. Night Shyamalan’s terribly misjudged The Happening. If you recall anything apart from how laughably bad that film was, you’ll remember it starts off with a bunch of unexplained mass-suicides. Well, this is the movie that film could have been.

Bullock is fantastic as the woman learning to connect with other people and the world at large over the course of the movie. There’s also a lot to be read into the film’s script which is incredibly well written and structured. I haven’t read the book so I’m not sure if screenwriter or author did the heavy-lifting, but it’s a story filled with lots of layers and allegory. I know what I think it’s about, but I won’t taint your perception by telling you. Watch it and see what you think it’s about. There’s lots in there to digest and I’m sure it’ll mean different things to different people.

This is the sort of film I really enjoy and I thought Bullock’s performance was remarkable. It’s a movie I can see myself watching multiple times and finding something new to appreciate on every viewing.

Action & Adventure

The Predator (2018) Blu-Ray Review By D.M. Anderson

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The Predator

and the Joy of Junk Food

Director: Shane Black

Writers: Fred Dekker, Shane Black 

Stars: Boyd Holbrook, Trevante Rhodes, Jacob Tremblay, Olivia Munn, Keegan-Michael Key, Thomas Jane, Alfie Allen, Augusto Aguilera, Sterling K. Brown, Yvonne Strahovski, Jake Busey, Brian A. Prince.

Who doesn’t occasionally love a decadent snack of empty calories? That’s why I’m a little perplexed right now. Having seen The Predator twice now – once in a theatre and again for this Blu-ray review – I’m still left with this question: Did I watch a different movie than everyone else?

The movie may not have been a critical darling, but what surprises me is the overall negative reaction from audiences, especially longtime fans of the franchise. I’m not sure what they were expecting, but as tasty treats go, The Predator is easily the most satisfying of all the sequels. Much more than the insipid Predator 2 and the somewhat under appreciated Predators, this one has a lot of the same unhealthy ingredients that made 1987’s Predator such enjoyable junk food, right down to musical cues from original composer Alan Silvestri’s iconic score.

Maybe my expectations weren’t that high to begin with – we ain’t exactly talking the Star Wars saga here – but I found The Predator to be a lot of fast-moving, trashy fun. While the film certainly remembers – and acknowledges – the timeline and events established by its predecessors, it isn’t simply more of the same. It has the audacity to tweak with the formula just a bit, adding an alien agenda, of sorts (kinda like extra nuts & fudge on a sundae). It turns out that Earth is more than just the Predators’ favourite hunting ground. Without spoiling the snack, they’ve come to better themselves, so to speak, and need us – one character in particular – to become more efficient killers.

Some of the new ingredients are admittedly ridiculous (alien hunting dog, anyone?), but last thing this franchise needs is the original’s basic plot rehashed yet-again. Besides, the narrative moves along at such a frenetic pace that there’s no point trying to scrutinise it until later. That’s like regretting that sundae while you’re eating it. In the moment, The Predator is by-far, the most action-filled – and bloodiest – entry in the entire franchise, unbound by anything resembling restraint.

But what really sets this one apart from the sequels is its characters. Like the original film, squaring off against the title creature is an eclectic team, this time consisting of soldiers who’ve been relieved of their duties for a variety of criminal or psychological reasons. Self-dubbed The Loonies and led by super-sniper Quinn McKenna (Boyd Holbrook), they are an intensely likeable and amusing bunch despite their sordid histories, making them more than just typical cannon fodder. Olivia Munn is also on-hand as Casey Brackett, the biologist who-first discovers the Predators are evolving, as well as McKenna’s autistic son, Rory (Jacob Tremblay). Refreshingly, Rory isn’t a token kid who merely exists to be rescued (though he eventually does need rescuing); his acute abilities make him integral to the plot (which I’ll concede is also a bit silly).

Writer/director Shane Black is definitely the right guy for the job. In addition to having a supporting role in the original, he did a lot of uncredited rewrites, most-notably the more humorous touches that later became one of his trademarks. Like other action-oriented films he’s since written and/or directed, The Predator is often very funny…even goofy on occasion. A healthy sense of humour has been missing from this franchise for a long time, though some viewers may feel Black tips the scales too much in that direction for their liking.

That being said, I enjoyed The Predator just as much the second time. Sure, it’s ultimately cinematic junk food, but so was the original, which didn’t take itself all that seriously either. In a way, the film plays a lot like a nasty variation of the Jurassic World films, more content with being big, brash popcorn entertainment than breaking new ground. Though some purists may balk at that, sometimes empty calories are just what we need.

Action & Adventure

The Predator (2018) Movie Review By John Walsh

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The Predator.png

Director: Shane Black
Writers: Fred Dekker, Shane Black 
Stars: Boyd Holbrook, Trevante Rhodes, Jacob Tremblay

I was looking forward to this one for a number of months. I’m a big fan of the original ‘Predator’, a film that was the gold standard for all 80s sci-fi horror. The second was decent enough, but not a patch on the original and since then we’ve seen ever diminishing returns from the franchise, akin to the travesty that is currently ‘RoboCop’. Step forward Shane Black, a man who’s still a relative newcomer in the directors chair. He made his name through the late 80s to early 90s as a writer and an average actor, before taking matters into his own hands with ‘Kiss Kiss Bang Bang’ back in 2005. 

Since then he’s directed just five films in a thirteen year period, but despite all of that, he had me excited for a potential fresh take on this tired and ailing franchise. The aforementioned directorial debut was excellent, ‘Iron Man 3’ was solid and undeserving of the flak it received from some quarters and ‘The Nice Guys’ was one of my favourite films from 2016. The latter in particular blended brilliant humour, action, violence, snappy dialogue, interesting characters and the outright ridiculous to great effect. So for me, the question then effectively was, can he bring all of that to ‘The Predator’? The answer is yes and no. 

The characters in the Nice Guys were distinctly different, the brawn of Jack, the wackiness of March, the brains of Holly and even the two antagonists were interesting enough without major development. I felt like Black tried this here again, got close in some parts, but couldn’t quite replicate the magic. It’s a totally different world and genre, in fairness, but the characters felt a little 2D in the main. 

Quinn (Boyd Holbrook), was ok, but no powerful leading man in the vain of Arnie. Casey (Olivia Munn), was decent but underused for me and whilst I’m on the subject of interesting underused characters. Traeger (Sterling K Brown), had so much potential as the government official with insider knowledge on the Predators motives, with a real hint of ruthlessness. The ‘Loonies’ were like something out of the Dream Team sans the acting brilliance of Christopher Lloyd and Peter Boyle, though I did enjoy the banter amongst them, primarily from Coyle (Keegan-Michael Key). Finally, Rory (Jacob Tremblay), the son of Quinn, was arguably the standout, playing a shy, intelligent boy that comes out of his shell amongst the madness. 

Now for the story, perhaps the biggest disappointment of the entire thing. I spoke about it on this weeks Box Office Chat and made the admission that I wouldn’t have had a clue what was going on a more grander scale, if Traeger hadn’t delivered a lengthy bit of exposition, around the beginning of the final act, letting everyone know exactly what was happening.

What was happening? Well, the first Predator they encounter had went rogue, coming to Earth in an attempt to help the indigenous populace stave off his conquering race of sport killing, spine ripping, blood thirsty, aggressive rascals. Armed with the knowledge of global warming’s risk to humanity, they had started mixing their DNA with the human genome to make the settling in process all the easier. How does he know this? Well, he’s part of a government agency that had been watching and studying the aliens come and go since their first encounter back in Arnie’s day. Which is all well and good, but doesn’t really explain the unadulterated aggression the first chap seemed to have for the humans he was supposedly helping. 

Which brings me onto the next point nicely. You can slag this film off in the story department, in character development, the editing was a little off in the final act, even the CG went downhill towards the end too when the bigger Predator entered the fray. Hell, if you’re easy offended or PC gone mad, then there’s the Tourette’s suffering member of the Loonies that’s the butt of a few jokes. But you can’t criticise the action sequences. There’s some epic moments in there and none more so than when the regular joe Predator awoke in the lab and dished out a sustained ass whooping to everything in the room. It was sensational to watch and it showcased the power and ruthless nature that’s synonymous with these guys.