The Matrix

I'd like to approach this review from two different directions.  First, I'd like to talk about memory for a second.  We all know The Matrix.  Most of us have seen it.   We all know it's great, though many of us were let down by those sequels.  It was groundbreaking, influential and thrilling science fiction.  I saw the movie several times in those first few years after it came out.  I knew the movie so well I didn't really feel I had to watch it again any time soon.  And the quality of the film began to fade into memory.   Yes, yes, when people would talk about The Matrix, I would always say, "yeah, that movie is great.  Super influential science fiction/action film."  My brain knew it.  I bet yours does, too.  But when is the last time you actually saw it?   Because if you sit down and start watching the movie now - especially if it has been a long time since you've last seen it - you won't just know it's great.  You're gonna feel it.  You see, my senses had forgotten.  And I know that is a weird thing to say, but when I watched The Matrix again for the first time probably in a decade, all of my senses were assaulted with its awesomeness.  

For those of you who haven't seen it...maybe this review isn't for you.  I don't want to write a plot synopsis because the less you know the better.  Just go buy it and watch it, and then come back to this review later.  But for everyone else, have you seen the movie lately?  Is your brain telling you, "no, you saw that movie a bunch of times already.  You don't need to see it again."  Screw that.  Go see it again.  

Okay, I want to shift gears here.  1999 was actually a great year for movies.  Check out this lineup: Fight Club, American Beauty, The Insider, Magnolia, Office Space, The Cider House Rules, Election, Boys Don't Cry, Sixth Sense, Blair Witch Project, Being John Malkovich, The Green Mile, and a whole bunch of others.   That's a diverse and influential grouping of films, and The Matrix definitely stacks up well alongside them.  The movie was a hit, and actually won four Oscars - Film Editing, Sound, Sound Effects Editing and Visual Effects.  But watching the film again now, I have to ask...why wasn't it nominated for more?  Because looking back on it, I think The Matrix might have been the best film of 1999.  

Not just the most fun.  Not just the most entertaining.  But actually the best.  

At a certain point, the Academy Awards decided they were going to be about "Oscar movies" and it is very hard for a non-prestige film to break through.  Especially since the 1990s.  In 1977, it wasn't crazy that a movie like Star Wars could get a Best Picture nomination.  But since the 1990s?  No way. And I think all of us instinctively contribute to the problem.  We've all been conditioned to think of movies in different categories.  Action movies, comedies, and science fiction make the money.  Dramas win the awards.  Of course, science fiction films have always dominated the technical awards, but I'm talking about the top dogs - Best Picture, and awards for acting and scripting that almost always go to serious, dramatic films.  

I know I felt that way for a long time.  I had the idea of what an "Oscar movie" stuck in my head.  If it wasn't pure drama, then it had to be an epic like Gladiator.  The Oscars love epics.  But something like The Matrix?  I never would have even considered it.  The Matrix was a super fun movie and one of my favorite films of the year, but I don't think I gave it any serious thought at the Oscars beyond those technical categories.  But watching it now, I am really changing my mind.  The Matrix isn't just good sci fi.  The Matrix should have been considered the superbly written and directed film that it is.  It should have broken through.

Let's look at a few of the categories.  

Okay, I'm not going going to go crazy.  The Matrix shouldn't be cleaning up in all the categories.  The film is perfectly cast, but I'm not going to be pitching Keanu Reeves and Carrie-Ann Moss for Oscar nominations, as much as I liked them in their roles.  But what about Laurence Fishburne or Hugo Weaving?  Fishburne's performance is even better than I remembered - I really like how different he is inside the Matrix - calm, collected, always in control - to how he acts in the real world, which is someone who is trying to be calm, collected and always in control for the sake of his crew and because he feels the weight of the world is on his shoulders.  It's subtle, but I sensed the desperation lurking under his calm demeanor in the real world.  And how about Hugo Weaving, whose awkward line delivery turned Agent Smith into one of the most iconic villains in science fiction.  His repressed anger, the way he disdainfully talks about everything and everyone, the calm but horrifying menace he brings to the role, I just think Weaving knocked it out of the park.  In his first scene, all it took was Weaving's disappointed "hmmm" when Neo flips him the middle finger for me to think, "damn, why wasn't he nominated?"  That year, the nominees were Michael Caine for The Cider House Rules, Haley Joel Osment for Sixth Sense, Jude Law for The Talented Mr. Ripley, Michael Clarke Duncan for The Green Mile and Tom Cruise for Magnolia.  These are all good performances, but I could lose Michael Caine if it meant I could get Fishburne or Weaving in there.  Caine gave a memorable performance, but I'd make that trade.  I know Caine was the winner in this category, but he had already won and I think he's been better (and honestly, he probably should have won the very next year for The Quiet American).

What about screenplay?  Yep, I am going there!  The script, by Lana and Lilly Wachowski, is so expertly constructed, and does such a good job of staggering information to you.  It's a smart script - philosophical without becoming heavy handed (unlike the unfortunate Matrix sequels).  Fishburne's simple, "do you think that's air you're breathing?" is more impactful than any of the philosophical ponderings in Reloaded and Revolutions.  The script is so creative and the twists and turns are so well thought out, that I would definitely pitch this for a Best Screenplay nomination.  So what would I knock out?  This is easy.  I would probably keep the eventual winner, American Beauty, Magnolia, The Sixth Sense for that twist ending alone, which is one of the most influential and copied moments in recent cinema history, and Being John Malkovich because it's so crazy that it just needs to be in the lineup - in fact, I probably would have voted for Malkovich to win.  But Topsy Turvy?  Nothing against that movie, which I really did like, but that's a no brainer for me.  Get it out of there, and put the Wachowski script in.

I know people might think this is crazy, but I've really thought about this.  And it's going to get crazier. Because the Wachowski's directed the hell out of The Matrix.  And I look at the list of nominees for Best Picture and Best Director, and I think the Wachowski's and The Matrix are better than all of them.  

Again, I want to stress that 1999 was a great year and I am not saying anything bad about these movies.  But as the decades have passed and we look back at what was nominated, it becomes clear what films have stood the test of time.  American Beauty, The Cider House Rules, The Green Mile, The Insider and The Sixth Sense are all great films.  I admire them all.  But which one would I get rid of to put in The Matrix?  Honestly, any of them.  Other than the last five minutes of The Sixth Sense, have any of these five films influenced filmmaking or our culture in any way that even comes close to what The Matrix has done?  The Matrix has reached iconic status - and not just because it's "cool" with its leather trench coats and sunglasses - no, if that were the case, I'd be pushing The Blade movies for Oscars.  And it's not because of the terrific fight choreography.  Nope, because then I'd be pushing John Wick movies for Oscars.  Those elements are absolutely crucial parts of what makes The Matrix what it is, but it is the way they are used, it's the way these elements are written, shot and edited that has made The Matrix iconic.  To put it simply, I think The Matrix should have nominated, and in a perfect world, it should have won.  

Also, as a quick tangent, Fight Club should have been nominated, too.  Again, I'm not sure which film I would have knocked out of the nomination list because I think Fight Club is better than all of them.  Ultimately, I think my five would have been The Matrix, Fight Club, American Beauty, The Insider and Being John Malkovich.  But again, it's not an easy category, because 1999 was such a great year.  

There are two other categories that I want to mention.  Best Cinematography is just stacked.  But I still want to give Bill Pope, the director of photography, some props.  The Matrix, with its tinted blues for the real world and tinted greens for sequences inside the Matrix, certainly presaged the way color has since been used in movies - especially with the advent of digital color grading, which just changed the entire field.  The nominations that year were American Beauty, Sleepy Hollow, Snow Falling on Cedars, The End of the Affair, and The Insider.  That's a tough category, and I am not confidant about who I could kick out.  Though again, I see a bias towards dramas - with the exception of Sleepy Hollow, these are all dramas and shot in a fairly conventional way - even if they are all expertly crafted.  Actually, I am pretty impressed that Sleepy Hollow slipped in here, now that I'm looking at it.   So am I upset that Pope wasn't nominated?  No, this is a tight category.  But either way, I think Bill Pope's achievement was pretty remarkable and should have been recognized.  

I also want to give Don Davis some love for his original score.  It may have been a bit heavy for Oscar voters, but it's become iconic music - those bendings horns are instantly recognizable.  But I am not sure who I would knock off the list.  American Beauty, The Cider House Rules and The Talented Mr. Ripley are all terrific scores, but I have not seen the other two: Angela's Ashes and the eventual winner The Red Violin.  But again, I'd like to point out something.  These are all dramas, with subtle and beautiful work.  But loud and powerful music - the type that grabs you by the collar and blasts those horns in your face, just isn't favored by the Academy unless you're one of the Lord of the Rings movies, and I think Don Davis' work should have been considered.

Anyways, I know this is rambling, and I'm not sure if anyone cares about me breaking down the categories this way.  But I was so enamored by The Matrix when I watched it again, and then so surprised by the 1999 Oscar nominations when I went back to look at them, that I just wanted to get into it.  

And to be fair, the movie isn't perfect.  It does have some problems.  Some nitpicks.  To this day, I get frustrated when Neo, Morpheus and Trinity get to the phone in the subway station and are finally about to escape.  And even though they are being chased by these super powerful agents, Trinity basically stops Neo and says, "hey, hold up, I want to talk to you about something."  No no no.  Pick up the damn phone, escape, and then talk about it later!  The love story, in general, doesn't quite work for me.  I know Trinity is destined to fall in love with Neo, and they do a good job of establishing the idea of destiny earlier, but I think the two of them needed another scene or two together to really sell the fact that they are falling in love.  And I've always found something goofy about the way Cypher dies.  Not sure if it is the editing in that one spot, or the fact that Tank has to talk to him before pulling the trigger.  Can't put my finger on it, but that moment has always been strange.  

See what I mean?  These are nitpicks.  Trifles!  But if you ask me to find something I don't like about a movie, I almost always can oblige.  

At the end of the day, even though the sequels damaged its reputation, The Matrix is a brilliant film, and should have dominated 1999 not just at the box office, but during awards season, as well.  Our brains have conditioned us to think otherwise, but that's just an "Academy Awards Matrix" that we're all trapped in.  Let's break free and see this film as the classic it is.  And hopefully let's give future action films and science fiction films the chance they deserve to compete with dramas at the Oscars!  

MVP:

I have to go with the Wachowski's.  Though veteran producer Joel Silver helped steer the ship, this is the Wachowski's vision through and through.  It's a remarkable achievement.  The film is so meticulously conceived and crafted, I just couldn't give the award to any one else.  

I also have to give them props for insisting that fight choreographer Woo-Ping Yuen (who would later choreograph the fights in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon) work on the movie.  Yuen tried to get out of it by demanding too much money and also requiring the actors to train with him for four months prior to filming.  Most studios would have balked at that request. But the Wachowski's insisted.  They had a vision, and that was to bring fights to American mainstream audiences the likes of which they had never seen before.  And they knew their man.  They needed Yuen, and they were right.  The fight scenes are dynamic and thrilling, and certainly helped change the way fight scenes have been choreographed ever since.

They also had a vision with the special effects.  Bullet time has been imitated for so long now that it is hard to remember how unique and thrilling it was the first time we saw Neo bend backwards in slow motion as bullets flew over his body, leaving trails of distorted air in their wake.  So innovative.  So cool.  Still copied today.  All part of the Wachowski vision for this film.  

Yeah, this is an easy MVP.   

BEST LINE: 

Part of me wants to just say "whoa" or "I know kung fu" because they are priceless and certainly career defining moments for Keanu Reeves.  But I have always loved Morpheus' lectures to Neo, especially during the training dojo sequence.  So I am going to go with the line I mentioned earlier.  

Morpheus: How did I beat you? 

Neo: You're too fast. 

Morpheus: Do you believe that my being stronger or faster has anything to do with my muscles in this place?  Do you think that's air you're breathing now?

TRIVIA: 

I love casting what ifs.  The Matrix has a couple of big ones.  Sandra Bullock was offered the role of Trinity, but turned it down.  Will Smith was offered the role of Neo, but also turned it down.  I've heard descriptions of the pitch meeting the Wachowski's gave him,  which was more about the bullet time and crazy effects than it was the story, and Smith decided to make Wild, Wild West instead (ouch).   But Smith has no regrets because he thinks he would have messed the role up and no one could have been a better Neo than Keanu Reeves.  And he's right!  And then Sean Connery was offered the role of Morpheus and he turned it down because the script made no sense to him.  I love Connery and this would have been fascinating to see.  But I can't imagine anyone other than Fishburne in that role.  

Man of Steel

Man of Steel

Poor Warner Brothers.  They had the Batman franchise, but their other super heroes just weren't catching on with the public.  Their attempt to revive Superman in 2006 with Bryan Singer was considered a failure (because it made only $400 million!  Yeesh, how greedy can you get!).  Their attempts at jumpstarting franchises with their other big guns like 2011's Green Lantern fared even worse.  Meanwhile, Marvel was destroying box office records with their second stringers, guys like Thor and Iron Man.  And when The Avengers became one of the biggest blockbusters of all time, DC looked on greedily.  But what were they to do?  Batman had run its course, so they couldn't go to that well again.  Not yet.  No, the choice was clear.  It was time to return to the man who stood for truth, justice and the American way.  It was time to go back to Superman.

I watched on the sidelines as Warners Brothers assembled one of the more eclectic film crews.  First of all, they turned the franchise over to the men who had revitalized Batman, Christopher Nolan and David S. Goyer, who then in turn brought on Zack Snyder (300) to direct.  The cast included a group of actors I never would have associated with a comic book movie: Amy Adams, Laurence Fishburne, Michael Shannon, Diane Lane, Russell Crowe, and Kevin Costner.  As each new cast member was announced, I grew more intrigued.  And I was very happy when Henry Cavill got the nod to play the Man of Steel himself.  He's an actor I have liked for a long time (despite the atrocity on mankind that was Immortals).

So I was tentatively excited, but I was also worried.  I kept hearing that this was a "new" take on the legendary hero, re-invented to be in the world we live in today.  Being dark and gritty might work for Batman, but not Superman.  Superman is heroic, he's bold, he's big.  He is not darkness.  He is the light.  That's the whole point.  So I was really worried when I saw the dark palate of the film, the grim tones, the darker suit.  I was willing to give the movie a chance, though.

So how did they do?  Not bad, actually.  My worst fears were not realized.  First of all, the re-invented, more "realistic" approach is actually pretty well done.  While they do change some elements from the origin story, they don't go off the reservation.  They stay true to the most important plot points - the planet Krypton explodes, but not before brilliant scientist Jor-El launches his infant son into space...the ship eventually crash lands on Earth and is raised by an All-American family in Kansas, the Kents.  This is where the story diverges a bit.  Nolan and Goyer want to know what it would really be like for an all-powerful alien to grow up in today's America.  In many ways, he would be an outcast.  He doesn't know who he is.  He can't reveal what he can do.  His senses - heat and x-ray vision, super hearing, massive strength - these are all overpowering and he can't control them.  Instead of encouraging him to use his powers someday for good, his adoptive parents actually try to get him to hide his abilities because they think people wouldn't understand.  They would be afraid.  And they're probably right.  So young Superman grows up, wandering around, hiding his powers, trying to find his place in the world.  Lucky for us, he finds it right before the evil Kryptonian General Zod, who also survived the planet's destruction, arrives on Earth, ready to raise some hell!

I have to say that despite some problems, I was enjoying the first half of the film.  Sure, the opening battle sequence is completely unnecessary, and I was really annoyed by the overuse of shaky cam (why do we need shaky cam in dialogue scenes?!?!).  But for the most part, I was rolling with the movie.  A few folks have complained that the Krypton scenes focused too much on science fiction, but that didn't bother me.  In fact, I felt that some of the science fiction elements actually brought the movie more in line with the comics.  I was generally pleased that Zach Snyder avoided his normal stylistic tricks, but kept with a more simple filmmaking approach (despite the shaky cam).  And the movie's biggest asset is its risky but brilliant casting.  Along the board, I was really impressed.  Cavill is a really solid Superman, Shannon is having a ball chewing the scenery as the villain, Lane and Fishburne are great in the limited screen time they have, and Adams fits into Lois Lane's shoes perfectly, and makes her much more intelligent than some of the other Lois Lanes we've known.  And Costner and Crowe are pitch perfect as the fathers: Costner perfectly embodies the American spirit while Crowe manages to gracefully settle into a more Obi wan Kenobi type role.

So I was starting to enjoy the movie...and then the punching began.  And it didn't stop for what seemed like 7 hours.  The climactic battle of the film is one of the most over-the-top, destructive, ridiculous, and monotonous battle sequences I have ever seen.  The effects all look terrific, but when they feature nothing but someone punching someone else through a building over and over and over again, it gets really old.  Look, I appreciate that modern special effects finally give us a chance to see super heroes wail on each other...but when they are actually unable to hurt each other, it gets old.  And by the time I saw the 783rd building collapse, I checked my watch and just thought, please let this battle be over soon.  Please!  But it didn't stop.  It just kept on going on and on.  And with each punch, I cared less and less.

It's kind of a shame because the first battle with the evil Kryptonians in Kansas is actually pretty inventive, with the combatants using their various powers in different ways.  Superman tries to fight off two warriors, clearly better trained than he is, though not as powerful, while simultaneously trying to protect the U.S. military (who are actually attacking all three of them).  It's a fun sequence, and certainly massive enough in scale to be a worthy climax in any other movie.  But we still have an hour to go!

I just wanted someone to stop punching and say a line of dialogue.  Just any line of dialogue would do.

Clearly, as the movie went on, I liked it less and less.  It wasn't just the fighting.  The storyline kind of goes a bit flaky, with weird plotting, and just blah dialogue. It's almost as if the writers got to the halfway point of the movie and said, "whew, we got this far.  The CGI guys can take it from here."

MINOR SPOILERS HERE BELOW.  I also don't like how the battle ends.  I don't want to ruin anything so I will try to be vague, but I don't like the way Superman wins the battle.  The filmmakers go out of their way to justify the move and it makes sense in the context of the film, I suppose, but it also goes against over 80 years of Superman history.  He just wouldn't do that.  And that bothered me.

But what annoyed me most about the ending is that we have a cute little scene at the Daily Planet, with Clark Kent, Perry White, and Lois Lane all going to work and smiling, as if nothing had happened, as if the whole damn city had not just been torn to smithereens.  There was such wanton destructiveness, with over-zealous special effects guys demolishing massive amounts of the city with explosions that easily would have killed tens of thousands of people, and it's as if nothing had happened.  Nothing at all.  Everyone is all smiles.  The movie has zero consequences.  And I actually found that to be irresponsible.  And it pissed me off.  Nolan and Goyer are better than that.

SPOILERS OVER.

Last thing I hated is the complete misguided score by Hans Zimmer.  Though it isn't thematically strong, I enjoyed his Batman scores and understood how his music fit the mood of Nolan's Gotham.  But he is completely out of his element here.  He has a nice, ascending motif which sounds heroic enough but it builds to nothing.  The rest of the score is cheap sounding synth tracks with some dated guitar overlays from the 1990s.  Even if this movie is more grounded and realistic, Superman is still Superman.  And that still requires music that is big and bold.  And I don't want to hear the excuse that no one writes music like that any more.  There are composers who do it well.  Listen to what Giacchino did with Star Trek and John Carter.  Heck, listen to the superb score John Ottman gave Superman Returns.  Zimmer mentioned in interviews that he initially didn't think he was the right man for the job. He should have listened to his own instincts.

Anyways, enough rambling.  So where does this leave me?  Did I like Man of Steel?  Sort of.  There is a lot to like here.  Goyer and Nolan's take on the character is interesting, the casting is superb, and Snyder's direction is confident.  But there is so much that bothers me.  It's really a mixed bag.  And while the movie has been a huge hit, and the studio is already cooking up a sequel, Warner Brothers had better do better the next go-around.  Because if they make another movie as mixed as this one, they will never reach the heights that Marvel has ascended to.

BEST LINE:

Superman: My father believed that if the world found out who I really was, they would reject me out of fear.  He was convinced that the world wasn't ready.  What do you think?

MVP:
Of all the stars in the film, I definitely liked Coster and Crowe the best.  But I'm not picking either of them for my MVP.  Rather, my MVP is going to the one non-star in the bunch, the up-and-coming German actress, Antje Traue, who plays General Zod's second-in-command, Faora-Ul.  She is one tough cookie, full of malevolence without resorting to scenery chewing.  But what impressed me is that she made this much of an impression when she is such an underwritten character.  There is nothing on paper that really sets her apart.  But the fact that the character is so memorable is a testament to Traue's acting.  The second she walks onto the screen, her presence just draws your attention - and that's impressive when she is mostly sharing the screen with seasoned pros like Crowe and Shannon.  She's my clear MVP.  It doesn't hurt that her big fight with Superman in Kansas is easily the highlight battle of the film.


TRIVIA:
Henry Cavill has the worst luck.  He was always directors' second choice.  He was the frontrunner in an earlier Superman reboot, but that project fell through and the studio went with Bryan Singer's Superman Returns instead, with Brandon Routh as the title character.  He was the second choice for James Bond before Eon went with Daniel Craig.  He was the second choice for Twilight's Edward Cullen before the studio chose Robert Pattinson.  And he was also runner-up behind Christian Bale for Batman.  I'm glad a franchise finally came through for him!  

Contagion

Contagion

What if a super virus swept across the world, wiping out millions of people?  Hollywood has played with this idea before, but the result is usually a zombie movie or an action flick where Dustin Hoffman darts across the country looking for a diseased monkey, both of which are equally unrealistic to me.

So kudos to Steven Soderbergh's Contagion, which tries to depict what would really happen if the world was struck by a killer virus.  The movie does not necessarily tell a story in a traditional narrative sense - instead it throws in almost a dozen characters dealing with the virus in their own ways, which allows the audience to trace the growth of the MEV-1 virus and the ways it starts to rip society apart at the seams.  And the cast that Soderbergh has gathered for these different perspectives is superb - look at this: Laurence Fishburne, Matt Damon, Gwyneth Paltrow, Kate Winslet, Elliot Gould, Jude Law, Jennifer Ehle, Marion Cotillard, Bryan Cranston, John Hawkes, Sanaa Lathan.  It's quite a cast.

In some ways, this scattered narrative is the weakness in the film, preventing us from fully understanding the stories of some of the characters.  For example, Marion Cotillard's storyline starts as perhaps the most interesting - she is sent to Hong Kong to find the origin of the virus - but then her story takes a strange turn.  While I understand it from an intellectual level, I don't buy how it occurs in the movie.  It just feels like she is missing one or two key scenes to make her character work.   The same thing is true with Jude Law, who plays a blogger who rages about conspiracy theories and ends up contributing to the panic sweeping across the globe.  I had trouble understanding the ins and outs of what he was doing; I just knew he was not a good guy (of course, they make sure we know he's not a good buy by giving Jude Law a weird prosthetic tooth.  Only bad guys have weird teeth like that.  Unfortunately, this makeup decision backfires.  I probably missed important plot details because I couldn't pay attention to anything except that damn tooth!).

Then again, in some other ways, this fractured storyline is also a strength because it prevents the movie from falling into a Hollywood formula and keeps the whole crisis realistic and grounded.  Presenting the story this way makes it clear that this could happen to us someday.  The true horror of Contagion is seeing how easily this virus could spread, by shaking hands, by breathing on a casino chip for good luck, by simply holding onto a handrail on the bus.  These small moments are given great importance in Contagion because they are the mundane actions that would kill us if a super virus really did strike.  And that makes Contagion more scary than all the Saw movies combined.

I have to give the movie big props in one other way.  All too often, science is portrayed as either nerdy or dangerous in movies.  Contagion makes science cool.  It's rare to see the government in a positive light in the film, it is even more rare to see the government scientists as the real heroes.  I thought that was awesome and it was nice to see.

So all in all, Contagion is a solid film, not without some serious problems, but still a really good piece of work.  It is well-written, superbly acted, and thought provoking.  I feel with a little more work and a little less fake teeth, it could truly have been great.

BEST LINE:
Dr. Cheever: "We don't need to weaponize the bird flu.  The birds are doing that."

MVP: SPOILER ALERT!  The storyline that hit me the most was that of Dr. Erin Miers, played by Kate Winslet.  Miers is sent to Minnesota, where the virus seems to have entered the United States.  She has a tough job, tracking down the possible carriers, setting a triage for the inevitable deluge of infected, and all while dealing with a narrow-minded city council that doesn't want to stress out the town during the holidays.   But Miers goes through with her work, carefully and efficiently.  So imagine her surprise when she wakes up in the middle of the night, hacking and running a high fever.  Here is an example of what should be most frightening to all of us: someone who did everything right, who should not have gotten sick, and yet she still got hit with the virus.  And out of all of the characters in Contagion, it was Miers' fate that I was most concerned about.  The question of whether Miers would live or die had me hooked for the whole movie.  I give much of the credit to a low key, simple, but superb performance from Winslet.  In a movie full of great actors, she stood out.  So she wins the MVP!

Predators

Predators

Well, I have to give producer Robert Rodriquez (Desperado) and director Nimrod Antal (Kontrol) credit. Their hearts were in the right places. They looked back at the history of the Predator franchise and watched as it was bogged down in a futuristic city in the first sequel and then dragged through the mud in two ridiculous 'vs. Aliens' movies.

So if Predators doesn't quite hit the mark, it's not through lack of trying. The basic plot is a fun extension of the original. Various ruthless killers from around the globe are gathered together and parachuted into a strange jungle. They include a mercenary (Adrien Brody), a sniper (Alice Braga), a Russian soldier (Oleg Taktarov), an African rebel (Mahershalalhashbaz Ali), a Japanese Yakuza (Louis Ozawa Changchien), a Mexican cartel enforcer (Danny Trejo), a murderer (Walter Goggins), and also a doctor (Topher Grace, onboard for some comic relief). It doesn't take long before this group of hunters realize that they are now the ones being hunted - by a trio of vicious Predator aliens. If you've seen the originals, you know what you're in for. If you are new to the franchise, then you are about to watch some giant, wonderfully designed alien warriors who like to hunt humans for sport with a variety of spears, wrist blades and shoulder cannons. The Predators themselves were cool in 1987, and they are still pretty cool.

As a dumb, fun action flick, Predators gets the job done, I suppose. The fight scenes are engaging, the weapons are cool, and the explosions are appropriately big. But the movie is full of good ideas that either don't pay off or just end plain stupidly. Only two or three of the characters are even remotely interesting or memorable. The "mystery" about why the doctor is in the jungle is predictable and unnecessary - and actually makes no sense as presented. The characters continually do things that are really stupid - for example, pretty early on the gang finds out that the Predators can see their heat signatures. And they realize that if they cover themselves in mud, they can mask their heat signature, pretty much making themselves invisible to the alien hunters. But do they smother themselves in mud? Nope. They just kind of say, "oh, that's interesting" and then go about their merry way.

But there is still some fun to be had. Adrien Brody ("The Pianist"), who I initially thought was woefully miscast as a tough mercenary, is actually really good. He's appropriately badass and damn, is he cut. Brody has clearly been working out. A lot. And Alice Braga (I Am Legend) as the guilt-ridden sniper Isabelle, really brings a bit of humanity to accompany her toughness.

All in all, its not a great movie. Despite its best intentions and some great ideas, its a bit of a misfire. But it is certainly better than any other Predator movie since the original. If you need an old school action movie to watch, there are worse ways you can spend your afternoon.

MVP: This one is easy. Alice Braga. I don't know what it is, but the camera loves her in this movie. Braga has never really registered on my radar before, but I guess you give a girl a sniper rifle and I start paying attention! But she's more than just a dirt and blood covered pretty face; she actually gives the best performance in the movie. Though the role is a bit under-written, she actually manages to create a three-dimensional character, someone who got her old partner killed, who doesn't want to be a part of violence any more, who actually thinks before she acts, and who puts the group before anyone's petty interests. If Adrien Brody is the leader of the this ragtag group of killers, she's the heart and the conscience. It's a good performance. And wow, does she look cute running around with that sniper rifle.

TRIVIA: The original script called for cameos from the stars of the earlier Predator movies - Arnold Schwarzenegger and Danny Glover. Unfortunately, those scenes were cut out of the script. Which is a bummer, because that would have been pretty cool.

BEST LINE: Royce: "How do we kill them?" Noland: "However you can."