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LeftSideCut (3776 KP) rated Predator (1987) in Movies

Sep 2, 2019 (Updated Oct 25, 2019)

Predator (1987)

1987 | Action, Horror, Sci-Fi

8.4

(62 Ratings)

Movie Rating Watch

Dug in like an Alabama Tic

Here we have a shining example of a crazy genre mash up that nails it first try.

Predator starts off as another 80s action fest, full of one liners, muscles, and explosions. It's ridiculous in all the right ways. (Dutch and Dillon's gratuitous muscles hand shake will always remain one of the most stupid-but-incredible shots committed to film)

As we all know, Predator takes a turn near the halfway mark into sci-fi-horror territory, introducing us to one of the most iconic on screen alien species ever.
The Predator design is badass, and the inevitable unmasking is pretty nasty.

As the movie draws to it's climax, the showdown between Dutch and The Predator is exciting and inventive, and cements Predator as one of the very best Arnold Schwarzenegger films.

Throw in a healthy amount of violence and some Little Richard and we have a hugely enjoyable action film to enjoy over and over.

It's a damn shame that none of the sequels have ever come close to the original and best. Maybe one day...

Kudos

Awix (3310 KP) rated Rambo: Last Blood (2019) in Movies

Sep 19, 2019 (Updated Sep 19, 2019)

Rambo: Last Blood (2019)

2019 | Action, Adventure, Drama

6.4

(41 Ratings)

Movie Rating Watch

Savagely, sadistically, but (oddly enough) not entirely gratuitously violent exploitation movie. Hulking war veteran John Rambo has retired to a quiet life in Arizona and all is well, until his innocent young niece is kidnapped by Mexican gangsters, hooked on drugs, and installed in a brothel. Suffice to say Rambo does not respond well to this.

Sounds like a recipe for a bone-headed train-wreck of an action movie, and there are a lot of things about it which are deeply problematic: the depiction of Mexico and Mexicans is highly provocative, it's inherently misogynistic, and some of the violence arguably goes too far. But parts of it have a depth and soulfulness to them that is rather surprising - Rambo himself is a highly ambiguous figure, and the story is competently told with a real sincerity to it. The climax is disappointingly mechanical, but the story holds together and it's always a bit cleverer and more surprising than you're anticipating. A horrible movie, yes, but not a wholly bad one.

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Awix (3310 KP) rated Hollow Man (2000) in Movies

May 31, 2020

Hollow Man (2000)

2000 | Action, Horror, Sci-Fi

6.7

(15 Ratings)

Movie Rating Watch

Paul Verhoeven brings all the taste and restraint you might expect to this loose updating of The Invisible Man. Nothing terribly original or surprising about the plot - invisibility experiments go wrong, which (unsurprisingly) nobody saw coming - although the emphasis on the psychological effects of being invisible is something unexpected and genuinely derived from Wells. That said, the main character played by Bacon - second billed, perhaps because he's technically not on screen for much of the film - is such a piece of work to begin with they don't leave themselves much room for manoeuvre.

Selling points of the film are, firstly, the lavish CGI, which I suppose was very good for the time; you can sense the technicians are having fun with it. Also the violence and gore, which is fairly strong for a studio movie; it also has a hard, nasty, sometimes misogynistic edge to it (Verhoeven...!). It all plays out pretty much as you'd expect. Competently done but nowhere near the standard of Verhoeven's best SF films.