Predators

2 1/2 out of 5 Stars




Predators is a direct sequel to Predator. It opens on a bunch of people falling through the sky and finding parachutes they never knew they had. Soon they discover each other and are led through the jungle by Adrian Brody's character and find that they are being hunted by alien creatures known as predators. But of course some people know more than others.

Predators is from what I hear beyond a reasonable doubt much better than the former predator film sequels. I'll just have to take their word for it. All the same, this film is more of a fan film for those who enjoy the franchise more than anything. By all means it's a decent action film with fun sequences throughout the second half of the film. The cast does a surprisingly good job at acting in a film with such a ridiculous plot. It's so simple and mundane that it's storyline follows that of basically hundreds of B-movies but succeeds where they don't. And the acting really does help the films cause.

But the action in the film can't save it from it's mediocrity and slow and mundane first half. Very little seems to happen until close to the one hour mark and therefore causes a sleep inducing feeling before finally picking up the action. And when a film is known as an action film and not much more there is a problem. It was better than I necessarily expected but that didn't save it. I was still too bored. I wanted more action. I wanted more drive. Instead I got lots of walking around and exposition. At least they throw in a samurai and a katana fight.

Splice

3 1/2 out of 5 Stars




Clive and Elsa are scientists skilled in the field of genetic splicing. Recently they have created genetically cloned creatures for their experiments at their company. Now Elsa decides that they should take a step forward and try to clone with human DNA, something that Clive is completely against. But somehow Elsa convinces Clive to let her do it and every time that Clive tries to end the process, Elsa finds a way to keep it going, way past term like she originally promised, ultimately resulting in Dren, a quickly growing cross human and animal cloned hybrid.

Splice is not necessarily an easy movie to watch and in my opinion by no means a film just for pure entertainment. It is dark and sometimes disturbing, exploring areas that very, very few films dare go. But I think that it is a well put together film that explores a important forbidden realm that no one seems willing to talk about; human cloning. And it explores this realm in a way that does not condone it in any way. The film is unnerving but with its cast, splendid soundtrack, and creative direction from Vincenzo Natali, Splice soars as a cautionary tale. Yes, there were some moments that could have been toned down a notch, but in the end the films intensity helps reiterate the undertone of the issues with cloning.

This is a film that traversed boundaries, asked daring questions, and tackled a tough subject. It laid out in the open the high moral ambiguity of these ideas and how it skews all lines of right and wrong. This isn't a film for everyone to see and its not a film you should see just for entertainment. There are plenty of films for that. But every once in a while a film comes along like this with an important message that needs to be heard. These are movies that you don't always want to watch more than once. But in this case I enjoy most of the film and respect the whole for what it is. And though it is dark and disturbing, it is also intriguing.