Predator: Badlands

We’ve come a long way since Ah-nold was rolling around in the mud in Central America. I confess that I am much out of date as far as this franchise is concerned. I didn’t even know going in that it had been folded into the ever-metastasizing Alien-Blade Runner universe. So there’s quite a bit here that was new to me. What is not new—indeed, it has become a reliably predictable trope—is the phenomenon of the monster from an original story sooner rather than later becoming the hero insubsequent iterations of the franchise. So we have it here. That plot trajectory makes this film a target for skepticism right from the start, and for sure, many of the movie’s early details lead the viewer to question the premise and execution of this work. You get a lot of stuff that follows the “wouldn’t it be cool if…” line of thinking—note to would-be filmmakers: generally, no, it wouldn’t—without much evidence that any real inspiration went into the production beyond that initial thought. What saves the proceedings from full-on ridiculousness is a certain level of cleverness in the action sequences, as well as some unexpected wry humor in the characters’ interactions. So while I can’t make the case that this movie is particularly great, I must somewhat grudgingly admit that it holds the attention and entertains throughout. Nothing here is groundbreaking—this is treading on ground that was thoroughly broken long ago—but you can watch it without feeling like you have wasted your time. It’s like you’re bringing home the measliest hunk of meat you could find, but nevertheless, it goes into the books as a successful hunt. 

Maleficent

Remarkable thing: in a movie stuffed to the gills with special effects and computer generated characters, it is only in the human moments—or at least almost-human moments—wherein the story’s real charm comes to life. I watched this and it’s sequel in reverse order, so I was at a certain disadvantage where some elements of surprise were missing; hence the story lacked some of what should have been its inherent drama. That said, the aforementioned dichotomy between the human interactions and the fake-play between the real and digital characters stands out here. One might almost believe that a movie such as this, if made the old-fashioned way, might be some untold amount better. Alas, it is unlikely we will see such efforts made any time soon, despite the potential for greater results (and, I daresay, better economics; all those special effects cost a lot of budget-bloating money). As for the story here, the makers almost but not quite pull off this re-imagination of the old tale into something that works. However good Jolie may be in turning Maleficent's character inside out, she still makes a better villain than a hero. And frankly, some of the plot changes make some story elements make no sense. For example: Why are the pixies welcome at the christening, when the introductory material so thoroughly vilifies The Moors and its inhabitants? (Also, they might want to get a grip on what kind of land the term “moors” refers to.) All in all, this is a decent diversion, so long as you didn’t pay money to watch it, but it hardly falls into the category of classic, enchanting entertainment.

Maleficent: Mistress of Evil

Except, not really...Evil, that is. Or so this movie would have you believe. In a way that makes some story sense; in the original Disney Sleeping Beauty, Ms. Horns causes all the trouble because she feels slighted. Perhaps she’s more “mistress of peevishness” than anything else. Anyway, the producer folks at the studio try to make her the hero here, or at least not the biggest problem in this outing. They had enough sense not to go overboard with it; as Old Mal, Angelina Jolie does not exactly gush or strike heroic poses—she just avoids being homicidal and sort of saves the day at the end, though not without a certain amount of destruction. The other characters—including Elle Fanning's Aurora, who is the only particular standout—do their things through various degrees of forgettable-ness, while the bulk of the story lives awash in computer generated visuals, up to and including the now typical of every fantasy movie climactic battle chaos. Really, story-wise it’s something of a muddle; perhaps that’s because I watched the sequel before ever seeing the original. (I blame the current chaotic streaming landscape.) Try this trick and you’re left wondering about the relationships between all these particularly M being A’s godmother (really, more like adoptive mother, but godmother sounds more storybook, I guess). Anyway, there are some decent scenes here, mostly involving Jolie and her work in the title character, and a few instances where the vibe of a real fairy tale does come through. I wouldn’t say this one casts any real spells, but it doesn’t curse you or put you to sleep either.

Super 8

The moviemaking version of a Mobius strip: Spielberg produces a movie by J.J. Abrams, who channels a young Spielberg and makes a movie that combines Jaws and Close Encounters (and a dash of Cloverfield, with even the barest pinch of E.T.), which…you get the idea. I'm tempted to downgrade this one just for being an orgy of self-referentialism, but the bottom line is that this is a wildly entertaining flick, and really doesn't need to apologize for anything. So just watch it and enjoy.