Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Writer-director Chris Nolan has admitted that he works with plot first and character second.  It shows.  In a good way, he grabs your attention with complex plots that unravel before your eyes and bring out unforgettable twists.  From the very beginning, the film sets up mysteries that keep you intrigued from beginning to end.  Nolan has created his own world of dreams and it’s no surprise that there are comparisons here to The Matrix.  Rest assured, this is definitely a movie that you’ll be talking to your friends about for the next couple weeks.

But Nolan’s preference for plot in his films often relegates his characters to expositional machines and pawns of his complex plotting.  Inception is no exception.  To the film’s detriment, Nolan never explores the characters’ motivations nearly as much as his dream world.

One example, of many, is that Ellen Page plays Leonardo DiCaprio’s pupil, who questions his past and strives to find out about his darkest secrets.  Yet there’s no real motivation- other than to move the plot forward- for her to push him into revealing his past.  Nor do we know why she, out of all the other characters, is the only one who strives to help him overcome his pain.  Nor is there ever a clear reason why she feels compelled to join up with his team in the first place.  I’d give more examples with the other characters, but I don’t want to give any more plot points away.

Regardless of the lack of character potential, the cast is solid and it’s hard to imagine any other actors in these roles.  While DiCaprio and Page give their expected star turns, Tom Hardy nearly steals the show as the forger, Eames.  And Cillian Murphy, most famous for his creepy turn as Scarecrow in the Batman films, has a more satisfying role here as, perhaps, the most sympathetic character in the movie.

Long story short-  If you’re one of the many who believes that Hollywood is in a creative rut right now, the best thing you can do is go to the theater and see this film.   Inception is definitely one of the best films this summer and is a good chance of being one of the best we’ll see all year.

Predators

The strength of the script- written by Robert Rodriguez, Michael Finch, and Alex Litvak- does not lie in the story, but rather in the characters.  The ensemble gathered here is far more varied and interesting than the group of soldiers in Rodriguez’s original draft and even, dare I say it, the team from the original movie. Adrien Brody might not be as ripped out as Arnold, but he makes you believe he’s a cold, calculating badass who has the best chance among the cast in surviving this ordeal.  At times, the dialogue exchanged between him and Alice Braga’s Isabelle brings more depth than you’d expect in this type of film.

The rest of the cast does a fine job, even when some have shorter roles than others.  You’re left wanting to know more about these characters since I’m not sure if all of them were really used to their full potential.  Laurence Fishburne’s character, for example, definitely seemed to be more of an exposition and plot device (though fans expecting him to act like Morpheus will be in for a surprise).

There are many homages to the first Predator, as well as a complete reference to the events of ” ‘87 Guatemala” that seals the film as a sequel, rather than a remake/reboot.  John Debney’s musical score really feels like Alan Silvestri’s music from the first two films and if you wait a bit during the end credits, you get to hear the tune of the original Predator theme.

The special effects are all believable, especially when you consider the film’s budget, and it’s a treat to see the classic Predator in action once again.  While modern action films seem to love using shaky-cam and rapid-fire editing, the action sequences in Predators, for the most part, are shot and edited well enough that you can actually follow what’s going on.

Be warned, however, that the amazing shot from the trailers of Adrien Brody being targeted by several Predator “triad” lasers is really  a marketing cheat: in the movie, he’s only targeted by one.  (Strangely enough, the 1996 draft actually features a scene that’s close to the manipulated one in the trailer).

Still, Predators is a worthy sequel to the original and all fans of the franchise should take a look.

I was fortunate enough to read the original version of Predators and share my thoughts on it below.  (Please keep in mind that I am not authorized to share this script, so please, no requests.)

The difference between this script and the film is apparent from the beginning- Dutch (Arnold Schwarzenegger) is back!  That’s right- if this were made back in ’96-’97, Arnold would have returned.

But the Dutch here is far different from the one we met in the beginning of Predator.  Rodriguez acknowledges where Dutch left off in the first film and presents us with a man still haunted by his experience in the jungle.  Gone is the Dutch who spouts lines like “Stick around” and “What’s the matter?  The CIA got you pushing too many pencils?” Instead, this Dutch would’ve required Arnold to take on the silent, yet deadly characteristics he displayed in the first Terminator.  (Though, there are some Arnold-like lines- “They’ll be back” and “Everyone down now!” moment and, of course, the standard Arnold quips made right before killing his opponent).

Dutch also isn’t the main character this time.  He’s actually a prisoner of the army, who has to drop him off at a prison in a nearby planet.  Guess who’s also on that planet?

Overall, the script feels more like an ensemble piece, with Arnold’s character absent for long periods of time after he is separated from the group.  And perhaps this is the script’s biggest problem.  Since Arnold is the one character we’re familiar with, we expect to follow him for most of the story.  When the focus shifts on his captors, we have difficulty caring about them.  Worse yet, most of the soldiers seem more like fodder and seem only to be there to rack up the body count.  On paper, it becomes hard to distinguish who is who when everyone seems to talk the same and only a couple characters stand out enough for you to follow them throughout the script.  If this film were made, I find it unlikely that it would’ve stayed this way.  Arnold’s role would have been expanded and a couple of the soldier parts would have been cut.

Further proof that this would’ve improved the story is that once the ensemble shrinks down to a manageable 3-4 characters, the script starts to get more interesting and there’s an intriguing plot twist that would’ve showed that the Predators are more than just killing machines and have an unexpected partnership with certain humans…

The ending certainly leaves room for a sequel and one wonders what it would’ve been like if this film were made and had gotten the greenlight for Predator 4 with Arnold returning as Dutch again.

For the new movie, though, I think Rodriguez made the wise choice to rewrite the characters and leave Dutch out of it when Arnold proved to be unavailable, rather than cast a new actor to play Dutch.   Judging from the trailer, it also looks like Rodriguez cut down on the cast and made sure that each character felt distinct and would stand out more for us to care about them.

Next week, stay tuned for my review of Predators the movie and see how it compares to the script.

Welcome to the Jungle follows Navy Seal Drake as he winds up stranded on the Predators’ planet.  His only hope of survival rests in joining another human survivor: Noland (the Laurence Fishburne character of the film).  But with both men at each other’s throats, can they truly work together against a planet full of manhunting Predators?

A Predatory Life follows Royce (Adrien Brody’s character) on a mercenary assignment that tests his morals and reveals his skills as a killer.  It serves as a nice introduction to the film’s protagonist and helps us anticipate how his abilities will help gear him up for surviving on the Predator planet.

Like most comic prequel tie-ins, these stories aren’t essential to read in order for you to understand Friday’s film, but they do serve to enhance your understanding of the world and give you a preview of Noland and Royce’s characters.

The comic does cover Noland’s backstory in flashbacks, but one can’t help but wonder why we didn’t follow Noland as a main character instead.  No matter how much of his backstory is shared in the movie, the comic could have gone more into how he landed on the planet and learned to adapt.  There’s some nice conflict between Drake and Noland that makes me curious how Noland’s relationship with Royce and the others will be like in the movie.

A Predatory Life has a more interesting story as we get to follow Royce, an unpredictable character who strives to stay amoral when his job pushes him to be immoral.  He has a problem harming women and children, yet has no problem mercilessly taking out the political leaders who want to protect them.  He proves to be a wild card- the reader can’t predict what he’ll do next, which is what makes him such a strong protagonist.  I hope this quality carries over into the movie character.

If you like prequel comics or can’t wait for Predators to come out tonight, check out the four-issue comic at your local comic book shop.

Written by Scott Peters, the pilot introduces a whole slew of major characters that, unfortunately, can feel rather stock, such as the rebellious teenage son, the single working mom who’s never there for her kid, and the priest with a crisis of faith.  I am not familiar with the original V miniseries, so I’m unsure which characters were adapted from Johnson’s work and which ones were created for this version.  But regardless, it’s hard to feel that V offers much that’s new and unique with its main cast.  As such, many of the scenes can become rather predictable.

On the other hand, the story really picks up in the last half of the pilot.  The plot turns in a few surprising ways and some characters are revealed to be much more than they originally seemed to be. The memorable ending provides just enough to hook you into watching future episodes.

Actress Morena Baccarin, pictured above, is deserving of the praise for her performance as the Visitor leader, Anna, and some of the directing choices of Yves Simoneau help reinforce the ambiguity of her character .  Also, the special effects, especially of the spaceships, are top notch and offer very impressive visuals for your television screen.

But it is the story and the characters that make up a great T.V. show.  V has the potential to explore more unique characters and more unpredictable plot turns.  But will it reach that potential?  We’ll see.

The premise centers around a global phenomenon in which everyone on Earth blacks out for exactly two minutes and seventeen seconds. During this time, many experience visions of themselves six months in the future.  For some, it’s a hopeful vision.  For others, it’s a nightmare.  And, just to add to the mystery, some people don’t see anything at all.

Viewers will find the beginning set pieces, including a disastrous traffic jam in Los Angeles, to be certainly impressive, but the rest of the episode turns into rundown after rundown of every character’s vision.  While they’re necessary in setting up the rest of the series, the constant successions of the visions- or flashforwards- can get tiresome.

It’s difficult to tell from the pilot alone if FlashForward will be the next Lost, but the ending promo for the rest of the season promises more intriguing storylines and new characters, including a mysterious figure played by Dominic Monaghan.

Here’s hoping that the series will grow to reach its potential.

If you missed the premiere, don’t worry.  ABC is showing an encore presentation tonight at 8PM PST.

If you saw the pilot, what did you think of the FlashForward premiere?

Peter Jackson and Neill Blomkamp’s apartheid alien flick is out of this world 

Peter Jackson and Neill Blomkamp were supposed to make a movie version of Halo – but ’studio politics intervened’ (according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)  and the project died.  

Both men were devastated, but decided to direct the Halo momentum into making a feature out of Blomkamp’s short film Alive in Jo’Burg  – and so District 9 came into being.  

Citizens may recall an ambiguous advertising campaign that came into being a few months ago. Buses and posters appeared that simply said ‘For Humans Only!’ Or ‘No Non-Humans Allowed’ with a large bug crossed out in red. If you are like me, you were confused, bemused, and excited to see what these vague advertisements prognosticated. 

South African politics are reflected in the illustration of the relationship between human and alien in District 9. Those who were cognizant of news issues before 1994 will recall the election of Nelson Mandela and the end of Apartheid (Dutch word meaning separateness.) In Jackson’s film, the Nigerians and Dutch descendants are united in their dislike of the bug – like aliens that arrived on earth mysteriously in the mid 80’s. They refer to them unkindly as ‘Prawns’ and force them to live in a shanty town in District 9 of Johannesburg.  

The action begins with the election of Wikus Van De Merwe (Sharlito Copley, who reprises his role from the short film) to the head of the alien relocation squad. Human residents in District 9 are tired of the prawn presence in their community and have put pressure on the government to remove them to a new location outside of the city. Legally, the squad has to present the aliens with eviction notices 24 hours prior to the move. The plan goes awry when several aliens refuse to cooperate (don’t understand the forms they are being given.) Wikus invades several of the prawn’s shanties, finds weapons caches, and is infected by an unidentified object. Wikus comes into conflict with white South Africans, Nigerians and prawns as he begins a slow transformation towards becoming a prawn himself.  

Christopher, a ’smart’ prawn, and his son help Wikus in exchange for his knowledge. They ‘just want to go home.’ Unlike the annoyingly precocious youngsters in previous action films, (Independence Day, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom) Christopher’s son is adorable, likeable, and helps rather than hinders their mission. The relationship between the prawn father and son is actually very touching, and goes a long way towards humanizing the prawn community for audiences.  

District 9 is definitely not for children. There is  advanced weaponry, splattering prawn and human body parts, evil government medical experiments, malicious tribal warfare, and people eating cat food (gross!) Overall, District 9 is completely absorbing. It is an excellent film and the ending left it wide open for sequels. Dead Alive fans and Lord of The Rings fans alike will be delighted with Jackson’s newest project.