Every Sunday, Gill delves into his archive of over 800 movie reviews and randomly selects three for your enjoyment! Here are this week’s…
Predator 2
Predator 2 is a bit of an anomaly as far as sequels go, but thankfully the filmmakers’ idea to take the movie in a completely different direction than its predecessor actually pays off pretty well. Rather than in the literal jungle of the present, Predator 2 takes place in the urban jungle of tomorrow: a dystopic, retro-futuristic city filled with gang violence and crooks. A new predator alien has decided to make this city his hunting ground, and it’s up to a cop played by Danny Glover to figure out who’s killing the bad guys on his watch. Predator 2 is undeniably silly, but thankfully the movie seems to recognize this and plays everything a bit tongue-in-cheek. Glover is no Schwarzenegger, but the presence of Gary Busey always affords a film some crazy fun, and the new predator weaponry on display is likewise enjoyable. It’s not anywhere near as good as the first Predator, but it’s not as bad as it could have been. If I had seen this movie when I was 12, I probably would have adored it.
3 out of 5
Step Brothers
I quite like both John C. Reilly and Will Ferrell, and I really like the work of Richard Jenkins, but unfortunately I found Step Brothers to be pretty forgettable. I guess I just don’t find the idiot man-child style of comedy all that amusing, but for what it’s worth, Reilly and Ferrell have great on-screen chemistry and comedic timing, and there are a few chuckle-worthy moments. I think it’s telling, though, that I can’t list any of them specifically here. Not bad, but not great either.
2.5 out of 5
RockNRolla
Guy Ritchie tries to reclaim his gangster-chic style after the disaster that was Revolver, and he comes pretty close, but overall I didn’t enjoy RockNRolla as much as I was hoping to. I’ll start with the good stuff: the cast is terrific. Gerard Butler, Tom Wilkinson, Mark Strong, Idris Elba, Tom Hardy, and all the rest of them do great jobs in their UK lowlife roles, and some bits with the Wild Bunch gang of characters come very close to matching the rapid-fire wit of Ritchie’s previous efforts Snatch and Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, but there are many times where I found the film dragging. Still, this movie shows that Ritchie hasn’t totally lost his touch in assembling entertaining gangster flicks. RockNRolla hovers somewhere around the middle point on the quality scale of Ritchie’s filmography.
3 out of 5
See you next Sunday for three more thrilling short reviews!