Hits & Misses: The Predator

Real Talk: If disappointment was a person it'd be this movie.

Hit: Impressive way of space travel.

Hit: Well at least the movie's soundtrack is decent.

Miss: Oh sure just mess around with some alien tech, what could go wrong?

Miss: This rogue Predator pointlessly gives away its position instead of just snipe the two soldiers with its plasma caster.

Miss: The Predator wrist gauntlet that Quinn is wearing just randomly activates and shoots a flying disk blade after falling on his ass.

Miss: Hey Quinn, instead mailing the Predator mask and gauntlet just use that orb thing to just walk pass the Mexico/U.S. boarder while you're cloak.

Miss: *Movie cuts to a school.* Suddenly I'm getting Alien vs Predator: Requiem flashbacks and don't worry its day is coming.

Miss: School bullies tropes.

Miss: This is because I have no idea how P.O. Box work but why didn't they just mail package back to the sender (i.e. Mexico)? It's revealed later that Quinn wasn't intended on mailing it to his family and yet here it is because the plot demands it so.

Real Talk: *Emily gives Rory a choice of which Halloween costume* Rory: "This is dumb, the guys they'll see that it's me." Remember this for later because this kid will contradict himself for no other reason besides getting the plot going.

Real Talk: *Rory opens his father's package.* Hey kid you do what federal offense is? I mean again Quinn didn't intend on mailing the package to his family so technically this would count as a federal offense. 

Miss: *Quinn is introduced to "Group 2".* Remember in this first Predator movie where the main characters were introduced organically through dialogues? Well this movie decides fuck that shit just have one of the guys of Group 2 listing off each of the other characters' names and backstories. Narrative flow, what is that?

Miss: And speaking of Group 2 we got Not Carl Weathers (Nebraska), Keegan-Michael Key (Coye), obvious offensive stereotype (Baxley), some English (maybe Irish) guy (Lynch) and a religious nut (Nettles).

Miss: And just to get this out the way the humor in this movie is just obnoxious. As if the movie tries too hard to be funny that it forgets the fact of being a sci-fi action thriller. At least in the first three movies had some comedic moments rather than being lazy toilet humor films.

Hit: Jake Busey as Sean Keyes (a character that could be related to Peter Keyes).

Miss: Unfortunately it becomes noticeable that the Sean Keyes character has a bit role in this movie. That just screams disappointment.

Miss: Waste of a callback line #1, Casey saying to the unconscious rogue Predator: "You're one beautiful motherfucker..." 

WTF: Casey: "You wanna know if someone fucked an alien?" I failed to understand how she came to the conclusion that a Predator and a human fucked at one point.

Miss: *Rory is tinkering with the rogue Predator's tech from the gauntlet.* Just how exactly is Rory capable of understanding and using alien technology in an alien language? Sure you can argue that it's because of the kid's Asperger's but even that's a wonky explanation at best. Unless this kid is Dexter (Dexter's Laboratory) I call bullshit.

Miss: *The rogue Predator's  tech controls the Super-Predator's ship, apparently.* If the rogue Predator had a device that can control the Super-Predator's ship then what was the point of the ship chase from earlier? The rogue Predator could've pressed a button and BOOM no more Super-Predator. 

Miss: The rogue Predator (that's in captivity) is waking up and Stargazer Project scientists thought it's a good idea to try holding it down instead of sedating it again.

Miss: *Casey's trying to get away but still has to go through the decontamination procedures.* There's a rampaging Predator killing scientists and security guards alike and the computer voice is asking for Casey to go through the decontamination procedures. Containment breaches, standard emergency procedures, what the fuck are those?

Miss: As much as I appreciate a naked Olivia Munn but unless there's some tits, ass and vagina this is a waste of a nude scene. At least Predator 2 had a sex scene and a fully naked woman. 

Miss: *The rogue Predator uses a gun.* I'm sure it was meant to be awesome but it just comes off as randomly out of character.

Miss: Coye: "Hey Baxley, if your mom's vagina were a video game it'd be Rated E for Everyone." If this movie was made in the late 90s/early 2000s this joke would've been almost funny...almost.

Miss: I'm not buying one bit that Casey (a normal human) is able to keep up with a fucking Predator on foot. Harrigan from Predator 2 had to chase after a Predator in his car. He didn't just went running after it on foot, especially when the Predator in question is running and jumping from rooftop to rooftop.

Miss: Waste of a callback line #2: Nebraska says "Get to the choppers" yet there's no choppers to be seen in the following shot, just some motorcycles.

Miss: The rogue Predator kills some random soldiers at the back of a truck. Then takes a severed arm with its thumb up as the asked the driver asked "is everything OK back there". Was this meant to be funny because it wasn't, it just comes off as cringey and stupid.

Hit: Baxley: "It's been a long time since I had a gun in my hands." Coye: "What's it feel like?" Baxley: "Like a gun...." OK that was kinda funny I'll give this movie that.

Miss: Earlier Nebraska says to Quinn that he shot his CO only to reveal that Nebraska's the CO. Now I would've asked why Nebraska would shoot himself but the movie doesn't provide an answer. So I'm just gonna assume that it's just poorly made characterization or the guy's just fucking nuts.

Miss: Two guys hovering over a sleeping woman, that's not creepy at all.

Miss: It's already established that Baxley has Tourette's but instead of explaining that to Casey (after Baxley said "eat your pussy"). The movie decides it's a better idea to drag out this scene for a laugh with a joke that's not even funny.

Real Talk: Also serious question, just how or why is a person with Tourette's is meant to be funny? I've seen this in Not Another Teen Movie with that cheerleader character and just didn't get it. What was the joke, what was the punchline? I get that true comedy is based in reality and then you take that base point and exaggerate it to the point that it becomes comical. Well what exactly is being exaggerated with the Baxley character? That the idea of people uncontrollably twitching and uttering random words due to a neurodevelopment disorder is considered humor? If so that's really shitty and needs to go away.

Miss: Nebraska: "You know who Whoopi Goldberg is? It's like a alien Whoopi Goldberg." Somebody wrote this in the script and thought it'd be funny. Except that it wasn't.... 

Miss: *Rory's out trick or treating wearing the rogue Predator's mask and gauntlet.* So what did Rory said early because something tells me that he (and this film's writers) completely forgot about it.

Miss: And of course the school bullies recognizes with the Predator gear and he's still going trick or treating anyway. What a hypocrite.... 

Miss: These Predator dogs look stupid. What was wrong with the dogs from Predators, they looked more vicious and dangerous.

Real Talk: Casey: "FYI, back at Stargazer I was naked and unarmed. It walked right pass me." Yeah...you could've left the naked part out because I doubt that was the reason it didn't kill you. Otherwise the previous Predator movies would've been really awkward.

Hit: *Super-Predator rips the rogue Predator's head off.* 

Miss: I get that the Super-Predator's meant to terrifying and threatening but it's kinda ruined when it is not wearing a Predator mask.

Miss: Well this is the most bullshit retcons I've ever seen. Never mind the fact the previous movies never establish this beyond "alien hunter comes to Earth to hunt, kill and collect for trophies". Basically what Casey's saying is that the Predators have been hunting and killing human preys not just to collect trophies but to hybridized themselves with human DNA. Oh but wait, the bullshit makes even less sense later and by the end of the movie.

Miss: Also these species sure weren't all that strong and smart if they were killed by Predators.

Hit: Quinn talking to Casey: "You're pulling this out of your ass." Yes she is and so are the writers of this movie.

Miss: So one of the Predator dogs from earlier was shot in the head and now it acts like any other Earth dog. Well that's fucking convenient.

Real Talk: Why would the Predators give a shit about global warming? Did this movie really had to throw in global warming as a plot point?  

Miss: *Traeger speculates that the rogue Predator came to Earth to give the humans a means to stop the Upgrading Predators.* Is that right, huh? So you're just gonna ignore the part where the rogue Predator killed most of your personnel back at Stargazer? Completely forgotten about that part entirely? OK....  

Miss: *Quinn spots his son just magically unlocking a door of an alien ship.* Quinn: "God damn kid, I don't know where he gets it from." Plot contrivance, that's where he gets it from.

Real Talk: It's about time that Group 2 is getting killed off by the Super-Predator. I mean these characters barely had any likable charm, characterizations or development to make me care enough when they're killed off. 

Miss: There's no reason for the Super-Predator to de-cloak itself especially when it has the element of surprise. Strategy, what is that?

Miss: *Traeger accidentally blown his head off with a modified plasma caster.* This has to be the stupidest villain death in film history.

Hit: *Coye and Baxley are morally wounded and both decided to shoot each other.* Not going lie that's a nice moment, two war buddies on their last waking moments to give themselves a mercy kill. Sadly this doesn't fully redeem them as shitty characters but still a nice moment none the less.

Miss: So it's reveal that the Super-Predator wants Rory because "he's a true warrior". Because Asperger's can make you a warrior, apparently.

Miss: And just how exactly does a mental disorder is considered useful as an upgrade to an advanced alien hunter race? The best thing this kid has done was contrive through some alien tech and able to place every chess piece back to the exact spots they were before they were knocked over by the bullies. Very impressive feats indeed.

Miss: And let's not forget when Rory had an anxiety/panic attack when the school's fire alarm was set off by the school bullies. But I'm sure that the Upgrading Predators would find that very fucking useful.

Real Talk: For the record, I got nothing against people with Asperger's (or any other mental disorders). I'm just calling it out for what it is, shitty storytelling.

Miss: *Rory warns Quinn and the others that the Super-Predator is activating its ship's force field.* How the fuck could he know that especially when he can't even see the ship's controls? Oh that's right, plot contrivance.

Miss: Rather than just jumping off the ship before it's fully encased by the force field. Nettles decides a much better idea to just shoot the force field that results to having his legs chopped off and dies.

Miss: You wanna know if the film's writers purposely handicapped the Super-Predator in the final fight? It's when the Super-Predator just happens to forget that it has cloaking, wrist plasma casters and a built in exo-armor. And it's not like the Super-Predator is hunting the surviving main characters so it wouldn't matter if it's unfair or dishonorable.

Miss: *Rory's working at some military/scientific/government facility of some sort.* OK they do know that Child Labor laws is a thing, right? Just because the kid has plot contrivance level intelligence doesn't mean he gets a government job free and clear. If Sheldon Cooper was a real person even he would call bullshit.  

Miss: Quinn: "So, this is its gift to uh humankind?" Well it seems Quinn's memory is just as spotty as Traeger's. Just completely forgotten the part where the rogue Predator killed two of your men back in Mexico, huh? OK then....

Miss: So the rogue Predator's gift to humankind is...a powered armor suit.... If the Predator race has this type of tech then what's the point of hybridizing themselves with DNA of other species? I think powered armor suits are WAY more sufficient than just juicing on DNA like the Splicers from Bioshock.

Miss: This must be Shane Black's middle finger to those who didn't liked/enjoyed Iron Man 3. And yes its day is coming. 

Miss: Also Discount Iron Man/Discount Guyver.

My Thoughts on Netflix The Umbrella Academy

I wanna say my peace about the show and just forget about it all together. Now I understand there are people who've enjoyed the show and they have every right to. I'm not trying to change everyone's mind and I'm not expecting anyone to agree with me.

I love the comic series and when it was announced that a live action is coming to Netflix I was really excited for it. But after seeing the trailer, the promo picture and only watched two episodes that excitement changed into disappointment. I understand that most adaptations have some changes from the source material to better flow/pace the story/plot. But with this show it's like they had a foundation for a good adaptation yet decided to breakdown that said foundation and build something completely different in story and aesthetics. All the strange and unique look from the comic was just nowhere to be found in the show.

I just see no point in finish watching this show at all.

Hits & Misses: The Incredibles 2

DISCLAIMER: When seeing the trailer I was worried that the film was gonna be all "progressive" in the most heavy handed style of storytelling possible. Thankfully the movie doesn't fall too deep into that abyss.

WARNING: If you're suffering from epilepsy caused by flashing lights, please watch this film with caution. 

Hit: Movie starts off where the first one ended.

LOL: Discount M.I.B. Neuralizer

Miss: The Underminer gets away and is never heard again throughout the movie.

Miss: Character(s) with traumatic backstory will be later revealed as obvious villain(s). I'm not that smart or anything I just have that ability to point out the obvious.

Miss: You mean no one in the family hasn't notice of Jack-Jack having powers since the last movie, how?

Hit: This movie has the best motorcycle scene since Akira.

Hit: That's one way to unitize stretchy powers while on a motorcycle.

LOL: Edna Mode happily agrees to babysit Jack-Jack. What goofy shenanigans could possibly happen?

Hit: Bob learns to be a father.

Hit: Holy crap there's more supers out there! I guess Syndrome didn't killed them all.

Miss: Obvious red herrings are obvious.

Hit: Superpower fight scenes.

Hit: This movie's gorgeous soundtrack.

Real Talk: A Super named Voyd. Someone's a fan of Portal.

Hit/LOL: Jack-Jack vs Raccoon

Hit: Johnny Quest!

LOL: Discount Drax

Hit: That Helen ass (yeah I know this a Pixar movie but still)!

Miss: Bob and Helen acting like helicopter parents.

Full of Potential Disappointment

This is making me cry and not in a good way and more than likely going to be face palming so hard when watching the series. Now that I've re-read the comic series I'm just disappointed by the show's take on designs of the main characters. Spaceboy looks like an obvious scrawny guy in an obvious muscle/prosthetic suit in obvious bulky clothes. Kraken looks like a golden age Batman henchman that even Batman wouldn't remember who this guy is. And I don't know what they're going with on Séance but I'm sure it's gonna be offensive and tokenized.

And of course they've racebend one of the main characters. Because whatever helps a creative studio to excuse their laziness by throwing "progressive" and "diversity" around like used condoms at prom.

Hits & Misses: Code Red The Rubicon Conspiracy

Real Talk: This TV movie was made by Paramount Pictures and the best they went with is Discount Predator. I guess 2001 was a slow year for Paramount.

Miss: Gees even the opening credit music is ripping off Predator with a pinch of Alien.

Miss: *A group of soldiers/marines shooting in all directions as the higher ranks watch on TV monitors doing absolutely nothing.* Movie shamelessly rips off Aliens, they even have that heart monitor screen from Aliens.

Hit: At least the main character Peter Doyle has a backstory that doesn't render him as Discount Dutch.

Real Talk: In Lt. Borack's defense if a Death Adder crawl up my pants I'd piss myself too and definitely shit myself while I'm at it.

Miss: *A team of Special Forces have to travel through rebel territory.* Now why does that sound familiar?

Miss: *Surviving Special Forces member running away as shown in some alien POV shot.* Now why does that look familiar?

Hit: Although to be fair at least the movie doesn't rip off the Predator's Infrared Vision.

Real Talk: Two of Doyle's men are brothers; one of which is married. It would be a real shame if both of these brothers die in this movie.

Miss: Tyler is just Discount Billy.

Hit: Well at least they'll arriving to their mission on a boat rather than lazily ripping off the helicopter scene from Predator.

Miss: *The team finds the dead remains of the previous Special Forces and thinks that the rebels did it.* Seems so familiar to me for some reason.

Miss: Movie they're just searching an empty village, tone down the exciting music.

Miss: Again with the music ripping off Predator. Said what you want how RoboWar is a Predator ripoff but at least the movie has it own soundtrack.

Miss: *The team finds a villager hiding under the floor.* Barry: "This guy doesn't have any legs left, Lieutenant. There's a lot of blood down there." Oh yes because why bother showing when you can just describe the situation of this poor man. I guess they wanted to keep the movie PG or they didn't have the budget for gore effects.

Miss: *Movie fades to black into the next scene.* Oh that's right this is a TV movie they suppose to fade to black. Even though I'm watching this movie online which would make fading to black on a scene rather pointless.

Miss: We get a glimpse of this film's "Predator"; black leather pants, plastic looking body armor, knock off Predator mask and Discount Darth Vader breathing. You can just smell the low budget in the costume department.

Miss: And of course there be a "shooting wildly into the jungle" scene, wouldn't be a Predator ripoff if there wasn't one.

Miss: And why the hell are they shooting in slow motion?

Real Talk: *Turns out they shot up a pig.* I'm surprised none of them didn't say one of these lines. "Jesus...you killed a pig." "Hey you think you could've found something bigger?"

Miss: Borack: "We're gonna bigger guns...." Oh great...a Godzilla 1998 reference.

Miss: "Liaison knows more than what they're letting on" cliche.

Hit: Usually in movies like this there's always some government cover-up. But here it's a rogue military general who's been hiding this secret facility from the government. So that's a step up.

Miss: Earlier Borack was saved by Discount Predator only to die anyway later near the end of the movie. This guy might as well been wearing a red shirt through the whole movie.

Real Talk: And I don't know what Doyle's complaining about, Borack wasn't sticking close to him.

Real Talk: So the other creatures were just bugs meant to probe for life sustaining atmosphere while Discount Predator was sent to terminate them due to them being hostile. I'm sure there's a Discount Alien vs Predator Requiem somewhere but that movie came out in 2007. So precursor Alien vs Predator Requiem?     

Hits & Misses: Thor Ragnarok

Hit: This film's soundtrack.

Miss/LOL: So much camp!

Hit: Thor vs Surtur

Meh: Skurge (Executioner)

Hit: Loki enjoying his reign on Asgard.

Hit: Sam Neill!

Hit: Doctor Strange Cameo!

Hit/LOL: Loki: "I've been falling for thirty minutes!"

Hit: Hela Arrives!

Hit: That Hela ass though!

Hit: Bad ass introduction of Valkyrie.

Miss: The Warriors Three....dead.....

Miss: Sif....nowhere to be found in the movie.

Hit: Jeff Glodblum......don't care what everyone says.

Hit: Thor vs Hulk Round 2!

Miss: Naked Hulk ass.....

Hit: Bad ass Hela.

Miss: Asgard had a fake Infinity Gauntlet.

Hit/LOL: Loki gets PTSD when he sees Hulk.

LOL: "Point Break"

Miss: "The Devil's Anus" WHY?!

Hit: Hulk vs Giant Wolf!

Hit/LOL: Loki's Glory Moment.

Hit: Skurge's Redemption.

Hit: Thanos!

Hits & Misses: Oculus

Hit: When I saw the WWE logo in the trailer I thought it was gonna be goofy ass shenanigans with WWE wrestlers. But upon watching the movie I was thankfully wrong.

Hit: This movie's soundtrack.

Miss: Ahhh...it's the guy who plays "Fuck Batman" Robin from Titans!

Real Talk: I wonder if Karen Gillan was wearing a wig for this movie? If she was this could've been the second movie of having a sexy bald Karen Gillan.

Hit: Also Karen Gillan!

Hit: Even when doing an American accent she's still so hot.

Miss: So this evil mirror was being auction off in front of dozens of people yet nothing happens. What the hell?

LOL: Tim doesn't know how to open doors when there's a buzzer.

Hit: God that gorgeous Karen Gillan smile though!

Hit: Hi Starbuck (Katee Sackhoff)!

Hit: Also Starbuck with red hair.

Miss: *Starbuck standing in front of a mirror with her robe barely open.* Scene doesn't contain any Starbuck Boobs. I mean this is a horror movie right, nudity is practically the norm in the genre.

Hit: But if there's any hindsight the scene does contain a sexy half naked Starbuck.

Hit: The movie cuts between the events of the past and present day that does link up nicely with the story as it progresses.

Miss: *Kaylie sleeping with her fiance.* I am not Kaylie's fiance in this scene.

Hit: Karen Gillan in her nightie.

Miss: *Kaylie kissing her fiance.* I am not Kaylie's fiance in this scene. 

Hit: *Kaylie talking to the evil mirror.* Kaylie: "Hello again. You must be hungry." Something about this scene with those lines just makes Kaylie subtly creepy and feels a bit ominous. 

Hit: This movie has jump scares that are not only earned but they're subtle and unpredictable as all jump scares in horror should be.

Miss: Tim: "You named your dog, dog?" Kaylie: "He doesn't have a name." Well that's just mean, not naming a dog.

Hit: Points to this movie of having a character who has working knowledge about the evil mirror and its past victims and has come prepare. Rather than of having the usual dipshit cardboard cutouts in nearly every horror movie these days.

Miss: *Tim gets bitch slapped by Kaylie.* I'm not Tim in this scene, oh yes I would gladly get slapped by Karen Gillan if given the chance.

Hit: Also Karen Gillan Bitch Slap

Hit: Karen Gillan Ass Shot

Hit: I love it how natural the disagreements are between Kaylie and Tim. Kaylie believes that supernatural forces led to their parents being killed while Tim believes that their father was cheating on the mother, drove her crazy and then killed her. Kinda like Mulder and Scully but with better writing.

Miss: Why would the dad use a staple remover just to take off a band-aid? I know the mirror's messing with him but still.

Hit: Starbuck in her nightie.

Hit: Kaylie: "They did a bang up job on you in there didn't they? You were perfectly normal when they locked you up, you had to go bat shit to get out." This line.

Miss: Tim made Karen Gillan cry.

Miss: Oh great the movie made Starbuck cry.

Hit/Miss: Crazed Murdering Starbuck

Miss: *Kaylie and Tim as kids* With all the weird shit going on with their parents and everything you think Kaylie and Tim would just got the hell out of the house. I can assume that the mirror is keeping them from running away but I still stand with my argument.

Hit: *The mirror tricks Kaylie that she bite on a light bulb and starts bleeding but it was really an apple.* Despite this particular scene was spoiled in the trailer it's still awesome.

Miss: Although it would still be nice if the trailer didn't spoiled this scene at all.

Miss: Movie tries to make Starbuck look ugly.

Miss: *Young Kaylie goes to another house for help.* So the kids can leave their house but instead of getting far away as possible she just comes back with someone who was no help at all.

Miss: Damn it movie, stop making Karen Gillan cry!

Hit: Karen Gillan's ass....again.

Miss: Starbuck is dead and that sucks. Yeah I know the movie reveals this earlier but still.

Hit: Their dad snaps out of it long enough to have Tim to shoot him, damn.

Miss: Kaylie (Karen Gillan) is dead and that's bullshit!

Miss: So the cops just arrest Young Tim for what could have been self-defense in court. And why aren't they arresting Young Kaylie, what makes them think she wasn't involved as well?

Hit: It ends as it began.

Hit/Miss: Ghost Karen Gillan