acid reflects

I’m still catching up on reviews of the many recent releases. Here are a few short ones. In a strange way, these three feel like they deserve a mashup wherein The Equalizer goes toe-to-toe with The Predator, but both are eliminated by The Nun. Sounds like the next horror parody.

The Predator
Written and directed by Shane Black
Based on The Predator film series

Sometimes we get one of those leave-your-brains-at-the-door type of films that don’t promise much and require just the minimum of spending some time in the cinema.

Army Ranger sniper McKenna (Boyd Holbrook) gets entangled in an alien crash investigation and is thrown together with a motley crew of ex-military captives who happen to be in the vicinity of the military laboratory where the alien was taken. Bilogist Bracket (Olivia Munn) was just about to study the being when it is accidentally woken by a device in McKenna’s son’s keeping. And then another, more menacing Predator arrives in pursuit of the first alien. Action ensues.

The Predator is reasonably funny and action-packed in the Shane Black cops-and-robbers type of action-comedy – how else to explain a biologist who can suddenly chase down a high-tech alien hunter with a tranq gun? The fourth film in the Predator series (sixth including the two Alien vs Predator films) looks old, too. If it sounds like it’s an average B-movie, it’s because it probably is. Just don’t take it too seriously.

The Nun
Directed by Corin Hardy
Based on The Conjuring films

In the continuing expansion of The Conjuring universe of stories, The Nun offers little to add to the story – let alone the origin of the demon itself (maybe for future installments) – but has tons of jump scares consistent with the franchise.

The Vatican sends a priest (Demián Bichir) and a novice (Taissa Farmiga) to investigate the strange death of a nun in a remote convent in Romania. They encounter the demon Valak (Bonnie Aarons) instead.

It escaped me why the Vatican sent a novice with the priest (something about her having this gift or whatever) but regardless, her decision to take the vow at the climax seemed inconsequential (something about only a pure nun could wield the relic of the blood of Christ? What a lame excuse for a narrative.) Old-school jump scares deliver adequately. The cinematography looks great – establishes the mood quite well. The story, though, is not engaging enough. However, when a horror movie does give the scares, that’s already an accomplishment.

The Equalizer 2
Directed by Antoine Fuqua
Second in the series based on the TV show of the same name.

The second installment to the vigilante actioner isn’t as bad as the first. Comparatively speaking, it’s better. That’s not to say it isn’t terribly flawed. It’s just more tolerable.

Ex-spy McCall (Denzel Washington) is peacefully living as a Lyft driver in Massachusets when he is called to investigate the death of his friend and former superior Plummer (Melissa Leo) in Brussels. McCall determines that her death is related to the investigation she was conducting on an apparent murder-suicide of a fellow agent. McCall doesn’t like what he uncovers.

We’ve seen better similar revenge actioners and better Washingtons than this one. The only reason I liked this better than the first is that it portrays gun violence less glamorously as the first, and it cares to slow down to explore its side characters a little more even if it has little consequence to the plot. The scenes with McCall’s passengers are very welcome. Even actioners should care about characters and people. It feels more human than a mindless shoot-em-up.