Quick takes on 5 films

The newest remake of The Predator isn’t the worst high budget action film, but it may very well be in the discussion. That’s not to say it is a terrible movie. It doesn’t take itself too seriously, has some OK humor, and plenty of bodies getting ripped apart with copious amounts of gore. But for all that, it is pretty dull. In this film, a quasi-sequel of the Predator films that have come before, humans have realized that they are being harvested by this alien race, and being visited more often because the aliens know that our planet is on its last legs. They have used our DNA to breed an even bigger super soldier. The body count goes way up as the movie goes along, but even at less than 2 hours, you may wish you were one of the casualties before it is finally over. Unfortunately, it made enough money overseas that we’ll probably see (another) sequel.

The Equalizer 2 follows the original 2014 film, bringing Denzel Washington back to mete out more justice. I was a big fan of the first, but this one unfortunately grew dull after awhile. Robert McCall is pulled into an investigation when a long-time friend is murdered in Belgium, seemingly as part of a cover-up as she was on the case of a separate killing. The plot devolves into the worst action film tropes, including when a single man is able to take out a group intent on his death because they are determined to come at him one at a time. I found the film most entertaining in the first half, before the plot really kicks in, when McCall is just mindlessly killing evil-doers in fantastic ways. Denzel is always arresting on screen, but that is really the only reason to watch this film.

I enjoyed Christopher Robin more, maybe because I’m a sucker for films that hearken your childhood without being melodramatic. Winnie the Pooh’s favorite boy is all grown up and has forgotten his childhood friends (who are most definitely not make believe) until one day, when Pooh shows up at his house in London. At first, Christopher Robin tries his best to brush Pooh off, as he has an important work presentation to prep, but he is roped in to a little adventure to help Pooh find Eeyore, Tigger, and all the others. Lots of humor (from Ewan McGregor as Robin as well as all of his fur-friends; their banter is delightful) and a heart-warming plot. A great family film which stresses the importance of living life for those that really are most important in your life.

Colette is a fantastic character-driven film about the famous eponymous writer in late 19th century France. Keira Knightley plays Colette, a woman from a small town who is thrust into fame through her work. Her husband Willy (Dominic West) has a name for writing but no talent of his own, and hires ghostwriters to supply him with novels to publish under his own name. His extravagant lifestyle though leaves them always on the edge of poverty, so rather than pay others to give him books, he coerces Colette to write for him. Her semi-autographical books about a strong, independent woman with homosexual tendencies, named Claudine, become huge hits. Over time, each of them find separate lovers to satisfy themselves, and Colette grows more animus of Willy. Ultimately she must decide if she can continue to live under his heel or not. Knightley and West are equally extraordinary in this important story of a woman’s independence.

Operation Finale is like if the films Munich and Argo had a baby, but unfortunately it doesn’t live up to either of those 2 great movies. It is based on the true story of the hunt for Nazi war criminal Adolf Eichmann, the so-called “architect of the Holocaust,” who fled Germany at the end of the war to hide in Argentina. Israel sends a team to capture him and then quietly flee Argentina with him, so that he can stand trial. The investigation and kidnapping of Eichmann, in a country with plenty of Germans still sympathetic to the Nazi cause, is often gripping cinema, but the film doesn’t reach the heights it set out to. There is however superb acting by veterans Oscar Isaac and Ben Kingsley, and their face off against each other is as good as it gets.