Mladen and Del review ‘Predator: Badlands’
Image courtesy of 20th Century Studios.
“Predator: Badlands” Starring Elle Fanning as Thia/Thessa, Dimitrius Schuster-Kolomatangi as Dek (the Predator), Rohinal Nayaran as Bud, and others. Directed by Dan Trachtenberg. 1 hour 47 minutes. Rated PG-13.
Plot summary: Dek, the runt from a litter of Yautja, must prove he’s a good Predator by executing an impossible hunt to earn his “cloak” and the respect of his Father’s clan.
Spoilers: Undoubtedly
Mladen’s take
You won’t believe what you’re about to read because it ain’t the general notion of what a Predator universe film is supposed to be. “Predator: Badlands” is – are you ready – a very good character‑driven buddy movie that’s also laden with creature roars, chitters, and screeches, lots of explosions, plenty of adventure, and doses of humor in all the right places at the right time.
Oh, the movie is about friendship and belonging and family and loyalty, too. Not the Trump administration type of loyalty where fealty is practiced by assholes to appease higher-up assholes, but loyalty to good people who are willing to stake their lives to protect you.
My God, I sound like Del. No?
You should also know that Badlands has an “Alien” and “Aliens” vibe. The bad guys work for the Weyland‑Yutani Corporation. The corporation is still in the business of harvesting, growing, breeding, etc., bioweapons as it does in the Alien movie franchise. In Badlands, it’s after the Kalisk, which is what our hero, Dek the Predator, also wants but for a different reason. Huh, wonder why Director Dan Trachtenberg inserted the evil company in the Badlands flick, which, yup, sets up a sequel.
There is nothing novel about the Badlands story‑telling foundation but the story‑telling is done beautifully.
Dek, the runt from a litter of Yautja, must prove he’s a good Predator by executing an impossible hunt to earn his “cloak” and the respect of his Father’s clan. Schuster-Kolomatangi does a good job conveying CGI Dek’s frustrations and foibles. He also does a good job speaking Yautja‑ese, which demands the throaty clicks that are used in some African languages. More important, Schuster‑Kolomatangi evolves Dek from a one‑dimensional honor‑seeking Predator to a Yautja who learns that belonging is more than trying to fulfill an imposed birthright. The family he helps build during his adventures and misadventures on planet Genna is far more important than the clan he was born to.
But, Elle Fanning as good “synth” Thia and obedient synth Thessia, is the spark that carries the film. My goodness, and this is tough to admit, Fanning is as smart, charming, and pretty as Mary Elizabeth Winstead, who stars in top‑notch movies such as “10 Cloverfield Lane.” I now adore two actresses for the same reasons. I suspect they’d be as cool and intelligent face‑to‑face as the characters they play in films.
Fanning’s Thia wanted more from life than to serve Weyland-Yutani and its AI comptroller, Mother. She saw Genna and its flora and fauna as magnificent beings in their own right better suited for study and understanding than exploitation for profit without mercy. She protected Dek even when he refused to admit he needed protection. And, she accepted Bud from the get-go, patiently but inexorably showing Dek Bud’s value as a member of their newly established clan. And that was before they realized what Bud is.
As Thessia, Fanning acted the opposite of her Thia character. Thessia was all pragmatism and programming as Weyland‑Yutani wanted. She was intimidated when she spoke to Mother (the MU/TH/UR 6000 computer system). She had no concern about deactivating and stowing her fellow synth Thia because Thia showed a tendency to think and act to the detriment of executing corporate missions.
I’ll avoid going into detail about the Badlands cinematography and sound. I’ll say this, though: Both are superb. A Dolby theater is the be‑all for action thriller sci‑fi movie watching. Man, the film looks and sounds like you’re on Genna trying to dodge plants that behave like octopus tentacles or are sharp enough to flense you. The Kalisk can re‑integrate its head with its body even after the head is severed and goes tumbling meters away.
“Predator: Badlands” is the first completely enjoyable sci-fi film I’ve seen in a long time. What was the one before that? “Shin Godzilla” from 2016. No question. Badlands is an A. How do you know I know? Because I don’t even care that Badlands is rated PG-13. And, as with “Shin Godzilla,” I’m counting the days to its release on 4K disc.
Del’s take
I’ve never understood the logic of the Predator universe.
You’ve got these aggressive sociopathic hunters who prize violence above all else, yet they possess high technology, suggestive of a more cooperative civilization. After all, it takes a village to create a shoulder-mounted blaster with triple-laser sighting, right?
If future movies elaborate on the Predator culture they should suggest the Predators we see are a caste of violent monsters separate from their more civilized brethren, like MAGA, except the Predators actually walk the talk. The MAGAts are definitely keyboard warriors and Meal Team 6.
Overall I think the Predator movies have held up well as a franchise. Others, including the endless Alien, Terminator and Die Hard movies, devolve into absurdity over time, but the Predators just keep soldiering on, even the Alien vs. Predator movies, which I thought were pretty good. The only Predator movie I can remember actively disliking was “Predators” with Adrien Brody, which struck me as a pointless bloodbath.
Every new movie seems to advance the evolution of the Predator species and “Badlands” does that to a greater extent than its predecessors. Where the creatures were solitary hunters in the past, Dek has a name and a need for companionship, though he rationalizes that need as a use of “tools.” Only later does he tacitly accept that his new “tools” have become members of his “clan.” That would be a clan of choice, a concept not lost on members of the LGBTQ community. Maybe Dek is gay! Maybe his nickname is Bubba.
It pains me to do this but I’m going to give Mladen credit for (a) accurately and effectively summarizing the movie and characterizing its content. There’s not much for me to add except, “What he said.” I didn’t see “Badlands” at a Dolby Orgasmitron thingamajiggie-equipped theater so I can’t speak to the splendid audio effects, but they sounded pretty good at my low-rent showing. And I too was impressed with the acting – I remember Elle Fanning as the insufferable pain-in-the-ass brat from “War of the Worlds” so it was nice to see her portraying a character I could get behind. I did think the pet Bud was contrived and kind of silly – that is until I found out what it really was.
Also, I was impressed by the way the writers further wove together the Alien and Predator universes. I now have a mental association between the fictional Weyland-Yutani company and Peter Thiel’s all-too-real (unfortunately) Palantir. Weyland-Yutani might have a tad more soul.
I’ll keep this short: “Predator: Badlands” is a good movie. Don’t waste it on streaming. You need to see it before it rolls out of town, even at a theater equipped with one of Mladen’s Dolby Orgasmitron thingamajiggies.
I’m giving it an A.
Mladen Rudman is a former journalist and technical writer. Del Stone Jr. is a former journalist and writer.
Image courtesy of Del Stone Jr.
Somebody in Fort Walton Beach, somebody in the deepest, darkest heart of the South, where hatred of the LGBTQ community is so ubiquitous it’s practically taught in schools, had the courage to paint their driveway in Pride colors.
Thank you.
The moment I saw it, I almost cried.
To know that one other person here has offered a shoulder to lean on, to uplift us when we are surrounded by daily assaults from the Trump regime and violent, Jesus-hating radical Christians … well, what can I say?
It’s beautiful. It brought me a moment of hope in these dark afternoons.
I’m sending you a Christmas card. I may even drop off a poinsettia. Merry Christmas to you.
And thank you.
About the author:
Del Stone Jr. is a professional fiction writer. He is known primarily for his work in the contemporary dark fiction field, but has also published science fiction and contemporary fantasy. Stone’s stories, poetry and scripts have appeared in publications such as Amazing Stories, Eldritch Tales, and Bantam-Spectra’s Full Spectrum. His short fiction has been published in The Year’s Best Horror Stories XXII; Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine; the Pocket Books anthology More Phobias; the Barnes & Noble anthologies 100 Wicked Little Witch Stories, Horrors! 365 Scary Stories, and 100 Astounding Little Alien Stories; the HWA anthology Psychos; and other short fiction venues, like Blood Muse, Live Without a Net, Zombiesque and Sex Macabre. Stone’s comic book debut was in the Clive Barker series of books, Hellraiser, published by Marvel/Epic and reprinted in The Best of Hellraiser anthology. He has also published stories in Penthouse Comix, and worked with artist Dave Dorman on many projects, including the illustrated novella “Roadkill,” a short story for the Andrew Vachss anthology Underground from Dark Horse, an ashcan titled “December” for Hero Illustrated, and several of Dorman’s Wasted Lands novellas and comics, such as Rail from Image and “The Uninvited.” Stone’s novel, Dead Heat, won the 1996 International Horror Guild’s award for best first novel and was a runner-up for the Bram Stoker Award. Stone has also been a finalist for the IHG award for short fiction, the British Fantasy Award for best novella, and a semifinalist for the Nebula and Writers of the Future awards. His stories have appeared in anthologies that have won the Bram Stoker Award and the World Fantasy Award. Two of his works were optioned for film, the novella “Black Tide” and short story “Crisis Line.”
Stone recently retired after a 41-year career in journalism. He won numerous awards for his work, and in 1986 was named Florida’s best columnist in his circulation division by the Florida Society of Newspaper Editors. In 2001 he received an honorable mention from the National Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association for his essay “When Freedom of Speech Ends” and in 2003 he was voted Best of the Best in the category of columnists by Emerald Coast Magazine. He participated in book signings and awareness campaigns, and was a guest on local television and radio programs.
As an addendum, Stone is single, kills tomatoes and morning glories with ruthless efficiency, once tied the stem of a cocktail cherry in a knot with his tongue, and carries a permanent scar on his chest after having been shot with a paintball gun. He’s in his 60s as of this writing but doesn’t look a day over 94.
Contact Del at [email protected]. He is also on Facebook, twitter, Pinterest, tumblr, TikTok, and Instagram. Visit his website at delstonejr.com .
Image courtesy of Focus Features.
“Bugonia” Starring Emma Stone, Jesse Plemons and Aiden Delbes. Directed by Yorgos Lanthimos. 1 hour, 58 minutes. Rated R. Theatrical release.
Plot synopsis: Two young men kidnap the CEO of a pharmaceutical company after becoming convinced she’s an alien invader masquerading as a human being.
Spoilers: No.
Del’s take
“Bugonia,” Yorgos Lanthimos’ most accessible film, is dramatic, violent, weird, gory and hilarious – in other words, it’s the strangest movie you’ll see this year.
I can’t pin down the message. Is it a condemnation of Big Pharma or a larger indictment of corporate greed and inhumanity? Does it mock MAGA-like conspiracy theorists or is it a cautionary tale about the military-industrial complex? It appears to wear all of those hats and none of them. In the end, I wasn’t sure what to make of it.
The story is about Teddy (played by Jesse Plemons), who believes high-power Auxolith CEO Michelle (Emma Stone) is an Andromedan who has come here to eliminate mankind by way of pollution and climate change. Teddy hatches an insane plan: He and his autistic cousin Don (Aidan Delbis) will kidnap Michelle, shave off her hair so she can’t communicate with her fellow Andromedans on the mothership, and force her to set up a powwow with the Andromedan emporer. Teddy hopes to convince the emporer to withdraw the Andromedans who are fucking up the Earth, allowing the planet’s ecosystem and psychic balance to be restored … or something like that.
But all plans go awry when contact is made with the enemy. Don is the conscience of the pair and begins to question Teddy’s reasoning and motivation, especially when it becomes known Teddy’s mother Sandy (Alica Silverstone) participated in an Auxolith medical trial way back when and now lies in a coma at a corporate medical facility. And Teddy’s childhood babysitter, sheriff’s deputy Casey (Stavros Halkias), who molested Teddy when he was a young boy, comes sniffing around as Michelle lies chained to a cot in Teddy’s basement.
Through it all Teddy remains maniacally determined to negotiate a withdrawal by the Andromedans so that everything on Earth can become good again. Michelle is equally determined to extract herself from the clutches of these two lunatics and resume her empty life as a powerbroker in the world of Big Pharma. It’s all very bleak but leavened with sardonic humor, and you almost believe it’s going to work out. Almost.
The first act is plodding but as things careen downhill through the second and third acts, events move along rapidly, in synch with the unraveling of Teddy’s plan and his sanity.
All three primary actors do superb work here. Oscar nominations wouldn’t surprise me. And Lanthimos has put together a fairly intricate movie where all the i’s are dotted and the t’s crossed, weird as it is.
But again, the movie’s subtext seems inconsistent. At times it’s supportive of the Michelle character and her worldview, at other times bitterly critical. Then there’s Teddy, alternately portrayed as a decent guy made cynical by Big Pharma or a complete whacko. Don’s character remains true to his nature throughout, a noble savant swept away by forces that don’t make sense to them or us.
I think people who like this sort of thing will love “Bugonia,” and others who don’t will hate it. In some ways it reminds me of another movie with “bug” in its title, 2006’s “Bug” with Ashley Judd and Michael Shannon. That movie also featured a kind of hostage-taking, and characters who were grappling with altered perceptions of reality. Or were they?
“Bugonia” is cleverly written and some of Michelle’s soliloquies are pure gold of modern corporatespeak. After about the halfway mark the movie becomes impossible NOT to watch. Still, as an entertainment value, I thought it was lacking – too violent, too inconsistent in its messaging, and just too strange. For that reason I’m giving it a B-. It has amassed a 70 percent Rotten Tomatoes score and earned $5.8 million over the weekend, putting it in fifth place at the box office. By the way, I was the only person in the theater, so get thee to a movie theater for the next big showing, which I expect will be “Predator: Badlands.”
Mladen was out fossil hunting and couldn’t join me for “Bugonia.” Why does he need fossils when he’s got ME for a friend?
Mladen Rudman is a former journalist and technical writer. Del Stone Jr. is a former journalist and writer.
Image courtesy of Del Stone Jr.
This was the scene at Casa Del Mar for last night’s Spookfest. A few observations:
A. I managed to sit in that driveway for five hours with only one pee break, a new post-Young Del record.
B. My first trick-or-treaters arrived at 5:41 p.m. When I went to bed at 10:30 I could still hear them outside.
C. Usually there’s a 50-50 mix of young kids to teenagers. This year there was a definite majority of young kids.
D. My oldest trick-or-treater had a beard.
E. Nobody offered me alcohol this year.
F. I was watching John Carpenter’s “Halloween” on the laptop while handing out candy. The laptop froze probably five times during the playback. One cause was constant Microsoft updates. Other causes … unknown.
G. During the one and only sex scene in “Halloween,” A PG-rated clip of P.J. Soles and her boyfriend gyrating under the sheets, a group of teenaged trick-or-treaters arrived. I quickly learned to pause the movie and in some cases, lower the screen.
H. I had loaded up on Snickers bars this year because they were always the No. 1 choice in the past. No more. Smarties is now the new popular candy.
I. I used a votive candle in my jack-o-lantern and it stayed lit the entire night.
J. How many trick-or-treaters did I have? I didn’t count. But I started with five of those big $30 bags of candy and I now have one.
K. The kids were mostly polite, though I noticed more kids this year wanting to grab fistfuls of candy.
L. There were more adults than kids, though the adults didn’t ask for anything. They were escorting.
M. FWBPD was riding through the neighborhood on electric bikes, complete with flashing lights.
N. The best costume of the night belonged to a kid who made a box, decorated it with lights and graphics, and wore it over his entire body. He was a box of Topps trading cards.
O. On Halloween nights past things usually wrapped at 8:30, 8:45 at the latest. Last night I called it quits at 9:20 but as I said, I could still hear kids going up and down the street at 10:30 when I went to bed.
P. Today I found three pieces of candy in the driveway dropped by kids.
About the author:
Del Stone Jr. is a professional fiction writer. He is known primarily for his work in the contemporary dark fiction field, but has also published science fiction and contemporary fantasy. Stone’s stories, poetry and scripts have appeared in publications such as Amazing Stories, Eldritch Tales, and Bantam-Spectra’s Full Spectrum. His short fiction has been published in The Year’s Best Horror Stories XXII; Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine; the Pocket Books anthology More Phobias; the Barnes & Noble anthologies 100 Wicked Little Witch Stories, Horrors! 365 Scary Stories, and 100 Astounding Little Alien Stories; the HWA anthology Psychos; and other short fiction venues, like Blood Muse, Live Without a Net, Zombiesque and Sex Macabre. Stone’s comic book debut was in the Clive Barker series of books, Hellraiser, published by Marvel/Epic and reprinted in The Best of Hellraiser anthology. He has also published stories in Penthouse Comix, and worked with artist Dave Dorman on many projects, including the illustrated novella “Roadkill,” a short story for the Andrew Vachss anthology Underground from Dark Horse, an ashcan titled “December” for Hero Illustrated, and several of Dorman’s Wasted Lands novellas and comics, such as Rail from Image and “The Uninvited.” Stone’s novel, Dead Heat, won the 1996 International Horror Guild’s award for best first novel and was a runner-up for the Bram Stoker Award. Stone has also been a finalist for the IHG award for short fiction, the British Fantasy Award for best novella, and a semifinalist for the Nebula and Writers of the Future awards. His stories have appeared in anthologies that have won the Bram Stoker Award and the World Fantasy Award. Two of his works were optioned for film, the novella “Black Tide” and short story “Crisis Line.”
Stone recently retired after a 41-year career in journalism. He won numerous awards for his work, and in 1986 was named Florida’s best columnist in his circulation division by the Florida Society of Newspaper Editors. In 2001 he received an honorable mention from the National Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association for his essay “When Freedom of Speech Ends” and in 2003 he was voted Best of the Best in the category of columnists by Emerald Coast Magazine. He participated in book signings and awareness campaigns, and was a guest on local television and radio programs.
As an addendum, Stone is single, kills tomatoes and morning glories with ruthless efficiency, once tied the stem of a cocktail cherry in a knot with his tongue, and carries a permanent scar on his chest after having been shot with a paintball gun. He’s in his 60s as of this writing but doesn’t look a day over 94.
Contact Del at [email protected]. He is also on Facebook, twitter, Pinterest, tumblr, TikTok, and Instagram. Visit his website at delstonejr.com .