Review: "ALICE IN WONDERLAND"

When the term "psychedelia" is used, many immediately associate it with many aspects of the 1960s, be it the hippie movement, Woodstock, tie-dye shirts, the increase of illicit drug use, and almost every music sensation native to that decade. After all (and though it may be a slight generalization to say so), listening to the infamous and taboo-busting Jefferson Airplane song "White Rabbit" tells you all you need to really know about that era.

But believe it or not, the concept of psychedelic imagery was no stranger to one Lewis Carroll, the 19th century author and mathematician who wrote two of the most beloved (and trippy) children's books ever published: "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland", and its sequel "Through the Looking Glass". Renowned for their fantastical and oft-anthropomorphic characters, nonsensical dialogue, and dreamlike quality, Carroll's works (especially "Adventures") have been regarded as classics almost 150 years later, and have inspired countless film, television, and animated adaptations (not to mention the aforementioned Jefferson song).

Of course, previous live-action adaptations of Carroll's stories haven't exactly captured the author's vision in a truly believable way, mostly due to limitations of the film technologies of those respective times. But with the advent of computer-generated imagery and the now-trendy usage of 3D technology, it seems as though Alice and her journeys were due for another go-around (well, at least to studio executives).

But said executives did make the seemingly right choice in choosing director Tim Burton for this outing. Well-known for making his career with various dark, oddball, and visually quirky tales (Batman, Beetlejuice, Sweeney Todd, Pee-Wee's Big Adventure), Burton was truly the right man for adapting Carroll's story, even though this is more of an amalgamation of both novels rather than a completely faithful retelling.

In 19th century England, independent-minded Alice Kingsleigh (Mia Wasikowska) has been set up with an arranged marriage to stuffy nobleman Hamish (Leo Bill), but her imaginative nature and resistance to tradition has caused her to be reluctant to follow through with her family's wishes. But when she spots a white rabbit in a waistcoat at Hamish's engagement party, Alice races after it, eventually tumbling into a deep and sprawling rabbit hole, landing in Underland (or "Wonderland", as she believes it to be called), a magical realm that appeared in a recurring dream she's had since childhood.

Alice soon finds herself acquainted with various speaking animals and creatures, including the White Rabbit (voice of Michael Sheen), spunky mouse Mally (voice of Barbara Windsor), caterpillar Absolem (voice of Alan Rickman), dimwitted twins Tweedledee and Tweedledum (both voiced by Matt Lucas), and the mysterious Cheshire Cat (voice of Stephen Fry). Though Alice believes this all to be a dream, the characters she encounters seem to imply that it's not, and that she's also been here before.

It seems that these creatures are fugitives because of the current reign of the tyrannical and large-headed Red Queen Iracebeth (Helena Bonham Carter), who rules Underland with an iron fist. Prophecy states that a champion will soon arrive to challenge and behead the Red Queen's giant dragon Jabberwocky (voice of Christopher Lee), which will restore order and return the kingdom back to Iracebeth's kind and peaceful sister Mirana, the White Queen (Anne Hathaway). When the Red Queen catches wind of Alice's return, she sends her army after the teenager, led by the one-eyed Knave of Hearts (Crispin Glover).

But luckily, Alice encounters the crazed and eccentric Mad Hatter (Johnny Depp), who serves as an ally to help overthrow the Red Queen, and Alice thus begins her dangerous trek to not only prove herself to be Underland's champion, but to also find a way back to the real world.

Many Carroll purists may be turned off by the fact that Burton's Alice isn't a true adaptation of the original book, but rather a combination of the two novels, cherrypicking and compositing of various story elements, and original material created by Burton. In fact, the film itself implies that Alice's travels into Wonderland/Underland is actually a follow-up to the story we're more familiar with, and thus offers Burton more creative freedom in the process. Unfortunately, the seeming preoccupation with making the film as visually weird and fantastical as possible takes away from the story and the characters' development and growth.

But that's not to say that the movie isn't a marvel to look at. Much like the novel, Alice is essentially one big acid trip in narrative form, but clearly toned down to accommodate the fact that the film is for children (a move that unfortunately but unavoidably removes any potential for true psychedelic impact). The visual effects, set decoration, and costume design are absolutely gorgeous, and once again, Danny Elfman delivers a truly quirky and unconventional score befitting a Burton film.

Australian actress Wasikowska does an admirable job as the title character, giving Alice plenty of depth in terms of her independence and ahead-of-her-time feminism. In his seventh collaboration with Burton, Johnny Depp is appropriately manic as the Mad Hatter, and even though Depp's megastar status has caused the Hatter's role to be expanded to top billing, Depp thankfully doesn't try to overshadow Wasikowska's performance. The various vocal performances are topnotch (especially from Rickman and Fry), and Helena Bonham Carter is absolutely delightful and a blast to watch as the irritable Red Queen, stealing every scene she appears in.

But the major flaw of Alice in Wonderland is how it attempts to make itself too conventional as a straightforward narrative. The very nature of the story warrants an almost avant-garde approach in its execution, where the audience is supposed to walk out of the theater feeling like they just had some bad granola. But there's just a creeping sense of formula here (not to mention a final Lord of the Rings-style battle that wasn't present in the source material), and even though the film has the usual Burtonesque flourishes, it just feels as though the heart and soul was replaced in favor of technical style and visual flair. And aside from Alice's brief familial struggles and a flashback detailing the Hatter's tragic background, there's very little emotional attachment to be had here.

Despite Burton's attempt to reinvigorate a timeless classic with the best that technology can offer, Alice in Wonderland isn't as engaging and entertaining as it could've been. It's a passable offering, but sometimes excellent visual panache isn't enough to make a film truly memorable.

Letter Grade: "C"

Review: "SCOTT PILGRIM VS. THE WORLD"

It's safe to say that when compared to other forms of entertainment, comic books and video games have gotten a bad rap from the more "cultured" members of society. The former has sometimes been unfairly criticized for being just pictures with word balloons tacked on, while the latter has been badmouthed for, among other things, lacking artistic merit (a viewpoint that Roger Ebert has been criticized for espousing recently).

Maybe I'm showing utter bias, but as someone who grew up both reading comics and playing video games, I can say without a shadow of a doubt that the two are certainly capable of crafting compelling stories alongside engaging visuals. Sure, the comics published prior to the 1960s and the games of the "Pac-Man" and "Duck Hunter" era certainly didn't possess award-worthy storylines, but they were highly entertaining nonetheless, and the nostalgic value of both (the video games in particular) earned a well-deserved place in the hearts of my generation.

What luck, then, that I watched director Edgar Wright's Scott Pilgrim vs. The World, a mindblowing, hysterical, and highly imaginative adaptation of Canadian comic writer Bryan Lee O'Malley's series of "Scott Pilgrim" graphic novels, where the visual elements and sensibilities of comics and video games are combined to create what's essentially the wet dream of an ADHD sufferer.

Scott Pilgrim (Michael Cera) is the 22-year-old bassist for Sex Bob-Omb, a Toronto-based garage band hoping to make it big in the upcoming Battle of the Bands contest. The band is fronted by vocalist/guitarist Stephen Stills (Mark Webber), drummer and Scott's ex-girlfriend Kim Pine (Alison Pill), and substitute bassist Young Neil (Johnny Simmons). The sensitive Scott, who had recently gotten over being dumped by his other ex Julie (Brie Larson) a year earlier, just started a relationship with 17-year-old Knives Chau (Ellen Wong), and although the age discrepancy doesn't bother them, it doesn't go unnoticed by Scott's sister Stacy (Anna Kendrick) or his gay, sardonic roommate Wallace (Kieran Culkin).

But Scott's newest relationship has poor timing, since he soon meets and is head-over-heels in love with American delivery girl Ramona Flowers (Mary Elizabeth Winstead), a somewhat mysterious woman who dyes her hair a different vibrant color every week and a half. Eventually, Scott and Ramona get together (all while Scott still reluctantly dates Knives). However, what Scott soon (and painfully) realizes is that if he's going to date Ramona, he'll need to battle and defeat Ramona's seven evil exes in extravagant, video game-style showdowns.

This league of evil exes includes demonic Matthew Patel (Satya Bhabha); actor/skateboarder Lucas Lee (Chris Evans); punky lesbian Roxy Richter (Mae Whitman); rival bassist and "super-vegan" Todd Ingram (Brandon Routh); Japanese twins Ken and Kyle Katayanagi (Shota and Keita Saito); and record executive Gideon Gordon Graves (Jason Schwartzman), who's responsible for assembling the league and controlling Ramona's love life. Not only must Scott find self-confidence in his pursuit of Ramona's heart, he must also contend with Knives' jealously and Ramona's exes trying to destroy him.

Even though I never read O'Malley's graphic novels, my excitement for this release existed primarily because of the fact that British director Edgar Wright was at the helm. Wright, who directed the terrific English cult comedies Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz starring actors Simon Pegg and Nick Frost, clearly has a knack for creating clever and pop culture reference-heavy comedies while still maintaining three-dimensional characterizations and smart dialogue.

The over-the-top elements of his previous work certainly helped in the production of Scott Pilgrim, which is pretty much a love letter to nostalgic fanboys (and fangirls) whose sweet memories of Super Nintendo were still fresh in their minds. Indeed, the film is essentially a video game come to life, what with flamboyant voice-over sound effects ("Fight!" "K.O.!"), defeated bad guys turning into collectable coins, "extra life" icons, and extravagant and colorful boss battles (even the opening Universal Studios title card is pixelated and accompanied by MIDI-style music).

Then you throw in comic book-esque "ka-pow" and "thud" graphics, anime-style flashbacks, and wonderfully melodramatic line deliveries (especially by the evil exes). The visual effects and out-of-this-world action sequences are to die for, as is the intentionally spastic and flashy editing.


But despite the exaggerated and very unsubtle visual and aesthetic quality of the proceedings, Scott Pilgrim certainly isn't lacking in quirky humor and superb camaraderie between the cast. Though I've tired of his constant typecasting as the sensitive and shy lovable loser character, I must admit that the lead role of Scott Pilgrim was tailor-made for Cera, who does a fine job focusing on Scott's inner turmoil regarding his romantic life and his quest for attaining self-confidence.

As the wildy-colored-maned Ramona, Winstead is absolutely adorable and shares cute moments with Cera, and Wong is equally flighty and manic as Scott's high-schooler girlfriend who becomes increasingly and comically obsessed with winning his heart. Culkin, Pill, and Webber are funny as Scott's friends. But the real scene-stealers are our hero's septet of bloodthirsty adversaries, especially Chris Evans as a cocky Hollywood action star and Jason Schwartzman as a smarmy record producer who serves as the "final boss" of the story.

Though at times it gets repetitive in its fight scenes and drags on a bit in the third act regarding the Scott-Ramona-Knives love triangle, there's no denying that Scott Pilgrim vs. The World is a funny, charming, witty, and visually-orgasmic smorgasbord of a video game homage for the giddy nerd in all of us. K.O.!

Letter Grade: "A-"

Review: "THE KIDS ARE ALL RIGHT"

Despite some people's efforts to permanently solidify the word's meaning, "family" has and always will be a fluid and ever-changing term. After all, what truly makes a family? Aside from the obvious blood relation-oriented usage of the word, a family can mean so many things. A group of close-knit friends may label themselves as a family, or even a posse of coworkers may even describe their relationship as having a family-like quality.

But some traditionalists may adamantly define a family as the stereotypical "nuclear family" unit of a father, mother, and a handful of kids. And thanks to the eternally contentious debate surrounding gay marriage and gay adoption (especially in light of the recent Proposition 8 controversy in California), it begs the question: does a family need have that June and Ward Cleaver-style foundation to be a "real" family? Or does the fact that two parents happen to be of the same gender really matter in the grand scheme of things?

Director Lisa Cholodenko (who created the Showtime television series "The L Word") makes it her goal to address this issue (or in her apparent view, non-issue) in The Kids Are All Right, an intelligent, superbly acted, and highly naturalistic dramedy that focuses on the family dynamic in an unexpected yet very satisfactory fashion.

Having been together for two decades, lesbian couple Nic (Annette Bening) and Jules (Julianne Moore) have carved out a committed and comfortable life together, not only as partners but mothers as well. Both women became pregnant via in-vitro fertilization (both given by the same donor), and go on raising their daughter Joni (Mia Wasikowska) and son Laser (Josh Hutcherson). The perfectionist and bossy Nic works as a doctor, and the more laidback Jules has just started a fledgling landscaping business; however, when the soon-to-be college student Joni turns 18, she and her younger brother decide to seek out their biological father.

Their search produces Paul, a cool and collected restauranteur who's initially taken aback by meeting his children. Paul soon warms up to Joni and Laser (and vice-versa), and he eventually meets Nic and Jules. But tensions begin to rise, since not only does the controlling Nic feel hostile towards this complete stranger, but Jules ends up taking a liking to him, threatening to undermine the entire family dynamic.

Now, in my opinion, despite the self-professed progressiveness of Hollywood, there's never been a truly realistic depiction of the relationship of gay couples in mainstream cinema. In many movies featuring gay couples, they've always been TOO positive and happy in their presentation. But any couple, gay or straight, can tell you that every relationship is certainly NOT perfect. All couples have their flaws, tensions, and arguments, not to mention complex relationships with their kids.

And in that respect, Cholodenko has done a terrific job stripping away any possible stigma the film may have about it being a "lesbian movie" and instead simply make Nic and Jules possess the same husband-and-wife relationship as any heterosexual couple would. One is controlling and patriarchal, and the other is lax and laidback. There are the usual spats, arguments, and conflicts with the kids. The depiction is so natural and believable that you think that, well, you're watching your own mom and dad.

And it's the awards-worthy performances by Annette Bening and Julianne Moore that make it all work. They make the loving-yet-strained, decades-long relationship of the two women feel entirely convincing, especially in regards to Nic's insecurity, Jules' fears of the couple's passion fading, and their utter devotion to their two kids. Hutcherson and Wasikowska do a fabulous job as the teenagers who are searching for their dad, and Ruffalo is equally charming and conflicted as the womanizer who feels more and more comfortable with the prospects of being a father.

Despite the heavy thematic material present, The Kids Are All Right isn't too depressing or preachy, as there's plenty of humor present in the proceedings. The chemistry between the moms and the kids is warm and believable, and once again, you forget the fact that this movie is about a lesbian couple but rather just a couple (and there's even a very funny and ironic twist on the whole "parents being suspicious but vocally supportive about their child possibly being gay" theme in one scene).

While many people may fiercely debate about what truly makes a family, our ever-changing culture provides evidence that family doesn't depend entirely on the sex of the parents, and though the subject matter regarding tense family dynamics isn't anything new, The Kids Are All Right makes the point that "not normal" can be entirely normal.

Letter Grade: "A-"

Review: "INCEPTION"

There's an old and oft-used saying that "time flies when you're having fun", where one's most incredible and emotionally-satisfying moments in life seem like they happen in a flash, whereas the more monotonous and unremarkable moments seem to go on forever.

But it seems as though the rules are reversed when it comes to dreams during deep sleep. Not only do the intricate images and subconscious events within the mind seem to last a lifetime (even though only several hours pass in real-time), but on some occasions the dreams in question are so convincing and realistic that one has to question whether or not they're awake, or still snoozing away in their own special dream world.

While researchers and psychologists still don't fully understand the purpose or science of dreams (lucid or otherwise), the concept of the "reality" of dreams is still a rich subject for fictional storytelling, as proven by Christopher Nolan, the genius British-American filmmaker whose track record of psychologically-stimulating films (Memento, Insomnia, Batman Begins, and The Dark Knight) gets yet another high mark with Inception, a mind-boggling, exhilarating, and absolutely marvelous science-fiction heist film where the mind is the scene of the crime.

Dom Cobb (Leonardo DiCaprio) is an experienced "extractor", who specializes in infiltrating the dreams of his subjects/marks as a means of corporate espionage, where he extracts secrets and other important information from the subject's mind.

Despite being very good at what he does, Cobb has a bit of a shady past. Having run from America a couple years earlier for a crime he says he didn't commit, Cobb travels around the world performing extracting jobs with his frequent teammate and point man Arthur (Joseph Gordon-Levitt), all while trying to find a means to clear his name and return to his two young children.

That chance seems to have arrived in the form of Saito (Ken Watanabe), a powerful businessman who wants Cobb for a special and unorthodox job. Saito wants Cobb to perform not an extraction but rather an "inception" on rival energy conglomerate heir Robert Fisher (Cillian Murphy), where instead of stealing ideas from the mark's mind, the infiltrators would actually implant an idea; in this case, implanting in Robert the idea of breaking up his father's company and giving Saito a market monopoly. Saito promises Cobb that if he can pull off this inception, Saito would make it so Cobb's name is cleared and he can finally go home to his children.

Though Cobb and Arthur are reluctant to accept the job (since an inception would involve not only having the mark's subconscious instinctively creating defenses to fend off foreign occupants, but also having to dangerously create dreams within dreams to ward off such defenses), Cobb's personal motivations cause the mission to go ahead. They form a diverse team of fellow infiltrators to build the dream scenario: forger Eames (Tom Hardy), who assumes various identities in the dream world to fool the mark; college student Ariadne (Ellen Page), who serves as the architect of the dream world itself; and chemist Yusuf (Dileep Rao), who concocts the powerful sedatives to help immerse the real-world team into the subconscious dream world.

As the team enters Robert's mind, they must not only avoid his natural mental defenses, but must also enter deeper, labyrinth-like layers of dreams-within-dreams to successfully implant Saito's idea, at the risk of being stuck forever in a dream limbo should they be killed in the dream world. And on top of that, the team must encounter Cobb's inadvertent mental projections of his late wife Mal (Marion Cotillard), who attempts to convince the guilt-ridden Cobb into staying with her in this subconscious reality.

Confused yet? Well, if director Nolan's previous cinematic offerings (Memento in particular) are any indication, you will most definitely walk out of the theater both scratching your head and catching your breath at the same time.

In my review of last year's terrific horror romp Drag Me To Hell (directed by cult horror director and Spider-Man trilogy helmer Sam Raimi), I mentioned how it can be beneficial for a successful veteran filmmaker to return to the roots that made him a household name in the first place. Nolan cut his directorial teeth on psychologically-tantalizing indie films such as Following and Memento, following them up with acclaimed big-budget features like his Batman reboots. But while Raimi's post-Spidey Drag Me To Hell was an aesthetic and low-budget return to the cheesy horror-comedy roots he planted with the Evil Dead trilogy, Nolan made the risky move of not only creating an intellectually-complex psychological puzzler (not exactly a target film for a summer moviegoing audience), but also combining it with big-budget ($200 million in this case) elements usually set aside for brainless popcorn films.

But once again, Nolan proved naysayers wrong. Not only is Inception a wholly original and mindbending experience, but it's a summertime film release that exercises the audience's intelligence, rather than insult it. The film's plot is multilayered to the brim, and it can become confusing and hard to keep up with all the various layers of Matrix-like dreams and realities. But thankfully, Nolan's script and excellent direction manages to keep the audience's eyes glued to the screen. And like the infiltration team in the movie, the picture's cast and crew all serve as effectively integral parts to bring the whole thing together.

Almost every technical aspect of Inception is Oscar-worthy, what with production designer Guy Hendrix Dyas' Escher-like setpieces, editor Lee Smith's captivating quick cuts and smooth transitions into the various dream worlds, and Hans Zimmer's powerful score ties everything together from a visceral and emotional standpoint.

The casting is stellar across the board. As the guilt-ridden extractor-in-chief, DiCaprio is terrific in the role. Though his character is initially mysterious and ambiguous, Cobb becomes much more fleshed out later on, especially with the revelations of his tragic backstory involving his late wife (an emotionally raw and somewhat creepy Cotillard). Ellen Page does a fine job as the new addition to the team, a youngster who's both in awe and fear of this new subconscious world she enters. And Joseph Gordon-Levitt (easily one of the best actors working today) plays it cool as the team's point man who also gets the best action scenes, most notably a ridiculously cool showdown with defensive mental projections in a revolving hallway.

To say that Inception is high-concept would be a huge understatement. While many high-concept films don't usually pan out (Snakes on a Plane, anyone?), there's always the rare film that flirts with an out-of-this-world (or mind) concept that consistently clicks with precision. This is one of those films. While Inception has all the bells and whistles of a summer blockbuster, at its core is a brilliantly-conceived and almost philosophical thematic foundation that will easily keep the viewer (including yours truly) enthralled long after the credits roll.

Though the two-and-a-half-hour runtime and complex storytelling may be daunting for some (a second viewing may be necessary to fully absorb everything), it's still worth watching not only one of the best movies of 2010 (if not THE best), but yet another testament to Christopher Nolan's amazing talent and skill. A true cinematic dream if there was one, Inception is testimony to the notion that a movie with brains can be just as engaging as one with just brawn.

Letter Grade: "A"

A Beginner's Guide to Karaoke Etiquette

A good indicator of a colorful personality is how willing someone is to make an utter fool of themselves in public. While certain folks are naturally shy, there are some who revel in the spotlight, either to merely gain attention, or to just have fun and live it up. One venue for such behavior is that of karaoke.

Established in the early 1970s and gaining popularity worldwide, karaoke and karaoke bars are fabulous means of releasing one's extroverted side (whether or not alcohol is involved is another story) via usually off-key renditions of popular songs. However, if you're new to the karaoke scene, there are a few guidelines you need to observe to make for a satisfying experience.

1. Timing is everything
Even though karaoke generally isn't a talent contest, you still want to leave a mark on the half-drunken bar patrons watching you. First impressions are key, and therefore you want to wait for the right time to wow the crowd (either by your talent, or your enthusiasm). Sometimes, the first couple of songs sung don't garner any reaction since the patrons aren't drunk/fully into the music. Therefore, don't be the first singer of the night. Listen to a few songs, see if they rile up the crowd, and once the adrenaline clearly permeates the bar, get up on the stage and take advantage of the moment.

2. Choose what songs you mangle carefully
No one expects karaoke to be "American Idol". You can be extremely bad at singing, but still manage to have fun and get a great reaction from the crowd. However, you're not completely immune from damaging your karaoke reputation. While most songs sung in such an environment are of the guilty-pleasure variety (think Lady Gaga, Vanilla Ice, or Backstreet Boys) and therefore don't warrant a beautiful and on-key vocal performance, certain tunes are considered too sacred to utterly ruin. So unless you have the voice of an angel, don't even bother going for something like Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody" or Radiohead's "Creep". It's just bad news.

3. Go for the gusto
If you're gonna down some drinks, get on stage, and sing in public, it had to have been for a reason. Therefore, you have absolutely no reason to have stage fright. Enthusiasm is infectious. You're already up there, so what does a little high-energy performing hurt? Don't be stiff as a board! Dance around (even if you suck at it)! Instead of singing in the most boring way possible, add some vocal flourishes (i.e. if you have a naturally low voice, surprise your audience with some falsetto). Remember, this is your time to shine.

4. Opera won't get you laid (at least not here)
As stated in #2, you gotta be strategic about what songs you pick. And while there's a bevy of popular and reliable standbys in those big songbooks, there's also some tunes that just won't be a match at a karaoke bar. You may have gotten a big round of applause at your ninth grade choir concert by singing "Danny Boy" or "La donna è mobile", but you most likely won't get a huge reaction here. And usually, more hardcore music like death metal or thrash won't go over well either (unless you think people leaving is equivalent to "going over well"). So unless you're certain that you'll blow the bar patrons away with your magnificent pipes, go with the more familiar genres. And if all else fails...

5. B.C.A.C. (Be Cheap And Cheat)
A good majority of karaoke bar patrons usually go for the guilty-pleasure songs, either to make their friends laugh, or to intentionally make asses of themselves (or both). That's why you always hear "Bad Romance", "I Want it That Way", "Baby Got Back", "Don't Stop Believin'", "Ice, Ice, Baby", and "Friends in Low Places" in these joints on a frequent basis. It may be unoriginal and cliched, but they're bound to get a huge reaction. And if you really want to bring the house down with little to no effort, go for the songs that require call-and-response with the audience, like The Beatles' "Twist and Shout", a-Ha's "Take on Me", "Summer Nights" from Grease, and Neil Diamond's "Sweet Caroline". They cannot and will not resist it.

And the final and most important rule for karaoke etiquette:

6. Always cheer others on
While some people have talent and others clearly don't, all that really matters is how much fun you're having. It takes a lot of guts to go up on stage and sing in front of a bunch of drunk and wild people (especially when many of them are your peers), and regardless of how amazing or amazingly awful they are, you gotta give 'em props for their efforts. Whether they're family, friends, or complete strangers, singing along with them or cheering them on is essential for a true karaoke experience. That, and getting wasted.

Review: "PREDATORS"

It's pretty safe to say that Hollywood's run out of steam when it comes to originality. In an era of remakes, reboots, sequels, and the current gimmicky overuse of 3D technology, there really isn't much to be surprised by anymore when you go to the movies.

This can especially hold true for sci-fi and horror films. Nearly every classic horror flick's been remade into an exasperatingly inferior bastardization, and once-venerable science fiction franchises have been dragged along well past its welcome. A glaring example is that of the Predator franchise. First brought to cinematic life in 1987 by director John McTiernan, Predator was a thrilling, tense, and refreshing take on the "Most Dangerous Game" genre of action films, where trained killers and tough guys have the tables turned on them, and are themselves hunted by an advanced and particularly ruthless assassin (an extraterrestrial in this case). It was also yet another hit for Arnold Schwarzenegger, who made the film all that more memorable with his signature cheesy one-liners.

But sadly, lightning didn't strike twice, and the Arnold-less 1990 sequel with Danny Glover failed to live up to expectations. And then there were the two atrocious Alien vs. Predators crossovers in 2004 and 2007 (a concept that was better suited for video games, especially since the Alien series had already worn out its welcome as well).

Of course, Hollywood never stops beating a dead horse when they can smell big box-office bucks, so there was an inevitable reprise to those dreadlocked, mandible-faced Predators. But rather than rebooting or remaking the original film (a wise decision), director Nimrod Antal and producer/co-writer Robert Rodriguez decided to make Predators a loose sequel and continuation of McTiernan's story, and jettisoning the AvP films from its continuity. For better or for worse, Predators returns to the 1987 original's dark, brutal, and intense atmosphere, right from the very beginning.

American soldier-turned-mercenary Royce (a surprisingly buff Adrien Brody, who seems intent on going from arthouse darling to sci-fi leading man after last month's Splice) wakes up to find himself careening through the air towards the jungle. After breaking his fall with his chute, Royce discovers other killers, soldiers, and dangerous types in the same predicament: Israeli soldier Isabelle (Alice Braga); Russian commando Nikolai (Oleg Taktarov); RUF death squad member Mombasa (Mahershalalhashbaz Ali); drug cartel enforcer Cuchillo (Rodriguez favorite Danny Trejo); silent Yakuza gangster Hanzo (Louis Changchien); and serial killer Stans (Walter Goggins). Rounding out the motley crew is meek doctor Edwin (Topher Grace), who's seemingly out of place in this group of killers.

The group eventually discovers that they're not on any jungle on Earth, but rather an alien planet, and that they've been placed in a game preserve to be hunted by technologically-advanced aliens. As they learn more about these Predators and their tactics-- mostly from Air Cavalry member and survivor Noland (Laurence Fishburne)-- the human prey hope to not only find a way off the planet, but to kill as many of their hunters as they can.

Of course, thanks to our familiarity with this plotline (covered in The Running Man, The Condemned, and of course the first Predator), we all know that the protagonists are going to be picked off one by one, all in bloody and violent fashions. Though it's admittedly cool to see the Predators do their thing again, this offering is basically retreading familiar ground.

It also doesn't help that despite the large cast, there aren't any characterizations that really stick out and are mostly barely-fleshed-out targets for the Predators to sink their blades and other pointy objects into. Brody does the usual brooding anti-hero/leader bit (and adopts Christian Bale's gravelly Batman growl because, you know, he's hardcore), Braga does an okay job as the tough lone female, and the great Larry Fishburne is mostly wasted in what's essentially a kooky, Col. Kurtz-style renegade role. It makes the audience yearn for stoic, silly one-liners from Arnie and Jesse "I ain't got time to bleed" Ventura.

But despite these flaws, Predators still manages to be an adrenaline-filled and fun B-movie, well aware of its inherent silliness, and for a sequel that's clearly destined to be nowhere near as good as the first, Predators has top-notch production values, impressive special effects, great action sequences (especially in the final battle between Royce and a particularly advanced Predator), and Antal and Rodriguez have made sure to make the titular aliens as badass as they were 23 years ago.

Despite lacking a lot of the suspense and originality that the original had in droves, Predators nevertheless manages to tower above most other sci-fi/horror sequels and remakes, thanks to its gritty atmosphere, gripping action setpieces, and its refusal to take itself too seriously.

Letter Grade: "C+"

Review: "TOY STORY 3"

Though I owned many of them throughout my childhood, I never really had much emotional attachment to my toys. Sure, in my younger days I couldn't separate myself from them, but they went through so much rotation over the years (thanks to whatever commercial fad was en vogue at the time) that any attachment was fleeting at best.

But despite going through all those Transformers, Ninja Turtles, and Power Rangers from my toddler years to elementary school, I can certainly understand why a child might have such a connection to certain playthings, and why it'd be especially difficult to let those toys go when adolescence and, eventually, adulthood comes knocking.

After all, all good things must come to an end, and the same can be said for Pixar Studios' venerable and beloved Toy Story film franchise. Having revolutionized the world of film animation in 1995 with the first of the series (and Pixar's first feature-length overall), and followed by a superb sequel in 1999, our journey with the now-iconic Woody, Buzz Lightyear, Rex, et al. has finally concluded, with the terrific, funny, gripping, and emotionally-gratifying Toy Story 3.

In the eleven years since we last saw the plastic and sentient gang, their human owner Andy (voice of John Morris) has grown up. Naturally, he became too old to play with his toys, ultimately keeping them stored in a chest in his room. Now Andy is headed for college, leaving his toys distressed and worried. Cowboy Woody (voice of Tom Hanks), space ranger Buzz (voice of Tim Allen), Slinky Dog (voice of Blake Clark), nervous dinosaur Rex (voice of Wallace Shawn), Mr. and Mrs. Potato Head (voices of Don Rickles and Estelle Harris), cowgirl Jessie (voice of Joan Cusack), and piggy bank Hamm (voice of John Ratzenberger) fear that they'll be thrown out and abandoned, but their fears are allayed when Andy decides to take Woody with him to college while the rest are put in the attic.

However, a mishap places all of the toys-- as well as Andy's baby sister's Barbie doll (voice of Jodi Benson)-- in a donation box for the Sunnyside daycare center. Though Woody doesn't want to spend his days in such a place, the others prefer it, believing that Andy doesn't want them anymore. Introduced to the kindly Lotso-Hugging-Bear (voice of Ned Beatty), the toys are delighted at the prospect of being played with by young children. A disgusted Woody leaves, and ends up in the home and possession of toddler Bonnie (voice of Emily Hahn).

However, the other toys realize that Sunnyside isn't the paradise they envisioned, as they've been placed in the Caterpillar room, where they're manhandled and vandalized by uninhibited young toddlers rather than being gently taken care of by older children. Lotso and his gang, including the mute Big Baby and fashionable doll Ken (voice of Michael Keaton), also turn out to be cruel thugs holding the toys prisoner, and Lotso ends up resetting Buzz to his original, seriously dramatic space ranger mode, making Buzz his new enforcer. Woody must now race against time to return to Sunnyside and rescue his companions, all before Andy leaves for college.

Now usually, whenever I see the third film in a trilogy that's had two good or great installments, I tend to lower my standards, as very few trilogies have scored three for three as far as overall quality and freshness go. But at the same time, my expectations heightened merely because Toy Story 3 was produced by the creative and visionary geniuses at Pixar, who in this reviewer's opinion has yet to create a movie that was any less than fantastic. Such a track record quelled my fears for "threequelitis", and justifiably so.

Despite the previous film in the series being released over a decade ago, we still haven't lost our connection to Woody and Co., their distinctive and colorful personalities still fresh as ever. It also helps that the general storyline (Andy reconnecting with his childhood toys before ultimately saying goodbye) parallels the experiences of the audience, especially those who grew up with the first two films. To say that Toy Story 3 is an emotional experience is a severe understatement. It still boggles the mind that computer-generated toys and anthropomorphic objects can be made to elicit more warmth and emotion than many flesh-and-blood film characters in other pictures. 

It certainly helps that animation technology has advanced considerably in the intervening years between 2 and 3. The visual effects on display are absolutely gorgeous to behold, best personified at the very start by a terrific, imaginary Wild West-style chase opener. The clever and rapid-fire humor and sight gags are still at their best, providing as much laughs for adults as there are for children (my personal favorite involving Mr. Potato Head being forced to temporarily replace his potato with an unusual and less-than-productive foodstuff). And once again (per usual for Pixar), there are plenty of delicious pop culture references and homages, especially the obvious nods to Cool Hand Luke and The Great Escape.

Also pulling a hat trick are the fabulous vocal work by the cast. Hanks and Allen once again are solid as Woody and Buzz, and it's a pleasure to hear the great Don Rickles and Wallace Shawn again (as well as Blake Clark ably replacing the late Jim Varney as Slinky). But the show is stolen by the addition of an almost unrecognizable Michael Keaton as the flamboyant and fashionable Ken doll. With a seemingly endless array of snazzy outifts (be they disco-themed or an astronaut suit), the male doll who frets over merely being a "girl's toy" is lovestruck by the arrival of (who else?) the equally flighty Barbie, providing for a hysterical subplot.

Despite some scarier scenes than those of the first two films (including a very intense and heartpounding action climax), this film is one for all ages: those who are still young enough to enjoy their toys, and those old enough to possibly look back and cherish such childhood memories. I'll admit that by the end, it was tough to say goodbye to the characters I first grew to love when I was nine years old, and though bittersweet, the franchise that made Pixar a cinematic powerhouse couldn't have ended on a finer note. Not Pixar's best (WALL-E takes that crown) but still ranking quite high, Toy Story 3 is a beautiful, hilarious, intelligent, heartbreaking, and ultimately satisfying coda to a brilliant film trilogy.

Letter Grade: "A"