Predator Badlands

Actors: Elle Fanning as Thia/Tessa, Dimitrius Schuster-Koloamatangi, Reuben de Jong, Mike Homik

Rating: 9 out of 10, Only Hollywood would try to make one of the 1980s arch villains into a hero. Predators have always had a tinge of respectability because of the warrior ethos and they liked to kill aliens but this was a bona fide attempt to make a movie with one of the predators as the focus point and hero. Somehow it works. Really well. A smallish predator escapes his family, which is trying to kill him for his lack of stature, and tries to prove himself by going after an apex killer on the appropriately named Death Planet. There he runs into a crew of cyborgs, sent from the Weyland-Yutani Corporation (of Aliens infamy) who are after the same creature. Elle Fanning (always good) plays one of the cyborgs cut in half by the creature and teams up with the predator. The interaction between those two is worth the price of admission by itself. You add in the state-of-the-art CGI with non-stop action and you’ve got a pretty good flick. Go figure – rooting for a predator. Loved it.

MVP: Fanning in the dual role of Thia/Tessa, needed comic relief and deadly presence

Avatar Fire and Ash

Actors: Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldaña, Sigourney Weaver, Stephen Lang, Kate Winslet,

Oona Chaplin, Cliff Curtis, Joel David Moore

Rating: 8 out of 10, The story picks up in the aftermath of the events of the second sequel to this matchless use of CGI. Cameron has created an amazing world that the viewer cannot help but be pulled into and forget that the spectacular views are all computer generated. Jake Sully and his family are still grieving their losses in the prior film with Mrs. Sully particularly and violently upset. It’s a tribute to Zoe Saldana as an actress that her pain and rage come through so clearly despite the computer imaging. Resident bad guy, the Colonel, is back and has hooked up with an equally unbalanced Na’vi lady who leads a tribe bent on killing everybody. I felt a little uncomfortable because I couldn’t help thinking the villainess was kind of hot, despite being eight foot tall and blue. This might be the best of the Avatar movies as Cameron has figured out we need a compelling story as we are now accustomed to the fabulous scenery. While each movie has a similar buildup to a final confrontation, each is eminently watchable. That is certainly the case here with some interesting elements and quandaries inserted. Cameron remains a master movie maker. My only gripe is the obvious setting up for additional sequels. He’s done Avatar, it’s time for him to branch out and break new ground in some other milieu. A truly great movie. MVP: Oona Chaplin sneaky hot as Varang, leader of the warmongering Mangkwan

In the Grey

Actors: Henry Cavill, Jake Gyllenhaal, Eiza Gonzalez, Kristofer Hivju, Fisher Stevens, Rosamund Pike, Carlos Bardem

Rating: 9 out of 10, This is Guy Ritchie’s latest action flick with some of his usual collaborators in Eiza González and Henry Cavill with the welcome addition of Jake Gyllenhaal. Ritchie does action proud each time out and this is no exception. I also liked that Gonzalez isn’t just a pretty face (she certainly still has that going for her) but the mastermind behind a plot to recover a billion dollars from the villain. The villain employs one of the GOT wildings in underused fashion. Cavill and Gyllenhaal share great chemistry as they carry out Gonzalez’ plans. Beautifully shot, I’m surprised I have not heard more about this, a great little movie.

MVP: Gyllenhaal as Bronco, a laid back but deadly operative