Predators (2010)

 "This planet is a game preserve. And we're the game."

So continues my ploddingly slow viewing of all the Predator and Alien films in release order, and this time... well, obviously this isn't going to be an all-time cinematic classic, but for a sequel of a sequel of a sequel of a sequel, sort of... it's actually not bad. 

It's not very well shot, admittedly. As one might expect from a music video director, it looks like a music video. Soulless CGI, boringly flat cinematography, texture and lighting. But despite this the script is pretty good, with very decent characterisation for this sort of film. The cast is good, too. Not exactly full of A listers but solid character actors. The likes of Walton Goggins and Mahershala Ali always add quality. And Laurence Fishburne's extended cameo is mesmerising.

The plot is simple enough: predators select and transport hand-picked humans to a planet they use as a game reserve to hunt and kill. Yet the characters are a gemuinely interesting bunch with real quirks, from the extremely disturbing Stans, taken from Death Row, to the stoic and dignified Mombasa. There are nice little twists and turns along the way in a film that manages to do more than simply carry out its high concept premise. And, I must not neglect to add, there's plenty of Predator action, although these are the moments where the CGI soullessness is at its most dismal.

What raises this film above its premise, though, is that it is about something bigger than action and IP. Our two main characters, Isabelle and Royce, are themselves hunters, who enjoy the thrill of the kill... and it is this, in the end, that counts. Yet can they use their hunting natures to survive while retaining their humanity? This question is examined quite excessively, a big part of why I was far more impressed with this film than I expected to be. Pretty good, in the end.

The Book of Boba Fett, Chapter 3: The Streets of Mos Espa

 "Take it from an ex-bounty hunter: don't work for scugholes."

This episode gives us a fascinating change of pace as it focuses on the realities of Boba Fett's new life as the boss of Jabba's former domain- he has to make complex, indeed political, decisions. The moisture farmers are having their water stolen by cool cyborg ne'er-do-wells, yet said cyborgs are left with no choice because of chronic unemployment and extortionate parties. The solution, as it often must be, is a messy compromise. Still, at least Mr Fett ends up with some cool cyborg underlings.

We get a nice bit of exposition from 808 too; Boba's position is not yet established as he only runs some of Jabba's old protection rackets and needs to expand his power- politics again. And it seems a bigger power, the Pyke syndicate, is muscling in, and charging protection money within Boba's sphere of influence. I'm rather enjoying this focus on Fett's responsibilities. Being a kingpin is za\a life of much admin.

Things get even more complex after a large set piece in which the twin Hutts' Wookie employee almost succeeds in assassinating Mr Fett (he would be dead if not for the cyborgs), only for the Hutts to apologise, give a Rancor monster as a geasture, and duly sod off so as not to offend the feared Pyle Syndicate. This serves to really big up these new baddies, although it will be a shame not to see the Hutts again. Still, saves on CGI, I suppodse.

We end with a touching scene of bonding with the Rancor (nice cameo from Danny Trejo as the Rancor keeper!) and a bit of a very Star Wars car chase, crammed with visual Easter Eggs, before Bobba determines to go after the Mayor, who is clearly linked with the syndicate.

Meanwhile, in flashback, Mr Fett finds the Sand People settlement raided and destroyed, vowing revenge.

This is the best episode yet, daring to focus on areas which may not appeal to everyone but doing so superbly.

Breaking Bad: I.F.T.

 "This spice feels like it's been through a couple of guys already..."

This episode, for the first time, feels a little transitional, not so much an event in its own right but setting up all the pieces for future moves to be played. It's all brilliantly shot, and remains quality drama, but for the first time in an episode of Breaking Bad you can perhaps see the artifice of the plotting a little more.

It's an episode where Walt and Skyler dance around each other in a battle of wills, as Walt/Heisenberg pushes again Skyler's edict that he's to leave the house and have no contact with the kids, both using the baby as weapon disgracefully but with Walt/Heisenberg essentially calling Skyler's bluff and gaining what seems to be the upper hand, for now. And poor, innocent, Walt Jr is an important catalyst here. These scenes are full of extraordinary subtlety from the script and, espdcially, both Bryan Cranston and Anna Gunn.

Meanwhile a depressed Jesse, living in his unfurnished house, rings Jane's phone again and agaknjust to hear her voice on the answerphone... until he no longer can. This a rather nice little microcosm for going through the stages of grief so, with Saul acting as the devil on his shoulder, it's back to cooking for him.

We also have Hank being sent back to El Paso which, much as he tries to pretend otherwise, terrifies him utterly. The events of the episode have me fearing for him; it's a brutal world out there, as we see in the opening film, shot like a Western and tinted in yellow to appear like a different world as Danny Trejo's Tortuga meets his comeuppance in scenes full of tension and reminiscent of something by Tarantino and Rodriguez. It's in this context that the plot to kill Walt is paused for a while as Gus vetoes any revenge while he and Heisenberg have "business"... but this pause has its limits, and is dependent on more cooking...

You can see the joins a bit here. But there's also real excellence here, as always in Breaking Bad.

Breaking Bad: Negro y Azul

 "You act like you never saw a severed human head on a tortoise before..."

It's an unusual beginning, to have the Mariachi band perform a song that seems to have been inspired by the events of the series, but I love it. Breaking Bad is doing things differently,approprate for an episode that seems to signify a bit of a gear change. The status quo is shifting, and so is the dramatis personae. This feels like a phase shift.

Most obviously, Jesse (the "blowfish"- I love how Walt delivers this backhanded compliment) is now seen as a badass who crushes those who cross him with ATM machines (not a sentence I've ever written before), and suddenly the way lies open for Walt and Jesse to corner the market in all of Albuquerque. Jesse is stunned, his underlings more so as they are promoted to "princes or dukes". Yet Walt remains calm, self-assured, amoral and ambitious. By this point he's moved far beyond being a desperate man who just wants the money for his medical bills: he sees life as having dealt him a bad hand, and is going to get a better one no mtter what. He's utterly ruthless- and, oddly enough, whatshows this most of all is his ruthless refusal to fudge a student's grades at the start. The steel is affecting what he does as a chemistry teacher as much as his new existence as a drug lord. At this point, the future looks bright.

Also, Skyler lands herself a job with a bloke with whom she has obvious history- this can surely only go in one direction. And Hank finds himself very much out of his depth in El Paso, intellectually (he's the only one who speaks no Spanish) and in terms of the potential violence, which erupts shockingy at the end. This way lies PTSD.

On a sweeter note, could Jesse and his landlady Jane be attracted to each other? If so, I can't exactly predict happy ever after. The plates are shifting, but things feel precarious. This is, needless to say, excellent stuff. No wonder they managed to get Danny Trejo.