Tag: movie reviews

When I watched Dog in theaters a few years ago, I realized I have zero tolerance for sad animal movies. It was marketed as a comedy, and some of it may have been funny. Ultimately, I found then entire movie about a dog with PTSD and an incorrigible man disturbing. Sure, the dog didn’t die at the end, but I didn’t see anything to be happy about.

I had a similar experience with Smile a few months later. The first half of the movie was uncomfortable and disturbing. When the protagonist found her dead cat gift wrapped in a box, I seriously considered walking out of the theater. Fortunately, it became a standard, silly horror movie after that, but I wasn’t tempted to come back for Smile 2.

Recently, knowing nothing about the movie except that it was a horror, I went to a friend’s house to watch Good Boy. When the first scene depicted a sad, frightened dog, I wondered if I should leave immediately. Good Boy turned out to be quite tolerable though. The movie depicted a dog’s worst nightmare told from a dog’s perspective. I found it really interesting. And secretly, I wanted to coo at the screen the whole movie, “Look at that good boy!”

So for those of you with a similar sensitivity to animal movies, don’t be afraid to give Good Boy a watch.

Predator: Badlands didn’t feel like a Predator movie. Granted, it’s been more than a decade since I’ve seen a Predator movie. Actually, I can’t remember if I’ve seen a Predator movie. Was it Alien vs. Predator? Was it Alien? Was it something else entirely? Is there a Predator movie? O.o I remember nothing about what I’ve seen of Predator except that it should be scary or at least attempt to be so.

Watching Predator: Badlands was like what I imagine watching modern Star Wars is like. Given that I also have very little experience with modern Star Wars, I’m basing this opinion entirely on The Mandalorian & Grogu trailer I saw before Badlands started. About at the midpoint in the movie, Badlands introduces a cute mascot character. From that point forward, I felt like I was watching a ripoff of The Mandalorian & Grogu: a brooding protagonist, a comedic side kick, and a cute mascot having a space adventure.

Also, there’s a series of shots of the Predator and his side kick walking through fields and over mountains. After the first couple shots, I predicted the next shot would show the Predator walking along a mountain ridge. Lo and behold, the next shot was the Predator walking along a mountain ridge. Hell yeah! I’m watching a Lord of the Rings ripoff, too!

Overall, I don’t know what I watched or what I expected, but it seemed like something else with the Predator brand slapped on it.