What I Watched in September

I'm a major fan of Shane Black so I was very excited to see his latest action film. Adding to the anticipation is what I consider to be a long overdue return to the big screen for the Predator franchise. When I learned that Black was enlisting his old writing buddy Fred Dekker to co-script this new story it was like an answered prayer I forgot to voice. Their previous collaboration THE MONSTER SQUAD (1987) is a favorite so these old friends teaming up to bring us a new SF action film sounded great. And, for the most part, it is.

But..... I have always had a simple problem with THE MONSTER SQUAD and that same problem shows up in THE PREDATOR (2018) - the editing. Everything else about this film is well concieved, well executed and well acted with extraordinary action scenes and imaginative visuals throughout. But the movie has been edited to within an inch of coherence. Don't get me wrong - if you concentrate and look around in the corners of the frame you can piece together the things that have been chopped out, but you shouldn't have to do this. Repeatedly the film jumps forward with no explanation for how, why or what. Where and when did the inmates steal an RV? Where did they find a microscope? Could we please have more time to absorb the path the kid character takes to figure out the alien tech? Might it be a good idea to slow things down just a little so we can spend more time getting to know the personalities of the excellent cast? Could we let several scenes play out slower to better enjoy the very fun dialog? I understand wanting to keep the pace of a story fast but this cut of the film is too damned fast and would be well served by a slightly longer re-edit. Fingers crossed for an extended version on Blu-Ray.

French action director Pierre (TAKEN) Morel returns to the big screen for another tale of righteous anger called PEPPERMINT (2018). In this fairly basic story, Jenifer Garner plays a mom who loses her husband and daughter to drug cartel violence, spends five years plotting her revenge and then executes it with a timetable leading to the anniversary of the inciting murders. Garner is very good in the role with her past work as a TV spy seemingly good practice for this film. The movie is well directed and beautifully shot giving the rather standard locations a fresh feel. The script has a couple o surprises in store and they are well played with an ending that was both suspenseful and satisfying. As we were leaving the theater I thought how entertaining it would be to see a series of sequels spin out of this - a kind of DEATH WISH for the 21st century. I certainly know I'd like to see PEPPERMINT 2 more than I want to watch that Bruce Willis Death Wish remake. Miss Garner is giving her all to this character and Willis only engages with a script about every fifteenth time he takes a check.

THE LIST 

TORTURE GARDEN (1967) - 7 (rewatch)

THE CREEPING FLESH (1972) - 7 (rewatch)

TERROR FROM THE YEAR 5000 (1958) - 3 (oh, my!) 

THE MUMMY'S HAND (1940) - 7 (rewatch) 

THE WOMAN EATER (1958) - 6 (rewatch) 

THE RAVEN (1935) - 7 (rewatch) 

PROUD MARY (2018) - 6 (crime/action film) 

MATINEE (1993) - 10 (rewatch) (it just gets better with age) 

BURN WITCH BURN (1952) - 9 (rewatch) 

PEPPERMINT (2018) - 7 

DIE, MONSTER, DIE! (1965) - 7 (rewatch) 

INVASION OF THE SAUCER MEN (1957) - 5 (rewatch) 

TERROR CREATURES FROM BEYOND THE GRAVE (1965) - 7 (rewatch) 

GAME OF WEREWOLVES (2011) - 8 

THE PREDATOR (2018) - 6 

SHE DEMONS (1958) - 4 (rewatch) (terrible but fun)

GIANT FROM THE UNKNOWN (1958) - 6 (rewatch)  

DESTRY RIDES AGAIN (1939) - 9 

FRANKENSTEIN'S DAUGHTER (1958) - 6 (rewatch) 

HELLDRIVERS (1958) - 8 

BLOODY PIT OF HORROR (1965) - 5 (rewatch) 

GHOULIES (1984) - 5 (not nearly as bad as I expected) 

THE SNAKE GOD (1970) - 7 

THE GORGON (1965) - 8 (rewatch) 

SLUMBER PARTY MASSACRE II (1987) - 4 

MAD MONSTER PARTY (1966) - 7 

VERONICA (2017) - 7 (very good Spanish possession tale) 

SUSPIRA (1977) - 9 (rewatch on Blu)

POPCORN (1991) - 8 (rewatch on Blu) 

SPLATTER UNIVERSITY (1984)- 3 (low budget slasher) 

THE OTHER (1972) - 8 (rewatch)