featurettes

Predators (2010)

~ Nikki Baughan

There is no hunting like the hunting of men

Almost a quarter of a century ago, John McTiernan’s Predator cast Arnie as an alien hunter extraordinare and thrilled audiences in the process. No matter that it stuttered as a franchise, with the recent Alien Vs Predator movies smacking of desperation; the original is now heralded as one of the pinnacle moments of Eighies action excess. And riding the wave of nostalgia for this decade that has driven recent reboots like Rambo and A Nightmare on Elm Street comes the all-new Predators, a glossy homage to its 1987 godfather that celebrates all that was great about the original while introducing the concept to a new, effects-savvy generation.

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The Men Who Stare At Goats (DVD)

~ Nikki Baughan

All in the mind

Those familiar with journalist Jon Ronson will know that his choice of interviewees and approach shares commonalties with Louis Theroux’s spiel; where be it affected or not, he often appears a naïf amongst loonies. This probably reached its apex when Ronson investigated purported members of a top-secret psychic warfare unit, for a television documentary several years ago. His bizarre findings, which have also appeared in print, form the inspiration for The Men Who Stare at Goats.

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