John McTiernan
Every Predator Movie Ranked From Worst to Best
Sometimes I feel bad for the Predator. Of the two major sci-fi creature-feature franchises Fox popularized in the ’70s, ’80s, and ’90s, the Aliens have had much better luck with both critics and audiences. But the Predator series has long felt like it’s struggled to keep up with the mastery of the original 1987 John McTiernan thriller. In the ensuing 35 years since the first film came out, there have been four direct sequels and two spinoffs (in which they square off against their xenomorph cousins), and hardly any of them have had the rapturous reception of the first one. With this weekend’s Prey, though, that tide seems to have turned, which made us decide to revisit the other major attempts to depict the Predators on screen (sorry, we’re just not going to count the Aliens vs. Preda...
The 100 Greatest Summer Blockbuster Movies of All Time
“Cool.” “Riveting.” “Gripping.” “High-Octane Thrill Ride!” All cliches of film criticism and yet all feelings we’ve experienced while watching a crackerjack summer blockbuster. Oops, there we go again. All things considered, any moviegoer can speak to the divine feeling of sitting in a cool, packed theater in the heat of the summer and being united by narrative. Not just united, but hypnotized, mentally convinced that the fate of the world is before your eyes, and there is nothing more important in that very moment. It’s escapism. It’s popcorn. It’s Chinatown. But also, it’s the power of spectacle. Over the years, Hollywood has certainly run that concept through the ringer, having turned what used to be a summer blockbuster season into, well, an entire calendar year. Now, all those aforeme...
