SF at the Movies - July '10

This is more like it with a number of big-hitters out this month and among them some great Sci-Fi flicks that are worth seeing.

Kicking off with...

Predators
Released 8/7/10








Well worth seeing if you're a fan of the original, this film revealed more about the predator species, with a larger variant to the species that even hunts other predators and we got to see a few other aliens along the way. However this film didn't lose it's head, it was still what the original two were, and action-horror featuring trained killers trying to survive a seemingly impossible alien threat.

Inception
Released 16/7/10








The best film of the year I would say and with several months still to go I'm confident it will remain worthy of the title. Inception creates the world - a world where skilled thieves can create dream worlds take a mark into them and then extract their secrets from it. Dom Cobb, who is haunted and hunted by his past, is determined to take one last job as it has the promise of putting his life back together only this job involves planting an idea, a much more difficult operation. Flawlessly executed this film bends heads, but is extremely satisfying.

Splice









Another Sci-Fi horror starring Adrien Brody, though as a wimpy-eyed scientist instead of a gruff-voiced Mercenary. In 'Splice' two leading geneticists successfully combine human DNA with that of a whole host of creatures to create a new being. At first they are overjoyed, but things turn nasty as their superpowered creation starts to explore the world and the company that made her try to end her life.

And that's it no the Sci-Fi front, but there's also the return of Toy Story, the A-Team and the new Karate Kid

Species of the week #3 - Yautja

I'll confess to now knowing much of this species and therefore much of what I say will be mostly ripped from various wikipedia pages. The only real look I've had at them is seeing the closing section of the not so acclaimed Alien versus Predator film. While perhaps not as great as fans had hoped the film did deliver a very slick looking alien with a great enough presence to spur me to choose them as my article of the week

Yautja
Designation: Sentient
Homeworld: Unknown
Average Height: 7-7.5 feet






As I freely admit I have not seen any of the Predator films for sufficient length to claim to be a fan or any kind of expert of this species. But I know one when I see one and I know they have made their mark on Science Fiction and so more than deserve their place here. And so I commence covering them in one brief article with one last remark - an alien with dreadlocks?! That could never fail!!

The Yautja, also known as Hish-qu-Ten and more commonly referred to as Predators travel from an unkown homeworld in search of beings to hunt. In terms of stature they largely resemble humans that are larger and stockier and with their battle masks on they could at a distance pass for a human to those unfamiliar with them. When the mask is taken away it reveals a drastically different countenance with mottled skin and four mandibles surrounding a tooth filled maw. Physically they are highly resistant to injury of all kinds with only the most deadly attacks able to even slow them down.

A Predator unmasked








Their culture seems to revolve around hunting. They will go out and seek dangerous and worthy prey to hunt. They are known to even breed the highly deadly Xenomorphs (often known simply as Aliens ) in order to hunt them in honour rites and such. Little else of their culture has been seen other than when they descend to hunt their chosen prey, which is always a deadly and capable race. They have attacked humans on occasion, but only on a small scale and only those they deem worthy enough to hunt. It seems to be part of their honour code to only hunt those who can fight back and to leave the weak and defenceless unharmed - perhaps why they prefer Xenomorphs as they are all born deadly. With powerful skills and some of the best weapons technology ever seen, the Yatuja are likely to be able to continue their hunts on many worlds for many years to come.