Easter isn’t a big holiday in my family, so every year, me and my husband drive to see his parents for the weekend. One event that we always make time for is the Racine Art Museum’s (RAM) International PEEPS Art Exhibition. Every year, the RAM accepts art donations and the art has to be inspired by or made out of Peeps. I think it’s the wildest concept and I’m here for it. I wanted to share this year’s submissions and share the art that I liked the best.
There were a lot of great submissions this year. At the end of the exhibit, you can vote for your favorite and the winner will earn a prize. I voted for the Purple PEEPle Eater which refers to the Purple People Eaters which is a term for the Minnesota Vikings. I liked how the Purple PEEPle Eater was spooky. My husband voted for a Peep display that was a take on The Jetsons. Another fun art piece that was submitted was Peeps with Solar Eclipse glasses looking up at the sky. I believe there was also a Barbie Peep submission as well.
This year’s Peep exhibit did not disappoint. I’m curious to see what next year’s submissions will be.
There has been a lot of exciting news released regarding Critical Role and Darrington Press‘s TTRPG that they have been developing called Daggerheart. Critical Role released several videos discussing the Daggerheart open beta along with the rules of the game. Critical Role did film a one-shot with the Daggerheart system which I was able to carve time to watch. Without knowing much about Daggerheart before the videos were released, I wanted to share some things I noticed while digging into all the Daggerheart content.
Before reviewing Daggerheart in-depth, I wanted to share a bit of background if you have no idea what I’m talking about. Since Critical Role first aired, each of their three campaigns utilizes Dungeons & Dragons 5th edition rules. Ever since the OGL License controversy, there’s been a lot of discussion over the future of Dungeons & Dragons since many fans disagree with how Wizards of the Coast has been handling the situation. This directly impacts Critical Role since they have worked with Wizards. There have been rumors that Critical Role is making Daggerheart so they can move away from Wizards as a company. I’m not sure how true that is since Critical Role hasn’t commented on this directly, but it wouldn’t surprise me if this was the reason behind creating Daggerheart.
I haven’t played the Daggerheart open beta and I don’t know if I will have time, but I wanted to share my first thoughts from what I have seen. Daggerheart is a D12 system meaning that instead of using a 20-sided die to roll in Dungeons & Dragons, Daggerheart will use a 12-sided die instead. Players will have two 12-sided dice to be aware of. One of the die will be a Hope die and the other will represent Fear. Players will reveal to the DM what they roll while noting which die they rolled the highest on either Hope or Fear. I’m intrigued by this Hope vs. Fear concept. I don’t use my d12s often when I play Dungeons & Dragons, so I think it will be a nice change from other TTRPGs I play.
Another interesting concept in Daggerheart is character creation. Players will have cards that they will pick from which highlight their powers and abilities. I have read critiques of this, but I actually think this is neat. It feels like a mixture of playing a TTRPG and a board game. I like having everything laid out in front of me versus trying to flip through the rule book to find what I’m looking for. Another thing that I’m looking forward to is all of the choices. Daggerheart has several class and race options which means there’s a lot of customization during the character creation process. I’m partial to the Faun or the Fungril. The Fungril are a mushroom species and I think that would be something I would enjoy roleplaying.
From everything I have watched thus far, the combat in Daggerheart is something that I’m skeptical about. For combat, there isn’t a player order like there is in Dungeons & Dragons. Instead, players pick and decide who gets to go first. When a player rolls and their roll is higher on their Fear die versus their Hope die, the DM gets to take their turn. I personally like having an idea as to who plays next. For example, if I’m last in the initiative order, it helps me write down essential notes from the session because I know I’m going last. The idea that there’s no order to combat in Daggerheart, it feels like it will be unorganized and chaotic. The other thing that I feel nervous about is what if a DM or a player is rolling extremely well. If the DM rolls well and gets to take many turns in a row in combat, players could feel defeated. If the reverse is true where players are rolling well, DMs might have to think more on the fly to make combat encounters challenging. If there was a rule where it stated that players or the DM can’t have more than three turns in a row, that might quell my skepticism. I could be completely overthinking Daggerheart’s combat, so maybe this isn’t an issue. I am curious to see if Daggerheart’s combat will be modified once the open beta is complete.
I think Daggerheart as a system seems intriguing and I would be open to playing a one-shot. I don’t think I will have time to play in the open beta, but if anyone is curious and wants to try out Daggerheart, the open beta can be accessed through Daggerheart’s website.
I have been on a roll when it comes to reading comics. I have settled into a routine where I sit in my comfy reading chair every Saturday after my workout class and read a graphic novel or a comic. It’s gotten to the point where I have read so much that I haven’t been able to write individual reviews for everything that I have read. I wanted to share what I have read and loved recently regarding comics.
Snotgirl: Green Hair Don’t Care Volume #1 – Bryan Lee O’Malley & Leslie Hung
Lottie Person is a fashion blogger based in LA. She has millions of followers and attends all the coolest events. Deep down, Lottie struggles with her allergies and one of her friends calls her “Snottie”. After pushing her in anger, Lottie sees that her friend hits her head. Believing that she killed her, Lottie flees the scene. Lottie juggles with the guilt of potentially murdering her friend, balancing her fashion blog, and trying to find a way to cure her allergies.
The best part about Snotgirl is the art. I’m a big fan of Leslie Hung. This book is so aesthetically pleasing. The way the art perfectly aligns with Lottie’s internal thoughts, I loved the layout of everything. I would read Snotgirl simply for the art alone. Besides the art, I think the story was easy to follow. There’s a big cliffhanger at the end of the volume that helps set up future issues. The only thing that I would say is Lottie as a character is really unlikeable. She is the epitome of the worst of influencer culture. I do think that there’s potential for Lottie to develop into a better person, but sometimes she is aggravating to read about. I rated Snotgirl Volume #1 three stars on Goodreads.
Critical Role Vox Machina Origins Volume #2 – Mercer, Houser, Samson, Msassyk, and Maher
Vex, Vax, Grog, Scanlan, Keyleth, and Tiberius are drinking at Stilben. Tiberius takes off on his secret mission while the rest of the party sleeps. In the morning, they notice that Grog is missing. Upon further questioning, they meet Pike who agrees to help locate Grog. In their quest, they find Grog, but he’s part of a mysterious ritual by a lich. The lich is defeated, but it’s clear that the threat is still looming over Grog’s body and soul.
I am amazed at how good these graphic novels are. It feels like I’m returning to the first campaign and I can hear the cast in my head as I read each of their lines. I loved how Pike and Percy were introduced and how they met the rest of the group. I liked how Grog was the center of this story as I feel that he can sometimes be a background character to the other character arcs within Vox Machina. I’m looking forward to reading the future volumes. I rated Critical Role Vox Machina Origins Volume #2 five stars on Goodreads.
Punisher: The Complete Collection Volume #1 – Ennis, Robertson, LaRosa, and Fernandez
From 2003 – 2008, Garth Ennis worked on The Punisher and the stories he wrote have been bound into collected volumes. In Volume One, Frank’s military career is documented when he finishes his service in Vietnam. The story flashes forward to when Frank is taking down various crime bosses along with partnering with British intelligence. Frank’s mission is always the same, kill those who mean harm to others.
I loved everything about this. I think Garth Ennis’s take on the character is spot on. He creates these violent stories, but also highlights why Frank does the things that he does. I think what makes Punisher so interesting as a character is how he is willing to cross the morality line while others do not. He is going to use the same tactics that the gangs use and the gangs start to fear him. I found myself reading several issues in a row because I couldn’t put the book down which I think says a lot about Garth Ennis and the way he writes his stories. I rated Punisher: The Complete Collection Volume #1 five stars on Goodreads.
I’m looking forward to reading more graphic novels and comics in the months to come. I still have quite a bit of a graphic novel backlog, but I’m motivated to keep chipping away at my collection.
I can’t believe it’s taken me ten years to cosplay as Padme, but here we are. As I was planning what I wanted to cosplay for Planet Comic Con, Padme popped into my mind right away. I always liked her look from Attack of the Clones where she’s in the battle arena on Geonosis. It’s functional, yet sexy and I think it looks very recognizable. I am thrilled with how the cosplay came together and I wanted to share how it came to be.
When I started planning out this cosplay, I was contemplating buying a Padme costume from Amazon. However, once I started reading reviews, I turned away from this because many of the reviewers stated that the costumes were pretty cheap-looking. The nice thing about Padme’s arena look is that it’s easy to put together as separate pieces. I found a white crop top, white leggings, white boots, a white fanny pack, and a foam blaster. In total, I ended up spending about $110 on everything which wasn’t that bad considering everything that I purchased.
The white crop top was soft and comfy. It wasn’t as cropped as I was expecting which I felt worked out better than I had hoped for. The white leggings were awesome! I ordered one pair of leggings in medium and one pair of leggings in large. The medium was the better fit as I felt the large were a little bit too big in the waist, although, I ended up keeping that pair to use as comfy leggings. I will say, the leggings were pretty see-through. It’s to be expected since they were cheap leggings off of Amazon. If I were to make any upgrades to the cosplay, I’d invest in white leggings that were thicker. The white boots were another awesome purchase. They weren’t great to walk around in during the convention, but they looked exactly like Padme’s boots that she wore. I wore the boots to work and received compliments from coworkers about how cool the boots looked.
The one other thing that I wanted to point out was the gray armbands. I could not find any gray arm bands that I liked on Amazon. Thankfully, one of my friends is crafty and she graciously agreed to help me and made the armbands for me. She did such a great job! The arm bands were comfortable and not too tight. The material she used was gorgeous, the gray was shiny which I think made the arm bands look expensive. She did such a great job.
I am so happy with how everything came together and how accurate it was. I had a few people come up to me wanting to take a picture with me and I had a lot of fun taking photos with other Star Wars cosplayers. I will definitely cosplay Padme again in the future.
I don’t know about you, but I love all the Star Wars series on Disney+. I particularly liked Andor and The Mandalorian, but even Obi-Wan Kenobi appealed to my fondness for the prequels. I heard rumblings about The Acolyte but didn’t know much about the series except for the fact that it takes place before Phantom Menace. Like many others, I immediately saw the trailer drop on Instagram and I had to watch it. I think The Acolyte will be an interesting addition to the Star Wars universe.
The Acolyte trailer opens in a Jedi temple with younglings being asked “What comes into your mind”. One youngling answers, “I see fire” The music drastically changes leading into a hand-to-hand combat sequence between Carrie Ann Moss and I believe Amandla Stenberg. I loved the moment when Carrie Ann Moss used the force to stop the blade. I think it’s neat to be able to see different types of fighting scenes that aren’t just with lightsabers. Throughout The Acolyte trailer, it’s hinted that someone is hunting Jedi, but no one seems to know why. The trailer ends with a red lightsaber being thrown through the trees and Jedi being blown off their feet by an unknown force.
I think for me, the number one reason that I’m looking forward to The Acolyte is the period it takes place. We have seen a lot of Star Wars content after the prequels, but nothing before. It’s interesting seeing the Jedi in this type of role where they are the detectives investigating who is targeting them and for what purpose. I am curious as to what will be revealed about the Sith. Is this the Sith that’s coming after the Jedi? or is there another group that’s seeking out Sith power and for what purpose.
The cast of The Acolyte is stellar. I know many have been fans of Carrie-Ann Moss from The Matrix, but I recognize Carrie Ann Moss from Memento and Jessica Jones. Rounding out the cast, there’s Amandla Stenberg, Dafne Keen, Manny Jacinto, and Lee Jung-jae. I’m not exactly sure what everyone is playing, so I think there’s a lot of intrigue there as far as whether their characters are good or evil.
While watching the trailer for The Acolyte, I couldn’t help but read through the comments. The comments are overwhelmingly negative. I’m not going to address the comments specifically, but what I will say is that I find it sad that people are so quick to judge something without knowing much about it. I’m excited to see more in the Star Wars universe, so that’s why I’m looking forward to watching The Acolyte as the episodes premiere.
The Acolyte is scheduled to premiere on Disney+ on June 4th.
While at Gen Con last year, I was one of the lucky few who purchased Queen by Midnight at Darrington Press’s booth. I think what drew me to the game originally was the concept and the art of each of the princesses competing for the chance to be a queen. A few weekends ago, I finally played Queen by Midnight and I’m so glad I own a copy of the game. Queen by Midnight is a solid, deck-building game with a few interesting rules that make it stand out.
Queen by Midnight is a game where players play as princesses who fight each other to the death to become the Queen by Midnight. This is a deck-building game meaning that each princess has their own deck of cards they play out of. Throughout the rounds, princesses can purchase cards from the market to add to their deck which helps make their decks more powerful as the rounds progress. The game ends when one princess is left standing or when the clock hits midnight.
For my first play-through, I picked Rosaline, The Oneiromancer. Rosaline’s strategy is to recruit resources by going into trances. If she completes her trance, she receives rewards, but if she goes into a trance, she can’t play cards to protect herself if she’s targeted by other players. I liked being able to control when Rosaline could trance at what time and the rewards from completing a trance. There were quite a few different princesses to pick from which helped in increasing the likelihood that I would replay Queen by Midnight. It will take a few games before I figure out each princess’s overall strategy to win.
I liked the game design and it was clear that Darrington Press thought a lot about how this game could come together. The clock was stunning! There’s a clock that keeps the time between rounds and it’s a cardboard cut-out that needs to be put together. At first, it was a little finicky to put the pieces in place, but once the clock was built, the game box had a devoted spot for the clock, so you didn’t have to break down the pieces every single time. This is such a subtle feature, but when a game has components that don’t fit into the box well, it’s a little annoying.
In most board games, once your character dies, you’re out of the game. Queen by Midnight does things a little differently. At a certain point in the game, each princess picks a card that represents which princess they devote themselves to in case they lose their health. You can still win the game even if you’re dead as long as the princess you devoted yourself to wins the game. I thought that this worked out well for players because it made the game a lot more engaging.
Queen by Midnight was one of the best deck-building games that I have played. The game design was gorgeous, the rules had a few twists to them and I think our gaming group had fun learning how to play this game together. I would love to see more expansions whether that be more princesses to play or cards to add to the market deck. I can see this game becoming a staple in my board game collection. I’d rate Queen by Midnight 5/5.
Last weekend was Planet Comic Con and I’m happy to have been able to go this year. Planet Comic Con has quickly become a convention staple for me and it’s a convention that I try to work into my schedule every year. Attending Planet Comic Con is easy for me since I have family near Kansas City, so it makes for a cheap and quick trip outside of Minnesota. It was a jam-packed weekend and created a nice kickoff to convention season.
For Planet Comic Con, I only go on Friday, so I can spend the remainder of the weekend with family. Attending bigger conventions on Friday is something I would recommend for those who don’t want to compete with a bigger crowd. I find that it’s easier to walk the show floor and take a breather by sitting in on a panel or two. The other benefit of going on Friday is that it’s a lot easier to take photos. Planet Comic Con has several photo opportunities with cosplayers and backdrops. I ended up taking a photo with Emperor Palpatine which was fitting considering Ian McDiarmid was at the convention. Speaking of cosplay, I debuted my Padme cosplay for the first time! I’m thrilled with how the look came together.
In between panels and photos, I did end up purchasing a few comics. I bought K Lynn Smith’s third volume of Plume which is a Western supernatural adventure comic. I talk about K Lynn Smith a lot because I like her comics and her art style. It’s become a routine where I look up ahead of time if she will be there and if so, I try to stop by her booth. I also bought a comic from Mad Cave Studios. As a side note, Mad Cave is one of the greatest comic publishers out there. They publish comics that many publishers might pass up on if the concept is a little odd. If that wasn’t enough, Mad Cave actually pays their artists on time. The reason I pointed this out is because I went to Mad Cave’s comic panel on Friday and they talked about their partnerships with artists and what that process is like when they work with a new artist for the first time.
Planet Comic Con is always a convention that I look forward to because it usually ends up being the first convention that I attend. The only grievance that I have with Planet Comic Con is that I wish they did convention badges instead of wristbands. They might do badges for those attending the whole weekend, I wouldn’t know since I only attend on Friday. I prefer badges to wristbands because I have a designated hook in my bedroom where all my badges hang off and the wristbands, I don’t know what to do with them. Other than that, Planet Comic Con is a blast.
Besides attending Planet Comic Con, we found a new BBQ place to eat at. For those who haven’t been to Kansas City, I consider Kansas City a “foodie” city. Kansas City is known for its BBQ, but also the breweries throughout the area. My cousin took me to Chef J which is in an area called the “West Bottoms”. The West Bottoms is west of downtown, across the river, and in a more industrial area. Chef J is in one of the older buildings which is actually really neat. It looks like the city is trying to revitalize the area since there are several vintage shops, furniture stores, and live music playing somewhere nearby. Back to Chef J, the BBQ was so good. I had a BBQ sandwich with sausage on it and I had to order Mac and Cheese as a side. It was delicious and worth the wait.
After eating BBQ, we went to two breweries. The first brewery was Double Shift Brewery which was only a few minutes from Chef J. The brewery was tucked away into this corner with all of these local businesses. There was a distillery across the street, a coffee shop, and a few art murals on the nearby buildings. My cousin had a beer called “Pancake Mafia” which had hints of syrup, vanilla, blueberries, and blackberries. I wasn’t quite as adventurous with the beer that I picked. After Double Shift, we went to Cinder Block Brewery which is a brewery that I have been to many times. I love the taproom; it’s open and sunny. It has an industrial look to it with the gray paneling in the main seating area. It was relaxing being able to sit especially because I walked 20,000 steps at the convention the day prior.
This weekend was what I needed! I haven’t taken a trip since our Europe trip last September and my travel bug was starting to come back. There’s nothing more fun than being able to travel and attend a convention at the same time.
I am thrilled to announce my TBR for March. I had this month pre-planned for a while and I’m looking forward to reading the books I picked for this month. I decided to make March’s TBR-themed around books that could be linked to a TTRPG (tabletop roleplaying game). These books could either be books that are linked to a TTRPG or books that I think would make for a great TTRPG game. For each book on this list, there had to be some element of fantasy, gods, and suspense. I think all the books that I picked fit this theme.
As per usual, I wanted to share a brief recap of last month when I solely read romance. I read four out of the five books in my pile. The only book I didn’t read was Part of Your World by Abby Jimenez. I ended up running out of time since it took me longer to read Wildfire by Hannah Grace. I haven’t fully decided if I will write a review of Wildfire, but I have so many thoughts. Hannah Grace’s books are making the rounds on BookTok (the book reading community of TikTok). I like reading hyped books from BookTok, although, I find that I hold them to a higher standard as a result. I liked Wildfire, but I’m not sure if it was worth the hype. It was nice to read romance last month, but I am so ready to dive into Fantasy in March.
Boneshops & Bookdust by Travis Baldree
Viv is employed by a mercenary company called Rackam’s Ravens. After being seriously injured by a necromancer, Viv seeks shelter, so she can safely recover. She wanders into Murk, a small town, and spends her time at a bookstore nearby. While Viv can do what she can to avoid adventure, adventure always seems to call for her.
Boneshops & Bookdust is a prequel novel to Travis’s first book Legends & Lattes. Legends & Lattes feels like a TTRPG adventure if the players didn’t do anything chaotic and opened a coffee shop instead. This series has been described as a cozy mystery which I would agree with. It’s a low-stakes fantasy series which is a nice breath of fresh air compared to other series I have read.
Vox Machina Kith & Kin by Marieke Nijkamp
Vex and Vax are twins who have always tried to keep a low profile. They are pulled into a situation by The Clasp, a thieves guild that Vax used to be associated with. Vex and Vax are forced to fulfill their debt and are pulled into the corruption that The Clasp brings.
There is no book more fitting to this month’s theme than Kith & Kin. Vex and Vax are two characters from Critical Role’s first campaign Vox Machina. Played by Laura Bailey and Liam O’Brien, these half-elf twins had some incredible story arcs throughout the campaign. I knew that I had to read this when I first read the announcement that this book was being developed. I love reading all the lore that came out of Critical Role, so this was no surprise that this book would pop up on my TBR eventually.
Fall of Ruin and Wrath by Jennifer L. Armentrout
Calista is granted protection by the Baron of Archwood in the world that she lives in. Before Calista’s time, gods ravaged the world but spared nine cities. Each city has a ruler that encourages royalty to take advantage of the mortals. Calista coincidentally saves a prince which the Baron takes special interest in. The prince is fascinated by Calista and Calista agrees to be the prince’s companion. As the events of the book unfold, it’s clear that a rebellion is coming from the cities that were initially spared.
I have never read a Jennifer L. Armentrout book, but as I scanned her Goodreads profile, it’s clear that she’s written quite a few series. When I read the plot summary for this book, I was immediately intrigued. From a TTRPG perspective, Dungeons & Dragons has plenty of gods to worship. For example, one of the characters in our campaign has pledged allegiance to The Raven Queen due to several in-game events that occurred. Gods are a constant theme in TTRPGs, so I felt that Fall of Ruin and Wrath would fit perfectly in this TBR.
I think this is such a great theme for the month. I don’t read as much in Fantasy as I do in other genres, so I think it’s going to expose me to books that I may not have normally selected for myself to read. If anyone has any Fantasy books that they would like to recommend, I’d love to hear more series recommendations!
Screenshot was taken by me while playing Nancy Drew: Sea of Darkness
Nancy Drew: Sea of Darkness takes place in Iceland which I thought was neat since I went to Iceland last year. I don’t think I have had this experience yet where I play a Nancy Drew game and I have actually visited the place that Nancy visits. I feel a bit biased when it comes to writing an honest review for Nancy Drew: Sea of Darkness because I loved this game, but I’m wondering if it’s partially because Iceland is the setting for this installment in the Nancy Drew PC game franchise. Nancy Drew: Sea of Darkness is definitely one of my favorite games and I think the mystery itself was intriguing.
Nancy is called to Iceland to investigate the disappearance of Captain Magnus Kiljansson who is leading the efforts to historically preserve a famous ship called the Heerlijkheid. There are rumors that there is buried treasure somewhere in the glaciers and that Captain Magnus not only found the treasure but escaped with it. Nancy isn’t fully convinced and she sets off to investigate whether Captain Magnus disappeared on his own free will or if something more sinister happened to him.
Screenshot taken by me while playing Nancy Drew: Sea of Darkness
The first thing I noticed while playing Nancy Drew: Sea of Darkness was how pretty the game is. In the above screenshot, there’s an aura of darkness in the town that Nancy is wandering around in. I think the darkness adds a certain level of uncertainty which I think makes the Nancy Drew games more enjoyable. I liked how Nancy could also board the ship besides walking around the small town. I thought there was a lot to see and unlock as the game unfolded. I ended up playing this game during Superbowl weekend which was perfect considering the wintery setting of the game.
Screenshot taken by me while playing Nancy Drew: Sea of Darkness
One thing that’s worth noting is this Nancy Drew game is puzzle-heavy. Every locked box has some sort of contraption that Nancy has to solve for. There are several things that Nancy has to collect which are found in many of the locations Nancy can explore. I found most of these puzzles to be fair, meaning that the solutions weren’t frustrating and could easily be obtained by reading all the material Nancy collects. There’s nothing more aggravating than trying to solve a puzzle and it feels like there’s no way to interpret the solution unless you use a walkthrough. I didn’t think this game fell into that at all.
Nancy Drew: Sea of Darkness was a memorable and notable adventure. I liked how Iceland was the backdrop to the game and I thought this game was well-balanced between being challenging, but also satisfying when a solution to a puzzle was achieved. I’d rate Nancy Drew: Sea of Darkness five stars as I think this would be one of the first Nancy Drew games I’d recommend to someone new to the franchise.
When Prey first released on Hulu, I heard nothing, but good things about the movie. I was sick a few weeks ago, so I found plenty of time to sit on the couch, isolate, and watch movies. I wanted to watch Prey, but then I decided that I should just do a Predator marathon, so I could watch all the movies in the franchise which I think would make watching Prey that much better. Predator is a classic and I found it to still be enjoyable to watch years later.
For those who have never watched Predator, Predator stars Arnold Schwarzenegger as Major Alan Dutch who is called into action along with his rescue team. Alan reunites with a former colleague, Al Dillon (Rest in Peace Carl Weathers!) who agrees to help assist. When Alan and his team investigate, they realize Al lied to them about their mission. In the meantime, a creature is shown in the trees, stalking Alan’s team. After killing Billy (played by Sonny Landham), Alan realizes they are being hunted and what’s hunting them may not be human.
I think there are a lot of reasons that Predator is still highly regarded, but I think what I like the most is how Predator capitalizes on the fear of the unknown. The idea that something is stalking their group and not feeling confident that this being is human, that’s scary. Combining that with being in unfamiliar territory and not being able to see the creature, it’s unsettling. I think the tone of the film changes when Blain Cooper (played by Jesse Ventura) is killed because the Predator’s plasma cannon is so powerful. While Predator is considered a sci-fi film, I think an argument can be made that Predator could be a horror film too.
Another thing that I liked about Predator was how all the characters stood out from each other. Alan is clearly the protagonist and the hero of the story. Al is shady but then ends up sacrificing himself to help Mac (played by Bill Duke). Speaking of Mac, I think his reactions to losing Blain are completely valid. Mac starts to lose it a bit and I thought that this was not only realistic but also added to the horror element of the film. I’d also argue that Rich Hawkins (played by Shane Black) was the wisest one in the group because he put it together first that whatever is stalking them might not be from Earth. I think it’s easy for a group of characters to blend together and come across as forgettable, but Predator doesn’t fall into that.
Watching Predator so many years later, I think it’s interesting. The first thing I always laugh at is how Jesse Ventura was once our governor which feels like such a Minnesotan thing to say, but I can’t help it. In many ways, Predator is a product of its time. There are a few slurs thrown in by some of Alan’s men and one of the men makes an off-color joke about going down on his girlfriend and her vagina. The script for Predator wouldn’t fly in today’s society, which I think shows how much we have grown. We still have a ways to go, but still.
I’m looking forward to watching the other Predator films because honestly, I don’t think I have seen any of them. Predator can be streamed to watch on Hulu.
Bizarre Brunette 