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Hello everyone and welcome to the pod and the pendulum.

We are the horror movie podcast that covers all the franchises one movie and one episode at a time.

And it's Christmas season, so appropriately enough, we have been making our list.

We've been checking them twice.

We're going to find out who is the best Yelcha to hunt down man's greatest athletes and competitors and hunters.

We are here for our Predator ranking episode after covering all nine films and the Predator franchise franchise.

As always, I'm not hunting alone as my Co host today we have from the Spectre Cinema Club Mr.

Devon Taylor.

Devon, how are we?

Hello, hello.

I'm very excited to go through here because of all the special episodes.

I I was like looking back, I was like shit, we've been doing Predators since September because of all of like the Botus and like extra stuff that we like kind of worked.

I mean, this is a A9 movie franchise now, so I mean it is big now, but.

I think I made a comment at one point that like we are a Predator podcast now, like we're never going to get done.

I was just, I didn't realize I was like, damn, I was like, we really have been going on this for a bit, but I excited to close it out for our ranking.

And very apropos.

A franchise critiquing masculinity quite often only the boys turned in for the ranking today.

So this ranking for the boys out there?

It's the manliest of franchises.

I would say it is, absolutely.

But yeah, Ari and Nicole have sat this one out in, Yeah, let's just say it, Predators of franchise for the manliest of men.

And when you think of manly men, you think of my short, rotund grow.

But we have a guest today.

He joined us on Predator 2.

And I want to say it wasn't AVP, it was the Predator.

I believe in Mr.

Alex Pagliuca, who also be joining us for some of our upcoming psycho episodes.

Alex, how are we?

I'm doing great, Thanks.

It's good to be here.

How do you feel like you agree or disagree with Devon and I statement that the predators for the boys?

I think so.

It makes, yeah, I think so.

I think it is.

It makes sense that it has been the the guys that have turned out to talk about Predator.

It's a little bit more action heavy, you know, you know, 'cause we, we determined obviously saws for the gurlies.

So it's only fair that you know, because, you know, so you know, every, everyone has their their slight leanings and such.

But again, I I do find it fascinating because like the franchise does have so much critique for masculinity as well, which apparently goes over a lot of fans heads if you read certain reviews on Letterbox.

Of course, of course, you know, it's all the same people who did not realize what Fight Club was about.

Now or think born in the USA is actually pro United States patriotic song.

Yes all right well here's what we had to do.

So we had 12345 of us ranked all of the Predator or not.

All of four of us ranked all of the Predator films.

And we had a tie at #1 at that point.

And since we couldn't do that, we couldn't end on a tie.

It's like kissing your sisters.

What a tie is like.

If I remember the old axiom from like NFL games.

Mr.

Brian Kuiper turned in his reviews as well 'cause he had seen at the very least the two films that vied for #1 and so he was the deciding vote on our number 1.

And I want to also give a special shout out to Steven, who like woke up extra early today to get Badlands in just so he could include that in his rankings as well.

And.

Commitment, people, Yeah.

So like, you know, folks, not all heroes wear capes, but sometimes they just watch a lot of movies.

What we want to say here?

So all right, we have no, I have no notes in front of me.

And this is what happens when I have no notes.

I just start nervously talking a lot.

So let's do this.

Why don't we start with we'll just go 9 through 1, one at a time.

And Devon, do you want to kick things off with our lowest ranked film in the Predator franchise?

Yes.

So coming in at the bottom of our franchise rankings 'cause we are ranking all the ones that we talked about, which include the two crossover films and landing it down at the bottom is 2007's AVP Colon RA or Alien VS Predator Requiem.

Everybody but me had this at last place.

I'll say that right now, every I had it next to last.

But that is that is the the general consensus is just the worst of the bunch.

But Devon, we spoke about this movie together.

Can you remind why our listeners, why AVP Requiem is the drizzling shits of the Predator franchise?

OK, so once again, yes, it's already been hashed out enough.

You can't really see a bunch.

It is a very dark movie.

Apparently there's some version out there that you can watch that you is a little bit easier to see visually.

So yes.

So there's that part, but the other part is it's a fucking boring movie.

Like it is truly really, really boring at the human characters are some of the worst if any of these films.

And you know, and it's just it it's also just sad because there's a lot of potential here in this one.

So you know, it it is what it is.

I mean, it's it's pretty bad.

I remember I I was coming in even optimistically wanting to try to defend it in some fashion and there's nothing there for me, unfortunately, But but Mike had a little bit more of a a a some more positive notes on it.

I.

Did I?

Did Alex, you also had this rank last?

What?

How did this come up to be the bottom of the barrel for you?

I think Devon touched on it like the characters are just so bad.

There's so little there that for me that is that's one of the big draws for me always is, is how good are the characters.

And in this particular case, they're to say cardboard would would be an upgrade from where they are.

And yeah, the the the two AVP films, I essentially almost try to act like they don't exist.

I'm just, you know, so yeah.

And but.

You're probably wiser for it.

Yeah, yeah.

That one particularly, it's been a number of years since I've seen, since I've seen it, but there's a reason for that.

Like I, I, I, I remember seeing it and just being so feeling like my time was wasted, which is rare.

I don't feel that way about movies very often.

They don't even have to be very good for me to not feel that way.

But this one, I, I felt like, like my time was wasted.

I I almost wanted to write the film makers and you know, like where I want my time and my money back.

Yeah.

Do that thing how Clooney was like.

We'll refund you your ticket if you say that Batman and Robin waste this time.

We need the director to take some ownership here.

Yeah, on a studio, I think probably.

On a quick side note, I just saw like a video of Adam Sandler and George Clooney on a press junket for their new movie, the one where Sandler might get an Oscar nod.

The the new Noah Baumbach and Sandler looks better than George Clooney at this point.

Like he is far more handsome than George Clooney, which is?

That dude, yeah, talk about a guy who, just like the the luck of life, has just fallen in, not fallen in his lap, but followed him around.

Yeah, yeah.

So just wanted to point that out before I talk about the disappointment that is AVPR, which I had as my #8 like I'm not saying it's a hidden gem by any.

I thought it was a better version in terms of like how it was executed than my #9 pick.

But you're right, there are characters are awful.

And I think I said in the episode when the pizza delivery boy that gets like the shit kicked out of him early in the movie all of a sudden is like pulling John Woo Gun Foo into a Xenomorph at that point, like your monsters have lost any potential to ever be scary again.

Like we're talking like Freddy Krueger wearing a Power Glove level of like, I am no longer frightened of you, right?

I think like, what I liked about this more than what I did pick at #8 is that it did rely more in practical effects.

Although you can't see them.

It is men in suits beating each other up.

There is more gore.

It does get the R rating.

I think if the director, if Paul WS Anderson got to direct this, it would have been better received than his version of Alien versus Predator.

But that was not to be.

So no, we don't need to say more about AVP Requiem.

Go and listen to the episode.

A lot of you haven't like it's not listen to episodes, but it was a really.

Fun.

Shocker.

Yeah, I can't think.

Look, life is short.

I can't fault people for that.

But it is a fun.

Listen, Alex, do you want to reveal our number 8?

I I don't have the list.

Oh.

OK.

Sorry, probably send that over to you.

So that's my fault.

I'll do that because he just sent me his rankings.

I entered it for him, but I'll send him the list.

OK.

I will do our number 8 and it was a tie both of them like what we did is we basically the high, the higher the number, the lower the ranking.

It's like where we had it on our list and our next two films are both at 7 and a quarter.

However, because this movie is the only one to get a last place ranking, it would move on the mean on the mode a little bit.

So 2018's The Predator is our number 8 on the list.

Written in Co written by Fred Decker and Shane Black, directed by Shane Black and chopped to pieces by the studio in Devon.

You use the word potential like the reason I had this one last is like on paper this one should have been brilliant and it is just the it's just awful to sit through.

Like I can't believe how bad this movie is.

It should have killed the franchise.

It was that much of A failure.

Luckily we got Prey after this but it at the very least it removed it from like theatrical contention for at least one movie.

Just like autism is the kids special power.

Making him like the alpha male at that point was like a weird choice.

The way it treats mental illness.

Like Alex, you and I talked about that when we recorded how it like treats mental illness.

Like there are bits that cook like amongst the crew.

Like there were times or it does cook a little bit, but they're few and far between.

Devon, you weren't on for that episode.

What were your thoughts on The Predator?

Yeah, the Predator.

Yeah, I was supposed to be on that one, but I was like deathly hungover.

Like it was one of my worst hangovers of the year.

And and you guys should know, I usually do this show hungover.

So I mean, if it was that bad, it was bad bad.

But OK, so here's the thing with the Predator is yeah, like I know a lot of people really hate this movie.

I don't hate it.

I actually like certain parts about it, but it's like, but the lows of this are just so egregious, like you said, like a certain certain plot elements.

The the CGI of mega Predator also really wonky in this as well.

But whenever we're hanging out with the crazy boys and and, you know, kind of doing stuff with and like the other predator and like there's a there's a few really good action beats.

I like I like the whole set piece at the facility.

I think that's actually like a really fun like kind of whole thing breaking out of there, the massacre, the chase scene, like there's there's some decent stuff in here, but man, Shane Black, usually a fan, but like to do this coming off the nice guys and just like go from one of his best screenplays ever written to like his most juvenile screenplay is was very just like woof.

But I don't know.

I like the cast of this movie quite a lot.

I'm I'm a big fan of Travante Rhodes.

I think he's great.

I think Olivia Munn, even though they don't write her character the best, I think she's still doing the best that she can with the material.

And, and I'm I'm actually a fan of all Boyd Holbrook.

I'm always rooting for him.

I would like to see him in some more things because I think he is a fun, charismatic lead in this, even if he is just kind of retreading some of the stuff.

So I don't know.

There's things that I do like in The Predator, but I hear people's complaints about, like the very egregious things wrong with this movie.

Alex, I know you had this a little bit higher at #6 do you have anything?

I mean we talked extensively about this one, but is there anything like positively you wanted to contribute?

I think that I I agree with Devon, the things that work about it work pretty well, but the things that are that don't work do they just fall so flat that I totally understand why it is this far down the list.

But yeah, I mean, for me, it was the, there were a number of the character interactions in there that I really enjoy the performances.

Yeah, that's that's that's pretty much it.

That's the stuff that was missing for me from the films that were lower on the list, on my list anyway, my personal list.

So yeah, that's the stuff that I really like.

And I do want to say that like Devon said, I was, I am I was surprised by this movie that Olivia Munn's character is not written very well, but she was still like really likable and enjoyable.

She fits into this little boys club pretty nicely and she makes that character work despite how little there is for her.

And that was something that that, you know, re watching it when we were recording the show, I was like, oh, this is actually pretty cool.

And I yeah, I just wish that there was a little bit more, a little bit more meat on the bone as far as story.

And character, No, yeah, I agree with all of that.

It's and I think I, I, I hear what you're saying to Von about Boyd Holbrook.

I wonder if someone like a Jensen Echols in the lead role, who I really like in things like Supernatural, if how that would have gone or if they had just relied more unlike straight practical effects, how that would have gone.

But it's still pretty.

It's it's I don't know if it would be that much higher overall.

That ending ending is so goofy.

And what's weird is like, AVP Requiem and the Predator seem like the same movie.

Like they have a lot of the plot beats kind of follow one another, almost like beat by beat.

It's a little bit weird.

But yeah, there we are.

All right, Alex, do you now have the list in front of you?

All right, so Alien versus Predator is coming in at the seven spot.

And for me, this is just a, like I said, the two AVP movies are movies.

I try not to, I try to act like they just don't exist.

The disappointment for me and how bad they are compared to the possibility that is there by bringing these, you know, 2 iconic franchises, these two iconic characters together is just almost unforgivable.

So I yeah, I they're, they're just terrible movies.

They're just poorly written.

And poor Sonia Latham gets thrown in there and it's, it's it's just a mess.

It's just a mess.

What were your thoughts on AVP?

Devon yeah.

So me and Garrett did a commentary track for this earlier in the year, so I revisited then.

And so, yes, of course, there is a lot of disappointment in the crossover movie.

This is definitely no Freddy versus Jason.

I did have this higher than most people and that is primarily on the strength of Sanaa Lathan and Scar.

I think Scar might be one of the best Yaucha of the series.

Like as far as like demonstrating like before we kind of knew more of the lore, but like demonstrating again, like the the the code that they live by and that he was like a different, you know, one that he stuck so strictly to the code that or, or that the other Yowcha then like, you know, we're like kind of after him.

So like, I don't know.

Scar, I think is one of the more interesting Yowcha of the series and the fact that this is the closest we get to a human Yowcha romance.

The sparks were flying between Sanaa Lathan and Scar.

I'm just saying.

And I felt it.

I don't know about you guys, but I felt it so.

You said at one point, like because you were on the episode prior to that and I think you had said how they were at one point in the script were supposed to make out.

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Like it was in there.

It was in there and somebody chickened out.

I don't know who, but it was thrown around that there was that they were going to kiss and they should have.

But yeah, so that that's mostly because like the the the set design for the temple kind of boring.

You got Lance Henriks in there and you're not really using him.

And he's right.

You know, they they didn't tie him in with Bishop, but then they tied him in with what?

I don't know, whatever.

So there's.

Yeah.

So that one has a lot of issues again, just like kind of just more disappointing, though that's not like egregiously bad like Requiem is for me.

Like like I can, I've watched AVP quite a few times.

I'm like, you know, it's fine.

Like I can throw this on.

It's it's not the worst.

It's just it's not what it could have been, of course.

Yeah, disappointing's a good word to use there.

And sometimes that's worse than being bad.

Like I know as a parent or when I was a kid, like an adult saying I'm not mad, I'm disappointed.

Stung more was so much more than like actually someone being angry.

Paul WS Anderson, like he's not the greatest filmmaker ever, but he makes some fun movies and he definitely has a point of view.

Like he definitely has a style.

And I don't think this is on him.

I think what's disappointing is like in the.

15 year build up to this movie.

You had seen the Predator, the Yelcha and the Xenomorph take one another on in other medium like comic books and novels and video games.

And they've been done so well that to get it wrong on the big screen felt especially like Devon, you said coming off of Freddy versus Jason, which is, you know, not perfect, but it's a hell of a lot of fun.

Like it's as good as you could possibly hope one of these crossover movies would be.

And this feels like a lot more like House of Dracula or House of Frankenstein, like really disappointing efforts.

And it does Abbott and Costello meet Frankenstein in terms of like your bang for your buck.

And I think partly that's the PG13 rating.

Like you have two franchises that have always been R rated franchises.

And you're like, we got to bring the kiddies in for this.

And you really, really feel that with this.

But AVP Requiem coming in at our number seven pick, tied with the Predator.

And Yvonne, why don't you talk about our number six pick?

So coming in at #6 is the first sequel of this franchise, Predator 2 from 1990.

I wasn't on this episode, and I have it the lowest out of any of the people in the rankings because I'm sorry, this movie, I don't like it.

I don't think it's good.

It is.

And don't get me wrong, I love 90s horror aesthetics and things, but this is like kind of just like the worst when you're like kind of if you were to like lump it in with stuff like Total Recall, Demolition Man around in that kind of era, Like they all kind of have that similar stake and this one is kind of doing it the worst, unfortunately.

Glad that it they just kept the sweaty component.

This might be the second sweatiest movie of the franchise after the first one, but I don't know.

It just doesn't really work.

Like, I I like the idea.

Yeah, let's bring a Oucha to the urban jungle now.

And we have Jamaican gangs and we don't really know how futuristic it is, but Danny Glover's got a cool gun.

I don't know, like this, this one just kind of doesn't really do it for me.

It doesn't really have very memorable set pieces.

I don't really like the Oucha on this one either.

I don't know.

This is just it is this is a kind of the the all the the the worst proclivities of the 90s sci-fi action stuff of this era.

But I don't know, I feel like a lot of people just have nostalgia for this film, which is fine, like I totally get it, but I don't have that nostalgia for this film.

Does it go up in your mind a little bit if you frame it as a sequel to Saw?

And like what we see here in Los Angeles is a seat, a prequel.

It's like Sauce City.

Like it's kind of heading down that road because the way and how close to this was the LA that you knew and loved before you moved out of there?

Like, how recognizable was this Los Angeles?

I mean, to 2025 Los Angeles, like downtown, like right now, like it's, it's not great.

It's not great.

Like MacArthur Park kind of looks like this right now, actually.

Like not going to lie, but yeah, I don't know it just yeah, if I, if I did frame it as a eventuality from from solid, then like just imagine them being like, oh man, that John Kramer guy was awful.

Can't get much worse than that.

And they just see a yaucho walking down the alley.

God damn it.

So.

Yeah, Yelcha versus Billy the puppet would be quite the quite the cinematic showdown.

Alex, we talked about this movie together and I know like you have it like just above Devon in the rankings.

So I'm guessing that like, well, we talked about it, yet there's not a lot of love for this one.

No, no, again, there's just not much.

There's not much character there.

They it almost seems like they didn't, they were not really completely sure which movie they were trying to make.

And So what ends up on the screen is kind of scattershot.

And then there is, yes, the portrayal of the city itself, which is kind of insane.

And then there's like some low key racism going on.

And it's just, it just didn't it, it annoys me.

This movie kind of annoys me a little bit, as much as I love Danny Glover and I, you know, the cast, you know, they've got this cast of great 90s actors and, and again, it's just, it's wasting a whole bunch of of good stuff and it just doesn't seem to know what it wants to be.

Yeah, You know how like the Hellraiser series by like the midpoint of that they started to like get like Dimension would get these scripts that didn't have Pinhead in them.

It had nothing to do with Hellraiser.

And just warn Pinhead in there, yeah.

The Weinsteins would say, let's make it, but with Pinhead, and we'll put that straight to video and we'll make cash.

It almost feels like this was.

It does feel like that.

Yeah, it does, yeah.

Yeah, it does.

I have a little higher.

I had it like right in the middle for me at #5 and it's not because it's a great movie.

I think that's really more to do with the other ones.

Like I'm like dislike for them much more so than than anything this does right.

Although I do like Danny Glover in this, I do like how sweaty this movie is and I like that Danny Glover is a different anti hero than Arnold is, is Dutch.

Like he doesn't come out at the end of this is traumatized.

Like he comes out with this wild ass grin and that fancy pistol and he's like ready to whoop some more ass.

And I kind of like that.

I kind of like that aesthetic.

And it does give you that first tease of alien versus Predator with like the Xenomorph skull.

And I in 1990 when that wasn't a thing that like you didn't have that in every movie.

Like, oh, we're setting up the next phase and we're doing Easter eggs for fans.

Like that was pretty cool, but.

There's that was the most exciting thing about the movie when you saw it in the theaters, was like, Oh my God, that's a xenomorph.

Yeah, not a lot to love.

Not a lot to love here.

All right, Alex, do you want to give your number our number 5?

Our number 5 is going to be predators.

2010, yeah.

I probably had this one.

I'm going to guess I had this one a little bit higher than than the rest of than everybody else.

I like this movie.

To me, this was just fun.

Silly.

The characters do work a little bit better.

Even though they're not great, they're not as bad as the.

Characters in the previous.

And the other, the other films we've talked about so far or the other films that were lower on my ranking anyway.

So yeah, I, it's just fun.

And I, Adrian Brody is not the best choice here for a lead for sure.

But I do think everyone around him is doing, is, is doing pretty well in the rewatch for this one.

I was very, I, I didn't remember it being the cast that it is.

And those are all actors that at this point, like they have, they've had really good careers.

So it, it was that it, it's fun from that perspective.

And I do enjoy the I the fact that they took it off of Earth and went somewhere else and, and, you know, trying to do something a little different and new.

So that stuff to me was, was all enjoyable.

And it's not a great movie, but I do have fun with it.

Yeah, Devon, you had this as your number 5.

Like what word are your?

What do you have to say?

Yeah, I'm looking at the averages and where everybody else had it like has an average of 4.8, everybody kind of had it around this like kind of middle area.

And honestly, like cuz on my list I could move around Predators AVP like I could, I can kind of shift them around and the predator honestly, like they're all kind of around the same area.

The reason this one is above the other two though, is the variety.

Like this is predators dollar sign at the end, you know, like you know, in homage to aliens.

Do I think it could have been even more fun if Robert Rodriguez actually directed it instead of produced it totally.

Like I I I feel like we could have had a lot more fun with this movie, even though it is still pretty solid.

Like like Alex said, Adrian Brody, the biggest miscast of the entire franchise.

Like him being the the lead is just so I don't know it it the voice he's doing is so fucking funny.

Like, it makes me laugh.

Like he is trying so hard and he is so serious about what he's doing, you know.

Hey, hey, he's a he's a working actor.

Shout out to him.

But yeah.

But the rest of the cast, though, I mean, yeah.

Like it.

Is this a list cast when they weren't a list yet?

Like, you know, like Walton Goggins, Marsha Lee, we got Larry Fish in here just gobbling up the scenery.

Like he steals the entire movie away for like a solid like 30 minutes.

And and I'm, I'm, I love it, honestly, I'm like I I'm all for it.

And but yeah, but the variety of the cast, different types of predators up against a team of predators this time multiple Oucha.

We get variety within that little group as well.

You know, having like the tracker one with like the little flying drone thing, like that's cool.

We have a Yaocha versus samurai straight out of a comic book, you know, type of scene in this movie.

So yeah, you know, they're just they're just kind of having fun with it.

I just wish they would have had a little more fun.

But like, you know, I like what I like what's going on here.

Yeah, I I had this actually below Predator 2, like right below it, but you could kind of flip flop them.

I'll be the third voice to say like, not only is 80 Aiden Brody miscast, but he knows it.

Like if you watch any of the behind the scene clips, like in the making of docs, which I tend to do when we prep for these, he knows like he's in over his head, like he already knows the backlash that he's going to get playing this role.

And he like wears it like a chip on his shoulder.

There are some fun things, like the idea of, like, moving it off planet, the idea of like, having these, like, it's not a mercenary team like in the first film, but like they're thrown together and they're all sort of, they're in a lot of ways, like they're all sort of villains.

Like they're all sort of killers.

And they're going up against three different Predators.

Mike Yeah, that is a lot of fun.

There's another nod to the Alien franchise.

There's a few fun set pieces here.

And like, yeah, Larry Fishburne just comes in for a couple scenes and eats everybody's lunch and he knows exactly, exactly the movie he's in.

And I think the the thing about this franchise as a whole is there's no like alien in this series or there's like a one all time masterpiece.

Like it's a classic, you know, top ten got to rank it in any top 10 horror movie of all time ranking.

And there's also like the lows of the it's almost like Friday the 13th or even the lowest of the lows.

Like if you gave me a cleaned up version of AVP Requiem where I could see what was going on, I would buy that for 10-15 bucks in Blu-ray and watch it and get some enjoyment.

It'd be like a a Saturday afternoon rainy day movie.

There's nothing on here that is like complete trash.

So even though, like, when we're kind of making fun of some of the things here, they're still, like, very watchable.

Like, this franchise is the epitome of like, Made for the USA or sci-fi Network.

On a rainy Saturday afternoon when, like, Devon, if you're hungover and just want to hang on the couch and eat some nachos, well, that would be more like me, I guess.

Then you know that's what this series is all about.

Yeah, totally.

Yeah.

All right.

Devon, do you want to do our number four movie?

All right, so coming in at #4 another one I was disappointed I couldn't be on, but we have one of the two 2025 entries, Predator Colon Killer of Killers, the Animated edition, making it pretty high into the top half of the list.

And I like this one.

You know, kind of echoing from some of what I've just said about having the variety.

That's what I like about this.

This is Dan Trachtenberg being like, oh, OK.

Like, yeah, like, you know, you can insert a Yaucha into this scenario, into this time setting, into this, you know, whatever.

And I think that's just a very fun idea.

Like, I hope they do like another, like, kind of animated anthology.

I think that was just a very smart decision, but not only that, the movie fucking bangs like fucking like each section is strong in their own rights.

You get something different gal with the the dueling fucking twin bladed Shields.

What?

That's straight out of DND.

Like that was so fun.

And then the, the samurai versus the ninja, also super fun.

And then having a, a, a, you ought to go up against a pilot and then you know, like putting emphasis on their ship.

So like, I think each individual story does something very fun and interesting.

I think the animation style, I don't love it.

It's not my favorite style of animation, but eventually I get used to it as I'm watching the movie.

But I like all the different variations, all the different designs because we start getting a lot more variety in the looks of the Oucha from this one.

You know, like you know, Predator, Predator 2, Predators, AVP.

They all kind of look similar ish, just with slight variations.

I like that the the more recent ones films, we actually get a lot more variation amongst the Oucha, which is a super fun place to be in right now.

And I like what this film kind of opens up for the rest of the universe.

You know, this was our first dip in getting some additional lore people.

I get to stay.

You know, if you stay till the end of the film and you see characters from previous films put on ice, that could possibly come back sometime in the franchise.

That's really fun.

Yeah, I this was a total surprise.

You know, this was a secret just hey, we're putting this out on straight to stream in here's a bonus Predator movie before Predator Badlands.

Like that's so fun.

Like we're we're in a good time right now.

So I really like Killer of Killers.

It's like you said, a bonus movie, like it was not known about, like it was a It's a rare treat to be that surprised about a movie coming out in this day and date where there's like, not massive coverage on it.

And it is like, it's like going to the house on Halloween that gives out full size candy bars and like, not expecting them too.

And they'll give you an extra 1.

So Alex, do you have this rated your highest?

The highest at #3 what?

And I know you weren't on the episode.

What are your thoughts on killer killers?

I think so.

This kind of middle from three down until you get to like Predator 2 in the AVP movies.

I think really those this kind of middle section of my list and they're just really fun.

And like Devon was saying, like this is this is really fun.

And the reason I have it so high is that in the short, these are shorts, and I care more about the characters in these shorts than I did about any of the characters at the bottom of my list.

Absolutely.

And it, it, you know, they're doing that in three, 4-5 minutes time.

I care about these characters.

They have a hook in me.

And then the this is a perfect, I think the predator is really perfect for animation.

And so I just, I think it all works so well and the choices of, you know, splitting it up into like different time periods and then even going to Japan like it's just a it was, it's, it shows an imaginative way of thinking about the character and what we know about it and all those things.

And I, yeah, I just the, the, the, the Nordic kind of Viking 1.

I loved it.

I thought it was awesome.

And then you we got into the to the Japanese, you know, where it's in Japan and suddenly it's the Predator coming into like a different story.

Like there's a story going on there already and it's the Predator changing the way that story is going.

And I, I just, I thought all of that, just the way of thinking about it was really well, was really fun.

And they're really well made.

It just looks great.

The whole thing just looks really good.

So yeah.

I think when you get to like 4 on up for our rankings, like you get 4 fantastic movies and a couple of them you can almost interchange in the rankings here.

Oh yeah, Oh my God.

Shout out Rick Gonzalez doing the voice of Torres in this one.

I didn't realize that was him, and I think he has the best voice performance.

Those of you who don't know Rick Gonzalez, 2000s icon from stuff like Coach Carter and Roll Bounce, and he was also in a few seasons of Arrow.

Oh, very cool.

Louis Ozawa also comes back like he was in Predators.

Like he's the one that like has a samurai sword fight with a Predator in Predators and he does the same here in animated form as well, which I think is also like really cool.

I think what this does really well is it kind of like follows up on the promise after Prey of like, Oh my gosh, it would be great to see the Yelcha in all of these like different time periods and these different settings.

And you can do so much with that character.

And not only do you get one film that does it here, but you get 3 great short movies.

And this was like such a surprise to me that like when I put it on and it cuts from that like kind of period with like the Nordic Vikings and then moves to samurai era Japan.

I'm like, Oh, I didn't know the movie was even doing this.

I did not know it was going to be a a bunch of connected short movies.

So that was really cool.

And then obviously you have the Stinger at the end of it.

And like a quick 32nd spoiler listeners, if you don't want to haven't seen killer killers and don't want to be spoiled, skip ahead for 30 seconds.

But you get the revelation at the end that Dutch and Danny Glover's Mike and Amber mid thunders Nauru are all like on a deep freeze like they are captured by predators.

So there might be some follow up in the future.

Like really enjoyed this.

It was really well done.

It sounds incredible.

Like watching it in a decent home theater.

The animation is gorgeous.

It's very much in that vein.

I think one of our one of our Co hosts put it as like across the spider verse like that has that kind of style to it.

I really dug this a lot and yeah, it's very close to our.

It's really hard to pick between this and our number three pick, which is 2020 Fives Badlands, the latest Predator film, the most successful 1 financially, and it's one that I I had it ranked my #3 This one had was to me a lot of fun, like seeing in the theaters doing something a lot again, like doing something different, but making the Yelcha the point of view character, the one that you're rooting for.

It's something I have said in a lot of these episodes is I don't see the Yelcha necessarily as villains or monsters so much as antagonists.

Like they are not necessarily evil so much as like someone who goes out like deer hunting is evil either.

Like they are hunters.

That's what they're doing here.

And you see that here.

But you get like to Alex, to your point, Deck is a phenomenal character.

Bessa is a fan via our phenomenal characters.

Like you come to care about them throughout the course of the events of Badlands.

And does it feel a bit like a star like Predator put a little bit through like the Star Wars blender, like Disney Star Wars in particular?

Sure.

But this is a much more enjoyable Star Wars effort than I think has been done in quite a while.

So to me, I really enjoyed it.

What do you guys say?

Big fan.

Yeah.

I had this one at #3 on my list.

I agree with a lot of things you're saying.

Like this was just the perfect time to finally switch it up.

And like you said, like, you know, take it to the Yaucha POV, get more lore at the fact that like, you know, how much of this, you know, like the it's like what the first 10-15 minutes before we hear anything in English, you know, like we're only hearing the Yaocha tongue.

So like the confidence that they have at the franchise at this point right now to be like, yes, we can trust audiences that like we can have this character, you know, not speaking in English and it be still people still be engaged with it and things like that.

But then, yeah, just so I kind of turn things around again, we're at this fun place now to where the Predator and Alien franchise can play in the same sandbox, you know, and which is super fun so 'cause the synth characters are always my favorite in the Alien movie.

So love Thea and yeah, is it beats that you've seen before?

Totally.

You know, But again, it's like I always say, tropes themselves are not bad.

It's how you use them.

And this film uses the tropes to keep the story simple enough to then we can prioritize on the other stuff like the cool set design and the creativity of the aliens and all the different creatures on this planet.

Like, I think that's really fun, but then also remixing tropes of the franchise itself and kind of turning Predator on its head, you know, with it coming at its critique of toxic masculinity in a different direction.

Yeah.

Deck is such a dynamic character.

Absolutely loved it.

This is a I'd say this is the most crowd pleasing movie of the franchise.

Honestly, if you're kind of looking at them like like this is just a fun popcorn like good time type of movie.

You see something cool, you give your homie a high 5.

It's kind of one of those movies, you know, and I had a blast with it.

And Oh my God, Bud.

Bud is so Frenchy coated.

So, you know, I absolutely loved him and I cried at the end when they touched foreheads.

So yeah, big Badlands fan.

How about yourself, Alex?

You have this as #4 But like you said, like 4 through 1.

They're all like kind of bangers.

Yeah, I I this could have, I could have switched this with Killer of Killers very easily.

But it yeah, again, it, it, it is taking the franchise and the character into some new directions.

The performances are outstanding.

The like you said, you do care about the characters when that you know that for me is if I can't get into the characters, that's kind of the death knell for a movie.

And yeah, I it the IT, it's just so well done.

The set pieces work really well.

I think for me, Prey came along and kind of reinvigorated the the franchise.

And this is showing that Dan Trachtenberg is thinking about this entire this entire franchise in a way that is, hey, how do we move this forward?

How do we do something different?

He's not just looking backward.

And I think that if we're going to keep having franchise storytelling being such a big part of the the movie environment, the movie landscape, I really like having A1A major franchise that is thinking that way, that is thinking about how do we go forward instead of just looking backward all the time.

So yeah, I came out and it was just so much fun.

It was so much fun.

I hear what you're saying about like moving things forward.

I think one of the strengths of this franchise is you can pretty much drop in on any of these movies at any time and be OK.

Even though like Killer of Killers pushes Prey a little bit forward.

I would say Badlands in some ways pushes killer killers a little bit forward, but I don't have to necessarily watch those others to know what's going on.

I unlike say if Scream 7 is the first one I go see, I'm probably going to be pretty lost.

I don't know what's going on and I kind of wish more franchises took that.

Alex, why don't you keep it going with our number 2?

And the number 2 is going to be Predator, the original in the series.

And this was where I had this movie ranked and I it it's iconic, you know, it's just iconic and it is like the the the last few we were talking about.

It's super fun, but I do think it also one of the reasons that it worked so well, one of the reasons it was so iconic and so popular is it that even though they are a little bit caricatures, the performances from all of the actors in this movie make those characters a little bit deeper.

They give them a little something and you feel the relationship that they have to each other.

So yeah, I, I think it's a super fun movie.

And the, you know, you get the introduction of the predator of this creature.

I think the creature design, just the, the basic, the original, you know, foundation is so good.

It's so cool.

And the, you know, all of you, you start setting up the rules and the lore.

It's, it's all put together so well.

And Mcternan was a really good acting director.

You know, whatever came of him later, he was a very, very good action director.

So the action is great, too.

It's yeah.

It's just such a good movie.

Predator Die hard Hunt for Red October like back-to-back to back like that is that is like this version of like doing Rear Window Vertigo in North by Northwest in quick succession and even even Hitchcock had a couple movies in between those as well.

I don't know if anyone's ever compared John Mctiernan to Alfred Hitchcock, but that's just what we do here.

Tafan, what are your thoughts on the original Predator?

Yeah, so we, I was on that episode kicking this franchise off.

And even though, yeah, I'm super happy about like where we are in the franchise now and like the the opportunities and things like that, there's still something fun about going back to this one and it being so economic compared to the other ones.

Like this is it's a lean, you know, action machine of a movie.

It simmers really slow to like kind of start off, you know, start, you know, first half of the movie is, you know, your kind of standard, you know, commando in the jungles type of a movie.

But the way that the movie evolves is it's paced out so well and the structure like that, you know, and yeah, the introduction to this iconic creature, you know, I think is you know, it it's still always like kind of Evergreen in that way again in up there for, you know, sweatiest movie of all time and just and but like used in such a way that like this movie like looks so great still.

And the cast is Oh yeah, just fantastic.

This movie still forever rules for sure, Definitely you know, defies AD 80s genre films for the time and you know, has its place in genre film history for a reason.

But I think the the the pillars established in this film are then improved upon in another.

Yeah.

I'll speak very quickly on this one.

And then Devon, I'll have you unveil our number one.

I I love this movie.

I had it in my #1 and I could have easily flip-flopped.

And it's definitely nostalgia talking when I have like this ranked as my my top pick here.

I adore this movie.

It's so much fun, but also like watching it now, like seeing it as like a thinly veiled critique of the American military's perception of itself.

And yeah, kind of like living through those times again, with some of the ridiculous shit we're seeing like the Department of War and my gut, don't get me started on that.

But the the scene that stood out the most to me on the re watching it for our episode was when they when Dutch's unit pours basically 20,000 rounds of artillery into the jungle and they basically give it like the equivalent of a paper cut in the how.

That is such a great critique of what's going on.

But also, like Alex, you said you care about these characters.

You care about the relationship between Dutch and between Carl Weathers Sergeant here.

I mean, you get the great mem, of course, of them, you know, slapping biceps together and clapping hands.

The Arnold allows himself to, I think, be vulnerable in a way that a lot of other action stars would never dream of.

Stallone could approach it at times, but not with a character like Dutch.

Like you could not see someone like Rambo outside of First Blood, which is a much different and not really an action movie.

Having that said, the sense of vulnerability that Dutch kind of goes through the last act here and that last image of him like looking just completely haunted is a really incredible way to end a film.

Stan Winston's design on the Yowcha is just outstanding.

Jesse the body Ventura like every outside of a couple slurs that have not, you know, weren't appropriate at the time and have aged even worse.

But him calling himself a sexual Tyrannosaurus and ain't got time to bleed like I fucking love them.

Absolutely adore this movie, but it did not win.

It was 2/10 of a point away from our top spot.

And Devon, why don't you unveil our number one Predator film?

Oh yes, I love the drama, it was so close.

But coming in #1 is Prey from 2022, directed by Dan Trachtenberg.

So as far as the breakdown goes, yes, as far as the breakdown goes, Brian came in who he had called his shot earlier in the episodes.

Anyways, I'm pretty sure every episode that me and Brian were on together, we managed to talk about Prey before we actually got to the Prey episode.

But you know, so we were kind of calling our shots early on.

This one being our number ones is my #1 because, again, it takes everything, but then it evolves the themes of its christique on masculinity.

You know, I think Naru is the most dynamic character in this franchise in not only what, you know, she represents, but also her capabilities and what she does up against the Oucha.

And I think this film itself, it was, you know, kind of a little bit of a miracle.

Like, yeah, we've been having fun with the Predator franchise up to this point.

And then, you know, everyone was super excited for the Predator, and then it was what it was.

And then and then so it was kind of like, OK, like, is this franchise dead?

Like are we going to continue on and this movie revitalizes it and in a way that reminded like this movie not even just as a Predator movie, like this is just a good ass movie.

Like again, like how much time we spend on Naru, you know, before the Ouch even comes in and the way that the Ouch then interweaves into the themes of her story, I think is it's just so good.

Like every time I rewatch this movie, I appreciate a little bit more and I'm just like, wow, I'm like this like really is a gem, a Ripper of a movie.

Like I mean, it gives you everything, you know, it gives you the drama.

It has fantastic acting, action set pieces, the new design for the feral version of the Oucha and making this a period piece as well.

Just so many great decisions were made on this film, and I think it it was executed fantastically.

And I think, yeah, I think it's the cream of the crop.

Yeah, Alex, what say because you also had this as your top pick?

Yeah, I think it's one of those rare movies that comes along and like UK proves you can do everything like it just it does so much so well.

Like Devon said, the action is great, it looks great.

There's a there a couple of maybe slightly dodgy CG, but the, the cinematography is excellent.

The writing is really good.

You get the performances from Amber Mid Thunder and Dakota Beavers who are like, they're outstanding.

They're just excellent.

And you care about the characters through the through the progression of the movie.

And one of the things that I really, really, really love is that they show she is not quite the badass she thinks she is at the beginning of the movie.

But as it progresses, she's learning.

It's she is getting the opportunity to learn all of the things she wanted to learn.

And she does then become the person that she has wanted to be and has thought she could be over the cost of the entire film.

And it's just, I think it's just, you know, it's fun, it's heartfelt.

It, it's just, it's the whole thing.

It, it and it has something to say, like it has some things on its mind.

And the fact that you can, I love the fact that it is proof that you can do that.

You can do all of that in, you know, very mass audience commercial filming.

And I, I love it.

I just love that.

And it's it's just so well made.

Yeah, I had this is my #2 and honestly, it'd be interesting in a year or two to revisit it again and be like, OK, this really is the best.

Like it's good.

Like this is Dan Trachtenberg's first crack at a Predator movie.

He's now done 3.

And it's great to see this franchise and like just solid hands that really kind of get the concept and don't necessarily feel beholden to what comes before it, but can take it a new and interesting this directions Dakota Beaver and especially Amber mid Thunder.

Like they're both stars, like they should be in more things like it's just incredible here.

It's I know I think I said this in the episode that the new film being like subtitled Badlands.

To me, this one could have had that subtitle just because it evokes like Terrence Malick's sense of like scope and wonder in nature at times.

Like it's so beautiful shot.

I from start to finish really enjoyed this movie and re watching it again for like the series.

I'm like oh this is this is a classic Like this is just like a really solid piece of like sci-fi genre fair.

That's so much fun in it did new things.

It's what we kind of want.

We, you know, we say what we say is genre fans that we want, we want don't want to see the same thing over and over again.

Although when people do new things, we're like, not like that, right?

So well, and and again, what I like about what Trachtenberg is doing with his films right now is like, you know, again, still keeping that singular thing, like you can still watch all these separate, but they all do complement each other in really good ways.

Like Badlands benefits from killer of killers in the way that like, OK, if you we got a sneak peek at the Yaoch allure that people that skipped it are just now gang.

So you're like, you get that little added.

But then this movie and like Prey and Badlands are kind of like sibling movies to each other.

Like, you know, like prey is the coming of age for a young gal and her version of that coming of age versus what that same coming of age is for a guy, for a young man, but in the form of a yaocha young man.

You know, I think is very fascinating.

So they also like kind of complement each other in a way that is fun thematically, but also isn't like beholden to narratively because they are completely opposite in that angle.

You know, like narratively they couldn't be more different.

But or at least I like time setting and that kind of stuff goes.

So I I like, I love where we're at right now.

The the possibilities are kind of seamless at the, you know, we can really do anything with this franchise right now.

This does feel like the franchise it's in like the best possible hands right now for any of the ones that we've covered, like all the others, even Alien, which I like Romulus just fine.

It was it was good.

But even that one, I think that can go in either direction.

Yeah, I think this is in really good hands right now.

But we did it.

Our long national nightmare is over.

We we have been put.

This has been a really fun.

Predator season has come to a conclusion.

It did not last quite as long as the franchise has been around, but we're getting there.

You were working on.

It we're getting there.

Well, let's talk a little bit about where listeners can find all of us and then what we have coming up.

So, Alex, why don't you tell listeners where they can read your writing and where they can find you?

So you can read my writing on Patreon.

It's Alex A Palliucca and that's PAGLIUCA.

You can find me on Blue Sky under the same.

I don't I'm on threads and Instagram under Alex dot Palyuka, but I don't really use those nearly as often.

So yeah, it's it's really blue sky and Patreon would be the best place to find me.

Yeah, excellent.

Devon, how about yourself?

You can find me at all the usual places at under score Daddy Disco on Blue Sky Instagram, Letterbox.

You can hear me over on Spectre Cinema Club.

We have new episodes every Tuesday.

Our theme for November was On the Hunt and we did an episode on Predator Badlands.

So you can hear my thoughts over there.

But going into the new year, I will be doing, I will be deep in the 28 years Blank franchise or 28 blank later franchise.

Is that what it's called?

What, what what do we call this?

Yeah.

What do we call that franchise right now, the 28?

Later.

Yeah, but we'll be covering those as well as a Best of 2025 episode over there.

So new episodes every Tuesday at Spectre Cinema.

Oh, and Tainted Love, we've been on a hiatus, but we have a holiday episode for you guys on Crimson Peak, so make sure you guys go and check that out.

It's going to be super fun one.

Excellent, excellent.

Well, listeners, if you enjoy what we've done, here is where you can find us over on Blue Sky and Instagram or at Pod and Pendulum.

You can find me at Mike Snoonian over in Blue Sky.

I will admit, like I've deleted a lot of social media off my phone just cause like Alex, you and I were talking about this off air.

Like I just feel better when I'm not on it.

I'll just leave it at that.

But you know, we do post over there.

You can go to our website, podandthependulum.com, where all of our back episodes are and make sure to subscribe to us wherever you're getting your podcasts from, whether it's Apple, Spotify, Google, YouTube, wherever you happen to get it.

And make sure to rate and review us leaving us five stars and on Apple, leaving us like a written review as well goes a super long way to new listeners finding us.

Like it didn't seem like a lot of shows posted there wrapped this year.

Like I was trying to look to see where others did and I kind of held off as well.

But I want to thank our listeners because 2025 was another year that we grew tremendously like which was really kind of great to see, especially as a little in the show that just kind of keeps plugging along.

Like we doubled our listenership according to the numbers.

We got some stat where like our listeners listen to the amount, the length of our show, like 97% longer than most podcast other podcasts.

So people TuneIn, I know that like 2 years ago we only made like 5 top ten lists and 0 number ones, and now we're like 360 love our listeners are in their top ten and close to 100 number ones.

So that is all due to like honestly our Co hosts and our guests, but we thank our listeners for continuing to spread the word.

It definitely it meant a lot to like be on that many and we have a lot of great stuff coming up like so for the remainder of 2025 next week being Christmas week, we're going to have two episodes drop one of them.

We're going to unlock one of our patron episodes for our typical Monday, so you get a taste of what to get when you become a patron.

And you can become one by going to patreon.com/pod and the Pendulum, where for only a couple bucks a month there's close to 80 hours or more at this point worth of material.

We're going to unlock one of the Patreon episodes for next Monday, but on Christmas Day we have a special treat.

Our annual Christmas movie.

The lovely Nicole Goble has chosen Eyes Wide Shut, Stanley Kubrick's last movie, one that I've yet to have seen but I'm already doing the research for and it's.

So fun So.

Fun I I am.

I have it at Sitting at Home in on Blu-ray, but it's also screening at the really nice art house theater I like to go to in Harvard Square.

Oh yeah, definitely go see.

Theater do that so.

I think I need to see it on the big screen 1st and then rewatch it on blue.

So that's going to be our Christmas movie.

Tom Cruise having an orgy.

Looking forward to it.

Maybe we'll recreate the orgy sequence recording.

And yeah, that's not the last time I'm going to make that joke, but that's coming up.

Then we'll have our top, our individual top 10s of 2025 and then we get into Psycho.

We're going to be kicking off January 2025 covering Psycho.

It's one of the big ones.

And what we're going to do is something a little different.

It's the first Hitchcock film we've covered for this show because he's not a franchise director and we are going to start with a Hitchcock in the 50s primer.

Like we're going to talk about his work in like his most probably his most acclaimed decade and the one where he released like 11 movies I think between 1951 and 1959.

Like he was just cranking him out.

He was the anti James Cameron basically just cranking these movies out and they weren't slopped.

They're getting like strangers on a train in Vertigo and Rear Window and the Wrong Man in North by Northwest Dial M for Murder.

So it's just banger after banger what you're getting that decade.

So we're going to just, we may have a special guest for that as well, where they're going to talk about like their knowledge and their insight and what Hitchcock means to them.

I am super excited for that.

So, and on Patreon this month for December, Brian and I will be revisiting Back to the Future Part 2 is our continued coverage of that franchise.

And that is it.

Listeners, we hope you've enjoyed our ranking episode.

We hope you've enjoyed our series on Predator and we got a lot of fun stuff coming up.

2026 looks like it's going to be like another banner year for us so.

Shall I run down the list real quick to yeah, go?

Ahead.

Because I don't think we did that.

To conclude to send us out on our way from Predator season.

At #9 Alien VS Predator Requiem, at #8 The Predator, at #7 Alien VS Predator at #6 Predator 2, at #5 Predators, at #4 Predator, Killer of Killers, at #3 Predator Badlands, at #2 Predator and at #1 Pray.

Excellent.

That's quite a, a, a killer list on and no matter how you slice it and dice it.

All right, Alex, thank you again for joining us.

We're looking forward to having you back on next month.

Thank you so much for having me.

It's always good to be here.

And Devon, you know, it's always a pleasure.

And listeners, thanks.

We'll be back next week.

We'll be back with an unlocked episode and then Eyes Wide Shut.

Take care, everybody.