Prey

Confession: I'm the guy who watched the original Predator way too many times thanks to the magic of VHS...but then never watched a single sequel afterwards. As far as I'm concerned "Predator" = jungles and body butter. So I fully admit that I have limited context here. That said, this movie kicked butt. I cared way more about Naru and her brother (not to mention her dog) than I did about anybody in the original. I found the cinematagrophy breathtaking, I found the characters compelling, and I'm kind of all in on seeing what happens when we transport modern franchises into different historical/cultural contexts. Plus, the callbacks were delightful. Nobody's going to give this movie an Oscar, but I'd rather watch a story like this than most movies with capes and poorly staged action sequences. I was sucked in from moment one, and Amber Midthunder completely captivated me for the whole runtime. It's nice to know that movies like this can still surprise me, not to mention make me stand up and cheer.