REVIEW: Star Wars: The Last Jedi

It has been too long since I last reviewed a movie, and seeing how the last movie I did (Emoji) kinda dampened my spirit, it was nice to go back to the theater, and return to a galaxy far far away. Disney's third Star Wars film is here, and there's been a lot of hype and buildup for this film. Disney themselves seemed so confident in director Rian Johnson, that they've already given him his own separate trilogy, despite this trilogy not even being finished yet. What kind of film were we in for? Well if you remember last time, I thoroughly enjoyed JJ's glorified rehash. Yes, it's a rehash, but it's damn fun. There's nothing wrong with that. Yeah I probably gave it a bit high of a rating, but I did remember thinking that this movie would need to go into new territory if it wanted that same praise. So... does the Last Jedi deliver?

Well... despite a few vague similarities, it pleases me greatly that The Last Jedi really does seem like Disney's first major bullseye in the Star Wars universe. It doesn't just retread familiar territory, it explorers new territory that I wondered if diehard fans would even accept. This is a very bold film that pays off in more ways than one, and just keeps going and going. It's great to see characters like Poe, Finn, and Rey back at it again, while getting introduced to new characters in the process. And of course, it's great to see the old timers back in the saddle again (unless your name is C-3PO... I'm almost willing to bet he'll die next film).

Now before I get too far ahead, fair warning that you will notice a few similarities in this film to Empire, and even Return of the Jedi. There are similarities. The beginning of the film, the Resistance is on the run from the First Order, Rey is getting trained by Luke. It's all there. But they take this material and go about executing it in probably all the right ways... and even a few ways I'm not entirely sold on. There are certain scenes that my logistical mindset was scratching my head on. Only in Star Wars I guess. But I won't say anything there.  You'd think with certain similarities, that this movie would be predictable, but it's the exact opposite! There were twists I didn't see coming at all! This makes this likely one of the best films to come from Star Wars in decades! And unlike Force Awakens, it doesn't rely so heavily on nostalgia and fan service for you to get your kicks.

Now, at the end of Force Awakens, we got to see the return of Mark Hamill and I remember groaning when the film ended, because I wanted to see what Luke's contribution to this story would be so very bad. And man does this story deliver. Luke in this film can deliver some of the absolute best moments of the entire franchise I feel. He's badass and renowned, yet at the same time, he's gotten rather snarky and it makes for some genuinely great comedy in this film. And the way he goes Scott expanding the lore in this movie about the Force is absolutely beautiful. But that's literally all I can say here because I refuse to spoil his story. It's done just so incredibly well. You won't be disappointed. Guarantee that.

The action? It's there as always. Now that said, I do think the action of Force Awakens and Rogue One was a bit better. Here, it can be a bit more tame. I don't really feel like I'm in the scene as I did in Rogue One if that makes sense. But that said, it is still a lot of fun.

I think if I'm gonna criticize anything in this movie, it's that there are times this film feels oddly out of place in the Star Wars franchise. I don't wanna say too much, but there are times it feels like you're watching an entirely different movie. This can be both good and bad. And during these particular scenes, I did feel that the morality that these films are not exactly the best at graying in kinda stand out in the wrong way. It gets a bit preachy in certain areas actually that just kinda felt silly to me, but in the same way, the film's unpredictability can make for twists in this area that will make your eyes widen.

I could go on about what I loved in this movie, but in the spirits of keeping it spoiler-free, I need to wrap it up. This film is easily the strongest film to come out of Star Wars in decades. Better than any prequel,  better than the other Disney films, I'll go out on a limb to say this is on a level of excellence in the same ways of Empire Strikes Back. Is it as good? Probably not, but I believe most fans will definitely applaud the effort of this film by the time the credits start rolling,  and it's for this reason, I award The Last Jedi with a solid three and a half star rating out of four, and it just barely misses the full rating. Barely. This is one of the years most entertaining films and an absolute joy to behold, and sets up the final film of this trilogy up nicely. Let's just hope JJ Abrams is up to the task. Until then, thanks for reading.

Final Verdict: 3.5/4

THROWBACK REVIEW: Gamera 3: The Revenge of Iris (1999)

Gamera 3 is everything you could want from a Gamera movie and much much more. I'm once again forced to hammer home the point, that it's movies like this that make me incredibly harsh towards things like Godzilla. The fact that an underbudgeted film coming from a franchise that's often mocked for being a knockoff, can pull off so much more than any Godzilla film has from any era, is a real testament to Gamera and these films he put out in the late 90's.  You heard that right. This film is superior to almost every single Godzilla film out there. It tops Destoroyah, it tops Giant Monsters All Out Attack, it tops Tokyo S.O.S., really the only film I can't see it topping is the original 1954 film,  and I'll go ahead and say I do enjoy the 2014 Godzilla a bit more, but I don't like comparing Japanese and American filmmaking...too much. With all this said, is Revenge of Iris perfect? No. It's got flaws, but it did take some notes from the shortcomings of Legion, and did improve the story.

Iris gives us a much darker tone of any Gamera movie. Before this film, Gamera had always been looked at as this hero of a monster. During the Showa, he and Godzilla shared many common traits in these films, but during the Heisei era, Godzilla turned more back into that enemy he's commonly known as. Gamera wasn't exactly a hero persay in the Heisei era, but he was no enemy of humanity. He fought and defended them, but humanity still had contingencies for Gamera. Well, here they nearly completely drop the hero side of Gamera, and the result is easily the darkest Gamera film you'll ever watch to date. Here, Gamera is responsible for a lot of destruction, and death, and it results in a child growing up with a huge grudge against the Guardian, and bonding with a monster that nearly kills him. This take on Gamera is so unique, so unthinkable, a child hating Gamera, that it's just...wonderful to watch.

Now it should be said that the story isn't perfect, but again, it does improve on the last film. One thing I found disappointing was that despite Gyaos having a bit of a roll in this film, there's not too much action involving Gyaos here.  Which is a damn shame because Gyaos looks absolutely...wonderful in this film. The effects crew need to be credited with this film, because the effects aren't as dated as previous Gamera films, and they look just...wonderful. more on this shortly though. They manage to have some fun with the story, and their characters. Almost to the point of it being ridiculously silly. I had a small laugh at the family who apparently guards this tomb which houses the monster Iris. The thing is they barely do anything in the movie, and the only one that does contribute to the plot, in the form of a decent love interest, is always getting thrown around. I'm surprised he lived in this movie honestly. Yeah the family of Guardians does a pretty lousy job in this film, but they're still likable. We also get the returning characters like Asagi in this movie, and they do have a better role than in the pervious film. They help flesh Gamera out more in this film, and explain a bit more about how things are with him better than in the previous films. 

Are there forgettable characters? Oh absolutely. There are some characters in this movie that I found entertainingly bad. Like this one weirdo who keeps on claiming that the end of humanity is near and whatnot. He always has this weird smile glued to his face, like someone in the Purge movies might have. And he has the most laughable last words ever. The ceiling of a train station is coming down on him, and his last words are along the lines of "Oh my! This is indeed very scary!" I had a good laugh at that. There's also this girl who...honestly I can't even remember, but she dies after trting to pray all the evil away or something, and crazy guy just kinda laughs as she dies. You also got the family of the girl who hates Gamera...who dies, except for her kid brother, who's barely in the movie anyway, and so on and so forth. The characters are strong, but not all of them are exactly memorable or serve purpose to the overall story.

But my God, you just don't care when you see the monsters on screen. The action in this movie is absolutely phenomenal. EASILY the best I've seen from any Japanese monster film. It's quick, it's destructive, it's intense, even intimidating. It's kinda scary to see Gamera bring so much death upon humans. One might think it something that doesn't work, but I believe it strangely only strengthens this story out. Whenever Gamera is on screen, which ironically isn't much in this movie now that I think about it, you're going to have a lot of fun watching. But even when he's not, when we're getting introduced to Iris, or whatnot, there's something in this movie that holds everything together with little effort. Now I will day that I still kinda think Legion is the better monster compared to Iris, but Iris is still one of those really fun monsters that Godzilla just can't seem to create nowadays. Intimidating, cool origins, powerful, and unique. It just continues to up the ante against Godzilla. And needless to say, the fight Gamera has with Iris is absolutely stellar. Again, no monster fight in Japan has ever looked so damn good. 

If you're reading these, and are a fan of Godzilla, a lot of you may not have liked my stance on these films. Me claiming how a vast majority of them are so damn superior to Godzilla films. And this is coming from a guy who grew up with Godzilla, and still loves the big guy. Well I hope I've at least made you think a bit about why I'm so harsh towards a lot of Godzilla films now. With Gamera pulling what it did, there's no reason Godzilla films should be so...I hate saying this, but...half-assed as a lot of them are. There are way too many sequels in that franchise that completely disregard the film they're following. There are way too many plot devices, and "because movie" moments in those films. There are way too many absolutely forgettable characters, and story arcs that go nowhere. And again, there's no excuse for it. None. Not when you have a trilogy like this come and just do so much right, give a solid and satisfying beginning, middle, and end, and rise up on top when it didn't have nearly as much success or resources as Godzilla did. If you think there is an excuse, I'll be waiting to hear one. But so far, most Godzilla fans I've talked with on this matter are pretty damn stumped. I hope Toho will one day take some serious notes from this trilogy. Godzilla could be so much more than what it is right now, and while I'm thankful we did get a boost in quality in the early millennium, it still doesn't really match this trilogy. And after Godzilla Resurgence...well you all know how I feel about that film. 

So with that rant out of the way, what do I think of this third Gamera film? 

I wanted to give this film the fullest rating I could. I really did. But there are those minor annoyances that do hold it back just barely. Still, I'm giving Gamera 3: The Revenge of Iris a solid three and a half star rating out of four. It is my favorite of the Gamera films, it outdoes it's predecessors at almost every turn, it ties in nicely to the previous two films of this trilogy, and concludes it wonderfully. In fact, the ending of this movie is easily one of the coolest endings of any monster movie you'll ever see. I won't dare spoil it. It's one you need to see for yourself. And it only makes me that much sadder that this is pretty much the only thing Gamera has been up to lately. While we had a new Gamera movie in the early millennium with Gamera the Brave, I've yet to see it, and have heard it does fall short of the Heisei trilogy, and there's not been much since then. And I'm a bit sad that with the fiftieth anniversary of Gamera having come and gone, not a lot was done to celebrate the Guardian of the Universe. We got a short film that many confused as a film trailer, including new, which looked incredible, but that's about it. With Godzilla now on the big screen again, I for one hope the Guardian makes his return again. He is gaining my respect more and more, and if Godzilla continues on the path he's treading...Gamera may just take his place on my list of favorite monsters out there. Time will tell. 

But that's my views on the Gamera Heisei trilogy. And with this being the last Kaiju review of the 2016 year...it's time to get myself mentally prepared for the Kong-a-thon...I hope you'll join me then as I get us ready for Kong: Skull Island. Until that time, please feel free to voice your own thoughts on your own views of this movie, leave a comment requesting a film you'd like to see me look at, and as always, thanks for reading. 

Final Verdict: 3.5/4

REVIEW: Rogue One: A Star Wars Story

I'm so bummed that Gareth Edwards left Godzilla. Like so much. I really like his direction and ideas of how to shoot a film. So...yeah, I was really pleased to see his concepts and ideas put to work in Rogue One. There are times where his ideas of shooting the action from a human perspective are absolutely gorgeous in this film, especially in that final act, but I can't help but feel that there's just a little something missing in the opening act of this film.  But I will say that compared to last years Star Wars project, I do believe that Disney is getting better in their Star Wars ambitions. While I thoroughly enjoyed last years film, I can't help but feel in my excitement of seeing it, that certain things escaped my critique. There were a lot of unanswered questions. If I we're to rate that film again right now, I'd probably score it a 3, as compared to my original 3.5 rating out of four. However, with Rogue One, Star Wars remains in somewhat safer territory, telling a story in the universe we already know. That's what this is, a Star Wars Story. A story about the first major victory that's talked about in the opening scroll of the very first Star Wars film we ever saw. And it's as enjoyable as ever.

But despite this, I cannot help but feel there is something missing from this film. Particularly in the first half. I couldn't make connections to many characters, I didn't really care about any of the conflicts being presented, and I just couldn't get invested in a lot of what was going on. They try to blur the lines as they so often try to do with this universe with the line of good and evil, and honestly...that's just not really possible in this universe. Star Wars has the most obvious villains, and the most obvious heroes. So when I see the films primary antagonist at the beginning of this film tackling about the extreme that will ensure peace, you have no reason to side with him...because you know what they're talking about. In fact, I don't think I'm spoiling anything by saying that from the very beginning, you'll know how the film will end. So I am kinda left with this underwhelming feeling that can come from the prequel films, knowing how things will end. But unlike the prequel films, this film actually tries to have a decent plot without so many obvious plot holes, and that's the strength of this film for me.

Right off the bat, I was a bit surprised actually at the lack the the traditional opening scroll. This film instead just kinda gets the ball rolling, and I didn't mind that too much. The visuals are all wonderfully done, all to a musical score that might as well have come from John Williams himself. I'm telling you all, Michael Giacchino is your go to guy right now. I wish he would have taken a few more risks with the score to give it his own personal touch and whatnot, but he does the music proud in this film, and they could not have had a better substitute. Yes right off the bat, the film does its job of looking and sounding like a Star Wars movie, but whether a different writing team may have been needed or not, the film takes its time in getting the ball rolling.

The characters are characters that I really really REALLY want to like. In ways they remind me a bit of the Guardians of the Galaxy, but they're not that interesting, they're not really fleshed out as other characters in this universe are when we first see them, and I just couldn't make the connections I wanted to make. The Force Awakens on the other hand did an incredible job of introducing us to new characters. Despite knowing so little about her, we have made so many connections to Rey, and there are God knows how many theories regarding just who she is. And Finn is fleshed or wonderfully in that movie, and it easily makes one of my favorite characters in this entire franchise. I don't get any of that here. And I'm sad to say that this was one of the same problems that the Gareth film Godzilla (2014) faced. While I like that movie a lot, our main protagonist in Ford Brody really just wasn't as interesting as his father Joe, who's killed 30 minutes in. I want to lime these characters, I think they're all really unique, really fun characters that with proper development, really would have made me enjoy this film so much more. The blind force worshiper, and his gunner Guardian, the reprogrammed imperial Droid  (which my friend actually made a character like in this tabletop game we play), the imperial pilot, they're all TONS more interesting than our leading roles in Jyn and Cassian! I want to learn more about THEM!

We also get our fair share of cameos from the original film itself, my favorite being Grand Moff Tarkin. Thought I was gonna say Vader, didn't you? Don't lie. Tarkin to me was the one antagonist I always wanted to see more of. I hated that he was killed off so soon. So seeing him play a decently central role in this film was a huge treat to me, but I gotta address the elephant in the room here, because the CGI they use on his face stands out...so damn much. I didn't want to focus so much on this, but there were times I thought his cheek had a mind of its own. His face just doesn't look that convincing. I loved his role, but they probably should have gone the makeup route. And yes, without spoiling anything, you'll get your taste of Vader, and the taste is good. Though I'll say certain cameos were completely unnecessary, I also loved the minor cameo appearances of the Red and Gold leaders of the first film. And let me tell you, THEY looked really convincing.

And speaking of Red and Gold leader, it's time to talk about the action, and it's this film that will slightly raise the bar for future Star Wars films. Gareth is absolutely phenomenal in directing action. He tends to shoot it at ground level as a person would see it happen a lot of the time, and it's absolutely phenomenal. The ground combat is some of the most enjoyable combat the franchise knows. I daresay it rivals the Battle of Hoth. The first time I saw those massive AT-AT walkers appearing in the smoke of battle, I got chills. And finally seeing some Space Combat in these new films, a trait absent in The Force Awakens, it really does show off just what the future can hold for this franchise under Disney. It's absolutely incredible to watch the first major victory of the Rebel Alliance unfolding before your eyes. It's full of tension, suspense, and a lot of the time, you really don't know what exactly is going to happen.

So while flawed, I'm giving Rogue One: A Star Wars Story a three star rating out of four. It intrigued me once things began to get rolling. Does Gareth need to improve his lead roles? Yes he does. Let this film be a fair warning to him on that. I think he's a great director, but there is room for improvement. But what he gets right in this film, he does with flying colors. This film does a great job of adding just a bit more life into this beloved franchise, and yes....I may as well say it, it is my favorite prequel. I'm funny.

Please feel free to request any movie you'd like to see me tackle. Leave a comment down below expressing your own thoughts on the film, and as always, thanks for reading.

Final Verdict: 3/4

THROWBACK REVIEW: Gamera 2: Attack of Legion (1996)

Gamera 2 continues the excellence I've come to expect from these films in more ways than one, but I will say that this film isn't as good as its predecessor. Despite some really awesome action, some really cool concepts, and one really really REALLY badass Kaiju, it does suffer a few problems that nagged at me, both in the film kaif, and technicals. But don't let that fool you into thinking I don't like this film, because nothing could be so very untrue. It does need to be said that much like its predecessor, this film does outshine a vast majority of the Godzilla films that came out during the Heisei era.

So what are my problems with the film then? If it's still impressing me in ways Godzilla failed to do, what is wrong with the film. The biggest issue that I can really say that nagged at me the most was the lack of a connection to mossy of the human characters here. Of the trilogy of Gamera during Heisei, I do remember this being the one film I just couldn't connect fully with. Granted, watching it just now, in my condition where I was a bit tired, and facing a little holiday exhaustion, I can't exactly say I was on the right mindset to watch this. If I were to watch it again, more relaxed and awake, I might be able to connect more. But despite everything, I just didn't feel much of a connection to our human characters of this film, so when they did things on screen, I didn't find myself caring too much for what they did, and whatnot. I'm thankful they didn't become Godzilla type of characters, characters so weak they may as well be cutouts in a film of the 40's, but they were missing something. I enjoyed watching the commanding officer in the army as he debated firing against Gamera, or supporting him, but not much else really stood out to me. Even the returning character from the previous film,  Asagi, didn't really have much of a role in this film. And pardon the minor spoiler here, but by the end of this film, she loses her spiritual connection to Gamera. But...didn't that happen last film? Am I missing something here?

And I gotta express my frustration at the subtitles of this movie. The DVD I own just....can't stop messing up. I'm sure the translations themselves are fine, but...why are they so delayed? I mean that too. Credit where credit is due, they did a better job translating out newspaper headlines and locations thankfully, but it's like the subtypes had to load or think about what was being said before displaying it. If I'm being unclear, I'll try my best to explain what I mean. One character is talking to another character, and he says a generic line like... "Gamera is on his way to Tokyo. Shall we intervene?" However he only says this in Japanese, and I get no translation for a second or two. Then character two starts talking,  and gives a generic line,  "Yes. Deploy all defensive units around Tokyo at once! We cannot take chances!" But by the time he saying this, the subtitles are translating out what the other character just said. This at times can get so annoying, so frustrating, and so confusing, that I had to finish the movie at home, because my Blu-ray of this film doesn't do such a God awful job of translating. Maybe it's just the company that did the dvd or collection or whatnot, but these subtitles are awful. Someone's they barely stayed on the screen for a second! They're subtitles! How hard can it be to get these things right???

Okay now that I got that out of my system, what is actually good about this movie? Well pretty much everything. I will say the story suffers a bit due to the weaker characters, but the concepts, the monsters, the action is all absolutely wonderful to behold. I don't wanna say this, but if Toho or any other film company in Japan wanted to remake the classic 1954 monster movie, Them!, this is a really good film to watch. There were a lot of times this film seemed to draw from that old film, and I love that. Them! I feel at times doesn't get enough credit for what it did to influence giant monster films. It's easily one of the best creature features I know.

The story centers on these mysterious alien life forms that fall to earth in a freak meteor shower. When it's discovered that these alien life forms invade planets by launching themselves into space, by means of building up oxygen in the atmosphere, the nation must rely on Gamera, as there's just so much oxygen around these plants that any attack from the military would be risky. While this is one of the more far fetched plots of Gamera, I do like how they flesh out this race of Monsters. No other Kaiju movie I know has put so much effort into gotta these things live, how they act, or whatnot. Even how they move! Not even Godzilla 2014 has done that, and they actually made an effort to flesh out their monsters and their origins. Most of the time Godzilla films hand-wave it away. STOP IT, TOHO! Make me interested in these many monsters you shove in my face!

Speaking of the monsters, holy shit Legion is amazing. You can say what you want about the quality of Gamera films compared to Godzilla films (unless it's Heisei, because Gamera is superior there, period), but the Gamera films do know how to make some intimidating, unique, and really cool Kaiju. I thoroughly believe Gyaos is more intimidating than Rodan. I thoroughly believe that Knifehead from Pacific Rim was influenced by Guiron. And despite being in a shamefully horrible movie, Zigra is a really cool idea, and design that needs to be used again (minus the musical back because that was stupid). And Legion continues this awesome tradition of the very fun Kaiju that get so little attention. Why do we not have more swarm-like Kaiju? This is why I love Them! so much, the tight of hundreds of thousands of giant ants the size of cars is scary! Those things can lift 50 times their own body weight! How is that NOT intimidating? If the swarm factor isn't enough, just LOOK at Legion! Most of these monsters I can tell someone is just in some rubber suits. Legion? Not so much. All those limbs, the structure of the body it looks fantastic! And his abilities might even give GODZILLA a run for his money! Legion really is one of the coolest monsters I've seen in any Kaiju film, and he really does steal the show here.

Which brings me to the action, which is very similar to that seen in Godzilla VS Destoroyah. There's plenty of monster brawling, but there's also a lot of action involving humans, and it can get really gruesome. The opening scenes of this movie can be incredibly bloody. The fact that it's this series, originally a children's series, that continues to be the bloody mess of Kaiju films is something that continues to confuse me, but does show just how far this franchise has come. Even when it gets a little over the top, there's nothing that made me think of it being too stupid or whatnot. It's one big treat to my inner monster fan.

When all is said and done, I do enjoy this film in more ways than one, despite a few steps taken back from the previous film. But despite everything, it still stands in a league of its own compared to most of the other Godzilla films. I'm not joking when I say that Toho needs to start taking some serious notes for their future Godzilla movies. I'm sure they got most of Japan eating right out of their hands with their films right now, but me? I'll continue to ask for more from them, especially when severally inferior budgeted films like this one will leave Godzilla films in the dust.

Gamera 2: Attack of Legion earns a three star rating out of four. Despite the faults it has, it does still manage to be of enjoyable quality. Though I do understand why there might have been some debate in 1996 when this would go on to win the Nihon SF Taisho Award (the Japanese Nebula Award). It's got some really good material, but I'm sure that if I looked hard enough, there might have been a more deserving science fiction piece to get that award. But the fact that Gamera is getting awards at all in this point is a real statement to the quality of these films. If this doesn't convince some fans out there that these films are actually worth looking into, I don't know what will convince you.

Feel free to request any film you'd like me to have a look at. Leave a comment down below on your own thoughts of the film, and as always, thanks for reading.

Final Verdict: 3/4

THROWBACK REVIEW: Godzilla VS Mothra: The Battle for Earth (1992)

Godzilla VS Mothra, The Battle for Earth is a very special film to me for very personal reasons. Why is that? Well, it's the first Godzilla movie I ever saw as a child. Yes, this was the film that started it all. I don't remember when exactly I saw it, whether it was 1998, 1999, or 2000, but this was the film that introduced me to the Big G. I'm glad to say that, because unlike so many other Americans my age, or whatnot, a lot of them were introduced to Godzilla through the Tristar Roland Emmerich film. Well...I remember briefly my father talking about his limited exposure to Godzilla, talking about a film he liked. Godzilla VS Mothra.  So one particular trip to Hollywood Video (remember that place?), I found it.  Or a particular version of it I should say.  I think he was originally talking about the 1964 picture. I didn't see that until later on. But I picked this up, and this would start a trend of Godzilla video rentals that lasted for weeks.  It drove my parents absolutely insane. But for better or for worse, it started my love for the franchise. And watching it as an adult, I will say that I was still pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed it. Despite some very silly choices in storytelling, it has some kick-ass action, decently developed character, and some of the coolest monster battles of the franchise, making it one of the better entries of the Heisei era. Despite me laughing at some of the absurdities of this film, watching it, I was a kid all over again.

As with the previous film, it needs to be said that the copy I own is an English dub. But as it was the dub that I started out with all those many years ago, I wouldn't have it any other way here. Despite some flaws with the dub...like a little girl sounding like a grown woman...it's not terrible. You know...aside from some laughably stupid lines that may or may not be the dub's fault ("Please tell Mothra to stop, otherwise he's gonna kill so many people! If you do, I'll tell my daddy not to steal anymore and I'll make him get a real job!"). Yeah...there are those moments.

Though it doesn't explicitly state when this film takes place, it apparently takes place one year after Godzilla VS King Ghidorah. But as you all know, I think that film sucked, so this worked in my advantage as a film that just kinda seemed to drop that film like a dozen eggs. We see a meteor crash into the sea...causing no tsunami's or anything else that it would logically create (in fact the splash is laughably small), and it awakens Godzilla. It apparently instead causes these typhoons and other crazy events that uncover Mothra's egg, and awaken a completely new monster to the franchise, Battra, who is described as the "black Mothra" and he is a badass! We go from this meteor, to one of our characters, a thief of artifacts stealing some artifact from some place of significance, we get an Indiana Jones style scene where this thief has to escape this booby-trapped temple, and he's arrested in the process, and reunited with his ex-wife, where they go to Infant Island and...(sigh)...here we go.

This is where I think the story gets really stupid.  This film, despite being in the Heisei era, has a lot of Showa traits in it. Such as the Cosmos. You know...those two little little girls that are like...Mothra's guardians or something? I never understood their roles in these films. I never liked them. They do nothing in this film but talk about how humanity is destroying the Earth, forcing this really simple and unneeded environmental message into the story, about how the Earth is angry at humanity and is getting revenge through monsters and natural disasters. You can say what you want about the purpose and meaning of Godzilla, but this is a really stupid plot element that isn't executed well at all. Back to the Cosmos, the only other thing they do in this film is sing. Yeah they do that in the Showa films, but man...it gets really old in this film. And the film seems so intent on focusing on them whenever they sing their...Mothra spells or whatever the hell they are. Unfortunately the weaker story doesn't really hold up on its own. Despite some pleasant mirrors to the original Godzilla VS Mothra, involving a big company interested in Mothra's egg and whatnot, there's not a very strong story here. A lot of the subplots involving the company are straight up dropped halfway through the film it seems. I can't believe I'm saying this, but the characters are actually likable enough for the most part to keep my attention. So kudos there, movie.

What else keeps your attention? The monsters of course. We get three of them in this picture, with Mothra, Battra, and Godzilla. All are surprisingly really well developed, and a real treat to see on the screen. Though I will say, I didn't like just how stupidly powerful Godzilla's durability seems to be. My main point here is that I still in no way am willing to believe that Godzilla could get submerged in an underwater volcano...and swim all the way into the mainland through the lava. Come on. Burial in a volcano, in a hibernation is one thing. Swimming? I call shenanigans. Just a little too much, movie. I also don't like how they abandoned his more animalistic roar. But that said, his design is really great in this film. And his atomic breath looks like...100 times better than what it did in the previous films. When it comes to Mothra, this development is some of the coolest we've seen on screen.  While we've seen Mothra hatch before, we've never seen it actually evolve into its adult stage. And it is done actually pretty well. I also love how durable Mothra is. Most of the time I remember, Mothra was usually hit once in the air and down. Here, it can take quite the beating.  And Battra? The only thing I didn't care for for him was the fact that he just instantaneously transforms to his adult stage. Other than that, his attacks, his appearance, his scenes are all incredibly awesome.

And I gotta dedicate an entire paragraph to the monster fights.  They are easily the best of the Heisei era so far. And they start off pretty quick too! Right after we see Godzilla emerge from the sea, there's a really intense fight between him and Mothra in its larval form, and then Battra comes along, and there's an even BETTER fight! Here Godzilla Battra have this colossal battle underwater, which may sound boring, but honestly...it's about damn time. It's actually one of the most intense fights of the entire franchise, and one of the best. And I gotta say, it's a pretty lengthy battle at that, not too rigid, very fluid, which isn't a trait seen enough in the battles of these films. Even if the underwater fights make no sense because they take place in super deep water that apparently Godzilla has no problem standing knee-deep in (Still waiting for an answer to that nonsense, Toho). And if those fights weren't enough, the conclusive battle is a real treat to watch from beginning to end. It really feels like one of the most immersive battles of the film as the city itself crumbles around and on the monsters as they combat one another. 

But with all this impressive stuff about this film, I am surprised that the film seems a little unpolished. At times, the scene transitions were incredibly quick. It wasn't as jumbled as Godzilla VS King Ghidorah, but it was still noticeable.  Other problems included small goofs that just should have been noticed. A few times when Godzilla is obviously roaring, yet there's no roar heard, at one point I swore I could hear the wheels and motor that propel that large Mothra larva, just small things like this that should have been taken care of. The music, very traditional for the Godzilla films, but enjoyable for the film. All this put together...I still believe this film was the perfect film for me to start out on in my Godzilla love.

I may be somewhat biased here, but I am giving Godzilla VS Mothra: The Battle for Earth a nice three star rating out of four. It definitely has problems. But it does make up for its problems with semi-decent characters, and just really fun action. It really did Mothra justice if you ask me, and there's just not enough films that really highlight Mothra in this manner. I feel like Mothra always has to take this backseat to Godzilla, but this film really makes Mothra stand out as a force to be reckoned with if you ask me. 15 years later or so...I'm still giving this film a big thumbs up. And I should say as an added bonus...with America now having the rights to Mothra for our future Godzilla-Kong cinematic  universe we are slowly but surely building, I am excited to see if we can give just as much justice to this monster, as we have Godzilla. We can only wait and see.

Please feel free to suggest any films you'd like me to take a look at in the future. Leave a comment down below explaining your own thoughts and feelings to this film, and as always, thanks for reading.

Final Verdict: 3/4

REVIEW: Arrival

I like me some Sci-fi. I like it a lot. And one particular scenario that always comes to mind in what I like in this awesome genre, is the potential first contact scenario we will have from beings from another world. Whether it's a violent extermination such as Independence Day, or When Mars Attacks, or a more peaceful approach such as Close Encounters of the Third Kind, or Star Trek: First Contact, I'm always happy to see how humanity reacts when it is finally contacted by another world. And I'm happy to say that Arrival delivers on many of the ideas and concepts it portrays and introduces, making it the first film to really leave me on a good note this Autumn.  (About time, honestly.) But where Arrival can succeed with flying colors, there are times where I was rubbing my head in confusion as these strange plot points are kinda just dumped on us from out of nowhere, and your suspension of disbelief isn't really played with, more than it is forced on you. Ultimately, this leads to a lot of unanswered questions by the time the credits roll.

Despite the at times, drug out beginning, it doesn't take long at all to get the ball rolling in this film as these massive ships land all over the world. Who are they? What do they want? All these questions and more get asked, and I gotta say that it is all wonderfully done. Your characters, setup, and setting is all set up wonderfully. In a way, it actually reminded me of Independence Day, only not in a bad way. Here, we get twelve vessels that land in places around the world, in completely random locations. They don't position themselves over the world's famous landmarks, one straight up landed in Montana. The world of course takes notice, and confusion happens. Hysteria from the general public, tension with the military, I honestly believe this may be one of the most accurate portrayals of first contact out there. We're introduced to Dr. Louise Banks, played wonderfully by Amy Adams as an expert linguist, who is asked to help find a way to communicate with these mysterious beings. This sets in motion a solid first two thirds of film for me. There is always something keeping your attention, always piquing your curiosity, always wowing your mind.

My first criticism toward this film goes to the aliens themselves. While we don't exactly see them an awful lot in this film, mainly because most of their scenes take place aboard their ship, where they stand behind a literal glass wall of a sort, I didn't see their design to be that compelling. One can argue that as a fan of Star Trek, designs in alien races should be the last thing I criticize, but each race there is fleshed out so incredibly well most of the time, that you don't mind that 90% of the galaxy is humanoid. The aliens have no visible orifices, and seem more like large black squids honestly. I will say though that the way they communicate is great. I love the way they write their language, I love the idea that time to them is perceived differently from how we perceive it, it's all a wonderful blend of sci-fi mesh that again, kept my interest, despite the bland designs of the aliens...and their ship (the interior of this ship is really nonexistent).

As wonderful as the story is for the first two thirds of this film, there are a few things I've been pondering now that I cannot help but wonder. Louise communicates with the aliens by way of visual aid, and introduces them to our writing system, which introduces us to theirs. We see the humans work tirelessly to interpret this new language, and I cannot help but wonder why the aliens themselves didn't bother trying to understand ours. Or attempt to communicate with it. The aliens of this movie, despite having a presence, really don't serve much of a purpose to this film I can't help but feel. Heck, by the time the third act rolls around and the question of why they're there is answered (which I won't deny is actually pretty cool), I cannot help but feel that literally nothing was accomplished.

Spoilers up ahead. Skip this paragraph of you don't want any.

The aliens apparently come to earth because they're in need of humanities help in 3000 years. There are some basic ideas here with their perception of time here that are actually quite...to coin a phrase, fascinating. Where we perceive time as linear, time to them is more...whole? They can perceive the beginning, middle, and end. Or something along those lines (the movie explains it better than I can). But after we find out this goal, and how the aliens keep in communication and speak to one another...they literally just leave. And that's their story. This leads to an ending I'm not sure I really like. Out of nowhere, it kinda becomes this last minute romance film. While the two leads get some time to develop thankfully, I cannot help but feel that their actual relationship was kinda just tacked on. One of the things I didn't care for was how Louise apparently all along was this...person who could see the future and see ahead. It lays this whole convenient plot device down in which she may prevent a global war and where memories she thought were past memories were actually visions of her future. And what I cannot stand is that we get little to no explanation as to where she got this ability, or why she has it. Heck she doesn't even seem to tell her husband about it. In fact I'm gonna go ahead and say that I feel the ending of this film is...too happy? Yeah we know how it ends in a way, but at the same time, I cannot help but feel that it just kinda halts this movie. In the bad way. Heck, as the credits begin to roll, there were a lot of questions on my mind that I didn't feel were answered. 

That being said, I still think that the first two thirds are quite solid. Despite some quiet scenes and some small moments of confusion, the contact with the aliens themselves, and the process of communicating with them is really fun to watch. The films score, though nothing memorable, presents a very ominous and very big feeling. It's a very ambient score that's there more to show the importance of the visitors, more than it is to make actual music I guess. And it succeeds. It's not a bad score. And the casting of this film is great. Amy Adams, Jeremy Renner,  Forest Whitaker, they're all great in this film. It's all a wonderful combination to take in, and despite its faults, I am glad to say I saw it. 

I'm giving Arrival a three star rating out of four. The first movie of the Autumn season I've seen to thoroughly entertain me. Despite the flaws it has, it's impossible to say that it's not enjoyable. Even if the first two thirds outshine its conclusion, it does need to be said that it's still a film to admire. It has a lot of really cool ideas that will make you wonder just how accurate the film might be in protocols with first contact scenarios. Who knows how that day will act out, so long as they don't blow our landmarks to hell and back again, I'll be open to their own arrival.

Please feel free to suggest any movies you'd like me to look at. Leave a comment down below encouraging your own feelings of the movie, and as always, thanks for reading.

Final Verdict: 3/4

THROWBACK REVIEW: Godzilla (The Return of Godzilla) (1984)

Godzilla, or The Return of Godzilla is a dated, but still very strong example of Godzilla done right. It began a new Era of Godzilla films that would be known as the Hensei films, but in this, it would also start a long history of continuity confusion that lasts to this day. What I mean by that is, that this film literally wiped the slate clean of its history, aside from one film. The original 1954 Gojira. In this, Godzilla (1984)...whatever you wanna call it, acts as a direct sequel to the original iconic film, and the start of an era that includes some of my absolute favorite Godzilla films to date. It takes a step away from what the Showa era did, and makes Godzilla intimidating, and begins a trend of darker films for the Godzilla franchise, while holding on to a few light-hearted tropes that make the franchise fun to watch.  But I will say of all the Hensei films we got in the 80's and 90's, none of them really match the depth and the overall mood of this particular film, which marked the 30th anniversary of the Big G.

I'm sure many of you are probably getting sick of my comparisons to Toho's newest Godzilla film in Godzilla Resurgence, or Shin Gojira, but if you want a Godzilla film, with political undertones, done right, then this is about as good as it gets for the Godzilla franchise, and I mean that in the best way possible. It does everything, from highlighting threats of Nuclear War, to referencing the Warsaw Pact. While I will still say that politics is the last reason I will watch any Godzilla movie, the parallels that Toho did to mirror the nuclear tensions of the Cold War era during this particular period were fantastic. One of the things I criticized the newest film over was the particular depiction of America who seemed to react rather fast to Godzilla by saying to just nuke 'im. Maybe being American, I'm a bit biased when I say, I doubt we'd straight up rush to that conclusion, but in this movie, they bring that same conclusion to the table. And so does Soviet Russia. At first I scratched my head at this, but looking deeper into it, when both nations were in tense relations and when full scale nuclear war looked as if it could break out at any moment, I gotta say that this is perhaps ironically, kinda accurate. I will say the resolution of "If Godzilla were attacking Moscow or Washington D.C. Right now, would you be so fast to use nuclear weapons?" Solution was maybe just a bit...silly? Like honestly, you'd think a ten year old could come up with such common sense. But regardless of it, it's still wonderfully executed, and it gets even more interesting when the Soviets accidentally launch a nuclear missile in this film. That actually marks a first! We've never seen nuclear weapons used prior to this, and if memory serves right, we'd never seen them used again until Godzilla (2014). 

Godzilla as a monster I gotta say is a bit of a mixed bag. While he looks, and sounds intimidating (that animalistic roar is absolutely wonderful to hear and terrifying at the same time), there are a few things that make him stand out just a bit in some wrong ways. One thing that immediately comes to mind is the eyes. They're huge. While not the worst I've seen from Godzilla, the eyes seem just a tab bit too large for this particular monster if you were to ask me. And while Godzilla isn't exactly the largest here as he is in later films, it should be said that his size doesn't factor much to intimidation in these films.  He can still take a beating, and demolish anything in his way.  And that's what matters when it comes to the big guy. I can overlook a few flaws in design which honestly, was probably just a product of the times. When his foot comes crushing through the streets, nearly crushing terrified civilians, it can be a lot of fun to see.

One thing I will say is that the effects of the film are surprisingly well done.  That's not to say they are perfect, I counted more than one effect that stood out. But a lot of the time, the line between fantasy and reality was most certainly blurred. One of my favorite scenes in this film, and in all the franchise takes place when Godzilla first attacks Tokyo in this film. Not only is the military attack fun to watch, but when Godzilla attacks, unleashing that trademark atmoic breath, it is a sight to behold, and a gruesome one at that. We get full on views of soldiers being burned alive, incinerated, and of course we see all of man's deadliest machinery fall to the Destroyer of Worlds. This film also held to the concept of futuristic sci-fi in a way I always loved with special tanks that shoot beams, and a heavy warship that if I remember right was exclusive to this film, the ship Super-X, which actually succeeds in bringing down the big guy. It's not often mankind can harm the big guy like that. And while it's not exactly a matter of effects here, I gotta say that the musical score to this film isn't half bad. Godzilla scores aren't usually something I'm impressed by, as many of them tend to lean too much on that iconic, yet repetitive theme that can get a little old. This film however did a good job of composing new music that is actually pretty decent. 

While characters have never been a strongpoint in the Godzilla franchise, this movie does a decent job of telling its story around its set group of characters.  While many of the character arcs are kinda forgettable, like the whole controversy over that one guy's journalism (I can't remember his name off the top of my head), most of the story arcs they bring to the table are not only satisfactory, but contribute something new to the franchise. One thing I love so much about this film, was that for a film, meant to reintroduce Godzilla as this terrifying monster, and not so much a hero, it goes beyond simply retelling the original 1954 film. There's added problems, new obstacles, and newer elements of story and that is a very good thing because there were times this film could practically mirror its 1954 predecessor. And I will admit that this film had a few moments that legitly had me chuckling.  Such as one or two scenes involving this homeless guy who gets some screentime during the Godzilla attack, and both times, he just kinda blatantly curses and insults Godzilla. It's silly, adds nothing to the story, and it made me laugh.

I'm giving Godzilla...or The Return of Godzilla, whatever you wanna call it, a nice solid three and a half star rating out of four. While there are indeed times that this movie can drag itself out, the story is told well to keep your attention, and again, there are some things here that are in no other Godzilla film that just make this one stand out as one of the best for me.  Hell, I ranked it amongst the top 25 absolute greatest giant monster films out there if any of you remember that list. And I stand by that stance. It's not the model Godzilla film, but it's still one of the many I will recommend, and it pains me to say that I don't officially own it. If Toho would just release it officially over here, I could change that, but my copy will do for now. For those of you who are with me in the states, there is an American edit of this film that you might be able to find, but I believe I can safely say that the original Japanese cut is far superior, though it is cool to see Steve Martin (the reporter from the American 1956 edit of Gojira) back for a small cameo. If you have the resources to get ahold of this film, I'd recommend giving it a look see. It's one of the best starts of any Godzilla era out there, and I'm honestly tempted to go through that era now.  Maybe I should.

Please feel free to suggest any films you'd like me to have a look at down below.  Leave a comment expressing your own thoughts and opinions on the film itself, and as always, thanks for reading.

Final Verdict: 3.5/4

THROWBACK REVIEW: Godzilla (1998)

Autumn movies this year kinda suck. I've been to three so far and I've not been impressed. I'm hoping some other movies I've come across change my mind but this weekend, I found myself in need of something fun. So I watched Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home, and Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country. Both films I absolutely love. Through this little experience, I came into contact with a few people on G+ who disagreed with my review of Godzilla Resurgence. Unfortunetaly...dealing with the Godzilla fandom isn't exactly a favorite thing to do on my list (and neither is dealing with the fandom of Star Trek, which in some ways can be worse), but I held plenty of discussions and debates about what they liked about this film and whatnot and all I can say is...I'm no expert of Japanese politics currently. Hell, I don't give a damn about politics here. I'm actually kinda sick about politics. And I think people know that about me because they just love throwing it in my face about how the political satire of Shin Gojira is something my "American mindset" that must only love explosions like I'm some mindless Michael Bay zombie must not comprehend. (Facepalm) If I can enjoy political movies like Godzilla (1984), or other political movies for that matter (Star Trek VI), understand them, and enjoy them...then I'll just laugh at your "defense" of Shin Gojira. What the hell does this have to do with the movie I'm gonna be talking about? Well if all I care about are explosions and nonstop action, then this movie must be a fucking Godsend. Right? RIGHT???

I wanted to tackle this movie on some other special occasion, but with all that's going on, I guess now is as good a time as any to show the nonbelievers that I might actually have competent reasons for disliking Shin Godzilla. And to back this up...I'm gonna throw arguments that have been used against me into this analysis of America's first ever attempt at Godzilla filmmaking. I'm actually surprised to say, but happy to say that there aren't too many people on my case about my opinion of Shin Gojira. But they are persistent. Which is kinda what led to this. And by the way, I'm going on the record to say that when I put this movie on today, I watched it with my friend, who's an exchange student from Japan. I don't know if he's a huge Godzilla fan but we talked briefly about the new film (which he hasn't seen), before moving on to Roland Emmerich.

This is the "Godzilla" movie that most fans will call the absolute worst of the worst. A film so bad, that Toho went out of their way to claim that the monster in this movie in no way was related, or represented the King of Monsters. And if that wasn't enough, they bought the rights to the film, just to kill the monster in Final Wars. For many Americans, this was actually the film to introduce them to Godzilla. However for me personally, I didn't see this movie until about halfway through high school. 2006-2007. And I'd already established myself as a fan of the big guy. I still remember my first movie (Godzilla VS Mothra: Battle for Earth), and remember the endless trips to Hollywood Video just to rent some Godzilla dub that I hadn't seen yet. It drove my parents insane. I didn't care. The first time I saw this film, I was much like the fanbase. I kinda hated it. But as years passed, it gained my attention, and now I see it as rather...harmless honestly. Not good, but the worst? I wouldn't call it that.

Despite what others would have you believe, this film doesn't just crash and burn at every angle. In fact, I'll go on a limb and say there is a lot of very well done aspects in this movie. The monster design. I loved it! If not for a point that we'll get to soon enough, this monster would actually be one of the coolest things on screen. It needs to be said that the dated CGI definitely shows at times. It can stand out like a sore thumb, but Roland has been there, done that, got the shirt before, and his visuals can still be very wonderful to look at. But that one point that I mentioned up above comes into play here. For a monster called "Godzilla"...there's surprisingly very little resemblance to Godzilla. But ironically enough, here's where my first argument for Shin Gojira comes into play. I've been told that my problems of the monster itself in that movie are irrelevant because it's a new incarnation, and not the same. So "New Godzilla" can be different. Well if that's the case then this Godzilla should have been flying high. Sure he can be wounded by the military, lack his trademark atomic breath, look more animal-like, and eat fish. This is a new Godzilla! The possibilities are limitless! This is point number one. If Japan can go through, not one, not two...but FOUR different eras and even more incarnations of Godzilla, why didn't this reimagining get a little less trash from the fanbase? It was America's first attempt. Their first incarnation. Surely no wrongs could be done! Hell, the opening credits strictly state that the character is "based on" the Toho monster of the same name. Based on. So we obviously did nothing wrong with this monster....Do you see the logic of this argument? I sure don't. I think I've made my point.

The characters of this movie can be ridiculously clichéd, if not downright annoying. One thing Godzilla movies never seem to nail are characters. They're so bad at this, that I actually made myself make a list of the Top 25 Best Human Characters in Monster Movies. And guess what...a few characters from this movie actually made the list believe it or not, because there are a few in this movie that are actually pretty fun. I like Colonel Hicks, the French Agent Philippe. Even Nick Tatopoulos got a mention...but I had to specify that it was the incarnation from the animated series, because the moment you see fucking Matthew Broderick on the screen, you wanna knock his block off. Why did they hire him off all people? The token Roger Hebert, and Gene Siskel characters are more than likely intentionally annoying, and Audrey...oh my God Audrey and the rest of the news channel characters in this movie just suck. They. Suck. I honestly believe their role in this movie was meant for a completely different story at times, as their interactions with other characters kinda just seem to drop the fact that there's a 100 foot tall radioactive lizard tromping all over New York City.

But when they're not on screen, the movie can be a fun watch. The action of this movie is very well done. Even if you're looking at scenes that borrowed heavily from other films from Alien to Jurassic Park, I find myself having a lot of fun watching the monster run through the streets of New York, outsmarting helicopters, and causing all sorts of havoc. I enjoy watching our protagonists trying not to get eaten alive by the hundreds of infant monsters in the ruined Madison Square Garden. But this action isn't backed by all that impressive of a story. While I will say that their reimagining of the origins of "Godzilla" can be very fun, bringing up comparisons to things like Chernobyl and whatnot, once that initial first wonder is done, very little can hold this story up. The middle acts can drag and be rather uninteresting. Again, the character interaction between Nick and Audrey can be very...off putting. It doesn't belong in this movie. In fact...I hate any scene that features only Audrey. She just complains about how she isn't treated fairly by her boss, or cries when she messes up Nick's reputation with the army. The political side of Herbert and Siskel is laughable at how pointless it is. You could literally cut it from the film and nothing would be different. I think Roland just wanted to give the finger to two of the best film critics out there who weren't impressed by his films...but they weren't even killed in the movie. Good job there Roland. And with little interesting story, the film quickly becomes its own excuse to blow up every NYC landmark it can. The Chrysler Building, Metlife building, Madison Square Garden, the Brooklyn Bridge...I'm surprised half the buildings remained standing in this film. This brings up point number two that I've been getting...where people say I didn't like Shin Gojira because it wasn't just explosions and nonstop action. Well compare that to this movie which kinda just...is that at times, and you find that I'm still not too impressed. The only thing I've really complimented this film on is the decently original beginning parts of the story. Before it just becomes a big cliché. The only reason I liked that is because it was competent enough and told well enough to keep my attention. Shin Gojira focused roughly 75% of its story telling to people sitting around tables. Tell me how that is good story telling for a two hour movie. Just try.

With as many problems as there are in this movie...I'm surprised I don't really bash it too much. Well there's a reason. I think the movie can be an entertaining watch from time to time. Take away the obvious problems, overlook atrocious characters, and focus on the actual decent elements in this story that pop up from time to time, then throw in a pretty decent musical score by David Arnold, and you actually have a decent monster movie. But that's the key word there. MONSTER movie. That's not what this movie was supposed to be. The title is Godzilla. When you put that as your title, there will be expectations, and nearly all of those expectations were absent in this film. Which is why I'll be honest and say I'm surprised so many seem to like Shin Gojira. It can tackle all the problems this movie tackled 18 years earlier. Differences in origins, monster design, hell...the military actually makes Godzilla bleed a lot in the new film. And that's just on the monster alone. I won't even get into how forgettable those characters are. The characters of this movie may be bad, but at least they're memorably bad enough to make an impression.

Godzilla is a movie I find very hard to rate. It's not good. But it's far from the worst. I doubt I'll ever really see anything worse than Godzilla's Revenge in this franchise. But for what this movie was...it wasn't a bad monster film. In fact, it can be a lot of fun...as a monster movie. If it had any other title, I'd be tempted to rate it a strong three stars out of four. But the title holds it back. When you call your movie Godzilla, there will be expectations. Expectations this movie failed to meet. And so while not the worst, I cannot rate it higher than a two out of four stars. It's...average. Maybe even slightly below it. But not nearly enough to annoy me in ways other Godzilla films have. I actually kinda commend this film in a lot of ways. It gave us a good monster  even if it is the butt of everyone's jokes in the Godzilla fandom. But plain and simple, this movie isn't worthy of the title it bears and doesn't earn it. It's a damn shame because if this were to be renamed...Beast from 10,000 Fathoms...it would have faired so much better. It follows that movie much more faithfully than Godzilla. But it doesn't have that title...and therefore suffers.

Well there you go...I hope I've made my criticisms of Shin Gojira a bit clearer to those who disagree. Though I know deep down a lot of you probably won't get it still. Toho isn't perfection to me and never will be. They'll make mistakes as any other movie company will. I certainly hope their future Godzilla projects will be better, but if you'll remember right...I said that at times, this movie had more going for it than Shin Gojira. I know, how dare I. I'm sure that angered a lot of the fanboys but what can you do? They keep the fandoms alive, and they aren't going anywhere. I can admire the passion many of you have for Godzilla, and tip my hat to you...I just hope I can make my stance on things clearer in the future and whatnot.

Please feel free to suggest any movies you'd like for me to review. Leave a comment down below explaining what you thought of this movie, and as always...thanks for reading.

Final Verdict: 2/4

REVIEW: Godzilla Resurgence (Shin Godzilla)

Oh for the love of God...

I'm not gonna lie, I went into the theater very nervous for this one. Not only has Autumn been a very disappointing season so far for me involving movies, but each and every trailer I've seen for this film has not impressed me. Hell, I still have no idea what this movie is about or what happens since the only trailers I've seen have zero dialogue whatsoever. And I KNOW that if I didn't like this film, the fandom would tear me a new one, because apparently, Toho Godzilla is perfection to about 90% of the fanbase. It is the devil. And I'm a pretty big Godzilla fan. I own most the films, I've devoted a lot of time and energy to the big guy, even in his worst moments. Even in my adult mind, I enjoy him. But I can't help but criticize this just a bit for how Toho has handled this film. Allow me to explain...

In 2014, I absolutely loved our reboot of the big guy. Despite its flaws, I walked out of the theater with a smile on my face, and satisfaction. It was a great film to me which did justice Godzilla both in name and spirit. Was it different? Yeah. But I'm open to different. I pay practically no attention to fans who just trash it or complain about it just because it's different or doesn't have a lot of action. It's a favorite. But when Toho inevitably came back into the Godzilla scene after a decade of retirement, despite praising it, they kinda just did this 180 on the film which rubbed me the wrong way and said they "wouldn't bow to Hollywood" or something along those lines. I kinda have a sour taste in my mouth after that because it gives me this idea that Toho is full of itself. I'm sorry, I'm not trying to sound like I believe Hollywood is perfect, but back off, Toho. This film has now been in theaters in Japan for a few months with some hailing it as a masterpiece. Big words. I have some bad news for each and every Godzilla fan. There is no such thing as a Godzilla Masterpiece. There never was one, and there never will be. Not even the original. It can enter discussions, due to the cultural impact it had on a post WWII Japan, but despite helping pave the way to other giant monster films alongside other great films like Them!, or Beast from 10,000 Fathoms, it has overacting, and some absolutely forgettable story arcs, and characters. For the time it was impressive and still a great watch today. But if you were to tell me it was the best film from Japan in 1954, you'd be sorely mistaken. Seven Samurai rightfully won that award for a reason. And the sequels? The countless sequels? They're fun. But a lot of them, and I mean a LOT of them are junk. In some ways, Godzilla is more guilty than the films of Transformers for trying to make a quick buck for your want of mayhem and destruction. Pick any random Godzilla sequel, and tell me five major events that happen in that movie. Like elements important to the overall story. It's harder than you realize because there are times I think Toho honestly doesn't care about Godzilla in story anymore. So when I see them going about this movie, and Japanese critics praising it as it they are, they're only raising my bar higher and higher. Well...it's finally here in America. It has a mediocre name...partly because I'm still somewhat angry that Independence Day Resurgence was as dull as it was, but it's here. And I'm watching it. 

Is it good???

No! Don't believe the hype. Because I don't think a Godzilla film has ever been so incredibly....BORING! Goddammit Toho, what have you done?!

I'm not kidding. I'm willing to bet that over 75% of this film revolves around Japanese politicians sitting around tables...talking. Seriously?! This is the "masterpiece" we were supposed to get? THIS-

Okay, let me calm myself. Despite what you might think, the movie doesn't do everything wrong, there is some very decent stuff here, and some really cool concepts. And I'm not gonna lie, some of the camerawork is absolutely gorgeous. But that is literally all I can say for this film. As the movie kept rolling, I was just compiling a list of things that weren't working, and that list kept growing, and growing, and growing. The monster, atrocious. The characters, forgettable.  The story, nonexistent. I hate saying this, but I'm wondering if this is one of the worst Godzilla films I've ever seen. You can say what you want about 2014's film, but it at least knew how to keep the story rolling. If I want to be brutally honest? Godzilla Resurgence should probably be named Japanese Godzilla Politics. Because that's what this movie is. 

It needs to be said that continuity will be as confusing as ever, because this movie once again wipes the slate of Godzilla films clean.  Only in this case...not even the original movie happened.  You heard right, 1954's film never took place. I'd have been open to this if the origin story of this Godzilla wasn't so completely botched up. Here...Godzilla isn't a dinosaur in origin.  He's some mutated lungfish. I'm not joking, that's the exact word they compared him to, and with his very silly introduction scene where he kinda just slithers around in some of the most ridiculous ways I can picture. He's a creature or lungfish that fed off radioactive waste at the bottom of the ocean...so nuclear testing is now out of the picture, and he rapidly evolves in the to become one of the goofiest incarnations of the creature I've ever seen.  Seriously, I hated it before I saw the film, and I hate it still.  The design of this Godzilla very rarely appears intimidating, and it doesn't help that its mouth almost never closes in the entire movie, giving off this strange goofy smile. Credit again where credit is due, there are indeed some camera shots and angles that are stunning. One of my favorite shots involved a camera inside a moving train, looking up at Godzilla as he tromped around Tokyo. And though a LOT of the CGI seems out of place, there are times that it looks brilliant, and shows how Japan is beginning to embrace it to enhance their filmmaking. But that isn't enough here. Godzilla barely does a thing in this movie. There are times he just idly stands around while all the military unleashed their might against him. And it needs to be said that despite my love of Godzilla being this unkillable walking god of destruction, they went over the top with his power levels here.  Not only does he fire his atomic breath from his mouth here, he shoots it all over the damn place ifrom his back, and even from his tail,  at times lighting up the screen like I'm at some dance rave. Was this really necessary? It looks....dumb honestly. But I will say that when he first unleashes his atomic breath, it is a sight to behold, almost perfectly symbolizing the powers of the atomic bomb.  

So Godzilla failed to make much of an impression.  Strike one. What about the setting? Well the camerawork over Tokyo is great, but again, over 75% of this movie revolves around politicians sitting around tables talking about what's going on, and about how the world is reacting and whatnot. And it gets old real fast. If you thought them cutting away from the action in Godzilla (2014) was bad, just wait until you see this film, in which they'll show a few seconds of something happening with the monster, before returning to the tables for another fifteen minutes. Dialogue in this movie is repeated countless times as people confirm orders, and take dramatic pauses in how they'll be looked at in history for what they decide to do. Movie...I have three words for you here.  NO ONE CARES. This is a Godzilla movie! Not the Presidential Debate! I'm not trying to trash talk Japanese policy or whatnot, but I don't watch Godzilla for this! When I watch Godzilla rampaging through Tokyo, I know the city is being evacuated, and I know the military is organizing the counteroffensive. I don't need or want to see the Japanese Prime Minister issuing countless orders to evacuate residential areas. That shouldn't be the focus. And I most certainly do not care or want to see him complaining about soggy noodles. Yeah that happens. The characters of this movie are beyond forgettable. I barely remember anyone's name. I remember a lot of silly complaining, a lot of jabs at America being the country that wants to just blow everything to hell without a second thought, and that's about it. The story here is literally about Godzilla attacking a city. There's no other monster.  They were trying to remake Godzilla 1954. Only not nearly as memorable, and without the impactful message of carelessness of nuclear weaponry. Instead, Godzilla is just kinda branded a god, and that mankind will just have to live with him. 

The music of this film is absolutely forgettable. In some places, it doesn't fit the scene at all. THe first time we see Godzilla charging up his atomic breath...which they call fire in this movie by the way, the music being played is this heavenly sounding song. There are times that the music goes into this intense electric guitar driven song as if to try and show that the final effort is being planned, when in all honesty, it's just more talking. And as if to try and call back to the original, it sounds that some of the movie and sound effects were ripped straight off the director's DVD copy of the original movie, as if to try and give off a little nostalgia. Unfortunately, it just kinda stands out awkwardly. 

...

I'm actually kinda at a loss for words right now, because I wanted to like this movie, I really did.  Godzilla is a huge piece of my childhood, but this film took so many steps backward.  For me to be told by Japanese media that this is a masterpiece? How? I'll admit that some of the politics had my attention.  There is a lot of references to post WWII Japan military restrictions, and the United States DOES have to help Japan out in this movie, but these moments of interest, and action are so few and far between, that it's hard to give this movie much credit. Godzilla has always been an icon for children in more ways than one, while also bring this giant metaphor for nuclear destruction, and nature in all her fury.  There's something for everyone in this franchise, but a lot of people introduced to the big guy, are of younger ages. If I were to show this film to a child, I doubt they'd make it ten minutes. The focus of this film was a complete mess, and so I will stand by my stance.  This movie is bad. It's really bad. Is it one of the worst? I don't know yet, but you won't find me giving it a second watch any time soon.  When I can tell you more about what happened in Godzilla's Revenge?  You know that you have a problem. Fuck this movie.

Godzilla Resurgence earns a one and a half star rating out of four, and that's me being generous. While certain concepts work to the film's advantage, and while some of the camerawork and action can be great to look at, the fact that the rest of this movie seems so nonexistent really takes a toll. Now the fact remains that I may not have enjoyed this, simply because I don't understand Japanese politics.  Maybe this is a Godzilla film for Japan mainly...butI can't excuse it for that if that is indeed the case.  It failed to keep my attention.  It failed to convince me the stretch my believability, and it failed to entertain me in ways other Godzilla films have.  Even Godzilla 1998 had more going for it. I am happy to see Toho back after 12 years of no Godzilla from them. But to see this from them as their return? It doesn't work.  And the fact that they're hinting at a sequel?  I'm not on board.  Toho, if you want to do more...you need to drop this movie like a dozen eggs, and really think as to what makes Godzilla so very fun to begin with...

Please feel free to suggest any movies you'd like me to review down below.  Leave a comment of what you yourself thought of this film.  If you're in the Godzilla fanbase...go easy on me with the hate. Please. And as always, thanks for reading.

Final Verdict: 1.5/4

GAME REVIEW: Star Trek Online

Space...the final frontier. These are the words every Star Trek fan knows by heart. And if you don't, that means you're lying. It didn't take me long to gain a small liking to this franchise, and though it took a while, it has become one of my favorite science fiction franchises of all time. From the series, to the films, to books, to comics, to board games, to ship models, I can proudly say I have a little bit of everything. However, being the big gamer that I am, for the longest time, I'd never owned a Star Trek video game. And honestly, that was for good reason. That's because a lot of the Star Trek video games...well...kinda suck. Like the recent 2013 game simply entitled "Star Trek" Which was based on the reboot franchise. Much love to that series, but that game was pretty bad. That's not to say that all Star Trek games are bad, I remember the Voyager arcade game that dominated most movie theater lobbies in the 90's, and I've been recommended games like Bridge Commander or Armada. Both of which I want to try, but lack the PC to do so. And for the longest time, the game we're going to be talking about was unavailable to me, despite how much I wanted to try it. But finally, it was released as a free to play on Xbox and Playstation, so of course I jumped on it. I was ready to explore strange new worlds, to seek out new life and new civilizations, and to boldly go where no one has gone before.

...And about fifteen minutes into the game I could list about fifteen things that would make this game insanely better. That's not to say the game is terrible. Far from it.  But the overall gameplay at times can be underwhelming, linear, and far from Trek-like. And thus we do have yet to get that perfect Star Trek game, but it does need to be said that the blueprints for that perfect Star Trek game are here. It gets a lot right, but completely misses out on other things. The result can be a kind of frustrating mixed bag that still has its fun elements.

The first thing that immediately comes to mind that I love about this game is the setting. Unlike a good majority of fans, who prefer the Kirk era of Star Trek, I'm very much a guy who prefers later 24th Century Trek. I like Picard, Sisko, and Janeway. And I much prefer that era. Seeing this game go beyond the 24th Century, into the first decade of the 25th Century is a much welcome move for me. I was ready to see how the Romulan Empire dealt with the tragic destruction of Romulus, I was ready to see how the Federation and the rest of the galaxy was recovering from the devastating Dominion War, I was ready to see what kind of new threats perhaps awaited us in the stars. Unfortunetaly, very little of this comes to be. In fact, you quickly realize the marketing ploy behind this when you get a rather disappointing explanation as to what exactly is going on. The diplomatic relations between the Federation and Klingon Empire has fallen apart, and they're at war. I'd have been open to this, but the way they present it feels so very forced. All I can seem to gather is that some Klingon Ambassador felt that the Empire wasn't itself unless it was at war. I'm not joking, this seems to be the only motive.  I highly doubt that the long-time relations between the Federation and Klingon Empire, which has had close calls before but has also been through thick and thin would go to war for such a simple reason. And if that wasn't enough, you also get to fight Romulans who want revenge for the loss of their homeworld, the Borg who are returning because...reasons, and the Dominion, which is building up its forces yet again. Do you see what I mean by marketing ploy? Instead of giving us anything new really, we're back to fighting pretty much each and every famous antagonist the Federation ever faced. There's no explanation of how the Dominion built up its forces, despite being completely dominated in the last stages of the war, there's no explanation of why the Borg are suddenly a threat again, despite being crippled in Voyager...it feels more like a gimmick.

You start this game off creating your ship captain using a rather disappointing character creator. While you're given plenty of options, the graphics of this game are nothing to marvel at and it's very hard to give your character a perfect look (for a 2010 game, it could look better). Features can stick out in all the wrong ways. For example, the beard my character sports really doesn't look like its a part of him at all. What disappointments there are in creating your character however are near completely forgotten when you get to customize your ship. Acquiring, customizing, and flying your ship is where this game really shines. While it needs to be said that certain classes of ships are rather hard to come by (more on this later), each ship you get can be customized in so many ways, and the graphics of the ships look absolutely gorgeous. And despite many classes of ships you can use being rather...outdated if you ask me (I have a feeling that in the 25th Century, the NX ships, Miranda Class, Constitution Class, and Excelsior class despite my love of this class would no longer be produced), you're given a decent amount of options to create the ship you want, in look, and performance. You'll start out with a Miranda class (if you go with the Federation), then as you level your character up, you'll unlock other ships, from smaller yet powerful escort ships, to the iconic cruisers, to science vessels. There is plenty of variety to choose from. You can rename your ships, select their bridge crew from personnel who give your ship different abilities, and this has become the main driving force of the game for me. I want to unlock more ships. And pilot them. And I find it very fun to come across other players, and to examine their ships. I love seeing what other Trekkies like myself have named their ships. But of course, you do have the other players, who obviously know nothing about Star Trek, or just don't care about the immersion factor. That's nothing against the game, it's just something I find silly to be warping through the depths of space, only to come across a ship known as the "USS Destroyer 420" or the "USS enterprice". Or to come upon a ship that's a member of "Fleet 69". Classy.  Straight from the numerous lore archives of Memory Alpha itself.

Unfortunately certain ships you might wanna acquire are completely locked off. One ship I've yet to be able to acquire because I'm not a high enough level yet, is the Vesta Class starship, and even if I was at a high enough level, I doubt I'd be able to get it because to my understanding, the only way to acquire it is to buy Zen points with your own money. It needs to be said that microtransactions make their appearance in this game. They unlock certain ships, cosmetics of certain ships, bridge officers, clothing, you name it, they're in a lot of places, and what's really kinda angering is that most of the more powerful ships are locked behind these transactions. You can unlock the games signature Odyssey Class ship, but an even more powerful version of it is available for money. And these ships can run you up to twenty-five dollars or more! For one single ship! This is a bit of a slap in the face to me, but for a free to play MMORPG, my guess is they gotta pay their bills somehow. And I am thankful that they don't shove these microtranaactions in your face as other games do. So I kinda see this as a necessary evil in a way. Even if a bit dickish.

The story of this game is at times, incredibly linear. One thing I found incredibly hopeful at first only to be disappointed, was that you start off as an ensign, straight from the academy.  This I like! I thought it would be cool to work your way up through the ranks to eventually gain command of the ship, but alas, this wasn't meant to be as the first mission has it. Your commanding officer is killed right off the bat and you pretty much gain your ship right then and there. I think it would have been pretty cool to work your way up, rather than just gain commanding status right away. Right off the bat, I found myself not really enjoying the ground missions. The planets you beam down to really aren't that open, the enemies you face aren't overly challenging, and the environments can be rather bland and dull. A lot of these mission maps serve as nothing more than for you to go from point A to point B.  And you're not given a whole lot of options in solving a mission. There is no take suggestions from your fellow bridge members option, or attempt a solution yourself, it is one bridge officer or you have the solution at the ready, go execute said solution, and kill whoever stands in your way.  Again.  Very much like the lore of the franchise. This is where the game could have shone as a testament to what a true Star Trek game could have been like.  While I understand that Starfleet holds to high moral codes, why is the dialogue system of this game so very...scripted? You're not given a whole lot of options.  And even when the dialogue system does have multiple options, you'll always have a green highlighted option which will progress your mission forward.  There is no right or wrong answer.  You cannot develop a personality with your captain, it's been written for you.  In other words, if I wanted to break immersion, and be just a complete jerk of a captain, I can't do that.  I cannot in any way affect the diplomacy of this game, and Star Trek is practically centered on diplomacy. And while certain solutions can come up that are unique to your character's class (Tactical, Engineering, or Science), these so very rarely come up, that I can't help but wonder why they bothered including them in the first place. More work here could have been done to make this a more variable game, perhaps with an added element of cause and effect.  Perhaps a wrong decision has a very negative impact on your mission? Or even relations with other factions? See where I'm going with this? Diplomacy in this manner might actually make for a very strong Star Trek game, rather than the shoot 'em up game we ended up with.

Gameplay on the ground is also rather stiff.  I almost never aim down the sights because the aim is so very werky-jerky, and constantly locks onto members of my own team, and I have no easy way of switching to enemy targets. At times, it even switches when I don't want it to or tell it to. The weapons that you can have are pretty fun and varied. And capable of doing different effects. You don't really have to worry too much about aiming as a lot of these kinda just hit your target, but this isn't so much a complaint from me, because headshots and whatnot really don't matter too much in this game, and I actually like this aspect as it keeps very much to the Star Trek spirit.  It's cool to know that your high intensity weapon can be just as deadly on the body as a head shot in your average Call of Duty game. While ground combat and gameplay can be disappointing, it is all forgotten when you're piloting your ship and engaging in ship to ship combat, because this is again, one of the coolest aspects of the game. Like ground combat, you don't have to worry too much about aiming, but this is again, very much in the Trek spirit.  And you can still work to avoid the attacks of your enemies, and are very much focused on ways to deplete the shields of your enemies, whilst unleashing your full payload of photon torpedoes on your enemies. This is yet another aspect of the game that keeps me playing.  I'm not confident enough to try and challenge other ships, but it needs to be said that when you're engaged in battles in which the ships are neck and neck and tearing each other up, it can be satisfying to walk away victorious.

Some Trekkies will appreciate the amount of nostalgia that is in this game.  Many levels of this game come straight from elements or actual plots of other episodes. For me personally, this can get a bit confusing, or at times a little...too safe.  I don't like spoiling things, but the very last level of the Klingon War story arc, you get to fight a planet killer. If you don't know what a planet killer is, it's an enemy from one of my favorite episodes of the Original Series, "The Doomsday Machine". I wouldn't mind this too much as fighting this mechanical horror is fun in a nostalgic way, but the take a lot of elements straight from the episode it's based off of. An ally you have in this straight up rams a shuttlecraft down the killer's maw and reveals to the player that the open maw is its weakness. Another example includes an altered timeline because the Enterprise-C was taken from its original timeline. You know...like the episode "Yesterday's Enterprise" of The Next Generation, which features the same ship and plot. While each of these missions have their own take to the story, it cane be a bit of a head scratcher to me.  Why just base missions off famous episodes of the franchise, instead of create something new? Because a lot of the original missions they have seem so very basic and not too rewarding. While I enjoy playing through these missions, and uncovering lore and background of this universe, a lot of it can be rather bland. But it does need to be said that there are a lot of very fun missions that aren't just based off episodes of the franchise.  One of my favorite episodes revolved around my ship going back in time to stop a Klingon ship from destroying the original NCC-1701 Constitution Class USS Enterprise. This episode does kinda...well...feature the Guardian of Forever from the Original Series, but it does it in a very fun way.  Hearing Leonard Nimoy's voice (he did do some voiceover work for this) as Spock, thanking my ship for the assistance made me smile. And later on when I'm confronting the Klingon who tried to destroy the Enterprise, they come back and assist me!  This is a geek's dream come true.

However, there are times I feel this game isn't quite as polished as it should be. I've run into numerous bugs that while not entirely game-breaking, have been very annoying and frustrating.  I had the hardest time passing one particular mission because during one segment in which I had to destroy a comet, I had numerous Klingon Ships warp in to attack me. And though I could engage them, after I'd destroy one, my weapons would just straight up refuse to fire. This wasn't anything like a weapons deactivation ability, my weapons didn't even have the option to fire. I'd get destroyed, respawn, I'd be able to fire, I'd destroy one Klingon ship, and then the bug would come right back.  This was beyond frustrating. Eventually I had it so that I destroyed the comet before engaging any other Klingon ships and this worked.  I haven't experienced a bug like that since, but you'll notice them in the game more often than not.  I've also been frustrated when a certain action box or dialogue box will come up, and then shortly afterward, ANOTHER one will come up in front of it or behind it. And there's no way to exit out of some of these boxes. Sometimes you actually have to control your dialogue options of the box that's behind the other box.  There's gotta be an easy fix for this...come on Arc. I also find it kinda silly that there is no ship collision damage. While we know better than to run directly into an asteroid while flying a ship, if you were to do it, there's no consequence.  You'll just kinda harmlessly bounce off it in an awkward way, or even at times, ghost right through it. Maybe Starfleet perfected the Phase-cloaking? The same goes for other ships and planets. You cannot die by crashing your ship into anything which is in a way kinda understandable, but I feel some sort of consequence should have been added here. Another thing I need to mention is that the overall gameplay of your ships and whatnot isn't exactly explained the best.  It took me at least ten to fifteen missions to realize that Bridge officers provided the numerous abilities for your ships, and even then I didn't know how to equip the ship with bridge officers.  And I can't say I'm an expert there because I'm still learning how to recruit additional bridge officers and whatnot.  I'm a Commander, level 29, and only have one additional bridge officer from recruitment. I'm unsure if this is the way it's meant to be or if I'm just missing something.  

All in all, the blueprints for a good Star Trek game are here, and in some ways, the elements in this game are very well done.  But as fun and satisfying as it can be, some things do just hold it back.  I won't penalize it too much as it is free-to-play, and for the amount of game we're given, it can be quite impressive despite a few frustrations in learning, but once you pick it up, it can be a real treat, especially if you're into Star Trek as I am. Yeah the story doesn't really feel very much like a Trek type of story, but for what we have right now, there are a lot of things I have found fascinating in the game's lore, and overall story.  It does hold to the spirit of discovery, even if you're not exactly out exploring the unknown, more than you are just fighting your enemies.  The music, is nothing too special, but the opening theme I gotta say is pretty cool. And it does need to be said that there are times you will go off the path of your normal missions just to go and explore, and you will find things to do, that will keep you entertained, or come across just little things like a memorial where Romulus once was that make exploring a bit encouraged.  It's not the perfect Star Trek game, but it's a really good first step to getting that perfect game we will one day have...hopefully.

I'm giving Star Trek Online a solid seven out of ten.  If you're on the console Xbox One or Playstation 4, and have been wanting to try this game, we've final been given the opportunity, For a free to play game, I'm happy for the most part with what we got.  Feel free to voice your opinions down below, and as always, thanks for reading.

Final Verdict: 7/10