Recently watched movies!

[klen7]

[MekaGojira3k]

[klen7]

That would explain all the ectoplasm...

[jellydonut25]

Spider-Man 2 is one of my "favorite" Spider-Man movies by default...Amazing 2 and Spider-Man 3 are THAT bad and Amazing 1 really needed a better follow-up to be decent.

[Dr Kain]

The world is ending, I am in agreement with both of you. I highly enjoy the movie a lot, but I do not think it is the be all end all super hero movie others do. Kirsten Dunst is the worst thing to happen to the movie, but I also don't like how Doc Ock was a tragic man being controlled by machines and that Peter's powers could just turn off because he wanted them to turn off.

[lhb412]

Scrooge (1970)

Have to watch this one every holiday season. It's one of the most pleasantly Christmasy movies I've ever seen.

[Dr Kain]

Christmas Story - Great and fun movie all around. I never get sick of it. 8/10 stars.

[Dr Kain]

The Hobbit This Did Not Need to be 3 Movies - The third installment of the Hobbit movies is one that brings a lot of great moments to the table, but it also adds a lot of negatives to the fray. This movie did not need to exist at all as there was so much left to be desired when it came to Smaug. His plot was just done in the first 10 minutes of the movie, which made it utterly pointless to even have his story continue here. They should have just ended it in the last movie. Also, most of the subplots that were made up for the movies have absolutely no pay off whatsoever, also making them nothing more but time padding. As always, Legolas has his character shields up to full capacity as he is still perfect in every way, making him the most frustrating character here, especially when he does not even belong in this story. The battle drags on for way too long and seems poorly edited at times. On the other hand, the music, sound effects, and cinematography were as fantastic as always. The dwarves remain bland and uninteresting as there is nothing to distinguish one from another, making them for some very boring characters with once again, little payoff. In fact, Saruman, Galadriel, and Elrond easily steal the show away from every other character and they are only on screen for maybe five minutes. Bilbo is great as always, but the only reason you want to see this character's adventure is to see how he gets to the Lord of the Rings trilogy. Overall, the movie gets a 6/10 stars. There are two amazing movies to be found in what is currently three okay to good movies. It is a shame Jackson and WB let the dragon's sickness get to them and turned it into three over blown, underwhelming movies.

[Hybrid Gojira]

I watched GvsMGII tonight for the first time in a long time. There are some things I like about it, but most of it is mixed. Kawakita did a fine job adding some physical brawls in this movie. Godzilla and Rodan's first battle is very well done probably the best fight in the film. I also hate the Rodan design - the prop is poorly executed and can't touch any of the Showa Rodans. This is also my least favorite MechaGodzilla - he's kind of dull despite having some cool attacks. The new Godzilla suit is mostly the same, but the reduced spike size from the previous suits kinda bugs me. I think it takes away from the power of the Heisei look. Ikfukube's score, though it has many recycled themes, is awesome. The MG theme absolutely rocks.

The story concept is fine, but the magical fern music is kinda irritating and the flying Pteranodon drone is really stupid. Some of the matte shots are pretty solid; some are downright awful. There are few characters in the movie that are truly interesting, and honestly I have always HATED the idea of Godzilla having offspring. Minya is lame (despite Son of Godzilla being a great film) and I feel the same way here about Baby G. I like Godzilla being a one-of-a-kind monster.

Meh. I guess I'm indifferent towards the film. I like some parts and truly dislike others.

[Psycho Soldier]

I consider it my second or third favourite Heisei movie - well behind Biollante, but somewhat in contention with G85. I guess if I have anything new to say about it, it's that I've apparently come to like all the Mechagodzillas equally, Heisei MG's snout notwithstanding.

[Dr Kain]

I really don't understand the hate for the Rodan design. I think he looks great and they got rid of that giraffe neck. I love the Showa design, but the neck made him look ridiculous at times.

[jellydonut25]

[klen7]

You might need to revisit some Rodan designs Jelly-D...

[Dr Kain]

[Hybrid Gojira]

Godzilla vs. Space Godzilla -

I remember when I first saw this movie. I literally started to doze off.

After just rewatching it, somehow I enjoyed far more than ever. Don't get me wrong - the movie has some terrible ideas that literally go nowhere and it's not really a good Godzilla film....but there is just enough for me to like.

The Bad:

Little Godzilla- Just stop. Godzilla doesn't need offspring.

The asteroid scene - Whyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy

The idea that Godzilla can't knock over the tower without Moguera's help - what a dumb idea. Godzilla may have needed Mog to distract SG so he could get close, but it's pretty absurd to me he couldn't push over the tower like he does every other building in the entire Godzilla series.

Project T - Toho must have run out of ideas. The subplot goes nowhere and you could easily cut the entire thing out and not miss a beat...and shorten the film by at least 10-15 minutes. The mafia tie and the rescue of Miki is just....awful.

The love subplot - Koji and Miki are just awkward. "Stop trying to kill Godzilla...and here's my number."

Blood Coagulant - Nope. Nope. Nope. Dumb.

The Score - It's not so much that the score is bad as much as it simply doesn't really fit a Godzilla film. The music is rich and upbeat...sometimes it sounds too "nice" and makes me want to sleep.

Space Godzilla's Roar - Toho must have been really lazy, because most of the new kaiju in the Heisei films have terrible roars and many of them are rehashed (Battra is Rodan; Space Godzilla has a reworked Gigan shriek). There is little to no originally to these roars. Space Godzilla looks so menacing and I wanted him to sound different that Gigan.

The Story - There are some bare bones ideas here that could really work, but most of it falls flat. It's a shame, because Space Godzilla could have been truly epic.

Miki - Does she really...do anything in these movies? I mean, if we cut her out, would I suddenly feel like I'm missing something? Maybe that's too harsh, but I really feel like Toho was looking for a way to connect a human to Godzilla...and while they have a few moments that work, I often find myself wondering how necessary it was.

Yuki, after seeing Space Godzilla thump Godzilla on the Island - "I really want to kill Godzilla..but not today. Maybe later, after he's stomped across Japan and killed thousands of people. Maybe I'll do it then. :shrug:"

The Good:

I dig the Godzilla and Space Godzilla suits, especially the design of SG. Moguera is actually kinda cool.

The Matte shots: There are some glorious mattes in this film. Well done, Kawakita.

Yeah, I guess that's really it. I mean, I did enjoy the final fight for what it was.

[Dr Kain]

We did a Zemeckis double feature today with both The Polar Express and A Christmas Carol. I love both of them, but PE could use about 10 minutes of its run time shaved off. Nevertheless, I give PE a 7/10 and ACC a 9/10.

Batman Returns - The Alamo Drafthouse was showing this tonight in 35mm so we went to it. I've never hated this movie, as it is a good Tim Burton movie that features Batman, but as a Batman movie, it sucks. It just takes way too many liberties with the characters for my liking be it Penguin being more Killer Croc than Penguin, Bruce Wayne sitting around at home until the Bat Signal goes off, Bruce stupidly ripping off his cowl, etc. The movie actually would have been so much stronger had it just been Max in charge of the Circus Gang and Catwoman being the main rogue instead of her and Penguin. Lastly, the music in this movie is absolutely amazing. Overall, I give it a 7/10 stars.

[Hybrid Gojira]

I've been on a Heisei kick. I've managed to watch every Heisei film in about a month or so.

Tonight, I watched GvsDes.

I've said it before in this thread - there are so many cool ideas in this film. Introducing characters who directly relate to the original Gojira's cast (and even having a cameo by Momoko Kochi, who played Emiko Yamane) is a nice touch. Creating a monster from the Oxygen Destroyer that killed the original Godzilla and then using it as the main antagonist in the final Heisei Godzilla film is brilliant. It brings everything full circle and certainly adds an overwhelming sense of closure to the series. Killing off Junior? Awesome, saddening, and such a good idea for the film (especially considering the ending). The scene where Godzilla tries to revive Junior is rather touching, and throughout the last part of the film I really felt Satsuma delivered an excellent performance as Godzilla. You can see G's pain and anger, and you're rooting for him to obliterate Destoroyah at the climax (well, I would anyway, but his killing of Junior certainly adds to the fire). I've never liked the idea of Godzilla having offspring, but at least Junior isn't bad in this film. His connection with Miki and Godzilla hits you in "the feels" so to speak, and for once I wasn't against the idea of Godzilla's "kid" being in the movie.

It's impossible to talk about this film without mentioning the ending - Godzilla dies, and it's truly sad. I admit I teared up this time. The older I get, the more sentimental I have become (I suppose being a new father of a 9 month old will do that to you). While I didn't love portions of Ikfukube's score, the majority was spot on and the ending theme was probably the perfect theme to set Godzilla's final moments to. Of course, we know that the end is the new beginning - as one Godzilla dies another is reborn. All of these ideas really work together, and I really enjoyed this movie much more than in previous viewings.

However, this film is far from perfect. The "Bandai Destoroyah" scenes are nauseatingly bad. The blatant Aliens rip off scenes are pathetic. Godzilla Junior on wheels (as he's interacting with Godzilla at the Airport) is very noticeable. The matte shots go from pretty good to really lazy - Tokyo is supposed to be evacuated, but there is traffic everywhere as Godzilla approaches. As much as I LOVE Destoroyah's design, the suit is so bulky that it made the close combat sequences difficult. And while I didn't hate his roar, I really wish Toho could have been more creative with it. The Showa era roars always had a flair to them and were very unique. The Heisei era, at least for the most part, lacked this ingenuity and rehashed several Showa era monster cries.

I do think the story in this film has a strong foundation, but Jelly's critique earlier in the GvsDes thread was accurate - a student who flunked out of college is now the smartest guy in G Force. That premise isn't great, but throughout the film he's the only guy offering any solutions and answering questions. It's also true that his interest in Miki (and the reason he decides to join G Force in the first place) is basically forgotten immediately after he joins the team. No flirting, no real sense of grief when her helicopter goes missing, nothing. Miki is far more interested in Jr and Godzilla than she is anything else - at least she remains true to character in this film when they use the little guy as bait to lure Godzilla into the city so he can fight Des by reluctantly agreeing to the plan. They also introduce a new psychic, though I'm not sure it was necessary. This was Miki's show since Biollante - they should have let it end that way.

Overall, I think this film is probably better than I gave it credit for previously. While the charm of the early Showa films isn't there, the emotional weight certainly is. I can overlook a lot of the bad in this movie because there are enough good moments to make it worth watching. I'd say this film is probably the second or third best Heisei era film behind Biollante (and maybe G84). It certainly handles Godzilla's death with more feeling than GvsMGII did and I enjoyed the fight sequences much more.

[jellydonut25]

[Dr Kain]

[MekaGojira3k]

Battle of the Five Armies - I don't know man. I enjoyed An Unexpected Journey, and while I had issue with Desolation of Smaug I dug that, too. Not so with this one. Bleah. It's not awful, but I don't really care for it.

[lhb412]

[lhb412]

Gamera: Guardian of the Universe

Man, I watched ADV's dubbed version so many times as a kid that I still hear those voices throughout the film.

Also: it's fun to watch Gyaos explode in slow motion.

[jellydonut25]

[Hybrid Gojira]

[Dr Kain]

Definitely can't agree there as I think Biollante is better than all of the Showa movies sans the original (which I consider to be a stand alone). Mothra vs Godzilla is the only one I would put above the other Heisei movies.

I will agree with you Jelly that the execution of the flying monsters did suck in the Heisei era. However, that doesn't mean I have to hate the designs. I love the Rodan and Battra designs. I really like the Mothra design to, but I find her wings to be a tad smaller than they should be.