Recently watched movies!

[lhb412]

Gamera the Brave

I could kick myself for waiting six or some odd years to actually watch this movie. After the much beloved '90s trilogy a return to the 'friend of children' version of the character went over like a lead balloon. Even the positive notices were lukewarm - but this was certainly a case of popular opinion being totally off base. Gamera the Brave is one of the most unique and interesting kaiju films made in my lifetime, and a worthy successor to Kaneko and Co.'s lauded reboot. I was really shocked to learn that the director has pretty much just done Sentai and Kamen Rider work in his career, as this film made me think this was a guy who did family dramas and coming of age movies! Dude's got range.

... and this is, like, the first movie where they looked at actual turtles for design elements. I especially love the design of the old Gamera you see in the beginning. He has those spikes on his arms that real turtles often have on their front legs and it looks cool!

[Dr Kain]

I hate Gamera the Brave with a passion. The Showa movies had an excuse to be child friendly crap. This movie did not and the worst part is Gamera ugly design. The only good scene of the movie is when Zedos eats people, but that is something that has already been present even in the childish ones. The Brave is to the Gamera series what the 90s were to the Godzilla series. But, that is a review for another time.

[lhb412]

^Childish? I thought the kids were all great actors, and well written. It was a smart kids movie, and more of a coming-of-age tale than in the Showa films, where the kids don't grow or change over the course of the story.

And Zedus is a great villain monster. It's a testament to the Gamera movies how every new kaiju they've introduced in the modern era has been a real creative success, while Godzilla really hasn't done the same with an original monster since Biollante.

... and another thing: love the news report early on where they describe how, 33 years after Gamera defeated Gyaos with no kaiju appearances since, they're finally disbanding the 'Giant Monster Council.' This is immediately followed by a story about mysterious ship disasters. That had me chuckle.

[klen7]

[Hybrid Gojira]

[Dr Kain]

See, I think GMK exceeds the Gamera movies. They were practice for Otani and Kaneko.

[lhb412]

I enjoy GMK, but I find it to be nowhere near as accomplished as the Gamera films.

[Benjamin Haines]

[Hybrid Gojira]

[jellydonut25]

[Dr Kain]

[Tom R VanSlambrouck]

Goosebumps- I decided to blind buy the 3D set which we finally got in and I really enjoyed it. I look forward to the sequel(s).

[klen7]

[Rody]

They also did Sea Monster, which was a fairly funny episode (not hilarious like Megalon, though). Both episodes can be found online easily if you can tolerate low quality video.

I just finished watching Chritopher Nolan's Memento(2000). I'll have to think about it for a while, since there was a lot to follow and take in, but that was a fascinating movie. The premise was expertly handled, and the plot had me guessing at every turn. It's a subdued sort of film, but it's no less suspenseful for it; and even the plot twist in the climax, while not totally unpredictable, is handled with enough detail and build-up that it completely pays off (I probably missed some bits, though). It's an intriguing, and frightening, character study overall. Christopher Nolan's filmography has not disappointed me yet.
A-


Oh, and I adore Gamera the Brave. The film stars children, but is not inherently childish the way many of the Showa films were. There's a certain melancholy maturity to the story, like a Spielberg or Miyazaki film, which really enhances the movie and makes it more accessible to adults as well as children. In my opinion, Gamera the Brave is pretty much the perfect giant monster film for families.

[lhb412]

[O.Supreme]

Astro Boy (2009) -I had only seen this film twice prior (once in the theater, and once on Netflix back when it was available). -I found the Blu Ray $8 bin at Wal-Mart and figured-why not-. The film still holds up. Still enjoyable. Still daring for a film marketed towards kids, showing the consequences of death, and how it can cause some people to actually go crazy. But still ultimately upbeat and inspirational despite having to come from a darker place to get there than most kids films. The one thing that was a little off-putting was the randomness of using some of the original Japanese names for Characters vs. Americanized names: (Dr. Tenma is from the original Japanese, Dr. Elefun is from the English version) etc...

Overall still a fun film. Both films that IMAGI managed to complete and release in the United States- TMNT (2007) and Astro Boy (2009) are among my favorites. I would gladly watch these over many of Pixar, or even DreamWorks releases, but I guess that's just me. I'm still saddened at the fact that IMAGI ceased operation before they were able to complete Gatchaman & Gigantor.

[Dr Kain]

Hail, Caesar - While I am not sure exactly what my final score is yet on this movie, it was a damn good one. There were scenes that did drag on a little to long, and I felt Scarlett Johanssen's subplot was pointless, but that aside, this was a really enjoyable movie. All of the actors did an excellent job in their roles and it had some spectacular social commentary on Hollywood in the same lines that Sunset Boulevard did in 1950. There isn't any action, so if you go in expecting that, you will be bored out of your mind. Nevertheless, it was a fun and enjoyable ride that is either a 7 or 8/10 to me.

[Dr Kain]

Never Say Never Again - Good god this movie is so damn booooooooooooooooring. Everyone phoned in their performances, the music does not even remotely fit with any of the action scenes, and remaking the movie version of Thunderball was stupid. They should have just did an exact adaptation of the book. Moonraker might be the worst of the true Bond franchise, but at least you can have fun with it. This pile of **** is so dull you can't do anything with it. A 2/10 stars and that 2 stars is only due to the scene with the "gyroscope bomb."

[Hybrid Gojira]

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets - Since we picked up the box set recently, I'm going through these films again and I'm surprised by how much I'm enjoying them. This was no exception. I never paid much attention when the movies first came out (at least the first half of them), so it's kind of like I'm seeing this for the first time in some respects. I'd say this is a 6.5 or 7 out of 10. I enjoyed it much more than I thought I would. I was also surprised by how well the effects have held up after 14 years.

[Rody]

I finally saw The Tale of Princess Kaguya today; I don't cry over movies, but this one almost got a few tears . Isao Takahata presented a beautiful, tender story about life & death told through the eyes of a girl forced into a world that only stifles her. The gentle, water-color-style art is wonderful to behold, and the characters are animated with exceptional finesse. The baby princess was so stinkin' adorable I almost shed tears over that alone.
Honestly, I probably don't appreciate the film fully because I have only a rudimentary understanding of Japanese culture & history; even so, I can't find anything truly wrong about the film either. Kaguya is a masterpiece, no ifs, ands, or buts.
Grade: A

You know, as much as I liked Big Hero 6, it did NOT deserve to win "best animated picture" when Kaguya and The Lego Movie were released the same year.

[lhb412]

^Lots of anecdotal evidence that many Academy members just vote for the one film they saw with there kids. We're not talking about a group, as a whole, that really takes animation seriously.

[Dr Kain]

Haven't seen Kaguya yet, but Big Hero 6 was better than Lego.

Anyway, I watched the first Captain America and this movie just gets better the more I watch it. I'm upping my original score of 7/10 to 8.

[klen7]

i actually watched Big Hero 6 yesterday (2nd time seeing it) - i remember thinking it was terribly overrated, so i tried to come at it with a fresh perspective. I liked the Baymax scenes before he goes into "hero" mode, especially the tape scene and the cat scene. After that it pretty much falters for me. Also it has possibly the worst Stan Lee cameo in the Marvelverse, where he talks about wearing dirty underwear inside out so he doesnt have to wash it.

[O.Supreme]

[XvGojira]

Well it seems like The Justice League: Gods and Monsters, the AU JL thing Bruce Timm did, is going to expanded upon. Apparently the first movie was actually the first season. I have yet to watch it so I can't say how well that fits. But according to , season two will be ten episodes.

But yeah I really dropped off picking up those movies after they started the New 52 stuff.

And I miss them doing shorts with less used characters. Those were fun and a good way for the team to experiment with different styles.