Smashbomb

Search

Search results

All (567)

Content

Louis Theroux’s Weird Weekends - Series 2

8.1 (16 Ratings) Rate It

TV Show

Documentaries by writer and presenter Louis Theroux which delve into the weirder fringes of American...

Awix (3310 KP) rated Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster (1964) in Movies

Feb 12, 2019

Archetypal Toho monster mash with exuberant men-in-suits wrestling and an all-over-the-place plot - Flying Saucer enthusiasts predict the apocalypse, a Himalayan princess survives an assassination attempt when she is possessed by the spirit of a Venusian (or Martian, depending on which version you watch), a mysterious meteorite hatches out Ghidorah the three-headed space dragon. Earth's fate depends on the ability of a caterpillar to persuade a nuclear dinosaur and a giant pterodactyl to work together.

Lots of fun if you enjoy this sort of thing, with many incidental pleasures - not least the startling shades-and-ruff outfit adopted by the chief villain at one point. Not quite as jokey in tone as King Kong Vs Godzilla, but still notably lighter than most of the previous films in the series - the various monsters are treated more as characters than before, too (there's a fairly lengthy conversation between Mothra, Rodan and Godzilla). Calling this the mid-60s Japanese version of The Avengers is probably stretching a point, but it's certainly one of the better early Godzilla movies; hopefully the forthcoming American take on these characters will be as much fun.

Kudos

Awix (3310 KP) rated Godzilla Raids Again (1955) in Movies

Jun 1, 2019 (Updated Jun 1, 2019)

Second Godzilla movie (and the last in black and white) hits on the idea that would sustain the franchise for decades to come (monster wrestling!) but doesn't quite perfect it. Two pilots in the fishing industry discover a second Godzilla has appeared, along with another monster, Angilas. With the secret of the weapon used to destroy the first Godzilla lost forever, it's thinking caps on for the government and armed forces...

The movie starts with pace and energy, even if it doesn't really have the intensity or powerful subtext of the original film. The city-flattening clash between Godzilla and Angilas comes relatively early on, though, and its impact is lessened somewhat by the fact it's arguably filmed at the wrong speed. After this comes a long and honestly dull soap opera subplot about the workers and management of a fishing company affected by Godzilla's attack, before we come to a protracted and quite laborious climax. Obviously of interest to fans of the series, but it really misses the presence of Ishiro Honda and Akira Ifukube as director and composer. Not a great or even particularly good film, but an important one in monster movie history.

Kudos

Awix (3310 KP) rated Glass (2019) in Movies

Jan 22, 2019 (Updated Jan 22, 2019)

Glass (2019)

2019 | Drama, Thriller

7.0

(72 Ratings)

Movie Rating Watch

More Than Half Empty

Long-awaited sequel to Unbreakable; also not-quite-so-long-awaited sequel to Split, as M Night Shyamalan's various superheroes and villains assemble in a nuthouse: roll-call includes Bruce Willis (special power: being, um, unbreakable), James McAvoy (special power: one of his multiple personalities is a bit of an animal), and Samuel L Jackson (special power: being older than his own mum - it's true, I checked Wikipedia).

Starts off very promisingly but soon collapses into a saggy and self-indulgent mess in the traditional Shyamalan style; many long-winded scenes and much mysto-babble. Another bravura performance from McAvoy, and Jackson (when he finally turns up) carves himself a thick slice of ham, but the consequence of this is that Bruce Willis mostly vanishes into the background. The climax is remarkably portentous considering it's mostly just two guys wrestling each other fairly clumsily in a car park. Not sure three half-assed plot twists add up to a decent ending. All in all, a curious attempt to make a superhero movie in the style of a horror film, but ultimately rather disappointing given the potential and the talent involved.