Search

Search only in certain items:

Godzilla (2014)
Godzilla (2014)
2014 | Mystery, Sci-Fi
Adapting a cultural film icon that is held sacred by a nation and legions of fans is a daunting task. Roland Emerich attempted to do so, and created a film widely panned that ended his run of blockbuster hits.

Gareth Edwards is the latest director bold enough to bring the legendary Godzilla to the screen and has done so with cutting edge visual effects and 3D.

When Joe Brody (Bryan Cranston), becomes unsettled about some unusual tremors around the Japanese nuclear plant he works at, little does he know that the pending accident and tragedy will have long-term consequences.

Flash forward 15 years and his son Ford (Aaron Taylor Johnson), is an ordinance disposal expert in the military who is returning to his San Francisco home after a deployment to see his wife and young son.

No sooner does Ford get home than he is summed to Japan to retrieve his father who has been arrested for venturing into a restricted area located by his former residence and place of work.

Joe is convinced that a massive cover up is place behind the disaster that left him a widow and turned his life upside down.

 

When the mysterious tremors return, Joe is vindicated and learns that a massive threat is responsible for what has previously transpired, but this is nothing compared to the damage that is unleashed when the creature escapes.

In a race against time, Ford, the Navy, and a team of scientists attempt to prevent massive destruction and loss of life from an enemy they are not prepared for and do not understand.

While the film does have some great visuals, it unfolds in a very plodding manner and the action sequences are few and far between until the end and even that is for the most part anti-climatic.

The dialogue in the film is filled with groans and unintentionally laughable moments that really make it difficult for the characters to really connect with one another and the audience and as such it is very hard to really care what happens to them.

 

Another big surprise was how little screen time the title characters actually appears in the film. I spent much of the film wondering how such a larger than life character could be reduced to a supporting part in a film that bears his name.

It has been reported that Japanese audiences have not been thrilled with the new film stating that the creature looked “fat “and “slow”. I would not go that far as from a visually standpoint, the film obtained nothing but high marks from me.

However, I had to ask if we really needed to have this film made. We have had so many giant creature movies in recent years including “King Kong”, “Colverfield”, and “Pacific Rim”; one has to wonder what new material there is to show an audience.

 

While it is not as bad as I expected, it is pretty much a guilty pleasure that you can enjoy in parts and then quickly forget as this film is not likely to enhance the legendary status of Godzilla.

http://sknr.net/2014/05/14/godzilla/
  
    Word-Scape

    Word-Scape

    Education and Games

    (0 Ratings) Rate It

    App

    How to use this app: Ideally it would be used along with the book from a famous University in...

Death Note (2017)
Death Note (2017)
2017 | Drama
Netflix has done a damn good job with its house produced movies and shows – except for Death Note. This movie is complete and utter trash. For those of you that don’t know, I ran a site that focused largely on anime for several years. The site was called Project Otaku and served as a press outlet as well (I was able to attend Japan Expo as press and one of my writers attended NYCC). So naturally, I’ve seen the anime and I had high expectations.

First, it should be noted that with this film, Netflix joined the ranks of the Hollywood studios that have white-washed and bastardized several remakes of Asian horror films. From Oldboy to The Grudge to Ghost in the Shell (and countless others), it’s like these companies have an aversion to actually remaining faithful in any degree to the source material. (There’s rumors that my favorite Japanese horror flick, Audition, will soon fall prey to this too.) Honestly, they should just stop.

This version of Death Note takes place in Seattle, thus localizing it to the US. There is also no second notebook, which in the anime and manga are used to misdirect law enforcement. Because there’s only one notebook, there’s no Shinigami Rem, either. There are plot holes out the wazoo in Netflix’s adaptation, including modification of rules for no apparent reason (such as the days the Death Note can be lost).

Overall, I regret watching this. It was a waste of my time.
  
Adrift (2018)
Adrift (2018)
2018 | Action, Adventure, Drama
Sweet romance between thou are immediately thrown into the action (0 more)
Confusing (1 more)
Grim
Contains spoilers, click to show
You are immediately thrown into the action of Tami coming to after being tossed about below deck from the hurricane. Had I not been reading a play-by-play on IMDB, I might have been more confused than I was but I was intrigued by what I read so I wanted to see how it all played out onscreen. I would have preferred to see the hurricane shown because I'm a fan of disaster films, but instead, we are shown the aftermath and flashbacks of the couple's first meeting and the romance that followed. I would also have liked to see more of the actual rescue and her telling her story to the Japanese sailors and/or people in Hawaii when she was taken to the island instead of brief and vague glimpses of it.

The doldrums of trying to survive aboard a broken vessel and all the boredom of hours upon hours of being adrift is shown.

The acting is decent enough.

There is very little excitement to hold one's interest. I was disappointed that in the movie but it wasn't my story to tell. This is based on the true story of Tami Oldham Ashcraft, who is listed as one of the writers and is shown briefly at the end of the movie.

It's not great. Reading about the actual story online is more satisfying. I am curious about Ashcraft's book but it's probably as boring as the movie.
  
The Perfect Whore
The Perfect Whore
Josephine Myles | 2018 | Erotica, LGBTQ+
3
3.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Fanfiction is usually free. You can find better stuff there
Once upon a time, I read Star Wars slash fanfiction. That was a lot better than this. I don't quite know what the author was going for here, as the story leans too far into plot and exposition to be a "romance" novel (not a bad thing, if the plot wasn't just a vehicle for the romance), and the erotica was less than erotic. I've read female authors who could write believable gay characters, but this isn't one of them. These characters interact more like men in Japanese yaoi, which is to say, you could sub one of the men with a woman and have the same story. I would be more generous (considering one character is a shapeshifting alien with no true gender) but her author's bio specifically states she writes gay erotica. So let's be clear: this is gay erotica for women. So if you're a lady who fetishizes gay men, this is in your wheelhouse. If you're a gay man, probably avoid this one, unless you really have a thing for sci-fi and lizardmen.

Circling back around, of course the title is attention grabbing. And the story is short enough to be fun. Both characters are obnoxious, but not so much that you can't sit two or three hours with them. The story employs standard tropes, including using rape as a dramatic crutch. If that's your thing, you'll probably enjoy this and also what's wrong with you?
  
    Place Map HD

    Place Map HD

    Games and Education

    (0 Ratings) Rate It

    App

    Locate and discover 100 awesome places of the world. Like in the spy movies! Place Map HD is...