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Awix (3310 KP) rated Gamera: Revenge of Iris (1999) in Movies
Mar 15, 2019 (Updated Mar 15, 2019)
Apocalyptic final instalment in Kaneko's trilogy takes the Japanese monster movie to places it has never been before or since. Amid signs of the man-eating Gyaos creatures reappearing in vast numbers, an embittered girl bonds with the life-draining Iris creature to seek revenge on Gamera after her parents were killed in his battle with the first Gyaos some years earlier.
Incomplete Struggle (a much better title to my mind) is much more of a fantasy film than the previous chapter in the story, once again playing cleverly with various tropes of Japanese monster stories. The script takes the trouble to include characters from both previous films (it is clearly intended as a grand conclusion to the story) and also explores notions of pre-millennial angst. Once again, the monster battles are superbly staged, but the big ideas explored by the film are also fascinating, even if some elements of the story are left a bit vague. What one person sees as vaulting imagination and ambition, another may see as the script getting a bit out of control; some may also have an issue with the deliberate lack of closure at the very end of the film. Nevertheless, this movie manages to give the Japanese kaiju genre a sense of majesty and gravitas it has seldom achieved anywhere else.
Incomplete Struggle (a much better title to my mind) is much more of a fantasy film than the previous chapter in the story, once again playing cleverly with various tropes of Japanese monster stories. The script takes the trouble to include characters from both previous films (it is clearly intended as a grand conclusion to the story) and also explores notions of pre-millennial angst. Once again, the monster battles are superbly staged, but the big ideas explored by the film are also fascinating, even if some elements of the story are left a bit vague. What one person sees as vaulting imagination and ambition, another may see as the script getting a bit out of control; some may also have an issue with the deliberate lack of closure at the very end of the film. Nevertheless, this movie manages to give the Japanese kaiju genre a sense of majesty and gravitas it has seldom achieved anywhere else.
Awix (3310 KP) rated Kong: Skull Island (2017) in Movies
Feb 9, 2018 (Updated Feb 9, 2018)
The Vietnam Movie That Time Forgot
Surprisingly effective and entertaining attempt to combine classic monster movie structure with a Vietnam War movie vibe. The secret monster-hunting agency of the US government organises an expedition to the mysterious Skull Island; everyone gets more than they bargained for. Is it a spoiler to reveal there's quite a big gorilla called Kong in residence?
Leading players Tom Hiddleston and Brie Larson seem a bit all at sea but there is some good work from the supporting cast, who know just how much of the scenery to chew - Samuel L Jackson, John Goodman, and John C Reilly all raise a smile. The monster mashes are good fun, too. You could probably argue that doing a King Kong movie where Kong never gets off the island kind of misses the point entirely, but this is still arguably the most faithful take on the general tone of the original movie since the 1930s.
Altogether much lighter on its feet and less portentous than the most recent American Godzilla, with which it is in continuity - they don't make a big deal out of this, thankfully, but all-in-all you do rather hope the forthcoming Godzilla: King of the Monsters and Godzilla Vs Kong are closer in style to this than the 2014 movie. Toho fans should stick around for the post-credits bit.
Leading players Tom Hiddleston and Brie Larson seem a bit all at sea but there is some good work from the supporting cast, who know just how much of the scenery to chew - Samuel L Jackson, John Goodman, and John C Reilly all raise a smile. The monster mashes are good fun, too. You could probably argue that doing a King Kong movie where Kong never gets off the island kind of misses the point entirely, but this is still arguably the most faithful take on the general tone of the original movie since the 1930s.
Altogether much lighter on its feet and less portentous than the most recent American Godzilla, with which it is in continuity - they don't make a big deal out of this, thankfully, but all-in-all you do rather hope the forthcoming Godzilla: King of the Monsters and Godzilla Vs Kong are closer in style to this than the 2014 movie. Toho fans should stick around for the post-credits bit.
Rodney Barnes (472 KP) rated Monster Hunter (2020) in Movies
Feb 19, 2021 (Updated Feb 19, 2021)
Contains spoilers, click to show
I am a big fan of the Monster Hunter games, That is a consistently good game series. This movie was good in the sense that it stayed true to a lot of elements in the game, but disappoints in story mode. Instead of this being a straight fantasy movie that takes place in the game world, they made it a dimensional crossover into the Monster Hunter world. Jovovich and her team of Army Rangers are looking for a lost team that got pulled into the other world by a storm. They all except her meet their end due to the creatures of that world. The dialogue between Jaa and Jovovich in the movie was tiresome. In the sense he didn't talk English and they were communicating through single words and gestures. It was not until you meet Pearlman's character until you get more good dialogue. The fight scenes and the action was very good. Milla is a badass as always. The ending was set up for sequel. The only thing that I think needs to be done is to get another director and someone else to do the Soundtrack for this franchise. I thought the music was terrible. If you love playing Monster Hunter...then give this movie a chance.
Andy K (10823 KP) rated Bride of Frankenstein (1935) in Movies
Sep 25, 2019
She's alive!
I am trying to remember the last film I saw where the title character doesn't appear until the last 10 minutes? I don't think I can. In Superman, you don't see Christopher Reeve for the first hour, in Aliens you don't see any full grown Aliens until an hour in. Can you think of any others?
The 2nd Frankenstein film is certainly a continuation as it starts right when the last film ends. The monster is presumed dead, during the windmill fire. He is eventually found, chained and hauled off to prison. He escapes and then wanders the countryside encountering a friendly bling man. Unknowing the hideous nature of his new friend, he invites the monster in to eat, drink and smoke. The monster begins to actually act civilized for a bit even spurting out his first words and smiling. This is short-lived as he is again located and flees.
Meanwhile, Dr. Frankenstein is still recovering himself when he meets Doctor Pretorius, an even more wacky scientist bent on creating his own abomination. Frankenstein has had a change of mind and heart about his monster and wants it to be destroyed. Pretorius kidnaps Frankenstein's new wife and blackmails him into helping with the new project.
Eventual success brings us the Bride of Frankenstein!
Karloff continues his stellar performance as the monster, this time giving him humanity, humor and benevolence in addition to the usual rage. You see his loneliness and wanting to belong with no one who gazes upon him ever giving him a chance to have a personality.
The look of the film also has a starring role including the vast depth of the Frankenstein home which seems to go on forever and again showcased in glorious black and white. The majesty of the outdoor landscapes are also beautiful and really assist the audience in merging with its storytelling beautifully.
I did find is strange they introduced the bride so late in the film. She doesn't really have much to do other than get introduced to her new groom and make a few grunting noises. I am assuming she will play a bigger role in Son of Frankenstein which is up next!
The 2nd Frankenstein film is certainly a continuation as it starts right when the last film ends. The monster is presumed dead, during the windmill fire. He is eventually found, chained and hauled off to prison. He escapes and then wanders the countryside encountering a friendly bling man. Unknowing the hideous nature of his new friend, he invites the monster in to eat, drink and smoke. The monster begins to actually act civilized for a bit even spurting out his first words and smiling. This is short-lived as he is again located and flees.
Meanwhile, Dr. Frankenstein is still recovering himself when he meets Doctor Pretorius, an even more wacky scientist bent on creating his own abomination. Frankenstein has had a change of mind and heart about his monster and wants it to be destroyed. Pretorius kidnaps Frankenstein's new wife and blackmails him into helping with the new project.
Eventual success brings us the Bride of Frankenstein!
Karloff continues his stellar performance as the monster, this time giving him humanity, humor and benevolence in addition to the usual rage. You see his loneliness and wanting to belong with no one who gazes upon him ever giving him a chance to have a personality.
The look of the film also has a starring role including the vast depth of the Frankenstein home which seems to go on forever and again showcased in glorious black and white. The majesty of the outdoor landscapes are also beautiful and really assist the audience in merging with its storytelling beautifully.
I did find is strange they introduced the bride so late in the film. She doesn't really have much to do other than get introduced to her new groom and make a few grunting noises. I am assuming she will play a bigger role in Son of Frankenstein which is up next!
Sesame Street Alphabet Kitchen
Education and Games
7.0
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This is a vocabulary-building app, which will help your child practice early literacy skills by...
KyleQ (267 KP) rated The Host (2006) in Movies
Jul 22, 2020
A really entertaining creature feature!
A mutant creature emerges from a river in South Korea, kidnapping a young girl, her family races to save her.
Directed by Bon Joon Ho (Parasite, Okja, Snowpiercer), The Host blends horror, drama, and comedy seamlessly together.
When it was released in the USA, The Host was dubbed over, oddly enough. Generally, I hate dubbed live-action movies because they're always so cheesy, but the cheese really fits into this movie, making it more fun.
The films lead is Kang-ho Song (Parasite) who does a great job, he is believable, likable, and humorous. I empathized with him, surprisingly.
I did wish that the pace was a little quicker and that the monster would've been in the film more. But in general, I enjoyed the movie. I would recommend it to fans of monster movies, but really I'll recommend it to everyone.
Directed by Bon Joon Ho (Parasite, Okja, Snowpiercer), The Host blends horror, drama, and comedy seamlessly together.
When it was released in the USA, The Host was dubbed over, oddly enough. Generally, I hate dubbed live-action movies because they're always so cheesy, but the cheese really fits into this movie, making it more fun.
The films lead is Kang-ho Song (Parasite) who does a great job, he is believable, likable, and humorous. I empathized with him, surprisingly.
I did wish that the pace was a little quicker and that the monster would've been in the film more. But in general, I enjoyed the movie. I would recommend it to fans of monster movies, but really I'll recommend it to everyone.
Baculum (Angelbound Lincoln #4)
Book
As King of the Thrax, Lincoln leads the most powerful demon fighting force in the after-realms…...
Young Adult Fantasy
Gareth von Kallenbach (980 KP) rated Colossal (2016) in Movies
Jul 11, 2019
Gloria (Anne Hathaway) is out all night drinking and comes home to her boyfriend Tim (Dan Stevens). Tim is headed to work and tired of Gloria’s partying ways. He’s packed her bags and tells her to not be there when he comes home from work. With no job, no place to live, and her life seemingly in at its low point she decided to go back to her home town. She is able to stay in her childhood home which is empty and she finds herself sleeping on the floor. Gloria heads out to get an air mattress to make her a little more comfortable. On her way back she runs into a childhood friend Oscar (Jason Sudeikis). He invites her to the bar he owns and despite the fact drinking ruined her relationship and is the reason she finds herself in this position she agrees.
Gloria winds up spending all night drinking with Oscar and his buddies. She stumbles home and passes out. She is awoken the next day by a phone call telling her about a giant monster that has appeared in Seoul. Gloria, Oscar and his two friends (Tim Blake and Austin Stowell) meet up again that night to talk about the Earth shaking event and wind up drinking all night, again. Gloria wakes up in the morning and again the monster appears in Seoul. It showed up at the exact time and the exact same spot in Seoul. As Gloria watches the footage of the newest sighting a strange thing occurs, the monster scratches its head in a very familiar way. Ever since Gloria was little she had a tick of scratching the top of her head in a particular way. Now on TV the monster is doing the same thing. She looks at the footage from the last sighting and notices that the monster looks to be carrying something, exactly like she was carrying the mattress she bought the morning before through the park. Is she the monster? If she is why is it only appearing in Seoul?
Colossal is a very interesting and original take on the “monster” movie. I hesitate to describe any more of the movie in the narrative because I really was surprised by the direction the movie took and think anyone why watches it should not have a preconceived idea of what is going to happen. Anne Hathaway and Jason Sudeikis are real good. Sudeikis really surprised me in his role. It wasn’t his typical character and I thought he played it really well. The supporting cast is okay but not particularly memorable. But the story really was focused on the two main characters. I thought the film was funny and dark. I definitely laughed throughout the film. There were times I questioned where the story was going. It didn’t transition from one point to the next very well. But I thought it did a good job of bringing everything together in the end. The visuals were good but not great but that is to be expected with an independent film. Another thing I will remember from this film was the soundtrack. The music seem to really follow the tone of the movie well.
This is a movie I will definitely find myself watching again. The story was interesting and, minus some sloppy plot transitions, was really well done.
Gloria winds up spending all night drinking with Oscar and his buddies. She stumbles home and passes out. She is awoken the next day by a phone call telling her about a giant monster that has appeared in Seoul. Gloria, Oscar and his two friends (Tim Blake and Austin Stowell) meet up again that night to talk about the Earth shaking event and wind up drinking all night, again. Gloria wakes up in the morning and again the monster appears in Seoul. It showed up at the exact time and the exact same spot in Seoul. As Gloria watches the footage of the newest sighting a strange thing occurs, the monster scratches its head in a very familiar way. Ever since Gloria was little she had a tick of scratching the top of her head in a particular way. Now on TV the monster is doing the same thing. She looks at the footage from the last sighting and notices that the monster looks to be carrying something, exactly like she was carrying the mattress she bought the morning before through the park. Is she the monster? If she is why is it only appearing in Seoul?
Colossal is a very interesting and original take on the “monster” movie. I hesitate to describe any more of the movie in the narrative because I really was surprised by the direction the movie took and think anyone why watches it should not have a preconceived idea of what is going to happen. Anne Hathaway and Jason Sudeikis are real good. Sudeikis really surprised me in his role. It wasn’t his typical character and I thought he played it really well. The supporting cast is okay but not particularly memorable. But the story really was focused on the two main characters. I thought the film was funny and dark. I definitely laughed throughout the film. There were times I questioned where the story was going. It didn’t transition from one point to the next very well. But I thought it did a good job of bringing everything together in the end. The visuals were good but not great but that is to be expected with an independent film. Another thing I will remember from this film was the soundtrack. The music seem to really follow the tone of the movie well.
This is a movie I will definitely find myself watching again. The story was interesting and, minus some sloppy plot transitions, was really well done.
MA
Money and Politics: The Guardian State, Markets, and the Evolution of Monetary Relations: 1880 - 2010
Book
This new book is the first chronicle of how domestic politics (in the form of the guardian state)...