Halloween Special: Army of Darkness Review

Halloween is today and while I could cover a Toku with a haunting theme to it which would be… uhh… Kiva? Well I already reviewed that, but I do have some new thoughts on that show. It is still the first rider show I saw, but it does not hold up at all. I still want to say in my personal feelings it is a “C” or “C-“ and then my critical views is probably in the “D” or high “F” area. Anyways I want to talk about something that I love that actually can be a spooky scary movie or not… Screw it! While I could start with the first Evil Dead which is my favorite horror film around, but I just want to talk about Captain Supermarket!

Army of Darkness is the third film in the Evil Dead series and man what a change of pace for the series. Now Evil Dead 2 did have more humor compared to the original film, but it still kept the horror fashion the same for the most part. Army of Darkness is a whole different beast where Ash is sent to the middle ages where he continues his fight against the Necronomicon Ex-Mortis. Now even though I can say Evil Dead 1 and 2 are stronger films in the terms of the horror concepts, but Army of Darkness is just my type of fun.

So what does Army of Darkness have over the other two films? First off the action is way higher with an amazing final fight where Ash rides a moving table while firing his boom stick like a mad man. While the Deadite pulls off amazing acrobatic skills while getting shot up. Also the Deadite bounces off a trampoline, why you may ask, because it’s awesome! This film just pulls me in with how insane it can get because things will just happen. Ash will fight an evil version of himself where it can make tiny versions of him. Again Ash is dealing with the Book of the Damned; this thing will pull any feature to stop its foes.

Another reason it is fun is because of the many lines of dialogue. I can remember some quotes here and there from my favorite films, but Army of Darkness just carries some of my all time favorites. “Good, bad, I’m the guy with the gun.” “Well hello mister fancy pants, I got news for you pal you ain’t leading but two things. Jack and Shit, and Jack left town.” “This is my BOOM STICK!” “Shop smart, shop S-mart.” The list can go on which it will. “Name’s Ash, housewares.” “Come get some.” I can't forget about, "Groovy" either. The lines are memorable to the highest value because of what is happening in this film. I don’t want to spoil most of the scenes because spoiling them will get rid of the surprise factor for those who have not seen this film.

Now this is a factor that all three films have, but I still have to mention it or him to be exact. It’s Captain Supermarket himself, Bruce Campbell. There are many actors who had to start with the silly and fun films and soon moved onto doing films of the higher art. I mean even the likes of Stallone and Schwarzenegger have done many different films compared to what they are famous for. Bruce though likes to stick with his A-game though which are mostly the B-films. Now he has done a show like Burn Notice and Xena, but in the end Bruce stays true to what he loves to do with any project and that is to have fun. He has said before that doing lawyer, cop, and that usual type of stuff would just bore him and I can see why he says that. He also loves the feeling that being a B-film star that he doesn’t have to please everyone, but he knows there are many who still do. Bruce is simply one of the actors who loves showing off his fun and to spread that to as many people as he wants to and it clearly has paid off. Army of Darkness is simply of those films where he is having a blast doing nearly everything in this film, even if the copyright policies got weird with Evil Dead. The character Ash Williams has been one of his key roles since it was the beginning of his acting career and he will be playing the character again in Ash VS Evil Dead.

Overall, Army of Darkness is pure fun and there is nothing wrong with that. Pretty much it is the Spiderman 3 of the Evil Dead films, but actually good. It may abandon some of the usual elements of the original two, but it makes a brand new image for itself and that image will continue in the upcoming series, Ash VS Evil Dead. I will probably do a review on that show or the first episode itself, either way though “Hail to the king baby!”

Also for a special bonus a spooky scary LP video from my channel!

Happy 60th Birthday Godzilla: Gojira Review

Today is an important day for the Toku genre, the reason why this genre exists has just turned sixty years old. It's quite amazing to think that the idea of suit action and a whole genre of special effects started sixty years ago. On November 3rd the original Godzilla film premiered in Japanese theaters and it's the start for a filming icon and it's still as strong as ever thanks to the new film. Also even though I do have some personal favorites of the franchise and for just movies in general, but the original Godzilla film still stands to me as one of the most timeless films thanks to it's how the effects were used and the use of the overall dark tone to show how nuclear warfare affects the world.

I can still watch this film to this day and it was a more of a recent discovery for me. With the new film coming I wanted to marathon through many Godzilla films and I found that I had the original film and both versions as well. I know I had to start with the original even though my memories from the past were getting bored, but that was when I was like in my early teens. Going back to the film really opened my eyes and again is one of the darkest films I have ever seen, but it's not done with excessive gore like how some people see dark now these days. The idea of being a dark film needs to have a dark theme first of all, you cannot just have death with no point. This film finds a way to fit a massive amount of death and actually still give off the dark feel. I have seen what people call dark now these days and it doesn't compare to what this film delivers that is because of the themes and messages it plays with.

For those who don't know, World War II was a big deal and it caused massive catastrophe for many countries. Japan got hit with atomic bombs and the idea of Godzilla was to show the effects of nuclear warfare with a monster. This idea of having a monster symbolize a dark theme has been done before with King Kong showing slavery, but I find that Godzilla using the nuclear threat theme was just better in general. This is thanks with the use of the characters and I am including Godzilla as well. Many times the monster was just a monster and just rampaged through cities and destroyed everything in site. Godzilla follows this, but how the movie shows it is different. Godzilla is who he is because of the use of nuclear bombs and even though he is a giant monster that can destroy cities, he still suffers. Godzilla is still an animal and it cannot help itself if it's going through the city and causing destruction. Godzilla is heavily tragic and then all the destruction he causes onto the people is tragic as well. The movie easily shows the suffering that both sides will have with nuclear warfare. The people are killed and deal with losing their loved ones and even the one who attacks has to suffer as well. What's even more sad is that the humans have to fight back so it's just violence on top of violence and even in victory the humans still lose in a way.

For the human side of things there was the character known as Dr. Yamane and Dr. Serizawa as these are the two most iconic characters from the movie. Yamane was a man who simply studied Godzilla and he is the one who gives us the most information about the monster. He knows that Godzilla is a creature that suffers and he sees the people struggling to survive. Then there is Dr. Serizawa one of my favorite characters in any movie, he is a simple character and yet he is one of the first iconic tragic heroes I can think of. This doctor kept himself in hiding as he found something interesting after his time in the war. It's called micro oxygen and he soon finds a way to create a weapon with the new element. It's far too destructive though and he knows the world isn't ready for it so he keeps it in secret. In the end he knows the weapon will kill Godzilla and he decides to use it, but he offers his own life to make sure no one will ever re-create the Oxygen Destroyer. So the people lose a great scientist, a man who could have benefited society and he had many people who cared for him even though he stayed secretive. Also the film ends at a great point with Yamane saying if nuclear testing continues as so, there could be another monster like this which just puts a final slam on the overall message of nuclear warfare and testing.

The film also has a great way of it's special effects and yes this movie is sixty years old and I will still say it holds up. This is because of how the suit moved along with the black and white cinematography. Godzilla to me looked like a monster the whole time he was on screen while the other films shown him in a much different view. The original Godzilla though was an image of horror and remember he symbolizes the atomic bomb, imagine how scary that must have been for Japan during the time and I bet that horror can still hold up. The whole dark imagery just works greatly with that idea as the scenery even works well with that idea. Flames are covering everything as things start to crumble, this is a real way of having things to be dark. It's not edgy, this is actual darkness and a real way of showing a different form of horror. The film makers had to do things differently with how they presented the monster as they wanted to do what King Kong or The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms. They had to go with a suit and I find the movement being slow fits the idea of a monster actually going through a city since it's not the usual environment the beast would be used to, also the whole being gigantic thing doesn't help either. Overall the effects were just the beginning of Toku and it's also one of the most groundbreaking moments for special effects and that cannot be ignored.

The original Gojira film is a masterpiece and I don't know how much I will say that in my life. This is a film that started a franchise that I see really evolved with the times. Godzilla then continues to be amazement to movie goers everywhere even if every film wasn't as great... (I'm looking at you Godzilla's Revenge!) The franchise did continue to have great moments of films as it did continue with some other masterful films like my all time personal favorite, Godzilla VS Destroyah. I don't even need to give a rating to this film there is no grade that can show how much this film done right and how much it means to the whole film industry, the fans, and myself. If you haven't watched this film I highly recommend that you do and with Godzilla coming back to the theaters with two sequels to theaters in the future. This is the film that started everything that I mostly love in entertainment as I hope it can continue to be a legendary film even after forty more years.

Comedy Legend Robin Williams Dead At Age 63

Robin Willaims sadly has passed away at the age of sixty-three and it's even more sad to know that there it seems the cause of death was suicide. Comedy has been taking a big hit this year as many legends are passing away. Robin Willaims was easily one of those legends along with Harlod Ramis and Sid Caeser. Robin did a whole lot with her career as he performed one of the most iconic voiced acting roles as the Genie from Disney's Aladdin. The thing is that the energy he used for that role is also seen in any other role he had. Robin Willaims even if he wasn't in a good movie there is a reason why some of those films are still remembered and that was because he knew how to deliver his lines. If Robin Willaims were not in films like Mrs. Doubtfire, Flubber, RV, and Patch Adams high chance they wouldn't be as remembered. In the entertainment business, yes in the end a man is getting paid for doing his job, but there are entertainers who easily did it more for a paycheck as he was one of them. Even his stand up is something to take notice of or even his onetime appearance on the show, Whose Line Is It Anyways. His performances are unique and that alone will not be forgotten. My favorite role of his is no doubt from A Good Will Hunting, but in the end my inner child is going to remember the Genie the most. Another comedy legend has passed away, but in the end they would want you to laugh because that is what they did, make people laugh. Rest in peace Robin Willaims, fellow actor, comedian, and one of the biggest Legend of Zelda fans, you will be missed. 

I leave these two videos here as his stand up performance is still to this day one of my favorites along and when I was a kid I never noticed the names of actors, but it was thanks to this one Whose Line episode made me realize who Robin Williams was and since then I found his many works and even though not all of his films were the best and I will agree some are actually horrible, he always gave his one hundred perfect. He was a man who brought much fun to the entertainment buisness and it's one of the biggest influences for me wanting to be a critic as I love to share fun entertainment with many people. I just hope some of his works can leave a smile on your face as well and inspire you to always give all it your all in life.

The Cornetto Trilogy: Hot Fuzz Review

The second film in the trilogy takes place in a quiet city called Sandford as we get the extremely hard working super cop, Chris Angel working there. While the last film took the zombie genre into a comedy perspective, the second film does the same with the cop genre. Now this has been done before many times, but Hot Fuzz easily works with more direct references like Point Break and Bad Boys 2 as they get mentioned in the movie. Also for a movie that mentions a film from one of my least favorite directors ever, this movie surprisingly does Micheal Bay's format correctly. So what exactly can a movie about a quiet city possibly have action that can compare to other cop films, where that is the art of foreshadowing my friends. See more at: http://herotaku.com/blog/1/entry-12778-the-cornetto-trilogy-hot-fuzz-review/#.U5z_Y_ldVLY

The Cornetto Trilogy: Shaun Of The Dead Review

I will be starting more movie reviews and even some television show reviews that are not about Toku. Again I love entertainment and Toku is just one of the things I love as well. I will say though I am more inclined to be a movie critic as I do keep up with the current films as much as I do with Toku. To start things off for more constant movie reviews, I am looking at The Cornetto Trilogy, which is actually my favorite trilogy to be honest. (http://herotaku.com/blog/1/entry-12440-the-cornetto-trilogy-shaun-of-the-dead-review/#.U4S6B_ldVLY)

Godzilla!!!!

Sorry for not getting any Toqger done for the last week as I was too concentrated on Godzilla man! I did two articles for Herotaku about the awesome monster. First is my favorite films and yes I made this list after watching the new film (http://herotaku.com/blog/1/entry-12277-my-top-ten-favorite-godzilla-movies/#.U3q_ifldVLY). Then with the announcement of the sequel already in the works I talk about the possible outcomes there could be for this sequel since the new movie had many Easter eggs and could be hinting to what could be in the sequel (http://herotaku.com/blog/1/entry-12290-possible-kaiju-for-the-upcoming-godzilla-sequel/#.U3q_QPldVLY). I love Godzilla very much and I'm happy to see it come back to the theaters and dominate the box office already. Also there have been some flak for the movie, mostly from the casual viewers more than the actual fans. If you want to listen to a review well there is Matt from Two Best Friends Play, he did a whole week a Godzilla videos and even did his final thoughts on the new movie. I will easily get a review for this film just like I did with Pacific Rim, but after watching it for three times or four...

The Raid Redemption Review

With The Raid 2 out this week or you have to wait for movies like that for your theater, for example the film The Grand Budapest Hotel took nearly a month after the release to get into my theater (so mad about that). Either way the sequel to the action film is coming so I feel like I will review the original film. I bet I will also review the sequel whenever I get the chance, either way The Raid 2 is one of my most anticipated films for this year because the original is an action masterpiece! Please go to Herotaku to read the article (http://herotaku.com/blog/1/entry-11463-the-raid-redemption-review/)

Ghostbusters Review: A Tribute to Harold Ramis

Ghostbusters is still an important film for me. It was easily my favorite childhood movie and is still one of my favorite comedy movies of all time. It's quite funny how this movie actually scared me when I was really young and then when I was nine I decided to face my fears and watched it another time. What happened was that I experienced so much laughter in that one sitting and then it became my most watched film. I didn't care when it was on, I would watch it right away. Even if I missed half of the film or even the whole film, I would stop whatever I was doing and watched Ghostbusters. I can also say the same for the sequel even though the original is vastly superior. Now that it has been over ten years since I found my love for the film I can still say it's easily in my top five of favorite films. There are mostly personal reasons why I put it there like how much it influenced my childhood, but again it's easily one of the best comedies I have seen and still to this day I can laugh by watching it. Ghostbusters still has my favorite cast of all time with great actors like the amazing Bill Murray who is still my all time favorite actor, Dan Aykroyd, Sigourney Weaver, Rick Moranis, Erine Hudson, and the legendary comedy writer, director, and actor, Harold Ramis. I love witty humor and this man was a genius with that style of humor. Even if he has some bad films, everyone has one here and there, but there are many of his films and series that I loved. Groundhog Day, Stripes, Caddyshack, Animal House, one hundred and forty episodes of The Real Ghost Busters, and directing for the whole series of The Office, there is no doubt Ramis left a big impact on the entertainment world.

So with the review, Ghostbusters is about three men who had an interest in the paranormal, well except for Peter Venkman, but a scientist he was though. The three get called up about actual paranormal activity happening at the library and to their shock it's an actual ghost. The three try to make contact with the being, but they fail as Ray's plan was to jump it. The ghost scares them off and when returning back to the college campus they find out they are being kicked out and cannot continue their studies on the campus. Venkman has an idea though as now ghosts are actually real now it's time to make a business and hence the Ghostbusters were formed. They find an old building and fix it up to use as their office and business was dead. Luckily they got one customer named Dana who seems to be having strange things happen in her house like eggs cooking themselves on the kitchen counter and beasts living in her refrigerator yelling out "Zuul." Venkman takes her offer as she was their first customer even though it doesn't seem much isn't happening at her apartment anymore. With that they got paid in advance, but their hope is still down in the dumps. They finally get one call about a ghost as the three men quickly gear up and head off to the hotel to bust their first ghost. After that the Ghostbutsers were quickly becoming celebrities and round up more and more ghosts. What they don't know though is that Dana's case has a connection to the end of the world!

Who doesn't love Slimer?

I'm not going to do pros and cons like my usual reviews as I'm going to look at the biggest elements of the film and go on about those in the upcoming paragraphs. The first thing to mention is the comedy of Ghostbusters and with Harold Ramis and Aykrod doing the writing you know there is already going to be comedy gold here. There are so many quotable lines in this movie like mine being "Dogs and Cats living together, mass hysteria!" Then there are the fan favorite quotes like "That's a big Twinkie," to "I look at the trap Ray," "Mother puss bucket," "He slimed me," or another favorite of mine, "Ray, when someone asks you if you're a god, you say YES!" Everyone does great in this movie and delivers the lines with perfect timing. Easily the best actor is Bill Murray as his character Venkman is the most carefree person around. What's his first reaction to seeing a ghost, he tries to see if his flirting magic would work on it. There are even many sight gags with that character as many are serious about working and then you just see Venkman walking or sliding down on the pole with Chinese food. Reminding me of that, Venkman isn't the only great character in this film as they are also supported by great actors.

Harold Ramis' character is Professor Egon and when it comes to everyone's favorite buster, it's Venkman or Egon. Venkman easily has the best lines of the film, but Egon is the smartest one and even though Venkman is the more comedic character Egon carries a lot of wit with him. The man is a genius when it comes to ghosts as he is brainy guy, but with not a lot of brawn. I love the scene where Egon is just going crazy with his stream even though Slimer got away from him; he still continued to zap that bar down. Another thing that happens with Egon is that he gets some ironic timing comedy or sometimes he can be oblivious which brings up some great joke timing. Easily Egon's best scene is where he is telling Ray and Winston about a giant entity appearing as he uses a Twinkee as an example. Dan Aykroid plays the incredibly shy and bumbling man, Ray and he is smart like Egon and does hold some great technology with him, he can stumble around. The best example of this is where he tells Gozer that he wasn't a god, or the time he accidentally had the Stay Puft Marshmallow man attack the city of New York. Erine Hudson didn't have a major role in the first film to make up for that though he quickly got some great lines and moments. My favorite moment is at the end of the film where he is covered in marshmallow fluff and screams out "I love this town!" Along with them are two other actors like Weaver and Moranis. Weaver plays Dana who is the damsel in distress of the film as Venkman tries to use his magic on her. Even she gets some funny moments when Zuul possess her and keep asking for the Keymaster. Moranis plays the scrawny and desperate Vincent who loves Dana and does try to get her in his life and even he gets involved the whole issue. There is even another great performance from William Atherton as Walter Peck who tries to shut down the Ghostbusters because they have many violations like environmental safety rules. Again the cast was amazingly strong and even though the movie is heavily a comedy it can still hold up more than just that.

For a comedy movie this is easily one of the first big films to use some aspect of horror in them, now this isn't a scary movie at all, but it does use the aspects of horror by mostly making fun of them. Slimer is easily a joke to ghosts themselves as he was barely a threat whatsoever and yet caused so much mischief for the team. With the idea of ghosts and there had to be some special effects and this was 1984 and for the time they were great effects. There was a mixture of special and practical effects. There is an actual Slimer suit that was used and most of the effects when to putting him into the scenes and making him being transparent. There is even the famous Stay Puft Marshmallow as they used a similar technique to the Godzilla films by having a man in the suit roam in a tiny model of the city. Then just have it appear in far away shots and giving it some facial gestures both with an actual head piece or made with special effects and you got one of the most famous movie monsters. There was even full on suits for the Gatekeeper and the Keymaster as they are two Hell Hounds pretty much even though most of their running or walking is done by animation. Then there are the beams from the Proton Packs and other visuals with waves or beams. Personally I still love the look of them they are heavily bright and makes them seem powerful which makes sense of a nuclear powered weapon! So even though the film is from the 80's the effects I still find are strong to this day and still top some of the CGI in modern films and having practical effects as well make it a surprisingly technical achievement.

Even to this day I see no negatives to this film as it brings ghosts into one of the best comedies I have ever seen. Ghostbusters also still has many achievements in the movie business and still lives on with the many fans. I am easily one of those fans who loved the film since I was young and it easily shown me that different genres can work well together. If there is good writing and a strong cast of actors you can have an amazing film and Ghostbusters show that. I give the movie an A+ as it is still my favorite film from the 80's and one of the best movies of all time in my opinion. The last thing to say is a very big thank you to the cast of the film and most of all to Harold Ramis who did much more after this film and even continued Ghostbusters with the animated series, the video game, and the possible third movie. Harold you were a big icon of comedy and that will never be taken from you, rest in peace you amazing genius.

Pacific Rim Review: We Are Cancelling the Apocalypse!

I will say I am a film critic with being a Toku reviewer as well. I love movies a whole lot as there are many different types and many directors can share their tastes with audiences from over the whole world. Sadly for America the giant robot and giant monsters wasn't really that big of a thing. Now there was a moment when I remember watching Godzilla and other Kaiju movies on television, but soon it stopped. The only Godzilla movie around was the terrible America take from 1998 as I still see it on FX or somewhere else. I still kept my love for the massive titans though and I kept many Godzilla films and watched tons of Kaiju action. I even kept my love for robots thanks to Super Sentai and some really good anime like Gundam and Gurren Lagan. So when I heard one of my favorite directors Guillermo Del Toro was making a movie where Jaegers and Kaiju fight it out I was so happy. I mean along with the Godzilla reboot coming out I want to hug Legendary for doing this. Bringing these types of films is a really risky move since the budgets will be crazy high. The last big theater giant robot movie was Robot Jocks which was a silly movie, but I still find it enjoyable. Even the sequel which didn't get a theater release was another goofy yet fun movie. So it finally came, Pacific Rim and I was sad to hear how it did for the American box office. It reached third place, as Grown Ups 2 and Despicable Me 2 beat it. The reviews for it were mostly positive though and my favorite reviewers from Team Snob loved this movie a whole lot. Then came great news as the film reached number one in the international box office and it hasn't even hit countries like Japan yet. So not only did I see this movie once I saw it twice and I want to fully support this movie as it was what I needed to have hope for this genre to come back.

Pacific Rim is the film that easily kick starts the rebirth of giant robots and monsters as it's a great love letter to the whole genre while being a huge blast of fun. As said by Max Force from the Midnight Screenings said, "If you hate this movie, you hate joy." Also he said that he inner ten year old was having the blast of his life and I so had that same reaction. This film are for the fans who loved collecting the action figures and just playing with them as much as they could. The film is a huge action thrill as the most important thing for an action film is that you can see things that are happening. There are lovely effects to look at and the camera wants to show you all of it. You see punches, kicks, and explosions all done with the beautiful animations as the touches of the blue blood going around the area is nice to look at while you can see the mechs getting destroyed and seeing their parts flying around. Now I didn't see this in 3D since I don't like that gimmick, but I heard great things for it so maybe I could see it a third time, hehehe. You got a lot of creative touches for the action as the main robot Gypsy Danger really brings the power into the fights. It picks up crates, boats, and etc to use as weapons in a battle. Then the simple punches, uppercuts, jump punches, laser fire, and the core blaster! Overall the action was very well done as you can see everything as the effects of practical and special effects are at a perfect blend.

Now some critics gave negative reviews because the story wasn't complex and thought provoking. Also they said the cliches and arch type characters bring the film down, personally I don't agree with that. Most of these "cliches" and "arch types" are mostly tributes to the past Kaiju films and anime mech series. There were many times I would think of a past movie or series I watched and that just made me more happy. This shows the love Del Toro had for this genre, he has seen many of these films. Also some Toku fans didn't like this either, but again I say the same thing. First of all it's not only giving tributes to the live action series, but also the anime series. Then going on it mostly tributes the olden days of the genre. I will discuss this more with the characters, but just because a film has cliches doesn't make it a bad film. Sometimes blending some in can make the experience feel good overall. That is the most important part of any film, the lasting effect, what is felt overall. Now if you personally don't like the cliches and stuff like that, well have fun watching older series because they started them. It's hard to be completely original and Del Toro knew this, but he wanted to give what he loved from his childhood and I know many like myself share that love of just seeing monsters and robots duke it out. Overall this film's cliches don't bog the movie down at all as there are a lot of tributes to the days of the beginning of this genre.

Leatherback reminds me of the old Godzilla where he had a couple of pounds on him.

Now onto the characters and again I mostly see their character traits as tributes to the genre. The main character Raleigh Becket is well a maverick hero. He goes against the usual ways and wanting to save many while defeating the monsters. When I think of a character like this I think of the Gundam protagonists who didn't do what was ordered, but still get the mission down as they also worry for the other people around them. Then Mako was the main heroine and she was a really fun character. She has a lot of ambition and doesn't want to back down which reminds me of many Gundam females or Asuka from Evangelion. Going on with these two some thought they were a force love pair, I can see why people can think that, but again I remember a lot of Kaiju films where a man and female got closer together from the journey. Also there is actually some good detailing for these two. They both lost something close to them and certain events changed their lives. Also Mako looked in very well about our main character and the two easily get used to each other from fighting each other to fighting together. Again a big battle can leave open for romance and there is some detailing in the background that support these two so I am completely fine with them.

Then onto some really memorable side characters. Now the general, Stacker Pentecost was a cool guy. He is bold and dynamic. I loved a good amount of his dialogue and the bond he had with Mako was a nice touch. These two really act like father and daughter which is needed for when people lose someone and they need a new person to help them get back up. Mako sees him as a role model to follow and I can clearly see why. He is a man who follow protocols very closely, but he does this for the safety of his crew. Now everything can't work perfectly as not everyone can be saved. When the time is right though he will step into the fire and will do what he can to put it out even putting his life at risk. Then there were the two scientists played by Charlie Day and Burn Gorman. These two characters were wacky and were needed as they still do a lot of things to help the heroes, but also being good comic reliefs. I really miss movies with superheroes and the mix of darkness with brightness. A good sense of humor is needed and can make the feeling of the film feel better as it can uplift you at good times. There are also a good amount of jokes along the film and sometimes the over the top reactions from the doctors were needed to get the audience laughing. Then there was Ron Perlman who was the most over the top character, but was also a serious badass. Del Toro you really know how to use this actor as this was a really fun role and he gave a great performance. Then there was even the navigator who helped run things and telling the heroes what is happening. He is played by Clifton Collins Jr. who usually gets minor roles, but he does a fine job with them. He does well here as well as his character is a great supporter who again adds some nice moments for the movie. Then we got two other pilots who had Striker Eureka as we had the usual jerk with his strict father. Now again arch types are fine as long they have good moments. Chuck Hansen the jerk did have good moments and thanks to how the film explained on how pilots were treated like superstars it makes sense on how some could be cocky. The best part was the bond with his father as the two do risky things together and nothing is stronger than family bonds. I will say though there are some random side characters and sadly their robots get that treatment as well, but oh well at least there were still many fun characters that I enjoyed in this film.

Then going on with other factors of the film that I liked was the cast. These weren't the big Hollywood superstars you usually see as Mako was played by a Japanese actress as she mostly did Japanese movies. Then we had mostly T.V. stars like Charlie Hunman and Charlie Day. Then adding some new actors I haven't seen or some I haven't seen for a while and the cast really feels good because of this. It gives a unique vibe thanks to these different actors and not big time superstars. Also I didn't find their performances to be bad, I think it was above average at best. Actors express emotions well and Rinko (Mako) did great with showing expressions on her face at many moments. Then Ron was at his finest as I could tell he loved this role of being a black market dealer of Kaiju parts. Both Charlies did nice as Hunman really performed his anger well and when he yelled during the battle I got excited. Charlie Day was like Rick Moranis as he gives a funny performance, but still does a nice job as an unsung hero. Then there was Idris Elba who did the best for me as he got the boldness of the general. He made the speeches sound better thanks to his tough voice and not breaking at all. So I don't think the acting is bad, it's not perfect, but I really do like the fresher cast as this reminds me of the Toku series and some of the Kaiju films.

Even if the story was simple that is fine as the overall feeling was great. Drama was nice, the action was very very exciting as my hear was pumping much harder than usual. Then there were some nice detailed moments I really liked. These were how people react to giant monsters attacking them. It really made a lot of sense because soon the pilots were treated like super stars, merchandise was being made based on the monsters and robots, and we even got black markets for Kaiju parts. Also add somethings like displaying the first Kaiju skull in a museum to using a skull as a church! The film really added some nice details to how people would react to this type of situation because with victory comes praise and soon people will get used to it. Also kids would easily love the giant robots and monsters as this kinda pokes to how the genre does have a lot of merchandise. It also reminds me of Stars Wars as some of the really minor things can really come with big results like Boba Fett.

Overall I really loved this film and I hope this love for the genre can still exist for film making. It's a simple and very fun movie and it does add some detailing where it is needed. It also tributes the genres a whole lot as the beginning of the movie really reminded me of Gurren Lagan with the two brothers fighting along each other and how Gypsy Danger's head is basically screwed onto the body which reminds me of the drill head. I heavily support this film and I think others should do as well cause this is a good representation of the old school days of the genre and with enough support we can make it evolve. It's not the most perfect film, but it delivers what is needed as I give Pacific Rim an A.

Long live Tokusatsu!

Movie Month: Godzilla VS Destroyah Review

I bet you weren't expecting a Godzilla movie during this month. First this is how my Japan obsession begun. I did love Power Rangers, but I followed Godzilla much more. Godzilla is also how Toku starts because if Godzilla was never created who knew how long it would take for Ultraman to be made and then it would be a chain of events. Some people don't even count Godzilla in the world of Toku, but I do since there are tons of special effects, monsters, and a hero which is also arguable. For me Godzilla is an Anti-hero he has fought for good tons of times before. So I want to review my favorite Godzilla film and this is it. The movie takes time after the Space Godzilla movie as the child of Godzilla is still lost and Godzilla himself is on a rampage. It also seems that Godzilla is melting down? In his body heat is building up constantly and if Godzilla isn't stopped he can explode can cause the destruction of the whole world! Also a scientist has discovered a new formula that is similar to the Oxygen Destroyer from the very first film. It has strange side effects though as the new formula has created a new race of monsters. The crab like creatures are called "Destroyah" and have the same ability has the Oxygen Destroyer. A boy who has been brought to investigate on Godzilla and the grandson of Dr. Kyohei, Kenichi sees that Destroyah could be a way to stop Godzilla from overheating. During all of this the Destroyah creatures start to evolve very quickly and cause havoc. Finally Godzilla Junior has appeared and has grown up very quickly. All of these creatures are heading for the same area and the fight for the fate of the world begins.

Pros- The first thing I want to mention is the connections this film has to other films. I love how the events of the first film come back and affect the plot since science is always moving and finding the formula once again makes tons of sense. The only difference is that the formula was being harvested in a way which soon creates Destroyah. The movie is also the sequel to Space Godzilla since we focus on Godzilla Junior as he tries to find his way back to his father. We even see Miki who was in that film again as she wants to help the child. I just really loved the little references this film had and how it connects to the timeline as it makes more of a dynamic feel for the film as we look back on the older events. Originally this was supposed to be the last film so connecting to the first film makes a lot of sense. Destroyah is an amazing monster! He starts as a small crab race and soon evolves into the destructive force he becomes. The monster had tons of different ways to attack and seeing it split up at times into the smaller forms gives a feel that they were more intelligent than the usual Kaiju. The design for the final form was just jaw dropping great. The horns sticking out, his rough appearance, and his size made him to look like a tough challenge and he was. I will even say that he is possibly the strongest villain Godzilla ever face mostly because of his powers of the Oxygen Destroyer. Godzilla also takes on a new look in this film, Burning Godzilla and it was very popular. The constant burning of Godzilla looked great and the red made him more fearful. His fire even got an increase of strength. Godzilla Junior was basically a younger Godzilla so nothing that special about him. The number one thing I love about these films is how even with huge monsters fighting, the human characters play big roles as well as we see them live through the events. Every Godzilla film does this and like always it is masterfully done. Another thing that is near perfect like other Godzilla films is the use of atmosphere because you know it works when you care about giant monsters that don't even talk.

My favorite Kaiju in the whole franchise!

Cons- There are mostly little flaws (I won't say anything about the Eng dub), there are just some issues with how the suits are used at times and like most of Godzilla films things can feel slow.

 The slow scenes mostly occur with the humans and the ship takeoff.

Overall- This is why I love this film the most. It connects to the past, it acts like a sequel, holds emotional moments, great Kaiju action, and it doesn't feel like too much. Everything is well paced out and it just makes the film feel better. If this was the last film it would have been a great end for the franchise, but it still continued on for a couple of more years and now Godzilla is making a comeback. I give this film an A because even with some slow scenes and technical fails, the movie has more great moments and holds two fan favorites in the whole franchise.

I hope that this will get some revival for the franchise.

Movie Month: Kamen Rider Double Returns: Kamen Rider Accel Review

My first movie review was Skull's part in the Double X OOO movie and I reviewed Eternal's movie, so why not continue with that. This is the first Return film with the awesome rider, Accel. It takes place during when Akiko and Terui are married, but right now things aren't going well. Terui is focused on work a lot and still treats Akiko the same way he usually does. He still calls her chief which must feel odd at times. Soon during Terui's shift a bunch of Dopants appear and they attack a woman. He defends her by using Accel's powers, but after the fight she escaped. The reason they are after this woman is because she is in a ring of thieves. Terui continues on his search and he soon finds her again. The Dopants appear again though so Terui kicks their asses like the badass he is without going Accel. To make things worse the girl is handcuffed with him, but that's barely a handicap for him. Things don't go well as the Commander Dopant comes out. The Commander Dopant is a bad cop who has shot Aoi's father in the past. He puts a bomb on the girl, Aoi and shoots Jinno! Now Terui is the blame for the shooting and the Commander wants the girl to return an item she stole or the bomb will go off. So now Terui has to help Aoi and keeps his hide safe as other officers are hunting him down. Things get worse when it gets covered in the news as Akiko thinks Terui is interested in Aoi. Now she jolts out, but sadly Shotaro and Phillip are held up by other officers. What is this item that Aoi stole and what will happen to the rider and the others?

Pros- Terui is still a badass in this film, hell it makes him look more badass. He gets some great fights both in and out of suit. There was a really nice blend of action in this film and it gave it some freshness to the film. The Commander Dopant is a great villain, I won't say who he is, but it's pretty obvious. His character is exactly like Ryu when he begun to fight, the only difference is that Commander turned to the dark side. Commander will only clean up trash and his back-story is similar to Ryu as well so he is a FOIL for Terui. Seeing these two fight were great and the dialogue between them were great as well. There is a new form for Accel in this movie called the Booster form. Even though I liked Trial more, the Booster form is still awesome. The bright yellow color really stands out and I like the chest plate and the visor. It increases the bulkiness a little, but it fits the overall design. Not only we see Double return we also get the lovely magician Lily (play by Nao Nagasawa) and her scenes were short it's nice to see her character return. The new character Aoi was interesting, but nothing special. I really did like how she helped Terui and her ending was good as well.

Cons- If you thought Akiko was annoying from the series, holy crap she get's ten times worse here. I never really found her that annoying in the series, but my goodness she really got me mad this time. I know jealousy can make people over react, but she constantly goes crazy. There was also a running joke about a divorce and it just never hits right. She really just got in the way this time.

Even in that movie she got annoying

Overall- Akiko was pretty bad in this movie, but at least she calmed down soon enough. The film is really fun though and I will give it a watch. There is a nice blend of action with out of suit fights and suit fights. The new characters were pretty fun and the villain was damn good. I know some people may criticize me for liking Commander so much since he can be cliche at times. That part I don't really care about though, I actually like some villains who just want to take over the world or just want revenge. My reason is because their actions counter that flaw. It shows passion in a villain when they do what they do. Mostly what I am saying you should like a villain for what he is doing and not focus in on the cliche. Overall I give it an A- because even with a big annoyance the film balances very well with action and drama. Also Accel is awesome!

Movie Month: Cho Den-o and Decade Review

I have briefly mentioned this movie and I don't like it at all. So I am now going to tear this movie apart because I hate so much. Well the plot of this movie starts with a kid named Yu as he is having trouble getting used to the country life. The boy is bullied and wants to go back to his old home. He runs outside one day and finds himself mixed in with the plot of this movie. It seems Deneb is around for some reason and then Mirror Monsters from Ryuki attack? Soon New Den-o appears, but he gets beaten up by a new evil rider named Shilubara. Shilubara is some sort of Oni who has the power to transform and why.... because of a time distortion.... The time distortion is also the blame for why Ryotaro is much younger now. This also gives an explanation why Zeronoes isn't around as he vanished. Well that Oni wanted something called the Trump Stone and Yu has been holding onto it for a while, but he doesn't say anything. In the train none of the Imajin are around because of this time distortion and the group go looking for them. Urutaros, Kintaros, and Ryutaros are in an older time where they posses the three arm monsters from Kiva? The time is like an edo period and there are warriors who are fighting off the Oni. Even Decade is in this time for some reason. As Sieg is with them which is understandable because that did happen in the end of the Den-o world arc. The scene was useless though, Decade and the gang make a quick appearance. So now all that is left is Momo and if the villains do get the Trump stones a giant ship will be released. Will the heroes be able to stop the Oni from unveiling the ship?

This is now the final form for Den-o, Climax form with wings! (sigh)

Cons- I'm going straight for the cons because there are so many flaws to talk about with this movie. First the whole time distortion plot points are lazy as hell! They are just thrown in for a quick explanation and we are supposed to be fine with it. Heck they could have just said it's Decade's fault and that would make more sense. Reminding me of Decade this movie suffers a similar flaw that Climax Deka had the other hero only gets one fight! Kiva had a quick appearance and then he comes in the final fight and so does Decade in this movie. It just makes him useless to the plot and I can't believe not having Decade is a bad thing. I also want to talk about Cho Den-o its so cheap. First I barely care for Climax form it's a mess of a form and adding wings is barely a change! Now this is the final form while the Liner form isn't anymore..... The character Yu is annoying because his character is sooooo cliche. He's a city boy who doesn't like the country blah blah blah. Also his interactions with the bow girl is pretty bad as well since her character is not that important. One thing that is weird with this movie is some of the stuff that happens. I know these are superheroes I am talking about, but my god there are so many dumb things. First there was the new form for New Den-o. It's called Vega form and it happens when Deneb goes into Kotaro. So yea even though New Den-o doesn't have the same buttons like Den-o he can have different forms, it doesn't make sense. This is why I liked seeing the other Imajin turn into weapons for New Den-o which I will talk about when I go to that movie. There is one scene where the girl tries to fire an arrow, but she is injured and the boy helps her fire the arrow. This arrow gets made air time and it somehow hits a rope so far away. I'm sorry, the boy isn't that strong and the girl is injured. Those two couldn't do that, it would make more sense for if an Imajin was possessing the boy. Now the villains of this movie, if you saw a previous post I hate these two movie riders. They have nothing special and they play out like how you would guess. They're brothers and they are evil so yea that's basically it. These two don't even have any connections to the other characters which just make them completely pointless and Goludora falls for the worst plan ever. The worst part though is the ending and we find out more about Yu, trust me it will get you flaming mad.

It's sad, these two have good looking designs, but they are so plain and boring

Overall- I know I should have a pros section, but no for me I completely hated this film. The plot is thin, the new characters are boring, and Decade barely does anything! This movie is like Climax Deka, but with nothing good about it. I give it an F- and that will probably be the only time I will give anything that grade.

This somehow made three more films!

Movie Month: Kamen Rider the First Review

For the next movie I am looking at the only Rider movie I actually own. This is based on the manga of the first rider (that is what it says on the DVD), but there are some nice references to the series. The story is the same is similar to the series as it begins with a man named Hongo having a usual day where he works as a scientist. On that day though Shocker appears and invite him to become a member. He tries to run, but a Bat cyborg stops him and catches him. At the Shocker lab he is worked on and becomes Hopper a new cyborg. He is sent on his first mission to infiltrate a building. So the major difference is that he starts out as a villain. He shows his strength off well and finishes the job by destroying the place. Now the media is going crazy with these strange incidents happening and one reporter sticks her nose in too much. Asuka is that reporter and one day along with her fiance, Hayato they are attacked by a Spider cyborg and Hopper. Spider kills the man and at that moment it starts to snow. This goes back what Hongo was looking at in his field of research and it snaps him back into his true self. He takes his helmet off to see if the man is still alive and Asuka sees him as he flees when more attention was coming. Now Hongo is now seen as a betrayer and has to fight for his survival. Shocker sends other cyborgs and even another Hopper. Hongo throws himself in the line of fire because of Asuka who keeps being attacked even though she blames him for the murder of her finance.

Pros- As I said before there are little references to the series like bringing back some faces from the rider franchise. We get Hiroshi who is known as V3 and many other Toku heroes playing Tachibana. He did have a small role, but his scene was a good watch. One thing that was a good change was how the riders transform. In the original series they had the whole arm movements, but for a film in the 21st century that had to change. It's simply a fast hand movement over the belt as it starts the fan. Along with that I really like the designs of the riders in this film. We get the first rider with the overall black look like how Ichigo looked originally. Nigo gets the green look he originally had as well. Overall their suits are very nice as it really looks like an upgrade of the older suits. Another good thing about Nigo is that past rider Raia, Takano is portraying him and he does good, but there is a sharp edge of the blade with this. For Hongo his actor does good with showing how hard it was to be a hero like this. Action is done very well as we get fast paced suit action that plays very well. Rider Kicks are in this movie, but they don't have the same dynamic feel. The movie also played with this as his powers are out of control. Shocker stays the same which is something I loved because I thought this film would try to completely change them. Shocker is an organization that wants world domination, that is it. Another good about Shocker is how brute they are. They kill any target they are assigned to which again reminds me of the manga and series.

Cons- There is one really big flaw with this movie and that is a whole sub plot. There is a kid in the hospital who could die sometime and he has issues because of this. He tried to kill himself and doesn't want anyone talking to him. One girl tries to get him to open up and soon these two are like a couple. The girl is also in a frail state, but the two are given a chance of stronger bodies thanks to Shocker. The sub plot is mostly pointless as it just gives up a look at two new cyborgs. These two become snake cyborgs which is a reference to the Cobra cyborg and his female partner in the manga and series. It also seems that the movie just tried to throw sadness for no reason with these characters. The love interest Asuka is annoying! I can agree that she won't trust Hongo, but she already had her life threatened and she still tries to look into the story. She just serves to be bait as Hayato does come back, but he completely changes. Which is another thing I kinda have to pick at. Hayato was completely changed in the movie. It wasn't a bad change it's just it was kinda pointless to have him be in the beginning in the movie. They show a character and bam he is killed and changed into a different person. They could have easily just had Nigo appear as an enemy since he changes completely. Another quick appearance is Doctor Shinigami himself, but they use the footage from the old series and have someone dub over it. It just felt odd and seeing him next to two other screens you can just tell the differences between the screens. Finally some references were just thrown in like the Rider's original poses were thrown in the last fight. It was nice, but it was completely random for the movie since they never did it before.

Overall- The movie is what it is supposed to be. It's a modification on the old rider story as it does look and feel like a 21st century movie. The action is nice and some references are put in nicely. Sadly there are some bad inserts and the movie tried to develop all the characters even though some didn't even need it. I give it a B- for serving it's purpose.