Category Archives: 8 Star Movies

A Few Good Men Review

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This review is of the edited TV 14 version of the film. All thoughts below should be addressed as such since a review of the unedited version would likely be more negative.
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It’s time for a classic film and one that’s more critically applauded when compared to Galaxy Quest. Even the title can be seen as deep because you have to decide who the title is referring too. I personally think that it shouldn’t really go towards the two guys who choked the poor victim so I’d place it on Daniel and his partners, but I suppose that it’s ultimately your choice there.

Dawson and Downey are two U.S. Army Marines who have been charged with murder of another cadet in a hazing incident. They have pleaded innocent as the other cadet was murdered, but they claim to have been ordered to haze him. Their superior officer has given another story so it is time to go to court. Daniel has been assigned to the case, but while he is known as a skilled lawyer who can reduce a client’s sentence quite easily, he likes to take the easy way out. If a deal is offered, he’ll take it. JoAnne doesn’t want this to happen since she thinks the two guys are totally innocent and assigns herself as Daniel’s partner. There’s also a third partner who is involved, but he’s not thrilled at the prospect of helping these two bullies.

Before getting into anything else, I will say that I definitely agree with the third guy. Dawson and Downey are in the wrong here and spending a lifetime in prison is essentially what they deserve. Knowingly or not, they did murder someone and took away his chance at a future. They may say that they were ordered to put him into a suffocating position long enough to strike fear into him, but that’s essentially torture and any amount of common sense will tell you that this isn’t okay. When you’re in the Marines you’re expected to follow orders no matter what. Well, then you’ve got to set the example for the others or allow yourself to be discharged from your post. Assaulting a defenseless person is definitely not the right choice to make in any situation. It doesn’t make it any better when you consider that it was 2 vs 1 and the fact that these guys were supposed to be friends. Yeah, Dawson and Downey got no sympathy from me.

It doesn’t help that they don’t make it very easy for Daniel either. They hide crucial bits of information from their allies until the prosecutors bring up the evidence in court. (It’s way too late by then of course) They also don’t seem all that sorry about their actions either. There is basically no remorse for a while. They even say that they have a code. “Units, Corp, God, Country.” So, God’s third on that list and your Unit is above your Country? The priorities are really messed up here and when you put the Unit above morality then you know something is going to go wrong. As it stands, I was basically rooting for the opposing team although naturally I wanted the lie about not giving the order to come out.

Nathan is a pretty good villain and I instantly recognized the villain from the Shining. The actor’s voice is certainly iconic and he does a good job of playing the role here. Nathan is pretty confident and in his old age he really wants to command respect from just about everyone that he talks to. He has no respect for anyone but himself and he is committed to doing things his way. His personality is ultimately his downfall, but this was a villain that I could get behind.

Daniel’s a pretty good main character. I like the overconfidence and the fact that he treats everything like a game. It’s ultimately a front as he shows on different occasions that he actually has a good grasp on everything so it seems like he just has fun trolling everyone. His superiors clearly see his talent as they chose him…or that’s what he wants to think. They probably just wanted someone who would roll over when they attacked in court. Daniel’s only downfall is the fact that he panics a lot. When he panics, Daniel gets drunk and then he’ll start running around and yelling. This happens to a lot of main characters to be honest, they’ll just panic and then try to get sober in time for the climax. It may have been discouraging as the case had a lot of set backs, but getting drunk won’t help.

JoAnne’s a good heroine and she certainly does a good job of digging up a lot of info on her own. Without her prodding, the heroes would have definitely lost the case as she is the one who started to make Nathan look suspicious and Daniel would have given up several times if not for her. JoAnne is strong willed and you always need that in a lawyer. I’m also glad that the film avoided the predictable romance between her and Daniel. They ultimately stay in the friend zone and that’s the realistic way to handle this. Getting together after a few days of working on a case would have been dicey.

Daniel’s rival was a pretty interesting antagonist and he was actually reasonable, which is something that usually doesn’t happen. They were fighting as part of the case, but off the record they were still pals and even went out for drinks. They would feed each other info and the banter was always good. Meanwhile, the hardened secret agent was a bit of a let down. He talked tough and he got a lot of hype as well, but when the going got tough he decided to get out of there. By “there” I mean life and it was a rather anticlimactic way to go. There was really no point to doing any of that and it just made the guy look weak.

Of course, the main reason why this film was a lot of fun was the court room scenes. I always enjoy those and a good part of the film took place in court once the action started. The Judge kept them all honest as he overruled some of the objections. He also wouldn’t stand for any insults and not even Nathan could get away with any rudeness here. The court scenes were where you could really see what the characters were made of. Who had the skills and who simply did not. Daniel snatching away the rule book and bringing up the lunch room question was certainly one of the highlight moments in the court. He certainly did a great job debating even if the evidence was stacked against him from the start.

Overall, A Few Good Men is a solid film. There really isn’t much negative to say about it. The ending was satisfying since Dawson and Downey didn’t get a super happy ending. As far as I’m concerned, they’re just as guilty as anyone else. The characters were all pretty charismatic and I wouldn’t have minded seeing more of Nathan at the base. A few more scenes over there would have definitely been a blast. If you want a solid strategic film with good dialogue throughout, this is the film for you. You know that Nathan is lying from the start so you just have to wonder how the heroes can prove it. To an extent, the ending involves plot hax since there is no other way that the heroes could have made it, but it’s still pretty fun and the debate doesn’t use any hax until the very end so the rest is all very legit. We need more good court room films.

Overall 8/10

Mission Impossible Rogue Nation Review

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Mission Impossible has always been a fun series and I was looking forward to this film. It was one of the few films that I thought had a chance to dethrone Pixels. It turns out that this wasn’t a very tough feat at all, but the film did not disappoint. Aside from Age of Ultron, this one’s easily the best film that I’ve seen in theaters this year from the live action titles. Off the top of my head it manages to dethrone MI 4 and the original film as the definitive best title, but it has been quite a while since I’ve seen those.

Ethan Hunt has been helping the IMF for quite a while, but it cannot be denied that there is typically a lot of collateral damage. As such, the organization is disbanded and the CIA claims its assets. Ethan goes off the grid to try and learn more about a shadow organization that has been committing acts of terrorism across the globe. Months later, Ethan has finally gotten a solid link on the adversaries and calls in one of his old partners, Benji, to help him with this fight. Together along with a member of the Syndicate (Shadow Organization) who claims to not be loyal to the cause, the three heroes embark on this perilous journey.

Naturally, this is the kind of film where you don’t really want to trust anyone. The characters could turn on each other at any minute and what’s a Mission Impossible film without a few twists and obstacles? That being said, if you believe in the Hollywood style enough, you should be able to see through most of the film’s deceptions. Now, why was this film a cut above the rest? It all goes down to a few elements.

For starters, the writing is good in this movie. As it’s essentially a battle of wits between Ethan and Solomon, the writing needed to be good or things could have gotten pretty dicey. Both characters try to stay one step ahead of the other, although it’s a much tougher task for Ethan since he has no resources for most of the adventure and has to make do with what he’s got. Solomon also has an entire organization to back him up.

The action scenes are pretty fun. There’s a motorcycle race between Ethan and the villains as they all cruise along at top speeds. Ethan has experience in all speeding vehicles so he’s definitely prepared for such a challenge. It’s definitely the best action sequence in the film and does a good job of showing Ethan’s skills as an agent. There’s also a car chase and then the stunt scenes like Ethan going underwater or hanging onto an airplane. Those were all fairly well done and holding one’s breath for so long is a good feat.

The hand to hand battles are also nice and fast paced. They’re a little more violent than the older films as the heroes literally break their opponents a lot of time. For current fight scenes, the trend is to hear the bones breaking and put a lot of emphasis on when the heroes pull a General Zod moment, but it never gets too over the top and you can still appreciate how skilled Ethan is when he’s fighting off the opponents.

In case you couldn’t tell, I’m definitely a big fan of the character. Ethan’s been a consistently solid agent since the first film and his skills have improved. He’s not portrayed as being invincible in hand to hand combat as a random thug was overpowering him in a fair fight, but he makes up for that with his other skills. Like James Bond, Ethan has a license to kill and he gives it a real workout here. He’s essentially a legal assassin so you shouldn’t expect him to take any prisoners. It’s simply not his way. That being said, compared to other secret agents who do whatever they want in the process of completing the mission like James Bond or even Jason Bourne, Ethan is simply better at the job. He’s far more professional than James Bond and I’d say that he’s smarter than Bourne.

That being said, the film probably does rub our nose in it a little too much. I don’t believe that Ethan could successfully follow the Syndicate around the world for months without his government status. He somehow manages to also stay one step ahead of the CIA along the way and makes himself a base filled with lots of high tech equipment. I definitely think that it’s a stretch, but Mission Impossible is all about doing the impossible so it’s not something to think about too much. Plot hax is always around if you know where to look.

While Ethan is easily my favorite character in the film, I also like Brandt. He’s the connection on the government side of things and he almost could have been the main character if not for Ethan always stealing the spotlight. He acts like a leader and he’s quite skilled although he’s no Ethan Hunt. Without Brandt helping with the legal aspects of the situation, Ethan would have likely been doomed. Benji is a big player in this film, but I can’t say that I’m a fan. He’s not a bad character, but I feel like he doesn’t really add anything to the film except to be there for when Ethan needs an extra man. I would have preferred Brandt to have been the co-star, but he was definitely needed in the CIA plot.

Another one of Ethan’s friends, Luther shows up during the film. After the opening scene, he essentially vanished until the halfway point or maybe even later. He’s good and his computer skills are top notch. He doesn’t get much to do compared to the other members, but he helps out when the team is in a pinch. The leader of the CIA was a fairly likable character and you couldn’t help, but root for him at times. He always meant well and looking at things from his perspective, it’s hard to deny that he made some good calls. Destroying the IMF? It’s probably a good idea, but he would need to have a backup squad ready ASAP before the villains got any ideas.

As for the villains, let’s start off with Solomon. He’s actually a good villain who thinks things through and did a good job of outsmarting the heroes for a while. He has one “intimidation” scene that will make you wince and/or roll your eyes, but that was the only scene where he wasn’t impressive. I like how he turned the whole “Should you accept it” speech around on Ethan. He did it twice, but the first time was certainly the best moment. It really came out of nowhere and while we knew that the villain would make a move, it’s safe to say that nobody expected it to be so epic. It made the wait for the rematch that much more epic.

There were other villains like the “Bone Doctor” who gave the film some fights. Beyond them, the other big character would be the heroine, Ilsa. Throughout the film, you have to decide if you will trust her or not. I give the film some major props for not trying to turn her into a love interest for Ethan. That would have been pretty terrible and most films make that mistake, but not this one. Ilsa is used for some slight fanservice in one or two scenes, but it’s slight at least and not played up. (As it would certainly be in a lesser film) Ilsa’s a good character, but at the same time, she doesn’t think about her current situation enough. She takes a whole lot of risks for her country, but it goes into dicey territory with how unnecessary a lot of them are. She should realize that she’s just being used and act accordingly. Ilsa also came close to destroying Ethan on several occasions and you have to wonder if she meant to or not since depending on the answer, it does make her look bad. On the bright side, while it was at the expense of the British, the American Government looks nice and fair by comparison this time.

Rogue Nation has a lot of intense action scenes, but it’s also a lot of fun throughout and has a similar upbeat tone to that of The Avengers. People in the audience cracked up when the M16 chief got shot because of his extremely mild/dazed response. The film also has a good amount of witty banter about it. It never turns into full on comedy mode, but has enough light moments to keep you entertained throughout the film. It’s only around 2 hours, but the film really crams in a ton of content so the movie is always going.

I have to note that the film also uses a retro effect that I haven’t seen some time. Remember a few decades ago when the opening credits of a film would show scenes from the actual film that hadn’t happened yet? This one does that as the credits were rolling and it’s interesting. I’m actually not a huge fan of this since it’s showing you scenes that are about to happen, but I suppose that it could be a good way to generate hype. I dunno, I’m still against it, but it’s worth noting.

One thing that I liked about the ending was who the new recruit to the IMF was. It’s the perfect situation since as long as this person remains in the shadows, the IMF can do whatever they want. Of course, with no one to check on them, the IMF has to be very careful that they don’t go down a similar path like the Syndicate. As mentioned several times, Ethan is a gambler and the IMF takes a lot of huge risks. They will fail sometimes, but at least they still save lives whenever they enter the field.

Finally, I can’t forget to mention that the soundtrack is really good. The opening theme that played sounded an awful lot like a Terminator remix and then we also got the classic MI theme a few times during the film. It was a great selection of themes to be sure and they helped to make the film even more fun than it could have been. It’s safe to say that no other live action film this year will be able to defeat this film except for possibly Star Wars and even that only has a really slim shot. Mission Impossible is just too fun a franchise and can hold its own with any big title.

Overall, Rogue Nation is another win for the Mission Impossible series. On the record, I believe that it is the best MI title to date, but the series has had a good track record of aging well so it’s possible that the older titles will age slower than this one and overtake it. We shall see, but I don’t see myself lowering this score anytime soon so they will have to catch up to it. With fun fight scenes and an epic soundtrack, this film had all the tools needed to be a winner. There are a lot of things that can happen in the next film since it’s essentially a clean slate right now. If you want to check out an action film, this is the perfect one for you.

Overall 8/10

And Then There Were None Review

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It’s time to look at a really retro film. This title came out almost 10 years before the original Godzilla, which shows that it has certainly seen a long film history. You’ll be reminded of Clue almost instantly as the film begins. Little did I realize that this one would even beat Clue (Granted that it’s been a while since I saw that film) and this could be one of the best mystery thrillers that I’ve ever seen! It certainly surpassed my expectations.

The film opens with quite a few different characters entering a mysterious house. They have all been called here under various pretenses, but then they start to figure out that something is a wrong. A voice emanates from the shadows and accuses them all of various crimes involving murder. They were never brought to justice for their past deeds so the host has decided that it is his job to prosecute the characters. Can the 10 criminals trust each other long enough to come up with a plan or are they simply going to die until the title of the film rings true!?

The premise is a good one although it can be difficult to execute it properly. If this film had come out 50 years later, I’m sure that the director would have made this more of a modern slasher film where everyone dies in the diciest ways possible. Luckily, this was the 40’s. Back when everyone had constraint and the film is actually very tame considering the fact that the body count is quite high. All of the violence is off screen and their fates were all rather simple and direct. The film knew that the best way to go about this was to be direct and to the point. It worked like a charm!

As I always say, one of the best things about mystery films is trying to figure out who the culprit is. Likewise, the best thing in a slasher film is trying to figure out who’s going to live if you think that anyone will survive the experience. Needless to say, I tried to do both here. I was right about the character who lived through this, but I was wrong about who the culprit was. Ah well, 1/2 isn’t all that bad when you think about it. No worries, there are no cop outs here although one scene will have you questioning it quite a bit. I find it a little hard to believe personally. The crossed out section quickly mentions the scene and while I tried to make it spoiler free, you should still skip that paragraph until you watch the film. Since this is a mystery film, such potential spoilers are more important to mention than usual.

The scene in question involves a possible injury. It’s hard to elaborate on that without spoiling the film, but do you think you could tell if someone was shot or not if you had a clear view of the supposed bullet hole? It’s safe to say that you would be able to discern such a thing with ease. It’s actually tougher on the viewer than the character because you could just assume that the special effects were not up to snuff so it is hard to tell if the character is injured or not. It is a valid excuse for a movie watcher, but not for the characters inside of the film. There is no way that they would not be able to tell the difference.

That was just a small critique though. The film probably couldn’t think of a better way to go about this so that was still a mostly acceptable way of handling it. Trust me, it could have been much less believable! The atmosphere is very cloudy and mysterious, which suits the film. It is definitely a title that would be much different if it had been in color. I’m hesitant to say that any film is better in black and white, but it certainly worked for me here. For a mystery, black and white just seems to make sense.

Naturally, the most important factor for this film was going to be the cast of characters. You need a likable bunch or else you’re going to start rooting for the villain. After all, two wrongs don’t make a right, but the heroes have gotten away with murder…haven’t they? the ending does a good job of stopping this actually as the ending addresses everything, which makes the film happier than it might have been otherwise. Let’s just say that the crooks don’t necessarily get away with anything, but things are more complicated than they appear on the surface.

Of course, it’s also the kind of film where you don’t tend to remember any of the names after watching it. You will be able to recall how the characters looked and acted, but the names simply weren’t unique enough to recall. That’s all right though since the characters are the important part. The team is made up of 10 fugitives and then we’ve got the butler and his assistant. I’ll try to quickly give you a rundown of them so you can decide who is shady and who isn’t.

The butler is…the butler. What else can you say about this guy and why you should suspect him? He serves the food and knows the mansion better than the rest of the characters. The assistant doesn’t seem to like any of the other characters and she wants to get away from the mansion as soon as possible. Maybe she has a strong motive eh? We have the main character who seems like a really nice lady who is oblivious to the danger at first. Surely such a nice soul could not be the mastermind…right? An older lady is also present who loves knitting. She loves to voice aloud her agreement with Mr. Owens (The boss behind the shadows) in the fact that the fugitives (Minus herself) need to be punished with death. Maybe she is simply giving them a hint! There’s a crazy guy who loves singing and making the atmosphere morbid. He definitely seems suspect! There’s a judge of sorts who seems to be brilliant. He’s constantly making deductions and he is always able to make an airtight case against whoever is allegedly guilty at the moment. Maybe he’s turning the team against each other? A doctor is also in the house and he likes beer although he doesn’t admit to it. Is he trying to forget his wicked deeds before destroying the rest of the cast? You certainly can’t trust anyone who’s not being honest with the cast. We also can’t forget the guy who is always agreeing with the Judge. He is easily swayed by opinions and he’ll follow whoever seems to have the best idea. Perhaps he is saving his cunning mind for when he will truly need it! Finally, we’ve got the generic American, action hero. This guy’s cool, calm, and collected. He’s also armed with an illegal handgun that he is pretending to not possess. Hmmm….nothing shady about that eh? I believe that I named all of the main characters or at least I hope I did. If I left anyone out, it was just accidental misdirection…..

As I mentioned earlier, the ending is fairly satisfying with a little humor involved as well. For some context, my favorite character was the driver of the ship who was taking the 10 convicts to the private island. He was having fun with his sandwich and he certainly knew the score. Unlike the main characters who were fighting for their lives, the captain was just sleeping at home! He makes it back to the island for the ending and it is safe to say that he handled the situation quite well. The film ends there, but I have no doubt that he will be ready to take the win.

There are two elements to the plot that I did not mention earlier so I should quickly elaborate on them. For starters, the heroes cannot leave the island because the boat only comes on Mondays. Or, the next boat is on Monday. Either way, they have to survive 3 nights if they want to stay alive. Moreover, every character is dying according to a creepy poem that is in the house. The villain wants to stick to the script so that should at least give the heroes a heads up on what’s about to happen to them…if they heed the poem of course!

Overall, The film’s title allows you to quickly get yourself interested in what’s about to happen and the film executes the plot to perfection. There is little room for improvement here as the film really does a good job on all areas. The characters are interesting and the pacing is nice and quick. The ending is solid and the film was a slasher while still staying true to the mystery element. There are few films that I would recommend sooner from the 40’s than this one…if any. I highly recommend checking this film out and if you love a good mystery, it is safe to say that you will greatly enjoy this one!

Overall 8/10

Godzilla (2014) Review

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2014 has been a pretty big year for films so far. We got The Amazing Spider Man 2 and Captain America, which were both pretty great films in their own right. Nontheless, Godzilla was the film that I was excited for. Over the last year or two, I quickly went and watched all of the previous Godzilla films in the franchise so that I could be ready for this one when it hit theaters. Well, I made it and the film was excellent!

I have to say that the atmosphere was perfect for the film. It was cloudy and dark outside and you got the feeling that something terrifying was about to happen. Once you entered the theater, it was easy to see how excited everyone was. For once, the place was packed and the room was completely sold out. Surrounded by many Godzilla fans, I quickly braced myself for the inevitable awesomeness. Be warned that this review may contain spoilers!

I barely even need to describe the plot, but I may as well. After the Government “destroyed” Godzilla in 1954, they decided to hide this from the civilians. Joe is forced to move out of his home amidst devastating circumstances, but he suspects that this was no natural occurrence. After a 15 year time skip, forces are on the move on again and the Muto has awoken. Joe’s son, Ford, steps into the main role as he carries on the fight against the monsters. Hope seems to be lost and humanity may need to rely on the power of Godzilla to save them all!

Pretty vague summary, but most of the plot is in the trailer. It’s hard to know where to start in a film like this one where there is so much to say. I suppose that I should begin with the two negatives that I had with the film since it’s all uphill from there. The first negative was the very unnecessary scene that involved a dog attempting to run away from a large flood that was approaching. That scene came out of nowhere and it was added for no discernible reason. That definitely didn’t help the film and I was hoping that Godzilla would manage to avoid this particular error.

The other part that I didn’t care for was the romance between the main character and Elle. They only get two major scenes that are hard to watch, but that’s enough. It may have been a while since they’ve seen each other, but we don’t really need to see that. The scenes were far too long and this wasn’t a huge negative, but a negative all the same. I wouldn’t have minded if they just shook hands or something. That would have definitely been passable.

Now, let’s get into the good parts! Godzilla’s portrayal was spot on! He’s a hero, but he’s a fighter first and foremost. It was awesome to see him completely crushing the Muto monsters. During the first fight, Godzilla was winning effortlessly and there was nothing that they could do to stop him. I’ll admit that I got a little worried when they started double teaming him, but Godzilla still held his own. Godzilla’s Atomic Breath was an epic moment as well. I’m sure that everyone had been waiting for that moment and he definitely made the most out of it. It may not have ended the fight on his first blast, but the next one did the trick. Noticeably, Godzilla made an effort to avoid hurting any of the humans. He did get upset and put them in danger several times, but they were never his main concern.

Muto was a pretty fun villain. We had both a guy and a girl Muto. The guy version was a lot smaller, but he had wings to make up for this. He is definitely not the strongest monster out there, but he is still very large. His size is nothing compared to Godzilla, but his speed serves him well. The design is really fun and it reminds me of Clover, Kamakuras, and maybe even a little Orga in there. His EMP ability is also pretty fun and very useful against the government. It basically means that the humans are helpless against him.

The girl version of Muto is much larger, but she does not possess wings. Her physical strength is admirable and while she was not as physically strong as Godzilla, she was very powerful. Her limbs were sharp enough to stab into Godzilla when she struck and many hits connected against Godzilla. Her striking power is fierce and she proves that she can stand up to any other American Kaiju. Overall, the film did a great job of making this new Kaiju design. It can definitely hold up to any of the older ones and they look amazing.

Ford Brody is the main character and I can’t say that he was my favorite hero of late. He reminds me of Alex Hopper, but Hopper may have been a little better. It’s definitely debatable, but Ford just wasn’t cool to watch. He didn’t give Joe the benefit of the doubt for a while, which was sad. His army training was a nice twist since it gave him some experience, but it actually wasn’t played up all that much. Still, it helped for the Halo jump. Ford isn’t a bad character, but he can’t hold his own film so I’m definitely glad that it’s called Godzilla!

Joe Brody looked like he would be one of the main characters from the trailer and he does get a decent role, but it’s not as large as you may have expected. That’s not a really bad thing, but I would have preferred it if he had gotten a larger role in place of Ford. Joe was a lot more sympathetic and he knew what he was doing at all times. Getting that data was critical…hopefully.

Dr. Serizawa is around and he seems to be the son of the original Serizawa. Unfortunately, he’s a tough character to root for. He locks up the heroes and he then proceeds to make the exact same mistakes that the originals made. Was it really a good idea to let the Kaiju get near some more radiation? I don’t think so! Serizawa keeps on trying to tell the government to let nature run its course and allow Godzilla to win, which is good in theory…but he doesn’t make a strong case. He could have presented his argument in better ways. That being said, this is the army so I doubt that they would have listened to him. Serizawa was a decent character, but he definitely wasn’t as good as he could have been.

Elle Brody doesn’t get a whole lot of scenes, but she seems to be a reasonable person. I still say that Ford and Elle should have taken things a lot slower when he got back home. Elle makes the tough calls at the end, but it’s still good that she sent the kid away. (Maybe, she was safe the whole time so things may have been easier if they had been together) She was all right and maybe Elle will get more of a role in the sequel.

Godzilla’s design is a crucial part of any Godzilla film and this one did a nice job. The only part that I’m still not a fan of is Godzilla’s face. It looks way too much like a Bear and he just doesn’t have that Godzilla grin. Godzilla’s roar is as powerful as ever and the rest of his design is nice and monstrous. It’s definitely one of his better looks and I wouldn’t mind if they kept that design for the next film, but an alteration to the face would be good.

Godzilla gives us a lot of action as well as a few emotional scenes. Sandy Brody’s scene is pretty tragic and you’ll likely remember it from the trailer. Emotional moments can definitely be good as long as they’re handled the “right” way. Naturally that’s subjective, but I would say that the film handled the scene pretty well. It was sad, but it didn’t drag on for a while to keep on reminding us how sad it was.

Godzilla really shines in the action scenes. We didn’t get any until we were at the very end of the film, but it was the perfect setting. Nighttime in the middle of a big city is where I want just about all fights to take place. It’s the perfect arena and I loved seeing Godzilla throw Muto through a few buildings. His atomic breath scene was pretty epic and while the blast was not as big as you may have expected; it was played off as a compacted blast for maximum damage. That worked just as well for me. The fight was styalized after the showa films so we had a lot of hand to hand combat with minimal long range attacks. Godzilla’s final blow against the creature is pretty intense. Perhaps it was a little over the top, but it’s something that many fans had probably been waiting for and it definitely beats what I thought he was about to do. (I don’t want another Anguirus vs Mecha Godzilla right now…) Godzilla basically reminded everyone that you should not try to fight him.

The Mutos managed to land a lot of hits on Godzilla and they did deal a lot of damage, but the victor was never in doubt. I’ll admit that it got a little close for comfort since it was hard to imagine that they could put up such a fight. I did cut the film a little slack there because they parodied the roar part. Godzilla decided to take time off from the fight to let out a roar of challenge and the two monsters promptly took him down. Stopping to roar is not recommended in a fight, but Godzilla used to do that all the time. It was a nice homage.

One area of the film that never made sense was the cutaways. Several times Godzilla would be getting ready to fight Muto and then it would cut away. Once, we even jumped ahead to the next day and we’ll find out that Muto escaped with Godzilla in pursuit. I don’t get how their fights would keep ending so abruptly and it can be a little irritating. It feels like classic plot hax and that’s why they made sure that the scenes weren’t on screen. Perhaps it was the only way to make things believable. Still, I didn’t appreciate missing out on all of those fights so that was definitely a bit of a negative.

On the other hand, I did like the 3D roller coaster effect. Several times, it felt as if you were in a ride where you had to escape from the monsters. The camera would feel as if we were now in first person view as the monsters approached. It meant that we couldn’t really see the action, but it was very epic. One of the scenes that definitely stood out was when the burning train headed towards the two main characters. It felt like a horror scene and it was very well done.

We’ve also got to give the Bus Driver an honorable mention. He went above and beyond the call of duty as he put the peddle to the meddle. I have to give him credit for going full speed twice in the span of a few minutes as he had to get past the Kaiju. The kids were lucky that they were with this trained professional!

The soundtrack was pretty good for the film. We had some very serious themes and even a hero theme or two when Godzilla was fighting against Muto. Live Action films aren’t known for their great soundtracks so it’s always a pleasant surprise to see a film that actually does have some good tunes.

This was definitely a big improvement from the 98 film and I also prefer it to the new Pacific Rim adventure. Compared to other Godzilla films this one definitely won’t be very high in the ranks, but it did manage to defeat a few of them. The original Godzilla, Return of Godzilla, Raids Again, Vs Biollante, etc. This one definitely beat those films, but it naturally pales in comparison to Final Wars, GMK, Vs Mecha Godzilla, and the original Ghidorah The 3 Headed Monster. Hopefully this film does very well at the box office so that they can afford to have some more great fights for the sequel in 2016.

I have to admit that a post credits scene would have been perfect for the film. We got a chinese dragon symbol which may allude to Manda or Ghidorah, but I wanted something a little more bold. A Kaiju in space that is flying towards Earth, a tablet with the words, “Mothra Awakens” or even a final scene with the government and “Project Mecha Godzilla” Adding in any of those scenes would have been very epic and added another boost to the film.

Finally, there was one part in the ending that I did not care for. That part was Godzilla crumpling to the ground after defeating the other two Kaiju. Was it really that much of a fight? The two Muto monsters definitely did some significant damage to him during the double team, but I figured that Godzilla would be able to bounce back from it. I’m glad that he waited for the Mutos to be out of the picture before fainting, but I didn’t expect that from Godzilla. I just thought that he’d head back to the ocean and call it a day. I expect him to end his next fight with a little less damage to show off Godzilla’s unlimited stamina and determination!

Overall, Godzilla is everything that I could have hoped for! Godzilla looked incredible and the monster fights were a lot of fun. The Dog scene may have helped to knock down the score along with the romance, but the film definitely succeeded in the long run. I highly recommend checking this film out as soon as possible and you won’t be disappointed. It’s not every day that you get to watch the King of the Monsters in theaters after all!

Overall 8/10

Captain America The Winter Soldier Review

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This was definitely one of the most anticipated films of the year. If not for a certain other film that was arriving in a month, it definitely would have taken the title for me. I’m not going to deny that Spiderman has a slight shot at taking Captain America down….but it’s very unlikely! The Winter Soldier is definitely one of MCU’s best entries and it won’t be forgotten anytime soon! Spoilers approach depending on how you look at it…but I’d probably count them as spoilers.

The plot starts off with Steve Rogers as he humiliates the Falcon in a friendly jog. He’s called onto a mission and he takes on the mighty Batroc. Things get dicey from there as Captain America is told that SHIELD cannot be trusted. They’ve been infiltrated and now our Avenger must find a way to stop the world from falling into chaos. Good thing he’s got Black Widow and the Falcon to back him up! Another thorn in Cap’s side is the fact that an assassin known as the Winter Soldier is out to stop him.

The plot is definitely solid since conspiracy stories always have potential to be interesting. Still, we’re going to need a solid cast and some good fight scenes to make this work. Luckily, Captain America makes for a good main character. He may not be as charismatic as Iron Man or as epic as Superman, but Cap is a solid character. He’s finished adjusting to the new world in this film and he’s used to taking on missions. Has Captain America become the next GI Joe? Surprisingly, Captain America doesn’t seem to be the type to take prisoners quite as much as he used too.

It is loosely up for debate though since we can’t tell how badly he is harming his opponents. Captain America does hit a few humans with his shield in a powerful swing and I can’t see how they would be okay after that. He also throws his dagger into someone’s hand to stop him from pulling the alarm, which seemed to be added to make the film “gritty.” So, how much I like Cap really depends on how he handled the foot soldiers. I’m going to give him the benefit of the doubt and say that he just knocked them all out, which saves his character. I can’t say that I care for his Steve Rogers “form” but it may be that he just doesn’t have an opportunity to get any really good scenes. We only get to see him panic when Widow steals his flash drive (Serious panic as he quickly attacked her) and then let the Winter Soldier humiliate him. Rogers definitely overreacts when the going gets tough.

Black Widow is one of the main supporting characters and this time she has her electronic stingers. I’ve never been a fan of the Black Widow and there have only been a few exceptions. She was all right in the Iron Man anime and she was tolerable in both of the Avenger TV shows. It was really the movies that made sure I was not a fan. She didn’t seem to have a reason to be in Iron Man 2 and her scenes in Avengers made me root against her. (Banner had finally found his safe haven!) I will say that she looks better here than in the other two films, but she’s definitely not going to be one of my favorite MCU characters. She’s the hardened SHIELD agent so she makes sure to hit villains once they’re already down. Amidst all of this, at least she got a decent role to herself unlike the next character…..

The Falcon! I’ve never really minded the character and he’s actually enjoyable in the comics…usually. The problem with his role in the film is the fact that it was completely filler. They did not need him to be in the film and things would have worked out. Just about anyone could have put on a pair of tech wings and then proceeded to save the day. In his climatic fight, he couldn’t even take the quick win. Strength isn’t everything, but there weren’t many other scenes for the Falcon to prove his toughness. The Falcon wasn’t a bad character…he was just out of place. I’m sure that he could be a decent assist character in a future MCU film.

Nick Fury is around and he gets the usual hype, but this is not his most commanding appearance. He gets into a fight with the Winter Soldier and he gets into a disagreement with Captain America which is pretty impressive, but also a dangerous way to play the game. If you’ve been watching the Agents of SHIELD, then you know that Fury can be a little…dicey. His decision to have Black Widow nearly compromise the opening mission was also shady. His ending is pretty tragic and sudden, but maybe it was the right thing to do. Fury is a decent character, but he made some pretty rookie mistakes towards the end.

Maria Hill gets a brief role towards the end. She doesn’t get to appear for very long, but she does play a critical role in the film. She takes out her opponents pretty easily and coordinates the plan at the end. I dare say that she looked a lot more impressive than Agent Sitwell.

The Winter Soldier was the hyped villain for this film. They make sure to throw loads of hints that he’s Bucky from early on. Of course, you may have suspected that from the trailers and TV spots. Nonetheless, I’m sure that it was a shock for some moviegoers. I can’t say that I would have been very shocked because I probably wouldn’t have remembered Bucky from the first film. He wasn’t very memorable and he wasn’t my kind of character. Why has Bucky turned to the dark side? You’ll need to see the film to learn that!

Captain America fights the Winter Soldier a few times and they’re pretty evenly matched. I’m more than a little skeptical at the Winter Soldier’s rifle knocking Cap away from his shield, but I can let that go for now. Winter Soldier holds his own in his fights against Cap, but that’s usually because of his metal arm. Still, the Winter Soldier is a pretty epic villain and he’s much better than some of the other MCU threats.

Director Coulson doesn’t get to appear, but I thought that he deserved a mention…carry on!

The Winter Soldier isn’t the true mastermind behind everything. The real leader is not quite as cool and he can’t really fight….but he can talk a really good game. The more “heroic” he started to sound, the more that I knew that he couldn’t be trusted. I can’t forget to mention the fact that Stan (The Man) Lee makes his triumphant return. Someone actually steals something while he’s on duty, but that’s probably bad news for the miscreant!

I would talk about Agent 13, but she doesn’t really do much in this film. She gets a few scenes, but she’ll likely get a bigger role in the next film. The writers will need to make sure that she is not too similar to Black Widow since that can be a quick mistake. As long as she doesn’t bring Rogers into the dark side, she should be a decent character. I can’t say that her final showing was very impressive in this film though.

I’ve heard that this was known to be a lot more violent than the other MCU films. I can’t say that I noticed while watching the film, but I suppose that it was more violent than previous installments like Thor and Iron Man 2. That being said, there were no scenes that really made me cringe like in the Avengers. I wouldn’t say that the violence was over the top and the worst scene in terms of violence would probably be Bucky’s flashback or Cap’s dagger throwing scene. The gunshots weren’t too bad since they’re just basic wounds that disappear quickly.

Admittedly, I completely do not remember the film having a soundtrack. I was probably too caught up in all of the scenes and intense battles. Winter Soldier’s theme is the only one that I remember, but it was pretty good. That’s enough to give the film a thumbs up in the music category.

The film did a good job in not increasing the outlandish Captain America feats. In Avengers we saw Cap block Thor’s hammer and also jump from an enormous height without a parachute. In this film, Cap looks tough, but it’s definitely more realistic. Jumping from the glass building may cause some concern, but it’s definitely a lot more believable. Cap had a lot of trouble with Batroc, but that’s just the way that the ball bounced I suppose. It does hint that Batroc is at around Winter Soldier level. The hand to hand fight scenes in the film were definitely fun and are some of the best in the MCU. Getting some more fights like this in the next Cap film would be fun and maybe he can try these tricks on Ultron in Avengers 2.

Naturally, you’ll want to stay after the credits! There are two scenes this time. The first one shows two fighters who have been captured and they’re basically at the end of their ropes. Who are they and what do they want with us!? I wasn’t really a fan of that scene, but the second one is pretty intense. We get foreshadowing that will come in handy if you missed part of the ending. It’s basically an alternate way to end the film.

The film goes pretty smoothly and there is only one slow part. Things drag on a little when Black Widow and Cap go to search for the truth. We get some hijinx at the mall and then we get an “epic” confrontation with an old foe. I’m not going to say that they should have cut out those scenes, but I wouldn’t have minded if they took up a little less time. They had a really unnecessary scene where Black Widow and Cap have to pretend that they’re dating and their conversations were pretty awful for a while. This is not what I want to see in my superhero films!

Overall, this was a very good film. There isn’t much in the way of negatives for me. I addressed the part of the film that was a little slow and Cap’s portrayal may be a little dicey. For once, I think it’s okay that the other Avengers didn’t appear since the threat was pretty minimal. (It was a big threat, but they wouldn’t have known the full scope of it) The fight scenes definitely gave the film an extra boost and it didn’t really fall into any major holes. Superhero films should aspire to be like this one and now Winter Soldier can join the elites! (Avengers, Ghost Rider, Spider Man 3) I can safely say that it is the best MCU stand alone film. If you’ve liked any of the previous ones, then I highly recommend it.

Overall 8/10

Murder by Death Review

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Everyone loves a great mystery and they can definitely be enjoyable to watch. It’s especially fun when you’re able to figure out who the culprit was before the main characters, but that’s easier said than done! Also, I’m usually so into the movie that I don’t even take a guess because I’m just focused on the action. This one gives the mystery angle a new spin, but does it work?

The film starts off with several of the world’s greatest detectives as they are invited to a mansion. A murder will be taking place and they must solve the mystery of who committed such a vicious act! The main problem is that the murder hasn’t happened yet, so how can they solve it? The detectives are all professionals, but some of them definitely seem smarter than the others. I will go more into depth with the characters later on in the review, since they essentially make or break the film for you.

The butler is blind, but does that make him a suspect or should we cross him off the list? Either way, he definitely knows his way around the house and he performs admirably. A cook also comes in later, but she is deaf and mute. She also cannot read so this makes things pretty intriguing. Will they be able to work together, or will the challenge be too much for them?

Their host is Lionel Twain and he has come with a very bold challenge to the detectives. He will create a murder that they won’t be able to solve and he will truly be the smartest man in the world. If they do solve the case, they’ll get a nice sum of money to add to their bank account. The detectives feel that they have the upper hand since Twain is obviously the murderer….right!? Once the clock strikes midnight, then the victim appears and the body may shock you!

The detectives scramble to find out what happened and quickly try to solve the case. It’s certainly a tough one and now the detectives must each solve their own dire situation and hopefully escape with their lives, while solving the case in the process. Things prove to be dire and time is definitely not on their side!

Let’s talk about the first group of detectives, Sidney Wang and Willie. Willie isn’t really a detective and he’s actually here to carry Wang’s bags and do the daily errands. Sidney is pretty smart and he likes to (Not so) subtly insult Willie whenever he gets a chance. He’s definitely one of the more prepared detectives in the film and certainly one of the best characters. He knows a lot so the other detectives better watch out for what he may say. He prefers not to use pronouns, but then again…who does!?

Next up we have Dick Charleston and Doris Charleston. They definitely act the most like Sherlock Holmes and they definitely seem to be smart. Unlike Wang and Willie Dick and Doris are both pretty smart and help in key parts of the case. Dick tries to keep Doris out of the conversations when things get “Official” but she still ends up making statements when she wants too. She has learned with the best after all. They also had a dog who was pretty hardcore for the entirety of the film. The villains couldn’t lay a hand on him!

We’ve also got Milo and Marcel. They were some of the weaker characters and definitely did not seem to be quite as smart as the first few detectives. Milo really wanted his snacks, but there weren’t many to be found since they were cheated out of their soup. Marcel is pretty strong, but not quite as quick as the other guys. The statue actually hit him, which was definitely sad for the poor guy. He did have his big moment towards the end.

Jessica Marbles and Miss Withers also come into the picture, but their roles are smaller than the others. They entered the film later than the others and I never found them to be very impressive. Miss Withers couldn’t really move and is very old. Jessica Marbles may have solved some mysteries in her day, but they don’t seem to have been as complicated as the ones that Mr. Charleston probably faced.

Finally, we have Sam Diamond and Tess Skeffington. Sam is pretty tough and he definitely seems to have a meaner edge to him than the other detectives. He’s not here to shoot the breeze or have a merry time. To him, the case is serious business and he came prepared. While he brought a gun, the other detectives are basically defenseless. Tess is pretty fit and was able to walk a long distance more than once to get supplies. She may not be the detective, but she does have a “twist” that helps them wrap things up.

Speaking of the “twists”, that was one of the best parts of the film. You probably remember the old “Luke, I’m YOUR FATHER!!!!!” saying from Star Wars right? This is similar, but just about all of the characters have a plot twist at around the same time. It’s definitely intense and not something that you will be forgetting anytime soon. The ending develops in a similar fashion and it’s not something that you will want to forget. It’s one of the best endings that I’ve seen in a long time! Maybe top 3 mystery movie endings.

I highly recommend checking this film out. It’s pretty funny and the detectives are mostly all solid characters. I wouldn’t say that any of the characters were bad characters and that is definitely saying something! The plot twists that keep coming will have you stay entertained for the entirety of the film and the traps at the end are epic. There’s even a bomb in the film! So, if you thought that Clue was good, then you’ll love this film. It’s a must watch for all mystery fans!

Overall 8/10