Suggested by Sonic Towa is a powerful DBZ villain with powers that transcend logic. She would be able to easily take Tesla down with a solid hit and that would be the end of the match. Tesla’s magnetic abilities will always be impressive but there’s just not much they can do when the opponent is on such a different level. Towa could just blow up the planet on a whim and that would be the end of it. Towa wins.
Suggested by Destroyer The reason nobody wants to mess with Donald is because he has some basic super strength. This does make him tougher than the average fighter but at the same time he still won’t be doing a whole lot against Hedorah. It’s a bad matchup for Pierce because you need something more than physical strength to take him down. Hedorah will eventually land the knockout blow that he needs to win. Hedorah wins.
Suggested by Destroyer Copperhead has good agility and a solid amount of Venom. If he lands a good hit on most fighters then they may feel the effects for a while but Hedorah is virtually immune to poisons so he won’t be having any trouble here. A good poison punch will take Copperhead out and while he is fast I don’t think he would be able to dodge Hedorah for very long. He’s definitely going down in the end. Hedorah wins.
Suggested by Destroyer Copperhead is a tough fighter who has some reasonable hand to hand skills and a nasty bite. That being said, he is definitely not going to be doing anything substantial against against Hedorah. The Kaiju’s natural defensive abilities will be more than a match for this guy and all he needs is one good hit to win. At that point the match will be as good as over. Hedorah wins.
Suggested by Destroyer Copperhead has some guns and different equipment at the ready but nothing that would really pose any kind of threat to Hedorah. We have to remember that this is a massive Kaiju who even overpowered Godzilla. Copperhead would be on the back foot right from the start and would not be able to make any kind of comeback. His shots would just bounce back and that would be game over for him. Hedorah wins.
Suggested by Destroyer Worm isn’t much of a direct fighter. He can mind control others using a special toxin that he can shoot out but that’s about it. Hedorah is the master of toxins and should have a good immunity to just about every poison out there. Worm isn’t doing anything to this guy and Hedorah has the raw power needed to take Worm down in an instant. There is just no way for Worm to even come close to securing victory here. Hedorah wins.
This review is of the TV-14 edited version of the film. All thoughts below should be addressed as such as a review of the unedited version would be more negative
When I hear the term “The Witching Hour” I think of Football since they use that term every week on Red Zone when the games are entering the final quarter. I don’t watch a whole lot of movies about witches either so I don’t hear it in this context as much. Well in the end that may be a good thing because this one’s not very good. The characters are all pretty bad for the most part and any scene involving a witch initiation or ceremony tends to drag on quite a bit. This one did not end up being a winner.
So the movie starts with Sarah moving into town and it looks like this place is filled with creeps so she’s going to have a hard time fitting in. One guy seems to like her but it quickly becomes apparent that he’s just using her and does the same to all the newcomers. This drives Sarah into the arms of the 3 witch outcasts at the school. They believe that Sarah is the person needed to complete their quartet so they add her to the initiation and begin their spellcasting. At first things seem harmless enough like little coincidences or love spells but then the 3 girls start getting more and more extreme about using their magic to hurt others and have a good time. Sarah wants out but much like a gang…once you’re in there is no way out. Can Sarah stop these 3 or is it game over?
One thing I’ll give the film props for is that it does cover a lot of ground. Keep in mind that at first Sarah isn’t part of the clique so gradually she joins them, then they all explore their abilities, then they see how these powers are causing damage to people, then they become cool with this, and then they turn evil and go after Sarah. So there’s a whole lot of turnarounds going on here and the film does a reasonable job of giving each section time to breathe. As I mentioned earlier it only really drags on during the witch ceremonies.
We don’t need to see them huddled in a circle chanting to the winds or forming blood pacts. Those were dated when they first came out and you feel like Sarah is really letting them take her down the dark side here without much resistance for a while. They are cool with just stealing books from the local witch expert and while Sarah doesn’t steal anything, just hanging out with these guys is a bad look.
Because if you keep being friends with people who are criminals then to an extent it seems like you are condoning it right? You have to take a firm stand against such things if you really want to make a difference. Sarah just gets in a bit too deep here and it feels like the film wouldn’t have even started if she didn’t hang out with these girls. Now you don’t want to judge them on the reputation of course so it’s good Sarah didn’t buy that but once she saw that they were actually not good people then it was time to cut out.
Sarah isn’t exactly blameless in this whole debacle either though. She casts a love spell on Chris, the guy who messed with her in the intro and apparently it’s basically permanent and can’t be turned off. From there he really goes off the deep end with how obsessive he is over her to the point where he becomes dangerous. She finds this amusing at first and disturbing later on but doesn’t take a very active role in trying to remove the spell.
There is one lady named Lirio who at least knows about witches and can maybe help to an extent but surprisingly she ends up doing nothing in this film. She gets to talk tough and come up with ideas but Sarah runs out of there before they can properly try out the spell. I think Sarah should have stood her ground there since maybe they could have fought off the 3 witches together but I guess we’ll never know from there.
Throughout the film they explain that Sarah is a prodigy in magic so you’re waiting for her big power moment but this isn’t quite Shonen Jump so that doesn’t get to happen. Would have been really cool though. Sarah still does get her clutch moments in the end though and we do get a witch battle by the end. Sarah gets to confront all 3 witches and shows them what true power really is. I appreciated having some action at the end.
The ending of the film is also quite solid with Sarah really laying down the law. It’s not quite sequel bait but you know if there was another film that Sarah would be in good shape now. These other 3 won’t be able to do much against her anymore. So in the end I wasn’t big on Sarah’s character but at least she ends well. Bonnie and Rochelle were played up as if they were going to be sympathetic characters for a while there so I was definitely surprised when they went into full villain mode. It wasn’t a bad decision, the film subverted my expectations in a solid way there. These two didn’t really plan things out very well but at least they were following some kind of path.
Nancy was definitely the main villain of the group in the end though and was certainly the most ambitious. She probably should have tried a more direct way of taking Sarah down before it was too late though. Beating around the bush just put her in a tough spot here and gave time for Sarah to get her bearings. The way the witch powers work here is typically more mental than physical like messing around in the dreams but when push comes to shove you can also use telekinetic abilities. There isn’t much in the way of defense though so if they all ganged up on Sarah and just beat her up there would not have been much of a counter to that.
Overall, The Craft wasn’t really my cup of tea. The witch ceremonies drag on a whole lot and the main characters just aren’t very likable. There’s a super random scene with a guy and his snake that pops out of nowhere but for an instant opens up the door to some interesting plot threads. I thought things were going to go in a different direction with some kind of shady group showing up and the main characters having to team up. The 3 witches actually being evil by the end was unexpected and could have worked but ultimately just didn’t take this title to the next level.
Overall 2/10
The Cloverfield series loves to have movies with pretty much nothing to do with the original. You always get a little stinger at the end and that’s basically it. Unfortunately that is the case here as well as it just isn’t very relevant until the final scene and even then that is more of a tease than a full connection. The series is toying with the fans by this point so it’s best to watch this as a stand alone sci-fi film instead. Even then I would say it’s below average but I suppose it’s not super bad or anything. The logic of the universe just isn’t that great so while it’s trying to be very mysterious and cryptic, it feels like the movie is just cheating instead. There’s definitely one scene in particular that I’d say fits this bill.
So the Earth is in a big energy crisis and they have sent representatives from various countries to find a solution. This group was thrown onto a space station far in the sky and they have to do whatever they can. So they decide to work on a device that should give the Earth unlimited energy but unfortunately this goes sideways and they seem to open up a portal into another world. They have to try and get back to where they used to be but it won’t be easy. They have to fix parts of the spaceship that don’t work anymore and a lot of weird things keep happening on the ship. Are aliens among us?
This movie is dealing with a lot of sci-fi elements but doesn’t really get too out there with creatures and the like. The main dilemma here is really that they have to question everything they knew about physics. Everything’s just scattered and odd happenings start occurring like people phasing through walls and a hand just running around. Where I thought the film messed up was in throwing some clickbait to try and make you think that a bunch of aliens would show up. There’s an odd scene where these cables start choking someone and basically murder him as he gets crushed by a super magnet but you have to question how it happened. It seemed completely sentient the way it was moving but the rest of the film gives no indicat4ion that it was. So yes it’s a strong scene and definitely gets you nervous but it doesn’t make much sense within the context of the rest of the film. It’s more shock value than anything.
Not saying the movie would have been better off with aliens but this scene could have been changed a lot. The idea of trying to help an alternate version of yourself through writing is interesting and the film could have made that something interesting but even that element doesn’t get as much depth as you would expect. So what we have here is a sci-fi film that is only half heartedly jumping into the various concepts that it introduces. This is what keeps it from being the next big thing. Well, at least that’s one of the reasons.
We’ve got a decently big cast here and I wouldn’t even say the members are that bad. First up is Ava who is the main heroine here. She didn’t even want to go on this mission but it was the only way to potentially save her husband since the Earth wouldn’t be surviving much longer. So now that she is in space she has a lot of regrets and the idea of an alternate planet appeals to her. I will say from the jump that I think even being tempted to leave is not a good idea here. An alternate version of you may seem similar but ultimately it’s a complete different person.
So it’s best not to get attached or to distract yourself from the mission. Meanwhile you have Jensen who is a mysterious lady that appears on the ship after things start to get crazy. She reminds me of a lady who showed up late in the game in another sci-fi title called Astra Lost in Space. Jensen is a wild card here as of course the main characters can’t trust her but at the same time it’s not like they have a lot of choices either. At this point you really need all the help that you can get and you just have to hope that it goes well.
Ava’s husband doesn’t get a huge role but in a small subplot he tries to help a kid stay safe. It’s not like there are too many safe areas left but at least helping someone would be good. This plot is definitely going for the more emotional kind of vibes as it’s rather somber. It’s not until the end that this really goes anywhere. At least I did like the ending here though. This was a good cliffhanger and it gets you ready for the next film. Of course as always that seems like it’s probably a longshot but if it were to happen then that would definitely be cool. At least it ends things off on a hype note.
With a lot of drama going on in the ship you feel like this is yet another case where the heroes would do so much better if they weren’t constantly fighting among themselves. Inevitably this starts to become a country vs country thing. Some characters at least try not to get mixed up on this but it’s a very enclosed battleground so it’s not like there are a lot of places to run either. You’re basically stuck here as you just try to stay alive. There are some things that happen where you can’t blame the character for being in a bad spot like the poor guy who started merging with the wall. There wasn’t really a way to avoid that one but other things like creating a gun just amps up the odds of people snapping at each other.
The effects are good though. I thought that the spaceship looked good and it was big enough where you didn’t feel that the crew was too confined. We still got a decent amount of other sceneries throughout. On land everything was in a fairly bad spot early on so this may have been the best location for the movie to take place if you were trying to avoid the monsters for some reason. Meanwhile having the film take place on land would have been the best way to do a proper Cloverfield 2 so even to the end it feels like they are avoiding giving us what we’re really looking forward to and that’s another giant monster movie.
Overall, The Cloverfield Paradox shouldn’t have included the word “Cloverfield” at the end because this movie is barely connected to the franchise at all. They seem to love including this word just to drum up sales and it’s a bad idea. Keeping this as an individual sci-fi film would have been a much better idea. Ultimately it’s not like it would have changed a whole lot about the story itself but you can probably enjoy it more that way as opposed to waiting for the monster to appear each time. I think there are some interesting nuggets here to be sure but ultimately not enough to keep you really invested. This would have worked better as a full TV series as they start to see the differences between the Earths or maybe as a multi film series. As a stand alone you have to cover a lot of ground and so there isn’t time to really have the characters talk about this situation that they’re in. It makes for a bit of an underwhelming experience especially when it feels like the movie isn’t exactly sure of how these things work. Spending more time on the implications of this other world and some good dialogue could have helped it go to the next stage. Instead you will want to wait for the next Cloverfield film.
Overall 4/10
This review is of the TV-14 edited version. All thoughts below should be addressed as such as a review of the unedited version would be more negative
It’s time for a rather intense thriller with a title that sounds like the Fog but the plot is very different. It’s a very interesting movie and I like the idea of being stuck inside a supermarket but the film ultimately trades the idea of a very atmospheric horror for a more graphic adventure
The movie starts with David and his son Billy heading to the supermarket to pick up some supplies. There had been a really bad thunderstorm after all so they want to be prepared. Unfortunately a heavy mist rolls in and before the characters can leave the store, a guy runs in claiming that there is some kind of monster outside. Any who walk into the mist shall vanish quicker than a wish. Everyone is rather skeptical of course including a lady who decides to run out and take her chances. It’s all very silent outside. David gets a glimpse of one of the monsters when he goes to the back room but of course most people didn’t see this. As the film goes on the characters start to get more and more desperate. Are the people in this supermarket actually more dangerous than the monsters outside?
I mean the answer should be no but at least with the monster you can count on a quick death in theory. Inside the supermarket everyone is slowly turning insane so it’s hard to say what you can expect. The main antagonist here is Carmody as she is someone who is completely delusional and tries to start a religious cult within the market. At first everyone knows that she is crazy but as the movie goes on the more weak willed members begin to believe her. It’s evident that people are losing their minds and fortunately David as well as a few other characters actually see this coming right from the jump.
Sometimes characters can be slow on the uptake for this kind of thing so I was glad that this wasn’t the case this time. They were actually ready and actively plan for this. It goes without saying that I lost respect for any and all characters who ended up siding with Carmody. It’s just so apparent that she is crazy that it’s disheartening to see these characters follow her so readily. Clearly their minds are highly susceptible to being taken over which doesn’t speak too well of them. Some things do go Carmody’s way of course but they’re all coincidental at best.
I enjoyed the first half of the film the most as the situation slowly starts to set in for the main characters. There is no easy way to escape their predicament and the supplies at the market will only last so long. Additionally the defenses at play here won’t last forever here either so simply staying put isn’t an option. No matter what you do there is going to be a huge risk. Personally I’m of the camp that says to try to get into a car and just drive away as fast as you can. I think that’s the best way to at least give yourself a chance to escape while the other methods just feel like you are delaying the inevitable which isn’t really what you are hoping for.
The atmosphere is tense and the characters all sound reasonable aside from Carmody. One of the big antagonists here is Brent and it’s not like he’s evil or anything. He just thinks that the whole story about there being a monster in the Mist is fake and he figures that David is messing with him. The two of them never really got along much before now so it’s not even that far fetched. My main issue with him was just that even if it’s not a monster within the mist, it could easily be some kind of chemical weapon or something equally destructive for your health. So walking out there isn’t the best idea if you don’t have a plan.
I liked his confidence and he is good at getting people together but ultimately he was on the wrong side in this one. If he had just been willing to work with the main characters then I dare say that the film would have gone a lot better for the main characters. It still would have been tough of course but the situation wouldn’t have deteriorated nearly as fast. Billy isn’t able to help a whole lot since he’s way too young for any of this but David does good. He comes up with a lot of plans and is quick on his feet.
He particularly did good in the back room when everyone is trying to act really macho with how they aren’t afraid of the monsters. When they all froze up, David didn’t. He kept on trying to save the poor kid and did his best throughout. He certainly loses his cool a bit during the movie but at least it’s always fairly well justified with how everything is going at the moment. He makes for a good main character here. In general the cast is fairly large. You’ve got quite a lot of people in this supermarket and they range from being reasonable people trying to help the main cast out of ones who join up with Carmody. You see where each character’s true loyalty lies in the end.
Where the second half falters for me is it starts to get really violent as the creatures start to shred everyone. Each wave of attacks from the enemies starts to get worse and worse as they really don’t hold back. People are nearly burned alive or just straight up eaten at times. One death is like something out of Alien. It’s not quite the chest bursters but it’s surprisingly similar. The movie goes quite far once we get to the violent phase and it never lets up. It may help to underscore just how dangerous a predicament everyone is in but at the expense of the slow burn it had been doing so well with.
I would have liked it if the film had stayed more like the first half. In a way I wouldn’t mind if we never even saw the creatures but of course that’s only one route. Way I see it you play the film out like this which is still a great approach in concept as the enemy waves keep coming and people have to choose between defense and escape. Or you go the alternate route where people choose if they want to leave or not but every time they enter the mist it gets really quiet so you as the viewer have to decide if they got out or not. It would be more like a Twilight Zone episode with that kind of suspense throughout. Two very valid approaches that I think could really work out for this one.
Also the ending was really bad. It’s one of the least satisfying endings I’ve seen in a while and I would completely change it. The ending is an absolutely key part of the movie so when that doesn’t live up to expectations then things get really tricky. I also disagreed with the main character’s decision there. It’s a drastic move that you would only even think about taking at the last possible moment. Not when you think something is going to happen but when it’s actually starting to happen. It’s a key difference there and the ending certainly has a lot of shock value at the ready but I didn’t like it. Kind of ends the film with a whimper.
Overall, I like the concept of the Mist. Having a big survival film where the heroes have to try and survive without turning on themselves can be a lot of fun. I’d like for the humans not to crack at least once in these things though. You could absolutely still have a lot of issues and problems come up without having the humans turn on each other. It seems unlikely that a film will end up going this route but I do think there is a whole lot of potential there. Either way the film just decided to let loose a bit too much and went for the gritty route as opposed to keeping this very ominous. I’d say to give this one a skip and instead just think about the premise and play it out in your head because it is still a sound idea.
Overall 2/10
The introduction to Tiger & Bunny is starting to get rather nostalgic. I’ve now seen it in the first TV show, the original manga, the adaption in the movie, and now the adaption of the movie that was adapting the first show. It doesn’t really do much different from the core story so it works well if you aren’t able to access the movie but otherwise there isn’t a whole lot of reasons to check this one out. It’s a perfectly serviceable adaption though and I’d say that the art is actually better than the main series so that’s worth noting as well.
The series starts with Tiger not doing so well as he helps to stop a villain but causes a lot of property damage in the process. Unfortunately while he wants to do the right thing, he just isn’t very good at being efficient most of the time. His company has even closed as Tiger will now be owned by one of the bigger hero agencies. They want him to be partners with this new hero named Barnaby. Tiger decides to call him Bunny since the outfit looks like one but he’s really just sore because on Barnaby’s first day he ends up saving Tiger from certain doom. Bunny is a very modern hero who worries about the ratings while Tiger just wants to help people. Will they really be able to form a solid partnership and stop the crooks or is this duo about to get absolutely devastated against the first villain they meet?
It almost feels weird writing that plot summary for a third time but hey that’s just how it goes. As this is based on the first movie which readapts the first part of the TV show you already know all of the story beats. Ultimately the series is about Tiger & Bunny getting to know each other and coming to terms with each other’s differences enough to at least tolerate each other. Ultimately they both want the same thing which is to help people out when they are in trouble and go from there. It’s the ultimate goal of any true hero after all and that’s just how you have to do it.
Tiger is a good main character. He may not be the strongest fighter but you have to appreciate his heart. I always preferred Bunny from the two main characters though. Sure he may not be as heroic at first but he has a lot of confidence and is very good at what he does. There’s a reason why he quickly starts to be known as one of the top heroes while Tiger is stuck near the bottom. Keep in mind that they have the same abilities so it’s not like one has a better power than the other.
The series also keeps in a lot of the fun foreshadowing for the next sagas even though it doesn’t get up to there yet. That’s a good thing because it still gives the reader some insight that there is more to explore within the universe. We have the judge who appears and looks very sinister so even if you only read this series you’ll likely suspect that something is up with him. Bunny’s boss also looks a bit suspect but it could just be the lighting. There isn’t a lot of time to go into Bunny’s origin story here either so you just get the bare minimum but enough to know that he is fighting his own demons in the shadows.
The rest of the heroes don’t make for the greatest supporting cast though and that’s what holds them back quite a bit. Fire Emblem continues to attack one of the other heroes and you feel bad for Rock Bison the whole time but also wish he could do something about this. Dragon Kid and Oragami don’t have time to do much here. I guess we see a bit about how Cyclone is jealous of how everyone loves Barnaby right away. In general they don’t get along with Bunny much either since the guy is so standoffish the whole time. Not only does he not try to get along with them but he actively seems to antagonize them. He’s certainly no team player here.
That gets tricky for the main case where the heroes have to take out Robin, a guy who can switch places with other people. It’s a really difficult power to contend with since in theory it means that he can constantly escape from any situation. How do you tie a guy down when he can just do that at any point? The easy answer is that you don’t, but even considering that I would say that their plans were pretty bad. At one point they try holding hands to block his exit but the guy can just run off. Another plan is to have everyone bunch together but all the villain has to do is wait them out.
Ultimately Robin gets too tricky for his own good and puts himself in a bad spot. I’ll also give the heroes some credit there because the last plan was good. I also do think this was a good way of getting Tiger and Bunny to trust each other a bit more. Usually you’d have a message that encourages teamwork and the two have to band together in order to get this going but instead Tiger trusts Bunny to get the job done and decides not to get in his way. I thought this was great because sometimes it is just better to tackle a threat by yourself. You shouldn’t feel like you have to squeeze teamwork in just to say that you did it. So the original plot tacked on to the original origin was a good one.
The art here is fairly good, in fact I think it looks a bit better than the main series. The artist did a better job of drawing each robot suit so they didn’t look too similar this time around. I wouldn’t say it’s anything super high end or something like that but it gets the job done. It’s easy to read through and I definitely had no issues getting to the end. Even though the story is familiar, it’s still fun enough. I could safely recommend this as a reasonable read to anyone trying to get into the franchise. The ending works well without any huge cliffhangers and you could then jump right into the show.
Overall, Tiger & Bunny could use a bit more of an engaging cast to get things to the next level but as far as superhero origins go this one worked out well. The setting of heroes ranked by popularity and getting points during livestreams is a very unique one. I’d say it works well to give the series a hook and make it stand out from the rest. Once we get to the more plot based sagas then this should only continue to improve. I’ve got two more Tiger & Bunny reviews coming up, one sooner than later so the franchise continues on!
Overall 6/10
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