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Vice Versa Review

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Vice Versa is a classic body swapping film so you can expect a lot of hijinks to ensue. I always like the idea of body swapping because it can make for a lot of interesting scenarios. The very premise of living a life in someone else’s shoes for example has always been a blast. I would say right off the gate the film does make one mistake here though. Nobody wants to live another day as a kid…..it would have been more interesting if the main guy was swapping lives for a day with his girlfriend or maybe a rival at the workplace. Still, this is the plot here so lets tackle it now.

Marshall is a rather successful businessman but it has come at the expense of time with his son Charlie. This weekend he gets to have Charlie since he seems to alternate weeks with Charlie’s mother. It’s going to be a grand ole time. The only damper is that the vase Marshall ordered for a work exhibition didn’t arrive because instead he got a haunted skull. The villainous Lilian calls to offer to trade the items (Which got misplaced according to her plan to fool customs) and Marshall agrees. The issue is that before this can happen he and Charlie wish they could switch places. The wish becomes true so they swap bodies. Can each character successfully live in the other person’s shoes or will they wreck everything?

Low key the scariest thing about body swapping would be seeing how the other person wrecks your life. Make no mistake, there is a whole lot of damage you can do to a person’s reputation in a day. It’s not quite something that can be easily reversed either. Both characters do a number on each other but for sure Charlie does more damage than Marshall. Not only does Charlie just generally act like a doofus most of the time with his mouth always open but he doesn’t know anything about business. Fortunately things tend to work out in his favor but that’s not for lack of trying.

Charlie wasn’t ready for this and I can’t say that I was really a fan of his. Kids tend to be a little on the annoying side in these films and even once he got an adult body I wouldn’t say Charlie fully got away from that. He continually messes up and he makes a rather significant move towards the end of the film involving a proposal that was out of line. It could have easily gone sideways and it’s hard to come back from that.

Meanwhile Marshall is the one carrying the film. Honestly I wouldn’t have minded a whole film about him at the firm because it seemed fairly interesting. As a kid he didn’t quite have the same level of intrigue and I was a little iffy about him not being able to take on the bullies at all. The whole time I was waiting for the moment where he confronts them but it never happened. That was a big missed opportunity if you ask me. The actual payoff wasn’t very satisfying since it was Charlie in an adult’s body so there wasn’t much the bullies can do.

Sam is a main supporting character as Marshall’s girlfriend but I wouldn’t say she looks great either. It’s nice that watching the metal show helped her get closer to Marshall I suppose but he was acting rather crazy the whole time so you’d think she would notice something’s up. Now, part of this is due to the fact that it is a comedy so we shouldn’t think too hard on it but I dunno. Also, she has one questionable scene with Marshall considering that he’s still a kid at this point in time and any scene with Charlie is also iffy. She’s partially a victim of circumstance I guess but she never got to be all that good. Also, relationships within the workplace always seem tricky at best.

As for the two villains Lilian & Turk, they’re okay but almost feel like they don’t belong in the film. They’re effectively the villains from Home Alone and get wrecked throughout the film. There is a pretty fun scene where they get ready to abduct Marshall only for Charlie to throw him in a car first. It looked like they were beat to the punch by other kidnappers which was a fun gag. I also liked when the coworkers confronted the about the gun.

Again, the whole film taking place at the workplace would have really worked quite well. The villains don’t leave much of an impression beyond this but I guess they added a layer of danger if they managed to take the skull away. The heroes not figuring out that they both had to be holding onto the skull seemed a bit lazy though. Why would they not try that?

The writing here is decent but there is still just something keeping it from the next level. I get the impression they didn’t really take the premise as far as it could go. When the main plot from before the switch is more interesting than the actual switch you know that you have a problem. It all boils down to the fact that throwing a kid into the mix was a bit of a mistake. There is less you can do with that since Charlie isn’t all that smart as it is. He can’t even bluff his way through scenarios as he just has his mouth open in shock the whole time. Definitely the most annoying part of his character.

Overall, Vice Versa won’t be anyone’s pick as the most influential body swap film. It’s not bad though but I guess what’s almost as important is that it’s not very interesting. It’s a very subdued film that goes through the motions but doesn’t do anything super memorable. Charlie is established as a rather unlikable character the instant he decides to stop listening to Marshall now that he’s all grown up. There was potential to be found here but it never happened. As a result I would say the film is perfectly in the middle. It’s not bad but it’s not all that good either. You’ll walk away from it without a strong opinion one way or the other. So if you want a quick way to spend some time relaxing then you can pop this one in. Otherwise you can probably find some stronger options.

Overall 5/10

Notting Hill review

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Notting Hill is one of those films where you feel like the main guy allows himself to be used a little too much. Get ready for an adventure filled with cheating, betrayal, and in general a rather unhealthy relationship that is not likely going to go anywhere. It can make for a fun watch at times with some fun accents but at other times you’ll be shaking your head. Ultimately it may have done well to have reduced the length of the movie by a bit.

The movie starts off by introducing us to William at his humble book store. He has always done all right for himself but has no spectacular memories or events that he can talk about. Deep down he has always hoped that something fantastic would happen to him. Unfortunately that just has not yet been the case. One day, a famous actress known as Anna walks into the store and changes his life. They quickly begin to have an affair and everything is going well until he finds out that he was just the side man and she is already seeing someone.

Still, it’s not every day that you have an affair with a celebrity. Anna is willing to continue anyway but can William be satisfied with this arrangement? He will have to have some serious conversations with his family to see what to do. All along he has to wonder if this is really happening or if it’s all some kind of fantasy he has cooked up.

A lot of my issues with the film do come down to William. I would say Anna as well but primarily I’m looking at William since he is so passive here. First off, I will say he can be an entertaining character. He reminds me of the Dragons from Dragon’s Den with how he tends to speak his mind in a passive aggressive sort of way. He has a rather decent set up at home and his life isn’t bad. He may not have had that spectacular experience yet but do you need one if your life is consistently positive?

Once he meets Anna is when things start to sour for him. First off, she knows him for about 10 minutes and then suddenly on impulse decides to make a move. He’s thrilled of course but also mystified. She then calls him into her office to say that it didn’t mean anything only for them to have another affair moment shortly thereafter. They go out for a while before he catches her with the other guy.

William decides to take a step back since this may not be quite right. Still, Anna shows up again and William decides to give it another try. Only this time the reporters showed up and she blames him so they split up again. He decides that he won’t fall for this again but when she is filming in town he shows up to say hey and overhears her talking about him in a rather dismissive way. He leaves once again and then she returns. This cycle keeps on repeating over and over and over again.

Perhaps if the writing was utterly brilliant this could work but I wouldn’t say the script was that impressive here. It’s not bad mind you, but it’s rather standard stuff. You have some clever moments like one of William’s family trying to give Anna acting tips on how tough the profession is before he knows that she is an actress but then you have more cringe worthy stuff like William’s inferiority complex showing in full display as he asks Anna about famous actors.

That scene involving the ice cream drags on for a day and a half. So the film’s writing is okay but it would pale next to many comedies. It’s less of an up and down ride with laughs and jokes that fail but most of a steady cruise that you will rarely find super funny but shouldn’t get all that annoying either. It’s just the endless cycle that gets really annoying because you feel like William should eventually just stop falling for the bait.

Part of why I put the blame on him each time is that he’s the one who chooses to continue going on like this even though he ends up getting hurt each and every time. It’s not like Anna takes it as hard since to her it seems less personal. Well, I’ve slammed on William a lot for now so lets turn to Anna.

It’s hard to sympathize with Anna as well because she clearly had no problem being with two guys at once. She would have continued with that setup had she not been caught. That already speaks volumes about her character. Anna just doesn’t have a lot of class in that respect. She is completely unreasonable about the reporters showing up considering that William did not sell her out. She had no reason to speak ill of William to her co-star except to try and prop herself up.

All in all, I found it impossible to root for the romance. It has to be one of the weakest ones I’ve seen in a while. These two have been hurt way too many times over a single relationship in such a short time frame for all to be well. It’s also always hard to just overlook cheating when the relationship is just getting started because you will then always have the doubt in the back of your mind. What if the other person is still cheating at this very moment? You really can’t know for sure.

As for side characters, the main one would be Spike. He’s William’s roommate and a pretty bad character. He results in most of the worst humor moments because the guy just isn’t funny. His thing is that he’s a big slob who always lets William down when it counts the most. He forgets to remember who called, how to take notes, and even rats out on Anna for a few seconds of fame. It’s easy to forget how these two could even be friends in the first place. They certainly don’t seem to get along much but I suppose the argumentive dynamic may be what keeps them together. Spike doesn’t take anything personal and William vents a lot but doesn’t let it really affect him much.

The rest of the family shows up for a while too but I wouldn’t say they were that great. William’s sister is a little too obsessed with trying to be Anna’s friend. She comes off as rather odd the whole time and the “romance” with Spike near the end comes out of nowhere. The married couple was good at least as they had a solid dynamic going and the ex-wall street investor had a lot of confidence which was good. So I guess the supporting cast was decent.

Overall, What really holds Notting Hill back is that the romance is absolutely bonkers. The characters go through the cycle way too many times. It’s also a bit laid back for a comedy film so laughs are few and far between. The best sequence of moments was when William had to interview a lot of people on a film he knew nothing about. You’d think he could have done a little better on the spot with thinking up questions but at that point he was too obsessed with Anna to think of much else. If you want to check out a film where you live through the fantasy of a rich actress deciding to have an affair with you at first sight then I guess this is the right stop. If you want something a little more realistic like finding your future wife in a data world and being tasked as the savior of humanity then I would recommend checking out Sword Art Online: Ordinal Scale instead.

Overall 4/10

A Walk to Remember Review

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A Walk to Remember is a film that has a classic Dirty Dancing feel to it where the where the main romance seems like it can’t possibly work out. The characters are from different social circles and have barely even known each other. You can guess a lot of how this will play out from start to finish except for one big twist near the end but unfortunately it’s not a good twist. It ends up hurting the score quite a bit.

The movie starts by introducing us to Landon. He’s in with a bad group of friends who go around pranking other students and making fun of everyone. One day they injure a kid pretty badly so Landon is nearly expelled. In order to stay at school he will have to do a lot of volunteer work including being in a school play. He doesn’t want to do any of this and asks the preacher’s daughter Jamie to tutor him.

Jamie is a rather quiet girl and the nicest person at the school so naturally everyone picks on her a lot. She still agrees to help Landon out even though he doesn’t really have her back at all. He wants to be secret friends to spare his image after all. Will things end up working out between them or is Landon going to go back to his old ways as soon as this is over?

As a main character, it’s difficult to like Landon. The guy goes pretty far into being a jerk so once the payoff happens and he starts to be nicer, it’s just very deep into the film. You still have your share of doubts about him. It’s a classic character arc so of course if we got a sequel he would probably look better there but in the meantime he’s just not likable. He should have left the group of friends a lot sooner as well.

Meanwhile Jamie is a fun character. She does her best to always take the high ground and continue to try her best and ignore everyone’s insults. She gets burned quite a few times with helping Landon but continues to press on. There really isn’t anything bad to say about her as Jamie remains a consistent character from start to finish.

Where the film really messes up is it decides to add some extra drama. I suppose it’s a spoiler to say exactly what happens here, but needless to say the film isn’t going for a particularly happy ending. It’s one of those endings that negates a large part of the overall adventure. The twist really didn’t even need to be in the film. If you skip that and play out the climax straight I dare say that the film would end up being a lot better.

I suppose the twist does differentiate it from other films in the genre but it’s not worth it. The rest is pretty straight forward as Jamie works on redeeming Landon and getting him to appreciate life a bit more. He goes from just taking everything nonchalantly to actually being serious about life. That part of the film will still work quite strongly with or without the twist.

Jamie’s faith is also a key part of the film since she is quite devout in her faith. She counters her father’s arguments against getting close to Landon by using scripture as well. That said, you don’t blame the father for having reservations. He knows Landon fairly well from being a preacher in this town for so long. While of course he won’t rule out the possibility of Landon turning over a new leaf, he naturally wouldn’t want to take a chance with Jamie getting hurt. Worse than the emotional risk would also be if Landon were able to take her away from her belief in God, corrupting her to the more worldly side. Ultimately I would say he was reasonable, it just took him some time to come on board with this.

The rest of the kids at school were all mostly petty. They do their best to try and cause trouble for the two leads by messing with Jamie and trying to hurt her reputation at school. It’s all classic bully stuff and you can tell that it’s not the nicest town to be in. Of course, that’s par for the course with most schools we see in these films so that’s rather normal.

This film is primarily a romance I would say but ultimately that would still be one of the weaker aspects of the movie. It’s just hard to buy into the romance because these two characters don’t really know each other like that. It’s only been a little while since they first met up and you have to also account for the fact that Landon was a jerk for the early scenes. By the time he begins to thaw out we’re already fairly deep into the movie.

A Walk to Remember also pulls out the classic moment of “Don’t fall in love with me” as Jamie tells Landon this but he quickly disregards it. As soon as those words are uttered you know that the friend zone is about to crumble. It’s a shame because you could have had a really good friendship dynamic here that would have worked well. That would probably not have overpowered the ending but it would have been a good move.

Overall, the writing is solid and the pacing is on point. I may be misremembering but I think there was also a good song or two that played at one point. On the whole it’s a good film if you can just get past the ending act. The problem is that the ending is a very important part of any film as it will have a lasting impact that is hard to forget. While it may not always be enough to destroy an experience, it can certainly weaken it. The film drops a few stars for the ending because it’s just a bad one that doesn’t give you that climactic final scene you’re hoping for. It doesn’t end the film on a high note so if we ever get a remake I would definitely say to change that scene. Maybe make it so the miracle referenced in the film isn’t about Landon, but about Jamie instead.

Overall 4/10

Fiend without a Face Review

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When you have a title like this you know that you’re going to be in for some pretty solid hype. After all, if the fiend doesn’t have a face then how are you going to attack it? Wits alone will not be enough to stop this foe. The movie has a lot of interesting ideas and while it will ultimately go down as just another creature feature, it was pretty fun.

The movie starts off by introducing us to a small town. Things were going well here until the army decided to set up shop with one of their big bases. The locals were not thrilled about this and now that people are vanishing and getting murdered all over the place, the town blames them. The army has Major Jeff take a look into this since they need to find out why people are dying. He meets up with a lady named Barbara and quickly grows to like her but is still getting verbally attacked by the townsfolk.

Now the stakes are higher, if he doesn’t get to the bottom of this then he will never get to be with her. Fortunately there is a suspicious scientist named Walgate who may know more than he is letting on. Jeff will need to keep his guard up though or else he will be buried along with the rest of the town’s secrets.

Jeff is a perfectly reasonable main character. I would say that his romance plot starts a little too suddenly for me to take it all that seriously though. The guy falls for Barbara within a few seconds which will make you shake your head a bit. Keep in mind that he is investigating a lot of murders so he should have too much on his mind for that. He also gets a little sloppy when he enters an abandoned tomb on his own.

Remember, the whole town can’t stand him and one guy even started a fight. So you really shouldn’t be taking crazy chances on your own. Fortunately Barbara and his army partner find him but the guy nearly died. At least he is a good shot though which comes in handy near the end of the film. Then you have Barbara who is a good heroine. She does have a tendency to panic a lot like some of the more retro heroines. It would be nice if she had fought more against the monsters but she tends to lose the battle the instant it starts.

As for Walgate, he’s easily the worst character in the film. I would call him a full on villain even if he tries to play the whole “I didn’t mean it” card. The guy actively tried to murder Jeff and there’s no way to talk his way out of that one. Walgate panics a lot and you wonder what the point of his experiments was anyway. Either way he doesn’t have a whole lot of time to regret things.

As for the creatures themselves, I have to say that their character designs are spot on. Basically they’re brains that are floating around with a spinal cord as a tail of sorts. It’s a very unique design and one that you aren’t likely to forget anytime soon. Now I will say it may not be a very intimidating design but they have a very solid gripping strength. Once they have you around the neck it’s basically game over.

They aren’t quite bullet proof though so once the army is ready for them then things go a bit differently. Their main advantage was being invisible after all. Without that they just didn’t stand a chance. It can be a little violent with how the heroes shoot them though. Between the fact that it already looks like a brain as it is and they are getting shot to death, well it’s a lot for such an old time film. It’s nothing too crazy of course but just enough where you may do a double take for a second there.

The writing is on point as the dialogue between all of the characters is pretty solid. It holds up quite well which is definitely not surprising. The pacing is pretty good and the movie is always moving at a pretty quick pace. I was also glad that Jeff was able to win in the fight against the jealous townsperson as losing that fight would have been iffy. We even get a quick town hall type meeting which was cool.

It’s following a rather classic creature feature format but one that works really well as long as it’s executed the right away. This one did properly follow the steps as the monster is slowly bumping various people off while the heroes get closer and closer to cracking the case. Once they make it, you can’t help but feel a sense of triumph even if that doesn’t mean the film is quite over. Walgate is just annoying enough where you were looking forward to seeing the heroes mess up his plans. His fake politeness fits in with the dialogue but you could tell the characters weren’t buying what he was selling.

Overall, The movie is just short enough where it isn’t able to deal with the alien invasion as thoroughly as you might hope, but it still manages to make for an interesting experience. It’s even part mystery you could say as Jeff tries to figure out why they are here and how the creatures were created. This doesn’t exactly seem like something that happened naturally after all. If you like creature feature films then this is a good one to check out. By the end you will see just how dangerous the brain can be.

Overall 6/10

On Her Majesty’s Secret Service Review

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It’s time for some more James Bond action. I would even say this was probably the strongest James Bond film from the originals up to this point. It’s fairly close I suppose and it does fall into most of the usual issues but gives us a lot of new landscapes and some pretty thrilling moments. The new Bond actor also did fairly well even if he couldn’t match up to the original.

The movie starts pretty quickly as Bond attacks a few enemy agents but is promptly defeated as they run off. Fortunately he is able to save the lady known as Tracy before she drowns. It turns out she is the daughter of the rich criminal Draco. Bond isn’t interested in taking this guy down though. He just wants to defeat Blofeld, the leader of Spectre. As long as he gets that information then he will overlook this other crime lord. Draco agrees to help Bond find Blofeld as long as Bond takes Tracy as his wife. Bond has completed many missions in his day but can he pull this one off?

Now while that is the main plot, the film is long enough where a great deal more happens along the way. For starters, Blofeld runs a clinic where he helps people get over their phobias. He seems to have an incredible success rate so obviously there is a catch. Bond goes undercover in order to get to the bottom of this and bring Blofeld down. I wouldn’t say it’s his best plan though. For one thing, I didn’t even get exactly what he was pretending his phobia was until the other characters started bringing it up. He flirts way too much for anyone to have bought that as he doesn’t even act all that different with the gang.

Yes, all of the patients are ladies of course so that means Bond will be having a good ole time there. As always he does tend to lower his guard as a result too. Bond may be known as the best agent on the planet but the guy gets suckered a whole lot. Blofeld’s main ally gets the jump on Bond…and she’s an old lady. Prepare for a whole lot of losses here.

Additionally as a character it’s still difficult to really root for Bond at all. Keep in mind that part of the big deal with this film is the whole marriage plot. Yet, he is still going around having affairs with everyone. Never for a moment do you think it’s possible that he will actually stay faithful here. I doubt he would even last a few hours and would probably start messing around with everyone right away. Bond just isn’t the loyal type.

Meanwhile Blofeld looks good here. His plan may be on the rather crazy side but it does veer into the territory of “so crazy that it actually works” so you have to give him some credit here. It’s hard to believe how it works but he does hold his own. He does fall into the classic trap of constantly letting Bond live just to rub his victory in the guy’s face though. That always comes back to bite him.

His subordinate Bunt also gets a big role here. She talks tough to Bond the whole time and is always one step ahead. Blofeld may come up with the plans but she is the one putting them into motion which takes a good amount of skill on its own. She’s quite the memorable villain as a result. She may not be a fighter but she always has a gun at the ready.

As for Tracy, she’s a good heroine. She can actually fight which is always handy such as when she grabs a broken glass bottle and actually fights off one of the henchmen. She has a strong personality and refuses to be used as leverage in any kind of deal. She’s always got a sharp comeback and would easily rank as one of the best heroines in the Bond series.

This film is famous for its ending but in case you are not familiar with it I won’t mention that here. Needless to say, it’s a pretty intense ending that you really don’t see coming. One character even goes insane temporarily because this is so much of a shock. After this film you could definitely see things getting really personal for all of the characters. Without this ending the Bond series may have really gone in a different direction with the franchise. It certainly has the most lasting impact out of all the films.

The action scenes in the film are good as always. We get a lot of shootouts as well as hand to hand battles. Some of the opponents even give Bond a really good run for his money. We have chase scenes as well both on cars, skis, and on foot. It wouldn’t be a proper James Bond adventure without all of that stuff right? The movie is long but it doesn’t drag on due to how much is going on. The story itself is strong as well. Bond even has a sidekick in this one although naturally things do not go very well for him at all.

As for the negatives though, the film has a ton of romance and affair type scenes that don’t work well. Again, you can’t take Bond’s romance seriously at all because you know he will cheat on her the very next chance he gets. It’s not as if this is his first serious romance either. The last one just ended up with the heroine getting poisoned to death and even in that film he had been cheating on her the whole time. Bond’s just not the kind of guy you can really trust in a relationship so any romance would be doomed to fail.

It also undermines him as an agent since the villains are able to use this against him. Bond’s always one step behind. If the films would cut down on the affairs they would be so much better. It would also result in a more likable cast. Right now the supporting characters have to try and hold the film together since Bond himself can’t stack up.

Overall, On Her Majesty’s Secret Service is the best of the Bond films from the originals up to this point but that may not be saying a whole lot. It had some interesting ideas like Bond finally quitting M16 but that gets overturned so quickly it may as well not be a true plot point. It would make for a good story if in one film he is framed so he has to escape M16 while proving his innocence. In the meantime if you want a really solid secret agent film, I would defer you to Mission Impossible.

Overall 4/10

King Kong Escapes Review

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King Kong is back for another adventure. This time we get to see a bit of a different take with him as he fights a mecha opponent without having any guest stars here to help him. It’s a fun title and I would even say that it is the best of the solo King Kong films. There’s good action to be found here and a solid amount of humor which makes for a good combo.

The movie starts with Commander Carl and his team heading to King Kong’s island after the weather and their poor ship force their hand. Kong rules Mondo Island and takes down powerful fighters like Gorosaurus and an aquatic Kaiju. He wants Susan to stay with him but she decides to head back with the rest of the gang. This allows Hu and Piranha to show up and kidnap King Kong.

This is certainly an issue though since they can now access a mysterious element that will allow them to take over the world. Carl and crew are tasked with stopping their ambitions. The easiest way would be to free Kong from their control but can they really stop the villains or will they just end up getting captured as well? After all, if the villains can even capture a Kaiju, what hope do a pair of humans really have?

Now this film does raise some questions about when this takes place. The heroes have a hovercraft at the ready and Hu was able to build a Mecha Kong of his own. So when you think about it, this has to take place in the far future right? The rest of the movie doesn’t support that but I do think it makes the most sense.

King Kong Escapes is a very light hearted film which works pretty well here. There’s a lot of fun dialogue between the characters. The film even seems to poke fun at how the main guy would usually fall for the villainess as here he couldn’t care less. Carl doesn’t even come close to falling for her trap which is pretty fun. While this is a King Kong film, it’s fair to say that the humans have the biggest focus.

The most ambitious character here would be Piranha. She is a villain who works for a government that is never named. Her people look Japanese but are stated to be from somewhere else. There is a lot of mystery around her but the issue is that nothing ever comes of it. I’m fairly confident that she is part of an alien species but at least if you only go from the film then it’s really hard to say one way or the other if that is actually accurate.

Piranha talks a very good game throughout the film but slowly as the adventure goes on she starts to lose her hype. Hu starts to call her bluff until she basically quits so she can have some tea and things really turn out poorly for her after that. Her character was odd but fun. Meanwhile Hu is a little hard to take seriously as the main villain. He wasn’t nearly as interesting and since his mecha version of Kong was getting wrecked by the elements in the opening scenes it is hard to take that thing seriously.

It’s probably good that they didn’t call this a vs film because the two fighters are just not equal. King Kong is shown to be far more powerful than this robot and isn’t afraid to show it. If not for the humans constantly mind controlling him and messing with the poor guy, it would have been a very short film. Of course, fans of king Kong should appreciate how good he looks here. The guy is definitely not taking any prisoners.

Aside from Carl and Susan, the other main character here is Jiro. He’s the first so suspect that Piranha’s group is probably not legitimate. That said, the heroes basically had to go along with the trap to try and get some info while foiling Hu’s plans but it’s good he noticed what was going on. He and Susan did well in withstanding the freeze room as well while Carl was enjoying a nice warm drink.

The writing is solid as expected and the pacing is good as the film really flows by. The action scenes are solid like with Gorosaurus giving King Kong the combos for a while. It has the feeling of an old Godzilla film but with an American touch. That certainly seems like a fitting combo for a King Kong film and it’s just too bad that they couldn’t have made more installments in the series. That may have been their chance to explain what Piranha’s group was really after and if they are aliens or not.

Overall, King Kong Escapes is a good film. I wouldn’t say there are any real issues here. I will admit that the human plots may be more interesting than the Kong stuff though even if the fights were fun. It was just nice to see the heroes talking it out with the villains and a little spying going on. The retro atmosphere of the film just makes it all flow together. It would have been nice to see more of the robot or King Kong resisting the villains more but at the end of the day I suppose mind control is just too powerful. If you haven’t seen this film yet then I’d definitely say it’s time to change that. It’ll be hard for any King Kong film to surpass this one.

Overall 7/10

A Kiss Before Dying Review

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Whenever you have a film trying to cross over some romance and horror you know that it’s a tricky mix to pull off. Both genres are already tough enough as it is and this movie definitely couldn’t defy the odds. You’re just waiting for the characters to solve the mystery and end things already but clearly it won’t be quite so easy.

The movie starts off by introducing us to Bud and Dorothy. They’re a couple who are seemingly getting along well but one day Dorothy finds out that she is pregnant. Naturally this was not exactly planned and Bud is now worried about his future prospects. He decides that he’s going to need to bump her off to get himself out of this. He’ll have to do it subtly though or people will suspect that something’s up. He ends up throwing her off a building. While the police believe this may have been a suicide, Dorothy’s sister Ellen isn’t convinced. She gets a local police assistant named Gordon to help her out with this. Can they reach the truth?

I hesitate to even put in the part about Bud taking out Dorothy but that is really the main plot even if it takes a rather long time for that plot to end. There’s a ton of build up to it first as the film milks each scene. I guess the intent is so you can think that maybe Dorothy has a shot at escaping but that never seemed very likely so I don’t know about that one. It does mean that the first half feels really long though and tends to drag on.

Perhaps if there was some reason the film gave us on why Dorothy might escape then you would be able to enjoy this as a rather thrilling moment. Thing is, we know Bud will be able to take her out so then instead of tension you’re just waiting for the film to get on with it and go to the next scene already.

Bud’s definitely one of those guys you’re not meant to sympathize with or even find interesting as a villain. He’s always running around scared and hoping that he’s in the right place at the right time. The film really makes sure to double down on this as he’s even extremely rude to his mother the whole time. Nobody notices what a guy he is though so unfortunately he lasts for quite a while as everyone cheers him on for being a rather intelligent guy who is very studious.

As for Dorothy, she was a good character but definitely not quick on the uptake. Bud wasn’t exactly subtle at his displeasure of her getting pregnant. By the time he would put on his happy face it should have been way too late. She somehow didn’t notice when he pushed her down a flight of stairs as well. The guy’s just way too suspicious throughout the movie but I suppose in a way she just wanted everything to work out. You can sympathize with her a lot to be sure though. You really wanted her to have some kind of happy ending.

Then you have Ellen who is a very proactive character. It is cool to see her do some detective work of her own. Her first adventure almost backfired but at least she is trying to find clues and everything which is a big step up from doing nothing. Now, she does start to slip a whole lot towards the end of the film though. Refusing to listen to new developments and such is a bad look. I can understand if it was only Mr. Kingship but when the cops show up with this info as well you should probably listen.

It was a little disappointed that she then drove up with Bud to a rather abandoned area without bringing a handgun or something. It’s why you certainly can’t let romance blind you or that’ll put you in some sticky situations for sure. It’s part of why Gordon was good since he clearly liked Ellen but at the end of the day his job came first. Even if it meant she wouldn’t be his friend anymore, he had to pursue the case. He also managed to pursue it rather well. He isn’t a full fledged cop yet but you can tell that he will have the skills to make it.

Certainly more skills than the DJ. The problem with that guy is one I have with many characters in a hold up situation. Okay, put it this way, Bud has already said he’s going to murder the guy. It’s quite clear that the DJ isn’t leaving the room alive. In light of that, why not at least make a try for the gun or something? This guy is trying to play this up as a suicide which only works if the DJ sits on the chair real quiet like and allows himself to be shot in a way that is easy to fake.

If he struggles, wrestles with Bud or gets shot as he runs, it’ll be very obvious that it is not a suicide. Effectively you’re calling the killer’s bluff. Still, there is a good chance you’ll die but isn’t it better to take a chance then go for the 0% survival rate of just sitting there and taking it? The DJ was massively disappointing there. I’ll never understand why a characters just accepts his death in such a situation.

Finally, Mr. Kingship was a good character as well. There’s a lot of tension between him and Ellen. From what we see of him in the film he’s definitely a nice enough character but clearly prior to the film’s start he could be a little controlling. We can only really judge on what’s going on now though so I thought he was fairly supportive and did his best.

Overall, I wasn’t really a fan of this film. It certainly comes off as quite a bit mean spirited with almost a third of the film being devoted to scenes building up the main heroine’s death when we know she has no chance of escaping. Bud managing to hook up with her own sister was also quite sketchy and just kept the drama going. It’s rather convenient that Bud got away with so much or that nobody knew he had been going out with her. It’s a small town so I don’t care how secret they were about it, it should have come out during the initial investigation. As Bud’s such an unlikable character having him as the main protagonist for so long also didn’t help matters. You’re just waiting for him to eventually go down which ultimately makes the pacing feel slow as well. If you want to check out a thriller, this definitely isn’t the one to pick.

Overall 3/10

The Big Heat Review

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The Big Heat is definitely a true noir thriller through and through. There are a lot of mysteries for the main character to sift through and pretty much everyone is lying so it’s always hard to get to the heart of the matter. The film does a good job of keeping you engaged the whole way through. There are certainly a lot of tragic elements in the movie as well. Through it all, the lead is determined to keep on moving forward.

Dave is Sergeant who works in the homicide business. He’s always done a good job of solving each case and certainly isn’t the kind of guy who backs down. Well, this time he’s gotten himself involved in a very big case. A fellow cop committed suicide and while it initially appears to be a shut case, a lady named Lucy approaches Dave and gives him info to suggest that this wasn’t the case. He was having an affair with her at the time and had just planned to divorce Mrs. Duncan.

Mrs. Duncan doesn’t want to talk about this and then the top brass at the police tell Dave to stop bothering her. Some thugs even call his home and threaten Dave’s wife Katie. Well, now Dave knows that there is something to this case and he doesn’t intend to leave until he’s solved it all. This will be his most difficult case yet though as he will have to do it without the help of the police. Can he take on the powerful underworld?

There are quite a few characters running around here. First up we have the main villain Mike Lagana. He runs the underworld and seems to run the police as well. Naturally this is why Dave suspects him of having a hand on this. Supposedly no criminal acts without this guy giving his okay first. If they try to make a move solo then they may not end up being in a position to act any further. Mike makes for an intense villain to be sure. He’s the kind of guy who prefers to let his underlings do the dirty work though.

Mike tries to stay clean as a whistle but of course giving the orders doesn’t make you any less of a villain than the ones doing the deed. Then you have his right hand man Stone who is the most twisted of the villains. He’s into torture and such so you’re always ready for Dave to eventually take him down. There’s nothing redeeming about this villain.

Another big villain here is Mrs. Duncan. After all, she’s one of the mastermind’s here. As a side note, I also liked how this film had more than just the usual 2 factions. For example, she is working with Mike but not for him. In fact, she has contingency plans of her own. Mrs. Duncan is a great strategist and always makes sure to hold a great hand. It’s part of what makes the end of her plot really interesting.

The film takes a few different turns than I had expected and I thought it was played out excellently. A lot of times you expect Dave to basically be doing all of the work on his own without help but in this one that’s not quite the case. He has some allies and then you’ve also just got separate characters who have their own plans and agendas.

Back to the heroes, Dave’s wife Katie was a great character. She was certainly on top of things and was just good natured in general. She was someone he could always count on and she had a good sense of humor as well. Then you have Dave’s army friends who show up more in the second half. These guys are all ready to stand with him to the end which is a really good display of loyalty. Without them it would have been a lot more difficult for Dave to move around.

Then you have Debby who is Stone’s girlfriend so she is around for a lot of the villain scenes. It’s clear that she has more of a heart than the others but of course it’s not easy to just leave a villain setup. Once you’re in you are effectively stuck and have to remain that way. She does end up contributing a whole lot though. Debby goes through a lot during the movie but ultimately stays strong during the various trials.

As for Dave, he’s certainly a solid character. He takes his job very seriously and does whatever he can to crack the case. He’s not able to just look the other way which is difficult in this line of work since the town is basically owned by the villains. At one point the main villain is even playing a game of cards with some elected officials and a cop as they all sit down and have a good game while someone is being injured in the background. Dave can be short with just about everyone but he has good reason to be in a foul mood for most of the film.

Dave really can’t catch a break and as the main character you already know that the people he meets will always be in danger. He also succeeds as a main character with the great dialogue he gets. Dave always has a solid one liner ready for the various characters and doesn’t hold back with the insults. He just calls it like he sees it and doesn’t care who is listening.

The script is definitely top notch and holds up extremely well. The writing is on point as it balances the various plots. Again, I like how it threw a lot of curveballs into the climax of the film with each character getting to contribute. It made the film ultimately feel even more like a grand adventure.

If there’s anything weak about the film, it’s that it can go a bit far with being rather dark. In a noir film characters die all of the time which is normal but this one delves much more into the torture kind of deaths. The opening victim dies in a rather brutal way and we see how Stone treats various characters close up. The attack on Debby was also pretty brutal. I prefer when the villains just murder the heroes quick and easy as opposed to going the extra mile. At least with the first death it isn’t shown but a quick explosion would have definitely been preferable.

Overall, The Big Heat is a really good thriller film. It’s easy to get invested into the story and also hard to predict exactly how it will go. Even the fact that we know who the crime lord is makes things pretty interesting since that doesn’t necessarily mean he has his hand in this affair. Also, you have to decide whether you believe Dave or not when he talks about all of the characters being bought out by the guy. If you like a good mystery or thriller then this is definitely a good title to check out.

Overall 7/10

Saint Seiya: The Heated Battle of the Gods Review

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The Saint Seiya movies certainly have great posters without a doubt. This next film effectively picks up in a similar fashion to the first one with things boiling to a head pretty quickly. It’s an effective movie with a lot of great fight scenes and moments. It’s also fun seeing the Asgard fighters again after the show although of course it’s a different set entirely here. Asgard always looks pretty corrupt in these things compared to Sanctuary though.

The movie starts with Hyoga saving a guy from a group of fighters and then being sent out to do some investigating in Asgard. Unfortunately things don’t go very well for him and he is promptly captured. Meanwhile the other Saints and Athena are worried about what happened with him so they arrive in Asgard. Dolbar lets them know nobody has seen Hyoga in the kingdom. This isn’t particularly convincing though as all of his God Warriors continue to glare and insult the heroes. None of the Saints back off which is good but they ultimately head out to do some secret searching.

Dolbar sees this as a good chance so he calls Athena back by herself and quickly kidnaps her soul in another dimension and puts her on a giant boat. Andromeda must have been sleeping since he was the assigned guard but he wakes up to find her and promptly starts getting beaten down by one of the God Warriors. It’s time for the Saints of Athena to show up and turn the tables but can they really reach her in time?

We’ve got a similar format to the first film but there are definitely some key differences. For starters, Hyoga is forced to fight for the god warriors so there is the increased stress of having to fight one of their own. Additionally, the terrain is very different in the icy Asgard which is certainly fun. Andromeda looks marginally better than he did last time and the main villain can actually fight this time.

I was quite happy to see Dolbar actually step in and start fighting it out physically. This was exactly what I had been waiting for the whole time. A villain who can just step in and start taking names as soon as possible. He was quite impressive too since even Seiya was having a lot of trouble with him. Okay that may not be surprising but it is still impressive all the same. Seiya ends up needing a little extra help in much the same way as the first film in order to counter this. It’s always a great way to end the film.

The God Warriors don’t leave much more of an impression than the villains from the first film. Again, they’re all pretty good but the heroes do have to mow them down fairly quick in order to keep the film moving at a rapid pace. I would say the most impressive fighter may have been the one who fought Seiya in terms of having a lasting impression thanks to his arrows of certain death. It’s a fun concept when you only need one hit to take down your enemy. It’s a very handy skill because you can imagine how deadly that would be if Seiya was throwing that with his Pegasus speed. Nobody could dodge that.

Seiya looks excellent here as always. He takes on a bunch of injuries and keeps on ticking. All of the Saints are able to do this but Seiya is always able to take those injuries and still manage to secure victories in the end. It’s the hallmark of a true hero. Of course Ikki looked great here as well. He comes in clutch with his fire abilities and also shows a lot of determination as he tries to save Seiya no matter what.

Shiryu gets a bigger role here compared to last time since he gets to fight with Hyoga. It’s a good battle and longer than you might expect as Hyoga uses every trick possible to take Shiryu down while the dragon hero is trying to subdue him with grapples and throws to avoid hurting the guy. Definitely a fun fight and it shows how Shiryu is willing to risk everything to get his friend back. As for Hyoga, it’s a little sad for his fans that he was basically controlled into doing this but by the end of the film he was still able to make the right calls and help out. In a way he’s at a bit of a disadvantage having to fight in a cold area where everyone is already used to the ice but he makes the most of it and still ends up coming out on top and at least contributing with the final boss. We all know who will beat Dolbar in the end anyway.

As for Andromeda…well he looks better than last time as I said but it’s still not great. His chains were utterly destroyed by his opponent’s sword. What’s the point of an invincible chain if it gets broken so easily? In general the characters’ armors haven’t looked so good in the movies. They tend to shatter almost instantly when fighting the enemies. They definitely need the golden armors at their disposal consistently. Andromeda does have a key scene where he rescues Seiya though so nobody can take that away from him.

The animation is certainly good as always. It seemed like they were trying for a slightly different look at times with the fights like when Hyoga fought the bandits. Maybe a thinner, more streamlined look? Either way it all looked good and the battles were a lot of fun. The soundtrack was also on point as expected. All of the classic tunes are still around and you can really get into the action.

Overall, This was a great follow up to the first movie. I think I would still go with the first one as the best Saint Seiya film so far but it is very close. They’re both similar in a lot of ways which is good because you shouldn’t fix what isn’t broken right? Saint Seiya is the kind of series that lends itself really well to having a ton of films so it’ll be nice if they can start announcing more films in the future at some point. Just follow this format and you’ll be in really good shape. It’s definitely a must watch for any action fan.

Overall 8/10

Saint Seiya: Evil Goddess Eris Review

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It’s time to look at the first Saint Seiya film. This was back when some films would be quite short at well under an hour and that is the case with this one. What that also means though is it gets to jump right into the action so that part’s fun. The action pretty much goes on for the entire film which is always hype. It’s a solid story that is well contained here.

The film starts with Seiya and friends enjoying a normal day at the orphanage. Hyoga and Eri even get to spend some time staring at each other. Unfortunately, an evil goddess known as Eris arrives and possesses Eri’s body. Eri then ambushes Athena on one of her horseback riding adventures and takes her away to a temple. Athena is able to resist the body snatching abilities of Eris so the villain decides to break her emotionally by destroying the saints in front of her. She sends a signal to Athena’s Knights to come and save her if they dare. Eris also summons the 4 Ghost Saints to take care of the heroes when they arrive. Seiya and friends do not hesitate as they head on over.

That’s really it for the plot because from here on our you can expect some hype battles between saints. It’s quite nostalgic seeing the heroes in this film. The movie includes the original theme song from the show and of course all of the classic tunes are here. Even the whole “A saint never falls for the same trick twice” line returns which is a classic. The heroes all have rather difficult battles but manage to overcome them as needed. The film feels like a speed run through an arc as Andromeda gets absolutely wrecked as expected, Shiryu has to drop his armor, Ikki shows up for a rescue, Hyoga lets his guard down, etc.

Of course, those are all great story beats so including them all in a film is bound to be a winning idea. Naturally Seiya looks great here. He’s a true hero as always and puts in a lot of dedication to survive to the end. He takes some particularly bad hits in the film such as hitting his head on a cliff when being thrown away and taking some seriously lethal blows. Fortunately he was able to survive these and keep on fighting as a true saint. Constantly throughout battles Seiya gets hit so hard he even loses all of his senses, even Goku might wince at this kind of damage. Just goes to show why the guy is still an absolute living legend.

Meanwhile Hyoga looks good but he does fall for the classic emotional trap. I’ll give him this, he got to have the best opening scene since he took down the car and saved a kid. In the fight he also looked good as he was overwhelming his opponent until he let his guard down. He’s typically the weakest member of the team outside of Shun but it’s more of a by default since the team is absolutely stacked. You have Seiya and Ikki at the top with Shiryu following close behind. I would say Hyoga is right under him and then Andromeda is way below the rest. I think Hyoga fans will still be satisfied since he was looking so dominant here which makes up for not having another fight scene.

It’s better than Andromeda fans at least as he goes down so quickly in this movie that he doesn’t even get to take out his chains. You would assume the guy isn’t a fighter based on how this one went down. It was more than a little embarrassing if we’re being honest. No Knight of Athena should go down in a single blow. Even in the main series Andromeda never looked quite so bad so…..ah man it must have been rough for his fans when they were leaving the theater.

Ikki looks absolutely amazing though. Not only does he step in to take that guy down but he also gets a pretty good fight against the main villain. It was actually even for a while and he was ready to keep on fighting until Seiya stepped in. I was glad to see him look so good here and it keeps reaffirming why he is my favorite character in the series. His fire attacks just look very cool and I like that unwavering confidence of his.

Meanwhile Shiryu also looks good. He was initially getting pummeled but that’s more or less part of his fighting strategy. The dragon within him gets stronger the more damage he takes. Shiryu’s specialty is stacking the deck against himself and this is completed once he takes off his armor and allows any hit against him to be lethal. Now that the stakes are so high he can really show his stuff. His ultimate move is a bit of a self destruction attack so he can’t use it often but it does always work. His sheer durability is probably the highest out of the cast. (I would consider Ikki’s infinite regeneration to be different from durability)

None of the villains are particularly noteworthy. They were all pretty good though. They talk tough, insult the heroes, and flex their powers. Basically they do everything you could want out of a villain. They may be a bit interchangeable in that sense but they all have different abilities. The one who fought Shiryu for example was really proud of his own strength while the one who fought Andromeda was more about ending his foes peacefully. At the end of the day their core personalities are similar though and that’s good since they were all impressive.

As for Eris, she can’t exactly fight so don’t expect her to get a big fight scene. Her plan wasn’t half bad though, just a little longer and she would have won. Honestly it would have been smarter not to call in the Saints though. I feel like Athena would have broken down soon anyway and then there wouldn’t be any danger. Maybe Eris just really enjoys a good fight though. Athena looked pretty bad here though. She should at least be able to defend herself a little bit right? Cmon, she is a goddess incarnate….

As expected the animation here is really good. I wouldn’t say it’s necessarily at a higher level than the show but it does look really clear. I definitely have no issues with the animation. The fights certainly deliver and the soundtrack is on point as you would expect. There are a lot of powerful songs to listen to here and each one will certainly help to enhance the scene that they’re in.

Overall, This is a quick film so there’s not a whole lot to say. Still, it’s a great adventure since it’s really like a true mini arc. The Saints split up and systematically shut down each and everyone of their opponents. If that’s not true power then I don’t know what is. If you’re a fan of Saint Seiya or just like action in general then this is definitely a great film to check out. There’s one scene with a horse that might get you very nervous but fortunately the film didn’t go the way I was expecting. Things could have spun out of control really easily and it’s still the weakest scene in the film but fortunately he was okay in the end.

Overall 8/10