Post by Torgo on Apr 5, 2004 11:45:02 GMT -5
I know you all have been awaiting Torgo's triumphant return to the boards. Well, the Tot-G is back baby! And he's got two little reviews from his Easily-Amused-Opinion.
As most of you people already know, I am a Godzilla fan. And because of this I was eagerly awaiting the DVD release of Godzilla X Mechagodzilla in America. And as of March 23, it's now avalible for all American Godzilla fans to see in it's original Japanese audio track or dubbed version.
Going into it I took a look at Godzilla's track record with Mechagodzilla. It was shaky to say the least. Especially since it started with Jun Fukuda's Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla. I honestly have to say that Jun Fukuda is to Godzilla what many people believe Joel Shumacher is to Batman (although I personally have to admit both Batman Forever and Batman & Robin were both better than that Tim Burton POS Batman Returns, but then again Ishiro Honda directed Godzilla's Revenge. Not that Burton is as good a director as Honda, but I'm rambling so I'll shut up). Sadly, Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla is Jun Fukuda's best Godzilla movie. When you compare it to the likes of Godzilla vs. the Sea Monster and Godzilla vs. Megalon (BOTH of which were MSTied), how could it not be? It was followed up by Ishiro Honda's final Godzilla film, Terror of Mechagodzilla, which is superior in many ways and easily the best of all the 1970's Godzilla movies. Mechagodzilla then returned in 1993's Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla remake. While the human drama is the weakest of the Heisei Godzilla series (well aside from Godzilla vs. SpaceGodzilla, but don't get me started on that), the moster battles easily exceled it into a ranking as one of the best Godzilla movies ever.
Now I look at the Millennium Godzilla series track record. The Showa series was great for it's outstanding monster battles, the Heisei series was great for it's human drama, and the Millenium series tries to meet in the middle starting with the outstanding Godzilla 2000. Outstanding monster sequences and easily the best human scenes since the original Godzilla movie. Godzilla X Megaguirus was a fun little romp. That's pretty much the only way I can sum it up. Godzilla; Mothra; King Ghidorah was a flawed attempt at a masterpeice, but still an entertaining one.
Now we finally get to Godzilla X Mechagodzilla, which really shines in the Millennium series. While I wouldn't rank it as high as Godzilla 2000, I'd go as far as to say it was better than GXM and GMK.
I'll start with the monster scenes, which is the real reason anoyone would watch the Godzilla movies at all. Absolutly outstanding. Fast and furious, just the way I like it. While it gets a little anime-ish (as you can see, I'm trying to avoid using the term "Matrix-ish") and borders on "Yeah right!" most of the time, they will never bore you. The costumes are great as well. Mechagodzilla (or Kiryu as they call him in this movie) has never looked better. Godzilla's costume had to grow on me. The head looked to chunky and Heisei-ish, but I guess they wanted something that resembled the Godzilla from the original movie a little more, but overall, I prefer the style from G2K and GXM.
The human characters are typical of the Millennium series, they are interesting and keep the movie moving. Yumiko Shaku who plays Akane is extremly beautiful and plays her part well.
The one thing I've learned from listening to the Japanese track instead of the english one, is that those Japanese have fast tongues. I'm serious. Holy crap, I'm glad I'm not Japanese. I'd speak at such a slow pace these people would think I'm "special." I glanced at a few scenes in the english audio, and while it's not the worst dubbing I've heard, it makes me why Tri-Star wants to make these movies goofier than they actually are. Here's a sample that I picked up:
-Japanese-
Woman: And that one?
Man: That's Kiryu.
-English-
Woman: What is that?
Man: (in a tone like he's selling the damn thing in a comercial) Something called Kiryu!
Overall this is a very worthy entry in the Godzilla series, and has me anxiously awaiting Godzilla X Mothra X Mechagodzilla and Godzilla: Final Wars. Hopfully Toho can keep this streak of amazing Godzilla films up.
I'm not gonna lie. I love a fun, brainless action flick. But my favorite action star, who shall remain nameless, just became governer of California. Now where am I gonna get my daily dose of Big Muscle, Hard Fist action flicks? While I enjoyed both Blade movies to an extent, I find Wesley Snipes to be inconsistant. Jean-Claude Van Damme is good for a laugh, but hillarity is not what I'm looking for. Stalone and Segal can call me after they get of their Direct to Video high horse and Spy Kids sequels. Maybe I should just move on and watch the new generation of Keanu Reeves Kung Fu Jesus movies.
Now we get to Dwayne "the Rock" Johnson, who I didn't consider until the Rundown. While his first staring role movie, the Scorpion King, cheesed it up with cornball diologue, I admit, the action was great. After the Rundown came out, I walked out of the theater with a smile on my face, wasn't what it could have been, but I'll be watching the Rock's carreer with some interest. After all, he did display some acting skills in that movie, which is a rare thing in the WWE (You'd think better actors would come out of wrestling, after all, they've been using scripts since day one).
Now, let's keep in mind that I haven't seen the original Walking Tall staring Joe Don Baker nor am I familiar with the actual story of Bufford T. Pusser. Judging from this movie, picturing Joe Don in the Rock roll, and less stylized, It seems to be a movie that I might enjoy. I should check it out next time it's on TV or if I find it in the $1.50 rack at my local video rental unit. My dad is a big fan of the original movie, however, and I took him with me. Although he wouldn't admit it, he really enjoyed the remake. I glanced at him a few times and he was laughing along with the audience (which is a rare thing for him) and having a great time watching the action scenes.
But what did I think of the movie you may ask? I liked it. I thought it was better than both the Scorpion King and the Rundown. The humor was great, I enjoyed the story, and the was just enough "Hell yeah!" in the action to keep me entertained.
I've definatly got my eye on the Rock now. Maybe the post-Arnie years won't be so boring after all.
As most of you people already know, I am a Godzilla fan. And because of this I was eagerly awaiting the DVD release of Godzilla X Mechagodzilla in America. And as of March 23, it's now avalible for all American Godzilla fans to see in it's original Japanese audio track or dubbed version.
Going into it I took a look at Godzilla's track record with Mechagodzilla. It was shaky to say the least. Especially since it started with Jun Fukuda's Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla. I honestly have to say that Jun Fukuda is to Godzilla what many people believe Joel Shumacher is to Batman (although I personally have to admit both Batman Forever and Batman & Robin were both better than that Tim Burton POS Batman Returns, but then again Ishiro Honda directed Godzilla's Revenge. Not that Burton is as good a director as Honda, but I'm rambling so I'll shut up). Sadly, Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla is Jun Fukuda's best Godzilla movie. When you compare it to the likes of Godzilla vs. the Sea Monster and Godzilla vs. Megalon (BOTH of which were MSTied), how could it not be? It was followed up by Ishiro Honda's final Godzilla film, Terror of Mechagodzilla, which is superior in many ways and easily the best of all the 1970's Godzilla movies. Mechagodzilla then returned in 1993's Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla remake. While the human drama is the weakest of the Heisei Godzilla series (well aside from Godzilla vs. SpaceGodzilla, but don't get me started on that), the moster battles easily exceled it into a ranking as one of the best Godzilla movies ever.
Now I look at the Millennium Godzilla series track record. The Showa series was great for it's outstanding monster battles, the Heisei series was great for it's human drama, and the Millenium series tries to meet in the middle starting with the outstanding Godzilla 2000. Outstanding monster sequences and easily the best human scenes since the original Godzilla movie. Godzilla X Megaguirus was a fun little romp. That's pretty much the only way I can sum it up. Godzilla; Mothra; King Ghidorah was a flawed attempt at a masterpeice, but still an entertaining one.
Now we finally get to Godzilla X Mechagodzilla, which really shines in the Millennium series. While I wouldn't rank it as high as Godzilla 2000, I'd go as far as to say it was better than GXM and GMK.
I'll start with the monster scenes, which is the real reason anoyone would watch the Godzilla movies at all. Absolutly outstanding. Fast and furious, just the way I like it. While it gets a little anime-ish (as you can see, I'm trying to avoid using the term "Matrix-ish") and borders on "Yeah right!" most of the time, they will never bore you. The costumes are great as well. Mechagodzilla (or Kiryu as they call him in this movie) has never looked better. Godzilla's costume had to grow on me. The head looked to chunky and Heisei-ish, but I guess they wanted something that resembled the Godzilla from the original movie a little more, but overall, I prefer the style from G2K and GXM.
The human characters are typical of the Millennium series, they are interesting and keep the movie moving. Yumiko Shaku who plays Akane is extremly beautiful and plays her part well.
The one thing I've learned from listening to the Japanese track instead of the english one, is that those Japanese have fast tongues. I'm serious. Holy crap, I'm glad I'm not Japanese. I'd speak at such a slow pace these people would think I'm "special." I glanced at a few scenes in the english audio, and while it's not the worst dubbing I've heard, it makes me why Tri-Star wants to make these movies goofier than they actually are. Here's a sample that I picked up:
-Japanese-
Woman: And that one?
Man: That's Kiryu.
-English-
Woman: What is that?
Man: (in a tone like he's selling the damn thing in a comercial) Something called Kiryu!
Overall this is a very worthy entry in the Godzilla series, and has me anxiously awaiting Godzilla X Mothra X Mechagodzilla and Godzilla: Final Wars. Hopfully Toho can keep this streak of amazing Godzilla films up.
I'm not gonna lie. I love a fun, brainless action flick. But my favorite action star, who shall remain nameless, just became governer of California. Now where am I gonna get my daily dose of Big Muscle, Hard Fist action flicks? While I enjoyed both Blade movies to an extent, I find Wesley Snipes to be inconsistant. Jean-Claude Van Damme is good for a laugh, but hillarity is not what I'm looking for. Stalone and Segal can call me after they get of their Direct to Video high horse and Spy Kids sequels. Maybe I should just move on and watch the new generation of Keanu Reeves Kung Fu Jesus movies.
Now we get to Dwayne "the Rock" Johnson, who I didn't consider until the Rundown. While his first staring role movie, the Scorpion King, cheesed it up with cornball diologue, I admit, the action was great. After the Rundown came out, I walked out of the theater with a smile on my face, wasn't what it could have been, but I'll be watching the Rock's carreer with some interest. After all, he did display some acting skills in that movie, which is a rare thing in the WWE (You'd think better actors would come out of wrestling, after all, they've been using scripts since day one).
Now, let's keep in mind that I haven't seen the original Walking Tall staring Joe Don Baker nor am I familiar with the actual story of Bufford T. Pusser. Judging from this movie, picturing Joe Don in the Rock roll, and less stylized, It seems to be a movie that I might enjoy. I should check it out next time it's on TV or if I find it in the $1.50 rack at my local video rental unit. My dad is a big fan of the original movie, however, and I took him with me. Although he wouldn't admit it, he really enjoyed the remake. I glanced at him a few times and he was laughing along with the audience (which is a rare thing for him) and having a great time watching the action scenes.
But what did I think of the movie you may ask? I liked it. I thought it was better than both the Scorpion King and the Rundown. The humor was great, I enjoyed the story, and the was just enough "Hell yeah!" in the action to keep me entertained.
I've definatly got my eye on the Rock now. Maybe the post-Arnie years won't be so boring after all.
