Movie Review: Godzilla (2014)

WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD!!!

      Today I review the all-new American monster movie, Godzilla! This movie is spectacular, with great protagonists and awesome effects to bring the monsters to life. I will also review the plot, IMAX usage, and how it stays true to the original monster.

      The story goes as follows: many years after attempting to kill an ancient dinosaurian creature in 1954,  scientist Dr. Serizawa and his assistant Vievienne Graham discover dormant eggpods in a large cavern in the Philippines, along with the fossils of the original creature. a series of consistent earthquakes hit the Janjira Nuclear plant near Tokyo, and, during the chaos, Joe Brody's wife dies due to radiation leaks. Fifteen years later, his son Ford has his own family and returns to see them after his military training. Hearing his dad entering a quarantine zone, he soon gets him and visits him. After revisiting their home from 15 years ago, they are taken to a scientific facility that used to be the plant. During their visit, Dr. Serizawa finds out, to his horror, that the eggpod has a special EMP pulse. After his attempts to kill it, it only allows the creature inside, dubbed MUTO, to hatch and escape the facility. During this, Joe is severely injured and dies, which his son grieves for.

The MUTO monster, as they find out, feeds off radiation, and it goes after several bombs that the military transports and feeds off of them. After some discussion, the calls of the monster were found out to be mating calls, and a larger, non-winged MUTO was listening and awakes, looking for its mate. However, it was not the only thing listening; Godzilla was as well. After fighting the male MUTO briefly in Honolulu, the military wishes to use a powerful nuclear weapon, hoping the shockwave will kill all three monsters. Later, both MUTOs meet in San Francisco to rebuild a nest and manage to have thousands of embryos connected to the super nuclear weapon they steal. However, Godzilla comes and battles the MUTO in an all-out monster brawl for the fate of the world. However, Godzilla begins to lose as the MUTOs attack him together. After the military drop in and steal it, Ford manages to destroy the eggs using a fuel tank, distracting the MUTOs and allowing Godzilla to gain the upper hand and unleash his atomic ray. Godzilla manages to kill the male, but is engulfed in a falling skyscraper after sharing a stare with Ford. During this, the female attacks the soldiers and atttempts to retake the nuke; Ford, meanwhile, is taking the boat with the damaged nuke to sea. When MUTO is going to kill Ford, Godzilla saves him and rips off the monster's head. After a near escape, Ford reunites with his family as Godzilla returns to the sea, triumphant.

Godzilla roars in his victory!

     The plot was magnificent, with enough human influence to give the movie some character development, at least for Ford. The monster fights were somewhat short, but enough to satisfy. The characters were all good, though Ford's parents and Dr. Serizawa didn't get enough screen time in my opinion. My favorite character was the good ol' doctor; he knew that Godzilla could help defeat the MUTOs and was against the use of the super nuke. Ford had great character development, and you really feel for him and don't wish for him or his family to die. Overall, the plot and characters were awesome.

The MUTO roars at the terrified civilians.

        The monster designs were amazing; they truly brought the creatures to life. Godzilla, in particular, looks amazing, with his CGI top-notch and his roar loud and terrifying. The MUTOs were a great addition and allowed for Godzilla to be a hero in this movie, as opposed to his normally antagonistic role in his films. The powers for the MUTOs were creative, allowing for some plot twists to make it harder for the military. Godzilla's atomic ray was beautifully captured in CGI, making it look more realistic than it ever has. Godzilla looks much like his original appearance, which will please fans. Overall, the monsters and their respective abilities are amazing and breathtaking in appearance.

Godzilla admires (then promptly destroys) the Golden Gate Bridge.

       The soundtrack I love and is one of the best Godzilla soundtracks made. It has great battle music and dramatic music, as well as the sadder tonesfor the respective part of the movie requiring it. The IMAX experience for Godzilla is not used to its fullest extent, I think, though it was used relatively well. It does, at some points, look like the monsters are looming over you as they roar. Overall, the IMAX experience is definitely something to watch, as it will allow you a better view of the King of Monsters's movie than regular 2D or 3D. Overall, the soundtrack is great and really enhances the movie.

      Overall, this movie definitely deserves to be seen. Whether you are a casual moviegoer or a Godzilla fan, this movie will not disappoint, with its epic score, great characters, awesome-looking monsters and amazing effects definitely going to draw people into the theater.

Final Rating: 4.9 out of 5

Great reboot with amazing effects and soundtrack.

See you on my next review!

The King of Monsters celebrates his 60th anniversary!

      

Movie Review: Gojira (1954)

                     

   Today, in honor of the new Godzilla movie, I will review the original movie that started it all, Gojira!!!  This movie is an amazing film, with few flaws and a great plot, and manages to keep a dark, serious tone due to the dark events from which the monster and film were inspired from. For those wondering, I am reviewing the Japanese version of the film. I will not review the American version yet, but I may in the summer.

    

    This film was created because of both nuclear testing and the devastating atom bombing on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, which the Japanese were still recovering from at the time of the film. Godzilla, or Gojira in Japanese, is a symbol of nuclear testing and holocaust, as he devastates Tokyo and the many people in it in the film. The main message behind it is, simply put, "The continued production of weapons of mass destruction will only further progress wars and cause even more uneasiness and distrust between the world's nations"; that's how I interpreted it, anyway! This film really makes you think at some points.

The Oxygen Destroyer

The story is as follows: After several ships go missing in the ocean near Odo Island, natives believe it to be a legendary monster known as "Godzilla". After witnesse report the ships' fates, an investigation crew, along with archaeologist Kyohei Yamane, visit the island and find a trilobite and radioactive footprints. After an encounter with the monster, it's revealed to be dinosaurian in appearance. After Yamane presents his findings, ships go to try and kill Gojira; unfortunately, it fails, as the monster terrorizes a party boat later in the night. While Emiko, Yamane's daughter, wishes to break up with Dr. Serizawa, her arranged engagement and a colleague of her father's, due to her love of Ogata, a sailor. Dr. Serizawa, however, wishes to tell her of his discoveries, which proves to be a deadly weapon that releases oxygen from living creatures in water, reducing them to skeletons and essentially vaporizing them. Though she promises to keep it a secret, in light of the recent attacks oon Tokyo by Godzilla, she tells Ogata. After confronting the doctor, they decide to go and use the superweapon on the monster. I won't tell you if they succeed or not; you'll have to watch the movie to find out what happens!

Greetings! I will destroy your city! How does that sound?

     The special effects, while somewhat dated compared to today's, holds up relatively well. I personally think the atomic breath effects do not hold up at all, while most of the other ones do.The black and white color allows for the strings or anyhing like that used to be hidden almost enirely.While stop-motion isn't employed for the monster, it is used in a few shots, though not very effectively at all. The suit used is my favorite Godzilla design/suit out of the many in the series, and in black and white it looks spectacular. Overall, the special effects are spot-on. No big complaints here!

NOMNOMNOM!!!! Yummy choo-choo!!!

    The plot is superb, and the acting is very good as well; this movie definitely has relatable characters in my opinion. My personal favorite is the archaeologist Yamane; he is conflicted by his wish to study Godzilla, and yet must side with his people and destroy him to save the world from his terror. The underlying message is great, and I wish that superweapons like atom bombs were never invented and shouldn't continue in production. The monster Godzilla is a great monster, having been so popular that a whole film series, comprising of 29 films, was made. His powers are extraordinary, and his design is very unique. Overall, the plot, characters, and message are excellent.

Overall, this film is one of the greats, deserving a spot on your shelf. You can get both the Japanese and American versions in the same package in most releases, so you can compare them to see which was your favorite. Anyway, this film, though it has some dated special effects, has a great plot, characters, and some of the effects aren't that bad at all.

My Final Rating: 4.9 out of 5

Classic film with little to no flaws and good storyline.

Tomorrow, I see the new Godzilla film in IMAX 3D, and I plan on reviewing it tomorrow as well. I know it will be better than '98 as a Godzilla film, and I can't wait to see it. Thanks for reading, and see you when I review Godzilla (2014)!

The King of Monsters Returns!

Movie Review: Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster (1964)

       In today's review, I will be covering a classic Godzilla film that was released 10 years after the original Gojira. This movie is an overall fun flick, but has a short final battle and not much of the titular character.

      The story is as follows: a princess from a mountain nation is coming to make negotiations with Japan, when a strange voice tells her to get off the plane, which was rigged to explode by assassins. Though presumed dead, she appears the next day informing the people about Ghidorah and how he will destroy the world. It doesn't take long for people to recognize it is the princess, and the Shindo, the main protagonist assigned to protect her, must protect her from the assassins assigned to kill her. Earlier, a mysterious space object had landed in a valley; after some strange occurrences, it proves to be none other than Ghidorah's pod. As he begins carving his destructive path, Mothra, Rodan, and Godzilla all intervene and join forces to combat and drive away the space dragon.

OUCH! MY BOOTY!!!

       This movie has an excellent plot with good characters and decent monster designs; however, I think that Mothra should have been in her Imago, or full-grown, form. The special effects were okay, and some parts of the movie were especially funny. At one point, when the monsters were fighting, Mothra spewed silk at Godzilla; seeing this, Rodan began laughing. However, the joke was on him, as he was covered in a silky mess as well; ironically, Godzilla laughed back at him. That is one instance I thought was funny and really brought up the movie. Comic relief becomes a staple in the series, as well as Godzilla's heroic actions, which are only seen in the 60's and 70's Godzilla films, otherwise known as the Showa series.

SURPRISE!!!!!

 

     This movie's monster battles, while good, are seemingly short, and Ghidorah, one of my favorite monsters (please refer to my Top 12 list of Godzilla monsters for information on my favorite kaiju) doesn't have as much screen time as he should in his debut film. The only other nitpick I have with this film is the acting when the princess is under her trance. At first, I thought she was really an alien! Turns out an alien was possessing her? Still confused about that. Oh, and I can't remember the other girl's name, either.

Thanks for the ride!

Overall, this film is one of my favorite Godzilla films, despite its flaws. If you don't mind old-style special effects and Godzilla battles, then this film deserves a watch.

My Final Rating: 4.1 out of 5
Good Godzilla film, just not the best.

See you when I review Gojira!

Godzilla 2014 comes out tomorrow!

Lego Evo Xl Machine Review Hero Factory Invasion From Below

Hello and welcome to my second Invasion from Below review! 

Today I am reviewing -FINALLY- Evo XL Machine. This set is pretty decent as a titan construction action, or constraction, figure, but falls flat on a few points, which I will most certainly go over. This is the largest of the first wave of Hero Factory 2014 sets, with 193 pieces and costing $24.99 here in the U.S.

This set has a more unique build than your standard HF sets, with special leg and limb construction and many useful pieces. For those who are wondering, it has 3 of the small XT4 torsos, 2 pearl dark grey Stormer XL feet, and those grey 3-pin-hole connector pieces with ball joints in bulk. The set comes with Evo and 2 jumper monsters/kaiju, one orange and the latter red. These are called jumpers because they are able to hop a bit if you push down on their backs. While it doesn't work too effectively, it is still fun to send them attacking the machine (and losing, of course). Evo as a minfigure resembles his 2012 appearance the most, and his helmet retains most of th basic details of his helmet while still accurately portraying the character.

This set features several flick-fire missiles, an opening cockpit and capture pod, rotating waist, a ball shooter, and articulate, poseable limbs. This set is mostly aesthetically pleasing, with detailed armor add-ons and stickers to better give details on the cockpit and capture pod. This set has a hand that is able to grab the jumper kaiju and the capture pod can then be used to store them; alternatively, you can fire at them with the missiles and ball shooter if you so wish. The set does fall flat in terms of the wrist; it cannot be moved there. If Lego had allowed articulation there, it would better benefit the model itself. Another problem would be the exposed ball joints above the shoulders. If they could've covered those up, that would be much more aesthetically pleasing. I do realize they are there for the combiner model, but you could easily take off any armor pieces necessary and replace it with the parts needed. Due to the way they did the shoulders, the arms also cannot move too high up and down, which is not good for some poses and kinda brings down the figure a bit.

Overall, this figure is a definite buy. Despite its flaws, they can be fixed if you own components in your Lego collection to replace them, as this is Lego, after all! The best part about it is that it has both a hero and some villains, so right away kids can begin making them clash! That, and also its many play features and how cool it looks will attract both kids and adults.

My overall rating is: 4.5 out of 5.

A worthy addition to Hero Factory and a great toy overall.

Special thanks to Eric from my church for getting this for me!

Please comment to tell me how I am doing and what you think of the set!

Come back soon for Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster and the Japanese classic Gojira!

The Amazing Spider-man 2 Review (Some Spoilers!)

Welcome back to my blog! This weekend I will be doing 2 movie reviews: this one and Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster. This review will contain spoilers, so please do be cautious if you wish to avoid such. If not, read on!

The Amazing Spider-man 2 expands and improves upon the original 2012 film. It shows what happened to Peter's parents, what Norman Osborn was suffering from, and more on the genetic spider testing. The way director Marc Webb (oh, the ironic puns!) handles three villains is miles better than Spiderman 3, in this reviewer's opinion.

Allow me to summarize the film in a paragraph.
The story begins by showing Peter's parents and their ultimate fate. Then, whilst a police chase occurs, Spider-man saves Max Dillon, an engineer at Oscorp, who wants to be noticed. Now obsessed, he goes about practically drooling over his hero. After an accident with the power, Max becomes Electro, and after a brief fight, is subdued. Meanwhile, Peter is trying to decide how to be with Gwen Stacy despite his superhero career. When he meets up with his old friend Harry Osborn, who is inflicted with a genetic disease passed down by his father, Harry wishes to use Spider-man' blood to save himself. Though Spidey refuses, Harry manages to find out where surviving samples of the original genetically altered spider venom is, but is soon fired after Oscorp finds out he is searching through Max Dillon's accident file, as they wish to hide it from the public. Managing to strike a deal with Electro, Harry gets the samples, but it alters him to the point of insanity and gains super strength and a suit of armor. Meanwhile, Electro goes to the power station and fights Spidey in a final battle. With Gwen Stacy's help, he manages to defeat the electrical menace just in time for Harry/Green Goblin to appear. After the fight, Spider-man mourns for the loss of -SUPER SPOILERS- Gwen. After five months of inactivity, Spider-man eventually comes to terms with her death and ends the film fighting Rhino.

This film's plot was executed most excellently, and the special effects were stunning. The music was AMAZING (see what I did there) and was in all the right moments. The acting was peculiar for Andrew Garfield, though I suppose a teenager would stutter quite a bit.
The plot, while seemingly complicated, is only somewhat complex and is a good story. The way they handled the characters where great; they all played their parts very well. Everything about the film is good in my opinion, though I suppose if you wanted a more critical review, you should check out other sites dedicated to film reviews.

All in all, this movie is a worthy sequel to the 2012 film, and connects many plot points while establishing new ones for the presumed third installment. The costumes were spot-on, and the acting overall was spectacular. I myself have no complaints for this film, other than it seemed a little on the long side in terms of running time. Some final notes: this Spiderman film is easily among my favorite Marvel films, I didn't go too in-depth with this film, and I am really biased because I love Spider-man in general. I will try to be more in-depth, but some helpful tips would be appreciated. Thanks for reading!



My Final Rating: 4.8 out of 5 stars

An excellent sequel to an awesome franchise

See you when I review Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster!

Please comment, I need to know how I'm doing!

Top 12 Godzilla Kaiju

 Note: Kaiju is Japanese for "strange creature" which is fitting for the many odd and awesome characters of the franchise.

 Sorry I'm not doing a review right now, but in the weekend I will. In the meantime, please enjoy my top 12 list.

 Godzilla is a big franchise, so merely a top 5 isn't enough. There are so many kaiju, ranging from the well-known Godzilla and Gamera to the more obscure Bagan and Deutalios. Today, I will be telling you my top 12 kaiju from the Godzilla universe. There will be a few oddities thrown into the mix, such as mechas or even lesser-known kaiju, so I would advise you to check out Wikizilla for information on these characters. Thank you, and without further ado, let's begin! For those wondering, this list excludes Godzilla, as he is the King of Monsters, so with that, let's REALLY begin!

12.) Bagan
Starting off my list is a more obscure kaiju that originates from the video games. He is a powerhouse! If you want to know how powerful he is, in the game Super Godzilla, you are required to become Super Godzilla in order to take this beast down. Yikes!

11.) Zilla
Next is the monster from the 1998 American remake of the original Godzilla. Though many criticize him for his impersonation of Godzilla, he is an interesting creature in his own right. I think that he fared much better in the TV series. If you haven't seen it, you can find it on Netflix ( the show, I mean).

10.) M.O.G.U.E.R.A
This mecha is an awesome yet underrated beast. He has the potential firepower to be a tank! Though he is a more fragile mecha, I do enjoy playing as him in Godzilla Unleashed.
To note, he only appears in Godzilla vs Spacegodzilla, so he isn't as well known. I still like him. He cool.

9.) Rodan
One of the more popular kaiju, he originated from his own movie of the same name. He has been portrayed as an ally of Godzilla, though sometimes he is opposing the King of Monsters. He is a pteranadon-like beast, with an awesome uranium beam and is immune to most heat-based attacks, even shrugging off Godzilla's atomic beam! Altogether, an awesome addition to the franchise.

8.) Anguirus
Although he fought Godzilla in his first movie appearance, in most subsequent appearances, he is Godzilla's brave buddy, taking damage and fighting aliens and other monsters, such as Gigan. This spiky-backed fellow can ram into other monsters and can spin to form a deadly, spiny tornado. This monster desreves a good spot on my list.

Now for the final 7 of this list!

7.) Destoroyah
Godzilla's final enemy in the Heisei series, this monster was made from the only weapon that could kill Godzilla. This monster even went as far as beating up Godzilla Junior! Even in his powered-up nuclear form, Godzilla was barely a match for this demonic kaiju. His design is excellent, and has a devestating micro-oxygen ray and a dangerous laser horn. This is one kaiju that you don't wanna mess with!

6.) SpaceGodzilla
Godzilla's brother from the cosmos, this monster is unusual due to his telekinetic powers and his intelligent mind. He has the intelligence of a human, so he can actually stage plans and attack as he wishes. His most recognizable attribute is his giant crystals, which he sports 2 on his shoulders and can summon them at will. His Corona beam will devastate other monsters and almost anything humans throw at it. This is another monster you needn't mess with!

5.) Gigan
This decked-out cyborg is equipped with many blades and has been a dangerous kaiju for Godzilla. Able to slice through the hides of monsters and through many other materials, Gigan is truly a deadly force. His buzzsaw belly is something to be reckoned with, and his sharp beak and pointed tail are all to be avoided. If that wasn't enough, he can fire his own laser to exterminate his foes. This monster has an awesome design, and I think he is a great antagonist, which made him a must-have addition to this list.

4.) Jet Jaguar
This robot has only appeared in 1 film, but is very interesting and awesome! He has a special ability to grow in size, so he can range from the size of a human to a size dwarfing the King of Monsters himself! He is especially dangerous because he is skilled in martial arts and adept at hand-to-hand combat. He is portrayed as Godzilla's ally many times, and he is one of my favorites, which explains why he's on my list!

3.) Kiryu/Mechagodzilla
Mechagodzilla is almost as popular as the original; that's why there are so many toys baed off of him and why he is in several Godzilla films. He hides a variety of weapons under his metal plating, from flamethrowers to missiles to even lasers! He is well suited to combat Godzilla, and has beaten him on some occasions. He is used if Godzilla ever becomes a threat, which is wise, considering he has attacked many times before!

2.) King Ghidorah
Godzilla's arch nemesis, this dragon kaiju will stop at nothing to destroy Godzilla, his friends, and the humans. Despite his huge bulk, he can fly and is very powerful. He can use his potent gravity beams to attack his opponents, and then use his three heads to bite and thrash at his enemies. His two tails are also something to watch out for, and his power is to be noted. The aliens that send him are so confident of his powers, they once sent him to fight almost a dozen monsters!




And finally, my top pick...

1.) Varan
Some may disagree, but this kaiju has been growing on me recently. I was first exposed to him by the TKToons Youtube channel (check them out, they have HILARIOUS videos) where he is featured in many of the videos. Next, I encountered him on Godzilla Unleashed, where he is a playable character. After trying him out, I am happy to say he is one of my favorite characters on the game! After finding out more about him, he has become a favorite of mine, which is why he takes the top spot. Capable of gliding long distances and equipped with a sonic beam and some basic combat skills, he is able to fight well against other monsters. He can even use the spikes on his back as a buzzsaw if he spins!
This monster needs all the popularity it can get, as it only starred in 2 movies to my knowledge. This kaiju is awesome!

Thank for reading, and post in the comments what you think of the monsters in this list and the monsters I left out! Thanks for reading, and I'll catch ya next time!

Happy Cinco de Mayo, to anyone who celebrates!!!

Blog Update!!!

Things have been pretty wild these past couple months, and I apologize for the lack of posts. I have been dealing with moving and school, but once those are all done, I can post regularly.

As you may have noticed, I have updated my blog appearance. Some may be asking: Why the change? Who are these characters? What happened to Lego? To answer the first question, it is because I decided that I have more interests than Lego and need my blog to be more expansive. Second, these are Godzilla characters; I became intrigued with Godzilla and other monsters of the genre December 2013 onwards. I also am planning to see the new Godzilla movie in IMAX 3D this month. I don't have many Godzilla toys or things, but I have enough to talk about until I move and a little after.

Thirdly, I still like Lego, I just will be posting them not as frequently AT THE MOMENT. I still am planning on reviewing the rest of the Invasion From Below series that I have obtained, but I will mix it in with movie reviews and Godzilla. To reiterate, I am merely adding more to my blog. Lego reviews will continue, but I will also review movie I see and Godzilla merchandise I get.

The next movie I will see will be Amazing Spider-Man 2 this Saturday. I will try to squeeze in the Evo XL Machine review and the original Godzilla 1954 movie review before I see Godzilla. After that, school will wrap up and I get more free time. Expect me trying to do weekly reviews and posts, though I may not be able to keep up with that until I get my own computer in the summer. In the meantime, enjoy what I can post, and, once again, I will try to fit in the above 3 posts before Godzilla 2014. Thanks for reading my blog, and comment on what movie I should see ( I have access to Netflix, BTW) and how I am doing on my reviews and posts. Once again, thanks for reading, and see you when I next review something!

May the 4th be with you!!!!

LEGO Hero Factory 44016 Jaw Beast vs Stormer Review

Welcome back to my blog! I apologize for being late with the reviews, but here is my first Hero Factory and first 2014 set review! It contains 49 pieces and 1 minifigure, and retails for $10.

Stormer is gonna need more than a spear to take down Jaw Beast!

That's right! Lego Hero Factory has minifigures in their sets now! This is part of the Invasion from Below series, which I think is somewhat inspired by films with Kaiju (giant monsters). And I love those kind of things!  It comes with a Stormer minifigure, armed with a spear and equipped with a datapad to call for reinforcements. He has a blank blue minifigure head under his helmet, which means his parts are compatible with regular Legos.

The beast himself!

Jaw Beast is the smallest of the three beasts available in the first wave, but that doesn't make him any less awesome! He has new translucent bone pieces, which I am sure many people who like rare parts or making customs will be excited about. Jaw Beast has a somewhat normal build, in comparison to other sets from Hero Factory. 

Jaw Beast has become Stormer's loyal steed...

...Or not!

Run, Stormer, run!

However, he has a tail and the translucent light blue bones, as well as purple and azure pieces, making this set a combination of colors not seen before, and it all works! He has a gorilla-type look, due to his long arms and short legs, and has purple spikes all over his body. He has a lot of playability, and many scenarios can be imagined from just this one set! And for only $10! Awesomeness! Pure Awesomeness!

Jaw Beast wonders if he needs chapstick or not.

For something so large, Jaw Beast sure is stealthy!

Even giant monsters need to go to the dentist.

Now for the ratings:

Playability: 9/10 As I said, you can think of so many things to do with it!

Value for Money: 9/10 It has a monster vs hero thing going on, so what kid wouldn't like that? Plus, it's only $10!

Creativity: 8/10 Giant monsters? That is new for Lego to make sets of!

Features: 9/10 Tons of poseability and an opening jaw! 

Awesomeness: 10/10 Love it!

Thanks for reading! I would appreciate feedback, but no negative comments, only constructive criticism and your opinion! Also, I would like to know which set I should review next! Thanks so much for reading!