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Got to catch up with alot of these during my time working at a video store. Could only play G and PG-rated movies during business hours, so we saw ALOT of animated movies. ALOT. e_e

ANIMATION MEME
- X what you saw
- O what you haven't finished or saw sizable portions
- Bold what you loved
- Strike what you disliked/hated
- Leave unchanged if neutral


CLASSIC DISNEY
-------------------------------
[x] 101 Dalmatians (1961)
[x] Alice in Wonderland (1951)
[x] Bambi (1942)
[x] Cinderella (1950)
[x] Dumbo (1941)
[x] Fantasia (1940)
[x] Lady and the Tramp (1955)
[x] Mary Poppins (1964)
[x] Peter Pan (1953)
[x] Pinocchio (1940)
[x] Sleeping Beauty (1959)
[x] Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937)
[ ] Song of the South (1946)

DISNEY'S DARK AGE
-------------------------------
[ ] The Aristocats (1970)
[ ] The Black Cauldron (1985)
[x] The Fox and the Hound (1981)
[ ] The Great Mouse Detective (1986)
[x] The Jungle Book (1967)
[x] The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh (1977)
[x] Oliver and Company (1986)
[x] Pete's Dragon (1977)
[x] The Rescuers (1977)
[x] Robin Hood (1973)
[x] The Sword In The Stone (1963)


THE DISNEY RENAISSANCE
-------------------------------
[x] Aladdin (1992)
[x] Beauty and the Beast (1991)
[x] A Goofy Movie (1995)
[x] Hercules (1997)
[x] The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996)
[x] The Lion King (1994)
[x] The Little Mermaid (1989)
[x] Mulan (1998)
[x] Pocahontas (1995)
[x] The Rescuers Down Under (1990)
[O] Tarzan (1999)


DISNEY'S MODERN AGE
-------------------------------
[x] Atlantis: The Lost Empire (2001)
[ ] Bolt (2008)
[ ] Brother Bear (2003)
[X] Chicken Little (2005)
[X] Dinosaur (2000)
[X] The Emperor's New Groove (2000)
[ ] Fantasia 2000 (2000)
[ ] Home on the Range (2004)
[X] Lilo & Stitch (2002)
[ ] Meet the Robinsons (2007)
[x] Treasure Planet (2002)


PIXAR
-------------------------------
[O] A Bug's Life (1998)
[X] Cars (2006)
[x] Finding Nemo (2003)
[X] The Incredibles (2004)
[x] Monsters Inc. (2001)
[ ] Ratatouille (2007)
[x] Toy Story (1995)
[x] Toy Story 2 (1999)
[X] Wall-E (2008)
[ ] Up (2009)

DON BLUTH
-------------------------------
[x] All Dogs Go to Heaven (1989)
[x] An American Tail (1986)
[x] An American Tail: Fieval Goes West (1991)
[x] Anastasia (1997)
[x] The Land Before Time (1988)
[x] The Pebble and the Penguin (1995)
[x] Rock-a-Doodle (1991)
[O] The Secret of NIMH (1982)
[ ] Thumbelina (1994)
[X] Titan AE (2000) (always felt this was underrated)
[ ] A Troll in Central Park (1994)


CLAYMATION
-------------------------------
[ ] The Adventures of Mark Twain (1986)
[x] Chicken Run (2000)
[O] Corpse Bride (2005)
[X] James and the Giant Peach (1996)
[x] The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)
[X] Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit (2005)
[X] Coraline (2009)


CGI GLUT
-------------------------------
[x] Antz (1998)
[X] Happy Feet (2006)
[ ] Kung Fu Panda (2008)
[ ] Madagascar (2005)
[X] Monster House (2006)
[X] Over the Hedge (2006)
[X] The Polar Express (2004)
[x] Shrek (2001)
[x] Shrek 2 (2004)
[X] Shrek The Third (2007) (was ok, but not as strong as the first two)
[O] Monsters vs. Aliens


IMPORTS
-------------------------------
[ ] Arabian Knight (aka The Thief and the Cobbler) (1995)
[ ] The Last Unicorn (1982)
[ ] Light Years (1988)
[ ] The Triplets of Belleville (2003)
[ ] Persepolis (2007)
[ ] Waltz With Bashir (2008)
[ ] Watership Down (1978)
[ ] When the Wind Blows (1988)
[ ] Yellow Submarine (1968)


STUDIO GHIBLI/MIYAZAKI
-------------------------------
[ ] Grave of the Fireflies (1988)
[ ] Howl's Moving Castle (2004)
[ ] Kiki's Delivery Service (1989)
[ ] Laputa: Castle in the Sky (1986)
[ ] Lupin III: The Castle of Cagliostro (1979)
[ ] My Neighbors The Yamadas (1999) ~SXGodzilla http://SXGodzilla.deviantart.com/journal/27827619/ http://SXGodzilla.deviantart.com/journal/27827619/ Sun, 18 Oct 2009 02:37:41 PDT ), comes this little announcement (or at least one that I just NOW came across)...

50 Cent's production company is set to make their own modern, urban take on the classic story "Dr. Jekyl and Mr. Hyde", starring Forest Whittaker and 50 Cent himself as the two lead roles. Not exactly two names that you'd ever expect to see next to each other, headlining a movie. But it's true.

Now this is the part where'd you probably expect me to pop the claws out and spit fire or venomous bile from my mouth, or something to that calibur, and rant about how retarded half of this idea sounds... but i'm not... mainly because that goes without saying. But also because I've got to admit the strange casting of a guy who's a proven actor like Mr. Whitaker with a guy who's... well... not... in the form of Mr. Cent (outside of the fact that it's HIS production company I mean) sounds bizarrely intriguing to me... in a mind-numbingly dumb way.

Whitaker will probably be carrying this movie, he's a great actor who's tackled various different roles, so this shouldn't be a stretch for him at all, if he doesn't simply phone it in for this. But 50 Cent's going to be Mr. Hyde, so I'm DEFINATELY going to go see (or rent) this movie just for that... just so I can say that I had seen his "performance" in all it's stupid and silly glory.

But who knows... he may just surprise us with this role.


.... I'm not holding my breath.

]]> ~SXGodzilla http://SXGodzilla.deviantart.com/journal/27261306/ http://SXGodzilla.deviantart.com/journal/27261306/ Thu, 17 Sep 2009 11:54:34 PDT
The Channel usually played a movie or two after said cartoon block. This usually ranged from just about ANYTHING, and today was going to be a movie starring a character I knew quite well... or at least... I thought I did. Cause it was one of those characters kids have grown up with in some shape or form. Be it the comic books the character originated from or the various cartoons said character had been apart of. And let me tell you, I was quite surprised to hear the title of the movie, because the footage I was seeing (on the TV commercial proceeding it) had absolutely NOTHING to do with the character I knew. What was the movie???

A 1974 TV movie calling itself Wonder Woman.

You know how you hear all about the shittiness of BAD movies like Superman III (aka: Richard Pryor the movie) and Superman IV (aka: Quest for a Good Script and Competant Effects), or Batman & Robin, Steel, etc. and about how they're bastardizations of the characters they're based on????

Well, for once you'll hear something NICE about those movies (well maybe not Steel... cannot harp on it enough), because they at LEAST had characters that RESEMBLED the source material. Despite the lameness and shitacular experiences... you could STILL tell it was supposed to be Superman, Batman, Robin, etc. THAT and you STILL HEAR about them to this day. They've left undeniable marks on the public conscience regardless of whether or not the public really WANTS to remember them.

Not so much with this seemingly forgotten Wonder Woman movie. And probably for good reason.

To it's credit, it still keeps the "Island Full of Amazons" concept... and well... that's about all it seems to keep in common with the source material. I think it was trying to base itself on the Wonder Woman comics of the time, where they tried (in an ill-concieved idea) to change the character from a super-powered Amazon to a wannabe Kung-Fu Fighter/Secret Agent (written by Denny O'Neil of all people). Needless to say, this change wasn't built to last.

So what you get from this movie is a blend of a James Bond-ish spy movie mixed with a wannabe kung-fu thriller, as Wonder Woman (played by blonde Kathy Lee Crosby) tries to foil the plans of some evil international spy crime ring or something. Though I remember it, don't exactly remember the plot TO it. Cut me some slack here.

But wait till you see her outfit. I must say, I'm absolutely SHOCKED that it didn't become Wonder Woman's normal outfit from then on.

[link]
[link]

I swear with ideas like THIS, I'm still surprised they were able to EVER come up with that Lynda Carter show a year later.

Speaking of which...

I think I can safely conclude that the only reason WHY this silly and strange movie has been forgotten is because the popular Lynda Carter TV Show came out and helped erase this forgettable TV movie from the public conscience.

BUT for your viewing pleasure... here's a clip show/trailer for it. Enjoy.
[link]

]]> ~SXGodzilla http://SXGodzilla.deviantart.com/journal/27120623/ http://SXGodzilla.deviantart.com/journal/27120623/ Wed, 09 Sep 2009 18:27:37 PDT
Superman vs. Hollywood tells of the long and arduous tenure of the mighty Man of Steel in the land of Hollywood. With an amusing foreward by Mark Millar, this story details the various high points and low points of Superman's film career, as it follows the embattled Kryptonian through the various ages of cinema. From Kirk Alyn to Brandon Routh, as well as the various cartoons, it pretty much is Superman's silver screen biography in printed form.

While it does give a pretty detail looked at his film history, the more unfortunate aspect of this book is that it shows how those who truely respected the character were usually given the shaft, (or were forced to take the shaft) while those who had little to no idea of (nor cared about) Superman's legacy being given the reigns. From men like Donner who seemed to have the firmest grasp upon the character, to guys like McG, who seemingly only wanted to use the name Superman to advance their careers and ideas. Kinda like a certain rock star and his intentions with the various remakes he's being given. But I've already ranted on that.

You'll get to see some of the more stupider ideas that companies like Warner Brothers have shat out over the years, some of which I've gone into detail before. You'll see good ideas turned into crappy ones, coupled with stupid casting decisions (Richard Pryor in Superman III for example), and moronic script changes (Superman not flying, getting rid of the suit, Brainiac fighting polar bears, etc.)... it really gives you an idea (or a clearer idea) that Hollywood (or at least the various owners of Superman's film rights over the years) really has/have no grasp on this character.

Course... if you're a fan, (or consider yourself a slight one) you probably already have quite the intimate knowledge of this unfortunate history of the Big Blue Boyscout. But this book will make even those who think they know all about Superman's long-fought battles in Hollywood feel like rookies in terms of how deep it really goes. But while certainly can be illuminating, it can also serve to infuriate those who are fans, at the disrespect given to the Man of Steel by the Hollywood Machine, and will probably make you VERY fearful of the character's future in films, what with all this "reboot" business being bandied about.

So yeah... while I'd recommend reading it, I also forewarn you that what you read in this book will probably make you angry as well.

]]> ~SXGodzilla http://SXGodzilla.deviantart.com/journal/27040156/ http://SXGodzilla.deviantart.com/journal/27040156/ Sat, 05 Sep 2009 17:44:23 PDT [link]

Not content to just simply fuck up Halloween, Rob Zombie's set his sights on the Blob. And judging by his own words (near the end of the article), he's seems deadset to screw up this property as well.

I like Zombie as a musician, I just about wore Hellbilly Deluxe out from listening to it so much. His music has inspired some of my more horror-themed work.

But as a director??? No thanks. Not anymore, that ship has sailed.

He's gone on record stating that he wants to (apparently) make his Blob remake without an actual Blob in it, saying that won't work anymore with today's audiences. He's stated that he's not even a fan of the previous Blob movies. Even Devlin and Emmerich PRETENDED to like Godzilla when they remade it. Doesn't exactly fill me with the warm fuzzies that he ("MISTER HORROR MOVIE AFFICIANDO") isn't even a fan of a project he's been asked to do.

Well I got a question then.... WHY THE FUCK ARE YOU EVEN DOING THIS THEN YOU COLOSSAL DUMBASS!?!?! There are slews of directors out there who would give their left testicle to be given the reigns for a Blob remake. I'm willing to bet most of them even REMEMBER the previous fuckin' movies!!!!

Until proven otherwise, this project (and it's director) are DEAD to me.

]]> ~SXGodzilla http://SXGodzilla.deviantart.com/journal/26886960/ http://SXGodzilla.deviantart.com/journal/26886960/ Sat, 29 Aug 2009 00:24:46 PDT

-Black Lion-
-SXG's New Title: Stupid Ninja vs. Shogun Robot!!! HIYAH!!!!!

Man... is there any other culture that seems to enjoy over-exaggerating their past more than the Japanese?

Seriously though... not surprised that this is yet another "Feudal Ninja vs. Some Random Unstoppable Evil Entity" anime movie. The Japanese Anime companies seem to enjoy churning out routine formulas in these cases.

But I WILL admit... some of them kick alotta ***... but how many times can we see Ninjas Fighting Demons/Robots/etc. before it gets... kinda... well, repetitive? I guess since this stuff is still selling like hot cakes, I kinda already answered my own question. Oh well.

Honestly though... this is pure B-Movie Chop-Socky Schlock Anime at it's most frantic and shrewdly edited. I also sense that this was also meant to be part of some epic series... not that I'd care to get any more of this series if that's true. But from the looks of things, nothing really came of this ambition.

Well anyway... our movie takes place in... surprise... the fuedal/medieval era of Japan. A favorite subject of these types of stories is the conflict in Japanese history brought on and surrounding a one Nobunaga Oda, a fierce warlord whose apparently forever connected to mystery, mythology, and rampant uncontrollable fantasy. Wether it's him raising an army of Demon Warriors (The game series "Onimusha"), or him somehow disrupting the flows of time and space to bring super futuristic weapons to the past (both this AND the Onimusha series)... it seems this guy's done everything. I'm pretty sure there's more movies, games and stories based around this one apparently enigmatic warlord and presumably the weird arcane monstrosities he (apparently) had at his command... but I'm kinda afraid to go investigate further.

Well... our story begins surrounding the siege of some Ikeigi (I forget the spelling already) Ninja Stronghold or something around those lines. Nothing new, specially during such a violent time period in a country whose history is frought with clashes between various warlords through out time. The only problem is...

The attackers seem to be using machine guns, laser weapons, radar technology, and most importantly... the seemingly immortal Ginnai Doma... a reputed "Ninja Killer". He makes good on his reputation too, as we see him mercilessly cut swaths through hordes of the pajama wearing assasins. His immortality is also revealed to be true as wounds seem to not have any effect on him. We're then introduced the incredibly dopey hero of the flick... Shishimura and his wild and wacky seemingly out of time period hairstyle.

Get used to this guy's idiocy, and his stubbornness... cause you'll be seeing it alot through out the movie. Well, he basically keeps vowing to kill the immortal Ginnai over and over and over and over... each time after seemingly killing this immortal butcher. I mean it's constantly blowing up or lighting the big hairy bastard on fire, then being surprised that he still stands... after such a thing didn't work like almost twice before.

I'd usually not want to ruin such a secret for you... but Ginnai's a cyborg. He also makes the Terminator look like a porcelain statue, as he cannot seemingly be stopped... not even by decapitation. Which doesn't really seem to register too much on Shishimura.

Here's an example of what I mean.


-Shishimura: (who musta somehow gotten ahold of an industrial strength can of moos hairspray for that dew of his) I will kill the immortal Ginnai Doma and avenge the deaths of my friends!!!
*cue some kind of trap or attack utitlizing fire or explosions of some sort occurs, and Ginnai being the nice courteous guy that he is... walks right into these things*
-Shishimura: *sheathing his swords* There... The immortal Ginnai is dead. Not even he could survive such an attack. (Though he's done similar attacks like at least twice before, and proclaimed the battle over each time as well)
*boosh!! Ginnai bursts out of the rubble or walks out of the fire, his kimono seemingly invulnerable to the concepts of fire and explosions, as it hardly has a single mark on it.*
-Ginnai: Gwahahahahahaha!! Foolish Ninja!! You seem to forget that I'm immortal!! Now it's time to DIEhahahahahahahargogughlgkhlele1!!!!! *insert growls and snarls*

Repeat


Pure b-movie cliche's as well. Sudden weapons that seemingly appear out of a... ]]> ~SXGodzilla http://SXGodzilla.deviantart.com/journal/26554842/ http://SXGodzilla.deviantart.com/journal/26554842/ Wed, 12 Aug 2009 18:39:54 PDT
[link]

I personally believe that there's definate potential to make a great Sub-Mariner movie. He's always been an interesting character to me, walking a thin line between Hero and Villain throughout his history. Namor can be a major dick at times (as he is currently being right now during the Dark Reign story arc), but at the same time, he's got the ability to be a great hero (and has been one many times). Not to mention that (for the longest of times) he was usually handled much more seriously than his DC counterpart, Aquaman.

The only thing that he'd need to REALLY change about him is his classic "speedo" outfit. But if handled seriously and respectfully, I can definately see an awesome Sub-Mariner movie being made.

]]> ~SXGodzilla http://SXGodzilla.deviantart.com/journal/26433322/ http://SXGodzilla.deviantart.com/journal/26433322/ Thu, 06 Aug 2009 21:56:45 PDT
-Fiend Without a Face-
Our movie begins out in some barren wasteland called "Canada" , in front of a classic 1950's b-movie favorite... a US military testing site and airstrip. We open to the sight of one grim and determined looking GI guarding the place, in case those darned Canadians get uppity. We then cut to some yokel in the forest, taking down notes. We then hear some strange bumping noise, some gurgles and squishy sounds... to which both the GI and the yokel hear. But it's the yokel who gets axed, as we hear his agonizing screams echo off screen. The GI runs to the rescue and finds a dead body, with the most spooked looking expression on his mug. FIEND WITHOUT A FACE!!! *roll intro music*

At the base, we meet some characters. The Mayor, Colonel Butler, and the two main characters Barbara Griselle (the dead yokel's sister), and stalwart, courageous Major Jeff Cummings. Turns out that yokel was a Canuck, and the nearby towns people blame his death on the Nuclear Testing that that base is doing. Basically they're getting into "Ignorant Yokel Witch-hunt Mode" about the whole US Military site being there, as they blame it for everything from the weather, to the cow's milk quality, to probably even the town drunk's drunkeness. Oh and they won't allow an autopsy of the body, for some unexplained reason. So nobody knows what killed him. But they're damn sure willing to speculate.

Oh and there's friction between Cummings and Barbara... so you know they will be drooling all over each other later.

Well no sooner has all this happened when two more people get killed. A farmer and his wife get slurped, course we don't see who did the slurping, as the culprit is... INVISIBLE!! So yeah... lotsa actors are gonna be choreographing an attack from an invisible monster wrapping it's tendrils around their neck. It's fun to watch. Amazingly, they all get it right when they do this. No size discrepencies from actor to actor. So no Fiend is larger than the other.

Luckily though, this time the US military recovers the bodies before the yokels do. So now their doctor can perform the autopsies. Turns out... their brains and spinal column are missing, sucked out of two holes at the base of the skull. They don't show this messy result of course... it being during the 50's and all.

Oh and around this time they introduce a scientist to the proceedings, a Prof Walgate. And since he's a scientist, the rule of all classic b-movies from this period state that he's obviously the culprit behind this mess. I mean... c'mon... he's a reclusive scientist for pete's sake. Reclusive Scientists are almost always the cause of all the big bad goings on in such movies.

This movie's different though in that the good professor didn't mean to create this... FIEND. He was trying to push the limits of telepathy and telekinesis and somehow (through the use of radiation no less) made these invisible fiends. Why they're invisible... i don't know... but they also seem to love feeding off radiation when not sucking out brains from people. But he's just not willing to tell anyone about this yet.

Well... the movie plods along at a decent pace. We even get to see an angry mob try to hunt down what they think is a rogue GI from the base doing the killings. Which ends pretty badly for one fellow... who apparently manages to escape from the fiends... but not before losing some gray matter in the process.

Then Cummings finally uncovers the truth about these things, (through a series of events, one involving a cemetary) and so the doctor has no choice but to spill the beans. He tells them that the Fiends are multiplying, and that they need to shut down the reactor. Course the Fiends can't have this, so they sabotage these efforts, attack all the main (important) characters when they're all conveniently in the professor's house at the same time, and increase the radiation output ten fold. Then we finally get to see these little critters in the flesh.

Imagine, if you will, a brain... an ordinary human brain... still attached to the spinal chord, (and said spinal chord allows them to be mobile) with little veiny tendrils at it's sides and... of all things... antennae on top of it's noggin. All brought to life through decent stop motion and puppetry.

So by the time this is happening... the movie is pretty much in the final stretch as the humans mount a defensive in the besieged house with which they've found themselves trapped in. With fiends surrounding them. Just that now, they're visible... and thus... easier to attack.

Who will survive???

-Afterthoughts: A fun movie, and interesting choice of villain. I found myself liking these little fiends... strangely a... ]]> ~SXGodzilla http://SXGodzilla.deviantart.com/journal/26063763/ http://SXGodzilla.deviantart.com/journal/26063763/ Mon, 20 Jul 2009 11:03:03 PDT
Like Catwoman and Steel for example, which were complete rat shit. So I'm holding out hope that WB won't screw up Green Lantern somehow. I'd like to have faith in them, I really would, but it's hard to have such things in a company that doesn't seem to wanna take such things seriously AT ALL. It's very depressing.

If it was a rarity, it'd be one thing, but taking into account all the stuff that has been green-lit then dropped, like Wonder Woman, that Green Arrow "Super Max" movie, the Captain Marvel/Shazam movie, the Flash, etc., yet look also at WHAT DOES make it through, (aforementioned Steel and Catwoman movies) and it really is hard to root for DC Comics-based movies. Because you don't know how serious things are being taken, or how much faith the company itself has with the properties in question.

I mean look at all the lame-ass (or retarded) Superman ideas that they had in between the final Christopher Reeves movie (Quest for Peace) and Superman Returns, and he's one of their BIG TWO. Look at how they're seemingly going back to form with the decision to reboot the Superman franchise, it really is annoying. I'd love to see more DC properties used, I'd love to see them get the treatments they deserve, but as long as Warner Brothers isn't giving them the proper attention they deserve, there's not much TO love about it.

Hopefully Green Lantern will turn around some of these feelings toward the WB, hopefully it will show us that they are NOW ready to take things seriously. Only time will tell.

]]> ~SXGodzilla http://SXGodzilla.deviantart.com/journal/25863601/ http://SXGodzilla.deviantart.com/journal/25863601/ Fri, 10 Jul 2009 15:43:29 PDT

-Eye of the Beast-(2007)
-Summary: Our movie takes place in a Canadian Fishing Community, and something is depleting the usually abundant amount of fish. The Fisherman blame the local Indian tribe, whom they say are allowed to overfish without fear of federal restrictions since they're a protected minority. In comes scientist James Van Der Beek to investigate possible reasons, which immediately puts him at odds with the locals, who fear that he's going to end up, GASP, close the lake!!!! But... they can't close the lake... it's almost tourist seaso.... i mean they'll lose their primary source of income without being able to fish.

To add more gasoline to this fiery internal situation is the fact that people are suddenly starting to disappear.

Enter the local deputy-recently-turned-sheriff, (Alexandra Castillo) due to the previous one's untimely passing, who is not only half-indian, (thus always suspect in the eyes of the local fisherman) but as it is revealed later, has some past history with the actual perpetrator of this problem... a Giant Squid. So she brings in more problems to this already strained situation.

Of course, once it is discovered that the perpetrator is in fact a Giant Squid, people will refuse to believe it. It's only finally believed once someone finally manages to bring a severed tentacle they managed to get from the Squid and pretty much throws it down onto a table in the local bar. Then everyone's suddenly all behind this.

Will the locals and indians be able to put aside their differences and band together to try and stop this creature? Will Van Der Beek and Castillo fall in love as is usually dictated by movie law? Will the Squid eat lotsa minor characters leaving only the two main ones to face it down TOGETHER? All this and more if you actually care to watch this movie.


- It really goes without saying that the movie Jaws made quite the impact in the world of film. Nothing proves this point more, in my humble opinion, than by how many times it has been shamelessly aped and ripped off of for the last 30+ years. Countless directors from ALL OVER THE WORLD have tried to outdo Spielberg in the world of "Giant Killer Whatsit" movies. From Whales to Grizzly Bears to Crocodiles to Piranhas to Barracudas to Killer Buffalos to Other Sharks even, and of course... Giant Squids and Octopuses.

So guess what category this movie falls into?

Pretty much a "Paint by Numbers" Giant Killer Animal on the Loose movie. Add to that the fact that our main attraction, the Giant Squid, remains quite absent throughout most of the movie. With a great deal of attacks happening off screen or not shown at all. It isn't until the end that we get to really see said squid in full.

The rest of the Non-Squid-related story is pretty much your typical Killer Animal story. There's the Sheriff and the Scientist, the only two people who know what's really going on while the rest of the cast doesn't believe or want to believe them out of fear of the chance of having to close the Resort/Park/Beaches/Lake/etc. which is a major source of income. The movie though has the interesting twist on the usual "Jaws-like" formula by not having your usual fully designated Quint-like character. Though you COULD say that the entire town is pretty much populated by varying types of Quints, almost in varying degrees of scruffiness too I might add.

Though, in it's defense, I will give this movie SOME credit. It actually relies more on practical effects and props than going straight to the teat of CGI like so many other Giant Killer Whatsit movies in the past decade or so. It was actually kinda nice to see geniune prop-tentacles used. The only real CGI utilized is at the end when the Squid finally appears in full, having somehow managed to pull itself up out of the water to pretty much scream "BOOGA" at the characters, thus giving them enough of an opening to finally end it's threat to the fishing community once and for all.

Not painfully bad or atrocius, just painfully average, routine and not alotta actual effort put into it.

-Score: 2/5

]]> ~SXGodzilla http://SXGodzilla.deviantart.com/journal/25676353/ http://SXGodzilla.deviantart.com/journal/25676353/ Wed, 01 Jul 2009 15:09:46 PDT
Today's review comes from one of the more... "unique" times in Godzilla's career, the early 70's.

Hope you all enjoy.

-Godzilla vs. Megalon-
-Summary: Seatopia (a poor man's Atlantis) is seeking bloody retribution against us silly surface-dwellers for underwater nuclear testing, or some such. So naturally, they being a kingdom of the sea, send up a Giant Cockroach-like monster to enact vengeance upon the surface world. Welcome to GODZILLA VS. MEGALON.

An inventor, his "hetero-life mate"... er... best friend and the inventor's little brother (I guess) are caught up in this mess, as the inventor has created a robot (Jet Jaguar, poor man's Ultraman) that the Seatopians plan to use as a guide for their god monster, Megalon. As is usual, the inventor gradually gains control back from those cruel and ethnically diverse Seatopians. All of this is done just in time to send the bucket of bolts to retrieve Godzilla, who up until that point isn't seen, heard from or talked about much since the brief appearance in the beginning. To stall for time till Godzilla gets to Japan, Jet Jaguar miraculously grows to giant monster proportions and does battle with Megalon. What I mean as in "miraculously," is that Jet Jaguar suddenly gains the ability to do so, (with a massive 2 KB memory no less) as in it probably wasn't the original plan of the inventor for it to do so.

Sensing that their plans may be foiled, the Seatopians radio the Space Hunter Nebula M aliens from the last movie, GODZILLA VS. GIGAN, (who are, ironically, cockroaches themselves) and ask for assistance which is sent in the form of Gigan. Thus, Gigan appears and tilts the battlefield back into the hands of the Seatopians, as he and Megalon double team the now even more outclassed Jet Jaguar. This goes on till Godzilla finally makes his entrance into the fray. Thus it is now two-on-two, and the battle could go anywhere from here, but it's a Godzilla "Hero" movie so it's not it's going to be any real doubt as to who will win.


-Afterthoughts: Ooh boy... where to begin? This is one of the more ridiculous Godzilla movies, hell possibly even the most ridiculous Godzilla movie. Sure it's fun to watch, but that's because of how shamelessly bad it is. It's one of those "So Bad it's Good" B-movies. I mean you can literally see the extremely low budget of it all. From the cheesy costumes, to the abundant use of stock footage to pad some scenes out. It's also painfully obvious who the target audience for this type of movie was. Toho also was trying to copy the success of shows such as ULTRAMAN with the introduction of the Jet Jaguar character, as well as the whole plot in general sounding like something from a Power Rangers TV show.

This movie is also known very well within the monster community for the now infamous and legendary "flying kick" it has Godzilla perform. Remembered for quite possibly being one of the most pathetic-looking effects shots ever in the history of Godzilla. It's just so bizarre in it's ineptitude that it's startling and at the same time incredibly funny.

While it certainly doesn't have too much to recommend, I still do recommend at least viewing it once. While it may not be the coup de grace of Godzilla movies, it's still a fun "guilty pleasure" movie to watch. Just don't expect too much and you'll hopefully turn out fine. Hopefully.

Score: 2.5 / 5


-Fun Fact: The original US movie poster for this movie depicted both Godzilla and Megalon battling atop the World Trade Center. Which of course never happens.

]]> ~SXGodzilla http://SXGodzilla.deviantart.com/journal/24351646/ http://SXGodzilla.deviantart.com/journal/24351646/ Mon, 20 Apr 2009 21:01:42 PDT
[link]

Apparently Disney (of all people) are planning on making a prequel to the Jules Verne classic "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea", and the director, McG, whose currently making Terminator Salvation, is interested in trying to get Will Smith on board to play as the title character, Captain Nemo.

I must ask, has Hollywood not learned it's lesson from Wild Wild West??? Will Smith is a really good actor, if given the right part. Playing a black cowboy (or a sheriff no less) in Post-Civil War America wasn't one of them, as he stuck out like a sore thumb, and was obviously told to apply his usual personality to the role, in what was (for more or less) meant to be a loosely termed "period piece", just made it even more awkward and distracting from the overall movie. Not like the movie itself was a gem to begin with, though. e_e

Anyway, back to the rant...

Playing as Captain Nemo would be another bad casting choice for Smith I'm afraid.

Because to do this in any capacity that would work (for either side of the coin) would either totally take away from what makes Will Smith work as an actor (his personality and appeal), or totally FUCK up Verne's story concept as it would be changed into, yet, another Wild Wild West, specially if they try to make it into a period piece.

Hopefully it's just talk...

]]> ~SXGodzilla http://SXGodzilla.deviantart.com/journal/24006080/ http://SXGodzilla.deviantart.com/journal/24006080/ Wed, 01 Apr 2009 13:47:16 PDT
Sorta like a "book within a book", or "movie within a movie" type of deal. Basically a fantasy-ish alternate world created by denizens in a Steampunk world, basically their equivalent (or answer) to OUR concept of Steampunk. But instead of it being Steampunk, obviously, it's a world where humanity instead went with this thing called the "Combustion Engine".

I'm trying to think of how it would look... a fantasy world created within a fantasy world. Because we apply somethings of our own reality/perspective to the concept of Steampunk, as well as the more fantasy-based elements. So how would it be applied, in a sorta reverse fashion??

o.o now my head kinda hurts.

Any ideas?

]]> ~SXGodzilla http://SXGodzilla.deviantart.com/journal/23755740/ http://SXGodzilla.deviantart.com/journal/23755740/ Tue, 17 Mar 2009 22:21:19 PDT
Unfortunately I haven't seen the latest Gamera movie "Gamera the Brave", so this is what you could consider an incomplete list.

In no particular order.

- Gamera vs. Guiron (aka: Attack of the Monsters) (1969)
More of a "guilty pleasure" entry than anything else. Because this is, quite possibly, the most goofy of the Gamera movies. From the main opponent (who looks like a bizarre mixture of a bulldog, shark, and a kitchen knife) to the weird aliens sisters who crave BRAINS, to the zany antics of Gamera (oh god are there antics!), and to the two "Kennies" (slang term for Japanese kids in kaiju movies) of the movie... it's just damned bizarre... but funny... in a good way.

Definately recommend tracking down the MST3k version as well.

- Gamera vs. Barugon (aka: War of the Monsters) (1966)
On a more serious note, quite possibly the most serious entry into the early (Showa) Gamera series, to be exact. Though this is despite him having quite an... interesting opponent. You can say alot about Gamera's early movies, but you can't say they didn't at least have interesting opponents, and Barugon certainly is one of them. A quadrapedal creature covered in some spikes and horns, that has an extendable tongue (which undoutedly makes him a hit with the ladies) from which he can emit a freezing mist, and to top it off, he can unleash a powerful "rainbow ray" from the transluscient spikes along his back.

Quite an enjoyable movie, though the human drama tends to outweigh the kaiju scenes at times. This also established Gamera's tendency to be quite brutal towards his opponents, despite this being a supposed "kid's film", by having him stab his claws into Barugon's face during their first fight.

- Gamera: Guardian of the Universe (1995)
The 1990's revival of the Gamera franchise. I'm quite fond of the 90's series, and loved it's approach to the subject matter at hand. A new Gamera for a new generation, beginning with this one. It handles Gamera in a serious, but still fun, manner in this installment.

But doesn't resort to bringing in those accursed Kennies. The fight scenes with Gyaos (a classic Gamera foe) are awesome, the effects superb, and the storyline is quite impressive too. Redefined Gamera from silly (but likeable) bastard to serious (but likeable) ass-kicker.

And it's only the first chapter to a stellar trilogy of films.

- Gamera: Attack of Legion (1996)
Now this is a seriously awesome kaiju movie. Basically takes the situation presented in the previous chapter, and ups the ante, as alien insectoids (Legion) invade Earth, and the only thing that can really stand in their way is Gamera. The situation becomes only more intense when the Legion Queen makes her appearance, towering over Gamera, and significantly outclassing him in the process.

It almost delves into drama territory as Japan mobilizes to defend itself (and subsequently the world) from this threat, as well as trying to aid Gamera's efforts to stop this seemingly unstoppable opponent.

Awesome movie. Nuff said.

- Gamera: Revenge of Irys (1999)
Now this is where the 90's trilogy takes a decidely darker turn. This is the epitomy of a serious kaiju movie, showing the carnage caused by kaiju battles from a human perspective, as well as the collateral damage. On top of that it also shows Gamera at perhaps his most hardcore, unfortunately that tends to only lead to more problems for the human populace around him. His costume looks quite badass as well.

Also in this movie is the latest monster to challenge the mighty turtle, Irys. Now this is one nasty bastard, and it shows.

One of my favorite kaiju movies. I highly recommend this, as well as the 90's series as a whole.

Need to try and craft a list for Kong.

]]> ~SXGodzilla http://SXGodzilla.deviantart.com/journal/23636253/ http://SXGodzilla.deviantart.com/journal/23636253/ Tue, 10 Mar 2009 23:38:58 PDT

Well you can sleep soundly now... for here is my list of my top 5 favorite Godzilla movies. Was hard to compile such a list, since there's things I like for just about every Goji movie.

This isn't in any particular order, btw.

-Godzilla: King of the Monsters (1954)
The one that started it all. Either version of this really, American or Japanese. It must really be said (IMHO) how much of a good job that the American Distributors (back in the 50's!) did on this movie, specially when compared to other such treatments for similar kaiju stars (such as Gamera for example). They managed to keep the tone (more or less) intact, and keep the overall story together.

The tone, the build-up, the carnage, and the music is just phenomenal.

- Godzilla vs. MechaGodzilla (1974)
Man do I just love this movie. One of the better installments of the later "Showa-Era" films. Toho just seemed to be going all out with this one, pitting Godzilla against an almost superior opponent. And what an opponent it is, MechaGodzilla is just one MEAN bastard. This is, without a doubt, my favorite incarnation of the mechanical doppelganger, in form, functions, and personality.

It's still a little cheesy and silly at times, but not to the levels of the previous three installments, (oh god no) there's still a good amount of seriousness to this movie. Just wish Toho had managed to keep the momentum going.

- Godzilla vs. Destroyah (1995)
The last chapter of the Heisei Era, Godzilla went out with a bang... almost literally. The very thing that spawned him was now slowly killing him, due to having absorbed too much atomic energy. To make matters worse, a ghost from the distant past emerges as well, Destroyah, a creature spawned by the very weapon that was used to kill the original Godzilla in 1954, is causing problems as well. The Big G goes out fighting as he confronts this new menace.

The ending especially is pretty impactful. This was originally meant to be the final Japanese Godzilla movie, so they obviously wanted to go out swinging. Too bad it was all for nothing, leading to a less-than-stellar remake.

- Godzilla vs. Biollante (1989)
The second movie of the Heisei Series, continuing where my next pick left off. This is just one hell of a kaiju movie in general, both in story, and the way it treats it's monsters. The tone, the effects, just about everything about is pretty damn sweet. Specially when it comes to the creature known as Biollante, one of the most unique opponents Godzilla has ever faced... and that's saying something.

Unfortunately the tone and approach wasn't kept up in the following installments, (cept for the last one, Godzilla vs. Destroyah), each one delving more and more into camp territory.

- Godzilla 1985
If I would have to say that one of these movies was my absolute favorite, this would be it, hands down. Taking Godzilla back to his roots, away from the zany Showa era, (which this movie ignores, save for the VERY first Godzilla movie) and back to business. Godzilla is treated once again as a serious threat, emerging amidst the still tense Cold War, and boy is he pissed. The tone is, in my mind, just right for such a concept, the approach is amazing, the effects pretty good for the most part, (specially when it comes to the city models), and it's just nice to see a serious Godzilla movie.

This is also one of my first Godzilla movies. What brought me "into the fold", what first started me on this path... oh so long ago.

]]> ~SXGodzilla http://SXGodzilla.deviantart.com/journal/22158166/ http://SXGodzilla.deviantart.com/journal/22158166/ Wed, 24 Dec 2008 06:36:51 PST
It's responsible for ushering in the concept of the "Summer Blockbuster", broke the movie attendance records at the time, and has probably been aped or had movies rip it off moreso than any other movie before or after, with the sole exception possibly being the first two Alien films.

While most are huge pieces of cinematic garbage, some do manage to rise above their expectations, or at least entertain immensely.

So here are my top 5 Jaws Rip-offs.

-#5: Shark Attack 3: Megalodon-
Not exactly a great movie, I wouldn't even claim it to be a good movie, but this is just pure guilty pleasure b-movie CHEESE. Certainly more fun to watch than the other two Shark Attack movies, as well as alotta other "killer shark" movies. It's just so bad that it's strangely good. From really hammy acting to using enlarged nature documentary footage of great whites for eating people, usually in one gulp. PLUS it has one of, if not THE, most hilariously wrong pick-up lines in cinema history.

-#4: Deep Blue Sea-
I'd probably label this more of an homage to the Jaws franchise than an outright rip-off of the original, but I'm sure there are some who would gladly disagree. But again my choice of films to choose from is quite short. Genetically altered smart sharks try to break out of the lab that confines them, as well as eat anyone that happens to be in their way. Has a few surprising turns along the way.

-#3: Razorback-
This is probably one of the more obscure 80's movies, but it deals with a giant killer warthog terrorizing the Australian Outback. I just really liked this one, though it can be a bit slow at times. Has an awesome beginning as well. I definately recommend it.

-#2: Piranha-
The Roger Corman classic about genetically altered piranhas terrorizing a fresh water lake, tearing through anything that gets in their way like little flesh-lawnmowers, as they make their way to the open ocean, with a big lake resort stuck in the middle. Definately a fun movie.

-#1: Alligator-
A giant sewer-dwelling alligator terrorizes Chicago. Well crafted, with some nice slight humor, some rather nice effects for the low budget it had and a few surprises here and there. Another recommendation.


Well that's my list, so far. There are quite a few that I haven't seen, but have heard recommendations for. Hope to eventually track those down.

What do you all think of the choices?

]]> ~SXGodzilla http://SXGodzilla.deviantart.com/journal/20628674/ http://SXGodzilla.deviantart.com/journal/20628674/ Mon, 22 Sep 2008 22:57:58 PDT
You can say "Dark Knight" has had some obviously unintended consequences, in that now movie studios (a cowardly and superstitous lot) are going to be wondering if they should follow in DK's footsteps.

As in rebooting franchises and/or adding a much more darker tone.

In some cases, this doesn't hurt. "Incredible Hulk" worked well as a sort've reboot coming off of the huge amounts of complaints surrounding "The Hulk." "Punisher: War Zone" is looking to have finally embraced the dark tone and violence that is a signature of the comics it's based on. These are good things IMHO.

But does that mean EVERYTHING needs such treatment?


-Spider-Man doesn't need a darker tone, nor does it need a reboot. So that rules out a character like Carnage, who (like it or not) would pull the movie into a much more darker territory, since he's a sadistic serial killer and all. Not saying he couldn't work as a movie character, in the hands of a capable director he'd probably be much more interesting than he has been in the comics for almost twenty years now. But bringing in Carnage would necessitate a need for a much more darker tone, (i.e. bringing it closer to an R rating) unless you want him to be given the "Schumacher Treatment", which would pretty much threaten to kill the overall franchise.

-I'm still not convinced that the Superman movie franchise needed a reboot. He already had one, and, quite frankly, I'm afraid of leaving him in the hands of anyone at Warner Brothers whose name ISN'T Bryan Singer. Because, if you read up on the history of the "Post-Quest for Peace" Superman movie franchise, the studio was constantly threatening to take it into a territory that can be best described as "****ING STUPID!!!" or "BATS*** INSANE!!!" So hopefully some of you can understand my worries here.

*If you want an idea of just HOW stupid it was, at one point, go look up Kevin Smith's lecture segment about the time he was asked to come and write a script for "Superman Reborn" on YouTube, or go look for info on "Superman Reborn" on Wikipedia. It's f'n scary in the level of stupidity that is displayed by Warner Bros.

-Daredevil could use a reboot, specially since nobody from the original movie (which wasn't THAT bad admittedly) seems to wanna come back for seconds. That and the colossal turd that was "Elektra" didn't exactly help either. I felt sorry for EVERYONE who was brought in to act for THAT particular mess. So yeah, Daredevil could use a reboot. A darker tone though? Eh... maybe. And would someone PLEASE, this time, not be afraid to make a "prostetic fat suit" for the Kingpin. Michael Clark Duncan did a phenomenal job as the Kingpin, specially in the "suprise holy **** casting" category. He had great presence as the Big Guy, but wasn't, ironically, big enough. Not saying to make him a towering 12ft tall giant, but at least add some, percieved, fatness to the man. *shrugs*

-I'd be willing to give Nic Cage another go as the Spirit of Vengeance. His "Ghost Rider" movie didn't bother me as much as it apparently did with some other people. All I want is for them to actually bring in some worthy opponents this time, ones that aren't beaten within minutes, and actually give ol' Flamehead a challenge. It was like seeing a smaller scaled "Godzilla: Final Wars".

*And FYI, that's not a good thing IMHO. But as for my views on GFW, that's a journal entry for another day.

-X-Men could potentially use a reboot. As much as I liked the first two movies, I just felt that a few missteps were made, even in those first two movies, with some of the characters. Especially so in X3.

So either a reboot or pretend X3 doesn't exist, and go the "Godzilla/Superman" route and only recognize the first few movies or so. And for the love of god, please bring in a NEW villain at least once in the sequels!! As much as I love the casting choice of Ian McKellen as the "Master of Magnetism", and as much as I enjoyed William Stryker in X2, I still think they could've brought in some MORE fresh faces as villains. the Sentinels, Shadow King, hell even Apocalypse or Mr. Sinister would've been nice.

-As much as I enjoyed the first movie, I say give the Fantastic Four a semi-reboot. Keep the cast members who actually do a great job (Chiklis, Evans, Gruffudd) and recast the roles for Invisible Woman and Doctor Doom. Especially Doom. I could've lived with the idea of a "Pre-Megalomaniacal" Doctor Doom in the first movie, as long as they would've made him truly become the character in the second... which they TEASED us with at the beginning of the sequel, but soon returned him to the kind of Doom we saw in the first one. Which kinda... well... ticked m... ]]> ~SXGodzilla http://SXGodzilla.deviantart.com/journal/20291467/ http://SXGodzilla.deviantart.com/journal/20291467/ Tue, 02 Sep 2008 14:21:45 PDT

Anyway... I just now realized something today...

Does anyone find it odd that in alot of those old Stop-Motion Age Dinosaur movies, there were usually plenty of Dino-Fights, (at least 2) yet in our Modern CGI Age Dinosaur movies, there's hardly any?

Seriously, among the 3 Jurassic Park movies, the "Standard" for today's Dinosaur movies, there's only like... 2 actual Dinosaur Fights during the entire Trilogy.

There's the T-Rex vs. the Raptors scene in JP1... and then there's the T-Rex vs. the Spinosaurus in JP3... and that's it.

Does anyone find it odd that with all this new kick-ass movie technology, Hollywood seems almost scared/hesitant to depict an actual Dinosaur Throwdown? Why is this??

If Harryhausen (or O'Brien, SOMEHOW) had done the JP movies, there'd probably be at least 2 Dino-Fights per movie, and they'd STILL have plenty of time to menace to the Humans.

With the exception of TV show stuff like "Walking with Dinosaurs" and "Jurassic Fight Club" there's really a lack of good Dino-Fights in the CGI-Age. God Dammit!! Where'd all the Dinosaur Fights Go???

]]> ~SXGodzilla