Godzilla

Rating:
Summary: Great film=Great DVD features
Review: To start off, Godzilla is the type of movie that packs a lot of fast-paced fun and surprises without slowing down. The acting (especially from Matthew Broderick, Jean Reno, Hank Azaria, and Maria Pitillo), the direction, and the visual effects fit together perfectly in what I consider to be the greatest monster film made (after King Kong)! The DVD transfer is by far the best quality I've seen, along with great DVD features to satisfy any moviegoer's appetite for behind-the-scenes info (especially the "On Location" featurette). Overall, I recommend viewing Godzilla because with the acting, direction, and visual effects, it's a movie that nevers leaves the viewer unsatisfied and it also lives up to being a "popcorn movie."

Rating:
Summary: one of those soundtracks...
Review: Every once in a while, there comes along a soundtrack that is exponentially better than the film it is featured in. This is one of those cases. Read any of the reviews here, and you'll know how terrible "Godzilla" was. But the soundtrack is a different story. Granted, it has bombs of its own. Joey DeLuxe's "Undercover" is still one of the worst tracks I've ever heard. It also has weak moments like Puff Daddy's "Come With Me", which I thought was hardcore when I was 16, but now fully realize as trash (and I feel eternally bad about being such a loser).

Aside from these, the only issue I have with the album is a bit of inconsistancy. Radio-friendly hits like the Wallflowers' cover of David Bowie's "Heroes" conflict terribly with anti-establishment pieces like Evil Empire era Rage Against the Machine with "No Shelter". Beautiful piano rock tracks like Ben Folds Five's "Air" and Michael Penn's "Macy Day Parade" just don't quite fit in with the Godzilla remix of Green Day's "Brain Stew" (though all of them are great songs).

Also contributing solid songs are Jamiroquai, Days of the New, Fuel, and fuzzbubble, with two sections of score by David Arnold. Plus, there are two incredible songs found on this soundtrack, courtesy of the Foo Fighters and Silverchair. Both "A320" and "Untitled" are such amazing tracks, that you can't help but wonder what the heck they're doing on a soundtrack to a movie like this. It easily makes the cd worth the purchase, as long as you never touch the film.

Rating:
Summary: Not that good--but if you've got nothing better to do...
Review: This movie is certainly not what one would call good, but it certainly is entertaining.

Finding the urban jungle of Manhattan a suitable environment, a creature deemed "Godzilla" after the popular character of B-movie fame, rampages through the island in search of food and sanctuary. Naturally the army is called in, but despite their advanced weaponry, "Godzilla" manages to make a mockery of their attempts to bring him down.

But where the army fails, a motley assortment characters, a scientist, a French secret agent, and a couple of journalists succeed.

Added to this is a lame love interest element and the occasional bit of slap-stick humour, and you have a suitable film for killing a couple hours on a cold winter's night.

Rating:
Summary: Hit and Miss
Review: After scoring a huge hit with ID4 everyone expected Roland Emmerich to really impress us with this movie. Godzilla had a lot to live up to. It disappointed on every level imaginable. The only way to enjoy this is as purely brain-dead nonsense. Think about it and you'll realize how bad it is. So seriously, switch your brain off.

The problems mainly lie with the fact that Godzilla himself is very unremarkable. He's just a giant lizard. Hardly threatening. And like Matthew Broderick's character says, he's not evil-he just wants food. It's hard to consider him a baddie when all he does is accidentally trash New York. Plus he moves and looks too much like the Jurassic Park T-Rex to be particularly impressive.

None of the characters are interesting either. Which makes the 'character building' scenes completely useless. That time could have been put to much better use in this 140 minute long film. Only Jean Reno comes away with his dignity intact (can you believe he turned down playing Agent Smith to be in this?). Though it is cool to see Harry Shearer and Hank Azaria (Principal Skinner/Kent Brockman and Moe/Apu) in a movie together but they don't get much screen time.

In comparison to ID4, Emmerich's direction kind of falls flat. Remember the public reactions as huge spaceships descended upon New York and LA and how everyone kind of watched in hypnotical awe as panic arose around them. The same could have been used in Godzilla but far too much of the movie has New Yorkers acting completely indifferently to a 1000 foot reptile hopping through the city. And I know those Apache helicopter scenes featuring the 'miniature' buildings are supposed to be an homage to the Japanese Godzilla flicks but here they look completely stupid and seem like they belong in a different movie. They just don't fit in with the rest of the film and it's very distracting. That could have been handled a lot better.

The ending sets up story for two sequels which never happened because of massive audience disappointment. A shame kind of since Emmerich could have learned from his mistakes in this movie and made a sequel that is much better.

I own the Superbit DVD of Godzilla (only available in Region 2 at the moment) and the DTS 5.1 sound is awesome. With every pounding footstep of the big lizard the living room booms and shakes. Plus the 2.40:1 anamorphic picture is flawless.

Rating:
Summary: Pity poor Maria Pitillo in this horrible mess...
Review: Looking over Maria Pitillo's career, she has done rather well as an actress. But as soon as GODZILLA, the bomb of 1998, arrived, her career took a nosedive. Perhaps it was because she won a Razzie Award for worst supporting actress. Or maybe it was because her critics were unkind. It is true that Ms. Pitillo's sub-par performance was just one distraction in this monumental piece of celluloid crap. But I am not going out of my way to compliment Matthew Broderick's acting. Nor was Jean Reno helpful. And thank goodness for The Simpsons or else Hank Azaria might be out of work. None of these performers impressed me. And yet only Ms. Pitillo has been directly affected by Roland Emmerich's GODZILLA, easily the worst movie of 1998. Ms. Pitillo should not be blamed for her performance in a movie filled with poor acting. The writing was bad. The direction was bad. Even Godzilla (herself???) seemed embarrassed by this fiasco. How can you blame one actor when you should be pointing the finger at the whole production? As for Maria Pitillo, I expect she will one day bounce back from this unruly treatment some day soon, and win an award for her many acting skills, and it won't be another Razzie.

Rating:
Summary: its aight
Review: hey now, i like A-320 from foo fighters....its a good song probably one of my personal favs from foo fighters...

Rating:
Summary: TRISTAR AND CENTROPOLIS ENTERTAINMENT SCREWED THIS UP!
Review: Tri Star and Centropolis Entertainment really blew it with this film. BOY did they blow it!

There are comedic moments or intended comedic moments but the film just wasn't funny and there lies part of the problem. They tried to make it light and funny. They should've made it serious , dark , and scary; a horror film. Hardly anyone gets killed here even with Godzilla just 10 feet behind them or right on top of them or actually inside of his mouth! Writers , come on.

Godzilla in the original Japanese film from the 1950's is a nightmare. A horrifying , radioactive , fire-breathing killer. If Tri Star had went that route it may have been alot more interesting. Instead it was lame.

The only parts of this film I liked was the old man catching Godzilla with his fishing rod and the sequence after that on the West Side highway (funny how that little old man was able to outrun Godzilla. Writers , come on!), the helicopter fight scenes and the cab chase across the Brooklyn Bridge at the end of the film. Otherwise it was a chore to sit through some parts of this film.

You didn't care at all about anyone in this film because some characters in this movie are badly written and badly developed. I've read some reviews that knock the acting but I don't blame the acting. I blame the script. The love story between Broderick and Maria Pitillo seemed superimposed. I think that Maria Patillo should have at least put some depth into her character. Particularly the scenes with Harry Shearer's male chauvinist character. Its alright if her character is weak in the beginning. Her weakness can be something for her to overcome as the story went along but unfortunately she also seems kind of ditsy and bubbleheaded too. She doesn't have to be that way and blame falls on the writers and the director for that. I also blame the writers for Michael Lerner's "Mayor Ebert" (assumably named after and resembling Roger Ebert and the mayor's aide is named "Gene"; Gene Siskel and Robert Ebert).Its nothing but a silly cartoon-of-a-mayor;he's unlikeable and not believable. You can get a stronger sense of character from the mutants in "X MEN" (comic book characters) than you could from these characters in "Godzilla".

The actual DVD is terrific though. Picture and sound is great and you get commentary from the special fx supervisor. Interestingly not only does it have the three trailers for the movie but it also has the trailers for the Toho Godzilla films made in the 1990's in their original Japanese audio; "Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah" and "Godzilla vs. Mothra".

If you are a serious Godzilla fan then you should get it only to say that you have it and to enjoy the trailers.

Rating:
Summary: I love it
Review: This movie talks about a mutant lizard create havoc in new york city. if u like the japanese version monster, u might hate this movie. simple because the it looks totally different from the original version. although many people said this show is too much a jurassic park, i beg to diff. i simply love this movie. good special effects, exciting plot and this dvd has some nice extra although not many. i have watched this movie many times and i still love it. however, it is rather a shame that this dvd has no DTS. i think i will recommend the superbit version instead. this is a must buy!

Rating:
Summary: It's so bad it's NOT good
Review: Sometimes you can view a flick that is just so godawful that it suddenly becomes funny and entertaining. But this is not the case here. The writers - and man are they in need of some remedial script classes - attempt to take the whole stupid thing seriously but what can one say when the star of the movie walks like a drunk T-Rex and has no lines?

Hokiest science around - radiation caused something to happen to Godzilla. There's baby zillas lurking around the edges. Anyway, skip all the "scientific explanation" (LOL) and let's get to the attack on New York City. A befuddled Matthew Broderick is paired with other actors who look as embarrassed as the rest of us who have paid $7.50 to get insulted. Needless to say, he did not break a leg hyping this particular little flick and it appears he is trying to hide.

It is just so bad - the CGI fight scenes are pure boredom, the dialogue so bad it's good (I contradict myself there) and the conclusion so lame you wish once again that Godzilla had won and destroyed Gotham. THis is a catastrophe that will somehow make a lot of people a lot of money - Go figure.

Rating:
Summary: Tis pretty cool!
Review: I admit that some of these songs are lacking on talent, but most are pretty cool! Theres the cover on Bowies "Heros" by the Wallflowers. And of course you can't forget "Come with me" by Puffy feat. Jimmy Page. I say give this album a try!