Godzilla

Rating:
Summary: Not the best, but made my list
Review: From the director of Independence day comes along probably the only movie since the 1970's that had a giant monster as the lead cast member. I liked this movie, and it holds up after repeated viewings.

Rating:
Summary: Putting aside my bias (as I did in the theater)
Review: OK. I am a HUGE fan of Godzilla. I've loved him form an early age (as well as Gamera, but thankfully he's not been trashed er, "remade") I caught a sneak peek of the new Godzilla's form the night before it came out to the public and almost threw up. The head design is absolutely ridiculous. But I kept on and started collecting the toys from Taco Bell, gradually warming to the new form and eventually liking it. A friend later invited me to go see it, we did. It was GARBAGE. The plot? stupid. The acting? horrible. The jokes? Moronic. I went so far as to apologize to my friend as he hda payed for my ticket. People have argued that the above is all true of the old Godzilla films. But one thing was missing: Godzilla. Instead of a fanciful, fear-inspiring creature, New York is assaulted by Jay Leno the giant iguana (not to insult Mr. Leno) They try the whole heart-breaking ending bull and fail miserably. The effects, are NOT that great as happens with CGI. the monster looks horribly fake, which is odd because it is supposed to be more 'realistic' than the original G, who looks incredible in the later movies (which I highly reccomend) I think they should have just renamed the monster in this to avoid the crap they're getting over it. What basis does it have in the original? sounds more like a lack of originality. Another matter: The old fisherman or whatever says "Gojira!" Wow! they used Godzilla's Japanese name! But WAIT! They didn't research! Gojira means "whale-ape" which someone would have to be delirious, drugged, AND drunk to mistake the overgrown iguana for. Nice attempt at tribute but you failed MISERABLY guys. If you want a movie now, check out the G-Films from Godzilla 1985 on. G-1985 has superb acting, a great plot, edge-of-your-seat tension and drama, incredible action, and most of all, the REAL Godzilla, atomic-breath and all. If you want to see Godzilla in the theaters, wait for Godzilla 2000 which is a Toho-made G-film, released in Japan in December and scheduled for release in the US in the summer of 2000. He IS redesigned but sticks to his roots (he's green now, has a flatter head more spectacular and irregular spikes) *stands down from his soapbox*

Rating:
Summary: Not too bad, but......
Review: Ok people. This movie doesn't deserved to be trashed as much as it has been. The movie was actually pretty poorly done, but there were good points. Think what you will, but the monster design was much better than the old one (Which, from me, is a massive compliment). The movie didn't really fall apart in my eyes until the movie lost focus on Godzilla and we got a bunch of BS about the creature rapidly reproducing. This is where the movie just got horrible. Another problem is Godzilla's shifting size. Still, with the new design, a more stable size, the elmination of the baby factor, and the return of Godzilla's radioactive plasma breath (It's NOT fire), a sequel could easily blow the japanese movies away. Still, if you're a big Godzilla fan, I'd suggest Marc Cerasini's series of novels. They present Godzilla as a far more powerful and unstoppable force than any movie ever has. Maybe they should make a movie based on those novels....

Rating:
Summary: Please, Hollywood, please!
Review: Sitting on my sofa two nights ago, I caught Godzilla on The Movie Channel. I decided to watch it, and realized soon after that it will be one decision I will regret for the rest of my days. Who went to the theater to see this? And why? Special effects that weren't even well-crafted, a hokey-pokey plot that lets viewers down at every turn, acting that totally bites the big one, and the overall effect that this movie was made in the hopes that it would gross mucho money. There was hardly anything surprising in this film, the special effects were horribly done. Every lizard, while supposed to have a scary feel, always looks computer generated, and should only scare the computer animators. The acting is flat and lifeless, which seems to be what wins over most audiences these days. A big Hollywood no-no by all accounts.

Rating:
Summary: Heroes and Zeroes
Review: "Godzilla: the Album" begins with a lesson in bipolarity as it opens with The Wallflowers' majestic cover of David Bowie's "Heroes" in a version thats slightly rougher than the original. Next is a textbook example in how not to cover a song: Puff Daddy's "Come With Me." This time Led Zeppelin's "Kashmir" gets the Puff Daddy plundering, I mean treatment. We should be thankful that he didn't decide to write new lyrics for the rock classic. Other high points include Foo Fighters' balladic ode to flying, Green Day's "Brain Stew" that comes complete with Godzilla grunts, and Joey DeLuxe's jazz-lounge number "Undercover" that somehow manages not to seem out of place. fuzzbubble's "Out There" is a rote "let's-write-a-song-about-a space-creature" number and Ben Folds Five's "Air" is just dull. And how can you have a "Godzilla" soundtrack without a remake, if not the original version, of Blue Oyster Cult's ode to the beast?

Rating:
Summary: The Godzilla CD
Review: definatly pleases those fans of Puff Daddy, The Wallflowers, Jamiroquai, Foo Fighters, and Green Day. Although I haven't heard the original, Puff Daddy's remix "Come with me" is off beat and lags on for a long time. Jamiroquai's "Deeper Underground" is a cool song, and "Brain Stew" by Green Day is awesome. The only complaint aside from a few doozers (i.e. silverchair's "untitled", fuzzbubble, Macy Day Parade, and FUEL), is David Arnolds (gasp!) terrible score. Although you don't get a very good dosage of the music on the disk, a greater sampling can be heard on the movie or the rare "sneak preview soundtrack". The score is, well......bad. "Opening titles" starts off menacingly enough, only to dissapate into a muddled mish-mash of choir and off beat roars of trumpet and drum. A queer piano-sounding instrument plays the movie's main title over and over again towards the end, then blends into the seamless track "Looking for clues" which is just about as exciting as milking a cow. The peice is a basic collage of the weird piano mixed against a backdrop of pointless strings. The CD is a good buy for some of the catchy tunes but is a waste of money if you are looking for another INDEPENDENCE DAY.

Rating:
Summary: Gorgeous Creature, O.K. movie
Review: I'm going to break an arrow in favor of Godzilla. Of course, I admit that Mariah Pitillo and the New York major are unsupportable (they, especially she, seem coming from a class about how trying to look like an actress withouth remotely seem it), that Jurassic Park model is omnipresent and that the plot could be better. But Godzilla is so real... you can feel it breathing. It's no longer a monster. It's just an animal that do what it's supposed to expect from it. I was not scared at all; I was amazed to see that huge being just walking, eating, jumping, running,... It was more real than some humans in the plot! What sense has the ancient Godzilla? Apart from being a cult movie, it's absurd. In this new Godzilla, I was really afraid for its integrity. I really didn't care about the humans. Godzilla would have been better if he (or she?)just went on living and reproducing! That would be more original. The five stars are for the real artists of the movie: the special effects creators. Critic tend to dismiss effects, but these are so admirable as the work of a plot, screenplay or an acting.

Rating:
Summary: Worth The Price
Review: I can not believe how negative the reviews are for this movie. It's not perfect, but it is entertaining. The acting is sufficient for a monster movie, and the cast do a good job considering IT IS A MONSTER MOVIE FOLKS. The special effects are of the "Jurassic Park" caliber. I don't get the hostility towards this movie. Oh I get it, if you like a movie with a man in a rubber monster suit, cheesy special effects, toy tanks, plastic Lego cities, silly plot lines and terrible overdubbing then don't bother with this Godzilla. Rent the old Japanese movies. I always thought they were bad with the exception of the original with Raymond Burr. The story line of this Godzilla is fast paced. Just when you think the movie is over, you get to see just how much punishment a New York City taxi can take. If this was made by our friends in Japan it would have been called "Godzilla Attacks New York" The price is a couple dollars more than renting it, I feel it is worth the price.

Rating:
Summary: OK
Review: This CD is OK. THere are a few good songs, like heroes and brain stew. I especially like the Foo Fighters song though, A320. Come with Me is just a sad remix of Zep's Kashmir. Bonham must be rolling in his grave.

Rating:
Summary: A BETTER APPRECIATION FOR THE JAPANESE VERSIONS!
Review: I have always been what you might call an average fan of the Godzilla movies. Most of them I could sit through and enjoy, two or three of them I could not. I was really looking forward to this new american version because I really enjoy big budget summer blockbusters (for the most part). I never would have dreamed that Hollywood could have failed to this extent! I knew we were in trouble when I first heard that Dean Devlin and Roland Emmerich were hired to make this film. It has become apparent to me that each time this duo makes a film, they put less and less effort into it! Stargate was really great. When everybody said it would flop, they suprised thier critics with a hit. So, while enjoying their success, they went down to Mexico to write the script for ID4. I believe the too few weeks that were spent on this script has to be the quickest writing feat since Ed Wood Jr.'s no brain efforts! Hollywood was all to quick to accept this lame duck. Luckily for them, they had a huge hit (credit goes to the marketing campaign more than anyone else). I don't know who was responsible for going after this duo for Godzilla, but I suspect that they are kicking themselves to this day. That descision has single-handedly ruined the opportunity for a very successful franchise. The script must have been written over night. I suspect that the casting didn't take that much longer! The acting is horrible and the special effects were un-inspired. They took everything which made Godzilla so cool and scrapped it in favor of a stupidly designed, giant iguana with no special powers other than size (which ironically turned out not to matter). This version of Godzilla has sent me running back to the originals. I then discovered the new 1990's Godzilla movies. These are everything that the Tri-Star movie should have been. Don't count on a sequel to this utter garbage because the rights have went back to Toho Studios in Japan! Godzilla 2000 will blow this bad memory away! By the way, has anyone noticed that there is no way that Godzilla (due to his size) could have been carrying around that many giant eggs? All of them simply would'nt fit! Hmmm...............