From The Depths Of DVD Hell

Recently I discovered the rather hip “Cinematic Corner” which is also currently hosting a “Spin-off blogathon” taking a minor character from one film and giving them a film of their own.

Now while I know that most of my regular readers may expect me to choose the cool as ice dropship pilot Corporal Ferro from “Aliens” especially given my obsession with Collette Hiller, however I felt that I pretty much covered the character in my “One I would save” post. I also tossed around the idea of Christopher Lambert’s ice cream man and underground militant Walter Mung from “Southland Tales” but ultimately I decided (and perhaps inspired in part by this month’s ongoing “WesAndermarch”) I decided to choose Margot Tenenbaum.

One of handful of truly interesting roles Gwyneth Paltrow has had, while at the same time also being one of the fewer roles were she truly embodied the character, in a role the likes of which we sadly haven’t seen her play since, as even though her role is largely consistent of hiding out in the bathroom and smoking she is still one of the more memorable members of the Tenenbaum clan.

True Margot could be considered to already be a leading character seeing how she is one of the three Tenenbaum children, yet at the same time she is also the one that we know the least about, outside of the occasional snapshot moments from her life which Wes Anderson chooses to show us, perfectly tying in with her secretive nature while at the same leaving her the character I most wanted to see more of.

So what would a spin of film focus on? Well the original film covers the early years of her life pretty thoroughly, including her success as a playwriting child prodigy and underdeveloped artist, aswell as her detached relationship with her adopted father, who openly reminds her of her adopted status by introducing her at social gatherings as his adopted daughter. Her childhood also includes her running away with her brother (and future boyfriend) Richie, aswell as a second attempt which lead to her loosing part of her finger, which is revealed to be the result of a wood chopping accident when she found her birth family. The rest of her life up to the impromptu family reunion is briefly covered in the private detective report commissioned by her husband Raleigh, which are shown in a series of intriguing snapshots of key moments of her life to the current day.

Because of Margot’s secretive nature of course only makes a spin off film covering these moments all the more interesting, especially when she is one of the few characters in the film which we still feel that we don’t feel that we truly know by the end of the film outside of the bare bones of her character.

So what would a Margot spin-off be like? Well first I would like it to focus on those years we the snapshot moments from, especially as these are the ones which pose the most questions and to continue on from were the film leaves off would only potentially lead into romantic comedy territory which honestly would not suit her character in the slightest, even if the idea of a romantic film centred around a incestuous (of sorts) love affair is an amusing pitch to say the least.

With Margot not being the chattiest of characters, this spin off would have to be voice over driven, especially as I always imagined the internal monologue of Margot to be full of witty comments and observations, even if she may seem sedated on the surface.

Margot equally makes a great candidate for a spin off if only to give us the alternative view point of key moments from the film such as the divorce of her parents as well as more importantly her witnessing the Richie’s in game meltdown following her marriage her to Raleigh. While she seems unmoved during the scene it would be interesting to see if she ever felt anything for him at that moment, much like when she first felt anything for him, especially when she seemingly cares little for anyone person as seem by her frequently switching from one partner to the next even when she is supposedly married it does little to slow her down with such scenes certainly benefiting from the insight that only she could provide, to explain if this her trying to work out the frustration of her stalled career or if she just enjoys living by her own rules.

Needless to say when it comes to listing Wes Anderson's memorable creations, it is impossible not to include Margot and even though he continues to add new and ever more curious characters to the list, Margot forever remains one of my favourites and one more than worthy of her own spin off, which if not for the reasons stated atleast to see Paltrow don the iconic look once more.

Title: Rushmore

Director: Wes Anderson

Released: 1998

Starring: Jason Schwartzman, Bill Murray, Olivia Williams, Seymour Cassel, Brian Cox, Mason Gamble, Sara Tanaka, Stephen McCole, Connie Nielsen, Luke Wilson, Dipak Pallana, Andrew Wilson

Plot: Max Fisher (Schwartzman) a 15 year old student at the exclusive private school Rushmore, were despite being involved in every extracurricular activity going while academically failing every one of his classes. Things only become more complicated when he starts an unusual friendship with steel tycoon Herman Blume (Murray) who also has eyes for Miss Cross (Williams) a teacher at Rushmore who Max has been harbouring a crush for.

Review: Sometimes it only takes one film to completely change your opinion of a director, something none truer than with this film, for it was only after I saw it that I finally got what the fuss about Wes Anderson’s films was. Previously to originally watching it I'd written him off as being overrated based on my previous experiences with his work when I watched “The Royal Tenenbaums” and “The Life Aquatic”, both of which I now rate highly after returning to them with a new appreciation for Andersons work which this film gave me. It was with this film that I finally got it.

Easily the most accessible of Anderson's films to date and while it could be argued the same for “Fantastic Mr Fox”, the fact that Andersons’ version differs so much from the source novel, tends to be more of a distraction than some tend to care for. At the same time it still contains all the elements we now see as being the trademarks of his work making it little surprise that some (myself included) confuse it for being his debt which was instead the often overlooked “Bottle Rocket”. Based largely on the life experiences of Anderson who has admitted to sharing Max’s sense of ambition aswell as his lack of academic ability and a crush on an older women, while his co-writer (and reoccurring cast member) Wilson drawing on his own expulsion from school at fate which ultimately also befalls Max on his journey of redemption.

Max really is the quintessential Anderson creation, as he speaks and acts with a mindset years beyond his age, while equally acting every bit the social climber, associating Rushmore as part of his identity even though he got in on a scholarship rather than his parents wealth and status like his fellow pupils. Perhaps because of this it would explain his needs to constantly lie about his background, telling people that his father is a brain surgeon rather than admit that he actually works as a barber. Also because of his mindset Max frequently seems more comfortable around adults than anyone his own age, with the exception his right hand man Dirk (Gamble) and perhaps because of this the unusual love triangle actually works better than you would expect, even if the chances of anything actually happening between Max and Miss Cross is solely in his head. Things of course only escalate when Blume becomes involved with Miss Cross leading to a tit for tat game of revenge between the former friends, as brakes are cut, bees crammed into closets and bicycles run over as each tries to top what the other inflicted on them.

It could be argued that if Miss Cross shot down his first advance that this would be a lot shorter film, but instead she tries to encourage a friendship between them perhaps because of how Max reminds her of her deceased husband. The friendship between Max and Blume is surprisingly more believable perhaps due to the curiosity which Blume has about Max, while for Max it could be equally seen as another aspect of his social climbing, especially when Max is seen taking notes when Blume tries to impart words of wisdom upon the Rushmore students at the start of the film, advising those students who don’t come from money to target those that do.

While their friendship and the effects of this love triangle has on it is largely the focus, Anderson is also keen to chart a more personal journey for Max as he is forced to find himself after his expulsion from Rushmore after an ill-advised attempt to build an aquarium on the school baseball field which forces him back into the public school system with Max’s journey climaxing in the production of his latest play. At the same time it is fascinating to see how Anderson manages to make us root for a character who we should really despise with his frequent lies and egotistical drive, yet somehow we can help but root for him.

Undoubtedly though the strength of the film is in its casting with Schwartzman embodying the role of Max, a role which Anderson felt at one point could never be cast until a chance introduction by Schwartzman’s cousin Sofia Coppola, who would in turn benefit from the career revival which Murray’s casting received. Murray whose career had in many ways stalled in the wake of “Ed Wood” only to revitalise it with this film, which not only marked the beginning of his frequently collaborations with Anderson which has seen him appear in every film which Anderson has made since. Murray’s involvement in many ways would also play a key part in production not only by his agreement to work for scale, but also by writing to Anderson a blank cheque to cover several shots which Disney who produced the movie refused to fund.

While the film is largely carried by Schwartzman and Murray, with Williams appearing occasionally to stir up emotions in the two men vying for her affections, the film also features numerous colourful supporting characters, such as the surprisingly feisty Margaret Yang (Tanaka), a foul mouthed scot (McCole) and the pipe smoking Rushmore dean Dr. Guggenheim (Cox) who is frequently driven to despair by Max’s antics. These characters and the numerous other who we meet throughout all heightening the film and adding to the already slightly surreal world which Anderson creates here and one which he continues to base the films which followed in.

A perfect starting point for newcomers to Anderson's films while containing enough of his quirks and unique style to still appeal to the established fans. This film heralded and still does even now an fiercely unique voice in independent cinema and is the film I always urge the detractors to watch before they make their final decision on Anderson's films, so if your still scratching your head over his appeal why not give this one a go, you might just find yourself re-evaluating your opinion.

For more Wes Anderson related writing this month make sure you show some love to the nice folks over at "French Toast Sunday" aswell as for other fun film related writings.

Title: Detention

Director: Joseph Kahn

Released: 2011

Starring: Josh Hutcherson, Dane Cook, Spencer Locke, Shanley Caswell, Walter Perez, Organik, Erica Shaffer

Plot: A killer dressed as the movie slasher Cinderhella is stalking the students of Grizzly Lake High School, leaving a group of co-eds to band together survive while serving detention.

Review: So once again I have found a film which makes me throw my hands up in despair, as I wonder how I can ever start to review it as if I thought “If…” was a tough film to critique, this one presented an equally daunting critical mountain to scale by the time the credits had rolled.

Unlike the aforementioned “If…” the issues presented by this film was less about the artistic directing choices, but more due to trying to figure out what it was exactly that I had watched, as director Kahn comes off here like someone has a heap of smart and witty things to say and show you, while at the same time too easily distracted to put them into any kind of logical order. As a result this film is the same sort of visual assault of ideas that “Southland Tales” took, yet in comparison even that film is more coherent than this one and yet despite the fact I’m still not sure I fully understood what this film was about I did strangely still enjoyed it.

The second feature film by Kahn after his forgettable debut and “Fast and Furious” on a motorcycle cash in “Torque”, he is no doubt better known for his work directing music videos and commercials, a field which has previously given us visionary directors like David Fincher and Mark Romanek, with Kahn also bringing a level of visual flair to this low budget and self-financed horror-comedy which he choose to follow “Torque” with after being replaced by Vincenzo Natali (best known for “Splice” and “Cube”) as the director of the long mooted adaptation of William Gibson’s “Neuromancer”.

Opening with a “Clueless” style monologue / rant by the school’s most popular girl Taylor (woods)…well that is until she is suddenly cut short mid “guide to not being a total reject” by the films killer. From here we cut to Taylor’s opposite Riley (Caswell) a cynical social outcast, whose sees herself being only one place above rock bottom which is currently occupied by the girl who performed oral sex on the school’s stuffed grizzly bear mascot. Riley’s world is shown as an endless hailstorm of crap, as starts the day with a half-baked attempt at a pill overdose, misses the school bus and has her iPod stolen by a hipster mugger. Both of these scenes are peppered with the characters breaking the forth wall and laced with sarcasm and acid tipped barbs while generally setting you up for the randomness which follows.

It is after the opening monologues that things not only just weird but downright random as plot devices start to fly off on a whim, with fewer still actually being seen though to any form of completion let alone followed with any kind of logical sense. So while the film would have worked fine as high school slasher with elements of social satire, Kahn feels inclined to cram in additional elements and subplots including alien abduction, mutations and time travel none of which are properly worked into the plot and frequently dropped in at random and more often without warning, leaving the viewer disorientated and frequently struggling to keep up with the amount of elements being juggled at any one time.

Still when taken apart and viewed for its individual parts there is a lot of fun elements at throughout the film, like the 90’s obsessed Lone (Locke), the star football player who for some reason is turning into a human fly (a very unsubtle rip off of Cronenberg’s 1986 remake) and whose father made him wear a TV over his hand as a child in a scene every bit as surreal as it no doubt sounds. It only makes it more of a shame that with so many random ideas on show here that Kahn can’t seem to manage the same delicate balance of surreal imagery and coherent storytelling that the likes of Richard Kelly and Greg Araki have frequently brought to their films and seemingly what Kahn was aiming to achieve here, only to ultimately end up with a frequently confusing but none the less fascinating car crash of ideas.

The cast assembled here are all pretty much unknowns, yet bring plenty of energy to the film, especially in the case of Caswell who as Riley is well deserving of a spin off, if perhaps a more focused one, as she makes for the perfect lead with her balance of sarcastic jibes and general despair at having to endure with being berated on a daily basis by the so called popular kids. Elsewhere the rest of the cast play their roles well, though frequently come off more memorable for their character mannerisms than for their performances.

Judging by how under the radar this film is, with the only noteworthy releases before it’s DVD release being the handful of appearances at various film festivals with its showing at Frightfest being how I came to discover it originally were its highlighted genre hopping antics caught my attention. So now having finally got around to watching it I can testify that it is certainly one of the more unique films I have watched of late, while its heavy flaws prevent me from enjoying it more and yet I still feel compelled to recommend you give it a curious watch, if only to experience it for yourself. So if you’re feeling uninspired by your current viewing and craving something different yet not too out there, why not give this a watch.

Title: Grizzly

Director: William Girdler

Released: 1976

Starring: Andrew Prine, Christopher George, Joan McCall, Joe Dorsey, Richard Jaeckel

Plot: When a giant grizzly bear starts eating the campers at a state park, it is up to park ranger Michael (George) to hunt it down.

Review: If ever there was an example of the importance of editing it would be this film. For here is a film which in its TV cut is a tepid and boring movie while in its uncut form, it’s actually quite watchable even though it’s lingering around the ass end of okay in this stronger form. Frustratingly it was the TV cut which I watched first, which left me wondering why I got so excited about watching it in the first place, a fact which I’m sure was more down the prospect of seeing a film with a giant killer bear, especially as I do love creature features and couldn’t remember actually seeing one with a killer bear.

One the last films to be directed by Girdler, who was tragically killed in a helicopter crash while scouting locations for his tenth film. This would be the first of his two ventures into the creature feature genre, while more surprisingly it would also become one of the top films of 1976. This success of course could have been largely thanks to the massive success of “Jaws” which inspired countless imitators in a trend which continues even now, as directors continue to try find new and ever more inspired ways to add to the already primal fear most people have regarding certain animals. None however have shown the balls that Girdler does here with this film which is essentially a straight clone of “Jaws”, even though it could be argued that Bruno Mattei came close with “Jaws 5: Cruel Jaws”.

From the start Girdler tries to make the revel of the creature a slow burn by shooting from the bears perspective (or bear vision if you will) and by having a stage hand swipe at thing with a bear paw glove. Unfortunately the big revel never really comes perhaps thanks to Girdler choosing to use a real bear, which needless to say isn’t the safest creature for you to put next to actors, so as a result the bear footage often comes off looking like wildlife stock footage than anything specifically shot for the film. The biggest failure though comes when any character is attack by the bear, which usually descends into shaky camera shots and what can only be described as watching someone getting bear hugged by someone in a questionable looking bear costume. Despite the real bear never seemingly being anywhere near the actors, Girdler used a length of green string and a kitchen timer to shoot the actors with the bear, with the bear believing that the wire was the same as the electrified fence used during breaks in filming, while the trainers also got the bear to mimic roaring by tossing it marshmallows (who knew that bears liked them) and adding the sound in post production. However now having seen the film it makes you wonder why they went to so much effort with the real bear, especially when it never seems like the actor and bear are ever in the same shot.

This leads me of course to the importance of which version you watch, as if your stuck with the TV version, this will fast become a painful film to sit through, as each time the bear attacks it suddenly cuts or even on a couple of occasions just fades to black. The uncut version on the other hand is a lot more fun, thanks to the occasional bursts of gore that it provides making the bear attacks a lot of satisfying to watch as limbs are torn off and even a small child loses a leg, all scenes missing from the TV version which cuts out all of the gore and leaves only the half decent attack on the ranger station intact. Thankfully though if you’re stuck with the TV version, the cut segments can be easily found on Youtube which honestly are also the best parts of this film, which really do save it in many ways from being such a grind.

Plot wise as I stated earlier in this review, the plot is essentially a blow for blow remake of “Jaws” with changes being made to suit the setting, so hence we get Michaels concern over a giant killer bear in the park being thrown out by his supervisor, who’d rather keep campers in the park rather than close the park while they hunt the bear, while also flooding the park with amateur hunters by offering a bounty on bear all actions mirrored by the mayor Vaughn. Equally mirrored is Michaels actions to hunt the bear which see’s him forming a similar team to Brody’s with naturalist Arthur (Jaeckel) and helicopter pilot and Vietnam veteran Don (Prine) taking on the roles played by Hooper and Quint. It’s hard to say if watching the film with this prior knowledge adds or takes away anything from the film, but it certainly makes it a curiosity to say the least, especially in these times were Mockbusters are being so regularly churned out which essentially do the same as this film and in many ways perhaps making this film the earliest example of the genre.

While the plotting may be the same as “Jaws” sadly the characterisation is far from the mark as this film lacks any of the likeable characters of that film, much less any ones which are memorable enough to actually care much about with the exception of Arthur but that could be more so do with his bear skin wearing antics, much less the lack of real insight he brings to the hunt despite being the so called expert.

Unsurprisingly in the wake of the film success this film would get a sequel of sorts almost ten years later in the form of “Grizzly 2: The Predator” which originally started out as a completely separate film entitled “Predator: The Concert”. Written aswell by the same screenwriter as this film Harvey Flaxman the film was never finished yet various incomplete cuts of the film do exist and it was via a review of that film by my good friend and bad movie critic extraordinaire The Great White Dope over at “Mecha-Blog-Zilla”that I came to find out about this film in the first place in a piece which I highly recommend checking out like the rest of his blog, even if he is currently on blogging hiatus there is still a wealth of great reading to enjoy.

A flawed film with a handful of interesting moments if your watching the uncut version but mainly it will just make you want to dig out your copy of the far superior "Jaws", especially as its doubt this will have you afraid to back into the woods anytime soon.

Title: The Wrestler

Director: Darren Aronofsky

Released: 2008

Starring: Mickey Rouke, Marisa Tomei, Evan Rachel Wood, Mark Margolis, Todd Barry, Judah Friedlander, Ernest Miller, Necro Butcher, R-Truth

Plot: Randy “The Ram” Robinson (Rouke) a professional wrestler long past his prime and now reduced to wrestling in small venues, is forced to face up to the end of his career after suffering a heart attack. Now he is forced to come to terms with a life outside of the ring, while attempting to reconcile with his estranged daughter (Wood) and his relationship with aging striper Cassidy (Tomei)

Review: Last weekend was the source of much excitement, mainly thanks to “Wrestlemania” which this year celebrated 30 years, which even the fact that it was being hosted by the franchise killer, wrestling relic and DTV star Hulk Hogan it did little to my general enthusiasm for the event, as yes I’m a wrestling fan. So what better time to revisit this film, along with the fact that “French Toast Sunday” have declared the whole of April to be “Darren Aprilofsky” as part of their ongoing season of director dedicated months.

When it was first announced a lot of people dismissed this film believing that it would another hokey feel good sports movie, which is kind of understandable seeing how it is set in the world of professional wrestling. However what Aronofsky gives us instead a much more moving and even more surprisingly respectful look at the world of professional wrestling. Here Aronofsky doesn’t question the appeal of a sport were matches are pre-determined, but I instead keeps the focus purely on the wrestlers, stepping behind the curtain as he shows us scenes of wrestlers discussing how their matches will play out and tactics to ensure that they get the best reaction from the crowds.

Randy despite being long past his 80’s glory days when we meet him, Randy is still making a living off his past glories as fans still worship his in ring performances no doubt with a heavy dose of nostalgia. Meanwhile outside of the ring his situation is far more grim as he finds himself forced to sleep in his van when he fails again to make the rent on his trailer park home, while being forced to make ends meet working a low wage supermarket job. He is also a character truly brought to life via a career best performance by Rouke who embodies this character while only adding further depth thanks to the similar struggles that both Rouke and his fictional counterpart have. It is also very much a less is more style of performance were even the smallest of gestures speaks volumes.

Interestingly though Rouke almost didn’t take on the role as it had originally been given to Nicolas Cage, who depending on whose version you believe either stepped down to allow his friend Rouke to take on the role, knowing aswell that Aronofsky truly had Rouke in mind for the role. Cage on the other hand has gone on record to state that it was more to do with the time commitment required to achieve the look required. I would prefer to believe the first version. More amusing through would be the claim made by Hulk Hogan that he was also offered the role only to turn it down, a claim later dismissed as being yet more of Hogan’s usual bullshit when Aronofsky went on record to state that he had never offered him the role.

Rouke though is the perfect choice for Randy, even more so when he fully embraced the wrestling world, throwing himself into eight weeks of intensive wrestling training for the role which really helped when it comes to the wrestling sequences, especially when he frequently performs in these scenes with real-life wrestlers including a memorable hardcore match (wrestling with weapons) against Necro Butcher were the two wrestlers essentially brutalise each other with a variety of creative and painful looking weapons including one highlight which sees Randy using the prosthetic leg handed to him by a member of the rabid crowd. These wrestling scenes are only further added to by being filmed at live wrestling events including events held by the indie fed’s CZW and Ring of Honour, who along with both TNA and WWE were happy to show their support for the film and in many ways it only adds to the realism while further highlighting the respect which Aronofsky shows the sport.

More interesting though is the fact that here we have a sports movie which doesn’t follow the rookie or the underdog getting their shot at the big time as here Aronofsky chooses to make a film about someone at the end of their career a prospect which Randy continually ties to avoid by working out harder and increasing his steroid intake to keep up with the younger guys he is competing with. Ultimately Randy is forced to face the inevitable when he suffers a heart attack and the prospect of no longer being able to wrestle, while a haunting meet and greet alongside his fellow former greats only seems to highlight the future which awaits him as he surveys the damage they like himself have done to their bodies out of love for their sport.

It is equally interesting that the closest person to Randy is the aging stripper Cassidy, who like Randy is also facing the prospect of her own career coming to an end as she struggles to hustle private dances from clients who favour the younger girls. Together though they provide each other with a prospect of a life outside of their professions and while there is hints of a developing romantic interest between them it is an interest which ultimately only goes as far as a spontaneous make out session, quickly followed by regret on Cassidy’s part. This angle is far from the most interesting aspect of their relationship with the scenes of Randy reminiscing about his glory days and Cassidy helping Randy to reconnect with his daughter and in many ways finding happiness through their unorthodox friendship being far more fascinating to watch.

Unquestionably though this film sees Rouke at his career best, it only makes it more of a shame that he didn’t win the much deserved Oscar he was nominated for as he joins the wrongfully snubbed actors club which also includes Ryan Gosling in “Drive” and Tilda Swindon in “We Need To Talk About Kevin”. At the same time Rouke receives great support from both Tomei and Wood who are both able to hold their own while only adding to the emotional journey Randy finds himself on as he ultimately has to choose between doing the sport he loves which could ultimately kill him or to settle into a life outside of the ring. Even for non-wrestling fans this is still a gripping film, which for the established fans this is touching homage to the world of spandex clad heroes, as this truly is the "Raging Bull" of Wrestling movies.

Title: The Fountain

Director: Darren Aronofsky

Released: 2006

Starring: Hugh Jackman, Rachel Weisz, Ellen Burstyn, Mark Margolis, Stephen McHattie, Fernando Hernandez, Cliff Curtis, Sean Patrick Thomas, Donna Murphy, Ethan Suplee

Plot: Three stories set in the past, present and future which intersect and run parallel to each other, based around the themes of love and morality.

Review: After flirting with mainstream film making with “Requiem for a Dream”, here Aronofsy returned to the arthouse roots which he established with his debut film “Pi”, while it also turned out to be his most troubled production to date, with his original concept having to be scraped when Brad Pitt pulled out over creative differences with Aronofsky combined with a spiralling budget which forced the studio to pull the plug on the production. Refusing to give up on the project, he instead reworked the script and recast the film with Jackman and Weisz taking on the lead roles (both working at reduced rate) which would allow him to work within the new budget of $35 million, a considerable drop from the original $70 million budget which had been assigned to the film.

One of his most personal films it is also the film which tends to divide opinion the most, with most of its detractors choosing to write it off as pretentious nonsense. It is also far from the easiest of films to explain, yet strangely at the same time it is still surprisingly a straightforward film to follow when you see it all on screen which was one the things which surprised me the most about this film the first time I watched it. After all here is a film which switches between Spanish conquistadors searching for the tree of life, a modern day scientist Tom desperately searching for a cure for his cancer-stricken wife and finally a man in the distant future travelling towards the nebula of Xibalba inside a self-contained bio-sphere. Aronfsky though rather than give any real reason for these genre hopping antics, instead wrote it off as being “Because it’s fun” which I’ve a feeling was also Zack Snyder’s reasoning for making “Sucker Punch”.

Even outlining these plots as you can see is confusing enough, even before Aronofsky starts to interweave them over the course of the film which works fine for the past and present segments, with the conquistador sequences taking place in the story which Tom’s wife is writing. Sadly the links to the future segment seem largely more forced and also the more art house moments of the film, as they consist mainly of a bald Jackman sitting around in his bubble, eating bark from the tree in its centre and having conversations with Tom’s wife, though the link between her and this future character is never properly explained and much like the moral of the film is left frustratingly obscure.

To his credit Aronofsky manages to bring something different to each of the segments, from self-flagellating inquisitors, conquistadors battling mayan’s through to Tom pushing his team to explore every more radical procedures in the search for the cure for his wife’s cancer, there is unquestionably a lot of different elements at play which does help to give it a mini-epic feel despite the minimalist timeline. At the same time Aronofsky manages to convincing portray the enduring love between Jackman and Weisz without things getting overly sacturine sweet, especially with the present day scenes which are played with a mixed of tender and frustrated moments as Tom tries desperately to speed up his search for a cure, while trying to make the most of what time he still has left with his wife.

As the two leads both Jackman and Weisz are engaging to watch and convincingly play each of their three alter-ego’s, even if most of the heavy lifting is left to Jackman whose performance here made me wonder how Pitt could ever have managed the range which Jackman achieves here, while ensuring that each of his three alter-egos’s remain strong throughout, even the navel gazing antics of spaceman Tommy, who is saved more by the stunning visual effects than by anything really happening on his particular story thread.

Returning once again to soundtrack the film Clint Mansell teams up with the Kronos Quartet, bringing a sense of familiarity to the films soundtrack especially after their soundtrack for “Requiem for a Dream” burned itself into the general conscious and perfectly suit the tone of the film, while this time they are further complimented by tracks provided by Mogwai with the soundtrack really coming into its own during the more spectacular set pieces like the supernova or human plant transformation.

One of Aronofsky’s weaker films but still well above the mathematical theory nightmare which was “Pi”, while the film only further suffers due to it being more of a personal project than one designed for mass audience consumption. At the same time while it has numerous good ideas and memorable sequences, the composition ultimately is where the film comes undone with too many ideas being thrown around and not enough structure to satisfactorily tie them all together, as Aronofsky prefers to leave it up to audience interpretation than confirm what anything is supposed to actually mean. Yes it might be very pretty to look at, but it is also a film which walks a tight rope between being a mini-epic and pretentious tosh making it really one for the completists than the first time viewer.

Title: Kolobos

Director: Daniel Liatowitsch, David Todd Ocvirk

Released: 1999

Starring: Amy Weber, Donny Terranova, Nichole Pelerine, John Fairlie, Promise LaMarco, Llia Volok

Plot: Five strangers are brought together to spend three months living in a Big Brother style house under the pretence of being part of an anthropology-related experimental film. However soon it becomes clear that not everything is what it seems.

Review: One of those films I have been meaning to watch for the longest time, only to get delayed by other titles taking priority on the viewing pile but more largely because it has hardly the most memorable of titles. Title aside this equally not the most talked about movie out there, with almost minimal reviews and while it might not quite be on the same obscure levels as "The Long Lunch" it is certainly under the radar. Now while 1999 might have been an incredible year for cinema, I can sadly report that now having finally watched this film that this was not one of the better ones to come out that year.

The sole film to be directed by the Swiss duo, before following it with individual features which saw Liatowitsch directing the MMRPG documentary “Avatars Offline” while Ocvirk wrote the DTV zombie movie “Last Rites” both then disappearing from the movie making scene altogether. This film would also invariantly be a forerunner to the more remembered “My Little Eye” which essentially gave us the same film while perhaps taking a more unique approach by being shot from the perspective of the surveillance camera, while here directors Liatowitsch and Ocvirk opt for a more traditional route as the house setup serves more as a reason to bring the characters together than anything else.

Frustratingly the first hour of this film is pretty solid, with the group all being introduced via selection of audition tapes as we meet failing stand up and self-convinced funny man Tom (Terranova), struggling b-movie horror actress Erica (Pelerine), college drop-out Gary (Fairlie) and fast food worker Tina (LaMarco). This group are also joined by artist Kyra (Weber) who is looking to move on from her recent time spent in a halfway house for her increasingly dark visions which she channels into her artwork. All of the main cast are likeable in their roles even if there are a few moments were some of the cast overplay their part, yet at the same time it is hard to not place these moment equally on clunky dialogue. It is equally interesting that this group of fame hungry wannabe’s all looking for their ten minutes of fame would get just that by appearing in this film as none of them would go on to do anything else following its release, with the exception of Weber who fittingly plays the group outsider. Weber perfectly portrays Kyra who spends most of the film unable to tell if Faceless is real or one of her visions, much less if she is responsible for what is happening in the house.

A relatively short film at 90 mins, but boy did that last half hour drag which is even more surprising considering how the tension is slowly cranked up in the first hour, with ghostly visions of a faceless figure around the house, let alone a hand creeping out from under the bed. However once it hits the one hour mark the film suddenly hits a downward spiral from which it never recovers as the house turns into a deadly funhouse of booby traps as the group find themselves being picked off one by one by the faceless killer known simply as Faceless (Volok).

While the final thirty minutes are pretty formulaic I really can’t fault the film makers originality here, which when it comes to the death scenes it really has in spades with the detached head turned into a mirror ball being a particular highlight. Still from flying buzzsaws to an acid shower the death scenes really do for the most part deliver, while an antler impalement feels overly familiar to the infamous splinter sequence from “Zombie Flesh Eaters”. Each of the deaths are handled well even with the limited budget, with the buzzsaw death being especially memorable partly becomes it comes out of nowhere and secondary because of how the victim is left to writhe while the rest of the group believably freak the hell out.

Frustratingly during the final half hour the film dissolves into a standard stalk and slash format and while the deaths might be oozing in originality, there is a sense that the film is being rushed towards its conclusion (not that it moves any quicker trust me) with death scenes becoming increasingly sloppy or rushed. This of course brings me to my next issue and that’s with the ending which makes absolutely no sense as if you’re like myself you find yourself bouncing between two different ideas of what it all means, while also with the sneaking suspicion that the film makers are trying to be smarter than their script allows, much like opting to call the film “Kolobos” (the German word for mutilated) over its alternative and more fitting title “Haunted House”.

Irritating for how it throws away a promising setup, this is one worth more a curious rental than being actively sought and while the duo never choose to follow it up, it remains a tantalising prospect of what they could have achievd with perhaps alittle more focus and a tighter script.

Title: Requiem For A Dream

Director: Darren Aronofsky

Released: 2000

Starring: Ellen Burstyn, Jared Leto, Jennifer Connelly, Marlon Wayans, Christopher McDonald, Mark Margolis, Keith David, Seasn Gullette, Hubert Selby, Jr.

Plot: Charting four Coney Island residents and their pursuit of their own vision of happiness, only to soon find their individual addictions leading them into a nightmarish downward spiral.

Review: I first saw this film back when I was in college, which is also really where I first seriously started studying film. It was around this same time that having turned 18 I spent most of that birthday joining every video library I could to further my cinematic tastes, beyond the films I was taping off late night TV let alone my already established lusts for Godzilla and Asian cinema which I’d been steadily building on since I first figured out how to use my parents video player. It was amongst these early jaunts into less mainstream cinema that I came across this film which I think I rented along with Sofia Coppola’s “The Virgin Suicides” in what would certainly turnout to be an eye opening double bill.

Since that original viewing though this film has always held a strange fascination with me a power which has yet to wain even after numerous viewings. At the same time this power that the film holds is very much a double edged sword as this film is easily one of the most grim films I have in my collection, so much so that I tend to view it once a year, while it usually takes the remainder of the year to get over the experience. Still with this being “Aprilofsky” I knew that it was kind of inevitable that at some point this month I would inevitably find myself revisiting it.

Based on the book by Hubert Selby, Jr. (who also makes a cameo as a laughing prison guard) the film follows the three intertwining stories of low level drug dealers Harry (Leto) and his best friend Tyrone (Wayans), Harry’s girlfriend and aspiring fashion designer Marion (Connelly) and Sara, Harry’s TV addled mother who dreams of being on television. For of you familiar with Selby, Jr.’s bleak world outlook you will no doubt already know that nothing is going to end up well for this foursome, but it is the journey they each take towards an inevitable downward spiral which Aronofsky perfectly captures and draws you in with, so that by the time you realise the path the characters are on, you are already too drawn into the story to turn back.

Arguably Aronofsky’s strongest film, I know that personally I was glad that I started with this film, rather than with his black and white debut “Pi” which gave the indication that it felt it was smarter than it was, while confusing things further with mathematical theory and mantra style repetition of its lead characters childhood recollection which only made it harder film to follow. Here though he would challenge those who didn’t get his debut as he perfects his use of repetition while heavily working his bag of visual tricks which includes the extensive use of quick cuts which total over 2,000 which only comes into perspective when you consider that most films only contain between 600 to 700 cuts.

The casting here really is spot on while equally risky at the time of the film’s release with Connelly being best known for most us for playing Sarah in “Labyrinth”, Leto aswell was better known for playing a teen heartthrob on “My So Called Life” despite having the snot beaten out of him as Angelface in “Fight Club” while Wayans was (and still is) known for his comedic roles with this film marking one of rare dramatic roles. It should be equally noted that the cast were equally brave for signing up for the film, after all this is hardly a film were any of the characters are going to walk away unscathed by the end credits, a fact which certainly didn’t escape Burstyn who was reportedly horrified by the script and only accepted the role after she saw Aronofsky’s debut “Pi”. Personally I would have placed money on her only wanting to further distance herself from the film, but guess like so many of you that she saw something in that film which I didn’t.

Needless to say each of the cast fully embody their individual characters, fully committing to their roles which was always going to be an essential element to the film as we find ourselves truly caring what happens to these characters, hoping that they will eventually find a way out of their downward spiral. I mean can you think of a time were you have been left feeling unclean and strangely horrified watching a gratuitous sex scene? Even with our drug dealing duo who are slowly being destroyed by a combination of their own habit and a drug dealer turf war drying out their supply chain you still want to see come out of this ordeal relatively unscathed. The most crushing though is the slowly deteriating mental state of Sara who loneliness is only broken up by the self help infomercial which seemingly plays on a continuous loop and her dream of fitting in her red dress. It really is a tour-de-force performance that Burstyn brings to the role and who through the help of prosthetics and fat suits takes on one of the most startling transformations over the course of the film especially when she is a nervous shell to start with it is utterly heart breaking to see her slow decline over the course of the film as her diet pill abuse only becomes increasingly worse and her grip on reality continues to weaken.

The supporting cast are equally great here, while at the same time never to the point were they distract our attention away from the main foursome. At the same time when it comes to Christopher McDonald and Keith David, they are on such memorable form, that now I instantly associated themselves as being either being a power house self-help guru (McDonald) or a charming drug dealer / pimp (David). These characters though are not there to offer false salvation, but rather existing to simply provide the final push.

Another key element of the film is the killer combination of Clint Mansell and the Kronos Quartet whose soundtrack really adds a whole new level to the film and even though the “Lux Aeterna” has been overused on countless film trailers, Video games, talent shows and essentially any other event looking for a memorable piece of music. This of course is only one of the memorable tracks on the soundtrack as it perfectly frames numerous moments of the film from drug haze euphoria the playful days of summers, while taking on a more frantic and nightmarish qualities as the characters suffer through withdrawal and ultimately hit their individual rock bottoms. The soundtrack here though truly highlights how powerful an effect it can be when the soundtrack is working in perfect conjunction with the images on screen.

An unquestionably powerful film, yet not the sort of film you pick up as a casual watch and like "Schindler's list" it is best approached with some pre-warning and a stack of cartoons to help you deal with the aftermath, as this one is unquestionably brutal. At the same time it marked Aronofsky out as major talent on the indie film making scene an while he has yet to top this high bench mark he set for the films to come, it served as a taste of what would follow.

Title: Nemesis

Director: Albert Pyun

Released: 1992

Starring: Olivier Gruner, Tim Thomerson, Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa, Yuji Okumoto, Marjorie Monaghan, Nicolas Guest, Deborah Shelton, Merle Kennedy

Plot: Alex (Gruner) a retired cyborg police officer is pulled out of retirement to track down his former girlfriend and cyborg Jared (Monaghan) who is smuggling data to terrorist organizations plotting to assassinate government officials.

Review: Directed by cult favourite Albert Pyun, who to date has directed over 40 movies while earning a reputation as something of a b-movie hired gun, as if you have a movie that you need to make on a minimal budget then Pyun is your man. He was also responsible for the very first film I reviewed here “Wrecking Crew” which was also for the longest time one of the worst films I had reviewed here, an honour now currently shared between “Deaden” and “Dear God No”. For some reason though it has taken me to now to review another film from his back catalogue but then I can hardly claim that I am the biggest fan of his work, but this is another film from my childhood whose cover I remembered from my misspent hours scanning video library shelves only to never actually get around to watching it until now.

Predictably being a Pyun film, ruined buildings, cyborgs and a post-apocalyptic future are all the order of the day which always amused me about his film, especially considering how Pyun cares little for any of these themes as he stated once in an interview were he essentially cleared up this irony.

“I have really no interest in cyborgs. And I’ve never really had any intrest in post-apocalyptic stories or settings. It just seemed that those situations presented a way for me to make movies with very little money, and to explore ideas that I really wanted to explore – even if they were [controversial].

Honestly I’m not too sure what story he wanted to tell here, seeing how there is less plot development than “Ballistic: Ecks Vs. Sever” which really is kind of saying something, but here the film goes from one bullet riddled shootout to the next, with seemingly only explosions and scenes of Alex and his unintentional sidekick (of sorts) Max (Kennedy) frequently diving off cliffs to tie it all together.

Okay perhaps this is a little harsh as there is some William Gibson-esq musing over what it is to be human, especially on the part of Alex whose frequent injuries have left him in need of frequent cybernetic upgrades, while refusing to be labelled a mindless robot, frequently stating that eighty-six point five percent of him is still human at any given moment. I would like to believe that these cybernetic upgrades are responsible for the continually bland and emotionless performance that Gruner gives here though I would seriously doubt this is the case. Even the most basic of emotions seems to be a push for him outside of the occasional smile while memorably showing zero emotion when his dog is killed by one of his former handlers in a pretty dickish move to try and convince Alex to come back. The logic behind this move still lost on me, I mean how many times have you convinced someone to do something by killing one of their cherished pets?

On the plus side Max comes with a Lorri Petty / Tank Girl style personality which never really gets any chance to shine and instead just comes off constantly skittish while providing enough personality to cover for both of them. Elsewhere the villians all bizarrely have a faux German accents while generally spending the film chasing after Alex and Max and shooting up the scenery. Sadly one of the worst aspects of the film is how underused Cary-Hirouki Tagawa is as his appearance is really more of a cameo, while more interesting one of his rarer non villainous roles and considering that he manages to act everyone else off the screen with his handful of scenes only makes me wish that Pyun had found a way to expand his role.

So what does this film have going for it? Well action, action and more action is essentially the order of the day, with everyone seemingly being armed to the teeth even an doddering old granny pulls out a pistol at one point! Needless to say the film doesn’t waste any time getting to the first of the numerous shoot-outs as right from the off Alex is involved in a fierce shoot out, with Pyun choosing like John Woo to have his characters rarely reload and even when they do it is only after they have fired off countless rounds. More amusingly though is that despite frequently being only a few metres from each other no one ever seems to be able to hit the broadside of a barn door and seeing how everyone is seemingly a cyborg (something which seemingly doesn’t improve anyone’s ability to aim) when someone does get hit it is usually in a hail of sparks which is visually pretty fun to watch.

While Gruner might be lacking as an actor, he does however make up for it in the action scenes with his character being changed from the originally proposed violent street urchin to Gruner’s cyborg cop as part of a production deal between Pyun and production executive Ash Shah who were keen to use the former Kickboxing champion in one of their projects with this film with Pyun in return being allowed free reign to make the movie he want and by the looks of things he really took that ball and ran with it. Surprisingly despite Gruner’s kickboxing background he only gets a chance to actually show off these skills on a couple of occasions as Pyun instead opts to have his Gruner demonstrate his gun handling skills instead which thankfully also works in Gruner’s favour as he handles himself well during the action sequences including a scene where he memorably machine guns his way though the floors of a hotel which would be memorably reworked in “Underworld” to similar effect, with the other memorable sequence involving him brawling with a generic villain while sliding down a muddy ramp and it really is in these scenes that the film really does shine and no doubt would have made this possibly my favourite movie had I watched it when I first discovered it, when the action scenes mattered more than the rest of the film.

Far from my favourite viewing experience as of late, yet like so many of Pyun's films I can't help but feel that the film was in many ways close to something, only to lose it along the way. Still if you like sparky firefights and explosions with minimal plotting then this could be the film for you. Now I just have to see were the series goes next seeing how this film spawn an additional three films, so don't be surprised if this isn't my last venture into the series.

Title: Perfect Blue

Director: Satoshi Kon

Released: 1997

Starring: Junko Iwao, Rica Matsumoto, Shinpachi Tsuji, Masaaki Okura, Yosuke Akimoto, Yoku Shioya, Hideyuki Hori, Emi Shinohara, Masashi Ebara, Kiyoyuki Yanada, Toru Furukawa, Akio Suyama

Plot: Mima , a member of a J-pop group “CHAM!” decides to pursue a career as an actress, displeasing her fans especially her stalker Me-Mania (Okura). Now finding herself the target of threatening fax’s and mail bombs, things only get stranger when she discovers a website call “Mima’s Room” documenting her life if she was still with the band, as Mima finds her world being turned upside down as she is pushed to the brink of her own sanity.

Review: One of the great masters of Japanese animation, the career of Satoshi Kon would be tragically cut short when he lost his battle with pancreatic cancer, but it would be a stunning body of work he would leave us with, if perhaps sadly also one of the most overlooked.

Here he makes his directorial debut with a Hitchcock-esq thriller and which I frequently like to use as reference point when it comes to arguing the fact that anime is more than cutsy characters, tentacle porn and schoolgirl fan service which frequently seems to the opinion shared by those not familiar with the genre outside of the parts which regularly gain mainstream exposure. True this film is not without its shocking moments with several bloody murders and a scene were Mima is forced to act out a nightclub group rape. However this is more than shock value as it also serves to mark out a snapping point for Mima and her already fragile psyche, as she soon starts questioning what is real and what is fantasy, while Kon leaves the audience to question the same things for themselves, yet resisting the urge to take the audience down a Lynch style rabbit hole.

Based on the novel of the same name by Yoshikazu Takeuchi, who also wrote the original screenplay, which Kon was unhappy with and ultimately would have the script reworked by Sadayuki Murai with Takeuchi’s permission providing that the three elements of Idol, Horror and Stalker were kept Takeuchi was happy for Kon to make any changes he liked. Interestingly this film was originally intended to be filmed as live action adaptation only for the film to be turned into a OVA when the production studio was damaged during the 95 Kobe earthquake. A live action version directed by renown pink film director Toshiki Sato would be finally released in 2002, which reportedly is a lot closer to the source novel than this film.

A griping film throughout, the film though is a lot deeper than your usual psychological thriller, as while most thrillers would be content to just play off the mystery of “Mima’s Room”, here Kon’s focus on the changing personality from Virginal pop idol to driven actress willing to do more and more to ensure that she makes it as an actress, even if it means shattering the image her fans have on her, with her agreement to film the aforementioned rape scene only being the start of the slow reveal of her much darker side.

At the same time Kon shows equal attention to the supporting characters who all provide their own piece of the puzzle, from Mima’s office Manger Tadokoro (Tsuji) who pushes Mima into increasingly risque situations which he convinces is for the good of her career regardless of the pressure it puts on her already fragile psyche through to the obsessed and grotesque stalker Me-Mania who plasters his walls with images of Mima’s pop idol form which in one memorable scene even speak to him. Kon though is equally mindful of the smaller details which often prove as a result to be just as memorable, such as an actor involved in filming the rape scene apologising to Mima during a break between takes.

The animation is crisp and clean throughout, with Kon choosing to avoid the more traditional large eyed anime style, instead for a more realistic style as seen with the wide range of character designs and while it might not have the wow factor that many have come to expect thanks to the releases of Studio Ghibli this is still visually a nice anime to look at, with the movement of the characters being especially spot on as especially highlighted during the ice pick murder sequence involving a length chase around the victims apartment.

Unquestionably this would be a memorable debut film from Kon and one which he would continue to build on even if he would choose to explore other genres with the films which followed, he would thankfully return to explore the themes here further with the series “Paranoia Agent”. On its own merits though this film really is a benchmark in Japanese animation aswell as also providing the inspiration for Darren Aronofsky’s “Black Swan”, making it only the more of a shame that it hasn’t been given the same recognition as the likes of the legendry “Akira” or “Ghost In The Shell” and like “Wings of Honneamise” has resulted it in being missed out by the more casual anime viewers which is something of a shame, especially when it is the sort of film which serves to highlight the range of styles which Anime covers.

Title: At The Earth’s Core

Director: Kevin Connor

Released: 1976
Starring: Peter Cushing, Doug McClure, Caroline Munro, Cy Grant, Godfrey James, Keith Barron

Plot: Victorian scientist Dr. Perry (Cushing) and his assistant David (McClure) are making a test run of their drilling machine “The Iron Mole” when a freak accident throws them off course, were they invariantly discover a prehistoric world of monsters and cavemen ruled by the telepathic Mahars and their mindless Sagoth servants.

Review: Another of my childhood favourites aswell staring my hero Doug McClure whose fantastical adventures were firm favourites amongst those early cinematic experiences as McClure played rugged heroes all about seducing exotic ladies and generally punching out anything which got in his way, I mean what's not to like about that? While I might not have known his name at the time I did however know that if he was in the film then monsters and dinosaurs would soon follow, an assumption only furthered by the fact that it was only those movies of McClure that were shown over here in the UK.

Based on the novel of the same name by Edgar Rice Burroughs who is no doubt best known for creating both "Tarzan" and "John Carter of Mars" with this first book establishing the fictional hollow Earth of Pellucidar, which would be featured in a further six books with even Tarzan paying a visit to this mysterious land. Needless to say it makes for the perfect vehicle for McClure who at the time was coming in hot on the back of the success of “The Land That Time Forgot” while also finishing off the trilogy that the British production company Amicus had unintentionally created with the prior releases the aforementioned Land that Time Forgot and its sequel “The People That Time Forgot”. This time though he is teamed up to great effect with a blustering Peter Cushing who here is pretty much transferring his Doctor Who persona to a different film, which really only adds to the fun, especially when he’s so frequently hamming things up. Still despite this added bonus or distraction depending on your stand point on his performance, this film really is just business as usual for McClure especially as the film wastes almost zero time before we get out first giant monster encounter, something only added to by the raw awesomeness of McClure who is so cool he’s able to run while still smoking a cigar!

The plot itself is pretty minimalistic and generally serves to fill in the gaps between the monster action and McClure finding someone new to brawl with, which is essentially what he spend most of the film doing, as together with Cushing they form the perfect blend of brains and brawn. This is not to say that David is some square jawed thug, as he frequently proves himself capable thinking through situations especially when it comes to befriending the native human population who handily also speak perfect English despite having no contact with the surface world. Of course such things are minor concern, seeing how the main draw of McClure’s monster movies was the monster themselves with this film featuring the most varied selection from gigantic monsters through to carnivorous plants and even a fire breathing frog here they really pull out the stops with these creations, while clearly not trying to base them on any sort of known dinosaur which was always seemed to the case in the other films.

The villains here are pretty hammy to say the least with the rubbery and far from aerodynamic Mahars, who when not communicating telepathically through a migraine inducing whine, generally just sit around on their cliff top leaving their comb-over loving Sagoth servants to do all the work for them. Unsurprisingly for a bunch of guys in questionable dinosaur costumes when they do take flight it looks as you would expect like a they are flying around with the same sort of wire work you’d expect from a pantomime Peter Pan, while by the end of the film the production team had clearly had enough of them as they look suspiciously like they have been stuffed with newspaper and just tossed off the cliff top

Shot on soundstages at Pinewood Studios it is perhaps a more limited prehistoric world, but seeing how director Connor was trying to deliver an epic on a budget its not too distracting even if the world is far from as immersive as the other McClure monster movies. However with a large amount of the action taking place in the volcano lair of the Mahar’s it doesn’t ever prove too noticeable until you start looking at the film more closely. Thankfully though Connor keeps things pretty busy on screen for you to pay too much attention to the surroundings for there is usually some monster or heated battle to enjoy and when neither of those are available he generally just parades the scantily clad future Bond girl Munro in front of the camera.

While this might have been a childhood favourite, it still holds up surprisingly well even if perhaps I am viewing it with a healthy dose of nostalgia which certainly helps when some of the creatures are more noticeably rubbery looking than they perhaps did back then. At the same time though this is still a highly entertaining romp aswell as arguably the best of the McClure’s monster movies or making a suitable double bill partner with “Yor: Hunter of the Future”.

Title: Godzilla Raids Again

Director: Motoyoshi Oda

Released: 1955
Starring: Hiroshi Koizumi, Setsuko Wakayama, Minoru Chiaki, Takashi Shimura, Haruo Nakajima

Plot: Pilots Shoichi and Koji are scouting for schools of fish for the tuna cannery company they work for, when Koji is forced to land near Iwato Island. Here he discovers a another Godzilla in battle with another monster Anguirus, a battle which soon leads them to the shores of Osaka.

Review: With the release of the new “Godzilla” fast approaching what better time to revisit the franchise so to date and look back at the various changes the series has gone through over a staggering thirty films (including both American adaptations). So over the course of the next few reviews which make up this mini feature, I will be looking at films from the each of key eras Showa, Heisei and Millennium, in what will form an annotated overlook at the series to date.

Seeing how I’ve already reviewed the original “Godzilla” the only logical place to start this journey would be with the second film and possibly the least seen by most fans, no doubt more familiar with the films which followed in its wake. Still this film would be one of numerous firsts seeing how it marked the first appearance of my favourite Kaiju creation Anguirus who here would also have the honour of being Godzilla’s first opponent.

Despite being killed in the previous film, Godzilla’s sudden reappearance here thankfully isn’t so much ignored but side stepped, with sole reason being that it is a second Godzilla. Still despite not being the same Godzilla he still has no love for humanity here and still very much on city wrecking form, only this time more the result of his on going battle with Anguirus, who would in the later films become a long term ally, something you’d never expect considering that both monsters are shown to be following the most primal instincts and hence are solely focused on killing each other.

Picking up the directorial reigns from Ishiro Honda, Director Oda a favourite with the Toho bosses due to his reputation for being able to deliver films quickly with his usual work rate seeing him delivering seven films a year for the company, though despite directing over fifty films over the course of his career little is known of his career after 1958, with this film being the only one made to be shown outside of Japan. Like Honda, Oda here chooses a similar style of plotting as he opts to shoot the film completely straight faced, even taking a risk by killing off unexpectedly one of his popular characters. Still considering that this film was in cinemas an astounding six months after the release of the original film, even with the numerous special effects shots req, its safe to say Oda truly lived up to his reputation as a speedy director.

Sadly while the main meat of the film is shot in a similar to style to one used by Honda in the original film, the same cannot be said for the majority of the Godzilla footage which comes off more laughable than with any of the threat that he was shot with in the original. Things only get worse when it comes to the fight scenes between Godzilla and Anguirus who frequently have the same look that you could achieve by battling two action figures together. These scenes are only further hampered by them frequently looking like they have been speeded up, which to Oda’s credit was more accidental due to a camera technician accidently undercranking the camera instead of overcranking it. Kaiju special effects legend Eiji Tsuburaya actually liked the speeded up effect this created and ultimately decided to use the footage in what is certainly one of the more detrimental elements of the film.

Despite this being the first time that Godzilla would get to battle a fellow monster, here it is a far cry from the more familiar monster kung fu antics we’ve come to expect from the series, as instead this is fight is much more animalistic in nature, as the two monsters charge and wrestle each other between dealing out nasty looking bites on each other. It is worth noting aswell that the fight between Godzilla and Anguirus is also one of the longest in the series and despite its more brutal nature still sees another Japanese landmark still getting destroyed in the fray as Osaka Castle suffers the same fate as the Tokyo Tower in a memorable style.

Outside of the main draw of watching Godzilla and Anguirus battling each other this film is also one of the few not to fall back on the usual plot device of “Aliens did it”, here Oda actually takes the time to develop his lead characters which sadly would be the parts of the film to suffer when the film was given its American release, were it was released as “Gigantis the Fire Monster” a butchered cut of this film which attempts to pass itself off as an original film and is really only noteworthy for the early role for George Takei who was part of the team responsible for dubbing it. Still for the completest amongst you, this cut is included on the Region 1 release allowing you to compare the two while at the same time giving you another reason to get a multiregional DVD player., even more so if like myself your based in the UK which for one reason or another has always been overlooked when it came to Godzilla releases, with only a few of the Showa and Heisei films getting a VHS release.

While it might not be on the same level as the original film, there is still enough of the styling carried over to make as an enjoyable experience, especially if your able to get past the questionable fight scenes, but these are of ultimately minor concern when watching the original cut, which honestly is the only way this film should be viewed and while the series might have taken a more fantastical direction for the films which followed, this film only further highlights how well Godzilla can work in realistic setting.

Title: Ebirah Horror of the Deep aka Godzilla Vs. The Sea Monster
Director: Jun Fukuda
Released: 1966
Starring: Akira Takarada, Toru Wantanabe, Toru Ibuki, Choutarou Tougin, Hideo Sunazuka, Kumi Mizuno, Pair Bambi, Jun Tazaki, Akihiko Hirata, Haruo Nakajima, Yu Sekida

Plot: Ryota (Wantanabe) and his friends steal a boat belonging to bank robber, to try and find Ryota’s brother Yata (Ibuki) who is presumed to be lost at sea. However when their boat is destroyed by the giant lobster Ebirah/ Washing up on the shores of a mysterious island which is also the base of operations for terrorist organisation “The Red Bamboo” who have enslaved the natives from Infant Island to help them manufacture nuclear weapons.

Review: Arriving at a cross roads for the series, with Godzilla still yet to become the defender of Japan but no longer the monstrous threat he was in his early films but rather a monster defending his territory, this film would only be a step further (if a confused one) closer to the popular vision of Godzilla as an anthropomorphic superhero that most people have. However despite starting on this path in “Ghidorah, The Three-Headed Monster” this film would still find Godzilla’s intentions still in something of a confused state no doubt due to the fact that the film had originally been intended as a vehicle for King Kong under the proposed title “Operation Robinson Crusoe: King Kong vs Ebirah” in what would be his second appearance outside of the US, having four years previous been given the Kaiju treatment by Toho when he was pitted against Godzilla in there series misstep “King Kong Vs. Godzilla”. It would however be during production that last minute changes would see the film would be changed to a Godzilla film leaving Kong to return to battle Mechi-Kong in “King Kong Escapes”.

While this film might not be a favourite of many Godzilla fans, thanks largely to the horrible dub track which for certain characters seems to have been done for comedic effect (atleast that’s what I hope it was) but despite this I have always held a fondness for this film, perhaps because it was the first Godzilla film I ever saw and while at the time I might not have been aware it was part of a larger series of films, I loved watching this giant dinosaur destroying buildings and battling with an over grown shrimp and it was from here that my life long obsession with not only Godzilla but Kaiju cinema on a whole would begin.

A light hearted adventure movie at its core and it is really a sense of fun that director Fukuda brings to the series after series mainstay Ishiro Honda decided to take another break from directing the series leaving Fukuda to pick up the directing reins with this film being the first of the five films he would direct for the series. Godzilla’s presence here though is more as a supporting character than a main lead as he would become in the films which followed, the same can also be said for Mothra who spends most of the movie being worshiped by the natives of Infant island who are trying to wake her up from the coma she seems to in until she suddenly decides to wake up in time to help Ryota and his friends escape the island with the natives enslaved by the Red Bamboo. This is however not to say that Godzilla isn’t given anything to do, as he does get to have a couple of memorable brawls with Ebirah who would following this film be phased out of the Toho monster catalogue until making a surprise appearance in “Godzilla: Final Wars”. Godzilla also gets to fight a random giant condor, but I think this creature was another carry over from the original Kong plotting, much like Godzilla’s strange interest in native girl Dayo (Mizuno) and throwing boulders as memorably seen during the random game of boulder tennis Godzilla engages in with Ebirah.

Equally noteworthy about this film is the level on violence here, which while perhaps featuring none of the blood spurts of “Godzilla Vs. Gigan” or the shocking jaw snapping scene in “Godzilla Vs. Mechagodzilla, this film does feature humans being eaten by Ebirah (to date the only monster to do this) aswell as Godzilla brutally tearing the claws off Ebirah and using them to taunt her further at the end of their battle. Unlike "Gamera" Godzilla has never been a series interested in gore and bloody brawls, outside of a few sporadic moments throughout the series and while this film features some of these moments of violence it is never to the point were it distracts from the film or stops being a Godzilla movie.

As far as Toho monsters go Ebirah is possibly one of the more outlandish, after all she is less of your typical monster design and really just a giant shrimp after all, as further confirmed by the fact that her name is derived fro the Japanese word ebi, meaning “shrimp” (thank you IMDB for that one). Despite this she is still one of the better opponents with her aquatic nature also giving us one of the rarer underwater fight scenes, while proving herself equally tasty as a brawler.

The main plotline following Ryota and his friends trying to stop the dastardly Red Bamboo is one of the more entertaining ones and their appearance here makes a change from the usual alien plotlines. It only makes it more of shame that this would be their only appearance in the series. Still despite giving the impression of a well organised fighting force they are still surprisingly easy to fool as seen by the outlandish tactics the group use to elude them, let alone the fact that they essentially toppled by a plan formulated by the group’s resident comic relief.

True this film might have some minor plot holes, such as why Godzilla is unconscious on the island or why Mothra spends most of the film having a nap, but for newcomers this film provides the perfect starting point like so many of the films from this point in the Showa era, with its fun plotting and zero knowledge of the other films being required to enjoy it, this one is just wholesome Kaiju fun!

Next time: "Godzilla Vs. Gigan" - With the Showa era hitting its stride with an established format of pitting Godzilla against a roster of giant monsters Director Fukuda with his third film for the series while providing possibly the best tag team match to date as Godzilla and Anguirus team up to battle King Ghidorah and Gigan.

The chances are that by the time you read this that this trailer will have already bombarded your Facebook / Twitter feeds as its safe to say this video has exploded since I stumbled across it on Saturday night.

Usually I avoid one shot posts here in the blog as my regular readers will know already, but occasionally something like this fan film comes across were you know that a simple Facebook / Twitter post will just not do and so was the case when I first saw this fan film from the collective known as "The Akira Project".

Funded though Indiegogo, this fan film has its safe to say with its trailer achieved what Hollywood has as yet failed to deliver with by producing an almost shot for shot perfect adaptation of Katsuhiro Otomo's classic anime, which all anime (nay all animated films) are still even now measured against.

So to all those involved with this film I allow me to say congratulations on creating a stunning tribute and generally breaking everyone's jaw with this stunning short film.

Title: Godzilla Vs. Gigan

Director: Jun Fukuda
Released: 1972
Starring: Hiroshi Ishikawa, Yuriko Hisimi, Minoru Takashima, Tomoko Umeda, Toshiaki Nishizawa, Zan Fujita, Kunio Murai, Haruo Nakajima

Plot: Aliens disguising themselves as the creators of the peace-themed theme park Children’s Land have kidnapped a top scientist as part of their plan to take over the world. To ensure their plan goes through they also lure the monsters Gigan and King Ghidorah to Earth via two “Action Signal Tapes” which also lure Godzilla and Anguirus to the park and into a climatic showdown to decide the fate of Earth.

Review: Time now for another of my favourites, though like so many of films in the series the final film would be very different from the original plans for this film which originally started as a direct sequel to “Godzilla Vs. Hedorah”, a plan soon scrapped after producer Tomoyuki Tanaka saw the results of that film, so much so that he told director Yoshimitsu Banno that he had “ruined Godzilla” and subsequently banned him from directing another Toho film again. With this in mind Banno was unquestionably keen to get the series back on track and had planned to do this with a script titled “Godzilla Vs. the Space Monsters: Earth Defence Directive” which would include six monsters (a feat not attempted since the fantastic “Destroy All Monsters”) and would have marked the first appearance of both Gigan and Megalon alongside a third monster called Majin Tuol who would face off against Godzilla, Rodan and Varan. This film would however never make it out of the planning stages, despite an attempt to rework it into a new film titled “The Return of King Ghidorah” the plans would ultimately fall through due to budgeting issues.

Toho Studios never being one to waste a good idea would ultimately salvage parts of that script with this film being the end result, while Megalon would go on to get his own film with the woeful “Godzilla Vs. Megalon”. This film however being greeted with more mixed results with some of the fan base finding issue with some of the more random plot choices which included Godzilla and Anguirus talking. An idea which was either bad or really bad depending on if your watching the original version (speech bubbles) or the dubbed version (questionable voice acting) and while this only happens twice in the film it still irked a lot of fans, even though it would be miles better than the whole Godzilla flying insanity in “Godzilla Vs. Hedorah”.

At this point of the Showa era the Godzilla franchise had firmly settled into its template of monster sized smackdowns as Godzilla faced off against a roster of monsters as the defender of Earth and here it certainly in this respect it doesn’t disappoint as not only does the film feature four of my all-time favourite monsters, especially with Anguirus who honestly they have yet to beat though both Gigan and Mecha-King Ghidorah would come close. This matchup is only added to by the fact that this is one of Godzilla’s toughest fights to date even with the backup he receives from Anguirus.

It is as I mentioned in my previous review noteworthy for also being one of the bloodiest as the film shows a level of violence I’ve come to expect more from the “Gamera” series than Godzilla, but while a lot of these scene are savage to watch, they thankfully never darken the general tone of the film. This increase in gore though would be due to Taruyoshi Nakano taking over from special effects legend Eiji Tsuburaya who had been strongly opposed to exposing younger viewers to graphic images. Nakano might have been stepping into big shoes when he took over from Tsuburaya following his death but the special effects standard really doesn’t dip here, even though Nakano was forced to work with a reduced budget, which was ultimately worked around by through the extensive use of stock footage from the previous films which while it might raise grumbles from some of the fans but honestly I didn’t really notice it.

Outside of the monster fun, the plotline is pretty simple with Cartoonist Gengo (Ishikawa) being hired as a concept artist for the theme park only to soon suspect that his new employers are not quite what they seem which being a Godzilla movie they aren’t and in this case Giant shape shifting cockroaches. At the same time of all the alien species which have featured in the series, they are hardly the most involved in their plot seeing how they leave it down to Gigan and King Ghidorah to do most of the work while they hide out in their Godzilla shaped tower complete with a powerful laser cannon. It only makes sense then that their plan is also one of the easiest to foil seeing how they are essentially beaten by a drawing.

Embodying the Showa era this film is a lot of film and the monster fight scenes more than carry the film and serves as one of the better examples of the era, despite being sandwiched between two of the weakest entries. True it might increase the violence and more notably the gore (both things which would be toned down again in the films which followed) but this film still has the same fun nature which defined the films of the Showa era even though it was one of the last films to be made in this era.

Next Time: Godzilla Vs. Biollante - With "The Return of Godzilla" having ushered in the Heisei era along with it a darker vision of Godzilla. Here he is no longer the protector of Earth but instead closer to the monstrous beast he originally was. Now in the second film of the era Godzilla finds himself facing off against his largest opponent to date aswell as one of the few female monsters in the Toho catalogue, the gigantic plant monster Biollante

Title: The Lost Empire

Director: Jim Wynorski

Released: 1983

Starring: Melanie Vincz, Raven De La Croix, Angela Aames, Angus Scrimm, Paul Coufos, Robert Tessier, Angelique Pettyjohn

Plot: When Police officer Angel’s (Vincz) brother is killed trying to stop a trio of ninja’s robbing a jewellery story, her investigation soon leads her to the mysterious Dr. Sin Do who is holding a martial arts tournament on his secret island fortress. Now joined by the native American White Star (De La Croix) and Prison brawer Heather (Aames) they head to the tournament with the aim of avenging Angel’s brother.

Review: Please allow me to start by saying thathis film really is a true shameless guilty pleasure, was well as that this is actually my first experience with the work of director Wynorski who like Albert Pyun unquestionably has his fans and who over the course of the last 25 years has churned out over 150 films to date including possibly his most well-known film “Chopping Mall”. Despite this legacy this film has until now always remained one of his most elusive even to the director himself, who began working with producer Bill Dever in 2007 to track it down and re-acquire the rights, which has now lead to it finally getting its release on DVD.

Almost certain that this film could be both his first and last, Wynorski crammed into this film everything he loved, which it would seem included feisty attractive ladies, ninja’s, martial arts and questionable gorilla suits to all but skim the surface of the sheer random fun this film is. It would only be fate that despite being originally made as a tax loss for Plitt Theatres owner Henry Plitt (something Wynorski reportedly didn’t know at the time) the film would be so liked by Plitt that he gave the film a theatrical release.

Essentially a sexed up version of “Enter the Dragon” the seemingly also fancies itself as a female James Bond spoof seeing how it opens with the familiar Bond peephole which this time draws focus on a pair of large breasts. It should be noted that this is essentially a hint of what is to come as like the films of David Sedaris and Russ Meyer, Wynorski is unashamedly also a fan of cramming as many beautiful women as he can into his films and generally finding provocative situation in which to film them something which continues with his work to date.

Still despite this it would be wrong to dismiss this film as gratuitous T&A as there is atleast some attempt made at plotting, even if most of it is completely over the top, with the last half hour of this film being especially insane to the point were I was left questioning if they shot those scenes first or if Wynorski had just thrown caution completely to the wind knowing how random the rest of the film was already.

When it comes to the trio they are more a caricatures than with any form of realism as only highlighted by each of their introductions, hence Angel busting up a hostage situation at a school by riding a motorcycle down the hallway and punching out a random bad guy, while Heather is introduced by a prison yard brawl against a bull whip welding butch looking female dominatrix called whiplash, which essentially an excuse to include mud wrestling in the film. The weakest of the three though is White Star who just shows up on horse and spouts a bunch of Tonto-esq lines which I guess is kind of fitting seeing how Wynorski uses her character like a sexy version of Tonto.

It should also be worth noting that while the setup might be as a martial arts movie, there is actually very little martial arts action to be found here outside of the occasional kick or karate chop. This is especially amusing when it comes to the tournament were the competitors are told to expect a series of gratuitous challenges which will test their skills, only for the next scene to show the girls running around the grounds and through cones alongside shots of the girls being star jumps and pretty much anything else involving jumping to make the most of their general lack of clothing. As such the whole competition plotline is quickly put on the backburner pretty much as soon as it starts, with only one fight actually taking place and that’s between Angel and one of Sin Do’s generic henchmen.

To balance things out from all the slap and tickle antics of the girls we do get a half-baked romance angle between Angel and Rick (Coufos) who with his classy porn star moustache is generally used for comedic value as he spends most of the film hamming things up which always seems to be the tradition for the romantic interest in these kind of girl gang movies. On the flip side he does also help balance out the amount of scantily clad ladies featured and pleases those of you who want to see shirtless Coufos.

While I might not be aware of Wynorski’s work before watching this film, I’m now keen to see what else is hiding in his back catalogue of work as this film really was a blast from the start. Ultimately though this film is mindless fun and the sort of guilty pleasure to sit alongside the likes of “Faster Pussycat Kill Kill” and “Return to Savage Beach” and with the self-acknowledging cheese factor that most modern b-movies seem to aim for as seen especially with the recent direct to sci-fi channel releases from the likes of “The Asylum” and after all what other film can boast a phallus shaped laser cannon?

Title: Godzilla Vs. Biollante

Director: Kazuki Omori

Released: 1989

Starring: Kunihiko Mitamura, Yoshiko Tanaka, Megumi Odaka, Koji Takahashi, Toru Minegishi, Toshiyuki Nagashima

Plot: Five years after the events of “The Return of Godzilla” Genetic researcher Genshiro Shiragama combines DNA from Godzilla with that of the Roses he has been studying, creating by accident the monster Biollante which soon attracts the attention of the newly released Godzilla.

Review: The second film in the Heisei era which rebooted the franchise 9 years after the “The Terror of Mechagodzilla” brought the Showa era to a close. The Heisei era not only ignored the events which followed the ending of the first film but also ushered in a new darker tone for the series as here Godzilla was no longer the saviour of Earth, but more the rampaging monster he originally was. This however was not to say that Godzilla didn’t involve himself in more monster smackdowns as outside of the first film in this era “The Return of Godzilla” it was business as usual only now the fights were seen as more of a Darwinian contest for territory and resources.

Producer Tomoyuki Tanaka keen to not recycle established monsters from the Toho catalogue instead for the film solicited script ideas from the general public, with the winning idea coming from dentist and occasional sci-fi writer Shinichiro Kobayashi, which inturn director Omori adapted into the final script. It should also be noted that this approach of not recycling classic would soon be scrapped with two movies which followed and which saw both Mothra and King Ghidora to memorable effect. Despite the fact that this film was based on an idea by a member of the public (doubt Hollywood will be taking this approach anytime soon) Biollante is unquestionably one of Godzilla’s more impressive opponents, let alone his tallest to date, something which Omori plays to great effect as he frequently shoots these monsters from the side to emphases the disadvantage Godzilla has from the start and something which is only further highlighted in the posters which were dominated by the image of this monster plant (aswell as one of the few female monster characters)

The showdown between Godzilla and Biollante while perhaps more limited than some of his other encounters, still has its share of impressive moments, while also noteworthy for being one of the more violent fights, yet at the same time it is a restrained level of violence as there is none of the blood spurts we saw in “Godzilla Vs. Gigan” but there is plenty of slime to substitute for it aswell as a nasty impalement when Biollante drives one of her vines through Godzilla’s hand. The Heisei era would sporadically contain these moments of violence as also memorable seen by King Ghidorah losing one of his heads in “Godzilla Vs. King Ghidorah, though again this violence would always be restrained like it is here and nowhere near the levels seen in the Gamera movies which never showed such restrain when it came to violence.

The suit work is great even if we hardly get any of the city levelling action we have come to expect from the series with most of the action taking place randomly in a lake which Biollante has decided to root down in. It is however in the city wrecking scenes that we also get to see another rarity for the series in that collateral damage is being shown, while earlier films would frequently cover for the sudden absence of the local human population by showing scenes of crowds heading for underground bunkers. This scene would interesting tie into “Godzilla Vs. Space Godzilla” with the Heisei frequently finding ways to tie films together, even if one the surface they gave the impression of being standalone films like the later films of the Showa series in one of the many subtle changes the Heisei era as the series moved to mature with its audience.

One of my main gripes with this film though is with the pacing, which is ponderous to say the least, especially with the first 40 minutes being given to the human plotlines, which ultimately end up cluttering the film as too many characters are brought into play with around half of them really adding nothing but confusion to the plot, while most only purpose it seems is to trigger the events leading up the confrontation between the two titular monsters. On the plus side not all these human distractions are negative as we do get the fun of the Japanese Defence Force and their latest plan to stop Godzilla by rebuilding the “Super X” with the first model having been destroyed in the previous film, the mark 2 seen here this time comes with a new secret weapon in the form of the “Fire Mirror” which essentially reflects Godzilla’s flame breath back at him to spectacular effect even if the crew can’t for the life of them seem to aim the reflected beam, but then hasn’t wrong projectiles / weapons always been their calling card.

While Biollante would be a great addition to the Toho catalogue of monsters disappointing box office returns would see producer Tanaka returning to an established favourite for the next film “Godzilla Vs. King Ghidorah”, whose success would see the idea of new monster being put on the backburner for most of this era outside of the final two entries. At the same time this would be her only appearance to date and with the Toho currently having retired Godzilla for the time being it remains to be seen if the success of the latest American adaptation holds her reappearance in its future.

Next Time: "Godzilla Vs. Destroyah" - The Showa era comes to a close with one of the most memorable moments in the series...the death of Godzilla. A film which made news around the world in the lead up to its release as Toho prepared to give the American remake a clean slate to work with, the Big G prepares to take what looked set to be his final bow.

Title: Orca

Director: Michael Anderson

Released: 1977
Starring: Richard Harris, Charlotte Rampling, Will Sampson, Bo Derek, Keenan Wynn, Peter Hooten, Robert Carradine

Plot: Captain Nolan (Harris) and his crew make a living capturing marine animals, however while attempting to capture an Orca he accidently kills the whale which he discovers was pregnant and occurring the wrath of her mate who now sets out to seek revenge against Nolan.

Review: One of the numerous films to come off the back of the success of “Jaws” a trend which continues even today with this being one of the better ones and one of the few to stand on its own, as other the years it has spawned its own cult following. Unquestionably the idea of a killer Orca is an intriguing one especially when most people view these animals like dolphins in the fact that we don’t see them as vicious killers, which is something that couldn’t be further from the truth as is especially the case with Orca which are especially fearsome predators as "Blackfish" only further highlighted to the doubters.

Produced by cult cinema legend Dino De Laurentiis who tasked fellow producer Luciano Vincenzoni to “find a fish tougher and more terrible than the great white” following a late night viewing of “Jaws”. Like De Laurentiis, Vincenzoni knew little about sea life but was soon directed to killer whales by his brother Adriano….I guess the fact that whales are not fish but mammals didn’t ultimately matter now De Laurentiis had his killer. Still if to emphasis the point that here was an animal deadlier than a great white the film features the orcas being introduced by having them attack a great white shark, in a scene were the gauntlet is truly being thrown down and one which would inspire in retaliation the scene of the mauled orca in “Jaws 2”.

Director Anderson though really is another director who really doesn’t get the credit he deserves, especially as he was also responsible for the iconic WW2 war movie “The Dam Busters” let alone cult favourites “Logan’s Run” which he directed prior to this film and the much overlooked “Millennium”. Here again despite being essentially tasked with turning in a “Jaws” cash in still manages to give us something alittle different than the usual go to plot of disposable cast members being picked off by the titular beastie. Here instead we have what could essentially be seen as “Moby Dick” in reverse with the whale this time taking on the role of the vengeance seeking Captain Ahab relentlessly hunting his prey in Captain Nolan. Nolan though is an interesting character for while he might seem like a clone of Quint seeing how both ruthlessly hunt animals for profit, but Nolan is not hunting these creatures out of a deep seated desire for revenge but rather the simple desire to pay off his boat and return to Ireland. True having an actor like Harris really raises the role and unquestionable sells the journey Nolan is forced to take over the course of the film, even coming to a point where he finds himself comparing his actions to those of the drunk driver which killed his own family. Harris reportedly enjoyed making this film and it shows with the thoughtful performance he gives here even to the extent that he insisted on doing all his own stunts, something that would on several occasions almost kill him in the process.

Okay I know the idea of an animal seeking revenge is unquestionably a far-fetched one as I don’t think that its an emotion they are even capable of. It would also be the same idea which would later sink the “Jaws” franchise” and it is none the more believable here despite the best efforts of Anderson who stops off trying to play things smart with the whale pushing his dead mate onto the island, before sinking fishing boats and driving away the supplies of fish which the island rely on. From here though it becomes increasingly far-fetched as it is soon knocking out essential support legs on Nolan’s dockside house aswell as severing the fuel lines to the village causing a huge fire to erupt and engulf have the village in flames. All things which I doubt even the smartest of whales would be able to do and things which only mark the randomness to come as the whale manages to convince Nolan and his crew to follow it into the icy north using nothing but the same gestures we have come to expect from these animals asking for more fish.

When it comes to the orca effects originally I thought that it was solely trained whales and stock footage, but what is surprising is that a realistic animatronic whale was also used as part of the filming. In fact it would prove to be so realistic that animal activists mistook it for a real whale while protesting the production trucks. The orca attacks are also played largely true to nature, with cast members being pulled over board rather than anything “Free Willy” style attacks. Anderson only really allows himself a fantastical leap with these attack scenes once during the scene were the orca attacks Nolan’s house and in doing so tearing off Bo Derek’s leg, in a scene shot arguably similar to Quinn’s death in “Jaws”. This scene is also about gory as the film gets, while the death of the female orca and the miscarriage of her calf prove far more haunting that anything else the film has to offer, but then this is a film like “Jaws” where a minimal amount of gore goes a long way.

If I was to grumble over any aspect of the film it would be the sudden ending, were the climatic showdown between Nolan and the orca suddenly comes crashing to a sudden and abrupt ending, before we are treated to the warbling end credit music that had me scrambling for the remote to make it end. Still credit has to be given to Anderson for going with such a ballsy ending, yet ultimately a fitting one even if it might not seem like it at first.

While this might not be even in the same league as “Jaws” it comes closer than most knock offs did, while certainly helped as I mentioned earlier by the casting of Harris. Equally the pacing is brisk enough that it doesn't outstay its welcome even if the finale seems come perhaps alittle too out of leftfield. However with the orca antics not limited to just killing off random cast members, there is plenty of orca action to enjoy and when compared to the recent animals gone rogue movies we are bombarded with currently with their cheap cgi, it only really makes this one all the more enjoyable.

Title: Godzilla Vs. Destroyah

Director: Takao Okawara

Released: 1995

Starring: Takuro Tatsumi, Yoko Ishino, Yasufumi Hayashi, Megumi Odaka, Momoko Kochi, Kenpachiro Satsuma

Plot: When Godzilla suddenly appears in Hong Kong with strange lava like rashes, the Japanese Self Defence Force (JSDF) are quick to launch into action as they fear that Godzilla’s body is going to meltdown. Things only get worse when the effects of the reconstructed Oxygen destroyer which killed the original Godzilla has now caused a colony of Precambrian organisms to mutate into monstrous crab-like creatures, which soon bond together to form the monstrous Destoroyah.

Review: Originally intended to be the last Godzilla film until 2004 when the franchise would celebrate its 50^th anniversary, the news of Toho’s plans to kill off the company’s biggest export unsurprisingly made news around the world when it was announced. These plans were also intended to provide the 1998 American remake a clean slate to work from and build their in their intended trilogy. However as we all know now that remake would be greeted with much disappointment from both fans and critics alike leading to the plans for an intended trilogy being scrapped.

Unquestionably it is was a big responsibility that director Okawara was tasked with here especially considering how beloved Godzilla is, even despite the fact that he was still in his much more primal form which has been one of the trademarks of the Heisei Era. Still having previously directed one of the most profitable entries in the series “Godzilla Vs. Mothra” and its follow up “Godzilla Vs. Mecha-Godzilla II” producers Tomoyuki Tanaka and Shogo Tomiyama certainly felt he was up to the task. Unquestionably though if this film was to be the final Godzilla film it certainly provided a suitably touching yet impressive end even if it ultimately would only mark the end of the Heisei era. At the same time the film contains a number of links to the original film, which not only sees Momoko Kochi reprising her role as Emiko Yamane the daughter of Dr. Kyohei Yamane in the original “Godzilla” at the same time his Grandson Kenichi (Hayashi) is also introduced here who as the resident Godzilla expert despite being a student and essentially only being tempted by a pretty face rather than you know saving the whole of mankind from being killed by an exploding Godzilla which is stated is powerful enough to cause the destruction of the entire planet, but hey whatever works right?

These links to the original film are not limited to key characters though as despite Dr. Serizawa seemingly taking the secrets of the Godzilla destroying “Oxygen Destroyer” to his grave in the first film, here it has been created again and as with all fantastical discoveries it is not long until an unwelcome side effect happens which being a Godzilla movie is in the form of monsters, but more uniquely in this case is the fact that these monsters start off small (well for Godzilla atleast) before mutating into a much larger form….twice! As a result of these changing forms the monster action is not only maximised with the smaller and more multiple form of Destroyah taking on the military before mutating into his larger forms form some more traditional city destroying action.

Destroyah is an impressive creation and more than a suitable opponent for what was expected to be Godzilla’s final battle with the battle ultimately requiring not only Godzilla, but also a now fully grown Manila and the JSDF to take him out, arguably making his toughest opponent to date, though by this same reasoning “King Ghidorah” would be considered tougher seeing how it took he combined efforts of seven monsters in “Destroy All Monsters” to defeat him. The battle with Destroyah though is unquestionably a tough one and certainly one of the hardest Godzilla has had since he faced off against “Space Godzilla” in the previous film.

Unquestionably it is ultimately a sad tone which overshadows the film, especially as Godzilla here is shown to be slowly dying as his body goes into meltdown, which also has the side effect of changing usual blue fire breath into a striking shade of crimson and impressive lightning bolts running down his spinal plates. Despite the efforts of the JSDF to prevent his meltdown ultimately when his end comes it is a suitably emotional scene and one only heightened by the score by Akira Ifukube. Okawara while he might be already handling a lot of pressure in providing a suitable exit for Godzilla, but clearly not afraid of taking a gamble he also kills of the now mature Baby Godzilla in a scene almost as emotional as Godzilla’s own death as he Okawara somehow manages to find a way to have this version of Godzilla still show the same amount of expression that his Showa form had with his humanoid characteristics. True it might be only a temporary death as Godzilla passes the torch of “King of Monsters” to his son but ultimately it is a gamble which really pays off here.

While onscreen there might have been some emotional goodbyes, this film would equally have some equally emotional ones behind the scenes aswell as this film would be the last film to be produced by Tomoyuki Tanaka, who since being responsible for the creating Godzilla had produced every film in the series (aswell as every Sci-fi film produced by Toho) with this film being his last before he sadly passed away two years later, with the American remake being dedicated in his memory. At the same his fellow “Four Fathers” member composer Akira Ifukube who most importantly was responsible for giving Godzilla his trademark roar also chose to mark his retirement with this film after being tempted back by producer Tanaka despite having handed over the reins to fellow composer Takayuki Hattori on the previous film and while his memorable themes would continue to live on in the films which followed, here his final score is a powerful mixture of haunting music and heart breaking requiem alongside his ever rousing marches ensuring that he unquestionable end his career on a unquestionable high note.

While this might not have been the finale it was originally planned to be for the series it is still another memorable milestone in the saga before director Okawara was brought back for one more turn in the director’s chair as he ushered in the final (to date) era with “Godzilla 2000” which also marked the start of the Millennium era. Unquestionably here though he provides one of the more memorable films even without the prospect of Godzilla’s death, as this film combines tight plotting and memorable action scenes to powerful effect and ultimately ensuring that the Heisei era went out on a high.

Next Time: "Godzilla: Final Wars" - The Millennium era aswell as the franchise is brought to a close (for now atleast) with director Ryuhei Kitamura crafting a film he described as being a "Best of album" for the franchise and in many ways a modern reworking of the classic "Destroy all Monsters". Needless to say Godzilla was going to go out with a bang as memorable faces returned to do battle one final time.

Title: Goon

Director: Michael Dowse

Released: 2011
Starring: Seann William Scott, Live Schreiber, Jay Baruchel, Marc-Andre Grondin, Alison Pill, Eugene Levy, David Paetkau, Kim Coates, Jonathan Cherry

Plot: Doug (Scott) a simple bouncer blessed with remarkable fighting skills and a thick skull suddenly finds himself drafted to his local hockey team as an enforcer (aka Goon) as he suddenly finds a new use for his unique skill set.

Review: For whatever reason soon after this film was released it seemingly sank without trace, more so here in the UK were honestly we don’t exactly have a vibrant Ice Hockey scene and which might have had a lot to do with its current under the radar status, despite receiving a fair amount of praise from the critics on its release.

Playing like “Raging Bull” meets “Slap Shot” it is strange mixture of black humour and extreme violence which forms the back bone of this film, which might go a way to explaining why it’s become such an overlooked film as like a John Water’s film it is an acquired taste and one which really won’t sit with everyone especially as most moviegoers prefer to either be amused or shocked with violence but ideally not at the same time. Still when you consider that ice hockey is a sport renown for its spontaneous fights it is hardly surprisingly that they is the mixture that director Dowse choose to go with.

While Williams might be best known for playing the loud mouth jerk and general pervert Stiffler in the “American Pie” films, he has actually done quite a few decent movies outside of this franchise which have frequently shown him to have more range than expected with key examples being “Final Destination” and my personal favourite “Southland Tales” which saw him playing the polar opposite of the characters we have come to expect from him. This again is another of those kinds of roles as despite the fact that here he is playing a guy whose sole purpose in life is to beat the snot out of rival hockey players, it is played with such heart that you really feel for the guy, even more so when all he ultimately wants is to viewed as being more than the black sheep of the family, especially when both his father (Levy) and brother are doctors a family field which it seems alluded him somewhere on the path to his current situation.

Despite not knowing how to skate, which is kind of a major setback when you’ve been drafted to an ice hockey team, it is of course via montage that Doug is soon brought up to standard in record time. Not that this really matters as Doug is frequently advised to worry less about playing the game and to focus more on beating up members of the rival team, a job which he certainly has no problem adapting to and one which soon sees him being drafted to protect the star player of the Halifax Highlander Xavier Laflamme (Grondin) who following a run in three years prior with the notorious enforcer (aswell as Doug’s idol) Ross “The Boss” Rhea” (Schreiber) has found his career in a specular nose dive of drugs, sex tapes and general bad behaviour a spiral that they hope Doug can snap him out of by defending him on the ice. Of course it goes without saying that the outcome of this situation is pretty predictable as you know how the film will end essentially around the half-way point by which point your focus is no doubt more with the inevitable final showdown between Doug and his idol Rhea.

Meanwhile off the ice things get none the less chaotic especially when Doug find himself falling for “Puck Bunny” Eva (Pill) which also forms some of the sweeter moments of the film, especially when the Doug’s general naivety is none the more the clearer than it is here, especially when he beats himself up for falling for her, even though she is the one cheating on her boyfriend. If anything these scenes equally emphases what a generally nice guy Doug is even though he could be seen as a mindless thug because of his rather unique career path, with the pinnacle of these nice guy moments coming soon after he gets with Eva and forces her ex-boyfriend to repeatedly punch him in the face to make things up.

As the villain (of sorts) Schreiber is once again on great form, while once again posing the question as to why he doesn’t get more villain roles, especially as he is so good in these roles and here it is no exception. Despite being a player nearing the end of his career, it would however seem that his senior years haven’t made him the more mellow in fact it seems that it has made his perfect his antagonising tactics and being a general arsehole to everyone on the ice, while ignoring him seems to only make things worse as Xavier finds out when he gets a hockey stick wrapped across his skull. At the same time though Ross isn’t a psychotic hothead as you’d expect but rather a soft spoken and foul mouth guy who just so happens to love the fight especially if he can get into his opponents head first.

I guess I shouldn’t have been surprised about the level of violence in this film, as after all it a film about Ice Hockey, much less a Canadian film about Ice Hockey so while the passion for the sport is unsurprisingly there, so is the passion for the fighting which tends to go hand in hand with the sport with a multiple of unwritten rule regarding conduct in these seemingly spontaneous fights. These fights though are less about heavily choreographed fights especially when most of the time they seem to have been shot on the fly with Doug pounding on any skater who steps up, but instead are shot with emphasising the violence as blows are show being taken in slow motion to maximise their effect and with the same artistic direction which “Raging Bull” brought to its own fight scenes. The end result though is somewhat refreshing to watch, especially as blood and teeth fall in slow motion onto the ice providing a nice counter to the general crudeness of the rest of the film and only serves to make the final showdown between Ross and Doug only all he more memorable.

While this film is unquestioning one which will appeal to Ice Hockey fans over anyone else might play as a negative to some viewers especially those not overly familiar with the basic workings of the sport, as it seems that Dowse assumes that only fans of the sports would be watching it seeing how there is no real explanation of any of the rules etc. The man issue I had with this film though was the general lack of characterisation for the majority of the characters resulting in most of them being reduced to general caricatures.

True the weird mixture of violence and humour might not be to all tastes this is still a film with its share of great moments, even if at times it can be a frustrating watch as the plot meanders in places, but if you’re in need of a fix of warped humour then you can do worse than giving this a curious watch.

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