Normally this would be the point in my review where I start off warning that unless you get seizures, “Mega Monster…” might not be the movie for you. But then I grew up watching “Power Rangers” religiously, and played Super Nintendo non-stop so I’m two steps ahead of the game. For folks who have yet to really be exposed to this sort of content, “Mega Monsters” will serve as a pure sensory overload. It’s colorful, loud, bright, vibrant, loud, explosive, loud, incoherent, often times breakneck paced, and did I mention loud?! But seriously, while a film like this has little story, you really have to pay attention to know what’s happening with the narrative and I mean you really have to pay attention.
Category Archives: Movie Reviews
The Awakening (2005)
Believe it when I say that I wanted to love “The Awakening.” Truth be told when I popped in the DVD for Mike Conway’s action science fiction film, I was excited and wanted to see what he could do with a budget of just six thousand dollars. While he manages to pull off some neat tricks with his budget that can barely feed a household for two for a year, “The Awakening” suffers from glaring flaws that bog it down in to dismal heights.
Swamp Thing (1982)
I’ve read the comic books, collected the action figures, watched the animated series, seen the television show, and even watched the horrible sequel a thousand times. But up until now the original “Swamp Thing” has eluded me. Even when I had the world wide web at my disposal, the original Wes Craven directed “Swamp Thing” has been an oddity that has escaped the clutches from my grasp. Watching it finally after so many years of sitting through the sequel, I learned a lot. Mainly: Sometimes the most elusive movies can be just as awful as you think. All these years seeking out “Swamp Thing” admittedly set me up for failure, especially considering I’ve never heard anything but a lukewarm response from anyone when discussing “Swamp Thing.”
Superman Classic (2011)
It seems like every single year there is always someone paying tribute to Superman. Last year a slew of animators created an amazing life-like model of Christopher Reeve as Superman taking off in to the sky. This year we have “Superman Classic,” a 2011 treat that’s all too brief, but goes down so well nonetheless. In lieu of the upcoming reboot from Zack Snyder, I think this is an apt variation that presents what could be and not what should be, as most fan boys are prone to insisting upon with their fan films.
Species: The Awakening (2007)
We’re told in the first two “Species” movies that once the alien/human being begins to mature in to a woman of sexual charisma, she becomes a predatory monster. She wants to and has to pro-create. We’re also told in the sequel that the male has also the urge to breed and pro-create. So why our protagonist Miranda has no idea she’s part human and part alien until she’s told, is a major plot hole. This is of course only one part of the bigger problem in “Species: The Awakening” the final part in the “Species” series that continues to drive the film franchise from Hollywood fodder to DVD to fodder. Did no one noticed Miranda went from a child to an adult female in a day? Did she never figure out that she wasn’t given a teenage life by the lack of pictures? Why didn’t she ever ask questions about her parents?
Astroboy (2009)
So this “Astroboy” may not be the most loyal and faithful adaptation to its source material, but that doesn’t automatically make it bad. Deep down it has an undertone of sadness and tragedy with some thoughts about afterlife and the meaning of life that we all ponder. Sure, the target audience for “Astroboy” won’t even understand or care about where writers Tim Harris and David Bowers take the story, but at least “Astroboy” seems to try to have something for everyone. I vaguely recall watching “Astroboy” as a kid but I loved the direction David Bowers took the animated movie where Astroboy becomes a hero who just refuses to adhere to the norms of the robot world, especially when pushed in to a corner. As a robot he’s expected to act like a clunky stupid machine, and when he finds that he garners an attachment and new sense of purpose with both man and machine, he decides that he just can’t harm anyone who isn’t posing a danger to the world.
Hunter Prey (2010)
Director Sandy Collora is known around the country for being one of the most, if not the most talented fan filmmaker of the modern era. Collora is a skilled artist and a man capable of creating his own visions of a mythos that are nothing short of brilliant and dazzling. Not surprising, Collora eventually took time out to create his own world with his own characters and it happens to be a pure work of science fiction excellence that channels the likes of “Hell in the Pacific” to convey a wide scope of a grander story that is scaled down to the personal battle of two soldiers in the middle of a inter-galactic war. Collora paints the picture of two soldiers stranded on an island during a great war that eventually becomes their own personal battle.