Warner Bros. Pictures were wise to hire Gareth Edwards to film what is essentially a reboot of the Godzilla series for American audiences. Director Edwards displays a knack for depicting giant monsters as forces of nature that affect civilization, and he carries a lot of the sensibilities from “Monsters,” over in to the reworking of “Godzilla.” His version of “Godzilla” is less monsters stomping around and fist fighting, and more of a disaster film with a slew of human beings affected by the chaos that two monsters inflict when they rise from their gestation to feed on radiation around the world and wreak pure chaos. “Godzilla” is a sterner and dramatic approach to the lore, offering a very interesting dynamic between characters, all of whom carry through the themes of family and unity among the human race. Particularly fatherhood.
Tag Archives: Science Fiction
Sexy Rangers (2011)
The original title for the film is “Big Boob Squad: Sexy Rangers.” Because based on the film, there’s something called Pai Energy that’s emitted from women’s “big bountiful breasts.” This somehow is the source of the power for the Sexy Rangers and their mission to fight crime and save—big boobs? I’m not sure, as I was distracted by the jiggling and colorful outfits. It’s clear that “Sexy Rangers” is a spoof of “Super Sentai,” and I was surprised to see how much fun this movie was. Even without the big boobs, it has its charms. The “Boob Squad” even has a robot sidekick named Pai 02 that has two huge eyes that resemble breasts. Somewhere Fred Olen Ray is watching from the sidelines with a proud smile a la Mr. Miyagi.
Double Dragon (1994)
I don’t know how the hell you screw up “Double Dragon.” It’s a beat em up video game set in the future where two warriors Jimmy and Billy (or Bimmy if you’ve played the video game) have to save their girlfriend from a humongous crime syndicate. There could have been so much to go on with this concept, and it might have made for a wicked great apocalyptic action film. Instead, much like “Mortal Kombat,” it’s neutered for kids, and sucked of all of its originality. Even at eleven years old I knew “Double Dragon” sucked. And I liked everything, back then. Even the Marvel Comics mini-series had more of a toothy, edgy vision of the video games than this movie did.
Tekken 2: Kazuya’s Revenge (2014)
Good news, everyone! We got a “Tekken” sequel! We didn’t ask for one, and it’s likely a lot of people forgot there was a live action movie, in the first place, but we got a “Tekken” sequel, anyway. This isn’t so much a sequel, though, as it is the production company taking all the left over parts and producing a follow up with almost no plot, or characterization. Not that the “Tekken” games had much of the former, anyway. But fans of “Tekken” (all five of them) will be annoyed to see that Jin is nowhere to be seen, Heihachi is only a small player in the narrative, and now series antagonist Kazuya is the main hero of the sequel. Hey, no one’s paying attention, so why be loyal to the games?
Agency of Vengeance: Dark Rising (2014)
Surely, “Agency of Vengeance” is a silly movie, but one that’s often really indecisive about itself. Sometimes it aims for a straight forward horror actioner, and then other times it seems to mock its own premise, with goofy meta-storytelling. When a character is confronted with an evil minion asking “Why are you doing this?” he responds “Because. I’m the bad guy.” In either case, I wasn’t aware this is a sequel of a 2007 movie called “Dark Rising: Bring Your Battle Axe” which seemed more fantasy oriented. Thankfully you don’t have to track down that film, to see this one, as there are flashbacks and a lot of exposition to play catch up with.
The Last Starfighter (1984)
My love for “The Last Starfighter” was cultivated through late night cable television in the early nineties, where I was oblivious to its existence for many years. Yes, it’s a major rip off of “Star Wars: A New Hope,” but that’s what’s so entertaining about it. It embraces its derivative functions, and runs with it to deliver a fun kids space opera that’s simple, but exciting. Director Nick Castle’s “The Last Starfighter” has rapidly become one of my favorite action films of all time as it twists the silliness in to a riveting and rousing fight between an underdog and a galactic force of evil.
Lost in Space (1998)
It takes a special kind of talent to screw up a remake of “Lost in Space.” It’s basically just the Swiss Family Robinson lost in the universe, and finding new worlds and fantastic adventures. They cast Gary Oldman as Dr. Smith, Robot B-9 is given a bold new re-imagining, and yet “Lost in Space” still manages to be so putrid and terrible.I fondly remember anxiously wanting to see “Lost In Space” when I was a teen to the point where I even had a dream about it. After finally seeing it upon its release, it’s kind of sad that the trailer seems to embrace the spirit of the series more than the movie itself.






