Godzilla

Godzilla
2014
Director: Gareth Edwards

I know nada about Godzilla and to be completely up front, I've never seen a Godzilla movie from beginning to end before. Not even that crappy one from 1998... and I only say it's crappy because I think it was universally hated by most people. All I know is that after the first trailer for this reboot and the fact that it starred Walter White, I was sold. Tonight I got to saddle up and take my first ride on the Godzilla train.

Synopsis: I think you can figure it out.

While I really enjoyed myself at the movies tonight, Godzilla wasn't a masterpiece. It's flawed in a lot of ways, mainly the underuse of its acting talents... mainly Bryan Cranston. There are a few lulls in the front end involving humans with their feelings and shit. The film starts to take a big turn after the first hour and the last half become worth the wait.

The special effects are incredible and the monster designs are perfect mostly. Add that up with great direction and you have yourself a fairly pleasing monster movie. It's a fun time and what you'd expect from a blockbuster of its caliber.

My top five scenes:
1. The skydive scene.
2. Cranston's interrogation scene.
3. The opening credits.... loved them.
4. Godzilla flame!
5. Godzilla swimming.

Her

Her
(2013) [Trailer]
Director: Spike Jones [IMDB]

Spike Jones is responsible for Being John Malkovich, which is in my Top 100 Films of All Time. He also cranked out Adaption, which would be a close runner up for that list. Point is, I like the dude, okay? When I saw his first trailer for Her, I was excited to lay my eyes upon the final product. Her and Inside Llewyn Davis were probably the two films I regret not seeing the most before I made my Top Ten of 2013, but I'm a busy man (internet porn) and I can't see everything. Finally Her gets its day in court, WFR court that is.

Synopsis: In the future people use Operating Systems to help them get their act together. Joaquin Phoenix falls in love with his OS... played by the voice of Scarlett Johansson.

Party voice. Do you know what that is? That is when a young lady smokes and drinks, then finds herself out in loud social environments where she has to shout a lot. If these steps are repeated often enough, her voice will start to sound raspy. Scarlett Johansson has party voice. I never really noticed until this movie. Maybe it's because you never see her and that's all you can focus on. Anyways, onto more pressing matters.

Her is effective at painting a very realistic portrait of the future. Sure, the future may not be exactly as it's portrayed in the film, but it's believable enough that you almost forget it's sci-fi. But it is, and a wonderful example of how sci-fi doesn't need epic space battles and CG to sell it. Her has an interesting concept and one that is executed fairly well. Spike Jones' direction is concrete and the pacing of Her was smooth. Phoenix and Johansson were both great, and made on screen chemistry in a unique way. Amy Adams was mediocre, like she is in most films... sorry Amy Adams fans. The film takes some turns towards the end which I think could have been handled differently, but ultimately I was happy with the overall take.

Her is still in theaters and I'd recommend it. Especially if you are familiar with the director's prior work, I think you'll enjoy it.

Friday the 13th - Every Last One of Them... and Yes, I'm Serious.

It's October and Halloween is upon us. Halloween is my favorite holiday (not really, but it helps sell this review), the weather is always nice, evil is in the air and horror movies are abundant. Last Halloween I went through the entire Halloween franchise (which you can read HERE), this year I decided to knock out all 10 of the Friday the 13th films... I think I've made a huge mistake.

This is a special time of year and this is a special review, so I'm including some new shit. I will give this write up the standard Arnold rating, which you have all come to know and love... right? I'm also including two other ratings.

Friday the 13th
(1980)
Director: Sean S. Cunningham

I've seen this a few times now and I still enjoy it... actually I consider it one of the better films in the series. There's no Jason Voorhees in this, which I don't mind since I'll be spending a lot of time with him in all the other ones. There's also a young Kevin Bacon, so all the other people involved, who probably have no acting careers now, can easily win at the game of Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon. All the teen victims are pretty average and the acting is crappy, but it's still fun and plants the seeds for what's to come.

Friday the 13th Part 2
(1981)
Director: Steve Miner

Jason takes the reins in this one and starts his inevitably long journey into killing hundreds of people. I felt like most of the cast were really forgettable in this and the long ass recap in the beginning was pretty annoying. The two best kill scenes in this were lifted from Mario Bava's Bay of Blood... you can watch them and judge for yourself (Bava's machete kill and spear kill and Part II's machete kill and spear kill.) There were a few decent moments here and there but ultimately this film is a little lack luster.

Friday the 13th Part III
(1982)
Director: Steve Miner

Jason is back! This time he finally gets his mask, so I feel like this installment cemented the franchise's lineage. It is also my favorite of all the movies and the one I've seen the most. The cast are memorable and cheesy (in a good way), the gore is at its peak and there is lots of T&A... basically everything that keeps these fine machines oiled.  I really like the 3D angle and think all the scenes shot specifically for it were rad. It's not like Avatar 3D, it's campy drive-in 3D... and it rules. Biker gangs, an annoying fat guy with a fro and a spear gun murder... what more could you ask for?

Friday the 13th Part IV: The Final Chapter
(1984)
Director: Joseph Zito

Jason is back! The Final Chapter my ass... there are many more to come. This is probably my second favorite of the Fridays that I've actually watched, we'll see if some of the other unseen "chapters" can persuade me otherwise. Corey Feldman (Tommy) is holding it down in this one and I liked him a lot in Part IV. These films feel like they need a kid you can root for, and he fit that role perfectly. Crispin Glover also dances so awkwardly, it's worth the price of admission alone. Plenty of boobs, plenty of blood, and all the other staples of Friday the 13th. Good times.

Friday the 13th Part V: A New Beginning
(1985)
Director:Danny Steinmann

Jason is back! Or is he? Money talks I guess and based off the success of Part IV, they decided to relaunch another installment. This film is universally hated amongst fans of the series because... spoiler from 1985... Jason isn't the killer, it's some shitty paramedic dressed up as Jason. But that's not all that sucks here. The redneck neighbors are the worst, the guy from Leprechaun 4: Leprechaun is Space and his girlfriend singing to each other while he takes a shit is really weird, and the new Tommy looks nothing like Corey Feldman. This is watchable but there are certainly many flaws with it.

Jason Lives: Friday the 13th Part VI

(1986)

Director: Tom McLoughlin

Jason is back! The first 10 minutes are excellent. The James Bond intro is really killer, also the look of Jason straight out the grave wins points as well. There is yet another Tommy, he's not great. The sheriff is absurd and completely unreal, it's almost comical. There are no boobs in this one... which is offensive! This is the film where we find out that Jason is evil, but not evil enough to murder little children. Part VI is tame mostly and slow at times, it probably falls somewhere in the middle for me.

Friday the 13th Part VII: The New Blood

(1988)

Director: John Carl Buechler

Jason is back! This time I'd say he looks the best he's looked so far. Especially when his mask is off, I thought the effects on that were rad. There's an interesting stand off at the end which results in Jason burning "dead" alive, which was extremely well done. Then you see him moments later and the dude looks exactly the same... missed opportunity to make him even more gnarly. The ending to Part VII is horrible, the psychic girl's dead father comes back to life to save her... he's been dead under water for years and still looks just like he did when he dead... lame. This one is pretty forgettable overall.

Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan

(1989)

Director: Rob Hedden

Jason is back! This time he's fucking up New York City... well, kind of. This movie should be titled "Jason Takes a Boat" because that's where most of it takes place. Even when he gets to NYC, most of the time it's still on sets or places that aren't really in the city. The boxing scene with Jason scores this film 1 Arnold alone. There are lots of kills and even as bad as Part 8 is, it's still fun to watch. I almost forgot... the girl making her music video is pretty hilarious, the late 80's were some strange times.

Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday

(1993)

Director: Adam Marcus

Jason's back! Kind of. This is the "final" film of this sweeping epic, sounds familiar right? Guess what, still not the last Friday, they gotta send this bitch to space first. With the title inferring that Jason goes to Hell, one would hope for some insane fights between our masked friend and lots of demon critters from the netherworld. One would be wrong. This film is as much a cocktease as Part VIII. He doesn't even go to hell until the movie is over... lame. Jason gets like 10 minute of screen time, ultimately they decided they'd make his "spirit" hop from one host to the next. It was a bad idea and in the end the film suffers immensely.

Jason X
(2001)
Director: James Isaac

Jason is back... in OUTER SPACE! I love the idea of taking horror franchises to space... I don't know why, but I do. Jason X does a decent job of reinventing Friday the 13th and I thought it was kinda fun. It feels like Aliens, except with Jason... also everyone dresses like they're straight off the set of Firefly/Serenity. The ending is a little wanky and I could have done without the android girl that all the sudden turns into Milla Jovovich from Resident Evil. Still, there wasn't anything too offensive and I enjoyed myself with this one.

Are you still there? Good. If you're not, screw you, I didn't want you reading my review anyways. I figured, I came this far, might as well watch the other two films involving Jason... Freddy vs. Jason and the 2009 remake. Here we go... just hold on a little longer.

Freddy vs. Jason
(2003)
Director: Ronnie Yu

Two horror goliaths pair off against each other in a battle of grandiose proportions. The main issue I have with Freddy vs. Jason is that it feels like a Nightmare on Elm Street movie that had to squeeze Jason Voorhees into it somehow. Jason really feels like an afterthought, up until the last 30 mins. The special effects suck badly, the CG doesn't hold up at all... especially the Freddy centipede... dear lord that thing was hilarious. The characters, their back story, and their performances were all bland and forgetful. This should have been awesome, sadly, it was not. Not even close.

Friday the 13th
(2009)
Director: Marcus Nispel

Jason gets a reboot from Michael Bay's production company, which doesn't bode well for him. If you've seen the film Cabin in the Woods, you'll remember how it spoofed on all the cliches in horror films, well 2009's Friday delivers all those cliches, but it's serious. Michael Bay didn't direct this, but it sure feels like he did. It's so over the top and fake. I wasn't hoping for a lot, and this still fell short of my expectations.

More Star Trek - The Next Generation Films: Generations, First Contact, Insurrection, Nemesis

I'm continuing my love of Star Trek and reviewing the last set of the films in the franchise I haven't yet addressed on this site... The Next Generation movies. I've done the Evens, the Odds, Into Darkness (which also contains a mini review of Star Trek 2009) and now these films. From here I patiently wait for JJ Abrams, or whoever Hollywood decides to hand the reins to, to make another chapter... or I can just go watch re-runs of Deep Space Nine.

Star Trek: Generations
(1994) [Trailer]
Director: David Carson [IMDB]

Synopsis: The Enterprise tries to halt the activities of a maniac hell bent on finding a passage into a alternate dimension... just give the dude some LSD.

Generations is the bridge film between the old and the new. It feels like it had to be made from some reason... as if Shatner demanded it or something. It's a decent film, I think the one thing it lacks is proper closure. It feels a little rushed and not very climactic. Maybe it was Malcolm McDowell as the villain... I just felt like he wasn't ominous enough. Who knows, but for me the back end of Generations didn't give that wow factor... whatever that is. I do like it mostly as a whole and would definitely rewatch it.

Star Trek: First Contact
(1996) [Trailer]
Director: Jonathan Frakes [IMDB]

Synopsis: The crew travel back in time to stop the Borg from destroying Earth before we made our first jump into warp speed.

Lets be honest... this is the film all Next Gen fans wanted. The Borg were/are the greatest adversaries the Federation has ever known and they needed their own film. Commander Riker takes the director's chair and knocks it out the park. I love this film and it's light years ahead of any of the other TNG titles. First Contact is a really well balanced film and takes all the elements that made TNG great and elevates them. I'd say if you're only going to watch one Next Generation film, it should be this one, but go ahead a watch all of them, okay?

Star Trek: Insurrection
(1998) [Trailer]
Director: Jonathan Frakes [IMDB]

Synopsis: A loner planet is the source of internal youth and the Enterprise steps in to protect it from a threat within the Federation.

Insurrection is widely regarded as the worst Star Trek film ever made and after watching it I realized it was the only film in the franchise I hadn't seen. I'm not sure why I actually never got around to watching it, maybe it was because it got such a bad wrap, but I have to say after checking it out... I like it. I don't understand why it gets the hate it does. There are a few corny moments, but as any fan of TNG will attest to, so did the series. It does feel like a glorified TV episode, but it was still fun to watch. Shit, even my wife, who hates Star Trek, liked it. Don't get me wrong, it's not great by any stretch, but it's still a solid installment.

Star Trek: Nemesis
(2002) [Trailer]
Director: Stuart Baird [IMDB]

Synopsis: Tom Hardy is a genetically modified, younger, Jean-Luc Picard with a secret past and now he's looking to help the Romulans plan an attack on Earth.

First thing I noticed when watching Nemesis, is how similar Tom Hardy's character is to his Bane character in The Dark Knight Rises. Only thing is, he's not as effective in Nemesis and he's one of the better elements of the film. I felt like this one dragged its tail a lot and would definitely be my least favorite of all the TNG titles. It's feels like its story arch peaks early then you're on this extremely long climax that just seems to keep going and going. I didn't hate this film, I was just bored with a lot of it.

Elysium

Elysium
(2013) [Trailer]
Director: Neill Blomkamp [IMDB]

I've been looking forward to checking out Elysium for some time now. I enjoyed Neill Blomkamp's first film District 9 and the trailer for Elysium looked to be within the same wheelhouse. Visually speaking, Blomkamp is one of the best directors working in the sci-fi genre, but can he bring another hit or will he suffer from the sophomore slump?

Synopsis: In a dystopian future the Earth and all its poor folk are left to ruin while its wealthier inhabitants live on a lush space station overlooking the shit show down below.

All the people that teared apart Prometheus for its plot holes can suck it. This film makes Prometheus look wired tight. I normally don't have a problem looking past plot holes, but there are way too many glaringly obvious ones with Elysium.

Skip the following list and head to the next paragraph if you're worried about spoilers.

Plot holes:

1. In the late 21st century with all the technology the people of Earth have (imagine the internet by then), you're telling me there's not one person down there that can't figure out how to make one of those medical beds? 
2. Why exactly do they need humans to man factories when they now have these super advanced robots that are fully capable of policing the Earth? 
3. Why doesn't Elysium enact the no fly zone everywhere? They could only open it up for their ships, thus getting rid of the constant threat of rogue ships flying there. 
4. Speaking of rogue ships, why would anyone from Earth try and fly to Elysium knowing that most of the time they only get blown up, or immediately captured and sent back.?

That's enough, there are way more, but this is getting lengthy. I know it sounds like I hated Elysium, I didn't. It was a highly entertaining film and I never felt bored at any moment watching it. It does excel in the visual department, as I expected, but there were also a lot of gory moments which ruled. The set pieces and locations were well constructed and absolutely sell the crap world Blomkamp is trying to give you. Matt Damon was good, Jodie Foster was average, and the South African bad guy was a little over the top... but I didn't mind him. 

Sadly, this could have been a better film, but the loose plot and weak story just didn't do it for me. I will end up buying this and rewatching it at some point, I think it may get better with time... who knows. 

Battle Beyond the Stars

Battle Beyond the Stars
1980 [Full Movie]
Director: Jimmy T. Murakami [IMDB]

A childhood favorite of mine right here. I remember this movie being an epic one as a young lad, but up until now I had forgotten it mainly... except for some imagery. I recently discovered it on blu-ray, so I decided to give you a review and I also made a poster.

Synopsis: A peaceful planet must seek out the help of mercenaries to defend itself against an upcoming invasion.

This movie is basically Seven Samurai in outer space. Take that and mix it with the most popular movie franchise at the time, Star Wars, and you have Battle Beyond the Stars. It's campy, it's fun, and also not that great of a film... but I still enjoyed watching it. The score by James Horner is massive, it's truly a work of art to behold. The special effects and model work (partly by James Cameron) will remind you of Star Wars big time, but they still hold up mostly. Battle Beyond the Stars is toted as a Roger Corman cult classic, although I don't know how much he actually had to do with it, as far as I know he was only a producer. Still... it feels like something he would direct.

The main negatives are character development and plot. Lots of weird holes are left open and most of the seven mercenaries are forgettable.

I included a link to the full movie on youtube up at the top of the review, so if you wanna get your retro 80's sci-fi action on... feel free.

Pacific Rim

Pacific Rim
(2013) [Trailer]
Director: Guillermo del Toro [IMDB]

I wanted to take another stab at adding some more exclusive content to Williams Film Review, so I designed the poster for this review. I think it has a nice minimalist vibe to it. Check it out over there to the left. You done? Ok good. On we go.

I've been looking forward to checking out Guillermo del Toro's newest film, the monstrosity (pun intended) known as Pacific Rim. It stars Idris Elba, aka Stringer Bell, who I love and based off what I saw in the trailer, it looked like a knock out... let's see if it holds up to its promise.

Synopsis: Sea monsters come from a parallel dimension that opens up from a crack in the Pacific Rim. We create giants robots to fight them. There you go.

I was totally on board for the Pacific Rim express and found it to be exactly what I want from a summer block buster. It's del Toro's take on Godzilla or any of the other Japanese monster movies, only more stylish and modernized. The story and characters are what you would expect from a block buster, they weren't perfect but Guillermo manages to inject enough of his own vision into the equation to really have those elements not stand out in a negative way. The one thing I thought I was going to hate, I actually liked... the special effects. I was worried Pacific Rim would end up being a shitty CG love fest, akin to Transformers, but I found everything to be well crafted and quite the opposite. Having it set in places like Sydney and Hong Kong helped give it a unique feel, and the robot/monster designs felt inspired but fresh.

Pacific Rim won't win Oscars for its drama, but it totally offers a fun time at the movies and it's perfect for the season.