Godzilla (1954 - 2004): Millenium Series

In 1999, Toho released another remake to the original film entitled Godzilla 2000. This movie involves the appearance of a strange rock that is dated to around 60 million years ago which turns out to be a UFO. The UFO then organically uses Godzilla's regenerative cells known in the movie as Organizer G1 (in U.S. release as Regenerator G1) to create an alien monsters made of Godzilla cells dubbed as Orga. The character of Orga only appears in the climax of the movie and has a short lived battle sequence but amazed the audience when it tried to swallow Godzilla whole. By the time half of Godzilla's body is in Orga's throat, Godzilla takes a last act and shoots a heat ray inside Orga's body blowing it to chucks of fiery pieces of meat. Godzilla is once again victorious. Then strangely enough, in 2000, Toho made another Godzilla movie which, once again, ignored all the previous films and was a remake of the 1954 film. The movie was called Godzilla X Megaguirus: The G Extermination Strategy which tells the story about Godzilla once again rising from the depths of the ocean to fight against a mutated prehistoric dragonfly which becomes its adult stage known as Megaguirus which then fights Godzilla in the final showdown. In 2001, Godzilla once again was reborn from the 1954 film but in a different form. In the movie Godzilla Mothra Kingghidorah: Giant Monsters All Out Attack, Godzilla is the physical shape of the spirits of the Japanese people who have died in the atomic bombs explosion of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Godzilla is much larger than in the previous films and has no pupil in his eyes giving him a more menacing look. 3 monsters appeared in this movie as the Guardian monsters of Earth: Baragon, Mothra, and Kingghidorah. Baragon is quickly defeated by Godzilla as Godzilla then takes on Mothra and Kingghidorah for the epic finale. For once, Kingghidorah is actually a "good guy" rather than the outer space monsters plotting to destroy the world which gave it a nice twist in plot. In 2002, Mechagodzilla was once again reintroduced as Kiryu ("Mechanical Dragon" in Japanese) to fight against Godzilla in Godzilla X Mechagodzilla (in U.S. Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla), which one again ignored all previous Godzilla films and was a direct sequel to the original. Then a sequel to the previous film was later made in 2003's Godzilla Mothra Mechagodzilla: Tokyo S.O.S. (in U.S. Godzilla: Tokyo S.O.S.) which involved a final battle between Godzilla, Mothra, and Mechagodzilla. Strangely enough, the Toho Monsters fans would notice that a monster from a Toho movie Gezora Ganime Kamoebas: Decisive Battle! Giant Monsters of the South Seas (in U.S. Space Amoeba or Yog: Monster from Space) named Kamoeba makes a cameo appearance as a washed up carcass which was presumably killed by Godzilla. The movie did fairly well both critically and commercially before the Big G reemerges from the depths for his last picture.

Godzilla (1954 - 2004): Heisei Series

In 1984, Tomoyuki Tanaka [the producer of all the previous Godzilla films] has decided to take Godzilla back to its origins and reboot the franchise in a much more serious manner. Godzilla (in U.S. Godzilla 1985) was meant to be a direct sequel to the original 1954 classic that started it all. In this movie, Godzilla did not have another monster to fight against but had a decisive battle fighting against the Japanese self defense force. In its 1989 sequel, Godzilla vs Biollante, a scientist mixes the DNA of a rose, the DNA of a human, and the DNA of Godzilla and accidentally created a plant monster with the same regenerative powers as Godzilla which evolves into one large giant beast which dukes it out with Godzilla in a climatic battle to the death. Then in 1991, they decide to update Godzilla's nemesis Kingghidorah and put him into the spotlight in Godzilla vs Kingghidorah. In the first battle between Godzilla and Kingghidorah, Godzilla manages the severe one of the Kingghidorah's three heads however people from the future adds future technology and brings Kingghidorah back with new metal head, armored chest plate and wings to fight Godzilla known as Mecha-Kingghidorah. Mecha-Kingghidorah seems victorious as both Godzilla and Mecha-Kingghidorah sinks to the bottom of the ocean, however Godzilla revives within the depths of the oceans as the film ends. A year later, Toho then brings another classic monster to fight Godzilla in Godzilla vs Mothra (in U.S. Godzilla vs Mothra: The Greatest Battle on Earth). Along with the appearance of Mothra, Toho brings a new character, Battra, which is Black Moth that was created by Earth's life force to protect the Earth from imminent danger. Godzilla has a short lived fight with the larval Mothra which is then interrupted by the sudden appearance of the larval Battra which fights Godzilla until they both disappear in the ocean. The larvae of Mothra progresses towards Tokyo and begins to form a cocoon in front of the Capital Building as Godzilla resurfaces from an erupting volcano and as Battra emerges from the seas and turns into its moth form. Mothra has also turned into her moth form and has a battle Battra which is then interrupted by Godzilla as both Battra and Mothra team up to defeat Godzilla which is then successful. Then a year later, the Japanese self defense force discovers the remains of Mecha-Kingghidorah (seen in the 1991 movie) as reconstructs a mechanical Godzilla they call Mechagodzilla in Godzilla vs Mechagodzilla (in U.S. Godzilla vs Mechagodzilla II). Rodan also has an appearance in this movie but more up to date and much more strong than its previous model in the Showa Series. The three monsters have a final showdown which ends with Rodan giving a dying Godzilla its life energy and Godzilla finally having enough power to defeat its mechanical counterpart. Then in 1994, another monster is introduced named Spacegodzilla, which was created from a cell of Godzilla which was warped into a black hole and then through a white hole which then heavily alters the cell creating a new monster heading for Earth to defeat Godzilla in Godzilla vs Spacegodzilla. For these moments of apocalyptic events, the Japanese self defense force created M.O.G.U.E.R.A. (which is actually an updated and remodeled version of a robot used by an alien race in the 1957 Toho movie Earth Defense Force which was released in America as The Mysterians). Godzilla, Spacegodzilla and M.O.G.U.E.R.A have a final battle in front of Fukuoka Tower as Godzilla victoriously defeats Spacegodzilla while M.O.G.U.E.R.A. is heavily damaged. Godzilla then meets his match in what was supposed to be the last entry in the Godzilla franchise in the 1995 film Godzilla vs Destroyah. Destroyah is mutated Precambrian crustacean containing the energy of the devise used in the original 1954 film, the Oxygen Destroyer. Destroyah then mutates into many different forms and finally reaches its full size of 140 meters tall. It then proceeds to fight a burning Godzilla who is just about to reach its melting point of 1,200 degrees Celcius. After defeating Destroyah, Godzilla then goes through a meltdown as his body is reduced to nothing but ashes. However, the camera zooms in into the shadows and sees the shadowy figure of Godzilla roar into the distance as the film ends. What the fans predict what happened was that Godzilla's life force was planted into the dead carcass of his son (which first appeared in the Heisei Series in Godzilla vs Mechagodzilla which then grew into adulthood) which then turned into a fully adult form of Godzilla. Toho promised the audiences that this was the last Godzilla picture that will be produced by Toho until TriStar pictures created the worst excuse of a remake in 1998's Godzilla. And because of the outcry of Godzilla fans around the world, Toho decided to bring Godzilla back to a new generation of fans.

Godzilla (1954 - 2004): Showa Series

Since I was a little boy I would always be captivated by his size and strength. Ladies and gentlemen, the king of the monsters: Godzilla. Looking at the original Godzilla, you can see that he represents fear in the eyes of the Japanese people who have witnessed the atom bomb explosions in Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Godzilla is the product of nuclear bomb testings and he takes out his anger on Japan. In my opinion, I believe that Godzilla represents, not only fear of nuclear warfare, but America. The strong force that brutally wiped out everything in its pass and is therefore unbeatable. In the movie Godzilla, Dr. Serizawa creates a device known as the Oxygen Destroyer which has the ability to crush all the oxygen atoms in a given environment leaving the dead carcasses of the animals around them into ashes. This device is then used to kill Godzilla, which ultimately succeeds but Dr. Serizawa, refusing to release the information used to create this device to the world, takes his own life along with Godzilla. However, because of the tremendous international box office success of this movie, the company that made Godzilla, Toho Company, couldn't kill the character off and made a sequel, Godzilla's Counterattack (in the U.S. Godzilla Raids Again) in which another Godzilla emerges to fight his first nemesis: a mutated ankylosaurus named Anguirus (a.k.a Angilas). Godzilla and Anguirus duke it out in Osaka where Godzilla is deemed victorious as the Japanese military soon devise a plan to encase Godzilla in an iceberg trapping him for "eternity". The plan works as the film ends. Godzilla then disappears from the silver screen for another 8 years but then returns in the greatest monster movie battle of cinema history. King Kong vs Godzilla was released in Japan in 1963 and the title of the movie speaks for itself. This film needs no introduction, it is literally King Kong and Godzilla battling in various locations in Japan with Kong winning in a climactic battle. Toho now released that they had a huge profitable movie franchise and created more stories and more monsters to fight the king of the monsters. The next picture was entitled Mothra vs Godzilla (in the U.S. Godzilla vs The Thing), where they bring in the character of Mothra, a large butterfly monsters from Infant Island, from the 1961 Toho movie Mothra to fight Godzilla in which Mothra dies but her two offspring battle Godzilla and finally win. A sequel is then made in which one of the twin offspring dies and fights Godzilla and Rodan, from the 1956 movie Rodan (which was the first monster movie in color) in the movie Three Giant Monsters: The Greatest Battle On Earth (in U.S. Ghidrah The Three Headed Monster), which marks the first appearance of Godzilla's arch nemesis: Kingghidorah. Godzilla, Rodan, and Mothra soon stop fighting and have a final showdown with the golden goliath. A year later, Kingghidorah gets another movie appearance in Great Monster War (in U.S. Invasion of the Astro Monster or Godzilla vs Monster Zero) fighting both Godzilla and Rodan. Starting from the next film, Godzilla starts to become more child friendly and more of a symbol of hope for Japan. In Godzilla, Ebirah, Mothra: Big Duel in the South Seas (in U.S. Godzilla vs The Sea Monster), Godzilla fights a large lobster monster on an island that is taking the natives of Mothra's island, Infant Island, as slaves. After defeating Ebirah, Mothra soon arrives and brings the natives and the main characters of the story to Infant Island after a short fight with Godzilla. The next film is considered to be either the worst of one of the better films entitled Monster Island's Decisive Battle: Godzilla's Son (in U.S. Son of Godzilla). It is literally a battle between a giant mutated pray mantis and spider that battle Godzilla and his new born offspring. The son of Godzilla, dubbed as Minilla ( a.k.a Minya) is a popular character in the series and appearances a couple times. The next film is probably my favorite film in the Showa Series besides the original and Mothra vs Godzilla. The movie was released in Japan in 1968 as Attack of the Marching Monsters (in U.S. Destroy All Monsters) which features 11 monsters that ends in a climactic battle in Mount Fuji where the Earth Monsters lead by Godzilla fights against Kingghidorah in a clash of the titans. This is probably the last film in the Showa Series to get critical praise from the fans and critics. The movie pictures after this one really start to lose direction after the special effects artist, Eiji Tsuburaya, dies. The next film entitled Godzilla, Minilla, Gabara: All Monsters on Parade (in U.S. Godzilla's Revenge) is nothing more then refused footage of previous Godzilla films along with a horrible storyline. Then Godzilla takes on an environmental message as he fights a smog monsters named Hedorah in Godzilla vs Hedorah. In Earth Destruction Directive: Godzilla vs Gigan, Godzilla and Anguirus are matched up with Kingghidorah and a cyborg monsters named Gigan (my personal favorite Godzilla villain). Then another horrible movie which has 70% of the monsters battles being recycled scenes from previous Godzilla films with a horrible partner to Godzilla and very odd villain named Megalon who teamed up with Gigan in the movie Godzilla vs Megalon. Then at last, a breath of fresh air comes when the next movie introduces a more serious tone to the series when Toho brings a new monsters, Mechagodzilla, to fight against Godzilla along with a legendary creature known as King Caesar in the 1974 movie Godzilla vs Mechagodzilla. The year 1975 marked that last movie in the Showa Series and the last Godzilla film directed by Ishiro Honda who has created the character of Godzilla back in 1954. The movie is released in Japan as Mechagodzilla's Counterattack (in U.S. Terror of Mechagodzilla) which featured Godzilla, Mechagodzilla, and a new cyborg monster known as Titanosaurus. Godzilla in the end defeats both of the monsters and swims away into the ocean and waits until Toho decides to reboot the franchise in a new level.

The Godfather (1972) + The Godfather Part II (1974)

Possibly one of the greatest American films ever made and also a personal favorite of mine is no doubt The Godfather. Directed by acclaimed director Francis Ford Coppola with star Marlon Brando and, the now famous, Al Pacino, the movie shows the romantic yet very violent and dirty lives of Mafia men of New York. Marlon Brando plays the iconic role of Vito Corleone and is the boss of the Corleone family and the father of 5 sons (one being adopted) and Al Pacino plays the role of Michael Corleone, which gave Pacino's a head start, who is meant to take over the family business. Throughout the movie, many subplots arise and it is very hard to summarize the whole movie into just a couple of sentences. But the general overview of the movie is about the Corleone family's rise and fall. The story involves the dirty lives of the mobsters but the almost unrealistically romantic and beautiful side as well. Easily seen as one of the best American films ever made, it is a great story to be told. Garnering the respect and admiration of international critics and audience and nominated for 11 Academy Awards and winner of Best Picture and Best Actor, this movie is a gold mine in movie cinema history. However, it's unexpected sequel, The Godfather Part II, was considered to be even better and as good as the original film and received 6 Academy Awards including Best Picture, Best Actor for Al Pacino, Best Supporting Actor for Robert De Niro, Best Director, Best Original Score, and Best Adapted Screenplay. This marked the first time in movie history when a sequel has won the Academy Award for Best Picture. The story continues on from the end of The Godfather Part I now revolving around Michael Corleone as he now because the Don of the Corleone family and certain flashback scenes involving Vito Corleone's journey from Sicily, Italy to New York City played by the now acclaimed actor, Robert de Niro. These two movies are the milestones in cinema history and will always be a classic. I give both movies a 95 out of 100.

Seven Samurai (1954)

Instead of reviewing a newly released movie, I decided to go nostalgic and review on of my favorite movies of all time. Seven Samurai, directed by [in my personal opinion] one of the best movie director that ever lived Akira Kurosawa, is considered to be one of the greatest and most influential film ever. The story is relatively simple. It is a story about a group of farmers who are constantly raided by bandits and have no other options but to ask for the help of 7 samurais. They find the magnificent 7 samurai who accept the payment of nothing more but rice offered by the farmers and go back to the village. They first devise a plan on who to defeat the bandits and along the way become more attached to the people and the lives of the poor farmers. Then in a climactic battle, the bandits arrive as the samurais fight to the death to help the farmers. This is one of the most heartwarming, action-packed, and influential movie ever made. Toshiro Mifune once again delivers a great performance along with one of Japan's famous actor Takashi Shimura. This is one of Akira Kurosawa's well known work of art in his career as a movie director. This is one of the first Japanese films to become internationally famous and the film because part of Japanese subculture. As Akira Kurosawa's first take on a samurai film, this film leads to a whole array of many samurai films to come made by this incredible genius such as Yojimbo, Sanjuro, Kagemusha, and Ran. If you have not seen this movie, you haven't seen a real movie. Recent movies are, of course, enjoyable but do not entertain you and touch your heart as much as this movie does. One of my personal favorites. Please check this one out. I have full confidence that anyone would like this film. I give it a perfect score of 100 out of 100.

Clash of the Titans (2010)

In this glorious remake of the classic film Clash of the Titans, Sam Worthington (Avatar, Terminator Salvation) plays the role of the brave demigod Perseus who embarks on an incredible journey to defeat the Kraken to set free man from the Olympian gods. Now many critics and audiences have panned this movie and gave it a bad review, but I am a big mythology freak and seeing creatures and settings, such as Medusa, the Kraken, River Styx, and the Stygian Witches, come to life on the big screen. It was also nice to see Liam Neeson and Ralph Fiennes playing the roles of Zeus and Hades respectively. They both portrayed their character with great emotion and depth, especially Ralph Fiennes who played the role with a sinister attitude and a voice that chills your bones. The other actors in the film do not shine very much unfortunately and Sam Worthington played another well played character, however the dialogue of this film made his acting fall. The dialogue in this film were a little cheesy and a cliche, but putting that aside, the pacing of the movie was excellent. It keeps you in the moment and won't let you go until the very end. The special effects in this movie are amazing, especially the shot of the Kraken looming over Argos. In general, this remake is not terrible, but it does however have many flaws that could have been fixed. And also the 3-D in this movie is not impressive at all. Because of the great success of Avatar's 3-D technology, many other movie companies have tried to convert their movies into 3-D, but they forgot the fact that Avatar was shot using a 3-D camera and was meant to be in 3-D from the very beginning and was never converted. Warner Brothers and Legendary Pictures rushed the productions of Clash of the Titans and released the movie only a week after its original release date. In conclusion, if you are looking for a good action film that will entertain you, give this movie a try. Although it has it's many flaws, I ultimately enjoyed it as a mythology freak. I give it a 85 out of 100 because of its use of mythology, but a 60 out of 100 as a movie.

Avatar (2009)

As a first movie review, I decided to review the world's #1 movie: Avatar. Avatar is the #1 grossing movie of all time collecting $2,716,824,000 worldwide and has critics and audience worldwide shocked. Being hyped for years now, James Cameron's vision finally arrives on the big screen. This movie, not only is a great science fiction action movie, has a very deep and powerful message to keep our natural world intact. The general storyline follows a marine named Jake Sully, played by Sam Worthington, one a moon called Pandora who is enlisted in the Avatar Program in which humans would enter the consiousness of a human being into a hybrid body called avatars which are mixed with human DNA with the DNA of the natives of Pandora called the N'avi. And Jake's task from the marine colonel, played by Stephen Lang, is to gain the N'avi's trust and order them to relocate so that the humans can continue mining a stone called unobtanium. However, instead of helping the marines, Jake soon becomes attache to the culture and people of the N'avi and falls in love with the N'avi princess Neytiri, played by Zoe Saldana. However all goes terribly wrong when the humans order a preemptive strike on the N'avi as Jake leads the N'avi to a rebellion against the human race. That is a general overview of the plot. Many critics and viewers that criticized that the movie is so similar to the storyline of Pocahontas and Dancing With The Wolves, I found that this movie is very original and is, in my opinion, a cinematic masterpiece. I have not seen a movie as good as this one during the time period of 2000 to today. James Cameron created a fiction world of Pandora that soon drags you into it and, like Jake Sully, you immediately fall in love with their culture. And when the humans come to destroy the N'avi, you feel so heartbroken and guilty for what they have done, then you look at yourself and wonder, is what I'm doing right? The plot was great but the special effects of this movie is what gave it is spectacle. The visual effects are too good too be true. During the middle of the movie, I actually thought it was real then reminded myself that it was just a movie. They are spectacular. The CGI of the actors playing the N'avi and the background environment of Pandora are just downright amazing. Everything about this movie is incredible: the story, the actors, the script, the effects and (surprisingly) the music. I give this movie a 90 out of 100.