Movie Reviews XV

Year One (2009)
C+
Okay, I enjoyed it,mostly. There's not much
to say about this. It's a comedy and not one that
I laughed aloud heartily at. It does its job and does
so better than other things that have been hitting
the screen, but, like Land of the Lost, is easily
forgettable.


Kingukongu tai Gojira (1962)
C+
A family comedy masquerading as a monster
movie, and it works. While not one of my
favorite Godzilla films the novelty of these
two going at each other is not lost on me.
Though fairly enjoyable the film is still sub-par
in relation to the film that had started off the
series.



San Daikaiju: Chikyu saidai no kessen (1964)
C+
While not as great as Mothra vs. Godzilla,
Ghidrah is still a great film to watch. It's goofy
and fun, and with Ghidorah added to the mix it
manages to once again add something new to
the genre. Space monsters were, at this point,
relatively new. Writer Sekizawa had only introduced
one other, Dogora, four months before this was
released. Space kaiju would later become a staple
of the genre leading to Viras, Zigra, SpaceGodzilla,
Orgah, MechaGodzilla, Gigan etc..


Kaiju Daisenso (1965)
C+
A lot of these films are C's. Why? Well most
of it has to do with the fact that certain
effects don't cut it well enough to manage a
B. Kaiju Daisenso or Monster Zero is one of my
absolute favorite G films. Ghidorah looks better than
ever, and the whole movie is a ton of fun. It also
introduces the alien controlled kaiju idea to the Godzilla
franchise.


Gojira, Ebira, Mosura: Nankai no daiketto (1966)
C+
There are some weak effects in here, notably the Giant
Condor. However, there's a lot to be admired about the
film. The sets look fantastic, the plot is fun and entertaining,
and it has a teriffic score by Masaru Sato, not as good as
Godzilla vs. MechaGodzilla (1974) but still decent. Also
notable is the fact that this is Jun Fukuda's first Godzilla
film. Not bad, eh?