K-On's Footsteps.

So I watched K-On when it first started airing, but sort of trailed off.
Now I'm catching up. I've noticed that the sound effects for them walking
around suck. They were walking on pavement, and what looked to be something
similar to cobblestones and it sounded like they were on a hollow stage structure.
Come on Kyoto Ani. The show looks beautiful and is well voiced, but pavement
does not sound like that....anywhere.

Movie Reviews XXI

The Philadelphia Story
A-
Wow, what a movie? At first I didn't really seem to
enjoy it. It started out kind of slow. Also, I've never
been a big Hepburn fan. Cary Grant even started to
disappoint, but once the story moves into full swing
it becomes one to last for ages. Quite possibly the
best George Cukor film I've seen and highly recommended
to all you film lovers out there!


Kingu Kongu no Gyakushu (1967)
C
Toho's second Kong outing is considerably more
entertaining than their first. In my eyes, anyway.
This movie's Kong suit looks terrible in comparison
with the 62 version, but the movie makes up for it.
We have the evil Dr. Who, played by the ever enjoyable
Esei Amamoto, who has built a giant Mechani-Kong!
Also, see the first appearance of Gorosaurus, one of
the coolest kaiju of the Showa era. A cool movie, and
soon to be re-released on DVD with King Kong vs.
Godzilla.



Furankenshutain Tai Chitei Kaijū Baragon (1965)
B-
I absolutely love this movie. Seriously. This movie
is everything right about 1960's Showa. Frankenstein
whilst a crazy concept to grapple turns out pretty
well mainly due to the surrounding cast and story
direction. Baragon is an awesome kaiju and a
welcome addition to this universe. Seriously, if
you want a fun night of movie watching, check this
thing out!


Gojira: Fainaru Uozu (2004)
C+
You know, I should honestly give this a lower grade,
but I do have fun watching it. The dub job is terrible so
stick to japanese. Kitamura's all style and absolutely
no quality in this film. As the last outing for Godzilla I
find myself wishing for Tezuka back. While a lot of the
kaiju look cool basic things like....acting, script, score,
and direction all take a back seat. It's rather action packed,
but I feel that for a 50th Anniversary film we should've
seen more Big G. Sadly, this is still one of my top 10
favorites. lulz.


Frankenstein no Kaijū: Sanda tai Gaira (1966)
B-
While I find the first film, Frankenstein Conquers
the World (1965), to be a better one I still can't
say I don't enjoy this movie. Sanda, Gaira are
beating the crap out of eachother and the psuedo
science behind their genesis is probably some
of the coolest in a Toho film. I'm also genuinely
impressed with Honda who has some great shots
in this film. This, along with King Kong Escapes,
and Frankenstein are probably my favorite non-
Godzilla Toho Scifi outings.

Movie Reviews XX

Gojira X MekaGojira (2002)
C+
Tezuka has improved. Oshima has improved. Unfortunately
whatever Tezuka told Kitagawa to do has ruined his perf-
ormance as Godzilla. He barely moves at all in this film,
which is sad because this revised MechaG is so much
better than what we got in 1993. It's good to see improvement
in the director. It's also interesting to see the subtle
changes for the Kiryu-Goji suit. Worth checking out, especially
if you enjoy MechaGodzilla.


Gojira X Mosura X MekaGojira: Tokyo S.O.S. (2003)
B-
This is by far pinnacle of Tezuka's Godzilla directing
career. This film, along with GMK, and maybe if I'm
particularly in bad judgement, Final Wars do the best
job of mimicking the feeling of the Showa series since
Terror of MechaGodzilla in 1975. Mothra looks amazing,
and quite possibly the best its ever looked. The Godzilla
suit acting is much improved. I do feel the whole "Life
should be lived in the time allowed" thing to be terribly
forced, but it fits with Tezuka's other stuff. It tries too hard
some times. Still a worthwhile fillm to check out.


The Giant Gila Monster (1959)
D
I've known about this movie since I was around five years
old. I just watched it. It's terrible. There's barely any
monster action. The small town feel that they attempt to
recreate is just aggravating and poorly done. I also dislike
how sloppily the few miniatures are. Sorry, I grew up on
Tsuburaya's brand. There are a lot of songs in the film
that are embarassing and...well...just bizarre. Pass this
one up for sure.


Sora no Daikaiju Radon (1956)
B
Rodan was one of the first non-Godzilla monster movies
from Japan that I watched. It was really neat. I enjoyed it.
Well as I grew up I watched it less and less. Now I've re-
watched it and my god is it gloriously underrated in my
mind. The score is quite possibly my favorite from Ifukube.
Rodan looks the best here that it will ever look. How sad/
strange. Still, this movie is just...so well done, on so many levels.
This, along with Mothra are what make the Toho solo effects
films just as great as the Godzilla series.


Notorious (1946)
B
You know...Hitchcock hasn't really impressed me. I mean
not since I watched North by Northwest. Cary Grant is
fun to watch as always, but I can't help but not care
about the characters or the story. Maybe I just have
terrible taste? I dunno, it's highly possible. I'm sure
this is great for true Hitchcock fans, but whatev.

Movie Reviews XIX

Gojira tai SupesuGojira (1994)
C-
This film was created primarily because the
American film was going nowhere at the time.
The rushed production shows. SpaceGodzilla
while visually satisfying is obviously not as
well though out as say...Battra, Biollante, or
Destroyah. Moguera is brought back and the
two vehicle combination is actually really cool.
Over all a disappointing, but satisfying monster
romp.


Gojira tai Desutoroia (1995)
C+
Godzilla's last outing in the Heisei series. Godzilla
DIES yells the posters. And so he shall, fighting
a new kaiju incarnation of the weapon that stopped
him in 1954. Godzilla Jr. proves himself the better
of Minya once and for all in this film. The score, and
Burning Godzilla all work to make this film greater
than it truly is. Sure there are better Godzilla films,
but this is a decent way to end the series.


Godzilla (1998)
C
Oh GINO. Godzilla In Name Only. The movie starts
out pretty well. It's got a great build up for the monster.
Then, things start to slip. We have a Godzilla that
lays eggs, it runs away from the military, and has
absolutely no weaponry. The CG is all over the place
and the best moments are when the animatronic or
man in suit were used. It's a shame that this is
what we got as an American Godzilla film.


Gojira ni-sen: Mireniamu (1999)
C+
Created in response to GINO being panned by
fans the world over, the Japanese attempted to
show the real Godzilla. While I love this film a
great deal...there are a couple of moments that
needed work. The Millenian creatur, and swimming
Godzilla CG look terrible, even in 1999. Overall
the movie is a decent piece of kaiju eiga. It seems
to try and remind us of the Showa series and the
fun it contained. Which is how I'll come to regard
many of the Shinsei films.


Gojira X Megaguirus: Ji Shōmetsu Sakusen (2000)
C
Oh Tezuka. You do try, but you fail. Godzilla 2000 was
a pretty decent return. However, Megaguirus falls short.
A cool looking kaiju, but the plot and characters are
bland and forgettable. I felt the cast last time around was
really enjoyable to watch, but here I just feel annoyed
with them. I don't think I've ever longed more for the kaiju
scenes in a film. Scratch that, forgot about Final Wars.
Also a terrible script.

Movie Reviews XVIII

Gojira (1984)
B-
Ah, The return of Godzilla! The beginning of the
Heisei series is a promising one. The score is
magnificent and there is an obvious attempt to
return to the darker nature of the first film. The
American edit of this is also enjoyable by my
standards. Worth checking out as it begins the
most continuity based series of Godzilla films.


Gojira tai Biorante (1989)
B-
Another great entry. Slightly better than Gojira.
Biollante is a solid G-film because of its use of
science advances of the day. The bioengineering
plot mixed with the solid direction make this movie
so much fun to watch. Biollante looks amazing,
and the new Godzilla suit is preferable to that
which we got in 1984.


Gojira tai Kingu Gidora (1991)
C-
Well, here's a considerable drop in quality. The
film is much loved by fans, but I have a few qualms
with it. My main problems are the futurians and
all that time travel nonsense. It works okay, but
you have to sit and think for a second as its not
really obvious. I don't mind thinking I just like rules
of a universe to be laid out for us. King Ghidorah,
while cool looking doesn't seem as life-like as the
Showa Ghidorah did. Notably good features are
the origin of Godzilla being revealed, and Ifukube's
return to the series.


Gojira tai Mosura (1992)
C
While one of the most successful of the Heisei
series I find it one of the most dull. The Beam
Battles are excessive here, and the Mothra props
look meh. The story is pretty much Mothra vs.
Godzilla meets Mothra (1961). Battra is a unique
addition to the kaiju collective, but overall I'd rather
watch other Heisei films before I see this one.
That's just my two cents.


Gojira tai MekaGojira (1993)
C+
The series has gotten better. Though this Mecha
Godzilla is a lot less impressive in terms of move-
ment it's worth noting that this is MechaG's first
time as a protector of humanity. Rodan looks
fairly terrible in this film. The baby Godzilla is an
improvement upon Minya's design, however. The
Godzilla costume is improved upon as well.
Over all a much more enjoyable outing than the
last two films.

Movie Reviews XVII

Gojira tai Hedora (1971)
C
I love this movie. Sure it is ridiculous, some of the
ideas are campy and/or suggest Yoshimitsu Banno
was out of his mind...but it's an amazingly fun film.
Because of its flaws, and its outlandish events this is
one of my absolute favorite Godzilla films, top 5 easily.


Chikyu kogegeki meirei: Gojira tai Gaigan (1972)
C-
Though the film introduces one of my favorite kaiju,
Gigan. It also has an extremely fun and entertaining
cast, however it is a pretty bad film. Why? Well the
Soshingeki suit is pretty screwed up by this point,
what with chunks of it falling off during the fights.
Also disappointing is that the score is stock music,
and most of the SFX shots are stock. Disappointing,
but satisfying...how the hell does that even work?


Gojira tai Megaro (1973)
D-
Good lord. While featuring two beloved kaiju this
film is bad. It's fun, but it's bad. Tons of stock
footage and laughably bad scripting bother me.
The car chase is the weirdest thing in the whole
movie, oh wait, scratch that. The weirdest thing is
the Seatopian culture. If you watch this try to find
a japanese subtitled print...it makes it better.
Sort of, though note...Megalon is a cool kaiju.


Gojira tai Mekagojira (1974)
C+
Yes, Yes, I know most of these are C+
Oh wellz. This movie is one of my favorites
of the 1970's Showa films. Introduces MechaGodzilla
and features Angilas' last performance until Final
Wars. This movie is so good for something to just
have on, because its non stop monster fun. There's
also a gratuitous amount of blood in this film that
seems semi out of place, though very enjoyable.


Mekagojira no gyakushu (1975)
C
Ishiro Honda's return to the genre
is not as great as his earlier work,
but it's definitely better than it could
have been. The film drops in quality
only slightly, possibly due to Honda's
absence from filmmaking and his
not being use to the ridiculous demands
of kaiju filmmaking at the time.
Regardless he pulls out a quality kaiju
film the likes of which no one had seen
since Destroy All Monsters, excluding
the previous film. A solid Godzilla movie
and it makes the two MechaGodzilla
films the best of the 70s bunch.

Movie Reviews XVI

Transformers (2007)
B
Well the Transformers made it to the live
action screen. Unfortunately Michael Bay is
behind the camera. Overall it's a fun entertaining
ride. The film looks slick, cool, and the effects/
action is amazing. However, that's about all you
can say. This film could've been a complete failure
quite easily and it almost feels like watching a
young driver. They do something wrong here or
there and make you gasp...but you manage to
survive the trip.


Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (2009)
B-
Yep. It's worse, and even if my judgemen is off,
its only about as good as the first. More entertaining?
Most certainly, but Michael Bay learned nothing. He
suddenly has a bizarre obsession with humping and
testicle humor. Also he has attempted to appease fans
by adding the seekers (the idea), the 13, the fallen, the
matrix, space bridges, energon etc.. into the story.
What happens when these are brought together?
A convoluted storyline that could have been much better.
Skidz and Mudflap and Wheelie are not as annoying
as they could have been. Soundwave's inclusion is
interesting, but a waste of a cool character. Starscream
and Megs' interaction with one another is one of
the better parts of the movie. It's worh seeing for
the sheer spectacle, but Michael Bay really needs to
learn something from his mistakes.


Kaijuto no kessen: Gojira no musuko (1967)
C-
Son of Godzilla. What a goofy movie. However,
I have to say I enjoy it a great deal. More so as
I grow older. My biggest problems come from
the look of Minya and Godzilla. The suit looks
horrible, but the cast of characters are fun and
enjoyable. Something that Fukuda seems to
focus more on in his films is keeping things fun,
bright, and lighthearted. You can keep it or leave
it, but it's worth checking out if you want to know
about Big G's first kid.


Daikaiju Soshingeki (1968)
C+
Released in the U.S. as Destroy All Monsters the
film was meant to have been the official end for the
Godzilla series. It obviously wasn't.This movie, for all
its flaws is worth watching. It has tons of monsters,
and all of it adds up to a ton of fun. Akira Kubo stars
as our young hero, an actor I find doesn't get enough
mention within the genre.


Gojira-Minira-Gabara: Oru kaiju daishingeki (1969)
C-
I used to hate this film a whole lot more than I
do now. I guess I grew up and saw the story
as more than just a disappointment. No, this is
not your typical Godzilla film, no aliens, not a bunch
of city destroying. It's the story of a kid in 1960's
Japan dealing with life the best way he can in the
absense of parental guidance. He does so with his
imagination and love of Kaiju. It's really a neat film
that deserves seeing if you haven't done so in a while.