Ender's Game is a pretty big thing as far as books go in the sci fi community from what I'm told - and as is usual with these sorts of things (*ahem*Starship Troopers) I've never bothered to read it. Know what that means? I get to enjoy the movie more than all the folks who already know it from reading, because they tend to get hung up on all the differences or inadequacies that I don't even know about! When it comes to movie adaptations, ignorance truly can be bliss. That being said, I like me some science fiction movies, and heard rather mediocre things from those who went to see it (again, it usually takes some goading to get me to want to throw down that 10 dollars on a theater ticket) - so perfect case of it showing up in the Netflix queue at last. Will Ender make the movie a game to remember, or should the game end after it's first fielding?
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Arach·no·pho·bia: the pathological fear or loathing of spiders. Some people would have you believe that it's a fear without basis - and maybe they are right. I mean, it's not every single spider in existence that can cause death or even harm to a human, so the fear of a little tiny creature that springs on you from nowhere and builds nests to trap it's victims and suck them dry is totally irrational, right? If you haven't figured it out, I'm a tad bit arachnophobic - but I've been working at changing that slowly over the years through sheer willpower. Most people have an awesome story about why they have a fear of spiders, and yet mine is both weak and highly entertaining: I was taken to see this movie when I had no business in theaters. In that sense, it demonstrates the power of movies and the lasting ways they can affect us, and in turn I can't think of any other movie that would make more sense to do for my one hundredth review. Stick around and see if this movie is a web of lies, or if it puts the fear or spiders into you.
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The Thing, again! Surprisingly, although you would assume it from the name being the same as Carpenter's earlier version, this one is actually a prequel instead of a remake! Now we get to experience what happened to all those Norwegians at the hand of our creepy extraterrestrial friend. Granted, I'm gonna spin this a bit - we are gonna start this thing off with an approach where it's all it's own movie (as though you haven't seen the other Thing), and then get into how it ties into it afterwards. So what'll it be? The perfect copy, or just a cheap imitation.
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I'm a fan of Kurt Russell movies, and I'm relatively sure that part of the reason is because I enjoy him as an actor. Bigger then that, I believe a lot of the movies he's in are just highly entertaining in some way or another for me more so than just him being in it. The Thing is one of those films that's in my general go-to films for when I'm bored and inevitably comes up at least once a year. Obviously, I like it - but will it click for you? Will it have you looking at the people around you in a new light, or will it be a gooey dead mess?
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Celebrating 50 years of Godzilla, and also marking the last made (until 2014's Godzilla hit theaters) Godzilla film, Final Wars finally pops up. Although unrelated to the previous reviewed Heisei era flicks, it certainly honors some of the earlier traditions of the big G - such as monster a monster battles. With access to higher levels of technology and equipment, can the entire movie be elevated for one epic final battle - or are we destined to suffer another stinker about a giant iguana?
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And it comes to this, the final part of the Heisei era of Godzilla. The promise of monster-a-monster battle, and something different about Godzilla draw us in to what we already expect to enjoy (being fans of our giant radioactive dinosaur friend). The defining film that takes it all the way back to the original Gojira, and wraps up the exodus of our monster king's story. Can the plot and characters bring this movie to the top, or will it be a complete meltdown from which we may never recover?
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Inevitably, the scale of these movies tries to one up itself. Sure, you get the little things - soundtrack changes, upgraded visuals, the normal stuff - but eventually a movie feels as though it consciously decided "Hey, you know what? We need this bigger and better." A lot of times, this can be a bad thing for the movie, but sometimes it's not so. Can a showdown between the king of monsters and a space version of himself prove to be out of this world, or is it a small speck in the skies?
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It strikes me as strange to be honest that this movie came after Godzilla vs Mothra. I guess it works, as one can assume that some time would have passed while Japan messed around with robotic parts from Ghidorah to make it - which is a turn over the "robot parts built on top of a Godzilla skeleton" that graces one of the other Mechagodzilla flicks, but considering how tied it is to that it seems as though it would have come first. Well, regardless of when the movie was delivered, can the movie prove to be massive scale metal, or does it prove to be nothing but a toy?
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Goodness, it took me long enough to get to this one didn't it? You see, the biggest issue is I wanted to take the time to re-read the book, as there are some pretty substantial differences between it and this movie - but of course I'll get to that later. For now, the world's most beautiful part-man returns with another job to kill another vampire. This time, things aren't quite as they may seem, and D isn't the only hunter on the case! Can this addition to the video collection bring it's fangs to bear, or is it just a stake to the heart?
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Yeah, the name can get long and confusing. In the IMDB link later on, you'll find its Godzilla vs Mosura - as apparently this is one of the few movies that IMDB doesn't have a proper english-version name for. That aside, this movie decides to step it up a notch with three monsters for the price of one, all while playing along with similar aspects as the others. Can these little bugs cause the movie to bloom into a beautiful butterfly, or is it nothing more than a worm in a fancy suit?
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The interesting thing one notices as time goes on is that each of these Godzilla movies seems to have a unique spin to the human side of things. In last weeks GvsB, there was a very espionage / secret agents feel to what was going on. This week things are a bit different, but the glue that holds these films together is undoubtable Godzilla himself - no matter what happens, at some point the threat of Godzilla rises to the forefront. As an added bonus, this is the first of the Godzilla flicks to really go into the history of Godzilla, outside of just "nuclear lizard."
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Now we start getting into the parts of Godzilla that we all tend to love the most - the monster on monster action! The 1989 entry marks the first step of the Heisei series that involves Godzilla not being the only giant monster to stop around the block - although by far it's certainly not the first ever 'zilla flick to feature multiple monsters (just in this arc). Can the king of monsters hold his ground against the new threat? Will the movie harbor any improvements over Godzilla '85? Did I manage to get the non-Americanized version? Either you are gonna love this like a giant rose, or want nothing more than to burn it with your fiery breath.
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30 years later, the great lizard king returns in the "first" movie of the second Godzilla story arc - called the "Heisei Series." In modern times, we would probably call this a reboot - although its actually more of rebooting a sequel to start again as opposed to erasing the original and starting from scratch. Now, the reason I wanted to do this specific arc or story is because it seems to deal more with how/what Godzilla is, which seems like it very well might tie into the newer one a bit more solidly than some of the others do. Of course, the real question then becomes is it a good thing that it might be getting it's influence from here?
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The one that started it all, the very king of monsters himself: Godzilla (or as he was known before we Americans starting changing things - Gojira). At the time of writing this, we are about a month and a half away before the US Box office tries to recover from the horrendous attempt at making a Godzilla movie (it was actually worse than the classic guys-in-suits movies that came before it) with it's brand new Godzilla movie, I've decided that we need to span the timelines and get a feel for our nuclear lizard king. You'd be surprised to know it, but there are people out there who have never heard of Godzilla! Well, fear not denizens of Earth! I'll be your tour guide on this journey, and I won't let the giant creature eat you (unless you really deserve it).
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Ever decide that operas were too old and lame? Maybe they weren't violent enough for you, or sexy enough to satiate what you would call your style? Well, let me introduce in this corner, weighing in at an hour thirty eight minutes, The Genetic Opera. Can this intriguing tale be found to be in your genetic predisposition of enjoyment, or will you be seeking out someone to repossess the time you spent watching it?
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I present to you, ladies and gentlemen, on the pedestal of my past the movie that got me into something called anime. Beyond that, it introduced me to a new world that even to this day is an exciting twist on the rather dull and expected Vampire genre that feels as though it just carries on through a checklist of things it has to have. It got me back into reading after I had stopped for a while as well, after I found out that the novels from which this was based on were getting an english translation and release, and I got deep enough into it that I own not only those novels, a few of the manga renditions of them, and the two movies (the second will come later, don't you worry), but also a rather mediocre game that came on in the vein of Resident Evil. This, you stunning people, is Vampire Hunter D, and I am quite excited to share my thoughts on my gateway into so many things.
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I heard you like stories, so I found you a movie whose stories contain stories. Do us all a favor though, go get your thinking cap out of the closet because I can almost guarantee that you will need it. You see, without your full attention as you travel down the roads of plot that weave back and forth in time you will most likely find yourself in a strange town with no real recollection of how or why you got there, so strap in for a long haul. With all those jumps back and forth, can the movie keep its message clear enough, or does this tale through the ages find itself getting quite cloudy?
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Ah yes, drinking and the Irish, one of the easiest stereotypes to come up with. Sure, some will be attracted to the lovely Ireland, or that wonderful accent, or even the alternate monster-movie themed box art. For me, it was all three, although the simple prospect that somehow beer would be the savior of the people within it was far more amusing than any of the other concepts in there. Well then, it's last call - time to find out if it's all tapped out or the best concoction you've ever tried.
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Ryan Reynolds hasn't had great luck with being in movies that are a bit off kilter or comic based as of late. He had that debacle with the CG-heavy suit of Green Lantern, and there was that (not really his fault) terrible excuse of a Deadpool in the Wolverine. R.I.P.D. was another movie that seemed to be a box office swing and miss, but we have a question here: Is there a reason behind it's less than stellar performance, or does this movie still have a pulse?
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Ever wish you could find a movie like The Pick of Destiny, just more family-friendly? How about having your ear-holes serenaded by some sweet, sweet alien bluegrass? Well, I tell you what, I've never heard of the band Future Folk until this movie, but you know how I so often tell all of you that the soundtrack is just kind of there and background? Prepare for music to jump into the front of the scene. Whether you find yourself wearing a bucket on your head and trying to farm space worms or you wish someone would just set off a race-destroying toxin, set your lasers to stun and suit up for some fun.
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