Godzilla: King of The Monsters (2019) movie review

Overall verdict: 8.5/10

The ultimate gateway movie into the Godzilla franchise.

The Good: Magnificent monster battles, well acted relatable characters, memorable supporting cast, simple human centred storyline, great visual effects, probably the best soundtrack ever by composer Bear McCreary. 

The Bad: rushed plot with little breathing room, seemingly light on underlying themes or philosophical depth.

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The sequel to 2014’s GODZILLA and third installment to Legendary Studio’s “Monsterverse”, is a non-stop, edge of the seat thrill ride in the vein of classic worldwide disaster movies like INDEPENDENCE DAY. Building on feedback from the previous installment, director Michael Dougherty delivers a spectacular love letter to the entire 65 year old (as of this year) franchise. It is exciting, it is beautiful, tragic, grand, an emotional rollercoaster from start to finish.

We start off in real-time 2019. In the years following Godzilla’s battle which leveled San Francisco back in 2014, the world is divided over the knowledge that more of these so called titans exist and that the organization”MONARCH” desires to protect them despite the destruction they may cause. Amidst this chaotic backdrop, a MONARCH facility in China is raided by an eco terrorist cell who kidnaps scientist Emma Russell along with her daughter Madison, so as to use her invention called the “orca”; a machine that is able to record and mimic the titans' bioacoustics signals which they use to communicate with each other. 

Led by the enigmatic renegade Alan Jonah, the eco terrorists plan to use the orca to awaken the hibernating titans in hope that they will restore the earth to its former glory. But there is more to this plot than meets the eye. Meanwhile, MONARCH engages the help of Doctor Mark Russell, Emma’s estranged husband, and co-inventor of the orca, to try and locate the stolen device, his kidnapped ex-wife and child.

If it starts to sound like a human focused “angry dad rescuing family” kind of movie, rest assured it is not. Our giant monsters, the titans, they are not just the backdrop, they feature front and centre from the get go. The target of the terrorists plot is to awaken “Ghidorah”, a three headed dragon who had been the basis of myths. They hope for Ghidorah to establish dominance over the other titans and control them. Unfortunately, Ghidorah himself has other plans. With seemingly alien abilities and power beyond measure, the only titan that might stand a chance against the multi headed monstrosity, is Godzilla.

From the very first on screen appearance of Mothra, to Ghidorah, to the bird-like Rodan, and of course Godzilla, the whole movie goes full throttle with its plot. There is never a dull moment as we follow Mark and the MONARCH scientists led by Dr Serizawa across the globe trying to prevent an end-of-the-world scenario. You could say that it moves so fast that there is hardly any breathing room. Plot developments and characters development happen simultaneously and it’s easily to get lost in the details if you do not pay attention. At times, it feels like there may have been a scene or two which was cut out which may have eased the flow of the movie, but this is a minor complaint.

At our story’s core is a tale of a broken individuals dealing with loss at the expense of a loved one. The Russells were victims of the San Francisco Godzilla battle. Their ordeal drove Mark to drink and become abusive leading to his divorce with Emma who in turn buried herself into her work, all while Madison suffered the fallout. In their journey towards making peace with the past, we see two hurt individuals who had let their loss fracture their family,  now choose to put aside their differences for the sake of their child and the world. It is a simple plot thread but with a heartwarming message.

The cast play their roles perfectly; especially Kyle Chandler as Mark Russell and Serizawa played by veteran actor Ken Watanabe. The latter‘s role in the story becomes even more poignant if you watch the first movie and read both prequel comics “Godzilla Awakening” and “Godzilla Aftershock”, knowing more about his history and a his connection to both Godzilla and nuclear weapons.

However, the ones I found the most memorable were the G-Team led by badass lady Colonel Diane Foster. They are side characters with minimal development but the situations they are called to deal with, suppressing a terrorist attack, evacuating a city, luring an enraged Rodan away from a populated area, they do all that with guts and a strict dedication to their duty. The best part of it all? The human element is sufficient and never overstays it’s welcome.

Equal focus is given to the star attraction themselves: the giant monsters. All of them, Mothra, Rodan, Ghidorah and Godzilla all feature cool redesigns that pay homage to their original looks while taking it to a whole new level of badass. Moving Pictures Company (MPC) has outdone themselves once again in the CGI department. Special mention goes to the performance capture used for Ghidorah and Godzilla. Their expressions showcase clear human-like emotions and traits. Their body language blending the actor’s performance with animalistic like movements. This motion capture is truly the descendant of traditional rubber suit monster performances.

And when the titans clash, the visuals and cinematography effectively convey the immense scale of their battles. Thanks to Director Michael Dougherty and cinematographer Lawrence Sher, the movie is spectacularly shot with dark apocalyptic visuals, heightening the surreal spectacle of these massive clashes. We are truly witnessing war among gods! Pulse pounding music by composer Bear McCreary reproduces many of the iconic tunes from past Godzilla movies while giving his own unique spin, with drums and chants, imbuing an almost operatic feel to the movie. This is easily his greatest work to date.

From the music to the characters to the monsters themselves, everything! The passion and love of the genre coming from the cast and crew is evident in every minute of this film. I would have liked a bit more time and focus spent on its underlying themes but perhaps the underdevelopment of such themes was the result of the movie's fast pace. 


That being said, it is great for Newcomers to the Godzilla franchise thanks to the simple story, memorable characters, decent actors, and tight script. If you needed a gateway into the Godzilla or giant monster franchise, this is it! For long time fans, there are numerous Easter eggs, references, callbacks, and parallels to past films. See if you can recognise them all. All in all GODZILLA KING OF THE MONSTERS distills everything cool about Godzilla into a single modern movie. Highly recommended.

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Entertainment: A

Story: B

Acting: A

Characters: A-

Music: A

Replay value: A

"Brains": C-

Death Note (2017) movie review

Overall verdict: 6.5/10

Like Donnie Darko Meets Final Destination

The Good: Decent acting, beautiful cinematography, relatable main character, well paced first half, fitting music, genuinely suspenseful, L

The Bad: rushed third act, unable to shake off the more outrageous elements of the original manga, goes off on a tangent that seems unrelated to main plot

***********Review***********

DEATHNOTE, the popular manga series gets its obligatory Hollywood remake. While taking liberties with the source material, it works less like a faithful adaptation and more like a alternate universe scenario of “what if a book that is able to exert supernatural control over anyone whose name is written in it, leading up to their deaths, ends up with a typical American teenager?”.

Light Turner is that teenager. He is the bullied loner from a broken family, the under appreciated smart kid sitting by himself in the corner. The law has failed to bring his mother’s killer to justice, the education system has failed to punish those that pick on him daily, all around him Light is faced with a world of injustice. Enter the death god Ryuk (an immaculately rendered CGI creation with performance by William Defoe) and the titular Deathnote. Ryuk is the devil on Light’s shoulder tempting him to use the power of the Deathnote for selfish means.

It sets up a familiar tragedy of a young person pushed to the edge by unfairness, given the power to change things, and who ultimately abuses said power to take his anger out on the world. This is the familiar stereotype of school shooting perpetrators as sensationalized by the media and Light is set up specifically as such a character. The performances by Nat Wolff (Paper Towns) as Light and Shea Whigham (Boardwalk Empire) as his father help sell Light’s plight and set up his expected eventual fall.

However, director Adam Wingard tastefully plays with and eventually subverts this expectation. Though Light does test out the deathnote’s power against the aforementioned bully, and uses it again to send his mother’s murderer to a nasty gruesome end, he ultimately tries to reject Ryuk’s temptation of absolute power over others’ fates. It isn’t the idealistic “with great power comes great responsibility” shtick of superhero comic books but neither is it the nihilistic trope of absolute power’s corrupting influence. This middle ground makes Light more relatable and is a much appreciated deviation from the source material. Where Light Yagami of the manga and the Japanese Deathnote movie was this cold, haughty sociopath with a god complex, Turner, in all his social awkwardness, genuinely regrets his decisions to use the Deathnote, with much of the movie being about him trying to avoid being found out, making the wrong choices as any teen in a panic would, and ultimately escalating the situation by mistake.

But things aren’t so straightforward. Into Light’s life comes manipulative girlfriend Mia Sutton who’s ambitions for the Deathnote extend beyond just simple payback. Under Mia’s influence, Light starts killing any suspected criminal based on the news. They create the persona of “Kira”, Japanese mispronunciation of “killer”, to divert police suspicion. Kira’s supernatural killing of criminals splits the world; while unlawful many support what they see as justice in an unjust world. Complicating the matter further is when Light’s policeman father gets involved in the investigations into the killings, and a mysterious super genius detective named L takes on the case.

Now this second half when L comes along is where things get shaky. I get the sense that on one hand we have this deeply personal look at the birth of a sociopath and subsequent subversion of said villain’s journey by focusing on Light himself, yet on the other hand we are tied down to the plot beats of the original manga. That means a Kira cult, a convoluted cat and mouse game between L and Light, new rules for the Deathnote, memory loss as a means to be absolved from all suspicions, etc. The generally over the top nature of the original manga just does not match the more grounded “Everyman” tale in the movie.

While Light’s dilemma of trying to shake off Mia’s manipulations, evade capture, and plan an outrageous series of events to get away scot free is thrilling and tightly plotted, the movie takes a weird tangent to explore L’s origin. L, played by Lakeith Stanfield (Get Out), is amazing. His demeanor, body language, everything is right out of the original manga. How he slowly loses it after being outsmarted time and again by Light is also well done. But the whole tangent storyline to explore his origin may have been better left to a spinoff.

One thing that got lost in the translation was that the original source material brings up philosophical and moral dilemmas, questioning the rights and wrongs of its characters’ actions, this movie focuses squarely on Light and his own struggles with the escalating situation he finds himself in. This makes the movie less deep than its Japanese counterparts.

Despite its ups and downs, I enjoyed DEATH NOTE. Like a combination of Donnie Darko and Final Destination, DEATH NOTE is suitably suspenseful, well cast, and boasts great shots courtesy of Adam Wingard making this low budget movie look much better than it ought to. Combined with the music and the cinematography, this is a loving tribute to 80s and early 90s teen horror movies with both the pros and the cons of what that entails.

***********Review***********

Entertainment: B+

Story: B-

Acting: B+

Characters: B+

Music: B-

Replay value: B+

"Brains": C-

Polar (2019) movie review

Overall verdict: 6.5/10

Nothing to do with our melting ice caps

The Good: Stylish action, memorable characters, great acting, lots of dark humour

The Bad: cliched plot, lack of character development, clashing tone

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With a title like “POLAR” you’d imagine something set in the chilling arctic circle or on freezing Antarctica. While snow does feature in some scenes, this movie has nothing to do with the frigid imagery a title like POLAR conjures up. Instead, POLAR may be describing the movie’s tone and style; a mixture of 2 very different tones literal polar opposites of each other.

On one hand, we have the plottings of the deliciously decadent and devious Mr Blut, played by Matt Lucas (Alice in Wonderland), who runs his own hitman-for-hire organization called Damocles. He’s a greedy nut, Mr Blut is, and plans to inflate his company’s value by killing off all retiring hitmen before they retire so that he would not have to pay their pension. To do this dirty work he enlists a new team of colorful crazy assassins, each one as weird as the next almost to the point of being caricatures. Scenes involving Blut or his assassins are shot in this saturated brightly coloured style calling to mind parodies and R Rated cartoons.

On the other hand, we have retiring hitman Vizla aka the Black Kaiser, played by Mads Mikkelsen (Hannibal) one of the best in the business. And he’s days from retirement and his fat pension payout. Vizla’s subplot meanders a bit in the first act showing his failed attempts at reintegrating with normal society, being a good neighbor to the timid Camille, played by Vanessa Hudgens (High School Musical)  and taking up regular jobs or hobbies, often with darkly humorous results. His scenes, mostly confined to a snowy mountain town, are nearly devoid of colours other than stark white and varying shades of grey and brown.

Once Vizla is finally tracked down and cornered, the action is swift and very satisfactory. We see how Vizla’s old fashioned ways and experience outsmart and overpower the new assassins’ gimmicks and flashy tactics. The action and the way it’s shot is the high point of this movie. That and the inherent craziness of what Vizla is up against separates this movie from the whole “retired badass forced into a new fight and winning by his experience” genre that seems overdone in a film market trying to cash in on the popularity of the TAKEN and JOHN WICK franchises.

If you can get over the clashing styles of gritty and cartoony, POLAR is a cool albeit cliched movie. We have seen it all before with this movie being light on plot and light on developing its main character beyond the simplest single statement character description of “retired hitman who can’t reintegrate”. It is however great fun, never boring, and full of that dark humour that I love.

***********Review***********

Entertainment: A-

Story: C-

Acting: A

Characters: B-

Music: C-

Replay value: B+

"Brains": C-

Godzilla: The Planet Eater (2019) CGI Anime Movie review

Overall verdict: 7.5/10

Fanatical space cults, philosophy, and proof that a giant monster movies can be deeper than the average blockbuster. 

The Good: Believable character development, great cast and acting, intricate artwork, improved CGI animation, numerous social and philosophical themes to unpack, deconstructive slant, compelling atmosphere of suspense, creative reinventions of classic kaiju. 

The Bad: Light on traditional movie action, lots of unnecessary verbal exposition for events happening onscreen.

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Defeat! The latest mission to destroy Godzilla has ended in failure when Captain Haruo Sakaki made a life or death decision choosing his friend Yuko over the chance for victory.

Mutiny! Haruo is branded a traitor by the Bilsaludo people, former allies of humanity, who stage a coup on board the colony ship Aratrum.

Despair! With all hope lost, humanity turns to the Exif religion led my the charismatic Metphies who manipulated events to bring their Dark god into this plane of existence! The dreaded golden avatar of destruction: Ghidorah.

Ever wondered what a Cosmic horror styled Godzilla movie would be like? This comes complete with fanatical cult, a charismatic religious leader, human sacrifices, and an extradimensional dark deity that defies all laws of physics. In this story, Ghidorah has evolved beyond being just a three headed space dragon. He is now a living time space anomaly, existing in our reality on the combined beliefs of fearful fanatical followers. The ultimate pinnacle of extraterrestrial evolution; a dark mirror to how Godzilla had been portrayed as the pinnacle of earth’s evolutionary development.

That being said it is important to approach this movie with the right expectations and in this case it is not for giant rubber suit wrestling matches. The battle between Godzilla and Ghidorah, both representing the evolutionary peak of their respective natures, is the the unstoppable force meeting the immovable object. That’s it. A force meeting an object, and the fight is exactly as it sounds. 

Instead, GODZILLA THE PLANET EATER is a feature length clash of metaphors and philosophical concepts, each one building on the last. Drawing heavily from the likes of Nietzsche and other perspectives on nihilism, this movie is a biting critique of human nature, motivations and actions; of our flawed sense of superiority and self righteousness. 

The nebulous comforts humanity cling to in times of desperation such as seemingly advanced technology or the faint solace of false religions are harshly deconstructed. Deconstructed too is the nature of the messianic narrative as it is being twisted into crafting a figurehead for advancing a hidden agenda. 

At its core, it is a cautionary tale against single minded obsession to the point of sacrificing the qualities that make us uniquely human. This has been portrayed in a deeply metaphorical sense, through the Godzilla destruction Mission in the first movie, the nanometal in the second movie, and now the Exif’s dark god in this third movie. 

But it’s themes are not all darkness storm and stress. In our main character of Haruo, we are given a tragic tale espousing the virtue of letting go and moving on from past emotional baggage; hatred, anger, fear arising from past trauma and failures. On a greater scope, the state of humanity and Haruo can be seen as a commentary about Japan itself; a country still paying for its misdeeds of the past (given form as Godzilla), who's traditional ways of life are being replaced by "alien" (western) norms, beliefs and mindsets (the Exif religion and Bilusaludo technology), all the while asking the question "how far do we go until we lose who we are?".

Visually, the style of this movie fits the narrative. Desolate post apocalyptic landscapes complete with perpetual overcast skies and creatures that come in varying shades of grey. This all contributes to the serious, bleak and often tragic tone of the story. There seem to be some improvements in the animation, with characters having more dynamic range of expressions compared to the first movie. And all this is complemented with a fine cast, both for the Japanese and English dubs. 

GODZILLA: THE PLANET EATER is easily one of the darkest entries in the Godzilla franchise and one of the deepest with tone and themes hearkening back to the original 1954 classic. Like the original GOJIRA (1954) this movie thrives on atmosphere and suspense. It is relatively light on traditional "blasts and beatdowns" kind of action, but if one was expecting that all the time, a Michael Bay movie might be a more suitable alternative. For those of us who like stories that get you thinking, this one has tons to unpack.  

It is highly recommended that one watches all 3 of the GODZILLA anime movies back to back. Some of the revelations in the third lend themselves to having a deeper appreciation of certain events in PLANET OF MONSTERS and CITY ON THE EDGE OF BATTLE as well as clarifying some initially vague plot points. On a whole, the trilogy of GODZILLA ANIME movies might have had a slow start and is not flawless. It is however "true Godzilla" in spirit and a respectable addition to the franchise.

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Entertainment: B+
Art: B+
Animation: A-

Story: B+
Voice Acting (Japanese): A
Voice Acting (English): A- 

Characters: B+

Music: C+

Replay value: A-
"Brains": A-

Maze Runner: The Death Cure (2018) movie review

Overall verdict: 6.5/10

That YA Remake of Resident Evil The Final Chapter

The Good: Clearer directing in action scenes, good cast chemistry, presents themes that explore grey morality,  fitting music score, magnificent special effects, many emotional moments.

The Bad: Derivative and cliched plot, mediocre scripting, some wooden acting.

***********Review***********

Thomas and friends have survived the treacherous Maze, one of many experiments by the WCKD organisation to find a cure to a virus which turns humans into rage filled savages. They have survived the Scorch, the desolate wastelands which were once mankind’s greatest cities. Now they have to take on WCKD itself and the vengeful overseer Janson () who has captured Thomas’ buddy Minho hoping to extract a cure from his immune cells. They also have to deal with Theresa, Thomas’ former Girlfriend, who turns out to have been working for WCKD all along and betrayed the group in the last movie.

THE DEATH CURE is the final part of the MAZE RUNNER trilogy and at first glance it seems to carry on the derivative nature of the preceding entry THE SCORCH TRIALS. WCKD conducting questionable experiments for a virus cure? Rage filled human husks who would cannibalise survivors? A rag tag band of freedom fighters going up against a corrupt corporation? A hostile takeover from within that same corporation? Yup it definitely sounds like a rehash of Paul WS Anderson’s RESIDENT EVIL movie franchise. Even some of the designs used in this movie like WCKD’s flying vehicles The Bergs, look almost like Umbrella corporation VTOLs.

Looks can be deceiving however as once you get deeper into our story we see these familiar tropes given a fresh portrayal. All opposing forces in the ongoing conflict are just as morally questionable as the next. WCKD’s experiments may be brutal but it is revealed that their intentions are noble and altruistic, hoping to save the remnants of humanity without a single thought about profiteering from the cure. 

The rebel group comes complete with some familiar faces. Are they really opposing an oppressive government or are they just anarchists motivated by jealousy and adopting a “taking you with me” attitude towards what they see as the privileged class of people protected behind the walls? All of this is kept grey and it is nice to see such lines of good and evil blurred to this extent. Gives one quite a bit to think about.

Thomas,Theresa, Newt and Minho all receive a surprising amount of character development along with some startling revelations. The actors have become so comfortable portraying their characters and this shows through the chemistry especially in the emotionally tense moments. The action seems to be shot a lot clearer now with less of the jitter cam and quick cuts that made THE SCORCH TRIALS a chore to watch. The special effects are magnificent considering the movie’s Budget and the music by composer John Paesano (Superman/Batman: Apocalypse) complements the action perfectly.

When seen through the context of its young adult target audience, one could derive a “brothers before romantic partners” theme underlying the whole narrative of the trilogy. Whenever Thomas develops feelings for any female character or vice versa, trouble is soon to follow. Whereas the single minded determination to rescue a fellow “glader” (term used to denote the original band of allies who escaped the maze), this “leave no man behind” mindset is shown to be the purest of motives and the highest of moral obligations. So remember kids, Bros before babes ok?

That being said, THE MAZE RUNNER trilogy is a fun though slightly derivative series. Some liberties are taken from the original source material, like the removal of psychic powers, but these aid the transition to film. If you can overlook a weaker second instalment , then this third one THE DEATH CURE will make it all worthwhile.

***********Review***********

Entertainment: B+

Story: C+

Acting: B-

Characters: A-

Music: B-

Replay value: B+

"Brains": B

The Predator (2018) movie review

Overall verdict: 6/10

Long tall Sally, She's built sweet.
But she ain't got everything that Uncle John need.

The Good: Beautiful cinematography, great acting, memorable music that pays homage to the original movie score, attempts to show the trials of those suffering from mental issues.

The Bad: mediocre action, forgettable characters, bland dialogue that tries too hard to be funny, takes the franchise in a direction that differs from established canon. 

***********Review***********

Helmed by director Shane Black, THE PREDATOR is an odd creature of a movie that at times feel as much a gene spliced monster as the “upgrade” Predator which features as the main antagonist of the story. It splices elements of other movies that audiences seem to drawn to such as the lighthearted snarky comedy of marvel cinematic universe, well written kid characters from the 2017 IT remake, the R Rated violence of JOHN WICK and a relevant social issue which in this case seems to be mental conditions. It is big, it is imposing, but it is not necessarily stronger or more impressive.

Our story begins by establishing our main character: sniper extraordinaire Quinn McKenna. He’s a badass with issues. During a mission he encounters a crashed alien spaceship and comes into possession of some alien tech which he mails home to keep it out of the government’s reach. But the ship had an occupant too who is captured by the Stargazer project, an extraterrestrial monitoring organisation. Now McKenna’s Son, who is autistic, somehow manages to activate the alien tech which draws another meaner and bigger alien Predator to earth to retrieve the tech and crashed ship’s occupant, who is soon revealed to be some sort of traitor to his race. McKenna must team up with a rag tag bunch of war veterans, who all have issues, to stop this new threat.

For me, THE PREDATOR is really a step down for the franchise. Take the main characters for instance. In the first movie they all had distinct personalities. In PREDATORS they were all from various different backgrounds. Here, Everyone of those veterans forming the main “team” is a snarky foul mouth with a new quip ever at the ready. There are some genuinely funny moments, even tender moments, but much of the emotional aspect is lost amid one too many “trying to be funny” scenes.

The director tries to bring attention to various mental issues like Autism and PTSD but unfortunately some of the symptoms are played for laughs. Ultimately the mental issues aspect just serves to give characters some unique tics rather than being used to get a deeper point across. Then again with such bland characters we could use anything to tell them apart.

The action is equally as bland. Most of the movie is set in a American suburban town and nearby forest. There is not much In The way of that suspenseful feeling of being hunted by a superior unseen foe since the foes are revealed in full visible glory early on. The one word to describe the directing is “pedestrian”. You know, the bland medium shots, jittery cam during action scenes, the kind of camera angles you would expect from a less experienced director than Shane Black, particularly since this is amateurish when to his work on IRON MAN 3. Only the cinematography, courtesy of Larry Fong, adds to the atmosphere of the movie.

Another positive would be the music by Henry Jackman, paying homage to the iconic themes of the original while adding a sufficiently fresh touch. The actors also do their best with the forgettable script they are given. Standout performances include Thomas Jane (PUNISHER) as Baxley, the guy with Tourettes, and Keegan-Michael Kay as Coyle, the vulgar strutting one who is hiding a vulnerable secret.

While not a complete reboot of the franchise, THE PREDATOR does make some changes, especially in the titular aliens’ motive for hunting humans. Long time fans will be hard pressed to accept this new direction after years of tie in media painting the titular Predators as honour bound warriors who test themselves by hunting only the most dangerous game. Here, they get painted more as scientists who harvest genetic material to introduce into their genes to improve their species.

I really wanted to like this movie much more than I did. The acting, cast chemistry, music and cinematography is great. But on the flip side it feels too juvenile with its incessant humour, bland action and lack of much depth. It would be intriguing to see how these latest story developments are incorporated in to sequels or tie in media but for now all we are left with is a mediocre movie experience.

***********Review***********

Entertainment: B

Story: B

Acting: B+

Characters: C-

Music: B+

Replay value: B-

"Brains": C-