Friday, March 25, 2005

Netflix:: Godzilla: Tokyo S.O.S

Queue Review Netflix

Godzilla: Tokyo S.O.S

Nearly humorless, thrill deprived and directed with all the passion of an industrial film this 2003 entry in the original G's screen assualt will appeal mostly to hardcore fans and young kids with low expectations.

As astounding as this will sound; Godzilla is on his way to attack Tokyo again and there's virtually nothing the hapless government can do about it. Cutting edge stuff eh? They have Mecha-Godzilla but he's broken - luckily for citizen's of Japan Mothra is obsessed with burying at sea the 'Zilla bones that MechaG is built around. Whatever, at least we get a few scenes with those kawaii fairy chicks - the singing one's who rep Mothra - oh yeah.

The effects here are fairly mediocre - Mothra'a pretty cool though and there's nothing quite like seeing one of MothDaddie's kiddies sucking of Godzilla's tail. Priceless. The human's are barely adequate which does the turgid script no favors.


Thursday, March 24, 2005

Nicheflix : Memories of Murder, Ringu 2, The Stewardess

Queue Review Nicheflix

Memories of Murder

Fairly brilliant Korean police drama focusing on an actual unsolved series of murders in a provincial city. Women are being sexually assaulted and murdered and the local cops - vicious, stupid and corrupt and utterly ineffectual - can do little but attempt to frame whatever suspect is unlucky enough to catch their attention. Joined by a far more skilled detective from Seoul they chase one promising lead after another only to face a series of maddening dead ends.

Easily as good as anything Hollywood has turned out recently - powerful performances - lead by Kang-ho Song and truly masterful direction from Joon-ho Bong make Memories of Murder one of the most compelling cop dramas of the decade. Very highly recommended.

Memories of Murder at NicheFlix
Memories of Murder at IMDB

---------------------------

Ringu 2

Disappointing sequel to the original Ringu - after the unique hook that made it predecessor such a stunning success Ringu2 reverts to more standard genre territory with undistinguished results. The original cast is back and Rikiya Otaka's Yoichi is one of the creepiest kids in horror cinema since Haley Joel stared seeing dead people. The direction has it's moments and there are some genuine chills to be had but the original is simply to tough an act to follow.

Ringu 2 at NicheFlix
Ringu 2 at IMBD

---------------------------

The Stewardess

Awkward comedy/thriller from Hong Kong about a film "transcriber" who finds him self juggling unlikely relationships with a mob bosses daughter and a creepy/sexy Japanese stewardess. The frenetic genre melange never quite works and The Stewardess seems to be trying far too hard to be too many things and fails at all of them. Not recommended.