This film doesn't hold back any punches as the opening scene first has a giant octopus attack a boat only to get have the Octopus get attacked by a Gargantua. Why? Cause the Gargantua wanted the boat all to himself. This English language version of Furankenshutain no kaiju: Sanda tai Gaira is an interesting edit that make for a somewhat different film. Though there are mentions to these Gargantua having been grown, this version of the film tries to remove all references to Frankenstein and changes the names of Sanda and Gaira (the two giants) to Brown Gargantua and Green Gargantua. It also tends to give more screen time and focus to Professor Stewart. These aspects actually make sense when you think about it. Having these creatures come from Frankenstein (from an earlier Toho film) might seem silly to some especially if they've never seen the film to which this was supposed to be a sequel. Where I think the film drastically falls down is in the changing of the music. The music by Akira Ifukube is used in the film but at different times. I feel the original scoring of the Japanese film is much more appropriate. While I found the look of the Gargantuas a little silly, the film has some great miniatures, a great mix of real military vehicles mixed with remote control versions and plenty of scenes where they mix both miniature with real action/scenery to good effect. War of the Gargantuas is a schlocky kaiju film... but in the end, isn't that kinda what we like about the films?

This Naruto film sports a very annoying start with the standard spoiled brat lesson. The second half picks up as the Hidden Leaf team of Rock Lee, Sakura, Kakashi and Naruto meet up with some "bad" ninjas. The fight sequences aren't particularly good and the special abilities of these new ninjas are easily figured out by the group making things a little boring. Thankfully Rock Lee is in the film and while he's not used nearly enough, he's still Rock Lee and when Fuzzy Brows gets to fight... it's awesome!

Clearly on the lower side of budgets, Werewolf: The Beast Among Us still manages to be relatively entertaining. Thanks to some decent acting, Directing and editing, the film itself is pretty well made. Thanks to the costumes and locations, the feel of the film actually works in a not historically correct fashion. Where the film falters is on some less than stellar CG work and a bizarre twist nearing the end. But the good far outweighs the bad and this werewolf film could have ended up a laughing joke much like a previous Universal film starring a named Vampire Hunter. Worth checking out if you like classic universal monster movies done with modern technology.

The American Pie series is one of the funniest comedy series I've ever seen. I was looking forward to seeing this finally and after seeing the opening sequence, I knew I was in for more of the same hilarious hijinx I'd come to love... or so I thought. American Reunion does have quite a few classic scenes worthy of an American Pie film and all of your fave characters are here... including some new ones. While I feel the dramatic moments of American Reunion were necessary (most the American Pie films had some kind of drama) in this final installment they seemed more the focus of the film rather than the backbone upon which plenty of laughs could be laid. This results in American Reunion not being as funny as it could... nay, should have been. Another aspect that hindered the comedy was the acting. Most of the cast of the American Pie films aren't exactly oscar winning actors but with American Reunion it felt as though nobody really wanted to be there. Their performances were stiff and I didn't get the vibe that they were having fun. While American Reunion isn't the bang I hoped the series would go out on... it is still milftastic in its own way.

Lockout is far from good but it's not exactly bad either. In fact, there's plenty of good in the film if you just look hard enough. The look and feel of the film is very good with FX that work both from the digital realm and the physical. The story is ok dealing with morality and prisons and human life and decency and politics. Where the film tends to fall apart is in the main characters. Our male lead is a Bruce Willis in Die Hard type character who's extremely masoginistic. The female lead is the "ditzy blonde" who means well but doesn't seem to understand how things work likely due to a sheltered life. Neither of these characters really make me want to watch them succeed. The performances from the actors is quite good but when the writting of the characters is of this level, it doesn't matter how good the acting is. There are some great pieces of dialogue however which only work because of the type of characters and the way they're acted but they don't quite redeem the already painful to watch (but only slightly) anti-heroes presented here. The characters aren't all bad. The two main baddies are very good and fun to watch and I kinda wish we had even more of them in the film. Outside of the characters there are a few other items that might turn you away from the film. Ever watch a film that did things that just weren't believable? Lockout does quite a few of them. While I prefer to watch a film that grounds itself in reality so as to connect with the viewer better, I don't outright dismiss the films where you need to shut off your brain to enjoy them. Lockout is the kind of popcorn flick you simply sit back and let happen. Don't question what's taking place on screen. That will only make your head hurt. No. Let the mediocre story have its day and allow all the crazy on screen simply go on. Just watch... and eat the popcorn.