Mothra vs. Godzilla (1964)

 ROAD TO MINUS ZERO - PART 4

After being very disappointed with the clash of two monster heavyweights, it was always going to be interested with what Toho could come up with. We are three films into this franchise and have had three very different types of films and they have varied in terms of quality. I thought that the film looked like it was going to continue getting worse then the story starts off with a giant blue and white coloured egg appearing in the middle of the sea.Within about half a second the humans are deciding how to make money out of it with even a showbiz agent saying it is his. Pretty quickly two very small twins appear pleading for the egg's return. 

Despite the fantastical aspect of the script (we are well past the seriousness of the first film), I thought that the film was much better pitched than the previous film. They seem to have accepted that the fantastical part of the story is part of their reality now. The special effects used to match up the twins with the regular sized people is done rather well for 1964.

Despite this being a Godzilla film, it's 33 minutes (in a 88 minute film before he appears).  We do get a good fight between the two which is something that the previous film was lacking. Mothra looks like a credible threat to Godzilla and the humans. Yes some of the effects looked a bit dodgy but overall I thought it was a good encounter between them. There is something deeply satisfying about watching Godzilla and Mothra destroy the model sets they are on. There is one slightly unfortunate scene where the larvae's emerge from the egg and start spraying Godzilla in something that could be taken as slightly inappropriate.

The biggest take from this film is that it is a huge improvement on King Kong vs. Godzilla. It's not perfect by any means but neither does it feel as terrible like the previous film. The story feels like it is taking things a bit more seriously despite the obviously silly vibe of the story. The humans story was interesting enough although their part in the story wasn't anything spectacular, the fights worked well and the effects were good for 1964. I think that this film shows the perfect balance for these type of films. It has just the right amount of silliness to show that it is not taking itself too seriously but not too silly that it comes across as though it's aimed at children. 

King Kong vs. Godzilla (1962)

ROAD TO MINUS ZERO

It was perhaps inevitable that the biggest monster in Japanese cinema would meet the biggest monster in Hollywood. Not sure what the expectation would have been in 1962 but when they were coming together in 2021 I was really looking forward to it. There wasn't any real build up but there was none in 1962 so it's not a big problem. The human aspect of the story sees a Pharmaceutical company trying to claw back ratings on a TV show by going to capture King Kong just as Godzilla re-emerges from being snowed in.

This is the first film in the series that abandons the terror that the first one managed so well and replaces it with goofy nonsense that could only have worked in 1962. I wasn't expecting the series to maintain a serious tone forever but three films in and we have already given up. They have a big marquee fight and yet it doesn't feel like there is any narrative plan for them. They spend way too long getting Kong in the story and less time with Godzilla.

There are many things wrong with this film. There is the curious case of 'blackface' when they arrive on Kong's Island. Even Kong fighting a giant octopus looks poor. If you can just about suspend your disbelief that there is someone in Godzilla's costume then there is no chance of managing that with Kong. It is clearly someone trying to do monkey movements with Kong's arms and it is ill advised. Also there is one moment where we see Kong’s face and there is no articulation in the mouth or the eyes. If only they had put some effort into that then that would have help enough to make Kong seem like an effective monster.

It's an hour into a 97 minute movie before Kong and Godzilla meet. That would be ok in a two hour movie but when it's just over an hour and a half that means that there is very little versus between the two creations. I am more of a Godzilla fan and so find that he is the better monster and more interesting monster. The fact that they share the screen hurts Godzilla because the films work better when Godzilla is up against a less famous monster

It would be 51 years before we got a good Kong vs Godzilla movie (and at time of writing two more) so it's hard to be too harsh on this film but let's not pretend that it's good. In fact it's quite disappointing at how little effort they seemed in the costumes and keeping Godzilla and Kong separate for so long. If you were trying to get the younger audience then this would be the best way to go about it but if you wanted something akin to the first one then you're going to be disappointed.

Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1986)

I wouldn't say that I am the biggest Star Trek fan in the world. In fact this is probably the third Star Trek film I have seen at the cinema with 1991's An Undiscovered Country and 2009's Star Trek (a.k.a Lens Flare the Movie). However with this film being the 40th anniversary I thought this would be a good time to see it at the biggest screen in my local cinema. Apart from the first couple of minutes, you don't really need to have seen the other three films to follow what is going on. Kirk and little gang are heading back to Earth to face the music when they discover that Earth has been visited by a strange alien being that is they surmise is contacting the Whales because they aren't communicating. So Kirk's plan is to go back in time, take two Humpback Whales to communicate with the aliens and hopefully put off the end of the world. They use their Klingon ship to go back to 1986 and come across two Whales that are about the be released into the wild into almost certain death.

The fact that there is no clearcut villain is a bold move but one that works. The story is good enough that even though it has an environmental message at its core, it doesn't come across as patronising. It comes close a couple of times but only briefly. William Shatner is good as he gets to do what he seems to enjoy doing the most, bossing people around and wooing the ladies. Leonard Nimoy is better as the director but he is still good as Spock. DeForest Kelley starts off as the grumpy old man but his best moment comes when he is in the operating room and trying to bring Chekov back to consciousness. George Takei is given the bare minimum to do when he asks some questions about a helicopter and then is transporting a container to the ship. James Doohan seems to be having the time of his life in every scene he is in and Walter Koening suffers from little to do apart from being captured and people thinking he is up to something because he is Russian. Nichelle Nichols is doing her thing and is doing it well but again suffers from having the bare minimum to do. Catherine Hicks is quite good as Gillian who has developed a bond with the Whales and ends up as part of the Federation using her expertise in the future.

This is the most fun I have had watching this film. I found it more humorous than I on previous watches and thought that despite the slightly ludicrous concept, the film makes it work and Star Trek 4 is one of the more enjoyable films in the series. Leonard Nimoy does a good job of directing and the cast are all on good form and at just under two hours, the film doesn't outstay its welcome. Would definitely watch more old Star Trek films at the cinema especially the one where Kirk fights God.

Fall 2: Deadpoint (2026)

Fall 2 was a mystery screening and this was one of the best attended mystery screenings although Mystery is a generous as it was quite clear that it would be Fall 2. There is always a question about whether a mediocre film needs a sequel but clearly Fall did well enough to get a sequel which I confess that I have seen but couldn't be bothered to re-watch it even though it was on TV last night. The sequel follows on from the first where the sister of Shiloh is persuaded to visit Thailand to of a plank walk on the side of a mountain on Mount Kwan by a friend of Shiloh.

Things go wrong relatively quickly once they start their illegal climb and I will be honest that this film did make me a little bit anxious. I'm not afraid of heights but the unstable way that the planks of wood were assembled was enough to make me feel uneasy which I suppose is what directors were aiming for. I am pretty sure that they filmed a lot of this with blue screen but credit go to the special effects because they do make it look like they did film it up a mountain.

I thought that Harriet Slater (Jax) and Arsema Thomas (Luce/Billie) were doing their best with what was a flimsy at best script and use the restricted setting well enough. I think that other people might get more out of their relationship although I only found it interesting after the truth about Luce comes out.

The film splits a flashback between Jax and Shiloh as they go skydiving and it ends with Jax telling Shiloh to drop dead which was the last conversation they have so the film is about her coming to peace with how things ended and doing the trek in her honour. The first twist that Luce is in fact a fan of what happened and in fact named Billie was somewhat predictable but I suppose that there wouldn't be much to enjoy about this film without the predicable things.

It was clear that Jon was either going to die saving our two leads or be an evil guy with a sinister secret and it rather predictably turned out to be the latter. The oxygen tanks they were given contain Fentanyl and Jon was using Jax and Billie as drugs mules which was mildly interesting although it does feel like it was one plot contrivance too many. The film didn't need this and they could have been rescued by someone else. 

Fall 2 or Fall 2: Deadpoint as it is also known as is an ok film. It's a film that doesn't have much in the way of plot and so would have to rely on its characters and them being interesting enough to get you through it and sadly I found both Jax and Billie to not being the most well thought out characters because these sort of people who do these stupid treks are hard to feel any empathy towards. I don't think that there needs to be a third but if this takes the money then that third one will be on its way.

Coyote vs. Acme (2026)

Sometimes a film's backstory is just as if not more interesting as the film itself. Coyote vs. Acme is one of the most infamous films that has come out for quite sometime as back in November 2023, Warner Bros in a latest example that they don't know what they are doing, decide to shelve this film and get rid of it as a tax loss despite it supposedly doing well with test audiences. Nearly two years later we get to see just how dumb Warner Bros were.

The set up of the film is a convoluted plan of Wile E. Coyote to try and catch and then eat the Roadrunner. He decides to sue Acme for selling him faulty goods with the plan that once Roadrunner appears in court then Coyote will be able to pull of his plan. I thought that the live action/animated balance was quite well done. I know there will be comparisons to such films as Who Framed Roger Rabbit and the Space Jam films but I think this is more in the Roger Rabbit side of the spectrum as the story is good and the slapstick humour is well done.

Will Forte is very good as Kevin who is the lawyer who is helping Wile E. Coyote and they dynamic is at the heart of the film and credit to Forte because a large percentage of his scene are with Coyote and he makes you believe that Coyote is really there. Lana Condor is very good as Paige and makes her character more likeable and entertaining than the story probably made her scene. John Cena plays Buddy Crane and he was more effective as a villain than he was during his brief heel turn in WWE in 2025. 

The film is directed rather well by Dave Green who manages to balance the live action and the animated parts of the film rather well and I guarantee that you will have missed some gags the first time around so it will definitely require multiple viewings. The film did feel like it was starting to run out of steam when the story moves to Washington with Senator Elmer Fudd leading proceedings. Thankfully the interaction between Coyote and Roadrunner is quite lovely and makes you realise what you probably already knew and that they have been doing their thing for so long that its become something else to them.

Warner Bros' decision to shelve the film could potentially harm the film as it sends a message to the audience that they didn't believe in the film so they may lead some people to wait for it to end up on streaming but I suppose time will tell. I really enjoyed this film. I thought it was funny and it should do well with the young audience. 

Godzilla Raids Again (1955)

ROAD TO MINUS ZERO

After the success of the first Godzilla film, it was inevitable that there would be another and this one came out twelve months after the first which is a crazy turn around time. This time the humans aren't just battling with Godzilla but a new monster supposedly from his past and called an Anguirus. 

Kobayashi and Tusikoka are the two main characters as pilots that end up trying to kill Godzilla. I think that they work better than Ogata and Serizawa in the last film. They get around the fact that Godzilla was defeated in the last film saying that (for some reason) the information is gone. A lot seems to have happened in the short time since the first film. They seem to be able to monitor his movements a lot better and even have air raid shelters ready for when he does appear.

It might seem strange to bring another monster into things but from an entertainment point of view it makes sense because all the humans can really do is stand there and do narrative commentary of what is happening. There needs to be something for Godzilla to be up against and another monster is just the answer. Now the 'fighting' might not be the best because at times it is comically sped up so some Benny Hill music wouldn't look out of place but at least they would get better.

Anguirus is the first monster that Godzilla fights in these films and it's not the greatest to be honest. Aside from the comedic pace the fights are the best. I suppose it's quite harsh to compare this to today's standards but I just think that it was limited from what we would get in future films. The plan is another simple one, this time they are going to bury it under mountain rocks and they end up doing it before the film ends. I would be lying if I said that this was a good Godzilla film. It doesn't quite have the same impact as the first one because the first one is about something. This just felt like a standard monster movie of the period where people spend lots of time talking and then there are a few brief moments of action.

Insidious: Out of the Further (2026)

We have been on a great run of horror films this year with Backrooms, Obsession, 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple, Evil Dead Burn and Primate and yet we have another Insidious film to remind us how good we have had it. The last Insidious film was one of the most horror films I can remember seeing and yet Blumhouse feel that we need another one of these films. It is a new family with Gemma and Maya. The film starts in the distant past of 1999 where a young Gemma is living with her mom who is being possessed and ends up dying. Fast forward 20 years and we see a grown up Gemma who is weirdly staying in the same house with her daughter Maya and she is a dental hygienist and straight away my fear of dentist put me on edge.

I thought that Amelia Eve was quite good as Gemma. Despite the odd fact that Gemma still lives in the enormous house that her mother died in, she is a likeable person and her relationship with Island Austin (Maya) was quite nice to watch. The supporting characters are all pretty decent with her boyfriend Nick who seems to come on board to the weird situation rather quickly and also Clare who becomes the vessel for Elise to talk to people in this world. 

With this being a Blumhouse film, they don't really have the patience to be clever with their jump scares and things that are supposed to be scary. The house is way too big but that is the M.O of these films. There are periods of quiet darkness and you can set your watch as to when things go bang quite loudly. There are three old people that look odd and that is apparently enough to make them scary. They do have a purpose later on in the film but it's another cliche that Blumhouse films lean on quite a lot. There is also the ridiculous sight of the house having disappeared and no-one seemingly bothered as no one goes out to check so either everyone is in a deep sleep, dead or no one cares.

So yet again they bring the 83 year old Lin Shaye back and she has been the spine of this franchise and they made up for the lack of Elise in the last one. Her first 'appearance' is in the reflection of Gemma's protective glasses doing action moves that would have been laughable. Due to the fact that the character died, they at least keep creditability by only having her in the further. 

There are moments which are quite good. The couch tunnel moment was quite well done and even though it features in the trailer, this is longer version and quite creepy. Also the old couple that live opposite Gemma and Maya have a funny moment when they are both then, the woman points to the sky and her husband just stands there so she nudges him and he then points to the sky and I thought that was quite funny. 

Out of the Further is a huge improvement on the previous film but that was a low bar to clear. I do think that they need to stop doing these films because whilst they may have been popular in 2010 when the first one came out but we are sixteen years and six films on and there is nothing new and the genre has changed where these films are in danger of becoming cliched. If you have seen the other films then you will probably enjoy them but if you appreciate some creativity then I wouldn't have particularly high expectations.