Review Roundup - Losers Club

THROW DOWN (2004)

Time for a sports movie about judo. Or at least that's what the title suggests this will be. While it doesn't run with the concept quite as far as Tokyo Fist it's still an unusual take on a popular idea. There's an underdog, or in this case three of them, looking for success. There are a bunch of different sparring sequences. But there's also some musical moments along the way amongst other stylistic choices that make this feel more unique. It's a story more about the obsession (or the addiction) some might have with winning, whether it's through fair competition or other more self-destructive means. It's also fair to call it another one of Johnnie To's triad underworld movies, but that would have under-selling it.

Review Roundup - The Last Stand

GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY VOL. 3

Nearly ten years ago the Marvel Cinematic Universe seemed as if it could do no wrong, releasing both Captain America: The Winter Soldier and Guardians of the Galaxy in one fell swoop. Fast forward to the present day and things have began to collapse inwards as those kind of distinct movie experiences have been lost under a string of sub-par releases. Avengers: Endgame felt more and more like the end of the era as time went on and things got more tired and rote. Budgets were spread thinner and the veneer of a film series cracked to show the corporate product beneath. But there was still a third instalment of this trilogy to be released, one that had been delayed for some time now. Is this another mechanised obligation or does it have soul?

Monster Bites - Parent Trap

GORGO (1961)

Time for a venture into the world of weirdly familiar second hand ideas and recycled imagery. There aren't too many original monster movie concepts out there, but some are more noticeable than others when they get repeated. In this case it's the old Mothra story in which something is stolen from a mysterious region and something bigger and angrier shows up to cause havoc. This was itself an obvious take on the story from King Kong but sometimes sticking to a simple formula works. There are greedy jerks looking to find fame and fortune and there are strange island locales. Unfortunately there are also some moments involving child actors that would later be copied by the Gamera series. It's a weird self cannibalising genre, but in a way that's part of the fun.

Scorecard

APRIL

FILM OF THE MONTH: Roujin Z ☆☆☆☆