Monster Bites - Shellshock

GAMERA THE BRAVE (2006) 

The 1990s trilogy concluded with the idea that Gamera would continue to fight on against his usual enemies. However, after distribution of part three went to Toho, the Godzilla owners, Daiei dissolved and became part of Kadokawa Studios. Seven years passed and they oversaw a series reboot much like the Godzilla films. Which could have been fruitful; the series might have benefited from looser continuity a new ideas. Unfortunately, this is Gamera's last big screen appearance and the only movie from this new era thanks to its commercial failure. Is it a disaster or is this just because it wasn't the anticipated part four? 

Monster Bites - Fireball XL

GAMERA 2: ATTACK OF LEGION (1996)

Hold on, wasn't it called Advent of Legion? Assault of 'The Legion'? Or was it Invasion? It's been a while since this 1990s monster trilogy was mentioned here, so the details are sketchy and the release titles are varied. In fact it must have been nearly a decade ago in blogging time. Ten years of writing utter rubbish that nobody reads as a substitute for any semblance of mental wellbeing, where does the time go? In those days the old DVDs you could get in the mail were a source of all kinds of world cinema gems, but that was before the dark times, before the age of streaming. Now thankfully there are new Blu-ray sets, so let's take a look to see if this is still the best part of the series.

Review Roundup - Treading Water

AVATAR: FIRE AND ASH (2025)

Ah James Cameron, once master of the low budget thrill ride, the big budget tech demo, and the director of the ultimate sequel. In some ways he never recovered from the generic nature of True Lies and the mushy slog of Titanic but that's a story for another time. Of course most recently, in a relative sense, the sanctuary moon of 'Pandora' took his focus for fifteen years, not counting all that visual effects development. Which isn't to say this world doesn't have its share of Saturday morning cartoon level thrill power. So when this instalment, perhaps the last but probably not, threatens to be something deeper it's a shame it doesn't stick the landing. 

Review Roundup - Sleepwalkers

WEAPONS (2025)

Movies being too long, too dark looking, and having meandering narration instead of visual storytelling, these are often unfortunate signs of the modern era. The ultra-slick in and out ninety-minute thrill ride seems to be a lost art whether the budgets are minuscule or astronomical. Not everything needs to be over two hours or the length of a historical epic. In the case of the two recent releases below these issues have a different impact on the final product, but it's odd that people have forgotten how to make lean stories or how to trim scenes and 'kill their darlings' as the old saying goes. 

Review Roundup - The Bank Job

CASH ON DEMAND (1961)

Part of the 5th Great Hammer-Amicus Blogathon

 

Welcome back to the Blogathon dear readers and all you fans of the macabre. If you're hoping for a review of something ghoulish in the way of vampires and monsters you might be in for a shock; this is a film about banking. Which you have to admit is a truly spine-chilling turn of events. But the most sinister element of all is yet to come since this also a secret Christmas movie. That's right, it's even got party hats and snow. But not to worry, there's a good suspense thriller storyline to enjoy as well as a duo of classic lead actors that will be very familiar to many of you. Let's take a peek into the security vault and see what's in store...