Starship Troopers (1997):

Starship Troopers (1997):

“Humans in a fascist, militaristic future wage war with giant alien bugs.”

Starship Troopers takes place on a world where Earth is united under a military dictatorship called the Federation. Despite this, this movie is more about the every day life of Johnny Rico and his friends as they work their way up the ranks. First military school, then bootcamp, then seeing action on Planet P, and then the Bug homeworld, Klendathu.

One of the first things that I thought was how much the world looks like Starcraft. That was an obvious inspiration. Second, how nonchalant Johnny and his friends (Carl, Carmen, and Dizzy.) are about military service. They take co-ed showers together, and they're talking about what field they're going to work in, instead of ogling. (Although there are romances, men and women advance equally.) One of Johnny's friends, Carl, gets into military intelligence, so they can partake in an invasion.

However, during training Johnny accidentally kills a squadmate, and wants to go home to Buenos Aires. But, the bugs send a meteor to blow up the city just after he calls his parents. So, Rico takes part in the invasion of Klendathu, after brown-nosing to a drill instructor. This is where the real battle and violence begin. Bombs, guns, people ripped apart. 100,000 dead by the end.

It turns out the Federation was ambushed by the bugs. They can anticipate human movements through the use of “Brain Bugs” that suck out marines' brains. Then, the movie turns into a quest to stop the Brain Bug, and Johnny takes over his old commander's squad, becoming “Rico's Roughnecks”. Overall, it's a good sci-fi action flick, with a good array of weapons, sci-fi tech, and good ship models.

The characters are relatable even under a military dictatorship. Each character has their own ambition, and relationships, ranks, and how they react to battle. Some of it is actually pretty funny, like when Johnny's psychic buddy gets his ferret to believe there's a grub on her leg, so it bugs her. But, the 2nd half is a bloodbath, as Johnny's squad evolves from schoolkids to full-blown soldiers. Boom! Check it out, if you can!

Perfect Blue (1997):

Perfect Blue (1997):

“A pop singer gives up her career to become an actress, but she slowly goes insane when she starts being stalked by an obsessed fan and what seems to be a ghost of her past.”

Mima is a pop idol who wants to leave her band (Cham) to pursue a career as an actress. But, as soon as she joins the police procedural crime show Double Bind, murders start to occur in the ex-pop idol's name. She discovers a website written by “her” (as Mima from Cham.) that not only lists what she does every day, but also serves as a hit list of writers and producers on Double Bind.

She tries to confront them. Soon, she slowly discovers she's losing her grip on reality, and is unable to recall what she did, and if the murders are real. Where is she? Who are the murderers? Is she the murderer? Is she an actress, or a pop idol? What is reality, and what's on TV?

Satoshi Kon does a great job blurring reality and fantasy. Some of the imagery isn't subtle for a murder mystery. For instance, who is the hired killer? Gee, how 'bout the guy who looks like a hired killer? But, it's a good surrealist horror piece, and much of the mystery still holds up. That said, much of this movie wouldn't make sense today.

Mima doesn't know what a website or a “double-click” is. There are fax machines that call her a traitor. The media landscape has changed so much since 1997, these scenes are almost comedic. Still, Satoshi Kon does a good job putting the horror front and center. There are exploding letters, stabbings, sexual abuse, and even a doppelganger claiming to be “The real Mima”.

It's not to everyone's taste, and is violent, but it's a good look into the work of Satoshi Kon dividing reality and fantasy. If you're in the mood for a surrealist murder mystery, check it out. Just beware, there's a lot of horror, and it's a little dated. Otherwise, I say give it a watch!

Vicious Lips (1986):

Vicious Lips (1986):

“Sometime in the distant future, a fledgling band gets an opportunity for a breakthrough, if they can make it in time to a faraway planet to perform in a very popular club.”

So, Judy Jetson gets selected to replace a famous rockstar girl, Ace Lucas. She joins the band The Vicious Lips on their way to a big gig at The Radioactive Dream. Really, the whole movie plays like just an 80s music video, or rock opera. They keep setting it up like it'll be more, but it never really is.

They crash on a desert planet. Then, it turns out that there's an escaped ape-like alien on the spaceship. They keep acting like he should be scary and creepy, but then she smokes some “Martian herb”, and ends up on a planet called Passion Inc. where zombies chase her, and ask her if she wants to be a star.

Then, she wakes up, and it's all been a dream. Literally, one of the most cliched endings. The entire second act doesn't matter. They sing their ending number “Lunar Madness” and then roll credits. I feel like I have to go easy on this movie, since it is just a rock opera. They tease a bigger plot, but it's like Thriller. It's a vehicle for music videos.

Some of the sci-fi costumes, and songs are cool. If that's what you want, give it a watch. If you expect a full movie, you'll be disappointed. It's basically some music videos with dramatic interludes. As for me, I was disappointed. I say skip it. You're better off not knowing the 84 minute movie you watched was just a dream. Spoilers. Oh well.

Erased (2016):

Erased (2016):

“Satoru Fujinuma can travel back in time to save others' lives. When he wakes up 18 years in the past, he has a chance to save his murdered classmates.”

Erased is an anime on Netflix that time travels between 2006 and 1988. It's a murder mystery. Each time somebody is about to be killed, Satoru can use his ability called “Revival” to go back in time and stop it. This results in several timelines being created. A few where he and his friends and family die. A few where he goes back to 1988.

It all starts when his classmate Kayo goes missing. Then, she's being abused. He finds her as a 9-year-old in 1988, and vows to find “Date X” the day she is murdered. He can switch between 1988 and 2006, but never control when he revives. This anime is a roller coaster of emotions. Often a sweet scene like a birthday will be immediately followed by child abuse and murder.

It's a mystery, so I can't give that many spoilers as to who the killer(s) are. I'll say the sci-fi time travel aspect is neat. Soon, more abductions follow Kayo's. There are even a couple timelines where he is framed as the murderer. If you have the hankering for a good mystery, definitely check this one out. But, I'd say be warned, it goes from very light to very dark all the time.

The Karate Kid Part III (1989):

The Karate Kid Part III (1989):

“Ostracised villain John Kreese attempts to gain revenge on Daniel and Miyagi, with the help of a Vietnam War comrade, the wealthy owner of a toxic waste disposal business.”

Terry Silver tricks Danny into training with Cobra Kai. John Kreese fakes his death after his dojo is defeated, and calls on his Vietnam War buddy Terry Silver (Now a wealthy toxic waste mogul.) to humiliate and destroy Daniel and Miyagi. Meanwhile, Danny spends his college fund opening a bonsai tree business for Mr. Miyagi.

Mr. Miyagi and Daniel are attacked by “Karate's Bad Boy” Mike Barnes, on Silver's orders. But, Miyagi still won't let Daniel compete in the karate tournament. Here's where Terry Silver slithers in, and presents himself as a reasonable sensei, when he is in reality a bloodthirsty sociopath who aims to torture Danny through training.

When Danny tries to say he's had enough, Mike Barnes, John Kreese, and Terry Silver jump out at him, but he's saved by Miyagi. This is where the karate really gets good. The tournament fight in this one is much better too. Overall, I thought it was a strong entry in the trilogy. Pretty much required viewing for the Cobra Kai series.

In this movie, you get to see what a crazy guy Terry Silver is, and how extreme the Cobra Kai “No Mercy” philosophy is. Danny's knuckles bleed, and his foot is bruised during training. Terry has no qualms about teaching students to hit the eyes, throat, and groin. All illegal hits. And yet, he puts on a slimy good guy face that makes him hard to look away from.

If you have time today, definitely give this one a watch. Johnny Lawrence was bad, but Terry Silver is truly evil. Plus, there's improved karate scenes, like a better tournament this time. There's no doubt in my mind, Mike Barnes will be back for the Cobra Kai series. We may yet get to see Cobra Kai as evil again! You won't wanna miss it: Check it out!

Robocop 2 (1990):

Robocop 2 (1990):

“RoboCop returns to protect the citizens of old Detroit but faces a deadly challenge when a rogue OCP member secretly creates a new, evil RoboCop 2.”

A new drug called Nuke is in the city, and Robocop has to take out the cult distributing it. The drug dealer turns out to be a kid, and he can't shoot him. When Robocop finally does track down the cult, he's dismembered and out-gunned. This leads to some silly scenes where they re-program Robocop to not be violent (Still not safe for kids!), police bad language, and smoking.

It's a pretty funny Robocop. A good mix of action-comedy. Meanwhile, scientists are creating a new Robocop program: Robocop 2. Unfortunately, the candidates are psychos and murders, not good citizens like Officer Alex Murphy. There's even a lot of debate over if he's company property, or an officer.

This is just good satire and action movie fun. Robocop unites the cops finally, but it's his human side that wins out. He's not just a company machine, and he has free will. It's a pretty fun watch, and ends with a pretty good shootout between Robocop and Robocop 2. Give it a watch, if you have time!

Read my review of Robocop 1 here: https://bit.ly/3A4alSn

Read my review of Robocop 3 here: https://bit.ly/3lULR7c

Raya And The Last Dragon (2021):

Raya And The Last Dragon (2021):

“In a realm known as Kumandra, a re-imagined Earth inhabited by an ancient civilization, a warrior named Raya is determined to find the last dragon.”

Raya re-discovers a dragon (Sisu, The Water Dragon.) when she lets a “friend” borrow and break her Guardian gem, which unleashes a great evil on the kingdoms of Kumandra. Each kingdom is named after a part of the Dragons. Tail, Spine, Heart, and Talon. She travels the apocalyptic landscape on a giant aramadillo hoping to convince the kingdoms to unite their gem pieces and face the evil smoke monsters, the Druun.

The animation is pretty good. Sword fights and chases replace the usual Disney song and dance numbers, so that's nice. But, other than that, it's a pretty forgettable, by-the-numbers Disney story set in another culture. She meets representatives from each of the tribes, and her former friend Naamari. The last person who has to learn to trust is Raya herself.

All in all, this is the epitome of a better watch with snacks. The sprawling landscapes, characters, and sword fights are good. But, I feel like it could have been better if the plot weren't built around a drawn-out Disney moral, and everything else is go to Point A and Point B. It felt like there was more to the story and characters than find the MacGuffin. But, I guess it's just not my demographic.

Young kids should like it. I appreciate that they did something different from a Disney musical. It's a pretty good fantasy adventure. I enjoyed it. But, I definitely needed snacks to keep my attention. It just felt like it could've been more, but was good for what it was. If you have time, watch it with some good snacks!

Coneheads (1993):

Coneheads (1993):

“Aliens with conical crania crash-land on Earth.”

Well, Coneheads was free on Hulu. I figured if there's ever a comedy about seeing through alien eyes, this is it. Beldar and Prymaat come from planet Remulak to conquer Earth, but end up staying as “illegal aliens” after a malfunction. A lot of the humor comes from the way they talk so scientifically. For example, “re-numerating with metallic tender discs.” for “paying in change”; or “consumption of mass quantities” for eating.

Beldar and Prymaat slowly adapt to American life despite being aliens. Beldar is a hard worker, and can succeed at almost any job because his cone or body can interact with machinery. Meanwhile, he has the government chasing him and his family down. Beldar's child, Connie Conehead, was born in America and quickly falls in love with a car mechanic (Chris Farley!) because she can describe in detail all the equipment in his shop! Yes, Connie has normal teen problems and fights with her parents, but is still an alien!

Eventually, Beldar's ship returns for him. But, Connie convinces him to stay in America, because they have a good life. They may look funny and talk strangely, but they are good people once they stop being chased around. It's a great comedy, if you have time. Direct your ocular sensors upon it! (Give it a watch!)

TMNT (2007):

TMNT (2007):

“When the world is threatened by an ancient evil, the four adolescent turtles must reunite and overcome their faults in order to stand against it.”

I have no idea why someone thought it was a good idea to make a Ninja Turtles movie take place after they defeated Shredder. Part of it takes place in Central America. You have hundreds of villains, characters, and plots to choose from in the TMNT universe. What they decided was to use a standard villain named Winters, and slowly introduce Dimension X, while back in NY, the turtles struggle with menial jobs.

Leo disappears to Central America to learn how to be a better leader...or something. Raph is a superhero vigilante called Night Watchman. Mikey becomes a party clown. Donatello lands a job in IT. It's kind of fun...for a one-off joke, not bringing together the whole team for the entire run-time.

Anyway, monsters start appearing in NY thanks to Winters and a Central American tablet which makes a portal appear. Stone soldiers and mutants start attacking. This is just about the only good fight scene we get with all the turtles fighting as a team. The rest of the movie is them rescuing Leo from the monsters.

It does have a few redeeming qualities. There's a fight scene between Raph and Leo. That was pretty good. The voice actors are pretty good. Patrick Stewart is Winters. Chris Evans is Casey Jones. Mako plays Splinter. It's free on Netflix, but absolutely skip this one, since it's trying to set up franchise sequels we know never happened. I think there was a videogame, but otherwise what a waste of some good ideas.

Cryptozoo (2021):

Cryptozoo (2021):

“Cryptozookeepers try to capture a Baku, a dream-eating hybrid creature of legend, and start wondering if they should display these beasts or keep them hidden and unknown.”

Well, I guess it helps to know what you're getting into before you watch a movie. I expected this movie to be bizarre, but I didn't expect it to open with two naked hippies getting viciously attacked by a unicorn with South Park-levels of gore. It's a wild movie! Free on Hulu.

From the hippies, we go to our main protagonist Lauren, a cryptid hunter. It's the 1960s, and she's globe-hopping to save mystical creatures. They save Russian storm birds, a satyr, a medusa, and a guy with a face in his chest (voiced by Michael Cera.), to build a zoo for cryptids...Cryptozoo!

One day, she discovers that the Baku (dream-eater) who helped her with nightmares as a kid, and inspired her quest to become a crypto-zoologist, is being held by the US military. So, she gathers her cryptid friends and quests to save her from them. Thus, the movie turns into a sort of mystical spy epic, with tons of gore as the animals and soldiers are both killed/or captured.

I'm not necessarily against violence in movies, I just think I wasn't prepared to watch an officer get eaten by a South American megaworm. Or goblins get shot, or a hippie to be impaled by a unicorn. The general message seems to be that nature wants animals to be free, not used as weapons or entertainment. The animation is psychedelic and 1960s-inspired, so at least it's never boring. Watch it with some snacks, and you'll have fun.

Princess Mononoke (1997):

Princess Mononoke (1997):

“On a journey to find the cure for a Tatarigami's curse, Ashitaka finds himself in the middle of a war between the forest gods and Tatara, a mining colony. In this quest he also meets San, the Mononoke Hime.”

Prince Ashitaka has to stop an evil demon plague from taking over the forest, and his arm. Meanwhile, there's a war brewing between animals and humans. Some people want to destroy the forest spirit. (Mononoke means “forest spirit”) Some want to destroy the humans, and some want to destroy the animals, and let technology grow unrestrained.

Ashitaka wants to bring balance between nature and humans. But, he's got all these obstacles in his way. Luckily, he gains an unlikely ally in San, the human princess raised by the Wolf Queen. He has to unite the animals and convince them to make peace, if it's even possible. Also, Lady Iboshi and her gun-wielding ladies of Iron City (Tatara) have hired a mercenary monk and others to kill the forest spirit.

Of all Hayao Miyazaki's films, this is definitely the most violent. There's tons of action, blood, and war. But, I feel it's all balanced out by the beauty of the Ghibli art style, and the ecological message. This is the anime I usually recommend to friends who are just getting into Miyazaki, since it's more like traditional anime, with the over-the-top level of action.

Of course, the real hero here is the art. It's all hand-drawn, the movements are all slow and human (As opposed to fast and exaggerated, as in other anime.) ,and it really lets you take in the awe of the forest, animals, and nature. As well as showing the horror of war, and the destruction technology can cause when unrestrained. The more the forest is off-balance, the more the evil plague grows. If you have time, it's a fantastic film. Definitely worth a watch. Check it out!