Stranger Things Season 5

 

Few shows have reached the zeitgeisty level that Stranger Things did in its heyday. Ten years ago the Christmas lights/alphabet combo was everywhere and Eggo's were surging in popularity. A few years after that and Kate Bush's 1985 hit “Running Up That Hill” was suddenly charting again, much to the surprise of Bush herself. Sure, hype for the series has ebbed and flowed over the years-- it’s kind of inevitable when you spread five seasons across ten years—but overall the Duffer Brothers' throwback horror series has become iconic. But all good things must end, and season 5 resolves everything satisfactorily, if not perfectly.  

Stranger Things has always had to juggle a lot of characters, and nowhere is this balancing act more apparent and strained as it is in the final season. Jonathan (Charlie Heaton) and Mike (Finn Wolfhard) are the biggest casualties of writer neglect this time around, but Mike at least gets a lot of focus in the second half of the very last episode while Jonathan’s only interesting scene involves a relationship that I haven’t cared about for a good long while. Everyone else has a nice moment or two that serve to remind viewers of why they love these characters even when things get crazy, although once again the most engaging relationship is the one between Dustin and Steve (Gaten Matarazzo and Joe Keery), although the maturing romance between Max and Lucas (Sadie Sink and Caleb McLaughlin) is definitely a contender, though Will (Noah Schnapp) has the most interesting journey overall.  

With all these well-developed characters, the Duffer Brothers really lucked out when it came to casting the inaugural season. Who would have guessed that these kids would grow up to be acting powerhouses that could handle the challenging material written for them a decade later? This eye for talent has clearly not faded, if the performance of newcomer Nell Fisher as Holly (a background character up until now) is anything to go by, not to mention the absolutely chilling work by Jamie Campbell Bower (who was also in the last season) as one of the big bads.  

Despite the strong performances and writing, Stranger Things season 5 isn’t quite as good as its previous seasons because somewhere along the line it lost the spooky small-town charm that made the series so memorable in the first place. This evolution into a more action-oriented “let’s team up and save the world” kind of a plot might have been inevitable as characters become more competent and more aware of what’s going on, and naturally the battle with the denizens of the Upside-Down had to come to an explosive head eventually. But often I wished that the show would dial it down a bit, particularly in the ludicrous final battle that feels more like a superhero movie than anything else. And speaking of the final battle, what a disappointment the main bad guy turned out to be after years and years of build up. Not only is it laughably easy to defeat, but if you want the full backstory of Vecna and the Mind Flayer you have to apparently see Stranger Things: The First Shadow... a play on Broadway.  

And while we’re talking about finales, there is no doubt that season 5 plays it super safe as if the Duffers are trying to upset the fewest people possible rather than writing something truly inspired. As Max says, “Comfort and happiness? Can you be more trite?”  However, happily-ever-afters and/or noble sacrifices are always appreciated. 

As big and unwieldy as this show has become it is frankly a miracle that the Duffer Brothers and everyone involved were able to land the plane as successfully as they did. Not everyone will be happy with how things turn out... how could that possibly happen when people are so attached to this show and its characters? All I can say is that for me it was a good end to a great journey.  

Stranger Things season 5 is now streaming on Netflix.  

My Top 10 Films of 2025

 

I thought about skipping this list this year, as I did not watch nearly as many new releases as I have in years past and still have lots of 2025 films that remain on my to-watch list. I have only watched 16 as of this moment, in fact, so being in the top 10 is only kind of a compliment for some of these. On the flipside, I have only seen one 2025 film that I have truly disliked, and even that I can’t hate because my nephews and other enthusiasts love it (Minecraft). I also realize that a lot of these picks are basic white boy selections... 3 comic book movies, 2 Predator movies, and not a single one from an indie studio, up-and-comer, or fancy film festival. Oh well. These are the movies I enjoyed most from 2025 (so far):

 

(Note: number 5 is the only one I haven’t already written a review for, so it is the only one that I am including justification for. If you want to see what I liked about the other 9, well... read the reviews)

 

10. Predator: Killer of Killers

9. The Fantastic Four: First Steps

8. Thunderbolts*

7. Predator: Badlands

6. Superman

5. The Phoenician Scheme

Before this I had only ever seen Asteroid City out of all of Wes Anderson’s many films (along with the Roald Dahl shorts), and this was by far the better movie. Asteroid City felt listless—a plot with too many inconsequential side characters, no clear narrative, and inscrutable fantasy moments that felt pretentious without true meaning. The Phoenician Scheme, on the other hand, stuck to one story and three primary protagonists, the plethora of famous faces that usually make up Anderson’s ensemble casts all came and went as needed, always serving the plot, and the fantastical moments were easy to digest and appreciate. The Phoenician Scheme is quirky, pretty, and wonderfully acted and directed, which should be no surprise to anyone who likes Wes Anderson. It doesn’t reinvent the wheel or anything... even just two movies in I can tell that Anderson has a formula that is tried, true, and omnipresent. But unlike Asteroid City this one has me wanting to experience more of that formula for myself.

4. Frankenstein

3. Wake Up Dead Man

2. Sinners

1. One Battle After Another

 

2025 films on my list that I have yet to see that may very well knock some of the above out of their spots in the future- Marty Supreme, Wicked: For Good, Avatar: Fire and Ash, Ballerina, 28 Years Later, The Naked Gun, Caught Stealing, Roofman, Rental Family, The Long Walk, Is This Thing On?, The Running Man. Like I said... I still have a lot to get to.  

Wake Up Dead Man (2025)

 

When it comes to whodunits, some people find immense satisfaction in trying to figure out the mystery as the story unfolds before them as if they themselves were the detectives. I am not one of these people. I’m simply not creative or observant enough, but I still experience that rush when everything is laid bare, the guilty parties are brought to light, and the methods at last become clear. Not a lot of movies offer such moments these days, but Rian Johnson and Daniel Craig continue to scratch that neglected itch with their modern-day detective series featuring Craig as Benoit Blanc, a Foghorn Leghorn impersonator with a penchant for mysteries that involve people that make you say “Hey, it’s that person!” Wake Up Dead Man is better than Glass Onion and is almost as good as the original Knives Out… the only thing holding it back is a lack of fun and interesting side characters, something the original had in abundance.

Not that anyone is bad in Dead Man… the acting is, in fact, one of the strongest factors of the film. Josh O’Connor in particular steals the show as Father Jud, and the day that actors like Glen Close and Josh Brolin produce lackluster performances will be a cold one in hell indeed. The thing is, while the suspects in Knives Out were awful people, they were at least entertaining. In Dead Man, they are either Benoit Blanc, Father Jud, the local sheriff (Mila Kunis), or someone who is downright unpleasant and not terribly interesting to watch. Again, this is not an acting problem, nor is it a writing problem. The fun factor of the characters is not even a problem at all, really, or at least not an objective one; it just makes for a less enjoyable watch than the other two films in the series.

This darker turn is further propelled by Dead Man's exploration of real-life problems, like the ease at which some people can use faith to justify abhorrent behavior and the dangers of cults of personality. True, Knives Out did not shy away from reality either (did Glass Onion? I don’t know, that one didn’t stick with me nearly as much) but this one still feels darker somehow.

Wake Up Dead Man also does something that I think is very undervalued in the mystery genre: it has plenty of twists and turns but never overcomplicates things for the sake of surface-level cleverness. It is my belief that some writers are, consciously or subconsciously, terrified of simplicity, thinking that just because the dumbest of their audience (me) may understand everything, the story itself is unintelligent. I followed Dead Man just fine, yet it is far from being a point A to point B story. It is complicated, but not excessively so.

Time will tell if the relative lack of fun will place it below the original Knives Out, but there is no denying the craft and skill that went into Johnson’s latest headscratcher. Cleverly written, superbly acted, and deftly directed, Wake Up Dead Man is everything that a mystery fan could want.

Wake Up Dead Man is now available on Netflix. 

 

Frankenstein (2025)

 

Guillermo del Toro is a man who loves his creepy creatures, so it should come as no surprise that back in 2010 he described Mary Shelley's Frankenstein as his favorite novel in the world. Over the years he has mentioned the book numerous times, citing it as his dream project, but dreams can be scary in a way. In his own words,  

 

“Frankenstein to me is the pinnacle of everything, and part of me wants to do a version of it; part of me has for more than 25 years chickened out of making it. I dream I can make the greatest Frankenstein ever, but then if you make it, you've made it. Whether it's great or not, it's done. You cannot dream about it anymore. That's the tragedy of a filmmaker. You landed a 10 or you landed a 6.5 but you were at the Olympics already, and you were judged.” 

 

I honestly don't know if del Toro’s Frankenstein is a 10 out of 10. Having not seen the 1931 Boris Karloff classic yet (it’s on my list) I can’t even say for sure whether or not it is the quintessential adaptation of everyone’s favorite corpse quilt and his overwhelmed single father. It is certain, however, that everyone involved in these metaphorical Olympics can go home being proud of what they’ve created, even if Victor isn’t.  

It has been a while since I have read the original novel, so I can’t speak to the accuracy of del Toro’s creation (I don’t think the Creature originally had Wolverine-like healing powers?), but all the important bits seem to be there—the God metaphors, the daddy issues, the existential questions of life, death, and the nature of the soul; furthermore, there isn’t an Igor to be seen anywhere. Frankenstein is a symphony of themes that plays beautifully, each note pitch perfect thanks to career-best performances from Oscar Isaac (Victor Frankenstein), Jacob Elordi (the Creature), and their supporting cast, as well as a script penned by del Toro himself that flows like poetry. The film looks gorgeous as well, with practical sets, sweeping shots, and vibrant colors that stand in stark juxtaposition to the unflinching gore and viscera that the story requires. The CGI in Frankenstein, on the rare instances where it is utilized, doesn’t look that great, so I am particularly glad that del Toro chose practical sets and effects whenever possible.  

I cannot say enough good things about the production design in this film. Shelley’s original work is one of the first stories that comes to mind when one hears the phrase “Gothic literature,” and the sets, creature design, and costumes in Frankenstein all evoke this heritage to a T. It is also all singularly del Toro, proving that this really was a project that he was born to do. Whether it is truly a 10/10 I can’t say yet, but it is definitely up there.  

Frankenstein is now streaming on Netflix.  

Predator: Badlands

 

The only thing weirder than getting a good Predator movie in 2025? Getting two good Predator movies in 2025. Earlier this summer the brutally stylish Hulu exclusive Predator: Killer of Killers was much better than it had any right to be, and now Predator: Badlands has the audacity to surpass my expectations as well. Who'da thunk? 

Director Dan Trachtenberg returns to the franchise after both the aforementioned Killer of Killers and 2022's Prey, and he successfully bats three for three. I expected there to be good action in Badlands, but what I didn’t expect was for it to have an engrossing emotional core as well. A first for the series, the film features one of the titular creatures (who are also known as Yautja) front and center as a protagonist rather than the mysterious antagonists that they usually are, and this shift works surprisingly well considering the fact that these dudes are some ugly motherf***ers (Arnold’s words, not mine). Elle Fanning plays Thia, a synthetic human right from the Alien side of the technically-shared universe, offering some familiarity when things get too, well, alien, and the relationship between her and our main Yautja Dek (played by Dimitrius Schuster-Koloamatangi) is the main thrust of Badlands’ narrative.  

The most interesting aspect of the film is how Trachtenberg displays a clear love of the series yet also isn’t afraid to deconstruct its problems. A warrior race who views everything and everyone else as prey to be hunted may sound cool on paper and make for some great action in this and past films, but how screwed up would one be after being raised in such a society? How miserable must such an existence be? Badlands is somehow a great dumb blockbuster but also an interesting (if surface-deep) look at how destructive toxic masculinity is for both the people who interact with it and those who perpetuate it.  

The emotional turn-around for Dek is a bit abrupt, and these themes are not explored as deeply as they could have been. But a Predator movie with something to say? That’s novel. 

The action in Badlands is a bit more predictable, and I mean that in a good way, as it delivers all of the alien violence that fans of the series crave. My only complaint where that is concerned is an odd one considering my general squeamishness—honestly, I wish it would have been bloodier and nastier. There is not a single actual human in Badlands, and the only blood that is spilt is the milky blood of synthetic humans, the green glow stick blood of the Yautja, and the colorful blood of various other alien creatures. I want to see a Predator draw some red, for heaven’s sake, preferably in a very gruesome way. 

Despite the violence and some interesting creature designs, Badlands is fairly bland from a visual standpoint. Perhaps I was just spoiled by the trailer of the new Avatar film that played immediately before, but Badlands didn’t look nearly as interesting as it could have. But I shouldn’t expect the world… Predator is a silly popcorn franchise, after all, and on that Badlands certainly delivers.  

Predator: Badlands is now playing in theaters.  

Godzilla Watch-Through: Days 1-19

 

First off, let me acknowledge the fact that very few, if any people will be interested in this post, but I thought I would go ahead and share it anyway. After watching Godzilla Minus One back in 2024 I was fully Godzilla-pilled and somehow found the strength deep within to attempt and watch every single one of the 38 films that the giant lizard has starred in. From March 2025 to now I have watched 19 of them, plus the 5 that I had already seen prior to my decision to watch them all. The below mini-reviews were originally written solely for a comic book message board that I frequent, but I have since added them to Letterboxd and figured I would compile them here as well. I still have a bunch more to watch before I can rest my weary brain, but as the remaining films are not streaming anywhere at the moment I am forced to take a well-deserved break. I will pick it up again someday, though. In the meantime, here are some thoughts I have on the longest-running film series in history.

 

Shōwa Era

-          Godzilla (1954)- 8/10 (watched previously)

-          Godzilla Raids Again- 4/10 (Day 1)

-          King Kong vs. Godzilla- 6/10 (Day 6)

-          Mothra vs. Godzilla- 6/10 (Day 2)

-          Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster- 6/10 (watched previously)

-          Invasion of Astro-Monster- 5/10 (Day 3)  

-          Ebirah, Horror of the Deep- 5/10 (Day 4)

-          Son of Godzilla- 3/10 (Day 5)

-          Destroy All Monsters- 6/10 (Day 7)

-          All Monsters Attack- 2/10 (Day 15)

-          Godzilla vs. Hedorah- 6/10 (Day 8)

-          Godzilla vs. Gigan- 6/10 (Day 9)

-          Godzilla vs. Megalon- 6.5/10 (Day 10)

-          Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla- 5.5/10 (Day 11)

-          Terror of Mechagodzilla- 6.5/10 (Day 12)

Heisei Era

-          The Return of Godzilla- 6/10 (Day 13)

-          Godzilla vs. Biollante- 6.5/10 (Day 14)

-          Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah- 6/10 (Day 16)

-          Godzilla vs. Mothra- TBD

-          Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II- 6/10 (Day 17)

-          Godzilla vs. SpaceGodzilla- 4/10 (Day 18)

-          Godzilla vs. Destoroyah- 7/10 (Day 19)

Millenium Era

-          Godzilla 2000: Millennium- TBD

-          Godzilla vs. Megaguirus- TBD

-          Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack- TBD

-          Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla- TBD

-          Godzilla: Tokyo S.O.S.- TBD

-          Godzilla: Final Wars- TBD

Reiwa Era

-          Shin Godzilla- TBD

-          Godzilla: Planet of the Monsters- TBD

-          Godzilla: City on the Edge of Battle- TBD

-          Godzilla: The Planet Eater- TBD

-          Godzilla Minus One- 10/10 (watched previously)

American Films

-          Godzilla (1998)- TBD

-          Godzilla (2014)- 7/10 (watched previously)

-          Godzilla: King of the Monsters- TBD

-          Godzilla vs. Kong- 5/10 (watched previously)

-          Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire- TBD

 

Day 1- Godzilla Raids Again (4/10)

I was kind of shocked at how boring this was. Godzilla is back, we need to get rid of him again, here is some human drama that is somehow even less interesting than usual. Something about some employees of a fishing company. One of them dies and I guess that's sad. Oh yeah, while rampaging Godzilla also has to wrestle with Anguirus a bit too. The film could have used more music to make certain bits exciting, but instead felt fine letting things be awkwardly silent for the most part. And was it possible for Japan to make a film without Takashi Shimura? Between the Godzilla franchise and all the Kurosawa movies the man was in absolutely everything at this time (this one is not a complaint by any means). Overall it didn't have the good story and symbolism that the dark original had nor did it have any of the fun goofiness of later Showa Godzilla moves, so there isn't much to like. 4/10 seems a bit high, but I know there are some true stinkers in the series yet to come so I don't want to go too low too quickly...

Day 2- Mothra vs. Godzilla (6/10)

This one was a lot of fun! I liked the angle of the human bad guys simply being money grubbing assholes and I love that the twin Mothra larva had to strategize more at the end instead of the usual kaiju punch out. Plus Godzilla fell down a lot. I have decided that there are few things in this world more funny than Godzilla falling down.

Day 3- Invasion of Astro-Monster (5/10)

Max only had the English dub, but luckily the awful voice work only enhanced the stupid fun instead of making it painful, as dubs often do. The movie impressed me with its determination to get everything as scientifically inaccurate as possible, but it still wasn't as fun as it should have been. Too little Godzilla, for one thing, and once again the human drama is the weak part of the story. Also it turns out I've been pronouncing Ghidorah wrong all these years (I've been saying it closer to Gamorah). Speaking of Ghidorah, do they ever make him sound more intimidating or is it always just that weird fluttery bell sound?

Day 4- Ebirah, Horror of the Deep (5/10)

This one was a bit frustrating. While it starts out pretty strong with a fairly compelling human story involving a missing brother, a shipwreck, and a secret island installation lead by a bad guy with an eye patch, things start to get boring by the time Godzilla actually bothers to show up. He then fights a giant shrimp who is mostly incidental to the plot and then Mothra just to be an asshole. The music was weird (surf rock during the planes attacking Godzilla bit was certainly a choice) and I swear that a good 15 minutes of the film is devoted to the Infant Island residents doing a dance in an attempt to wake Mothra up. Honestly this one would have been so much better if the kaiju had stayed out of it, which is a sad thing to say considering that this is A GODZILLA MOVIE.

Day 5- Son of Godzilla (3/10)

I. Hate. That. Thing. I hate its stupid eyes and I hate its stupid face and I hate the stupid noises it makes. Not since E.T. have I been so creeped out and repulsed by something that was supposed to be cute. Godzilla's unholy crotch goblin aside the story wasn't even decent. There was no urgency and the stakes never felt high. Just some scientists on an island doing some experiments while monsters do monster stuff. They could have left at any point and choose not to until the end. The only thing nice about this movie was that it was fun to see Godzilla do the whole father thing. That and it was one of the creepier Godzilla movies, just because spiders and praying mantis are inherently creepy. And so was that dumba** stupid baby that makes the demon spawn from Eraserhead (which I also watched recently for the first time) look like Baby Yoda/Grogu. Big G should have left that little s*** in the snow to die.

Day 6- King Kong vs. Godzilla (6/10)

I almost docked a point from this just because of how gross the giant octopus was. So gooey and slimy. I liked the human story. The guy in charge of the ad agency (or pharmaceutical company? Doesn't matter) was the clear stand out amongst the humans. He was wacky and silly and I found that cheesiness endearing. The story was nice and straightforward, and I love the stupid excuse they came up with to give Kong electrical powers (apparently getting struck by lighting gives you the ability to absorb and emit electricity, who knew). One of my favorite Godzilla tropes is how everything somehow happens to our handful of main characters, no matter how unlikely it is. That was very much in force here. It was fun.

Day 7- Destroy All Monsters (6/10)

Okay, so this one was actually more of a 5/10 for the most part. It's got probably the fastest opening-credits-to-Godzilla-appearance turn around of all of the films so far, and it was really cool to see all the big guys on Monster Island (a neat idea in and of itself). But then we just get a less interesting rehash of the "aliens use the monsters to try and destroy earth" plot that was used in Invasion of Astro-Monster. It was boring and the monsters only occasionally showed up (and some of them had barely anything to do when they did). And then Ghidorah shows up in the last 20 minutes of the movie and the ensuing monster curbstomp elevates things by an entire point. Seeing all the earth monsters team up to take him down was tight, and as much as I hate Minilla it was a super nice touch to have him land the finishing blow and then do a little dance on Ghidorah's corpse to boot. Just wish the rest of the movie were that fun. Oh, and can we please bring the real Mothra back? The little worm thing was fun for a movie or two but I miss the actual Mothra.

Day 8- Godzilla vs. Hedorah (6/10)

HOLY CRAP Godzilla just used his atomic breath to fly. This one would have been pretty mid if it weren't for the visuals. The story was a pretty straightforward go from point A to point B affair with characters making insane logical leaps in between. Godzilla also kills Hedorah only to find out that he's still alive only to kill him the same exact way again. This takes another good fifteen minutes. Why? Did they need to pad the run time or something? And I guess Godzilla is psychic now? What bumps the movie up to a 6 is the design(s) of Hedorah, who is one of the cooler looking kaiju in the series, as well as some bizarre and trippy visuals that are pretty and creative and serve to remind you just when exactly this movie was made.

Day 9- Godzilla vs. Gigan (6/10)

This one was more fun than what I was expecting! The personalities of the monsters came through really strongly, which is not always the case (I love Godzilla bossing Anguirus around like a pushy a**hole). The human plot was mildly entertaining and mostly got out of the way when the monster fights started. And I don't know why, but the carnage/miniatures looked a bit more convincing than usual in this... maybe it was the lighting or the editing. I feel lame for rating another one 6/10 but that's where it's going to have to go. Stupid but fun.

Day 10- Godzilla vs. Megalon (6.5/10)

Sweet Christmas, even by Godzilla standards this was cheesy. Objectively it was terrible, but subjectively I had so much fun watching this nonsense. The dubs were awful, particularly those for the little kid, they couldn't have picked worse music, the budget for the underwater sea kingdom must have been in the hundreds of yen range, and there was so, so much footage reused from previous Godzilla movies. But I had a blast and I can't rate this any lower than a 6 because of that.

Day 11- Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla (5.5/10)

A lot of stuff in this one. A prophecy, yet another alien race trying to destroy humanity, several shady characters doing spy stuff, etc. It was a bit much, honestly, and Godzilla was barely a part of things. Mechagodzilla was cool, though, with all of his little tricks (it was particularly neat when he shot at both Godzilla and King Caesar when they were both in front of and behind him), and he actually made Godzilla bleed quite a bit, which I wasn't expecting. I liked seeing Akihiko Hirata again, one of the OGs from the original Godzilla movie. There was some weird camera stuff, with occasional shaky cam and a couple of odd lens choices. And for all of the build up King Caesar was pretty much useless in the final battle. Overall it was decent fun, but it doesn't seem like it would be required viewing if not for the introduction of Mechagodzilla.

Day 12- Terror of Mechagodzilla (6.5/10)

Even if you're a cyborg I still love you." Series is kinda silly innit?

The last film of the Shōwa Era is also one of the best, in no small part thanks to the return of original Godzilla director/writer Ishirō Honda. It's still got goofy aliens with stupid helmets and even stupider evil laughs, but things are elevated by a fairly compelling human narrative about an evil cyborg lady who doesn't want to be an evil cyborg lady who at one point has her titties out. The new monster, Titanosaurus, has a simple design that works for me, and I liked that they made him sympathetic by stressing that he was peaceful when not mind-controlled by an evil scientist, who was also fairly layered for a movie of this caliber. Good stuff. Can't wait to start the next era!

Day 13- The Return of Godzilla (6/10)

It's amazing what a 9 year break and a bigger budget can do for a series. While the Shōwa movies very much felt like a remnant of a long-past era, RoG feels 100% more modern. While it still uses the man-in-suit/ miniature smooshing technique of the earlier films it looks infinitely better thanks to better establishing shots that include things like actual jets and tanks as well as actual people reacting to the destruction as it happens. The earlier films kind of just had all the people disappear when Godzilla showed up, but RoG blends the model work with the normal sized sets much better. The plot contains many kaiju film staples that we've seen before but they are all done with a seriousness and quality that hasn't really been seen since the original. The most interesting part of the story was when Japan got dragged into the drama between the US and the USSR, both of which were desperate to use their nukes on Godzilla. Cold War dramas usually focus on one or both of the two superpowers and it was cool to see how a country that wasn't as central to the conflict react to and be swept along by their warmongering nonsense.

The Return of Godzilla would be a 6.5 or maybe even a 7 if it weren't for the fact that I have watched all of these movies back to back to back. The movie may have been much better made than some of the other 6s on here, but because the whole “Godzilla is coming, we need to come up with a sciency way to take care of him, we're not fast enough and he's breaking stuff, but now the sciency thing is finished and look, he's defeated, isn't that cool but also kind of sad?” thing has been done so frequently I was pretty bored for some parts of it. In a vacuum I'm sure I would have appreciated it much more, but as it stands I can only give it a 6. Which still ain't bad!

Day 14- Godzilla vs. Biollante (6.5/10)

I had a hard time keeping track of which groups of people trying to get at ahold of Godzilla bits were which, especially because half of these groups spoke in hilariously broken English that was subtitled for Japanese audience but was not included in the English subtitles on HBO Max. But I did appreciate the human subterfuge even if I didn't always understand it. Biollante might have the coolest design of any kaiju I've ever seen, and the music was great. The lead military guy was cool and competent, but he's really the only character worth remembering. Oh wait there was a black guy... glad to see Japan finally discovered people of color. Only took them until 1989. Probably one of the better films in the series.

Day 15- All Monsters Attack (2/10)

I figured I might as well do this watch-through right and go back and watch the only one I initially skipped. The best thing I can say about it is that it is short. It's perfect for people who want to watch stock footage of some of the more boring Godzilla fights with obnoxious commentary by a narcoleptic child and the literal spawn of Satan (Minilla) added, though. It also ends in the most hilariously nonsensical way too-- after standing up to his bullies at last, the child who's name I never bothered to learn then immediately bullies someone else... a person that the bullies who were encouraging him to bully earlier! THIS MAKES THE BULLIES WANT TO BE FRIENDS WITH HIM. WHAT!?!?

Day 16- Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah (6/10)

Maaaan this one was so close to being a 3.5 out of 5. The time travel plot was dope and refreshingly different, the budget Terminator effects were hilarious, and Mecha Ghidorah was awesome (glad they finally changed his silly jingly roar, sad that he no longer comes from space). The thing that bumps this down to a 3.5 is its awful pacing. The heroes bring Godzilla back to fight Ghidorah (well no, actually, that's not true... he just randomly comes back for no reason at all despite time travel shenanigans, which is stupid), he wins, and just when I thought the movie was over we still have 20 minutes of Godzilla rampaging left to go. So then the heroes have to bring Ghidorah back to fight Godzilla. What? This is the part with Mecha Ghidorah, so I can't complain too much, but its a shame that what should have been the coolest part of the movie was ruined by it feeling like an over-extended and unnecessary epilogue.

Day 17- Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II (6/10)

I can't believe I'm saying this, but I really wish they were more clear about the giant monsters' motivations. Why does Rodan care about Baby? Why does Godzilla? Why does Rodan magically give his own energy to bring Godzilla back to life? Who knows. The suits look great in this and the action was a lot of fun (Rodan finally gets his own energy beam!) The best part was the relationship between Baby (soooo much better than Minilla) and whatserface, even though it leans into the whole "I was a scientist and then my motherly instincts kicked in and now that's my entire character" thing. But hey, Super Mechagodzilla makes up for that, right?

Day 18- Godzilla vs. SpaceGodzilla (4/10)

SpaceGodzilla looks cool when he's not flying with that dumb crystal backpack, Little Godzilla still sucks way less than Minilla, and there is a butt. And that's about it for the good stuff! This movie was easily the weakest in the Heisei series so far, with confusing motivations (the government simultaneously wants to kill Godzilla with yet another mech, kill him with a magic bullet, and control him via telekinesis), characters that are even more boring than usual, and elements that are completely unnecessary (Mothra is kind of in this but not really? She's just there to psychically warn a character that SpaceGodzilla is coming, even though everyone else finds out about two minutes later, and the yakuza show up and attempt to control Godzilla for all of two seconds before they're never seen or mentioned again). Godzilla has never exactly been high art, but even by the series' dumb campiness this was bad.

Day 19- Godzilla vs. Destoroyah (7/10)

Loved the call-backs to the original and Destoroyah being the embodiment of the OG oxygen destroyer (the "science" in these is so fantastically stupid). Loved that Megumi Odaka's character was in this and pretty much all of the other Heisei era films. Loved seeing Godzilla Jr. all grown-up. Destoroyah was dope as he*ck. Easily my favorite Godzilla after Minus One and the original.

 

 

 

Alien: Earth Season 1

 

I’ve always liked the Alien franchise, but after the queen shows up in James Cameron’s Aliens I have not been a fan of a lot of the lore that the series has introduced since. Every time they try to make the series about something more than a horrifying creature that symbolizes the unknown stalking and killing people in space things get less engaging and, more often than not, less scary. Alien: Earth, the first TV series in the franchise, expands the horizons of the Alien universe in unexpected ways, and every one of them is more interesting than, let’s say, evil magical goo (people who have seen Prometheus and Alien: Covenant know).

We’ve got cyborgs, we’ve got squabbling between dystopian-ly powerful trillionaires, we’ve got a menagerie of new space creatures, each more bloodthirsty and disturbing than the last. By far the most interesting addition to the mythos is the hybrids, children whose minds have been uploaded into robot bodies in an attempt to forever cheat death, and showrunner Noah Hawley (Fargo, Legion) takes full advantage of the philosophical quandaries that arise from these transfers. Having grown actors acting like children is… different, and it’s not a vibe that everyone will appreciate, but I thought it gave things an interesting angle (and some great performances too, especially from lead Sydney Chandler), and it’s not like these moments are omnipresent. The show is still tense, dark, terrifying, and  thoroughly Alien. (We’ve got plenty of adult characters too, I should mention, and one chilling full-robot portrayed brilliantly by Timothy Olyphant.)

Noah Hawley's previous works are known for being cerebral and highly surreal, and Alien: Earth continues this with the goal of unsettling the audience as much as possible. Like Alien: Romulus did just this last year, Earth manages to make the titular creatures scary despite their familiarity to the general public. And if you thought the presence of technical children would lessen the brutality and gore of the proceedings, well, you would be wrong. The aliens had no problem with mauling, gutting, and dismembering in the presence of Newt in the aforementioned Aliens, and they certainly don’t hold back when there are plenty of other children to traumatize in (on?) Earth.

Nothing in the series resolves by the final episode, which is a bit frustrating (it is clear that it was filmed with a potential second season in mind), and the modern-day songs that the series features (not to mention one oddly prominent 2002 animated kids’ film) did not really work for me. And then there’s the fact that it can be downright depressing to watch such a crappy dystopia for eight plus hours. But these complaints pale in comparison to the fun that I had while watching Alien: Earth, a worthy entry to the saga and the genre of science fiction in general.

The entirety of season Alien: Earth season 1 is now available on Hulu.