A Brief History of Godzilla (100th Post)

Godzilla is a Gigantic Nuclear Monster. He is a force of nature that is Indestructible; it is a symbol of nature taking out its revenge on the world. Godzilla is also a Cinema Icon staring in 29 films. I thought that I would give you a brief history of Godzilla and show how one film in 1954 went on to become the Greatest film series in the History of Cinema (I will try to keep this brief, I might go into more detail another time or release it as a book).

Godzilla was created by Japanese film producer Tomoyuki Tanaka in 1954. In World War 2 Japan was hit by 2 nuclear weapons. Japan surrendered and around the pacific the Americans used the area to test new weapons. In 1952 there was a re-release of King Kong and in 1953 Ray Harryhausen released The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms. It was from the inspiration of these 2 films plus the event of weapon testing and 2 nuclear bombs which became the inspiration of a film. The other driving forces behind the film were director Ishiro Honda and special effects creator Eiji Tsuburaya. Tsuburaya would later become known as the Father of Japanese Special Effects.

“I was an actor in a film by Akira Kurosawa –The Seven Samurai. It was a very long job, it took a whole year to shoot but while were working on it, we kept hearing strange rumours. On set we would hear people talking about something called Godzilla. We kept hearing this name and none of us had any Idea what it was but nobody would tell us” – Yoshio Tsuchiya

Tanaka had an Idea for a large creature to come ashore and attack Japan. Eiji Tsuburaya told his Art Director Teizo Toshimitsu and Toshimitsu made many models out of clay and Tsuburaya chose the last one that Toshimitsu made. The name of the Monster came from two words Gojira (Japanese for Gorilla) and Kujira (Japanese for whale). It comes from an interesting story that may or may not have happened where 2 guys at Toho had these names and there was a ring to it. Another Idea is that it was renamed Godzilla when the American Distributor picked it up and edited the film to make it more appealing to an American audience. Another idea is that the name comes from the way that the name is pronounced. Many different ideas but all together the monster is called GODZILLA. Eiji Tsuburaya wanted to use Stop Motion effects like in King Kong but because of the time (3 Months) and budget constraints they decided to use a suit and use models to smash-up. Composer Akira Ifukube was brought in to make the music for the film and something else. Honda gave total control for the film’s music to Ifukube and told him that the music was the final part of the special effects. The monster also had to Roar (Reptiles don’t Roar).

“We all went down to the zoo to look for ideas but that was no use, there was no precedent in the natural world. We tried different bird noises but none of those worked either so in the end we used a double bass. First we fiddled with the peg box on the top of the instrument then we opened up the tail-piece pulled it away to give ourselves more room to move and then put on gloves to protect our hands. Then we played the double bass in a very unorthodox manner by scrapping our hands down the strings” – Akira Ifukube

The film starts out with a ship catching fire followed by many other ships. Then during a storm on a Japanese island, the village island is destroyed by some unknown force. During the time that follows you get this idea of something Big, Bad and Dangerous heading towards Japan and then it Arrives. The film became a huge hit in Japan and was nominated for two awards at the Japanese Academy Awards and won the award for Best Special Effects. It however did not win the award for best film which went to the Seven Samurai. The film was picked up by an American Distributor and was edited with extra scenes included starring Raymond Burr (Perry Mason and Ironside).  Godzilla became a hit around the world. 5 Months later Toho release Godzilla Raids again, this film was the first film to involve monster fights. Godzilla fights an Ankylosaurus type creature called Anguirus. Anguirus would later become one of Godzilla’s most trusted allies (and one of my personal favourites from the series).

At the time of release there was not really an Idea for a film series just an idea to make big monster movies and so Toho later released Rodan in 1956 and Mothra in 1961. It was not until the release of King Kong vs Godzilla was released in 1962 that the film series started due to the popularity of the film. The 1960’s saw many iconic films in the series and introduced several new characters to the series like Mothra and Rodan as well as inventing new characters all together like King Ghidorah. Godzilla also changed in character by becoming the hero of Mankind and saving mankind from monster threats. Baby Godzilla also turned up as well. Suits were still being used and are still used to the present day.

Eiji Tsuburaya eventually left Toho to start his own production company making shows for television. This would lead to the highly successful Ultraman Series. Eiji Tsuburaya sadly passed away in 1970.

Godzilla eventually had competition in the form of Gamera made by film company Daiei. Gamera is a Giant Turtle who can breathe fire and fly with Rocket Boosters.

The 1970’s saw a much darker turn in story lines for Godzilla and also some scary films (well I found them scary). In 1971 Godzilla vs Hedorah was released and had a subliminal message in it with Godzilla attacking a monster made of Sludge. Director Yoshimitsu Banno wanted Godzilla to fight not just a monster but also pollution. Tomoyuki Tanaka was in hospital during the production of the film. When he recovered and watched the film he told Banno that he would never direct another film at Toho. Following Godzilla vs Hedorah was Godzilla vs Gigan. A film involving Godzilla, Anguirus, King Ghidorah and new monster Gigan. This film had almost a tag team feel about it with 2 Monsters fighting 2 other Monsters. Godzilla vs Megalon had the same idea but had new monster Megalon instead of King Ghidorah and new monster Jet Jaguar instead of Anguirus. Megalon did not do so well because of the constant use of Stock Footage. Toho followed this up with two Really Good films. Both of which introduced a new character which would go on to become one of the series’ most popular Monsters – Mecha-Godzilla. Mecha-Godzilla would also become one of Godzilla’s most powerful enemies (all 3 versions have come very close to killing the King of the Monsters). Godzilla vs Mecha-Godzilla was released in 1974 and Terror of Mecha-Godzilla was released in 1975. Terror of Mecha-Godzilla was the last Godzilla film directed by Ishiro Honda who sadly passed away in 1993. Terror of Mecha-Godzilla was the last in the Showa Series due to the crash in Japanese Cinema and an Oil Crisis as well.

In 1984 Godzilla returned in The Return of Godzilla (one of my top favourites in the series). This was the first film in the Heisei Series and a few things were changed. Godzilla’s suit was updated to make it much more realistic and more intimidating. Godzilla was no longer the Hero of mankind and returned to being an Indestructible threat. Another difference was that the previous films except the original were forgotten for the purpose of the story. So Godzilla did not fight Monsters in the last 30 years but only appeared in 1954 and has not appeared since – Until Now. The Return of Godzilla did not have any other giant Monsters except Godzilla. OK there was some big Insects but nothing Gigantic enough to fight Godzilla. The film also has some close up shots of Godzilla’s Foot showing some scale size for people wanting to know how big Godzilla is. There is also a brilliant scene where he pushes a Skyscraper so it will fall on top of a Flying Machine sent to attack him.

Following this film came many others in the series like Godzilla vs Biollante (one of only 3 films in the series I have not seen). They also brought back some Popular Monsters from the series like Mothra, Rodan, Mecha-Godzilla and King Ghidorah while also creating some new Monsters for the series like Mecha-King Ghidorah, Space Godzilla, Moguera, Destroyah and (one of my top favourite Monsters from the series) Battra. Baby Godzilla also made a return but had a more dinosaur look about him and the films also showed the life-cycle of Baby Godzilla as well with him starting out hatching from an egg, to becoming a bigger Baby Godzilla to finally becoming a mature Godzilla in Godzilla vs Destroyah. (2 Godzilla’s in one film even though one is a lot bigger).

Gamera films returned to Japanese cinema as well during the Heisei series with a more updated and realistic look. I have only seen Gamera 3: Awakening of Irys which is very enjoyable (it makes me want to watch the previous 2 Gamera Films in the series).

Godzilla vs Destroyah would become the last one in the Heisei Series and only the second film where Godzilla dies. He dies when his Nuclear Heart goes into Meltdown. However instead of destroying the earth as he goes into meltdown all his power goes into Godzilla Junior (who was killed by Destroyah earlier in the film) and brings Junior back to life but now as a fully grown Godzilla. Godzilla vs Destroyah has an interesting Story connection with the 1954 Original Godzilla. Godzilla gets killed in the original and in Destroyah bizarre creatures are found where Godzilla died in 1954. Momoko Kōchi plays the character of Emiko Yamane who was also in the 1954 original. Tokyo is not the only city to be attacked in Godzilla vs Destroyah, Hong Kong gets attacked at the beginning of the film. This was also the last film that Akira Ifukube provided the soundtrack, even though some of his work was used in the Millenium series. Ifukube sadly passed away in 2006. The film ends with a montage of clips from the first film and films from the Heisei series. One year after the release of Godzilla vs Destroyah Tomoyuki Tanaka sadly passed away.

In 1992 Sony were given the rights to make an American Godzilla film. After the success of Independence Day Sony hired Roland Emmerich and Dean Devlin to make the film, but they only agreed to do so if they were allowed to do what they wanted with the Movie.

In 1998 Godzilla was released and did very well at the box office earning $379,014,294 at the box office. However the fans were not so sure about it. Kenpachiro Satsuma who was in the suit between 1984 and 1997 walked out of a Tokyo Screening and told reporters “It’s not Godzilla; it does not have the spirit”. The film was not really a Godzilla film. Godzilla 1998 was just a monster movie with an Iconic name. Calling it something else might not have drawn the crowds in but giving it a name that people know about will make the crowds come. They were probably trying to make a Godzilla film but the film itself is not a Good representation of the King of the Monsters. Ok some parts of the film is actually quite good but it is no-where near as good as the Japanese Films. The creature in the film was later renamed by Shogo Tomiyama (President of Toho) to Zilla. He felt that the 1998 film took the God out of Godzilla. Godzilla is not some animal that can be harmed by Man Made Weapons. Godzilla is a Gigantic Indestructible Force of Nature. Modern Man Made weapons have no effect on Godzilla.

In December 1999 Godzilla returned but this time it was a Japanese Godzilla film. Godzilla 2000 (my joint second Favorite film) started the Millennium series. Each film in the series (except Tokyo S.O.S.) used the original as a launch point for the film. The idea works well and adds the idea of Godzilla being a legend that happened over 40 years previously. It also brought monster fights with it and once again created new Monsters for the series like Orga and Megaguiras while also bringing back some Monsters from the other series like King Ghidorah, Mothra and Mecha-Godzilla (also known as Kiryu in Godzilla Against Mecha-Godzilla). Also for some Monsters in the Millenium series it was the first time they appeared in Godzilla films in almost 30 years.

In 2001 Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All Out Attack was released. The film involved 3 Guardian Monsters and Godzilla. Even though not mentioned in the Title Baragon makes an appearance in the film. This is Baragon’s first appearance since the Showa Series and is a Good addition to the film. This is my Favorite film in the series and My Favorite film in the world. It is an amazing film. Tokyo S.O.S. is the only film in the Millennium series not to use the 1954 original as a starting off point. Tokyo S.O.S. was a direct sequel to the previous film Godzilla Against Mecha-Godzilla. Tokyo S.O.S. also contains one of the best and most mysterious post credits scenes in cinema history. A possible launching off point for a future film.

In 2004 it was an important year. Godzilla’s 50^th Anniversary. So to celebrate Toho released Godzilla: Final Wars. Shogo Tomiyama decided to put the series on a 10 year break following this, but this film was amazing (my joint second Favorite film). It contained many Monsters that have not appeared in the series for 30 years. Some of them with improvements, in particular Gigan who now looked even more dangerous. Zilla also makes an appearance but does not last very long. Directed by Ryuhei Kitamura the film is a lot like Destroy all Monsters with a Giant Monster Battle Royal where all the worlds Monsters fight Godzilla.

Since 2004 not much has happened with the series. Yoshimitsu Banno decided to try and release a 3D Godzilla film for IMAX Cinemas called Godzilla 3D to the Max. However this was later scrapped to make a new American Godzilla film. This is a reboot to the American series with Legendary Pictures producing it. The film is based on the Japanese Monster and is not related in any way to the 1998 film. Gareth Edwards has been signed on to direct and he is a fan of Godzilla so we all know it’s going to be what we want to see.  With a 2012 release to the film we will not have to wait long. Not only that it is now 2011 and in 2014 the 10 year break will be over.

“One hopes there is always this same reliable, Death Dealing, Fire Breathing, Mutant Dinosaur. You know so the creative’s just have fun with the humans in the foreground and leave Godzilla to his own devices” – Alex Cox

The future for Godzilla is uncertain at this point. We don’t know what the film makers plans are but Godzilla is not something they will forget about so I think it is more of a certainty that Godzilla will be back and continue to Smash, Crash, Pull Down and Destroy Cities worldwide while always being a Cinema Icon the world over. Godzilla will always be The King of The Monsters.

GENEPOOL (I hope you enjoyed reading this as much as I have enjoyed writing it)

Return of the Steam Train

On Monday I was travelling from my home town of Lancaster to the Town of Middlesbrough where I attend Teesside University. I went by Train and when I was leaving York Train Station I saw something very interesting. The National Railway Museum is just next to the Train Station and outside the Museum I saw a couple of Steam Trains. One of them was a LNER Class A4 (which I accidentally thought was Mallard) with Steam coming out. There was also another train outside; The New A1 Tornado (LNER Peppercorn Class A1 60163 Tornado). What is particularly special about the A1 Tornado is that it is the First Train built by British Railways since 1960. If you are a fan of Top Gear you may recognise it as the train that raced a Jaguar XK120 and a Vincent Black Shadow in a race from London to Edinburgh. It was an amazing sight to see this Train and it had Steam coming out as well and even though I was still a bit of a distance from it, it was still Very Big.

Seeing both trains did bring to mind some interesting Ideas the main one being why not have the Steam Trains return to regular service in Britain. Most trains that run in britain today are Electric Trains or Diesel Locomotives. Steam Trains being the size they are would not really work for Commuter and Stopper Trains but why not main line trains. Some Steam trains can reach speeds of 100+ mph. Mallard holds the record for the fastest Steam Train in the world with a speed of 125.88 mph.

Now most Steam Trains these days have been retired except for a small few that are operational and are used as Attractions. If Steam Trains were to return to active main line service they would have to be brand new. That means building them again. If they were brand new they would be in better condition and that is important in terms of getting passengers to their destinations. Getting the right trains to do the job is important and in today’s world of High Speed Transport the Fastest Trains would have to be used. The trains would also have to be strong to carry large numbers of passengers because Main Line service trains need to carry plenty of people. For this Job I think the A4 Class and the Peppercorn Class are best suited for the Job (and also those are the only 2 I can currently think about). The Peppercorn Class are very Big Trains meaning that they are strong enough to pull large weights but they are also very fast for Large steam trains. The A4 Class are also Big Trains but they are also very fast Trains.

Trains to do the job is not the only issue, One issue is that of Infrastructure. With Diesel and Electric locomotives one advantages is that they don’t need to turn around because there is an engine room at both ends of the train. Steam Trains have an Engine at the front but not at the back. In order to use these trains to their full use their would need to be Turntablesat both ends of the line to turn around the engines and some track points to allow the engine to get to the front of carriages and move into position.  Also train stations with roofs over them will need to be well ventilated so that the Steam generated won’t cause health and safety problems. Building the trains is another issue because Steam Trains have not been massed produced for 51 years. There needs to be an industry and need for them to be produced in large numbers again.

I do think that a return of the Steam Train will bring more excitement to the railways so that the train journey is not just about travelling from point A to point B but will be something Fun to do as well. Yes there are issues with bringing back the Steam Train to Main Line service. It could take years before there are enough trains to meet passenger demand and the Infrastructure will need work done to it but I think that the Steam Train will bring more Excitement to the railways and add more Fun travelling by rail. I do like Diesel Locomotives and Electric Train like the Pendolino but if I was to have a choice between the Pendolino and Mallard; I would choose Mallard.

GENEPOOL

Off-Topic: Next week is my 100th Post.

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Eurovision Reaction

The Eurovision Song Contest is one of my favourite events of the year. I like seeing the show and all the performers and then vote for which country I think had the best song. I have been watching Eurovision since 2004 and since then I have voted for many different countries and 2 of the ones I have voted for have won. I Voted for Ukraine in 2004 and they won and I voted for Finland in 2006 and they won. I voted Finland for 4 years in a row (2006, 2007, 2008 and 2009) because I thought they had the best song. This year I almost voted for another winner but Sweden eventually came 3^rd. When it is time for Eurovision I check out the songs before the show to see what the competition is like and decide who my current favourite is. I don’t make my vote though until after all the songs have been sung just in case I missed anything.

This year was a very hot contest but the main rivals were the pop songs. Ireland entered Jedward (Rubbish) and they did quite well and no surprise they got 12 votes from the UK. Usually I look for some Rock Music and there were a couple of Rocky entries like Denmark and Georgia which were both quite Good but Sweden was my favourite because of the amazing sound and music that came from their entry.

Since Jemini entered in 2003 The UK has been on a massive losing streak. However in 2009 they entered a song which came 5^th. The song was sung by Jade Ewan and it was written by Andrew Lloyd Weber. This year even though did not do as well as 2009 was a big improvement on last year for the United Kingdom when the UK came in Last place (again). The UK is slowly rebuilding itself in the Eurovision Song Contest and provided the UK does not do something STUPID the United Kingdom could possibly win in a few years time. In 201 they entered Boy Band Blue with a song that was quite Good.

Azerbaijan Won overall with a song I did not think was all that Good. It was better than some songs but not my favourite. Every year there are favourites to win and lose and Azerbaijan was the YouTube Favourite with their song being the only one on the homepage on Saturday. Other favourites in the contest were France as the bookies Favourite (Apparently) and Jedward with a 1 to 8 at Ladbrokes.

Most of the standout songs were towards the beginning of the show. Italy’s song seemed to be in protest of the French Song. France’s song was a sort of opera piece while Italy’s song was like something you would find in a French Cafe. This was Italy’s first contest since 1997.

It is kind of surprising sometimes that Heavy Metal bands don’t make more of an appearance. Some of the world’s most successful Heavy Metal bands can be found in Europe. Bands like Britain’s Motorhead and Black Sabbath as well as Germany’s Rammstein and The Scorpions. If these bands entered Eurovision they would be massive favourites to win. Rock and Metal have won before in the form of Finland’s 2006 entry Lordi which won a record number of votes which still was the record until Norway won in 2009.

Germany entered Lena the same person who won Eurovision for them in 2010. Last year her song was very Good. I voted for Moldova but my 2^nd favourite song was Germany’s. This year her song was not as Good. Germany did not win this year and came in 10^th place. Lena’s song was similar but slower than the song she sang last year.

Because of Lena entering this year she was not fully able to sing last year’s winning son at the beginning of the show. Instead a more rock and roll version of the song was sung with Lena singing it along with the host’s of the show. Germany held a great show this year with an amazing stage for the singers to sing on and a brilliant screen with a bit of 3D without glasses required, at least that’s what it looked like. Germany also asked some local singer (I don’t know his name) to present the interval show while the votes were counted. I was hoping for another year of an international singing and dancing like last year but hat sadly did not happen.

Usually with most years the style of the winner is copied so that a country might do better and hopefully win. There were quite a few pop bands but these were in a different style to Lena’s song in 2010. It will be interesting to see what happens next year.

The Eurovision Song Contest continues to be an amazing event and I can’t wait to see it again next year and see what entries make it through to the final. Maybe more of the same, maybe something different or maybe some Heavy Metal. Who can really tell and who knows who will win. The only thing that is certain right now is it will be held in Azerbaijan.

GENEPOOL

Thor Review: Lightning Hammer

I like Superhero Films, Films like The Dark Knight, Iron Man and my Favourite (Superhero Film) X-Men 2. These films have the Good Old tale of Hero vs Villain. Every Superhero has abilities and these abilities always have origin stories of how they gained these abilities. Wolverine has Steel Claws, Iron Man has a mechanical suit and Thor has a Hammer and the power of Lightning.

Now before you start thinking you know what this is, Thor is not based on the Norse Legend. Thor is based on a Comic Book Character that is based on the Norse Legend. So if you see a trailer for the film or a poster for the film, it is not based on the Norse Legend it is based on a Marvel Comic Book Character (which is based on the Norse Legend). Thor is a Superhero from Asgard. He is the Norse God of Thunder wielding a Giant Hammer. He uses this hammer as a weapon to slay his foes and uses Lightning as a weapon too. He is a member of the Superhero Team the Avengers alongside Iron man, Captain America and The Hulk to name but a few. He is the Son of Odin, King of Asgard.

The film starts with the retelling of a war between the Asgard and The Frost Giants. Asgard Won and seized the power of the Frost Giants, The Casket of Ancient Winters. In the present day Odin’s son Thor is about to ascend to the throne of Asgard when Frost Giants try to take the Casket. Thor, his brother Loki and his friend’s Sif, Volstagg, Fandral and Hogun journey to the home of the Frost Giants, Jotunheim. There a battle ensues and Odin arrives to save Thor, Loki and his Friends destroying the fragile truce between the 2 races. For his arrogance Odin strips Thor of his power and exiles him to Earth along with his Hammer Mjolnir which Odin put has put a spell on so only the worthy can use it.

Thor is run over by Jane Foster (Played by Natalie Portman) in New Mexico. Foster and her group of researchers take him to a local hospital where he continuously tries to escape and return to Asgard. The Scientists think he is a bit strange. Meanwhile a Hammer is discovered in the New Mexico Desert and many people try to lift it but are unable to do so (it’s like the sword of King Arthur). SHIELD Arrive and take control of the site and take Fosters Research. Thor escapes the Hospital and tries to recover his Hammer. He goes through the entire base and no one is able to stop him but when he tries to lift his hammer the Spell Odin put on it stops Thor from lifting it.  Thor is captured and gets interrogated by SHIELD Operative Phil Coulson.

Back in Asgard Loki discovers that he was an adopted son, he is actually a frost giant adopted by Odin. Overcome with Stress Odin falls asleep to recuperate. Loki takes charge and offers the Frost Giants the chance to Kill Odin and take the Casket, They accept. Meanwhile Sif, Volstagg, Fandral and Hogun are unhappy with Thor’s Exile and convince Heimdall Gate Keeper of the Bifrost Bridge (a way of travelling between worlds) to allow them to travel to Earth and bring back Thor.

Thor manages to escape from SHILED with the help of Fosters Mentor Dr. Selvig.  Thor tells Jane of Asgard and the bridges that connect the worlds. Sif, Volstagg, Fandral and Hogun arrive on Earth and locate Thor. Loki knows of their plan and sends The Destroyer. A Big Indestructible Automaton and tells it to kill Thor and his Friends. Thor’s friends are defeated by it and Thor asks Loki to kill him and spare his friends. The Destroyer attacks Thor and nearly kills him; however this is a cause worthy enough for him to wield the Mjolnir. The Hammer flies out of the ground and returns to Thor giving him back his Power. Thor defeats the Destroyer and returns to Asgard with his Friends Kissing Jane Goodbye and vowing to return.

Back on Asgard Loki reveals his true plan, he kills the Frost Giants sent to kill Odin, he can then use this attempt on Odin’s life to destroy Jotunheim with the Bifrost  Bridge proving himself to Odin. Thor battles Loki and destroys the Bifrost  Bridge stranding himself on Asgard. Odin reawakens and saves the brothers falling through the worlds. Loki allows himself to fall to his death knowing that he has disappointed Odin once again. Thor makes amends with his father Odin and admits that he is not ready to be king. Meanwhile on Earth Jane and her team look for a way to open a portal to Asgard so she can reunite with Thor.

With this being a Marvel Film there is an extra scene after the Credits but you are going to have to find that out about that yourself.

Thor is a Very Good Film. It has a story which is set in a simple layout of Beginning, Middle and End. It is not too complicated either which makes it a thrilling story and very interesting as well. The Cast help the story out with Chris Hemsworth playing Thor. Hemsworth is not playing Thor; He is Thor, the role was made for Hemsworth. Natalie Portman plays Jane Foster in another amazing role; this along with Star Wars and V for Vendetta is another brilliant film role for Portman. Anthony Hopkins plays Odin, I have not seen many Anthony Hopkins films, alright one and that was The Mask of Zorro but he was brilliant in this as well as he was in Zorro. Idris Elba plays Heimdall the Gate Keeper. His non emotional look makes him look fearsome and dangerous. Heimdall does not appear as much as the other characters but his scenes are very Good. The cast includes many other characters like Dr. Selvig played by Stellan Skarsgård. Kat Dennings character Darcy Lewis is very good as one of Jane Fosters Assistants.

In terms of a soundtrack you don’t really notice one because you are engrossed in the film. I do think for this film the perfect choice for the music would be some Heavy Metal; it just seems to come together when you think about it. The films effects are also well made; it is one of those now rare occurrences where the film makers stopped working on the effect when the effect was achieved. They got to a point where they achieved a realistic effect and just left it there, they did not do anymore to it they just left it and it works. I was a bit sceptical about the choice of Director for the film. I was unsure how Kenneth Branagh was going to make a Superhero Movie, but it was a very Good film and he has made something Special.

Overall Thor is an amazing film with a Brilliant Story, Brilliant Characters and Brilliant Effects. It is an amazing film and if you like Superhero movies you will love this, Watch Thor it is one of the Movie Events of the Year (along with Transformers 3, Sherlock Holmes 2 and Battle Los Angeles).

GENEPOOL

Sam’s Rant – Film Awards 2010

 

The Film awards season has passed and there have been many awards handed out and it was quite surprising to see that Christopher Nolan was not even nominated for Best Director. It may seem an unusual time for me to do my Film Awards but because of me being at University it was quite hard to see some films. Because of this I decided to wait until I saw a couple of films I wanted to see before I made my decision.

I thought that this year I might go into a bit more detail with the winners but I will try to keep it brief.

Best Actor – The Nominations are:

Denzel Washington for Unstoppable, Sam Worthington for Clash of the Titans, Robert Downey JR for Iron Man 2 and Leonardo DiCaprio for Inception.

The Winner is Denzel Washington for his role as Frank Barnes in Unstoppable.

Best Supporting Actor – The Nominations are:

Ken Watanabe for Inception, Liam Neeson for Clash of the Titans, Don Cheadle for Iron Man 2 and Shane Rangi for The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader.

The Winner is Liam Neeson for his role as Zeus in Clash of the Titans.

Best Actress – The Nominations are:

Angelina Jolie for SALT, Ellen Page for Inception, Rosario Dawson for Unstoppable, Gwyneth Paltrow for Iron Man 2 and Georgie Henley for The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader.

The Winner is Ellen Page for her role as Ariadne in Inception. It was going to be close between Ellen Page and Rosario Dawson but Ellen Page’s character in Inception was Amazing.

There is no Best Supporting Actress because I can’t think of any that really stood out for me.

Most Disappointing Film of the Year:

I was really looking forward to The A-Team. I am a fan of the original series and I was really looking forward to this but it did not meet my expectations. The story was also hard to follow; you have the good guys, the bad guys, the good guys who become bad guys, the bad guys who become good guys then bad guys and so on where as the original series had Good Guys vs Bad Guys.

Worst Film of the Year:

The Worst Film of 2010 is also the Worst film in the World, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1. It was Rubbish, you have a story line which involves some kind of emotion searching pieces, a scene where the film becomes a B Horror Movie and an Animation Sequence which looks like something from a Tim Burton Film. The film had no Plot, the Characters were bad and on the whole it was an absolutely Pants Film.

Best Trailer – The Nominations are:

Unstoppable, Clash of the Titans, Skyline and The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader.

The Winner is Clash of the Titans. When I saw the trailer I had it going through my head, the Heavy Metal Soundtrack, The Special Effects and the shots of the film, It looked Amazing.

Best Special Effects – The Nominations are:

Clash of the Titans, Inception, Monsters, Unstoppable and Skyline.

The Winner is Clash of the Titans, this film is based on a movie classic and with the new CGI Special Effects it looked amazing, in particular the Giant Scorpion and The Kraken. It is Good to see Special Effects artist stop working on something when the effect is reached and does not continue to work on it no matter how much money the studio has been given, Good Work.

Most Anticipated Film of 2010:

Clash of the Titans, it is based on a Classic Film from 1981 by Ray Harryhausen and it has the right special effects for the Modern Film Age.

Most Anticipated Film of 2011:

This one is difficult but on the whole I would say Transformers: Dark of the Moon. The next film in the series. I really enjoyed the first 2 and I can’t wait to see the next one.

Best Soundtrack – The Nominations are:

Unstoppable, Clash of the Titans and Iron Man 2.

The Winner is Unstoppable for a soundtrack that only gets faster and more intense.

Most Original Idea – The Nominations are:

Inception, Salt, Skyline, Unstoppable and Monsters.

The Winner is Inception for its bizarre idea of having a dream inside a dream inside a dream.

Best Character – The Nominations are:

Evelyn Salt (SALT), Frank Barnes (Unstoppable), Ariadne (Inception), Connie Hooper (Unstoppable) and Tony Stark (Iron Man 2).

The Winner is Evelyn Salt from SALT. The Character is almost as confusing as Inception but it is one of those rare times that a Character has so many back stories and they all work. The Character of Evelyn Salt is very Good and a good rival to James Bond, It will be interesting to see if a series is made from this film.

Best Director – The Nominations are:

Christopher Nolan for Inception, Tony Scott for Unstoppable, Gareth Edwards for Monsters, Phillip Noyce for SALT and John Favreau for Iron Man 2.

The Winner is Christopher Nolan for Inception. Inception is an amazing film and Nolan is an amazing Director, you can tell that from Inception and previous films including The Dark Knight.

Now it is time for the Main Award.

Best Film of 2010:

Just like last year I will give you the Top 5 Films of the Year with Number 1 being the Best Film of 2010.

5. Monsters

4. Iron Man 2

3. SALT

2. Unstoppable

1. The Best Film of 2010 is

Inception

Roundup – Number of Awards per Film:

Unstoppable: 2

Clash of the Titans: 4

Inception: 4

Salt: 1

The A-Team: 1

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1: 1

Well another year of Films has gone and we are already into a New Year of Films. There are many interesting films that have already come out with many more still to come. Who knows maybe some of them might Win Awards, You will just have to wait and see.

GENEPOOL (Please Rate my Blog Posts)

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Off-Topic: The Winner of the Monster Movies Poll is Cloverfield and The Host, So I am going to review both of them.