Godzilla

Godzilla Japanese 9 Inch Vinyl Figure Final Wars Mecha King Ghidorah Re-Paint
$29.98
How much fun is this toy? My age 4 son loves it! How educational is it? While not a science project, the toy does encourage my son to ask questions about body parts (wings, horns, tails, etc). The toy is durable, but, like all Godzilla PVC toys, the paint frequently scratches. I did not buy this toy to be a collector's item that sits on a shelf. I bought this toy so my son can play along with the Godzilla movie that stars Mecha King Ghidorah. Most of my son's small toys eventually get scuffed up, so we can endure the paint scuffs. Highly recommended toy for young Godzilla fans.

7" Godzilla 2004 Mecha Godzilla Action Figure (Japan Import)
$21.48
Bought this for son's 12th birthday, he has been a Godzilla fan since he was 2, this toy was an addition to his growing collection of Godzilla items.

The Godzilla Collection
$59.93
Just what the Witch doctor ordered for my little girl. She loves Godzilla and these dvds are perfect.

Godzilla
$14.94
THE MOVIE

I will admit, THIS Godzilla is one of my favorite 'thoughtless entertainment' movies. The kind I watch when I'm exhausted and all I want is to relax with a cocktail or a cup of cappuccino and not worry about world peace or possible cosmic disasters for a while. Sure, it's not the Japanese Godzilla - it's an American movie after all - but I can't see why we shouldn't have our own Godzilla the same way the Japanese can have their own baseball and rock and roll.

I will not do a full critique of the movie - there are hundreds of excellent reviews published already so I am going to be brief. I will only state that I love Godzilla because:

- it has Matthew Broderick (Bueller?)
- it has Jean Reno (The Specialist, The DaVinci Code)
- it has (a lot of) humor
- it has most excellent visual effects, quite impressive even by 2009 standards
- it has one of the better sound tracks in a monster movie

Sure, it's not the Japanese Godzilla but, come to think of it, the Japanese Godzilla has none of the above.


THE BLU-RAY RELEASE

Of course, it's 1080p and it's an easy to notice improvement over the DVD release - I've bought both the VHS and the DVD releases prior to this one. More impressive than the picture is the sound track. The DTS-HD Master Audio it's literally a blast. It will rock your house with the proper sub-woofer.

The extras are mostly those found on the DVD edition but there are a couple of Blu-specific additions.

The Godzilla trivia game is actually fun - multiple-choice where the time it takes to pick the answer is factored into the score. A multi-player option is available for players with an Internet connection. To my surprise, this actually worked and I could play Godzilla trivia online with someone who was trying out this exotic feature at the same time I was.

The Movie-IQ option is another BD-Live powered option. It checks some online database and provides up-to-date information about the movie while watching the movie. I immediately learned, while watching the movie, that Godzilla grossed $350 million and it was released in 1998 and that, since its release in 1954 there have been 28 Godzilla/GOJIRA movies.

BD-Live also facilitated the printing of a ticket for the '2012' movie (up to $10). Be VERY careful and do NOT throw away the wrapping. The back of the sticker has a code that, when typed in in a BD-Live session will have Sony email you a PDF that can be printed and becomes a 'ticket' that's valid until Dec. 31 2009.

Finally, the disk - not a second disk - includes a digital copy for the PSP. You first copy it to your PS3 hard drive and then you download it from there to the PSP - it comes with full instructions on how to proceed.


MY RATING

5 stars as a movie and 5 stars as a Blu-ray release. If you happen to own a PS3 and a PSP and you happen to want to watch '2012' before the end of 2009 this is an incredible bargain.