For this entry, Godzilla was redesigned from the feet up, giving him a much more fierce and terrifying appearance. The pot-bellied rubber suit so many are familiar with was replaced with angrier eyes, saurian teeth, and more carved-looking spines. Even though he would go through many future changes, these updates marked a watershed for Godzilla films, as future directors and suit designers stayed with the sleeker appearance.

Biollante is also unique in the Godzilla universe. Director Kazuki Omori skipped the bi-name opponents, and the traditional rubber suits, to create a wholly new type of creature. Hoping to create more resistant crops, scientists inadvertently birth Biollante by fusing Godzilla DNA with Rose cells. That's right: the big baddie is a lizard-plant hybrid.

Biollante is a terrifying beast, with several gaping, toothed maws strong enough to pierce Godzilla's hide. The effects did a superb job designing, and animating, the beast. So much so, that Biollante has become a favorite among Godzilla Otaku (guilty!) and collectors (again, guilty!).

"Godzilla vs. Biollante" also features extraordinary special effects work in general. The film is directed as an action film, and avoids many of the traditional lingering long-pan shots of monsters on a battlefield. The action is up-close, intense, and moves the story forward without regret. The effects work on the Self Defense Force attacks are handled in a similar, well-paced way.

The true weakness of the film is the acting. Traditional low budget emoters, and some really goofy, generic Arabic assassins hinder the film, but really don't damage the overall experience.

If you like Godzilla, or you should like a good monster smack-down, "Godzilla vs. Biollante" will not let you down.

Quite simply, I was very impressed with the movie. I found it ably directed, well-acted, and quite atmospheric. The director successfully manages the cat-and-mouse game between L and Light, as well as the myriad plot twists, making the film very exciting to watch.

Of particular note, I found the evolution of Light Yagami's character extremely well-played. I don't want to surrender plot-points or offer spoilers in a review, so i will simply mention that, by film's end, Light has undergone an emotional and psychological transformation which seemed surprising, but in retrospect was inevitable.

In summation, watch this film. I really don't believe anyone will be disappointed.

This is not a straight-up disaster flick, but rather the story of how humans relate to each other, and their world, upon discovering the end of their culture is at hand. Don't misunderstand me, there are some extraordinary and epic disaster scenes as tectonic pressures begin to rend the Japanese archipelago, but the filmmaker adeptly weaves real human drama and emotion throughout the story. The climactic scene between the two leads is heartwarming and sad, providing a nice topping to the main meal this film offers.

The disaster scenes are well-executed and well-placed, allowing the viewer to glaze over the rough edges in the digital special effects. You can tell many of the scenes are unreal, but the magnitude and majesty of those scenes keep those rough edges from being distracting.

One scene that really remains with you is the destruction of an airplane during a violent volcanic eruption. Powerful stuff.

This film recalls the classic Irwin Allen disaster films, such as the original "Poseidon Adventure", and "The Towering Inferno", but with more hope and heart.

That said, I found the story interesting and compelling, but the true highlight of the movie is the striking visuals. When this movie gets going, it is one beautiful piece of cinematography. The fight scenes are well-choreographed, and executed with precision. The atmosphere is staggering in its complexity, color, and brilliance, and is a film you honestly could look at almost any still frame as a unique, beautiful piece of art.

The story itself is fairly self-contained, and beyond character development, the "story so far" feature is really not necessary. The story is also very basic, and easy-to-follow. No real surprises, and no real emotional payoff. Watch this movie with the sound on or off. You will enjoy it either way.

I am a Bat fan, and I did not care for the Joker in "Dark Knight". My issue is not with Heath Ledger's acting, but rather the character himself. I am a traditionalist, and I love the goofy clown Joker (such as Mark Hamill's take in the animated series) more than I like the darker, almost serious, Joker that Nolan created. Gone were most of the one-liners, squirting flowers, and bizarre humor-oriented crimes and killings. In their place we have just another sociopath who wears bad makeup, and only has one or two moments that are classically Joker.

Honestly, I felt the acme of this movie was Two-Face. Nolan brilliantly displays Harvey Dent's physical, and psychological, damage, giving real life to this character for the first time on any screen. I believe had Heath Ledger not passed away, the world would be discussing Two-Face as fervently as they discuss the other.

This movie was not bad, so much as it was not good. Throughout the film, I kept believing they could have given us so much more than what they did. The acting is hammy, but that is not unusual in a giant monster movie. The director works so hard to not let you SEE anything of the action. You get close-ups of the beast, but are never really gratified with full-on, decent shots. Also, the "found footage," "shaky-cam" approach really did not help the experience.

This movie felt like it should have been made in two parts. One part should be as it stands, another part showing an honest-to-God, straight-up giant monster movie. The movie ends with so many nagging questions (Where does the beast come from? What happened to him? Is New York totally obliterated? What is the story with the weird little parasites?) that a traditional format film to accompany this one would have made the whole "Cloverfield" experience much, much better.

All that being said, the movie is fine for what it is, and what it is is a found video camera after a disaster. Nothing more, nothing less. The filmmakers succeeded in making what they wanted to make, but sometimes that just isn't enough.