Film Review: CROCZILLA (2012)

The Chinese have now entered the giant killer monster race with Croczilla (2012), the latest in giant crocodile films.  What makes this film different is that the said crocodile is giant because natural causes instead of biological weapons or toxic spills or something similar.  The giant crocodile is named Amao who has lived its life relatively uninterrupted in a zoo that is slowly going out of business.  The only person who sees Amao as an animal to behold is a small boy by the name of Xiao who has just learned that Amao and the rest of the crocodiles at the zoo have been sold to a ruthless gangster who plans on serving up the crocodiles as a meal to his high priced clients but Amao escapes captivity and wanders throughout countryside.

Amao makes small meals out of the random people who come across his path but he also makes a meal out of one woman’s purse containing $1 million and when word gets out that there is a dangerous animal out there worth a million dollar some people flee while others go on a search and destroy mission.  Now Xiao and his father must find Amao before the whole countryside is thrown into chaos.

This may all sound like the makings of a good giant killer animal film but it really isn’t.  The film is badly written with a tone that borders on slapstick from the awkward scenes with naked young boys skinny dipping to the woman with $1 million verses giant crocodile antics.  There is also no logic to why Amao kills some people while leaving others alone and the gangster that plans to feed Amao to his high paying clients is among the most ridiculous ever portrayed.  The film has very little going for it and comes off as a subpar sci-fi disaster.  This is one of those films that you can completely pass up.

Book Review: Asian Pop Cinema: Bombay to Tokyo by Lee Server

 Asian cinema makes up a huge amount of the films produced every year (on average India alone produces over 300 films a year) and countries such as South Korea and the Philippines have been producing more films now than ever before in history while Hong Kong and Japan continue to set new trends in the market place and International cinema.  In Lee Server’s book Asian Pop Cinema: Bombay to Tokyo all of the film industries of these countries are given a historic overview.

Server allows each of the countries their own chapter (which includes all those previously mentioned as well as Taiwan and China) which recounts the history of the cinema and how it developed to its current state.  Hong Kong and Japan have some of the richest history in the cinema arts despite some years of no film production at all (especially during war times).  Some of the chapters also focus on key personnel within the industry such as an interview with film makers John Woo, Tomoaki Hosoyama, Eddie Romero, Jose Lacaba, and several others.

Server’s book is not a definitive book on any of these countries’ film industries but it is rather an overview of key events and people involved in the industry.  It is very useful for people who have very little or no previous knowledge about Asian cinema and can help differentiate between all the different countries and their industries.  Server also provides a plethora of production stills and posters from many of the films discussed which is extremely helpful if you have not seen the films that he has mentioned.