Monarch of the Moon (2006)

The film makes a home in your brain and the only cure is to see it again.

The plot isn't so bad, but the pace of storytelling is too slow which makes people bored. Certain moments are so obvious and unnecessary for the main plot. I would've fast-forwarded those moments if it was an online streaming. The ending looks like implying a sequel, not sure if this movie will get one

There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes

If you're interested in the topic at hand, you should just watch it and judge yourself because the reviews have gone very biased by people that didn't even watch it and just hate (or love) the creator. I liked it, it was well written, narrated, and directed and it was about a topic that interests me.

Monarch of the Moon may lack the authenticity of the original 1940s serials, but very little else is missing. The Lowry brothers and their crew have lovingly crafted a tribute to the likes of King of the Rocketmen, Zombies from the Stratosphere, The Black Widow, The Phantom, Dick Tracy etc... The DVD allows you the option to view the feature in colour or in good ol' black and white. Monarch of the Moon is best viewed in Black and white, the heavy shadows don't fair too well in colour. Blane Wheatley is a wonderful protagonist, who over acts perfectly without making a mockery of his role. Monica Himmelheber is gorgeous.Serials are a risky genre to tackle. Simply put, people either "get it" or hate it. It's a genre that is filled with ridiculousness that doesn't strive to be serious. It borrows from an era when anything was possible, a golden age for western society that has since had it's "can do anything" attitude replaced with scepticism and doubt. Modern movie goers need their crazy served to them in a serious, "believable" manner (Transformers). God forbid that a viewer should still have to rely on their imagination while watching a flick... This isn't an attempt to sound like a snob. It's just a honest observation that audiences prefer the wonders of modern CG (which in recent years has proved that it can produce damn near anything and look amazing) to stylish (possibly (and in this case) low budget) fx. I enjoyed Monarch of the Moon greatly. My only complaint with the feature would be that it struggles to include unnecessary comedic roles and tidbits. It sadly dumbs down the feature at points and disrupts the pacing.Fans of the old Republic serials should enjoy Monarch of the Moon. It's fun and doesn't let the genre down. It's also incredibly interesting to see new methods of cinematography used to recreate rich archaic styles. Sadly, anything relating to serials of the past is doomed to only be praised if it is a slick reference hidden in Lost or a J.J. Abrahms internet teaser pic. Feature length tributes such as Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow and Monarch of the Moon appear to be losing their spot in Hollywood. Indiana Jones and the Crystal Skulls was mocked for it's now infamous fridge scene. Yet this scene fits perfectly in a serial inspired production. I felt it was a great way of capturing the heroes inevitable demise that concludes each chapter of a serial, only to have his miraculous survival explained a week later. Crystal Skulls failed as a movie for other reasons, the oft mocked fridge scene is just misunderstood.There is an audience for the serial genre, I hope that creative minds will continue to figure out ways in which to keep it alive.

This serial spoof is a hoot from beginning to end. If you are a fan of the old Saturday Matinée serials, you will most likely enjoy this, as I did. I rented this from Blockbuster,and ended up buying it. All the clichés are intact, and the actors play their (ridiculous) characters with extreme earnestness. The cinematography includes scratches and fading at times, to give the impression of age. This must have been an interesting experience in movie theaters, as each episode ends with "continued next week", and the following episode recaps what you just saw. There are plenty of laughs, but perhaps you need to be a serial fan to "get" all of the references.

Last night, we watched the first episode of this new 6-episode serial that is s'posed to be an homage to 1940s serials.It turns out that it's actually a Naked Gun-type spoof of serials (at least, it is based on the first episode) that has some impressive things in it, but which to me if it were an actual WWII serial would be one of the worst.Blane Wheatley is the chain-smoking hero the Yellow Jacket, who can fly and control actual yellow jackets. Monica Himmelheber is his chain-smoking secretary/girlfriend, and she's the best thing in the episode (there's a running gag involving her being bonked on the noggin that is the only thing I found amusing here). Kimberly Page is the Dragonfly, a femme fatale Japanese agent who speaks like The Craw on Get Smart. There's a lot of references to "Japs" and "Krauts" and Y.J. has a professor-sidekick who is dull, which is supposed to be humorous.The DVD comes with both color and B&W versions; oddly, they both look awful. The B&W looks like the color has simply been turned off, and the color looks like a B&W that's been colorized. Neither are satisfying, but after sampling both we chose the latter for episode one.Stay tuned.

I wasn't expecting much when I started to view Monarch of the Moon, I am a fan of the classic serials of the 1940's & 1950's so I thought I'd give it a try.I mean how good could it be for a low budget film? ...as it turns out very good indeed. True it had a low budget ($75,000), but the acting, writing, and even the effects added up to a great film.Our hero Cal (AKA The Yellowjacket), an army fighter pilot who, while captured and tested on by the Nazis, gained the super power to communicate with yellow jackets. A power that the government now uses on secret missions. Cal along with his team (the scientist, an air head of a secretary, his alcoholic pilot buddy, and the boy scout) must stop the axis powers from destroying America. Oh yes, the axis powers have forged an alliance with The Monarch of the Moon, who supplies them with advanced technology.I'd have to say that my favorite character was Cal's arch-nemesis: The Dragonfly. As with all Asian bad guys that appeared in the old serials she is played by a caucasian actress, Kimberly Page, who nails the character. Very exotic and very evil. The included commentary track tells how the director wanted her to play the character straight, no humor at all, while the other actors play very over-the-top. This combination works very well, and The Dragonfly comes out as the most remembered character.The DVD set includes the original version of the film, along with a black & white version (for us purists out there), and a commentary track. The 2nd DVD is the teams first film "Destination Mars!".