Critic consensus:More than straight monster-movie fare, Gojira offers potent, sobering postwar commentary.

Numbered reviews:1. Japan's classic monster movie in its original and better form.
2. A classic monster movie and a sombre reflection of Japan's suffering in the wake of large-scale fire-bombings and atomic attack.
3. Die-hard sci-fi geeks will love it; everybody else will appreciate its display of the true power of the giant rubber monster suit.
4. a movie way ahead of its time
5. Do we want a monster movie with a social conscience, or do we want to see a guy in a lizard suit smash model trains?
6. Maybe it's 50 years late, but we're finally getting to see Godzilla as it was meant to be seen.
7. It wasn't until I revisited the first film in the series, which premiered in Japan on Nov. 3, 1954, that I realized how powerful a political statement it makes.
8. Kudos to Rialto Pictures for making the effort to bring to light a true classic.
9. The rampaging reptile is back to remind us that monsters have meaning.
10. Honda may not have created the most convincing-looking monster in cinema history, but he managed to give his sci-fi/horror movie a social relevance, particularly in postwar Japan.


Critic consensus:Stong lead performances, witty dialogue and wry observations cement Friends With Money as another winning dramedy from writer/director Nicole Holofcener.

Numbered reviews:1. ...remains oddly uninvolving for the majority of its brisk running time.
2. This delicious, seriocomic tale of four friends in affluent, liberal, west L.A. grappling with midlife crises, metrosexual spouses and household remodeling takes on an avoided subject: money, and how it affects our relationships.
3. An astutely observed relationship dramedy, painfully funny even as it burns.
4. Holofcener's anecdotal narrative doesn't give us much purchase on any of the characters.
5. The script is full of witty gems, while still remaining rooted in reality.
6. Holofcener jibes class and materialism without getting preachy and avoids formula with wit and compassion.
7. Tidily grounded in Sitcomland
8. Boasting generous performances from each player, this is a film that understands the foibles of human nature.
9. A class-conscious L.A. tale of four best friends and the men who love (and hurt) them.
10. Witty and fast-paced as [some] scenes are, after a while the big picture grows tired and trivial.


Critic consensus:Faux horror schtick fails to elicit any laughs or scares.

Numbered reviews:
1. Very funny; unconventionally effective!
2. It is very, very silly and funny, not to mention scary in all the right places.
3. Lake Placid is worth paying full admission price alone just to see Golden Girl sweetie Betty White feed a blind-folded cow to the croc and cuss out the feds.
4. There's a special look that actors get - avid yet resigned - when the movie they're starring in is so bad it practically billboards their stalled careers.
5. ...even though everything in sight defines cinematic repulsion, that doesn't mean you still can't have a good time.
6. Not as imaginatively campy as Tremors and certainly far from as suspenseful or unnerving as Jaws.
7. Where "Godzilla" makes the head hurt, "Placid" splashes up a bit fun. A solid "B" movie.
8. The best 'monster under water' pic since the original Jaws!
9. The funniest film of the summer!
10. An odd, derivative, but sporadically likeable film.