A lot of people seem to view “Scooby-Doo On Zombie Island” as the best “Scooby-Doo” film. It’s certainly more entertaining some of the live-action films but I still thought it was rather underwhelming. I don’t want to spoil things but it seemed to miss the gimmick that made the earlier “Scooby-Doo” cartoon shows entertaining.

Mystery Inc. are reunited as they visit a mysterious island in Louisiana. They are there as part of a new tv show hosted by Daphne as she hopes to find evidence of real ghosts. The rest of the gang are sceptical at first after the first few strange sightings. Is it just another elaborate scheme or could there be real monsters on this island?

We of course get to see Scooby, Shaggy, Velma, Daphne and Fred. They are all fine. The problem I have with this movie is with the villains. There are of course zombies in this movie but there also some other creatures. They are really lame and don’t feel right for “Scooby-Doo”. Mark Hamill (“Batman: Mask of the Phantasm”) has a small role voicing one of the characters. The animation on the characters is decent. It doesn’t have the charming look of the old shows but I think it’s fine. Some of the characters have quite disturbing transformations for a film aimed at young children.

“Scooby-Doo On Zombie Island” is a film that departs from the “Scooby-Doo” seen in shows such as the original “Scooby-Doo, Where Are You?” and that presents some real problems for me. I just found this to be a very unsatisfying experience despite some of the comedic moments being okay. Some “Scooby-Doo” fans seem to love this movie but it just didn’t work for me. I’d rather watch one of the old episodes from the 60s or 70s than watch this.

The “Godzilla” anime saga continues with “City On The Edge Of Battle”. These films just completely miss the point of the “Godzilla” franchise. Maybe if they were original sci-fi films then they might work but to have these as “Godzilla” films is just not tolerable.

The humans and their alien friends are still trying to find a way to destroy Godzilla so that they can reclaim the Earth. They discover the remains of Mechagodzilla and think they may have just found a way to defeat Godzilla. However, success cannot come without great loss. What will be sacrificed to achieve victory against the mighty monster? Is it worth it?

The visual style on the characters still looks somewhat cold and uninviting. We barely see Godzilla in this movie and he just look really bad. You almost forget that this is a Godzilla movie because he only really appears near the end. Don’t expect to see much of Mechagodzilla either. In fact, what they do with Mechagodzilla is just embarrassing. The various characters are not interesting and I just didn’t care about their struggle. When they start to ponder philosophical issues, you just can’t get invested because the whole movie is so unengaging.

If you are expecting an exciting flick with giant monsters then this is another big disappointment. I really just don’t understand why the filmmakers don’t just make this a completely original thing because it has virtually nothing to do with “Godzilla”. The animation is still really weird and unpleasant despite a few visually striking moments. The whole thing is just so anti-climactic too. If you really liked “Planet of the Monsters” then this will be show you what happened next but for everybody else, just stay away from these awful anime movies. Please just go and watch the live-action “Godzilla” films from Japan instead.

“In Living Colour” is a really funny comedy sketch show that was easily the best thing done by the Wayans brothers (“I’m Gonna Git You Sucka”) and it also helped launch Jim Carrey (“The Mask”) to stardom. The sketches vary in quality but some of them are just really funny.

We get a great variety of sketches with lots of different whacky characters. A lot of the comedy focuses on African-American culture. There are also a lot of references to celebrities and popular figures from the era. Every episode also features dance performances from the Fly Girls dance troupe with a disc jockey playing tunes in the background.

While a lot of the characters only appear in individual sketches, there are some recurring characters. Jim Carrey’s most famous character on here is probably Fire Marshall Bill, who always seems to cause more catastrophes than he prevents. I also really like Damon Wayans (“The Last Boy Scout”) as Homey D. Clown, a miserable party clown that doesn’t want to make a fool of himself. Carrey is easily the funniest of the bunch but Damon Wayans is often entertaining here too. In later seasons, Jamie Foxx (“Collateral”) appears and is entertaining to watch.

“In Living Colour” has a terrific theme song with a fun opening sequence that gets you in the mood for something silly and fun. A lot of the humour is quite dated as it relies on knowledge of 90s pop culture so it’s not as timeless as a sketch series such as “Monty Python’s Flying Circus”. However, some of the skits in “In Living Colour” are as funny today as they were back in the 90s. Definitely check this out if you are a fan of Jim Carrey and I can also assure you that this show is way better than later films made by members of the Wayans family such as “Scary Movie” and “White Chicks”.

“Battletoads” was a somewhat popular videogame and there were hopes that the franchise could rival “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles”. This pilot for an animated series never led to anything and it’s not hard to see why. It looks bad and the writing is awful.

Three loser teen friends get the power to transform into giant toad warriors to fight against the evil Dark Queen and her minions. The ‘Battletoads’ must use their new abilities to protect Princess Angelica. If they fail in their mission, the Dark Queen will take control of the universe. It’s up to Rash, Pimple and Zitz to save the day.

The Battletoads are pretty ugly to look and never look as aesthetically pleasing as the 80s cartoon Ninja Turtles. They also don’t seem to be distinguishable from one another once they transform into their Battletoad forms. Princess Angelica is pretty forgettable and seems like a poor version of Princess Peach from the “Mario” games and cartoons and Princess Zelda from the “Legend Of Zelda” games and cartoons. The Dark Queen is a pretty generic villain. Some of the Dark Queen’s minions look like cheap versions of Bebop and Rocksteady from “Ninja Turtles”. The animation on all the characters is pretty underwhelming.

If you have seen any of the 80s “Ninja Turtles” cartoon then this is just going to seem like a total rip-off. I think the “Super Mario Bros. Super Show” was a much cartoon series based on a videogame and that came out around the same time. The gags here are all pretty terrible and there is nothing interesting here that was not already featured and done better in the “Ninja Turtles” show. Unless you are a huge fan of the games, I see no reason to check this out and we are no need of any more “Battletoads” cartoons or movies.

The Wayans brothers may have had a lot of success with tv’s “In Living Colour” but a lot of their films got bashed by critics and audiences alike. Here is my personal ranking of the 5 worst films from the Wayans brothers.

5. Scary Movie 2

This horror spoof sequel has a ton of rude and crude gags that are not even vaguely funny. It also does a poor job of actually making fun of horror movies. Still, it’s a slight improvement over the original but maybe that’s because I lowered my expectations for this one.

4. White Chicks

A film where the Wayans brothers play federal agents that disguise themselves as rich white girl to foil kidnappers. It would surely have been viewed as racists if it were about white guys pretending to be black girls. Putting the premise to one side, the comedy is as lame as you can possibly get.

3. Scary Movie

This is arguably the most commercially successful film that the Wayans brothers ever did but it’s still awful. The movie spoofs the slasher genre but it bases a lot of its material from “Scream”, a film that was already satirising slasher pictures. This movie contains some of the most disgusting gags I’ve ever seen.

2. Earth Girls Are Easy

This truly terrible picture combines the sci-fi, comedy and musical genres. The film stars Jeff Goldblum (“Jurassic Park”), Jim Carrey (“The Mask”) and Damon Wayans (“Blankman”) as three aliens. These are all talented and funny guys so it’s just so painful to see them in such a bad movie. “Earth Girls Are Easy” is anything but an easy watch.

1. Little Man

This comedic abomination sees Marlon Wayans (“Senseless”) plays a short criminal that disguises himself as a baby. The special effects are never convincing and what we see is absolutely horrifying. The movie is also really predictable.

Dishonourable mentions:
A Low Down Dirty Shame, Don't Be A Menace To South Central While Drinking Your Juice In The Hood

Even when I was a small child, I wouldn’t go near “Pokémon” because I thought (and everyone I knew) thought “Pokémon” was for insanely childish. This is a movie that I’m sure fans will love but how did this manage to be in cinemas? I could see this being on tv or direct-to-video but how would anyone consider putting this in on the big screen?

In “Pokémon: The First Movie”, the Pokémon trainer Ash and his friends are invited to an island owned by apparently the greatest Pokémon trainer of them all. This trainer turns out to be an evil Pokémon clone known as Mewtwo who is set on cloning Pokémon to make them stronger and then destroying anyone who opposes him. Defying logic and leaping over plot holes Ash, his friends and even Mew (the original) take on Mewtwo and his army of super Pokémon.

The acting in this film is obviously terrible. The characters are so bland and you are forced to watch them for what feels like an eternity. If you’ve ever seen any bit of the series just expect that but instead of the length of 20 minutes or so you’ll have to sit through a whole movie of it. Acting definitely isn’t the strongest point of “Pokémon” (not that anything else is much better).

Towards the end of this film, the Pokémon trainers say that how the normal Pokémon and the clones are fighting is brutal and must be stopped. However, the moral becomes worthless as to my knowledge every episode of the show (not that I watch it) has the trainers getting their Pokémon to attack one another. The acting is bad, the humour is atrocious, the action is bland and the music during the action is inappropriate. The cute factor is there and so is the good animation but that’s it. “Pokémon: The First Movie” is a lousy children’s film and don’t them settle with it. Give them something better.

Just when I thought the Wayans brothers couldn’t do any worse than “Scary Movie”, they make “Little Man”. This is easily one of the worst comedies ever made. It’s so bad that I found myself intrigued in the same way that I’m curious about what happens when an atom bomb hits. It’s not even original as it has a premise vaguely similar to “Baby Buggy Bunny”, a 1954 Bugs Bunny short.

In “Little Man”, a short crook (Marlon Wayans) leaves prison and joins his buddy (Tracy Morgan “Cop Out”) on a job to steal a diamond. However, the cops show up so he hides the diamond. In order to retrieve it, the criminal disguises himself as a baby and enters the home of Darryl (Shawn Wayans) and Vanessa (Kerry Washington “Django Unchained”, “Save The Last Dance”).

Watching Marlon Wayans head superimposed on a short person’s body is horrifying. The special effects are never convincing and it just looks disturbing. It’s like the brief moment in “Junior” where we see a C.G.I. Arnold Schwarzenegger face on a baby but this is for an entire movie. He’s not funny and just incredibly mean and creepy. Shawn Wayans is awful here too. He’s so dull and unpleasant to watch. Brittany Daniel (“Club Dread”), David Alan Grier (“Jumanji”) and Lochlyn Munro (“Unforgiven”) are among those that appear here after being in previous projects involving the Wayans family. To make things even worse, Rob Schneider (“Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo”) shows up.

“Little Man” is a disgusting movie where we see a dog pee in a man’s mouth, a thermometer inserted into someone’s bottom and a man have diarrhoea. The whole experience is just gross and ugly. The special effects are so unbelievably bad that I think I’m going to have nightmares with Marlon Wayans’ face being stuck on a midget’s body. If you value your sanity, stay far away from the abomination that is “Little Man”.

Damon Wayans (“Blankman”, “Celtic Pride”) and Marlon Wayans (“Scary Movie”, “Senseless”) star in “Mo’ Money”. This is a film that doesn’t know what it wants to be as it goes from being a comedy about con artists to being about corporate crime to an action flick. It was probably trying to be done in the same style as “Beverly Hills Cop” (a film that Damon had a small role in) but it just doesn’t work.

Johnny (Damon Wayans) and Seymour (Marlon Wayans) are brothers that like conning people out of their money. While pursuing a pretty girl (Stacey Dash “Clueless”) into an office building, Johnny ends up with a new job. He gets to work in the mail room where he handles credit cards. Now this crook is like a kid in a sweet shop but he doesn’t realise that his superior is a dangerous criminal.

Damon Wayans is somewhat likeable here as Johnny. Unfortunately, he’s just not that funny. Marlon Wayans is rather annoying but he does at least bring some energy to his role. Stacey Dash is forgettable as Amber. There is no real chemistry between her and Damon Wayans. The bad guy is just bland so he’s a big disappointment.

“Mo’ Money” has a great premise for a comedy film but it could be so much better. Some of the scenes are way too serious and the finale sees Damon Wayans hanging onto the roof of a car like he’s Steven Seagal in “Above The Law”. A lot of the more comedic sequences are underwhelming. One part sees the Wayans brothers pretending to be homosexuals while pulling a scam to get a diamond ring but it’s not remotely funny. It’s definitely not the worst thing the Wayans brothers have done but “Mo’ Money” never reaches the heights of their work on “In Living Colour”.

The title is so absurdly long that I’ll simply refer to this movie as “Don’t Be A Menace”. The Wayans brothers (“White Chicks”, “Scary Movie”) star in this parody of films such as “Boyz N The Hood” and “Menace II Society”. The problem is that the script is terrible with most of the gags falling flat. We also already had “Friday”, another comedy film that deals with the same subject matter.

In “Don’t Be A Menace”, Ashtray (Shawn Wayans) moves into the ‘Hood’ in Los Angeles to live with his father. He must deal with the obstacles facing young black men in the area. He has an assortment of crazy friends and finds himself falling for Dashiki (Tracey Cherelle Jones).

Shawn Wayans is fairly bland here as Ashtray. Marlon Wayans appears as Loc Dog. He has a truly ridiculous hairstyle and he’s always got weird things attached to it such as dice and dummies. He might look somewhat amusing but his performance is so obnoxious that it’s pretty hard to tolerate at times. Keenen Ivory Wayans makes several brief appearances as a postman. The only characters that I really liked were the crazy Korean shopkeepers. None of the other characters are particularly funny.

“Don’t Be A Menace” has a couple of funny scenes but a lot of it is just really disappointing. Some of the jokes are just disgusting. There is one guy that just goes around offering sexual favours to strangers and there is also one woman that has some serious hygiene issues. The movie is certainly silly but it doesn’t really do a very good job of making fun of its source material and it relies way too heavily on gross humour. Fans of the Wayans brothers seem to like this one but it’s not for me.

Keenen Ivory Wayans (“The Glimmer Man”) directs and stars in this spoof the blaxploitation pictures of the 70s. This came out well before “Undercover Brother” and other spoof films of black cinema and it was before Wayans created “In Living Colour”, a popular sketch tv series. It’s a surprisingly funny film.

In this film, Jack Spade (Keenen Ivory Wayans) returns home from the military after his brother has died of a ‘gold chain overdose’. He sets out to bring down Mr. Big (John Vernon “Animal House”), a local crime boss responsible for getting young blacks hooked on gold chains. He joins forces with old black heroes including ones played by Bernie Casey (“Never Say Never Again”), Steve James (“The Delta Force”) and Isaac Hayes (“Escape From New York”) to fight back and reclaim the streets.

Keenen Ivory Wayans is relatively amusing here as Jack Spade. Damon Wayans (“Blankman”) appears as a goofy bad guy. It’s funny see the older guys capture the different types of black cinema heroes with Steve James playing a martial artist in an obvious parody of Jim Kelly from “Black Belt Jones”. John Vernon does a decent job as Mr. Big despite not having much time on the screen. Keep your eyes open for very brief appearances by young Shawn and Marlon Wayans (“White Chicks”).

It’s not the best spoof film out there by any means but I think “I’m Gonna Git You Sucka” does a good job. I laughed at the scene where Bernie Casey’s character walks down the street with the theme from “Shaft” playing as we then see a band playing their instruments right behind him. This movie is certainly a lot funnier than later films from the Wayans brothers such as “Scary Movie”. However, “In Living Colour” is still probably the best thing they have done.