The New Godzilla Movie
May 20th, 2014 at 9:43:02 AM
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(Some spoilers --- if you care about such things.)
Godzilla (2014): “And the Academy Award for best trailers and teasers goes to the ad company who was hired by the Godzilla group for fooling millions of people into thinking the new Godzilla movie would be great!” Man, those were the best trailers I’ve ever seen for a movie that was a total, unmitigated let down; a total bore.
Based on the trailers we’re talking “Gone with the Wind” and instead we got the alternate definition of “wind.” We got a big Godzilla fart to be precise.
One of my favorite actors, Bryan Cranston (of “Breaking Bad” fame) playing Joe Brody, gave this performance: “My wife died!” He cries and blubbers. “My wife died!” He cries and blubbers. Cranston sheds more tears in two seconds in this movie than he shed in five seasons of “Breaking Bad.” Then he dies about 20 minutes into the movie.
Is Cranston worried about Godzilla as the trailers made us believe? Nope. He’s worried about something else --- things that turn out to be the two creatures Godzilla will fight in this movie called MUTOs (for Massive Unidentified Terrestrial Organisms). They are ugly and frankly the movie seems to attempt to make them as frightening as the monsters in “Cloverfield,” the best “big monster destroys a city” movie yet made.
Godzilla does enter the movie after about an hour. Yes, he is big and he is beautifully designed. We get glimpses of him here and there; with some fight scenes stretching out for a minute or less.
You know a movie is bad when you really don’t give a damn if leading and supportive characters die. Like “Jaws II” where I was actually wishing the teenagers perished, “Godzilla’s” human component had such a lack of humanity that if they died I seriously didn’t care.
David Strathaim, usually an accomplished actor, gave a performance no better than the performance of the lady seating in front of me who fell asleep. He should use his sleep walking performance as an audition for a zombie on “The Walking Dead.”
Godzilla does defeat the two dopey monsters and he does use his fire breath a couple of times. This is the best part of the movie. His flames are brilliantly handled. In fact they are like lightning. They are actually shocking to see. Of course, one wonders why he didn’t use this talent at the very beginning of his battle instead of towards the end when he was really, really tired. It would have saved him a lot of trouble.
The worst thing that happened for me was the fact that I brought my wife the Beautiful AP to the movie. I have been complaining to her for years that I go to see all the chick flicks and serious movies she wants to see but she rarely goes to the science fiction / superhero movies that I also enjoy seeing.
She gave in and saw “Iron Man 1 and 2,” “Captain America,” “The Incredible Hulk,” and “The Avengers.” She liked all of them. She didn’t like “Man of Steel” and she hated “Godzilla.” I now fear she may turn me down when I ask her on a date to see another movie in the above genres.
“Godzilla” may have screwed up a part of my marriage. I hope in the sequel (and there will be a sequel) he destroys the ad company that made those trailers!
Godzilla (2014): “And the Academy Award for best trailers and teasers goes to the ad company who was hired by the Godzilla group for fooling millions of people into thinking the new Godzilla movie would be great!” Man, those were the best trailers I’ve ever seen for a movie that was a total, unmitigated let down; a total bore.
Based on the trailers we’re talking “Gone with the Wind” and instead we got the alternate definition of “wind.” We got a big Godzilla fart to be precise.
One of my favorite actors, Bryan Cranston (of “Breaking Bad” fame) playing Joe Brody, gave this performance: “My wife died!” He cries and blubbers. “My wife died!” He cries and blubbers. Cranston sheds more tears in two seconds in this movie than he shed in five seasons of “Breaking Bad.” Then he dies about 20 minutes into the movie.
Is Cranston worried about Godzilla as the trailers made us believe? Nope. He’s worried about something else --- things that turn out to be the two creatures Godzilla will fight in this movie called MUTOs (for Massive Unidentified Terrestrial Organisms). They are ugly and frankly the movie seems to attempt to make them as frightening as the monsters in “Cloverfield,” the best “big monster destroys a city” movie yet made.
Godzilla does enter the movie after about an hour. Yes, he is big and he is beautifully designed. We get glimpses of him here and there; with some fight scenes stretching out for a minute or less.
You know a movie is bad when you really don’t give a damn if leading and supportive characters die. Like “Jaws II” where I was actually wishing the teenagers perished, “Godzilla’s” human component had such a lack of humanity that if they died I seriously didn’t care.
David Strathaim, usually an accomplished actor, gave a performance no better than the performance of the lady seating in front of me who fell asleep. He should use his sleep walking performance as an audition for a zombie on “The Walking Dead.”
Godzilla does defeat the two dopey monsters and he does use his fire breath a couple of times. This is the best part of the movie. His flames are brilliantly handled. In fact they are like lightning. They are actually shocking to see. Of course, one wonders why he didn’t use this talent at the very beginning of his battle instead of towards the end when he was really, really tired. It would have saved him a lot of trouble.
The worst thing that happened for me was the fact that I brought my wife the Beautiful AP to the movie. I have been complaining to her for years that I go to see all the chick flicks and serious movies she wants to see but she rarely goes to the science fiction / superhero movies that I also enjoy seeing.
She gave in and saw “Iron Man 1 and 2,” “Captain America,” “The Incredible Hulk,” and “The Avengers.” She liked all of them. She didn’t like “Man of Steel” and she hated “Godzilla.” I now fear she may turn me down when I ask her on a date to see another movie in the above genres.
“Godzilla” may have screwed up a part of my marriage. I hope in the sequel (and there will be a sequel) he destroys the ad company that made those trailers!
May 20th, 2014 at 9:59:46 AM
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**SPOILER ALERT**
I guess we all take different expectations into a movie, but I wasn't thinking it was going to be good as much as just fun and campy, which I think it was. Lots of destroyed buildings, the surly Japanese guy, the classic "look backwards and scream while sprinting" scenes, a couple of bad guys, and a monster that's, at times, sympathetic. The more famous actors were known to have only somewhat of a cameo, at least I knew it and I'm no insider.
It's no "King's Speech" or "Exorcist" or "Silence of the Lambs," but I don't think it's meant to be. For what it is, an entertaining trifle to stimulate nostalgia in the olds and spawn a new generation of fans, five stars.
Of course I don't know you or your wife but I do note that "Man of Steel" and "Godzilla" featured a great deal of destruction. Not that the other movies don't, but definitely less so. Maybe it crosses her "Show me more story and less buildings crashing" threshold.
I guess we all take different expectations into a movie, but I wasn't thinking it was going to be good as much as just fun and campy, which I think it was. Lots of destroyed buildings, the surly Japanese guy, the classic "look backwards and scream while sprinting" scenes, a couple of bad guys, and a monster that's, at times, sympathetic. The more famous actors were known to have only somewhat of a cameo, at least I knew it and I'm no insider.
It's no "King's Speech" or "Exorcist" or "Silence of the Lambs," but I don't think it's meant to be. For what it is, an entertaining trifle to stimulate nostalgia in the olds and spawn a new generation of fans, five stars.
Of course I don't know you or your wife but I do note that "Man of Steel" and "Godzilla" featured a great deal of destruction. Not that the other movies don't, but definitely less so. Maybe it crosses her "Show me more story and less buildings crashing" threshold.
May 20th, 2014 at 10:09:35 AM
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I strongly disagree.
I loved it.
I went in expecting a Godzilla movie, and that is what I got.
I wasn't hoping for Gone with the Wind...
I loved it.
I went in expecting a Godzilla movie, and that is what I got.
I wasn't hoping for Gone with the Wind...
Ding Dong the Witch is Dead
May 20th, 2014 at 1:56:35 PM
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I think "Cloverfield" set a new standard. It was "monster destroys city" which is usually never scary but "Cloverfield" was nail-biting. Godzilla just didn't have it but obviously many viewers think it did.
I'm a monster and science fiction fan. The 1933 "King Kong" is brilliant and the 2005 "King Kong" is also terrific. "The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms" (the movie from which all "the dinosaurs destroy cities" originated) was top notch as well.
I also did not like the other monsters in "Godzilla" as they seemed tin-like.
I'll see the movie again when I can get the DVD and maybe I'll change my mind.
I'm a monster and science fiction fan. The 1933 "King Kong" is brilliant and the 2005 "King Kong" is also terrific. "The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms" (the movie from which all "the dinosaurs destroy cities" originated) was top notch as well.
I also did not like the other monsters in "Godzilla" as they seemed tin-like.
I'll see the movie again when I can get the DVD and maybe I'll change my mind.
May 20th, 2014 at 2:14:20 PM
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This was infinitely better than the Godzilla movie they did about 15 years ago with Matt Broderick because it actually followed the story. If you like low budget movies that have lower acclaim than Godzilla and are seemingly filmed with a camcorder, then Cloverfield is for you. I never heard of this movie until it was long out of theaters and a friend, prone to cult followings of all sorts, told me about how amazing it was. I was unimpressed. If this is a standard, it was set by Blair Witch and repeatedly copied. I couldn't help but laugh at reading that Godzilla may have destroyed your marriage. Damn nuclear lizards.
May 20th, 2014 at 2:18:22 PM
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In the last Godzilla movie I saw there was a strange time delay in speech. Whenever anybody started to move their lips the words reached my ear about two seconds later.
"For with much wisdom comes much sorrow." -- Ecclesiastes 1:18 (NIV)
May 20th, 2014 at 2:20:38 PM
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Quote: WizardIn the last Godzilla movie I saw there was a strange time delay in speech. Whenever anybody started to move their lips the words reached my ear about two seconds later.
That's because they spoke in Japanese! I watched part of a Godzilla marathon a few months ago...but it wasn't too long before I couldn't take it anymore.
May 20th, 2014 at 2:29:28 PM
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Is Baby Godzilla (name- Minilla?) is this movie?
He is 100% bad ass in the old movies.
He is 100% bad ass in the old movies.
May 20th, 2014 at 2:30:49 PM
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no it is not
May 20th, 2014 at 2:40:20 PM
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Quote: WizardIn the last Godzilla movie I saw there was a strange time delay in speech. Whenever anybody started to move their lips the words reached my ear about two seconds later.
You must have a really really big TV room. About 0.42 miles long ?
There's emptiness behind their eyes
There's dust in all their hearts
They just want to steal us all and take us all apart
May 20th, 2014 at 3:20:04 PM
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Quote: FrankScoblete"The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms" (the movie from which all "the dinosaurs destroy cities" originated) was top notch as well.
I always figured that the original 'Godzilla' derived at least partly from the movie [movies?] based on HG Wells' "War of the Worlds" where the Martians land in the desert, then begin to approach and destroy cities/civilization. In the 50's movie I'm thinking of, the A-bomb is dropped to wipe them out, but to no avail [that had to make an impression on the Japanese]. Of course Godzilla and these various monsters prove resistant to all the latest military capabilities [but in Nippon no movie is going to have A-bombs]
I'll have to catch up on "The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms"
the next time Dame Fortune toys with your heart, your soul and your wallet, raise your glass and praise her thus: “Thanks for nothing, you cold-hearted, evil, damnable, nefarious, low-life, malicious monster from Hell!” She is, after all, stone deaf. ... Arnold Snyder
May 20th, 2014 at 4:43:59 PM
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Any War of the Worlds that doesn't start on Horsell Common is not worth the entry fee. Especially as it means my home town is not burnt down in the opening few minutes.
"Then you can admire the real gambler, who has neither eaten, slept, thought nor lived, he has so smarted under the scourge of his martingale, so suffered on the rack of his desire for a coup at trente-et-quarante" - Honore de Balzac, 1829
May 20th, 2014 at 4:49:21 PM
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I like how the new Godzilla has a nicely defined six-pack abdomen.
It's this attention to detail that makes the new Godzilla superior to the old one.
It's this attention to detail that makes the new Godzilla superior to the old one.
May 20th, 2014 at 5:22:42 PM
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Quote: thecesspitmy home town
Horsell or Woking?
the next time Dame Fortune toys with your heart, your soul and your wallet, raise your glass and praise her thus: “Thanks for nothing, you cold-hearted, evil, damnable, nefarious, low-life, malicious monster from Hell!” She is, after all, stone deaf. ... Arnold Snyder
May 20th, 2014 at 6:30:36 PM
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Quote: odiousgambitHorsell or Woking?
I though Horsell was part of Woking.
May 20th, 2014 at 6:40:22 PM
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We saw it this afternoon, and we sort of agree with Frank. The first 40 minutes are boring and confusing. The middle 40 minutes are muddled and unnecessary. The last 40 minutes pretty much kick ass.
A falling knife has no handle.
May 20th, 2014 at 8:43:32 PM
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Quote: MoscaWe saw it this afternoon, and we sort of agree with Frank. The first 40 minutes are boring and confusing. The middle 40 minutes are muddled and unnecessary. The last 40 minutes pretty much kick ass.
Monsters 2010 R (93m) was the director's first movie before directing Godzilla. (Six years after aliens invaded Earth, a photographer is documenting a war-torn region when he's interrupted by an unexpected rescue mission. )
I thought the pacing of the movie was purely a function of it's extremely low budget. You don't see a monster until 60 minutes into a 93 minute movie. While I appreciate delayed gratification as part of story telling, it was a little on the extreme side.
May 20th, 2014 at 9:02:58 PM
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Quote: odiousgambitI always figured that the original 'Godzilla' derived at least partly from the movie [movies?] based on HG Wells' "War of the Worlds" where the Martians land in the desert, then begin to approach and destroy cities/civilization. In the 50's movie I'm thinking of, the A-bomb is dropped to wipe them out, but to no avail [that had to make an impression on the Japanese]. Of course Godzilla and these various monsters prove resistant to all the latest military capabilities [but in Nippon no movie is going to have A-bombs]
I'll have to catch up on "The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms"
odious, grab a copy of Godzilla 1985.
A-bomb launched by Russians (ICBM) is aimed at Tokyo to kill the beastie. Fortunately, the USA shoots a missle at it, hits it, detonating the A-Bomb a dozen or so miles above. The lightning storm that follows the EMP revives 'Zilla. Just when you thought the Super x-10 Cadmium missles did the trick. This portion of the movie is heavily derived from ROCKY.
As for the Beast from 20,000 Fathoms, it also included a scene where a cop gets devoured by the beastie. Yummy!, and might be a first.
War of the Worlds, hands down George Pal version. THEM!, also great.
Some people need to reimagine their thinking.
