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Godzilla: King of the Monsters (2019)
Godzilla: King of the Monsters (2019)
2019 | Action, Adventure, Fantasy
Kyle chandler Vera farmiga Millie bobbie brown Ken watanabe The action scenes The score The creature designs Godzilla (0 more)
Not as suspense filled and grounded in reality as the first film (0 more)
"We opened Pandora's box. And there's no closing it now."
With Godzilla (2014) Legendary Pictures was the first American studio to get it right. No idiotic US edits of the latest Japanese films. No remakes that went out of it's way to be anything but Godzilla. It was GODZILLA! Now from what I understand from an interview with Shinji Higuchi is that Legendary only has the rights to Godzilla until 2020. So what do you do in that case? Well since you only have time to make one more Godzilla film before Godzilla vs. Kong, you do the obvious; You remake Destroy All Monsters!

There is some Michael Bay level stupidity going on in some moments of this film, but I don't care. I loved it. Some of the great Toho Godzilla films have goofy science combined with forgettable human characters. This one isn't even close to being the greatest offender of this in the franchise. Besides, when it comes to Vera Farmiga and Kyle Chandler I'm going to care about their characters at least a little no matter how they're written.

The film makers really went out of their way with tons of references from Godzilla's history. They even find a way to do a subtle nod to the Shobijin which I didn't think they'd ever touch with a 10 foot pole. I don't want to spoil anything, but it's just things that are used in the film that aren't part of American pop culture like the character itself of Godzilla. There's a lot of shit that only people who have seen the original films will pick up on.

The score is great, but even greater is that they actually used Gozilla's theme which is god damn iconic and shockingly even Mothra's theme. How can you not love that? I dunno. Maybe I'm just a geek, but seeing Ghidorah, Mothra, Rodan and Godzilla in a big budget Hollywood movie just blows my mind. I loved it. It's basically the American remake of Destroy All Monsters. Don't bother telling me how dumb the movie is either. I fully realize how dumb it is.
  
Godzilla: King of the Monsters (2019)
Godzilla: King of the Monsters (2019)
2019 | Action, Adventure, Fantasy
Monster fighting (0 more)
Annoying humans (0 more)
This is one of those films where the trailers were better than the end product. Honestly, I barely remember G14, only that the title character doesn't show up until the end. At least Skull Island had some good Kong kicking ass moments and Tom Hiddleston in a tight shirt.
The main characters are uninteresting, basically, we've got Coach, that kid from Stranger Things, and the chick that's a relative of that American Horror Story actress. The movie did not make me care about them at all, I would have been fine with them all biting the dust. There's a little more about Monarch, but seriously, Thomas Middleditch was annoying.
Basically, I was there for Godzilla, and all the other monsters fighting. There wasn't enough of it, as far as I'm concerned. I guess it was worth seeing the action on the big screen. I'm vaguely interested to see Godzilla vs Kong (plz let Toby Kebbell do the mo-cap again).
  
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Andy K (10821 KP) created a post

Jan 1, 2021  
My annual movies make you feel old list.

The following films are 10 years old:

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2
Thor
Rise of the Planet of the Apes
Captain America: The First Avenger
The Help

The following films are 20 years old:

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
Shrek
Monsters, Inc.
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
The Fast and the Furious

The following films are 25 years old:

Independence Day
Twister
Mission: Impossible
The Rock
The Cable Guy

The following films are 30 years old:

Terminator 2: Judgment Day
The Silence of the Lambs
Beauty and the Beast
My Girl
The Fisher King

The following films are 40 years old:

Superman II
Stripes
For Your Eyes Only
An American Werewolf in London
The Cannonball Run

The following films are 50 years old:

A Clockwork Orange
The French Connection
THX-1138
Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory
The Omega Man
     
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The Craggus (360 KP) Jan 1, 2021

My favourite part of the list was this, because it was what I get like doing once I'd found out all these films were that old!

Trail of Lightening
Trail of Lightening
Rebecca Roanhorse | 2019 | Dystopia, Fiction & Poetry, Paranormal, Science Fiction/Fantasy, Young Adult (YA)
8
8.3 (3 Ratings)
Book Rating
Maggie Hoskie is a Native American in an apocalyptic world where monsters are real, and only magical strength can kill them. Most of the world is underwater, but one of the safe places is the Navajo Reservation, otherwise known as Dinétah. And magic has returned. Not just magic though, but also the gods and heroes.

It would seem that Maggie is something of a reluctant hero, and doesn’t take any nonsense form anyone. She likes to be alone, seeking out company when she wants it - not the other way round. I liked her, and I’ll be interested to see how her character develops further in subsequent books.

I liked the world-building, the peripheral characters, but to be honest, I would have loved a bit more background, both in how the world flooded and the gods. But then again, it was a good way of hooking me, because I WILL be reading the next in the series!
  
Pacific Rim (2013)
Pacific Rim (2013)
2013 | Action, Fantasy, Sci-Fi
Brave and comparatively rare (these days) attempt to do a blockbuster that isn't a remake nor based on a novel, comic book, toy line, TV show or theme park attraction. Which is not to say this isn't a tremendously derivative movie; clearly inspired by tokosatsu movies, manga, and anime, just with most of the actual Japanese characters replaced by Americans and Australians. (Hmmm, isn't this cultural appropriation?)

Anyway: big monsters lumber out of the sea, get smacked in the mouth by giant robots. Story isn't really anything special, but the background details of this slightly cartoony world are engaging, as are some of the supporting performances. Film subscribes to the prevailing American dogma, which is that giant monster fights must take place at night and preferably in bad weather: apparently this makes them much more believable. The Hong Kong battle is terrific, the others not so much. In the end I think the premise of this movie is really much better than the way it is realised; maybe the sequel will address some of the shortcomings here.