Torgo
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Post by Torgo on May 24, 2019 8:48:08 GMT -5
I liked Alexandre Desplat's score for G14, but let's take a moment to admire King of the Monsters composer Bear McCreary (The Walking Dead, Battlestar Galactica) who is giving us some faithful recreations of Ifukube's Godzilla and Mothra themes in the new film.
And then jam out to the new cover of Blue Oyster Cult's Godzilla.
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Torgo
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Post by Torgo on May 27, 2019 21:31:28 GMT -5
As they anticipate the new Godzilla movie, James "Angry Video Game Nerd" Rolfe and Mike Matei play the original NES game, Godzilla: Monster of Monsters, and talk Godzilla movies.
At one point Mike asks if James can list every Godzilla movie and James tries to do it chronologically. He does a great effort, though he accidentally switches Sea Monster and Son of Godzilla and completely forgets the anime trilogy. We don't blame you, James, we don't blame you.
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Post by travis on May 27, 2019 22:17:16 GMT -5
I don't think I've ever been so excited for a new movie, GODZILLA KING OF THE MONSTERS looks like it's going to be absolutely amazing. Thursday can't come soon enough.
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Torgo
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Post by Torgo on May 28, 2019 22:48:20 GMT -5
Reviews are starting, King of the Monsters is currently sitting at 56% at Rotten Tomatoes. For comparison, the 2014 film and Kong: Skull Island recieved 75%. While this could be cause for deflation of anticipation, actually reading the reviews does see both positive and negative agreeing that the monster spectacle is awesome, but the human story is lacking, and there is a disagreement on whether or not the former makes up for the latter. I find this interesting because the common criticism of the first film was that the human element was lacking as well, and that it leaned too heavily on those characters as opposed to the monster action. I'm a little curious of whether or not the human story is really that much worse than the original that it detracts from what seems to be universally enthused monster scenes. Here's the thing though, in the history of Godzilla films, how many of them really have a well-developed human story? The original? Shin Godzilla? This is nothing new for Godzilla fans, so for the most part I'm not too concerned. I hope I have a good time at the movies. That's all I ever hope for.
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Post by Mighty Jack on May 29, 2019 4:45:57 GMT -5
I like the human side of the movies, lot of times it's what kept things a little more fresh when the monster stuff was repeating the rock tossing and wing flapping and whatnot. In 2014 the problem for me was that Aaron Taylor-Johnson lacked Bryan Cranston’s screen presence (or that of Elizabeth Olsen for that matter). It was baffling that the picture’s strongest acting/story assets were so underused. When I look at the romance between Goro and Saeko (Reiko) in Son of Godzilla. The family dynamic in GMK and Godzilla 2000. And of course the characters in the original -- Yeah, they all added to my enjoyment. So if the people side of it stinks here in KotM I can see how that could be a detriment. Hell, the talking head ciphers is what sunk the over-rated Shin IMO... letterboxd.com/captainquint/film/shin-godzilla/On the other hand... Destroy All Monsters. With that you came for the spectacle - all the kaiju. And that's what has me pumped for this one. (I didn't buy center row, center seat in the IMAX for nothing)
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Torgo
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Post by Torgo on May 29, 2019 8:49:54 GMT -5
Son of Godzilla and Godzilla 2000 actually both have some of my favorite characters of the series. They're plucky, fun, and full of so much spirit. I'm not sure I'd say they're storylines are anything special, but they're fun to follow. I'm also pretty fond of the characters in Godzilla vs. Mothra and Godzilla vs. Monster Zero, and the characters in Godzilla vs. Gigan, while not spectacular, are very amusing. Then there is something like Sea Monster, which has fun-ish characters, but their storyline is nonsense.
I also think Aaron Taylor Johnson's backlash in G14 has been a bit hyperbolic. He's not the most charismatic actor in the movie, but I like the character's journey of a soldier who is roped into fighting the monsters but just want to get home to his family.
As long as the film's human character don't reach Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen level obnoxious, I'm sure I'll be fine.
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Post by Mod City on May 29, 2019 11:48:32 GMT -5
I liked Alexandre Desplat's score for G14, but let's take a moment to admire King of the Monsters composer Bear McCreary (The Walking Dead, Battlestar Galactica) who is giving us some faithful recreations of Ifukube's Godzilla and Mothra themes in the new film. While I'm on the outside looking in when it comes to Godzilla, I will say that Bear McCreary is one of the most innovative and original composers for television and film out there. His work on Battlestar Galactica will haunt me for the rest of my life, and I mean that in the very best way. He seems like a great choice to helm this.
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Torgo
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Post by Torgo on May 29, 2019 12:48:54 GMT -5
Some video roundups for King of the Monsters. First, Mr. Sunday Movies posted his tie-in Caravan of Garbage video, where he and his friend Mason look at nostalgic content from an adult, modern standpoint and judge it as harshly as they can. Their video takes on the 1998 Godzilla film. Does it hold up? The answer is of course not.
Chris Stuckmann posted a negative review of King of the Monsters, once again echoing the sentiment the human scenes are boring but the monster scenes are cool. He compares it unfavorably to the 98 film at one point, saying it felt close to that. Yikes. He gave the film a C-. For comparison, he gave Godzilla 2014 an A- (back when he was more of a fanboy critic than the film student critic he is today) and Kong: Skull Island a C- also. But if this movie is on a par with Skull Island, that sounds freakin' awesome to me.
Also, he gave Glass a B (B for "Biased Shyamalan fanboy") and that's one of the worst movies of the year. So...yeah...
IGN rated the film a 7.8, also echoing the lacking human story and epic monster action. There really is a trend here! Their RATING for G14 was a 9.0 and Skull Island recieved an 8.0.
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Post by angilasman on May 29, 2019 23:47:21 GMT -5
The 2014 film was a Spielbergian exercise in restraint, Shin Godzilla was a blisteringly funny satire with apocalyptic imagery, the anime was all technobabble and psychobabble, and from the sound of it this new movie is a Destroy All Monsters/Final Wars style monster rally.
Godzilla is my favorite franchise because other than the presence of Godzilla each movie can be totally different than the previous. This is probably why the 90s and 00s films are my least favorite era, since in those it feels like Toho developed a cookie-cutter formula for what a Godzilla film should be and stuck largely to that. I hope the next one is also different!
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Post by Mighty Jack on May 30, 2019 6:08:41 GMT -5
Boy, the Letterboxd community is split, but right in the middle area of the grade-scale... letterboxd.com/film/godzilla-king-of-the-monsters-2019/They all seem to reviewing the same movie, saying the same things -- if you know what I mean. With some flicks it's like we are all seeing a different movie and giving a wide range of opinion. But KotM is pretty consistent with the overviews. It just comes down to whether the monster stuff is enough for you (because the people stuff aint cutting it)
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Torgo
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Post by Torgo on May 30, 2019 8:15:47 GMT -5
It's weird, aint it? For once everyone is in agreement on the pros and cons of a movie EXCEPT whether it's worth watching or not. Even if the movie is massively dumb, one of my favorite movies last year was The Meg, so I'm inclined to believe I'm going to be on the positive side. But I'll know for sure tonight. Another Zilla video: This one has my and Mod City's beloved Bear McCreary showcasing his score.
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Torgo
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Post by Torgo on May 30, 2019 9:06:26 GMT -5
Regardless of how good/bad or successful King of the Monsters is, we're guaranteed one more MonsterVerse movie next year, and we have a licensing Expo promotional poster for 2020's Godzilla vs. Kong.
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Torgo
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Post by Torgo on May 30, 2019 16:56:03 GMT -5
In the theater right now!
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Post by Mod City on May 30, 2019 19:08:01 GMT -5
It's weird, aint it? For once everyone is in agreement on the pros and cons of a movie EXCEPT whether it's worth watching or not. Even if the movie is massively dumb, one of my favorite movies last year was The Meg, so I'm inclined to believe I'm going to be on the positive side. But I'll know for sure tonight. Another Zilla video: This one has my and Mod City 's beloved Bear McCreary showcasing his score. Knowing his sound and seeing some of the Godzilla footage I figured he'd be a good fit, and yup, that video proves it. I only really know his television work mostly. It looks like the score in this flick will get to shine. His score on Walking Dead is great, but very much atmosphere and it's often overshadowed by the rare appearance of other contemporary artists' songs. On Battlestar Galactica his music was a character, and an important one. For those who may not know a lot of McCreary's work, here are a couple quick examples from BSG. I'll put it in spoiler tags so it doesn't clutter up the thread. {McCreary BSG Examples}The first, "Kara Remembers," is from a scene where two people are trying to play piano together (one the chords, one the upper melody). They struggle for a bit, but a little before the halfway point they get it, and the full score comes in over it, and, stunningly, it's a theme we've heard before, and it's very important to the show. Everyone watching, including several characters in the scene, had their jaws on the floor thinking. What. The. F**k. Incredible scene and it's all about the music.
The second is "The Shape of Things to Come" from the first season finale. This is from a truly surreal scene, and the one that made me finally sit up and ask "who the hell is composing for this show??" I bought the first season soundtrack because of this track and how it and the scene in which it's featured made me feel. I almost never buy soundtracks.
Anyway, my interest in this movie is growing. I love Millie Bobby Brown, too. She's great on Stranger Things. I forgot she was in this.
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Torgo
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Post by Torgo on May 30, 2019 21:09:01 GMT -5
Critics all watching this flick like this: I'm all watching this flick like this: But the thing is, all the criticism leveled toward this film is valid. It just depends on whether kaiju spectacle outweighs the desire for a narrative. To this I ask, have you ever watched a movie that has cockroach aliens trying to rule the world through an amusement park but loved it anyway because it had Godzilla fighting a giant swiss army knife monster? No? Then sit down and shut up, you joyless sons of bitches. You won't like this movie. This is a movie that feels like the action sequences were written first and the human story is a slave to setting up the action setpieces. The human drama is weak because the simplest way to do this is by catering to cliches. Plot points in this movie are familiar. We've seen these in dozens of other blockbusters and we'll see them in many more. The movie has nothing new to add, and because of that it will probably feel boring to most. The thing to me is that most people my age grew up on Star Wars, but I grew up on Godzilla. Godzilla is my Star Wars, and the big guy is my Luke Skywalker. This movie feels like it was made for people who consider the kaiju themselves the characters on a journey in the film, and not the humans that gawk at them. Since the monsters are done justice, my interest in the movies was always peaked because these are my childhood heroes and villains and they're the ones I'm invested in. Godzilla battle with Ghidorah for alpha dominance was the storyline I came for, not this bullpoopie about a terrorist organization unleashing the Titans. If Godzilla is nothing but a special effect to you, this is a very empty movie. You can read this as "Who watches a Godzilla movie for the humans?" if you want, though I feel it runs more heartfelt to me than that. Those who are familiar with the kaiju history and lore will find a lot to enjoy about their portrayals here. Rodan's first appearance feels very much inspired by his original movie, and that sequence is a showstopper. I loved seeing Mothra in the film, though her inclusion adds a bit of mysticism to the film that is never fully addressed. Mothra is a tricky character to portray, even when you shy away from her silly fantasy roots, and even alluding to them is a dangerous thing to do at the risk of losing the general audience. My love for the big bug gave me the feels when she was onscreen, though her inclusion is a tad half-baked. The problem with Rodan and Mothra in the film is that they are almost superfluous. They are basically underlings in the war between Godzilla and Ghidorah. Mothra is alluded to be the "Queen of the Monsters," but her role is a bit shortchanged. The monster action is pure carnage and a wonder to behold, climaxing in the final bout between Godzilla and Ghidorah. The mayhem thrilled me quite a bit, so much so that I feel I got more bang for my buck than Avengers: Endgame. My one issue is the climax to the final battle: Mothra is killed by Ghidorah in the battle and she transfers her energy to Godzilla, turning him into "Burning Godzilla" (similar to Godzilla vs. Destoroyah), who pretty much sends shockwaves toward Ghidorah to knock him down and take him out. This is very similar to the climax of 1993's Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II, which I enjoyed in that film, but feels a bit too rushed through here. It's fairly anticlimax compared to the image from the previous film of Godzilla blasting his atomic breath down the throat of the MUTO female, and just feels like a random "pulling powers out of his ass" Superman moment. Admittedly, this is not the first time Godzilla has done some superpower out of nowhere to save the day, but it feels lazy in a movie that features cutting edge effects and no rubber suits. As far as the MonsterVerse goes, King of the Monsters is probably my least favorite. As a Godzilla fan, I enjoyed it more than the 2014 film, but the 2014 film is from top to bottom the better movie, even if Godzilla himself is a borderline non-entity in it. Kong: Skull Island is still the wildly entertaining standout for me, though. On a Godzilla scale, I'd say this one sits probably in the middle of the pack for me. On recent entries, I'd say I liked it less that 2014 and Shin Godzilla, but it's miles above that garbage anime trilogy (though that's a low bar to stumble over). But overall, if you want to relate to the humans in your movie, then you stumbled into the wrong theater. I want to relate to my beasts in the movie, so I feel like I came out on top. Post Credit Notes: The dedication to Yoshimitsu Banno and Haruo Nakajima made me tear up. That's my childhood right there. (The photo featured is from the set of Godzilla vs. the Sea Monster)
As for the tail end Marvel-style tease, I'm not sure if this moment has anything to do with Godzilla vs. Kong, but if you're familiar with Godzilla lore, the first thing that comes to mind is Mecha-King Ghidorah. Is this movie series really crazy enough to go in that direction? But if they did Burning Godzilla, I'd say the answer probably is yes.
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