GODZILLA – KING OF THE MONSTERS: LONG LIVE THE KING!

In 1954 the giant lizard known as Godzilla was unleashed upon the cinematic world. Made in Japan as GOJIRA it was brought to the US, some scenes added and became a hit. That was followed by a ton of sequels pitting the titular creature against numerous opponents. After that he disappeared for a while. Then in 1998 he was resurrected in a new film starring Matthew Broderick that fans hated and felt would kill off the character. Until 2014 when a new Godzilla appeared that actually was one of the best of the series. Now comes the inevitable sequel.

GODZILLA KING OF THE MONSTERS takes the old story line from the past and pits Godzilla against not just one but several other giant monsters as well as providing him a tag team partner. Does it work? Surprisingly yes. Is it as good as the previous film? That would depend on the viewer.

Only a few of the original cast members return but the main story revolves around a new family. Dr. Emma Russell (Vera Farmiga) lives with her daughter Madison (Millie Bobby Brown) and works for Monarch, the company responsible for unearthing Godzilla in the first film that is now trying to resurrect more of the creatures they have found. Emma has created a device that allows her to calm the monsters, called Titans, to communicate with them at the basest level. As tests begin on the latest creature, a giant caterpillar, a group of terrorists break in, kill everyone but Emma and her daughter and kidnap her along with the device.

The members of Monarch are concerned about this kidnapping and realize that something is amiss. They contact Mark Russell (Kyle Chandler), Emma’s estranged husband whose been dealing with the death of their son Andrew. He blames Godzilla for the boy’s death and wants nothing to do with this research any longer. When he learns his daughter has been abducted he agrees to help.

The terrorists are using the device as well as the locations around the globe controlled by Monarch to unleash the Titans upon the world. Semi-spoiler alert: it turns out that Emma is working with them. Her belief is that man has tarnished the earth long enough. Between pollution, overpopulation, war and more, man is responsible for killing the planet and will eventually kill himself. Her theory is that the Titans will clear the population and co-exist with man, allowing a sustainable number of people to continue living.

But the first Titan they choose to release, a three headed flying dragon they call Monster Zero has other plans. Able to control the rest of the Titans that have been released he is wreaking havoc across the world with no intention of co-existing with anyone except the Titans.

In an effort to stop this from happening Mark, Dr. Ishirō Serizawa (Ken Watanabe) from the first film and their team have come up with a plan. Serizawa believes that Godzilla was sent to help mankind and wants to recruit him. They attempt to seek out Godzilla but before they can do so he arrives to battle Monster Zero on his own. Will he save the day? Or will the terrorists carry on with their plan and release more Titans including Rodan? The fact that I named one of these creatures should give you your answer.

So what about this movie. Is it good? Bad? Mediocre? I’d have to categorize it in the good category. Perhaps not as good as the first film but a solid sequel none the less. The effects are magnificent and Godzilla and all of the monsters were born to be conveyed on screen by CGI as oppose to the previous efforts often called “man in suit”. Effects have developed so much that they make these creatures more believable than ever before.

But at the same time the ability to do so makes a movie like this far too dependent on those effects. In spite of the family breakup involved here with the Russell family it feels like it short shrifts the heart in the story to focus only on the effects. We see plenty of buildings explode, creatures flying and walking and fighting but the story of the family feels more like an afterthought. Even with the scenes of cities being destroyed along with people no time is allowed to build up any humanity with those scenes.

The fact that the film is so overloaded with effects means that the acting on hand here allows little for the actors to actually do short of moving the story forward without emoting. And the emotional scenes are far too short to let them convey much. Then again the original films never allowed much for story either so perhaps I’m being too hard on the film.

For a popcorn movie with plenty of action this is worth watching. For depth of story not quite. For effects it’s amazing. For acting not so much. But if you’re a fan then you need to watch this one. If not for this movie alone then to prepare for the scheduled but not in production yet GODZILLA VERSUS KING KONG. Yes they are supposedly tying Kong from KONG: SKULL ISLAND into this franchise. Scenes of him even appear here. So get ready for the knock down drag out battle that’s coming by watching this and getting ready. 

Click here to order.

SHADOW: MORE THAN MARTIAL ARTS

For many their only exposure to the films from Asia were the kung fu flicks seen on martial arts theater programs of the older Akira Kurosawa films from the past like THE SEVEN SAMURAI. But there is more to it than that and much of it is becoming readily available through companies like Arrow who has resurrected the yakuza films made in the past and Well Go who is highlighting the movies coming out currently. One such film from Well Go is SHADOW and that film is a stunning visual feast.

The story revolves around two the kingdoms of Pei and Yang. Years ago Yang won the battle and took over the city of Jingzhou. Today the general of the Pei military, Commander Ziyu (Deng Chou), has challenged the leader of Yang, Yang Cang (Hu Jun), without the permission of the ruler of Pei, Pei Lian (Ryan Zheng) and must now face the consequences. As punishment he is stripped of his command but allowed to live.

In truth Ziyu is not who he seems. In fact his real name is Jingzhou (Chou again) and he is a double or shadow of the real Ziyu. Found when he was young he’s been raised to take his place should something like this happen. Ziyu actually faced off against Cang in the past and was mortally wounded. Now ill and hiding in a cave with access to his home, he has been training Jingzhou to battle Cang and win. But something is missing.

Ziyu’s wife Xiao Ai (Sun Li) is aware of all that’s taking place and helping. While watching the two men training she realizes the secret to defeating Cang, using a different method of attack. With her help Jingzhou might just have a chance.

But the film isn’t simply about combat. There are chess pieces being moved on the board in high court intrigue as well. In an attempt to save face Pei Lan offers his sister as a bride to Cang’s son Yang Ping (Leo Wu). Cang returns with a counteroffer that doubles as an insult, suggesting she become his concubine instead.

This combination of combat and behind the scenes machinations makes this film more interesting than most martial arts films while providing enough action to keep fans interested. The maneuverings of the kings on both sides but particularly those of Pei show and his concern for his power above all else even at the expense of his sister and people. Claiming he does so to maintain peace, his stature it truly what motivates him.

On the other hand Ziyu wants nothing but to retake the city that was once lost and reclaim his power. Should he succeed the odds are he would replace Pei. And what of Jingzhou? His interest lie in trying to find his birth mother now living in Jingzhou, placed there by Ziyu. One thing Ziyu didn’t count on though was the attraction between Jingzhou and his wife.

All of these plot line come together at the best moment to move the story forward and do so with ease. The players of all sides will face off against their hopes and fears and in the end those left standing will be the ones who win it all.

The cinematography here is stunning. It feels like a monochromatic film with everything tinted in a blue color pallet but it works. The constant rain in the film also adds much to the way things are shot and work out. Combined with some subtle yet amazing sets, in particular a battle platform made of the yin/yang symbols is well done and adds to the story.

Director Yimou Zhang is well regarded as one of the leading directors in Chinese cinema today. He’s been nominated for best foreign film three times for JU DOU, RAISE THE RED LANTERN and HERO and won awards at the Venice and Cannes film festivals. His HOUSE OF FLYING DAGGERS was highly praised and he’s even made an English language film with THE GREAT WALL that starred Matt Damon. This film has already been nominated for a won several awards and I would be surprised if it isn’t nominated come Oscar time for best foreign film.

Well Go is releasing the film in its original language but for those inclined not to read subtitles it also has an English soundtrack to it as well. That should help the film to reach a much wider audience than would usually see a film like this. I hope so. The movie is incredible to watch and deserves to be seen. I can’t recommend it highly enough. 

Click here to order.

PLUS ONE: FAMILIAR TERRITORY

There are many sub-genres to the mainstream comedy films that have been made. One of those I like to call the familiar-comedy. These are movies where you pretty much know ahead of time what the outcomes is going to be, a film filled with moments that feel as if you’ve seen them played out before in different settings but that leave you with that warm familiar feeling. PLUS ONE is that type of movie.

Alice (Maya Erskine) and Ben (Jack Quaid) are two best friends who are watching as all of their peers are getting married. It seems as if this is the season and more than usual are doing so. Friends since college they bemoan their situations with Jack not finding Miss Right and Alice recently having been dumped by her boyfriend. They come to an agreement to attend the weddings they’ve been invited to as a couple, each being the other’s plus one, and at the same time trying to find someone to match up with the other.

All doesn’t quite go according to plan though. At the first wedding they attend Alice gets tremendously drunk and needs sent back to their hotel. Ben finds the woman he always wished he’d had the courage to ask out only to find that she’s now engaged. His night ends in failure to as well as holding the bucket for Alice when she gets sick.

The pair have conversations back and forth about what they’re looking for and what they expect. All along as viewers we wonder why they haven’t realized that they’re right for each other. That’s the first familiar point this movie has. Eventually they realize this and the trips to each wedding change from seeking someone to realizing you have someone.

Which of course leads to familiar plot point two which is one of them messing up the situation by thinking too hard about it. In this case that’s Ben. Too caught up in that search for the perfect woman, that long sought after dream goddess that he thought would one day appear, he doesn’t realize that she might be the woman he’s with. Which leads to a breakup.

And that leads to familiar plot point number three which is the awkward moment that they meet again and begin to wonder if they were indeed meant for each other. But by this time Alice has reunited with the guy who dumped her and Ben realizes what he lost. Will the pair find a way to overcome these obstacles or will they end up going their separate ways? Honestly this is the only point where the familiar can actually veer off into one of two paths that are both familiar. See how this works?

In movies like this it’s not the plot that moves the story forward since we’re already familiar with it. For the most part we already know the ending of the film. It is in how that story is laid out before us that makes the movie either a good one or a bad one. Fortunately this one is a good one.

Both leads here are charming in their performances making them believable characters. Alice is not some saccharin sweet young thing that men pine over but a real woman that matches Ben in his goofy as well as sweet moments. Ben is a nice guy who has dreams and almost allows them to take over reality like many guys do. Their portrayals by Erskine and Quaid make them real and we find ourselves caring for both.

I’d read some bad reviews about this film before watching it, most noting the over excessive use of four letter words but I honestly didn’t find that to be the case, at least not enough that I noticed it. And for a movie about this topic most films include tons of scantily clad actors/actresses or some love scene that requires the leads to have sex in front of a fireplace. Neither make up this movie. While not rated it would most likely garner an R rating for the language but perhaps a PG-13 might be in order depending on who was counting words at the MPAA that week.

In the end the movie is indeed entertaining and enjoyable with a nice story, a romantic comedy that is, well, familiar. But there’s nothing wrong with that. Sometimes you just want to feel that comfortable feeling and this movie just might be the one to do it for you.

Click here to order.