"Godzilla:King of The Monsters" Review- Flush Your Money Down The Toilet Instead
I’m a fan of suspending my disbelief for films. If it’s entertaining, I’ll do it. Godzilla: King of The Monsters crosses a line though. It doesn’t give us characters to invest in or believable action in a world that we are already choosing to accept as reality. It’s a slap in the face to its viewers’ intelligence unworthy of your dollars this weekend.
Picking up where 2014’s Godzilla left off, this film plops us back into the classic world where giant monsters exist. The government has learned that there are numerous titans around the globe and the major decision that has to be made is how to stop the impending doom and destruction they will cause. It seems our only hope may be Godzilla.
Explaining or giving an elusion to the human side of this story is asinine because writers Michael Dougherty and Zach Shields didn’t care to develop them. However, in a nutshell, there’s a divorced dad (Kyle Chandler) and mom (Vera Farmiga) who don’t see eye to eye and their daughter (Millie Bobby Brown) has to choose which philosophy to follow. The other humans in the film are government, civilians or military and they either provide exposition, bodies to be killed, or fight monsters.
The reason to go to a Godzilla movie is to see giant monsters. It’s obvious the studio listened to the complaints of fans in the 2014 film because you definitely get that here! Hats off to the visual effects and sound team for creating images that look and sound like giant monsters fighting. (They’re the only reason this didn’t get an F rating.) Buildings being demolished from the wind of Rodan flapping its wings looks authentic. It’s easy to believe in the power, scope and destruction the monsters leave in their wake.
Unfortunately, throughout the fighting scenes of these monsters, the camera work is inconsistent. Sometimes we get clear visuals of what’s happening and which monster is fighting from director Michael Dougherty. Other times, it’s unclear what we’re looking at or what a monster is doing.
With no human story to get behind, you’re left waiting for people to be quiet so we can get to the next monster scene. The audacity of human beings thinking that they can tame, control or even be the pets of giant monsters befuddles my small mind. I’m all for escapist, popcorn blockbusters, but not at the expense of leaving the theater frustrated with seeing a bad film and feeling like I wasted my money. You may as well flush your money down the toilet. At least the plot of wondering if it will get stuck or not will be more entertaining, suspenseful, and plausible.
Rating: D
"Captive State" Review: An Earnest Attempt At Something New But Familiar
Science fiction films have an amazing way of drawing out the collective wonder, mystery about the universe, and our relationship to it. Good sci-fi finds a balance between questions unknown and what we do know. Captive State works because it shies away from what we expect to see in a film about an invasion of our planet. We expect to see aliens. We expect to see technology we don’t understand. Instead, co-writer/director Rupert Wyatt gives us a tense thriller dealing with what the beginnings of an uprising looks like with science fiction as the backdrop.
We’re immediately dropped into a family car tearing through the streets of Chicago just after a species has descended upon us and are making their dominant presence known. Lines are drawn, and there are certainly places that humans can’t or won’t go. The Drummond family ignores the rules, resulting in the mother and father being vaporized in front of their two sons, Gabriel (Ashton Sanders) and Rafe (Jonathan Majors). Nine years later, humanity is fully submissive to the alien race.
There is no exposition as to what the new world order and rule is. We learn through characters and their actions. John Goodman is detective William Mulligan. Crime is at an all time low because the aliens (rarely seen) apparently don’t play that. So police not only serve and protect us, but now observe and keep tabs on humans that may step out of line for the invaders. Mulligan is keeping tabs on his ex-partner’s son Gabriel, whose brother, Rafe, became a recent martyr for an underground resistance called Phoenix. With an upcoming peace rally in which the aliens will make an appearance, surveillance is at an all time high.
Captive State may be fifteen minutes too long, but there is no doubt that screenwriters Erica Beeney and Rupert Wyatt have thought this world through from A to Z. That’s what makes this particular sci-fi film fun. It may take itself too seriously, but you don’t have time to realize that because you’re too busy trying to keep up with what’s unfolding. With strong performances from Goodman, Majors, Sanders and Vera Farmiga as Jane Doe, the world of Captive State feels authentic, lived in, and realistic.
This is the type of film that may not take the box office by storm this weekend, but people will say “that was actually pretty good” as they discover it on streaming platforms in the future. I think its worthy of the big screen treatment for your plans this weekend. Its earnest attempt at giving us something refreshingly new but familiar might just captivate your mind and imagination.
Rating: B
"The Front Runner" Review: A Timely Bio Drama
The Front Runner is proof that there’s nothing new under the sun. The film looks at a pivotal moment when politics and media crashed together to change the way we analyze political candidates personal lives and decisions forever. We still deal with political scandal today, much like the 1988 presidential run that crashed within a matter of weeks for Gary Hart, but this is when the idea of news media being a watchdog and covering candidates personal lives to ensure they match. We’ve seen bio drama films like this as well, but co-writer/director Jason Reitman gives us that old gum with a new way to chew it.
Gary Hart (Hugh Jackman) is a man of the people. He is charismatic, smart, handsome, and willing to take a stand against politics as usual. You know, the kind of stuff we like to see even today. All signs pointed to him being the frontrunner of the ’88 election before suggesting to a reporter that he’d be bored if he followed him around, and thus encouraging him to do so. Hart’s bluff is called, as the Miami Herald follows him and uncovers a scandal that ultimately ends Harts political run.
Reitman gives us an inside baseball look at the situation as things unfold. In fact, perspective is key in Reitman’s direction both in the script and in his frame. Numerous times throughout the film he tells two stories simultaneously so that you have to keep up. In one particular scene, Hart sits at a table in a wide shot with his back to the camera as it moves around capturing the conversation amongst Hart’s team. In the background you see a young reporter enter the room and begin a discussion with a member of Hart’s political team. Reitman’s ability to keep our mind engaged, while cleverly displaying multiple stories and pushing each scene forward is what makes the film fun to watch. We know the ending as we watch the story unfold in 2018, but getting there is probably as stimulating cinematically as it was to live through in 1988.
This is an ensemble film in which everyone brings their A game. Jackman, known for his ability to be a larger than life on screen presence, shows considerable controlled restraint and focus. He makes Hart, a player on the team, rather than the star in the film. In doing so, you can focus on all the angles and members of the cast. Vera Farmiga as Lee Hart doesn’t have a lot of screen time in comparison, but her presence is felt. In fact, in one confrontation scene between Gary and Lee, the atmosphere changing of her presence and what’s about to happen is so palpable that you feel as bad for Gary as when your sibling was about to get spanked back in the day. JK Simmons, Molly Ephraim, and Mamoudou Athie all have incredible character archs as they come to grips with Hart’s infidelity and what the fallout means to them. Each perspective gives the audience something to chew on.
The Front Runner may not appeal to mass audiences. It’s certainly a character study that allows viewers to draw conclusions on politics today, and a director’s masterclass on framing and technique. However, its undeniable timeless and timeliness of its subject matter is worth the view!
Rating: B+
"The Conjuring 2" Review: Wan is Back in the Zone!
Horror fans, indulge me for a moment. Think of all the elements that go into a masterful horror film: Nerve-jangling scares; a sense of dread permeating throughout; imagery that sticks with you and keeps you up at night; brilliant production design; a great score; believable performances; and yes, even genuine emotion.
It sounds too good to be true in today’s world, where fecal matter like Ouija, The Gallows, and The Forest clogs the toilet that is mainstream horror. Yet there is hope in the form of our savior, the almighty and all-knowing James Wan, who has come to show us the way. Wan has always been a master of his craft, as he has demonstrated in the original Saw, Insidious, and The Conjuring, but now he has perfected it. With The Conjuring 2, he has made a perfect horror film.
Yes. The Conjuring 2 is a perfect movie. As in, it has practically zero flaws.
Like its 2013 predecessor, The Conjuring 2 is set in the 1970s and delves into the so-called “true case files” of Ed and Lorraine Warren (played by Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga, respectively), a real-life husband-and-wife team of renowned demonologists. This time, the Warrens travel to Enfield, England, where a single mother (Frances O’Connor) and her four children are being tormented, possessed, and generally inconvenienced by a demonic presence.
What transpires at the Hodgson household is pretty standard stuff: A chair moving on its own, strange voices, bumps in the night. Of course, we’ve seen it all done before in plenty of other movies, but rarely have we seen it done so well. Like a certain Mr. Spielberg, Wan has a gift for manipulation, and not in a bad way—he meticulously crafts each individual moment for maximum effect, so that the audience is completely wrapped around his finger. The tension Wan creates is palpable, and while he often makes use of those dreaded jump scares, they never feel cheap and they always feel earned. The man simply knows what he’s doing.
He’s aided by terrific production design by Julie Berghoff and a spine-tingling score by Joseph Bishara. Both add authenticity to the period setting and an uncanny unease to the film’s atmosphere. Sweeping camerawork by director of photography Don Burgess glides placidly, putting the viewer on edge for what awaits just around the corner. And the performances—with standout turns once again by Wilson (TV’s Fargo) and Farmiga (TV’s Bates Motel)—bring humanity and heart to the spooky proceedings.
I loved this movie. As a horror fan, I want to shout it from the mountaintops: “The Conjuring 2 is not only the rare sequel that’s as good if not better than its predecessor, it’s a masterpiece of the genre!” It’s a rickety, demented funhouse ride that, despite its 135-minute running time, doesn’t overstay its welcome (unlike those pesky spirits). That’s quite an accomplishment. And though there have been some phenomenal indie horror films as of late, such as It Follows, The Babadook, and The Witch, James Wan is king as far as mainstream, wide-release horror goes. With all the heavenly blessings, I thank James Wan for turning down Fast 8 to direct this film. Horror is where he belongs.
Grade: A+
"The Judge" Review
As I drove to the screening of “The Judge” I thought to myself, “I’m not looking forward to another stubborn father/son relationship movie”. In fact, I wasn’t looking forward to seeing Robert Downey Jr. play Tony Stark minus the billions of dollars. Imagine my surprise when I viewed a movie about Tony Stark minus the billions of dollars that actually had heart!
Hank Palmer (Robert Downey Jr.) is a big time Chicago lawyer who left behind the simple town he came from. When the death of his mother brings him back to Carlinville, Indiana, Hank has to face the demons he left behind. One particular demon being his father, Judge Joseph Palmer (Robert Duvall), who has served as the town judge for the past 42 years. No matter what Hank has done that may impress most people, his father doesn’t seem to care. In fact, he doesn’t seem to care that he came back for the funeral outside of a handshake.
Once the funeral is over, Hank is ready to get on the next flight out of town, but a mysterious car accident involving the judge keeps him there. It seems the aging judge hit and killed Mark Blackwell (Mark Kiely), an ex-con that he let off easy that wound up committing murder soon after. With Judge Palmer’s memory on the fritz, a courtroom drama plays out with the judge being the on the other side of the fence and Hank choosing to stand by his father’s side. Amidst the trial, Hank also tries to tidy up his relationship with his father and loved ones.
There are plenty of great performances in the film. Robert Duvall will probably receive award nominations as the aging judge. Billy Bob Thornton plays the slick, and equally brilliant prosecuting attorney Dwight Dickham, who’s bent on getting Judge Palmer convicted. Vincent D’Onofrio is as real as it gets as the brother who stayed behind, and has the weight of the family at large on his shoulders. Vera Farmiga helps give us a heartfelt look into who Hank was before he left Carlinville as Hank’s ex-girlfriend Samantha. Robert Downey Jr. is a low budget Tony Stark in the film, but he does it so well that you wind up believing he’s Hank Palmer shortly after the film gets underway.
Regardless of its’ sappy overtones, there is something about “The Judge” that speaks to the human experience. Wether it’s family grudges, unforgiven history, or the inevitable certainty of death we all must face, this movie touches on it all. Stemming from personal experience, director David Dobkin (Wedding Crashers, Change-Up) does a great job of spearheading a universal story. Sure, it may be a little melodramatic in it’s handling of said topics, but it handles them in such a way that you automatically think about your own life experience while watching the film.
In lesser hands, “The Judge”, may not have worked. With a random heart to heart in the middle of a tornado scene, and a son who no matter how much he says he hates his father, keeps trying to please him, the film could easily derail into Hokeyville, USA. Fortunately, the combination of veteran actors come together to create a film that speaks to the human experience.
Rating: B