Ah! How to describe the MASS SUCKAGE that is Gareth Edwards' 2014 "Godzilla?" How about: 1.) It's bad when you know that a dude in a rubber suit is infinitely better than the $100 million in visual effects Edwards blows to no good effect in this thing, or 2.) That Roland Emmerich's laughable 1998 "Godzilla" is better than this thing!
There has been talk about finally getting The Oscars to create a Best Casting category. But, this movie deserved a Worst Casting Oscar! Wow, the completely-unable-to-act dude from "Kick Ass?" An Olsen twin? Bryan Cranston overacting himself into the ground? Ken Watanabe inexplicably droning through his dialogue unemotionally?
Now, I am most forgiving when I just see a movie on cable that I have already paid for. I am less forgiving when I pay to see a movie by renting the blu ray, etc. But, I am completely unforgiving when: 1.) I take the time to go to the theater, 2.) Paying evening prices to see a movie, and 3.) Pay the upcharge to see it in 3D. Well, "Godzilla" met all three of those, so yeah, I'm pissed at how badly Edwards @#$%ed this up! And, he did. Royally. It's hard to imagine that they gave him a "Star Wars" film to do! Luckily, it's just a spin off, and not one of the trilogy movies!
Everything is messed up in this. The story is bad, Godzilla is in the movie for only a few minutes. And, when he is, he's in the dark half the time. What a waste! Only the score by Alexandre Desplat is good. And, this is a composer who has left me very unimpressed with almost all of his work.
Avoid this LIKE THE PLAGUE and go see the upcoming Toho "Godzilla" movie, "Godzilla Resurgence" coming out later this year!
Nerve-Wracking Portrait of Combat and Its Effects on Our Soldiers
There has been controversy over this film. The problem with those against it is that they don't understand what this film is about. It's about following one soldier and his experience in combat and what happens to him. People are beside themselves over the "politics" of the film. Well, I don't see any politics. Maybe that's enraging to some just because the politics of The Iraq War are never discussed.
I personally was against our going into Iraq. I remember watching "We Were Soldiers" with Mel Gibson just before the war started. This was another movie that was about the soldiers. The war in question there was The Vietnam War. Yet, that film didn't have any politics in it either. It was about the soldiers who fought. They signed up to serve their country. They didn't sign up for serving their country if they agreed with the war. They fought regardless. That is what soldiers do. If you have any questions about our nation deciding to wage a war, the only people you need to address is our elected representatives. They make the decision. Then, the soldiers fight. The soldiers have no say in the decision to fight that war. Once the soldiers are in the war, their lives are about doing what they've been ordered to do. And, it's about watching over each other. That's it, and that's the way it is.
This movie is about Chris Kyle, and what happens to him and to those around him. That is the structure of the movie. So, if people have a problem with that, that is up to them. I don't. I understand what Clint Eastwood intended to do with this film, and I think he, his cast and crew did a tremendous job.
The depiction of combat is nerve wracking. But, it is the effects on Kyle and his men that cut to the core. It should remind everyone what our men and women in the military do for their country.
* Best Picture:
“American Sniper,” “Birdman,” “Boyhood,” “The Grand Budapest Hotel,” “The Imitation Game,” “Selma,” “The Theory of Everything” and “Selma.”
* Best Actor:
Steve Carell, Bradley Cooper, Benedict Cumberbatch, Michael Keaton and Eddie Redmayne.
* Best Actress:
Marion Cotillard, Felicity Jones, Julianne Moore, Rosamund Pike and Reese Witherspoon.
* Best Director:
Alejandro G. Iñárritu for “Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance),” Richard Linklater for “Boyhood,”
Bennett Miller for “Foxcatcher,” Wes Anderson for “The Grand Budapest Hotel,” Morten Tyldum for “The Imitation Game.”
Alfonso Cuarón and J.J. Abrams led off the Oscar Nominations just now! They announced Animated Feature Film, Documentary Feature, Documentary Short Subject, Film Editing, Original Song, Production Design, Animated Short Film, Live Action Short Film, Sound Editing, Sound Mixing and Visual Effects in a live webcast that started at 8:30 a.m. EST.
Chris Pine, Academy President Cheryl Boone Isaacs announced the second set of nominations, which included Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Supporting Actor, Best Supporting Actress, Cinematography, Costume Design, Directing, Foreign Language Film, Makeup and Hairstyling, Original Score, Adapted Screenplay, Original Screenplay and Best Picture.
An excellent film that shows the transformative journey of a woman working to find herself through an extensive hike through the challenging Pacific Crest Trail.
An excellent performance by Reese Witherspoon anchors a great movie about love, loss, and dealing with life and then moving on with one's life.
Directed by "Dallas Buyer's Club" helmer Jean-Marc Vallée, this movie beautifully balances the real-life story of Cheryl Strayed as she goes on her trek across the Pacific Crest Trail with flashbacks to what led her to take the trip.
Screenwriter Nick Hornby crafts an excellent blueprint for Vallée to follow. Well made and inspiring. It's great to know a movie like this can still be made!
2014 saw the rise of the Kickstarter movie, where stars went to the popular fundraising site to have fans pitch in to fund their films. But, with that came disappointments, which are included in Variety's end-of-year list.
Every movie year seems to run from crazy to chaotic! And, so it was with 2014. But, with so many movies making the spotlight, there were many deserving attention that didn't get it. Variety has a compelling list of movies that were overlooked and would make for good viewing!
If your heart skips a beat every time you hear Christopher Nolan or "Interstellar" mentioned, movie theater chain AMC has a deal for you!
You can now get a single ticket that will let you see "Interstellar" as many times as you want. How 'bout that? So, if the first, second, third, etc. times weren't enough, now you can keep going back to latch onto every subtle (and not-so-subtle!) nuance.
Variety has the first review of "The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1." The movie takes Suzanne Collins's last novel of the series and splits it in two, like was done at the end of "Harry Potter" and "Twilight." Here, it sounds like the director and screenwriters work hard to avoid the anti-climatic nature of splitting the last story in two.
20th Century-Fox is having a busy week! First, the new trailer for "Taken 3." Now, the first full trailer for this holiday season's "Exodus: Gods and Kings," Ridley Scott's take on Moses starring Christian Bale.
"Edge of Tomorrow" sounded cooler when it was called "All You Need is Kill," as was its source novel. But, the movie could still be cool! Variety has a first review.
(SPOILERS) - Best to Read if You Have Already Seen It, or Don't Care!
I thought the new "Godzilla" was just okay. It just got over the mark of being okay from being disappointing. I love Godzilla, and was hoping that this movie would do it right, but it didn't. Only the monster action at the end gets the movie over that line.
I get it. Director Gareth Edwards was trying to recapture the feeling of the great original Japanese 1952 "Gojira," which I have just seen. Yes, I know! It took me all this time to get the original from Criterion. And, it's much better than the choppiness of the Americanized 1954 "Godzilla: King of the Monsters."
In that film, there is really only about 10 minutes or so of actual Godzilla crushing stuff. The rest is the human drama with the well-drawn characters. But, in that movie, those characters are very well realized. They are fully fleshed out, and the drama that plays throughout carries through to the emotional conclusion.
The problem here is that all the characters, except Bryan Cranston's, are bland and uninteresting. Plus, there isn't a compelling storyline here, as there was in the 1952 "Gojira." And, most critically (MAJOR SPOILER) Cranston's character dies early on. He could have been used as that tragic character who has to sacrifice himself. But, unfortunately, he just dies and that's it. (END SPOILER).
I almost titled my review "Godzilla Without Godzilla," since there isn't that much Godzilla in the movie, and when we get to see him, it's mostly in the dark. You would think, 16 years after the much-laughed-at 1998 Emmerich-Devlin "Godzilla," we'd technologically be at the point where we didn't have to stage the monster action in the dark and/or the rain. But, the $160 million spent here doesn't seem to be enough to make that happen.
Hopefully, since Godzilla lives to fight another day at the end of this movie, we'll get a sequel where we get to see some good old fashioned monster action. In the daytime, please!
Film's all-time most underachieving action franchise, "The Expendables," has come out with their first teaser for installment 3. And, this is a true teaser, in that nothing at all from the film is shown. It's just the cast walking away from the camera and turning around.
That's it! Nothing more. Wow, I am, like, so excited now! (yes, that's a joke!)
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