Film

But for the grace of Godzilla

Godzilla

Godzilla movies, with the exception of the decent 1954 original, have never really been good movies, right? They are movies some of us enjoy watching because they deliver that dose of camp we desire for some reason. If you are a serious film buff, Godzilla movies provide your brain with a chance to relax and watch something by unintentionally laughable. Bob Grimm That said, I’m a Godzilla fan. I used to watch bgrimm@ the Thanksgiving Day marathons on TV back newsreview.com in Long Island, New York, when I was a kid. I had a special place in my heart for King Kong vs. 4 Godzilla, and appreciate the fodder that Godzilla and Gamera movies provided for Joel Hodgson on Mystery Science Theater 3000.

"Well, the good news is that we probably won't have to go to school now."

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The new Gareth Edwards-directed Godzilla is, by millions and trillions and billions of miles, the best Godzilla movie ever made. It’s no contest, people. This movie tramples the other Godzilla movies underfoot like Godzilla trampling a water tower with cheesy dolls meant to be humans hanging onto it.

Edwards, whose lone prior feature directorial credit is the amusing, low-budget Monsters, does good things with Godzilla. He captures that summer blockbuster vibe of yesteryear, when building suspense and perhaps just a touch of human drama took precedent over wall-to-wall CGI fireworks. He also manages to capture some of that old school Toho Godzilla goofiness to go with the film’s mostly serious tone. Even though the film’s monsters are CGI, there are some monster gestures where the moves have a nice man-in-suit quality to them.

It’s pretty obvious that Edwards is saluting the all time blockbuster king, Mr. Steven Spielberg, with this movie. Bryan Cranston and Aaron Taylor-Johnson play a father and son team with the last name of Brody—Roy Scheider’s character’s name in Jaws. Many of the initial Godzilla shots include underwater glimpses and those jagged Godzilla back points cutting through the surface like a shark’s dorsal fin. Cranston’s slightly crazed, obsessed, gloriously overacting scientist dad rings of Richard Dreyfuss’s mashed potato sculpting kook in Close Encounters of the Third Kind.

In a way, Edwards is hamstrung by his reported $160 million budget, but he certainly makes the most of it. Big special effects extravaganzas usually cost a lot more than that these days, so just as Spielberg was forced to show less of the shark due to the thing being broken, Edwards only shows the right amount of Godzilla because that’s probably all he could afford. It turns out to be a blessing in disguise, because it makes the final chunk of the film, where Godzilla features prominently, all the more rewarding. That’s not to say the buildup to Godzilla’s entrance is at all boring or lacking in action. Edwards and his team have come up with a nice Godzilla enemy in the Mutos, Rodan-like creatures trying to mate and snacking on nuclear missiles and waste. The first hour also features impressive tsunamis, nuclear plant destructions, and enough hints of Godzilla to make the buildup impressive.

When Godzilla does make his big appearance, we are greeted with his wonderful, primordial scream trumpet noise that is just so super sweet inside a big IMAX theater. The sheer majestic power of this sound had me leaning back in my chair.

Ken Watanabe plays what is essentially the Raymond Burr role from the original Americanized version of Godzilla, that of a big star inserted into the action whose main purpose is to look really, really concerned. Johnson is the film’s hero, and he’s OK, if perhaps a little dull, in the role. Playing his character’s wife is Elizabeth Olsen, who might not have much to do in the movie, but does perform the best runningaway-from-a-monster-while looking-over-theshoulder move in the film.

The final sequence, where Godzilla goes head-to-head with the Mutos and levels San Francisco, gets my vote for best monster mash, ever. If I’m Warner Brothers, I’m on the phone right now with Universal, seeing if I can borrow Peter Jackson’s King Kong for the inevitable sequel. Ω

2The Amazing Spider-Man 2 Director Marc Webb mucks it up big time with this, his second go-round featuring Andrew Garfield in spandex, cracking wise and shooting webs. While Webb proves himself adept at drama and romance—Garfield and Emma Stone as Gwen Stacy are kind of adorable—he botches the action elements and tries to juggle too many villains. This movie features a goofy villain called Electro (Jamie Foxx), the Green Goblin (Dane Dehaan) and the robotic Rhino (Paul Giamatti). Electro gets the majority of the villain screen time, an unfortunate circumstance given that his baddie is the least interesting of the three. DeHaan, an actor I can safely say I can’t stand, makes one really, really miss James Franco as Harry Osborn. DeHaan always speaks as if he just digs his own voice, even if it sounds like he has a sinus infection. His generally annoying presence isn’t the total blame for this film’s mishandling of the Green Goblin. The blame mostly lies with Webb and his makeup folks, who come up with something tragically bad for Goblin’s looks. He basically has oily hair that looks like he hasn’t showered in a while and a horrific combination skin problem. Too many villains, hackneyed action, and DeHaan make this a pretty bad time for comic book fans.

4Captain America: The Winter Soldier Like Thor 2 and Iron Man 3, this movie shows us how an Avenger deals with life after saving New York City from an alien attack. Cap (an endearing Chris Evans) is just trying to catch up on modern culture now. His list of things to do includes watching Star Wars and Star Trek, trying Thai food and listening to Nirvana. He’s attempting to settle into a world after being frozen for 50 years. Of course, he’s not going to be able to just kick back and relax because evil still exists below America’s shimmering surface, and governmental wrongdoings are going to challenge Cap’s ability to remain loyal to the country he’s named after. After an attempt on the life of Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson just Samuel L. Jacksoning it as only Samuel L. Jackson can!), attention is called to the likes of somebody called the Winter Soldier, a fighting machine with powers similar to Cap and identity that won’t be revealed in this review. Cap’s mission eventually leads him to the discovery of HYDRA, an evil movement controlling members of the government, started back in the Nazi days. With Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) and Falcon (a well cast Anthony Mackie) at this side, Cap looks to take down HYDRA, kick the Winter Soldier’s ass, and possibly work in a date somewhere during the whole mess. The film packs a solid action punch, and some decent dramatics to boot.

3The Double Director Richard Ayoade pays nice visual homage to the likes of David Lynch and Terry Gilliam with this, an adaptation of the 1846 novella by Fyodor Dostoyevsky. Jesse Eisenberg plays Simon, an employee at a bleak office, where he’s unnoticed by coworkers, and hapless in his pursuit of Hannah (Mia Wasikowska) who works in the copy room. When his exact double, a new employee named James, shows up, he’s everything Simon wants to be. Brash, confident. and great with the ladies, James mentors Simon for a while, but things go bad quickly. Eisenberg is given the task of creating two genuinely different personalities that look exactly alike, even down to their bland choice of tan clothing. He isn’t given the benefit of a pencil mustache or a top hat for the evil twin. He accomplishes the feat, mainly, in the cadence of his voice. James rolls off sentences with no hesitations, while Simon is prone to stammering. Wasikowska, who can be a drab actress, is good here, as she was in some of her better efforts like Stoker and The Kids are All Right. The Double stands as proof that Ayoade is a formidable director, who manages a distinct vision even when he’s taking bits and pieces from other directors. He doesn’t have a follow-up to this on his slate as of yet. I hope that changes soon. It also stands as proof that Eisenberg being cast as Lex Luthor in Batman vs. Superman might wind up being a very cool move. (Available for rent on Amazon.com, VOD and iTunes during a limited theatrical release.) 3 Draft Day In a film that feels more befitting a TV series than a theatrical release, Kevin Costner plays Sonny, general manager of the Cleveland Browns. It’s draft day, and Sonny has some big decisions to make after he trades away his future for the number one pick, much to the dismay of his head coach (Denis Leary). This is all happening after finding out he’s having a baby with a member of his staff (Jennifer Garner) and shortly after the death of his dad. Directed by Ivan Reitman, who usually helms straight comedies, this is a more dramatic offering from the guy who gave us Ghostbusters. If there’s a big problem here, it is that we watch Sonny go through all of this stuff on draft day, and never get to see the fruits of his labors. The film ends after the draft day is finished, and we never get to see the team play. I’m doubting there will be a Draft Day 2, so I’m thinking this would’ve worked better as an HBO series or something like that. Still, Costner is good in the role, and Reitman has constructed something that is entertaining, while not altogether groundbreaking.

5The Grand Budapest Hotel Writer-director Wes Anderson does it again with another wholly unique, beautiful, quirky movie that could’ve only been made by him. In a performance that must be remembered come awards time, Ralph Fiennes is magically hilarious as M. Gustave, the concierge at the infamous fictional hotel named in the film’s title. Gustave has a penchant for older woman, much older woman, and his life takes a drastic turn when he is suspected in the murder of an elderly lover (Tilda Swinton in super heavy makeup). Stolen art, scary train rides and a high speed chase on skis ensue, with Anderson even employing stop motion animation at times, as he did with Fantastic Mr. Fox. Supporting performances by Jeff Goldblum, Adrien Brody, Jude Law, F. Murray Abraham, Willem Dafoe, Harvey Keitel, Saoirse Ronan and many more make this a can’t miss film. There’s something so joyous and fun about the way Anderson makes movies. This is a remarkable, tremendously enjoyable achievement.

4Neighbors Mac and Kelly (Seth Rogen and Rose Byrne), are happily adjusting to their new roles as parents to a baby daughter in a quiet suburban neighborhood. While in the midst of adjusting to their new sleep and sex schedules, a fraternity moves in next door. They don’t panic, figuring they are still cool enough to get along with college kids. An initial meeting with frat president Teddy (Zac Efron) goes well, and they even wind up joining the fray, baby monitor in hand, for a drugged-out, booze-drenched party, further establishing themselves as those possibly cool neighbors who just might be able to handle a party house next door. Mac and Teddy even develop a brotherly camaraderie, suggesting that if Mac were just a few years younger, he might’ve been a worthy frat brother. They even talk about getting walkie-talkies to communicate between their houses. They bond. The honeymoon doesn’t last for long. When a weeknight party keeps the baby up, Mac and Kelly transform from party happy neighbors into sleep-deprived malcontents, and they call the cops. Teddy takes this as a stab in the back from his new friends, and all out war is waged. There will be no walkie-talkies for Mac and Teddy. Rogen, Efron and Byrne are hilarious here, in a movie that has some great new jokes, along with making some old jokes funny again. Dave Franco and Lisa Kudrow get good laughs in supporting roles.