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Reviews
Godzilla (2014)
I like it... But don't love it.
I ended up in existential crisis after viewing this movie. To begin, I love Godzilla. I've been a fan since I was three and for seventeen years now I have amassed a collection of Godzilla VHS' and DVD's (well, as many as I can with the availability of them in the UK). I loved the Big-G, even films like 'Godzilla's Revenge'! I've spent a long time of my life devoted to this franchise, so I went into this movie expecting to love it. Yet I didn't... Why? Why don't I love this film? After a few stiff whiskys and talking to my mates who I saw it with at the cinema, I feel I can produce a fair review.
The Good:
Bryan Cranston: What a guy! I liked him in this movie, he portrays a tortured man well, unbalanced yet reserved when necessary. I felt for his Joe Brody character, he truly was the embodiment of Us vs Them, the man against the government, the good old conspiracy nut.
The MUTO's: A cross between, Gigan; Battra and the Cloverfield monster, these things where really frightening! From their strange; half metallic, whispering, creaking roars to their spindly arms attached to massive hulking mass these things where freaky! They fit well into the Godzilla universe and are a perfect edition to the team.
Godzilla: Well, the films about him! My jaw dropped every time he appeared or he was teased, the 8 year old me wailing in joy. The time he's on screen your eyes are drawn to him and him only. His features and traits are like that of a bear and human, his face rippling and nostrils flaring like the T-Rex from Jurassic Park, his eyes looking like a humans. It's quite an unsettling image but you feel emotions towards the big guy and I felt Gareth Edwards handled him well...
To an extent...
The Not so Good to Meh:
Bryan Cranston: Star Powers a blessing and a curse. The first half hour/forty minutes are great because Cranston is driving this thing. He's our main focus and Ford is along for the ride. Seeing as Aaron Taylor-Johnson isn't that charismatic in his film, when Cranston bites it we're left with this bland pallet of necessary emoting when is needed to drive the plot along.
Ken Wantanabe: Was the whole point of his role to stand around looking thoughtful and confused in dark places and sprout philosophical nonsense and be the forced metaphor against nuclear power because, you know, he's Japanese? I wanted to like this character, but when haphazardly he forces his fathers watch out in the Col. face that's stopped at the exact point the bomb was dropped on Hiroshima, we all cringed! It's so, forced and made to drill home a message. It didn't need that.
The rest of the cast for that matter: Everyones so bland and by the numbers. I can't really mention much about their performances because they where just standard.
The Monsters Handling: Big airport reveal! Cuts to black after Godzilla roars... Fight shown on TV in snippets Godzilla destroys GGB... literally disappears from the scene and turns up in the city for another short smack down. The films called Godzilla... The MUTO's do more than Godzilla in all senses. Godzilla is just there to sort stuff out for us then go back again.
The trailers spoilt all the buildups: I love the trailers for this movie, but if you told me a few months ago that these were some major points of buildup for scenes that didn't last that long or important scenes, I would have probably... still gone seen the movie because it's Godzilla! But still, being a blind fan boy can't help me not notice that so many shots of Godzilla that where used are part of the main actions sequences. I had seen these scene's so many times I knew what was coming and was excited, but then disappointed by the outcome.
And now for my biggest pet hate....
DUES EX MACHINA! My goodness Ford Brody's a lucky so-and-so isn't he? They said that the HALO jump would be a no return mission, just so happens that a helicopter picks him up before the nuke drops. The army happen to be moving towards San Fran and just happen to let Ford into their ranks because... Oooh-rah Marines? I don't really know the ins and outs of the military, but there's no mention of conscription and then Ford just kinda ends up where the action happens.
Now a lot of die-hard Godzilla fans are probably preparing their typing fingers to pull me apart; say I don't get it or say I'm not a true fan because I didn't like this movie. They'll probably blast me saying 'Oh, but Jurassic Park had 15 minutes total of dinosaur action!', 'What about Jaws?!", 'Too many monsters fighting all the time would be boring!' As many people have pointed out on the boards, 'less is more' works because we see the creature DO something in full view or very well suggested shots. I wanted to see more Godzilla. The shot where they fight in the city in the rain, it started, then finished! Dragged out over the whole night inter cut with ATJ being boring and moody soldier. It felt like missing reel stuff or it had be cut shorter.
Overall, this wasn't the 1954 or even 1984 style remake/reboot I wanted.I enjoyed it, it gave me some thrills and enough action. But with everything flitting around at break neck speed and the action coming in sporadic splashes across the movie, it felt very muddled.
7 - 10
Bigfoot: The Lost Coast Tapes (2012)
Not a bad movie, but not a masterclass of the genre, somewhere in between...
Now, I've seen a lot of people completely trash this movie since it's come out, so it made me very wary about buying it on DVD. But, the trailer enticed me and the film looked interesting.
What are those lights in the trees? Is the old man telling the truth? Will it just another Blair Witch clone without any substance?
Well, I got my answer in an average, but still good 'Found Footage' Horror movie (Which recently has become a staple of Horror Cinema)
The story concerns a group of TV documentary crewmen going out into the woods on a call that an old mountain man has the body of a baby Bigfoot and is willing to show them the evidence for a hefty (but reasonable) $75,000 dollars. Some members of the crew are less than willing to take his word as fact, while the others are finding strange, other worldly things are happening to them. One begins getting strange, psychic vibes (Because every good Paranormal investigation group need a psychic)and the other (a sound man) begins hearing strange things through his headphones and begins to freak out.
From then on, the group begins splitting apart and after a terrifying encounter with something out in the woods, the psychic girl is injured and left in the cabin while the other members of the team go with the mountain man to the dead body.
This kicks us off to the finale of the film which, in my opinion, had me tensed up, butt clenched, until the final frames.
Now, from my brief and uneducated summary of the film, I'd like to say, since watching this a few hours ago, names have slipped out my mind, and some scenes drowned out by a haze of pub banter and alcohol. But, myself being a person who enjoys horror films and has sat through the best and worst of the genre, I have never been more terrified of the walk home from the pub and car headlights through my windows, ever.
Something about this movie really got under my skin. Maybe it's the whole idea that it's something more than a simple Bigfoot hunt, something further viewed/explored in the films final moments. Bright lights and hoofed feet seem to point towards something more demonic.
For the good points, I liked the characters. They seemed light hearted, and while not entirely without cliché, never dull. The actors did a decent job with the obvious limited resources they had for the film. The only part where I feel they faultier is near the end, when they are being killed off or disappearing. It turns into a scream at each other/swear fest, and comes off as slightly immature. But still,I enjoyed them, and generally wanted them to try and get through the film.
The special effects are a point of interest. There's very little of it. The odd bloody person, a very well done shot the woodsman impaled on a pine tree. One of the more ambitious attempts is the suicide of one of the members. They tried, that's all I'll say, but, no one could be recognised after taking a shotgun buck to the face at close range. Another interesting thing is we never see the monster in question, but it is implied there are two out there. Large, furry, humanoid monsters that are trying to help the group, and a large, hoofed monster that is hell bent on murdering them all. They're all done in quick flashes of CGI or shown as shadows fleeting through the background, giving them an ever present feeling and a sense that there is no escape form here because they are everywhere. As a man who enjoys monster movies and seeing some of the creative decisions made in making the monster, it was better not showing anything at all, it added to the more supernatural element of the film.
Overall, this had me curled up, shoulder tense and frozen to the spot until the credits rolled. While not the best of the bunch, I turned the lights on and left my room for the pub and for the first time in a while got that childhood sense of the fear of the dark; one that I haven't had for a while, and that sense that someone was watching and I just saw something move in the trees in the park up ahead. It's an interesting concept that never gets too big for it's boots and handles the paranormal side quite well (although predictably). The characters are enjoyable clichés without getting to boring and the pace is always going forward, never looking back. It's very action packed for a hand held film and handles the shots well, never letting too much away while never putting too much into frame. With just a change or cut of the final line 'It's not Bigfoot, IT'S NOT BIGFOOT!' The film would of left me with a bit more of an impact.
Anyhow: A for effort C+ for execution and a big fat FU for making me terrified of the dark unknown again.