tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12380553.post1996199503380655400..comments2024-03-27T10:27:59.266-04:00Comments on John Kenneth Muir's Reflections on Cult Movies and Classic TV: Cult-Movie Review: Godzilla (2014)John Kenneth Muirhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15629979615332893780noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12380553.post-7595461151992740492014-05-24T19:03:50.589-04:002014-05-24T19:03:50.589-04:00Well, something needs shake up or knock off the su...Well, something needs shake up or knock off the superhero movie worship that is occurring at the box office today. May as well be something big and monstrous!<br />whitsbrainhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18171082058163775614noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12380553.post-46302486656150283242014-05-24T18:32:22.512-04:002014-05-24T18:32:22.512-04:00Whitsbrain, thank you for this lovely comment.
I ...Whitsbrain, thank you for this lovely comment.<br /><br />I agree with everything you wrote. <br /><br />For me, Godzilla was practically rapturous. It was the first blockbuster in ages that I really got swept up in on a human level. <br /><br />I don't understand why the "meme" about the human characters being "weak" has taken off as it has. There were more human, meaningful characters in this film than any big summer film in years. <br /><br /> People, it seems, just want to knock a good film (and continue to praise the Marvel superhero movies...for some reason, it has become a contest Godzilla vs. Marvel). <br /><br />On Facebook and even here, people complain when I compare Godzilla favorably to the superhero films of late. The defensiveness is odd, but telling. Godzilla is perceived as a threat to superhero dominance at the box office, but it thrives by being about a million times better than any superhero movie in the last six years.<br /><br />I wish I were going to see Godzilla again right now too! Enjoy it all over again!John Kenneth Muirhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15629979615332893780noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12380553.post-3044488004456939132014-05-24T17:48:21.592-04:002014-05-24T17:48:21.592-04:00Damn John. This might be my favorite review that ...Damn John. This might be my favorite review that you've written. I have been a Godzilla fan for years. I've seen them all and love the franchise as much as any other. I'll be the first to admit that most of the Godzilla movies are just dumb fun and that's almost always enough for me. But this new Godzilla...what to make of it? It really blew me away when I saw it on opening day. I've sat on my reaction to it ever since, because I guess, I find I'm being influenced by the weak character development consensus that has become the "yeah, but..." for those who require an opportunity to sound smart or be dicks. But you've countered that thinking (or non-thinking) here wonderfully. Good for you and now I'm not concerned that my actual satisfaction with the characters was somehow off the mark. <br /><br />I found the pace of "Godzilla" pretty much perfect. Although I found Edwards' earlier "Monsters" to be preachy and severely lacking in actual monsters, the subtle commentary on environmental dangers found in this film are well communicated. This is a complement because I am far from the first person to swallow every end-of-the-world scenario painted by the latest hot documentary. In other words, Edwards nails it here for me.<br /><br />Your description of Godzilla himself, highlighting his old, experienced eyes, gait and mannerisms, his soulfulness. It's an absolutely beautiful and goosebump-inducing description. I love this take on the monster. I don't need Godzilla to be a friend to Man, a funny puppy you can find in any of the late Showa period movies. I prefer the pure evil take on Godzilla more. But the 2014 version, THIS is a beast I can enjoy. It doesn't care for man. It doesn't want to be our buddy. Instead, it corrects the wrongs to the Earth and departs, regardless of what happens to humans in the interim. I wouldn't mind the next film interpreting Godzilla as a punisher when Man does something incredibly stupid to the planet. A "Don't f**k it up!" message delivered by the monster would be my choice for a sequel.<br /><br />The fights are teased but all memorable monster flicks pull this off expertly. Compare it to the everything-but-the-kitchen sink approach in today's current action/fantasy/science fiction offerings. Seriously, anyone...watch "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen". There is so much action, it's mind-numbingly boring. Suspense and anticipation. They are key and "Godzilla" brings them.<br /><br />Gareth Edwards give us many great monster moments. The first roar...Godzilla is centered in the frame, gathers up and lets out the most satisfying roar I've ever heard. Another, Godzilla's atomic breath, building from its tail, passing through its body and firing violently from its jaws. And of course, the dispatching of the mega-MUTO with a forced ingestion of some blue heat.<br /><br />Now I'm gushing. The more I think about it, the more I need to get back to the theater before "Godzilla" disappears from the big screen forever.whitsbrainhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18171082058163775614noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12380553.post-71257075813575199002014-05-23T11:21:16.139-04:002014-05-23T11:21:16.139-04:00Marlowe:
Thank you for your comment. I appreciat...Marlowe:<br /><br />Thank you for your comment. I appreciated reading it.<br /><br />Frankly, I have detected a deadly sameness -- staleness -- to all the Marvel superhero films of late, even in parts of the mostly-decent WINTER SOLDIER.<br /><br />I'll throw in two DC superhero flicks too, just so you don't think I'm bagging on Marvel: Dark Knight Rises and Man of Steel. <br /><br />They stunk, to put it mildly. <br /><br />We've reached the point where these movies all look alike and sound alike. The characters are thin. The stories are convoluted and incoherent. And the action is brain-deadening.<br /><br />My fantasy (and it is only a fantasy, because it won't happen), is that Godzilla out-draws the 7th X-Men this weekend, giving the superhero genre the kick in the pants it so desperately needs so that better movies are produced.<br /><br />Like I said, it won't happen...but sooner or later it will. <br /><br />One or two more Thor: The Dark Worlds and superhero movies are going to fall from their perch. <br /><br />Now, I don't want to see that happen because I like Superhero films. Loved Iron Man (2008), loved Superman: The Movie (1978), X2 (2002?), Spider-Man 2 (2004), and Batman Begins (2005) to name just a few titles.<br /><br />But we have had a glut of mediocre movies of late.<br /><br />Here's a nice piece that explains it a little: http://www.rogerebert.com/mzs/things-crashing-into-other-things-or-my-superhero-movie-problem<br /><br />Thanks for your thoughts!<br /><br />best,<br />JohnJohn Kenneth Muirhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15629979615332893780noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12380553.post-80754834020373294062014-05-23T11:13:35.685-04:002014-05-23T11:13:35.685-04:00Thank you, Lionel! Godzilla is a terrific film, a...Thank you, Lionel! Godzilla is a terrific film, and richly deserves all the success it is enjoying.John Kenneth Muirhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15629979615332893780noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12380553.post-16542895760636663642014-05-23T10:20:03.683-04:002014-05-23T10:20:03.683-04:00"It is far more interesting and comprehensibl..."It is far more interesting and comprehensible for instance, than the over-sized, mind-numbing Marvel movies of late, like Thor: The Dark World (2013). "<br /><br />I agree about THOR:THE DARK WORLD. It was a very mediocre film. But CAPTAIN AMERICA:THE WINTER SOLDIER was a fine piece of work, a very entertaining combination of superheroics and conspiracy thriller.<br /><br />MarloweAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12380553.post-60720277982912518172014-05-21T18:16:33.229-04:002014-05-21T18:16:33.229-04:00Best review of the film yet; you and I agree.Best review of the film yet; you and I agree.Lionel Braithwaitehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03024473793409118944noreply@blogger.com