GODZILLA VS. KONG Review

While appreciating Gareth Edwards' aspirations with 2014’s Godzilla and becoming perplexed by how Michael Dougherty’s 2019 sequel could be so little fun despite its reactionary take to criticisms leveled against the first film, it seems the only movie in Warner Brother’s new monster-verse that knew exactly what it was and what it needed to be was Jordan Vogt-Roberts’ Kong flick. This may then explain why in Adam Wingard’s (You're Next, The Guest) clash of the titans that Kong is made to be the center of attention; the lynch pin on which every cockamamie human character's quest hinges. That isn't to say the king of the monsters doesn't factor into the match of the century in any meaningful capacity, but more that Wingard takes up Vogt-Roberts' mentality of embracing the absurdity in this universe and then lets his imagination run wild more so than he does try to either ground this in any kind of reality as Edwards did or let it be brought down by the human characters as Dougherty did. There is little to no regard for logic and no one - especially screenwriters Eric Pearson and Max Borenstein - seems to have been bothered with the semantics of how a "sci-fi quack trading in fringe physics" is able to convince Rebecca Hall's Dr. Andrews AKA "The Kong Whisperer" to have military assets escort Kong from his home on Skull Island to Antarctica in order to enter a portal to Hollow Earth on the whim of a tech billionaire (Demián Bichir) who is looking to harness the energy of this "ecosystem as vast as any ocean" so that he may power a weapon that can compete with Godzilla who recently became a threat again after a seemingly unprovoked attack. The best part of it all though, is that none of this matters, not really, and only exists to prop up reasoning for how the two titular titans come face to face with one another. Whereas Edwards elicited Dante's Inferno in the Halo jump sequence in his Godzilla film, Wingard elicits a Saturday morning toy commercial in Godzilla vs. Kong and naturally - it's more fun than anything this monster-verse has produced thus far. One could complain the creative team behind the film doesn't take great pains to make any of this thought provoking in terms of Godzilla beginning as an allegory for nuclear war or discussing Kong's origins in analyzing colonialism and man's need for dominance over others, but this isn't about those things or even those characters individually. This is a movie about a giant gorilla and a giant lizard coming to blows with one another and it's just as stupid, ridiculous, and thoroughly entertaining as something with that simple premise should be.    

I CARE A LOT Review

I Care A Lot is the type of film that knows exactly what it is and what it means to be from the very first frame. Healthcare workers divvy up monotonous rows of medications into small plastic cups intended to keep their targets as much in check as they do healthy. The first piece of dialogue is a woman's voice seemingly calling the viewer out, "Look at you. Sitting there," she says as she goes on to explain how the idea of "playing fair" is a joke invented by the rich to keep everyone else poor. All of this accompanied by the immediate needle drop of Death in Vegas' 1999 track "Dirge" or what is another word for a "sad song", an elegy. Writer/director J Blakeson (The Disappearance of Alice Creed) pushes all the way down on the syringe releasing every facet of his technique into the bloodstream as quickly as he can. From that first moment the tone is fully engaged and every tool Blakeson has at his disposal is being used to elevate the story being told; the film is firing on all cylinders. The difference between I Care A Lot and most films that begin with such promise though, is that it sustains its nasty yet overwhelmingly engaging tone throughout its nearly two-hour runtime. By the end of that runtime one is bound to be both satisfied as far as viewing experiences go, but also somewhat overwhelmed not simply by the lengths the narrative decides to venture, but the implications of our lead character's, the anti-hero in many respects, course of action. It is this course of action, this central scheme that Rosamund Pike’s Marla Grayson has cooked up, that provides much of the propulsion and confidence the film displays throughout as one would require such attributes to pull the type of legal Olympics off that she does here. While the tone is enjoyable - delectable even - and we, the audience are having a blast watching these people do these terrible things there is no escaping the fact that afterward, once the credits have rolled, we're also somewhat appalled at the fact we did enjoy this level of duplicity so much. 

How real and damaging the effects of what the character of Marla Grayson is doing here are the reasons Blakeson has chosen to employ that all-knowing and judgmental narration, why he uses bold, primary colors in both setting and wardrobe to heighten the world in which his film takes place, and why he utilizes Marc Canham's electronic-heavy score to give Grayson's actions an edge that, while understanding she's an inherently evil person, still makes her seem cool. It's the age old question of why we root for the bad guy, the villain, and often times it's because we can recognize their flaws in our own, but even Marla Grayson would tell you her only flaw is being too ambitious and too driven and that she finds no fault in doing whatever it takes to get to the top. It's not that these qualities aren't relatable or are the reasons we aren't sympathetic to Grayson come the end of the film, but it's how far she's willing to cross the line in order to make her ambitions a reality that separates the human being from the truly despicable.   

Official Trailer for GODZILLA VS. KONG

Originally set for a May 21st, 2021 release after its delay last year Warner Bros. recently announced that the showdown of all showdowns will be coming to theaters and HBO Max on March 26th. Not knowing much about either monsters mythology there is little indication as to who will ultimately be the victor here, if one will really "fall", or if this is even the end of WB and Legendary Picture's "Monsterverse" as it would seem to be. The upcoming installment of the franchise sees “fearsome monsters Godzilla and King Kong square off in an epic battle for the ages, while humanity looks to wipe out both of the creatures and take back the planet once and for all.” Though it seems highly unlikely either of the titular creatures will go down once and for all there is definitely a lot going on story-wise in this two and a half minute trailer and even more to take in from a visual perspective. At the end of 2017’s seventies-set Kong: Skull Island, Kong is on good terms with the team that came to his hometown, but it's inevitable the world would eventually become aware of his existence. At the end of 2019's Godzilla: King of the Monsters, we're treated to the titular kaiju taking up the mantle indicated in the subtitle with much of the world-building being done via newspaper headlines flashing across the screen over the credits; many of them hinting at Godzilla's control over these ancient titans, but a few notably questioning if the human race is due to be caught in the middle of a prehistoric grudge match. While I've largely enjoyed each of the three previous offerings in this "Monsterverse" it does feel as if there's been something missing from each. While Max Borenstein, who wrote 2014's Godzilla as well as Skull Island, wrote the script for Godzilla vs. Kong script with Black Widow screenwriter Eric Pearson what truly has me intrigued about this latest chapter is the fact it's directed by Adam Wingard who also made two unbelievably fantastic horror/thrillers in 2011's You're Next and 2014's The Guest. If the man can bring as much style and flair to finding out what a King ultimately is to a God as he did to those previous features then we're in for one hell of a ride. The Godzilla vs. Kong cast includes Alexander Skarsgård, Rebecca Hall, Kyle Chandler, Millie Bobby Brown, Shun Oguri, Demián Bichir, Brian Tyree Henry, Zhang Ziyi, Eiza Gonzalez, Lance Reddick, Jessica Henwick, Julian Dennison, and will be released in theaters nationwide and on HBO Max on March 26. Watch the first trailer below.

ALITA: BATTLE ANGEL Review

Though a fan of science fiction I'm not familiar with Yukito Kishiro's 1990 manga comic Battle Angel Alita that inspired the latest Robert Rodriguez picture as produced by James Cameron. I'll clarify that I truly enjoy science fiction largely for the genre's ability, whether it be in the writing or when translated to the big screen-the concept artist, director, or costume and set designers-ability to create a new environment and/or new world's altogether. Further, to apply a structure to this environment where an advanced, and if not advanced at least futuristic society, exists where the world follows the rules of this implemented structure is inherently fascinating as it undoubtedly takes cues from our present world and applies what the creator might think will be to the human races benefit or ultimate detriment. Such prophecies within the genre over the years have created an amalgam of tropes, motifs and clichés, but while the dystopian future has been a familiar trend over the last few years especially it does well to establish a compelling backdrop or habitat, if you will, for the kind of people we come to know in Alita: Battle Angel. Cameron, Rodriguez, and Laeta Kalogridis's (Shutter Island) screenplay shows early on that it has the aforementioned innate ability and, more importantly, a strong desire to construct a world centuries ahead of our present time that is not only inventive, but feels fully realized and lived-in. What the screenplay doesn't do and arguably fails to do is follow through on the promises of this world in which it builds. Meaning, that while it's not automatically a negative to utilize familiar sci-fi and action tropes there does need to be a unique take on whatever traits your movie or story might be adopting from the genre and there are certainly flashes of as much in Alita, but most of it comes from the investment in our main character rather than any kind of investment in the beats she is following. You want to know more about the character, you want to live alongside them because this world that has been created feels so alive and so layered and so interesting, but it's almost as if you also wouldn't mind checking in on and seeing what other characters are up to because as much as we like Alita, there isn't really much depth or surprise to the video-game structured script that is pitting her against the ultimate final boss in the sky.

New Trailer for ALITA: BATTLE ANGEL

It's kind of hard to think that Alita: Battle Angel isn't going to be huge. I mean, besides the fact it's been in the works for a long time and the guy who made Titanic and Avatar (as well as Terminator and T2) is behind it-there is something rather innovative about it all and whether the quality is ultimately better or worse the closest thing I can equate it to in my lifetime is the buzz prior to the release of 300 in 2007. I can remember being in one of my college film classes and the professor along with many of the students talking about how excited and curious they were about that new Zack Snyder film. The visual medium of film was given something of a shot in the arm by 300 and its new take on how far those visuals could be pushed in the age of green screen and visual effects. If he was to be outdone in buzz, James Cameron certainly wasn't going to be outdone in box office and thus 2009 came along and Avatar was released upping the ante of what was possible with visual effects even if the film didn't make as lasting an impression on pop culture. It seems prior to beginning work in the world of Pandora though, Cameron was close to directing this adaptation of the graphic novel series "Battle Angel Alita" by Yukito Kishiro that revolves around an amnesiac female cyborg who is rescued from a scrapyard by a doctor, rebuilt, and then set on a path of hunting down vicious criminals in the 26th century. Cameron is still involved as a producer and co-writer on the project while Robert Rodriguez (Sin City, Desperado) has taken over the director's chair. Rodriguez falls into that school of directors who are always looking to push boundaries and if this new trailer is any indication it looks as if the director may very well have his first hit in ten plus years on his hands not to mention a new franchise. This thing looks spectacular as the blend of real photography and motion capture effects is flawless, the action is staged in a very visceral fashion, and the story, while coming with shades of Ghost in the Shell and no doubt other material I'm not aware of, piques my interest due to the seeming connection the titular character has with this item from the past and the fact it may indicate what the future holds; stuff like that always gets me. Not to mention, this thing has a hell of a cast with Rosa Salazar taking on the role of Alita and co-starring the likes of Eiza González, Jennifer Connelly, Michelle Rodriguez, Christoph Waltz, Jackie Earle Haley, Mahershala Ali, Ed Skrein, and Casper Van Dien. Alita: Battle Angel opens December 21st, 2018.

BABY DRIVER Review

On the DVD for Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace there is an extended making-of feature titled "The Beginning" and in it George Lucas talked about his screenwriting process. At the tender age of twelve, when I first caught a glimpse of the film business via this featurette, I was not only enraptured in all that this world contained, but I was also struck by something the writer/director said concerning his action scenes. Lucas commented that rather than having a detailed description of the lightsaber battle he desired to create on screen it would simply say, “they fight,” on the page. This always struck me as odd considering the amount of planning that would seemingly have to go into such an involved sequence. It was too easy. I could understood Lucas’ idea of leaving the choreography and blocking to professionals who could better bring to life the style and aura of the battle he imagined, but to not even give an indication of what might have been in his brain always seemed a strange decision even if there would be countless meetings about it before the start of production. Even if it proved to be nothing more than a place to preserve those original ideas and remind himself, if no one else, of what inspired the sequence in the first place it would at least be that. This isn’t to say such an approach doesn’t work as I still believe that final lightsaber battle in The Phantom Menace to be the best the series has ever produced, but I bring this up to say that I’m pretty sure writer and director Edgar Wright didn’t simply insert, “they drive,” when he was penning the screenplay for his latest, Baby Driver. Rather, it would seem Wright, who is known for his ferocious energy and encouragement of innovative editing techniques, put on the paper every detail of what he wanted to happen in his action sequences as not only do they present a personality trait of the titular Baby as played by Ansel Elgort (The Fault in Our Stars), but they too are choreographed both in direction and motion. Motion meaning they not only hit the beats of an action sequence, but the beats of the soundtrack Wright has written the film to and integrated so intricately it would be impossible not to describe how exactly they went down if he wanted anyone else outside himself to understand his vision. This is all to say that Baby Driver is yet another unique and wholly original creative endeavor from a filmmaker who not only continues to push himself to come up with different ways to bring our similarly diverse world to the screen, but who captures an essence of cool in his work that we all aspire to have. Wright crafts the ideal out of situations that are not and Baby Driver is no exception to the standard he holds himself, and movies in general, to.

First Trailer for Edgar Wright's BABY DRIVER

After dropping out of directing Ant-Man at the seeming behest of Marvel many were disappointed it would be even longer before we received a new film from director Edgar Wright, the guy who made the marvelous Three Flavours Cornetto trilogy as well as the phenomenal Scott Pilgrim vs. the World. Having written and directed the film, which follows a talented, young getaway driver who, in a very Wright touch, relies on his own personal soundtrack to be the best in the game. It is after this driver is coerced into working for a crime boss that he must face the music when a doomed heist threatens his life, love, and freedom. Featuring a cast led by Ansel Elgort (The Fault in Our Stars) that also includes Jon Hamm, Jamie Foxx, Kevin Spacey, Jon Bernthal, and Lily James (Cinderella) Wright certainly has set the tone for a different flavor of ice cream this time around, but with his singular style and vision it's always clear that what we're watching is very much a piece from an artist who keeps a coherent throughline with all of his work, but at the same time isn't afraid to try something new and daring. This became especially clear when he broke away from regular collaborators Simon Pegg and Nick Frost for Scott Pilgrim (which may arguably be his best film), but with Baby Driver it seems the auteur has pushed himself even further to both still operate in the cinematic world he has created while also coming up with something new rather than simply relying on his same old tricks. In short, I'm liking what I'm seeing here-Elgort is a more than capable lead and seems to have handled the weight of this original and uniquely conveyed picture with ease while that stellar supporting cast seem to be having nothing short of a blast; Hamm, Foxx, and Spacey especially seem to have been inspired by the refreshing take on movie-making and while I feel like was rather late to step onto the Wright train this is certainly one of my most anticipated of the year and can't wait to see what the film in its entirety holds. Baby Driver also stars Eiza González, Flea, Sky Ferreira, Jeff Chase, and opens on August 11th, 2017 after premiering at the SXSW festival in Austin, TX tonight.