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Review: ‘Godzilla: King Of The Monsters’ Is A Battle Of Titanic Proportions
We are truly living in a time of gods and monsters, or in this case, monster gods. It’s been five years since the first Legendary made Godzilla film and two years since their ‘Monsterverse’ was further established with Kong: Skull Island. All building up to to what will stand as perhaps one of the biggest Kaiju movies ever made: Godzilla King Of The Monsters.
The story takes place five years after Godzilla’s destructive battle in San Francisco. The world is in a panic as more “Titans” begin to awaken from their primordial slumber. The no-longer covert organization MONARCH attempts to shield the public from these ancient beasts and keep them contained, but Alan Jonah (Charles Dance) and his eco-terrorist group are hellbent on unleashing them on the world and returning things to a ‘natural order.’ He kidnaps MONARCH scientist Dr. Emma Russell (Vera Farmiga) and her daughter Madison Russell (Millie Bobby Brown) to further his goals, leading to the freeing of King Ghidorah, an ancient beast of apocalyptic power. Now, Madison’s father and Emma’s ex-husband Dr. Mark Russell (Kyle Chandler) must team-up with MONARCH and Godzilla to put a stop to a war of colossal beasts that could destroy the world.
The set-up is pretty evocative of of the more classical Godzilla movies of the 1960’s and 70’s, most prominently Destroy All Monsters, featuring a united group of humans, in this case MONARCH, trying to stop the evil monsters and giving our hero, Godzilla a helping hand. The ensemble cast for MONARCH is impressive and engaging, with returning characters/actors such as Ken Watanabe as Dr. Serizawa and Bradley Whitford as Dr. Rick Stanton. There’s a lot of fun banter between characters, cheesy sometimes, but it gives the film some dialogue and humans to root for.
Godzilla: King Of The Monsters delivers in what any kaiju fan wants: lots and lots of monster fighting action. Particularly, Godzilla and King Ghidorah throw down a few times over the course of the film along with volcano bird Rodan and ‘Queen Of The Monsters’ Mothra. Considering the kind of budget this movie has, they look spectacular and inspire awe at seeing god-like monstrosities throw down in mortal combat. Of course, they’re all-but entirely CG as opposed to the classical ‘man-in-suit’ style of the Toho films, which does make it feel different. There is some clunkiness in pacing and dialogue between these epic battles and some deaths happen a bit too fast to digest (even when characters get eaten), but per the franchise, it’s par for course and in many ways the cheeziness adds to the charm.
Michael Dougherty really outdid himself as a director/co-writer on the movie and it shows he has a lot of heart for Godzilla. Having helmed such genre favorites like Trick r Treat and Krampus it should come as no surprise there are plenty of horror references and homages hidden about. For example, pay attention to the number of the Antarctica MONARCH Outpost. As well, there is some pretty good build-up to next year’s Kong VS Godzilla coming to us from Adam Wingard.
I was fortunate enough to have seen Godzilla: King Of The Monsters in two different formats: Imax and 4DX. Of course, if you want as epic a screening as possible, Imax will be the way to go. When Godzilla gives his signature roar, it will blow you to the back of the auditorium. If you want a full-on immersion experience, 4DX is loads of fun and adds to the action. When Rodan did a barrel roll, it felt like I was spinning with that fire demon. The water, smoke, and air effects also adding details that put you into the heat of the action, especially as these monster gods duke it out.
So, if you’re a fan of Godzilla, giant monsters, and the like, Godzilla: King Of The Monsters is one kaiju movie you’ll want to see in theaters with the biggest screen and the loudest sound possible.
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Movies
‘The Strangers’ Invaded Coachella in Instagramable PR Stunt
Renny Harlin’s reboot of The Strangers isn’t coming out until May 17, but those murderous home invaders are making a pit stop at Coachella first.
In the latest Instagramable PR stunt, the studio behind the film decided to have the trio of masked intruders crash Coachella, a music festival that takes place for two weekends in Southern California.
This type of publicity began when Paramount did the same thing with their horror movie Smile in 2022. Their version had seemingly ordinary people in populated places look directly into a camera with an evil grin.
Harlin’s reboot is actually a trilogy with a more expansive world than that of the original.
“When setting out to remake The Strangers, we felt there was a bigger story to be told, which could be as powerful, chilling, and terrifying as the original and could really expand that world,” said producer Courtney Solomon. “Shooting this story as a trilogy allows us to create a hyperreal and terrifying character study. We’re fortunate to be joining forces with Madelaine Petsch, an amazing talent whose character is the driving force of this story.”
The movie follows a young couple (Madelaine Petsch and Froy Gutierrez) who “after their car breaks down in an eerie small town, are forced to spend the night in a remote cabin. Panic ensues as they are terrorized by three masked strangers who strike with no mercy and seemingly no motive in The Strangers: Chapter 1 the chilling first entry of this upcoming horror feature film series.”
The Strangers: Chapter 1 opens in theaters on May 17.
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Movies
‘Alien’ Returning to Theaters For a Limited Time
It’s been 45 years since Ridley Scott’s Alien hit theaters and in celebration of that milestone, it is headed back to the big screen for a limited time. And what better day to do that than Alien Day on April 26?
It also works as a primer for the upcoming Fede Alvarez sequel Alien: Romulus opening on August 16. A special feature in which both Alvarez and Scott discuss the original sci-fi classic will be shown as a part of your theater admission. Take a look at the preview of that conversation below.
Back in 1979, the original trailer for Alien was kind of terrifying. Imagine sitting in front of a CRT TV (Cathode Ray Tube) at night and suddenly Jerry Goldsmith’s haunting score begins to play as a giant chicken egg starts to crack with beams of light bursting through the shell and the word “Alien” slowly forms in slanted all caps across the screen. To a twelve-year-old, it was a scary pre-bedtime experience, especially Goldsmith’s screaming electronic musical flourishes playing over scenes of the actual movie. Let the “Is it horror or sci-fi?” debate begin.
Alien became a pop culture phenomenon, complete with kid’s toys, a graphic novel, and an Academy Award for Best Visual Effects. It also inspired dioramas in wax museums and even a frightening setpiece at Walt Disney World in the now-defunct Great Movie Ride attraction.
The film stars Sigourney Weaver, Tom Skerritt, and John Hurt. It tells the tale of a futuristic crew of blue-collar workers suddenly awakened out of stasis to investigate an undecipherable distress signal coming from a nearby moon. They investigate the source of the signal and discover it’s a warning and not a cry for help. Unbeknownst to the crew, they have brought a giant space creature back on board which they find out in one of the most iconic scenes in cinema history.
It is said that Alvarez’s sequel will pay homage to the original film’s storytelling and set design.
The Alien theatrical re-release will take place on April 26. Pre-order your tickets and find out where Alien will screen at a theater near you.
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Home Depot’s 12-Foot Skeleton Returns with a New Friend, Plus New Life-Size Prop from Spirit Halloween
Halloween is the greatest holiday of them all. However, every great holiday needs amazing props to go with it. Luckily for you, there are two new amazing props that have been released, which are sure to impress your neighbors and frighten any neighborhood children who are unfortunate enough to wander past your yard.
The first entry is the return of the Home Depot 12-foot skeleton prop. Home Depot has outdone themselves in the past. But this year the company is bringing bigger and better things to their Halloween prop lineup.
This year, the company unveiled its new and improved Skelly. But what is a giant skeleton without a loyal friend? Home Depot has also announced that they will release a five-foot tall skeleton dog prop to eternally keep Skelly company as he haunts your yard this spooky season.
This bony pooch will be five feet tall and seven feet long. The prop will also feature a posable mouth and LCD eyes with eight variable settings. Lance Allen, Home Depot’s merchant of decorative Holliday gear, had the following to say about this year’s lineup.
“This year we increased our realism within the animatronics category, created some impressive, licensed characters and even brought back some fan favorites. Overall, we are most proud of the quality and value we are able to bring to our customers with these pieces so they can continue to grow their collections.”
But what if giant skeletons just aren’t your thing? Well, Spirit Halloween has you covered with their giant life size Terror Dog replica. This massive prop has been ripped out of your nightmares to appear frighteningly on your lawn.
This prop weighs in at almost fifty pounds and features glowing red eyes that are sure to keep your yard safe from any toilet paper throwing hooligans. This iconic Ghostbusters nightmare is a must have for any fan of 80s horror. Or, anyone who loves all things spooky.
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