Review: "DUNE: PART TWO: Rocks the Heavens

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 48 of 2024 (No. 1992) by Leroy Douresseaux

Dune: Part Two (2024)

Running time:  166 minutes (2 hours, 46 minutes)

MPA – PG-13 for sequences of strong violence, some suggestive material and brief strong language

DIRECTOR:  Denis Villeneuve

WRITERS:  Denis Villeneuve and Jon Spaihts (based on the novel by Frank Herbert)

PRODUCERS:  Denis Villeneuve, Cale Boyter, Mary Parent, Patrick McCormick, and Tanya Lapointe

CINEMATOGRAPHER:  Greg Fraser (D.o.P.)

EDITOR:  Joe Walker

COMPOSER: Hans Zimmer

SCI-FI/DRAMA and ACTION/WAR/THRILLER

Starring:  Timothée Chalamet, Zendaya, Rebecca Ferguson, Javier Bardem, Stellan Skarsgard, Josh Brolin, Austin Butler, Florence Pugh, Dave Bautista, Christopher Walken, Lea Seydoux, Charlotte Rampling, Babs Olusanmokun, and Alison Halstead

Dune: Part Two is a 2024 epic science fiction and drama film directed by Denis Villeneuve.  It is the second part of the two-part adaptation of the 1965 novel, Dune, written by author Frank Herbert.  The first part is entitled Dune (or Dune: Part One) and was released in 2021.  Dune: Part Two focuses on a vengeful young nobleman who unites the desert people of the planet Arrakis behind his war against the noble house that betrayed and murdered his father.

Dune: Part Two opens in the wake of Baron Vladimir Harkonnen (Stellan Skarsgard) and House Harkonnen's destruction of Duke Leto Atreides and the House Atreides.  Now, the Baron's nephew, Lord Rabban (Dave Bautista), has control over the desert planet, Arrakis, and over the production of the most valuable substance in the universe, which is known as “Spice.”  A highly-addictive drug, Spice extends human vitality and life and is absolutely necessary for space travel.  Spice is only found on Arrakis.

Meanwhile, Paul Atreides (Timothée Chalamet), the son of Leto, and his mother, Lady Jessica (Rebecca Ferguson), who is pregnant, have joined the “Sietch Tabr,” a band of Fremen, the natives of Arrakis.  While some of the Fremen consider Paul and Jessica to be spies, the Sietch Tabr leader, Stilgar (Javier Bardem), believes that they are the prophesied mother and son from the “Outer World” who will bring prosperity to Arrakis.

Jessica belongs to the Bene Gesserit, a powerful sisterhood who wield advance mental and physical abilities.  The Bene Gesserit have a prophecy concerning a “superbeing,” called the  “Kwisatz Haderach,” and Paul may be this superbeing because of the machinations of his mother.  Stilgar believes that Paul is the prophesied Fremen messiah, the “Lisan al-Gaig.”  This belief spread once Paul takes the name Paul Muad'dib Usul.

However, Chani (Zendaya), a young and rebellious Fremen warrior (“Fedaykin”), believes that the messianic prophecies are nothing more than a fabrication meant to manipulate the Fremen.  However, as “the Battle for Arrakis” begins, Chani finds herself having strong feelings for Paul and follows him into battle against the Harkonnen, for better or worse. 

Dune and Dune: Part Two combine to form the third screen adaptation of Frank Herbert's novel.  The others were writer-director David Lynch's 1984 film, Dune, and writer-director John Harrison's 2000 television miniseries, also entitled “Dune.”  Also, there is a French/U.S. documentary film, entitled Jodorowskys Dune, that chronicles director Alejandro Jodorowsky's doomed attempt to adapt the novel into film in the 1970s.

Because HBO is preparing to release its Dune television series, “Dune: Prophecy,” I decided to finally see Dune: Part Two.  A horrible illness forced me to miss the film's theatrical release earlier this year.  Having finally seen it, I wish I had watched it in a movie theater, although IMAX is not an option for me.  Dune: Part Two should be seen on a screen in a movie theater.  It is one of the most epic science fiction films that I have ever experienced.  The production values, cinematography, film editing, production design, art direction and sets, hair and make-up, and costumes are separately some of the best seen in science fiction cinema thus far in the twenty-first century.  Director Denis Villeneuve is more than well-served by these collaborators.

He is also well-served by his co-writers, as the screenplay captures the religious and spiritual dogma and messianic madness that drives much of Dune's narrative.  As impressive as this film is from a storytelling point of view, the Fremen's faith is freaking scary and dominates the film.  That's why I think Hans Zimmer's film score sounds like it belongs in a horror movie.  Quite a bit of Zimmer's musical score is like the spiritual cousin of composer Henry Manfredini's “ch ch ch ah ah ah” sound effect for the 1980 film, Friday the 13th.

There are a number of great performances here.  Austin Butler, who surprised in Baz Luhrmann's Elvis (2022), does killer work in Dune: Part Two as Baron Harkonnen's psychotic nephew, na-Baron Fedy-Rautha.  Dune's make-up artists serve him well as Butler fashions a character that is as impish and devilish as he is relentlessly homicidal.

But the stars are really Timothée Chalamet and Zendaya.  As Paul, Chalamet depicts both the manipulation and machinations of a rise to power and also the evolution and revelation of a religious cult leader.  As Chani, Zendaya is the spiritual heart of this film.  She is the center of calm and reason in the super-storm of madness that envelopes Arrakis.  It is not hard to see why both actors are some of the most popular young stars in world cinema.  For all Denis Villeneuve cinematic skills and tricks, a movie this grand needs that traditional tower of power, the movie star.  Dune: Part Two has two shooting stars.

10 of 10

Tuesday, November 12, 2024

The text is copyright © 2024 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

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Review: "GODZILLA X KONG: THE NEW EMPIRE" is Entertaining, Imaginative and Extraneous

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 18 of 2024 (No. 1962) by Leroy Douresseaux

Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire (2024)

Running time: 115 minutes (1 hour, 55 minutes)

MPA – PG-13 for creature violence and action

DIRECTOR:  Adam Wingard

WRITERS:  Terry Rossio, Simon Barrett, and Jeremy Slater; from a story by Terry Rossio, Simon Barrett, and Adam Wingard (based on characters owned by Toho Co., Ltd.)

PRODUCERS:  Alex Garcia, Eric McLeod, Mary Parent, Brian Rogers, and Thomas Tull

CINEMATOGRAPHER:  Ben Seresin (D.o.P.)

EDITOR:  Josh Schaeffer

COMPOSERS:  Tom Holkenborg and Antonio Di Iorio

SCI-FI/FANTASY/ADVENTURE

Starring:  Rebecca Hall, Brian Tyree Henry, Dan Stevens, Kaylee Hottle, Alex Ferns, Fala Chen, Rachel House, Ron Smyck, Chantelle Jamieson, Greg Hatton, and Kevin Copeland

SUMMARY OF THE REVIEW:

-- Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire is as visually stunning as the two previous MonsterVerse series films, and the monster-fight action is awesome.

-- However, the story is not compelling, and the characters feel like props.  Thus, Godzilla x Kong is really for fans of the series.

Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire is a 2024 monster movie and science fiction-fantasy adventure film directed by Adam Wingard.  Produced by Legendary Pictures and distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures, this film is the fourth entry in the “MonsterVerse” film series, which began with Godzilla (2014).  Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire brings the two ancient titans together in order to fight an ancient, prophesied threat to the surface world.

Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire opens some time after the defeat of Mechagodzilla (as seen in Godzilla vs. Kong).  In the “Hollow Earth,” Kong is in the process of establishing his territory, which means defeating vicious predators.  Monarch has planted a base in Hollow Earth, Monarch Outpost One, in order to monitor Kong.  That outpost itself is monitored on the surface by a Monarch base in Barbados, which is where Kong expert and Monarch scientist, Dr. Ilene Andrews (Rebecca Hall), lives with her adopted daughter, Jia (Kaylee Hottle), the last living member of Skull Island's indigenous tribe, the Iwi.

Jia is deaf and communicates with Kong via sign language.  She has begun experiencing dreams, flashbacks, and hallucinations that seem to be related to a signal emanating from somewhere in the Hollow Earth.  Godzilla, who has been romping across Europe is also sensing that signal, and the King of the Monsters is absorbing energy in preparation for some unknown, coming battle.

Kong explores a sinkhole near his home and discovers an uncharted region hidden within the Hollow Earth.  Exploring it, he finally encounters other giant apes like himself, including an adolescent giant ape.  However, these giant apes are aggressive and apparently serve a mysterious alpha giant ape leader, and this leader controls something that not only endangers the Hollow Earth, but also the surface world.  Only Kong and Godzilla can end this threat, but will the Earth's two greatest Titans join forces or just try to kill each other, again?

The “MonsterVerse” is an American multimedia franchise that includes movies; a streaming live-action television series (Apple TV+) and a streaming animated series (Netflix); books and comic books; and video games.  It is a shared fictional universe that includes the character, “Godzilla” and other characters owned and created by the Japanese entertainment company, Toho Co., Ltd.  The MonsterVerse is a reboot of Toho's Godzilla franchise.  It is also a reboot of the King Kong franchise, which is based on the character, “King Kong,” that was created by actor and filmmaker, Merian C. Cooper (1893-1973).

In preparation for Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire, I watched and reviewed the previous four films in MonsterVerse series.  They are Godzilla (2014), Kong: Skull Island (2017), Godzilla: King of the Monsters (2019), and Godzilla vs. Kong (2021).

Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire has a hard act to follow in the previous film, Godzilla vs. Kong, and while the new film is entertaining, it never really establishes the stakes of the conflicts it depicts.  To me, the threat didn't really seem like it would lead to the end of the world.  Godzilla x Kong is loud and proud, a true monster movie built on sensations, muscular CGI, and visually stunning visual special effects.  Godzilla x Kong is big, bigger, BIG, and it probably should be seen on IMAX, but its story is no bigger than a mini-max.

Godzilla x Kong exists because Warner Bros. Pictures and Legendary Entertainment want it to exist as a product designed to make a lot of money now and to continue contributing to the MonsterVerse revenue stream for some time to come.  It's not that I did not enjoy Godzilla vs. Kong.  I laughed several times, and it did hold my attention.  It is probably the least dark film in the series, but it is also the least important.  Honestly, I think Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire director Adam Wingard made a much more compelling film with his 2011 feature, You're Next, which was made for .007 percent of Godzilla x Kong's budget.  [You're Next's screenplay was written by Wingard's frequent collaborator, writer Simon Barrett, who is also a co-writer on Godzilla x Kong.]

Another strange thing about this film is that the characters all feel unnecessary.  Kaylee Hottle's Jia is very important to Godzilla x Kong's narrative, but Jia often feels like a prop.  Dan Stevens' Trapper is a generic character, played by Stevens with generic verve.  I liked Brian Tyree Henry's Bernie Hayes in Godzilla vs. Kong, but here, he feels too frantic and forced.  I get that Hayes is comic relief, but has become too much comic relief.  Hayes is utterly wasted here – half chatterbox, half-on-the-edge-of-being-substantial.

I pushed Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire from my mind as soon as I got up from my seat in the theater.  Still, fans of the MonsterVerse films will likely really enjoy it.

B

6 of 10

★★★ out of 4 stars

The text is copyright © 2024 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved.  Contact this blog or site for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

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Review: "GODZILLA VS. KONG" Rocks 'n' Roars

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 17 of 2024 (No. 1961) by Leroy Douresseaux

Godzilla vs. Kong (2021)

Running time: 113 minutes (1 hour, 53 minutes)

MPA – PG-13 for intense sequences of creature violence/destruction and brief language

DIRECTOR:  Adam Wingard

WRITERS:  Terry Rossio and Michael Dougherty & Zach Shields; from a story by Max Borenstein and Eric Pearson (based on characters owned by Toho Co., Ltd.)

PRODUCERS:  Jon Jashni, Alex Garcia, Eric McLeod, Mary Parent, Brian Rogers, and Thomas Tull

CINEMATOGRAPHER:  Ben Seresin (D.o.P.)

EDITOR:  Josh Schaeffer

COMPOSER:  Tom Holkenborg

SCI-FI/FANTASY/ADVENTURE

Starring:  Alexander Skarsgard, Millie Bobby Brown, Rebecca Hall, Bryan Tyree Henry, Shun Oguri, Eiza Gonzalez, Julian Dennison, Lance Reddick, Kaylee Hottle, Hakeem Kae-Kazim, Ronny Chieng, Demian Bichir, and Kyle Chandler

Godzilla vs. Kong is a 2021 monster movie and science fiction-fantasy adventure film directed by Adam Wingard.  Produced by Legendary Pictures and distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures, this film is the fourth entry in the “MonsterVerse” film series, which began with Godzilla (2014).  Godzilla vs. Kong finally brings about the long awaited confrontation between Godzilla and Kong.

Godzilla vs. Kong opens three years after the dragon-like extraterrestrial King Ghidorah awakened the monstrous “Titans” around the world before being defeated by Godzilla.  On Skull Island, Monarch has imprisoned Kong within a game preserve that is covered by a giant dome where they monitor him.  Skull Island has been taken over by the storm that previously kept it hidden from the world.  Kong has befriended Jia (Kaylee Hottle), the island's last native human and the young adopted daughter of Kong expert, Ilene Andrews (Rebecca Hall).  Jia is deaf and communicates with Kong via sign language.

Across the world, at Apex Cybernetics in Pensacola, Florida, CEO Walter Simmons (Demian Bichir) is up to something sinister, and that has drawn the attention of Godzilla, who reappears after three years and attacks the facility.  That doesn't stop Simmons, who travels to Denham University of Theoretical Science in Philadelphia, in order to recruit former Monarch scientist, Nathan Lind (Alexander Skarsgard), to lead a mission into the legendary “Hollow Earth,” which is Lind's area of expertise.  But the mission needs Kong, and that's where Ilene and her daughter, Jia, come in.

Meanwhile, Bernie Hayes (Bryan Tyree Henry), an Apex Cybernetics employee and a Titan conspiracy podcast host, is investigating Apex's activities.  Hayes finds a kindred spirit in Madison Russell (Millie Bobby Brown), daughter of Monarch scientist, Dr. Mark Russell (Kyle Chandler), who is also suspicious of Apex.  With her friend, Josh Valentine (Julian Dennison), in tow, Millie joins Bernie on an adventure that will take them halfway across the world to where Apex is hiding its most sinister secret, one that is tied to the mission into the Hollow Earth and its secrets.

The “MonsterVerse” is an American multimedia franchise that includes movies; a streaming live-action television series (Apple TV+) and a streaming animated series (Netflix); books and comic books; and video games.  It is a shared fictional universe that includes the character, “Godzilla” and other characters owned and created by the Japanese entertainment company, Toho Co., Ltd.  The MonsterVerse is a reboot of Toho's Godzilla franchise.  It is also a reboot of the King Kong franchise, which is based on the character, “King Kong,” that was created by actor and filmmaker, Merian C. Cooper (1893-1973).

The fifth film in the MonsterVerse series, Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire, is due to be released March 29, 2023, so I have decided to watch and review the previous four films:  Godzilla (2014), Kong: Skull Island (2017), Godzilla: King of the Monsters (2019), and 2021's Godzilla vs. Kong (which is the subject of this review).

Godzilla vs. Kong is, thus far, the best of the “MonsterVerse” films.  Each film is its own thing, although they are all monster movies.  Godzilla 2014 is a science fiction mystery film.  Kong: Skull Island is a lost world story, thoroughly wrapped in pseudo-science and weird fiction.  Godzilla: King of the Monsters is a VFX-slick, CGI-fuel-injected, modernized take on the original 1950s, Japanese Gojira/Godzilla films.

Godzilla vs. Kong is the monster movie as an old school science fiction-fantasy action-adventure film that has been all gussied up with CGI and dazzling, glowing, supernatural special effects.  I could feel the science fiction mood through Tom Holkenborg's score which reminded me of Daft Punk's glorious score for Tron: Legacy (2010).  Godzilla vs. Kong's “Hollow Earth” subplot is the film Fantastic Voyage (1966) wishes it could have been.  Godzilla vs. Kong is wall-to-wall adventure.  It is a sci-fi travelogue from one end of the Earth to the other, whether it is breathlessly racing from Florida to Hong Kong for a mecha showdown or plunging into a mind-bending journey inside the deepest reaches of the planet.

As for the confrontation between Godzilla and Kong: the first one in this film is an impossible battle that is a work of genius on the part of everyone involved.  What is more shocking is that the second confrontation, which occurs in the film's last act, is even better and even more eye-popping.

Godzilla vs. Kong is the ultimate monster showdown spectacle.  I was not able to turn away from it, and a day after seeing it, I'm still buzzing from it as I write this review.  Godzilla vs. Kong is peak “MonsterVerse,” and I pity the films in the series that come after it.

A

8 of 10

★★★★ out of 4 stars

Wednesday, March 27, 2024

The text is copyright © 2024 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved.  Contact this blog or site for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

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Review: "GODZILLA: KING OF THE MONSTERS" Does Too Much

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 15 of 2024 (No. 1959) by Leroy Douresseaux

Godzilla: King of the Monsters (2019)

Running time: 132 minutes (2 hours, 12 minutes)

MPA – PG-13 for sequences of monster action violence and destruction, and for some language

DIRECTOR:  Michael Dougherty

WRITERS:  Michael Dougherty and Zach Shields; from a story by Max Borenstein and Michael Dougherty and Zach Shields (based on characters owned by Toho Co., Ltd.)

PRODUCERS:  Jon Jashni, Alex Garcia, Mary Parent, Brian Rogers, and Thomas Tull

CINEMATOGRAPHER:  Lawrence Sher (D.o.P.)

EDITORS:  Bob Ducsay, Roger Barton, and Richard Pearson

COMPOSER:  Bear McCreary

SCI-FI/ACTION/MILITARY

Starring:  Kyle Chandler, Vera Farmiga, Millie Bobby Brown, Ken Watanabe, Ziyi Zhang, Bradley Whitford, Sally Hawkins, Charles Dance, Thomas Middleditch, Aisha Hinds, O'Shea Jackson, Jr., David Strathairn, Anthony Ramos, Elizabeth Faith Ludlow, CCH Pounder, and Joe Morton

Godzilla: King of the Monsters is a 2019 monster movie and action film directed by Michael Dougherty.  Produced by Legendary Pictures and distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures, this film is the third entry in the “MonsterVerse” film series, which began with Godzilla (2014).  Godzilla: King of the Monsters pits the monster-monitoring agency, Monarch, against a legendary monster, and the only hope for the world is the missing Godzilla.

Godzilla: King of the Monsters opens five years after the events depicted in Godzilla (2014).  The world is now aware of the existence of giant monsters called “Titans.”  Monarch is the U.S. government agency that monitors and studies the Titans (which it once called “MUTOs” or “massive unidentified terrestrial organisms).  It has bases (bunkers) around the world where its scientists struggle to find a way in which humanity and the Titans can share the planet.

In a bunker located in the Rainforest of Xishuangbanna in China's Yunnan Province, Monarch scientist Dr. Emma Russell (Vera Farmiga) has developed a device, called “ORCA,” that can emit frequencies that can attract Titans or alter their behavior.  However, her research has attracted the attention of Alan Jonah (Charles Dance), a former British military officer turned eco-terrorist, who wants control of ORCA.  He kidnaps Emma and her daughter, Madison Russell (Millie Bobby Brown).

Monarch scientists, Dr. Ishiro Serizawa (Ken Watanabe) and Vivienne Graham (Sally Hawkins), approach Emma's estranged husband and Madison's father, Dr. Mark Russell (Kyle Chandler), to help track down Emma, Jonah, and ORCA.  However, Jonah has already forced Emma to use ORCA to awaken the legendary “Monster Zero,” the three-headed dragon known as King Ghidorah.  Now, Serizawa must convince the U.S. government and military that the only Titan capable of stopping Ghidorah is “Gojira,” a.k.a. “Godzilla.”  But where is Godzilla?  Also, where do newly awakened Titans, “Mothra” and “Rodan,” stand in this battle royale of monsters?

The “MonsterVerse” is an American multimedia franchise that includes movies; a streaming live-action television series (Apple TV+) and a streaming animated series (Netflix); books and comic books; and video games.  It is a shared fictional universe that includes the character, “Godzilla” and other characters owned and created by the Japanese entertainment company, Toho Co., Ltd.  The MonsterVerse is a reboot of Toho's Godzilla franchise.  It is also a reboot of the King Kong franchise, which is based on the character, “King Kong,” that was created by actor and filmmaker, Merian C. Cooper (1893-1973).

The fifth film in the MonsterVerse series, Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire, is due to be released sometime in March 2023, so I have decided to watch and review the previous four films:  Godzilla (2014), Kong: Skull Island (2017), 2019's Godzilla: King of the Monsters (which is the subject of this review), and Godzilla vs. Kong (2021).

Godzilla: King of the Monsters is the ultimate giant monster smack-down.  With the wizardry of digital VFX and supernatural CGI, King of the Monsters is a monster mash infused with visual splendor.  This movie is non-stop action, practically from the start.  It is so much an action movie that if you could cut it, King of the Monsters would bleed fire and brimstone.  To add the craziness, each new monster reveal is mind-blowing and even mind-bending...

...but after about 75 minutes, Godzilla: King of the Monsters wore me down.  The writers and actors have fashioned a cast that has almost twenty characters with dramatic potential.  The Russell family subplot about the loss the son, Andrew, is only used to sell dysfunctional family contrivances, which is a shame.  The monster movie theatrics get bigger and bigger with each minute of this story, but the drama and story shrink with each minute until they are flimsy like wet toilet paper.

Godzilla: King of the Monsters is as exciting as any other blockbuster.  Few, if any, monster movies will ever be as epic as it is when it comes to big monster fights.  Few monster movies will ever be as gorgeous as it is in terms of cinematography, special effects, production values, and visuals.  This is “cinema of sensations” writ large and out of control, and that's a shame.  Godzilla: King of the Monsters is a monster of a movie, but I wish its human element was just as awesome.

[This film has one scene after the end credits.]

B

6 of 10

★★★ out of 4 stars

Thursday, March 21, 2024

The text is copyright © 2024 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved.  Contact this blog or site for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

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Review: "KONG: SKULL ISLAND" is a Monster Movie Paradise

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 14 of 2024 (No. 1958) by Leroy Douresseaux

Kong: Skull Island (2017)

Running time: 118 minutes (1 hour, 58 minutes)

MPAA – PG-13 for intense sequences of sci-fi violence and action, and for brief strong language

DIRECTOR:  Jordan Vogt-Roberts

WRITERS:  Max Borenstein, Dan Gilroy, and Derek Connolly; from a story by John Gatins

PRODUCERS:  Jon Jashni, Mary Parent, Thomas Tull, and Alex Garcia

CINEMATOGRAPHER:  Larry Fong (D.o.P.)

EDITOR:  Richard Pearson

COMPOSER:  Henry Jackman

Academy Award nominee

ADVENTURE/HISTORICAL/HORROR and MILITARY/SCI-FI

Starring:  Tom Hiddleston, Samuel L. Jackson, Brie Larson, John C. Reilly, John Goodman, Corey Hawkins, John Ortiz, Tian Jing, Toby Kebbell, Jason Mitchell, Shea Whigham, Thomas Mann, Eugene Cordero, Marc Evan Jackson, Terry Notary, and Richard Jenkins

Kong: Skull Island is a 2017 monster movie, sci-fi military, and period, adventure film directed by Jordan Vogt-Roberts.  It is a reboot of the King Kong film franchise and is also the second film in the “MonsterVerse” film series following 2014's Godzilla.  Set at the end of the Vietnam war, Kong: Skull Island focuses on a group of military personnel and civilian scientists who must fight to escape an uncharted island full of giant monsters that includes the island's king, the mighty Kong.

Kong: Skull Island introduces Bill Randa (John Goodman), the head of the U.S. government organization, “Monarch.”  It is 1973, and the U.S. is ending its mission in Vietnam.  Randa fears his time is running out to launch a mission to a recently discovered island that has long been shrouded in mystery and legend, “Skull Island.”

He convinces a U.S. senator to fund an expedition to the island, and subsequently recruits a U.S. Army unit commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Packard (Samuel L. Jackson) to accompany him.  Also on the mission are recent Monarch recruits, geologist Houston Brooks (Corey Hawkins) and biologist San Lin (Tian Jing).  Randa also hires James Conrad (Tom Hiddleston), a former British Special Air Service Captain, as a hunter-tracker for this expedition.  Mason Weaver (Brie Larson), an “anti-war” photographer, forces her way onto the expedition.

The expedition begins with thirteen U.S. army helicopters penetrating the fearsome storms that surround Skull Island.  Randa and Brooks told Packard that they wanted to map the island by dropping seismic explosives, and shortly after arriving on the island, Packard's men begin dropping the explosives, which does help to map the island.  The explosions also draw the attention of a giant ape, which promptly attacks the helicopters.  Soon, the expedition is divided into two groups of survivors.  One is led by Packard who wants revenge against the giant ape, and the other by Conrad who wants to reach a rendezvous point where they will be rescued.  The giant ape, however, is “Kong,” king of Skull Island, and he isn't the only deadly, giant monster on the island.

The “MonsterVerse” is an American multimedia franchise that includes movies; a streaming live-action television series (Apple TV+) and a streaming animated series (Netflix); books and comic books; and video games.  It is a shared fictional universe that includes the character, “Godzilla” and other characters owned and created by the Japanese entertainment company, Toho Co., Ltd.  The MonsterVerse is a reboot of Toho's Godzilla franchise.  It is also a reboot of the King Kong film franchise, which is based on the character, “King Kong,” that was created by actor and filmmaker, Merian C. Cooper (1893-1973).

The fifth film in the MonsterVerse series, Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire, is due to be released sometime in March, so I have decided to watch and review the previous four films:  2014's Godzilla, 2017's Kong: Skull Island (which is the subject of this review), Godzilla: King of the Monsters (2019), and Godzilla vs. Kong (2021).  I have previously seen Godzilla and Kong: Skull Island, but only recently made attempts to review them.

Kong: Skull Island is proudly both a monster movie and a King Kong movie.  Like Peter Jackson's 2005 film, King Kong (Universal Pictures), Kong: Skull Island digs into its “lost world” pulp fiction and pre-Code horror movie roots.  Kong is as King Kong as any other cinematic version of the character, and the result is an exhilarating film that is fun to watch even after repeated viewings.  Most books about writing fiction and screenplays will emphasize that the characters should drive the narrative, but Kong: Skull Island's narrative is driven by its plot, by its other-worldly setting, and especially by its monstrous gods and god-like monsters.

There are quite a few interesting characters in the film.  Samuel L. Jackson makes the most of his Lt. Col. Packard, who is driven crazy by his insane mission to kill Kong as a salve for his bitterness about the end of the American misadventure in Vietnam.  John C. Reilly once again displays his tremendous character actor chops as the lost-in-time, U.S. Army Air Force Lt. Hank Marlow.  Tom Hiddleston is a good heroic lead as James Conrad in a film in which the human hero is not the film's most important character.  Brie Larson also shows off her acting skills by chopping out some space for his character, Mason Weaver.

However, the characters are just pawns in the film's plot, which involves surviving Skull Island's various monsters and advancing to the rendezvous point.  The setting of Kong: Skull Island is a lost world Eden that is part tropical paradise and part jungle horror, an environment in which the most beautiful place is the most dangerous.  The amazing things to see on this island are its deadly denizens, which includes gargantuan spiders, man-snatching carnivorous birds, and seemingly unstoppable lizards that are literally nothing more than perfectly designed death machines.  I would be remiss if I didn't mention the practically mute human natives of Skull Island with their dazzling array of face and body painting and eclectic costumes.

At the center of Kong: Skull Island is the film's most important character and element, Kong, himself.  He is a thing of beauty, the best special effect in a movie favored with enough impressive CGI to have earned itself an Oscar nomination for “Best Achievement in Visual Effects.”  Kong's introduction into the story, a breathtaking display of fight choreography pitting him against a squadron of military helicopters, is as good as the best fight scenes audiences will find in the top superhero movies.  Whatever glitches in the overall narrative and character development Kong: Skull Island has, Kong's introduction glosses over.  Kong is made king again in Kong: Skull Island, and that is why it is a damn shame that there is not a Kong: Skull Island 2.

[This film has an extra scene at the end of the credits.]

A-

7 of 10

★★★½ out of 4 stars

Sunday, March 17, 2024

NOTES:

2018 Academy Awards, USA:  1 nomination: “Best Achievement in Visual Effects” (Stephen Rosenbaum, Jeff White, Scott Benza, and Michael Meinardus)

The text is copyright © 2024 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved.  Contact this blog or site for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

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Review: "GODZILLA" 2014 is Still Awesome

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 7 of 2024 (No. 1951) by Leroy Douresseaux

Godzilla (2014)

Running time: 123 minutes (2 hours, three minutes)

MPAA – PG-13 for intense sequences of destruction, mayhem and creature violence

DIRECTOR:  Gareth Edwards

WRITERS:  Max Borenstein; from a story by Dave Callaham

PRODUCERS:  Jon Jashni, Mary Parent, Brian Rogers, and Thomas Tull

CINEMATOGRAPHER:  Seamus McGarvey (D.o.P.)

EDITOR:  Bob Ducsay

COMPOSER:  Alexandre Desplat

SCI-FI/ACTION/MILITARY/THRILLER

Starring:  Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Elizabeth Olsen, Bryan Cranston, Ken Watanabe, Carson Bolde, Sally Hawkins, Juliette Binoche, David Strathairn, Richard T. Jones, and Victor Rasuk

Godzilla is a 2014 science fiction-monster film and military thriller directed by Gareth Edwards.  Produced by Legendary Pictures and distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures, the movie was the first in the “MonsterVerse” film series, and it is a reboot of Toho Co., Ltd.'s Godzilla film franchise.  Godzilla 2014 focuses on the reappearance of monstrous creatures that have the power to destroy human civilization, but one of them may be humanity's only hope for survival.

Godzilla opens in 1999.  Dr. Ishiro Serizawa (Ken Watanabe) and Vivienne Graham (Sally Hawkins), two scientists from “Project Monarch,” are investigating the skeleton of a monstrous creature that was unearthed in the Philippines.  Meanwhile, in Janjira, Japan, Joe Brody (Bryan Cranston), the supervisor at the Janjira Nuclear Power Plant, prepares for another day of work with his wife, Sandra Brody (Juliette Binoche).  Something odd has been happening in and around the power plant, and before the day is over, the plant will collapse due to what seems to be an earthquake.  It is an incident that will leave Joe Brody broken and haunted.

Fifteen years later, Lt. Ford Brody (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) is a U.S. Navy EOD officer (United States Navy Explosive Ordinance Disposal).  The son of Joe and Sandra, Ford has moved on with his life and is now on-leave in San Francisco with his wife, Elle Brody (Elizabeth Olsen), a nurse, and their son, Sam (Carson Bolde).  However, Ford is forced to return to Japan when he learns that his father has been detained for trespassing in Janjira's quarantine zone (Q zone).  Joe is determined to find the cause of the meltdown 15 years ago at the Janjira power plant.  Ford thinks his father is crazy and does not believe anything he tells him.

However, what Ford is about to witness will introduce him to the world of the MUTO (massive unidentified terrestrial organism).  One such MUTO has the power to disrupt human civilization by emitting an intense electromagnetic pulse (EMP), and now, it's headed for the United States.  Monarch's Dr. Serizawa believes that the only thing that can stop the MUTO is an ancient alpha predator he calls “Gojira.”  But Gojira is also a MUTO...

The “MonsterVerse” is an American multimedia franchise that includes movies; a streaming live-action television series (Apple TV+) and a streaming animated series (Netflix); books and comic books; and video games.  It is a shared fictional universe that includes the character, “Godzilla” and other characters owned and created by the Japanese entertainment company, Toho Co., Ltd.  The MonsterVerse is a reboot of Toho's Godzilla franchise.  It is also a reboot of the King Kong franchise, which is based on the character, “King Kong,” that was created by actor and filmmaker, Merian C. Cooper (1893-1973).

The fifth film in the MonsterVerse series, Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire, is due to be released sometime in March, so I have decided to watch and review the previous four films:  Godzilla (which is the subject of this review), Kong: Skull Island (2017), Godzilla: King of the Monsters (2019), and Godzilla vs. Kong (2021).  I have previously seen Godzilla and Kong: Skull Island, but I have not previously reviewed them.

I watched parts of Godzilla 2014 more times than I can remember over the last decade.  It is a fascinating American “kaiju” film.  “Kaiju” is a Japanese sub-genre of science fiction that features giants monsters, and the term can also be used to refer to the giant monsters themselves.  Godzilla 2014 is very well directed by Englishmen, Gareth Edwards, who first came to notice because of his excellent 2010 film, Monsters, and later gained notoriety as the director of Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016).  Edwards is a natural when it comes to big monsters and big monster conspiracies and threats.

The film includes some good performances, although Bryan Cranston is the real standout with his intense, heartbreaking turn as Joe Brody.  Elisabeth Olsen as Elle Brody is sidelined and wasted, and Aaron Taylor-Johnson gamely plays Lt. Ford Brody as the film's ostensible lead, who is more dragged along by the film's action than leading it.

What makes this modern Godzilla film exceptional to me is the work of the technicians, artisans, and crew that don't always get credit for making a film work.  Godzilla's camera work, the lighting, the film editing, the film score, the visual effects, the sound editing and mixing combine to create a film that is successful in what it conveys.  What this film is pushing to us is a deep and abiding sense of mystery.  It is in the shadows that hides the monsters and incredible battles.  It is in the mood altering and heartbeat pacing score by the great Alexandre Desplat.

The mystery is in the sound and in the silence.  It is in the flitting light and frequent flares and in the subtle film editing that hides itself while controlling the film's pace and mood.  Godzilla's technical skill is the art of cinematic craftsmanship coming together, and that is best exemplified in the beautiful, breathtaking “Halo drop” sequence.

Godzilla's sense of mystery keeps the film from coming across like lowbrow, popcorn entertainment, which was the fate of director Roland Emmerich's 1998 film, Godzilla.  Godzilla 2014's characters are in the dark almost as much as the audience is.  By maintaining a sense of mystery, the film's narrative could convince me that humanity may be on the precipice of extinction, and it did.  I highly recommend the MonsterVerse Godzilla, and I'll keep watching it.

A

8 of 10

★★★★ out of 4 stars

Saturday, February 10, 2024

The text is copyright © 2024 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved.  Contact this blog or site for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

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Review: "THE BOOK OF CLARENCE" - Black is Beautiful and So is Enlightenment

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 3 of 2024 (No. 1947) by Leroy Douresseaux

The Book of Clarence (2024)

Running time:  129 minutes (2 hours, 9 minutes)

MPA – PG-13 for strong violence, drug use, strong language, some suggestive material, and smoking

WRITER/DIRECTOR: Jeymes Samuel

PRODUCERS:  Shawn Carter (Jay-Z), James Lassiter, Tendo Nagenda, and Jeymes Samuel

CINEMATOGRAPHER:  Rob Hardy (D.o.P.)

EDITOR:  Tom Eagles

COMPOSER:  Jeymes Samuel

COMEDY/DRAMA/RELIGION

Starring:  LaKeith Stanfield, Omar Sy, Anna Diop, RJ Cyler, David Oyelowo, Michael Ward, Alfre Woodard, Teyana Taylor, Caleb McLaughlin, Marianne Jean-Baptiste, Eric Kofi Abrefa, Chase Dillon,  Babs Olusanmokun, Benedict Cumberbatch, James McAvoy, and Nicholas Pinnock

The Book of Clarence is a 2024 comedy-drama and religious film written and directed by Jeymes Samuel.  The film focuses on a wayward man who decides to capitalize on the rise of Jesus by also declaring himself to be “the Messiah.”

The Book of Clarence opens in Lower Jerusalem, the home of the “Gypsies,” in the year 33 A.D, and it introduces a young man named Clarence (LaKeith Stanfield).  He is down-on-his-luck and is drifting in life.  He spends time selling weed with his close friend and sidekick, Elijah (RJ Cyler).  Their latest scheme is a chariot race against Mary Magdalene (Teyana Taylor), which goes disastrously bad.  In turn, that puts Clarence and Elijah deep in debt to a local crime boss, Jedediah the Terrible (Eric Kofi Abrefa), who threatens their lives if he isn't paid in 30 days.

Meanwhile, Clarence's twin brother, Thomas (LaKeith Stanfield), is one of the 12 Apostles that follow Jesus of Nazareth (Nicholas Pinnock).  After failing to make inroads with his brother's associates, Clarence decides to capitalize on Jesus and the rise of messianic figures by declaring himself “the Messiah.”  Clarence does not believe in the existence of God, but he finds success by preaching “knowledge over belief.”  Soon, Clarence has a large number of followers, and they are making him wealthy.  But then, something happens...

The Book of Clarence is not as partisan as Mel Gibson's 2004 masterpiece, The Passion of the Christ, nor is it Black-centric and anti-racist in the way director Jean-Claude La Marre's The Color of the Cross (2006) is.  In The Book of Clarence, Jesus is a Black man, but the narrative isn't really about Jesus being black.  The people of Jerusalem are black, but that just seems to be the way it is supposed to be – nothing special or deliberate.  Also, I don't think the film ever refers to them as Jews or Hebrews (as far as I can remember).

The Book of Clarence's plot and themes, which are soft and muddled in the film's middle act, seem to converge on the notion of enlightenment, not the movement “Enlightenment, but as a state of knowledge and understanding.  Clarence, who pushes knowledge over belief, gets the lesson that knowledge without understand is empty, the equivalent of “faith without good works is dead.”  The Book of Clarence unveils these messages and ideas, not with seriousness, but with sly wit and also with subtle digs at oppression, racism, and imperialism – for good measure.

That aside, the thing that most impresses me about The Book of Clarence is that writer-director Jeymes Samuel presents a film in which Black people are so very beautiful and alluring in all their varying dark and brown shades, all the textures and styles of their hair, and all the shapes, contours, and statures of their bodies.  Yet in spite of its allusions to white oppression, as all the Roman characters are white, The Book of Clarence treats having an all-Black cast play the characters in a story set in the time of Jesus as an utterly normal thing.  It's about time; British, Irish, and American actors have been frontin' in Biblical films as if that is an entirely normal thing.  [Even if Jesus was Caucasian, he wasn't white...]

Jeymes Samuel fills his film with outstanding performances, especially LaKeith Stanfield's powerful, eccentric, turn as Clarence.  It is too late in his career to discover Stanfield as a revelation; we been knew he was good.  He makes Clarence's awkward, bumbling, stumbling journey to enlightenment seem like a real, tangible thing.  I feel Clarence's evolution in my head and in my imagination.

Also, David Oyelowo knocks the film on its ass as the back-handing John the Baptist, much the way Alfre Woodard upends notions of Jesus Christ's mother, Mary, as “Mother Mary” later in the film.  Teyana Taylor throws her beauty at us as Mary Magdalene, and Anna Diop digs out the awkward layers of Varinia, Clarence's love-interest.  And RJ Cyler gives a best supporting actor type performance as Clarence's best friend and partner, Elijah.

The Book of Clarence isn't perfect.  Its plot staggers and lurches at times as it moves towards its explosive final act, which is filled with breath-taking miracles and shocking plot twists.  The film apparently was originally scheduled for a  theatrical release in September 2023, but ultimately made its only 2023 appearance via its world premiere at the 67th London Film Festival.  So as fate... or God would have it, The Book of Clarence is the best film of 2024 – thus far.

8 of 10

A

★★★★ out of 4 stars

Friday, January 26, 2024

The text is copyright © 2024 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this site or blog for syndication rights and fees.

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