Godzilla

 

• Released Internationally on 14/05/14
• Released in Malta by KRS on 15/05/14

Review (14/05/14)

3-word review: Better than 1998. 

The last time Hollywood gave us a big-budget interpretation of Japan's biggest export, the result wasn't pretty. The 1998 Godzilla, from the team that had just taken over the world with Independence Day, was famous more for its star-studded soundtrack than for any substance found within the script, and featured a monster that looked and moved like a huge T-Rex with a jaw deformity. Sixteen years later, this version is a much better film, with a much better monster at its centre.

It begins
After a frantic history lesson during the opening titles, we head to an opening scene that reminded me of Jurassic Park in terms of tone and look. Young director Gareth Edwards, who landed this big assignment on the strength of his low-budget film Monsters, has clearly given a lot of importance to the look of this film. The annoying 'night-time, in the rain' shots that made up most of the 1998 version are now replaced with a lot of broad daylight, and a colour palette that adds some vintage class to this vintage monster. The film's first act is set in 1999, and although Godzilla himself takes some time to show up, the human emotion starts early on.

Not just destruction
This is the other strong point of the film. There is, of course, a huge monster and lots of destruction. But it doesn't come at the expense of interesting characters and human drama. Bryan Cranston (Argo, Breaking Bad), Juliette Binoche (Chocolat, The English Patient) and Aaron Taylor-Johnson (Kick-Ass, Anna Karenina) are the family we get to focus on across the film's fifteen year timespan, and their struggle helps put all the surrounding death and chaos into perspective. Of course, we also get the necessary military jargon scenes, shots of scared people in standstill traffic, and newsreels, but then it would hardly be a disaster movie without them.

Technically great
The effects are as great as expected, with a design for the massive creatures that manages to give enough awe without making them lifeless. The sound design is also very noticeable, and Godzilla has a roar that makes the T-Rex seem tame. Proud of their creation, the filmmakers are more than happy to show him off, thus avoiding all the shadows and lurking that plagued the previous film. One scene of note is the stunning HALO jump scene - a couple of minutes of extreme beauty, as the military's finest jump in balletic formation and an operatic setting, on a one-way mission to save their country.

In the end
The final act does get a bit messy, which I guess is inevitable when everything is lying in ruin, but the film once again rises above the previous version by ending with a wonderful climax, something we don't get treated to often in disaster films. It's not Shakespeare or Gravity, but it's a solid effects film with a real heart, and definitely the type of crowd-pleaser that the summer box-office expects.

 

Trailers:

Argo

• Released Internationally on 11/10/12
• Released in Malta by KRS on 21/11/12

Preview (first published 01/11/12 in VIDA Magazine)

Based on the track records of those involved, and initial reviews, this looks like it will be one of the main films we’ll be hearing about come Oscar time. More importantly, though, it’s a high profile adaptation of a fascinating true story.

Back in the late seventies, there was a hostage crisis in good old Iran, during the course of which six American diplomats in their late 20s and early 30s were successfully rescued. But rather than politicians sitting around a boardroom table, this rescue involved the Canadian government lending a hand and working with the CIA to create a fake film company and purported production of a film named ‘Argo’, to act as an elaborate cover for getting the diplomats to safety under false identities. So not your average day in foreign affairs.

This is the third film directed by Ben Affleck after his brilliant Gone Baby Gone and The Town. He starred in the latter, and he again he takes on the main role here as a CIA identity expert. He also produces, along with George Clooney and Grant Heslov, who together have already given us a few gems, including another period political thriller Good Night and Good Luck. The cast also includes John Goodman (The Big Lebowski, The Artist), Alan Arkin (Little Miss Sunshine, Edward Scissorhands) and Bryan Cranston (star of TV hit Breaking Bad).

So it seems like the good story is a given, and with these sort of artists it should be a well-told one. Plus everyone loves a bit of international espionage, and the period setting should add an extra layer of class. Let’s hope this is as good as Munich, although if all turns out well there should be a much lower body count.

Review (20/11/12)

In a year during which the Avengers assembled, the Dark Knight rose and James Bond came back from the dead, the best and most thrilling film so far turns out to be based on a true story. With Argo, it truly is a case of ‘you can’t make this stuff up’.

The film is chilling from the first minute, with a wonderful opening sequence that draws from the sci-fi storyboards that feature later on to give us a no-nonsense history lesson and set the scene for the hostage crisis. The setting is late 70s / early 80s, but the images are uncannily similar to ones we still see on the news today. The American embassy is taken by rioters, and within minutes we are able to grasp the desperate plight these diplomatic employees face. We then fast forward to 69 days later, when the stalemate persists and the US is getting increasingly desperate in its attempt to get the hostages home to safety. Which is why the ‘Argo’ idea (see preview above) gets the green light.

The film works wonderfully at giving us both the bigger picture but also the personal stories of those six hostages and the man sent to get them out. The whole mission revolves around whether they can find it in them to trust him or not, and for a hugely entertaining two hours so must we. We the audience also get to feel some of that ‘fear of the mob’ that pervades the whole situation, as hordes of unnamed and justifiably angry protesters are heard in the distance. Have you ever felt that awkwardness as you stand there with a customs official leafing through your passport? Or that complete helplessness as some bouncer glances in your direction, and despite you disliking him instantly and having a firm opinion about his level of intelligence, knowing that in this one instant you are completely at his mercy? Imagine that a hundred-fold, and we might be getting close to what these ordinary citizens had to go through.

The period setting is done with great attention to detail, placing us firmly in the immediately post-Star Wars era when such a crazy sci-fi scheme sounded like a good idea. From costumes down to bedroom quilts, nothing is overlooked. The Iran setting is also pulled off reasonably well, despite no film crew having set foot there. Istanbul has to stand in for many Iranian scenes, but this is a minor issue since the film is primarily about people and fear, whatever the setting.

As the film races to its climax, there is some inevitable playing with timelines so as to throw more tension into the mix, but thankfully it manages to steer clear of being incredible. And with so much invested into the hostages, the feelings at the end are well-earned and provide a very emotional conclusion. As with all such films, the true impact of what you have witnessed hits home once the end credits roll, with real-life images alongside images from the film reminding us that these are true stories of true individuals.

Ben Affleck and his team have done it again, and I for one was transfixed by the events onscreen, despite the whole saga having come to an end only a few days after I was born. This film remains extremely relevant in today’s world, but is also a fascinating story. Easily the best of 2012 so far.

Trailer:
http://trailers.apple.com/trailers/wb/argo/