I'd recently picked up the novel this movie was based on at the store (for dirt cheap, too). Enjoyed the book like a good popcorn flick so thought I'd give the movie a try.
It's a solid "eh" leaning towards bad. It goes through the motions of the book but it just all feels like it's trying TOO hard to remain faithful to the book without trying to have a film identity of its own. Heigl isn't bad and neither are her co-stars, but it's just...yeah, a solid eh. I actually just fast forwarded through most of it because I was so bored, just to see how other scenes from the book played out on screen.
The Double: I was in the mood for a Jesse Eisenberg movie, and this one caught my eye when it was recommended in an article discussing Jesse's upcoming role as Lex Luthor. I watched it with my wife, and I'd say between the two of us my opinion was the most positive.
Eisenberg plays Simon James, a very awkward, underappreciated, and lonely loser (it is Jesse Eisenberg after all) who lives and works in a very depressing 80s-ish distopia. Simon is barely noticed by his boss, coworkers, and the girl he is stalking (Yes. Staring at her lovingly through the window of her next door apartment building via telescope is stalking). But things suddenly become even worse for Simon when the office welcomes a newcomer. Someone who is more confident, is popular with management, and has a way with the ladies. Someone who looks exactly like Simon, named...James Simon.
You may be thinking that James Simon is a stupidly obvious name for an exact duplicate of Simon James. But the truth is that's the point of the film. Simon and James look exactly alike, even down to the ill-fitting suit they wear, and the similarity of their names and yet no one else seems to make the connection. The only difference is James is a confident monster of a character, who seems to take great pleasure in taking over Simon's life.
James brings a lot of needed life to the film. Simon is not able to combat the woes of his world, wheras James seems to give out the shit before he takes any of his own. It's quite enjoyable watching Eisenberg interact with himself in this manner, and to give him credit he does pull it off masterfully.
Overall it's an intriguing film. It's funny in parts, but it's a very dark and quiet kind of funny. The setting is also quite creative, as it seems to take place in a science fiction world based on what someone from the 50s might have interpreted the 80s to be like. Sort of in the style of "1984" or "Brazil". But there is one thing that sort of takes away from the film for me. And that part has to do with the ending. So only click if you've seen the film or do not care that I'm spoiling it.
There is never any explanation as to what the Doppelganger is, or why it exists. It's established this isn't some sort of Fight Club twist where he turns out to be both people, because other characters in the movie openly acknowledge that Simon and James are different people, sometimes speaking to both of them in the same scene. It is also established that both Simon and James do look exactly alike, as they switch places with each other a few times in the film and no one actually notices. One character even agrees with Simon that James looks very similar to him, but explains it's probably because Simon is just so unnoticable that no one cares. In the hospital James realizes there is someone working there who looks exactly like a security guard who works in his building. And as the film draws to an end we also realize that any harm that happens to Simon happens to James (and eventually being used as James' downfall), thereby making the mystery of what James is even that more important.
But then the movie ends without explaining anything. Was it all in his head? Was there really a doppleganger? Does it have any connection with the high suicide rate that is mentioned in the film, or any direct connection to the suicide that Simon sees early in the film?
I'm afraid this just isn't the kind of movie that should end without wrapping things up.
I just watched a Taiwanese TV movie called Mother, Mother.
The filmmakers must have gone to the Requiem for a Dream school of filmmaking, man, because this is one depressing film. I'm gonna go cry myself to sleep now.
I just watched a Taiwanese TV movie called Mother, Mother.
The filmmakers must have gone to the Requiem for a Dream school of filmmaking, man, because this is one depressing film. I'm gonna go cry myself to sleep now.
My wife and I tried watching Godzilla: Final Wars tonight. I thought this would be a good movie to show her because I remembered it being off-the-wall insane and a lot of fun. A lot of Godzilla fans don't care for it, and I couldn't tell why the only time I watched it back in 2007.
What I didn't remember is how bitchy the characters get towards each other, at least early on. Everyone's snarling at each other like some high school anime and it makes it hard to watch. I'm gonna try going through it myself to see if it gets good like I remember, but the 15 minutes we watched were cringe-inducing.
On the bright side, she's now amenable to checking out a more traditional Godzilla movie. I'll have to pick a good one.
Don Frye. The greatest gaijin character in the franchise. The movie feels like a bad McG movie, which is really saying something, but Don Frye is just amazing.
Don Frye. The greatest gaijin character in the franchise. The movie feels like a bad McG movie, which is really saying something, but Don Frye is just amazing.
My wife and I tried watching Godzilla: Final Wars tonight. I thought this would be a good movie to show her because I remembered it being off-the-wall insane and a lot of fun. A lot of Godzilla fans don't care for it, and I couldn't tell why the only time I watched it back in 2007.
What I didn't remember is how bitchy the characters get towards each other, at least early on. Everyone's snarling at each other like some high school anime and it makes it hard to watch. I'm gonna try going through it myself to see if it gets good like I remember, but the 15 minutes we watched were cringe-inducing.
On the bright side, she's now amenable to checking out a more traditional Godzilla movie. I'll have to pick a good one.
I just re-watched Godzilla 2000 and Godzilla vs. Ebirah (aka. Vs. the Sea Monster), and once you throw in Final Wars (which I only just saw for the first time), I'm convinced that the only thing really wrong with the 1998 Emmerich film was Zilla (and the babies thing). Goofy humans, horrible overacting, ludicrous science, all that stuff is pretty par for a lot (though certainly not all) Godzilla movies, and if Zilla itself hadn't lame, it would have worked.
I just re-watched Godzilla 2000 and Godzilla vs. Ebirah (aka. Vs. the Sea Monster), and once you throw in Final Wars (which I only just saw for the first time), I'm convinced that the only thing really wrong with the 1998 Emmerich film was Zilla (and the babies thing). Goofy humans, horrible overacting, ludicrous science, all that stuff is pretty par for a lot (though certainly not all) Godzilla movies, and if Zilla itself hadn't lame, it would have worked.
I disagree. Though many of the Japanese Godzilla films have those elements, it's the way they're handled in the 98 Godzilla that make them so insufferable. I don't want to get into a long thing about it, but the characters tend to be silly in Godzilla movies; that's not the same as being annoying. A lot of those goofy characters can be entertaining and that keeps the movie entertaining when the giant monsters are wrecking shit/fighting with each other. I didn't find that to be the case with the '98 Godzilla, which I've seen more recently than I cared too. I feel like the people who say "this would be a good monster movie if they just titled it something else, like a remake of The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms" haven't actually watched the 98 Godzilla in a long time. I was giving it leeway too, until I watched it again. It really is a piece of garbage, and not in the fun way that some of the crappier classic Godzilla movies can be.
Another problem is structure, but this is semi-tied into what you're saying about Zilla being the issue. The 2014 Godzilla movie has the structure of a Godzilla movie while the 98 Godzilla's most relatable classic Godzilla film would probably be Godzilla 1985, but at least the Super X in that movie was blasting the city apart like the military in the 98 Godzilla.
Maybe a better way to put it would be that the only real difference in the 98 Godzilla was Zilla, but there was plenty wrong with it that wasn't wrong with older Godzilla films. At the same time, some of those movies had things wrong with them that you don't see in Zilla's film, like acid trips or the zipper down the front of the Godzilla suit.
(Godzilla vs the Sea Monster isn't really a good take on that since that was supposed to be a live-action film based on an old King Kong cartoon and they switched Godzilla in when the Kong rights holders wanted a better script. They didn't even change the script, so Godzilla does Kong-esque things like being powered by lightning and being infatuated with a human girl. For a goofy character Godzilla movie, go for Godzilla vs Gigan.)
It's kind of an odd thing to say that the only thing wrong with a movie is the titular character and the plot. That's like saying Batman and Robin was a bad movie because of Batman and that whole MacGreggors disease thing.
Got told about this utter weirdness and had to watch it...
I cringed (a lot), I laughed heartily a few times, I facepalmed heavily at other times, but overall I had a good time. I didn't think it bad (though on several levels it is), but it's certainly not good. I wouldn't even say it's so bad it's good, it's just a thing one should give a try to find out for oneself.
Come on, it has Malcolm McDowell as one Eddie van Helsing. And there's Alice Cooper and Iggy Pop in supporting roles.
Give it a try if you find my blabbering try of an explanation intriguing or if you're just in the mood for a movie you would otherwise avoid.
While the movie gets better once everybody stops being shitheads, the tone is so set to "EXTREEEEEME" that it loses the charm of any of the other Godzilla movies I've watched recently. Still a fun movie, but not as good as I remember.
EDIT: These fights are short too. Melee attack, radioactive breath, done. Rinse, repeat, aside from the triple team when Godzilla has to fight his Showa-era allies.
It's kind of an odd thing to say that the only thing wrong with a movie is the titular character and the plot. That's like saying Batman and Robin was a bad movie because of Batman and that whole MacGreggors disease thing.
Except that Batman and Robin was just all bad. When you put George Clooney in a movie and he can't make it watchable, then you know you've got a giant turd on your hands.
98 Godzilla might not have been all bad--but it mostly was.
Finished Final Wars. When I watch this again, I will probably do a couple scene skips after they kill Manda to Rodan's appearance. At the same time, I'm not sure how much I'm gonna watch it.
I'm really glad I enjoyed Tokyo SOS or I'd feel like I shouldn't have bought the Blu Ray. But Tokyo SOS was great, so I'll take Final Wars along with it. Funny that when I bought the set, my thinking was the other way around.
Holy fucking shit is this a terrible, terrible movie. It's probably one of the worst I've seen in a long, long time. Bad plot, bad characters, bad CGI. Just all around bad.
Holy fucking shit is this a terrible, terrible movie. It's probably one of the worst I've seen in a long, long time. Bad plot, bad characters, bad CGI. Just all around bad.
Holy fucking shit is this a terrible, terrible movie. It's probably one of the worst I've seen in a long, long time. Bad plot, bad characters, bad CGI. Just all around bad.
I didn't even know this movie existed until you posted this.
It looks Sooooooooo Cheeeeeeeeesy. Like someone decided, "Hey, Dead Heat was a pretty good movie...but I think it would be much better if we cross-bred it with Men In Black."
I didn't even know this movie existed until you posted this.
It looks Sooooooooo Cheeeeeeeeesy. Like someone decided, "Hey, Dead Heat was a pretty good movie...but I think it would be much better if we cross-bred it with Men In Black."
To be honest I watched it with my gf (who was really interested in it because she does roleplay a cop character in The Secre World) just because of Jeff Bridges. Usually we have no problem to go out and watch separate movies, meeting up for talks and drinks afterwards, but this time against my better judgement I went with her.
Yes, the movie is bad, but I really had a lot of fun watching Jeff Bridges being his usual great self, even in a very cheesy and bad way.
Gamera: Guardian of the Universe: It boggles my mind that the height of kaiju films does not star Godzilla, but what used to be his goofy kid-friendly alternative. Granted, one reason this movie is so good is because the monsters didn't have to be Gamera monsters--it goes that route, but there are so many changes to their origins that they could have been entirely different creatures.
This movie and its sequels interpret Gamera and Gyaos as bio-weapons from an ancient lost civilization.
It really is a great monster movie. The human cast is compelling instead of boring, there are lots of need science-y scenes, and having three Gyaos means Gamera has multiple fights throughout the movie. The human element is also connected to the monsters, not just because of their origin, but how they connect with certain people, which really comes full swing in the third movie of the trilogy. The effects are sometimes not convincing (Gyaos flying) but the suits/animatronics look great.
I'd forgotten a lot of this movie since I only watched it twice, years ago. Same with the second one. The third I've watched a ton of times and remember pretty well; the human connection really comes full swing in that movie. I'm getting to the other two later today. Any fan of giant monster movies should watch this trilogy; they're legitimately good movies, way beyond camp value.
Holy fucking shit is this a terrible, terrible movie. It's probably one of the worst I've seen in a long, long time. Bad plot, bad characters, bad CGI. Just all around bad.
I'm starting to worry, because I'm a huge fan of Ryan Reynolds from his Two Guys, A Girl and a Pizza Place days, but man, he can't seem to be in a movie that doesn't bomb.
Yeah, I love Reynolds as well but man has he had a bad run lately. I honestly thought he was about the most perfect Hal Jordon they could have cast and they blew that. Buried was a very bright spot in the darkness (no pun intended) for him though. Check it out if you haven't seen it. Unless you are claustrophobic.
Gamera 2: Attack of Legion: Dear makers of Godzilla 2014, this is how you have soldiers as main characters who you root for, laugh with, care about. Give them feelings and write them as human.
Another great movie. A meteor shower is actually an alien invasion--everything goes downhill from there, and fortunately Gamera shows up. I forgot so much of it; didn't even remember that Asagi shows up again. The mystery at the beginning and the escalation of how Legion works/why they do what they do is great. Gamera's moments are brief like the new Godzilla, but all the other stuff is so good that it doesn't matter. A couple moments would've felt a little deus ex machina if I didn't already know they have nasty consequences in the next movie.
It's too bad that Toho had to meddle so much with GMK; I feel like if Kaneko could've done whatever he wanted, that would've been just as great as these Gamera films. Instead it's really good, but doesn't hit the same level of amazing.
