Interesting!
Rob Reiner was an excellent bouncing board for Albert Brooks in the new documentary about the latter’s life. Could listen to those two shoot it over a table for hours.
Sounds like they might have learned a fantastic lesson from the video game Alien: Isolation, which featured Ellen Ripley’s daughter getting into her own fight for survival against the xenomorphs.
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That game rules.
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It’s the third best Alien movie imo
It’s a close call because Resurrection is an underrated gem, but I think that is accurate.
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I see basically every decent film in theaters nowadays. I made a reservation a couple of days ago and cancelled it like 30m before, because I realized I have negative interest in a “historical” movie with real living people that we know about that is just completely made up shit.
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I usually don’t live from a place of ignorance, but I’ve gotta tell you: it seems to have proven very rewarding with this Napoleon movie! I had a good time at the theater, no takebacks.
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If they are giving out $500 at the door to see this illl be happily passing.
Godzilla Minus One is a hell of a thrill ride, especially if you can catch it in Dolby Cinema (or IMAX I guess). Puts itself right in the conversation for best action movie of 2023. I think I’m still slightly inclined toward Dead Reckoning Pt. I for that honor? But then again, Godzilla Minus One actually had a good, coherent plot, which M:I waved goodbye to doing about six movies ago. Anyway, this was great.
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Hell yeah I called it, we are fucking back. First legit Toho Godzilla movie in 20 years. Imagine if Marvel just stopped cold after Endgame for two decades, how hyped would you be for the next one.
I’ve actually never seen a Godzilla movie before. I know, I know. Just never really interested me. But the good early buzz on this one got me. I clearly need to fill in some history now (even though this was a full reboot I’m pretty sure, so it was no problem to just jump into it cold).
Oooooo, I was just about to ask what you thought a person who has never watched Godzilla would think. You nailed it by being that guy.
Godzilla is a sea monster that is awakened after the bombing of Hiroshima. He fucks up Tokyo. It’s a great thrill ride of a movie and a surprisingly compelling metaphor about technology and environmental destruction.
First movie is very serious in tone but after it becomes obvious that everyone basically loves Godzilla so he does a huge face turn and becomes a monster that protects Earth from other monsters. The whole franchise gets extremely goofy very fast and it becomes a masterpiece of camp cinema. Much of the charm comes from the fact that the monsters are very obviously guys in rubber suits fighting in miniature cities.
Should you watch the 1954 Godzilla? I say if you like cheesy 1950s sci-fi then absolutely yes.
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Can’t say I love the idea of Godzilla as a face, but I’m also in the seeming minority who does not like the Terminator randomly turning face to start T2.
The action scenes here do feel really reminiscent of Jaws even though the non-action stories are not at all alike. Jaws is another one I slept on forever until a couple of years ago because I figured it to be a vapid monster movie and didn’t realize it brought quite a bit more to the table.
Not saying Godzilla Minus One has a super complex plot or anything, but the character-building is excellent and I was definitely quite invested in individual character outcomes beyond the cool action being offered up.
Also, I forgot, greatest sound design in the history of cinema. The original is worth watching just for that, crank up the volume.
Godzilla week on the 3:30 after school movies was the best week of the year every year.
Original Godzilla (I think this is the only one where he’s a bad guy)
Godzilla vs. Rodan (I think they fought once and later teamed up)
Godzilla vs. Mud Monster (maybe my favorite - apparently now it’s called Smog Monster, but could swear it was mud monster when I was a kid)
Monster Island (I think the first one with 3-headed Hyrda)
They pretty much jumped the shark with Godzilla’s son Godzuki, who could just make little smoke rings.
And let’s not forget Gamera the flying turtle and Mothra the moth thing who could pupate.
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In the same vein, I saw this at the drive in when I was 6 or 7 years old and thought it was the greatest movie ever made. I think it was a double feature with Doc Savage, another weird-ass movie that freaked me out.
RIP to a real one. Outland is one of the all-time great hidden gems of 80’s sci-fi. If you like Alien, you should check it out.
https://x.com/TheSpaceshipper/status/1730226021020922026?s=20
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