REVIEW: “Godzilla vs Kong” (2021)

March 30, 2021 by Keith Garlington

Sometimes a movie’s title says it all. That’s definitely the case with “Godzilla vs. Kong”, the fourth film in Legendary Entertainment’s MonsterVerse following two “Godzilla” movies and 2017’s “Kong: Skull Island”. It should go without saying, but you don’t enter into something called “Godzilla vs. Kong” with expectations of an emotionally layered and deeply nuanced story. Instead this is exactly what the title advertises. It’s 100% geek food and I was more than happy to fill my plate.

I’ve really enjoyed the MonsterVerse movies so far, much more than I expected. The three previous films each fed the shared-world space while still feeling individually unique. Some of the creative choices (especially in the “Godzilla” flicks) didn’t resonate with everyone, but I love how they gelled the classic approach to Godzilla with a more modern perspective. Meanwhile “Kong: Skull Island” was a straightforward, high-energy blockbuster full of fun yet surprisingly interesting characters and stunning eye-candy from start to finish.

Image Courtesy of Warner Brothers Pictures

“Godzilla vs. Kong” goes for all of that plus some. When it goes big (which it does often) it makes good on its promises of big monster action and an epic showdown between two pop culture titans. The problems seep in with some of the human characters. But come on, this is all about King Kong, Godzilla, and a story that brings them together in a way that at least makes sense. By that measure director Adam Wingard and a writer’s room full of talent manage to pull it off, delivering a rousing crowdpleaser that’s sure to have kaiju fans high-fiving in the theater or on their couches.

The movie starts with some necessary table setting. The title creatures are believed to be the last two Alpha Titans on the planet. Kong is being held in a massive virtual reality containment dome on Skull Island by the Titan-studying organization Monarch. The facility is overseen by Dr. Ilene Andrews (Rebecca Hall) who has discovered a communication link with Kong via her adopted daughter Jia (Kaylee Hottle), a young deaf girl orphaned on Skull Island. The sweet bond between child and primate highlights the human bond Kong has always possessed dating back to his original 1933 RKO Radio Pictures movie. In that regard it makes sense that he gets more screen time.

Image Courtesy of Warner Brothers Pictures

Though it took two movies of convincing, Godzilla is now viewed as a protector of mankind (although a moody one). But something has him stirred up and nobody knows what. For the first time in three years the scaly King of the Monsters emerges from the ocean waters and attacks a Pensacola, Florida research facility of Apex Cybernetics, an international tech corporation ran by the dapper Walter Simmons (Demián Bichir). Godzilla’s seemingly random rampage on the Gulf Coast complex has people of earth a little concerned including a returning Kyle Chandler who’s really only here to deliver deliciously hokey lines like “Godzilla is out there, and he’s hurting people, and we don’t know why!”

Following the attack, Simmons recruits tarnished ex-Monarch scientist Dr. Nathan Lind (Alexander Skarsgård) to head an expedition to Hollow Earth, a deep subterranean world and secret home of the Titans. Lind’s mission is to study a new-found energy source believed to possess enough power to enable mankind to defend itself against Godzilla. But to get to Hollow Earth Lind will need a guide. So he contacts Ilene on Skull Island and convinces her to let Kong lead them to the earth’s core. One problem – once Kong is out of containment Godzilla will likely sense the new threat and come for him. And of course he does. As a convoy of aircraft carriers and destroyers transport a lightly sedated Kong across the ocean, Godzilla attacks which leads to an exhilarating heavyweight rumble, the first of several eye-popping CGI clashes we’re treated to.

Image Courtesy of Warner Brothers Pictures

I won’t labor on the plot (and there is more plot than you might expect), but it’s all quite ridiculous and that’s part of the fun. The biggest misfire is a silly side-story with Brian Tyree Henry as a podcaster and self-proclaimed whistleblower teaming up with a returning Millie Bobby Brown and her unfunny tag-along pal played by Julian Dennison. The trio suspects Apex of hiding something regarding Godzilla’s attack and through a series of meant-to-be-amusing sequences effortlessly break into and infiltrate the corporation’s highest security areas. The whole scenario is absurd and too hard to believe, and that’s saying a lot in a movie about two 350-foot(ish) tall behemoths duking it out. There are some smaller touches that are a lot funnier, mostly involving the creatures (take Kong waking up on Skull Island and taking a morning stretch to Bobby Vinton’s “Over the Mountain, Across the Sea”).

And that leads back the movie’s biggest draw – Godzilla and King Kong. Few of the human characters will stick with you save for young Kaylee Hottle who brings a ton of heart and warmth to the movie. But it’s the Rock’em Sock’em creature combat that audiences are going to show up for and the filmmakers know it. People want to see Godzilla’s radioactive fire breath and Kong’s primal chest pound. We come to a movie called “Godzilla vs. Kong” for big action and giddy spectacle. Wingard does exactly what he needs to – give us just enough story to move from set piece to set piece and then deliver the goods on a massive and glorious scale. I caught myself cheering, pumping my fist, and letting out more than one audible “WOW“, and that from a screener at home. I can’t wait to see it again this weekend, this time on a big screen. “Godzilla vs. Kong” opens Wednesday, March 31st in theaters and streaming on HBO Max.

VERDICT – 4 STARS

REVIEW: “The Courier” (2021)

March 29, 2021 by Keith Garlington

Dominic Cooke’s Cold War drama “The Courier” tells the incredible true story of businessman turned British spy Greville Wynne. An electrical engineer by trade, the unassuming Wynne became a key MI6 asset who played a vital part in securing intelligence from the Soviet Union including secret documents which helped bring an end to the Cuban Missile Crisis. Similar to 2015’s “Bridge of Spies”, this is a story of a non-combatant willing to put his life on the line for the greater good. And like that Steven Spielberg picture, “The Courier” works thanks to its immersive storytelling, strong supporting work, and a terrific lead performance.

Written by Tom O’Connor, “The Courier” sets itself in the early 1960’s where nuclear tensions between Russia and the United States were at a boil. It was a time when many people feared the world was on the brink of destruction. In the movie we hear radio broadcasts relaying instructions on what to do in case of a nuclear attack. We see newspaper headlines telling of new fallout shelters being built by the U.S. government. These are just some of the period touches that help immerse us in the uneasiness and uncertainty of the setting.

Image Courtesy of Roadside Attractions

Benedict Cumberbatch delivers a knockout lead performance playing Greville, a simple salesman who is recruited by a British MI6 agent (Angus Wright) and an operative with the CIA (Rachel Brosnahan). They want the reluctant Greville to establish business dealings in the Soviet Union while connecting with Col. Oleg Penkovsky (Merab Ninidze), a senior Soviet intelligence officer with top-secret information he desperately wants to get to the West. Much of the film highlights the unexpected bond that forms between Greville and Oleg – a genuine friendship built on the shaky foundation of trust and mutual respect.

Greville’s ‘mission‘ seems simple enough at first – set up sales meetings, wine and dine potential business partners, and make the occasional stop at the Russian ballet. But when the agents and Oleg want Greville to be their go-between and smuggle secret Soviet documents and weapons plans out of country, the danger level of his work skyrockets. Meanwhile at home his wife Sheila (a wonderful Jessie Buckley) grows suspicious of her husband’s frequent trips to the USSR. It doesn’t help that he’s had an “indiscretion” in the past. Now she notices him suddenly into exercise and scurrying off on business trips with little explanation. So naturally it’s easier to believe her husband is having an affair than working as a secret agent for the Crown.

Image Courtesy of Roadside Attractions

Cumberbatch has the perfect makeup for these types of roles. He effortlessly captures the timid self-effacing everyman type while also seamlessly blending into whatever period setting he’s playing in. Here he brings all of that but with some extra intensity that especially shows up in the final 30 minutes. But in many ways Penkovsky is the heart of the movie. Ninidze’s performance reveals a man of deep conviction who loves his family, mourns for his country, and understands both are in jeopardy. Therefore he feels obligated to act in order to save what is dearest to him. Buckley never gives a bad performance and here she provides us a deceptively potent emotional attachment to the story. I also really enjoyed Brosnahan. I wish she had more to do but she’s great with what she is given.

If I have any gripes it’s that in some ways “The Courier” feels like a standard issue spy thriller and it comes with the tropes to prove it. The film employs several stock techniques from the spy genre both narratively and visually. And while the cinematography from Sean Bobbitt is superb in terms of compositions, camera movements and framing, the drab desaturated colors are a bit overdone. Those things aside, “The Courier” is helped by its compelling ‘based on true events‘ element and by its deep respect for its characters who effectively pull us into this remarkable story of valor, sacrifice, and friendship. “The Courier” is now showing in theaters.

VERDICT – 4 STARS

REVIEW: “#Alive” (2020)

March 26, 2021 by Keith Garlington

It may be tempting to write “#Alive” off as just another zombie movie. In a way that’s what it is. This South Korean survival thriller from director and co-writer Cho Il-hyung doesn’t bring anything particularly new and it certainly doesn’t reinvent the horror sub-genre. At the same time, it’s hard not to enjoy its nimble pacing, stylish verve, and its tightly focused story that keeps things simple, concise, and always moving forward. Toss in just the right amount of dark humor and a good handling of its characters.

The film wastes no time throwing us into the zombie mayhem. Oh Jun-U (Yoo Ah-in) is a gamer still living with his parents. The opening moments give us a good idea of his everyday routine. He wakes up, splashes some water on his face, grabs a drink, and than immediately logs into his computer where he spends his day playing video games and live streaming them for his online followers. As he cranks up a game of PUBG (or at least something resembling it) he’s told by a follower to check his TV. There he learns that the zombie apocalypse has begun.

Photo Courtesy of Netflix

“#Alive” doesn’t get bogged down in the hows and whys. Newscasts tell us it’s a highly contagious virus. They let us know it’s happening all over the city. Cho Il-hyung smartly assumes we know all the rules (don’t get bit, shoot them in the head, etc.). This allows him to get right into telling his particular story. The first half is more or less a survival drama. It focuses on Oh Jun-U alone and barricaded in his family’s apartment, the building flooded with hungry undead and his resources slowly running out. It’s an intriguing angle that hones in on both the physical and psychological toll once food and water are gone and you have no contact with your family or any other person for that matter.

Oh Jun-U reaches his breaking point but is saved by a mysterious red laser shining through his window. He traces it to the apartment building across the zombie infested courtyard where a young woman named Kim Yu-Bin (Park Shin-hye) is also holed up – same floor, same situation. And just like that Oh Jun-U realizes he’s not alone. Concluding their chances of survival are better together, the two form a plan to come together. But they quickly learn these zombies have keener senses than your run-of-the-mill movie undead. They’re fast, ferocious, and we get the sense they have the ability to adapt. It adds a slightly fresh layer of danger to the story.

Photo Courtesy of Netflix

The rest of the movie advances at a feverish pace and highlights Cho Il-hyung knack for building tension. Adding to it is cinematographer Won-ho Son who shoots the zombie action with a ferocious style. You may never get the sense that you’re seeing something new, but fans of the genre will appreciate how well-crafted and choreographed these scenes are. The movie also has fun with current day technology. Social media, virtual reality drones and smartphones are just some of the things that have a part in the story.

I am surprised by how much fun I had with “#Alive”. It won’t win over anyone who already dislikes zombie movies, but it does do some cool and interesting things within the zombie genre which makes this more then some B-movie hack job. The characters have enough meat on their bones (absurdly bad pun intended) for us to care about them, there are some nice touches of humor, and the zombie horror action delivers exactly what you expect. It turns out to be well worth a weekend watch. “#Alive” is now streaming on Netflix.

VERDICT – 3.5 STARS

First Glance: “Stowaway”

March 25, 2021 by Keith Garlington

Last year Netflix visited deep space with the underappreciated “The Midnight Sky”. They’re doing it again in the not-to-distant future with “Stowaway”, a science-fiction thriller co-written and directed by Joe Penna. As a lover of cerebral sci-fi this movie is automatically right up my alley. But an even bigger draw in Penna. This is the follow-up to his terrific feature film debut “Arctic” which starred Mads Mikkelsen. Much like his first movie, survival looks to play a big part in “Stowaway” which only sweetens the pot.

In the film’s first trailer we’re introduced to the small crew of a spaceship that just set out on a two-year mission to Mars. An intriguing cast fills the roles – Toni Collette is the ship’s commanding officer, Anna Kendrick is the team doctor, and Daniel Dae Kim is the mission’s biologist. Only twelve hours into their journey the crew finds a shocked and frantic stowaway (Shamier Anderson). Unable to turn back the crew begins training their new member but soon their survival is threatened by catastrophic life support system failure. With only enough oxygen for three, the crew is forced to make some hard decisions to see who survives. I love the look and sound of this.

“Stowaway” premieres April 22nd on Netflix. Check out the trailer below and let me know if you’ll be seeing it or taking a pass.

REVIEW: “Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox” (2013)

March 24, 2021 by Keith Garlington

The DC Animated Movie Universe kicked of with “Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox”, a precursor of sorts to the sixteen-film shared world series that ran from 2013 to 2020. The movie is an adaptation of the 2011 comic book crossover event “Flashpoint” from writer Geoff Johns and artist Andy Kubert. “Flashpoint” dramatically altered the DC Comics landscape leading to an aggressive reboot of the entire DC Universe. This film (directed by Jay Oliva) doesn’t feel as weighty as Johns and Kubert’s work, but it is faithful to the source material which is both a strength and a weakness.

“Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox” is refreshing in the sense that it isn’t another Superman or Batman story. Don’t get me wrong, I love those superheroes and both have roles to play in this film (more so with Batman). But as the title suggests, Barry Allen aka The Flash (voiced by Justin Chambers) takes center stage. I’ve always liked The flash and I remember how much I enjoyed reading the 2011 “Flashpoint” event with him as the central character. Similarly it’s nice see Barry Allen leading a DC animated film, especially one this ambitious.

Image Courtesy of Warner Home Video

“The Flashpoint Paradox” opens with a fairly inconsequential prologue. Barry Allen is at the Central City Cemetery visiting his mother’s grave when he is alerted to a break-in at the Flash Museum. He arrives to find a host of familiar rogues led by none other than his archenemy Eobard Thawne aka Professor Zoom aka Reverse-Flash (he’s voiced by C. Thomas Howell). With the help of his fellow Justice Leaguers, Flash intervenes and thwarts their plan to blow up the city.

The next day Barry wakes up at his work desk to find the entire world has been turned upside down. It starts with the discovery that his mother is alive and his wife is married to someone else. There is no Justice League and a bloody feud between the Atlanteans led by Aquaman (Cary Elwes) and the Amazons led by Wonder Woman (Vanessa Marshall) has the world teetering on the brink of war. To find out what has happened Barry seeks out Batman. But in this world young Bruce Wayne died in Crime Alley and a boozing grief-stricken Thomas Wayne (Kevin McKidd) dons the cape and the cowl.

Image Courtesy of Warner Home Video

“Flashpoint Paradox” is filled with these types of character variations – Cyborg (voiced by Michael B. Jordan) is a government liaison working directly with the president of the United States, Lois Lane is an embedded reporter turned resistance fighter deep behind the New Themyscira border, and so on. In keeping with the comic series Oliva and writer Jim Krieg pour on the characters, but in the movie’s cramped 80-minute running time there are simply too many to adequately cover. Several amount to nothing more than cameos while others only seem to be there to be killed off in some shocking fashion. Those familiar with the source material know this isn’t the filmmaker’s intent, yet it’s an unfortunate result of the movie’s hurried effort to cover all its ground.

It’s a little unfair to compare “The Flashpoint Paradox” to the comic series considering they’re two completely different forms of media with their owns sets of strengths and limitations. But it’s hard to avoid doing so when the movie sticks this close to its inspiration. The animation is solid and the voice acting is even better. And as someone who read and followed “Flashpoint”, I can’t help but appreciate the film’s loyalty. It’s the kind of thing that will certainly win over ardent DC fans, but as a standalone movie it feels rushed and it can’t quite capture the significance and importance that made the 2011 event such a game-changer.

VERDICT – 3 STARS

REVIEW: “Quo Vadis, Aida?” (2020)

March 23, 2021 by Keith Garlington

The harrowing war drama “Quo Vadis, Aida?” uses a carefully fictionalized story to set our feet in the Bosnian war and more specifically an atrocity known as the Srebrenica massacre. This weighty material is presented through the clear-eyed, unvarnished lens of writer, director, and producer Jasmila Žbanić. Her film has received worldwide acclaim topped off by a recent Academy Award nomination for Best Foreign Language Film. Hopefully that will lead to more exposure and more people seeking out this gripping eye-opener.

Set during the tumultuous July of 1995, “Quo Vadis, Aida?” takes place in and around the small mountain town of Srebrenica. Tensions were high between Bosnian Serbs and the Muslim Bosniaks with civilians (as they often are) caught in the middle. As war brewed, Srebrenica had been declared a UN safe area by the United Nations. But that didn’t stop Serb forces under the command of General Ratko Mladić (Boris Isaković) from marching in and taking over the town. It resulted in a flood of Srebrenica refugees fleeing their homes and seeking refuge at a nearby UN base camp.

Image Courtesy of Super LTD

Undermanned, undersupplied and overwhelmed, the UN base was ill-equipped to handle the tens of thousands of people at their gate. A couple thousand were allowed in while the rest were left outside the gate under the hot sun with no food, water or toilets. Much worse, the small Dutch unit who manned the base where there to protect the local civilians in the ‘safe area’ yet they were never given the authority to use force and calls for airstrikes to drive back Serb forces went unanswered. This led to their utter inability to defend against the atrocities that would soon take place right under their noses.

Žbanić pulls us into this shattering real-life story through the fictional character Aida (played with such passion and emotional intensity by Jasna Đuričić). She was a school teacher before the Bosnian Wars, now she works as an interpreter for the UN. She’s the backbone of her family and a large part of the story followers her as she tries to ensure the safety of her timid but loving husband Nihad (Izudin Bajrović) and their two sons Hamdija (Boris Ler) and Sejo (Dino Bajrović). We see everything through Aida’s eyes – the Serb army’s march on Srebrenica, the UN camp crisis, and the horrors that come once General Mladić and his troops arrive to “relocate” the refugees.

Both Žbanić’s direction and Christine A. Maier’s cinematography organically creates a nail-biting tension and a truly ominous sense of dread. Aside from history informing us, we know things are heading in a grim direction. We experience Aida’s increasing desperation as she scrambles around the base using her UN badge and any shred of privilege to get her family inside the gates. Then when that illusion of safety begins to crumble both her survival and maternal instincts kick into another gear as she searches for a way to get her family out of the base before Mladić’s murderous soldiers arrive. Đuričić empties herself into this emotionally and physically demanding role and the camera keeps us by her side most of the way as pressure mounts and her hard-to-hide terror sets in.

Image Courtesy of Super LTD

The Srebrenica massacre resulted in the slaughter of over 8,000 men and boys. They were separated from the women and loaded onto buses by Mladić’s soldiers at the UN base as the Dutch unit watched helplessly. They were then transported to other towns and savagely executed. It’s here that Žbanić holds back, never showing the slaughter but leaving no doubt in our minds of their fate. Interestingly there are elements to the atrocities that Žbanić chooses to stay away from. Namely the numerous testimonies of violent abuse the women faced – countless rapes, the slaughter of children in front of their mothers, and so on. It’s stomach-churning material for sure, but it would put an extra emphasis on what these women were subjected to. The restraint is admirable, but this is a part of the account that needed stressing.

From the very first frame “Quo Vadis, Aida?” comes across as a deeply personal film. It has a lot it wants to say and more it wants to expose. In one sense it is a stinging indictment of the UN’s mishandling of conflicts and of international apathy which often allows these kinds of atrocities to take place. But it’s also meant to honor the survivors and pay tribute to those lost. In terms of cinema, its a well-made and utterly distressing movie chronicling an unspeakable series of events that are still freshly etched into many minds. The Oscar-nominated “Quo Vadis, Aida?” is now streaming on VOD.