[Spoiler Alert] Film reviews and ratings

A Quiet Place: Day One

Another brilliant film in this series. Hope they keep it at 3 because it’s almost a perfect trilogy.

 

Cheers for this stew, loved it.

 

Godzilla Minus One

I was obsessed with Godzilla when I was a wee boy after seeing the first American attempt (as terrible as it may be), and it’s cartoon spinoff, however I’ve never seen one of the Japanese films in full until this.

On the whole, I thought it was pretty great and deserving of the buzz it’s been getting.

The human story, which really is the heart of the film, was genuinely engaging and even some of the emotional moments actually got me. I know at this point they’re going for completely different vibes, which isn’t inherently a bad thing, but watching this just further cemented how awful all of the American attempts are at telling a human story alongside the actual monster movie.

In regards to the titular monster itself, the film does a pretty good job of selling how horrifying something like Godzilla would actually be. While the early stuff on Odo Island was cool, the first shot of Godzilla being an almost horror movie-esque standout, the attack on Tokyo is probably the real highlight. It’s not particularly subtle in its imagery and what it’s trying to evoke, but it’s certainly effective.

The ending was maybe a little bit of a mixed bag. I didn’t outright dislike like it, but there were maybe certain aspects I would’ve been fine without.


Other miscellaneous thoughts:

• It’s obviously not a ‘traditional’ design, I think I actually preferred the look of pre-mutation Godzilla. Although, given what the movie’s going for, and its allusions to the original, I suppose it makes sense for a more classic look.

• I don’t know if it was an intentional design choice, or just a budget/ehh CG type deal, but the actual movement of Godzilla when he’s walking around on land didn’t look great. It was overly stiff, even for a giant monster.

• I know there was some discussion/criticism about the movie and it’s supposed nationalistic messaging when dealing with certain aspects of Japan’s wartime and immediate post-war history, something the director has apparently had issues with in another of his films, and I can sort of see where people are coming from. In saying that, even as someone with an interest in history, it’s probably something people from the countries directly affected by Japanese war crimes are more likely to be more cognisant of than a guy from Scotland.

With all that said, if you’re not against subtitles and are partial to a giant monster movie, it’s worth a watch.

 

Couple of oldies
Birdcage 7/10 Robin Williams great in it.
The Damned United. Better than I thought.
Also watched Booksmart again. Great wee movie.

 

This is great fun if you're bored one night. Take the script of Enter the Dragon and replace it with table tennis

 

The Warriors- brilliant

 

Scum- violent sick and funny.
Loved it when Striper (Phil Daniels) got sock full of snooker balls over his head by Carlin (ray winstone)
Wanderers-excellent. Loved fight with ducky boys.

 

Just watched Donnie Darko for the first time in 19 years.
Still an absolute belter of a film with some superb acting. 9/10!