I'm on the couch, my dog's head in my lap. Today's my only day off and 2016 has been a long year. With the exception of a handful of chores, I'm making it a "me day." That means dog, movies, Hubski, and just plain not giving a shit.
I'm currently watching The Princess Bride. I orginally started out hoping to watch The Hidden Fortress, but it looks like The Criterion Collection has moved from Hulu over to Filmstruck, which I'm not subscribed to yet. On the one hand, I'm sad that I'm not watching The Hidden Fortress at the moment, but on the other hand, I've been waiting for Filmstruck for about half a year now, so I'm glad it's finally here.
This past weekend PlaceboEffect was over at my place. We ended up watching Legendary's Godzilla since I just recently got it on Blu Ray. It was the second time I've seen it and it was much better the second time around. The first time I saw it, in theaters, I remember walking out a bit disappointed. The movie seemed too focused on the people and not enough on the monsters. The MUTOs seemed weird, but not in a Japanese Kaiju sort of way, but in what you'd think if someone in New York was trying to think of something modern. They just seemed out of place for a Godzilla film. Godzilla though, looked and sounded fantastic and they did an amazing job portraying him as a massive force of nature. Knowing the second time around that he doesn't get much screen time, and coming to terms with that, I was able to savor and enjoy the moments I did see him on screen this time around.
Before we started the movie, we watched the trailer to Shin Godzilla. I have yet to see it myself, though I must admit I'm a bit nervous. One the one hand, the detail of the suit looks great. On the other hand, I didn't see Godzilla do much of anything movement wise, so I'm worried that the size and detail of the suit has limited the actor's mobility. I'd gladly give up a little realism for a little more action any day.
I could honestly talk about Godzilla all day. I watched Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla this morning while vaccuming and cleaning up the living room. It has not aged well, with rubber suits and special effects that are a cross between Power Rangers and Sharknado. I don't care. Godzilla movies aren't known for their production value. They're awesome in other ways. Let's be fair. They're movies with men in rubber suits and model buildings. You're not going to be blown away by what you see, much like an episode of Thunderbirds are Go! isn't going to blow you away. What you have as a whole though, is indescribably unique and special.
Anyone ever see Last Man Standing? It's an adaptation of Yojimbo. I've only ever seen it once and I'm still trying to figure if I like it.
. . . my dog smells.
I saw the 2014 Godzilla in the theater while slightly drunk, and had a good time. I agree that it was far from flawless (and I actually felt kind of let down compared to how epic the teaser was), but again, a good time. I'm cautiously excited about the new(est) one, but haven't gotten around to seeing it yet either.
At least it was much, much better than TriStar's Godzilla. There are only two good things that came out of that. One, was a cartoon series that was actually very good (and featured real monsters for villians), and the second was seeing Godzilla 2000 in theaters and feeling like it was the most amazing thing ever. It was a great movie to kick off The Millenium Era, which by the way isn't aging all that well, but I think that gives it some of its charm.