Godzilla

Expectations:
When I was a young warthog, my grandfather and I would watch Godzilla all day, to the point that it bordered an unhealthy amount of television staring. I thought it was great because he thought it was great, and he thought it was even better because I thought it was great. Because of this nostalgic bond between grandfather, grandson, and giant lizard, there was no doubt that I would be checking out the new Godzilla film. Then, quite unexpectedly, the trailer for the film came out, and I think most people would agree that it was the most well-made trailer of 2014, thus far. Suddenly, a film that I was planning to view solely for nostalgic purposes turned into a film that I was planning to view because it looked like it would be freakin awesome! My expectations for Godzilla have gradually risen over the past four or five months, to the point that it made my list of five most anticipated dramatic films for the entire summer. Yet, the question remained... Would Godzilla be the film that did nothing but bring back fond memories, or would it be the film that rocked my socks off?

Plot:
Considering how predictable a Godzilla storyline tends to be, I have to say that I was fairly impressed with the way the story was delivered. There was nothing too groundbreaking about the plot, but at least it was entertaining. Additionally, the story did a great job of focusing on family relationships, particularly the father/son relationship, which is not something you necessarily expect to take away from a film about a giant green lizard. My biggest problem was with the over-dramatization of Godzilla's screams? barks? howls?... whatever you call it when he opens his mouth and makes noise. Personally, I love that sound, mostly because it means "Godzilla is about to do something epic!" However, the dramatization of the noise, each and every time that he made the sound, shut out all music, all gunfire, all explosions, all discussion, and all everything, which made it come off as a bit "over-done," in my opinion. On the other hand, the skydiving above Godzilla scene pretty much made me forget anything bad to that point, on account of its being awesome.

Characters:
As I said previously, the family relationship really brought out something in the film that is typically lacking when viewing any Godzilla film. The only thing that would have made it better was if Godzilla would have had some sort of family to rescue as well... I'm just kidding... That would've certainly been overkill.

Negatives:
I really like what Ken Watanabe brings to the table, in pretty much any film, with his whole barely-understandable-dramatic voice and Japaneseness. However, I don't think he was really given a good tie-in to the film, as scientist, Dr. Ishiro Serizawa. There was something missing to connect the science to the real-life, and I feel like he should have brought it. At the same time, I may have missed everything he said or tried to say (you really can't understand him), due to the terribly insignificant distraction that was Sally Hawkins' Vivienne Graham. Unfortunately for Hawkins, the launch of her post-Blue Jasmine career took a huge shot in the arm, courtesy of Godzilla.

Positives:
The relationship between Joe Brody (Bryan Cranston) and his son Ford (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) was the absolute key to making this entire film work, and both actors did a great job in their respective roles. There is no doubt in my mind that Bryan Cranston gave the best male dramatic performance that I had yet to see in 2014 (until James McAvoy stole the crown a few days later). This man can seriously act, and I think he has a very bright post-Breaking Bad career ahead of him. My hope is that he is not forever defined by Walter White, because he really is great. As good as the Ford character was, he now holds the record for a non-superhero avoiding the most near-death experiences. The guy never really got caught or anything. He is just one lucky dude.

Conclusion:
Godzilla was not the greatest action film ever made, but I did enjoy myself. On top of that, the heart of the film was great and unexpected, which always makes for a nice surprise. As for nostalgic value, technology has pretty much erased all hope of really getting the same Godzilla feel from the old black and white films. On top of that, I'm not sure the film what quite as epic as the trailer set it up to be, but, thankfully, I did get to bring with me an awesome guest, who added ample amounts of value to the film... my grandfather. Add my guest of honor to a pretty good film, and you have yourself a winner. I give nostalgia 4.99 out 5 stars. I give Godzilla 3.23 out of 5 stars.

Argo

Expectations:
In the midst of my busy schedule and ridiculously awful semester, it has been so nice to be able to go to the theater and "forget about life for a while" (Piano Man reference). I have been to the movies a few times over the past month, but I haven't had time to blog, so I will be playing catch up this week. Look out for more reviews soon! Because of my current stress, I'm pretty sure that I would love anything that I watched, so my expectations for Ben Affleck's Argo were not super high. If you have seen The Town, which was similarly directed by Affleck, you know that his films have an edgy, dark, dreary feel about them, and Argo looked to be no different. While I don't mind the darkness, it can get old after a while, so I was a little worried about that aspect of the film. However, I was hoping that the interesting and true story would be enough to overcome the feel of the movie.

Plot:
Honestly, it has been a very long time since I have really been THAT into a story. I was seriously on the edge of my seat. Then, I checked my phone to see what time it was, and the movie wasn't even half over! It really was THAT intriguing. Even The Dark Knight Rises wasn't this intriguing, with all the passion I had invested in it. Usually true stories are a tad too predictable, but that wasn't the case with Argo. In fact, although I expected a successful/happy ending, I couldn't figure out whether I was going to get one. Nevertheless, kudos to Affleck and his ability to write a great story. Also, the story was a lot less dreary than The Town, mostly due to the prescence of Alan Arkin's Lester Siegel and John Goodman's John Chambers. These two brought some great laughs, which took the edge off in a very good way.

Characters:
As I said, Arkin and Goodman's characters were brilliant, but they weren't the only impressive ones. Almost the entire cast was amazing, including Affleck, who must really love himself to keep giving himself these lead roles.

Negatives:
While there were very few negatives, I must say that Bryan Cranston was one of them. He is in like every single movie nowadays, and I guess I'm just sick of hearing about him and Breaking Bad, so there. Additionally, I wasn't too impressed with Tate Donovan's Bob Anders. It was nothing but a poor performance.

Positives:
Although I've never been a huge fan of his, Ben Affleck did great in every job that he took on with Argo. I did find his backstory and family situation a bit of an unnecessary addition to the story, but what do I know. Other than that, he was great! Scoot McNairy, who played Joe Stafford, gave the best performance of the hostages that Affleck was sent to rescue, probably because he was given the most screen time of the hostages. I do, also, love to watch Christopher Denham (another one of the hostages). He always intrigues me, because he is so gosh dern freaky. Finally, Alan Arkin stole the show, and should be given some serious award recognition for this role. I absolutlely loved his character.

Conclusion:
Typically, I find that movies stemming from true stories are either extremely sappy and emotional or overly historic and boring. Argo was none of the above. I really loved the way that Affleck was able to create so much drama and suspension with a true story and WITHOUT any action. I actually cannot remember a single action scene, which is very rare. Unlike The Town, Argo never had a single dull moment, and I loved it. I wouldn't be surprised if it was able to garnish some Oscar attention, as awards season quickly approaches. I give Argo 3.35 out of 5 stars.