Godzilla (2014)

Year: 2014
Running Time: 123 minutes
Director: Gareth Edwards
Writers: Dave Callahan (story), Max Borenstein (screenplay)
Cast: Bryan Cranston, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Elizabeth Olsen, Juliette Binoche, Ken Watanabe, Sally Hawkins, David Strathairn

GODZILLA is now showing in cinemas everywhere and is distributed in Australia by Roadshow Films.

There is just something about the giant, prehistoric lizard by the name of Godzilla that film makers see as an attractive challenge for themselves, and at the same time there is no denying it is a concept the public will always find enticing. This monster which terrorizes the major cities has inspired the imaginations of filmmakers and audiences alike since it's first appearance in the 1954 Japanese film Godzilla (Gojira). With each new film and television version, the makers have been faced with the constant dilemma of how to create the perfect monster film by achieving the right combination of amazing visuals, script and human character. The 2014 Godzilla has come with high expectations, especially in regards to it's visual impact considering it has been made in a time when computer generated images are more impressive and realistic than they ever have been before. Visually it is incredible and Godzilla himself is the perfect prehistoric terror. It is the beast that is magnificent, and the humans that are the pitfall of the film. If this was a film purely about the beast, it would be a great deal more successful than it is while it is trying to be a combination of that and human emotion and survival.

In Japan in 1999, a series of small aftershocks as a result of an earthquake in the Philippines are taking place and American Joe Brody (Bryan Cranston) is concerned that this activity could have a dangerous effect on the nuclear plant which him and his wife, Sandy (Juliette Binoche) work at. His suspicions are tragically confirmed when a disaster takes place at the plant and Sandy is among the fatalities. Fifteen years later, Joe and Sandy's son, Ford (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) is a US naval lieutenant and has just returned home to his wife, Elle (Elizabeth Olsen) and son, Sam (Carson Bolde) when he receives a call from Japan informing him that his father has been arrested for trespassing. Ford returns to Japan to bail out his father and return home as quickly as he possibly can, but Joe talks him into staying longer when he explains he was trying to get back to their old house as he believes the government are hiding something big. Joe and Ford find that they are in fact hiding something which they would do anything to not let the world know about, but it is only with Joe and Ford's help that they realise that there is an even bigger threat out there in the Pacific Ocean waiting for it's chance to surface.

The first 20 minutes of Godzilla gives the impression that this time they may have got it wonderfully right this time. The beginning sequence in which there is a montage of news stories and footage which end with a black and white shot of Godzilla stirring in the ocean is the perfect way to start the film as it pulls in the audience and creates intrigue and suspense as well as a slight nostalgic atmosphere. It is in this 20 minute time period of the film where the spectacle, screenplay and acting really create something special. The scene when Joe loses his wife is absolutely heartbreaking. There is a great deal of human emotion and Bryan Cranston is absolutely superb and Juliette Binoche brings the very best to her brief time on screen.

When the film reaches into the future, it still maintains it's high standard for a period of time. It is when the beasts appear that the interest in human emotion and relationships tend to lessen. Admittedly, the film is first and foremost about Godzilla and past Godzilla films and television shows have been more about the spectacle and action rather than the human side of things. However, this wouldn't have been as much of a disappoint if the first 20 minutes hadn't set the film up for a perfect combination of everything a film needs to be a success overall. The film after this period of bliss starts to consist of weak human relationships, emotions and restrictive acting, and not nearly enough Godzilla.

In order to make this Godzilla different story wise to past Godzilla's, writer Max Borenstein has obviously tried do something that hasn't been done before. In this case, it is not only Godzilla who is the only prehistoric creature in the film, but there are two other spider like reptile creatures which are called MUTO's which are fed by radiation. These MUTO's appear in the film a great deal more than what Godzilla does and even though these two creatures are interesting to look at, they do not compare to Godzilla. Godzilla truly is a sight to behold. The CGI which has gone into making this creature is truly amazing. Every little detail of him down to every scale on his body has been immaculately created. The size of the beast is magnificent and when situated next to landmarks such as San Francisco's Golden Gate Bridge makes him even more terrifying. Alas, there is really not enough of him as opposed to the MUTO's, who are nowhere near as impressive. The set design, especially that of the deserted Japanese town and the railroads, is also rather exquisite and impressive.

Bryan Cranston and Juliette Bincohe are indeed the stand-outs performance wise in the film. The other two actors who also should have given beautiful and emotional performances are Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Elizabeth Olsen. However, their performances are lack lustre and this is no fault of their own. Both actors have given incredible performances in the past and there is no doubt they are fine actors. Yet their roles in Godzilla are ones that call for emotion and depth, but both fall short. It really is uncharacteristic of the two actors and fault falls more on the way in which Gareth Edwards directs them as it really feels like the two have been restricted. Ken Watanabe's role as Dr. Ishiro Serizawa by all means the corniest. Every line he says is just so typical of his type of character in such a movie. It is as thought everything he says is a revelation or sorts and you cannot help but snicker when he announces "And we called it....Godzilla"

Godzilla is, just like the beast itself, a spectacle. The film gets your hopes up in a huge way at the start, but lets you down little by little with the weakening of the humans emotionally and nowhere near enough of Godzilla itself.

5.5/10

Kick-Ass 2 (2013)

Year: 2013
Running Time: 103 minutes
Director: Jeff Wadlow
Writer: Jeff Wadlow
Cast: Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Chloe Grace Moretz, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Jim Carrey, Donald Faison

Kick Ass 2 opens in Australian cinemas on the 22nd of August 2013 and is now showing in the USA and UK.

Sequel sequel sequel. Kick-Ass 2 couldn't possibly be any more stereotypically one.

As you would expect it to be, Kick-Ass 2 is just pushing the limits of what the original was. Kick-Ass was the stuff cult classics are made of. It was not a usual film of the superhero genre by a long stretch and shocked the masses of people who thought it was appropriate to take their children to see the film. So Kick-Ass 2 tries to push the boundaries even more by making it more violent, cruder and throwing in more wannabe superheroes.

While Dave (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) is taking a break from being his superhero alter-ego, Kick-Ass, there is a whole new league of new superheroes on the street, all ordinary people wanting to make a difference. Dave decides that he wants to give it another go and calls on Mindy Macready, AKA Hit Girl (Chloe Grace Moretz) to be his partner and help him out. Mindy has her own problems at hand with trying to deal with losing her father and also the typical teenage woes that come along with starting high school. While Mindy is AWOL from the superhero world, Dave teams up with a new team of superheroes led by Colonel Stars and Stripes (Jim Carrey). In the meantime, Dave's arch nemesis, Chris D'Amico (Christopher Mintz-Plasse) is building a team of super-villains all for the purpose of bringing down Kick-Ass.

Kick-Ass 2 is just overly silly. It isn't bad to the point where you should just get up and walk out of the cinema, but it is pretty much just an unnecessary sequel. Kick-Ass worked not only because of it's shock factor, but also because it was so unlike your typical superhero genre film. While Kick-Ass 2 is not entirely a regular type of superhero film, it does start to move towards being one with how many clichés are thrown into the mix. Director and writer, Jeff Wadlow wants to say in as many ways as possible that ordinary people can do super things and that we all can be superheroes is we believe we can be. The presence of such clichés and constant reminder of them throughout the film just take the Kick-Ass franchise in genre film territory.

There is still an element of fun to this film, regardless of how ridiculous and silly it can be at times. The fighting scenes and the defining personalities of each of the characters do make the film bearable. All of the characters in the film are enjoyable to watch and they all have a great deal of development to let the audience understand who they are. However, for the main characters of Dave/ Kick-Ass, Mindy/ Hit Girl and Chris/ The Mother-F**ker (yes, that is his name in the film), their defining character moments still belong in the first film so if you haven't seen the original, you may struggle to connect with them.

While Kick-Ass was notorious for it's shock tactics throughout the film, the sequel tries to do the same, but really just takes it a little too far. While this film is violent just like the first film and therefore not as much of a shock, it is it's crude humour takes the cake as being the factor that takes it just a little too far. The lunch room scene with Mindy and the mean girls is just too much no matter what way you look at it. Everything to do with Mindy and the other girls at school is just very overdone and also just ridiculous to the point that it is just cringe-worthy. Yet, it is definitely the lunch room scene that is the most ridiculous and disgusting of the film.

Regardless of the ridiculous and over blown nature of the film, Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Chloe Grace Moretz still do well. They have wonderful onscreen chemistry and make the mot of the roles which are handed to them. They are both fine actors, and it is a credit to the two of them that when they are in such a film as this, it is still evident that the two of them have incredible talent. Jim Carrey has a much smaller role than is suspected. He does well enough in the role which he has, but it isn't quite as comical as you would want it to be.

Kick-Ass 2 isn't a complete loss, but still reinforces the fact that Kick-Ass really didn't need a sequel and nothing has really been achieved (besides the fact that Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Chloe Grace Moretz can act well in anything) by having one.

4.5/10


You may have also seen Aaron Taylor-Johnson in......
Kick-Ass as Dave/Kick-Ass
Nowhere Boy as John Lennon

Aaron Taylor-Johnson was also our Movie Critical Rising Star of the Month in April 2010

You may have also seen Chloe Grace Moretz in......
Kick-Ass as Mindy/Hit Girl
Hugo as Isabelle

Chloe Grace Moretz was also our Movie Critical Rising Star of the Month in July 2012

Kick-Ass

Kick-Ass
Year: 2010
Director: Matthew Vaughn
Cast: Aaron Johnson, Chloe Grace Moretz, Nicholas Cage, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Mark Strong

In My Own Words
“Kick-Ass” is definitely one film that I had an opinion about even before I saw it. I have been looking forward to this film coming out for quite awhile, even before most people knew about it. As soon as I heard that it wasn’t a typical superhero movie, I was ready to line up for it as I love a film that defies the norm.

However, even before I saw this film, the controversy surrounding it got my blood boiling. “Kick-Ass” has come under scrutiny because of its violent scenes and coarse language. Not only this, but most of the violence and bad language comes from 13 year old Chloe Grace Moretz. Many people have been up in arms about this, and don’t get me wrong, I can see how some people would find this offensive and wrong. My argument against this is that the movie is rated MA15+ in Australia and R17+ in the USA for a reason. People have taken their children to see this movie completely ignoring the censors warning and assuming it to be a typical superhero movie. If you ignore these censors, then yes, you will be completely shocked and if you take your children to see this, you will wish you hadn’t. Going to a film such as this, knowing what it is about and being offended, would be like watching a porn film and being offended by the sexual content. If you do get offended by strong language and violence, nobody is forcing you to see this film so don’t complain about it. This is the same for Chloe Grace Moretz. No doubt you would’ve heard some of the things which she does in this film and if you think this sounds horrible, nobody is forcing you to watch her. Miss Moretz is no stranger herself to horrific films after staring in the 2005 remake of “The Amityville Horror” and she will be starring in the upcoming “Let Me In”. I doubt she will feel particularly scarred from this role. I would love to hear other people’s opinions on this film and its surrounding controversy as well, so please feel free to talk about it here. My advice is, take note of the classifications and don’t complain if you don’t.

These are my own words and here is my review.

Review
“Kick-Ass” is unlike any other superhero movie. It is probably the most in your face superhero movie you will ever see, but nevertheless a breath of fresh air and great entertainment. Many people will find much of the film too hard to handle with its extreme violence, but if you can get past that and realise that this is only a movie, it is actually quite fun to watch. It has one valuable message in it, that ordinary people can do extraordinary things. Of course, just remember, that this doesn’t mean that those extraordinary things will always involve killing the bad guys. Invisible high school student Dave Lizewski (Aaron Johnson) has decided that he wants to become a superhero. He has no super powers and his only asset is his good heart. After his alter ego, Kick-Ass becomes an internet phenomenon, he inspires a whole new group of superheroes. Enter Big Daddy (Nicholas Cage) and his sidekick and 11 year old daughter Hit Girl (Chloe Grace Moretz). These two are the real deal and come equipped with their own special weapons and fighting moves, also a motive for revenge on Frank D’Amico (Mark Strong), who is after Kick-Ass.

The film opens with a taste of things to come, confronting and gruesome, but also hilarious. Most of the shocks come in the first half of the film and if you are not offended by then, you won’t be. Matthew Vaughn’s film is almost like a “Kill Bill” for younger people and Vaughn direction is much like that of Quinton Tarantino’s. There are some great moments in the film, with the right cinematography and editing chosen for the right scenes. The soundtrack is also notable, sometimes being creepy and other times being fun and uplifting. The script is witty and very well written. “Kick-Ass” is completely original for the most part, but it still has many aspects of it that are typical to a superhero movie. It does tend to get cliché towards the end and although it is still suspenseful, it also becomes quite predictable.

Aaron Johnson gives a solid performance as Dave/Kick-Ass. He draws a lot of laughs, but at the same time a lot of sympathy. He can be so pathetic in the first half of the film that you feel sorry for him and even embarrassed for him. Nicholas Cage also doesn’t give a bad performance, but it is quite a strange performance. He looks so much like Stanley Tucci as Mr Harvey in “The Lovely Bones” that it distracts from his character in the film. Chloe Grace Moretz is the star of the film, although she is also the most controversial. The people who do not find her role offensive, will find her very entertaining and girls will find her empowering. It would be true to say that if the character of Hit Girl/ Mindy was only a few years older, she would not have been as controversial. Yet if she was, she would have been the same run of the mill female superhero and be branded as corny. Hit Girl is anything but that. She is completely out of the ordinary and although some of the things that leave her mouth are shocking, at least she isn’t like every other female superhero that has been and gone.

It cannot be reinforced enough that “Kick-Ass” is not a film for everyone. It is almost difficult to pinpoint the target audience for this film as it is like a high school film, crossed with a superhero action film, crossed with a shock comedy. Yet, if you get past all the controversy and the shock, it is a great and entertaining film. The ending indicates that there may be a sequel, but one has not yet been announced yet. Sequels are known for stretching past what the first film has done, so we may be in for more “Kick-Ass” shocks in the future!
7.5/10

Rising Star: Aaron Johnson

It’s been awhile since Movie Critical has done a Rising Star post, so here it is now! This time around we have chosen Aaron Johnson as our Rising Star. Despite his young age, this UK actor is no stranger to show business. He has been in several productions over the years, but with his starring role in the critically acclaimed “Nowhere Boy” and the release of the highly anticipated “Kick-Ass”, his star is definitely on the rise.

Aaron Johnson was born on the 13th of June 1990 in High Wycombe in England. He started acting at the age of 6, when he started attending the Jackie Palmer Stage School in the same town as his birth. In his time here, he studied acting, dance and acrobatics. Johnson appeared in several productions both on stage and on film.
Johnson’s big break was playing the heart throb, Robbie in “Angus, Thongs and Perfect Snogging”. From here, he gathered quite a fan club. However, it was in the biopic, “Nowhere Boy” that the world became familiar with Aaron Johnson and his superb acting abilities. Sam Taylor Wood chose to cast Johnson in the lead role of the film as the young John Lennon. Such a role came with high expectations, and Johnson fulfilled this expectation by creating the perfect interpretation of one of the greatest musicians of our time. This film also marked a significant event in Johnson’s and Sam Taylor Wood’s life. The two became a couple and were engaged not long before the release of the film. The couple are also expecting their first child in the latter half of 2010. This relationship has been highly featured in gossip columns because of the 22 year age difference between the two. However, the age difference is not as startling in 2010 as it would have been in the past, and the couple are said to be very happy and do not let the age come between them.


“Kick-Ass” is set to be released in Australia on the 8th of April and 16th of April in the United States. Johnson plays the lead role of Dave Lizewski, whose secret persona is super-hero Kick-Ass. The film has already attracted loads of media attention and has already collected favourable reviews in its advanced previews. Johnson’s next project is in the Hideo Nakata directed film, “Chatroom”.

Aaron Johnson is fast impressing everyone in the film world with his versatile and intriguing roles. There is no doubt that this younger performer has a great deal ahead of him and we look forward to seeing a great deal more of him in the future!

Nowhere Boy

Nowhere Boy
Year: 2009
Director: Sam Taylor Wood
Cast: Aaron Johnson, Kristin Scott Thomas, Anne-Marie Duff, Thomas Brodie Sangster

In My Own Words
This movie is an absolute treat for all the John Lennon and Beatles fans out there. However, be aware that this is not a film about The Beatles. It is about the teenage years of John Lennon and the relationship between him, his mother and his auntie. The words “The Beatles” are not even mumbled through out the whole movie, although the movie does feature Paul McCartney and George Harrison. However, you will not need to know much about John Lennon or The Beatles in order to be a fan of this movie. It is a good movie in its own right, no matter whether it has a worldwide star as its main character or not.

I listened to all my Beatles songs on my iPod this morning to get ready for this movie which I have been so looking forward to seeing. I was not disappointed with the film at all. I was extremely happy to find a music biopic that didn’t fit the norm, not that I don’t enjoy watching music biopics. I was just happy to see one that didn’t focus on the fame and the music industry, but rather the person and who they are and where they come from. Most biopics do show this, but not in as great detail as “Nowhere Boy” does.

You have to be inspired and smirk when Lennon’s headmaster says to him “You are going nowhere, boy”. I really hope that happened and is not just an idea of the script writer, because that just shows everyone not to listen to what others tell you, because...you know, John Lennon didn’t go far at all.

These are my own words and here is my review.

Review
John Lennon needs no introduction. He is known worldwide as one of the most influential singers and songwriters ever to grace this Earth. “Nowhere Boy” gives us a glimpse of where this amazing man came from and who and what made him who he became and does so in an interesting and enjoyable way. Young John Lennon (Aaron Johnson) lives with his highly strung and strict Aunt Mimi (Kristin Scott Thomas), who he believes shows no love towards him. After the death of his Uncle George, John seeks out his free-spirited mother (Anne-Marie Duff). They reform a close bond, much to his aunt’s dismay and her interest in rock and roll music encourages John to form a rock band with his friends. However, the film is not about The Beatles, but primarily about the relationships with these two women in his life.

“Nowhere Boy” is a lovely film that will delight both fans and non-fans of The Beatles and Mr Lennon. This film that premiered at the end of the 2009 London Film Festival is an excellent debut film for director Sam Taylor Wood. It perfectly depicts Liverpool in the 1950’s and the script is well written. The film is particularly character orientated, in that there is perfect character development and the audience feels that they know and identify with each of the main characters. The musical score is also perfect for the movie, as one could expect. The music creates an exciting atmosphere at the beginning of the film and creates the right mood for each scene throughout the movie.

The acting is almost entirely perfectly cast and directed. Aaron Johnson is superb as the young Lennon. He captures the rebellious nature of the character as well as the fragility and need for love the character experiences. He also captures the quirky nature of Lennon both in character and physically. He is a pleasure to watch on screen. Kristin Scott Thomas is, as always, astounding and perfectly cast as Mimi. She is subtle at the right times and intense at the appropriate times. Anne-Marie Duff is perhaps the only actor that is less than perfect in her role. As Lennon’s eccentric mother, she is a tad over-exaggerated and almost annoying. Her relationship with her son in the film can sometimes seem inappropriate, which is more a result of the way she is directed than her acting as per say. Even so, she can be too strong at times, and too light at others. Thomas Brodie Sangster, of “Love, Actually” fame, is a stand-out as the young Paul McCartney. In reality, it was often said that Lennon and McCartney were like brothers as a result of certain circumstances in their life, and this relationship is shown on film and is particularly tear-jerking at times.

“Nowhere Boy” is enjoyable from start to finish. It is a roller-coaster of emotions and one of the better biopics of the 12 months. The acting is particularly superb and the characters are well crafted for the screen. It is a fitting tribute to John Lennon.
8/10