Godzilla

I was all set to be unimpressed with the new Godzilla, directed by Gareth Edwards, but that was not the case, at all.

The story by David Callaham and scripted by Max Borenstein is fast-moving and exciting.  Production Designer Owen Paterson is a master at science fiction and Editor Bob Ducsay knows how to build action out of Cinematographer Seamus McGarvey’s wonderful images.

 

Godzilla and the monsters he is pitted against are the real main characters, with Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Ken Watanabe, Bryan Cranston, David Strathairn and the rest of the cast backing them up.

If you like a good popcorn thriller, then Godzilla is for you.  I give it a 3+ out of 5.

Belle

Belle, directed by Amma Asante and written by Misan Sagay is truly a beautiful film that is well-worth seeing. 

Based on a true story, the action takes place from approximately 1769 to 1779 in England.  A mulatto young girl is placed in the custody of her aristocratic uncle by her father, who is an Admiral in the Royal Navy. 

 

Gugu Mbatha-Raw plays Dido Elizabeth Belle and does so, expertly, exuding passion and depth.  Tom Wilkinson plays her uncle, Lord Mansfield, who is the equivalent of the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. 

The bulk of the action takes place when Lord Mansfield must make a decision in the Zong Affair, which was a seminal case leading to abolishing the slave trade in England…a time when the plight of women was akin to the plight of African slaves.

Cinematographer Ben Smithard offers up some of the most beautiful images you’ve seen, taking full advantage of Production Designer Simon Bowles’ exquisite sets.

Belle is movie-making at its finest.  I give it a 4+ out of 5.

Neighbors

Director Nicolas Stoller, working with a script by Andrew J. Cohen and Brendan O’Brien has brought forth Neighbors, a film that starts out lame, then moves to stupid before going to gross…where there are, admittedly, some good laughs…and, finally, moves to an embarrassment for everyone involved.

The only actor(s) that look good in this total miscalculation are Elise and Zooey Vargas, who take turns playing the part of the baby of demented parents, poorly played by Seth Rogen and only slightly better played by Rose Byrne.

 

It just doesn’t work.  It’s not to be mentioned in the same breath as Animal House or Superbad.

I give Neighbors a 2 out of 5. 

Fading Gigolo

Writer/Director John Turturo’s Fading Gigolo is a delightful tale of a kindhearted man named Fioravante (Turturo), who becomes a professional Don Juan to help out his cash-strapped friend Murray (Woody Allen).  Murray, in turn, becomes his manager, i.e., pimp, and finds Fioravante a wealthy clientele composed of the likes of Dr. Parker (Sharon Stone) and Selma (Sofia Vergara).  But, when Fioravante meets Avigal (Vanessa Paradis), an orthodox Jewish widow, he begins to fall in love.

Turturo, Stone and Vergara turn in excellent performances and Woody Allen is back to the top form of olden days.  But, the standout and award-worthy performance is that of Vanessa Paradis.

Composers Abraham Laboriel and Bill Maxwell set a musical background that sets the right mood for this bittersweet romance.

I give Fading Gigolo a 4 out of 5.

The Amazing Spider-Man 2

There are many films whose endings make up for false steps along the way and leave the audience feeling satisfied.  Director Marc Webb’s The Amazing Spider-Man 2 takes the opposite tact.  For 2 hours of its 2 hour and 16 minute duration, Webb commands an interesting and exciting tale worthy of at least a 4 out of 5 rating.  Then, in the last 16 minutes, the story completely falls apart and Screen Story Writers Alex Kurtzman, Roberto Orci, Jeff Pinkner and James Vanderbilt pull off a cheap, stupid ending that is the weakest setup ever for the next of, apparently, two sequels.

Spoiler Alert… They kill off the most engaging character in the movie, the one who’s made sitting through an over-two-hour movie worthwhile.  True, heroes and heroines do die in many films, but not in such a stupid way.   

We never really know why she dies.  Did she break her neck, have a heart attack, acquire a fast-acting cancer?  If Emma Stone was not available for the sequels, they could have sent her off to Oxford as she planned.  That would have taken her out of the sequels and left a good taste in our mouths.

Despite this little stunt, worthy of changing my rating to a 1 out of 5, Cinematographer Daniel Mindel and Production Designer Mark Friedberg have done an amazing job and Actors Emma Stone, Jamie Foxx, Dane DeHaan and Andrew Garfield (except when he’s “doing angst”) are excellent, as well.

So, overall, I give The Amazing Spider-Man 2 a 3 out of 5, but Emma Stone gets a 4+ out of 5.   And, if you go, you might save some money by seeing it in 2D.  The 3D is only standard.