Godzilla: King of the Monsters?

First of all, I quite liked the 2014 Godzilla. I understand the frustration with the lack of action, weak characterization and constant cutting away from the big G, but Gareth Edwards is one of the few modern directors who understands both scale and building anticipation slowly, and his Godzilla excelled in both those areas. Unfortunately, Godzilla: King of the Monsters takes the wrong lessons from the first film, giving us more monster on monster action while failing in pretty much every other respect. 

The human characters are both paper thin and have ridiculous motivations (the "villains" want to end the world to save it, I think). Talented actors such as Vera Farmiga and Millie Bobby Brown try hard to make us care about their characters, but it’s impossible to understand what makes them tick. The attempts at humor are also fairly pathetic, which makes the talking scenes between the monster action a chore to sit through. That would be more forgivable if the fight scenes really popped, but unfortunately the filmmakers decided they were making a mid-nineties popcorn movie that needs to hide its CGI, so every single monster rumble takes place in snow, rain, darkness or a combination of two of those. What we do see of the monsters, especially Mothra, is stunning, so it’s a shame the movie rarely shows them clearly. 

I love the idea of Godzilla as a force of nature protecting the Earth from worse threats (while not giving a shit who gets crushed along the way) but unless Warner Bros. really turns things around for Godzilla vs. Kong and focus on a decent script, this MonsterVerse is pretty much dead in the water.

Pikachu and Very Violent Friends

Detective Pikachu

I was eagerly awaiting this movie since a) my whole family loves Pokémon Go and b) the trailer looked like it could be this generation’s Who Framed Roger Rabbit. So, I had pretty high expectations for someone who didn’t even care about Pokémon before he had kids. The movie did not quite meet those expectations, but I still had a fun time. Visually, the movie is a delight, with amazing detail on both the main Pokémon and the countless background characters in Ryme City. Ryan Reynolds is the perfect voice for this version of Pikachu, and the interactions between him and other Pokemon are often amusing. The human characters are fine, but the real disappointment is the story. Aside from being one of the least surprising mysteries ever, it brings out the “evil wheelchair guy” trope for a frankly baffling ending where Bill Nighy’s character uses Mewtwo to combine every human in the city with their Pokémon companion. While the laziness of the plot prevents this being a classic, it’s entertaining enough to make a sequel not an entirely unwelcome prospect.

John Wick Chapter 3: Parabellum

I saw and enjoyed the first John Wick, never saw the second one, and walked into this expecting something similar to the first. Boy, was I wrong. The John Wick universe has gone full fantasy, with societies of assassins seemingly operating without ever having to interact with cops or regular people. The world presented in this film is so artificial, Keanu Reeves could be back in The Matrix (in fact, he even repeats his “guns, lots of guns” line at one point). The action is superbly choreographed, and the cast are having fun. But ultimately, it’s a movie about people getting repeatedly shot and stabbed in the most gruesome way possible, which can get a little tired after the hundredth or so time. The ending promises yet another sequel, so fans will be happy.

Brightburn

I was sold on this movie right from the “Evil Superboy” pitch, and the movie pretty much delivers on that premise, though it’s even nastier than you might expect. It does a good job setting up the Clark Kent type mythos in the first act, but once young Brandon turns evil it’s as if a switch has been flipped in him. Like Kevin Bacon's character in Hollow Man, his powers instantly corrupt him and the audience is not expected to understand or sympathize with him beyond that point. The cast try their best to elevate the material – Elizabeth Banks is especially good as the mother who slowly realizes (too late) that she has raised a monster. The best part of the movie is the ending, which hints at full on supervillain shenanigans for the potential sequel.