Godzilla: King of the Monsters - Monster Mash

The MonsterVerse continues.

Godzilla: King of the Monsters arrives August 27. It’s on 4K UHD Combo-Pack, Blu-Ray Combo Pack and DVD. The Digital format appeared early on August 6.

UNIVERSE

Warner Brothers and Legendary Pictures rebooted Godzilla back in 2014. This starts the MonsterVerse. Kong: Skull Island, another reboot for King Kong, followed in 2017.

Many called King of the Monsters a disappointment within the Summer 2019 slate of films. While the Godzilla 2014 version had a strong buzz, King of the Monsters appears to have stumbled.

It only garnered a 46% on Rotten Tomatoes and over $385 million worldwide. The result is the lowest of the MonsterVerse.

But plans are already in the works for more. Godzilla and King Kong are to meet in Godzilla vs. Kong in 2020. (Which gets teased during this credits sequence.)

Godzilla may get the title but there are humans as well. Like Kyle Chandler, Vera Farmiga and Millie Bobby Brown, in her feature film debut. (Millie, of course, is familiar with tv in Stranger Things. )

The cast is rounded out with Bradley Whitford. Oscar nominee Sally Hawkins, Charles Dance, Thomas Middleditch, Aisha Hinds, O’Shea Jackson Jr., Oscar nominee David Strathairn, Oscar nominee Ken Watanabe and Golden Globe nominee Ziyi Zhang.

The film is directed by Michael Dougherty. He wrote the script with Zach Shields with the story by Max Borenstein and Shields. Based on the characters of Godzilla, King Ghidorah, Mothra and Rodan, owned and created by Toho Co, Ltd.

TAKE

Would I buy this film? Make it a rainy day selection.

This is a sequel. So, if you’ve never seen Godzilla or Skull Island, well, King of the Monsters may be an odd choice to start. But if you like Godzilla or monster movies in general, I would say it is worth a look.

(I’m not one to say I am a Godzilla expert as the history stretches back in 1954. Bigger fans may just love this.)

Do you have to be familiar with those other MonsterVerse movies? Not really. The only connective thread is a few supporting characters from the 2014 Godzilla. And the organization called Monarch.

Godzilla haunts the family of Kyle Chandler, Vera Farmiga and Millie Bobby Brown.

Godzilla has disappeared for five years. But Monarch has been on the search and studying these other creatures known as Titans. If there is one like Godzilla - there must be more to find, right?

The movie opens with trying to keep one of these Titans contained named Mothra. A group of eco-terrorists attack though. Mothra escapes but Farmiga’s and Bobby Brown’s characters are captured.

As these monsters rise from Rodan and the three-headed Ghidorah. Humanity’s very existence is hanging in the balance. As it always tends to be for humanity.

It is a monster movie. So, it’s over-the-top. There is plenty of action/destruction, too. The last 25-30 minutes of the film is focused around a Godzilla fight.

You may shake your head at some of what the humans do when monsters are around, too.

The visual effects are quite impressive.

Was it a great film? Not really.

Was it terrible? Not really.

It’s passable entertainment. Good for a rainy day.

Will I be watching Godzilla vs. Kong? Most likely.

SPECIAL FEATURES OVERVIEW

How much there was to find here was surprising.

Monsters 101 (5 minutes, 43 seconds.)

Godzilla: Nature’s Fearsome Guardian

Mothra: Queen of the Monsters

King Ghidorah: The Living Extinction Machine

Rodan: Airborne God of Fire

- A closer look at the monsters in the film, sizes, special powers etc. But nothing earth-shattering.

Evolution of Titans (27 minutes, 24 seconds.)

Godzilla 2.0

Making Morthra

Creating Ghidorah

Reimagining Rodan

A deeper look at the monsters. Topics include the slight physical changes to Godzilla. There's talk how Ghindorah used motion-capture performance to create the three heads. And how vultures and even crane sounds are used for Rodan. Some of it’s interesting for how much thought goes into the design of the monster.

Monarch in Action (32 minutes, 56 seconds.)

The Yunnan Temple

Castle Bravo

The Antarctic base

The Isla de Mara Volcano

The Undersea Lair

More about the organization of Monarch. This section is more sets and locations that are used within the film.

Millie Bobby Brown: Force of Nature (4 minutes, 7 seconds.)

- What a lot of the cast thought of Millie Bobby Brown. I never saw Stranger Things, so there might be more of an appeal for that fanbase. She’s only 13 when she filmed the movie.

Monster Tech: Monarch Joins the Fight (8 minutes, 34 seconds.)

- There’s a different kind of technology featured in the movie because of Monarch. They discuss it here.

Monsters are Real (14 minutes, 10 seconds.)

- I found this more interesting. It shifts more away from the movie aspects and the real-life aspects. What is it about monsters? Some may say it’s humans. What about dragons? They are featured in basically every culture. Komodo dragons?

Those Kraken legends have some truth, too.

Welcome to the Monsterverse (3 minutes, 42 seconds.)

- Doesn’t offer up anything new. But clips from Godzilla and Kong to highlight what’s to come. And teases the question - who might be the king after all?

Deleted Scenes (5 minutes, 1 second.)

- One deleted scene and one alternative scene.

I always find the alternative scene interesting. It shows what changes were made and tweaked to what shows up in the completed film.

Warner Brothers Home Entertainment

The Curse of La Llorona: She Weeps

It's a real legend.

The Curse of La Llorona arrived August 6. It’s on Blu-Ray Combo Pack and DVD. The Digital format appeared early on July 16.

UNIVERSE

From New Line Cinema and James Wan, The Conjuring Universe continues to expand. There are now two Conjurings, three Annabelles and The Nun.

The Curse of La Llorona shows the Conjuring formula may not always draw a crowd. It’s the lowest box office draw of the Universe at $122 million worldwide. And only fared out with a 30% with critics on Rotten Tomatoes. It did fare slightly better than The Nun on the critic front, which ended up with 26%.   

The Curse of La Llorona is the feature directorial debut of Michael Chaves. It was written by Mikki Daughtry and Tobias Iaconis. 

The film stars Linda Cardellini, Raymond Cruz and Patricia Velasquez. Supporting cast is Marisol Ramirez, Sean Patrick Thomas, Jaynee-Lynne Kinchen and newcomer Roman Christou.

TAKE

Would I buy this film? A rainy day selection.

If you are a horror fan or like The Conjuring movies, it’s probably worth the look.

If you are hoping for a major Conjuring connection though, you might be disappointed. There is an appearance of Father Perez (Tony Amendola.) He only pops up in a couple of scenes. But, Conjuring viewers may recall his encounter with a mysterious doll named Annabelle.

One thing the Conjuring universe seems to manage is a good creepy atmosphere and a few decent suspenseful scenes. I think, anyway. This continues here for the R-rated movie.    

It’s a 1973 setting. Linda Cardellini is solid. She is Anna Tate-Garcia, a social worker, recently widowed, struggling to raise her two children. Played by Jaynee-Lynne Kinchen and Roman Christou. I couldn’t help but shake my head at some of their actions and also root for them. Anna’s intervention on the child welfare of the sons of Patricia Alvarez (Patricia Velasquez.) This will soon unleash La Lorona. - ‘The Weeping Woman’ - on Anna’s family and home.

With the encounter from Rafael Olvera (Raymond Cruz), a curandero - a traditional healer - Anna and her kids have some help in the battle with the supernatural.

It was interesting the La Llorona curse is a real legend/myth as the special features reveal. La Llorona is played by a real lady Marisol Ramirez - obviously, with some special effects help.

Thinking back on the 93 minutes - the La Llorona scares do get repetitive. She tends to do a lot of screams. But still makes her creepy.

James Wan was so impressed with Michael Chaves, the director. Chaves will be taking over directing duties for The Conjuring 3. Which is officially scheduled for 2020. (Wan directed the first two Conjurings and will remain a producer. And more recently, directed Aquaman.) 

The Conjuring Universe seems to be mixing up their formula for The Conjuring 3, too. A shift from the creepy-things-going-on-in-houses. (Annabelle Comes Home is the third Annabelle and a summer theatre release.)

Reports say the story is based on a real court case with the defendant using possessions as the defence.      

SPECIAL FEATURES OVERVIEW

The Myth of La Llorona (2 minutes, 29 seconds.)

- Some of the actors discuss being familiar with the tale of La Llorona. But mostly just rehash the story that was already told in the movie.

Behind the Curse (9 minutes, 43 seconds.)

- The talk of legend, the Conjuring connection and the director talks working with James Wan.

The Making of a Movie Monster (5 minutes, 53 seconds.)

- Marisol Ramirez talks about the process of becoming La Llorona. It’s about three hours for the makeup to be put on.

Deleted Scenes (11 minutes, 10 seconds.)

- Most are extensions of existing scenes. But there are a couple of alternate versions, which I always find more interesting.

Storyboards (17 minutes, 32 seconds.)

- Rewatch sequences from the movie and what compare to how they are storyboard. 

Warner Brothers Home Entertainment 

Pokémon - Detective Pikachu: Pika. Pika.

Pika. Pika.

Pokémon - Detective Pikachu arrived August 6. It’s on everything from the 4K Ultra HD Combo Pack, the Blu-ray Combo Pack and DVD. The Digital format appeared early on July 23.

DETECTIVE

The brand of Pokémon launched in 1996. It covers animated films, books, manga comics, music, toys, merchandise and apps.

Detective Pikachu is the first-ever Pokémon movie to have live-action people in the story. The ‘Detective Pikachu’ video game by Creatures Inc. inspired the film.  

As it stands - Detective Pikachu is the most successful movie based on a video game…ever. It grossed over $431 million worldwide. It nudges just past the 2018 release of Rampage starring Dwayne Johnson.   

Detective Pikachu is also (currently) the best-reviewed video game adaptation with critics. It tallied 67% on Rotten Tomatoes. Rampage and Tomb Raider (2018) marked 52% as a comparison.

While the stats say positive signs. It was also competing against Avengers: Endgame when it released in theaters. Which feels like Pikachu got lost in the Marvel buzz.

Rob Letterman directs this story. Tim Goldman (Justice Smith) arrives in Ryme City. He received news his estranged father, Detective Harry Goldman is dead. Tim eventually meets Harry’s Pokémon partner - Detective Pikachu (Ryan Reynolds.) Which, somehow, they can talk to each other. They quickly discover Tim’s father was part of a bigger mystery, which they set out to solve.

The cast is rounded off with Kathryn Newton as Lucy. The supporting cast includes Suki Waterhouse, Omar Chaparro, Chris Geere, Rita Ora, Oscar nominee Ken Watanabe and Nill Nighy.  

The story is by Dan Hernandez, Benji Samit and Nicole Perlman with the screenplay by Hernandez, Samit, Letterman and Derek Connolly. 

TAKE

Would I buy this film? A rainy day selection.

But if you are a Pokémon fan, probably worth the bigger look. 

I wasn’t big on Pokémon in my younger days, so it felt like a weird little movie.

An entire city was created so people and Pokémon can live side-by-side in peace. No battles are allowed. So, it's different from traditional Pokémon in the past.

On top of that is this noir-style which pops up, like it was trying to be a mystery movie from the 1940s. Pikachu even says ‘dame’ at one point.

What what I found made it worthwhile is the voice of Ryan Reynolds. It’s about 20 minutes into the 104 minutes film before Pikachu appears though.

And then there’s Justice Smith. When the realization hits that the majority of Justice’s acting is against nothing. Thought he should get some points for that.      

Ryan has a few good quips, too, that I couldn’t help but laugh. Plus he really makes Pikachu feel like a character. 

But true to the mystery-style, there were a few twists and turns which I did not see coming.

So, while I have never been one for spoilers. Tim arriving in Ryme City is where the movie starts to kick in. The Pokémon make for a colourful and slightly oddball addition. 

Want to find out more of the mystery? You’ll have to watch.

SPECIAL FEATURES OVERVIEW

The Detective Mode is only found on Blu-Ray. And for a limited time, there is even a Pokémon trading card with a Blu-Ray, 4k UHD and DVD buy.

Detective Mode

- It’s best to see the movie before even trying Detective Mode.

This is a neat twist on commentary. There’s pop-up Pokémon trivia and facts, behind-the-scenes footage, trivia and talk of Easter Eggs.

(Easter Egg example - a clip of a detective movie originates from Home Alone.)

Alternate Opening (1 minute, 41 seconds.) 

- A different version of Tim’s introduction at work. But think what’s in the movie is better.

My Pokémon Adventure ( 2 minutes, 13 seconds.)

- Justice Smith tells his love for Pokémon. 

Creating the World of Detective Pikachu reel covers a lot of different ground. There’s the talk of creating the city from the mixture of London and Tokyo plans. There’s the creation of the Pokémon there are about 60 different ones in the entire movie. There’s the talk of the stunts and how Justice acted against nothing. Ryan as Pikachu and what the director wanted to achieve.  

Creating the World of Detective Pikachu: Welcome to Ryme City (2 minutes, 57 seconds.)

Creating the World of Detective Pikachu: Uncovering: Uncovering the Magic (4 minutes, 4 seconds.)

Creating the World of Detective Pikachu: Action (4 minutes, 7 seconds.)

Creating the World of Detective Pikachu: Colourful Characters (6 minutes, 48 seconds.)

Creating the World of Detective Pikachu: Bringing Pokémon to Life (3 minutes and 23 seconds.)

-

Mr. Mime’s Audio Commentary (3 minutes.)

- Mr. Mime. Audio. There might be a joke here.

Ryan Reynolds - Outside the Actor’s Studio (1 minute, 32 seconds.)

- The clip was online. Ryan talks about how he took the deep dive of acting as Pikachu.

- Carry On by Rita Ora and Kygo (Music Video) (3 minutes, 51 seconds.) 

Warner Brothers Home Entertainment.