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

Game Night

What if you planned a game night and it goes nothing like you expected?

Game Night had an early Digital release on May 4. The Blu-ray combo pack and DVD debuts on May 22.

GAMES 

Game Night gets promoted as ‘Certified Fresh.’ It received a Tomatometer mark at 82%. (The explanation of the Rotten Tomatoes ratings are with Paddington 2.)

The box office stats for Game Night were reasonable for a February release. It cemented about $68 million for domestic and a worldwide total over $116 million. This includes the fact - this R-rated film - was up against the blockbuster known as Black Panther.

John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein are the directors. Mark Penz wrote the script. This is only the second film at the helm for the directors. The Vacation reboot of the Griswald family disappeared quick.

Max (Jason Bateman) and Annie (Oscar nominee Rachel McAdams) host a weekly game night with their friends. Billy Magnussen, Sharon Horgan, Lamorne Morris and Kylie Bunbury play the friends. Jesse Plemons pops up as an unusual neighbour of Max and Annie’s.

When Max’s brother, Brooks (Kyle Chandler), comes to town, he decides he wants to host his own game night. The idea is for a murder-mystery style event. This is complete with pretend thugs, federal agents and a kidnapping.

When the game is actually afoot though, how much of it is actually fake?

VERDICT

Would I buy this film? Not a full price. It’s more of a rainy day selection.

I enjoyed Game Night more than Father Figures. For a comedy, I didn’t find it funny. (I’m aware there will be viewers who will say the film is hilarious.) The points balance out for the ensemble cast and for the darker side of the story.

It is R-rated for a reason. It’s crude at times, has bursts of violence and coarse language throughout. It’s not a big spoiler to say the ‘pretend’ Game Night turns real for the players. (It’s revealed in all commercials and trailers.)

But.

I never figured out how the 100-minute film was going to end. Sure, the events get a little over-the-top, but there were also a couple twists which caught me by surprise. Being surprised by a movie is always a good thing in my books.

It takes some time - maybe an unusually long time - for the cast to figure out there is more going on to their game night. The ensemble do seem to be enjoying working together, even with the more thriller aspects of the film.

Jason Bateman appears to be a pro at these kinds of movies. I haven’t seen many Rachel McAdams films, but what I have, always leans towards the dramatic. It's not the case here. She does a pretty good job too. Even Lamorne Morris, has a cool Denzel Washington impression.

There is an elaborate game of ‘Hot potato’ which is completed in one shot. (Meaning the take is done with one camera and no cuts.)

Game Night is not a movie I would rush out to watch. It surprised me though. It makes an impression that way. (Some may even find it funny.)

SPECIAL FEATURES OVERVIEW

An Unforgettable Evening: Making Game Night (3 minutes, 48 seconds) 

- A pretty basic behind-the-scenes feature. The cast explains the movie and what it was like working with each other and on the film.

Gag Reel (6 minutes, 48 seconds) 

- It depends on your sense of humour. There are better gag reels. 

Warner Brothers Home Entertainment