Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire: When I was a kid, after primary school was done, they would have on Channel 29 Buffalo “Creature Feature Week” where they would show back to back monster movies. They were Godzilla, Kong, and other creatures with titles that seemed more like a wrestling match (like Mothra vs Godzilla from 1964). King Kong vs Godzilla (1962) was very poorly dressed (literally a man in an ape suit, as this was still pre-Planet of the Apes). It was two men in costumes wrestling on a train set with hydro lines and small homes and dinky toys. It was campy fun after a day at school.
Fast forward from TV movies from 1978ish 40+ years to the present day and we have a lot more technology to assist with bringing forth the images of these two gigantic creatures and the world that they inhabit. This is the next installment in a series, where the human characters were all interested earlier. There was Rececca Hall (scientist), her adopted doaughter and Dan Stevens (as a biologist). As a team they were aware of Kong and studied him, but the first clash with Godzilla brought about new set of issues. The adopted daughter, seemed to have a connection with Kong and they communicated through sign language. Yes Kong knows how to sign.
In this latest movie, Kong and Godzilla have gone their separate ways, Kong to his world, which if you haven’t seen the first one won’t be disclosed here. Godzilla has been dealing a variety of creatures. He seems to like sleeping in a Coliseum in Rome, but seems to have a tendancy to cause havoc in other well known cities. It seems monsters don’t have fights in Des Moines or Saskatoon. The damage of course to historical buildings, bridges and sights is substantial. But nevermind. Things happen. Monsters fight monsters. An improbable journey takes places for the humans and puts them into areas that are foreign. We are introduced to another monster, which brings back memories from many years back.
In the end, is this compelling movie making? I saw this in IMAX, and there are some impressive visuals. The story is quite complex and you have to overlook some logical challenges. But generally not a great deal has changed since the Creature Feature Week. It seems that despite technological advances that it is still men in suits prancing around on model railway sets. One key difference is that Kong is the more natural or human of the two, and is injured, sustains injuries unlike the others. It is convenient that the biologist is able of helping Kong with his injuries as they are sustained. In the end it is campy fun, with some good visuals. Sometimes entertainment for entertainment’s sake is okay. The humans are here for window dressing and little else.
Scoop: Recently released on Netflix, this new movie tells the story of the BBC interview with Prince Andrew over the allegations of his relationship with disgraced female teenage sexual predator Jeffrey Epstein. But going back in time before the interview, we get the context of why Prince Andrew would ever entertain such an interview. Starring Gillian Anderson as BBC interviewer Emily Maitlis, Billie Piper plays Sam McAlister (both from the BBC) and Rufus Sewell plays Prince Andrew.
As part of the interview, it is Sam McAlister who is looking to obtain the story and get the interview with the Prince. The Prince has been dogged by his relationship with Epstein persistently, and hw has chosen to ignore it beyond flat out denials. But with Epstein’s sudden apparenent suicide in a New York holding cell, all the questions arise again in this story. Andrew wants it just to go away so he can continue with his Royal duties and the entrepreneur work that he is doing. Here was a chance to once and for all clear his name. As we both know this interview was the downfall of the Prince who after it aired was quickly stripped of his titles and Royal duties. However much this show looked to try and create suspense, it didn’t really work well. Since we know the ending in real life, there is little drama in wondering whether the Palace will be stepping in and preventing the interview from being aired. The remarkable thing really is how delusional the Prince was for his performance within the interview and post. He truly had no idea just how poorly he came off, and how ridiculous his answers and explanations were. He was so dreadly out of touch. His reaction when the interview concluded with Anderson’s character shows how out of touch that he was. Overall this movie was a Meh for me. I do think that Gillian Anderson has developed and grown tremendously in her craft, especially since her early days of X-Files. Her range and projects have outshone David Duchovny considerably. Still this was not overly compelling and Sewell for me didn’t really capture the Prince.
Mondays With Robbie 