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First Reactions To GODZILLA Come Roaring In

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Why shouldn't it ? Are they made of 12 meters thick carbon fibre ? Are their eye lids and soft body parts also made of meters of tungsten ?
You know you can take down an elephant with a single rifle round so I am pretty sure you can take down a big lizard with a bunker buster to the head/eye

Because the Godzilla I know and love is nigh invulnerable, and that's how I like it. My preference has been, and always will be, that no conventional weapon on earth should be any threat to Godzilla. And Godzilla would never be able to even walk outside of water anyway, so we're far past realism. Just my preference.
 
Because the Godzilla I know and love is nigh invulnerable, and that's how I like it. My preference has been, and always will be, that no conventional weapon on earth should be any threat to Godzilla. And Godzilla would never be able to even walk outside of water anyway, so we're far past realism. Just my preference.

Yeah, allowing the conventional military to have any significant effect on Godzilla would be a huge mistake, like what Michael Bay did with the Transformers... diminishing them in a horrible way. Cause if our military by itself can take down those Decepticons... why the hell do we need the Autobots then?

The only exception is when they come up with some fantastical weapon like a Jaeger or a MechaGodzilla. Those are okay because they're as epic and large-scaled as Godzilla himself.
 
Pacific Rim was exactly what I expected. I went to the movie theater, turned off my brain, watched robots and monsters duke it out for an hour+. So I tend to not complain much about it.

That said, I'll probably never sit through it a second time.
 
Pacific Rim was exactly what I expected. I went to the movie theater, turned off my brain, watched robots and monsters duke it out for an hour+. So I tend to not complain much about it.

That said, I'll probably never sit through it a second time.

This

I hope Godzilla is not as bad
 
So... It's better than the last American one? That's a good thing!

And yeah, Pacific Rim was bad. A couple of cool scenes, but mostly bad.
 
Honestly, having less Godzilla might be better. Not having him on screen for a majority of the film lets your mind fill in some of the blanks and won't let you get bored of him before the end.
 
Nobody should have been surprised by the bad human segments in Pacific Rim. There are two Hellboy movies that should have given you an idea of what to expect.
 
Honestly, having less Godzilla might be better. Not having him on screen for a majority of the film lets your mind fill in some of the blanks and won't let you get bored of him before the end.

Exactly. The best part of Pacific Rim (well, only good part) was the fight scenes, but even those got stale to the point where I didn't really give a shit during the final battle (although that might be because the final battle was so underwhelming compared to the others). While it sounds awesome on paper to have half of the movie's runtime just devoted to Godzilla wrecking shit and fighting monsters, there's really only so much you can do to make CG destruction scenes entertaining, tension filled, and useful to the narrative. It's much better to use them sparingly, because when Godzilla does wreck shit, you can bet your ass it will be memorable and impactful.
 
Yeah, this comparison with movies like Alien or Predator makes no damn sense to me.

In Alien, you might not see the Alien that much but you feel its presence throughout because you know it's scurrying around in vents or crawlways and hiding, always hiding in the shadows of a big, rusty ship. It stalks its prey and takes them out from ambushes. And in between, when we're alone with the crew, there is still a palpable sense of terror and suspense because of how horrific the xenomorph looks and what it might do to you. That is not going to be the case with Godzilla, because Godzilla does not look terrifying or grotesque. So no, we're not going to be following Bryan Cranston around and fearing for his safety around every corner or opening of a door. There is none of that tension.

In Predator, you don't fully see the Predator for the first half of the movie because it's got a damn cloaking device. It's still there, hiding in the treetops. It kills while cloaked, so you feel its presence. Not seeing the Predator is besides the point because it's still active and doing things that cause every other character to react.

In Godzilla, we have a 350 foot tall monster. It's not hiding in the shadows, it's not cloaked in the trees. It's not stalking anybody around anywhere, or stripping their bodies and leaving them as trophies from the treetops. It's either in the ocean, or it's on land blowing shit up. And when it's in the ocean, it's not gonna be doing anything significant, except perhaps blowing up a submarine or two. It's very clearly not analogous to those other movies. I haven't seen Godzilla '14 yet, so I have no idea whether the approach they're taking is gonna work, but I'm getting tired of these examples that are extremely different and can't be adequately reconciled with something like Godzilla. It's like trying to fit a square peg into a round hole.
There still is palpable tension and terror in a Godzilla situation, just based on the sheer destruction and uncontrollable nature of the beast. There's nowhere to run, nowhere to hide; you know he's out there, and you dread seeing that silhouette against the skyline. Not seeing him all the time, not knowing where he'll show up next, which city will be next to be destroyed, knowing that our military is totally ineffective against him; that's the palpable tension that ties it to movies like Alien or Jaws.
 
*Sigh*

I wish they would go balls to the wall with movies like this. I have received other impressions that there is little Godzilla in this movie.

Hollywood always does this. I'll pass.
 
There still is palpable tension and terror in a Godzilla situation, just based on the sheer destruction and uncontrollable nature of the beast. There's nowhere to run, nowhere to hide; you know he's out there, and you dread seeing that silhouette against the skyline. Not seeing him all the time, not knowing where he'll show up next, which city will be next to be destroyed, knowing that our military is totally ineffective against him; that's the palpable tension that ties it to movies like Alien or Jaws.

Maybe if you were actually in the situation in real life, sure. But... I've never felt tension and terror watching a Godzilla movie. I'm mostly feeling giddy, or a kind of awe at seeing such a large creature? Very different from tension or terror.

Again, I admit I've never seen the 54 original movie.
 
Honestly, having less Godzilla might be better. Not having him on screen for a majority of the film lets your mind fill in some of the blanks and won't let you get bored of him before the end.

"Hey, guys, while we were busy over here... where the fuck is Godzilla?"
"..."
"..."

This is never a positive, even when people try to say that it is.

Yup.

"Turn off your brain" is the same as saying "not everything can be Shakespeare".
 
Yup.

"Turn off your brain" is the same as saying "not everything can be Shakespeare".

Or "What did you expect, Citizen Kane?"

It's all silly. Turning off your brain is how you ENDURE TORTURE. If you're watching something that prompts a response similar to the one given when someone is shoving bamboo shoots into your dickhole, than maybe you should just bail on that movie instead of "turning off your brain" because "what did you expect, Citizen Kane?"

By the way, Citizen Kane is just a really good soap opera. Same with Shakespeare. The shit ain't that deep.
 
This is never a positive, even when people try to say that it is.
Eh, it depends on what you're looking for and what mood you're in.

Later tonight, for example, I'm going to go watch ASM2 with some friends after a long day at work and do just that. Then tomorrow (my day off), after a day of relaxation, I'll probably watch The Virgin Spring or something stimulating like that.

And guess what? I'll probably enjoy all of that. Crazy, huh?

Edit: I sincerely hope this won't turn into a semantics argument regarding "Turning off one's brain", because that would be silly.
 
Eh, it depends on what you're looking for and what mood you're in.

No, not really. You can enjoy stupid things without making yourself stupid.

Some of my favorite comedies of all time are Jackass movies, for example. But I don't try to "turn off my brain" while watching them. There's no reason to do that.

Watching something and actively choosing to not think while doing it is literally a waste of time.

It's another way of saying a movie is enjoyable but not intellectually challenging. Don't blow it out of proportion.

I'm not blowing it out of proportion, I'm pointing out how dumb it is as a defense of a film, or a means to prop it up. It's unnecessary at best. If you're going to advocate for a movie and your argument consists of "just make yourself dumb, it'll be fine" then you're making a bad argument.
 
...so you're saying I should turn off my brain when I watch Citizen Kane?

It's a real popcorn movie!

Worth booking in advance for BFI IMAX screening? Doesn't seem to be too in demand like some other Big screen releases.

I can't imagine how IMAX wouldn't improve the viewing experience in this instance. I mean - if EVER a movie was suited towards being a couple stories tall, it'd be a Godzilla movie, right?
 
No, not really. You can enjoy stupid things without making yourself stupid.

Some of my favorite comedies of all time are Jackass movies, for example. But I don't try to "turn off my brain" while watching them. There's no reason to do that.

Watching something and actively choosing to not think while doing it is literally a waste of time.



I'm not blowing it out of proportion, I'm pointing out how dumb it is as a defense of a film, or a means to prop it up. It's unnecessary at best. If you're going to advocate for a movie and your argument consists of "just make yourself dumb, it'll be fine" then you're making a bad argument.


i turned my brain off while reading this post
 
i turned my brain off while reading this post

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Or "What did you expect, Citizen Kane?"

It's all silly. Turning off your brain is how you ENDURE TORTURE. If you're watching something that prompts a response similar to the one given when someone is shoving bamboo shoots into your dickhole, than maybe you should just bail on that movie instead of "turning off your brain" because "what did you expect, Citizen Kane?"

I'm in tears here. XD
I'll steal this and use it the next time my friends employ that tired argument. Thanks!
 
I didn't have to turn off my brain to enjoy Pacific Rim. I thought the overacting, ridiclious plot, and 2d characters were hilarious. Idris Elba's (who I need to remind you was named STACKER PENTECOST and lived in THE SHATTERDOME) performance was almost on Raul Julia M. Bison level IMO.
 
I didn't have to turn off my brain to enjoy Pacific Rim. I thought the overacting, ridiclious plot, and 2d characters were hilarious. Idris Elba's (who I need to remind you was named STACKER PENTECOST and lived in THE SHATTERDOME) performance was almost on Raul Julia M. Bison level IMO.

Cmon man. Stuff like Stacker Pentecost and The Shatterdome are just nods to the anime influences that Pacific Rim drew on. If you've already bought into the premise of giant man-made Mechs fighting giant kaiju monsters... you should be able to accept those little details.
 
Cmon man. Stuff like Stacker Pentecost and The Shatterdome are just nods to the anime influences that Pacific Rim drew on. If you've already bought into the premise of giant man-made Mechs fighting giant kaiju monsters... you should be able to accept those little details.

I never said I didn't accept them? I just thought they were cheesy and over the top, as they were in the original animes.
 
Are you expecting the reboot of Godzilla to feature an endless array of monster-on-monster fight scenes, where two nigh-invincible creatures slug each other with computer-generated punches until one of them finally goes down for the count? If so, you’d better wait for the fourth Transformers film, because Godzilla is so not that movie. In fact, though the press saw Godzilla for the first time today in Los Angeles, they didn’t actually see much of the titular monster, who remains an elusive presence in his very own film. Director Gareth Edwards wouldn't have had it any other way.

“[If] you throw everything you can at the screen, you've got nowhere else to go,” said Edwards after the screening, when Vulture asked him about his bold approach to the film, which holds back the first reveal of Godzilla — and the first full-fledged fight — for as long as possible. His goal, said Edwards, was “not to frustrate the audience, but to tease them. It’s kind of like cinematic foreplay.”

http://www.vulture.com/2014/05/you-wont-see-much-godzilla-in-godzilla.html?mid=twitter_vulture

I thought that's what having 1 second clips of Godzilla in the TV spots and trailers were for :/
 
Does it have the blood and gore level of say, Cloverfield?

Wondering how age appropriate it is.
 
I never said I didn't accept them? I just thought they were cheesy and over the top, as they were in the original animes.

In fact, it can be argued that more enjoyment was gained from keeping your brain on, knowing and acknowledging those cultural references, and appreciating the way they were mixed into the movie itself, even as you simultaneously recognize how cornpone and cheese drenched the execution of those elements are.

When I watched Godzilla vs. Destoroyah, it was easy to see how simple it was, how goofy some of the ideas were, and how they were trying to mine the ALIENS aesthetic pretty blatantly as the movie played out. But that didn't lessen my enjoyment of the movie at all. Noticing this sort of stuff is part of what makes the movie what it is, ultimately. Disengaging to the point where it's all part of the same loud noise washing over my eyes is actually limiting the amount of fun you can have with something as gloryhallastoopid as a rubber monster movie.
 
No, not really. You can enjoy stupid things without making yourself stupid.

Some of my favorite comedies of all time are Jackass movies, for example. But I don't try to "turn off my brain" while watching them. There's no reason to do that.

Watching something and actively choosing to not think while doing it is literally a waste of time.



I'm not blowing it out of proportion, I'm pointing out how dumb it is as a defense of a film, or a means to prop it up. It's unnecessary at best. If you're going to advocate for a movie and your argument consists of "just make yourself dumb, it'll be fine" then you're making a bad argument.
In attempt to steer the discussion away from a semantics argument, let's just say that, based on the fact that you seem to be taking a figure of speech like "Turn one's brain off" to a literal extreme (and to a painfully inane extent, in fact), I will go out on a limb and say that our definitions of it differ a little. My definition is not "just make yourself dumb" like you so eloquently put it. Rather, and I'm going to quote someone else here:

It's another way of saying a movie is enjoyable but not intellectually challenging. Don't blow it out of proportion.

Mind you, I'm not sure how you arrived to the conclusion that I was defending Pacific Rim. In fact, I was bashing it a little (maybe reading comprehension is not your forte?).

Unfortunately, I think it's too late to prevent you from doing what's bolded there.
 
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