Colossal

[lhb412]

^Of course! It was something of an exaggeration. Looking forward to seeing it in a few weeks!

Nothing was as excruciating as waiting months for Pan's Labyrinth to expand to enough theaters for it to hit my town - then I sprained my ankle while walking into the theater and had to limp to my seat!

[jellydonut25]

This was good, not great. I enjoyed it for the most part, and it actually had a little more kaiju action than I was expecting (though I'd still say don't expect much. I was just expecting nearly none, and instead we got SOME...kind of). Unfortunately, there are a few story threads that are never seen through, which makes the ending seem somewhat rushed. Hathaway is good and Sudeikis is INCREDIBLE. The movie itself, is just solid. 3.5/5.

[Reaper G]

The thing that struck me most about this movie was how awful Oscar was as a person, and as such, a great bad guy. Most villains in kaiju movies are mad scientists or alien leaders; here, he's an abusive, manipulative control freak, and that makes him real.

[jellydonut25]

[TerranigmaFreak]

Avoid the newest trailer and posters if you haven't seen the movie. It contains major spoilers.

[DannyBeane]

I saw it on Sunday and for the most part I liked it. Oscar was an interesting character, when he was initially introduced he was a cool guy and when he was a possessive dick, he made for a great villain. However the transition from childhood friend to colossal douchebag felt like it happened to fast. Also I felt like some of the side characters could have had a little more closure. That said I did enjoy it. It just had a few quirks that irked me. I will definitely pick this up on bluray when it comes out.

[lhb412]

My local theater that the Colossal site says is getting the film this weekend isn't listing the film!

Oh, woe is me. woooooooooooe-

[lhb412]

... and it pops up on the official listing for this weekend! WOOHOO!

[Gwangi]

Considering this had Anne Hathaway, I'm surprised this one did not get some sort of wider release, and instead regulated to the independent theater chains. Perhaps the premise would have been too odd for regular movie goers (heck, as kaiju fan, even I thought this was an unusual film).

The theater I saw it plays nothing but independents. It attracts a good many senior citizens however, so much so, that I felt I like I was in the middle of Leisure World!

"Colossal" is getting fairly positive reviews from some of us kaiju fans who have already seen it. Just don't expect a monster mashing feature throughout, however.

[jellydonut25]

[lhb412]

Dug the film. So glad I didn't have it spoiled.

There was actually a bit more kaiju action than I had thought there would be. Film like this could suggest the action offscreen almost entirely, but I feel like we got a good look at everything.



Could anyone else see this movie being remade as a Japanese TV drama with traditional tokusatsu effects?

[Dai]

I'm so glad one of my big local cinemas screened this. I thought it was going to be a nightmare to track down.

What a great movie, and like Shin Godzilla it managed to squeeze a lot out of a $15 million budget. I'm warming more to Anne Hathaway each time I see her in a new movie; she just brings so much to her performance in this. I also liked how smart the script and editing were. It did a good job of conveying the disorienting feeling of forgetting the night before without making the story structurally confusing, which isn't easy. Unlike a typical big studio movie, it also didn't treat the viewers like idiots, and trusted us to connect the dots to things that happened earlier without needing flashbacks (particularly when Gloria was starting to realise that the monster was mimicking her movements). Even just clever little things that told us so much about the characters, like the way Gloria forgot that Oscar's mother died, but she remembers the layout of his father's bar in detail.

I found it satisfying from start to finish. It's interesting to go back a couple of pages and see people expecting this to be a romantic comedy. It's a black comedy to be sure, but romance isn't a big factor. Relationships are more important to the story--messy, manipulative, convincing relationships between friends and lovers--but the most important relationship is between people and alcohol. It's Gloria's changing relationship with alcohol that drives her progress through the story, and that's why the movie leaves its borderline red herring plot threads seemingly unresolved and ends where it does.

[jellydonut25]

To be fair, everyone though mt it was gonna be a wacky comedy because that's how it's marketed.

[kiryugoji04]

To be fair to the movie, I'm pretty sure that was an intentional bait and switch.

[jellydonut25]

[lhb412]

I liked that the marketing just gave a tease to the whole setup and didn't give away the store.

[kiryugoji04]

Yeah, so the longer this movie has sat with me and now that the '10s are about at a close, I honestly think Colossal is the best giant monster movie of this decade. It's one of the few monster films that is on the same level as the original Godzilla in how hard it commits to its ideas and really drives them home and a lot of its filmmaking is absolutely brilliant. If you haven't seen this yet you definitely ought to give it a chance.

[lhb412]

^ I wouldn't go that far in my personal estimation of this decade's kaiju content (kontent?). Pacific Rim and Shin Godzilla are definitely my two in the top slots. Most underrated? Certainly. Also, sadly the most underseen and deserving of rediscovery.

And kaiju Gloria has a nifty design that I didn't see praised enough even in the positive notices the film got!

[kiryugoji04]

Pacific Rim is an elegant pastiche but nothing innovative and Shin Godzilla has problematic political leanings and a weird climax. For my money, Colossal hits all the right notes and rises far above the competition despite some really strong contenders these past ten years.

Also, kaiju Gloria is basically a cross between Gomora and Garamon. Gomoramon, if you will. Really fantastic design and I love that it has a feminine silhouette without being stereotypically femme.

[jellydonut25]

I'd put Pacific Rim above it. And you said past ten, so I guess that rules out Cloverfield.

I find Shin Godzilla as reprehensible as you do KOTM, so yeah, that's not entering into my contendership for anything other than "Godzilla movie that most disregards every theme Honda ever worked into a Godzilla movie" and "Most innovative use of chair POV."

Colossal is definitely a movie deserving of a bit of a rediscovery by me. I liked it, but I wasn't in love with it in no small part due to its DRAMATIC shift in tone, and then also feeling like it leaves some of its plot threads REALLY dangling. It's unique though, and as someone who feels like we already have more than enough Godzilla movies and monster punch-punch stuff and the further entries into that realm are all just gravy, I'll always take these quirky weird entries like Cloverfield and Colossal and Monsters as expansions and unexpected twists on the genre.

Oh, I'd put Monsters above it too...

[lhb412]

^^ Yes, the usual result of a designer being told to feminize a creature is to just put boobs and eyelashes on it. It's wonderful how they managed to stay away from that totally.