Godzilla: King Of The Monsters: Who's In The Mood For A Messy And Mind-Numbing Heavy Metal Spectacle?
Plus reviews of The Perfection, a Fatal Attraction for classical musicians, the Korean cult thriller Svaha: The Sixth Finger, and the Randall Park-Ali Wong rom-com Always Be My Maybe.
Godzilla: King of the Monsters (PG13)
Starring Kyle Chandler, Vera Farmiga, Millie Bobby Brown
Directed by Michael Dougherty
The third chapter in Legendary Pictures’ ‘MonsterVerse’ — after 2014’s Godzilla and 2017’s Kong: Skull Island — sees the titular radiation-powered titan back in action, battling more titans, levelling more skyscrapers.
The resulting smackdowns are akin to a heavy metal spectacle. Except? The best (or rather, better) parts aren’t the earwax-melting music or the dazzling light show, but the on-stage banter between the songs.
The ‘banter’ in the movie — the technical mumbo-jumbo, tension-relieving quips, and endless debates on whether the Big G is on Team Humanity or Team Apocalypse — are a welcome respite from the dimly-lit, frenetically-edited on-screen mass destruction. (Maybe the rumble is more watchable if viewed through night-vision goggles?)
But some of the dialogue is really risible. It pains me to see Zhang Ziyi — who alongside Ken Watanabe are the few Asians in a film of Japanese origins — saddled with the thankless role of Dr Ilene Chen whose lines are mainly to repeat info shown on a computer screen a la Sigourney Weaver in Galaxy Quest. Let’s hope she has more meaty lines in next year’s Godzilla vs Kong. (2.5/5 stars)
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The Perfection: Logan Browning and Allison Williams perform a deadly duet.
The Perfection (R21)
Starring Allison Williams, Logan Browning
Directed by Richard Shepard
Allison Williams scares me. In Get Out, she plays a seemingly good white person who turns out to be a demon in disguise. She’s up to no good again in this batcrap twisty and twisted thriller, as Charlotte (Williams), a washed-up cello prodigy plotting a comeback. She meets rising star Elizabeth (Logan Browning) and they have a fling. Then things start to go south … and sideways (is that a cleaver?). The Fatal Attraction-for-musicians part is merely a preamble to a more lurid study on childhood trauma and repressed memories. You’ll never look at a cellist the same way after The Perfection. Promise. On Netflix. (3.5/5 stars)
Photo: Netflix
Always Be My Maybe: Randall Park and Ali Wong are late for their date.
Always Be My Maybe (PG13)
Starring Randall Park, Ali Wong, Daniel Dae Kim
Directed by Nahnatchka Khan
Randall Park has appeared in quite a few rom-coms (Trainwreck, Long Shot), but he’s always a supporting player, never the leading man. He now gets a shot to shine in this charming Asian-led rom-com directed by his Fresh Off The Boat EP Nahnatchka Khan. Park and stand-up comedian Ali Wong star as childhood pals and a former couple trying to rekindle their love. But their socio-economic status — she’s a celeb chef, he a musician/handyman — threatens to get in the way. The story hits familiar beats but the lively performances — including a bonkers Keanu Reeves cameo as a douchebag version of himself — elevate the material. On Netflix. (3.5/5 stars)
Photo: Netflix
Svaha: The Sixth Finger: Cult-buster Lee Jung-Jae is on the trail of a murderer.
Svaha: The Sixth Finger (NC16)
Starring Lee Jung-Jae, Yu Ji-Tae
Directed by Jang Jae-Hyun
Jang Jae-Hyun’s follow-up to his 2015 exorcism thriller The Priests is yet another faith-based tale, with Lee Jung-Jae as a jaded Christian pastor who specialises in exposing cults. His latest assignment is a Buddhist offshoot faction that worships the Four Great Heavenly Kings. The plot thickens when one member is linked to a series of unsolved murders and an ancient prophecy. Svaha’s mix of police procedural (even though it’s the cleric who does most of the sleuthing) and occult horror bears some comparison with Na Hong-Jin’s The Wailing. While not as bizarre and gloomy as that film, it’s a fascinating meditation on good and evil and religious fanaticism. On Netflix. (3.5/5 stars)
Photo: Netflix
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