Quickies to Catch Up (pt 2): Female led thrillers and CG beasts in battle

by Nathaniel R

In an attempt to clear our cache of notes and fill out that review page for 2021, we're addressing movies we didn't get around to discussing in full for your commenting pleasure. Better late than never! As we were typing these Luca emerged but it's so good it deserves one big post or several little ones before the Oscars so more on that soon. If you missed part one of this review catch-up, that's here. After the jump brief thoughts on four films: Godzilla vs Kong, Mortal Kombat, Those Who Wish Me Dead, and The Woman in the Window...

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Box Office: "Demon Slayer" is now an international hit

by Nathaniel R

People are slowly trickling back into movies theaters including Team Experience. There was an actual tight contest for #1 this weekend at the box office. How about that?! The anime hit Demon Slayer, which failed to score a Best Animated Feature nomination at the Oscars, is crying all the way to the bank. After breaking recrods in Japan it's now the first anime film to top the US charts since Pokemon back in 1999. That puts Mortal Kombat at #2 which had the disadvantage of also being free on HBO Max (for another two weeks)...

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Yes No Maybe So: "Godzilla v Kong"

Tony here. I’m a forever defendor of Gareth Edwards’ 2014 Godzilla picture. It’s an atmospheric, artful take on a big, blustery blockbuster featuring giant monsters. The acting is better than it has any right to be and there are images and wholesale sequences which evoke the best of Spielberg; Edwards sought to restore mystery and majesty to the genre. After Edwards’ film ONLY made $530 million worldwide, Warner Bros would return to the brainless goofiness of old (think the 1997 Godzilla) with Kong: Skull Island and Godzilla: King of the Monsters, seeking out higher dollars by doubling down on dumbing it down.

Despite interesting directors at the helm, they’re both mildly entertaining if overwrought examples of studio factory filmmaking, and Godzilla v Kong looks to continue this trend based on its trailer, a piece of unintentional hilarity...

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