Edge of Tomorrow

This movie is a combination of “Ground Hog Day” and “The Expendables”. It is a fun summer movie. Tom Curse and Emily Blunt are futuristic soldiers battling an invading alien force. The kicker is that Tom Curse keeps repeating the same day. How he restarts the same day is cruel but funny. The karma shtick works well from being to end and gives the film a holistic feel.

Acting is not a big concern for this film, this is an action flick. In contrast to his bravo performance in “Cocktail”, Curse is once again “Tom Terrific”. Curse is more light hearted here than the grim Ethan Hunt persona in “Mission Impossible”. Returning to yesterday is fraught with problems least of all convincing people you were already there.

Emily Blunt is a Special Forces bad ass (Ha Ha Ha!!). I like Emily Blunt, she is a good actress, but she is more suited to afternoon tea than storming the beach in full Lululemon black body armor. She and Tom are a team, unequal in the beginning but they catch up. Rather than a sex object Blunt is a highly trained killing machine. Tom starts out as a slacker and Emily whips him into shape (whipping is the least of his problems). This dynamic makes for good chemistry between the actors.

The aliens were quite different. They looked like chrome covered Ramen noodles with a bad over bite. It is not clear why they are invading the Earth, the problem is how do you get rid of them?

Two other likable character actors are Bill Paxton and Brendon Gleeson (“The Guard” and “In Bruges”). Paxton is the hard charging Master Sargent who is mustering his troops for battle. This is a departure from his more sedate roles, but he pulls it off with mustached gusto. Gleeson plays a general and he has really put on the pounds. Mercifully the only action he sees in the movie is diving for a box of cookies.

This is a safe movie for the whole family. No sex, no mindless gore, no cursing…and no kids.

Godzilla 2014

I saw my first Godzilla movie in 1959 on our black and white Zenith TV set. It wasn’t scary. How scary can a man in a rubber Godzilla suit stomping toy buildings be? What made those shows entertaining was the whole package. Japanese cities being destroyed, awful acting (both Japanese and Gaijin), misaligned soundtracks complemented by subtitles hard to read. Of course it was always about the fight. If not always the bad guy, Godzilla was always the bad ass.

Godzilla 2014 in many ways is a retro movie; more faithful than other recent Godzilla movies.  The movie starts out in its roots, Japan. The twist here is that the Americans speak Japanese. Unfortunately no subtitles and the sound track is in sync. Godzilla is a product of 1950’s nuclear testing and nuclear radiation threat is pervasive in this movie. This Godzilla ,as opposed to the 1998 Godzilla with Matthew Broderick, looks like the original along with his ear shattering shriek and nuclear halitosis (no death rays from the eyes, though) . 

   

The advisements for this movie are a bit misleading.  Godzilla’s air time is not extensive, just like a primadonna he shows up about an hour late. When he is on the set Godzilla fights the evil MUTOs (Massive Unidentified Terrestrial Organism). The MUTO’s look like a pair of pliers with wings. These titanic battles are reminiscent of Godzilla’s fights with Mothra or Rodan. Aside from the trite admonishments concerning the perils of nuclear power, Godzilla movies are a giant donnybrook.

Bryan Cranston literally lends his name to this movie. His performance is fine but brief and not memorable. His presence gives the movie a certain cachet which the talk shows exploited. Aaron Taylor-Johnson plays Lieutenant Ford, is Bryan Cranston’s son, is a bomb (nukes also) specialist. He played the guy in “Bad Ass”; he really bulked up for this role. Aside from the MUTOs, he has the most screen time. His role is perfunctory as is his acting. Elizabeth Olson plays Lt. Ford’s wife. She is one of the Olson sisters, the one with the personality (sort of). She plays a nurse. Poor Ken Watanabe is the token Japanese guy who always looks distressed. Ken is representing but what a peanut role for a great actor.

The later part of the movie is dominated by the monster battles. Buildings and a certain bridge are destroyed. The movie is sanitized since there are no gory scenes of dead bodies. I will not reveal who wins.

 Godzilla could be considered a super hero if he could just fit into a pair of spandex. This is not a date movie. It’s an old fashioned retro movie, and quite a good one. Don’t forget to ask for the senior citizen discount.