Colossal

Attended a preview screening of this courtesy of a friend the other night with zero idea of what the movie was about so imagine to my surprise that it was a wry take on a Godzilla movie but with a seriously intriguing and rather perplexing narrative hook. If you're reading this right now, you're either deciding whether to see this, or you've already seen this and are looking for opinions on what other people thought.

Without spoiling anything I'll just say that i thought the director (who also wrote the script) does an impressive job of keeping you into the story being told, and just slightly off track as to what's around the bend story wise. There were a couple times watching this where I thought i knew where the story was going to go, but ended up being somewhat off the mark. As the movie kept going I also started to wonder how the heck the director was going to bring this thing to a satisfying ending, and the answer to that question was with a fantastic climactic sequence that i very much liked watching unfold but didn't quite hit the mark in terms of satisfying to me, but somehow still felt quite right in keeping in tone with what we had been watching the whole time.

So basically i'm just saying--its worth checking out but with some slight reservations about the story as it unfolded. (I personally thought the big reveal about the origins of the monster's appearance was a little too symbolic and mystical and out of the blue, but other people might like how its explained)

All that said, the main concept of the movie i thought was pretty superb, and I thought Anne Hathaway in a kind of role we rarely if ever see her play was excellent and does a tremendous job in a very difficult role. If you don't like her, you'll end up hating the movie because she is a very large component of the movie. I thought even tho her character is aimless, she did a terrific job of keeping her likable throughout, even when you're kind of cringing at some of the decisions she makes on screen. Similarly, i thought the performance of Jason Sudekis was also surprisingly good. He starts out the film the way you normally see him in films, as the seemingly good hart-ed, wry, slightly bumbling slob, but as the story unfolds and he gradually starts to change those very qualities ever so subtly, it may not be til very late in the film or possibly thinking about it on the way home that you realize how strong a job he did as well playing opposite Hathaway. (Dan Stevens for the record has a very smallish part so if you're going to see this specifically for him, you might be disappointed)

In closing i'll just say that if you already know the premise to the film and are wondering whether or not its for you, I'll just say that if you like slightly out there premises, you should check this out because overall despite again some narrative choices I might not have been too crazy about, i thought it was a very solidly engaging movie, and for what its worth, I didn't think it was too strange to appeal to people who think that this may be too far out there for their comfort zones/slightly more mainstream tastes.

By watching the marketing campaign, you are lead to believe this film is more light-hearted and comical.

Upon watching, the true underlining meaning becomes more apparent and it touches on a more dark subject matter, that apparently was lost on some viewers. It is a very real world dynamic in the relationship between Gloria (Anne Hathaway) and Oscar (Jason Sudeikis) that was well executed in this manner of storytelling.

It very difficult to say why this film is worth watching without "Spoilers", but I enjoyed this film; even the second time around, watching it on Netflix just recently.

Gloria (Anne Hathaway) is a mess. Her existence revolves around drinking, sleeping and abusive men. Dumped by her boyfriend, Gloria returns to her hometown in a half-hearted attempt to begin again. She continues to be a sucker for abuse. The men in Gloria's life, each controlling in their own way, manipulate her will-power as much as the alcohol.

At about the same time a gigantic monster begins stalking Seoul. Gloria discovers a connection between this monster, herself and her tragic relationships with men and the bottle.

Endearing qualities of the film include touching scenes, powerful underlying themes and independent charm. Yet the storyline is disjointed and lacks effective transitions. Gaps need to be filled in the writing/directing. Hathaway, Jason Sudeikis and Tim Blake Nelson are fun to watch, yet Nelson seems somewhat restrained. Seen at the Toronto International Film Festival.

The viewer feels little compassion for the problems these characters both find and make for themselves. Worse, the characters wreak murderous destruction on an Asian nation, but we're supposed to feel sorry for their romantic entanglements? The story, such as it is, is told thru the wrong end of the telescope.

Gloria (Anne Hathaway) is unemployed and often drunk. Her boyfriend Tim (Dan Stevens) dumps her and kicks her out of his New York apartment. She moves back into her family home and reconnects with childhood friend Oscar (Jason Sudeikis). She discovers that she is directly connected to a monster destroying Seoul. It's the result of a childhood incident with Oscar twenty five years ago.

It's a fun and different take on the monster movie. Hathaway is good. I like Oscar's heel turn. I would rather not tell Joel and Garth about the secret. If it's kept only to Gloria and Oscar, the tension could be much higher. I don't see Joel going along with Oscar's turn. Joel's character could be combined with Tim to make this more of a love triangle. There are some questionable logic with the ending but logic can't be taken seriously in this movie. This has a fresh take and stays compelling despite some bumps along the way.