Godzilla vs. Kong – Big Dumb Fun
Gloriously stupid and shamelessly over the top, Adam Wingard’s Godzilla vs. Kong is the sort of mindless bit of popcorn entertainment that’s been absent for far too long on the big screen. Of course, whether you actually missed this sort of large-scale urban mayhem and short-on-logic kind of movie certainly depends on your preference for gigantic monsters going toe-to-toe or not. “Hamlet,” this ain’t. And that’s fine, as spectacle such as this serves as a vehicle for catharsis – just sit back, wallow in the silliness of this nonsensical monster mash and relieve a bit of stress.
The plot – a silly concoction of science fiction and fantasy that deals with a source of vast energy at the Earth’s core and Kong being used to retrieve it – is muddled and at times nonsensical. Of course, it’s inconsequential as all we care about is the big throwdown between the titular monsters and director Adam Wingard does not disappoint. Cities are laid to waste with style and imagination while a sea battle that finds Kong leapfrogging from aircraft carrier to aircraft carrier to battle the amphibious lizard is a knockout. In the end, you’ll realize you’ve been smiling all the way through this silliness. It’s not great art, but man is it fun…really, really fun. 3 Stars – Rated PG-13 – 114 minutes – In theaters.
The Unholy – More than Meets the Eye
Screen Gems is employing a rather inspired and slightly blasphemous approach in releasing Evan Spiliotopoulos’ “The Unholy,” a modest thriller concerning miracles occurring in a small Massachusetts town. Releasing the film on the holiest of days – Good Friday – the television ads touting the movie seem to dare the viewer to risk eternal damnation by seeing it over the course of the most important weekend on the Catholic calendar. Personally, I think this is overstating things. While no expert on the holy manners, I would think saying a couple “Hail Mary’s” would cover this minor indiscretion.
As exploitive horror flicks go, The Uninvited isn’t half bad. Jeffery Dean Morgan is Finn, a reporter with a tattered reputation seeking professional redemption. He thinks he finds it in the person of Alice (Cricket Brown), a young woman able to heal the infirmed and claims to see visions of the Virgin Mary. Whether she’s the real deal isn’t the question – she is! The problem is she isn’t taking orders from Mary but a malevolent force. Complications ensue, as do questions of faith and sacrifice. Only shoddy special effects keep this from being a complete success. 2 1/2 Stars – Rated PG-13 – 98 minutes. In theaters.
