The Godzilla franchise has first and foremost been a source of epic monster battles. The 2014 American remake was a terrible let-down in this regard. With the vast majority of the film placing focus on dull characters, a dragging pace, Bryan Cranston's abysmal attempts to speak Japanese, and a lackluster monster face-off that is over before it's gained any significant momentum or power, it's amazing that a sequel was commissioned in the first place. However, we should be grateful that the franchise was given another shot, as "Godzilla: King of the Monsters" is an exquisitely crafted contribution to the Godzilla catalogue.
One notable commonality between Godzilla (2014) and King of the Monsters is Ken Watanabe. Across both films, he portrays the smartest person in the room. Whether he's telling people to let the monsters fight or reminding them of the importance of respecting Godzilla instead of treating him as an enemy, his performance always serves as source of wisdom that enriches the story.
While Godzilla (2014) wasted an unforgivable amount of time before showcasing any monster action, King of the Monsters wastes no time in jumping into showing the wide array of monsters and serving battles between them. There is exquisite world-building from start to finish, which enhances the mythological qualities of these creatures and their long history both respectively and with one another.
A prior knowledge of Godzilla (2014) is not necessary to follow the plot or understand the characters of King of the Monsters. The lead characters are different, and their only overlap is that the King of the Monster leads were effected by the final attack in San Francisco at the end of Godzilla (2014). Thematically, King of the Monsters makes repeated reference to the conflict between humankind and nature. On the one hand, humanity is helpless to the massive power of nature, be it in the form of natural disasters, or in the case of these films, monsters. But on the other hand, mankind is the most destructive force to both nature and in turn, themselves. The only way for these two to continue existing is to maintain a peaceful, symbiotic relationship. Humans are the reason for the rise of these monsters and must now deal with the smallness of their own existence by comparison.
Ken Watanabe offers some of the most poignant lines of King of the Monsters which address these very themes. He likens the creatures to animals, instead of monsters, and stresses the importance of humans learning to co-exist with them. In today's world with massive environmental problems including pollution, climate change, and the numerous animals species that have and are on the way to going extinct, King of the Monsters manages to resonate with these issues without losing the entertainment value of giant monsters fighting.
"Godzilla: King of the Monsters" is playing in cinemas worldwide.
Amazon Studios Original Film MANCHESTER BY THE SEA is available on Amazon Prime Video TODAY!
Written and Directed by Kenneth Lonergan
Starring Casey Affleck, Michelle Williams, Lucas Hedges, Kyle Chandler, Gretchen Mol, and C.J. Wilson
MANCHESTER BY THE SEA is Certified Fresh at 96% on Rotten Tomatoes
Watch the trailer:
*Academy Award Winner for Best Actor - Casey Affleck*
*Academy Award Winner for Best Original Screenplay - Kenneth Lonergan*
*Official selection 2016 Toronto International Film Festival*
*Official Selection 2016 New York Film Festival*
*Official selection 2016 Sundance Film Festival*
Check out this playlist of featurettes and clips from the film:
In Manchester by the Sea, the latest film from award-winning writer and director Kenneth Lonergan, the life of a solitary Boston janitor is transformed when he returns to his hometown to take care of his teenage nephew. The story of the Chandlers, a working-class family living in a Massachusetts fishing village for generations, Manchester by the Seais a deeply poignant, unexpectedly funny exploration of the power of familial love, community, sacrifice and hope.
After the death of his older brother Joe (Kyle Chandler), Lee Chandler (Casey Affleck) is shocked to learn that Joe has made him sole guardian of his nephew Patrick (Lucas Hedges). Taking leave of his job, Lee reluctantly returns to Manchester-by-the-Sea to care for Patrick, a spirited 16-year-old, and is forced to deal with a past that separated him from his wife Randi (Michelle Williams) and the community where he was born and raised. Bonded by the man who held their family together, Lee and Patrick struggle to adjust to a world without him.
In his first film since 2011’s acclaimed Margaret, Lonergan once again proves himself a powerful and visionary storyteller as he seamlessly weaves past and present together, crafting a tension-filled tale that deftly eschews sentimentality in favor of penetrating emotional insight and deeply affecting human relationships.
Not available on any other subscription services, Manchester By The Sea will be available for Prime members to stream and enjoy using the Amazon Video app for TVs, connected devices including Amazon Fire TV, and mobile devices, or online at Amazon.com/originals, at no additional cost to their membership. Prime members will also be able to download the film to mobile devices for offline viewing.Manchester By The Sea joins Prime Video’s line-up of award-winning and critically acclaimed Original Series and Movies—to see more originals available exclusively for Prime members visit www.amazon.com/originals.
Amazon Studios launched in 2010 as a new way to develop feature films and episodic series—one that’s open to great ideas from creators and audiences around the world. Anyone can upload a script online for Amazon Studios to review, and those who choose to make their projects public can also receive feedback from the Amazon Studios community. First announced in January 2015, Amazon Original Movies is an initiative by Amazon Studios to produce and acquire original movies for theatrical release and early window distribution exclusively for Prime members. Like Amazon Original Series, Amazon Original Movies focuses on unique stories, voices, and characters from top and up-and-coming creators. In 2015 Amazon Studios released its first film, Chi-Raq from critically acclaimed filmmaker Spike Lee. Chi-Raq is now available for Prime members to stream exclusively. Last year, Amazon Studios released, in theaters, Kenneth Longergan’s Manchester By The Sea on November 18th and Jim Jarmusch’s Paterson on December 28th.
About Amazon Video
Amazon Video is a premium on-demand entertainment service that offers customers the greatest choice in what to watch, and how to watch it. Amazon Video is the only service that provides all of the following:
•Prime Video: Thousands of movies and TV episodes, including popular licensed content plus critically-acclaimed and award-winning Amazon Original Series and Movies from Amazon Studios like Transparent, The Man in the High Castle, Chi-Raq andkids series Tumble Leaf, available for unlimited streaming as part of an Amazon Prime membership
•Add-on Subscriptions: Dozens of subscriptions to networks like SHOWTIME, STARZ and more, available to Amazon Prime members as add-ons to their membership
•Rent or Own: Hundreds of thousands of titles, including new-release movies and current TV shows available for on-demand rental or purchase for all Amazon customers
•Instant Access: Instantly watch anytime, anywhere through the Amazon Video app on TVs, mobile devices, Amazon Fire TV, Fire TV Stick, and Fire tablets, or online. For a list of all compatible devices, visit www.amazon.com/howtostream
•Premium Features: Top features like 4K Ultra HD, High Dynamic Range (HDR) and mobile downloads for offline viewing of certain content
In addition to Prime Video, the Prime membership includes unlimited Free Two-Day Shipping on millions of items across all categories, more than one million songs and thousands of playlists and stations with Prime Music, early access to select Lightning Deals all year long, free secure, unlimited photo storage in Amazon Cloud Drive with Prime Photos, one free pre-released book a month with Kindle First, and more. To sign up for Prime or to find out more, visit: www.amazon.com/prime.
About Amazon
Amazon is guided by four principles: customer obsession rather than competitor focus, passion for invention, commitment to operational excellence, and long-term thinking. Customer reviews, 1-Click shopping, personalized recommendations, Prime, Fulfillment by Amazon, AWS, Kindle Direct Publishing, Kindle, Fire tablets, Fire TV, Amazon Echo, and Alexa are some of the products and services pioneered by Amazon. For more information, visit www.amazon.com/about.
.jpg)
