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John Goodman

Kong: Skull Island movie trailer

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Trailer for American monster movie Kong: Skull Island. It’s a reboot of the King Kong franchise and also the second instalment in Legendary’s MonsterVerse – a shared fictional universe centred on a series of monster films featuring Godzilla and King Kong (and perhaps more in the future.)

Directed by Jordan Vogt-Roberts and stars Tom Hiddleston, Samuel L Jackson, John Goodman, Brie Larson, Jing Tian, Toby Kebbell, John Ortiz, Corey Hawkins, Jason Mitchell, Shea Whigham, Thomas Mann, Terry Notary and John C Reilly. In cinemas next week in Malaysia and the US etc.

I’m never a fan of King Kong. The fact that he’s always in love with a “tiny” albeit beautiful woman never makes sense to me, and that alone makes it difficult for me to like the franchise. Set that aside, the Kong in the teaser looks pretty badass. There seems to be too much going on in the preview though.

Chinese actress Jing Tian appears as a main cast on movie poster but doesn’t feature in the trailer at all. Guess it’s another pointless character just to please the Chinese market. Perhaps there will be two versions like some other recent Hollywood films, one for China and another for rest of the world.

Update – It’s a stupid but entertaining film. There are so many loopholes in the plot, which is poorly pieced together to begin with. The visual effects look great though, and the fast-paced storytelling makes some of the flaws forgivable. It’s fun for two hours but an easily forgotten movie.

10 Cloverfield Lane movie trailer

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Trailer for 10 Cloverfield Lane, an American psychological thriller film. Directed by Dan Trachtenberg, and stars John Goodman, Mary Elizabeth Winstead and John Gallagher Jr. It’s a spiritual sequel to the 2008 monster movie Cloverfield. In theatres in March in America, and April in Malaysia.

The film was developed from a spec script titled The Cellar. The story follows a woman who, after a car crash, wakes up in a doomsday bunker with two men who insist that a catastrophic event (from the first movie, although not originally so in the script) has left the earth surface uninhabitable.

Seems like a decent thriller film, as the woman ponders between trusting the men or escaping instead. The plot could work as a standalone movie, but the Cloverfield producers decide to pair this up with the franchise, and it could create some huge spoilers for the new movie. People who’ve watched the first instalment know what has happened, and it might take away the surprise element.

I’ve not watched the original film because of motion sickness (with found footage stuff) but I know what it’s about. I actually think that it’s a clever way to make a sequel – with seemingly unrelated story which somehow connects to the main event. The potential is limitless, they can make this into a huge franchise. The challenge though, is to keep the suspense and not making this into a spoiler fest.

Review and updates

It’s a decent movie, could have been better if it’s a standalone production instead. As suspected, the Cloverfield linkup took away the suspense especially in the second half of the film. The ending is anticlimactic too, feels like they insert the last 10-15 minutes just to make it relevant to the franchise. The final parts are unnecessary, and the execution is poor regardless.

The storytelling is good in the first half though; it’s pretty intense when there’s still element of surprise early on. The cast did well too, and John Goodman is simply amazing. Overall it’s still a good movie despite some flaws. Again, could have been better if it’s a standalone film, but I guess it won’t perform as well in the box office if that’s the case. And money speaks loudest in Hollywood.

Update 2018 – Check out the trailer and my review for the new instalment, The Cloverfield Paradox.

Mach Go! Go! Go! aka Speed Racer

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Mach Go! Go! Go! is a 1960’s Japanese anime which is aired in US as well under the title Speed Racer. A live action film adaptation of Speed Racer, directed by the Wachowski brothers of Matrix fame, is set to premiere in May 2008.

Three videos below… the original Japanese anime intro (with English subs), opening of the US anime, and lastly the official trailer of the 2008 movie…

I’m thankful that Warner Bros have arranged an interview with Rain, a Korean pop star who’s making his Hollywood debut in the live action movie, but I’m not feeling good about the movie adaptation to be honest. It looks way too cartoonish, which I’m not sure if it’s a good thing. It might appeal to teenage or younger generation, but it’s probably a bit too much for me.