Leaderboard

that's not really the same thing you were initially complaining about, though. It doesn't have to be the exact SAME thing in order for it to be "reasonably serious." The idea you keep going back to, that the monster's nature (and more specifically, it's size) precludes it from any "reasonable seriousness" being applied is pretty arbitrary, overall. Monsters are monsters. You can tell serious monster stories. Many have. Is the specific monster story in "King of the Monsters" deserving of the reasonably serious approach being taken? Not really. Or rather - they didn't execute the seriousness so well that it justified the approach. But you're repeatedly making the argument that there's something inherently lesser in the very premise of Godzilla, that Godzilla as a concept itself is somehow beneath "reasonable seriousness" and that's an argument I think fails out when applied to films like, for example, "vs. Destoroyah" or "Shin" or even the 2014 version. You don't have to take Honda's original out of context (Why would you want to, by the way? What good would that do? Even with the context removed it's still "reasonably serious") in order to strengthen your assertion that the series is inherently silly. What the series is, is malleable - it can be whatever it needs to be based on whatever the person in charge of that movie wants it to be. It's flexible, and very much so. That's part of the reason it still resonates after 65 years. You're arguing that it's inflexible, and that its very nature is baseline stupid, and aspiring beyond that base (and stupid/silly) nature is pointless. I disagree strongly. There's a lot of value in approaching monster stories with reasonable seriousness. That seems self-evident to me. Have people executed it well? Not as much as anyone would like, I'd guess. But that doesn't mean it should no longer be attempted.

You know, good on them for putting up a budget and having a go at this sort of thing. It doesn't really look like something I'd get into, but I hope it finds an audience. It'd be a positive for the genre.

I'm not sure what to make of this score. This gives me a bit of a headache. Bear once again feels a need to have every single instrument under the sun to play at the same time. It's mostly the same thing we've been hearing for the past decade in every damn blockbuster (not to mention trailers) ---- string ostinati punctuated by big drums and chanting. The funniest thing is that it makes you miss Desplat's "intimate" 150-whatever-piece (!) orchestra from the 2014 film. It was a much better score - focused and coherent. This one has some good moments, especially when it's not full-on, but 97-minute album is probably an overkill. I do like that he used some classic monster themes... especially the classic Mothra's Song. Mosura Ya Mosura! Having watched the film yesterday, I can state it doesn't really accomplish much in context either. Karol

Godzilla: King of the Monsters. Decent for what it is - an monster bash action extravaganza. But nothing more. And the action, while certainly entertaining, is largely devoid of any creativity. It is 100% brawn. If that's not your cup of tea, don't bother. The 2014 movie did everything in this one better, save for one -- quantity of Godzilla. It certainly feel like they upped his screentime in this one. I for one didn't think there was too little of Godzilla in the first one, although a couple of deliberate cutaways were annoying. Overall though, this sequel is almost the opposite of the first. Where the first showed restraint and took its time to build scenes, this one drops in the action thick and fast. One complaint people had with the first is the allegedly underdeveloped human element. I thought halfway through when it was clear the world was facing skyscraper sized beings, the movie deliberately dropped any human development because, well... it was pointless. The point was that humans are powerless and insignificant against the MUTOs and Godzilla. Humans onscreen were nothing more than a vessel for the audience to observe the monsters and nothing more. The bridge attack showcased how massive and powerful Godzilla was against the army, Godzilla could just walk through the bridge as if it wasn't there. But they staged and built the sequence masterfully so that you could feel the scale of Godzilla and his might. You don't get that kind of staging and atmosphere in KotM. So if you want a better balance of brains and brawn in terms of action execution, 2014 is way superior. If you want pure muscle on muscle brawn for action, this one is it.

I just wanna know who’s doing the music. Should be Thomas Newman’s turn in the rotation.

Loved part one of Empire Poggo. It's obvious you blokes have been looking forward to this one since you started the podcast, can't wait for part 2!

I just wanted the jetpack.

Shostakovich: Piano Quintet (Op. 57) I am extremely attached to that finale. Shostakovich is a master of the piano in my mind, never ceasing to create the most uniquely delicious of melodies!

Completely agree with this. The last two tracks just absolutely crush me. I also like how both tracks feel like end credits pieces.

Masterpiece or not, I do think that the concluding tracks on the album contain some of the most jaw-droppingly gorgeous and moving music that I know. So the score means a lot to me, even while it may not be the most engaging listening experience as a whole.

It has definite elements of both. The point is, it captures something definite and real, even if it paints a little by the numbers to get there. Plus, it is a gorgeous movie to look at in spots.

I think Cars is some of their best work. It captured a zeitgeist, the mid 00s Nascar culture here in America, and captured it with surprising wit and accuracy.

CRASH TEAM RACING IS BETTER THAN MARIO KART

It’s certainly a masterpiece, even if it doesn’t reach the heights of what many consider ‘the true John Williams’ classics’. I find War Horse so well infused with melody and themes, all of which get a moment to shine in The Homecoming, one of Williams’ finest suites. It’s a top 15 score for me and my favorite since the first Harry Potter.

What about Monsters University? Incredibles 2? Inside Out? Coco? The latter two are masterpieces and some of Pixar’s best work, imo.

"New Bangles fan forum"? Ha! Fuck that! I did it first.

It has finally gone online! The new Bangles fan forum on Reddit! https://www.reddit.com/r/thebangles https://old.reddit.com/r/TheBangles/ Definitely hope it will grow in the coming weeks and months and increase awareness and knowledge of the band, as well as a place for fans to hang out and discuss the band.

The Danna bros were already announced

the tv versioin should be dropped in a black hole

That's not the only reason "Gojira" is percieved as serious at all though. And it also ignores other films that took a "reasonably serious" approach, such as Ghidorah (91), Destoroyah, Biollante, 2014, Shin, etc. Not to mention literally any other "reasonably serious" monster movie (The Descent, The Mist, King Kong, Alien, Predator, etc.) that's ever existed outside of this series, many of which didn't need a near-genocidal wartime tragedy as inspiration to generate a sense of depth and meaning. Was "Cloverfield" a 9/11 riff? Absolutely. Does it work as a "reasonably serious" monster movie without that allegory being present? Absolutely. Same way most kids who first saw "Godzilla" (even the Burr re-edit) understood that movie is meant to be serious without realizing it was a comment on America dropping nuclear bombs on Japan. The whole of your argument is "It should be nothing but stupidity and weightlessness, there's no need for anything otherwise" and I disagree with that stance. There are way too many positive examples of fantasy & science-fiction being approached with "reasonable seriousness" for me to accept your premise.

Fits the goofy movie really.

Thanks for that Faleel - not so Potter-centric now

RoboCop 2 by Leonard Rosenman. Why do people hate this so much? It's terrific fun. Karol

Good score? Yes. Masterpiece? No.

We haven’t! Not in a decade. We are a foul, mucilaginous emulsion of stagnant words, impure thoughts, and fervent, cultish religiosity wrapped in a shroud of inside jokes. The only change that graces us is rot! Now get the fuck back on topic before I report you all to our do-nothing moderation team!

I do too! Williams tapped into something special when writing this one I've listened to it regularly for 8 straight years now The OST is superbly arranged, too!

The Crown Season 2 Never knew I would enjoy it as I did. The bad news is that it's over. The good news is that season 3 is coming! No longer with Claire Foy but with Olivia Colman as the Queen. And Tobias Menzies as Prince Philip. And Helena Bonham Carter as Princess Margaret.

Finally got around to watching this. Cool doc, lots of stuff I already knew and mostly glowing toward him as expected but some interesting moments addressing the biggest criticisms about him. I don’t know that I’d heard him address the Color Purple stuff. Would have liked them to cover more of his movies and some of the chronology was a little weird. When they skipped fron CE3K to ET, I knew they’d get to Raiders but I actually wondered if they were really just gonna ignore 1941 The best section for me was his friendship with the movie brats. I had never seen any of that home video footage and it was really special to see Scorsese, Lucas, DePalma, and Coppola all talking about their friendship so candidly. Part of me always wondered “How good of friends were they really?” like if it was a lot of blowing smoke or the media mostly lumping them together, but seeing them partying, Spielberg trying to get Lucas to do a stupid camera trick at the billiards table, Scorsese driving around with him to look at the Jaws lines, DePalma reminiscing about fucking around with Spielberg's car phone to pick up girls, Spielberg impersonating Julia Child, and his friends talking about how fun and nerdy he was to hang out with. That shit was gold, great to see that side of him.

Chronological score blog has posted a chronological order for HTTYD3: https://chrono-score.blogspot.com/2019/05/how-to-train-your-dragon-3-hidden-world.html?m=1 Long story short: S12 - With Love Comes A Great Waterfall (1:00-End) [Rename to "A Great Waterfall"] S13 - The Hidden World (5:16) S12 - With Love Comes A Great Waterfall (:00-1:00) [Rename to "With Loves Comes Loss"]

I listened to the Batman episode. That was awesome. Catching up with Raiders and Jurassic Park before settling down to what should be a great Empire Strikes Back episode.

Whoa. If nothing else, this *looks* amazing. https://www.slashfilm.com/new-dark-crystal-series-photos/

I think of it as a film. It transcends genres.

The 1998 movie is all that matters.

Nobody picked this yet?

Some other ones:

I tried to find a high frame rate gif of this zoom in shot on the bedroom monolith, but couldn't find one: Again with the music (in combination with the editing immediately preceding it), it's the most effective shot in the film for me.

The Good, The Bad And The Ugly is chock full of masterful shots.

I could go on forever...

That's cool, man. I like it.

Yay LA LA LAND!

Just a few that first come to mind. The list is endless.

I'm going for character/emotion over impressiveness of composition/lighting (surprise surprise). I don't know if this is really my favorite shot ever, but it's certainly my favorite shot in E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial. It is the perfect shot with which to end that story. Just a zoom in on the face a boy forever changed. And you can hear those glorious timpani hits in your head can't you?

Skyfall is laced with beautiful shots, but the one that always stays with me is Deakins' tribute to J. M. W. Turner.