Tag Archives: Godzilla

Monarch: Legacy of Monsters, after season 1

Posted on by Henry

What’s my verdict after finishing season one of Monarch: Legacy of Monsters? No spoilers, I liked it. I even loved some of it. But I didn’t love all of it equally—for one, I didn’t care much about the big monsters most of the time.

My lack of interest in most of the monsters turned out just fine! That didn’t detract from the show, because Monarch is far more focused on people, and humanity, than on giant stompy monsters. And it was Monarch’s focus on people that I loved.

I think there are some interesting details in why I loved the parts I loved, and what didn’t work as well for me. Come check it out.

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Monarch (Apple TV 2023), update

Posted on by Henry

Turns out the third episode was perfectly placed to build up my impression that there wasn’t enough character development or emotional grounding going on in the modern day storyline. I’m not going to edit my review, but

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Monarch: Legacy of Monsters (Apple TV, 2023)

Posted on by Henry

Remember how I was upset with Castlevania? Very mild spoilers here.

Monarch: Legacy of Monsters shows how to give a character life after killing them in episode one. It makes that death a tragedy instead of a cheap trick, and lets us come to know the person—their strengths, their joys, and their faults—even after we know they’re dead. Even better, that character’s death and life reveal the themes foundational to the Godzilla series; after all, Godzilla stories aren’t just about giant monsters.

Don’t worry. There are definitely some giant monsters. It’s just… Monarch, like the first Godzilla movie, is really more about human drama and humanity’s hubris than about a big stompy beast.

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Godzilla, King of the (Summer) Movies

Posted on by Henry

godzilla-2014-wallpaper-2

This is a wonderful summer movie.  It’s not good, it’s awesome.

It has its ups and downs: it starts on a high note with the opening credits sequence, briefly shows off Bryan Cranston, and then gives us a front row seat to people making inadvisable military choices.  After that, of course, we get to watch Godzilla, and once again everything is right with the world.  In short, it’s pretty much exactly what a Godzilla movie should be, as far as I can tell.

You’ll want to yell, you’ll want to cheer, and you may very well want to swear in awe.  You will obviously benefit from a huge screen, and I would also suggest a large group of enthusiastic people.  A little bit of alcohol probably wouldn’t hurt either.

Please enjoy your giant lizards responsibly.  More in-depth thoughts (with carefully segregated spoilers) after the break.

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