COLOSSAL (2016)
It's time to switch things up a bit. I don't remember seeing any advertisements for Colossal upon its release. If I had, it's a safe bet that I would have checked it out. On the surface, it's a romantic comedy starring Anne Hathaway and Jason Sudeikis. Boring "normie" stuff, right? Well, hold on a second. The trailer - should you ever watch it - reveals an inner core, a creamy nougat center contrived to placate kaiju fans. Yes, kaiju. Colossal falls somewhere in between Cloverfield and...name a modern romantic comedy. Hathaway plays Gloria, an alcoholic struggling to scrape by after breaking up with her boyfriend. She finds a new social circle (along with a new job tending bar), but right as her life begins to approach normalcy, a disaster hits South Korea. To be specific, a monster hits South Korea. A giant monster. Gloria inundates herself with news updates, both online and on television. Everyone does, but for whatever reason, she's an empath when it comes to South Korea. I'll be honest; it could use some explaining.
There is a twist. And it's the crux of the trailer, so I wouldn't call it a spoiler. Gloria walks home from work every night, and as she nears her house, she crosses a desolate playground. Every move she makes on this playground is mimicked by the monster in South Korea. If she falls down, the monster falls down. If she scratches her head, the monster...et cetera, et cetera. Cool concept, no? The characters are reasonably fleshed out, so you want to see how they handle such an extraordinary situation. I was on board for most of the running time until the last leg where one of the main players turns heel, to use wrestling jargon. It seems out of step for this person to act and react the way they do. Everyone else comes off as natural, which compounds the problem. I can only say so much, as I'm trying to circumvent actual spoilers. I can, however, comment on the monster. It's a 100% digital creation, but I dug the smooth design. We also get a giant robot. So there's that. Obviously, this isn't strictly a horror film, but I think it will appeal to nerdy genre enthusiasts (ask me how I know).
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