“We know that one of the things I most value in a movie is originality. Okay yes, there’s a lot of things I value, but given how many I see, they gotta stand out somehow. I’m gonna get bored if it’s the same thing over and over. I was really impressed with a few of those creative gems hidden away in last year’s releases: The Lobster, Swiss Army Man, Tickled. I think we’ve found our first such film for this year.
After her life in NYC falls apart, Anne Hathaway moves back to her small home time to regroup. Shortly after she arrives, the news is overrun with stories of a giant Godzilla-esque monster attacking Seoul, South Korea. To her horror, she finds that she has an unexpected connection to the monster, and his actions are linked to hers.
Did I mention this movie’s kinda weird? Just the right amount of it though. I’ve also recently stated how much I love a good genre mashup, and that’s exactly what we’ve got here. It’s a monster movie mashed up with a quirky indie. You’ve got the small scale character development, revolving around a small band of peeps and then you’ve got a massive mysterious monster destroying a city. I don’t think I could have ever fathomed those two concepts coming together like they did here.
Hathaway is fantastic in this movie. She’s always been a favorite of mine (even if I cooled to her in the post-LesMiz backlash and slump she faced). However, I’ve always held that she shines best when she plays damaged characters, Rachel Getting Married being the prime example. That’s what we got here, and she effortlessly carried the movie. Full spectrum of emotions, and a real weight behind everything she did. Seriously, her best work in a while.
Oh so the movie wasn’t just original in concept, but the turns the story took caught me by surprise as well. I don’t think there was a single beat that I predicted (at least not with complete accuracy), which is such a rarity. If you love monster movies, but are jaded with them, or if you just need something fresh and different, absolutely worth checking this out, assuming you can find it near you (pretty limited release at the moment)
Colossal – \m/ \m/ \m/ \m/”