Rev. Andy Godfrey (00:19.045)
Hi everyone, welcome to episode 67 of Flickering Dreams. We've got Scott, we've got Bob, and you've got me. Unfortunately Emma can't be with us tonight. I've been really looking forward to this episode because we are gonna be reviewing Godzilla times Kong, The New Empire. And I am desperately hoping that through the course of this episode, I will learn exactly what was going on with this film, because when watching it, I didn't have a clue. So let's see a clip and then we'll get Scott to explain and enlighten us.
as to what Godzilla vs Kong was all about.
Scott Forbes (00:55.191)
No pressure.
Rev. Andy Godfrey (01:35.307)
So Scott, take it away. Tell us what you thought. Tell us what was happening.
Scott Forbes (01:39.018)
So that might be a more difficult challenge. So just to set up to this, the last two films of Godzilla versus Kong, five out of ten, Godzilla King of the Monsters before that, four out of ten. I've not been a fan of these American films that have got Godzilla in them. This one, I didn't have high expectations, obviously, but I just thought it was so much fun. And for some reason, I was able to not think about
the logic and the problems with simple things like making sense. So...
Rev. Andy Godfrey (02:18.235)
Oh good.
Scott Forbes (02:19.426)
Yeah, I think you have to actually in order to enjoy it. So we see that Kong after the events of the last film is now in Hollow Earth, which is essentially like a prehistoric world in the middle of our earth. Godzilla is still up in our service level, swanning about, sleeping in the Coliseum, just chilling for the most part. And we're told that they shouldn't.
Bob Mann (02:19.714)
Well, that explains it.
Rev. Andy Godfrey (02:21.463)
Ha ha ha!
Rev. Andy Godfrey (02:44.287)
Literally.
Scott Forbes (02:47.054)
They shouldn't be in the same place. Keep them separate and things should be fine. What we learn is that Godzilla is a little bit lonely. Sorry, Kong is a little bit lonely down in Hollow Earth and he's missing the fact that he's the only one of his kind and he's just rolling around living. And he needs more. When he finds that there is something more, this...
leads to quite an emotional storyline for me. Well, emotional is a strong word, but there is a bit of a sensitivity in the storyline that I quite got into and I quite liked. Meanwhile, there's these seismic activities that are going on and we've got a girl who's reading sort of
Yeah, you're right, this is very difficult. So she's telling there's something going on and the connections between Godzilla and Kong must collide because of a greater cause and a greater threat that's coming from underneath. I know I'm doing a terrible job at trying to explain it because it's an impossible film to try and explain properly.
Rev. Andy Godfrey (03:36.107)
Keep going Scott, keep going.
Bob Mann (03:58.154)
It's impossible to explain. It's a terrible film!
Rev. Andy Godfrey (03:59.675)
It's a terrible plot!
Scott Forbes (04:03.638)
Okay, plot aside, let's forget plot because it doesn't really matter. This film has so much really fun CGI fights going on. I think there's humour. And this is a big thing that was lacking in the others. The human characters in this film, which are mainly just kept to four, are actually worth having because we've got Rebecca Hall and the girl who's her adopted daughter. And we've got an emotional storyline going on there
Bob Mann (04:06.902)
Forget the plot.
Scott Forbes (04:34.638)
A little bit with Paul Rudd in Ghostbusters where what's her place as a stepparent and how much can she do to connect? And then the two others. You've got Brian Tyree Henry and Dan Stevens slapstick gold all over the place. I found both of them very amusing, constantly making me laugh and I got so much out of that. And then yeah, you've got the big monster fights at the end which are super ridiculous.
But in this case, for some reason, I found it more fun than I did in the previous installments. I'm gonna kind of leave it there, because as I said, plot doesn't matter. I just thought it was fun and funny.
Rev. Andy Godfrey (05:18.707)
Okay, Bob, you might have a slightly different take on this, I think.
Bob Mann (05:23.406)
I found this bone-numbingly awful, I have to say. I mean, a film, I mean, Godzilla minus one is my experience of Godzilla this year. And this film makes Godzilla minus one look like Citizen Kane. It really, really does. Um, at one point, Dan Stevens, who I did enjoy all blue-eyed kind of Han Solo.
Rev. Andy Godfrey (05:26.187)
Ha ha ha!
Bob Mann (05:49.022)
What's that line? Ace Ventura, dippy shit, dippy shitty stuff. I thought that was funny. That was funny. That did make me laugh. Dan Stevens uttered a line, while we're throwing shit at the wall. Right. And I thought, yep, that just about sums up everything that was happening in the writer's room for this film. It's it's just doesn't make any sense whatsoever. Right. These.
Rev. Andy Godfrey (05:52.257)
Yes.
Bob Mann (06:15.574)
portals that go from the hollow earth up to the up to the earth. I looked it up the surface area of the earth is 510 million square kilometers, right? 510 million square kilometers, but these monsters only ever come up and arrive at some eighth wonder of the world. Seven wonders of the world, right? Oh, oh, here we are at the pyramids. Let's smash them Not just one. No, no, we're gonna take all three of them out, right?
Rev. Andy Godfrey (06:25.762)
Dedication to duty.
Rev. Andy Godfrey (06:34.823)
one of the seven wonders of the world which probably gets destroyed yes
Scott Forbes (06:37.484)
Yeah.
Rev. Andy Godfrey (06:43.002)
All of them.
Bob Mann (06:44.978)
Let's not leave a pyramid standing. Uh, God, they seem to be quite happy to fact that Godzilla roams into the middle of Rome, uh, smashes everything down. Doesn't actually hit the Vatican, but just about everything else goes to sleep in the Coliseum. I mean, honestly, honestly. Yeah.
Rev. Andy Godfrey (06:59.115)
Hahaha.
Scott Forbes (06:59.994)
collateral damage is incredible, isn't it, Bob?
Rev. Andy Godfrey (07:03.479)
Can I just say about him going to sleep in the Colosseum? When he wakes up, those Roman builders are absolutely fantastic. Because he wakes up, he crashes his way out of the Colosseum. At the end of the film he goes back to the Colosseum. They've rebuilt it! Absolutely stunning! Can we not get them working on our roads, those Roman builders? Absolutely fantastic!
Bob Mann (07:15.19)
They've rebuilt it. I know. I know those Italian builders. Yeah. So, so anyway, I just found it ludicrous. Crashy, bashy monster stuff without any kind of soul or heart for me. I thought Brian Tyree Henry, who is a far better actor, far too good an actor for this film, was quite good and quite amusing in the film. But otherwise, honestly, I was just...
Scott Forbes (07:45.459)
Estimated death count.
Bob Mann (07:47.195)
It's just a special effects blitz. They end up smashing Rio apart as well, apart from the Corcovada, which I thought was probably going to go at one point, but clearly there's a strong Catholic viewer who would... Yeah Christ the Redeemer looks like it remains standing, but everything else in Rio blitzed. Acting is wooden. Rebecca Hall, great actress, but...
Rev. Andy Godfrey (08:01.727)
Yeah, because Christ the Redeemer remains standing. The statue. Yeah.
Bob Mann (08:14.298)
She didn't impress me in this. And young Kaylee Huttel, who plays the young girl, she had a fixed expression on her face than like 90% of the film. It was like Leo DiCaprio's grunting like that through Killers of the Flower Moon. But it was just, anyway, I'm ranting enough. We're running out of time. Andy, what do you think?
Rev. Andy Godfrey (08:36.787)
I just ditto everything Bob said. I mean, I was really upset to see the pyramids go. I was amazed at the speed that the Roman construction crew got back in and repaired the Coliseum. At least Godzilla's keeping people in work in Rome, which is nice of him. As you say, Bob, I think from now on, all films of this nature will probably be judged by Godzilla minus one. And that was outstanding. That was incredible entertainment. And what that film had, Scott said,
Bob Mann (08:49.847)
Yeah.
Scott Forbes (08:53.798)
HMM
Bob Mann (09:02.152)
had real heart.
Rev. Andy Godfrey (09:06.291)
What Godzilla minus one had was a plot where the story that made sense. This made absolutely no sense to me whatsoever. I didn't have a clue what was going on. And I thought some of the CGI was actually pretty ropey. So I care what you said, but I thought it was a terrible jumbled monster mess of a movie scores on the doors, gentlemen. Scott.
Scott Forbes (09:31.57)
I must have lost my mind, but I've given this one 8 out of 10 for some reason.
Rev. Andy Godfrey (09:37.783)
So as a reference I'm now going to start praying for your cinematic soul. Bob.
Bob Mann (09:40.438)
Yeah, pray for his soul. I gave this one a four and I think I was being generous.
Scott Forbes (09:41.167)
Thank you.
Rev. Andy Godfrey (09:47.091)
Yeah, I gave it a four as well. I gave it a four as well. So that I'm no good at maths. So somebody quickly do the maths. 60 makes it a miss. Makes it a miss. It's a miss, folks. Thank you ever so much for tuning in. Tune into our next episode. If you can subscribe, that would be great. Do send Bob an email to, he'll give you his email address right now.
Bob Mann (09:52.13)
16 divided by 3 is 5.33. So flickering.
Bob Mann (10:09.238)
BobTheMovieMan1 at gmail.com
Rev. Andy Godfrey (10:12.359)
Let us know your thoughts, we'd love to get them. Watch out for our next episode. Thanks for joining us for this one. Great to have you.