The Moste Noble Arte Of Being A Couche Potatoe

I'm in Colorado now, (have been for the last few days) and if there's one thing that means, it means that couch potato mode has been activated, as my family here and I show each other cool things, movies and tv shows, that we've seen recently and liked. It's also a chance for me to catch up on my pop-culture education without a younger sibling to worry about; thus, last night I showed people Godzilla, (2014) and they rebutted with Pacific Rim, and then we went in a completely different direction to top things off with The Matrix.

Oh, and then later on, on my own after everyone else went to sleep, I saw the new episode. I'll share my thoughts on that later, once I've sorted out what I actually thought of it.

But anyway, the first of the two big points of this post - it's interesting to compare Godzilla and Pacific Rim, two very similar movies with two completely different stories. I'm not even talking about the difference between 'monster vs monster' vs 'robot vs monster'; the two have very different tones. Pacific Rim is an (overly?) optimistic story about good vs. evil, and humanity fighting back against impossible odds. (CoughChestThumpingMuricansCough) Godzilla is a more intense, dour film about humanity doing their best to survive in the wake of a literal force of nature.

I think I actually liked Pacific Rim better overall, simply because of the fantastic character arc of Mako Mori, but I still prefer Godzilla's more realistic, more dangerous-feeling approach to Kaiju, and that it takes the time to examine and humanize the aftermath rather than simply indulge in the fighting without consequence. And, it has to be said, Pacific Rim never had any scene quite on the level of Godzilla's High-Altitude Low-Open drop sequence into San Francisco, which still sends shivers up my spine when I watch it.

But really, I think it comes down to YMMV; despite the similar premises, Godzilla and Pacific Rim are completely opposite in terms of tone and theme, and so on some level it's like comparing apples and oranges. Idunno; I'd be interested in hearing your thoughts. Which of the two have you seen? If both, then which did you like better, and why?

The second point - The Matrix is pretty cool. I had the basic premise spoiled by pop-culture osmosis a long time ago, and then memes and other things spoiled even more bits, but it was nice to finally see the context for all of that, and have the blanks filled in. I can definitely see why it's enough to be a cultural cornerstone and whatnot. The bit at the very end with Neo flying was rather cheesy, though.

So yeah. Again, I'll write up my thoughts on Do Princesses Dream Of Magic Sheep? later on, probably when I've had a chance to watch it when not braindead, and figure out exactly how I feel about it.