Wednesday, May 21, 2014

GODZILLA FILM REVIEW AND WINE PAIRING

Godzilla, directed by Gareth Edwards, was a film I was very tentative in going to see.  Nothing I hate more than giving a theater $10 plus the cost of my popcorn to sit for two unpleasant hours of sucky film.  The previews for Godzilla, however, showed an evil Godzilla - and won me over.   They unveiled a massive, hulking, slant-eyed beast that glared down with doom in his eyes from above.  There looked to be destruction on a grand-scale and, as a lifelong Godzilla fan, I took a chance and I could not be more happy with my decision.

Godzilla was exactly what it should be - silly, Japanese, science fiction just as it was when i, first, started watching it in the early 1970's.  It was part ridiculous, partly scary, but super fun.  Godzilla took me straight back to my childhood when i was, first, shaken by thundering footsteps of a giant monster that shook the buildings, both,  to my left and to my right.

What really moved me were the monsters, themselves.  Godzilla, himself, was the most brutal brute of a monster that I have ever seen created for this role, Godzilla.  He is a cross between a T-rex and a very angry polar bear with hard, dark scales and a little vicious pit bull mixed in.  He roars with volume and wind that makes you shake in your chair, crushing everything below him when he steps.  His opponents - no spoiler,here - kick some serious tail, as well.  This film is so Transformer/earth-shattering/destructive fun!

All the beasts in this film come from an long-standing Godzilla movie theme - the original story - that they were released from the ground by nukes and feed off of nuclear radiation.  This, a good message for all the world to listen to and adhere, is lined with many scenes reminiscent of the just recent Fukushima disaster the world just faced.  The timing could not be more perfect.  The film hits hard at the nuclear industry and its' potential for destruction on a scale that is out of human control.

I pair Godzilla with a big beast of a wine - Pietra Santa, Sassolino red blend from the Cienega Valley, California.  East of the Monterey Bay, this wine gets plenty of warm sunshine and is a blend made with ripe sangiovese and merlot fruits.  It runs at 14.5% alcohol which brings a white pepper note in the mouth feel but has great balance, just as did Godzilla in his knock-down fights with his foes as San Francisco and Las Vegas are crushed down below.  Best Godzilla I've ever seen......a toast to this film with a wonderful wine!



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