Review of Colossal (2017) by Anthony F — 20 Apr 2017

To my readers, before I even start this, I need to say something important: *clears throat* GO SEE THIS. GO. If you happen to live in the city and have an indie-theater nearby, CHECK IT OUT. If not, see if it's playing in a city near you, it's worth the drive (and the parking). If you're a lady, tell your significant that your taking him to see a monster movie. If your a dude, tell your lady your taking her to see an Anne Hathaway flick. If you're both, good for you, go fucking see it! For those who know me, I'm not simply fanboy-ing because someone made a giant monster movie starring a hot girl. I didn't give this 5 stars cuz it has giant monsters in it. This is the BEST film I've seen so far this year. The flick speaks volumes on toxic relationships, alcoholism, and finding the strength within to face your harshest demons. You want offbeat drama? It doesn't get any better. You want intelligent, dark humor? You got it. You want action? It's all here. You want psychological thriller? Yep, it somehow does that too. "Colossal" does all of this, and beautifully so, without any of it ever feeling one bit out of place. It's an impossible to define, cinematic tour-de-force that someone made for you. Now go support it. *heavy sigh* Ok, now to my review...

Spanish film director Nacho Vigalando is mostly known for a few decent indie movies that have come out over the last few years. Sometime around 2015, he announced that his next project would be a "Kaiju movie" starring Anne Hathaway....yup. So, 2 years (and one Toho lawsuit) later, out comes...Colossal, THE BEST MOVIE OF SPRING 2017. Seriously, this one knocked me sideways. The plot involves Gloria, a failing alcoholic writer who's been kicked out by her understandably frustrated boyfriend. With limited choices, she moves back to her suburban hometown to either continue self-destructing or possibly to find herself. She runs into her childhood friend, Oscar, who happens to run a local bar and offers his old friend a waitress job. However, things aren't quite what they seem. You see, a giant monster keeps randomly appearing in Seoul Korea, performing the exact same gestures as Gloria does whenever she drunkenly stumbles home through a playground each morning. Her friend Oscar isn't quite what he seems either...and that's all your getting here. Anne Hathaway positively kills it in the lead role. And honestly, it's really time for my generation to get the hell over THAT Oscar speech from a few years back. She really is one of the finest leading ladies in the business (remember Catwomen!?) and proves it once again here. And Jason Sudeikis...holy shit. This guy makes what is perhaps the most effortless turn from funnyman to terrifying force-of-nature since Robin Williams in "Insomnia" (or "One Hour Photo". Take your pick). Colossal is likely to be among the best films of the year. It's an instant classic and has earned a place as one of my all-time personal favorites ever made.