Good things come in small packages

JOHNSON. Battles radioactive monsters in “Godzilla.”

We didn’t mind shelling out big bucks to watch “The Amazing Spider-Man 2” in 3D because, while Marc Webb’s protracted superhero franchise didn’t turn out to be completely satisfying, its sparkling images leaped out of the big screen in spectacular, story-vivifying fashion—like spiders swinging from out of the silver screen!

On the other hand, Gareth Edwards’ splashy reboot of “Godzilla” proves why filmmakers who don’t have James Cameron’s technical savvy should steer clear of 3D, because their movies just end up looking like the titular monster itself—dark, bloated and soulless. Unless proven otherwise, 3D is a revenue-generating trick that needs to be justified visually.

In comparison, Steven Spielberg’s dinosaurs and Ridley Scott’s extraterrestrial monster had us shaking in our seats, as did Peter Jackson’s otherwise derivative “King Kong.” Besides, importing an Oscar-and Cannes-caliber actress like Juliette Binoche, then letting her bite the dust in one of the film’s establishing frames is more ill-advised than impressive.

But, at least Binoche doesn’t “suffer” as much as Ken Watanabe, who looks perpetually dazed as Dr. Ichiro Serizawa, and Bryan Cranston who, as nuclear engineer Joe Brody, ceaselessly pursues the “unspoken force” responsible for the death of his wife, Sandra (Binoche).

Interestingly, Joe and Sandra’s story begins in 1999, in a remote mine in the Philippines, where the fossilized and radioactive remains of something humongous are buried. Joe is convinced that the “seismic anomaly” in Southeast Asia is related to the destruction of the Janjira Power Plant in Japan. But, his quest for the truth results in tragedy.

Fifteen years later, their estranged son, Ford Brody (Aaron Taylor-Johnson), now an Explosive Ordinance Disposal expert in the US Navy, gets a call to bail Joe out of a Tokyo jail after he gets caught intruding into the sealed-off premises of the deserted power plant, on whose nuclear reactors “something” has been “feeding” voraciously for 15 years!

When we finally see the flying “Massive Unidentified Terrestrial Organism” (M.U.T.O.) that consumes radiation as its main food source, the creature leaves a devastating path of destruction that compels the world’s biggest armies to seek the “help” of the 355-foot, fire-breathing Godzilla. The situation degenerates further when it’s revealed that the creature has a pregnant mate!

GILLAN. Haunted by a violent past—and a malevolent supernatural being!

The big, burly action that follows is par for the course in actioners like this, but the proficiently cautionary film’s dark and eardrum-smashing sequences had us squinting and “imagining” the details of the mano-a-mano between the growling “Alpha Monster” and his lead-footed enemies.

Below the dueling beasts, you see a visibly worried Elizabeth Olsen—as Ford’s wife, Elle—inexplicably leaving her son in the care of a friend as the future of humanity hangs in the balance. She’s concerned about her husband and the wellbeing of the people she serves as a nurse—but, not her son? —Talk about duty over maternal obligation.

Better-imagined thriller

If you prefer a better-imagined thriller, you can’t go wrong with Mike Flanagan’s relentlessly creepy, Toronto fest-winning horror drama, “Oculus,” which is as inventively told as it is well-acted.

The gorgeously photographed movie cleverly juxtaposes the supernatural occurrence that drives siblings, Kaylie (Annalise Basso), and Tim (Garrett Ryan), to commit dastardly deeds with spine-tingling events that take place 11 years later.

As Kaylie (Karen Gillan) reconnects with Tim (Brenton Thwaites), who’s just been released from a mental institution, her well-meaning attempt to exonerate him from a crime he supposedly didn’t commit leads to blood-curdling repercussions that don’t just make viewers think, they also scare the bejesus out of them! Indeed, some good things come in small packages.