<ul class="summary-list"><li><keyword id="13383298" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="john-c-reilly" source="Orion">John C. Reilly</keyword> plays Jerry Buss in "<keyword id="13375805" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="winning-time" source="Orion">Winning Time</keyword>" and often speaks directly to the show's viewers.</li><li>Showrunner <keyword id="13375806" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="max-borenstein" source="Orion">Max Borenstein</keyword> told Insider the rest of the cast wanted to do it after seeing Reilly.</li></ul><p>There are <a href="https://www.insider.com/winning-time-jonah-hill-directing-episode-brought-scorsese-influence-2022-3">many unconventional aspects</a> of the <keyword id="11921392" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="hbo" source="Orion">HBO</keyword> series, "Winning Time," which chronicles the rise of the Los Angeles Lakers in the late 1970s, but the biggest is the side conversations that the actors have with the viewer.</p><p>It's called in the business "breaking the fourth wall," in which characters in a show or movie suddenly stop conversing within the world they occupy on screen and directly address the audience.</p><p>In the case of "Winning Time," new Lakers owner Jerry Buss (played by John C. Reilly) does it often to give the viewer a quick insight into who he's talking to or just to deliver a pithy one-liner.</p><p>Showrunner Max Borenstein decided to go with that style while writing the show's pilot episode.</p><div type="image" title="John C. Reilly pointing and Quincy Isiah holding a Lakers jersey" height="910" width="1200" msid="90208886" hostid="261"></div><p>Enlisted by Adam McKay's production company, which developed the series, Borenstein said he was guided through adapting author Jeff Pearlman's 2014 book titled "Showtime: Magic, Kareen, Riley, and the Los Angeles Lakers Dynasty of the 1980s," by the note McKay's producing partner Kevin Messick gave him: "Be free with it."</p><p>"That was really a liberating thing," Borenstein told Insider. "It so happens that breaking the fourth wall made sense in that script."</p><p>However, they needed an actor to go along with doing it. Originally, veteran indie actor Michael Shannon was cast as Buss. But leading up to shooting the pilot directed by McKay, Shannon voiced his concern to the director about talking directly to the camera.</p><p>"It really bugged Michael that we were breaking the fourth wall," <a href="https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-features/winning-time-adam-mckay-john-c-reilly-hbo-laker-series-1235097468/">McKay told The Hollywood Reporter</a>. "He kept saying, 'I don't like this. It throws me. I'm having a hard time.'"</p><p>So before the pilot was shot, Shannon exited as Buss and McKay called Reilly to take on the role.</p><div type="image" title="John C. Reilly at a golf course" height="800" width="1440" msid="90208888" hostid="261"></div><p>"On day one of shooting the pilot — the scene where Jerry Buss and Jerry West are on the golf course and John C. Reilly turns to the camera and starts telling you about Jerry West's history — seeing John deliver it and the energy he brought to it, the hairs on the back of my neck stood up," Borenstein said. "I looked at Adam and he looked at me and we knew it was going to work."</p><p>It worked so well that the rest of the cast wanted to get in on talking directly to the camera.</p><p>"Every actor started coming to us and asking, 'Hey, when do I get my moment?'" Borenstein said.</p><p>Borenstein and the show's writers' room obliged. From Gaby Hoffmann to Sally Field, there are numerous cast members throughout the series who suddenly turn and break the fourth wall.</p><p><em>"Winning Time" airs Sunday nights on HBO and is also available on HBO Max.</em></p>

The 'Winning Time' cast wanted to talk directly to the camera after John C. Reilly started doing it, says showrunner

<ul class="summary-list"><li><keyword id="11940443" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="jonah-hill" source="Orion">Jonah Hill</keyword> directed episode 2 of "<a href="https://go.skimresources.com?id=35871X943606&amp;xs=1&amp;url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.hbomax.com%2Fseries%2Furn%3Ahbo%3Aseries%3AGYbDO6QFHOsPCwgEAAAMR" rel="nofollow sponsored nofollow sponsored nofollow sponsored">Winning Time</a>."</li><li>Showrunner <keyword id="13375806" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="max-borenstein" source="Orion">Max Borenstein</keyword> explains how Hill did the episode's restaurant scene.</li></ul><p>"<a href="https://go.skimresources.com?id=35871X943606&amp;xs=1&amp;url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.hbomax.com%2Fseries%2Furn%3Ahbo%3Aseries%3AGYbDO6QFHOsPCwgEAAAMR" rel="nofollow sponsored">Winning Time</a>" — the HBO series on the rise of the Los Angeles Lakers dynasty once the team was bought by Jerry Buss and drafted Magic Johnson in the late 1970s — is filled with innovative storytelling elements, from its use of different shooting formats to its unique editing style from <a href="https://www.insider.com/dont-look-up-editor-on-creating-end-of-world-sequence-2022-1">Oscar-nominated editor Hank Corwin</a> ("Don't Look Up").</p><p>All those things are found in the show's pilot episode, which aired last week, but long before the public saw it one of its earliest fans was Jonah Hill.</p><p>Friends with John C. Reilly, who plays Buss in the series, and Adam McKay, who is a producer on the show and directed the pilot, Hill saw a rough cut back in 2019 and was floored by what the show was doing.</p><p>"He flipped out," Max Borenstein, the "<keyword id="13375805" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="winning-time" source="Orion">Winning Time</keyword>" showrunner, told Insider. "We had this meeting where he came in and he was just enthusiastic."</p><p>Borenstein said during the meeting, Hill told the show's producers that if they were looking for series directors he wanted to be considered.</p><p>Though known for his acting work in comedies and dramas, recently Hill has turned to directing, including music videos and his <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/jonah-hill-talks-about-his-anxieties-and-triumphs-making-his-directorial-debut-mid90s-2018-10">2018 feature debut "Mid90s."</a></p><p>Borenstein said he and the "Winning Time" team were excited Hill wanted to be involved, but then the pandemic hit and production on the series was halted for almost a year. When the world began to reopen and filming became possible, Borenstein said Hill was on the top of their list to direct the second episode.</p><div type="image" title="Jonah Hill in a baby blue jacket" height="2303" width="3064" msid="90192618" hostid="261"></div><p>"In its own way, the second episode is also a pilot for the series because it had been a year and everyone had to get the rust off," Borenstein said.</p><p>In the episode, Buss as the new owner of the Lakers is getting acclimated to wheeling-and-dealing in the world of the National Basketball Association, and that includes meeting with the league's legendary Boston Celtics owner Red Auerbach (played by Michael Chiklis). The meeting would spark the rivalry between the two teams that would span the next decade.</p><p>A highlight of the episode is when Buss takes Auerbach out to dinner. Hill crafts a sequence that feels reminiscent of his filmmaking idol Martin Scorsese. Buss navigates Auerbach through the restaurant, obviously trying to impress the Celtic great, by chatting it up with the patrons. The vibe of the scene has a feel of Scorsese's 1990 classic "Goodfellas" when Henry Hill (Ray Liotta) brings Karen (Lorraine Bracco) to the Copacabana.</p><div type="image" title="Mike D playing the piano" height="794" width="1440" msid="90192619" hostid="261"></div><p>"Jonah did this beautiful shot and you feel his influence from Scorsese," Borenstein said of the sequence. Hill worked with famed director in the 2013 movie "The Wolf of Wall Street."</p><p>And if you look closely, you'll see that the lounge piano player Buss walks over to is Beastie Boy member Mike D. Borenstein said Hill asked the hip-hop legend to do the cameo.</p><p>"That whole sequence Jonah was into that idea that the scene would be a transportive thing to take you into the era and Buss' world," Borenstein said. "He pulled it off."</p><p><em>"Winning Time" airs on Sundays on HBO and is also available on <a href="https://trk.hbomax.com/aff_c?offer_id=5&amp;aff_id=1012" rel="nofollow sponsored">HBO Max</a>.</em></p>

'Winning Time' showrunner explains how Jonah Hill directing the second episode led to a Scorsese 'influence'

<ul class="summary-list"><li><keyword id="12315715" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="magic-johnson" source="Orion">Magic Johnson</keyword> was recently interviewed as the cover star for Variety's April 2022 issue.</li><li>Johnson, 62, shared his thoughts on <keyword id="11921392" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="hbo" source="Orion">HBO</keyword>'s new series about the LA Lakers, "<keyword id="13375805" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="winning-time" source="Orion">Winning Time</keyword>." </li></ul><p>Magic Johnson shared his thoughts about HBO's new series "Winning Time: The Rise of the Laker Dynasty," saying, "you can't do a story about the Lakers without the Lakers."</p><p>In a recently published interview with <a href="https://variety.com/2022/tv/features/magic-johnson-lakers-they-call-me-magic-1235224091/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Variety's Selome Hailu and Ramin Setoodeh</a>, the former Lakers players discussed his upcoming docuseries, <a href="https://tv.apple.com/us/show/they-call-me-magic/umc.cmc.67518fzfnhcjcajidzbpff8i5?ctx_brand=tvs.sbd.4000&amp;ign-itscg=MC_20000&amp;ign-itsct=atvp_brand_omd&amp;mttn3pid=Google%20AdWords&amp;mttnagencyid=a5e&amp;mttncc=US&amp;mttnsiteid=143238&amp;mttnsubad=OUS2019946_1-587051327253-c&amp;mttnsubkw=133846203549__rPaVQfX2_&amp;mttnsubplmnt=">"They Call Me Magic,</a>" and "Winning Time," which premiered on March 6. <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/guides/streaming/where-to-watch-winning-time-la-lakers" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The series follows the Los Angeles Lakers' journey to success in the 1980s. </a>"They Call Me Magic" is a four-part documentary and will premiere on April 22 on Apple TV+. The series will focus on his iconic basketball career as well as his global impact on and off the court.</p><p>Johnson told Variety that he refused to watch "Winning Time" after neither HBO nor the creative executives sought participation from him or his teammates. </p><p>"First of all, you can't do a story about the Lakers without the Lakers," Johnson told the outlet. "The real Lakers. You gotta have the guys. There's no way to duplicate Showtime. I don't care who you get."</p><p>Representatives for Johnson and HBO did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment. </p><blockquote class="instagram-media" style="background:#FFF; border:0; border-radius:3px; box-shadow:0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width:540; padding:0; width:99.375%; width:-webkit-calc(100% - 2px); width:calc(100% - 2px); data.width~540;"><div style="padding:8px;"><div style="background:#F8F8F8; line-height:0; margin-top:40px; padding:62.4537037037% 0; text-align:center; width:100%;"><div style="background:url(data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAACwAAAAsCAMAAAApWqozAAAABGdBTUEAALGPC/xhBQAAAAFzUkdCAK7OHOkAAAAMUExURczMzPf399fX1+bm5mzY9AMAAADiSURBVDjLvZXbEsMgCES5/P8/t9FuRVCRmU73JWlzosgSIIZURCjo/ad+EQJJB4Hv8BFt+IDpQoCx1wjOSBFhh2XssxEIYn3ulI/6MNReE07UIWJEv8UEOWDS88LY97kqyTliJKKtuYBbruAyVh5wOHiXmpi5we58Ek028czwyuQdLKPG1Bkb4NnM+VeAnfHqn1k4+GPT6uGQcvu2h2OVuIf/gWUFyy8OWEpdyZSa3aVCqpVoVvzZZ2VTnn2wU8qzVjDDetO90GSy9mVLqtgYSy231MxrY6I2gGqjrTY0L8fxCxfCBbhWrsYYAAAAAElFTkSuQmCC); display:block; height:44px; margin:0 auto -44px; position:relative; top:-22px; width:44px;"></div></div><p style="margin:8px 0 0 0; padding:0 4px;"><a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CcHYbF8skMf" style=" color:#000; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:normal; line-height:17px; text-decoration:none; word-wrap:break-word;" target="_blank"></a></p> <p style=" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px; margin-bottom:0; margin-top:8px; overflow:hidden; padding:8px 0 7px; text-align:center; text-overflow:ellipsis; white-space:nowrap;">A post shared by Earvin "Magic" Johnson (@magicjohnson)<time style=" font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px;" datetime=""></time></p></div></blockquote><p>While reminiscing about his time on the Lakers, Johnston told Variety: "We changed basketball! Every time out, Paula Abdul and them beautiful Laker Girls came out on that floor. First time ever. Dancing girls! And they turnt it out."</p><p>"All the latest music, and all the latest dances. You can't duplicate that. We entertain you. Show you moves that you've only seen in the nightclub," he said. </p><p><a href="https://www.insider.com/magic-johnson-wanted-to-hit-howard-stern-interview-2022-4" target="_blank" rel="noopener">He also told the outlet he wanted to "hit" Howard Stern during a 1998 interview on his talk show.</a></p><p>The series' showrunner Max Borenstein told Insider's Jason Guerrasio that <a href="https://www.insider.com/winning-time-jonah-hill-directing-episode-brought-scorsese-influence-2022-3" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Jonah Hill directed the second episode of "Winning Time," which led to a Scorsese influence.</a></p><p>Borenstein also shared that <a href="https://www.insider.com/winning-time-jonah-hill-directing-episode-brought-scorsese-influence-2022-3" target="_blank" rel="noopener">the "Winning Time" cast wanted to break the fourth wall after John C. Reily, who plays Lakers owner Jerry Buss, began doing it in his scenes. </a></p>

Magic Johnson says 'you can't do a story about the Lakers without the Lakers' in response to HBO's series 'Winning Time'

<ul class="summary-list"><li><keyword id="11921392" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="hbo" source="Orion">HBO</keyword>'s "<keyword id="13375805" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="winning-time" source="Orion">Winning Time</keyword>" follows the rise of the <keyword id="12554798" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="la-lakers" source="Orion">LA Lakers</keyword> Basketball team during the 1980s.</li><li>However, many of the real people the show portrays have criticized the accuracy of the series.</li></ul><p>Former Los Angeles Lakers players and executives have publicly criticized the accuracy of the HBO series "Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty."</p><p>The new series, which premiered last month, follows the rise of the LA Lakers basketball team in the late 1970s and is based on a biographical novel "Showtime: Magic, Kareem, Riley, and the Los Angeles Lakers Dynasty of the 1980s" by Jeff Pearlman.</p><p>However, Jerry West, who was a coach of the Lakers during the '70s, has demanded an apology and a retraction within two weeks from Tuesday for the "baseless" depiction of the former executive in the series, <a href="https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/33769604/jerry-west-demands-retraction-apology-portrayal-hbo-series-winning">according to a letter from his lawyers obtained by ESPN</a>.</p><p>In the letter that was sent on Tuesday to HBO and producer Adam McKay, the former coach's attorney Skip Miller writes: "The portrayal of NBA icon and L.A. Lakers legend Jerry West in 'Winning Time' is fiction pretending to be fact — a deliberately false characterization that has caused great distress to Jerry and his family."</p><p>Insider has reached out to HBO for comment.</p><p>West is one of many to speak out against the series.</p><h2><keyword id="12315715" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="magic-johnson" source="Orion">Magic Johnson</keyword> told Variety that he has refused to watch the series</h2><div type="image" title="Magic Johnson attends the 2022 Governors Awards" height="804" width="1072" msid="90965103" hostid="261"></div><p>The story of "Winning Time" begins in 1979 when basketball legend Earvin "Magic" Johnson joins the Lakers squad. However, Johnson <a href="https://variety.com/2022/tv/features/magic-johnson-lakers-they-call-me-magic-1235224091/">told Variety</a> that he refused to watch the series after neither <a href="https://www.insider.com/magic-johnson-speaks-out-about-hbos-winning-time-2022-4">HBO nor the creative executives asked for him or his teammates to participate</a>.</p><p>"First of all, you can't do a story about the Lakers without the Lakers," Johnson told the outlet. "The real Lakers. You gotta have the guys. There's no way to duplicate Showtime. I don't care who you get."</p><p>Quincy Isaiah, who plays Johnson in the series, <a href="https://www.tmz.com/2022/04/10/winning-time-actor-quincy-isaiah-defends-series-no-disrespect-magic-johnson/">told TMZ</a> that there was "no malice" behind the show after hearing the criticism from Johnson and other Lakers players.</p><p>"I mean, I understand where they coming from because it's a story about their life," Isaiah said. "So, it's tough. But I really feel like we did a really good job of showing humans and showing a full version of who we at least perceive them to be."</p><h2>Former Lakers coach Jerry West has asked for an apology, arguing the show depicts him as an 'out-of-control, intoxicated rage-aholic,' according to a letter from his lawyers</h2><div type="image" title="Winning Time" height="630" width="840" msid="90965105" hostid="261"></div><p>According to ESPN, West's lawyers argued in a letter to HBO that the show "falsely and cruelly portrays Mr. West as an out-of-control, intoxicated rage-aholic" that "bears no resemblance to the real man," adding that HBO's disclaimer that the series was a dramatization does not remove the network from liability.</p><p>Their letter also states that the show "goes out of its way to denigrate Jerry West" such as implying that West tried to "sabotage" Magic Johnson's selection to the team in 1979. </p><p>During the scene in episode one, West, portrayed by Jason Clarke, comes up with excuses for why Johnson should not be selected for the Lakers team before breaking a golf club in anger.</p><p>West's lawyers say that the series' creators, Max Borenstein and Jim Hecht, acted with "legal malice" because this rage-filled rant and others depicted in the show did not happen in Pearlman's "Showtime" novel nor in real life.</p><p>Statements from former Lakers players and employees such as Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Claire Rothman included in the letter also deny that such episodes occurred in real life.</p><h2>Former Lakers player Kareem Abdul-Jabbar called the series 'deliberately dishonest'</h2><div type="image" title="Kareem Abdul-Jabar" height="3181" width="4241" msid="90965106" hostid="261"></div><p>Both Abdul-Jabbar and Rothman have previously criticized the show's accuracy.</p><p>On Tuesday, Abdul-Jabbar <a href="https://kareem.substack.com/p/winning-time-isnt-just-deliberately?s=r">published a blog</a> stating that the series is "deliberately dishonest" and "drearily dull." The former Lakers player wrote that the show had "bland characterization" and changed "solid facts" with "flimsy cardboard fictions" that affected the legacy of those still alive.</p><p>"It's a shame the way they treat Jerry West, who has openly discussed his struggle with mental health, especially depression," Abdul-Jabbar wrote. "Instead of exploring his issues with compassion as a way to better understand the man, they turn him into a Wile E. Coyote cartoon to be laughed at."</p><p>He added that another scene in the show's first episode where Lakers player Norm Nixon and Johnson have a one-on-one basketball match at a party also didn't happen, which Nixon also said didn't occur during an interview on the <a href="https://youtu.be/BaLxONxaAOY">"Cedric Maxwell Podcast" earlier this month</a>.</p><p>Before the series had come out, Rothman, who was the general manager and president of The Forum arena where the Lakers played at the time, told <a href="https://www.goldsteinandgasol.com/home/game-12-claire-rothman-russian-cream-with-strawberries-romanoff">Goldstein and Gasol, a Lakers fan website</a>, that she declined to be involved with the show because it wasn't approved by Jeanie Buss, president of the Lakers.</p><p>Rothman also said she didn't like the way it presented her and Jerry Buss, the owner of the Lakers in the '70s and Jeanie's father.</p><p>"The thing that stuck out was that it said when I went to meet Jerry, I unbuttoned my blouse by three buttons," Rothman said. "Now that's bullshit. I had a long-term association as an arena manager. So I wouldn't have cooperated in any case."</p><p>"Winning Time" is available on HBO Max.</p>

The real people at the heart of HBO's 'Winning Time' are slamming the series as inaccurate, from Magic Johnson to LA Lakers coach Jerry West

<p></p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/58b8573aca2b015b2d8b4622-2400/undefined" alt="Kong Skull Island Warner Bros" data-mce-source="Warner Bros."><p class="source"><span>Warner Bros.</span></p><p class="caption">"Kong: Skull Island."</p></img></div><p></p></div></div>Hollywood has been trying to make a successful modern franchise out of King Kong for decades, and in its latest attempt, Warner Bros. veers from the origin story of the classic 1933 movie to deliver a highly stylized action blockbuster called "Kong: Skull Island." And boy, does it not work.<p>When&#xa0;the trailer for "Skull Island" hit the internet, you may have been grabbed, like me, by its fun vibe that mixed an "Apocalypse Now" lost-in-the-jungle tone with CGI-fueled action of a pissed-off Kong, plus a sword-swinging John C. Reilly as the comic relief. Unfortunately, that's&#xa0;the whole movie right there in a nutshell.</p><p>And if that's all you want from the $20 or so you'll spend at the multiplex to see this movie, then Warner Bros. has done its job, but frankly, this had the potential to be more than another dull reboot with its moments of entertainment. It's a bummer that's all it is.</p><p>Directed by up-and-comer <a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm3611349/?ref_=tt_ov_dr" target="_blank">Jordan Vogt-Roberts</a>, who kicks off the movie with a dramatic entrance to Skull Island circa World War II, the movie then fast-forwards to 1973 at the tail end of the Vietnam War. John Goodman and Corey Hawkins ("Straight Outta Compton," "24: Legacy") play scientists who are granted a military escort to a mysterious island (you guessed it, Skull Island) to investigate what's on it before the Russians do.</p><p>Samuel L. Jackson plays the Army colonel of the team that flies everyone to Skull Island, Tom Hiddleston is a former British Special Forces member who comes along as a tracker, and Brie Larson is the war photojournalist who has had enough of being in "the s---" of Vietnam and tags along to see what they find on the island.</p><p>But by the time their helicopters fly into Skull Island, the movie is off the tracks.</p><p></p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/58b858ffca2b0122008b4ab5-1599/undefined" alt="Kong Skull Island 2 Warner Bros" data-mce-source="Warner Bros."><p class="source"><span>Warner Bros.</span></p></img></div><p></p></div></div>Jackson's long-winded story about <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Icarus" target="_blank">Icarus</a> that he just decides to spout when his team is in a brutal thunderstorm to get to the island is the first sign that things are going to get rough. (Before that, Jackson says one his most famous lines from another movie. I won't spoil it for you.)<p>Though we get a good dose of Kong right when we hit the island, and some really creative shots of the destruction he dishes out on the helicopters, we are then left with the less tempting meat of the movie: The two factions of the team post-Kong attack (Hiddleston, Larson, Hawkins on one side; Jackson, Goodman, <a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm4207146/?ref_=tt_cl_t10" target="_blank">Jason Mitchell</a>, and <a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0924154/?ref_=tt_cl_t11" target="_blank">Shea Whigham</a> on the other) try to meet at a rendezvous point.</p><p>Yes, there are some great fight scenes with the other creatures on Skull Island, like a gigantic spider with legs that look like bamboo trunks and pterodactyl-like birds (all homages to creatures from&#xa0;B-movies of the 1960s). But as much as I'm sure Vogt-Roberts and screenwriters Dan Gilroy, Max Borenstein, and Derek Connolly tried, there is zero reason to care at all about the human characters.</p><p></p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/58b858c7ca2b013f008b4a97-2400/undefined" alt="Kong Skull Island 3 Warner Bros" data-mce-source="Warner Bros."><p class="source"><span>Warner Bros.</span></p></img></div><p></p></div></div>Hiddleston and Larson don't have any chemistry, and Hiddleston does absolutely nothing to be a hero in this movie, outside of taking Reilly's sword and chopping up some birds with a gas mask on.<p>And perhaps that's the whole point. Kong is supposed to be the one we care about most. We learn through Reilly's character, who has been on the island for decades, that Kong is the protector of all on the island from the vicious "skull crushers." But as we've learned from the failures of past Kong movies, there needs to be more to the story than just a vicious ape.</p><p>Jackson tries to fill that void with his character, a man broken by the US leaving Vietnam and now taking it out on Kong. And though he has his moments, as with Reilly, it's not enough.</p><p>From the flat ending to endless needle drops of every popular 1970s song and one extremely lame death scene, what starts out as a potentially&#xa0;fun and cliche-less way to do an action movie turns into another watered-down origin story of a franchise.</p><p>Maybe it will get better when Kong fights Godzilla in the next movie.</p><p><em>"Kong: Skull Island" opens in theaters March 10.</em></p><p>&#xa0;</p><div><iframe width="560" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/xfknzBAdPyA" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></div>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/twin-peaks-season-3-david-lynch-2017-2">'Twin Peaks' is coming back after 25 years - here's everything you need to know about it</a></h3>        <div>            <div>    <script src="http://player.ooyala.com/v3/6e12e8b3387a44daacfb73afba25a76e"></script>    <div class="ooyala-video-player" data-video-autoplay="false" data-video-id="5jNDhkOTE6rdPfXl0KxImoJhVpDKfUbI" data-player-variable="ooyalapopvideo" id="ooyalaplayer_popvideo" style="width:1280px;height:720px"></div>    <script>    if (typeof RunFunctions === 'undefined') { var RunFunctions = []; }     RunFunctions.push(function()    {         var ooyalapopvideo = OO.Player.create('ooyalaplayer_popvideo', '5jNDhkOTE6rdPfXl0KxImoJhVpDKfUbI',{ autoplay: 'false' });     });    </script>    <noscript><div>Please enable Javascript to watch this video</div></noscript></div>        </div>        <script>(function() { function createPlayer() { OO.ready(function() { RunFunctions.forEach(function(ooyalaFunction) { ooyalaFunction(); }); RunFunctions = [];}); } createPlayer(); }()); </script>    </div>

The new King Kong movie 'Skull Island' is a crazy hot mess

<p><div class="image-container float_right click-to-enlarge" style="width:400px"><div class="image"><a title_source="The French Laundry" title_caption="The French Laundry has been the scene of Silicon Valley CEO power meetups." class="zoomin" href="http://static6.businessinsider.com/image/4fa027d8ecad04a877000007-960/the-french-laundry.jpg"><span class="click-to-enlarge-icon" title="Click to enlarge"></span><img src="http://static6.businessinsider.com/image/4fa027d8ecad04a877000007-400-300/the-french-laundry.jpg?maxX=400&amp;maxY=300" border="0" alt="the french laundry restaurant" width="400" height="300" /></a></div><p class="source"><a href="http://www.frenchlaundry.com/">The French Laundry</a></p><p class="caption">The French Laundry has been the scene of Silicon Valley CEO power meetups.</p></div>After we <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/ceo-dinner-with-marissa-mayer-2013-1">posted a photo</a> of Yahoo CEO <keyword id="319703" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Marissa-Mayer">Marissa Mayer</keyword>, Apple SVP <keyword id="579229" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Jony-Ive">Jony Ive</keyword>, and 10 other powerful and connected Silicon Valley executives having dinner, a couple of sources mentioned that these dinners are a monthly event and have been going on for a while.</p>
<p>Sometimes they're posh events at restaurants like The French Laundry. Sometimes they're more homespun affairs at an executive's home.</p>
<p>These CEO dinners, it seems, are one of the tech world's open secrets. There's a regular crew, centered around Nextdoor CEO <keyword id="1778136" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="Nirav-Tolia">Nirav Tolia</keyword> and Google executive <keyword id="1722704" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Mike-Cassidy">Mike Cassidy</keyword>. Both Tolia and Cassidy, as it happens, have been entrepreneurs-in-residence at Benchmark Capital.</p>
<p>A March 2012 profile of Tolia mentions a "supper club" of influential tech figures. This appears to be the fruition of that plan.</p>
<p>Tolia is a veteran networker, having cofounded a less hoity-toity business-networking group, Round Zero, which flourished during the first dotcom boom. He subsequently drew scrutiny for making up an academic degree and a stint at McKinsey on his resume, which <a href="http://www.bizjournals.com/sanjose/stories/2004/07/12/daily48.html">led him to step down from his job as COO of Shopping.com</a>, a product-search company later acquired by eBay. (At the time, he had not finished the paperwork to receive his degree from Stanford; the university later conferred it.) That blot on his career history, which led him to spend a few years in exile from the tech world in the middle of the past decade, has not hurt him with Silicon Valley insiders.</p>
<p>Cassidy has frequently chronicled these dinners on Facebook. Regulars include Salesforce.com CEO <keyword id="361584" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Marc-Benioff">Marc Benioff</keyword>, PayPal cofounder Max Levchin, LinkedIn chairman Reid Hoffman, and SurveyMonkey CEO Dave Goldberg.</p>
<p>We find it fascinating that the group has even drawn founders who are reputed introverts, like Pinterest CEO <keyword id="971181" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Ben-Silbermann">Ben Silbermann</keyword> and Quora CEO <keyword id="274428" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Adam-DAngelo">Adam D'Angelo</keyword>.</p>
<p>Here are the dates, captions, and guest lists Cassidy published, with our annotations.</p>
<p><strong>January 16, 2013:</strong> "Super amazing CEO dinner hosted by Nirav Tolia with special guests Jony Ive, Marissa Mayer, <keyword id="155332" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Dick-Costolo">Dick Costolo</keyword>, and <keyword id="274435" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Dave-Morin">Dave Morin</keyword>! — with [Dropbox CEO] <keyword id="684171" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Drew-Houston">Drew Houston</keyword>, Trevor Traina, [Path CEO] Dave Morin, [Twitter CEO] Dick Costolo, [entrepreneur] <keyword id="1778137" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="Dion-Lim">Dion Lim</keyword>, [Nextdoor CEO] Nirav Tolia, [Yelp CEO] Jeremy Stoppelman, [Bebo cofounder] <keyword id="329729" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Michael-Birch">Michael Birch</keyword>, [Yahoo CEO] Marissa Mayer, [Apple SVP] Jonathan 'Jony' Ive and [Quip CEO] <keyword id="293400" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Bret-Taylor">Bret Taylor</keyword>."</p>
<p><strong>December 13, 2012:</strong> "<span style="line-height: 1.5em;">Drew Houston, [PayPal cofounder] Max Levchin, [Square COO] Keith Rabois and [LinkedIn chairman] Reid Garrett Hoffman. </span><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">December CEO dinner at KR's awesome pad with beautiful view of SF! — with [SurveyMonkey CEO] Dave Goldberg, Nirav Tolia, Max Levchin, Jeremy Stoppelman, Michael Birch, Reid Garrett Hoffman, Dion Lim and Drew Houston."</span></p>
<p><strong>November 14, 2012:</strong> "<span style="line-height: 1.5em;">This month's CEO dinner - at SOMA Streatfood Park (thanks Bret Taylor for a super fun time!). — with Nirav Tolia, Trevor Traina, [Salesforce.com CEO] Marc Benioff, Jeremy Stoppelman, Max Levchin, Bret Taylor and Dion Lim."</span></p>
<p><strong>September 24, 2012:</strong> "<span style="line-height: 1.5em;">CEO dinner - another fun one!! — with Dave Goldberg, Michael Birch, Dion Lim, Nirav Tolia, Dick Costolo, [Netflix CEO] <keyword id="566177" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Reed-Hastings">Reed Hastings</keyword>, Max Levchin, [Pinterest CEO] Ben Silbermann, Bret Taylor, Reid Garrett Hoffman, Drew Houston, and [Quora CEO] Adam D'Angelo."</span></p>
<p><strong>August 15, 2012:</strong> "<span style="line-height: 1.5em;">CEO dinner at French Laundry this month! Thanks Dave Goldberg!!! — with [former Yahoo executive turned entrepreneur] Lorna Borenstein, Jeremy Stoppelman, Dion Lim, Trevor Traina, Nirav Tolia, Drew Houston, Dave Goldberg, Bret Taylor and [HP executive] Bill Veghte."</span></p>
<p><strong>April 18, 2012: "</strong><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">With [PayPal CEO] David Marcus, Michael Birch, Dave Goldberg, Trevor Traina, Drew Houston, [celebrity chef] Gary Danko, Max Levchin, Marc Benioff, Dion Lim, Jeremy Stoppelman, Bret Taylor, Nirav Tolia and Reid Garrett Hoffman at Gary Danko's house."</span></p>
<p><strong>February 22, 2012:</strong> "<span style="line-height: 1.5em;">This month's CEO dinner - thanks Max. Special guest [Daily Mail chairman] Lord Rothermere! — with Bret Taylor, [TrialPay CEO] Alastair Rampell, Reid Hoffman, Nirav Tolia, Max Levchin and Marc Benioff."</span></p>
<p><span id="fbPhotoSnowliftTimestamp"><abbr title="Tuesday, January 31, 2012 at 10:53pm" data-utime="1328079211"><strong>January 31, 2012:</strong>  "</abbr></span><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">This month's CEO dinner. LOTS of exciting things happening for many of us. :) — with Dion Lim, Michael Birch, Trevor Traina, Marc Benioff, Jeremy Stoppelman, Max Levchin, Bret Taylor, Nirav Tolia, Dave Goldberg and [oDesk chairman] Thomas Layton."</span></p>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;"><strong>December 14, 2011:</strong> "</span><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">Another fun CEO dinner. Jeremy Stoppelman was amazing host at AT&amp;T park - drinks in the dugout and dinner in the locker room! — with Dion Lim, Nirav Tolia, Dave Goldberg, [then-FCC chairman] Julius Genachowski, Max Levchin and Reid Hoffman."</span></p>
<p><strong>Octoer 19, 2011:</strong> "<span style="line-height: 1.5em;">Fabulous CEO dinner thanks to Trevor Traina tonight! Special guests [Microsoft CEO] <keyword id="62333" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Steve-Ballmer">Steve Ballmer</keyword>, [DST founder and Facebook investor] Yuri Milner, [Zynga CEO] Mark Pincus, Dick Costolo, and more! — with Bret Taylor, Reid Hoffman, Dion Lim, Yuri Milner, Trevor Traina, Drew Houston, Steve Ballmer, Michael Birch, Nirav Tolia, Max Levchin, Yen Lee and Marc Benioff."</span></p>
<p><strong>September 21, 2011:</strong> "<span style="line-height: 1.5em;">CEO dinner this month.... at Fleur de Lys. :) — with [Simply Hired chairman] Gautam Godhwani, Bret Taylor, Michael Birch, Nirav Tolia, Trevor Traina, Drew Houston, Marissa Mayer, Dion Lim and Max Levchin."</span></p>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;"><strong>Update: </strong>Nextdoor'sTolia did attend Stanford University between 1990 and 1995, but did not receive his degree until 2004. We've updated the story to note that.<br /></span></p>

REVEALED: All The Guest Lists For Silicon Valley's Secret CEO Power Dinners

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/56c7616d2e52651d008b84ea-1060-795/screen shot 2016-01-21 at 12.28.14.png" alt="Tim Cook" data-mce-source="CBS / 60 Minutes / YouTube" data-mce-caption="Apple CEO Tim Cook" data-link="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rQebmygKq7A" /><p class="source"><span><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rQebmygKq7A">CBS / 60 Minutes / YouTube</a></span></p><p class="caption">Apple CEO Tim Cook</p></div><p></p></div></div>One day after Georgia Governor Nathan Deal <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/salesforce-ceo-won-his-georgia-showdown-2016-3">agreed to veto a bill</a> that critics said would have encouraged discrimination against gay people, a similar fight in North Carolina has ramped up. </p><p>On Tuesday, over 80 CEOs and business leaders signed an open letter asking North Carolina Governor Pat McCrory to repeal a controversial law <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/ap-nc-lawmakers-return-to-address-transgender-bathroom-measure-2016-3">passed last week.</a></p><p>Signatures included Apple CEO Tim Cook, IBM CEO Ginni Rometty, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and, naturally, Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff, who has been the Silicon Valley point-person speaking out against state-level laws that negatively impact the LGBT community.</p><p>The law, which was passed by North Carolina's legislature in a one-day session and immediately signed into law by the governor, has been called <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/nc-ag-wont-defend-controversial-transgender-law-2016-3">a "national embarrassment"</a> by North Carolina's <span>attorney general. </span></p><p>The law was in reaction to a regulation passed by the city of <span>Charlotte that allowed transgender people to use bathrooms based on their gender identity. </span><span>The new state law requires people to use the bathrooms based on their biological sex.</span></p><p><span>But it goes beyond regulating bathroom use and prevents local governments from passing regulations that eliminate discrimination based on sexual orientation or identity, according to a lawsuit <a href="http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2016/03/28/472164084/aclu-sues-over-north-carolinas-law-blocking-anti-discrimination-legislation">that's already been filed by the ACLU</a></span><span>.</span></p><p><span>The business community, particularly the tech community, and Hollywood are up in arms about the law.</span></p><p>Here's the letter:</p><p style="padding-left: 30px;">Dear Governor McCrory,</p><p style="padding-left: 30px;">We write with concerns about legislation you signed into law last week, HB 2, which has overturned protections for LGBT people and sanctioned discrimination across North Carolina. Put simply, HB 2 is not a bill that reflects the values of our companies, of our country, or even the overwhelming majority of North Carolinians.</p><p style="padding-left: 30px;">We are disappointed in your decision to sign this discriminatory legislation into law. The business community, by and large, has consistently communicated to lawmakers at every level that such laws are bad for our employees and bad for business. This is not a direction in which states move when they are seeking to provide successful, thriving hubs for business and economic development. We believe that HB 2 will make it far more challenging for businesses across the state to recruit and retain the nation's best and brightest workers and attract the most talented students from across the nation. It will also diminish the state's draw as a destination for tourism, new businesses, and economic activity.</p><p style="padding-left: 30px;">Discrimination is wrong and we believe it has no place in North Carolina or anywhere in our country. As companies that pride ourselves on being inclusive and welcoming to all, we strongly urge you and the leadership of North Carolina's legislature to repeal this law in the upcoming legislative session.</p><p style="padding-left: 30px;">Sincerely, <br />Karen Appleton, Senior Vice President, Box <br />Brandee Barker, Cofounder, The Pramana Collective <br />Marc Benioff, CEO, Salesforce <br />Chip Bergh, President and CEO, Levi Strauss &amp; Co.<br />Michael Birch, Founder, Blab <br />Ed Black, President and CEO, Computer &amp; Communications Industry Association <br />Nathan Blecharczyk, Cofounder and CTO, Airbnb <br />Steven R. Boal, CEO, Quotient Technology Inc. <br />Lorna Borenstein, CEO, Grokker <br />Brad Brinegar, Chairman and CEO, McKinney <br />Lloyd Carney, CEO, Brocade Communications Systems, Inc. <br />Brian Chesky, CEO, Airbnb <br />Ron Conway, Founder and Co-Managing Partner, SV Angel <br />Tim Cook, CEO, Apple <br />Dean Debnam, Chairman and CEO, Workplace Options <br />Jack Dorsey, CEO, Square and Twitter <br />David Ebersman, Cofounder and CEO, Lyra Health <br />Jared Fliesler, General Partner, Matrix Partners <br />Joe Gebbia, Cofounder and Chief Product Officer, Airbnb <br />Jason Goldberg, CEO, Pepo <br />Alan King, President and COO, Workplace Options <br />Kristen Koh Goldstein, CEO, BackOps <br />Mitchell Gold, co-founder and chair-man, Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams <br />John H. Graham IV, President and CEO, American Society of Association Executives <br />Logan Green, CEO, Lyft <br />Paul Graham, Founder, Y Combinator <br />David Hassell, CEO, 15Five <br />Charles H. Hill III, Executive Vice President, Worldwide Human Resources, Pfizer Inc. <br />Reid Hoffman, Chairman, LinkedIn <br />Robert Hohman, Cofounder &amp; CEO, Glassdoor <br />Drew Houston, CEO, Dropbox <br />Chad Hurley, Cofounder, YouTube <br />Dave Imre, Partner and CEO, IMRE <br />Dev Ittycheria, President &amp; CEO, MongoDB <br />Laurene Powell Jobs, President, Emerson Collective <br />Cecily Joseph, VP Corporate Responsibility and Chief Diversity Officer, Symantec Corporation <br />David Karp, Founder and CEO, Tumblr <br />Travis Katz, Founder and CEO, Gogobot <br />Brian Krzanich, CEO, Intel <br />Joshua Kushner, Managing Partner, Thrive Capital <br />Max Levchin, CEO, Affirm <br />Dion Lim, CEO, NextLesson <br />Shan-lyn Ma, CEO, Zola <br />Marissa Mayer, President and CEO, Yahoo <br />Melody McCloskey, CEO, StyleSeat <br />Douglas Merrill, CEO, Zestfinance <br />Dyke Messinger, President and CEO, Power Curbers Inc. <br />Hari Nair, Vice President and General Manager, Orbitz.com &amp; CheapTickets.com <br />Michael Natenshon, CEO, Marine Layer <br />Alexi G. Nazem, Cofounder and CEO, Nomad Health <br />Laurie J. Olson, EVP, Strategy, Portfolio and Commercial Operations, Pfizer Inc. <br />Bob Page, Founder and CEO, Replacements, Ltd. <br />Michelle Peluso, Strategic Advisor and former CEO, Gilt <br />Sundar Pichai, CEO, Google <br />Mark Pincus, Founder and Executive Chairman, Zynga <br />Hosain Rahman, CEO, Jawbone <br />Bill Ready, CEO, Braintree <br />Evan Reece, CEO, Liftopia <br />Stan Reiss, General Partner, Matrix Partners <br />John Replogle, CEO, Seventh Generation <br />Virginia M. Rometty, Chairman, President and CEO, IBM Corporation <br />Dan Rosensweig, CEO, Chegg <br />Kevin P. Ryan, Founder and Chairman, Alleycorp <br />Bijan Sabet, General Partner, Spark Capital <br />Julie Samuels, President, Engine <br />George A. Scangos, PhD, CEO, Biogen <br />Dan Schulman, President and CEO, PayPal <br />Adam Shankman, Director and Producer <br />Gary Shapiro, President and CEO, Consumer Technology Association <br />David A. Shaywitz, MD, PhD, Chief Medical Officer, DNAnexus <br />Ben Silbermann, CEO, Pinterest <br />Brad Smith, President and Chief Legal Officer, Microsoft <br />Arne Sorenson, President and CEO, Marriott International <br />David Spector, Cofounder, ThirdLove <br />Jeremy Stoppelman, CEO, Yelp <br />Bret Taylor, CEO, Quip <br />Todd Thibodeaux, CEO, CompTIA <br />David Tisch, Managing Partner, BoxGroup <br />Nirav Tolia, Cofounder and CEO, Nextdoor <br />Kevin A. Trapani, President and CEO, The Redwood Groups <br />Ken Wasch, President, Software &amp; Information Industry Association <br />Bob &amp; Harvey Weinstein, Co-Founders and Co-Chairmen, The Weinstein Company <br />Mark Zuckerberg, Founder and CEO, Facebook</p>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/peter-bergen-terrorists-reasons-isis-brussels-2016-3">Terrorism expert reveals 4 key reasons people become violent extremists</a></h3>        <div>            <div>    <script src="http://player.ooyala.com/v3/6e12e8b3387a44daacfb73afba25a76e"></script>    <div class="ooyala-video-player" data-video-autoplay="false" data-video-id="E3eW5hMjE6SgUisggnJ72OAAAoK05LjG" data-player-variable="ooyalapopvideo" id="ooyalaplayer_popvideo" style="width:1280px;height:720px"></div>    <script>    if (typeof RunFunctions === 'undefined') { var RunFunctions = []; }     RunFunctions.push(function()    {         var ooyalapopvideo = OO.Player.create('ooyalaplayer_popvideo', 'E3eW5hMjE6SgUisggnJ72OAAAoK05LjG',{ autoplay: 'false' });     });    </script>    <noscript><div>Please enable Javascript to watch this video</div></noscript></div>        </div>        <script>(function() { function createPlayer() { OO.ready(function() { RunFunctions.forEach(function(ooyalaFunction) { ooyalaFunction(); }); RunFunctions = [];}); } createPlayer(); }()); </script>    </div>

Tim Cook, Mark Zuckerberg, Ginni Rometty, others are asking North Carolina to repeal its 'discriminatory' law

<p><strong><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5370662b6bb3f741211e8f93-1200-600/godzilla-attacks-bridge-2.jpg" border="0" alt="godzilla attacks bridge" /><p class="source"><span>Courtesy of Warner Bros. </span></p></div><p></p></div></div>Warning: There are some spoilers ahead.</strong></p>
<p>"Godzilla" opens in theaters Friday. We were able to catch an early screening of the film and it may not be everything you're hoping for.</p>
<p>Don't get us wrong. It's a good movie that starts out strong with Bryan Cranston ("Breaking Bad") and ends with a big payoff fight sequence that had the crowd in our theater roaring. If it's a good monster film you want, you won't be disappointed.</p>
<p>The problem is that "Godzilla" gets bogged down in the middle of the film by characters you just never feel 100% invested in.</p>
<p>Though <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/godzilla-international-trailer-2014-3" target="_blank">many</a> <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/godzilla-trailer-shows-monster-2014-4" target="_blank">trailers</a> may have you convinced otherwise, Cranston is not the star of the movie, but rather a minor supporting character. He plays nuclear engineer Joe Brody who's desperate to find answers to the cause of tremors in Japan after the power plant he worked in was destroyed 15 years ago.<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/530cf64f69bedd43609ef55b-909-384/bryan cranston godzilla-1.png" border="0" alt="bryan cranston godzilla" /><p class="source"><span><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vIu85WQTPRc&amp;list=PLVfin74Qx3tV8bgAhzbfDpnfPoGmJWAcn">Warner Bros./Godzilla trailer</a></span></p></div><p></p></div></div>It's unfortunate, not only because marketing effectively uses the actor's likeness to sell "Godzilla" in nearly <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oHKGx1pzczg">every</a> <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c9hJxEG-etE" target="_blank">single</a> <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VX-TuDFy7AY" target="_blank">teaser</a> and <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vIu85WQTPRc" target="_blank">trailer</a>, but also because Cranston brings the most life and vitality to the movie.</p>
<p>The three-time Emmy-winning actor gets lost in his role. Whether he's joking about forgetting his birthday or chewing out police officials at the top of his lungs for hiding secrets, the audience hangs on every word he says. </p>
<p>Instead, the movie gets turned over to Joe's son, Naval officer, Ford Brody. He's played by Aaron Taylor-Johnson who you may recognize from 2010's "<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Kick-Ass-Aaron-Taylor-Johnson/dp/B002ZG983M" target="_blank">Kick-Ass</a>."<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table click-to-enlarge"><div><div class="image"><a title_source="Kimberley French / Warner Bros." title_caption="Aaron Taylor-Johnson plays Ford Brody." class="zoomin" href="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/53706102eab8ea082f1e8fa5-960/aaron-taylor-johnson-godzilla-1.jpg"><span class="sprites click-to-enlarge-icon" title="Click to enlarge"></span><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/53706102eab8ea082f1e8fa5-1200-600/aaron-taylor-johnson-godzilla-1.jpg" border="0" alt="aaron taylor johnson godzilla" /></a><p class="source"><span>Kimberley French / Warner Bros.</span></p><p class="caption">Aaron Taylor-Johnson plays Ford Brody.</p></div><p></p></div></div>After reuniting with his father in Japan, Ford's on a mission to get home to his wife Elle (Elizabeth Olsen) and 5-year-old son in San Francisco.</p>
<p>While he bounces around from Japan to Hawaii and then the U.S. West coast fighting off brief encounters with monsters at each location, it's difficult to fight a nagging feeling about the believability of Ford's family.</p>
<p class="p1">Olsen is 25 years old and Taylor-Johnson is 23. Both look a bit young to be the parents of a five-year-old. If anything, they feel more like the babysitters. <div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5370699becad04d1793ffa4c-1200-522/elizabeth-olsen-godzilla .png" border="0" alt="elizabeth olsen godzilla " /><p class="source"><span><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vIu85WQTPRc">Warner Bros./Godzilla trailer</a></span></p></div><p></p></div></div>That's not to say the movie doesn't attempt to have a human element. Underneath the monster movie is a story about two fathers - Joe Brody and his son Ford - who have different parenting techniques. The story juxtaposes two very different birthdays, first introducing us to Joe, who's too involved in his work to have time for his boy on his day of birth, and, later, with Ford who makes time for his family on his birthday.</p>
<p class="p1">It's just that the storyline is most convincing when Cranston is a part of the picture early on. </p>
<p class="p1">There's an emotional moment when both Ford and his father revisit their old home in the quarantined section of Japan and Joe and the audience see a "Happy Birthday Dad" banner that wasn't shown in the first stretch of the film. That resonates but gets muddled in the film's larger monster plot.</p>
<p>The thing about Ford is that he's supposed to be the action film's hero and this awesome dad, but there's just nothing that stands out about his character that doesn't feel awfully generic. If he was in a room with Matt Damon's Jason Bourne and Liam Neeson's Bryan Mills from "Taken," he wouldn't be the last man standing.</p>
<p>Olsen, who has been praised for her indie work in "Martha Marcy May Marlene," isn't given much to do either as a <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F9w6MPXte-A" target="_blank">worried wife and mother</a> who just happens to be at the exact location where havoc is wrecked.<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/536f261c69bedd535f7c70c6-1200-522/elizabeth-olsen-godzilla.jpg" border="0" alt="elizabeth olsen godzilla" style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.5em;" /><p class="source"><span>Courtesy of Warner Bros.</span></p></div><p></p></div></div></p>
<p>Then there's Ken Watanabe and Oscar-nominated Sally Hawkins who play scientist sidekicks; however, both feel like two glorified extras re-emerging every so often to tell us something about the monster.<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/53706080eab8ea133c1e8f95-1200-600/godzilla-ken-watanabe.jpg" border="0" alt="godzilla ken watanabe " /><p class="source"><span>Kimberley French / Warner Bros.</span></p></div><p></p></div></div>It's something reviews are picking up on:</p>
<p><a href="http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movie/godzilla/review/702528" target="_blank">The Hollywood Reporter</a>:</p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;"><span>"Superbly made but burdened by some dull human characters enacted by an interesting international cast who can't do much with them, this new <em>Godzilla </em>is smart, self-aware, eye-popping and arguably in need of a double shot of cheeky wit."</span></p>
<p><a href="http://www.thewrap.com/godzilla-review-bryan-cranston-2014-remake-warner-bros" target="_blank">The Wrap</a>:</p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;">"Director Gareth Edwards ("Monsters") gets the money shots right, but neither he nor screenwriter Max Borenstein (working from a story by David Callaham) makes the human characters interesting enough to get us through two mostly Godzilla-free acts."</p>
<p><a href="http://variety.com/2014/film/reviews/film-review-godzilla-1201174616/" target="_blank">Variety</a>: </p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;">Edwards seems to have miscalculated our investment in his cast (including Elizabeth Olsen, uncharacteristically bland as Ford's wife)"</p>
<p style="text-align: left;"><a href="http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/review-godzilla-starring-aaron-taylor-johnson-bryan-cranston-elizabeth-olsen-20140510" target="_blank">The Playlist</a>:</p>
<p style="text-align: left; padding-left: 30px;"><span>"Its second crucial error is having Aaron Taylor-Johnson take over the movie from Cranston. Compared to Cranston, he is wooden, dull, and uncommanding, and the movie begins to deaden with his lead weight (the emotional and dramatic transference the movie tries to give Taylor-Johnson simply doesn't resonate like Cranston's lead)." </span></p>
<p>Most will head to the film not for the performances, but for the action, and if you've avoided most trailers and teasers for the film, then you'll be in store for a series of surprises. However, Warner Bros. did itself a disservice by revealing a bit too much in trailers much as Sony did with "The Amazing Spider-Man 2."</p>
<p>There's one instance early on with Cranston that should pack an emotional punch when he's sobbing; however, because this scene is <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HzVX_bZ9I3I" target="_blank">spoiled almost entirety in a trailer</a> it doesn't hold the same emotional weight on screen.<img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/53705f5769beddb4753ffa4a-/bryan-cranston-godzilla-crying.gif" border="0" alt="bryan cranston godzilla crying" style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.5em;" /></p>
<p>Later in the film, when Godzilla finally made his monstrous entrance, while the crowd cheered and applauded, the big reveal didn't feel extraordinarily special as his full figure was shown in trailers and images leading up to the film.<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5370573569beddbf563ffa4a-1200-600/godzilla-movie-1.jpg" border="0" alt="godzilla movie" /><p class="source"><span>Warner Bros.</span></p></div><p></p></div></div></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.5em;">There are really two big surprises trailers don't give away. *spoilers*<span style="color: #000000; background-color: #000000;"> Though eagle-eyed viewers may have noticed Godzilla isn't the only monster in the film - an <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G1pX97_0rxU" target="_blank"><span style="color: #000000; background-color: #000000;">international trailer</span></a> made this very clear - you probably wouldn't guess that there are more monsters in the film as well. In addition, there was a scene near the end of the movie that left our fanboy-filled audience roaring that I won't give away.</span> *spoilers*</span></p>
<p>Still, the best parts of the film may come near the end - or any time - when Godzilla is seen *spoilers*<span style="color: #000000; background-color: #000000;"> going head-to-head with another monster. </span>*spoilers*</p>
<p>I won't give away what happens in the film's final battle, but that was by far one of the most enjoyable parts of the movie. However, for anyone who saw last summer's collaboration between Legendary Pictures and Warner Bros., "Pacific Rim," the fight may feel reminiscent of the giant sequences between monsters and robots ripping each other apart in that movie.</p>
<p>One other scene that stands out is one where Taylor-Johnson's Ford <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M-dhm2Zy0so" target="_blank">attempts to cross a bridge</a> high above water that had us on the edge of our seats.<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/537067306bb3f7870b1e8fa1-1200-522/godzilla-bridge.png" border="0" alt="godzilla bridge" style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.5em;" /><p class="source"><span><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1P-oy6AFR6U">Warner Bros./Godzilla trailer</a></span></p></div><p></p></div></div>Overall, Director Gareth Edwards ("Monsters") first attempt at a big-budget film, is a success.</p>
<p>Some reviews are saying the "King of the Monsters" isn't getting enough screen time. That's not true. He's in plenty of the film - whether he's teased, roaring, or going to town on other monsters. </p>
<p>Edwards knows how to tease Godzilla's appearance and does it well with inspiration from the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VKrj1ymJzmo" target="_blank">1954 original</a>. When a tail or foot or scales on the monster's back are teased, it brings to mind images of Steven Spielberg's 1975 hit "<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Jaws-Widescreen-Anniversary-Collectors-Edition/dp/B00004TDTO" target="_blank">Jaws</a>."</p>
<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/536f340569bedd31253ffa4f-1200-522/godzilla-in-ocean.png" border="0" alt="godzilla in ocean" /><p class="source"><span><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vIu85WQTPRc">Warner Bros./Godzilla trailer</a></span></p></div><p></p></div></div><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5370658f6bb3f7970f1e8f99-1200-522/godzilla-tail.png" border="0" alt="godzilla tail" style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.5em;" /><p class="source"><span><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1P-oy6AFR6U">Warner Bros./Godzilla trailer</a></span></p></div><p></p></div></div><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/537068c9ecad0408773ffa4c-1200-500/godzilla-bus-reflection.png" border="0" alt="godzilla bus reflection" /><p class="source"><span><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oHKGx1pzczg">Warner Bros./Godzilla trailer</a></span></p></div><p></p></div></div></p>
<p>The reboot just doesn't do anything extraordinarily special to stand out and feel like something you haven't already seen.</p>
<p>Check out a trailer below.</p>
<p><iframe width="620" height="360" frameborder="0" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/vIu85WQTPRc"></iframe></p>

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