‘Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire’ and the Steve Martin Hall of Fame

‘Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire’the X is silent

Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire 2024

Adam Wingard's second MonsterVerse movie and a $200M opening surprise. Both hosts call the third act 'quite poor' and overstuffed with mythology (Hollow Earth, the Iwi, Mothra, an ice Godzilla, Scar King, yelling about 'gravity'), but the middle stretch (a near-silent 30 minutes of monsters fighting, a perfect perpendicular Godzilla suplex, Kong's cavity and metal tooth) wins them over. Rebecca Hall does 'Amanda's Science Corner,' Dan Stevens has a blast, and a Volkswagen product shot looks like a car commercial. Roughly a five out of ten as a night at the movies.

‘Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire’the other 'Empire' of the weekend

Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire 2024

Gil Kenan directs, Jason Reitman co-writes; a sequel to 'Afterlife,' itself a sequel to the Paul Feig 2016 reboot of the original '80s duo. An insane cast (Paul Rudd, Carrie Coon, the 'Afterlife' kids, plus surviving originals and Kumail Nanjiani, Patton Oswalt) doing shameless legacy-IP business. Sean's a five-out-of-ten 'it's fine'; both miss a workplace comedy that isn't about upholding the nuclear family, and both wish Slimer got more than the attic. The one Kumail-and-Bill-Murray scene is the highlight precisely because it's disconnected from the plot.

The Steve Martin Hall of Fameten greens, and the Hall basically cuts off in 1991

The Jerk 1979

'Very green.' The first of the Carl Reiner collaborations, built out of his stand-up bits ('I was born a poor black child'). A hit, beloved, and the closest a teenage Sean could get to the stand-up-era Martin.

All of Me 1984

The first clear green after a run of experiments. Lily Tomlin's spirit lands in half his body; a bravura, very hard physical-comedy performance that resets the table. Also, per Morgan Neville, his first real straight-man role.

Three Amigos 1986

'A perfect movie. Five-star masterpiece': the one film here both hosts call an actual masterpiece. Written by Martin, Lorne Michaels, and Randy Newman. Sean plays Lucky Day; the tequila-shot pause still makes them laugh.

Roxanne 1987

A modern Cyrano he wrote and effectively directed (credited to Fred Schepisi). The turn toward yearning, sentimental Martin, plus the bravura 20-nose-jokes bar scene. Promoted from yellow to green at the buzzer.

Planes, Trains and Automobiles 1987

'It absolutely has to be a green.' John Hughes; Martin as the stick-in-the-mud opposite John Candy, barely funny by design. A classic that'll live another hundred years, and the source of the doc's most devastating scene.

Dirty Rotten Scoundrels 1988

A Frank Oz reunion and a magnificent scammer movie with Michael Caine and Glenne Headly, on the Riviera. 'In my bones': an auto-green from a generation that watched it endlessly.

Parenthood 1989

The turning point: the first time he plays the dad. A sophisticated Ron Howard ensemble (Dianne Wiest, Keanu Reeves, Joaquin Phoenix); the cowboy-at-the-birthday-party scene is heartbreaking. Green.

L.A. Story 1991

His poison-pen love letter to Los Angeles, written by him: a stifled weatherman, a talking freeway sign, all his anxiety in one movie. Sean's skeleton key; greened over Roxanne in his personal ranking.

Father of the Bride 1991

'The greenest green.' Sean saved it for the night before and ugly-cried through the basketball-in-the-snow scene. He grounds the treacle; the pivot from father-of-a-child to father-of-an-adult. Kimberly Williams, Kieran Culkin.

Bowfinger 1999

The last time he was really, really funny, a great Hollywood send-up he co-wrote, with Eddie Murphy in dual roles. His last movie with Frank Oz, and the latest film in the Hall.

The yellowsheld to the final round, then left out

The Muppet Movie 1979

A brief, hilarious waiter cameo opposite Kermit and Miss Piggy. Given an 'honorary yellow' out of love, then reded: 'yellow is not green.'

Pennies from Heaven 1981

The great detour: a lip-synced '20s-and-'30s jukebox musical shot by Gordon Willis, written by Dennis Potter. A huge flop that wounded him and got reappraised. Amy Nicholson's favorite film of all time; out, but recommended.

My Blue Heaven 1990

Sean's white-whale personal favorite: a Nora Ephron script clearly drawn from her Pileggi/'Wiseguy' marriage, out the same summer as 'Goodfellas.' Reunites him with Rick Moranis. A yellow, saved for the eventual Nora Ephron Hall of Fame.

The Spanish Prisoner 1997

A slick David Mamet con-man movie with Campbell Scott and Ricky Jay. Martin doing no jokes: serious, subtle, weird. A tough Hall sell as a supporting part; yellowed and knocked off.

It's Complicated 2009

'The best movie he's made this century,' but he gets blown off the screen by Alec Baldwin in a thankless role. A Nancy Meyers reunion with Meryl Streep; wanted as a yellow, ultimately cut.

Walked and cutthe rest of the filmography, first movie to last

Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band 1978

His first film: the catastrophic Beatles-album 'adaptation' with the Bee Gees, produced by Robert Stigwood the year of 'Saturday Night Fever.' He plays Dr. Maxwell Edison. Bad movie.

Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid 1982

A Carl Reiner noir gimmick that cuts Martin into old movies (Gilda, The Maltese Falcon). Precursor to 'The Naked Gun,' shot by Michael Chapman. Not a hit, not a failure. Red.

The Man with Two Brains 1983

Another Carl Reiner riff, this time on '50s mad-scientist sci-fi. Sean's biased because he loves this experimental transitional era; not quite Hall material.

The Lonely Guy 1984

Arthur Hiller, adapted by Neil Simon; his closest brush with Albert Brooks territory. Whimsy-and-sadness, plus Charles Grodin. A yellow-era movie, ultimately out.

Little Shop of Horrors 1986

A very funny, jet-black-haired dentist, but too small a part. A Frank Oz collaboration; would go straight into the Rick Moranis or Ellen Greene Hall of Fame.

Grand Canyon 1991

A Lawrence Kasdan misfire, and the start of a long run of them. 'A crazy misfire.' Not a movie either host is a fan of.

Housesitter 1992

A Frank Oz reunion with Goldie Hawn that never clicks: she's too zany, he's too stiff. Grating; an interesting experiment that failed.

Leap of Faith 1992

Martin as a con-man televangelist, with Debra Winger, Liam Neeson and an early Philip Seymour Hoffman. Interesting concept, never comes together: actors love playing faith healers more than we love watching them.

A Simple Twist of Fate 1994

A treacly 'Silas Marner' update where he stumbles into fatherhood. Went for something; didn't work. Red.

Mixed Nuts 1994

A Nora Ephron Christmas comedy set at a suicide hotline, from a French film. Stacked cast (Rita Wilson, Adam Sandler, Madeline Kahn) but off from minute one. Martin talks about the failure in the doc. Red.

Father of the Bride Part II 1995

Fine, an overreaction to the 'Mixed Nuts' flop. Home to the most honest depiction of pregnancy ever: Martin Short leading two exhausted pregnant women through aerobics. Red.

Sgt. Bilko 1996

A TV remake in the '90s Nickelodeon/'Beverly Hillbillies' raiding era. Not bad, not good; forgettable. Sean has basically no memory of it beyond the poster. Red.

The Prince of Egypt 1998

A DreamWorks voice role (Hotep) alongside Martin Short. 'I don't think Hotep when I think Steve Martin.' Red.

The Out-of-Towners 1999

Another Goldie Hawn reunion, remaking the Neil Simon/Jack Lemmon original. They should have it and don't. Annoying; red.

Novocaine 2001

A black comedy about a dentist that really doesn't work. Red.

Bringing Down the House 2003

A Queen Latifah hit and the start of the broad era: 'they all get broader.' Sean remembers not liking it at all.

Looney Tunes: Back in Action 2003

A fun Joe Dante Looney Tunes movie; Martin has a small part. Red.

Cheaper by the Dozen 2003

Broad, and a remake of a '50s movie (and a book Amanda read fifteen times). Spawned a sequel; one of two Martin remake franchises this decade alongside the Pink Panthers. Both hosts think all four are bad.

Shopgirl 2005

Based on his own novella: the older-rich-weird-guy against Jason Schwartzman for a shopgirl. A sad, central role; the movie doesn't happen without him. Not going in.

The Pink Panther 2006

A financially successful, creatively crummy Peter Sellers remake (with a Beyoncé-and-Statham sequel). He's doing Clouseau but doesn't get to be as funny. The 'excuse me' catchphrase lives on.

The Big Year 2011

A birdwatching comedy with Owen Wilson that, on paper, should have been a hit and just didn't work.

Home 2015

A DreamWorks animated voice role (Captain Smek). Red.

Love the Coopers 2015

A family comedy in which he voices a dog and narrates. Red.

Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk 2016

A small role in Ang Lee's 48-fps experiment. An interesting, ultimately unsuccessful film. Red.

In conversation

Also mentioned raised along the way

The MonsterVerse so far Godzilla vs. KongGodzillaKong: Skull Island

The Ghostbusters lineage GhostbustersGhostbusters: Afterlife

Adam Wingard's genre run You're NextThe Guest

This year's other big movies Dune: Part TwoOppenheimerAnatomy of a FallBarbie

Name-checked around Steve Martin GoodfellasWhen Harry Met SallyLook Who's TalkingBaby BoomThree Men and a BabyThe ApostleElmer GantrySomething's Gotta GiveThe Naked GunAirplane!GildaThe Maltese FalconThe PlayerGet ShortySaturday Night FeverAntzAnastasiaBlondeAlienThe Brady Bunch MovieThe Beverly HillbilliesThe Flintstones

Morgan Neville's other films 20 Feet from StardomWon't You Be My Neighbor?They'll Love Me When I'm DeadRoadrunner: A Film About Anthony BourdainPiece by Piece

Also in the interview In Restless Dreams: The Music of Paul SimonThe Zone of Interest

Coming up on the show Monkey ManCivil War

Not films filtered out: TV, games, ads

TV Only Murders in the BuildingSaturday Night LiveThe Singing DetectiveThe Dick Van Dyke Show

Podcasts Every Single AlbumThe Rewatchables

Books Born Standing UpWiseguySilas MarnerMiddlemarchCruel Shoes

Brands Volkswagen