Roar with Laughter at Godzilla '98

Today filmmakers go out of their way to pander to the fanboys, but back in 1998 when Roland Emmerich and Dean Devlin delivered their version of Godzilla, Hollywood hadn't quite figured out that pissing off the fanbase was sure to doom the film to eternal hate and ire. The film was so reviled for its unnecessary Godzilla redesign, its subpar special effects and tissue-paper-thin characters (starring Matthew Broderick as "Dr. Niko") that plans for two sequels were canceled and the rights to the iguana-ized American Godzilla went to Japanese production company Toho, which immediately dealt with the problem in the most efficient way possible. In 2004's Godzilla: Final Wars, the American Godzilla returned to the big screen for a battle royale with the original, rubber-suited Godzilla. Over the course of ten seconds, the King of Monsters sends his pretender sailing with a well-placed tail slap and then blasts Godzilla '98 out of existence with his atomic breath, never to be seen again. Tonight at 7 p.m. the RiffTrax crew of Mystery Science Theater 3000 alumni wreak verbal havoc on the film in the nationwide simulcast, RiffTrax Live: Godzilla. You can see it locally at the AMC Chesterfield 14 (3000 Chesterfield Mall, Chesterfield; www.fathomevents.com). Tickets are $12.50.
Thu., Aug. 14, 7 p.m., 2014