Nacho Vigalondo

There’s a rich history of monster movies that use giant rampaging creatures as instruments of allegory as well as destruction. The first King Kong explored humanity’s contradictory desires to admire and destroy the natural world. The original Godzilla reshaped Japan’s World War II nuclear trauma into a terrifying vision of destruction. Nacho Vigalondo’s Colossal does the same; envisioning a monster as an expression of addicts’ uncontrollable inner demons. That idea is just about perfect; the execution of that idea, sadly, falls short.

If Colossal isn’t on your radar, it should be. The new film from Nacho Vigalondo (Timecrimes, Open Windows) is his best yet — and the first full trailer hardly does it justice. Featuring an absolutely phenomenal performance from Anne Hathaway, Colossal offers a hilarious, thoughtful and strangely poignant twist on the classic kaiju movie, and is easily one of the most surprising films of 2017.

When it comes to ambitious, imaginative sci-fi, Nacho Vigalondo is one of those names people tend to mention. The Spanish director known best for time-travel head scratcher Timecrimes is back with a new movie, this time about a giant monster and the woman who can control it with her mind. Kinda.

The cast for director Nacho Vigalondo’s ambitious new sci-fi project just keeps getting better — in addition to Anne Hathaway, Colossal also stars Tim Blake Nelson and SNL vet Jason Sudeikis, but the latest member of the cast might be the coolest yet: The Guest and former Downton Abbey star Dan Stevens has joined the lineup. Nacho Vigalondo, you had our curiosity, but now you have our attention.

The Hollywood Reporter calls it “Godzilla meets Lost in Translation.” That gives me images of a giant Bill Murray demolishing Tokyo, but no, apparently there are no oversized Ghostbusters in the film, which is titled Colossal. Instead, Anne Hathaway is “set to star” in the project, which will be written and directed by Timecrimes and Open Windows filmmaker Nacho Vigalondo. Here’s the plot description:

'Open Windows' is director Nacho Vigalondo's most ambitious film to date. Starring Elijah Wood and Sasha Grey, the film examines our obsession with celebrity culture, and what happens when harmless obsession slides into violent entitlement. We had a chance to sit down with Vigalondo, Wood and Grey to discuss the thriller, which is told pretty much entirely through computer screens, webcams and security cameras. What follows is a fascinating interview about celebrity, internet personas, and why Vigalando doesn't like it when movies try to be important.

  'Open Windows' stars Elijah Wood as Nick, the nerdy but affable web master of a site dedicated to fictional superstar actress Jill Goddard (former porn star-turned-actress Sasha Grey). When Jill cancels the dinner Nick won with her in a contest, a mysterious hacker named Chord allows Nick the opportunity to spy on Jill and play a little game that quickly turns dangerous and veers into an evening