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Gojira -1.0 (2023)
Japan's Godzilla
Good? Yes. Great? Possibly, but let's temper expectations. Definitely the better if not the best Godzilla of the 2000's but it's not perfect. I love that Toho has been willing to give filmmakers different takes on Godzilla. My favorite era is Showa Godzilla. However, this isn't the hero or monster fighting monster Godzilla movie. Nor is it a fantasy sci-fi pulp action movie. This is a sober Godzilla, a force of nature Godzilla, which isn't new but is a fantastic flavor to the series and a bit of a crowd pleaser.
It's a throwback to the original and it feels fresh. Every Godzilla scene is powerful, exhilarating. But this isn't the agile Godzilla that breaths atomic breath at ease. By comparison, this can be a bit slow and plodding Godzilla, whose atomic breath needs revving up and literally as powerful as atomic bombs. Even that atomic depiction isn't new, GMK and Shin Godzilla use this, but was this was more impactful to me. Less of a personality (but not as odd or bland as Shin Godzilla) and more a force of nature, it's Japan's living nuclear terror.
Composer Naoki Sato gives the movie a chilling and fitting atmospheric music. I like that they used one of Godzilla's original themes and roar. But Sato doesn't match original Godzilla composer Akira Ifukube's powerful bombastic themes and originality. Then again, who can match that genius? Sato used a theme from 1962's King King vs. Godzilla, which to me is a bit of an odd choice, making me think of Kong's villagers. But generally, it worked. At times I'd think Ifukube's "Frigate March" would be more fitting however.
The main character and story are developed well enough. Acting is good (enough) too. The main theme is a post-war survivor's drama. And this makes up a majority of the screen time. The secondary characters are alright but aren't as deep. The way the Japanese fight Godzilla appears to be a bit of an interesting throwback variation too but doesn't dwell on itself meaningfully the way the 1954 movie does. Will it work? "I don't know, I hope so, let's try it" is the sentiment.
In the end, I felt director/writer Takashi Yamazaki wrote a good drama but a crowd pleaser, thus lacking the sober emotionally sacrificial impact the 1954 version brought. Not to really spoil anything but two characters were given "cop out" happy endings and I actually felt a little disappointed by this. Then again, the story wasn't really building to be anything otherwise so maybe I shouldn't be complaining. The only other thing I wished they had hammered in harder is a more explicit or sappier embracing on the "father-daughter" relationship of Akiko and Shikishima. Just wasn't enough for me. Frankly, the relationship between Oishi and Shikishma was genuine but also kind of underplayed. Maybe I've seen too many movies and getting too tired of the same thing but the greatest emotional impact was seeing Godzilla's atomic breath. Not Shikishima's emotional story beats.
So, Godzilla Minus one is a fresh throwback, a decent drama, and the true Japanese Godzilla as he or it should be depicted. Generally, a well-polished, respectable Godzilla movie in 2023 for the franchise. Good? Yes. Great? Possibly, but definitely memorable.
Trivia: This isn't director Takashi Yamazaki's first movie with Godzilla in it. Actually, he gave the King of the Monsters a short cameo at the beginning of the nostalgic series - Always: Sunset on Third Street 2. Another movie I loved more.
P.s. I also had to rewrite this damn review over again because my internet failed and my first draft got deleted. :P.
Snoopy in Space (2019)
Snoopy after Schulz and Melendez
Charles Schulz and Bill Melendez are dead and it shows. Snoopy and the Peanuts gang have sold their souls to corporate branding. The first episode of Snoopy in Space follows the same style and pacing as any of today's formulaic kid's show. Playing things safe, they constantly try to entertain the audience at every second, with lots of "look at me! I'm doing something exciting!" type writing. Gone are the originality, the dissing mean cruelty of life that Charlie Brown faces, the jokes that are actually funny. It's all "Look at Snoopy! He does all the fun stuff! Put on a happy face! Look at our cast, it's the entire cast of Peanuts! Look at Franklin! It's safe! It's diverse!" One could argue this matches Schulz's later years when his work lost his own edge from his earlier years and not as good as the great Bill Melendez animations form the 60's-70's. This is a quick paced episode jam packed with showing off and quasi-educational interests, that expects the kids to have ADD. Having grown up on the Melendez animations, it's also a little hard accepting Snoopy's similar but a bit off voice. Snoopy's voice sounds a little more higher pitched; is it really that hard to get someone to sound similar to a voice without words? That said, the look and animation's okay, it's just the content has lost it's soul.
Revenge of the Green Dragons (2014)
Like the concept, not the execution.
Even if you're desensitized to all the adult content and used to crime, as a regular viewing experience, the movie is about two kid immigrants who get forced into joining a gang. Lots of crap hits the fan, drug trade, revenge killings, betrayal, etc... Maybe for crime exploitation fans, or starved Asian Americans, worth watching once, but with very low expectations.
As a movie featuring an all Asian cast, telling a very American story, in English nonetheless is remarkable. A totally valid Asian American movie, neglected and surprisingly overlooked by an Asian American activist community (those guys suck). It's just not for me.
There are some things you can't un-see, like the child protagonist getting hung up and punched bloody, or the protagonist' older aunt being raped. I could tolerate plenty of people getting shot, even showing the exit holes, and the scene where a gang member gets his finger cut off and tooth extracted but those child torture and rape always leave me too uncomfortable.
Some of the dialogue is a bit stilted with some f-bombs and cursing that seems forced.
When Ray Liotta shows up late in the movie, I'm like wtf is he doing there, and why introduce this white fbi guy? Were they just trying to play up to a white audience and bank on his celebrity typecast?
The surprise ending, comes out of nowhere. I hate those stupid forced "surprise" story touches. Even in Infernal Affairs, that was stupid. It's like a surprise for surprise sake and not for story's sake.
The racism/racial elements where the white police don't care about Chinese killing Chinese, I wonder how accurate that is at the time. The "protagonists" and acting did alright, although that kid looked like a girl.
I'll just go ahead and spoil it, this is a movie where the bad guys, the antagonists win and the "protagonists" lose in a meaningless way. Again, it's reminiscent of Infernal Affairs. Some people apparently like that meaningless darkness but this is no Twilight Zone, there's no cleverness to getting screwed. Even for this cynic critic, not something I love.
Siu nin Wong Fei Hung chi: Tit ma lau (1993)
Good Stuff
For all you people who've only seen the matrix, CTHD, and think fight club features the best fighting ever, you ain't seen nothing yet. Iron Monkey features Hong Kong movie making at one of its best. For those of you who couldn't find a plot, I don't know what kind of movie you saw or how well you pay attention to a movie but I found the plot to be about a good doctor who helps the poor, and the oppressive govt official that's after him. And it gets complicated by Donnie Yen's character. And sorry, for those of you who don't know, there's no literal Monkey made out of Iron in this movie just like there are no crouching tigers or hidden dragons in that movie. But Iron Monkey is a martial arts classic.
The Iron Giant (1999)
Not bad but overhyped.
I watched it on HBO and I don't know why people think this is one of the greatest animated features made because it was just decent. I don't even think its that great. And the whole "don't kill" and "you choose who you are" stuff felt like it was so forced and written by the mpaa; i felt like i was being preached to by some school teacher. I also thought the remarkable convienence of the off/on lever on the power generators was soo funny. And boy did I cringe alot when the giant acted like an idiot. I also thought it was funny that the flashlight on Hogarth's gun was strapped so close to the gun's nozzle that if he fired it he'd blow out his flashlight. Also, when kent finds the gun, its broken off to say "hog hug" but later we can see it reads "hoga hugh". I also don't understand the bump on the giant's head, I mean when he goes nuts, pops out but then he's still able to calm down without the bump so its like what's the point of the bump when it doesn't affect his behavior?
On the plus side, IG is well animated, I liked watching the characters: Annie, Kent, the General. I thought Hogarth, Dean, and the Giant's characters had some likeable moments and dislikeable moments. The premise is interesting and executed well. Its a change from what Disney has done. The ending was pretty cool to watch but I hadn't a clue why Annie and Dean got with each other so quickly since they never really developed romantically in the movie. It seems like they were slapped together just to make the audience happy (I felt the same way about Toy Story 2 but I don't even want to get into the details of how that has an unresolved ending). Overall, I give the movie a C+. If you want to see a real animated movie with an anti-violence theme, go watch Hayao Miyazaki's Nausicaa.
Majo no takkyûbin (1989)
One of the best family films ever
I loved this movie and its appealing characters. I'd put this movie on par with E.T. in terms of entertainment. The flying scenes are done really well. It is a very charming movie and was refreshing to watch compared to the usual Disney release. I know there are two versions out in the US, the dubbed and subbed. I saw the dubbed one as it was the only one available to me but I still enjoyed it. I've read some more literal Japanese translation scripts online and the major differences I see are Jiji's lines. In the dubbed version, Phil Hartman, the dubb voice throws in more punch lines.
There are also some minor rewording such as changing "coffee" to "hot chocolate". I didn't think the Disney dub was that bad (I liked Phil Hartman's performance), however, I still have yet to see the widescreen sub version. I've read in the previous comments that a US Disney LD exists with both versions. It is really an excellent movie.