Kraken, the Kaiju in the Fjord

Poseidon would be shocked, because these idiots just released the you know what. Of course, they didn’t try to do it. The Norwegian salmon farm management thought they were simply warding off fish parasites, but instead they attract a massive sea kaiju. Why? Who knows. Its just another case of scientific hubris in Pål Øie’s Kraken, which releases tomorrow in theaters and on VOD.

The last place Johanne, a workaholic government biologist, wants to be is Vangsnes, a fishing village at the mouth of a fjord. She used to live there with her colleague and ex, Erik. When project developing a repellent for salmon parasites crashed and burned, she left him and her failure behind. However, he claims to have subsequently perfected it for Avaldsnes, a salmon farm owner, who hopes to secure a major infusion of Japanese capital.

Obviously, the parasite development is a big part of the pitch. However, the side effects have stirred something up. Whatever it is, it caused schools of fish to beach themselves on shore, out of sheer fright, according to the muckraker video sent to Johanne’s agency. Yes, seriously.

Naturally, Avaldsnes won’t stop the transmission until it is way too late. Naturally, he also stands to lose the most, since his wife Henriette, Johanne’s childhood pal, is the town cop and their daughter Maria is the self-styled whistle-blower.

Although Kraken is a kaiju movie, it also continues the tradition of Norwegian Irwin Allen-style disaster movies, like Øie’s The Tunnel. The effects are surprisingly professional, but the cast is rather wooden. Honestly, Sara Khorami and Mikkel Bratt Silset have zero chemistry Johanne and Erik. In contrast, Øyvind Brantzaeg and Steinar Klouman Hallert are believably desperate, rather than nefarious, as Avaldsnes and his plant manager Cato.

Godzilla Minus One: The Godzilla Movie We Need

Koichi Shikishima was supposed to be one of the original suicide bombers. Despite his dog-fighting skills, he was ordered to become a kamikaze pilot. Yet, he did not feel like sacrificing his life for an ideology of death. Initially, this is the cause of great disgrace, but the new Japan will need his skills in the battle against the god of all kaiju. For the first time ever, Godzilla stomps Japan in a period production. It is something to behold in director-screenwriter Takashi Yamazaki’s Godzilla Minus One, which is now playing in theaters.

Towards the end of the war, Shikishima feigns engine trouble, detouring from his flight plan into an American battleship to a remote south pacific base. Sosaku Tachibana, the chief mechanic knows Shikishima is faking it, but he is not unsympathetic. That night the monster native call “Godzilla” attacks the base. It turns out Godzilla predates the A-bomb, but he is still about regular dinosaur-size. Bikini Atoll will radiate him into a giant kaiju. Regardless, he is already plenty dangerous. Perhaps Shikishima might have had a chance against him with his plane’s guns, but he freezes. For that, Tachibana vows to never forgive him.

Nevertheless, Shikishima returns to Tokyo, where he has lost everything and everyone. Yet, Shikishima falls into a cohabitating relationship with Noriko Oishi and the abandoned baby girl she informally adopted. They could be a family, if Shikishima could ever get past his guilt. Then Godzilla attacks, but this time he is Godzilla-sized.

Rather archly, Yamazaki uses the Cold War setting to explain why the American Navy is not allowed to mobilize for Japan, lest the Soviets object and respond to the “provocation.” (So, blame Stalin.) Japan is on its own and already reeling. Title explanation: occupied Japan was already at zero, Godzilla took it to “minus one.” However, a core of veterans disillusions by their service in the Imperial military will rise to the occasion. Obviously, this will include Shikishima and his co-workers clearing mines off Japan’s coast, but he suspects he will need Tachibana too.

Let’s not mince words. Godzilla Minus One does not merely school the recent Monsterverse movies. It humiliates them. It is nearly as good as Shin Godzilla, which was a kaiju masterwork, but it has a deeper, timelier message. Godzilla Minus One is literally about choosing life over death and toxic ideologies. Perversely, we currently see extremists demonstrating in the streets and on college campuses against a tiny democratic nation and in favor of the death cult seeking to destroy it. Shikishima’s experience makes it clear there is nothing heroic in serving as a suicide bomber. Sacrifice only has meaning when it comes in the protection of the innocent and that which makes us civilized.

Over and over, Yamazaki condemns the early Showa era’s death-worshipping nihilism. Yet, he still takes care of the kaiju business. Minus One features some of the best catastrophic special effects of any Godzilla film to-date. The trains look like trains and the buildings look like buildings, not scale models. However, despite considerable up-grades, there are times when the new CGI Godzilla still resembles his old Suitmation self, which is fitting and rather cool.

The Lake: a Thai Kaiju Rises

Remember kids, kaiju eggs are not keepsakes. When a village girl steals on of its eggs, of course the alpha kaiju will come looking for it. Ditto for when the big city cops capture a junior kaiju. The resulting carnage might even satisfy the bloodlust of Ivy League student “activists.” Death comes wet and muddy in Lee Thongkham’s The Lake, which screens at the Spectacle in Brooklyn.

When torrential rains wash a batch of kaiju eggs to the shore, you better expect one of the beasts will come to retrieve them. The next morning little May luckily stumbles across the last one left and she refuses to give it up when her family asks: “what the heck.” Arguably, this will all be her fault.

When the first kaiju attacks the village, Keng and Lin barely escape, but his wound gives him brief, disorienting moments of kaiju vision. Unfortunately, the creature follows them to the bigger city, where he is receiving treatment. Soon, Suwat, the police chief, summons all officers to handle the attacking kaiju. That would include James, an inspector, who leaves his truant teen daughter Pam in the backseat of his cruiser, because what is the worst that could happen under the circumstances? Remember, they haven’t even seen the big one yet.

The kaiju effects are cool, which is, by far, the most important thing about The Lake. The junior kaiju sort of looks like a cross between the Creature from the Black Lagoon and the Xenomorph from Alien. For some shots, there is still a dude in the suit—and he acts incredibly pissed off. It was augmented with CGI, but the mix looks terrific on-screen. The senior kaiju clearly owes a debt of gratitude to the king himself, Godzilla. It has a big set-piece scene that clearly rips off Jurassic Park, but they do it well.

There is no question the biggest stars of the film are the kaiju, designed by Jordu Schell, whose sculptural effects have been seen in films like Starship Troopers, Cloverfield, and Hellboy. The people, on the other hand, are somewhat hit-or-miss. However, the great Vithaya Pansringarm brings a lot grounded maturity to the film as Chief Suwat (who also must worry about his own daughter Fon, a junior officer on the force).

Theerapat Sajakul is also impressively hard-boiled as Inspector James, but his character is not a good decision-maker or strategic thinker. Frustratingly, the younger the character, the less patience viewers will have for them.

Korean Cinema’s Golden Decade: The Great Monster Yonggary

Forget Godzilla vs. Kong, because it was so disappointing. What would really be cool would be Yonggary vs. Wangmagwi, a battle of the Korean kaiju. There is even some bad blood between the respective monsters. Yonggary was completed first, but Space Monster Wangmagwi beat it into theaters, earning accusations of plagiarism. Wangmagwi has recently been restored to its full earth-shaking glory, but Yonggary still only exists in the English-dubbed print produced by American International Pictures. Even with dubious English dialogue, it is still fun to watch the Godzilla-like monster smash stuff up in Kim Kee-duk’s The Great Monster Yonggary (a.k.a. Yonggary, Monster from the Deep), which screens as part of the film series, Korean Cinema’s Golden Decade: The 1960s.

Ever so coincidentally, Yonggary starts with a newlywed pilot, recalled to duty after his wedding, to monitor a nuclear test in the Middle East from space. In Wangmagwi, our hero pilot was forced to postpone his wedding, so it was totally different. Regardless, the Korean space program is way more advanced in Yonggary than it is in The Moon. Be that as it may, the nuclear blast unleashes a monster buried deep within the Earth and it starts making its way straight towards the Korean peninsula, triggering catastrophic earthquakes in its wake. The prognosis is bad for South Korea, but that should mean a good part of the Mideast and China must be reduced to rubble. Tough luck for them, but we won’t be worrying about their fate in Yonggary.

You can also forget the astronaut. Instead, Kim and co-screenwriter Seo Yun-sung follow Il-woo, the socially awkward scientist, who has been dating the bride’s sister, Soon-a. Il-woo seems to get along better with her bratty brother Icho, who takes it upon himself to investigate Yonggary, to find his Achilles heel—again, not unlike Wangmagwi.

Presumably, the original Korean print of Yonggary is better. Presumably, fewer characters speak with English and Transatlantic accents, but that is part of the eccentric fun of the AIP dub. What matters is the suitmation is awesome. It was Cho Kyoung-min in the rubber Yonggary suit and he totally devastates every scale model in his path, like a tornado bearing down on a trailer park.

Fantasia ’22: Mighty Robo V (short)

Waste, corruption, and mismanagement all hallmarks of every government program known to man. Why would we expect anything different from a mecha-kaiju defense initiative? It turns out the Philippine Giant Monster Defense Institute (PGMDI) is just as dysfunctional as any other state-run enterprise. A documentary camera crew exposes the truth in Miko Livelo & Mihk Vergara’s short film, Mighty Robo V, which screened during the 2022 Fantasia Film Festival.

The cameramen will actually be following the crew of Mighty Robo V 2, because their predecessors just got killed by a kaiju. Unfortunately, Dr. Rody Rodriguez has been using the PGMDI’s budget to cover his online cock-fighting gambling losses, so he has solicited sponsors for each of the giant mecha-robot’s weapon systems. To rebuild public support, he has recruited a team of online influencers to be the new crew. Frankly, his corruption has driven his competent deputy, Laser Panganiban to drink—heavily.

Mighty Robo is a razor-sharp satire that persuasively applies James Buchanan’s Public Choice Theory to Ultraman-style bureaucrats. This film has bite, especially the unhinged diatribes of the country’s president, whose growling tone very much resembles that of Duterte (who was still in office at the time of the film’s production). Regardless, it makes one thing clear. Government employees will always put their own interests first, even when giant monsters are rising out of the Pacific Rim. By the way, the PGMDI can’t call them “kaiju” anymore, because that term is deemed an offensive slur.

Fantasia ’22: Shin Ultraman

Ultraman was the king of “tokusatsu” superhero television universes, years before either Marvel or DC had enough shows to claim such a title. There have literally been dozens of series about Ultraman, his colleagues, and the kaiju they battle. Often, they culminated with a theatrical feature film capstone, so Ultraman on the big screen is nothing new. The filmmakers behind Shin Godzilla got a rare opportunity to reboot the franchise outside the ongoing continuity. Wisely, director Shinji Higuchi and screenwriter Hideaki Anno still respected everything that made fans embrace the series through Shin Ultraman, which screens during the 2022 Fantasia International Film Festival.

Mysteriously, giant kaiju have been wreaking havoc on Japan (and only Japan), so logically the government formed the S-Class Species Suppression Protocol (SSSP) to hopefully figure out a way to stop them. Shinji Kaminaga was one of their officers, until he was accidentally killed by a friendly alien superhero, who arrived just in time to defeat an invisible, electricity-consuming monster. The giant red and silver humanoid code-named “Ultraman” fuses his consciousness with that of the late Kaminaga, bringing him back to life and continuing his work at SSSP.

Of course, his partner, Hiroki Asami, quickly grows suspicious of the way Kaminaga disappears like Clark Kent during times of crisis. Unfortunately, more dangerous and hostile alien entities are also on to Kaminaga’s secret identity.

Somewhat like what they did in Shin Godzilla, Higuchi and Anno spend a lot of time skewering the counter-productive infighting of Japan’s governmental bureaucracy. The kaiju always reach perilously close to the outskirts of Tokyo, by the time SSSP files the proper reports in triplicate. However, Shin Ultraman is not quite as incisive and it is much more episodic.

Fortunately, you will not hear accusations of “toxic fandom” with respects to Shin Godzilla, because Higuchi and Anno stay true to the classic spirit of Ultraman and employ a great deal of the traditional elements and motifs. This Ultraman looks exactly like the Ultraman fans have known since 1966. He is just a little shinier. Ultraman has similar crazy moves and the kaiju are as outlandish as ever.

Fantasia ’22: Space Monster Wangmagwi

When the Earth is faced with some kind of monstrous attack from space, everyone’s first choice to lead the defense would be an officer played by Kenneth Tobey. As fate would have it, the aliens target mid-1960s South Korea. Don’t despair, my late grandfather (who fought in the Korean War and was stationed there afterwards) always said the Koreans were some of toughest warfighters he’d ever seen, so the Earth could be in worse hands. Unfortunately, downtown Seoul is still in for the kaiju treatment in Gwon Hyeok-jinn’s Space Monster Wangmagwi, Korea’s second-ever Kaiju movie, which screens (unembargoed) in its freshly restored glory at the 2022 Fantasia International Film Festival.

Earth is a nice-looking planet, so the aliens (sporting tin foil radiation suits, sort of like silver versions of Marvel’s A.I.M. Troopers) intend to take it. Basically, they are using the Plan 9 from Outer Space playbook, but instead of raising the dead, they release Wangmagwi (“Big Devil”), a fierce kaiju that will grow to a monstrous size once it enters the planet’s atmosphere.

Wreckage and carnage ensue, but worst of all, Ahn Hee might have to postpone her wedding with Captain Oh Jeong-hwan, because all Air Force officers are recalled to base. She also must deal with an unwanted suitor, Wangmagwi, who scoops her up during his rampage. Arguably, that is a good thing, because it only leaves him one arm free to topple buildings. The Korean Air Force does what they can, but a bratty street urchin with a kitchen knife climbing in and around Wangmagwi’s auditory canal and nasal passage is much more effective.

Japan Cuts ’21: The Great Yokai War—Guardians

He is a cult favorite among kaiju enthusiasts, but he is relatively under-represented on screen. There is his original 1966 film trilogy and his 2010 reboot series, but mighty Daimajin never had to duel it out with Gamera or Rodan. Takashi Miike partly rights that wrong by pitting him against a ticked-off collective of yokai (mythical Japanese spirits and demons) in The Great Yokai War: Guardians, which screens again the old-fashioned way during the 2021 Japan Cuts Festival of New Japanese Film, at the Japan Society.

You need no familiarity with Miike’s The Great Yokai War of 2005 to fully enjoy Guardians, just an appreciation of the various traditional yokai. Many of those mythical entities apparently originated in the Fossa Magna rift and they have melded themselves into giant “Yokaiju” ball with the intention of barreling back into the sea. The problem is Tokyo is right smack dab in its path. In addition to causing horrendous destruction, it would release a primordial monster currently held in stasis beneath the city. Everyone coyly refers to it as “you-know-who,” clearly implying he is a big-name kaiju, whom Miike and the Kadokawa could not acquire the usage rights.

Frankly, some of the yokai are inclined to watch the world burn, but others would rather save it. To do so, they need to recruit a descendant of legendary samurai Watanabe no Tsuna to sacrifice himself to the mighty Daimajin. Scaredy-cat Kei Watanabe is not inclined to step up when they pull him into their parallel fairy world, but he gins up his courage to save his younger brother Dai, after he is tricked into being a replacement.

The Yokai (including outliers the Yeti, Cyclops, and Frankenstein Monster) are wonderfully bizarre and often gleefully over-the-top, but the kiddie melodrama can be more than a little too whiny and neurotic. Miike often has trouble establishing the right tone for his “family films,” like Ninja Kids!!!, but it is especially true here.

Fantasia ’20: Monster Seafood War

Drawn butter won’t save the world, but maybe weaponized rice vinegar can. The trick will be cracking the crab kaiju’s thick shell. The world is in grave peril, but the giant mutant parts are shockingly tasty in Minoru Kawasaki’s Monster Seafood Wars, which screens as an on-demand selection of the 2020 Fantasia International Film Festival.

Yuta Tanuma is having a bad day. Already fired from the cutting edge, super-growth formula project that he invented, the former scientist is now working at his father’s sushi restaurant. He was supposed to deliver a fresh crab, octopus, and squid as an offering to the neighborhood Buddhist temple, but he is waylaid along the way. The mysterious mugger does not merely steal his seafood. He also doses them with a completed variant of Tanuma’s own unfinished Setap-Z serum.

Fortunately, there was a witness to the crime, so instead of being a suspect, Tanuma is recruited by SMAT, the Seafood Monster Attack Team. They make U.N.C.L.E. sound pretty silly, don’t they? Rather awkwardly, Tanuma is now supposed to work collaboratively with his contemptuous high school crush Nana Hoshiyama, and his well-heeled rival, Hikoma. It is Hikoma who develops the rice vinegar cannons that tenderize Takolla, and Ikalla, the octopus and squid. Unfortunately, Kanilla the crab is a tougher nut to crack. However, it is SMAT’s chef who makes the game-changing discovery when he cooks up some kaiju pieces that came loose during a skirmish.

Basically, if the Ultraman franchise is too serious and sophisticated for your palate, this retro “Suitmation” rubber monster movie might be more your speed. It is definitely Kawaski’s thing. He is also the auteur responsible (if that is the right word) for The World Sinks Except Japan, so if you are looking for any semblance of realism, look elsewhere.

Ultraman X the Movie: Here He Comes

Xio is an international agency dedicated to fighting cosmic kaiju. Naturally, they are headquartered in Japan, because that’s where the kaiju are. There is not much they can do as mere mortals, but fortunately they have Ultraman X to bail them out. However, X will need some of his fellow Ultramen to cover his back when he takes on a long-dormant but particularly nasty creature in Kiyotaka Taguchi’s Ultraman X the Movie: Here He Comes! Our Ultraman, which is now available on BluRay.

As fans perhaps remember from Ultraman Orb the Movie, Ultraman X bonded with Xio member Daichi Ozora, but when not “united” in combat, his intelligence resides in the handheld X-Deviser. Things take a Graham Hancockian turn when Carolos Kurosaki, a phony TV archaeologist, reawakens Zaigorg, a powerful kaiju held in limbo within an ancient tomb. Intriguingly, he also uncovers an centuries-old statue of what looks like an Ultraman.

Before long, Zaigorg has summoned two additional “Devil Clone Beasts” to help him rampage across Japan. Ultraman X cannot stop him alone, but Gourman, Xio’s alien research director, might be able to summon Ultraman Tiga using artifacts collected by the legitimate archaeologist Tsukasa Tamaki and her ten-year-old-ish son Yuto, whom she inexplicably brings along on expeditions.

Those who dig watching big men in tight costumes fighting kaiju probably already know they will enjoy Ultraman X the Movie. Once again, it picks up where the Ultraman X series left off. It is relatively easy for newcomers to figure things out as the film goes along, but Orb the Movie still probably stands alone most successfully.

Perhaps not so coincidentally, Orb is also the best of the three Ultraman series capstone films, but Ultraman X is still considerably better than Ultraman Geed, which was way to angsty for its own good. Precocious Yuto can be a little annoying, but once he is taken out of the picture (through temporary, non-lethal means), the film really gets down to serious kaiju-bashing business.

Ultraman Movies: Orb & Geed

The Ultraman franchise is as Japanese as Godzilla or Gamera, but these guardians of galaxy save the world instead of destroying it. When a kaiju attacks, you better pray there is an Ultraman patrolling our universe. Ultraman Orb is one of the best of Ultra brotherhood. Geed, not so much. As part of their ambitious Ultraman BluRay program, Mill Creek Entertainment has recently released Ultraman Orb: The Movie—Let Me Borrow the Power of Bonds and Ultraman Geed: The Movie—Connect the Wishes.

You have to love the awkward secondary titles. In fact, many viewers will enjoy the nostalgia of revisiting the superhero series they loved as kids. Many might be surprised to know it is still a going concern in Japan, where they continue to launch new series and films focusing on particularly Ultraman heroes. Typically, a relatively self-contained motion picture is released as a capper to each Ultraman sub-series. The payoff is probably richer for fans who followed the series, but the general premise is never hard to understand: superhero fights kaiju.

Ultraman Orb is definitely the better of the two film, in large measure because Orb and his human alter-ego Gai Kurenai (who walks the Earth in leather dusters, like Caine in Kung Fu) inspires more confidence. In Borrow the Power, directed by Kiyotaka Taguchi, he returns to Japan just in time. There are space monsters massing for some sort of attack. Apparently, the nexus of the nefarious business is a creepy mansion that suddenly appeared on the outskirts of town.

Orb will have to investigate single-handedly, since Ultraman X has been confined to a handheld device called the X Devizer. Rather ominously, the Ultra’s old pseudo-nemesis Jugglus Juggler works as the Lurch-like butler in the strange manor that serves as some kind of portal between dimensions and universes. Orb will not be able to defeat the forces of evil on his own, even after borrowing the powers of other Ultramen. Fortunately, an all-time fan-favorite from the early series makes a rousing cameo to save the day. Even if you never watched the franchise before, Taguchi makes his significance and steely presence immediately clear.

In fact, Taguchi generally does a nice job of keeping things lively. Hideo Ishiguro is satisfyingly cool as Orb/Kurenai, while Takaya Aoyagi chews some serious scenery as Juggler. Plus, Miyabi Matsuura is appealingly wide-eyed and shows some decent action chops as Naomi Yumeno, the leader of SSP, a student group dedicated to aiding Ultraman, who are a bit like Nancy Drew and her friends.

Sundance ’17: Kaiju Bunraku (short)

How can Japan be some stoic in the face of rampaging kaiju monsters? They are just used to it. If you have seen the Daimajin movies, you know this sort of thing has gone on for centuries. You need not explain the kaiju phenomenon to this particular weary married couple of traditional bunraku marionettes. They will weather yet another attack in Lucas Leyva & Jillian Mayer’s short film Kaiju Bunraku, which screened during the 2017 Sundance Film Festival.

As per custom dating back to the early 1800s, the puppeteers bringing life to K-B’s characters appear all in black, with their faces hooded. They are performing on an actual stage, apparently before a live audience, but the sets and costumes are so richly crafted, viewers will immediately be transported into the bickering couple’s world. The man and woman live in an unspecified time, presumably pre-Twentieth Century, except they understand only too well the poisonous effects of the radiation released on their environment from the constant kaiju assaults. Like Sisyphus, they ordinarily just pick up the pieces of their lives and carry-on until the next kaiju barges through. However, the man might finally reach his breaking point this time around.

Although fans will say it is not canonical, K-B arguably represents the first Mothra film to make it to Sundance. Regardless, the film is wickedly cool in conception and execution, staying true to the spirit of both bunraku theater and Japanese kaiju cinema. The artistry of the Bunraku Bay Puppet Theater is wonderfully refined and hugely entertaining. They really bring out the emotional poignancy of the two characters.

K-B will absolutely leave viewers wanting more bunraku and more kaiju, but the film itself feels entirely self-contained. It is a terrific short that should be a cinch to get programmed at the genre festivals coming later in the year, much like Do No Harm. Enthusiastically recommended for those who appreciate Japanese culture and cult cinema, Kaiju Bunraku premiered at this year’s Sundance Film Festival.

Shin Godzilla: Still the King, Now More than Ever

Godzilla/Gojira was born out of nuclear anxiety in the post-Hiroshima 1950s, so a reboot makes perfect sense in the angsty post-Fukushima teens. Apparently enough time has passed in the five years since the tsunami and nuclear emergency to destroy Tokyo again, but the echoes of the real tragedy conspicuously reverberate in the King of Monsters’ latest outing. Fittingly, the creator of the Evangelion franchise and the special effects director of the more serious 1990s Gamera reboot trilogy explore those apocalyptic themes in Hideaki Anno & (co-director) Shinji Higushi’s Shin Godzilla (trailer here), a real deal Toho-produced Japanese-language Godzilla movie, which opens this coming Tuesday for a special week-long run in select cities.

A large mutating lizard is heading straight for Yokohama, but if the Prime Minister’s cabinet is going to address the issue, someone will have to make a motion to set aside the agenda. Bureaucracy is sluggish, myopic, and turf-conscious throughout this Godzilla film, giving the scaly creature a further advantage he does not need. From early sightings through his initial landfall, they consistently underestimate the King. However, at least one sub-cabinet appointee, earnest but rather tactless Rando Yaguchi, recognizes the danger (how could he miss it?).

It turns out at least one prominent government scientist had an inkling of what was to come, but he chose to end it all rather than stick around to witness the carnage. When the government finally realizes they have a situation on their hands, they authorize the self-defense force to throw the kitchen sink at Godzilla, but they only succeed in drawing a little blood. Of course, this enrages the stomping kaiju no end, so he turns himself into a veritable disco ball of death rays. He proceeds to wreak some incredible havoc, even incinerating the Prime Minister’s evacuation helicopter. However, he will have to hibernate for two weeks to restore his energy.

That gives Yaguchi and his team of government misfits and rebels a narrow window to develop a strategy to freeze Godzilla by targeting his unique circulatory system, before the Yanks nuke him with the UN’s blessing. Fortunately, he has the backing of U.S. Special Envoy and prospective presidential candidate Kayoko Ann Patterson, who will also remain in harm’s way with the ragtag group of scientists and emergency management specialists.

Shin Godzilla harkens back to the moodiness original, unadulterated 1954 Godzilla, but it shows the monster almost immediately and subsequently never leaves him out of the frame for very long. However, kaiju fans might be put off by the film’s 1970s docu-drama tone. Screenwriter Anno is almost perversely obsessed with meeting rooms, following the various cabinet and sub-cabinet officials as they convene and re-convene around sundry conference table’s throughout the PM’s residence. Clearly, the politicians and bureaucrats are preoccupied with procedure and minutes, very much to the detriment of public safety. Rather annoyingly, there is also a pronounced strain of anti-Americanism in this film (what would Raymond Burr’s Steve Martin say?), but at least we can support the idea of a Pres. Kayoko Patterson, especially in a year like this.

While not exactly Yes, Minister, Shin Godzilla is surprisingly sly when skewering bureaucracy and the political class. However, it still has room for idealism, especially with respects to the jaded and ambitious Yaguchi and Patterson, who risk everything to save Tokyo and perhaps the very soul of Japan. Hiroki Hasegawa and Satomi Ishihara forge some terrific chemistry together—especially since Anno and Higuchi force them to do it on the run. They just don’t have any time for backstory, so all character development (and there is some) emerges organically from within the on-screen crises.

And then there is Godzilla. Mostly computer generated, he looks terrific from a distance and when engaged cataclysmic destruction. To borrow a technical film studies term, when Godzilla gets Medieval on Tokyo, it is just plain awesome. However, during his close-ups, the King still looks a little “fake.” Yet, this is not necessarily a mistake. In fact, it feels like a fitting way to observe tradition.

To the great credit of Anno & Higuchi, Shin Godzilla is a surprisingly tight, tense, and pointed disaster movie, as well as jolly fun kaiju romp. One can very easily see echoes of Fukushima and Katrina in scenes that remind us how helpless mankind is in the face of apocalyptic natural disasters (obviously defined quite broadly). This is the first eagerly anticipated blockbuster that lives up to its hype since Ip Man 3, so good luck following in its wake, Rogue One. Very highly recommended, Shin Godzilla screens Tuesday (10/11) through Tuesday (10/18) at theaters nationwide, including the AMC Empire in New York.

SDAFF ’15: Love & Peace

It is sort of like Gamera meets the Island of Misfit Toys. It is also a Christmas movie, because why wouldn’t it be? Pet turtles go kaiju in Love & Peace (trailer here), the glam-rock fable only Sion Sono could tell, which screens during the 2015 San Diego Asian Film Festival.

Ryoichi Suzuki once harbored punk rock dreams, but now he is a bullied salaryman with a balky intestinal track, laboring for a decidedly unhip music publisher. For some reason, his severely outsiderish co-worker Yuko Terashima might kind of like him, but Suzuki is incapable of acting on his massive crush. The only bright spot in his life is Pikadon, the baby turtle he co-dependently dotes on. However, when Suzuki’s nasty coworkers shame him into giving Pikadon the flush, it nearly crushes his spirit.

Down Pikadon goes, swooshing through the sewers to a subterranean shelter for cast-off pets and toys. There he enjoys the protection of a kindly tinkerer, who fixes them up and gives them the power of speech through his magic pills. However, the old man (gee, who does he sound like?), accidently gives him the wrong Matrix pill. Instead of the power of speech, Pikadon is now able to grant his former owner’s wishes, but each time he grows in proportion to the significance of the wish fulfilled. From there, things gets strange—and big.

L&P is sort of the Christmas movie David Bowie never made with Sid and Marty Krofft. It is a strangely earnest and innocent film, yet Sono still manages to make redemption slightly creepy. Be that as it may, if you like turtles, this is the film for you.

In fact, the old school practical Pikadon effects are wonderfully charming and nostalgic. Kumiko Asȏ is also impressively subtle and down to earth as Terashima, sort of like a post-punk version of Marcie in Peanuts. Toshiyuki Nishida similarly balances kindliness and anti-social weirdness quite adeptly as the old man. However, there is over-the-top and there is Hiroki Hasegawa’s Suzuki, or “Wild Ryo,” as he comes to be known, who is equally annoying during his put-upon doormat days as he is as an egotistical sell-out rocker.

Regardless, you come to a Sion Sono film for some spectacle and he delivers accordingly. Although they are radically different films, L&P is much like Tokyo Tribe in that both are dazzlingly accomplished feats of art direction. Mise-en-scéne doesn’t get much more insane than his recent films. He certainly isn’t repeating himself either. Sono even proves he is quite the songwriter, penning tunes that are equally catchy performed as grungy protest anthems or cheesy power ballads. For Sono’s fans it is his latest must-see film, while for general cult film enthusiasts, it could become a Christmas tradition, along with Santa Stinks and Black Christmas. Recommended for kaiju connoisseurs as well, Love & Peace screens this coming Monday (11/11) and Wednesday (11/11), as part of this year’s SDAFF.

NYICFF ’15: Jellyfish Eyes

Considering Japanese pop artist and commercial phenom Takashi Murakami frequently features his manga alter-ego, Mr. DOB in his work, it is not surprising his debut feature film is heavy on the creatures. Eventually, a kaiju attacks, but that also makes sense, given Ultraman’s formative influence on his artistic development. It is all kid friendly, but in a slightly trippy sort of way, like Sid & Marty Krofft rebooted for Japan. As a result, one sensitive young lad is in for the weirdest coming-of-age story in Murakami’s Jellyfish Eyes (trailer here), which screens during the 2015 New York International Children's Film Festival.

Tsunami survivor Masashi Kusakabe is relieved to be moving out of the shelter, even though he and his mother are still deeply grieving his father. However, he quickly suspects there is some sort of strange presence in their new exurban apartment. That would be the critter he eventually names Kurage-bo or Jellyfish Boy. It turns out all the kids at his new school have what they call F.R.I.E.N.D.S., except they can control theirs with special handheld devices given to them by the local lab, from where Kurage-bo escaped.

Kusakabe quickly bonds with Kurage-bo, whose resourcefulness stymies the attempted bullying of the bad boy clique and their creepy F.R.I.E.N.D.S. It seems there is a sort of underground F.R.I.E.N.D. fighting circuit operating afterschool. Fortunately, Luxor, the biggest, hairiest F.R.I.E.N.D. was entrusted to Saki Amamiya, who vehemently dislikes all forms of fighting. She is not too fond of her mother’s doomsday cult either, but she might be okay with Kusakabe. Unfortunately, the aspiring bullies will escalate their aggressive behavior, with the secret encouragement of a shadowy cabal operating in the research institute. Somehow the negative energy generated by the children and their F.R.I.E.N.D.S. perfectly suits the needs of the so-called “Black-Cloaked Four.”

Based on post-screening reactions, it is safe to say Luxor is a smash hit with kids. You have to admit, he is pretty cool and pairing him up Himeka Asami’s Amamiya just cranks up the cuteness to Spinal Tap levels. In contrast, Kurage-bo is sort of weird looking, but he grows on you. However, the earnestness of young Takuto Sueoka and Asami, really sell the madness, while directly expressing extraordinary angst no kid should have to deal with. Likewise, Mayu Tsuruta is quite touching as Kusakabe’s bereaved but steadfast mother Yasuko.

The shadow of the 2011 disaster is constantly present in Jellyfish Eyes, but Murakami largely keeps it in background, rather than belaboring the point. He clearly has a nice touch with kids, but there is a lot of manipulation and thematic recycling going on his the boy-and-his- F.R.I.E.N.D. narrative. Nevertheless, the bizarre details (how many kids’ films have both an apocalyptic cult and an apocalyptic secret society?) as well as the sincerity of the primary cast really distinguishes the film from the field. Imagine if he got together with Takashi Miike? The mind reels. Warmly recommended for older elementary school kids who have discovered anime or kaiju movies (and big kids who enjoy either), Jellyfish Eyes screens again at the SVA Theatre this coming Sunday (3/15), as part of this year’s NYICFF.

The Original Japanese Godzilla—Feel his Wrath

There was a time when the sight of a mutant lizard leveling the city of Tokyo would have been somewhat traumatizing. It became a campy tradition, but it started as a surprisingly moody expression of national angst. Sixty years later, Godzilla is still the king of the monsters, but his original uncut 1954 Japanese debut (sans Raymond Burr) will be a revelation for many fans. Film Forum pays homage to the granddaddy of all kaiju movies with a special one week engagement of Ishirô Honda’s Godzilla (trailer here), beginning this Friday.

There are dozens of drastic differences between the version released in the U.S. (with scenes added featuring Burr as American reporter Steve Martin) and Honda’s original high concept apocalyptic morality play. Initially, we do not see Godzilla, but we witness the effects of his handiwork. In an episode reportedly inspiring by the Lucky Dragon Incident, a commercial fishing boat has inexplicably disappeared in a remote quadrant of the Pacific. The company responds by sending more ships to the last known coordinates, which only compounds their tragic losses. Of course, we know who is responsible, but Godzilla will not actually show himself, peaking over a mountain ridge in an entrance to rival Harry Lime in The Third Man, until late in the first act.

Dr. Kyohei Yamane suspects the mutant monster dubbed Godzilla (or Gojira) is a nasty by-product of the nuclear age. Destroying such a beast is no easy feat, as the military conclusively proves during their futile defense of Tokyo. As events unfold, the professor’s daughter Emiko finds herself in uniquely Japanese love triangle, betrothed to the distant Dr. Daisuke Serizawa, but in love with salvage captain Hideto Ogata, who suddenly finds himself all kinds of busy. Serizawa has developed an Oxygen Destroyer that just might be able to stop the rampaging monster, but he refuses to open another Pandora’s Box.

Of course, Godzilla is all about the monster, but Serizawa is a fascinating character in his own right. He adopts western style dress and furnishings, yet he consents to a traditional arranged marriage. Frankly, he often seems oblivious to Emiko, driven by his obsessions and haunted by his mysterious wartime experiences.

There also happen to be real performances in the genuine article Godzilla, including Akihiko Hirata as the brittle and intense Serizawa. Momoko Kōchi also gives an acutely sensitive turn as the conflicted Emiko Yamane. As for screen presence, it is hard to beat Ozu and Kurosawa veteran Takashi Shimura, who would later reprise his role as Dr. Yamane, unless you were a mutant lizard monster.

Yes, most of Godzilla’s scenes were rendered by “Suitmation” (which was exactly what it sounds like), but Honda really focuses in on the human dimension during his now legendary attack. He makes us feel for the people caught up in the terror, rather than glossing over the little people getting stomped on. Obviously, the look of Godzilla caught on, but it is the sound that seals the deal. There is something alarming (even bitchy) about his high-pitched keening roar that gets under the skin. You would absolutely not want to hear anything like it in real life.

By any reasonable critical standard, the original Godzilla qualifies as a good movie—for real. It has far more going on than you would assume for subsequent sequels. Yet, it still delivers the kaiju goods. Sixty years later, Godzilla is still one of the baddest cats to grace a movie screen. If you do not catch him now in his original glory, you risk some profoundly bad karma. Recommended for fanboys and cineastes, the restored, undubbed Japanese Godzilla opens this Friday (4/18) at Film Forum.

Pacific Rim: Kaiju vs. Jaegers

At least, they do not destroy New York City.  For an apocalyptic film that constitutes real restraint.  The bad news is it is only a matter of time before all of mankind finds itself on the business end of the next major extinction event in Guillermo del Toro’s Pacific Rim (trailer here), which opens today nationwide.

In the not too distant future, way down in Deep Thirteen . . . a mysterious alien race has begun rising through a breach in the Earth crust, sending gigantic monsters up to ravage Pacific coastal population centers.  They become known as “Kaiju” in honor of the great Japanese genre monster movies.  To combat this threat, the frontline nations joined forces to create giant Iron Man-like fighter-crafts they call “Jaegers” (the German word for hunters).  For a while, the Jaegers were taking care of business, but the Kaiju evolved, becoming bigger, stronger, and harder to kill.

Nobody understands this better than Raleigh Beckett.  Siblings like Beckett and his brother Yancey were often recruited as Jaeger pilots, because they are highly “drift compatible,” meaning they can form a strong neural bond with each other to control their massive fighting machines.  Unfortunately, when Yancey dies in battle his surviving brother shares the experience.  Shortsightedly, the Jaeger Project is discontinued in favor of a public works boondoggle of a barrier wall.  When that predictably fails, Beckett’s former commanding officer Stacker Pentecost rounds up all the mouth-balled Jaegers and a motley crew of pilots for a last stand.

There are the odd environmental implications to Rim, but frankly the film only mentions the ozone depletion mumbo-jumbo explanation in passing.  Of course, in old school Kaiju movies, the atomic bomb was always responsible for creating the monsters.  Ironically, a nuclear warhead might represent humanity’s salvation in Rim, if Pentecost’s team can slip one past the goalie, deep enough down the breach.

Even if it is an effects driven tent-pole, most cineastes will be interested in any film starring Idris Elba and Oscar nominee Rinko Kikuchi.  As one would expect, Elba is one of the very few name actors who has sufficient presence and masculinity to pull off the gruff on the outside, but slightly less gruff on the inside Stacker Pentecost (by the way, is del Toro’s Ronco character name-generating machine still under warranty?). 

Yet, the real breakout star is Kikuchi, who exhibits both acute sensitivity and legit action cred as rookie Jaeger pilot Mako Mori.  Charlie Hunnam is basically adequate as the out-for-redemption Raleigh Beckett, but that constitutes a significant improvement from his embarrassing turn in the laughable atheism advocacy potboiler, The Ledge.  Mana Ashida also deserves great credit for her tremendous green screen work as the young Mori, but viewers will start to absolutely despise del Toro for making her look so terrified.

Obviously, Pacific Rim is inspired by Kaiju classics, like the Godzilla and Daimajin franchises, but in terms of tone, the film feels more closely akin to anime, with its battling bots and angst-ridden crews.  In fact, the Jaegers bear a distinct resemblance to the Eva units in the Evangelion series. Frankly, a cheesy j-pop theme song would have come as a welcome relief from Ramin Djawadi’s ridiculously ominous score.

The visual effects are suitably impressive, particularly when rendering a sense of the enormous mass and scale of the Jaegers and creatures.  Still, it is too dark overall, never really giving viewers a good daytime shot of the Kaiju.  You start to wonder if they are allergic to Vitamin D.  As usual, the 3D adds little to the experience.

Frankly, the 3D surcharge might just price Rim out of a recommendation.  Kikuchi and Elba are excellent and the concept of a big budget, updated take on the Kaiju genre is pretty cool.  However, the script is rather workaday and a little of the bickering scientists’ comic relief goes a long, long way.  For Kaiju fans looking to beat the heat, Pacific Rim opens today (7/12) nationwide, including the Regal Union Square in New York (screening both the 3D and glorious 2D versions).