Godzilla Minus One (2023)

 

After 2016’s amazing Shin Godzilla, it took a while for Toho Studio to give us a follow up. Another stand alone film, Godzilla Minus One gives us Godzilla as a metaphor for war, and how humans deal with the crushing effects imposed by mass destruction.  And, damn, it's a great film.

The film opens on a small airfield on an island in Japan, as kamekazi pilot Koichi Shikishima (Ryunosuke Kamiki) feigns mechanical issues to avoid his mission. After mechanic Sosaku Tachibana (Munetaka Aoki) tactfully calls him out, the island is attacked by a twenty to thirty foot Godzilla. 

Koichi goes to his plane, with the intent of shooting the giant monster with the plane’s guns, but freezes, allowing the creature to kill everyone on the base but Koichi and Tachibana, who blames the pilot for the deaths of the others on the island. 

Things don’t get much better for Koichi when he returns home to find his family died during the bombing  and his neighbor, Sumiko Ota (Sakura Ando), blames him for not following his mission and causing the death of her family.

Koichi gets involved with Noriko Oishi (Manami Hamabe), a woman trying to survive in the ruins of Tokyo with Akiko, a child she “adopted” after her parents died.  Dealing with this new family, Koichi gets a job clearing the mines left in the waters surrounding Japan after the war.  But Godzilla comes back, juiced up by the Bikini Atoll test, and unleashes hell on post-war Japan. While America is unwilling to bring its military might to confront the threat, fearing such actions might provoke the Soviet Union, it falls upon a group of Japanese civilians to take Godzilla down

And, of course, kiaju mayhem ensues.

 I'm here to stomp across Japan and chew bubble gum.  And I can't find enough bubble gum.

But mayhem is not what this film is about. It’s about people dealing with the destructive consequences of war, expected to fight a devastating power that dwarfs their capabilities, and how it affects them should they survive. Whether or not you condone how the characters react in the film, it all feels very real. 

Unlike Shin Godzilla, which highlights a government's inability to react to a massive threat (I'm not going to say the Japanese government, as that film could apply to any world power), writer/director (and VFX director) Takashi Yamazaki harkens back to Godzilla as a metaphor for nuclear war (his heat breath unleashes a mushroom cloud), while dealing the struggles of those caught in the middle. And the guilt Koichi feels for his inaction during the war delivers an emotional impact that I didn’t expect from a kaiju film.  You'll probably find some tears in your eyes during the final act, as I did, but the script earns it.  Even if the last scene feels improbable, I was happy to cry during it.  It showed that, no matter the horrors we face from government dictates, and events beyond our control, we can always find a space for forgiveness and peace.   It's a powerful message, as characters put their animosities aside and forgive those they feel failed them.  I must admit, I really felt hope for humanity watching this film.

Takashi does include several scenes that harken back to the 1954 classic, which is fun for fans.  But it also cements the fact that he's using the monster as a metaphor for something bigger than simple kiaju thrills.  Not that it doesn't deliver on that aspect.  The sequences when Godzilla appears are as exhilarating as any recent giant monster movie, despite the low budget.  Seriously, given the reported budget, the VFXs are amazing.  

But such thrills aren't due to the effects, as good as they are.  As most of the movie is spent with the human characters, it's their reaction to the threat that makes the action sequences so engaging.  I wouldn't have been so engaged during the boat chase had Takashi not spent time with the crew of the mine-sweeping boat that Koichi is on.  The three other crew members are so well written, and the actors are so good, that, while I expected they'd survive (as the main protagonist is aboard), I was still concerned for their safety.  I wanted them all to live, and worried somehow they'd die and Koichi would be the sole survivor.  That's great filmmaking.

Sure, this scene is cool.  But if you care about the people on the boat, it's more terrifying.  Just like Jaws.

I don't want to say much more about this film, and risk spoilers, other than you must see it on the big screen if you can.  If you don't like giant monster movies, well, you're probably not reading this review.  But, again, this isn't about Godzilla, the film is about the people that have to react against the overwhelming force facing them, after dealing with the horrors of a war that caused as much devastation as the giant lizard stomping across Japan.

The emotional impact delivered by Godzilla Minus One  makes it a strong candidate for the best film I've seen this year, which includes my previous number one, Oppenheimer.  Yeah, it's that good, and it deserves the box office attention it's receiving.

I get every studio is trying to create a money making cinematic universe, but I really hope Toho keeps giving us one offs like Godzilla Minus One. Let Legendary Pictures continue the Monsterverse.  I'll go see them for the thrills, but I’d like Toho to continue to deliver Kiaju movies with a message and an emotional impact. As this film proves, there’s room for both. 

 Metaphor or not, this Godzilla is terrifying in this film.

It's a Wonderful Knife (2023)

 

If you're going to remake a classic film, you should try to deliver something new, and It's a Wonderful Knife certainly tries.  Taking the basic plot from Frank Capra's 1946 Christmas movie, this film adds a slasher into the mix, and the results...

Well now, it's 5 am.  This is rather early for you to be writing, Chris.

Oh great, the Ghost of Christmas Past is back.  As if this sudden bout of insomnia isn't enough to deal with.

I told you I'd be checking in with you.  And I see you're working on your third review, and the month is almost half over.  You're behind, as usual.

I thought you Christmas ghosts were suppose to teach people lessons about life, not taunt them.

What's the difference?  We taunt people by reminding them of their failings in life, and they learn a lesson.

What?  That can't be right.

Just think about it while you're righting this review.  Seems quite fitting.  Bye!

Oh, this day is starting out great.  Insomnia, a visit from that pesky ghost, and I have to start my work week in about six hours.  How could things...  You know, I'm not going to ask that, I'm just getting to the review.

The film takes opens on Christmas Eve in the town of Angel Falls, as real estate tycoon Henry Waters (Justin Long: Live Free or Die Hard, Drag Me to Hell, Tusk) is trying to convince the final property owner holding out to sell, so he can develop a luxurious shopping center.  The man refuses, and is soon murdered by a figure dressed in white.

Meanwhile, Winnie Carruthers (Jane Widdop: Yellowjackets) is heading out to a Christmas Eve party with her friend Cara, the granddaughter of the man refusing to sell his property to Waters.  To no one's surprise, the killer crashes the party, killing Cara and her boyfriend, then attempting to kill Winnie's brother Jimmy.  But Winnie takes him out first and, surprise, the killer is Henry Waters.

Have to say, the killer's look is iconic.  I can't think of another slasher wearing white so well.

The film cuts to a year later, and Winnie, along with Angel Falls, isn't having a great time.  Her family is ignoring the events from last year (and I should mention Winnie's father worked for Waters), Henry's brother Buck confronts her, her application to NYU was rejected, and she gets a pink tracksuit as an early Christmas gift, while Jimmy gets a truck.

Heading off to a party, Winnie runs into Bernie (Jess McLeod: Van Helsing TV series), a social outcast everyone, including Winnie, calls "Weirdo."  When asking about her boyfriend, Bernie suggests looking in the backyard, while some other party goers tell her to check out the laundry room.  The laundry room was the right answer, as Winnie finds out her boyfriend has been cheating on her for over a year.  Confronting Bernie about her misdirection, Bernie replies she was only trying to protect her.  Though I'm not sure why.  

This ties into a problem with writer Michael Kennedy's (Freaky) script, so I need to explain now that Winnie and Bernie have no real connection at this point in the story.  It makes no sense why Bernie would be so protective of Winnie, until later in the film.  But let's get on with the plot.

Contemplating suicide, Winnie goes out to the waterfront and, while viewing the lights of the aurora (a rare sight for Angel Falls), she wishes she was never born.  And wish granted, as she witnesses a man killed by the slasher she didn't kill, now dubbed The Angel.

 Still loving the look.

Buck is now the sheriff, Henry is the mayor, and her family doesn't recognize her.  Even worse, her brother Jimmy, and her aunt's (Katharine Isabelle: Ginger Snaps) partner were killed by The Angel.  Winnie heads back to a party at the house she went to last year, only to find everyone smoking crack rather than drinking.  She meets with Bernie again, and, at some point, asks her to be her Clarence.  Yep, if the title wasn't enough to clue you in, we get this reference.

Bernie takes Winnie to her house, and we get some insight into Bernie's fractured family.  Bernie also questions the timing of Winnie's appearance, as a party goer was killed by The Angel.  Fortunately for Winnie, the slasher attacks, Bernie takes her to the movie theater she works at, and they deduce The Angel is killing the children of property owners Henry Waters wants to buy from, causing them to sell out and leave the town.

Um, it appears Bernie might be might be a bit of a conspiracy nut.  You might want to rethink your choices in friends, Winnie.

Winnie decides to make things right, and, of course, slasher mayhem ensues.

As I said earlier, if you're going to remake a classic, do something different with the story, and this film does.  It's not about the lives Winnie changed, but the lives she saved by killing Henry.  And the film reveals that Bernie was contemplating suicide this Christmas, making Winnie the Clarence figure.  While the script never develops the idea fully, it's a nice twist.

Okay, SPOILERS IN THE NEXT SIX PARAGRAPHS.

Unfortunately, Kennedy's script has some flaws.  While I'm fine accepting the aurora somehow grants Winnie her wish of never being born (it does add a deadline for Winnie, as the aurora is fading), Henry's mystical powers to enthrall a crowd of followers needs some explaining.  The crowd is obviously enchanted, as their eyes are glowing, and how Henry got such power is never explained.  And though the spell is broken, Henry's followers are forgiven for their actions because, well, they were enchanted.  The script absolves their complacency, and that's annoying.

Hey, I'm a rich businessman, a politician, and I have hypnotic powers.  So I should be your favorite mayor.

My other issue with the script is where I start treading on thin ice.  So please, read everything I have to say before posting comments.

Winnie and Bernie end up as a couple by the end of the film, but the script doesn't give us a reason why this happens.  Sure, Winnie is surrounded by gay couples.  Her aunt is in a relationship with a woman, and we have a scene of two male jocks kissing at the party in the opening act.  And, as they should, no one questions it.  

But Winnie starts the movie with a boyfriend, and nothing suggests she's questioning her sexuality.  Okay, she finds out he's cheating on her, but the script never gives us an indication that this would somehow lead to Winnie starting a relationship with a woman.  And let's be honest, Bernie is a Manic Pixie Dream Girl, leading me to further wonder why Winnie falls for her.  

Oh, we are so going to be a couple by the end of this film, because the script says so.  No other reason.

Don't get me wrong, I'm fine with the romantic ending.  I just wish Kennedy's script had done more to show why it happened.  And he does it, in his script for Freaky.  If you've seen the film, you know I'm referring to the kiss between Millie, who's trapped in a male serial killer's body, and Booker, who has a crush on her.  It's a wonderful moment that the script builds up to in a realistic fashion.  But Winnie and Bernie becoming a potential couple isn't as well developed.  

I know such sudden realizations happen (Cassanda Peterson's coming out story is a perfect example).  But the script feels as if Kennedy wanted the romance to happen and wrote it in, without developing why it would happen.  Again, I'm not saying the two shouldn't have gotten together.  But the script makes it feel that Winnie, upon discovering her boyfriend is cheating on her, decides to start dating women, which makes the budding relationship feel cheap.  I'd have liked the script to give us some justification for the romance, rather than expecting us just to accept it.

END OF SPOILERS.

It's a Wonderful Knife is a fine holiday slasher flick.  The cast is great, and director Tyler MacIntyre (writer of Five Nights at Freddy's and director of a segment of V/H/S/99) delivers some great moments (the attack at the theater in the final act is really well done).  While I think had Kennedy done a bit more work on the script, this could have become a holiday horror classic.  Even if it falls short of that goal, it's still a fun little watch if you're looking for some Yuletide fear.

I scream, you scream, we all scream for Yuletide fear.