Tag Archives: Movie Review

Godzilla Minus One Movie Review

Tags : Movie Review

Post war Japan is at its lowest point when a new crisis emerges in the form of a giant monster, baptized in the horrific power of the atomic bomb.

Why did I come to this movie again?

I’m not a huge Godzilla fan, although I’m not opposed to the franchise, but when I saw a preview for this film I was intrigued, and after I read a few reviews, I decided to see it.

5 of 5

Characters

As a writer, I know that you need to be mean to your characters. The meaner the better, as long as it stays within the reality of the story and doesn’t lean into the ridiculous. This film did exactly that.

The main character, a failed kamikaze pilot, seemingly cheats death time and time again while others around him fall. The poor guy is haunted by survivor’s guilt on many levels, and the film portrays this brilliantly. More than once he says his war isn’t over yet, and I loved that.

The supporting cast—a homeless woman who is caring for a baby that isn’t hers, a neighbor that hates the main character for not dying as a kamikaze pilot, a technician who blames the main character for the deaths of his friends because he froze when Godzilla was staring him down (which I thought was 100% realistic), and the unlikely band of friends he accumulates as he clears mines from the sea—all turned into fleshed out men and women that I cared about.

Godzilla was his (its?) awesome self. The filmmaker kept with a very classic style of the monster—it seriously looked like a guy in a huge lizard suit with a tiny head on a giant body—but it looked cool and totally worked.

5 of 5

Did I care what happened?

Yes.

Godzilla appears at the very beginning and destroys a small Japanese outpost on an island. The main character survives, and goes back to Tokyo. There we see what’s left of the city, which isn’t much, and its people. The post-war view into the people and the city was so immersive that I actually forgot we were watching a Godzilla movie for about 20 minutes, and I didn’t mind.

Then, when the monster reappeared, I had enough people to care about that I was glued to my seat with my eyes wide open.

5 of 5

Plot Holes

Okay, this is a monster movie, of course there are plot holes.

A handful of them got through my enjoyment of watching the film, but they were petty things, like why did two ships have to side-swipe one another to cross the lines they were towing? Couldn’t they have done that without taking off the side mirrors, so to speak? (Pretty sure they could have.)

The passage of time felt off more than once, which was also distracting.

It was mostly little things like that that drew me out of the story.

4 of 5

How many times did I yawn?

None. I forgot we were reading the captions after about two minutes, and I never once got bored. The tension built nicely throughout the movie.

5 of 5

Cool Factor

More recent versions of Godzilla are filled with action shlock. While this one had plenty of action regarding the monster, none of the characters tried being Jason Stathem in the Transporter movies. Instead, they all did things that were within their wheelhouse. Even our main character, who is flying a plane at the end, doesn’t go all Top Gun. I loved that the director kept all of the action sequences in the restraints of post WWII.

Godzilla’s laser/atomic breath was AMAZING! The only thing that looked CGI was Godzilla, but I didn’t mind it.

My only complaint was a brief scene of horrible flashing that I had to close my eyes for.

4 of 5

The End

So satisfying for me. The character arcs wrapped up nicely, the monster is gone…for now, and all the people can finally move past the war and the scars it left behind.

5 of 5

Overall Enjoyment

The hubby and I talked about this movie all night after we got home and how much we liked it.

Never once did the director shove an anti-war sentiment down our throats. Instead, they carefully showed us what Japan was like after WWII. How the people suffered, how many were alone, and how they had to ban together instead of fracturing apart.

I think having Godzilla to fight after they’d lost the war was a solid idea. Providing something for the people to unite for kept this film feeling real to me.

I sometimes struggle with Asian films because the actors get overly dramatic with lots of screaming and begging and spittle flying moments. (This is me not liking the style, not a critique on the technique.) While there was a bit of that in this film, I thought they utilized it well, and it didn’t pull me out of the story like it sometimes can.

Seeing this in the theater was really fun. If you have the time to check it out, I highly recommend it.

5 of 5

Total: 38

That’s a Black Belt!

White Belt: 1-10
Yellow Belt: 11-19
Purple Belt: 20-25
Green Belt: 26-30
Brown Belt: 31-35
Black Belt: 36-40

A Haunting in Venice Movie Review

Tags : Movie Review

In post-World War II Venice, Poirot, now retired and living in his own exile, reluctantly attends a seance. But when one of the guests is murdered, it is up to the former detective to once again to uncover the killer.

Why did I come to this movie again?

I’ve enjoyed the other films in this series, and was excited to see Venice. I’m in no way a purist when it comes to Agatha Christie novels, so bear that in mind.

5 of 5

Characters

As always, we got a rather large group of broken characters to follow in the story. You need more than a few for a good murder mystery. It felt like a lot, and at times I got confused.

I thought most of the acting was solid, and that each character was portrayed in a satisfying way. Michelle Yeoh did an exceptionally good job.

A lot of people are hating on Tina Fey, but I thought she played her role well.

The house, or palazzo (I think that’s what they called it) was a character unto itself, which was both cool and creepy. To be honest, it was the most interesting character in the show.

4 of 5

Did I care what happened?

Duh. Yes. There are supposedly ghosts of children haunting the building. Not one, but two women are murdered, then a man. Poirot was seeing things that shouldn’t be there…I thought they kept the tension threads pretty taut in this film.

5 of 5

Plot Holes

As I said before, I’m not a big reader of Agatha Christie, so I didn’t know the plot going in. I guessed the murderer in the first few minutes of the film, and thought I was wrong about it a few times, but I wasn’t.

I imagine already having the plot written for you makes for an easy movie. There weren’t large holes, but more like tiny moments that threw me out of the story.

While the tension kept me on edge, I found some of the pacing painful.

4 of 5

How many times did I yawn?

No yawning, but I did want to reach for my phone a couple of times, which is what I do at home when I get a little bored.

The show took a while to get going, then there would be rushing, then slogging, then rushing, then slogging. More talking than doing in some cases.

4 of 5

Cool Factor

Part of the cool factor for this film is Venice.

Ahh, Vencie…

I’d go see this film again in the theaters just for the stunning shots of the city.

While I liked the cinematography, some of it was a little too dark. There was also a great deal of flashing, which I noticed more because I’d been fighting a migraine all week.

4 of 5

The End

As I said, I guessed the murderer. I also figured out why Poirot was having issues. I didn’t catch the last twist, which I thought was brilliant.

4 of 5

Overall Enjoyment

I went to see this with some friends and my hubby still wants to go, and I’ll probably go with him. So, I guess I’m saying, I’d see it again. Especially in theaters. It’s not a film I’d watch over and over, but I did quite like it.

It’s a fun Halloween film. A few jump scares without getting too graphic, plenty of tense moments, and a great atmosphere.

4 of 5

Total: 34

That’s a Brown Belt!

White Belt: 1-10
Yellow Belt: 11-19
Purple Belt: 20-25
Green Belt: 26-30
Brown Belt: 31-35
Black Belt: 36-40

Barbie Movie Review

Tags : Movie Review

Barbie suffers a crisis that leads her to question her world and her existence.

Why did I come to this movie again?

I’ve actually wanted to see this film since I first saw the trailer. It looked ridiculous, and that sounded like fun to me. My interest only piqued when people started freaking out about the fact that they thought it was sexist (to put it in general terms).

5 of 5

Characters

Barbie is…perfect. I mean, that’s the way we’ve always seen Barbie, so it wasn’t a surprise. Neither was the ridiculous nature of Barbieland and the Kens. I’d never thought about the fact that Ken was basically an accessory for Barbie, but it makes perfect sense that in their world he’s there for her. Is it a blatant flip of how women feel they have been treated in the past? Yup.

Stereotypical Barbie was exactly as I imagined. At first, I found her interesting because she couldn’t see that her world was both boring and broken (while at the same time looking perfect) and no one noticed. Then, when she started having thoughts of death and despair, she became even more interesting. The fact that she didn’t actually want to go into the real world was perfect.

Ken. Poor Ken. All he wanted was for Barbie to love him, but she didn’t. It seemed like he didn’t have a choice in the matter, which was kind of sad. His discovering the patriarchy in the real world was hilarious. His need for respect after that was totally believable. The fact that his whole plan was to get Barbie to love him was kind of adorable.

The people from the real world were great, including all of the men who were running Mattel. 😊

5 of 5

Did I care what happened?

Strangely, yes. I was excited to watch Barbie learn that there was more to life than being pretty and perfect, and I was excited to see how Ken dealt with the sudden need for respect.

I honestly wasn’t terribly interested in the woman and her daughter that came from the real world. They weren’t a distraction, and I understand the need for them for the plot plus the actors did a good job, but I felt like they were utilized like a hammer to the face. The woman’s rant about the pressures women face everyday was brilliant, but I also think men face plenty of stuff too.

4 of 5

Plot Holes

Meh. This is basically a fantasy film about a child’s toy, so I expected plot holes. There was some stuff with Weird Barbie that could have been explained better. The sense of time in the film was basically nonexistent, which was jarring.

4 of 5

How many times did I yawn?

I remember wanting to reach for my phone once or twice, which is what I do when I get a little bored watching stuff at home, but it only lasted a minute or two. And no, I didn’t touch my phone in the theater! What kind of heathen do you think I am?

4 of 5

Cool Factor

The cool part of this film was Barbieland. The houses, the clothes, the different Barbies, the moment Margot Robbie steps out of the shoes and her feet don’t go flat…all of it! Growing up I mostly ended up with my sister’s Barbie stuff, so I never had the cool houses or anything like that, but I still loved all the references.

The Ken battle at the end has to be one of the best fight scenes I’ve ever seen! I’m still laughing about it.

5 of 5

The End

I wasn’t totally satisfied with the end of the film, but I did like that it gave us hope that Barbieland could change, which in turn gives us hope that our world/lives can change.

4 of 5

Overall Enjoyment

With all of the controversy about this film, I paid attention to the political undertones of the story, and I came to my very on conclusion on the matter…this film can fan the flames of basically any agenda that you tout.

Down with the patriarchy? It’s in there.

Down with feminism? It’s in there.

Up with feminism? It’s in there.

Our world sucks and it’s men’s fault? It’s in there.

Barbieland sucks and it’s woman’s fault? It’s in there.

Here’s what I got out of it:

A lot of people/groups say they want equality. Which I totally support. What I don’t support is when people who want equality get power and then turn into the thing they claimed to fight against. (Animal Farm anyone?) They get the power and instead of keeping everyone on even ground and enjoying a new fellowship with those that they didn’t before, they decide that they want the people who had so long repressed them to feel the pain that they felt, so they push them down.

This is what happened with the Kens, and what could have happened with the Barbies at the end when they put the Kens back in their place. However, the film gave us a hint that things would slowly change until everything balanced out.

All in all, an almost silly film that really makes you think.

5 of 5

Total: 36

That’s a Black Belt!

White Belt: 1-10
Yellow Belt: 11-19
Purple Belt: 20-25
Green Belt: 26-30
Brown Belt: 31-35
Black Belt: 36-40

Princess Mononoke Review

Tags : Movie Review

On a journey to find the cure for a Tatarigami’s curse, Ashitaka finds himself in the middle of a war between the forest gods and Tatara, a mining colony. In this quest he also meets San, the Mononoke Hime.

Why did I come to this movie again?

The hubby and I are fans of Mayazaki’s work, and decided to see this again in the theater! It had been a long time since I’d seen it.

5 of 5

Characters

Eastern films are very different than the ones we’re used to. This one is 25 years old, and it has better characters than a lot of the movies that are produced today.

For instance, the bad guy (gal, in this case) is very nuanced. Yes, she’s ruining the environment, but she’s also freed a bunch of prostitutes and given them a place they can work and call home without having to sell their bodies. She also employs lepers. Is she using them? Yes. Is she also helping them? Yes.

The hero was courageous and kind, as I like them.

Princess Mononoke was less interesting than I remembered, but still cool.

5 of 5

Did I care what happened?

Yes. There were multiple plot threads being pulled at the same time throughout the whole movie. I did get confused about who was working for who and why a few times. That threw me out of the story.

4 of 5

Plot Holes

It’s anime. There were plot holes.

4 of 5

How many times did I yawn?

The film felt 20-30 minutes too long. And that’s from a girl who doesn’t mind spending that much time in a theater.

I figure it’s the differences between eastern and western storytelling that’s the issue. I’m used to a certain pacing and this story didn’t always follow it.

The film is still super watchable, but long.

4 of 5

Cool Factor

The animation was excellent.

The story ideas were interesting.

The blind boar at the end. Ugh. So amazing…also gross.

5 of 5

The End

The end was both hopeful and not.

The lady ruining the environment is going to rebuild (did she learn nothing??), bringing hope to the people she leads.

Princess Mononoke still hates the humans and is going to go back into the forest.

All I could think was that this was going to happen again. That was probably the point, but I didn’t love, love it.

4 of 5

Overall Enjoyment

This was really fun to see again after so many years. The theater was filled with fellow geeks, and we had a great evening.

It’s almost always worth the time to watch one of Mayazaki’s films!

5 of 5

Total: 36

That’s a Black Belt!

White Belt: 1-10
Yellow Belt: 11-19
Purple Belt: 20-25
Green Belt: 26-30
Brown Belt: 31-35
Black Belt: 36-40