GODZILLA

GODZILLA

Directed by: Gareth Edwards

USA/Japan, 2014

Kaiju/Godzilla, 123 min

Blah, blah, blah, Gareth Edwards. Blah, blah, blah, Monsters, blah, blah, blah, amazing debut movie. Blah, Blah, blah what to do with the legacy of Godzilla. You know all that, so let’s not waste time, and chill. I won't spoil anything for you if you haven't seen it yet.

FINALLY, it hit the screens, the most anticipated monster movie this year, or the last three years if you have been waiting as long as I have. So there we where my blogging buddies Fred from Ex-Ninja and Jocke from Rubbermonsterfetischism (who also reviewed GODZILLA today), fidgeting, worrying, fretting, trying not to focus on the negatives we’d heard before hand, but remind each other of the positives we’d heard too. If you’re a listener to the Podcast that Fred and I run, The Human Centipod, then you know all our backstory with Godzilla, and just what our hopes where for this one and what we where expecting.

Well it wasn’t quite what I was expecting. I wanted monster movie mayhem non-stop, instead I got semi interesting drama with monster movie mayhem in it. But, that’s all right, because even though I feel that there was to little Godzilla in the movie, the monster mayhem was absolutely foot stomping, building crushing fantastic and gorgeous in every possible way. It took its time getting there, but boy does it pay off. It’s a genuine goose bump moment when she finally shows herself and a damn mighty scene that will stay with you for a long time. I shit you not, if I'd have had my kids with me at the screening, I would have fucking teared up at sharing the moment with them. At the same time, this is probably on of the most serious Godzilla movies made, on par with stuff like Godzilla Vs Destroyah, because it’s a big bad, dark toned movie without place for goofy standoffs, corky dialogue, and as Joachim would say, "The cheapest, poorest western actors possibly available, to play the Americans".

But despite a cast of really good actors, Bryan Cranston, five minutes of Juliette Binoche, Aaron Taylor-Johnson Elizabeth Olsen, the characters where still really paper thin. No real character development, no real character arcs, no attention grabbing multifaceted dimension… but wait… This is a GODZILLA movie, there has never really been any dimension, development, or arcs for that matter, in any Godzilla movies. But still, in the world of Godzilla, character dimension is huge, because it’s all found in the title character, GODZILLA! So where I could waste precious time yapping about the lack of all this I’d rather focus on the real character of the piece, Gojira! 

Straight  up, She’s a beauty in Gareth Edwards GODZILLA. Big, strong, forceful, and as both Jocke and Fred pointed out, her face looks like that of a bear. I don’t think this is by chance, as the plot somewhat focuses on Godzilla being a mystic force of nature, risen from the depths of the ocean, as to quote Ken Watanabe’s Dr. Ichiro Serizawa character “Set the balance right!” A strange force attacks nature and mankind, that’s the MUTOs, and Mother Nature sorts things out… or should we say Mother Bear. Because just like a Mother Bear protecting her offspring, that is the exact thing Godzilla does here! She steps out from her hiding and beats the crap out of our antagonists in her genetic programmed “defend the kids” instincts. She’s also where all emotions lay, as Godzilla is the one I root for, Godzilla is the one I feel for, Godzilla is the one I cheer as that last scene closes the movie. Yeah, this one has some really iconic moments to be honest, and it’s a movie that will slot in amongst the top 29 Godzilla movies.

I’d heard it was a slow build and a somewhat tedious first act, but it never really felt neither slow nor tedious. Obviously it was thanks to the plot, not to be confused with characters, because the plot does keep stuff moving forth, and it adds and evolves the Godzilla universe, and it works. Again not the most spectacular plot, but as said, this is a Godzilla movie, no need to complicate it, and we’re only here for one thing, and one thing alone. The plot uses our history to shed light on events; it uses our history to explain the story of Godzilla. And one cannot help but think that certain scenes are taping into our horror of current events like the Fukashima disaster, the tsunamis and earthquakes of the last couple of years, and to some extent 9/11. Perhaps a rhetorical fantasy for something to come save us as we destroy our world

No matter how serious they try to cloak Godzilla, there’s always going to be a Kaiju playfulness to it, and that shines through here too. Even though it is dark and somewhat “bleakish” at times, there are fun moments where Edwards staying true to the “less is more” form that he used on Monsters shows huge destruction scenes, but has them shown as parts of news broadcasts. Framing and visually they come off as the signature wide-angle distant shots that make rubber suit monster model chaos Kaiju. The MUTO monster is grand, and looks nothing like those plastic toys that surfaced online a few months back. These are slick organic ruthless Kaiju beasts that solidly earn their place in the Godzilla universe.

Gareth Edwards has done us good. He’s presented us with a cool Godzilla flick that actually does fit nicely into the universe as created by TOHO. Screw Emmerich and, that which shall not be named, because that’s not a Godzilla movie. It’s a farce, a mockery to all that we Kaiju fans love, a parody on what they though was a Godzilla movie, it’s the Crocs of Kaiju! There, got it out of my system. Edwards has made a movie that delivers on all fronts, it is everything that a Godzilla movie should be. This one is going to be a new starting point, and I can’t wait for the sequel (in my mind it will happen) and just like Fred says, that sequel will be filled with more monsters, more Godzilla, more mayhem! Until then we have Edwards to thank for bringing that darkness back and also bringing a new life to a monster that never dies! Godzilla is KING OF THE MONSTERS and we love her!

Go see GODZILLA at the cinemas now, because this movie needs to be a hit and spawn a multitude of sequels so that we can keep shooting up our Kaiju fixes for a long time to come.

(And please, please, please, despite my complaining that the movie was a tad to long, and took a bit to long to show the monsters, please release a longer bluray so that we get to see the deleted Akira Takarada scenes.)

X Game

X Game

Original Title: X gêmu

Directed by: Yôhei Fukuda

Japan, 2010

Horror/Thriller, 119 min

Distributed by: Danger After Dark

Japanese genre is currently associated by the wild, bizarre and way over the top slapstick horror films that have been released these last few years. A genre that splashed it’s way onto the scene relieving the J-Horror films, which at the time had started to run on routine and over familiar shocks. I’m pleased to see that not everyone is tapping in into the wacky craziness and that some dare to step beyond hype and back to classic themes of fear, survival and horror. 

A seemingly bored guy sits at front a classroom… A box is shoved in front of him and we realize that he has a large fresh scar cross on one side of his face… The students all sit still in their seats, as he pulls a note from the box placed in front of him. He reads, and panicking starts begging “Mariko” for forgiveness. Stumbling over one of his pupils, it’s revealed that they are all mannequins. The lights start shutting off, and the man screams into the darkness. Cue opening credits and an almost Goblinish techno hybrid soundtrack.

Following the credits we are introduced to Hidekai [Hirofumi Araki], a young student trying to get by working extra as a waiter at a bar. Through a series of flashbacks we learn that he once was a student of Mr Morina, the teacher that we saw in the opening sequence and that Hidekai met Morino only a few weeks earlier when Hidekai and friends had a school reunion at the bar he works at.

At Morino’s funeral, Hidekai talks to friends about the strange circumstance surrounding Morino’s death. He certainly didn’t seem depressed at the reunion, where he showed them pictures of his new beautiful wife, and had a drink to many… Hidekai’s curiosity gets the better of him and he has an urge to investigate the strange suicide, possibly driven by guilt, as he was the last one to see Morino alive.

A strange videotape is delivered to Hidekai, which he with his girlfriend Rikako [Ayaka Kikuchi] sit down to watch. As the static rolls by and the tape locks into place, Hidekai hopes it’s porn, but instead they see a “Snuff” like scene where a man is branded, only the branding is off camera, so Hidekai sighs, says that it’s a waste of time. There’s also something of a laugh at the J-Horror genre, when they spot a mysterious woman lurking in the shadows of the shoot, reflected in a mirror.

Seeing the strange figure in the mirror, Hidekai realizes that when he saw Morino wander into the night of Tokyo, he also saw a female figure lurking in the shadows. This more or less pushes him into the situation where he has to solve this strange suicide. But just as they are about to piece huge parts of the mystery together, the movie takes a sudden twist and goes into survival horror territory in the vain of stuff like Saw, as the lead characters, bullies and the bullied, find themselves locked in the classroom we saw Mr Morino in during the opening scene. Images burst onto a TV screen welcoming the youths to the X games! The horror can begin.

X Game uses something of an Investigation Plot, almost Giallo-ish actually, as Hidekai takes on the role of amateur sleuth. This also rings true of the schooldays/childhood traumas of the bullied character “Mariko” accompanied by a music box soundtrack very typical of that genre. I’d even go as far as saying that the last act reveal is something of a mix of old J-Horror and Gialli traits too, as identities are revealed and characters turn out to be other than we had suspected.

Empathy is created for the band of friends through flashbacks telling how they tried to stop bullying and ending up taking odd girl out, Mariko’s bullying instead. But it’s also through the same flashbacks that truths about their time at school surfaces and gives some effective rushes of insight that help read the narrative. Hidekai’s capture and presence in the X game obviously raises curiosity, and this is where the second part of the movie’s narrative moves forth: why is Hidekai there, for what reasons, and what can he do to stay alive. The rules of X game are simple and stern, participate and take the pain or face the penalty.  Tasks must be performed within a time limit or else they are taken into the back room and punished, by branding! The symbol X returns through out the film; painted with blood on walls, chalked on school blackboards, in one instance axed into the cupboard Hidekai is hiding in, and also through the sizzling branding iron and the bloody scars it leaves on the unfortunate contenders flesh.

The sadistic games enforced on victims, become even more sinister when we come to the awareness that the list of games are all games the bullies used to play on their bullied class mates back in the day. Although this time around the games are more violent versions of that game, performed with grotesque rusty objects and a horribly annoying 16bit animated vignette played on the TV screen in the old classroom.

X Game is a decent return to shock and suspense and a good break from the schlocky gore comedies that have dominated the Japanese scene these last couple of years. Influences of Manga, video games and various genres of film are apparent, and Fukuda blends them well. As the movie comes to it’s climax, Fukuda takes it through a third sharp twist and establishes an intriguing conspiracy thread that expands the motifs and organization way beyond an angry schoolgirl with a vengeance fetish. It also set’s things up for a sequel, and X Game 2 was completed earlier this year with some returning cast.

Fukuda is his own cinematographer, and he also shot Kôji Shiraishi’s Gurotesku, a movie that I highly recommend and place high on my favourite contemporary Japanese films – Especially since I totally ripped the BBFC’s motivation for banning the film in the UK apart some time back.

Just to clear up some confusion, X Game is not the same movie as Satsujin Douga Site (Death Tube). There seems to be a general confusion about this on line, but they are two completely different films. 

Turtle Vision

Turtle Vision

Original Title: Nusumidori Report: Insha!

Dir: Hisayasu Satō

Japan, 1991

Pinku, 62 min

Distributed by: ShinToho (VHS) Oop, (Japan Eiga)

Hisayasu Satō… why isn’t his name more known and out there? I find this to be a real mystery as his movies are powerful stuff, mixing Pinku, drama and thriller traits to create some really captivating stories. Sure, his movies are somewhat hard to find, but they are out there, and you can get a hold of them if you like your movies on the alternative side of the spectrum. Perhaps we need to rally and demand a Satō retrospective, screen his movies and get his name out to a wider audience... because they are missing out on something.

Turtle Vision, the name that Satō gave the fourth out of six movies he directed in 1991 really gives no insight into the movie’s plot in the way other titles have. Hence the studio, ShinToho renaming it Hidden Camera Report: Sleazy Pictures, before it finally seeped out to video under the new name High-School Girls Next Door: Selling themselves and Peeping… becoming more and more obscure with each step.

Turtle Vision concentrates round the traits I’ve previously pointed out define the cinema of Hisayasu Satō. The movie opens with a very classic Satō image; that of the television screen, alt viewfinder of a camera. On the blurry static image we see a man and woman being intimate – the image is almost distorted beyond recognition, as the camera zooms in on the projected images. A hard cut later we are watching a young woman being violated by three masked men. She looks right into the camera and cries out in pain. Within mere minutes, Satō has started up the movie, presented us with clues to the narrative of this film and established two traits that define his style of cinema. Voyeurism and a backstory, which uses sexual violation to motivate future actions.

Eiji [Kouichi Imaizumi] videotapes prostitutes and their clients. These tapes he later sells to a pornographer who edits and sells them on. Eiji is amongst his best suppliers, and his assignments are many. His latest mission is to shoot girls – prostitutes - dressed in traditional schoolgirl garb. One night whilst he’s filming just such a scenario, the schoolgirl [Miki Fukada] who gives an appearance of being somewhat distant, almost like hypnotized, pulls out a razor and slashes the customer across the eyes. Eiji becomes obsessed by the schoolgirl and her violent actions against the men who pay to be with her. It’s also here a classic Satō twist is presented, leading up to his characteristic triangular structure that features in most of his work, and the introduction of the character called Maki [Satō regular Kiyomi Ito], or as I call her “the hiding girl”. This is a complex character in a lesbian relationship with the Schoolgirl, and who never leaves her apartment but for the observation of the outside world through a telescope she has peeking out from behind the curtains. Eiji’s obsession leads him to take the Schoolgirl with him to see a scientist who through the use of a new technology called Video Therapy starts to dig into the reason behind the murders committed by the schoolgirl. Amusingly enough the technique is compared to that of videotape, which picks up static interference from large magnetic objects – such as all of us who used to meddle with VHS know, keep them away from the speakers… There’s a bond between the schoolgirl and Maki, which is much more profound than simple lovers. And as with most of Satō’s flicks of this period, the rush of insight that comes with this moment and its conclusion is pretty devastating. It also presents us with the genesis of Eiji, Maki and the Schoolgirls traits. Who they are, why they are the way they are and where they go from here, its strong stuff, and impressive in the way Satō movies are. There’s more to it than just getting smut up on screen.

It’s becoming fairly obvious that the movies Satō was making at this period in time – movies with scripts by Shirô Yumeno and like this one, Taketoshi Watari – are noticeably influenced by Michael Powell’s Peeping Tom 1960, Turtle Vision is undoubtedly Dali/Buñuel’s Un Chien Andalou 1929 and it's ocular assault similar to those found here, and quite possibly even by Hitchcock’s Psycho also from 1960, as that too uses something of a voyeurism approach to it’s subject matter. Voyeurism is an important part of Satō’s cinematic vision. Almost every movie of his uses the camera to observe the world and separate wrongdoers from taking responsibility for their actions. Much like Peeping Tom, the world of the observer comes crashing down when the camera is turned on them.

What constantly fascinates me with these movies is that there is a yearning and a tenderness that explodes when narrative and insight culminate. Despite having rather cynical and harsh characters, they often tend to transform into something much more vulnerable once the façade is torn down. This kind of makes these movies work for me, despite them becoming somewhat predictable. Although they do entertain, and they certainly do leave an impression.

Character arcs are interesting in these movies. There may not be too much character development taking place, but the journeys they make are captivating. Eiji who hides behind his camera becomes more humane when we learn why he’s hiding. Maki, who hides behind her curtains only observing the world through the protective filter of her telescope. It’s logic why she hides when you know why, and the reason for leaving her safe heaven is understandable when you know why she does it. The schoolgirl, well, I’m not sure there, but she manages to make love without killing her partner, which in some Pinku style way is kind of fitting, and when you think about it, it does make sense. She too has a journey from sleepwalking slave, to free individual during the course of the movie, so there’s some small development to be found in all characters when you look closely at it.

Finally, that title. Perhaps it's a metaphor for hiding one's head inside a protective shell, and only peeping out from therein that Satō is getting at with the original title... which kind of makes sense when you break the movie down like this.

Turtle Vision certainly is a fascinating piece of ocular tainted Pinku that comes highly recommended and definitely would be one the half dozen Satō movies I’d advocate be screened at that retrospective.

Underwater Love

Underwater Love.
Original title: Onna no kappa
Directed by: Shinji Imaoka
Japan/Germany, 2011
Drama/Comedy/Musical/Pinku, 87min

You can stop with the Hentai jokes as of now. From here on it’s all Kappa! The Japanese water spirit, renown for being malicious troublemakers, with a bag of tricks ranging from breaking wind, peeking up women’s skirts, pulling kids into the water, rape and drowning people. Keep a cucumber handy as they are addicted to the vegetable, and tossing it in its direction could be what gives you the extra minute to escape the claws of the Kappa.

You may have seen him before in woodprints of the Edo period, or as the lurky turtle monster in Kimiyoshi Yasuda’s and Yoshiyuki Kuroda’s Yokai movies of the late 60’s, possibly even in Takashi Mike’s Yôkai daisenô (The Great Yokai War) 2005 … but you have never seen him like this. Stop what you are doing and come meet Kappa… you won’t regret it.

Middle aged Asuka [Sawa Masaki – who starred in Barbet Schroder’s, to date, last movie, Inju, la bête dans l’ombre (Inju: The Beast in the Shadow) 2008 based on a Rampo Edogawa novel] works at a fish processing plant. She’s got a pretty straightforward life, and her imminent future seems to be clearly staked out for her. Pretty soon she’s going to marry Hajime [Mutsuo Yoshioka – star of several Imaoka Pinku's], who runs the factory she works at and is something of a jerk. One day whilst rescuing a fish that has miraculously survived into the plant, she encounters a Kappa at the nearby harbour. Although Kappa waves at her, she tries to ignore it, even though she’s delighted by the fact that she’s seen a real live Kappa. But Kappa want’s more than a wave, he wants to talk to Asuka, and has a very determined agenda. Confronting her as she’s about to leave, Kappa reveals that he used to be her school friend Tetsuya Aoki [Yoshirô Umezawa] who after dying in a drowning accident several years ago, was reborn as a kappa… Asuka takes him home and stores him in the washing machine, where he - staying true to legend – waters his bare scalp to keep from dehydrating. But it’s not an easy ride, and despite having a fun time with Kappa, Asuka’s moral dilemma lies in the fact that she’s engaged and planning her wedding to Hajima. Kappa is rejected, and like a love sick teenager – which Tetsuya indeed was before his untimely demise – he takes comfort on the arms of Reiko [Ai Narita] starts to show an interest in him, Asuka soon get’s jealous and realises what she’s about to miss out on. Finally one last subplot is put into play. Kappa – Tetsuya – being a spirit figure, knows that Asuka is going to die soon, and the reason for him returning to the human realm is that he want’s to save her.

Part fantasy, part comedy, part musical – with music and songs written by French/German pop duo Stereo Total, part Pinku… yes turtle boy get’s his mojo workin’ too, Underwater Love is one hell of a funny and weird movie. It never really get’s too explicit, too surreal or too far-fetched. Imaoka commonly brings a comedic tone to his movies, and Underwater Love is no exception. This is why the sudden breaking out in song – much like Takashi Miike’s Katakuri-ke no kôfuku (The Happiness of the Katakuris) 2001 – the dopey characters, and semi impressive special effects – courtesy of Taiga Ishino who’s worked with Yoshihiro Nishimura and the J-Gore gangsters on several of their flicks. But at the same time the almost naïve make-up and prosthetics of Kappa work for the movie

Shinji Imaoka has been a solid name on the later years Pinku scene. He recently, 2009, directed a remake of Junchirô Tanizaki’s short story Hakujitsumu (Day-Dream). A movie that previously was adapted and directed by Pinku legend Tetsuji Takechi twice. First in a Wizard of Oz-ish style where the wraparound was in Black and White with colour dream segments in 1964, and again in 1981 in a more graphic and daring take. If you do not know the story then let me just mention that it’s about a visit to the dentists that takes on epic proportions concerning bondage, vampirism and surreal dreams with a powerful triangular love story at the core. Definitely a movie worth seeking out if you like bizarre and kinky Japanese movies – they are certainly amongst my favourites in the Pinku genre.

But back to Imaoka, who is considered part of the “Seven Lucky Gods of Pink” circle, and like most of the people working in Japanese genre cinema spent several years working for one mentor. Imaoka’s mentor was the great Hisayasu Satō, which makes him an interesting name in my book. But where Satō holds a more voyeuristic and rough approach to the pink themes, Imaoka tends to take the themes lighter, coming at the genre with a more comedic angle where the sex scenes not necessarily are the main focus. He may have alienated a lot of Pinku viewers with his restrained approach, but he’s gained a lot of acclaim from critics and even won the Best Director Award at the Pink Grand Prix. One can see why critics would favour them, as Imaoka’s movies frequently have a serious emotional theme from which his movies build off. It’s not rare to find characters stuck in the rut of convenience and every day routine whilst yearning for something else that they at one point in time gave up on.

Which brings me to the main theme of Underwater Love. Because it’s no surprise to see how the characters interlock with each other when you know that it is a reoccurring Imaoka trait. Asuka may seem happy in her current state, but she isn’t… which we will understand as the movie plays out. Tetsuya – Kappa that is – comes to the human realm with a longing for Asuka. He’s been in love with her since he was a young man, but never proclaimed his love. In death, reborn as Kappa he has a second chance.

Let’s talk about character development, and mainly because I’m excited by the chance to talk about character development in a movie like this. Tetsuya, a shy young man in life, comes back and offer’s his reborn state as a sacrifice to save a woman (Asuka) who never responded to his silent love all those years ago. In his final moments of the movie, he even bargains with a god of death, and when he finally reaches climax – metaphorically and actually in the movie, his arc ends. Asuka is comfortable with her nine to five grind, jerky husband to be and doesn’t really make much noise. Although by the end of the movie, she will have entered deep into the sacred forest, inserted the magic anal pearl into her rectum, fought and defeated a god of death and engaged in necrophilia. A young man afraid to speak up and proclaim his love evolves into a strong personality staking his life to save his love. A woman so passive that’s she content with a lesser everything evolves into a strong warrior wrestling gods and fighting for something better. Impressive character arcs to say the least, and beyond the goofiness of the comedy, singing and Pinku, a fascinating tale of development as they progress from one side of the spectrum to the other.

Then there’s the issue of cinematography… If I throw movies like Wong-Kar Wei’s Days of Being Wild 1990, Ashes of Time 1994, Happy Together 1997, In the Mood for Love 2002, 2046 2004, Yimou Zhang’s Hero 2002, Gus Van Sant’s Paranoid Park 2007 – all of them award winners for the cinematography – at you, then back that up with titles like, John Favreau’s Made 2001, Pen-Ek Rantarauang‘s Last Life in the Universe 2003, the Fruit Chan/Chan-wook Park/Takashi Miike horror anthology Three… Extremes 2004, M. Night Shyamalan’s The Lady in the Water 2006, Jim Jarmusch’s The Limits of Control 2009 – all of them movies know and favoured for their stunning visual imagery, well then you wouldn’t even think of sticking a Japanese Pinku, comedy, love story in there would you. But you can. All of them where lensed by the magnificent Christopher Doyle - the praised Australian cinematographer who has brought some of the most beautiful movies to the big screen over the last three decades. If not for anything else, you need to see this movie for its cinematography

Shot in a mere five days – in no way unique for Pinku - the flaws of tight budget and stressed production schedule shows despite some fantastic cinematography. But a movie concerning a lovesick fantasy figure searching for a sacred anal pearl so that he can trick the god of death, doesn’t really need high production values, as that one line alone more or less motivates the reason why you need to watch Underwater Love.

This is an instant classic, a hilarious blast with a sensitive story at the core. It’s a movie that kicks those Ninja Turtles back into the sewer where they belong and leaves us with a new icon of fantastic cinema –Kappa! I officially challenge you to the Kappa dance, which will start as of now.