2021 Blindspot Pick #4: Shin Godzilla (2016)

Tags

Action, Drama, Foreign, Sci-fi

I’ve heard the most dangerous creature is man,
And I suppose that must be true.
We love coming up with formidable monsters
That threaten our whole point of view,
And somehow we manage to conquer the foe
And add to the others we slew.
So if such a creature did rampage and roar
We’ll have all this fiction to clue
Our panicking, delicate, desperate species
On what we should probably do.
______________________

MPA rating:  PG-13

Giant monsters and mech suits have long fascinated Japan and many a young boy, but I honestly have never been a big fan of the genre. In the past, I could attribute this to the poor quality of the old Godzilla movies with their laughable acting and near-visible zippers. Yet I also am not much enamored of modern effects extravaganzas like Transformers or the 2014 American version of Godzilla. There’s a fine line between spectacle and noise, and a human element worth caring about is an oft-overlooked necessity. So why did I add 2016’s Shin Godzilla to my Blindspot list? Well, not only did it win Japan’s equivalent of Best Picture but I’ve heard plenty of people sing its praises, calling it a more realistic take on the classic Godzilla story. And while I agree with that to a point, Godzilla is still Godzilla.

Directed by Hideaki Anno of Neon Genesis Evangelion fame, the film doesn’t waste much time before an underwater disturbance strikes Tokyo Bay, sending the Japanese government into a tizzy. One young cabinet member named Rando Yaguchi (Hiroki Hasegawa) is the first to suggest that a giant creature is the cause, and the way he is scoffed at before being proven correct makes it clear who the main character is amid all the cabinet meetings. Indeed, cabinet meetings are a notable fixture of the film as their bureaucratic hesitance contrasts sharply with the rampant destruction of a radioactive lizard. In this way, it certainly is more realistic, suggesting that a disaster of this scale and suddenness will already have wreaked its havoc by the time the government figures out what to do about it. Hope seems lost but for Yaguchi’s bold efforts leading a brain trust to develop an innovative way of stopping the monster once and for all, aided by an attractive envoy from the U.S. (Satomi Ishihara).

Shin Godzilla is effective in its satire of government inefficiencies, though its cabinet meetings grow tedious with repetition, but what of the creature itself? Unlike many Godzilla films where the monster pops out of the ocean fully formed, this version actually goes through several stages of rapid evolution, all of which leave destruction in their wake. I realize it’s unfair to compare Japan’s special effects with Hollywood’s, and the scenes of toppled buildings and flying rubble are top notch, but the Japanese effects do fall short in depicting the creature. Its snake-like first form especially is almost laughable with its googly-eyed stare, and while the later versions are more menacing and massive, I feel like Godzilla’s unblinking eyes still make it feel somewhat fake. That being said, the final battle to take out the giant is appropriately awe-inspiring in its scale, giving the humans a chance at heroism rather than just panicking and reacting.

Shin Godzilla (or Shin Gojira to use the famed monster’s Japanese name) can be translated as “New Godzilla,” and it indeed tries to start from scratch, doing away with any past films or the reinvention of the creature as some kind of protector fighting other monsters, which is the direction Hollywood took with the recent American films. While the film has its merits, I must admit I fail to see why it would warrant major awards attention, outside the technical categories. I suppose Godzilla just looms larger in the Japanese consciousness, especially since the film incorporates scenes that echo real-life Japanese tragedies like the 2011 earthquake and tsunami just as the original Godzilla films derived from concerns over nuclear fallout. Shin Godzilla may not reinvent the giant monster movie, but its satirical take on the genre makes it a worthwhile member that is far better than the days of men in rubber suits.

Best line: (one of the bureau directors) “Man is more frightening than Gojira.”

Rank:  Honorable Mention

© 2021 S.G. Liput
738 Followers and Counting

In the Heights (2021)

Tags

Drama, Musical, Romance

The longer a neighborhood has stood
The more of a store of tales to tell
It has, and in all likelihood,
The narrators who are the best
Are not the visitor or guest,
I suppose,
But those who chose
Or else were born to dwell
In that community,
Who share in native unity
And from the thorn
Of foreign scorn
Have natural immunity.

The brotherhood of neighborhoods
Appeals to me more than it should,
For I was introduced
And used
To lack of that camaraderie;
It doesn’t really bother me,
And yet I get and can’t forget
A sense of admiration for
The folks who know their neighbors’ names
Beyond the first or second door,
Where every high is aired and shared
And every low is bared but shared
And more than family have cared
For all the highs and lows before.

So storytellers, tell your tales
Of neighborhoods I’ll never know
But for the struggles, wins, and fails
You share, and never let them go.
__________________________

MPA rating:  PG-13

As you might have guessed with my long stretches between posts this year, I have somewhat of a backlog that’s been building up, movies I’ve seen and just didn’t have the time to give a full review. Now that school is all done (and has paid off, by the way), I can start playing catch-up. One of the Hollywood trends that I welcome with the utmost glee is the resurgence of movie musicals, which have been becoming more and more frequent since La La Land and The Greatest Showman reminded the powers that be that musicals can be awesome.

I am a huge fan of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Hamilton, the only musical I’ve had the pleasure of seeing live, but I admittedly have not paid much attention to In the Heights, his first hip hop-flavored musical to win Tony awards. In general, I have a very low opinion of rap music, but Hamilton changed my perceptions to appreciate its unique blending of complex lyrics and catchy rhythms. Thus, I can’t help but feel that Hamilton paved the way for my enjoyment of In the Heights, even if the latter predates the former. And Miranda’s musical powers are self-evident here, even if the setting is the modern-day neighborhood of Washington Heights rather than colonial America. (Plus, I couldn’t help but chuckle at a couple Hamilton cameos/Easter eggs.)

Bodega owner Usnavi (Anthony Ramos of Hamilton stepping into Miranda’s role) serves as narrator for the various stories playing out in his block before, during, and after a blackout, including his own goal of returning to the Dominican Republic, the fashion dreams of his crush Vanessa (Melissa Barrera), and the romance of his friend Benny (Corey Hawkins) and college student Nina (Leslie Grace). Also prominent are Nina’s father (Jimmy Smits), who tries to get her to return to college, and “Abuela” Claudia (Olga Merediz, reprising her Tony-nominated role), who has cared for Usnavi and his cousin Sonny and is beloved throughout the neighborhood.

It really breaks my heart that In the Heights ended up a commercial flop because I loved it, not only as an exuberant musical but as a story with clear fondness for its characters that effectively transmits that fondness to the audience. While every character is in pursuit of their personal American dream, they also revel in Hispanic cultural pride, particularly in the “Carnaval del Barrio” number. Considering how strong the Hispanic representation is throughout the movie, it’s ironic that it earned criticism for underrepresenting Afro-Latinos in the major roles, which seems like a nitpick of an otherwise landmark film for Hispanic Americans in media. I read a YouTube comment that summed up the film’s appeal better than I can, stating that they couldn’t “remember seeing this many black and brown people on screen for a solid two and a half hours where not a single storyline had to do with crime, prison, slavery, drug use, gangs, or segregation. No mention of any sort of criminal activity. No equating darker skin with malice or mischief. Just hardworking people of color trying to do their best to live their dreams.” Anyone can find something to complain about, but that seems pretty praiseworthy.

Speaking of complaints, I must reiterate that I had no prior experience with the In the Heights musical, but I understand that quite a few changes were made, from the shifting of motivations and story priorities to the addition of a Dreamer subplot to the deletion of a number of songs. Because of that, I can understand fans of the original musical being disappointed, but as a movie-only fan, I was blown away in the theater many times over. The bright direction of Jon M. Chu (Crazy Rich Asians) is especially laudable, weaving seamlessly throughout expertly choreographed crowds and injecting spurts of fantasy and animation into the real world. While its profits and impact may have been diminished by controversy and a pandemic, In the Heights is an outstanding addition to the musical film genre, one that left me smiling and whose worth will hopefully become more recognized with time.

Best line: (Kevin Rosario, Nina’s father) “Ignore anyone who doubts you.”

Rank:  List-Worthy

© 2021 S.G. Liput
737 Followers and Counting

Black Widow (2021)

Tags

Action, Drama, Sci-fi, Superhero, Thriller

They say the greats will only get
Their due when they are dead,
Like artists buried deep in debt
Whose work is coveted
Once they are underground,
Too late to be renowned.

It’s inadvertent irony
That those who warrant praise
So often do not get to see
Their celebrated phase.
Not everyone’s endeavor
Is better late than never.
__________________________

MPA rating:  PG-13

When I sat down to watch Black Widow in a theater, it felt surreal to realize that I hadn’t seen the Marvel montage and logo in about two years, before a certain virus turned the world upside down. I know we’ve had the privilege of MCU TV shows like WandaVision and Falcon and Winter Soldier, but it was a surprisingly heart-warming feeling to once more see a Marvel film on the big screen, especially one that had been so long-awaited. I still remember seeing the first trailer back in 2019 and having no idea it would take so long to finally be released.

Many have said that Scarlett Johansson’s Black Widow (Natasha Romanoff) should have gotten her own movie years ago, and they’re right. We’ve gotten scattered implications about her checkered past, mainly in relation to her bond with Hawkeye, but it was far too long before Marvel seemed confident enough that a female-led origin story was worthwhile. Captain Marvel proved it could be done, but (spoiler alert) it certainly should have happened before Romanoff’s self-sacrificial death in Endgame.  Reflecting that scheduling awkwardness is the film’s timeline, set mainly after the events of Civil War when Black Widow was a fugitive for assisting Captain America’s band of super-rebels.

We first get a glimpse at Natasha’s childhood, when she was one of several Russian agents posing as a suburban American family in the ‘90s. Fast forward then to her post-Civil War hideout where her murderous past catches up to her faster than the American government. Targeted by a masked assassin known as Taskmaster, Romanoff must team up with her “sister” spy Yelena Belova (Florence Pugh), as well as her former fake parents (David Harbour, Rachel Weisz), to bring down the Red Room spy organization that trained them all to be killers.

It’s very easy for Black Widow as a film to be overshadowed by many things:  the pandemic that delayed its release, the expectations for Marvel’s first Phase 4 film, the messy lawsuit that has pitted Johansson against Disney for how they released the film simultaneously on Disney+. All that aside, I quite enjoyed this return to the MCU, putting a spotlight on a character that has largely been part of the supporting cast. Of course, since we know Natasha’s eventual fate, there is also the feeling that this is just as much an origin story for her adopted “family” as for her, and Pugh, Harbour, and Weisz do a great job in their introduction to the Marvel universe, all of them with a more ruthless edge than Natasha. Pugh especially succeeds in mixing self-aware “little sister” charm with hand-to-hand prowess, making her a perfect fit to step into the hole left by Natasha’s death.

Beyond all the expectations and controversies, it does seem like Black Widow is destined to be a middling entry in the MCU, boasting little in the way of gossip-worthy cameos or universe-building. Compared with other entries, it’s relatively down-to-earth with no actual superpowers involved, even though the characters repeatedly manage to survive things that would kill a normal person many times over. Yet I consider the more human-level conflict a good thing, since cosmos-ending cataclysms can easily lose their impact if done too often, and there are still plenty of outstanding fights and action set pieces to give Marvel fans their expected thrills. Black Widow perhaps stumbles a bit in glossing over the moral murkiness of its characters’ decisions, but it is also proof that Marvel has no shortage of entertaining stories to tell.

Best line: (Yelena) “The truth rarely makes sense when you omit key details.”

Rank:  List-Worthy

© 2021 S.G. Liput
737 Followers and Counting

2021 Blindspot #3: Office Space (1999)

Tags

Comedy

I once endured the office
And drove in every day.
I wore the expected buttoned shirt
And stared at screens till my eyeballs hurt,
Attended meetings that unveiled
They could have simply been emailed,
And in my cubicle I sat,
The lowest-ranking technocrat.

But now…
My home base is my office,
From bed to chair each day.
My eyes are still assailed by screens,
But that’s been true since my early teens.
I only dress my upper third,
And even that is rather blurred.
The meetings stayed, but I attend
From my back porch, a welcome trend.
A shame a virus was the cause,
But office work ain’t what it was.
_______________________

MPA rating:  R (for language and brief nudity)

What ever happened to that guy who wrote poems and movie reviews? Had a blog called Rhyme and Reason? Oh yeah, he earned his Bachelor’s degree and finally found time to write something new! That’s right; school is officially over, and while the next month still promises to be busy, I am at last freed of a major time sink investment and can get back to this blog, starting with my already delayed Blindspot series.

I knew Office Space was a popular comedy from Mike Judge, but it wasn’t until the last couple years that it seemed relevant to me, since I had previously been in the restaurant/customer service world and had no experience with office life. In fact, getting a desk job in an office was a huge goal and a satisfying achievement when I finally transitioned to an IT career. Since I’ve had a taste of the office (pre-COVID at least), it seemed like the right time for a satire like Office Space.

Ron Livingston plays Peter Gibbons, a programming pencil pusher working in the generic office complex of Initech, along with his comrades in monotony Michael (David Herman) and Samir (Ajay Naidu). Tired of being worried and frustrated, Peter agrees to an interrupted hypnosis session, and while the lasting impact of the hypnosis remains unclear, he finds himself unburdened by the demands of life and his manager Bill Lumbergh (Gary Cole). When Peter’s career ironically benefits from his newfound carefree attitude at the expense of his friends, they concoct a plan to get back at Initech, with trouble naturally ensuing.

Based on Judge’s Milton cartoon shorts and featuring Stephen Root as the mumbling side character Milton Waddams, Office Space is a comedy that finds its humor not in rapid-fire jokes but in magnifying everyday headaches to which its audience can relate. The chuckles come from recognition and a sort of shared sympathy. After all, who hasn’t worried about annual job evaluations or wanted to destroy an uncooperative printer? Ron Livingston’s Peter is an effective everyman doing the nonchalant acts of rebellion that most of us are too smart or worried to do ourselves, and though the film’s plot is rather meandering, its eventual payoff is cleverly satisfying for those most oppressed by “the system.”

I probably could have related to Office Space already, since Peter’s love interest Joanna (Jennifer Aniston) works as a waitress, but there were certainly office-specific eccentricities sprinkled throughout the insightful script that I was able to recognize better now that I’ve worked in an office. I can’t help but think of this movie anytime one of my bosses says, “If you could do so-and-so, that’d be great.” At least it’s not in Lumbergh’s now-iconic monotone. That being said, I also feel quite lucky since I greatly enjoy my job, which is neither as dully repetitive nor as paperwork-heavy as Initech (plus no cubicles), so I suppose the film’s soul-crushing example of office doldrums could also be seen as an encouragement to recognize when your job isn’t that bad. (Maybe it is that bad, but I believe in looking on the bright side.) While I would have enjoyed Office Space even more without the semi-frequent profanity, I can see why it’s become a cult favorite and a touchstone for all those weary of office culture or suffering from “a case of the Mondays.”

Best line: (Peter, again offering an example for us to say our lives aren’t that bad) “So I was sitting in my cubicle today, and I realized, ever since I started working, every single day of my life has been worse than the day before it. So that means that every single day that you see me, that’s on the worst day of my life.”
(Dr. Swanson, the psychologist) “What about today? Is today the worst day of your life?”
(Peter) “Yeah.”
(Dr. Swanson) “Wow, that’s messed up.”

Rank:  List Runner-Up

© 2021 S.G. Liput
737 Followers and Counting