Godzilla Minus One (2023) Film Review

Japan is already devastated by the war when a new crisis emerges in the form of a giant monster.

Godzilla Minus One is the 37th film of the franchise, the 33rd Togo Godzilla film and the fifth film in the franchise’s Reiwa era. It’s also directed by Takashi Yamazaki.

Godzilla is a massive franchise that through the years has many different interpretations of the creature, a bunch of which are goofy, some go for a more serious tone. The human characters are often put to the side because let’s face it a majority of the audience is there to see Godzilla cause destruction.

Godzilla Minus One however puts the focus back on the human characters but also making Godzilla the center of the story being told, the film starts in 1945 nearing the end of World War II where we get our first look at Godzilla. Right from the beginning the viewer is greeted with the atmosphere of the film, a dark, scary and thrilling atmosphere that makes Godzilla terrifying. The goofy nature of Godzilla doing a high kick in the air is not present here it truly makes this beast the king of the monsters.

Godzilla has represented a lot of things in this franchise such as a nuclear weapon, in Minus One Godzilla represents a reminder of the destruction from World War II. The film makes this known with a lot of the characters just getting out of the war directly saying “I don’t want to risk losing my life again and not seeing my loved ones” it’s an absolute brutal situation for the characters involved that is only made even better with incredible performances.

The performances here are absolutely incredible especially Ryunosuke Kamiki who plays Koichi and Minami Hamabe who plays Noriko give some of the most powerful moments of the film when on screen together. Another theme this film tackles very effectively is PTSD and someone who wants to rebuild and continue forward, that someone being Koichi a man who is struggling from survivors guilt after his first encounter with Godzilla. He wants to move on to a new chapter in his life but whenever Godzilla reappears and causes more destruction, death and pain to the citizens he thinks back to his first encounter and how he could have prevented these deaths he blames himself for everything. Which leads to quite honestly one of the best moments that portrays somebody suffering from horrible memories I’ve ever seen put to film. It’s hard to watch and truly paints a picture where you almost immediately feel heartbroken for Koichi.

Hidetaka Yoshioka who plays Kenji Noda the crazy scientist character of this film, although may come off as the generic scientist type at first. Really blossoms into his own character and gets a fair amount of scenes that he really steals. Much like the acting, the writing is top notch it’s a much more grounded story of Godzilla than we have seen in the past. The citizens have so much character to them, there’s plenty of scenes where you want everyone here to make it out alive. There’s a scene towards the end where knowing their lives could be put on the line a second time just after coming home from World War II they offer to protect their home and families. It’s such a powerful human connection moment that really puts a tear into your eye it’s truly beautiful.

Godzilla itself is a beast and as said before truly is the king of the monsters especially in Minus One, combine that with the visual effects and the action scenes and you seriously have yourself a beautiful Godzilla film. Godzilla’s design is both beautiful and terrifying, it’s the very definition of a walking nightmare that is hard to take down and gives the characters a challenge. The cinematography really compliments this well with so many gorgeous shots that truly capture the tension of each scene Godzilla strikes, the desperation of when the characters are what they are going to do about Godzilla and the absolute beauty at the end of the tunnel during the film’s final moments which almost made me cry.

Overall Godzilla Minus One is one of the best films of the franchise and is truly one of the best films of the year. Narratively it may seem simple on the surface but once you go into the film’s themes there is so much here that the film completely mastered.

Godzilla Minus One is playing in theaters.

10/10 A+

The Creator (2023) Film Review

Against the backdrop of a war between humans and robots with artificial intelligence, a former soldier finds the secret weapon, a robot in the form of a young child.

The Creator is directed by Gareth Edwards director of Godzilla (2014), Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016) and Monsters (2010).

Gareth Edwards is a filmmaker I’ve always rooted for, even when films like Rogue One don’t fully come together you can really tell that Edwards has a passion for what he does and the worlds he is trying to build. His most successful by far is Godzilla (2014) a film that did not work for me when it first came out but has since really grown on me and now I’m a huge fan of it.

So it’s disappointing to see how messy The Creator really is, don’t get me wrong it’s nowhere near a terrible movie there was clearly a lot of passion put into it design, filming and idea wise. However when it comes from a writing perspective there is so much more to be desired and honestly feels really empty.

The best part of the movie by far is the visuals, there is absolutely no doubt that the movie itself is beautiful to look at. There are truly some breathtaking moments that absolutely must be seen to be believed, it’s an achievement that should not be ignored at all there’s tons of beautiful set pieces that truly pop out and tell their own story quite well. Combine that with the cinematography that shows off some beautiful shots and you have yourself a visually beautiful film.

The performances from John David Washington, Gemma Chan and the rest of the cast are solid enough, they aren’t anything groundbreaking but they match the atmosphere the movie is going for which does lead to some genuinely touching moments between the characters.

Unfortunately that’s where the positives stop because the writing really drags this one down, ideas are mentioned but not explored nearly enough to get the viewer engaged, we have some really neat characters but we don’t know much about them. It’s a common problem that happens throughout the movie and really never goes away, we are told or shown some neat ideas, character arcs and development but we are never shown any execution or actual development to fully get on board.

Gareth Edwards clearly wanted to say something with a lot more substance here, but it just never fully came out and instead mirrors a lot of what other AI taking over the world type of movies have said before.

The Creator is available on all VOD platforms.

5/10 C

The Hunger Games: Ballad Of Songbirds & Snakes (2023) Film Review.

Years before he becomes the tyrannical president of Panem, 18-year-old Coriolanus Snow remains the last hope for his fading lineage. With the 10th annual Hunger Games fast approaching, the young Snow becomes alarmed when he’s assigned to mentor Lucy Gray Baird from District 12. Uniting their instincts for showmanship and political savvy, they race against time to ultimately reveal who’s a songbird and who’s a snake.

The Hunger Games: The Ballad Of Songbirds & Snakes is a prequel to The Hunger Games (2012) and is the fifth installment to the series.

The Hunger Games series was the only young adult dystopian series back in the 2010s that I actually really liked and perhaps the only one to go on and still have a huge amount of relevancy.The series did have it’s issues with Mockingjay Part One (2014) being the weakest of the films and Mockingjay Part Two (2015) while not being a bad film still felt a bit rushed and not quite up to the quality of The Hunger Games (2012) or Catching Fire (2013). So it was quite interesting to see a prequel be released 8 years later, we have seen how badly prequels can be with very popular book film adaptions. The Fantastic Beasts series simply does not compare to the Harry Potter films and The Hobbit movies (I understand there’s a fanbase for these movies I was just not a fan of them at all) are completely outclassed by The Lord Of The Rings films.

Luckily Ballad Of Songbirds & Snakes ends up being quite shockingly fantastic with several contributing factors. Let’s get the obvious out of the way that everyone seems to be talking about the most…the performances. The acting has always been quite strong in The Hunger Games films but in Songbirds & Snakes they kick it up a notch and the cast really delivers in their respective role.

Tom Blyth as Coriolanus Snow is both fascinating and terrifying we get to see him slowly but surely turn into the man he goes on to be for the rest of the series. We get a very interesting backstory that is filled with many dramatic and character moments that are incredibly investing, it’s some really surprising character work combined with Blyth’s acting that really makes his performance stand out in every single way possible.

Rachel Zegler once again hits it out of the park and really shows how talented she is as an actress, Zegler plays Lucy Gray which admittedly was some big shoes to fill since everyone compares the importance of the character to Katniss Evergreen who was played by Jennifer Lawrence in the 4 sequels. However Zegler really stands out here on her own, much like Blyth’s performance Zegler gets a lot of character moments to really make her shine. The songs she sings are beautiful and really contribute to the film’s atmosphere (something I will get into a bit later), Lucy Gray is such a fascinating character that the viewer still has many questions about even when the film ends, the film manages to tell the viewer the information they need about Lucy Gray but keeps just enough from the viewer to wonder about her.

The rest of the cast are just as fantastic, Viola Davis as Dr. Volumnia Gaul is intimidating and really sets the scene as soon as she comes on screen. Peter Dinklage as Casca Highbottom and Josh Andreas Rivera and Sejanus Plinth are both fantastic. Jason Schwartzman who plays Lucretius or “Lucky” Flickerman who is basically the announcer of The Hunger Games, he gives such a darkly (I say darkly because the games themselves are brutal here) funny performance that doesn’t overshadow the character moments at all. Finally there’s Hunter Schafer who might not get a whole lot of screentime but delivers such a charming and incredibly likable performance that her being casted as Tigris Snow was such a smart casting move.

The atmosphere of the film is truly brilliant, something a lot of these young adult dystopian adaption films seem to forget is atmosphere the type where you actually believe this is a very horrifying future and Ballad Of Songbirds & Snakes absolutely nails that down from the very beginning. You can feel the fear of the characters and just how incredibly messed up the future has become, when you combine that with the writing that is quite honestly some of if not THE very best this franchise has very had. You have yourself such an engaging story that really pulls out everything it has.

The world building is truly fascinating here, for a prequel the film really expands on the world of The Hunger Games and even makes some really important connections from the films that would come later, each of the film’s locations has personality too them and a story to tell. Which the film does beautifully with the cinematography, character moments and the pacing which while could be a bit much for some (157 minutes long) I however do think the pacing really uses the running time quite well to give each of the characters time to shine and really highlight how dangerous the world is.

Finally there’s The Hunger Games itself and it’s quite a brutal one. The film really makes the most use it can with the PG-13 rating and it ultimately works, there’s tons of emotional moments during the games as well as character bits that are actually gut punching at times. Sure the games might be a bit shorter this time around, however it makes up for that with very suspenseful atmosphere as well as being incredibly strong from a story perspective and thematically.

Overall The Hunger Games: Ballad Of Songbirds & Snakes is one of the best films of the franchise, heck there’s even an argument to be made that it’s the absolute best of the series. It’s one of those rare prequels that actually adds something special to the franchise and explores even more that the other films really didn’t. I cannot stress enough how fantastic the acting really is here, it’s some of the best acting of the year and completely matches everything that the film goes for.

The Hunger Games: Ballad Of Songbirds & Snakes is available in theaters.

10/10 A+

Mortal Kombat Legends: Cage Match (2023) Film Review.

Action superstar Johnny Cage squares off against a sinister secret society that’s plotting a nefarious scheme. However, the brutal fight against the bloodthirsty warriors of the Netherrealm is just the beginning.

Mortal Kombat Legends: Cage Match is the fourth of these new animated Mortal Kombat films, so far I have found these films to be quite great. Each of these films tell a pretty interesting story to tell in each installment and have this Saturday morning cartoon feel you completely get invested in.

Cage Match is no exception, it focuses on the origins of Johnny Cage a classic Mortal Kombat character who’s been there since the beginning. This is yet another one of these films (much like the previous film Snow Blind) that doesn’t focus on the tournaments, Cage Match has this 80s Hollywood style too it that matches well with Johnny Cage. You can actually look at this movie as a goofy love letter to the 80s which actually did surprise me a bit.

The voice cast do a solid job here, Joel McHale is immediately fitting as Johnny Cage. One of Gilbert Gottfrieds final performances is here and while it’s not a huge part he still plays his part incredibly well and is definitely one of the most memorable parts of the film. The writing has its weak points as there’s not a whole lot thematically going on here, it’s a very basic “this person is missing and you have to find them” sort of deal. But what makes it investing is how fitting Johnny Cage really is in the film.

Johnny Cage interacting with everyone he comes across is just a lot of fun, he has that type of feel that a lot of Saturday morning cartoon protagonists had and it absolutely fits his character. Out of the four animated films Cage Match is the one that has the least connections to the Mortal Kombat franchise, while yes there’s a few characters here and of course Johnny Cage himself. But the movie really is much more focused on Cage’s backstory rather than throwing in connections which is a very good thing.

Cage Match does suffer a bit from having a slow start but quickly gains ground once the mystery itself kicks in, Cage’s one liners can get old very quickly and depending how you feel about 80s pop culture references you might get annoyed quickly. But for the most part Cage Match is a solid addition to the series.

Mortal Kombat Legends: Cage Match is available on all VOd platforms.

7/10 B

Loki Season 2 series review

Loki works with Mobius M. Mobius, Hunter B-15, and other members of the Time Variance Authority to navigate the multiverse in order to find Sylvie, Ravonna Renslayer, and Miss Minutes.

As much as I have criticized Marvel in recent years (especially this year) I will give them this, they took a much riskier choice to have Loki be the first Disney+ Marvel series to have a second season. They could have easily went with a much safer choice such as Hawkeye or Falcon and The Winter Solider. I will also say that where as my opinions have changed on a lot of the previous Disney+ Marvel shows (not really in a good way). My opinion on the first season of Loki has been consistent, it’s by far my favorite of the bunch and was fantastic. Loki season 2 is quite fantastic and keeps a lot of what made the first season work so well and while it does have a few missteps along the way, for the most part it really is quite great.

The cast is really what makes this season work mostly, Tom Hiddleston once again shows his master work as Loki and really wraps up the character development Loki has gone through in the MCU. There’s several moments during the final minutes of the season that really shows this in such a beautiful way and quite honestly the most powerful moments I’ve seen from these MCU shows. Owen Wilson returns as Mobius and much like in the first season he is quite great here, his character sort of loses a bit of spotlight towards the end of the season, however during the season’s first few episodes we get to see the bond of Mobius and Loki grow even more. There’s a lot of moments where they are just interacting like regular people it’s a decently grounded approach that was a surprise yet very welcomed one.

Ke Huy Quan was a very smart addition to the cast, almost immediately when his character Ouroboros shows up the viewer automatically is intrigued by his character. He might not get some deep and rich character development here, but what makes the character work is mostly Quan’s exciting and lovable performance that you really grow attached to. Jonathan Majors is solid as the variants of Kang, granted he’s not my absolute favorite performance because I do think the cast surrounding him is much better. However there’s no denying that he does a solid job here.

Sophia Di Martino as Sylvie while great gets put into the backseat this season, which is a bit confusing as to why that is. Since the first season really did make it seem like she was going to have a much bigger role later down the line, she really is not given a whole lot to really do here unfortunately and a lot of her strong character traits are seemingly absent here.

Loki season 2 is much more dialogue than it is action and it definitely works in the series favor, if it was going to be one show that has a season where it would be much more dialogue than action it would be this one. Granted there are moments where the pacing can be a bit too slow and doesn’t really push the show at a great pace, however the show benefits from a lot of decently strong dialogue and acting that captures the atmosphere the show is going for.

The main criticism here is a lot of the characters take a backseat towards the show’s final few episodes, which I completely get it the show is supposed to wrap up the character development Loki has gone throughout the MCU. Having that said it is very noticeable that the characters start to become more like cheerleaders for Loki (especially Sylvie), having that said that does not take away from the powerful moment at the end where you can really feel just how important Loki really was all of these years. It’s just a bit of a shame that backseats had to be taken.

Overall Loki season 2 is quite strong, it might not be as great as the first season. But there’s still a real lot to like about the show!

Loki season 2 is available on Disney+

8/10 B+

Gran Turismo is a surprisingly entertaining and inspirational film.

The true story of a team of unlikely underdogs — a working-class gamer, a former race-car driver, and an idealistic motorsport executive — who risk it all to take on the most elite sport in the world.

Gran Turismo is based off of the video game franchise of the same name, it also tells the true story of Jann Mardenborough a teenage Gran Turismo player who went on to become a professional race car driver.

I really had no idea what to expect with Gran Turismo, this is a film that could have easily went down either route but luckily the team involved with the film really crafted something quite surprising and actually inspirational as well. For starters this is Neill Blomkamp’s best film since District 9, it’s drastically different from what Blomkamp usually tackles. But he really elevates a script that would have been very basic into several thrilling race scenes, character moments and plenty of heart as well as inspirational ones as well.

The performances are quite great as well Archie Madekwe is fantastic in the leading role he’s portrayal of Jann Mardenborough is filled to the brim with heart and inspiration, sure it may come off as a traditional underdog type of performance at times. But that’s part of the charm that really works in the movie’s favor, David Harbour is quite fun as well he’s always a blast to see on screen and here is no exception. Harbour’s character Jack Salter has a quite interesting backstory and the bond between Jack and Jann is quite excellent, some of the best scenes of the film are the two just talking to each other.

The racing scenes are phenomenal with tons of thrilling moments and atmosphere it’s so well put together, the CG can be a bit much at times but it doesn’t stop the movie from having a large visual impact that really knows how to use it’s thrilling atmosphere. The humor is genuinely pretty solid as well, yes there is some dialogue and jokes that aren’t that great. But I was very surprised to see how genuine some of the humor really was.

Overall Gran Turismo shocked me, sure some may write this off as an underdog story. While there are indeed elements of that, the movie does mostly it’s own thing. Beautifully told story with really solid direction, acting and atmosphere. Check this one out!

Gran Turismo is available on all VOD platforms.

7/10 B

Mission Impossible Dead Reckoning Part One is a masterfully crafted addition to the series.

Ethan Hunt and the IMF team must track down a terrifying new weapon that threatens all of humanity if it falls into the wrong hands. With control of the future and the fate of the world at stake, a deadly race around the globe begins. Confronted by a mysterious, all-powerful enemy, Ethan is forced to consider that nothing can matter more than the mission — not even the lives of those he cares about most.

Mission Impossible Dead Reckoning Part One is the seventh film of the Mission Impossible franchise and is a sequel to Mission Impossible Fallout. While Mission Impossible isn’t one of my all time favorite franchises, that doesn’t take away that these movies are always consistently really good or fantastic. Even the weakest of the series Mission Impossible II is still a whole lot of fun, Mission Impossible Dead Reckoning Part One continues the franchise with being another excellent addition to the series.

Even though Dead Reckoning Part One is a half a story there is still a whole lot here to really appreciate. The performances much like in the other films are once again fantastic, Tom Cruise hits it out of the park as Ethan Hunt and much like in the other films shows that he knows how to entertain an audience, from doing absolutely insane stunts that you are jaw dropping to some excellent action scenes and some incredibly well executed line delivery Cruise really captures it all here. The rest of the cast are just as great as Cruise, Vanessa Kirby and Pom Klementieff are a lot of fun and are excellent new additions, there’s one scene with Carey Elwes in particular that’s one of the film’s highlights.

As I said before the stunts are truly fantastic, not only are they jaw dropping but they have such a gigantic scale to them that really makes them even more special. When you combine that with excellent filmmaking, editing and sharp cinematography you get beautiful results. There’s truly so much craftsmanship in Dead Reckoning Part One to the point where you are just in awe, that’s a major element that blockbusters seem to miss…the awe factor a moment (or moments) in a film that make the viewer step back and just look at the screen in amazement. The Mission Impossible films accomplish that quite often but in Dead Reckoning Part One they turn it up to eleven and make sure that it’s known.

The action scenes are also just as fantastic as they have always been in this franchise, it’s electrifying, focused and so well done. Once again it shows a huge amount of craftsmanship that went into the action scenes and really gives the film the classic action film feel that is truly exciting to have. The writing which includes themes such as fate and AI are absolutely well done and do something completely different with the topics. Finally the film has plenty of tense moments including the nuclear bomb scene that will absolutely bring you at the edge of your seat.

Overall Mission Impossible Dead Reckoning Part One is a fantastic installment into the series, there’s so much to absolutely love about the film and it really gets you excited to see how the next film is going to be.

Mission Impossible Dead Reckoning Part One is available on all VOD platforms.

10/10 A+

The Equalizer 3 is a decent conclusion to the trilogy.

Since giving up his life as a government assassin, Robert McCall finds solace in serving justice on behalf of the oppressed. Now living in Southern Italy, he soon discovers his new friends are under the control of local crime bosses. As events turn deadly, McCall becomes their protector by taking on the mafia.

The Equalizer 3 is the final installment of The Equalizer trilogy. The Equalizer films are mostly known for Denzel Washington giving a fantastic performance in each movie and some quite brutal kills. The first film was quite great while the second movie was forgettable and really did not do a whole lot in terms of moving the series forward.

The Equalizer 3 is more or less the same thing as the previous two movies, it’s definitely an improvement over the last movie but isn’t as good as the first. Once again Denzel Washington as Robert McCall is fantastic, he completely hits out of the park and puts a satisfying conclusion to the character. Dakota Fanning and the rest of the cast are also pretty solid here although Washington is the clear standout.

The action scenes are quite great, although most of the action scenes are at the beginning and the final act of the film. The story combined with the scenery (this time taking place in Italy) helps the movie run at a decent pace to make sure not to make the viewer lose interest from the story. With that being said the middle does suffer from being a bit too familiar but the way director Antoine Fuqua wraps up the story and uses his style that fans of Fuqua will immediately notice helps give the movie the extra push it needs.

Although the villains lack depth and aren’t particularly interesting, the cinematography combined with the action scenes and scenery is just wonderful to look at and has a surprising amount of detail. The movie itself almost feels like part slasher film and it works quite well.

The Equalizer 3 isn’t going to break any new ground, but if you are fan of the previous two movies you are definitely going to like this one.

The Equalizer 3 is available on VOD Platforms.

6/10 C+

Quick Review: Til Death Do Us Part

After running away on her wedding day, a bride must fight for survival against her vengeful fiance and seven deadly groomsmen. In the ultimate showdown, the groomsmen soon discover that she has no intention of going back to the life she left behind.

Til Death Do Us Part is what happens when you mix Ready Or Not and John Wick then proceed to somehow make it terrible.

Honestly there is very little to be said here because the movie itself just does not care about having a plot that is coherent, the editing is atrocious combined writing that is straight out of a poorly written soap opera. The characters have no personality outside of their character traits, the action is incredibly bland and fails to engage the viewer.

There’s a couple shots here that look fine enough but that’s not nearly enough to save this movie from being a complete and total disaster, it’s a shame because had this movie been campy and took itself way less seriously there could have been some entertainment value here.

Til Death Do Us Part is available on all VOD platforms.

1/10 F

Blue Beetle has heart but not much else.

Jaime Reyes suddenly finds himself in possession of an ancient relic of alien biotechnology called the Scarab. When the Scarab chooses Jaime to be its symbiotic host, he’s bestowed with an incredible suit of armor that’s capable of extraordinary and unpredictable powers, forever changing his destiny as he becomes the superhero Blue Beetle.

Blue Beetle is the third DCEU film to be released this year and I can at least give the movie this it was better than Shazam: Fury Of The Gods and The Flash…that is still not saying much because Blue Beetle isn’t much better.

What Blue Beetle’s whole concept of family themes is a really strong idea, it’s been done numerous times before in a lot of comic book movies but at least with a handful of scenes Blue Beetle attempts to make the idea it’s own. There’s some genuinely solid performances from Xolo Maridueña, Bruna Marquezine and George Lopez, the heartfelt moments between the members of the family are undeniably beautiful and have so much emotion too them. The film bringing out the heart and family dynamic from the film works so much stronger than the typical comic book movie parts of the film.

Which is unfortunately where the movie lands into generic territory, it doesn’t do anything really exciting with it’s action scenes despite having interesting framing, there’s some neat shots here with some neon lighting but the movie doesn’t do anything with it. They kind of just throw in a handful of generic action scenes and don’t do anything else, combine that with such dull villains that really don’t get any sort of character outside of one or two personality traits and you have a ton of action scenes that are hard for the viewer to cling on to.

I don’t think Blue Beetle is a bad movie it’s just a bit of a disappointment, with every interesting choice the movie makes and actually executes quite well (including some darker moments.) there’s a lot of playing too safe towards the end of the movie, where it starts to morph into the usual below average comic book movie.

Blue Beetle is available on all VOD platforms.

5/10 C