Del and Mladen review ‘Shin Godzilla’
Image courtesy of Toho Studios.
“Shin Godzilla” Starring Hiroki Hasegawa, Satomi Ishihara, Satomi Ishihara, Ren Ôsugi and others. Directed by Shinji Higuchi and Hideaki Anno. Two hours. Rated PG-13. Theatrical release.
Plot summary: Radioactive waste dumped in the ocean leads to the creation of the god-like kaiju Godzilla, who crashes ashore in Tokyo and threatens to destroy mankind. Japanese bureaucrats must overcome their own inertia and world opinion to deal with the threat.
Spoilers: This movie was released in 2016. The plot is already known.
Del’s take
I’m a casual fan of Godzilla, the lizard with a thyroid problem. Mladen is an obsessed super-fan. He will perceive anything I say about this film that suggests it was less than perfect as a personal insult, so I’m treading carefully, unlike Godzilla, who stomps through Tokyo knocking down buildings, crushing trains and torching the rubble with his radioactive oral and dorsal scute rays. And you thought iguanas falling out of trees was a big deal.
“Shin Godzilla” was originally released in 2016, before its much better successor “Godzilla Minus One,” but it has been revived in a 4K re-release showing in theaters across North America. It was at one such showing, at the AMC theater in Destin Commons, that Mladen, Dusty and I renewed our acquaintance with the leviathanic reptile. Is “leviathanic” a word? If not, I’m making it a word.
In Japanese, “Shin Godzilla” means “New Godzilla” or “True Godzilla,” but it can also mean “God” as in the giant, city-destroying lizard has become an actual deity, in this case a very pissed-off deity. No wonder those deep South charismatic churches molest snakes – Godzilla is extremophile Pentecostal.
But seriously. To my knowledge Godzilla has always operated as a symbol for the dangers of nuclear energy. But in “Shin Godzilla” I see refrains of the 2011 earthquake and tsunami that led to the disaster at the Fukushima reactor complex. It reminds me of “The Days,” a Netflix miniseries about the response to Fukushima.
And therein lies the problem: Just as the monster continuously evolves in “Shin Godzilla,” so does the message, away from the original and simple metaphor for atomic bomb = bad to a whole lot of other crap that frankly, I thought was boring. In “Shin Godzilla” the subtext is not just about earthquakes and tsunamis but the manmade disasters of paralyzing bureaucracy, political ass-covering and ambition fueled by hubris – with a bit of nationalistic grousing thrown in for good measure.
The movie focuses less on monster mayhem than endless meetings where bureaucrats debate the positives and negatives of every action. They seem reluctant to make decisions, not because it’s the right or wrong thing to do – they’re more concerned about the political ramifications and what the world might think, particularly the United States, which in “Shin Godzilla” exists as a quixotic and unpredictable drunk uncle. When the Japanese government finally takes action, Godzilla evolves to present new problems. The final scene of the movie hints at one of those new problems.
There’s way, way, waaaay too much talking, and as Dusty pointed out afterwards, all that talk meant reading lots and lots of subtitles, which at times distracted from the action on the screen. I had the same problem. I use subtitles on all my movies so I’m a fast and experienced reader, but at times “Shin Godzilla” overwhelmed my ability to keep up.
Having seen “Godzilla Minus One” before “Shin Godzilla” I can’t help but make comparisons. “Godzilla Minus One” was a more personal and relatable story, and it was told in a way that made me care about the people and events. “Shin Godzilla” tried to be “All the President’s Men” and I didn’t care. We know bureaucracy is bad. We know ass-covering is bad. Do we really need a movie about that? I’d rather see the monster kicking over skyscrapers.
Both movies provide dazzling special effects although again, I’d give the nod to “Godzilla Minus One,” along with kudos for its score. Mladen rhapsodized about the score for “Shin Godzilla” but to me it was nothing special, though I do appreciate the nods to the traditional Godzilla score.
Overall “Godzilla Minus One” leaves more of an impression than “Shin Godzilla” and in that context the former is a better story than the latter. The problem with “Shin Godzilla” is its focus on bureaucratic inertia kills the narrative drive. The movie is like a car that starts, runs for a minute and then conks out for 10 minutes before starting again. I found the meeting segments to be boring and even irritating because not even the most loathsome career apparatchik would stop to debate how a natural disaster might affect his personal fortunes as the carnage is swirling around him.
In my review of “Godzilla Minus One” I gave the movie a grade of A-. I’ll stand by that. It’s not a perfect movie but it’s pretty damn good. “Shin Godzilla” gets a B-. Special effects are decent and bully to the writers for trying to make the story more provocative. But their focus on demonizing bureaucracy and politics gets in the way of telling what could be a fun story. The movie is its own kind of bureaucracy.
And now I remand custody of this review to Mladen, who can’t be blamed for what he’s about to say. They make pills to fix that, but you know how it is trying to get crusty old farts to take their pills.
Mladen’s take
Reckon calling Del a blasphemer, heretic, scoundrel, and blackguard is now impossible. I expected his “Shin Godzilla” review to be anti-kaiju, anti-Godzilla fanboy, and anti‑Mladen. Instead, Del compliments me by labeling me an “obsessed super-fan” and then provides our dear readers a lackadaisical, oh-so-moderate, and incorrect take on one of the 10 best films ever made.
To Del and the rest of America, the poser president is using bureaucracy to cripple, if not annihilate, our democracy. Never underestimate the power that Big Government institutions have to misshape our lives. The way the Japanese federal government is portrayed in “Shin Godzilla” is plausible. That plausibility adds an astonishing bit of realism to an otherwise absurd premise: a 300-meter-tall animal capable of directed, real‑time mutation to protect its life emerges from the sea to trample a city. What a glorious trampling it is.
In “Shin Godzilla,” the government and its enablers, the civilian and military bureaucracies, treat the monster as a natural disaster. Godzilla is a flesh and blood typhoon or earthquake and, like a typhoon or earthquake, it shows no animosity toward humans. People and their structures are just in the way of a phenomenon generated by the environment. Had the humans left the creature alone, it would’ve caused less damage than the decision by a different bureaucracy to Iran-nuclear-site the beast. “Iran-nuclear‑site the beast?” you ask. See the movie and you’ll know what I mean. You will be enraptured. The scene is one of the greatest 30 seconds of action of all time in any movie anywhere to infinity. Dang, that last sentence must’ve been my obsessed super‑fan side erupting.
Yes, “Shin Godzilla” has an itsy-bitsy flaw or two.
Dusty via Del noted one of them. The movie is in Japanese with no English dubbing. You must read the captions and, sometimes, the captions get lost amid the pictures on the screen.
The other problem, and it’s significant, is the film’s soundscape. For some reason, I imagine it was to save money, the film is recorded in a mere three channels or some such defect. All the gunfire, exploding trains, toppling buildings, and Godzilla’s radiation ray blasts come at you from the front. There’s no sound moving left to right, right to left, back to front, or front to back. Most tragic of all? No booming near-infrasound to jostle my guts. Just can’t figure out the crappy sound recording, though I have no choice but to forgive Toho Studios.
The lack of vibrant, vivid, and vivacious noise amid all the chaos of a metropolis taking it on the chin is somewhat offset by the “Shin Godzilla” soundtrack. It pays due respect to Akira Ifukube’s masterful compositions for the original 1954 “Godzilla.” That’s vital because “new” Godzilla is a very effective re-imagination of the “Gojira” of old.
“Shin Godzilla” is an A. Man, I hope I’m alive to see the sequel and it better damn well be recorded in Dolby Atmos (or its successor). Godzilla deserves nothing but the best.
Mladen Rudman is a former journalist and technical writer. Del Stone Jr. is a former journalist and writer.
I got a message from a fellow who asked if I could talk about things other than politics. He said the politics are getting old.
I told him I talk about politics for two reasons – No. 1 that, obviously, we’re having a moment in this country and it’s important to seize that moment and talk about politics now, while we still can.
The other reason is that when I talk about things other than politics I don’t get nearly the interaction and the engagement I get with a political topic.
However, I thought I would ask you guys.
About the author:
Del Stone Jr. is a professional fiction writer. He is known primarily for his work in the contemporary dark fiction field, but has also published science fiction and contemporary fantasy. Stone’s stories, poetry and scripts have appeared in publications such as Amazing Stories, Eldritch Tales, and Bantam-Spectra’s Full Spectrum. His short fiction has been published in The Year’s Best Horror Stories XXII; Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine; the Pocket Books anthology More Phobias; the Barnes & Noble anthologies 100 Wicked Little Witch Stories, Horrors! 365 Scary Stories, and 100 Astounding Little Alien Stories; the HWA anthology Psychos; and other short fiction venues, like Blood Muse, Live Without a Net, Zombiesque and Sex Macabre. Stone’s comic book debut was in the Clive Barker series of books, Hellraiser, published by Marvel/Epic and reprinted in The Best of Hellraiser anthology. He has also published stories in Penthouse Comix, and worked with artist Dave Dorman on many projects, including the illustrated novella “Roadkill,” a short story for the Andrew Vachss anthology Underground from Dark Horse, an ashcan titled “December” for Hero Illustrated, and several of Dorman’s Wasted Lands novellas and comics, such as Rail from Image and “The Uninvited.” Stone’s novel, Dead Heat, won the 1996 International Horror Guild’s award for best first novel and was a runner-up for the Bram Stoker Award. Stone has also been a finalist for the IHG award for short fiction, the British Fantasy Award for best novella, and a semifinalist for the Nebula and Writers of the Future awards. His stories have appeared in anthologies that have won the Bram Stoker Award and the World Fantasy Award. Two of his works were optioned for film, the novella “Black Tide” and short story “Crisis Line.”
Stone recently retired after a 41-year career in journalism. He won numerous awards for his work, and in 1986 was named Florida’s best columnist in his circulation division by the Florida Society of Newspaper Editors. In 2001 he received an honorable mention from the National Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association for his essay “When Freedom of Speech Ends” and in 2003 he was voted Best of the Best in the category of columnists by Emerald Coast Magazine. He participated in book signings and awareness campaigns, and was a guest on local television and radio programs.
As an addendum, Stone is single, kills tomatoes and morning glories with ruthless efficiency, once tied the stem of a cocktail cherry in a knot with his tongue, and carries a permanent scar on his chest after having been shot with a paintball gun. He’s in his 60s as of this writing but doesn’t look a day over 94.
Contact Del at [email protected]. He is also on Facebook, twitter, Pinterest, tumblr, TikTok, and Instagram. Visit his website at delstonejr.com .
Would you rather I talk about things other than politics? Or maybe occasionally talk about something other than politics?
Leave me a comment and I’ll read them and take them to heart.
Well, for the past few days the poor little MAGAts have been publicly lamenting the feud between Elon Musk and President Training Bra. They’ve been wishing they could go back to the good old days when those two were getting along.
Here’s what I wish we could go back to.
I wish we could go back to the good old days when politics were boring, when the president just got up in the morning and did his job.
When Congress was, for the most part, responsible and did what they were supposed to do.
When the mail arrived on time.
When the Social Security checks showed up when they were supposed to.
When America seemed to have a moral compass and stood by its allies.
When the government seemed supportive of the idea of preserving the environment and protecting us from poisons and pollution.
When the government kept an eye on corporations, who didn’t really care about us and only cared about making money.
When religious people seemed to have a moral compass, and supported people who were honest and decent instead of criminals and thieves.
When lying would have cost you an election.
When Americans were decent. When people seemed to care about each other, and what was good, and what was right, and what was best, not only for us but the country.
It just seems these days that all the politicians care about is money and power, and all the people care about is being entertained.
I would love to go back to the days when politics were boring, because that meant that when I woke up in the morning, all I had to worry about is how I could make myself a better person, and achieve my life’s ambitions.
I didn’t have to worry about the future of democracy in the country, and the fate of nations.
About the author:
Del Stone Jr. is a professional fiction writer. He is known primarily for his work in the contemporary dark fiction field, but has also published science fiction and contemporary fantasy. Stone’s stories, poetry and scripts have appeared in publications such as Amazing Stories, Eldritch Tales, and Bantam-Spectra’s Full Spectrum. His short fiction has been published in The Year’s Best Horror Stories XXII; Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine; the Pocket Books anthology More Phobias; the Barnes & Noble anthologies 100 Wicked Little Witch Stories, Horrors! 365 Scary Stories, and 100 Astounding Little Alien Stories; the HWA anthology Psychos; and other short fiction venues, like Blood Muse, Live Without a Net, Zombiesque and Sex Macabre. Stone’s comic book debut was in the Clive Barker series of books, Hellraiser, published by Marvel/Epic and reprinted in The Best of Hellraiser anthology. He has also published stories in Penthouse Comix, and worked with artist Dave Dorman on many projects, including the illustrated novella “Roadkill,” a short story for the Andrew Vachss anthology Underground from Dark Horse, an ashcan titled “December” for Hero Illustrated, and several of Dorman’s Wasted Lands novellas and comics, such as Rail from Image and “The Uninvited.” Stone’s novel, Dead Heat, won the 1996 International Horror Guild’s award for best first novel and was a runner-up for the Bram Stoker Award. Stone has also been a finalist for the IHG award for short fiction, the British Fantasy Award for best novella, and a semifinalist for the Nebula and Writers of the Future awards. His stories have appeared in anthologies that have won the Bram Stoker Award and the World Fantasy Award. Two of his works were optioned for film, the novella “Black Tide” and short story “Crisis Line.”
Stone recently retired after a 41-year career in journalism. He won numerous awards for his work, and in 1986 was named Florida’s best columnist in his circulation division by the Florida Society of Newspaper Editors. In 2001 he received an honorable mention from the National Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association for his essay “When Freedom of Speech Ends” and in 2003 he was voted Best of the Best in the category of columnists by Emerald Coast Magazine. He participated in book signings and awareness campaigns, and was a guest on local television and radio programs.
As an addendum, Stone is single, kills tomatoes and morning glories with ruthless efficiency, once tied the stem of a cocktail cherry in a knot with his tongue, and carries a permanent scar on his chest after having been shot with a paintball gun. He’s in his 60s as of this writing but doesn’t look a day over 94.
Contact Del at [email protected]. He is also on Facebook, twitter, Pinterest, tumblr, TikTok, and Instagram. Visit his website at delstonejr.com .
It was an unpleasant reminder of life under the previous administration and I refused to be a part of it.
I unfriended two people on social media today for circulating rumors about the current president and vice president. I’ll do it again and I’ll keep doing it until I have no friends left if I have to.
One of the rumors was that President Biden has Alzheimer’s disease.
Biden has never been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. He has not, to my knowledge, been tested for cognitive decline. His predecessor bragged about “acing” a cognitive test that required him to memorize the words “person, woman, man, camera, TV.” Too bad they didn’t ask him to memorize “compassion, humility, generosity, truth, law.”
Neurologists who have observed Biden’s performance both during the election campaign and after he assumed the presidency say he does not exhibit signs of having Alzheimer’s.
What Biden does have is an inability to speak with articulation, and a speech impediment. Speech pathologists say Biden appears to be thinking of multiple subjects as he speaks, which can cause him to lose his train of thought and not complete his original point. Also, a common strategy for managing a stutter is to pause in one’s speech until the urge to stutter passes, then resume speaking.
Unless we are descending into the barbarism that characterized the previous four years, when people with disabilities where ridiculed and mocked, I see no value in spreading malicious rumors about Biden.
When he is diagnosed by a neurologist, not a urologist with an agenda, and the rumor becomes a fact, then it will be OK to say he has Alzheimer’s. But when it’s Cousin Jed on Facebook making the diagnosis, well, Cousin Jed and his ilk can pop another Natty Lite and sashay across the barn floor at their little hate hoedown by themselves.
The other rumor is that Vice President Harris was a “call girl.”
I had to do a doubletake on that one. I had never heard it before. A “call girl”? Really? So of course I turned to my friend Google for a possible answer.
The rumor seems to be an outgrowth of a one-year relationship Harris had with former San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown. He was married at the time, though he and his wife had been separated for 10 years. The rumor-mongers have it that Harris was a “high-priced call girl” paid to attend events with Brown. A few things about that.
Dating somebody who occupies a spot higher on the power curve doesn’t make one a “call girl” or a “gigolo.” It might make them an ambitious power-grasper and that was my impression of Hillary Clinton after she remained with hubby Bill once the Monica Lewinsky story came to light. But I have no reason to think that about Harris because I don’t know a whole lot about her relationship with Brown. Maybe they actually liked each other. I don’t know, and I hasten to add that Cousin Jed on Facebook doesn’t know either. I also hasten to add that even if Harris did pursue a relationship with Brown to further her career, that peccadillo is about a 2 on a 1-to-10 scale of sin. It certainly doesn’t make her a “call girl.” And in light of the actual crimes, possible crimes, and documented cases of favor-currying, exhibitions of execrable taste and embarrassing improprieties by the previous administration that were either overlooked or forgiven, I see no reason for critics to fuss about Harris’ strategies for breaking the glass ceiling.
But mostly I just don’t want to hear this nonsense anymore. I’ve filled this lifetime’s quota of science-hating disinformation, agenda-driven quackery and political jingoism mindlessly and irresponsibly circulated by uninformed xenophobes who would rather support a traitorous insurrectionist criminal than allow a trans woman to hold a Cabinet-level position.
My solution is to delete the @$%&ers. I know. Not very nice.
But it’s what I got for now.
About the author:
Del Stone Jr. is a professional fiction writer. He is known primarily for his work in the contemporary dark fiction field, but has also published science fiction and contemporary fantasy. Stone’s stories, poetry and scripts have appeared in publications such as Amazing Stories, Eldritch Tales, and Bantam-Spectra’s Full Spectrum. His short fiction has been published in The Year’s Best Horror Stories XXII; Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine; the Pocket Books anthology More Phobias; the Barnes & Noble anthologies 100 Wicked Little Witch Stories, Horrors! 365 Scary Stories, and 100 Astounding Little Alien Stories; the HWA anthology Psychos; and other short fiction venues, like Blood Muse, Live Without a Net, Zombiesque and Sex Macabre. Stone’s comic book debut was in the Clive Barker series of books, Hellraiser, published by Marvel/Epic and reprinted in The Best of Hellraiser anthology. He has also published stories in Penthouse Comix, and worked with artist Dave Dorman on many projects, including the illustrated novella “Roadkill,” a short story for the Andrew Vachss anthology Underground from Dark Horse, an ashcan titled “December” for Hero Illustrated, and several of Dorman’s Wasted Lands novellas and comics, such as Rail from Image and “The Uninvited.” Stone’s novel, Dead Heat, won the 1996 International Horror Guild’s award for best first novel and was a runner-up for the Bram Stoker Award. Stone has also been a finalist for the IHG award for short fiction, the British Fantasy Award for best novella, and a semifinalist for the Nebula and Writers of the Future awards. His stories have appeared in anthologies that have won the Bram Stoker Award and the World Fantasy Award. Two of his works were optioned for film, the novella “Black Tide” and short story “Crisis Line.”
Stone recently retired after a 41-year career in journalism. He won numerous awards for his work, and in 1986 was named Florida’s best columnist in his circulation division by the Florida Society of Newspaper Editors. In 2001 he received an honorable mention from the National Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association for his essay “When Freedom of Speech Ends” and in 2003 he was voted Best of the Best in the category of columnists by Emerald Coast Magazine. He participated in book signings and awareness campaigns, and was a guest on local television and radio programs.
As an addendum, Stone is single, kills tomatoes and morning glories with ruthless efficiency, once tied the stem of a cocktail cherry in a knot with his tongue, and carries a permanent scar on his chest after having been shot with a paintball gun. He’s in his 60s as of this writing but doesn’t look a day over 94.
Contact Del at [email protected]. He is also on Facebook, twitter, Pinterest, tumblr, TikTok, and Instagram. Visit his website at delstonejr.com .
Image courtesy of Flickr user Gage Skidmore by way of a Creative Commons search. https://www.flickr.com/people/22007612@N05
I’m not sure what to make of the Iowa caucus results.
I’m not even sure the results are valid. After the difficulties the Iowa Democratic Party experienced with the vote-counting app – apparently nobody had the foresight to sufficiently train users and test the software prior to Feb. 3 – we may never know who actually won.
The current result is Pete Buttigieg, who barely edged Bernie Sanders for the lead. I know that among Democratic frontrunners, Buttigieg and Biden are the most moderate, which gives me a bit more peace of mind. Folks like Sanders and Elizabeth Warren would, in my opinion, wreck the economy. The kids who support Free Everything are well-meaning but callow when it comes to understanding the brass-tacks functionality of our way of life.
Obviously many people like Donald Trump, which means if the Democrats want to win in November they must nominate somebody whose reach is even greater, which leads me to ask:
Can an openly gay man win the presidency?
For sure, America has made progress on this issue. In the past, being gay would have meant instant disqualification for any presidential candidate. Now, a gay candidate has won a state primary.
But is America ready to vote for a guy who would bring a First Husband to the White House? Who would be seen in news photos and on TV kissing a man?
Considering the recent uproar over the dissolution of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” and the Supreme Court confirmation of gay marriage, I don’t see church-going, blue collar America supporting a gay candidate, man or woman.
Let’s face it: There’s still a lot of intolerance out there, and when it comes to gay men, there’s a LOT of intolerance. I don’t think Americans would follow a Pete Buttigieg. More would than before, but not enough – certainly not enough to beat Trump.
If Buttigieg continues to win primaries he will lay the groundwork for a day when a gay candidate, male or female, CAN win the presidency.
But I don’t think that day is now. I think people will vote with what they’ve been taught, and right now that means four more years of Trump.
About the author:
Del Stone Jr. is a professional fiction writer. He is known primarily for his work in the contemporary dark fiction field, but has also published science fiction and contemporary fantasy. Stone’s stories, poetry and scripts have appeared in publications such as Amazing Stories, Eldritch Tales, and Bantam-Spectra’s Full Spectrum. His short fiction has been published in The Year’s Best Horror Stories XXII; Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine; the Pocket Books anthology More Phobias; the Barnes & Noble anthologies 100 Wicked Little Witch Stories, Horrors! 365 Scary Stories, and 100 Astounding Little Alien Stories; the HWA anthology Psychos; and other short fiction venues, like Blood Muse, Live Without a Net, Zombiesque and Sex Macabre. Stone’s comic book debut was in the Clive Barker series of books, Hellraiser, published by Marvel/Epic and reprinted in The Best of Hellraiser anthology. He has also published stories in Penthouse Comix, and worked with artist Dave Dorman on many projects, including the illustrated novella “Roadkill,” a short story for the Andrew Vachss anthology Underground from Dark Horse, an ashcan titled “December” for Hero Illustrated, and several of Dorman’s Wasted Lands novellas and comics, such as Rail from Image and “The Uninvited.” Stone’s novel, Dead Heat, won the 1996 International Horror Guild’s award for best first novel and was a runner-up for the Bram Stoker Award. Stone has also been a finalist for the IHG award for short fiction, the British Fantasy Award for best novella, and a semifinalist for the Nebula and Writers of the Future awards. His stories have appeared in anthologies that have won the Bram Stoker Award and the World Fantasy Award. Two of his works were optioned for film, the novella “Black Tide” and short story “Crisis Line.”
Stone recently retired after a 41-year career in journalism. He won numerous awards for his work, and in 1986 was named Florida’s best columnist in his circulation division by the Florida Society of Newspaper Editors. In 2001 he received an honorable mention from the National Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association for his essay “When Freedom of Speech Ends” and in 2003 he was voted Best of the Best in the category of columnists by Emerald Coast Magazine. He participated in book signings and awareness campaigns, and was a guest on local television and radio programs.
As an addendum, Stone is single, kills tomatoes and morning glories with ruthless efficiency, once tied the stem of a cocktail cherry in a knot with his tongue, and carries a permanent scar on his chest after having been shot with a paintball gun. He’s in his 60s as of this writing but doesn’t look a day over 94.
Contact Del at [email protected]. He is also on Facebook, twitter, Pinterest, tumblr, TikTok, and Instagram. Visit his website at delstonejr.com .