Even before the success of “Shoplifters” the family drama has been one of the most popular genre within Japanese cinema. As a mirror of social, political and economic issues the family portrait can be quite powerful as many artists, also from other media, have found out which is perhaps why these images have become so frequent. However, it takes a certain kind of director, among other things, to make a family stand out, but in the case of Nobuhiko Obayashi's “Seven Weeks” we luckily have one of those features. Described by the director as “Guernica in moving images”, the story Obayashi tells in one of his last movies touches upon a death in a family, and the kind of conflicts and memories it brings for the relatives left behind, while at the same time presenting a uniquely maverick portrayal of post-war Japan.
on Terracotta by clicking...
on Terracotta by clicking...
- 8/5/2024
- by Rouven Linnarz
- AsianMoviePulse
Even before the success of “Shoplifters” the family drama has been one of the most popular genre within Japanese cinema. As a mirror of social, political and economic issues the family portrait can be quite powerful as many artists, also from other media, have found out which is perhaps why these images have become so frequent. However, it takes a certain kind of director, among other things, to make a family stand out, but in the case of Nobuhiko Obayashi’s “Seven Weeks” we luckily have one of those features. Described by the director as “Guernica in moving images”, the story Obayashi tells in one of his last movies touches upon a death in a family, and the kind of conflicts and memories it brings for the relatives left behind, while at the same time presenting a uniquely maverick portrayal of post-war Japan.
“Seven Weeks” Opens Japan Society, NY and Nationwide Virtual Cinemas and Theaters,...
“Seven Weeks” Opens Japan Society, NY and Nationwide Virtual Cinemas and Theaters,...
- 7/5/2021
- by Rouven Linnarz
- AsianMoviePulse
Film review: 'Godzilla 2000'
Trying to get rid of Godzilla is like trying to throw away an old boomerang. Missiles, bombs and exploding mines merely annoy the huge beast.
Toho Studios, the big fellow's home since 1954, killed him off in 1995's "Godzilla vs. Destoroyah", only to revive him due to popular demand. Roland Emmerich's inflated, Westernized 1998 version, which created a behemoth reptile with visual effects and digital technology, not only failed to finish off the Big G but also renewed interest in him in his native Japan.
So one of the movies' most enduring -- and endearing -- stars is back with all of his bad attitudes in "Godzilla 2000", his 23rd feature. Released domestically by Sony's TriStar Pictures with a dubbed English soundtrack, the movie reinstates all of the series' old tricks: the cheesy special effects, the wildly inappropriate English dialogue and, most importantly, the monster played by a man wearing an elaborate latex suit.
Because Godzilla is the cinematic equivalent of comfort food and, presumably, American appetites were awakened by Emmerich's film, this new incarnation should attract not only fans of the beast and high camp but also the curious who want to see the grumpy monster on his home turf -- trashing Tokyo for the umpteenth time.
Godzilla gets a makeover every few years. The new Godzilla has shrunk to about 170 feet -- closer to the 1954 model -- and has much scarier teeth, a crouch-like gait, a pinkish tone in his redesigned dorsal fins and fiery, don't-mess-with-me eyes. Tsutomu Kitagawa is the stuntman-gymnast inside the Godzilla suit, and special effects director Kenji Suzuki created the new look.
Godzilla disappears for too long during the middle of the movie as director Takao Okawara and his writers prepare the way for another monster to battle Godzilla. This foe is named Orga, according to media notes, though he is never called that in the film.
Orga starts out as a mysterious rock found in a coastal seabed and turns out to be a 60 million-year-old UFO. When scientists bring it to the surface, the thing gets fueled by the sun, zips around the sky and finally squats on a skyscraper, where it soaks up data from Tokyo's computer systems.
Searching for a way to adapt to Earth's hostile environment, the alien spots a rampaging Godzilla making life miserable for humans and apparently decides to transform itself into a Godzilla-like monster. Well, Tokyo isn't big enough for two Godzillas, so the two duke it out in a grand finale that, of course, levels the poor city once more.
The humans watching all this include Takehiro Murata as the head of the Godzilla Prediction Network, who seeks to protect the monster as a suitable subject for scientific inquiry; 12-year-old Mayu Suzuki as his beguiling daughter; Naomi Nishida as a photojournalist who tags along in hopes of getting good Godzilla shots; Hiroshi Abe as the intelligence agency chief obsessed with destroying the beast; and Shiro Sano as his befuddled
assistant.
What turns "Godzilla 2000" into a riotous comedy are the deliberately awkward English dialogue and archaic expressions like "Great Caesar's ghost!" A few favorite lines: "Ah, the damn teriyaki is cold here," "Quit your bitchin'" and "Oh, bite me".
While the film takes advantage of current technology to employ nearly 500 CG shots, the effects are deliberately not state of the art. The filmmakers, quite rightly, believe that a technically perfect movie would betray the spirit of Godzilla.
The Japanese have enormous affection for this goofy series and its ugly, angry hero. Some claim that Godzilla, supposedly awakened or mutated by nuclear testing, is a manifestation of that country's understandable terror of the nuclear age. But dragons and monsters roam the mythology of all cultures, and cinema is replete with such beasts, ranging from Dr. Frankenstein's monster to King Kong and the shark in "Jaws".
Monsters embody our fears. Our ambivalence toward them reflects our fascination with that which terrorizes us. Thus, the corniness of Godzilla, with its hokey effects and man in a monster suit, allows us to take childlike pleasure in a "villain" in much the same way Margaret Hamilton won our hearts as the wicked witch in "The Wizard of Oz".
GODZILLA 2000
TriStar Pictures
A Toho Company Ltd. presentation
of a Toho Pictures production
Producer: Shogo Tomiyama
Director: Takao Okawara
Screenwriters: Hiroshi Kashiwabara,
Wataru Minura
Director of special effects: Kenji Suzuki
Director of photography: Katsuhiro Kato
Production designer: Takeshi Shimizu
Music: Takayuki Hattori
Costume designer: Masato Arai
Editor: Yoshiyuki Okuhara
Color/stereo
Cast:
GPN Director Shinoda: Takehiro Murata
CCI Scientist Miyasaka: Shiro Sano
CCI Chief Katagiri: Hiroshi Abe
Yuki: Naomi Nishida
Io: Mayu Suzuki
Godzilla: Tsutomu Kitagawa
Running time - 97 minutes
MPAA rating: PG...
Toho Studios, the big fellow's home since 1954, killed him off in 1995's "Godzilla vs. Destoroyah", only to revive him due to popular demand. Roland Emmerich's inflated, Westernized 1998 version, which created a behemoth reptile with visual effects and digital technology, not only failed to finish off the Big G but also renewed interest in him in his native Japan.
So one of the movies' most enduring -- and endearing -- stars is back with all of his bad attitudes in "Godzilla 2000", his 23rd feature. Released domestically by Sony's TriStar Pictures with a dubbed English soundtrack, the movie reinstates all of the series' old tricks: the cheesy special effects, the wildly inappropriate English dialogue and, most importantly, the monster played by a man wearing an elaborate latex suit.
Because Godzilla is the cinematic equivalent of comfort food and, presumably, American appetites were awakened by Emmerich's film, this new incarnation should attract not only fans of the beast and high camp but also the curious who want to see the grumpy monster on his home turf -- trashing Tokyo for the umpteenth time.
Godzilla gets a makeover every few years. The new Godzilla has shrunk to about 170 feet -- closer to the 1954 model -- and has much scarier teeth, a crouch-like gait, a pinkish tone in his redesigned dorsal fins and fiery, don't-mess-with-me eyes. Tsutomu Kitagawa is the stuntman-gymnast inside the Godzilla suit, and special effects director Kenji Suzuki created the new look.
Godzilla disappears for too long during the middle of the movie as director Takao Okawara and his writers prepare the way for another monster to battle Godzilla. This foe is named Orga, according to media notes, though he is never called that in the film.
Orga starts out as a mysterious rock found in a coastal seabed and turns out to be a 60 million-year-old UFO. When scientists bring it to the surface, the thing gets fueled by the sun, zips around the sky and finally squats on a skyscraper, where it soaks up data from Tokyo's computer systems.
Searching for a way to adapt to Earth's hostile environment, the alien spots a rampaging Godzilla making life miserable for humans and apparently decides to transform itself into a Godzilla-like monster. Well, Tokyo isn't big enough for two Godzillas, so the two duke it out in a grand finale that, of course, levels the poor city once more.
The humans watching all this include Takehiro Murata as the head of the Godzilla Prediction Network, who seeks to protect the monster as a suitable subject for scientific inquiry; 12-year-old Mayu Suzuki as his beguiling daughter; Naomi Nishida as a photojournalist who tags along in hopes of getting good Godzilla shots; Hiroshi Abe as the intelligence agency chief obsessed with destroying the beast; and Shiro Sano as his befuddled
assistant.
What turns "Godzilla 2000" into a riotous comedy are the deliberately awkward English dialogue and archaic expressions like "Great Caesar's ghost!" A few favorite lines: "Ah, the damn teriyaki is cold here," "Quit your bitchin'" and "Oh, bite me".
While the film takes advantage of current technology to employ nearly 500 CG shots, the effects are deliberately not state of the art. The filmmakers, quite rightly, believe that a technically perfect movie would betray the spirit of Godzilla.
The Japanese have enormous affection for this goofy series and its ugly, angry hero. Some claim that Godzilla, supposedly awakened or mutated by nuclear testing, is a manifestation of that country's understandable terror of the nuclear age. But dragons and monsters roam the mythology of all cultures, and cinema is replete with such beasts, ranging from Dr. Frankenstein's monster to King Kong and the shark in "Jaws".
Monsters embody our fears. Our ambivalence toward them reflects our fascination with that which terrorizes us. Thus, the corniness of Godzilla, with its hokey effects and man in a monster suit, allows us to take childlike pleasure in a "villain" in much the same way Margaret Hamilton won our hearts as the wicked witch in "The Wizard of Oz".
GODZILLA 2000
TriStar Pictures
A Toho Company Ltd. presentation
of a Toho Pictures production
Producer: Shogo Tomiyama
Director: Takao Okawara
Screenwriters: Hiroshi Kashiwabara,
Wataru Minura
Director of special effects: Kenji Suzuki
Director of photography: Katsuhiro Kato
Production designer: Takeshi Shimizu
Music: Takayuki Hattori
Costume designer: Masato Arai
Editor: Yoshiyuki Okuhara
Color/stereo
Cast:
GPN Director Shinoda: Takehiro Murata
CCI Scientist Miyasaka: Shiro Sano
CCI Chief Katagiri: Hiroshi Abe
Yuki: Naomi Nishida
Io: Mayu Suzuki
Godzilla: Tsutomu Kitagawa
Running time - 97 minutes
MPAA rating: PG...
- 8/18/2000
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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