Producing a series of films where each is a sequel of the previous is tricky enough, but slipping new films into an older series so that they begin and end at logical points yet tell a story all their own is extraordinarily difficult. And that’s exactly what director Gareth Edwards does with the terrific new Star Wars film Rogue One. The third film in the Star Wars saga, Revenge of the Sith (2005) ends with…Read More
Review: Shin Gojira (Godzilla Resurgence)
The mythos of Gojira and history of Japan post-WWII are inexorably intertwined. Gojira (or the Americanization “Godzilla”) grew out of the bombing of both Hiroshima and Nagasaki and the Japanese defeat that ended World War II. When the peace accords were signed, Japan lost its right to have a standing army and was prohibited from allowing any foreign power to have any bases or military-related rights without US approval. Godzilla is essentially atomic powered, and, as…Read More
Review: Godzilla
I’ve always had a soft spot for the Godzilla movies from Japanese film company Toho. Starting with the original movie in 1954, the giant environmentalist monster is awoken from his slumbers by us humans and our nuclear bombs. Oops. Since that first film, he’s starred in a remarkable 28 subsequent movies. In 1998 disaster movie director Roland Emmerich (The Day After Tomorrow, White House Down) was hired by Sony Studios to direct a new Godzilla reboot that was pretty…Read More