Godzilla and Wako Department Store

Above, Godzilla is about to trash the Wako Department Store in Ginza in 1954.

The Wako Department Store in Ginza, Tokyo appeared in four Godzilla movies over the years.

It appeared first in the 1954 Godzilla and was demolished. Later, it appeared in King Kong vs. Godzilla in 1962. Then, it showed up in Godzilla vs. Destroyah (1995). Next, and last, it appeared and was destroyed again in Shin Godzilla (2016).

Above, the Wako and Mitsukoshi (right) department stores in Ginza get blasted in Shin Godzilla.

It seems that Godzilla has some sort of grudge against Wako?

"Shin Godzilla" A Year Ago

Above, the Shin Godzilla poster outside of the theater. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Wow! It just seems like only a few months ago that Peter H. Brothers, Brant Elliot and I found ourselves at the Muvico Theaters in Thousand Oaks, California to watch Shin Godzilla. But it was a year ago today that we screened it.

Above, Pete and Brant befor the movie started. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

My reaction to the movie following that screening was none too favorable. But a second viewing a few days later had me liking it just a little bit more. While the special effects were top notch, Godzilla was just too immobile during some sequences.

Above, Pete Brothers and I at a bar in the mall. Photo by Brant Elliot.

I have since watched it on Blu-ray and with the dubbing track on. It is a lot more enjoyable in this mode than trying to "speed-read" all of the subtitles that it had in the theater.

The Guardian Reviews "Shin Godzilla"

Above, Shin Godzilla is now available on DVD and Blu-ray. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Across a couple of rather sizeable "ponds" and continents, the United Kingdom's The Guardian has posed a review of Shin Godzilla, Toho's latest Godzilla flick from last year.

Their review begins with:

The myth of Gojira or Godzilla is revived again in this watchable entertainment: the gigantic Japanese sea monster rises once more from the deep to terrify humanity and destroy whole cities. 

In the original 1954 movie, it was awakened from its sleep by America’s nuclear testing in the Pacific: a symbolically transformed vision of the destruction of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and a complex, ambiguous expression of Japan’s own potential for rage – and retribution. In this movie, its rebirth is caused by the dumping of nuclear waste. There are lots of very shrewd and amusing scenes showing Japan’s bickering and sclerotic bureaucracy.

The Guardian has also posted an obituary on the original Godzilla actor, Haruo Nakajima. A link is included with the Shin Godzilla review article.

To read it, go here. 

"Shin Godzilla" Landmarks To Be Added

Above, Godzilla falls atop the historic Tokyo Station building. Toho Co., Ltd.

The primary reason that the updated edition of The Monster Movie Fan's Guide To Japan hasn't been published is that I needed to see what locations were used in Shin Godzilla so I can include them.

There are several locations that can be added, most notably historic Tokyo Station and the Tokyo Bay area near Yokohama and the Tama River.

One notable location was used again in Shin Godzilla: the Wako Department Store in Ginza. It was first demolished in the original 1954 Godzilla, then vaporized in Godzilla vs. Destoroyah (1995) and now it gets sliced by Godzilla's energy beam in Shin Godzilla. While it is getting sliced, the Mitsukoshi Department Store across the street is also getting sliced. I will have to make note of this in the new edition of The Monster Movie Fan's Guide To Japan.

Above, the Wako (left) and Mitsukoshi (right) department stores in Ginza get sliced. Toho Co., Ltd.

In the meantime, I will be further studying the movie on Blu-ray for more possible locations to be added.

"Shin Godzilla" Blu-ray

Above, the Blu-ray case for Shin Godzilla. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Well, I picked up a Blu-ray copy of Shin Godzilla this evening (and Kong: Skull Island) and watched it with the dubbed track on.

As G-FAN publisher J. D. Lees said months ago, the movie cried out for a dub and I had to agree with that assessment. The movie works a lot better for me by not having to read the lightning quick subtitles. An Evelyn Wood speed-reading grad I'm not!

In my last review of Shin Godzilla, I revised my grade to a C+. That has not changed.

Tourism Video Features Monster By "Shin Godzilla" SPFX Team

Above, the Kanmon Straits monster.

The team behind the special effects of Shin Godzilla has a new tourism promotional video featuring a terrifying monster that rises out of the Kanmon Straits.

According to an article in RocketNews 24:

In between Japan’s main island of Honshu and the southern island of Kyushu lies a stretch of water with a current so powerful it has the ability to save its seaside residents from the might of a towering monster. That’s the theory behind a new awe-inducing promotional video created to draw attention to the area, that is. 

The impressive clip, produced by the Kitakyushu Sightseeing Association, features some amazing visuals from the creative team at Shirogumi, who recently provided visual effects for the blockbuster film Shin Godzilla (also known as Godzilla Resurgence).

To see the video and article, go here. 

Cover Ideas: "The Monster Movie Fan's Guide To Japan" 2nd Edition

Above, the cover to the current edition.

Now that I've seen Shin Godzilla (Godzilla Resurgence) twice, I can now finish work on the updated edition of The Monster Movie Fan's Guide To Japan. I'll do that after my upcoming cross-country trip to Metropolis, Illinois.

Hopefully, I can finish it in time and get it to the publisher with enough time to promote it in the U.S. and in Japan by around April.

The real standouts as far as locations are concerned from Shin Godzilla are Tokyo Bay (near Yokohama), the Tama River and the historic Tokyo Station. I'll be adding those places into the travel guide.

If anyone has any suggestions for additions, feel free to let me know in the comments section for this blog post.

For the new edition's cover, I am considering these photographs (feel free to post your preference in the comments section):

1. Shinjuku Godzilla

2. Hibiya Godzilla Statue

3. Godzilla Slide

Second Viewing of "Shin Godzilla"

This is probably a first for me, a second review of a newly released movie. But I will be brief.

I was asked to take my former roomie, Jes to see Shin Godzilla (Godzilla Resurgence) today. When I first went to see it last Wednesday, I bought the tickets for today's screening in Thousand Oaks. However, after buying them, Jes had to be admitted into the hospital the next day. She is probably going to be released sometime today,

Fortunately, nice folks at the Muvico theater refunded the money for her ticket after my efforts to find someone to use it failed (everyone else were either out-of-town or had prior engagements already planned).

Anyway, I went to see the movie again for the heck of it and I am glad that I did. I actually enjoyed it more today than during my first screening of it.

The things I criticized about the movie in my first review are still troublesome, but at least this time, they did not bother me nearly as much. They were less of an annoyance, especially during the "third act" of the movie.

One thing I did forget to mention in my first review were the annoying subtitles. Many times, they overlapped another set of subtitles, making them harder to read. Thankfully, the font used for the English subtitles were in yellow, so they could be seen.

Brant Elliott emailed me and he mentioned a Twitter Tweet by G-FAN editor and publisher J. D. Lees about the movie.

He wrote:

By the way, J.D. - on Twitter - thought that the film should have been dubbed because there was too much reading: "like reading a book at top speed." 

That's a very valid point! Dubbing would have been better since there was so much dialog in movie and people who aren't into speed-reading would be at a disadvantage since the scenes shifted so fast and often.

Still, as I said, I enjoyed the movie much more today.

My (revised) grade: C+ (the + is due to the special effects, which were quite good).

Tony's Take On "Shin Godzilla"

Above, Shin Godzilla poster at Muvico Theaters in Thousand Oaks. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

It is interesting to read different reviews of Shin Godzilla (Godzilla Resurgence) around the Internet after seeing the movie last night and posting my review of it.

Some people absolutely love it, while others loath it. Unfortunately, I am in the second camp.

Writer Tony Isabella posted his review of the movie this morning. He sees it far differently than I do. (Then again, he sees a lot of things far differently than I do, especially politics.) While he likes it, he also notes the same flaws of the movie as I do. He just gives those flaws far less weight than I do.

As I am going to see it again this coming Saturday, I will take into consideration the reasons why some like the movie so much.

To read his review, go here. Beware! There are spoilers!

We Waited 12 Years For This?

Review of Shin Godzilla (Godzilla Resurgence) by Armand Vaquer.

Above, this shot of Pete Brothers may reflect our
feelings of Shin Godzilla. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

UPDATE (10/15/16): Today, I screened the movie for the second time. My enjoyment of it has changed since I wrote the review below. To read my second review (this is a first for me), go here.

October 12 on my calendar was originally going to be the day that my Small Claims Court case against my ex-fiancee would have been heard, had we not gone on Hot Bench last month instead. After seeing Shin Godzilla (Godzilla Resurgence) last night, something tells me that an appearance in Small Claims Court would have been much more entertaining.

Above, the Shin Godzilla poster at the theater. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Above, the entrance to the auditorium. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Peter H. Brothers and I met up at the Muvico Thousand Oaks 14 theaters to see the movie. Before going inside the auditorium, I perused a collection of Star Wars figures by Sideshow Collectibles in the theater lobby. Surprisingly, we were joined by Brant Elliott, who also happened to attend this screening and bought a ticket for the seat next to Pete. I hadn't seen Brant in years and it was a nice reunion.

Above, Brant Elliott and Peter H. Brothers. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

I purposely avoided reading any fan reviews of Shin Godzilla so I could make up my own mind about the film and to avoid any spoilers.

Some fans said the movie was "different" and "interesting". Yes, I have to agree to both adjectives. "Entertaining" is not an adjective that I would bestow upon it, however. It started with a lot of promise, but was a disaster soon after.

Above, Pete Brothers and Armand at the bar following the movie. Photo by Brant Elliott.

For starters, the movie was about 95% talk-talk-talk-talk-talk-talk-talk by bureaucrats of various ministries of the Japanese government on dealing with the situation of Godzilla. That is fine to poke fun at the farcical ways the machinery of how government operates, particularly the Japanese way of "governing by committee". But to make that 95% of the movie was overkill at its worst.

Above, Han Solo in carbonite in the theater lobby
 by Sideshow Collectibles. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Next, the editing and structure of the movie was horrendous. Scenes were constantly jumping from one bureaucrat to another, with a little Godzilla thrown in on occasion. That was tiring! There was no continuity to the movie and there were no likable characters. There was no real storytelling. It almost makes Godzilla Final Wars (2004) a masterpiece of cinema in comparison (and I liked that movie)! It was a mess! Hideaki Anno, who directed the movie, may be a good anime director, but he completely ruined the Toho Godzilla's return.

The only redeeming feature of the movie are the special effects by Shinji Higuchi. They were inspired and innovative at times (I loved the scenes of boats being shoved aside on a river by a submerged Godzilla, which in his "early form", resembled a plucked Thanksgiving turkey). Those scenes reminded me of the tsunami footage from the Great East Japan Earthquake. Still, while the special effects were great, there was not enough Godzilla in the movie.

While it was nice to hear some of Akira Ifukube's Godzilla themes, the film had no coherent score to speak of.

One has to wonder, "What was Toho thinking?" when they greenlighted this movie.

Above, Yoda in the theater lobby. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

This has to rank as the worst Godzilla movie ever. Even worse than the 1998 American fiasco! At least G.I.N.O. (as we fans call the 1998 Godzilla by Roland Emmerich and Dean Devlin) had some storytelling to it.

I promised I'd take Jessica, my ex-roommate, to see it on Saturday. I guess I'll have to endure it again.

I very much wanted to enjoy the return of Toho's Godzilla, but this movie completely let me down, I'm sorry to say.

My grade: D-.

"Shin Godzilla" Tonight!

Thank goodness I already bought a ticket to tonight's screening of Shin Godzilla (Godzilla Resurgence) in Thousand Oaks. I need a break from politics.

I will be joined by author Peter H. Brothers (Mushroom Clouds and Mushroom Men) at the screening.

So far, many G-fan friends found the movie to be "interesting" and "different" from what we've seen from Toho Studios. Generally, the buzz has been favorable.

I will be paying close attention to the locations and landmarks used in the movie. If there's anything really noteworthy, I will include them in the updated edition of The Monster Movie Fan's Guide To Japan.

Godzilla Millennium Series Retrospective - Part 1

Above, yours truly with the Godzilla filming suit from Godzilla x Megaguirus in November 2001. Photo by Richard Pusateri.

With Shin Godzilla (Godzilla Resurgence) coming out in a limited release in American theaters, Scified.com decided to take a look back at the last series of Godzilla movies (popularly called the Millennium Series) in several parts. They have now posted part one.

They begin it with:

In a week, Toho's long awaited return to a Godzilla production will hit American theaters and fans will undoubtedly spend the better part of the next year debating its merits. (Not unlike a certain Hollywood production from two years ago.) As we dive head first into that mayhem, it seems appropriate to revisit Toho's last era of Godzilla films.

To read more, go here.

Alibi Reviews "Shin Godzilla"

Shin Godzilla (Godzilla Resurgence) by Toho Pictures is about to unleashed upon the movie-going public in a limited release. (I'm going to see it October 12 with author Peter H. Brothers in Thousand Oaks.)

Alibi.com has posted a review of the movie.

What do they think?

They start off their review with:

It’s hard to keep a good man down. A giant monster? Even harder. So it’s no surprise that “The King of Monsters,” Godzilla, has survived 60-plus years, weathered more than 30 movies and come through countless iterations both on and offscreen. The nuclear fire-breathing lizard has suffered various deaths, resurrections and reboots over the decades, falling into three distinct periods: the classic Showa Era (1954-1975), the Heisei Era (1984 to 1995) and the Millennium Era (1999 to 2004). Big G was also shipped over to America for the abortive 1998 TriStar film (considered by most to be “non-canon”) and the more successful Legendary Pictures version from 2014 (which will continue with 2017’s Kong: Skull Island and come to a head in the proposed Godzilla vs. Kong). This summer, however, Japan’s legendary Toho Studios got back in the game by ushering in yet another new era with the homegrown 2016 reboot Shin Godzilla (known in some English-speaking territories as Godzilla: Resurgence).

To read more, go here. 

"Shin Godzilla" Review By Crave

If you are starved or craving (bad pun intended) to read a review of Shin Godzilla (Godzilla Resurgence) that's set to have a limited release in the U.S. in about a couple of weeks from now, then Crave has one for you.

They begin their review with:

Culturally defiant, and unexpectedly realistic, Japan's 'Shin Godzilla' answers America's bowdlerization of the monster with a laser blast of awesomeness.

Do they like the movie?

Go here and find out!

"Godzilla Resurgence" Ticket Purchased!

Finally, I ordered my movie ticket for a 7:30 screening of Shin Godzilla (Godzilla Resurgence) at the Muvico Thousand Oaks 14 and MuviXL in Thousand Oaks.

The date selected was October 12.

Looking forward to it!

Godzilla Still Fueled By Japan's Anxieties

Above, the Godzilla mural at Toho Studios in Setagaya. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

The box office numbers for Shin Godzilla in Japan are the best the giant beast has seen since the Heisei Series (or Series 2) of the 1990s. Godzilla is well on the way to reclaiming his (or its) box office champion crown.

A new article on Godzilla by the Japan Times has been posted. They refer to the King of the Monsters as being in "middle age", which is nice, considering Godzilla and I both arrived on the scene in 1954. It is preferable than saying "old".

The article begins with:

Within one month of its July release, Toho’s “Shin Gojira” (“Godzilla Resurgence”) attracted more than 3.6 million viewers. Box-office takings are already estimated to have surpassed ¥5.3 billion, putting the film more than halfway toward the seldom-attained figure of ¥10 billion. Toho has great expectations it will eclipse the success of “Bayside Shakedown,” the film spinoff of Fuji TV’s series, and reestablish the “King of the Monsters” as the top domestic film earner. 

That’s all pretty impressive, considering this is the 29th Godzilla film produced by Toho since its smashing debut 62 years ago. What’s more, the series’ basic plot is so simple, it can be digested into a 17-syllable haiku, thus: 

Godzilla attacks 

Japanese scream and panic 

Please pass the popcorn

But, wait! There's a lot more in the article that fans won't want to miss reading!

To read more, go here. 

"Shin Godzilla" To Premiere In L.A. October 3

Shin Godzilla, to be released here as Godzilla Resurgence, will have its first (of two) premiere on October 3 in Los Angeles. Then, it will have its second premiere on October 5 in New York.

According to Cosumnes Connection:

Shin Godzilla - which is a fun play on words that can be translated as either "Real" Godzilla or "New" Godzilla - will be playing on United States cinema screens ONLY from October 11 - 18, so those wanting the full sensory experience should start scouring local listings now for their nearest screening.

To read more, go here.

"Godzilla Resurgence" Set For October Release?

It has been reported at COMICBOOK.COM that Godzilla Resurgence (Shin Godzilla) by Toho Pictures is set for a limited October release in the United States.

They reported:

Funimation is reportedly seeking a North American theatrical release for Shin Godzilla (Godzilla: Resurgence) in October. 

Astounding Beyond Belief published a partial list of planned theaters earlier today. It looks to be a curated list of special screenings, although it also seems too broad to be handled by somebody like Fathom Events, who typically do these sorts of screenings (recently, they hosted theatrical screenings of DC's Batman: The Killing Joke as well as Kevin Smith's Yoga Hosers).

Scified later cited insider sources and indicated a much wider release than Astounding Beyond Belief's list. 

The article says that an announcement will be made next week by Funimation.

To read more, go here. 

"Shin Godzilla" Earned $20.5 Million In Japan

Shin Godzilla (Godzilla Resurgence) is doing something that the last Toho Godzilla production didn't: it is cleaning up at the Japanese box office.

Forbes.com reported:

The recently released Godzilla Resurgence has earned 2.1 billion yen in its first two weeks in Japan. 

That’s equivalent to around $20.51 million and the film is projected to make around 40 billion yen at the Japanese box office (or approximately $39 million). 

For a Japanese domestic release these are very good numbers indeed and if this continues on Godzilla Resurgence will easily outpace the Japanese earnings for the 2014 version of Godzilla. 

With glowing reviews from critics in Japan, the biggest factor in creating this kind of box office success has been very the strong word of mouth from the public.

 To read more, go here.

"Shin Godzilla" CGI Process Shown

Above, a shot from the video. Toho Co., Ltd.

It appears that the old-school "man-in-a-suit" Godzilla is history in Japan.

Shin Godzilla is boasting some state-of-the-art special effects that will, if used creatively and wisely, provide no limits to what Godzilla can do in the future.

RocketNews 24 has an article with a video with a behind-the-scenes look as how the new Toho Godzilla was created.

They begin with:

The King of the Monsters gets some help from masters of digital visuals. 

In a number of ways, the just-released Shin Godzilla (to be called Godzilla Resurgence overseas), is a throwback to the franchise’s older movies. Unlike later films where the King of the Monsters unwittingly serves as the protector of humanity, Godzilla is back to being a clear antagonist. His smoldering body seems like an obvious reference for the nuclear destruction he was originally a metaphor for. He has a neck again. 

Still, the production isn’t entirely old-school. Co-director Hideaki Anno may be a well-known fan of Japanese tokusatsu special effects shows (as displayed in the similarities to be found between fight scenes in Anno’s Evangelion anime and the Ultraman TV series), but that doesn’t mean Shin Godzilla was going to shackle itself by shunning CG visuals.

To read more and see the video, go here.