Godzilla @10: In defense of Gareth Edwards's American Kaiju

by Cláudio Alves

With the triumph of Godzilla Minus One still fresh and the box office success of Godzilla x Kong even fresher, kaiju lovers have reason to rejoice. The king of the monsters is on top as he deserves to be, blasting his atomic breath into the atmosphere as a show of victory. All things considered, there couldn't be a better time to revisit the American Godzilla that revitalized the franchise for a more global audience despite an unfavorable reputation. On its tenth anniversary, it's somewhat surprising how much Gareth Edwards' Godzilla has fallen out of favor. It was never a critical darling, but it feels that the movie has diminished in the collective consciousness. Which is understandable if undeserved…

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Godzilla's Not-So-Anonymous Oscar Ballot

by Cláudio Alves & ???

Despite new Academy rules prohibiting such activity, the final Oscar voting period once again coincides with a slew of anonymous ballots. Now, here at The Film Experience we don't want to incur AMPAS' ire, but we also suffer from FOMO when seeing all those other publications with their horrid insight into the Oscar voter's mindset. And wouldn't you know it, TFE got exclusive access to one of last year's biggest stars. So, why not capitalize on that and discuss how one titanic performer will cast their votes? Faced with this irresistible possibility, we couldn't help ourselves. All that to say, please welcome to The Film Experience none other than Godzilla, star of Godzilla Minus One and one of Japanese cinema's most beloved personalities…

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Beyond "Oppenheimer": An Alternative Watchlist

by Cláudio Alves

HANAGATAMI (2017) Nobuhiko Obayashi

On August 6th, 1945, the atomic bomb, nicknamed Little Boy, hit the Japanese city of Hiroshima. On August 9th, a second device, Fat Man, was dropped on Nagasaki. Between those immediately killed in the American attack and the thousands who would perish in the subsequent months, 129,000-226,000 lives were lost, most civilian. Japan had been effectively defeated before the nuclear assault, but the nation's surrender to Allied Forces came on August 15th. According to historians over the decades and high-ranking military of the time, the US needn't have perpetrated such horrors.

And yet, for some, the idea of the bombings as a necessary evil persists. Considering this, one shouldn't be shocked that some viewers came out of Christopher Nolan's latest, grumbling it hadn't done enough to question the narrative. A common complaint is that Oppenheimer doesn't show the effects of the bombings, looking away like its titular character when confronted by such images. But would those images have fit the picture's intentions? Isn't the inability to consider consequences beyond abstraction one of the narrative's central tenets? 

As one marks these days of remembrance, it may be more productive to look beyond Oppenheimer and consider Japan's perspective. Perhaps, it's not that Nolan pulled his punches, but that they weren't his to throw…

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Visual Effects Shortlist - Scene Breakdown

By Ben Miller

The 10 finalists for the Best Visual Effects Oscar were announced last week.  Though once reserved for films that pushed the boundaries of what films could visualize, the Oscars have since gravitated towards spectacle and bombast.  Of the 10 films, none came from an independent studio or had a budget less than $100 million.  That isn't to say their effects should be discounted, but don't expect to see something like Ex Machina or shortlisted documentary Welcome to Chechnya from last year.  This category is usually reserved for outright spectacle, and these shortlisted films reflect that.

Let's focus on one specific setpiece per film that highlights the visual effects artists...

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Quickies to Catch Up (pt 2): Female led thrillers and CG beasts in battle

by Nathaniel R

In an attempt to clear our cache of notes and fill out that review page for 2021, we're addressing movies we didn't get around to discussing in full for your commenting pleasure. Better late than never! As we were typing these Luca emerged but it's so good it deserves one big post or several little ones before the Oscars so more on that soon. If you missed part one of this review catch-up, that's here. After the jump brief thoughts on four films: Godzilla vs Kong, Mortal Kombat, Those Who Wish Me Dead, and The Woman in the Window...

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