The Unexpected Power of a Giant Radioactive Lizard
Since I was a kid, I have loved Godzilla. I used to have a Godzilla toy that “breathed fire” when you pushed down a lever on the back of his neck. It was just his tongue with a fire decal on it but hey, I was 5 and that thing was so cool.
Needless to say, when I saw Godzilla, Minus One was playing at the Regal Cinema in town, I knew I had to see it. I went in, expecting a good ol’ Kaiju vs. Tokyo movie and got something much, much more than just a creature feature. Koichi Shikishima (Ryunosuke Kamiki) is a Kamikaze pilot who faked engine trouble to get out of flying into certain death during the final days of WWII. Koichi finds he has flown out of the frying pan and into the proverbial fire when the small island he has landed on is attacked by the one and only Godzilla. A massacre that leaves only Koichi and one of the mechanics on the island alive. He returns home to bombed out Tokyo to find his parents have been killed in the air raids, his home a shambles, and people treating him as a disgrace because he didn’t sacrifice himself for his country. He has a chance meeting with a woman (Ando Sakura) stealing a baby (sounds bad, but trust me, it’s not) and that’s when he starts rebuilding his life. A job follows, and things are turning around and then… here comes the King of Monsters to cause trouble.
I don’t want to say much more about the plot, but I do want you all the know that this is a film that goes all in on the trauma of fighting for a government that expects you to blindly follow and give your life for your country with nothing in return. While focused on the Japanese government, that statement rings true for nations everywhere (talking to you U.S.). This film is also about found family and forgiveness. It has so much heart. Oh, and it has Godzilla. Never forget about that guy. He is so mad. He is just wrecking cities with abandon without caring about the lives he is destroying. He is a metaphor! A very cool, very big, green, radioactive metaphor. See this while its in theaters y’all.
We celebrated Dr. C’s birthday with a movie night at the castle. Her choice for friends to watch? Bound. A queer classic by the wonderful Wachowski sisters. I lived in a house in the late 90’s where we watched this movie at least once a week and half of us swooned over Corky (Gina Gershon) while the rest of us lusted after Violet (Jennifer Tilly). almost 30 years later, this neo-noir is still just as tense and sexy as it ever was. We watched with a bunch of friends who had never seen it. Young queers, for the love of all that is unholy watch this movie! Straight folks, you should watch it too- because besides the hotness of it, its a hell of a film, and was the debut film for Lana and Lilly Wachowski, who went on to wow the world with The Matrix. They wowed the world again by making it known a few years ago that hell yes The Matrix was a trans narrative, and so watching their films now feels even more important and I am always looking for the queerness within, and I love to see it.
Bound wasn’t the only queer film we watched this weekend. Dr. C and I also watched Down Low, a crass comedy where a middle aged man hires a sex worker to give him a happy ending, and things go way off course from there. Gary (Zachary Quinto) has come out later in life, and wants to figure out how to be gay and enjoy life. Enter Cameron. An over the top twink Gary hires for a “massage”. When Cameron finds out Gary has never been with another man, he goes into mentor mode to find Gary a hook up on “plungr”. LOL to that name. Anyhow, things go downhill fast, hilarity ensues and these two opposites find themselves working together to get through one crazy mess after another. Judith Light plays a wacky neighbor who shows up 3 or 4 ambien in, and Simon Rex steals his scenes as, well, a hot creep. This film was ridiculous, crass and a little cheesy, but we enjoyed it.