Godzilla Minus One

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[00:00:44] Good day, fans of The Big Sci-Fi Podcast.

[00:00:48] Today's discussion is about three concepts.

[00:00:52] Regret, a second chance, and redemption.

[00:00:57] These are feelings I have felt, or we have all felt, at one time or another, and it's the basis for the film we are going to talk about, Godzilla Minus One.

[00:01:09] Okay, flashback to the end of last year.

[00:01:12] My co-worker at Children's Hospital Los Angeles, Brandon, told me he had just seen Godzilla Minus One and that I had to see it.

[00:01:22] I was skeptical.

[00:01:24] I saw the first original American version of Godzilla from the 50s with Raymond Burr and English dubbing over Japanese-spoke words as a kid, and I loved it.

[00:01:35] So much so that every Godzilla film released in the 60s and 70s I tried to watch on TV or at the theater.

[00:01:44] And we're talking Godzilla vs. King Kong, Godzilla vs. Mega Godzilla, all that stuff.

[00:01:51] So that is until 1998 when Roland Emmerich released his version, and my trust of any new Godzilla films were to zero.

[00:02:03] So I held back.

[00:02:05] I didn't follow Brandon's request, and then when I saw my daughter Jenny in December and she told me of this film she had just seen, Godzilla Minus Zero, she could not say enough good things about it.

[00:02:18] So on those two recommendations, I set out to see it.

[00:02:24] Now we get to regret.

[00:02:26] And that happened, and it was gone.

[00:02:29] I missed my chance to see it on the big screen.

[00:02:32] That's my regret.

[00:02:34] Then I was given a second chance.

[00:02:37] It was to be re-released at the end of January of this year on the big screen, but in black and white, like the original.

[00:02:46] And as soon as tickets were available, I bought two for me and Elaine, and we saw it in all its subtitled and spoken Japanese beauty.

[00:02:56] And now we come to redemption.

[00:02:58] Redemption.

[00:03:00] Redemption.

[00:03:01] It was released in black and white for only one week, so I was lucky to have seen it as if it was 1954 when the original, non-Americanized version was released.

[00:03:12] Now I've seen the original on TCM a few years ago, and I've always enjoyed a good Japanese Godzilla film.

[00:03:19] Even the campy ones that even had his son in it.

[00:03:23] Now how did that happen if we never met Mrs. Godzilla?

[00:03:26] Anyway, let us delve into the film that is more than a Godzilla film.

[00:03:32] It's the story of the main character, Kochi Shikashima, and how he deals with his regret, his second chance, and his redemption at the end of the film.

[00:03:44] And to introduce the members of the big sci-fi podcast, they are Adina-san.

[00:03:52] Konichiwa.

[00:03:53] Ah.

[00:03:55] Chris-san.

[00:03:57] Hello.

[00:03:58] Hello.

[00:04:00] Okay.

[00:04:01] I'm not going to say, I don't know, I don't feel good at saying other things.

[00:04:03] Brian-san.

[00:04:05] Lucy, very good.

[00:04:07] I don't know.

[00:04:07] And I, I am Steven-san.

[00:04:10] And with that done and out of the way, let's begin.

[00:04:14] But before we do, if you haven't seen this movie, it's on Netflix.

[00:04:19] And you can choose to see it in color, in black and white, with subtitles, without subtitles, with Japanese language, without Japanese language.

[00:04:27] You get the whole thing.

[00:04:29] So really, if you haven't seen it, go watch it, then come back, because we're going to spoiler the heck out of this film.

[00:04:36] And with that, I'm going to ask the first question, which I always want to know.

[00:04:41] Do you remember the first time you did see any Godzilla film?

[00:04:46] And what did you think of it?

[00:04:48] My first was, it should be, it should be the 1998 one.

[00:04:52] It wasn't, because I don't think I've actually even seen it, seen bits and pieces of it.

[00:04:56] But my first one was the 2014 Godzilla with Walter White.

[00:05:03] I can't remember his name.

[00:05:04] Oh, God, yes.

[00:05:05] And some of the folks from the Avengers.

[00:05:07] And I loved it.

[00:05:08] I thought it was fun.

[00:05:09] It would, like, hit all the things.

[00:05:11] It had the cool, you have a right, people have a right to know line.

[00:05:15] Like a cool line.

[00:05:17] And, like, all the usual disaster movie tropes that I love.

[00:05:22] Adina, do you remember?

[00:05:24] I don't remember, because I feel like there were Godzilla movies that were on if you woke up in the middle of the night and turned the TV on.

[00:05:32] So I don't remember.

[00:05:34] Although I remember as a kid, Saturday morning cartoons.

[00:05:38] I think it was Saturday morning as opposed to, like, after school cartoons.

[00:05:41] There was a Godzilla cartoon from, like, the late 70s that was played in, like, the early 80s when I was a kid.

[00:05:47] But Godzilla, my recollection of this was that Godzilla was, like, a good guy that they would call on to help defeat other monsters.

[00:05:56] He helped children all over Japan.

[00:05:59] He was a nice guy.

[00:06:00] He looked like the cookie monster.

[00:06:02] So what do you expect?

[00:06:03] Right.

[00:06:03] But I don't even think that this, I feel like that this cartoon that I'm remembering took place, like, outside of Manhattan.

[00:06:09] Like, it wasn't.

[00:06:10] Oh, okay.

[00:06:11] But I don't know.

[00:06:12] I mean, I probably have to go find it again.

[00:06:14] Okay.

[00:06:14] Why do we have to Americanize every blasted thing?

[00:06:18] Well, I could also be remembering completely wrong.

[00:06:22] But I do remember I just have this image of, like, them calling out for Godzilla and he would rise up from the ocean and come and, like, save every, you know, defeat a monster.

[00:06:33] That's it.

[00:06:34] But I did see the 2014 one in the theater.

[00:06:39] And I liked it.

[00:06:41] It wasn't like, I don't feel like I was, oh, my God, this is the most amazing movie of the year.

[00:06:45] But I remember enjoying it.

[00:06:48] That's what I got.

[00:06:50] That's what I got.

[00:06:51] Well, I think I've probably seen some black and white ones on television.

[00:06:56] But the one I remember, I went to see it in the theater, was the 98.

[00:07:00] Is that the one with Matthew Broderick?

[00:07:03] And Jeff Goldblum, I think.

[00:07:05] And Jeff Goldblum.

[00:07:06] Oh, really?

[00:07:06] Okay.

[00:07:07] Oh, maybe I did see that.

[00:07:08] Yeah, I think that's a huge point.

[00:07:10] It takes place in Los Angeles.

[00:07:12] Yes.

[00:07:13] And the interesting thing was is I remember going to work one day when I was working downtown and seeing the mock-up of the tank that's in the film in the Second Street Tunnel.

[00:07:24] Nice.

[00:07:24] In downtown Los Angeles.

[00:07:25] And I'm going, what the heck is this?

[00:07:27] Here's how good that film was.

[00:07:30] I went to see it with my father with all the loud noises throughout that.

[00:07:36] Because that's just total carnage, that movie.

[00:07:38] It's just Godzilla running through the streets, you know, tanks shooting at it and stuff.

[00:07:42] You know, classic stuff.

[00:07:44] But it's nothing but loud action.

[00:07:46] My dad fell asleep.

[00:07:48] He missed over half the movie.

[00:07:50] He was so bored, even with all that stuff going on.

[00:07:54] So, but he was happy to get a fine nap in the meantime.

[00:07:58] All right.

[00:07:59] Well, you know, the best naps are the ones where you find them.

[00:08:02] So that's good.

[00:08:02] That's okay.

[00:08:03] I went, when the Little Mermaid came out and I saw with my family, my daughter Jenny was about a year old and she sat on my lap and the movie started.

[00:08:11] We both fell asleep and woke up at the end of the film.

[00:08:14] So I can understand that.

[00:08:15] But she was so warm and cuddly.

[00:08:17] How can I tell you?

[00:08:17] And I mean, I saw all these.

[00:08:20] I remember going to downtown Los Angeles to go see Godzilla King of the Monsters and going to see King Ghidorah and all of them and Mothra.

[00:08:32] And just, it was all, you know, Rodan, the giant flying creature.

[00:08:37] And it was, it was, it was amazing.

[00:08:41] But, you know, what do you expect when you're, you know, 13 years old?

[00:08:45] This is all pretty cool stuff.

[00:08:47] And all stop action motion, right?

[00:08:49] Stop motion, whatever.

[00:08:50] No, those back then, that was people in rubber suits.

[00:08:54] Really?

[00:08:55] Yes.

[00:08:56] Yes.

[00:08:56] There are.

[00:08:57] You go and look online.

[00:08:58] You will see the head come off of Godzilla and you'll see the actor inside there.

[00:09:02] There was a Japanese actor inside Godzilla.

[00:09:05] So let me ask you this then.

[00:09:08] Not that there hasn't been any crossovers, but the original King Kong film, was that stop motion?

[00:09:16] Yes, that was stop motion.

[00:09:17] That one was definitely stop motion.

[00:09:19] And many of the other monster films of the 50s, like the creature from 50, 20,000 fathoms was stop motion action.

[00:09:29] Okay.

[00:09:29] So, yeah, those ones were done that way by George Paul and Ray Harry, especially Ray Harryhausen.

[00:09:36] But the original Godzilla films was Man in a Rubber Suit.

[00:09:39] And I remember watching with my daughter, Stephanie, and saying, see, sweetie, if you look very carefully, you can see the zipper.

[00:09:47] No way.

[00:09:48] And that just made her, she laughed at that.

[00:09:51] Right, right.

[00:09:51] So that made it okay.

[00:09:52] But yes.

[00:09:53] Yes.

[00:09:54] So then what do you think of this film and the premise of it, how it starts?

[00:10:01] And maybe that gets into the question of why was it named Godzilla Minus One?

[00:10:08] I kind of want to know the answer to that because I didn't have a chance to look that up before we went recording.

[00:10:13] But I really want to know.

[00:10:15] From what I saw online, it's an indication that this story takes place at the beginning of the end of World War II and then post-World War II Japan.

[00:10:28] That the country was so beaten down by the war that they were less than zero, that they were minus one.

[00:10:37] Oh, wow.

[00:10:37] That they were starting at minus one and had to rebuild.

[00:10:42] Oh, that's so powerful.

[00:10:44] And recreate.

[00:10:44] And you see that at the beginning of the film after the war is over with.

[00:10:49] And you see you're in the cities of Japan.

[00:10:52] And it's havel.

[00:10:54] It's destruction.

[00:10:55] People have no food.

[00:10:56] There's no running water.

[00:10:58] There's no water.

[00:10:59] An infant goes without any, you know, whatever happened to their parents.

[00:11:03] People are just struggling to make rice water into milk for the baby.

[00:11:07] So you get this film that, you know, idea that they just, they went from zero, from less than zero to where they rebuild Japan.

[00:11:16] And we did, again, you know, the Marshall Plan did help that out in post-World War II to rebuild Japan as opposed to, you know,

[00:11:25] we're the conquerors.

[00:11:26] It's ours.

[00:11:27] Thank you very much.

[00:11:28] That's not how it happened in Europe and Japan after World War II.

[00:11:34] I was really pleasantly and maybe even overwhelmingly surprised at the charm of this film, at the human story of this film.

[00:11:46] And it was really powerful at moments.

[00:11:50] Like, it moved me to tears in the right moments.

[00:11:54] And it was heroic.

[00:11:57] It had, you know, the people overcoming, like you said, Steve, what they went through with the war, banding together what they had.

[00:12:04] And I loved the whole, how we're doing this by choice.

[00:12:11] And I don't want to, maybe we'll get to the plot twist at the end.

[00:12:17] Just beautiful stuff of good humanity in this film.

[00:12:23] Yeah.

[00:12:23] Beautifully shot.

[00:12:26] It's super well done.

[00:12:28] Like, I just, I was impressed all the way around.

[00:12:31] I felt like the acting was pretty darn good.

[00:12:34] Yeah.

[00:12:35] Even the English overdub of the, were very well done.

[00:12:41] Perhaps the best I've ever seen from a foreign film.

[00:12:45] Right.

[00:12:45] And it just was believable.

[00:12:47] I literally sat there from the beginning of this film, willing to suspend my disbelief.

[00:12:55] Yeah.

[00:12:56] But they did such a good job of telling this story.

[00:13:00] You know what this film reminded me of?

[00:13:03] Hmm.

[00:13:04] MASH?

[00:13:05] Could have.

[00:13:06] MASH?

[00:13:06] No.

[00:13:07] It reminded me of MASH sometimes.

[00:13:09] That's funny though.

[00:13:09] Sometimes, yeah.

[00:13:10] But this could have been like the Rocky VIII film.

[00:13:16] Like, I was cheering for these people like I do Rocky every time, especially three, you know?

[00:13:25] Mm-hmm.

[00:13:25] Or three or four, I forget now.

[00:13:27] And I just, Rocky IV.

[00:13:29] And so it's just like, it was, I almost got that vibe.

[00:13:33] Like, you know, in a theater, I could imagine people standing up and cheering at the end, you know,

[00:13:39] for the victory and all that stuff.

[00:13:41] It was just really well done.

[00:13:42] It really captured my imagination and, yeah.

[00:13:46] That's, I've got something really bold I want to say because I assume we're going to rate this film at the end.

[00:13:52] Oh, yes.

[00:13:53] We already got it in.

[00:13:54] We're going to do the Brian Donahue five stars.

[00:13:58] We'll go with that.

[00:13:59] Is it good or toilet paper?

[00:14:01] What is it?

[00:14:02] So, anyways.

[00:14:04] So, I have a lot of similar things that Brian said in that I like the movie a lot.

[00:14:09] The funny thing was, I was not terribly interested in Godzilla.

[00:14:16] Yeah.

[00:14:16] Or the actual Godzilla.

[00:14:18] Thank you.

[00:14:18] It's the story of post-World War II Japan, which was really interesting, especially because that, as an, we don't ever see it from their point of view.

[00:14:28] We see post-World War II that Americans who, you know, Americans who fought in the Pacific theater.

[00:14:34] And that's actually one of the reasons why I know very little about the Pacific, the war in the Pacific, because my grandfathers were both in Europe, as were a lot of the people I grew up with.

[00:14:45] Our grandfathers were all like in Europe.

[00:14:46] I didn't know anyone related to the Pacific.

[00:14:49] I don't know very much about it, even though the reason why I started out with Konichiwa today was because when I was like nine, I took like a Japanese class.

[00:14:57] It was like a whole language and culture class.

[00:14:59] But I know very little about, you know, other than some, you know, basic, obviously they were rebuilding, you know, they were devastated and rebuilding.

[00:15:06] But seeing a story from their point of view, I was fascinated by.

[00:15:10] But one of the things that kept coming to me, a line from Star Trek.

[00:15:15] Oh, interesting.

[00:15:16] When they were having that scene where they're calling on these people to like, hey, we got to go fight, you know, like we've asked, you know, sorry, we're asking you.

[00:15:26] One of the things it was from the episode Space Seed where Spock is saying now, and it's not analogous, but the line kept coming to my head.

[00:15:38] You know, would you tell a war weary population anything?

[00:15:42] In the case of the episode Space Seed, it's would you tell a war weary population that some 72 supermen are not unencountered for?

[00:15:51] That was the line in Star Trek.

[00:15:54] But what I'm thinking of is you have a war weary population and you're trying to get them to do it.

[00:16:00] It doesn't matter.

[00:16:01] It's just like, look how how weary they are.

[00:16:05] And, you know, not just the main characters have been suffering from post-traumatic stress, but everyone, everyone in that situation is going to be.

[00:16:13] And here they are.

[00:16:14] They're not done.

[00:16:14] But the other interesting thing I thought that was coming from like the Japanese point of view was how they seem to view their government, at least at that time.

[00:16:29] As as they're just cogs.

[00:16:32] They're not really people.

[00:16:34] They're disposable cogs in a machine.

[00:16:36] Such as the main character ending having to be a mind destroyer and risking his life at the worst possible job that could have ended his life because he had to make money because that's the jobs he could get.

[00:16:52] Well, that was post, though.

[00:16:54] They had many conversations during conversations during the movie where they talk about the government specifically and how they felt through the war.

[00:17:03] Right.

[00:17:03] Right. Well, it sounds like and again, this is not something I've researched or thought deeply about.

[00:17:08] But again, just culture wise, we hear about kamikaze pilots.

[00:17:11] And I think what we're told, which is I think the same thing they were told, was that like that's kind of like something you'd do as a great honor.

[00:17:22] But like I think what they're trying to say in the movie is they're recognizing they were sold a lie.

[00:17:28] Yes.

[00:17:29] You know, that they were told that because they didn't want to put in the equipment to save the people.

[00:17:34] And I'm like, you know, I really I'll be honest.

[00:17:37] In my 50 years, I never considered that maybe that that's actually it.

[00:17:42] So, you know, they don't want to spend the money to save the lives.

[00:17:45] So they're telling it, oh, you're you're you're going to have an honorable death.

[00:17:48] And don't you dare come back because you need to have an honorable death.

[00:17:51] And they bought into it.

[00:17:53] But now they're starting to realize that they were sold a lie to one of the most interesting parts of this film is the ejection seat at the end.

[00:18:01] Yes.

[00:18:02] That's which is the surprise ending at the end, which is still wonderful.

[00:18:07] Spoiler alert, folks.

[00:18:08] Have we said that yet?

[00:18:09] Spoiler alert.

[00:18:10] OK.

[00:18:10] Yeah.

[00:18:11] Coach, he lives.

[00:18:12] Turn this off.

[00:18:12] Go watch it.

[00:18:13] Check this back.

[00:18:14] OK.

[00:18:15] Come back.

[00:18:16] But, you know, interesting you say about the lie.

[00:18:18] You know, when when the Americans were going to attack the island of Iwo Jima, excuse me, Okinawa.

[00:18:28] Japanese women literally committed suicide for their own children because they were told by their government with the American soldiers land here.

[00:18:39] They're going to rape you.

[00:18:40] They're going to eat your children.

[00:18:42] They're going to do all these horrible things.

[00:18:43] We have to rally to them.

[00:18:45] And when the Americans landed, what they did was they said, here, what can we do to help you?

[00:18:50] And they realized we were sold to build the goods by the Japanese.

[00:18:53] And that's the situation that happened at the end of the war is that when you're losing the war, you lie even more.

[00:19:02] And so that's when you talk about how the government, you know, you feel like the Japanese government.

[00:19:09] Misled the population.

[00:19:11] Yeah, that's true.

[00:19:12] It was really it was really a case.

[00:19:15] So honestly, so the Godzilla part of the movie to me was like, whatever.

[00:19:20] It's just the obstacle that these people need to overcome.

[00:19:23] And all I cared about was these people like getting a normal, you know, getting back to a life that they deserve.

[00:19:29] Like to have a life and go to work and raise their kids and not be traumatized, you know.

[00:19:36] Yeah.

[00:19:37] Chris, what did you what's your feelings on?

[00:19:39] Yeah, it was the same thing.

[00:19:41] I intentionally did not watch any trailers before seeing this.

[00:19:44] So I saw with my friend in theaters.

[00:19:46] We got like the 4D experience, which was really cool.

[00:19:49] And I guess it's Godzilla.

[00:19:51] I thought, OK, this is going to be interesting.

[00:19:52] And I always look forward to a good disaster film.

[00:19:55] So I thought I'm going to have a lot of fun.

[00:19:56] And there was a lot of that.

[00:19:58] But like, as you're all saying, it was so much deeper than what I was expecting.

[00:20:03] I was not expecting to get a story about war and like deserting the war because you don't because you're afraid and dealing with those consequences.

[00:20:13] I wasn't expecting any of that.

[00:20:15] And so it's just like this movie is is phenomenal.

[00:20:19] And I can't I can't say enough about it.

[00:20:21] But, yeah, just really well done and like incredibly deep for a film that's supposed to just be about Godzilla.

[00:20:28] When I think Adina is right that it doesn't.

[00:20:30] Yeah.

[00:20:30] Godzilla, I think, is great.

[00:20:31] It adds some cool stuff.

[00:20:33] I love the the end.

[00:20:35] But don't think you needed Godzilla.

[00:20:37] Godzilla is it?

[00:20:38] No, no.

[00:20:38] It could have been anything.

[00:20:39] It could have been any disaster.

[00:20:41] But that's the whole thing.

[00:20:41] Godzilla is just the concept of we're what's what's how bad can we be?

[00:20:47] Oh, yes.

[00:20:47] Now we have a monster that wants to destroy us.

[00:20:51] And what am I supposed to do?

[00:20:53] And the main character, again, his regret is he he he was a he was a coward by their standards that he didn't do his kamikaze mission.

[00:21:02] When he was given the he thought the opportunity to kill Godzilla with his the gun on his aircraft, which he doesn't do.

[00:21:09] And everybody is injured or dies.

[00:21:12] And he has to go through that entire regret.

[00:21:16] Of knowing that, I mean, he could he he didn't do what he thought he was supposed to do.

[00:21:22] He he he was a coward and he comes home to a life that is.

[00:21:27] Nothing.

[00:21:29] And he is even more regretful.

[00:21:31] And that's the I mean, there's a really, as you said, there's tremendous emotion in that.

[00:21:36] And where's his second chance?

[00:21:38] His second chance is his ability to help them out to defeat Godzilla.

[00:21:46] And even even what's interesting about that.

[00:21:48] Go ahead, Chris.

[00:21:49] Go ahead.

[00:21:50] Yeah.

[00:21:50] I was going to say even to raise that child.

[00:21:52] I think he.

[00:21:53] I was going to say that's the second.

[00:21:54] Yeah.

[00:21:54] That was the second chance.

[00:21:55] Godzilla is the third.

[00:21:57] Third chance.

[00:21:58] Yeah.

[00:21:59] Yeah.

[00:21:59] Took the words right out of my mouth.

[00:22:01] Very good.

[00:22:01] I do know.

[00:22:02] Yeah.

[00:22:02] Yeah.

[00:22:03] Such such a good story of redemption.

[00:22:06] Mm hmm.

[00:22:06] Of pushing through adversity and great deep trauma and shame and all the things culturally

[00:22:16] that means to the main character.

[00:22:19] Like like it's just this movie is so deep and rich.

[00:22:22] And I just honestly, like a lot of American films, you especially talk about war films coming

[00:22:30] out of World War Two that Hollywood produced.

[00:22:32] We get such caricatures of Japanese people.

[00:22:36] Mm hmm.

[00:22:37] Mm hmm.

[00:22:38] Mm hmm.

[00:22:38] We don't.

[00:22:38] Even now.

[00:22:39] Yeah.

[00:22:39] Yeah.

[00:22:40] Even now, I think.

[00:22:41] Yeah.

[00:22:42] Yeah.

[00:22:42] Um, like, uh, well, even I'm going to go off topic.

[00:22:46] But that's the thing is even like, I can't think of, and again, this is, this might be my own

[00:22:50] bias towards the European theater.

[00:22:52] Mm hmm.

[00:22:52] I can't think of a movie related to World War Two.

[00:22:56] That was not.

[00:22:58] That didn't dehumanize.

[00:23:00] There was Pearl Harbor.

[00:23:02] Well, no, no.

[00:23:02] That was, that was even just European.

[00:23:04] Like I can only think of European based movies except for the one Pearl Harbor.

[00:23:08] But that was, that was, I think.

[00:23:11] If that's the one you're talking with by Nathleth.

[00:23:13] It's a terrible movie.

[00:23:14] Terrible.

[00:23:15] Yeah.

[00:23:15] No, if you want to see a good movie that tells the story from the Japanese point of

[00:23:19] view, it's a film called None But the Brave.

[00:23:22] Yes.

[00:23:23] Brian, if you've ever seen it, this movie tells the story of a Japanese contingent on an

[00:23:28] island, an American contingent of, of soldiers crash land on it.

[00:23:35] They realize that either they're, the war ended when they were stranded on that island.

[00:23:41] And it's told from the Japanese point of view.

[00:23:44] Wow.

[00:23:44] Not really married.

[00:23:45] It's, it's a powerful film.

[00:23:47] Frank Sinatra's in it.

[00:23:48] He's absolutely wonderful in it.

[00:23:50] I can't believe I've never heard of it.

[00:23:52] Oh, you have to give Brian.

[00:23:54] I'm looking it up.

[00:23:55] None But the Brave.

[00:23:56] It is a marvelous film.

[00:23:57] Mm-hmm.

[00:23:58] The reason why I made the comparison, like I also was thinking of, of MASH was that whole

[00:24:03] concept of, cause the feel like not the comedy aspect of MASH, but the aspect of they're in

[00:24:10] this situation and it seems like it's never going to end.

[00:24:12] They're never going to get out.

[00:24:13] They're never going to get home.

[00:24:14] And so that's the feeling that I had in this kind of war situation.

[00:24:17] Like, like, you know, it's, you know, once it's four or two steps back, they're never

[00:24:21] really going to get out.

[00:24:22] They're never really going to get out.

[00:24:23] So that, that to me was why like my brain kept going back to MASH.

[00:24:28] Yeah.

[00:24:28] But then you go also at the end of the film, you go to a film like Dunkirk where all of

[00:24:34] a sudden they feel like we have, we're, we're out of this, we're dead.

[00:24:39] And then every, all the individuals come as a group to help accomplish the goal at the

[00:24:45] very end.

[00:24:46] But that's European.

[00:24:48] European, like I said, I get at again, I think there's very, very different European

[00:24:51] versus specific.

[00:24:53] Right.

[00:24:54] Yeah.

[00:24:54] Well, just, I just, I felt like, you know, I'm not Japanese, so I don't know for sure,

[00:25:02] but I would be daggone proud to be a Japanese citizen if based on this film and how it portrays

[00:25:12] responsive people after that trauma of World War II.

[00:25:15] And let's face it, it's so easy to put evil on who our governments call our enemies and

[00:25:23] especially that war.

[00:25:24] I mean, we, we had epitomized evil probably for the rest of time in Hitler, right?

[00:25:30] Evil was always this almost spiritual thing.

[00:25:34] Hitler came along and that's now who we, who we call that's the standard for evil now, almost

[00:25:41] across the world.

[00:25:42] And so that happens in our films.

[00:25:46] It happens in our entertainment.

[00:25:47] It's, it's not just our government folks.

[00:25:50] It's, it's everywhere.

[00:25:52] And it was just, I just, I can't say enough about how warm hearted this made me feel.

[00:26:01] Just brilliantly humanized.

[00:26:03] Yeah.

[00:26:03] Um, what the, now of course it's brought up in this incredible fictional story of Godzilla

[00:26:09] and all this stuff.

[00:26:10] It's, you know, just absolutely over the top big storyline with Godzilla coming up out of

[00:26:16] the oceans and shooting blue ray beans, you know, and all that stuff.

[00:26:20] And his spikes coming out of his body at, at will, you know, and some of that stuff is

[00:26:25] pretty fantastic.

[00:26:27] But the spirit of this film is absolutely tremendous.

[00:26:31] Yeah.

[00:26:32] And I'm just going to say this now guys, cause I can't contain it any longer.

[00:26:35] Go ahead.

[00:26:36] This film is now in my top 10 all time.

[00:26:39] Wow.

[00:26:40] I loved it that much.

[00:26:42] It's that beautiful.

[00:26:44] It's that well done.

[00:26:46] It's got that much heart.

[00:26:47] Uh, I'm going to watch this eventually.

[00:26:50] I'm going to show it to my kids when I watch it again.

[00:26:53] And that's how much this film captured my heart.

[00:26:56] I it's now in my top 10.

[00:26:57] And yeah, that's the whole thing.

[00:26:58] Why I say about regret, second chance and redemption, because I poo pooed this film.

[00:27:06] I, I, I figured it was just going to be another bad Godzilla movie.

[00:27:10] And I figured everybody else was wrong and I was right.

[00:27:13] And then I saw this movie and I was wrong.

[00:27:17] I went in this with the incorrect expectations and walked out of the theater, happy to known

[00:27:24] that everyone else was right because it is, it again, it isn't a Godzilla film.

[00:27:30] Godzilla is secondary character.

[00:27:34] He's a supporting actor, whatever you want to call him.

[00:27:36] It's just all he is in this.

[00:27:38] It's just a metaphor for the problems that they have to do to overcome the adversity of their society and the situation that they're living in.

[00:27:47] Yeah.

[00:27:47] But that they can all pull together.

[00:27:49] Go ahead.

[00:27:50] I do have one qualm though.

[00:27:52] Okay.

[00:27:54] Godzilla himself or itself.

[00:27:57] If apparently it can have children without a female companion.

[00:28:02] Whatever.

[00:28:03] It's a, it's a worm.

[00:28:03] It's a worm.

[00:28:04] It's a worm.

[00:28:05] Okay.

[00:28:05] He's bisexual.

[00:28:06] He's a, we actually, there is no, at this moment in time, there is no reason to know,

[00:28:11] like assign any gender to it.

[00:28:12] Right.

[00:28:13] Yeah.

[00:28:13] Okay.

[00:28:13] Okay.

[00:28:14] Fair.

[00:28:15] So why did they always give that beast a beer belly though?

[00:28:20] Yes.

[00:28:21] That's fair.

[00:28:21] He's got a beer belly except for the 98 version.

[00:28:24] I think, I think they tried to make it more lizard like in that.

[00:28:27] Yes.

[00:28:28] He actually was.

[00:28:28] He walked on fours.

[00:28:29] I think in that.

[00:28:30] So yeah.

[00:28:32] I just, again, boy, the reason why I didn't like the film, cause they changed Godzilla.

[00:28:35] You know, that's not, by the way, ladies and gentlemen is one of the deepest questions you'll ever hear me.

[00:28:40] Why does he have a beer belly?

[00:28:42] But I've definitely felt that way too.

[00:28:43] I'm like, he looks a little, like a little chunky.

[00:28:47] I know he's a big guy, but I'm like, maybe she is pregnant.

[00:28:50] Maybe she has a clutch of eggs.

[00:28:53] That is the next movie.

[00:28:55] Yeah.

[00:28:55] Now it'll be plus two.

[00:28:57] It'll be twins.

[00:28:58] You heard it here first.

[00:28:59] Plus two.

[00:29:00] I'm here all night, folks.

[00:29:02] For anyone who is a fan of the concept though of kaiju and thinking deeply about kaiju,

[00:29:08] they absolutely must read the Kaiju Preservation Society by John Scalzi.

[00:29:12] Yes.

[00:29:13] That book was amazing.

[00:29:15] It was awesome.

[00:29:16] And as someone who, again, saw, you know.

[00:29:19] It's been on our podcast too.

[00:29:20] And that too.

[00:29:21] You know, as someone who's seen, you know, like I watched the Godzilla movies probably,

[00:29:25] again, two in the morning, just randomly, whatever.

[00:29:27] So I'm not, I was never a big, huge, like kaiju person.

[00:29:30] That book is awesome.

[00:29:32] And everyone should read it.

[00:29:33] Yeah.

[00:29:33] I know people that love that book in my family.

[00:29:36] So.

[00:29:37] Yep.

[00:29:38] What's the next question, man?

[00:29:40] This is an answer to them all already.

[00:29:42] All right.

[00:29:42] Well, here.

[00:29:43] No, do you think?

[00:29:45] Oh, well, I think we already answered.

[00:29:46] Is this movie worthy of an Academy Award for the special effects?

[00:29:51] Oh, for the effects.

[00:29:52] I would say.

[00:29:53] Yeah.

[00:29:54] Sure.

[00:29:55] I mean, I think the effects were good, but I wonder how that works because there it's

[00:29:59] a Japanese movie, but I just feel like the acting, the story, the fact that you can tell

[00:30:03] this amazing story and have Godzilla be part of it.

[00:30:05] I think it's just like it's, it's almost unheard of.

[00:30:10] I'm trying to think of another movie like this.

[00:30:12] Like, of course, we love our independence days that we talk about.

[00:30:14] And like it has, I wouldn't say it has deep stuff, but I mean, they try to get like some,

[00:30:19] you know, emotional, like deeper things that are then other than just, you know, the

[00:30:24] world ending.

[00:30:25] But on this scale, we've never, never seen this.

[00:30:28] So it needs, it needs something in the Academy Award, whatever, whatever we can get it.

[00:30:35] You know, I don't even know what I'm trying to say, but like whatever category would make

[00:30:38] sense.

[00:30:39] Let's say yes.

[00:30:40] Well, the most amazing thing about this film is it was made on a 10 to $15 million budget.

[00:30:48] What?

[00:30:49] That's nice.

[00:30:50] Now, if this is this, now this is in Wikipedia, you know, the truth, the whole truth and nothing

[00:30:56] but the truth.

[00:30:57] So help me Wikipedia.

[00:30:58] But that's what it says.

[00:30:59] And I believe I saw it some other place too, that it was made in an extremely small budget.

[00:31:04] Wow.

[00:31:05] They have some really good screen, green screen work then.

[00:31:09] And I mean, that's just unbelievable.

[00:31:12] Yeah.

[00:31:12] I hope, I hope it does more than win awards for special effects or makeup.

[00:31:17] Well, it, it just, it did win the one award.

[00:31:19] They got that one award at the Academy for special effects.

[00:31:23] Oh, did it?

[00:31:23] Okay.

[00:31:24] Yes, it did.

[00:31:24] For acting or writing or directing?

[00:31:27] No, not even, it wasn't even up nominated as a foreign film.

[00:31:31] It wasn't even up as a foreign film, but it got that award.

[00:31:34] That's the, that's the hard thing.

[00:31:35] Like, like I think Star Trek first contact was one of the 10 best films of the year when

[00:31:41] it came out.

[00:31:41] Okay.

[00:31:42] Any argument?

[00:31:42] It was even rated that by many people that said, this is one of the best films of the

[00:31:47] year.

[00:31:47] Did it get any nominations?

[00:31:50] I can't remember if it got like makeup.

[00:31:52] It may have gotten a makeup nod or I don't know.

[00:31:55] It may not have, but I think it's hard for films in these types of genres to really be

[00:32:01] taken seriously, even if they're freaking fantastic, like, like really good where they are instant

[00:32:09] classics.

[00:32:10] We're going to be watching, you know, films that this film for however many years into

[00:32:17] the future, but because of the genre, it's just not taken as seriously.

[00:32:21] You know, they're going to choose a really slow paced film with maybe some really great

[00:32:27] acting in it, but you know, these types of films just don't have a shot to make best picture.

[00:32:32] I mean, honestly, Peter Jackson with the return of the King and that winning best picture

[00:32:41] was absolutely a tremendous feat.

[00:32:45] Yeah.

[00:32:45] Um, it was a tremendous film.

[00:32:47] That's why it won.

[00:32:48] But even still, I was shocked to hear that it won best film.

[00:32:52] Right.

[00:32:53] Because it's such a niche genre.

[00:32:56] I mean, fantasy is such a, yeah.

[00:32:59] I mean, you can have a hugely successful film and it not get any awards.

[00:33:05] Yeah.

[00:33:05] Books too.

[00:33:06] Books too.

[00:33:06] Like genre books don't get the literary award.

[00:33:10] Again, it's the same, the same thing.

[00:33:11] It's a shame.

[00:33:12] But yeah, it's like comedies.

[00:33:14] It's it's, it's yeah, it's a shame.

[00:33:16] A hundred percent.

[00:33:17] It's really, I'm looking up, I'm looking up the film, the shape of water.

[00:33:21] I think that won an Academy award and that was kind of, it's not that it never happens,

[00:33:28] but it doesn't happen.

[00:33:29] You know, it's very rare for, for a film.

[00:33:31] Yeah.

[00:33:32] Yeah.

[00:33:32] Yeah.

[00:33:33] It won four Oscars for that.

[00:33:35] Oh wow.

[00:33:35] Did it really?

[00:33:36] Yeah, it did.

[00:33:36] I'm looking it up right now.

[00:33:37] And well, well, I just, I just like if there ever was a Godzilla film that deserves that,

[00:33:44] I would say this is probably it.

[00:33:46] And, and I think, I think, I mean, you got to look at the acting, the acting in this is,

[00:33:51] is really phenomenal.

[00:33:54] The music in it is really inspiring.

[00:33:56] I'm not going to say it's one of the best soundtracks I've ever heard, but it does its job really well.

[00:34:03] It, it pushes the emotion just right.

[00:34:06] The feeling of what's happening really well.

[00:34:10] And, uh, I just, in the cinematography, like this is a beautiful film to watch.

[00:34:16] Yeah, it really is.

[00:34:17] Did you watch it in color or black and white?

[00:34:20] Color.

[00:34:21] I did color.

[00:34:22] Just the Netflix.

[00:34:23] Yeah.

[00:34:23] I didn't even actually think about, I didn't know that there was a black and white.

[00:34:27] Yeah.

[00:34:28] I believe there's a black and white version.

[00:34:29] If you look at that, it is to see it in black and white, you know, there's, there's something beautiful about black and white.

[00:34:36] It did, it makes those definite, you know, that for watching old films, Brian.

[00:34:42] Yeah.

[00:34:42] Yeah.

[00:34:42] How it really sets up that, that, uh, shading and, and the genre of that type of film.

[00:34:47] I think some of the most beautiful art are black and white.

[00:34:50] Oh, I was going to say.

[00:34:52] Photography.

[00:34:53] Photography.

[00:34:53] Yeah.

[00:34:55] I've got a whole, I received the latest issue of, of our road and track magazine.

[00:35:00] It's entirely in black and white.

[00:35:01] Wow.

[00:35:02] To make the point of just how, how compelling, how it's makes it stand out from light to dark for the shading, how black and white really makes a big difference.

[00:35:14] And yeah.

[00:35:15] But again, in color, it was a beautiful film.

[00:35:18] And I watched it on Netflix again for the second time in color.

[00:35:22] If I watch this again, if it's just myself, like if Devin's out of town or something, the kids are asleep at night or something.

[00:35:29] Uh, I will probably try to find it in black and white.

[00:35:32] Yeah.

[00:35:32] Um, but when I introduce, uh, my kids to this, cause I think it's, I don't remember gory blood and guts at all.

[00:35:41] I mean, he throws people, choose chop bites into somebody, throws them that kind of stuff.

[00:35:46] It's a little, it's a little bit.

[00:35:50] I feel like there were a couple, definitely, especially the, that first scene on the first island.

[00:35:54] Yeah.

[00:35:54] It was.

[00:35:55] And then when they're running away from Godzilla, that moment when the, um, the girlfriend.

[00:36:02] Yeah.

[00:36:02] That's.

[00:36:03] That's.

[00:36:03] When we think she dies.

[00:36:05] Yeah.

[00:36:05] I would turn.

[00:36:06] Yeah.

[00:36:07] I feel like that was a little.

[00:36:08] No Rico.

[00:36:09] Yeah.

[00:36:10] So that's.

[00:36:12] Yeah.

[00:36:12] I mean, I'm not saying I'm going to show it to him.

[00:36:15] Everybody calm down.

[00:36:16] I'm not saying I'm showing it to him tomorrow.

[00:36:17] No, no, no, no.

[00:36:18] You should see the shock.

[00:36:20] I would.

[00:36:20] No, no, no.

[00:36:21] Like I would, I would, I would let my 14 year old watch this if he was interested.

[00:36:25] Yeah.

[00:36:26] Yeah.

[00:36:26] Yeah.

[00:36:26] Yeah.

[00:36:27] But I don't know.

[00:36:29] This is.

[00:36:31] Yeah.

[00:36:31] Oh man.

[00:36:32] We're having such an adult parent conversation at the, you know, this is, this is, but if,

[00:36:37] again, compared to the Japanese films of the sixties, those Godzilla films, you can watch your

[00:36:43] kids go watch this all day long. There's

[00:36:44] no question. Cause that's

[00:36:46] really more like, you know, watching puppetry.

[00:36:47] Or anything like that.

[00:36:48] It's not watching.

[00:36:49] My son and I got halfway through one from the eighties and it was perfectly fine.

[00:36:55] Yeah.

[00:36:55] Uh, we still, I can't even remember the name of it.

[00:36:57] I don't even know if I'll be to find it again on streaming.

[00:37:00] Um, but yeah, I, I don't know.

[00:37:03] I don't know.

[00:37:04] I just guys, I'm telling you, I'm so infatuated with this film right now.

[00:37:09] I just, I just, so let's, so we've talked about regret, second chance or third chance,

[00:37:17] the redemption at the end of the film.

[00:37:19] Um, was it right for the main character to say, I'm going to, I'm going to die.

[00:37:28] I'm going to kill myself or make everybody think that he's going to do the kamikaze mission

[00:37:36] to destroy Godzilla.

[00:37:38] Godzilla.

[00:37:40] And then we get that great ending.

[00:37:43] Yeah.

[00:37:44] But I mean, it wasn't like he was, he wasn't like trying to trick anybody.

[00:37:48] Yeah.

[00:37:48] I don't think, I think he, everybody on the ship, everybody on the ship had no idea what

[00:37:53] they thought he, he died.

[00:37:54] Well, because they didn't know about the eject thing, but that's not, but he wasn't like

[00:37:59] hiding it.

[00:38:00] He, yeah, he didn't know either.

[00:38:01] I don't think he knew either that he was going to make us think until we didn't know

[00:38:05] about the ejection sheet being built into it that you want.

[00:38:08] Yeah.

[00:38:09] Brilliant filmmaking.

[00:38:10] This is one reason I'm so excited about this film is there's that scene when he's in the

[00:38:16] cockpit of the fighter jet and the engineer, they're having a discussion and the engineer

[00:38:21] looks or before the guy gets to the seat, the engineer looks at the seat and he kind of

[00:38:26] just kind of feels it.

[00:38:28] And you get the impression like, oh man, he's going, why didn't they put ejection seats

[00:38:32] in these things?

[00:38:33] Mm hmm.

[00:38:34] And then he's having a conversation with the main character and then all of a sudden the

[00:38:38] camera pulls back and it's obvious they're still talking, but we can't, all of a sudden

[00:38:43] the sound goes dead.

[00:38:44] We can't hear what they're saying later in the film, they come back to say where he says,

[00:38:50] he says, you don't have to do that.

[00:38:52] Yeah.

[00:38:53] Live.

[00:38:54] Yeah.

[00:38:54] You know, powerful, but the way they let us know was different.

[00:38:59] There was no opportunity to let the other characters now.

[00:39:02] Yeah.

[00:39:03] So it's okay.

[00:39:04] So like they tricked us, but they didn't really trick the other characters.

[00:39:08] The other characters, like there was no opportunity for them to know.

[00:39:10] So I feel like it was completely fair.

[00:39:13] If that makes sense.

[00:39:14] Yeah.

[00:39:14] And I think, I think.

[00:39:15] Okay.

[00:39:16] Go ahead.

[00:39:16] Brian.

[00:39:16] I'm sorry, Steve.

[00:39:17] I'm, I'm so excited.

[00:39:20] I'm very happy that I recommend a film.

[00:39:22] You're so happy about it as opposed to something that you're going.

[00:39:25] Really?

[00:39:26] Really?

[00:39:27] Oh yeah.

[00:39:27] Ghostbusters film that should not be made.

[00:39:30] Oh, you named it.

[00:39:31] Sorry.

[00:39:32] Sorry.

[00:39:32] No, that's Chris's fault.

[00:39:33] He picked Moonfall.

[00:39:34] I think we should.

[00:39:35] Guys, listen.

[00:39:36] I think I did actually.

[00:39:38] Speaking of redemption, we need to let Moonfall go for the sake of our brother and friend,

[00:39:43] Chris.

[00:39:44] We need to never bring it up again.

[00:39:45] But again, I want to clarify.

[00:39:46] I'm not saying it's a good movie.

[00:39:48] I'm just saying it's so mediocre that you're making it out to be much worse than mediocre.

[00:39:52] You want mediocre?

[00:39:54] You want mediocre, Chris?

[00:39:55] Go watch Godzilla versus King Kong from this year.

[00:39:58] I watched.

[00:39:59] That's mediocre.

[00:40:01] That is the moonfall of Godzilla films.

[00:40:04] It's so bad.

[00:40:05] Anyways, getting back to what I was going to say.

[00:40:09] Okay.

[00:40:09] Right.

[00:40:10] Before we brought up that film again, Adina can't let it go, guys.

[00:40:15] We're just going to have to live with it, I guess.

[00:40:17] But I love that this young man struggled with what he felt he had to do to redeem himself.

[00:40:31] He went all the way to the lengths of writing a letter to the child.

[00:40:34] Of course, you're in war.

[00:40:36] You never know if you're going to survive a battle anyways.

[00:40:39] So, I mean, it makes sense.

[00:40:40] He would write a letter, have money in that envelope, make sure the kid that was his now,

[00:40:46] that he considered to be his daughter, and that she called dad to him, daddy to him.

[00:40:53] It would make sense that he would try to make sure she had a future of some kind and was cared for in case he died.

[00:40:58] But because of the trauma he faced and what was jammed, what was also traumatized him by how shamed he should be and how shamed other people treated him at times at the beginning of this film too,

[00:41:12] how he tried to hide this thing.

[00:41:16] It was such a beautiful part of this story.

[00:41:19] And so I think that in one sense, in regards to him wanting to fly a kamikaze mission finally,

[00:41:27] a part of him felt like that's his only option to regain honor, which is a big deal.

[00:41:35] But then the other characters saying, wait a minute, that's pre-war mentality.

[00:41:42] That's not how we have to live anymore.

[00:41:45] Life is valuable.

[00:41:46] We don't have to do that.

[00:41:49] And sometimes in real life, perhaps we've had friends that feel they have to take their life.

[00:41:57] They have to do the final thing, the horrible final thing.

[00:42:01] And it's very hard often to get through to them to say, no, you mean something to me.

[00:42:08] I can't speak for the rest of the world, but you have value.

[00:42:11] I want you to live, but they can be so traumatized, so mentally ill and sick and hurt and beaten down that they can't see the way out.

[00:42:24] And so for this young man to struggle with that and to kind of feel like he has to,

[00:42:29] but then to finally get forgiveness from the one man he felt he'd never would ever do it.

[00:42:33] Yes.

[00:42:34] Thank you.

[00:42:34] That was the breakthrough.

[00:42:37] Yep.

[00:42:37] That was the breakthrough for him, where even though they tried to trick us a little bit into thinking he was going to actually fly into Godzilla's face,

[00:42:46] to see that eject seat go up was absolutely like, I knew it was coming, but I wasn't sure.

[00:42:56] They beautifully set that up.

[00:42:58] And I just, it was thrilling.

[00:42:59] I'm telling you, it was thrilling.

[00:43:01] What do you think about the thought when his, when his girlfriend, or the, the, the pseudo mother of the child,

[00:43:09] the woman he loved when she is swept away by Godzilla.

[00:43:16] That was, oh my gosh.

[00:43:18] Yeah.

[00:43:18] Did you expect that to happen?

[00:43:20] Or were you like surprised or did it like go?

[00:43:25] I was surprised.

[00:43:26] The reason I was surprised was because like she has that daughter.

[00:43:36] I mean, like, again, the, you know, she's stepdaughter.

[00:43:39] She has a kid to take care of.

[00:43:40] So I was surprised because of that, because like, again, everything happens so quickly,

[00:43:47] but some point in the back of her brain, she knows that he has not been doing a great job at taking,

[00:43:51] you know, like he's not emotionally as attached to the kid like she is.

[00:43:54] So the fact that she pushed him and like basically sacrificed herself and pushed like that,

[00:44:01] I had a hard time with because, you know, she's leaving that girl.

[00:44:06] You know what though?

[00:44:07] The depth of that scene, this film is so stinking deep.

[00:44:12] The depth of that scene was this, this woman was obvious, was at the very least falling in love with him.

[00:44:20] Yes.

[00:44:20] Yeah.

[00:44:21] Oh yeah.

[00:44:21] Absolutely.

[00:44:22] It is a love story as well.

[00:44:24] You're right.

[00:44:24] They have created this family out of the horrific circumstances of World War II and her act of pushing someone who felt they didn't deserve a second chance,

[00:44:37] who didn't, didn't think they were, they were lovable enough, didn't think they deserved any type of happiness.

[00:44:43] That was such a huge act by her to tell him how she felt about him and what value his life held.

[00:44:53] And also like, like, yeah, maybe she didn't, he wasn't doing the best job, but maybe she really believed in him that ultimately that kid was going to be fine, that he would step up.

[00:45:05] That's a big, that's a big risk to take on behalf of your child who lost her parents.

[00:45:12] Okay, but you're in that moment.

[00:45:13] Yeah.

[00:45:14] And the blue death ray comes.

[00:45:16] Well, sure.

[00:45:17] Sure.

[00:45:18] And again, if it's like, if it's like a, like a semi-conscious choice of saving one versus both dying, just whoever can be saved, save, you know, but I still, that's the part that I struggle with is the fact that she kind of like, she has a kid to take care of and she's sacrificing herself.

[00:45:35] And so the payoff at the end, the payoff at the end, when he finds out that she's not dead, that she survived.

[00:45:46] And that's his reward, his redemption, that he's given back the woman he truly realizes that he loves and can't live without and that their family is now whole again.

[00:46:00] You know, one of mine is-

[00:46:02] The pseudo mom, the pseudo dad, the pseudo child.

[00:46:05] Yes.

[00:46:06] All I was thinking about in that final scene, in that scene was that, oh my God, thank God that girl did not lose her mother.

[00:46:11] That, that was-

[00:46:12] Yeah.

[00:46:13] Right.

[00:46:14] Yeah.

[00:46:15] For me, it was probably the most relieved I have felt in him, like just watching anything, probably in the last year.

[00:46:23] Like I remember looking at, looking at my friend and just like letting out a big, like breath of just like, oh, thank goodness.

[00:46:29] Like, they, they can't, they can't do him dirty by like, he was just finally getting his life back.

[00:46:36] Right.

[00:46:36] And there's also the daughter too, but like, yeah, I felt that was just really well earned.

[00:46:41] I know a lot of times in movies when the character thinks of the character is dead, but they come back.

[00:46:46] Mm-hmm.

[00:46:47] Sometimes it can feel like it's just a cheat, but it was just so well done.

[00:46:50] Yeah.

[00:46:51] Well done in this.

[00:46:51] And I just, I felt so good.

[00:46:53] I was just like, oh my goodness.

[00:46:54] You know, you know, one of my favorite scenes in the movie is he comes off the ship having saved the world really, but Tokyo in particular.

[00:47:02] And he sees the neighbor with his daughter and the neighbor has the letter, which I think we're supposed to know it's probably news of the mom.

[00:47:15] Although maybe, you know, I was hoping, but I wasn't really sure, you know, so they did such a good job.

[00:47:20] But when she hugs him and welcomes him back and just starts punching him, you know, hits him several times.

[00:47:28] Like you, what, you know?

[00:47:31] And, and, you know, cause that's who, who wouldn't want to do that?

[00:47:35] Like you fool putting your life on the line like that, you know, I hate you, but I love you.

[00:47:41] You know, like I'm glad you're safe, but I hate you, you know, don't do that again.

[00:47:46] It was really great, charming scene.

[00:47:48] And, and also a nice bookend of all this is the one kid who's injured, who's got his injured arm and he wants to go.

[00:47:59] He wants to help out and they're going, no, you're injured.

[00:48:02] You can't go, but I want to go.

[00:48:05] I want to help out.

[00:48:06] And what does he end up doing?

[00:48:08] He helps out.

[00:48:10] He gets them all.

[00:48:13] And there's your, of course you're done.

[00:48:14] Court.

[00:48:15] Dunker scene.

[00:48:15] That's my, that's my favorite.

[00:48:17] Well, I think probably my favorite thing about this.

[00:48:20] And it's again, it's why I love independence day.

[00:48:22] And like a lot of the better of those films where it's like every character that you have is set up the character and then they're able to contribute to the solution in a way that's logical.

[00:48:33] So I was like, I was like, thank goodness.

[00:48:35] I'm like, okay, this guy, he's, he wants to help, but he can't.

[00:48:39] I'm like, surely there's going to be something in the end that he can contribute to.

[00:48:42] And so when he shows up with the tugboats, it's like, okay, good.

[00:48:45] They're really, they're really utilizing everybody.

[00:48:47] Everybody.

[00:48:48] And everybody has a part to play in the, in the final, like in the big solution to how do we defeat Godzilla?

[00:48:55] Even the, even the, even the quote, mad scientist, the doctor who comes up with the plan and he's like, it's going to work.

[00:49:02] It doesn't work.

[00:49:03] Oh, we're really in trouble now.

[00:49:05] What do we do now?

[00:49:05] Oh my God.

[00:49:06] We, you know, we've, we've shot all our bullets.

[00:49:08] What are we going to do now?

[00:49:09] And then our hero shows up and he flies into the Godzilla's mouth.

[00:49:16] I just, beautiful.

[00:49:18] Oh man, that was pretty good special effects.

[00:49:20] And there's your, there's your, here's your tie into Independence Day there, Christopher.

[00:49:24] Oh, I guess that's true.

[00:49:25] Where he goes into, as, as the weapon is being released, the, the blue ray that was in Independence Day is going to happen.

[00:49:34] And he flies his ship in and it like does the destruction more so than he could ever have thought.

[00:49:41] Yeah.

[00:49:42] I'm just glad, I'm just glad we didn't hear this guy yell, I'm back.

[00:49:47] He didn't want to hear going, the words of our generation up yours.

[00:49:51] I love that.

[00:49:52] I love that scene.

[00:49:53] I don't even dare talk badly about that.

[00:49:55] It's okay.

[00:49:55] No, it's quite all right.

[00:49:57] But again, it's, it's those things that make, that give this film such tremendous heart and why, I mean, even my daughter, Jenny, when she said how much she loved this film and I'm going.

[00:50:10] She nobody doesn't talk about Godzilla films in any sense of the way.

[00:50:15] Like, no, in films like this, she, she's like, no, I can sit on and, and, and do MS, you know, Mystery Science Theater 3000 and tear them to shreds.

[00:50:25] And she just couldn't stop talking about how much she loved it.

[00:50:31] It's not a Godzilla film.

[00:50:33] It is.

[00:50:34] But I think you gotta give yourself a break though.

[00:50:36] Like, because you keep saying, oh, I was wrong.

[00:50:38] I was wrong.

[00:50:38] And it's like, but it's a Godzilla movie.

[00:50:41] No one.

[00:50:42] I think this is a word of mouth thing where you have to be told this is really good because when you hear, oh, it's a Godzilla movie.

[00:50:48] You already had that, it has that reputation that, okay, it might be at best.

[00:50:53] It's going to be a fun popcorn movie.

[00:50:55] At worst, it's going to be really cheesy and terrible.

[00:50:59] But no one I think was expecting a masterpiece.

[00:51:02] But then when you start to hear the reviews, it's like, oh, maybe I gotta take this seriously.

[00:51:06] Yeah.

[00:51:07] But it was so, yeah.

[00:51:09] It's so surprising.

[00:51:09] I had no plans to watch this until, you know, you brought it up for the podcast.

[00:51:14] And Brian watched it before me.

[00:51:16] And as he was saying, like, you know, in our chat, like, oh, this is great.

[00:51:20] I'm like, really?

[00:51:21] I was, I was skeptical.

[00:51:22] I was still skeptical.

[00:51:23] Welcome to my world.

[00:51:25] Okay.

[00:51:25] So now you know how I felt.

[00:51:27] And now I thought about like, no, it can't be.

[00:51:30] This can't be.

[00:51:31] Guys, I started watching this over one of my lunch breaks.

[00:51:36] And I, I, I remember eating my sandwich, just going, this is really good.

[00:51:42] Like I was expecting to give this a toilet paper rating, you know, like I just, I just

[00:51:49] was surprised right away.

[00:51:51] I knew it was going to be an enjoyable film to watch.

[00:51:54] And then I got halfway through it and I'm absolutely enthralled.

[00:51:58] I had to watch it in three installments.

[00:52:00] Unfortunately, I understood.

[00:52:02] I'm just real life busy, all that stuff.

[00:52:05] Sure.

[00:52:05] Sure.

[00:52:06] By the, I got to watch the last 40 minutes today and I'm telling you, I was in tears.

[00:52:13] It had, it has all the feels and it's beautifully done.

[00:52:17] And it's, it's just, I just, I'm so surprised by this film.

[00:52:22] I haven't been this surprised by a film for until I saw how terrible Star Trek Nemesis was.

[00:52:31] And that was the last time I was so surprised by a film.

[00:52:35] But, but that's, this is a good, this is a good surprise.

[00:52:39] This was a positive surprise.

[00:52:41] This was a, you know, it's yeah.

[00:52:43] And that's, that's the, that's, I guess that's the, truly the charm and beauty of this film

[00:52:48] is that it is an old, it's an old film.

[00:52:52] It's an old styled movie.

[00:52:53] Yes.

[00:52:54] It has that feel that, that, you know, you, you love old Westerns, Brian, and this just

[00:53:01] had that feeling like, you know, that the town folks are all going to get together and

[00:53:05] they're going to do what the right thing to save the town, you know?

[00:53:09] I mean, yes, it wasn't an Andy Rooney film or Andy, not Andy.

[00:53:13] Well, yeah.

[00:53:14] Andy, you know, films with Andy Rooney and what's her name?

[00:53:19] They would make it, we're going to save the, the, the, the school or the farm and we got

[00:53:23] to put on a show and, you know, we're going to do it.

[00:53:26] It's, it had that, you know, come together feeling that everyone came together to make

[00:53:33] this happen.

[00:53:34] And they all did it on their own, especially when, again, the military of the United States

[00:53:39] and Russia, because of cold war situations, refused to get involved.

[00:53:44] The Japanese government said we can't get involved because we've tried to sign these

[00:53:49] non-aggression pacts that were done after World War II, where Japan basically had to

[00:53:55] submit to losing its military, any military might whatsoever.

[00:53:59] And they're using decommissioned ships.

[00:54:04] So when they have that final, that, you know, you see that gun battle between Godzilla and the,

[00:54:10] and the cruiser and like, yeah, they're going to get it.

[00:54:12] And it gets wiped out.

[00:54:14] It's kind of the feeling of the Japanese, like, no matter what we try to do, we're going

[00:54:18] to get knocked down again.

[00:54:20] And even though it was Godzilla and it's a metaphor for what they were like, we're going

[00:54:25] to just get, no matter what we do, we're going to get knocked down.

[00:54:28] Andy Rooney and Julie garden, Judy Garland.

[00:54:32] That's right.

[00:54:33] Thank you.

[00:54:35] Those are the movies.

[00:54:36] I don't want to leave, leave my co-host Brian hanging.

[00:54:39] I also fought that way with nemesis.

[00:54:41] I still feel like, do I have to, do I have to send formal apology letters to some of my

[00:54:47] friends that I dragged to the, to the movie with?

[00:54:49] Like, because they came along, they were supportive, but it was a rough weekend.

[00:54:55] I'm going to, I'm going to ask my dad to watch this movie and see if he falls asleep.

[00:55:01] If he falls asleep, then his rating system is totally jacked up and untrusted.

[00:55:07] You can't trust it anymore because this film is too enthralling and too beautiful.

[00:55:12] You just, you, you have to be rather sleepy when you start watching it to fall asleep

[00:55:17] in it.

[00:55:17] It's that good.

[00:55:18] Yeah.

[00:55:18] I think, I think, I see if you're watching, like, are you going to, did you watch the

[00:55:21] English dub or the Japanese?

[00:55:24] I watched the English dub over and I still had the subtitles on and I don't know why I

[00:55:33] had the subtitles on still.

[00:55:34] I had the subtitles on for every show that I watched in every movie, just for whatever reason,

[00:55:38] I find it helpful.

[00:55:39] Yeah.

[00:55:40] Even though I speak English, but I watched the Japanese version or the, yeah.

[00:55:46] My wife requires the subtitles on when we watch the crown.

[00:55:51] That makes sense.

[00:55:52] Really?

[00:55:53] I can't understand some of this stuff.

[00:55:54] The accent, the accent.

[00:55:55] Yes.

[00:55:55] Sometimes.

[00:55:56] And it's not everything, but.

[00:55:59] There are certain shows, whatever.

[00:56:02] There was a show on, I think it was Netflix called Derry Girls about these teenage girls

[00:56:11] living in Northern Ireland, you know, leading up to the insurrection, you know, the problems

[00:56:15] of the North, uh, uh, the Catholics and the Protestants fighting over Northern Ireland.

[00:56:20] And there were times we watch it and I'm going, what in the hell are they saying?

[00:56:24] Because they've got these really heavy Irish accent.

[00:56:27] I never put the subtitles on, which I kind of wish I did maybe in some cases, but you know,

[00:56:33] it is, it helps out.

[00:56:35] It does.

[00:56:35] Some people need like my father and a lot of the subtitles when we've watched the Lord

[00:56:40] of the Rings films for the first time.

[00:56:41] And it's, and it's because oftentimes they're whispering, their lines whispering or, you know,

[00:56:49] stuff or the music is pretty loud compared to the voices.

[00:56:53] So subtitles are a good tool.

[00:56:55] Thank you.

[00:56:56] They are.

[00:56:56] They're created subtitles.

[00:56:58] I think it's a George W.

[00:57:00] Subtitle Corporation of America is thanks you as well.

[00:57:05] Any other thoughts or feelings about this movie?

[00:57:08] I mean, I know we could probably keep gushing on it and gushing on it.

[00:57:14] I need to make a public statement, Steve.

[00:57:17] And it is for you, my friend.

[00:57:19] Oh, thank you.

[00:57:20] I would like to publicly thank Steve Merkin from Los Angeles, California for submitting

[00:57:27] this film to the big sci-fi podcast for our viewing pleasure.

[00:57:32] And it's not every day you get so enthralled and surprised by a film.

[00:57:38] And so this has been truly an enjoyable experience watching this film and then talking with it with

[00:57:45] you guys.

[00:57:45] And I'm sorry.

[00:57:46] I also want to make state publicly, I'm sorry I hugged so much mic time in this episode.

[00:57:50] That's okay.

[00:57:51] That's okay.

[00:57:51] You feel very strongly about it.

[00:57:53] It's fine.

[00:57:54] And I actually ran into my friend Brandon last week and I told him we were going to be doing

[00:57:59] the podcast this Wednesday about it.

[00:58:01] I told him we're going to, I'm going to do a shout out to him.

[00:58:03] And again, the same thing.

[00:58:05] And here's the thing.

[00:58:07] My sister Judy went to Japan on business one year and she brought me back a Godzilla figurine

[00:58:14] from Japan.

[00:58:16] Wow.

[00:58:17] Because she said, I deserved it.

[00:58:20] Well, when I worked with Brandon at Children's Hospital, I took Godzilla and I brought it to

[00:58:27] him and I said, this is for you.

[00:58:29] And he said, no, I can't take it.

[00:58:31] I said, no, this is for you to thank you for telling me about this movie because this movie

[00:58:37] means that much.

[00:58:38] And I will let him know that how you guys felt about this film.

[00:58:43] And I'm sure it will bring a smile to his face, knowing that a recommendation he gave to me

[00:58:49] and I will tell my daughter, Jenny, the same thing.

[00:58:52] The recommendation she gave to me was so powerful that it got me to go see this movie.

[00:58:57] I was lucky again to see it and that it has gotten you guys to go enjoy it as well.

[00:59:02] So really, you know, I'm going to deflect, I'm going to deflect what you said, Brian, and

[00:59:07] share it with the people that deserve it.

[00:59:09] The ones that said, go see this movie.

[00:59:12] All together, even though they can't see it, we should all salute Brandon right now.

[00:59:18] I'm sorry.

[00:59:18] Brandon, we salute you.

[00:59:19] There you go.

[00:59:21] I will say it.

[00:59:22] And I told him I will send him this.

[00:59:24] I don't know how to salute.

[00:59:25] It's, it's, hello, hello, hello.

[00:59:27] So anyway, no, I, I, I told him when this comes out, I will send him this audio so he

[00:59:35] can listen to himself and get the recognition he deserves.

[00:59:38] Nice.

[00:59:38] Thank you.

[00:59:39] So I guess we're down to now the final using the Brian Donahue.

[00:59:45] Yeah, that's okay.

[00:59:47] It happened.

[00:59:48] Brian Donahue, five star rating system.

[00:59:51] Where do you score this film out of zero to five stars?

[00:59:57] Go ahead.

[00:59:58] Me first.

[00:59:59] I get to go first.

[01:00:00] Yes.

[01:00:01] Because it's clearly a zero.

[01:00:03] I'm a zero.

[01:00:04] I give it a 1.5.

[01:00:06] You know, it was just okay.

[01:00:08] What is a, what's the 0.5 difference for you between a one and a 1.5?

[01:00:13] And you can't say Godzilla minus zero minus zero.

[01:00:17] Okay.

[01:00:17] No, obviously I'm guys.

[01:00:21] I feel like it's rare these days.

[01:00:23] This film deserves a five star in my opinion.

[01:00:25] Wow.

[01:00:26] It deserves every bit of the five star rating.

[01:00:30] It's got charm.

[01:00:31] It's got class.

[01:00:32] It's got heart.

[01:00:33] I think it is so, um, honorable towards Japanese people.

[01:00:39] Like I just feel like it captures the essence of the spirit of, of what they must have felt

[01:00:46] after world war two.

[01:00:48] And I got to tell you, I was, if it, if my wife wasn't working down the hallway in a serious

[01:00:54] meeting for her job, I would have been jumping up and down screaming and yelling.

[01:00:59] And my kids would have been too.

[01:01:01] If they had watched it with me, it's that fun.

[01:01:04] It's that heroic.

[01:01:05] It's that epic.

[01:01:07] So well done.

[01:01:09] Biggest surprise film ever for me that we've watched on the big sci-fi and talked about.

[01:01:14] So that is amazing.

[01:01:16] Adina, where do you stand?

[01:01:19] So I want to say somewhere between 4.5 and five stars.

[01:01:23] And the only reason I'm, I'm hesitating on the perfect five is because just to underscore

[01:01:30] the fact that I thought this was a great film, but it's not like it's going to be in one

[01:01:37] of my top 10.

[01:01:38] Cause to me, my top 10 are like, these are films that I want to watch and rewatch and

[01:01:41] rewatch.

[01:01:41] This is not something that I want to rewatch.

[01:01:44] You know, I want to rewatch things that are more fun.

[01:01:47] With this was, it's a little too serious, especially, you know, the post war and all the PTS and

[01:01:53] all that.

[01:01:54] So it's not something that I want to rewatch, but it's a great film.

[01:01:58] So if people can accept my five as not meaning that it's like one of my favorites of all

[01:02:04] time, then it's a five.

[01:02:06] So you can go 4.9 and let the number go and let those nines go off for some distance and

[01:02:12] that's okay.

[01:02:13] I love, I love that we can rate films high, but say we'll probably never watch them again.

[01:02:18] Like, like that's okay.

[01:02:20] Yeah.

[01:02:21] But you experienced it.

[01:02:22] You experienced it.

[01:02:24] Are some of my favorites that I would like are my personal top 10.

[01:02:27] I wouldn't necessarily say that like, they're like a great movie, but they're enjoyable for

[01:02:32] me to watch and rewatch and rewatch and rewatch and rewatch.

[01:02:34] Absolutely.

[01:02:35] Mr.

[01:02:36] Chris.

[01:02:36] I got to say, I'm with, I'm with Adina.

[01:02:39] I'm actually glad, Adina, that you went first or actually second or you went before me.

[01:02:43] Just because I was trying to figure out how I wanted to articulate my feelings where I thought

[01:02:50] it was an amazing movie, really well done.

[01:02:52] I enjoyed every minute of it, but it's not a movie that's in my top 10 just because like

[01:02:58] Adina said, like it's very dark.

[01:03:01] It's serious.

[01:03:02] It has this fun moment and I probably will rewatch this again at some point, but it's

[01:03:06] not one that I'm like, I'm not going to be in a Godzilla minus one mood in the way

[01:03:11] that I am for a lot of my top 10 films, even though as Adina is saying, same with her films,

[01:03:17] a lot of my top 10s are not necessarily good movies, but they're just ones that mean a lot

[01:03:22] to me that I enjoy.

[01:03:23] So I'd probably say I'm in the same boat, like somewhere between 4.5 and not quite five,

[01:03:30] maybe a 4.7 or 4.8.

[01:03:33] Okay.

[01:03:33] Well, you know, you have to think about that some of your favorite things to eat are not

[01:03:37] really that healthy or that good for you, but they make you feel good when you eat them.

[01:03:43] I'm speaking to you, Cheetos.

[01:03:47] Anyway.

[01:03:48] Just add a bag to that.

[01:03:49] It's pizza, it's cake, it's ice cream, it's chocolate.

[01:03:52] Yes.

[01:03:53] It's all of it.

[01:03:54] It's, yeah, it's a good for the, good for the soul, bad for the body food.

[01:03:58] You know, Brian, now you've left me and Adina and Chris with this pondering.

[01:04:05] Is this a five or is this a 4.9 into infinity and beyond?

[01:04:12] Because it's like, you know, the Olympics.

[01:04:15] How do you give a 10?

[01:04:16] That's perfect.

[01:04:18] What is beyond a 10?

[01:04:20] Is there 11 on the stereo that you can crank it up to because 10 just isn't good enough?

[01:04:26] So I'm going to, I'm going with you, Brian.

[01:04:29] I'm giving it a five.

[01:04:30] And the reason why is because I don't know what better is and maybe we'll never see better

[01:04:37] or we might see better and it'll just be another five because it is that great of a film.

[01:04:45] It did have that much heart effect.

[01:04:48] And again, from this old Godzilla person who watched War of the Gargantuas and terrible,

[01:04:56] you know, I mean, movies that have been lampooned on mystery science theater, like Gamera,

[01:05:05] a turtle with rockets coming out of its body.

[01:05:08] I mean, really?

[01:05:10] But hey, you know, they're charming and they're fun.

[01:05:13] But this one was special, even in some degree, even more special than the original Godzilla film from 1954,

[01:05:21] because it told it more honestly about the trials and tribulations.

[01:05:28] And that's what the original Godzilla film was about.

[01:05:30] The trials of the Japanese people after World War II, rebuilding their country and knowing that they could be threatened by something that was inconceivable,

[01:05:42] which is a monster brought forth because of nuclear weapons and nuclear testing.

[01:05:48] And that was their reaction to Hiroshima and Nagasaki of what's the worst that could happen to us?

[01:05:55] Oh, yes, a nuclear bomb.

[01:05:57] So here's the worst thing that could be possible.

[01:06:01] A monster driven by nuclear weapons.

[01:06:06] And I'm done preaching.

[01:06:08] But yes, I agree with you.

[01:06:11] Let's give it a five, Brian.

[01:06:14] Virtual high five, Steve.

[01:06:15] You got it.

[01:06:16] Virtual high five.

[01:06:17] High five.

[01:06:17] All right.

[01:06:19] I respect Adina and Chris's rating system for this film.

[01:06:24] Absolutely.

[01:06:24] Anyway, it's totally feel you guys.

[01:06:27] And again, like I will rewatch this film, but it's not going to be a film going to rewatch like Star Trek First Contact.

[01:06:35] Yeah.

[01:06:35] Or Willy Wonka in my case.

[01:06:37] Yeah.

[01:06:37] You know, it's like that.

[01:06:38] These are your favorite movies of all time.

[01:06:41] Yeah.

[01:06:42] But you know what?

[01:06:43] It does have a special spot.

[01:06:45] And that's the important thing.

[01:06:47] Yep.

[01:06:47] So I'm going to say, and there you have it.

[01:06:51] Our in-depth discussion of Godzilla minus zero.

[01:06:56] There are times when you go to see a film with high expectations and you are disappointed.

[01:07:02] And other times you go to see a film with low expectations and you are pleasantly surprised.

[01:07:08] And sometimes even overcome with emotion from it.

[01:07:12] I was so lucky to have my second chance with this film to see it in the big screen.

[01:07:16] But seeing it again on TV in color, the version was a treat as well.

[01:07:22] And it's the story that makes the difference.

[01:07:24] And this one stands out as truly an excellent story as we've discussed.

[01:07:29] And if you have your own opinions of this film or any of our discussion, please go to our Facebook page or join our Facebook page.

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[01:08:07] And all our previous episodes are available for you to enjoy.

[01:08:12] And as always, I leave you with these parting words.

[01:08:16] Look to the skies.

[01:08:18] Live long and prosper.

[01:08:22] Thanks for listening to this week's episode of the Big Sci-Fi Podcast.

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