Not to be confused with the recent American line of Godzilla movies from production company Legendary Pictures, “Godzilla Minus One” comes from Japan’s celebrated Toho Studios. It’s Toho’s first Godzilla movie since 2016’s “Shin Godzilla”. And it’s their 33rd Godzilla film since first creating the iconic King of the Monsters in 1954. And what better way to celebrate the franchise’s upcoming 70th anniversary than with a new Toho production?

Written and directed by Takashi Yamazaki (who also served as visual effects supervisor), “Godzilla Minus One” has the feel of some the earliest Toho classics both in setting and style of storytelling. But don’t worry, today’s state-of-the-art visual effects and production design are on prominent display. As expected we get some jaw-dropping wide-scale destruction, and the encounters with the eponymous kaiju are exhilarating. Yet it’s the undercurrent of humanity that may catch audiences by surprise.

Takashi’s story unfolds in the years immediately following World War II. Japan’s infrastructure, economy, and morale has been decimated. Its people struggle to put their lives back together, living in makeshift homes and barely able to provide food for their families. The government offers little help leading to an unstable and vulnerable country. It’s a setting that fans of Toho’s earliest films will immediately recognize – one that’s still rich with political and cultural undertones.

Disgraced kamikaze pilot Koichi Shikishima (Ryunosuke Kamiki) returns home to Tokyo only to find his parents were killed and his neighborhood decimated from air raids in the waning days of the war. Not only is Koichi overwhelmed with grief, but he also struggles with PTSD and survivors guilt. We learn that two years prior he feigned a mechanical issue with his plane, landing on Odo island rather than carrying out his mission. While there the small outpost of mechanics is attacked by a massive prehistoric creature dubbed “Godzilla” by the locals. Koichi is one of only two survivors.

In Tokyo Koichi reluctantly takes in a young woman named Noriko (Minami Hamabe) and helps her care for an orphaned baby girl whose parents were also killed in the bombing. This family (of sorts) have a difficult time getting by, leading a desperate Koichi to take a dangerous government sanctioned job detonating sea mines left over from the war. But he and his eclectic boat crew come face-to-face with a danger far greater than mines. Yep, Godzilla returns and has the Japanese mainland in its sights.

The government tries to keep the discovery from going public, but you can only keep a giant lizard the size of a skyscraper a secret for so long. Inevitably Godzilla reaches land allowing Yamazaki to let loose with some stunning effects-drive set pieces brought to life through an array of visual wizardry. We witness devastation and destruction on a visually epic scale. And then there is Godzilla who’s presented as a terrifying force of nature yet remains a powerful metaphor for nuclear weapons.

While the kaiju action he delivers is immensely satisfying, Yamazaki never loses sight of the humanity-rich stories being told at the same time. These two facets remain inseparable throughout this surprisingly heartfelt and artful throwback. “Godzilla Minus One” offers a crash course on how to make a great blockbuster. It has the signature thrills and big screen spectacle. But it’s the deeply ingrained human element that make it stand out. It certainly left me wanting more. “Godzilla Minus One” is in select theaters now.

VERDICT – 4.5 STARS

One of earliest treats from Filmland 2023 was “Ghosts of the Void”, a slow-burning indie thriller written and directed by Jason Miller. This (mostly) two-hander is built around a rather simple premise, yet one that’s rich with a slew of themes that make it a little more than a straight genre movie. It’s smart, surprisingly crafty, and thoroughly enthralling entertainment that’s as frightening as it is thought-provoking.

Miller opens his film with a revealing George Carlin quote — “The reason they call it the American Dream is because you have to be asleep to believe it.” From there we meet Jen (Tedra Millan) and Tyler (Michael Reagan), a young married couple who have been crushed in their pursuit of that very dream. She’s an aspiring photographer; he’s a struggling writer. Neither have found the success they had hoped for. Even worse, mounting debt has led to them being evicted from their home.

Their scenario is dire from the outset. But as we can easily surmise, things are going to get worse. On a cold November night, with nothing but their old car, a few personal belongings, and forty bucks in their pockets, the couple drive through a residential area and park at a small playground at the end of a street. There they hope get a night’s sleep before coming up with a game plan in the morning. It’s easier said than done.

Miller’s story uncoils over that dark, cold evening as Jen’s anxiety and Tyler’s frustration slowly reveals the cracks in their fragile relationship. Through their intensifying interactions and some well implemented flashbacks, we learn a lot about both characters as the pieces of their backstory begin to click into place. Miller takes his time revealing his entire hand and he does a good job keeping us locked in and eager to see their situation play out.

But there’s another element to the film that slowly begins to rear its sinister head. “Ghosts of the Void” embraces the horror genre, playing like (as Miller himself succinctly put it) a home invasion movie but minus the home. Thoughts of 2008’s “The Strangers” immediately come to mind once three figures, all wearing hideously unsettling masks, begin terrorizing the young couple. Who they are and what they want plays a big part in the film’s final third.

Things really get fun once Miller starts playing around with our genre expectations. He leans into several common horror tropes, utilizing them in some effective ways. Keen camera choices along with some strategic uses of music and sound help ratchet up the tension. It all works towards an ending that takes a really big swing – one that I’m not sure fully works but that I appreciated. But the trick is in how Miller always leaves things up for interpretation.

While Miller’s direction is key, “Ghosts of the Void” would sink without Millan and Reagan. Their revealing and layered performances bring an organic quality to the film’s fundamental central relationship. Both fit well within the movie’s seemingly cynical worldview and are essential in bringing the story’s message to light. As for that message, occasionally it’s too overt; other times its slyly subtle. Either way it’s effective. Toss in some genre seasoning and you have a flavorful horror thriller that routinely impresses.

VERDICT – 4 STARS

(CLICK HERE for my full review in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette)

After his wife is savagely murdered and his daughter is kidnapped, a sheriff’s deputy quits his job and seeks out an insidious cult believed to responsible for the crimes. That’s the gist of the bleak and violent new action thriller “God Is a Bullet” from writer and director Nick Cassavetes. There’s nothing pretty about this hopelessly dark and seemingly endless 2 hour 35 minute malaise of misery that eventually wears you down and even worse tests your patience.

Among the film’s many issues are the narrative shortcuts that undermine so much of the storytelling. It’s hard to imagine a 155 minute movie about a dad searching for his daughter taking many shortcuts but there are plenty of examples. They end up leaving the ghastly world we spend so much time in feeling remarkably shallow. Sure, the deviants within it make us squirm with their head-to-toe tattoos and insatiable bloodlust. But (with maybe one lone exception) they’re all cut out the exact same mold.

And then you have the meat of the story itself. Cassavetes takes the framework of a simple revenge thriller and attempts to make it more layered than it actually is. This mostly comes through a couple of second half twists. But they’re underdeveloped to the point that they leave far more questions than answers. And they end up highlighting just how clunky and unsure of itself the movie seems to be. None of the twists feel natural to the story. They feel thrown in and tacked on rather than organic.

About the story, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau plays Bob Hightower, a police officer in Mint County, California. Bob enjoys living in his “small Christian community” and has hopes of being promoted to detective despite the lack of support from his chief, Sgt. John Lee Bacon (Paul Johansson). But his good life is shattered after members of a maniacal cult called “Followers of the Left-Handed Path” brutally murder his ex-wife and her husband and abducts his 14-year-old daughter Gabi (Chloe Guy).

The police aren’t much help, but Bob finds an unexpected ally in Case (Maika Monroe) who was kidnapped by the same cult when she was only eleven. She was abused, raised and indoctrinated by the group and its sadistic leader, Cyrus (Karl Glusman). He’s the vile sort and the film goes out of its way to show it. But his one-dimensional evil bend results in a villain who’s too over-the-top and even cartoonish at times.

The crass and no-nonsense Case agrees to help Bob find his daughter all while hiding her own very personal motivations. She starts by taking him to a guy with connections called The Ferryman (Jamie Foxx in a truly wacky role) who tattoos much of Bob’s body so that he will blend it (which is really funny considering Bob spends most of the movie with them covered under a long-sleeve shirt). The unlikely duo then sink deep into the mire of the film’s cult subculture where they stay for what seems like an eternity.

Later a few other characters are introduced in an attempt at adding a new dimension to the story. But it only succeeds in cluttering up the film’s final hour by adding in a thinly conceived shoehorned angle that lacks a rewarding conclusion.

The same could be said for Bob’s overall arc. Coster-Waldau is a terrific actor and does his very best playing the film’s protagonist. He gives a sturdy performance that takes the character to some pretty horrifying depths. But Bob never fully comes together in a satisfying way. And there’s hardly any meaningful internal conflict in his descent from honest God-fearing cop to hardened revenge-fulled killer. He just moves from point to point in his journey, following Case wherever she leads him.

“God Is a Bullet” has a potentially interesting idea, but nearly everything that springs from it falls short. From the supposedly super-secret underworld where everyone seems to live in the wide open to the random moments of oddly on-the-nose philosophizing. Even the sudden bursts of extreme violence can’t bring an infusion of much needed energy. Altogether it feels like a portrait that’s only half painted; a model that’s missing half of its pieces. And it’s that lack of depth and detail that makes it all a really tough sell. “God Is a Bullet” is out now in select theaters.

VERDICT – 1.5 STARS

Director Richard Donner (“Superman”, “Lethal Weapon”) and screenwriter Chris Columbus (“Gremlins”) came together in the early 1980s to put to screen a story conceived by Steven Spielberg. It was a youthful adventure comedy called “The Goonies”. It finished among the top ten highest grossing movies of 1985 and over time became a popular cult classic.

Produced by Spielberg’s Amblin Entertainment, “The Goonies” featured a collection of young soon-to-be stars including Josh Brolin, Sean Astin, Corey Feldman, Martha Plimpton, and recent Academy Award winner Ke Huy Quan. They come together in what was a spirited and nostalgic slice of 1980s cinema that is still a lot of fun after nearly 40 years.

While I’ve never held “The Goonies” in as high regard as its most ardent fans, there’s a certain ‘turn back the clock’ charm that makes it such a joy to revisit. You see it in the cast, the screenplay, the style of filmmaking, and even the little period details such as the pull-tab Pepsi cans, getting a high score on “Pole Position”, and of course the catchy chorus of Cyndi Lauper’s pop hit “Good Enough”. There’s a sentimental transporting effect it has that may make me sound like a sap but I really don’t care.

All the action, adventure, and humor is built upon a simple yet endearing narrative frame. In sleepy Astoria, Oregon four rambunctious boys who call themselves “the Goonies” gather for their last weekend together. The local bank is set to foreclose on their homes to make room for a new country club and golf course. For Mikey Walsh (Sean Astin) and his family that means packing up and moving away. But first he has a couple of days left to spend with his neighborhood friends, the fittingly named Mouth (Cory Feldman), the aspiring inventor Data (Ke Huy Quan), and the klutzy Chunk (Jeff Cohen).

While rummaging through the Walsh family’s attic the boys discover something unexpected among Mikey’s father’s things – a Spanish treasure map dating back to 1632 that is connected to a local pirate legend named One-Eyed Willy. That gives Mikey an idea. What better way to spend their last weekend together than on an adventure to find the dead pirate’s treasure? And who knows, if they do find Willy’s loot maybe Mikey can get the bank off his parents’ backs and save their home.

So the four pals give Mikey’s big brother Brand (Josh Brolin) the slip and follow the treasure map to an old abandoned restaurant on the coast just outside of town. But they quickly discover they aren’t the only ones at the ramshackle joint. It’s actually the hideout of the notorious Fratelli’s, a trio of wanted criminals consisting of the surly Mama Fratelli (Anne Ramsey) and her two nincompoop sons, Francis (Joe Pantoliano) and Jake (Robert Davi). There’s a third Fratelli son – the deformed and abused Sloth (John Matuszak) who’s kept shackled in a cell.

Before long Mikey, Data, Mouth, and Chunk are joined by Brand, a cheerleader named Andy (Kerri Green) who Brand has eyes for, and Andy’s best friend Stef (Martha Plimpton). Their search leads them deep below the old restaurant where all sorts of dangers await. Meanwhile hot on their heels are the Fratellis who take an even bigger interest in catching the Goonies once they hear that treasure is involved.

As you watch you can’t help but see Spielberg’s fingerprints all over the movie. Yet it’s Donner who holds it all together. The late director spoke candidly about the joys and challenges of working with so many high-energy child actors. And there are times where both overflow into the movie. But Donner does a good job corralling and getting the most out of his young yet rowdy talent.

After all these years there remains a time-tested appeal to “The Goonies”. This sassy and hyperactive romp can be a bit too loud and boisterous (something that has stood out more and more the older I get). But it’s hard not to respond to the heartfelt innocence and childlike charms that seep from nearly every pore of this beloved movie. And even if I don’t hold it in as high esteem as some, I can’t deny that it still brings a smile to my face every time I turn it out.

VERDICT – 3.5 STARS

James Gunn’s highly promoted exit from the Marvel Cinematic Universe is here in the form of the much anticipated “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3”. This ragtag crew of MCU misfits burst onto the cinematic scene in 2014 and were a big hit. A 2017 sequel was an even bigger box office smash. Now we get Volume 3 which is the 32nd movie in the MCU. Pretty much all the familiar faces return and a couple of new ones make their debuts. But most of the chatter has been about writer-director James Gunn who is off to run the rebooted DC Studios immediately following this film.

I’ve generally liked the previous two “Guardians” movies but admittedly they’re not among my favorites from the Marvel stock. Both leaned heavily on the comedic chemistry of their ensemble cast and on Gunn’s goofy irreverent style. “Guardians 3” leans even harder on both although not with the greatest results. It plays like an obvious wrap party with Gunn throwing everything that came to mind at the screen without a hint of subtlety or restraint. There’s some fun stuff packed in it. But it’s also loud, overstuffed, frustratingly manipulative, and not nearly as funny as its predecessors.

Up to this point we know what to expect from a James Gunn superhero movie – countless needle drops, zany humor, proudly off-beat action, and (when it lands) some unexpected heart. Unfortunately nearly everything in Volume 3 feels obligatory. So much of the dialogue seems right off the page rather than organic and natural. There’s also a surprising amount of rehashed exposition. And then there’s the incessant yelling. Good guys, bad guys, no-names – everyone yells in this thing, often needlessly and constantly. It would be funny if it wasn’t so annoying.

But the biggest disappointment is in Gunn’s lazy plays on his audience’s emotions. He spoon-feeds us one emotional cue after another, often accompanying them with huge musical swells and syrupy lines too on-the-nose to feel genuine. Worst of all is his cheap over-reliance on animal abuse. To be clear, I’m not with those who have taken aim at the movie for simply depicting animal cruelty. If it’s key to the story a creator shouldn’t shy away from it. But when it’s used solely to yank our heartstrings over and over again then it becomes a problem. Gunn knows it’s an easy target to hit and he constantly goes back to it.

I will give it this, “Guardians 3” tells a more self-contained story which is nice considering the tepid state of the MCU. The whole gang is back: Peter (Chris Pratt), Rocket (voiced by Bradley Cooper), Drax (Dave Bautista), Nebula (Karen Gillan), Mantis (Pom Klementieff), Groot (voiced by Vin Diesel), Kraglin (Sean Gunn), and Cosmo (voiced by Maria Bakalova). Gamora (Zoe Saldaña) is still around (or the variant of her is), having ditched the Guardians and taken up with the Ravagers, a band of space pirates led by Sly Stallone.

While putting the finishing touches on their new headquarters the Guardians are suddenly attacked by a powerful being named Adam Warlock (Will Poulter). They eventually neutralize the threat but not before Rocket is seriously injured. Our heroes rush to his aid but quickly learn they can’t tend to their anthropomorphic friend’s wounds because of a killswitch they discover embedded within him. So Peter and the gang race against the clock to track down an override code before Rocket dies. Action, adventure, and LOTS of yelling ensues.

Woven throughout it all is Rocket’s backstory where we see him and number of other earth animals (why just our planet?) abused, tortured, and even incinerated. In these scenes Rocket befriends three other anthropomorphic captives (voiced by Linda Cardellini, Asim Chaudhry, and Mikaela Hoover). Unfortunately it’s easy to pick up on their purpose which makes these already drawn-out flashbacks hard to sit through.

One area where the first two films struggled was with their unremarkable villains. Sadly it’s the same in Volume 3. We learn that the woefully uninteresting Warlock has been sent to do the bidding of The High Evolutionary (Chukwudi Iwuji in a thankless role). He has an intriguing look, some cool yet unexplained powers, and he too yells a lot. But that’s about it. You can sense a compelling character there somewhere. But he’s never explained as anything more than a mad scientist intent on creating a utopian society.

I realize that’s a lot of negativity, but let me say “Guardians 3” has its share of entertainment. Fans of the series will simply love spending time with these characters again. And while their camaraderie lacks the zest we’re used to, the entire cast brings an energy the film needs. Also, it’s clear that a ton of money went into the visuals. Aside from some funky prosthetics and occasions of glaringly fake CGI, the film offers up some pretty delicious eye candy. We also get a couple of memorable action scenes highlighted by one kinetic ‘long take’ fight sequence that is nothing more than Gunn showing off, but it’s a lot of fun.

Despite its hefty 2 hours and 30 minutes, surprisingly “Guardians 3” never quite feels like a slog. And that’s saying something considering the movie’s many frustrations. I’m guessing die-hard fans will likely find this to be a satisfying final(ish) chapter. But James Gunn’s last foray with Marvel lacks the roguish outsider spunk of the previous two Guardians movies (sorry, but throwing in the MCU’s first f-word doesn’t count). Instead it’s an overprocessed send-off that’s so focused on going out with a bang that it loses its joy, charm, and trust in us to actually feel things on our own. “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3” is in theaters now.

VERDICT – 2.5 STARS

Chris Evans and Ana de Armas pair up in “Ghosted”, the new action-adventure romantic comedy for Apple TV+. Directed by Dexter Fletcher and with screenplay credits going to Rhett Reese, Chris McKenna, Paul Wernick, and Erik Sommers, this hokey head-scratcher tries to ride on the star wattage of its handsome two leads and host of fun supporting players. As it turns out they aren’t enough to keep this maddeningly bland misfire from succumbing to its own lack of originality or imagination.

The core problems of “Ghosted” lies in its script. It’s hard to see it as anything more than some manufactured studio concoction that bases every choice on something seen in other movies. In fact, it borrows so heavily from other better (and worse) movies that it’s a struggle to find anything resembling an original idea. Obviously there’s nothing inherently wrong with drawing from other works. But when your movie is this dependent, it can’t help but show on screen. And no amount of dollars (and this movie clearly cost a lot of them) can hide it.

The film gets off on the wrong foot with a cornball opening act that’s so excessively cloying you’ll swear it’s a spoof. Chris Evans plays Cole, a hapless and high-strung farmer with a love for agricultural history and houseplants. He’s recently been dumped and it doesn’t take long before we can understand why. While manning his booth at a local farmers market he encounters Sadie (Ana de Armas), a beautiful art curator. With their cover model good looks and synthetic charm, Cole and Sadie have their own “Before Sunrise” experience crammed into the film’s opening 15 minutes.

The two go their separate ways, but after Sadie doesn’t answer Cole’s MANY texts he begins to fear he’s been ghosted. So in the creepiest and most implausible move imaginable, Cole tracks Sadie to London and hops on a plane to go find her. But rather than surprising the girl he’s crazy about he ends up tranquilized, taken captive, and hauled to Pakistan by a Russian interrogator with a fascination for bugs (played by Tim Blake Nelson in the first of the film’s many cameos).

The interrogator mistakes Cole for someone called “The Taxman” and he’s been hired by an ex-French Intelligence arms dealer named Leveque (a mustache twirling Adrien Brody) to extract some sensitive information from his captive. But wouldn’t you know it, Sadie busts in to save him, popping off headshots like a poor man’s John Wick. It turns out she’s no art curator. She’s a CIA agent with her own ‘particular set of skills’.

After an obviously expensive, utterly ridiculous, yet pretty fun escape through the winding mountain roads of Pakistan, Sadie tells the antsy Cole (and us) about a dangerous biochemical weapon called “Aztec” and about her mission to make sure it doesn’t fall into the wrong hands. Of course they end up teaming up – the dimwit and the super spy – trying to outwit Leveque, dodging his pesky henchmen, and trying to convince us that there’s some actual romantic chemistry between them. That last one proves to be a toughest sell.

As their not-so-interesting adventure unfolds we’re flooded with an overkill of cameos (a couple are admittedly fun but the movie overdoes it), cringey needle drops, tiresome and unfunny running gags, and generic plotting. Even the big action finish feels overwrought yet strangely lackluster. So that leaves it up to Evans and de Armas. He tries hard to make Cole likable comic relief, but he gets annoying over time. She seems much more comfortable in her character’s skin, but Sadie is so flavorless and nonspecific. When together the two handsome stars can’t make much out of this utterly disposable blockbuster. “Ghosted” is now streaming on Apple TV+.

VERDICT – 2 STARS