I REMEMBER the malapropism, “When it rains, it’s four,” attributed to Filipina supermodel Melanie Marquez. It’s one of her many “Melanisms.” I actually heard her drop, “Do not judge my brother, he’s not a book” on national television. I think of it now because of the saying, “when it rains, it pours.” In a week, there’s usually one clear movie or show to write about, but November is just bursting with things to discuss. The fourth season of HBO’s “The Gilded Age” just started, Toho’s “Godzilla Minus Zero” was released for the Imax, the reality show “Manila Matriarchs” (with Myrza Sison, Karylle Tatlonghari-Yuzon, Joanna PreyslerFrancisco, and Trisha Bantigue-Tsao) just aired its first episode on iWant TV, and the much talked about stop motion animated film “Wildwood” from Laika is out now too — around the same time as the re-release “Dune: Part One” and “Dune: Part Two” in time for the wrap up of this section of this saga in December.
For fans of the heist genre, Nicholas Hoult, Anna Sawai, and Zoë Kravitz are in “How to Rob a Bank” on the big screen, while Anthony Mackie and Jamie Dornan are in Apple TVs series “12 12 12.” I was able to attend the roundtable for “12 12 12” with Mackie and Dornan, as well as creators Dudi Appleton and Jim Keeble.
Mackie plays an FBI agent and Dornan, plays a career criminal. Mackie’s character is often in pursuit of Dornan’s. Mackie claims he did his own running and considers himself the “third best runner on film” after Tom Cruise and Will Smith.” Next week has the local release of “You Can See Everything,” the much talked about documentary directed by Lance Oppenheim and comedian Nathan Fielder on fallen technopreneur (and now inmate at the Federal Prison Camp in Bryan, Texas) Elizabeth Holmes.
While it is possible to see everything this season, that would mean constantly being glued to a screen and neglecting the laundry, gassing up the car, making a living, caregiving, working out, etc.
Since I’m on a Godzilla kick, I saw “Godzilla: Minus Zero” at the Imax. I sat in the center and near the front and at times, with all the rumbling and vibrating, it almost felt like it was on the ground in post-war Japan. There is incredible kaiju action, but like its predecessor, 2023’s “Godzilla: Minus One,” there’s also a human story to follow. It does help to watch “Minus One” because we follow the same characters a few years later.
For the human story, I found “Minus One” to be the superior film. “Minus Zero” does end with unresolved plot lines, which means another film on the fate of Shikishima, Noriko, Akiko, and their allies is in order. I’m more used to Godzilla films being reboots or stand-alone movies each time, with a revolving set of monsters fans are familiar with.
While I also found this one a bit too long, I absolutely cannot deny the absolute thrill of seeing Godzilla emerge from the water, and seeing his dorsal spikes turn blue on a massive screen. I’ll leave out which monster Godzilla faces, it’s more fun to avoid spoilers and just find out and be surprised.
As always, the film still reflects how Japan continues to remember and process the trauma of the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Something the spectacleobsessed American Godzilla films is unable to grasp but a little
