Tag: post WWII

[EXPRESSO] Godzilla Minus Zero (2026) | Suffer, Like G Did

Godzilla is back, as we knew given the pretty clear “hint” at the end of Godzilla Minus One… actually we knew Godzilla was gonna be back regardless.

And to a certain extent this struggle of “following up the first”, of the expectations the movie brought upon itself by being an actual direct sequel (a rarity for Japanese Godzilla films), is a factor internalized and seeping into the plot, as 2 years after the events of Minus One, a strange alien monster, Ghidorah, is causing destruction, destroying what little fragile peace and rebuilding had been done in this post WWII Japan, alongside the stability of Koichi, Noriko and Akiko’ family..

The plot is more or less what you’d expect, as it, it keeps the focus on the character drama, the aftermath of both WWII and the Godzilla rampage, with returning characters and some new ones, both fairly well done, and yes, the Noriko subplot actually comes to fruition in a sorta body horror fashion, even if more as a device to give us the classic Godzilla VS King Ghidorah final bout.

Yeah, you really can’t go wrong with that, despite how many times it has been done, but unlike the Monsterverse release, you’ll care about the characters and how it reworks many elements of the original 1954 classic, it feels familiar but in a good way, there are some little surprises about the monsters here which i wont spoil, the CG is better, and i do like the ending.

It’s a pretty good film, about as good as a direct sequel to a reboot Godzilla movie can get, as it manages to keep the tone serious, the focus on the human drama but not at the expense of some great spectactle and kaiju action, consistency with its precedessor being weirdly novel.

[EXPRESSO] Napoli New York (2024) | Once Upon A Gabagool

Context: this is a December 2024 release in Italy based on a script written by Fellini long before he became a director, adapted by a modern and fairly well regarded italian director, Gabriele Salvatores, whom, instead of a neorealist picture, opted for the tone of fairytale, of fable, while indeed tackling a sensitive period in italian history, depicting a ruined post-WWII Naples were the misery set back in after the american troops returned home, with two orphaned street-smart children, Carmine and Celestina, struggling to make any money or food by any means.

The two then basically decide – after getting duped – to secretly sneak aboard the only american ship anchored nearby, as Celestina’s older sister did leave for NY years ago….

It’s the ol’ tale of Italian immigration in the US during the 40/50s, focusing on Neapolitan immigrants specifically, which tackles the expected themes… but it does so with a strange, uneasy and uncovincing middle ground, as it clearly opts to be this uplifting, optimistic Christmas fairytale, skewing most realism…but also doesn’t quite fits the “magical realism” tone, as its built and based on the perceptions America had/has about around italian cinema of old (and Italy to a point), while also lacking the actual complexity that would have still made possible by the “fable” angle.

The cast is actually amazing, but these aren’t characters, there are balls of stereotypes, some true, but here not even vaguely discussed, challenged, this is the “40s America present Paisà as a puppet theathre play for tots” level of nuance, but resented a comforting fact, because despite the lavish modern production, this film’s soul is old (ancient, even), deliberately so to a point where it hurts it.

And yet, in a way, it’s too italian for its own good, if that makes any sense.