NEW FEATURE: my DJ MAG "Stayin' In" Reviews. Ep. 1: SHIN GODZILLA

Hey folks,

We're starting up a new at least semi-regular feature here on the blog: we're re-running my reviews in my "Stayin' In" column for DJ MAG. This time, it's my review of the great kaiju film SHIN GODZILLA. I will be putting these up every few days or so, in both scanned form and text for easy reading.

Feedback is always appreciated...well, almost always. Abuse doesn't count.

Enjoy!

"The latest and most different reboot of the Godzilla franchise, “Shin Godzilla” totally breaks with the past movies in mostly a very good way. By far the most overtly political of the Godzilla films, the movie is a biting commentary on the Japanese government’s ineffectual response to the Fukushima nuclear disaster. This is pointedly illustrated by the film’s public officials holding meeting after pointless meeting, trying to act publicly responsible while simultaneously avoiding all personal accountability as the kaiju menace slowly builds. Godzilla himself is near-terrifying in his final, apocalyptic form, his scarred and mutating body putting to rest any memories of the frog-like superhero G of the 1970s. The special effects are mostly magnificent, and the sound designers’ dipping into the classic Toho sound effects library adds a certain poignant nod to the past. This was the highest-grossing film in Japan in 2016, and cleaned up at the Japan Academy Prizes of that year, which gives some idea of how seriously it was taken there."