Author: Harrison Chute

I've been mistaken for a man

The Iron Horse has Lasers | Godzilla vs. Destoroyah (1995) Review

November 8, 2023

After a surprising bump in quality with Godzilla vs. SpaceGodzilla, we’re back in business to close out the Heisei era with this, one of several series finales – like Futurama. The Showa era ended with Terror of Mechagodzilla, a return to the darker tone of the original movie, and the disjointed Millennium era had the explosive Final Wars, a special project for the 50th anniversary. Well, is Godzilla vs. Destoroyah, too, a special project? Did the filmmakers take a step back from what they’d been doing and say, “Let’s go out with a bang”? The film’s title might help us out here, bearing the typical “vs.” instead of something like The Final Chapter or maybe The End of Godzilla. No, it’s just another day, another monster. Consequently, this is a pretty low-key send-off, though at the very least, unlike Terror and Final Wars, it is a send-off. … More The Iron Horse has Lasers | Godzilla vs. Destoroyah (1995) Review

Atomic Superwoman | Godzilla vs. SpaceGodzilla (1994) Review

November 7, 2023

The previous installment, Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II, was one movie too many. I’d actually forgotten it existed before embarking on this review journey more than a year ago. After watching Godzilla and Mothra, I was dreading it, while conversely looking forward to SpaceGodzilla, and so the two came to represent a binary in my mind. On one hand, you have a competent but generic Heisei Godzilla movie, one which introduces absolutely nothing new, and on the other hand, you have the movie where the tip of Godzilla’s tail is coming off. What better visual metaphor for a series that’s run its course? Godzilla vs. SpaceGodzilla is exactly what I want from a long-running film franchise: “We’ve run out of ideas, so let’s make crap up.” It wouldn’t be competent but unhinged, and it wouldn’t be generic but, indeed, unhinged. … More Atomic Superwoman | Godzilla vs. SpaceGodzilla (1994) Review

More Dinosaurs | Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II (1993) Review

November 6, 2023

By this point in the Godzilla chronicles, I feel a bit lost. Our feature tonight, Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II, is a perfect entry in the Heisei series. It checks all the boxes of everything that worked in the past, so what worries me is that when the boxes are checked, we’re still left with a mediocre film. And “mediocre” might be a funny word to use. I mean, these movies were produced practically nonstop, and for a young audience, whose chief and maybe only stipulation is that Godzilla appears. That’s a big check. But reviewing this movie positively – which I’d fully anticipated, having a brief idea of its general reputation – wouldn’t be very useful. Not that any of the lessons we might pull from Mechagodzilla II can be applied to future films, as they’ve already been made, but goddamn it – or Godzilla it – they could have. … More More Dinosaurs | Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II (1993) Review

Sometimes Film Criticism is Dead

October 31, 2023

Here’s what’s gonna happen: I will watch a horror movie made for children, and not write about it because there’s no use. Nobody cares if this movie is “good” or “bad,” or even “recommended.” It simply is. Other horror titles, like The Banana Splits Movie and Willy’s Wonderland, were produced to capitalize on the market this intellectual property created (most likely). And at the end of it, the Five Nights at Freddy’s movie proved a box office success in a wild year of ups and downs. … More Sometimes Film Criticism is Dead

K-Drama Report: Doona! (2023)

October 29, 2023

Beautifully directed and powerfully acted, in a roundabout way, this ultimately inconclusive series proves to me that K-drama storytelling is storytelling. Now, a phrase like that is always gonna sound defensive, but I’ve had reason to doubt the form ever since annyeong. I mean, we all sort of agree that “K-dramas” are a single thing, which is the opposite of how we talk about anime. There is no “Belladonna of Sadness to Clannad” range to the K-drama, and its assessment requires a different language. It isn’t “That first kiss was so formulaic,” but “How good was The First Kiss?” However, The First Kiss isn’t just two people kissing, nor is a K-drama just a series of sympathetic faces and crying and swooning. … More K-Drama Report: Doona! (2023)

The Big Fat Chill Kill

October 21, 2023

Red Velvet’s latest album is on its way, born into controversy as befitting any high-profile K-pop group – I suppose! With turmoil at the top of SM and a group lifespan nearing ten years, I figured Red Velvet was in the midst of an exit strategy, promoting solo acts and mixing members into other groups. This is how they always manage to surprise me. But I first heard about “the new album” from the opposite perspective: fans apparently angry that Red Velvet hasn’t released an album since 2017. Now, if you’re like me, you’re thinking, “What are you talking about?! They put out an album every year! They work themselves to death!” If anything, 2023 ought to be an exception, given they’ve been touring all over the eastern hemisphere. Guys, you know, the “globe” in “global tour” also includes America. … More The Big Fat Chill Kill

Beautiful Violence | Raise the Red Lantern (1991) Review

September 22, 2023

All of the great films I’ve seen this year – John Wick: Chapter 4, Dragon Inn, Ran – left me thrilled or excited or breathless but intact. It’s been a long time that I’ve been this shaken by a movie. The credits rolled and the Blu-ray disc whirred inside the PS4 and I clicked around for a bit, first on the trailer by accident and then on an interview with film historian Tony Raynes. I had no idea what he was saying. I just sat there, responded to a couple of texts, and realized that as much as I’d been planning on writing a review for Raise the Red Lantern – this site would be incomplete without it! – doing so would mean lingering in that head space, and returning to that world. … More Beautiful Violence | Raise the Red Lantern (1991) Review

Deduction, Not Reduction | Lady Detective Shadow (2018) Review

September 16, 2023

I’ll be honest, I watched this movie in three installments, against the ticking clock of a 48-hour rental on Amazon Prime Video. For the first few minutes of the second session, I was convinced the playback hadn’t remembered where I left off. “Didn’t I already see this part where they force their way into the inn, witness a fight, then talk with the police?” I sure had, but it happens again, with variations enough for a kind of “can you spot the difference?” puzzle. To be honest once more, I had no earthly idea what was going on in this movie, and I doubt an undisrupted viewing experience would’ve done the trick. I may be among that special few who find kung fu movie plots confusing, but I have a feeling, in this case, I can share the blame: myself, the movie, and fate (as authored by the logistics of international film distribution). … More Deduction, Not Reduction | Lady Detective Shadow (2018) Review

K-Drama Report: Hello, My Twenties! Part II

August 25, 2023

I’d also recommend Hello, My Twenties! but I can’t yet because we have the rare second season to contend with. So to cap off the first, I want to start with something a little bit different, which is to review the show’s character dynamics. It’s an assertion on my part that they’re the heart of the series, but that may or may not be true. In the meantime, they at least set parameters for my expectations going forward. (Because I love them so much!) … More K-Drama Report: Hello, My Twenties! Part II

K-Drama Report: Hello, My Twenties! (2016)

August 19, 2023

A couple of years ago, I started seeing clips online for a K-drama entitled Work Later, Drink Now, starring Eunji from Apink, and I was frustrated because it never showed up on any legal streaming platforms. I really liked the idea of a show that centered on a group of women, in a more casual setting than the workplaces of, say, Search: WWW. And somehow this led me to Hello, My Twenties!, but I think it was probably just that clip of Ryu Hwa-young planting one on Han Seung-yeon, and I’ve got both shows mixed up in my head. But when it came time to choose which one to watch first, the occasion of my 30th birthday made the decision easy: I will start watching the show called Hello, My Twenties! … More K-Drama Report: Hello, My Twenties! (2016)