Tag: Documentary

Godzilla Mentioned | Fukushima: A Nuclear Nightmare (2026) Review

March 16, 2026

My reaction to the HBO documentary on the Fukushima nuclear accident was somewhat fussy. I found it moving, then odd, then moving again, and ultimately, wanting. How could a movie that elicited genuine emotion be, in the end, kind of mediocre? For starters, and despite the star rating, I would absolutely recommend Fukushima: A Nuclear Nightmare. If you’re familiar with the event – as I so was, having done what I assume was Wikipedia-level research for a post about Shin Godzilla – it’s a more intimate look at the human cost, and if you’re unfamiliar or have largely forgotten, it’s a great overview. I’d love to say it’s scarily relevant, but only in how much “World War III” has been trending lately between four nuclear powers. My understanding of the event begins with politics, that the meltdown scare was the result of corporate mismanagement and a government too afraid to take consequential action. It begins, truthfully, with Shin Godzilla. The info spinning out of that movie wasn’t contradicted by Fukushima, but it was hinted at, frustratingly. … More Godzilla Mentioned | Fukushima: A Nuclear Nightmare (2026) Review

Highest Tension | Permission to Exist (2020) Review

October 31, 2020

The film Permission to Exist releases December of this year, into a pop culture climate where documentary films and miniseries are bingeably popular, but its journey to screen traces far back, to a time before Tiger King and the Fyre Festival. An independent, crowdsourced production directed by Kelley Katzenmeyer, this broad look at the human cost of South Korea’s intense education system has a personal touch and an empathetic eye, but loses narrative momentum in its hard balance of styles and subjects. Katzenmeyer introduces herself within the film early on as a Korean exchange student dating a boy named Dabin who’s under extreme pressure to rate a perfect score on the national exam and gain access to a prestigious university. Though she keeps the focus of the story on others, her presence is felt as a curious outsider making sense of a foreign concept for the rest of us. If you’re interested in Korean culture, Permission to Exist is a no-brainer, a definitive film document on the subject to stand alone should Netflix or Hulu one day replicate it, because of the director’s unique perspective. … More Highest Tension | Permission to Exist (2020) Review