King of Monsters and Box Office: Godzilla Minus One Movie Review - The Short Box Podcast Ep. 413

[00:00:00] Intro music plays

[00:00:29] Badr: Yo, ShortBox Nation! Welcome back to the podcast. If you're new to the show, welcome. My name is Badr, and this is the ShortBox Podcast, the comic book talk show that brings you the best conversations about comics and pop culture inspired by comics. This is episode 413, and despite what I said last episode about taking this week off, I guess if I'm to further quote the Jigga Man, I can't leave the pod alone, the game needs me!

[00:00:55] Badr: And truth be told, I watched Godzilla Minus One for the second time in theaters this week, and that just overall inspired me to fire up the mics again. And I wanted to record a little banter, a little commentary, if you will. And I figured, you know what, some of you might appreciate a movie review over having no episode at all.

[00:01:13] Badr: And for what it's worth, this movie, right now, if you asked me what's my favorite movie that I've watched this year and I've watched a good bit of them, not all of them, but a good bit, I'd have to say this might be my favorite movie of the year and I have a feeling, I got a, I got an inkling that might be true for some of you out there.

[00:01:27] Badr: Now we'll see where this lands on my list when I start finalizing and doing my best of year list, but right now it's sitting, it's sitting at the top. So I've got a case of, uh, I got a case of Godzilla fever and I'm embracing it. And this episode also gives me an excuse to invite Corey Torgerson, the biggest Godzilla fan that I know, back on the podcast this week.

[00:01:45] Badr: You've heard him on the podcast before, and you'll hear from him again here in a minute. Corey's the host of The World is My Burrito podcast, or TWMBIE as we like to shorten it. It is a podcast focused on reviews and deep dives into Japanese and American pop culture, its effect on history. As well as the philosophy behind and within said content.

[00:02:05] Badr: It's a great podcast and you should subscribe to it and add it to your lineup. If you like, or if you want deep dives into Japanese pop culture like Pluto, Shin Kamen Rider. He did an episode on Ghost of Tsushima. Uh, obviously he's done an episode, a few episodes on Godzilla and so on. Check it out. The world is my burrito podcast.

[00:02:23] Badr: Now, with that said, if you haven't seen Godzilla minus one yet, or if you have any plans at all, maybe you've got, maybe you bought some tickets. Maybe you're catching it tonight or later this week. Uh, this might be a good place to pause this episode and save it for later. We will be talking about important plot points, as well as scenes that might spoil the movie for you.

[00:02:41] Badr: So consider this your first spoiler warning. And before we go any further, uh, and begin talking about everyone's favorite King of Monsters, I want to give a Godzilla sized shout out to our sponsor for this episode, Gotham City Limit. It's Jackville's best shop for comics, toys, collectibles, and more. If you live in Jax, make sure you stop by the shop sometime this month and enjoy their 24 days of sale event that's currently going on.

[00:03:03] Badr: It's a month long giant sale event. Every day is a different sale. And if you don't live in Jax, enjoy the steals and deals from the comfort of home, no matter where you are. By shopping their online store at gothamcitylimit. com with the bills paid and the housekeeping done. I'm going to give one last warning that we are now entering spoiler territory from this point forward.

[00:03:24] Badr: So please, if you haven't seen the movie, if you got plans to see it, I'm warning you now proceed at your own caution. And with that said. Let's start our Godzilla review and welcome Corey Torchton to the podcast finally. What up, Corey? How you doing, 

[00:03:37] Kory Torjussen: brother? Yo, yo. What is up, man? Thanks for having me. I 

[00:03:41] Badr: feel like you'd probably cut our friendship short if I didn't, you know, at least extend an invite to you for a Godzilla episode.

[00:03:48] Badr: You know, like we rarely 

[00:03:48] Kory Torjussen: have Yeah, maybe, maybe. 

[00:03:52] Badr: Now, you were the right man for the job, and there was, I had a feeling, I was like, you know, I, this is so short notice, I mean, who am I going to get on the pod, just gotta make sure that someone's watched the movie that's available, and I was like, you know who fits all of those criteria, and has probably seen the movie more than I have, is Corey Torgerson.

[00:04:09] Kory Torjussen: Yeah, man. Again. Yeah. Thanks for that invite. Cause it, uh, uh, I mean, it is such a massive movie. It's, it's a lot more so than, um, you know, I kind of feel like some of the previous stuff that we got, not as big of a deal to have on, you know, short box for like the animated series and stuff like that. But this man, this is, you know, all the awards and stuff that it's getting.

[00:04:30] Kory Torjussen: It's a short box worthy movie for sure. 

[00:04:33] Badr: Now, Corey, before we get into a Godzilla and the movie, I do want to obviously ask about, uh, Twimby and, and your podcast. I was trying to find when's the last time you were on the short box. And if I'm not mistaken, it was last year for our Halloween episode, our spooky, uh, short box episode.

[00:04:50] Badr: We did the horror comic spotlight. I believe you, uh, spotlighted, uh, blood on the leaves. What am I thinking? That's a Kanye West song. That's Blood on the Tracks. Blood on the Tracks. That's right. That was last year. How is the podcast doing? How 

[00:05:02] Kory Torjussen: is Twimby? It's doing well. Um, it took me a long time to release, uh, Pluto.

[00:05:08] Kory Torjussen: Cause part of that was like how I started writing it. Um, and then, you know, I got in my own way of doing stuff. Uh, which I'm sure you're very familiar with that. You, you lay out the best plans that have the best intentions. And then you yourself are the greatest problem. Oh 

[00:05:24] Badr: man. Yeah. Look last week's episode.

[00:05:26] Badr: I, I read no surprise probably to anyone, but I definitely had to, um, rerecord a few parts of the intro and something as small as like an intro or, uh, sometimes I'll rerecord like transitions cause I'm like, ah, I didn't really flow that well or that smooth. I end up recording like 30, 40 minutes for essentially like a five minute part, so I know that very well.

[00:05:46] Badr: Yeah, 

[00:05:47] Kory Torjussen: it can definitely be, um, you know, entertaining in its own right. Biggest issue being writing out, like Pluto in particular, which I would absolutely recommend anyone listen to that. Um, it was shorter than I expected, but As I was writing it out, I realized that I wanted to say something other than what I was writing.

[00:06:06] Kory Torjussen: So I basically overhauled the entire episode, but with the, the inclusion of something like taquitos, uh, which are my mini sodes, uh, that's kind of why I want to do those as it's getting like harder and harder to do some of these like hour and change episodes with 30 something pages of notes, you know, so the taquitos and then movies like, you know, Godzilla minus one coming out.

[00:06:27] Kory Torjussen: It's very motivating. And actually, the only other short episode I've ever done, and this is back in the beginning, was on Godzilla vs. Kong. It's, it was my only other, like, 15 minute episode, and I was like, man, I should do this more often. This is, like, low pressure, real easy, 

[00:06:43] Badr: man. I've been challenging myself to do more.

[00:06:46] Badr: To do more like of those, those style episodes where it's like, let me just hop on the mic, spitball kind of banter. And if I end up doing more, a more structured episode, I might challenge myself to do maybe a little less editing. Just let the natural, I guess, conversation shine. And it's been a, it's made a world of difference in terms of like getting episodes up faster, just, uh, cutting down on my, you know, production time and all of that.

[00:07:10] Badr: So I am here for more taquitos. Hell, actually, right now, I'm here for some real life taquitos as well, alright, not just the podcast, but some real ones. I could use it. Alright, let's get into Godzilla. At the time of this recording, this movie is currently sitting at a 97 and a 98 on Rotten Tomatoes. 97 being the critic score, 98 being the audience score.

[00:07:32] Badr: I mean, fantastic, you know, scores. I think on Metacritic, which doesn't have nearly as many reviews compared to Rotten Tomatoes, I think that's sitting at a 7. 9, I think around an 8. The movie in terms of monetary success, it has grossed north of 45 million globally at the time of this recording. I believe it's also the highest grossing Japanese live action film of all time in North America, according to one article that I read.

[00:08:00] Badr: So I guess just to go ahead and get to rip the band aid off, how would you 

[00:08:03] Kory Torjussen: rate it? Oh yeah, definitely, uh, you know, out of five, I'd put it at five star, you know, I would say it is a hundred percent movie. I can see where, like, the 97s and 98s, you know, come from, because there's Little bits of goofiness to it, but if you're a fan of the franchise as a whole, uh, the, the movie is perfection, you know, but yeah, it's, it's definitely, and I, as far as message goes, there's not a whole lot of Godzilla movies with actual messages, but, um, this one is, you know, top three for me, you know, it, it boots out one of the previous ones.

[00:08:37] Kory Torjussen: What 

[00:08:37] Badr: was your list looking like prior to this movie in terms of like favorite Godzilla movies of all time? 

[00:08:43] Kory Torjussen: Man, all time. Yeah, my, my number one for me is actually still Godzilla vs. Biollante, which is an absolutely terrible movie. It's because of the time period. And it's because of what it was trying to do.

[00:08:56] Kory Torjussen: It did recreate Godzilla, uh, Godzilla vs. Biollante, top film, um, the original Godzilla. Because it is such a dramatic film, it has a message that even today, um, no one has listened to, which is why Shin Godzilla, the film, exists. And then, I don't know, probably one of the goofier ones like Godzilla vs.

[00:09:17] Kory Torjussen: Megalon. You know, I lean towards the goofy ones, but the ones with messages are Very important to have in that franchise. So 

[00:09:25] Badr: what movie did minus one bump out in the top spot? 

[00:09:29] Kory Torjussen: So if I went with messages with messages, it was still the original shin Godzilla second, and then, uh, GMK Godzilla, Mothra, King Ghidorah, giant monsters, all out attack.

[00:09:40] Kory Torjussen: And that is the direct translation, but it boots out GMK because the message in GMK was actually, um, forgetting those who fought in the war. Uh, it's, it's still very vanilla on, like, judging Japan for doing anything wrong. Um, but it is very much, you know, regardless, like, the movie is about what happens when you just lose respect for those who fought for your country.

[00:10:07] Kory Torjussen: Um, and in this case, it's a giant evil monster appears from the ocean and starts wrecking everything, uh, to help you remember a little better. If that 

[00:10:16] Badr: don't help you remember, 

[00:10:17] Kory Torjussen: I don't know what will. Yeah, and I, I think this, uh, this probably, that boots GMK out and I would say, I would say it goes above Shin Godzilla.

[00:10:26] Kory Torjussen: Okay. Um, because of execution, like the message is great. It's something that's eternal. And then the execution again, if you're a fan of the entire franchise, it is, you know, I think perfection 

[00:10:39] Badr: well said in retrospect. I don't think I had anything. I mean, even now, I don't think I have anything to complain about this movie.

[00:10:45] Badr: I've been thinking about the last, you know, I've seen it 2 times in total and I'm trying to think if there was any at points that took me out of it. Uh, that may be dragged or just were not, you know, impressive to me. And I can't, I mean, the list is very short. I mean, you know, you mentioned that maybe there was, there's definitely a scene that's rather wacky and goofy that might've maybe took me out of it.

[00:11:07] Badr: But even that scene, and you know, I guess at this point we're in the spoiler territory, so we can share it. Uh, the, the professor, uh, in this movie, I think definitely. Is a little goofy and wacky at times, especially when he's like, sharing his, uh, It wasn't the most genius idea in my opinion, but it was all that, you know, it was desperation, it's all they had, so.

[00:11:26] Badr: Yeah. You know, he was the man with the plan, but I definitely think that scene where, you know, he's being very, uh, dramatic and, and overly, uh, kinda goofy, uh, might be the only thing that was kind of like, Oh, this took me out of it. But even then I thought it was funny as hell. I was like, Oh, they know what they're doing.

[00:11:41] Badr: Like, this is obviously a callback to, you know, something. And I'm sure like, um, you know, Godzilla fans of your ilk, uh, appreciated like the callback to it. I didn't really have much to complain. And everyone that I saw the movie with, this was maybe the one movie where we didn't have much like negative things to say, which brings me to, to my next question.

[00:12:00] Badr: I've seen it twice. I believe you've seen it twice as well. Right. And would you say Would you say it was just as good as seeing the first time or better, or did you feel like did it lose any of its impact upon the second rewatch? 

[00:12:13] Kory Torjussen: It definitely, it doesn't lose any impact. Um, the, the second time is like the easy watch.

[00:12:18] Kory Torjussen: I, I try to go in anytime with a Godzilla movie. To just like appreciate what's in front of me, you know, it's, it's not to be weighed against other things. That's usually the second watch where it's like, now I've seen it. I know what's coming. I can look in all the corners. It's like, you know, the same thing with a horror film, you know, to look in the corners next time with this, when you're just.

[00:12:38] Kory Torjussen: I can look at more things. I can go into it easier. I can see if there's more Easter eggs that I missed the first time and more of a brain shut off mode to see if there's anything on the surface that's like, wait, this doesn't actually make any sense whatsoever. Um, and it, it, the second watch is just as good.

[00:12:56] Kory Torjussen: Uh, you know, the, you don't have to think about the message as much because you've already experienced it. Um, I didn't really pick up on anything easter eggy, it's probably gonna be a lot easier to rewatch than like shin Godzilla was, you know, shin Godzilla is a dark comedy and nothing is funny minus one is like, man, this is just easy.

[00:13:16] Kory Torjussen: Um, it was the only movie where I remember, like, I never checked the time during the movie. Um, but I checked it after and it's like 125 minutes runtime. And I was like, you are kidding me. Like that was such an easy watch. It felt like maybe an hour 45 tops, but it was just so easy to 

[00:13:33] Badr: sit through it for sure.

[00:13:35] Badr: The second watch was my attempt at sharing this experience with I went with my with my brother and I went with life. So the whole time I'm like hyping this movie up to them like guys, it is Life changing, like, I can't wait for you to watch. I'm like really hyping it up and I'm, you know, and I'm not even worried that it'll live up because I know it will.

[00:13:53] Badr: So for the second one for me was like their enthusiasm was like a nice payoff, like to look to my left and my brother's jaw is like open and on the ground and, you know, to look to my right and life is like teary eyed and, you know, like enjoying it as much. So this is a movie that I felt like I became an evangelist for.

[00:14:12] Badr: Like, I'm, I'm spreading the word, like, you gotta go see it, you know, I'm, I'm saying these, like, massive, uh, hyperbole filled statements about how good it is, and I'm, I'm, like, I'm, I'm in it, I believe, like, what I'm, what I'm saying, like, hey, this is, uh, you know, an experience, this is going to be a movie that we That years from now, I think, you know, you will be able to proudly say, Oh, I saw that in theater.

[00:14:33] Badr: I got to experience, you know, like minus one, you know, coming to the States and, you know, I saw it opening weekend. And what's cool is that sure enough, the same night that I went to go see it, uh, they made the announcement that they're expanding, um, it's viewing, I guess, and more. Theaters, but I don't know if they talked about how long, much longer they'll keep it.

[00:14:52] Badr: I think I read one, I saw one line from the director or maybe, um, uh, a rep from the studio that will keep playing it as long as people want to see it. 

[00:15:02] Kory Torjussen: Yeah. Cause I think it was through the end of the month. Cause I didn't realize that it had like a hard stop on like the seventh or eighth or something like that.

[00:15:10] Kory Torjussen: Um, so it was only in theaters, uh, technically starting as early as the 29th. Of November, um, the official release date was December 1st, and then I think it was like the 7th or 8th and it was day of or day before the final day. Um, it's, it was originally only in a thousand theaters, I think. Wow. And then they moved it up to 2, 500.

[00:15:34] Kory Torjussen: That 

[00:15:34] Badr: is a massive jump, right? 

[00:15:36] Kory Torjussen: Yeah, 150 percent more theaters. Yeah, making it more available. Uh, we live in florida. So theaters, it's not that big of a deal to go find a theater that's going to have this, but I did have a buddy up in new Hampshire. Tell me that for shin Godzilla, he had to drive. An hour and a half or like two hours away for the nearest theater that played that.

[00:15:56] Kory Torjussen: Um, yeah. What he, he drove the length of the movie to go see the movie, um, and yeah, and Shin was or not Shin, uh, minus one, uh, was in like a nearby theater, you know, probably only like 30 minutes away. So it's, you know, that availability, man, that has an impact. I think it's probably 

[00:16:17] Badr: safe to say that this is a prime example of, like, the power of word of mouth.

[00:16:22] Badr: Like, really helping this movie and getting people interested and getting the hype going. And you mentioned something about, you know, being on Godzilla forums, which doesn't surprise me, right? Like I mentioned at the top, you're probably the biggest and most well informed Godzilla fan that I know. So from that perspective, being a lifelong, Fan of Godzilla and the franchise.

[00:16:41] Badr: What's the temperature like for fellow Godzilla heads? Like at this current moment, like, is, is everyone excited that, you know, that everyone else is into the movie and it's getting such high praise, like, are, are even, I guess what I'm asking is, are even the diehards and, you know, those snobbiest of Godzilla fans, are they just as excited and happy about the, the reception and the success so far?

[00:17:03] Kory Torjussen: Yeah, I would say overall. Um, that is what I've seen is like everyone is for it. Um, there's a couple of other points in the film that people are a little tepid on, but it's, it's one of those that like a second film, which I think it was, I don't know, yesterday or the day before, uh, the director mentioned that he would like to do a second film and is hoping that that's, you know, on the docket for Toho, You know, I think this movie will only get better with a second film.

[00:17:35] Kory Torjussen: So I think anything that anyone has issues with, um, in this film, you know, and at At greatest, they're all minor. Um, you know, it's all going to get paid off if there is a second film. Uh, so yeah, I would say everyone right now, they were all hype for its release. And so far it's been an echo chamber of this is a great movie.

[00:17:56] Kory Torjussen: This is an awesome movie. It's the best thing I've ever seen, you know, with a lot of people, it generally goes straight to the top. Uh, I think this is a lot easier to consume than even the original. Um, so I feel like for many people, minus one is, you know, they're number one. You know, if you're going for the dramatic and not the corny stuff, 

[00:18:15] Badr: that's fair.

[00:18:16] Badr: And in terms of the director, man, I guess really, let's just talk about the cast as a whole. The director is Takashi Yamazaki. He was not only the director, but I understand he was kind of like a. a triple threat in terms of this movie. He's the director. He's the writer. He's the super, or visual effects supervisor.

[00:18:36] Badr: Were you familiar with any of his prior work or really, I guess, in extending that to the whole cast for you? Um, were you familiar with anyone in this cast, in this lineup prior to this movie, any of their other bodies of work or other movies they've been 

[00:18:50] Kory Torjussen: So, uh, the director, I think I'd only ever seen one other film of his.

[00:18:57] Kory Torjussen: Uh, and that is a movie called returner from 2002. I loved it growing up. Um, I haven't watched it in a long time, so I can't, uh, I can't attest to its quality, but he is one of those directors that I've not seen, but heard of a lot of the stuff he's done, like he did Lupin the third. The first is the title of the movie from 2019.

[00:19:20] Kory Torjussen: I really wanted to see it. Just haven't seen it yet. Um, he did the parasite, the Maxim movies, uh, which is a horror manga and anime, the space battleship Yamato from 2010. I haven't, I don't know if I've seen that one or not. I got to double check. Um, cause I've seen one of those films. Uh, but either way, it's one of those that it's like, I was looking through everything that he's done and it's like, man, I've almost seen a lot of these movies.

[00:19:44] Kory Torjussen: It's so weird the cast. I'm not as familiar with, I don't recall there being really anyone from previous Godzilla films. Um, like this one, I think was. I think was entirely new people. They're not trying to throw in, you know, cameos and stuff because they want it to be its own thing. They want it to be taken seriously and not weighed on.

[00:20:09] Kory Torjussen: You know, people who've been in a movie that may not have been the same temperature as this. 

[00:20:13] Badr: So, for the most part, it was like fresh faces for the franchise 

[00:20:16] Kory Torjussen: as a whole. Okay. In general, like in Japanese cinema, because this is something I was reading, I don't know if it was this morning or last night, uh, like, effects wise.

[00:20:26] Kory Torjussen: This is absurdly good for a movie. That's almost entirely CG and the budget was under 15 million. Um, and it's like, weigh that against a marvel movie and a lot of the comments are, well, they always try to get new actors, so they don't have to pay them as much. You know, there's no already jays in this movie.

[00:20:48] Kory Torjussen: Um, You know, cause God paying him is like three or four times when this movie calls to make just to have him in there. Yeah. So, yeah, like that's how they're able to kind of keep those budgets low is by getting a lot of new faces up and coming actors. And, you know, this could be the launching point, but I want to say the, the main two people are like fairly popular in their own rights, but this being kind of an additional slingshot for their careers.

[00:21:14] Badr: Yeah, I noticed on the IMDb, the actress that plays Noriko, uh, her name is Minami Hamabi. And I'm, and I'm gonna go ahead and do a blanket apology across this entire episode if I slaughter, butcher, or fuck up any names. Alright, I'm going to accept, I'm going to do that. But I noticed that she's got top billing, um, at least on the IMDb.

[00:21:35] Badr: And then obviously the, um, uh, the, uh, lead character, uh, who is Ko is it Koichi Shikashima? I think that is the name of the character. Shikishima, 

[00:21:44] Kory Torjussen: yeah. 

[00:21:45] Badr: But he is played by an actor by the name of, uh, Ryunosuke Kamiki, um, who has a very interesting story by the way. I don't know if you, uh, if you're up on this, Corey, or not, or read through his IMDb, but I'll just share it here because I was like, oh, that's pretty cool.

[00:21:59] Badr: Yeah, go ahead. Apparently when he was born, he was diagnosed with a rare disease. He is one of the lucky few, like, of the 1 percent who survived this disease. They don't have it listed on the IMDb. I'm not sure exactly what disease, but, uh, sounds like he has got extremely lucky. And it says here, to celebrate this miracle, his mother decided to register him as a child actor in an agency to record his growth, which I thought was a very interesting way to celebrate.

[00:22:24] Badr: Okay. It says he acted in his first TV ad when he was 2, and then quickly became, you know, uh, one of the best child actors of his generation, according to IMDb, uh, some credits to his name are, it looks like a few animated movies, one is called Your Name, uh, he's acted in The Secret World of, uh, Arrietty, Uh, he's got, uh, a credit, uh, in spirited way.

[00:22:44] Badr: He was the voice of Bo is what he's credited as. Um, but it sounds like for the most part, um, this was, you know, to your point, like his kind of big breakout film and going back to Menami Hamabi. She plays opposite of him as his main, uh, love interest. It looks like, I'm not familiar with these, uh, movies either, but she's, uh, I guess she was in Shin Kamen Rider, which I want to go see, uh, that came out this year.

[00:23:06] Badr: Oh, yeah. Uh, she was in Let Me Eat Your Pancreas. 

[00:23:10] Kory Torjussen: What the fuck? Don't even Yeah. Yeah, welcome to Japan. 

[00:23:14] Badr: Gotcha, gotcha. So, I guess I have to say, I'm not familiar, uh, obviously, you know, I'm not familiar with either of these two, but it's cool to hear that these are, you know, maybe not The most well established or well known faces.

[00:23:26] Badr: And you were getting to watch maybe in potentially like their big breakout movie, um, and you know, a big launching point for their career. 

[00:23:34] Kory Torjussen: Yeah. It, um, cause looking at, uh, you know, Ska's work. Like, that's all VA. So, you know, this is his time to be seen, you know, in face. Um, and then Minami, like, Shin Kamen Rider, I don't know, Hideaki Anno, that director, is the only person who at this point people give him, like, whatever the hell budget he wants, and somehow he still makes these amazing indie movies.

[00:24:01] Kory Torjussen: Because he did Shin Godzilla, which is less indie, but Shin Kamen Rider. Good God. That is a very lame movie, but it is charming as hell. This will be the movie that they're like remembered for. Probably attached 

[00:24:13] Badr: to for the rest of their lives. Yeah. Corey, you brought up the budget. And, uh, the visual effects, it was definitely one of the shining compliments that I've heard, echoed a few times, just how good the visual effects is, how good, you know, Godzilla looks, how good the action scenes are, um, and that was something that, uh, that Blythe echoed when we left the movie was, man, the, you know, there was no point that I felt that the visual effects felt wonky or, you know, or, or bad and yeah, I, I definitely will echo that and spotlight that as a big point of, of praise is that, um, yeah.

[00:24:47] Badr: Godzilla looked fucking great in this movie. Would 

[00:24:49] Kory Torjussen: you agree? Oh yeah, he looked good. And one of the, this is the weirdest thing that stands out to me. Um, both watches, but his belly jiggle because he has like belly jiggle physics. And I was watching this and like, that's another one of those things. Yeah.

[00:25:08] Kory Torjussen: It's like balances out the, the severity with like the reality and kind of the goofiness of it. Um, you know, it really does balance the tone. The look was great and they put a lot of thought into, um, you know, behind how it would move. 

[00:25:23] Badr: He was a big boy. He had some chunky legs, man. One of them thighs would feed a whole nation for months.

[00:25:30] Kory Torjussen: Oh yeah, absolutely. But it, I love that design. Cause it reminds me a lot of, uh, like the nineties Godzilla. Uh, the Heisei era, because that one at the time had some of the chunkiest legs of any of the Godzillas. And then this one came out and it's very similar to that visual aesthetic. Um, but yeah, it was very cool.

[00:25:51] Kory Torjussen: Uh, and one of the weird things that they don't draw any attention to it. Um, the, our elbow spikes. He has, like, spikes coming out the backside of his 

[00:26:01] Badr: Oh, I think I might have missed that myself. Yeah. From the top up, I will say, like, in certain scenes, he just seemed really stiff. This Godzilla was more of a force of nature, you know?

[00:26:11] Badr: Like, he didn't have any There was no motive to any of, like, why he did it. Like, this is just You know, he's a creature. This was his habit of just destruction. None of this was personal. I think, to me, it just made him even more terrifying that, like, he had No regard to anything that was around him, right?

[00:26:26] Badr: Like he didn't give a shit about the destruction he was causing, you know, so it only made it a little more scary of how stiff he would move and like, just how, you know, the dead eyes 

[00:26:35] Kory Torjussen: that he had. He's not supposed to be a land creature. Uh, and I think that's kind of like when you look at the evolution of the, even the suit over time.

[00:26:45] Kory Torjussen: Um, It's, you know, part land, part aquatic, but the, the lore of Godzilla goes further and further, like, it's always based in water, but then the suit design starts leaning more to favor. The water in this one, when he pops out, you know, just like you said, it's like, man, it's very stiff arm movement, then it's like, what does he need those for?

[00:27:04] Kory Torjussen: If he's mostly he's fast in the water. Um, and they go so far out of the way to show you that he moves so slowly on land. Just that methodical machine. Well said methodicals 

[00:27:16] Badr: word. Yeah. 

[00:27:16] Kory Torjussen: Yeah. He does not move quickly. It's not as fun as like any of the people in suits, but I feel like it's a little more.

[00:27:24] Kory Torjussen: Realistic, you know, to have that build. 

[00:27:27] Badr: Yeah. He was like a giant wrecking ball, like just moving much slower. Well, well said. I didn't even think about that, that point of him being a, uh, primary. Cause you know, when he's underwater, you know, he's moving like a ballerina. Weightless. Yeah. Yeah. Like a ballerina.

[00:27:40] Badr: I was thinking about the spikes on his back. Have they always been that pronounced? I don't know, something about the size of those spikes, and especially when he's underwater. In certain scenes, like, all you see is the spikes. It looked like an angry, moving island, at times. You know, it's like, that island, you don't want to fuck with that island.

[00:27:58] Badr: Matter of fact, it's coming towards you. Don't go over there. Yeah, have the spikes always been that pronounced, and that, you know, just jagged, and just, I don't know, overall just kind of scary looking? 

[00:28:07] Kory Torjussen: The, this is the most pronounced, but millennium would be kind of similar, uh, because millennium, um, starting in 99 intentionally got away from the, uh, softer spikes of like from 54 all the way to like 95.

[00:28:25] Kory Torjussen: Um, yeah, they'd always been kind of soft and rounded. Then millennium got a little bit sharper. And then between that, um, you know, it kind of flexes back and forth, but this, that was one of the first things that stood out, uh, is like. Even the smaller form was, holy shit, these spikes are massive and very ugly looking, you know, which just adds to the threat of this giant thing.

[00:28:50] Badr: Yeah, it's like, not only can he, you know, destroy buildings with his tail, not only will he squish, you know, a football team, you know, with his feet. But it's also got spikes, so we can't attack it from the back. Yeah. Yeah. The battle damage throughout the movie was, was also like a, another cool feature to it as well.

[00:29:07] Badr: Like, as far as like, the overall look of Godzilla and, and, you know, this was not a pretty Godzilla. He was a big boy, and he was not a pretty big boy. Like, especially towards the end of the movie, the fact that he kept some of the battle scars and he had certain patches that just They didn't necessarily heal very well.

[00:29:21] Badr: The ships put up some sort of fight and at least like there was battle scars to show that like, you know, this Godzilla could be theoretically defeated or had some sort of weakness or at least, you know, felt the damage 

[00:29:33] Kory Torjussen: at that. Yeah, it, it felt it. And I'm glad you mentioned that. Cause I feel like a couple of people missed out on that when he got his face blown off in the beginning of the movie that never heals to the same color.

[00:29:44] Kory Torjussen: Throughout the entire movie, it's always a different color than the rest of his body. Um, and that. Like noticing that is like, Oh shit, that's so all these other things are probably, you know, damage from ships. Uh, and we don't, we never see him grow. We see two different sizes, but I kind of only imagine that there's probably a growth spurt because it's taking down larger and larger ships.

[00:30:07] Kory Torjussen: So in my mind, that's alluding to like. You know, it's growing and it is overcoming. It's able to take on bigger prey, which is why it has all those scars. Like some of those are, you know, probably from something dumb that it had to learn the hard way, but yeah, it's, I really appreciated that attention to detail that the damage never truly heals.

[00:30:27] Kory Torjussen: There's always something that's left behind on it. I want to 

[00:30:30] Badr: talk about scenes that stood out to you, like scenes that you, that are still like, that are still rattling around in your brain after seeing it twice. Uh, when you think about like those scenes and which ones still stand out, what, what come to mind for you?

[00:30:42] Kory Torjussen: Uh, the, the main one, I was the only person in the theater that like exclaimed anything was when the professor, uh, was straight up calling out Japan for, uh, how they treated their soldiers in World War II. Um, most people don't realize that there were other wars. Japan had other wars going on. World War Two just kind of benefited them to like ally with the Germans and just be like, okay, you guys stay over there.

[00:31:08] Kory Torjussen: Don't bother us over here because they were fighting in China, uh, during the second Sino Japanese war and there were. They overextended. It's, you know, your classic military tale of, uh, you know, back home, everything's great. Japan as a nation is taken over the world. Um, while over in China and throughout all of Asia.

[00:31:32] Kory Torjussen: So not just trying to Korea. Um, if you ever look at a map, I'd recommend it, but they owned most of Asia, like just Japan took over most of Asia by themselves. Um, and a lot of that is just because of that overextension, they were having issues with supply lines, getting food all the way out, uh, getting supplies all the way out.

[00:31:53] Kory Torjussen: So people are, you know, dying while serving their country for perfectly. Uh, problems that could be easily solved if they had not been just like, no, go, go, go, keep going, keep doing, keep killing, keep taking over. Uh, and when the war was already lost was when they were like, okay, now we need kamikaze pilots, which was straight up announced.

[00:32:16] Kory Torjussen: And it didn't help at all. Like the war was lost. They just refused to give up, you know, it was the Japanese military government refused to acknowledge that this war was long since over. So that like mind blowing. Cause. Even a couple of decades ago, you could probably, I don't know, you wouldn't have gone to jail, but especially right around World War Two, um, probably would have been killed.

[00:32:40] Kory Torjussen: Like, if you were publicly talking bad about, uh, you know, what the nation's doing, um, you know, at least beaten and have everything that you own, like, removed from your possession. I 

[00:32:51] Badr: mean, is it uncommon for Godzilla films to not be like overtly, I guess, is it because it was overtly direct of, um, criticism about the Japanese government at that time?

[00:33:00] Badr: Is that why it stood out to you? 

[00:33:02] Kory Torjussen: Yeah, it's because it, it says the thing that everyone's thinking, even the original film, like the original film is doing as much as it can to not blame anyone for any one particular thing. It's about responsibility with what we do with this power that we found. Um. You know, it's not judging.

[00:33:19] Kory Torjussen: It's not even judging America. Uh, like you should, Oh, Honda went way out of his way to ensure that America's never mentioned in the original film and that no one is intentionally blamed because once nuclear power existed, it was everyone's problem. But in this one, it's straight up judging Japan. Uh, and I'd mentioned earlier, like one of my other favorite movies was GMK from 2001.

[00:33:43] Kory Torjussen: And like that movie is about not forgetting those who lost their lives in the line of duty. And then this movie is calling out the Japanese government for being the reason why so many of them lost their lives when they probably didn't need to. Uh, because one of the most dramatic points is how much the neighbor is mad at Shikishima for Coming back because she's like, you're a kamikaze pilot.

[00:34:05] Kory Torjussen: You were supposed to die for the country and directly blamed him for that whole village getting destroyed. Um, even though he might not have ever been the guy going for whatever ship did that. So, yeah, that stands out a lot because it's, it's some big political talk that you couldn't get away with, you know, interesting in a different era.

[00:34:25] Badr: This is what I like about, about you and your show, the nuance and attention to detail, especially when it comes to, um, the historical context of things, because if I was to answer the same question about standout scenes, all of mine would be the big explosions, you know? 

[00:34:43] Kory Torjussen: The town go boom. It was great. But on that, you know, I will say the, uh.

[00:34:51] Kory Torjussen: The first blast we get from Godzilla. My God. 

[00:34:55] Badr: Dude, the first time I seen that, I was like, wow, they are really emphasizing, it takes a while for him to charge up. Cause it felt like that Like 10 minutes. Yeah, it felt like it, you know, the spikes just kept going and going and going and going. And there's something about the way that Godzilla cocks His, his, like, whole body back.

[00:35:13] Badr: I think in that first blast, it might have been the se Actually, he does it quite a few number of times. But the first time he cocks his body back and just, like, he's kind of like a fucking shotgun. He cocks it back, and it's straight, like, you know, whole upper body is stiff, and that laser comes out. Man.

[00:35:29] Badr: Incredible. How does this, uh, atomic laser ref hold up to other instances? Like, is this one of the best scenes that we've, is this one of the best ways we've seen it done on, on the big screen or is there other competitors? 

[00:35:46] Kory Torjussen: This is easily the best, uh, because normally it's just lighting like the spikes stay where they are and it's lighting that goes, you know, from the tail to the back, or maybe it's just all the spines like flicker and then light up.

[00:36:00] Kory Torjussen: Um, they've done it a couple of different ways, but in this one. And it, it, it's because it's twofold. I, I was already losing my shit when you see the first tail spike jut out. And it's like, Oh man, this is really cool. Um, and then you watch, you know, like I said, it's like 10 minutes. They, they show you every single individual spine.

[00:36:18] Kory Torjussen: Um, even going to the big ones, which also surprised me. I was like, there's no way it's going to be the giant ones on the back, which then jut right out. Um, but then that was just the primer and it's, he's about to do the blast. And then like all the spikes. Cock in like a trigger, like they pull like a trigger and then he blasts.

[00:36:37] Kory Torjussen: I was like, holy shit. Like this is, you know, it's, it's easily the best breath in the entire franchise. Cause it's the best execution of something that's already existed. So it's, it's both fun. Cause you're like the child inside is like, Oh yeah, I remember this scene. But then, you know, the, the adult in you is like, yo, he's just like each one of those is a primer and then they all like a single trigger go off at once.

[00:37:01] Badr: Yeah. Yeah. Incredible. And I think one of my favorite scenes. the scene towards the end where it's the final battle and he's like fully charged up and he's about to shoot his blast you know this is after he's been dragged to the bottom of the ocean brought back up i love the battle scars that he's got but he charges his blast one more time and the way the camera like pans like it kind of does like a wide pan and it kind of catches him his entire body but he's like you know waist deep in water and he's basically like fucking yelling and he's all blue that scene was i mean You know, it's, it's, I can close my eyes and see it.

[00:37:35] Badr: It was so, it was just like a bit, like just a wow moment, you know, like he's lit up all blue, he's fucked up. His eyes are just like beady eyes. Yeah. Oh my God. Yeah. That the, the, the atomic wrath is fantastic in this movie. One of my favorite scenes for sure. And you know, Cor, I'm just gonna, I kind of got like a laundry list of scenes that stuck out.

[00:37:56] Badr: I guess I could say like the entire two hours worth of movie, but specific scenes that come to mind for me, and feel free to chime in, that opening scene, they waste no time showing Godzilla, right? I think like in the first 10 minutes, we definitely, we definitely get him, you know, we get, you know, the story set up, you know, Kamikaze pilot, uh, kind of, uh, abandoning his duty, you know, we get to meet the, the mechanics on that island, and then a Godzilla attacks at night.

[00:38:20] Badr: And I don't know about you, man, but it got me thinking, what would be scarier than a fucking giant dinosaur monster attacking at night? You know, like, that scene was so chaotic, but definitely set the I think it does such a good job setting the stage of what you're about to get into, right? Like And even then it, you know, far exceeds expectations, but something about that opening scene and it just being nighttime and the, the, the, some of the camera angles were, were underneath Godzilla at times and we're behind him.

[00:38:49] Badr: And we're not really sure where he's coming from. It's something about that night scene to me was just. It definitely let me know, Oh, I'm in for a ride. I'm in for a fucking ride. 

[00:39:00] Kory Torjussen: Yeah, the opening was great. It felt very Jurassic Park. Well said, yeah. You know, with just like, him popping seemingly out of nowhere, takes down the light tower first, and then just wreaks havoc.

[00:39:13] Kory Torjussen: Cause when I first saw it, I was like, he's only like two stories tall. Cause I, I'm trying to get, you know, I'm trying to play like, okay, there's no way that that light tower was like five, six, seven stories tall. And then when it hits me, like how small it is, it's like, Oh shit. You know, there's more to come in this movie.

[00:39:31] Badr: That first attack was baby form compared to what we got. Um, also on my list, as far as cool and standout scenes. Um, what else do I got? I would say, I think the attack on Ginzu was. Was insane, as well, like we get to finally see him in the daytime, you know, in the city, and just how chaos, like straight chaos that was, just like to watch that destruction at that scale, and then also seeing like other characters, especially, um, Noriko, you know, with her on the train, and her whole scene, and watching, you know, how it impacted her, cause I think after she survives that train scene, like she's just kind of like walking aimlessly among the crowd, you know, it's like, damn, we're watching, um.

[00:40:12] Badr: We're getting to watch like a lot more people witness like Godzilla and, you know, how devastated they are. Not just the destruction itself, but like emotionally, you know, being that 

[00:40:21] Kory Torjussen: shocked. Because he just goes in and it's, it's uncaring, you know, that's, it's, it's without purpose. And that's why I like this Godzilla is he's just destroying for the sake of it.

[00:40:33] Kory Torjussen: You know, he's not going to attack anything in particular. He's just mad 

[00:40:37] Badr: and the way that the, the, the doc, the professor, you know, um, characterizes him, you know, he, he calls him at some point in organism and then, you know, he brings up like a lot of attributes that, you know, paint him as like this, this monster, right?

[00:40:49] Badr: Like the, he brings up that Tokyo is now in his territory and, you know, it, you know, just the way they characterize and describe them. You're like, man, not only is your force of nature, but he is, you know, this unknown organism that they're studying and learning as well. And they can only attribute it to some sort of monster or animal that, you know, is trying to, you know, it's trying to just claim his territory.

[00:41:10] Badr: And we just happen to be in the way. 

[00:41:12] Kory Torjussen: Uh, and you know, by the, by the point that he doubled or not doubled in size, but grew in size, uh, Otoe Island would have been too small. So it's like, what's the next biggest thing. So that's why it goes for mainland Japan is like, okay, well, I need a place where I can hang out because this island ain't going to do it anymore.

[00:41:30] Kory Torjussen: Well, I was dead, but you were talking about Noriko and. You also have to remember that this is like day one or very early into her doing her own thing. Oh, like this is what happens. The 

[00:41:44] Badr: attack on Ginzu is followed right after she kind of makes her and, you know, makes 

[00:41:49] Kory Torjussen: her independent. She's like, yeah, I'm, I'm getting my own job.

[00:41:51] Kory Torjussen: I'm going to be an independent woman. I don't need no man. I don't need no man, especially not one who ain't going to marry me after like three years of being together, um, or even say that he likes me. So. Yeah, no, so that's like extra, extra traumatic is like day one on the job. Godzilla attacks your whole ass city.

[00:42:11] Kory Torjussen: It's like, you know, maybe I should have stayed at home. Like mama said. 

[00:42:15] Badr: One thing I was only able to articulate afterwards is that no one in this movie is related, you know, I felt like incorrectly if I'm wrong, Carol, feel free to chime in, but one of the messages that I got. From this movie is the themes of like, uh, of family, you know, everyone has lost everyone they've ever cared about due to the war, the air raids, et cetera.

[00:42:34] Badr: So now you're watching these people have to band together and become like family for, for each other. Like no one is, is blood related. And that was one of the themes that really stuck out to me is that, or one of the things for this movie that I find really impressive is that you can have an action movie of all these big.

[00:42:51] Badr: Moments and, and destruction and spectacles, but at its core, like the themes of, of family are there, um, uh, duty, you know, honor, you know, like, uh, nationalism, uh, you know, it's, it really touches on a lot. And I love that they can, they, they can, that this movie proves you can still do action movies and have like, uh, emotional core and, and a story.

[00:43:13] Kory Torjussen: Yeah, the, the family thing, it is certainly. You know, a favored part because it spreads throughout every aspect of the movie. Um, the mechanics on Odo Island are their own family. And that's why, you know, the one captain was so mad is because, you know, he's fought with these guys through the war and he lost his family, um, you know, his brothers in arms.

[00:43:36] Kory Torjussen: And then you've got Shigeshima who literally lost his actual family. And they're almost immediately replaced. Uh, but he's the only guy who's like, refusing to see it, you know, he, he's gifted, literally gifted an entirely new life in a wife and a daughter and, you know, the person who hated him the most, his neighbor became, uh, like another mother figure or like an on figure, however you want to view that everyone realizes like between the.

[00:44:09] Kory Torjussen: I guess the, the warrior of, or the failed warrior of Shikishima, the dedicated warrior of the mechanic, um, the homebody woman, uh, I can't even think of her name right now. Um, Sumiko, uh, you have the thief and then the infant and. All of them have to band together. You have all of these different worlds, you know, separate, you know, separate ways, worlds apart kind of thing.

[00:44:38] Kory Torjussen: And they, they all have to come together. Like you said, to become family, because there is nothing left. Um, and it is a wild message, you know, for, for all fast and furious talks about family. Uh, like this does such a better job of showing, you know, truly family is what you make it. And when times get tough, you know, the.

[00:44:59] Kory Torjussen: The, the phrase is the blood of the battlefield is thicker than the water of the womb. And all of these people had to become family because they'd all suffered equally. They were all on equal footing. 

[00:45:11] Badr: Yeah, they do a good job of introducing all of these different characters and tropes and to your point showing you how like the connective tissue and how they come together.

[00:45:19] Badr: I'll also admit I was a sucker for all of the Inspirational speeches, you know, especially, uh, especially when they, uh, uh, Shigeshima is the documents of Shigeshima to go to the, uh, uh, what is it? The civilians, um, uh, battle forces is what I'll call it. That's not what they call it. But you know what I'm talking about.

[00:45:42] Badr: But when he goes there and you know, they, You know, the doc is explaining the plan and it's a bunch of ex Navy personnel and military personnel. And, you know, they're kind of shaky about it. We've got family and half of them leave and. Then there's that epic speech where he's like, uh, what does that one guy say?

[00:45:58] Badr: He's like, is it guaranteed death or something? Like, are we guaranteed to die? And he's like, no, no, no, no, no, not at all. And he goes, well, I guess it's better than war. And, you know, like just the brevity that they breathe into certain moments without sacrificing some of the, um, the emotions of like the, the previous ones.

[00:46:14] Badr: Like. You know, and not to bring, you know, the MCU or Marvel into it, but it's just because the example comes to mind. But, you know, like some of the critiques there are that they always seem to undercut very good emotional moments with like just terrible jokes. It's like, they can't let, you know, certain emotions breathe.

[00:46:29] Badr: But this one, I found that balance done really well, multiple times where it's like the insertion of brevity and jokes done in a very tasteful way. Cause you know, after that, you know, everyone starts, you know, like, you know, fuck it. I'll join. I'll join. Someone's got to do it. That's what I liked. It was that quote.

[00:46:45] Badr: That quote was said twice in that movie. One by the captain, uh, when they first meet Godzilla in the water and they realize, Oh shit, they had us out here to collect mines, to stall and fight Godzilla. And the doc is like Don't you hate government orders? And he's like with a passion, but someone's got to do it.

[00:47:01] Badr: That's echoed again in that same, in that scene where they're all coming together and forming their, um, their, you know, uh, civilian military is, you know, someone's got to do it. I don't know, man, that shit just kind of got to me. And when the, the ex Navy admiral is, you know, he's like, uh, he says my friends, thank you.

[00:47:18] Badr: And he, you know, gives them a bow, dude, that shit got to me. I was like, sign me up. I'm enlisted. You know, I've been out for a while, but I'm re enlisted in the Navy military. Or in the, in the Japanese Navy, dammit. 

[00:47:29] Kory Torjussen: No, I, I imagine that, you know, with you coming from a bit of a more military background, not, you know, not a world war background, but you know, military background, a lot of that stuff has to hit a lot more.

[00:47:42] Kory Torjussen: Um, and I feel like a lot of those moments, uh, you know, they, they ring so strong because you do have like all the people who say, well, it's gotta be done, but then you have so many people left the building at the same time. Cause one guy, uh, I forget what his question was, but it's basically like, Well, are we expected to do this or do we have to do this and they're like, no, like you can leave at any time.

[00:48:05] Kory Torjussen: We understand, like, you're literally still recovering from a world war. Um, and they're like, all right, peace. And they, they all respectfully left. Uh, no one judged them and it's like it never comes back up again because it's like, we get it, you know, we, a lot of us have been through the same thing and some of you don't want to do it again, but then you have that one guy who's like, it's better than a war, you know, cause he's like, man, I've been through so much shit that like, at this point fighting a giant lizard, like whatever, man, what, what, what else is life going to throw at me at this point, you brought up on, on 

[00:48:42] Badr: your episode that our main character, Shigashima, yeah.

[00:48:46] Badr: technically fails to save people on multiple occasions, right? Like he, he fails to do his duty as a kamikaze pilot. He fails to save the, uh, the mechanics on Odo Island in the beginning. Um, he, I think fails to, you know, defeat Godzilla when they first meet him on the boat. Like there's a lot of instances of him just like failing to save anyone, you know, it's not until like the very climatic, uh, climatic ending that, you know, he You know, fulfills his destiny and, you know, becomes the hero that he was, he was meant to be, but I guess let's talk a little bit about the character because his characterization and the vehicle to tell us his story of him as a kamikaze pilot was very.

[00:49:27] Badr: Interesting and unique, you know, off the rip, you know, like it put him, it made me think like, Oh, wow, this is going to be our lead character, a comic, you know, uh, a disgraced kamikaze pilot, you know, and to watch this character arc and how much tragedy they inserted in his life, you know, I guess, how did he resonate with you?

[00:49:45] Badr: Was there any scenes that really spoke to you about him or made you, you know, root for him? 

[00:49:50] Kory Torjussen: I mean, it does come down really to the end, like. Even he still has that mentality of the job needs to be done. Um, and it's at the end when he finally, he sends like dozens of letters. To wherever he thinks the previous mechanic might be, um, and he intentionally pisses the guy off knowing that that's the only way that he'll ever come out of hiding, uh, to fix the plane and his entire plan was like, you know, there's been so much tragedy.

[00:50:21] Kory Torjussen: Um, I've lost the woman who was most important to me. And like, I already am not really doing a great job of being a father. Um, so I will give up my life. I'll, you know, pay my respects to the ghosts of the dead, which were the other mechanics on Odo Island. Um, and it is still cool that he had so much fervorance to defeat Godzilla.

[00:50:44] Kory Torjussen: Um, knowing once we find out at the end, knowing that he did have an out with the eject button, um, that he's like, he was still willing to die. Um, you know, though he'd finally had that change of heart because yeah, before that he, he was, um, it's, it's, he's wildly incompetent. Um, but. You know, I guess there is a difference between signing up to die for your country and then signing up or being drafted to die for your country was like, you have one job and that's to die.

[00:51:19] Kory Torjussen: And he's like, I don't think I want to do that. But then he never lived beyond that point up until the end. And he kind of, there was that, like, slight character shift when he went to help Noriko, uh, and Ginza. Um, but then even then she's the one who had to save his ass because he was so dumbfounded by Godzilla.

[00:51:38] Kory Torjussen: And it like the whole time it's like, just grab it. Like you're in, you're in this note, like, just grab it, just grab her, just grab her. And then like Godzilla does the launch and she just, you know, yeets them in there. And it's like, you know, in my mind, I'm like, you are an idiot. Like the greatest goods you're ever going to get.

[00:51:54] Kory Torjussen: And. You know, you still can't save her. 

[00:51:57] Badr: Yeah, dropped the ball colossally. But, man, what a, what a G move on her part. If I had a hat there in the theater, I would have taken it off in her honor. Cause that was, that scene caught me by surprise. I did not expect her to save him. Um, much less, I didn't really expect her to, to die.

[00:52:13] Badr: Definitely caught, I think, everyone in the theater off guard. I remember You know, even just that scene, there was not a dry eye in the theater at that scene. Obviously, you know, kind of fast forwarding a little bit, but when she comes back towards the end, waterworks everywhere. 

[00:52:29] Kory Torjussen: Oh yeah, dude. I, I teared up too.

[00:52:31] Kory Torjussen: Yeah. I, that's not very Japanese, uh, like film to, to have, you know, they, they like their tragic deaths and it adds to the tragic hero. Um, but when he, or no, when, uh, Sumiko got the note. Uh, like after he was like, I'm going to go die. Um, and Sumiko, someone delivers the note. I'm like, no way. Like, I know what this is, um, because it's a very American thing.

[00:52:58] Kory Torjussen: And then at the very end, you find out she is alive. Yeah, no, I teared up a bit because it was so unexpected to actually get that. But as, as far as like other favorite scenes in the movie, it ties in with what I think will be the biggest gut punch. If they make a number two, is that she has the like healing factor or whatever it is.

[00:53:16] Kory Torjussen: Something is keeping her alive. That is unnatural, interesting. 

[00:53:20] Badr: Okay. Cause I was going, I was leaning more towards maybe they play off like radiation poisoning or something. Cause they do make a point in, uh, after, uh, the genzu, um, devastation and cities destroyed that. Yeah. You know, they're finding, what did they say, uh, the, on the, the broadcast, you know, we've got scientists out there studying his remains.

[00:53:40] Badr: They're, it's highly radioactive. Um, I thought they were setting up, you know, maybe radio, radiation poisoning or, or something like that. I didn't even think about, uh, the, the healing factor being a, maybe a, a potential, uh, plot point for the next one. 

[00:53:52] Kory Torjussen: I, I mean, it's, it's speculation because nothing's stated, but in my mind, it's like there is, they, they went way out of their way to show the destruction.

[00:54:01] Kory Torjussen: Um, and there is no way that she could have survived that, you know, with a human body because she went both ways. Like they did the full atomic blast where it's blast out, suck in. 

[00:54:11] Badr: I, and that second part. I was, I didn't even account for that. So when, when the, uh, the force come, pulls back in, I let out an extra, oh my god, you know, I, you know, this was one movie I was not ashamed about, like, exclaiming some stuff.

[00:54:25] Badr: I think in the first watch, I definitely let out a, holy shit, like, an audible holy shit, because I just could not contain myself. And I think another moment that put a big old smile on my face was, Was that last scene, right? I mentioned, like, uh, you know, maybe the most menacing he looked to me, Godzilla, at that, was, you know, right before his last atomic blast, where everyone's thinking, like, okay, this is it, I think the, the whole movie goes silent, you know, everyone on the ships are basically, like, you know, embracing that this is, they're going to die.

[00:54:57] Badr: Then you hear, Like, I love that they let you hear it first before we see it, uh, because prior to that, all of your attention and care is on the, the, the crew, right? The entire naval crew, because they have just failed at drowning Godzilla and they failed at, you know, jettisoning him, uh, back up. The pressure was enough to kill him despite getting a really Awesome and inspiring scene with the tugboats when the tugboat show up and the kids like, you know, yeah, I thought I wasn't going to fight in this war, you know, here I am never wanted to join a tugboat crew so bad.

[00:55:32] Badr: This movie put me through so many range of emotions. I was like, sign me up for the Navy and give me a tugboat. 

[00:55:38] Kory Torjussen: Dammit, give me the tugboat crew, but I 

[00:55:41] Badr: will say. You're telling me that they had enough time for all of these tugboats to, you know, go out to each individual, uh, uh, Navy carrier, tie them all up and still pull Godzilla.

[00:55:52] Badr: I'm like, man, Godzilla is a very patient monster in this case, you know? 

[00:55:56] Kory Torjussen: I, I like that because I did notice that the first time where it's like a lot of time just passed, it's like half an hour of them looping all those. Pug boats onto the, you know, bow of the ship. And it's like, okay. They went out of their way to say that he wasn't doing anything.

[00:56:12] Kory Torjussen: He wasn't moving anywhere. And then it's just like a half hour blips by. 

[00:56:16] Badr: One thing I'll say about some of the big moments in this movie is that They don't linger too long on them. Like it is, it feels like a lot of big moments in this particular, and especially this particular example of, of Shigeshima, you know, diving a ship into Godzilla's mouth, it exploding, taking off half his head.

[00:56:34] Badr: And, you know, he, um, uh, jettisons out himself. I thought that happened so quick and that's not. And there's another, uh, scene in the movie where that's, you know, a big moment that they could have drawn out happens very quickly. Like, it's a very concise and, uh, you know, they keep it moving is what I'll say for a lot of these big moments in this movie.

[00:56:52] Kory Torjussen: Yeah. And that's why I mentioned that it's like, it's, it's two hours and five minutes and it did not feel like that. They do a great job of like holding your attention even when people are monologuing, uh, it's kind of the same. Where the monologue, it's like they know what might be considered boring or would be boring if it goes on for too long, um, trying to go into the science of how to kill Godzilla and even the professor being like, it might not work, just sort of waving everything away where it's like, it might not work, but it's the only thing we got.

[00:57:25] Kory Torjussen: So we're going to do it. Um, but everything from like the action sequences to, um, Uh, you know, monologues and dialogues. It's just like they, they hold everything just long enough and then find a way to like release it. 

[00:57:39] Badr: Yeah. And I wanna go back to, uh, uh, Shima and, and the actor that plays him, uh, Reno Rio.

[00:57:45] Badr: No, Suki kaki. His performance throughout this entire movie was remarkable. His whole life was just, you know, a, a tragedy After tragedy after tragedy, he, he acted his ass off. He got that point across really well, and one of the best scenes, in my opinion, that has nothing. thing. Well, I guess it all has something to do with Godzilla, but in particular, that showcased, uh, the acting here was, you know, after he loses, um, Noriko and you know, he's charging up, you know, he's charging up that cry that he lets out that, that fucking guttural visceral pain and scream from deep within.

[00:58:22] Badr: Um, I love that he charged it up and then when they hit it with the, with the ash, uh, uh, rain as well, you know, that rain of just ash and debris, that black rain was. Talk about an epic just jaw dropping performance and execution. I thought that scene itself Definitely deserved a spotlight and if my man does not win every award known, you know It's a Hollywood and then I think they're fucking up but that scene was definitely one that was like, yeah That's the proper response after losing your girl and your city, you know a second time.

[00:58:55] Badr: Yeah nailed it 

[00:58:56] Kory Torjussen: No, yeah, I agree. That was, uh, you know, probably I guess my favorite individual scene of him is because you he that's the first time he gets like a genuine emotional reaction because everything prior to that was like, withheld, you know, he was withholding emotions, withholding decisions.

[00:59:15] Kory Torjussen: And then that's when he realized that. Like he, he fucked up. He did, um, you know, because she, she didn't need that job. Like she totally could have stayed home and just been a mom to the child. If he would have, uh, agreed that it's like, yeah, no, we are partners. We are, you know, lovers. We do have a child. But yeah, that's everything came crushing down because he goofed up in the military and then he goofed up at home and there was nothing left anymore.

[00:59:46] Kory Torjussen: You could feel it. It was good. He's 

[00:59:47] Badr: just such a very unlikely hero for a for a majority of the film. Like you don't really like him. Yeah. He's an unlikely hero because you don't necessarily like him, but you, you kind of understand some things, but, but then he's also relatively like rather unstable, right?

[01:00:05] Badr: Like the, his PTSD is, is very apparent in this and his, his, his own grip on reality was something that they spotlight, right? Like when, when she's consoling him, the, I think he, he has like these outbursts like twice or three times in the movie where And I guess credit to, to the actor, you know, to, to him being able to portray like just that disattachments with reality and what PTSD looks like, uh, in this case, but, you know, when he's asking like, is this even real?

[01:00:34] Badr: Like, are you real? Maybe I'm, you know, dead and this is, you know, my punishment, uh, makes for a very gripping, you know, character to kind of like go through the experience with. And I think that's why that, yeah. His big moment of retribution and, you know, fulfilling like his, his journey and becoming that hero was such a great payoff.

[01:00:53] Badr: Something about watching his parachute open in that last scene, you know, there is a sigh of, of relief like, damn, you know, he gets to live again and, and he got to fulfill, you know, and make his family and, uh, his girl proud and everyone proud of who he was. I think the, I think the pay, what I'm getting at is great payoff to a character that was so agonizing to fucking watch and, you know, connect with.

[01:01:13] Kory Torjussen: Aesthetically, like he's not an ugly guy, but he's also not like the most, you know, handsome Chad out there and they, they pick someone who had, who is visually as strong as he is weak. Like when he's determined to do something, you can feel it in his face, you know, then when you see him kind of like wandering through life during and after, um, like immediately after World War Two, he's, he exists almost as a ghost where it's like, this guy is just wishy washy, but I can't imagine what that would be like emotionally to kind of go through this life of like, extreme, you, you're a real swell guy and you're doing all the right things and everything is going wonderfully, but, All of those are also tainted with, you know, a, a downside and something that, uh, could be viewed as like an evil of like letting people die that he could have saved, you know, to just have that hanging over his head all the time.

[01:02:10] Badr: That saying, uh, comes to mind for me. That saying of, uh, the road to hell is paved with, you know, a thousand good intentions or some shit like that. He is a prime example of that. His life was a living hell, despite him always just kind of. You know, his heart was in the right place, but, you know, it's like his incompetence, um, in certain moments, like had big, unfortunate prices to it.

[01:02:33] Badr: Corey, I want to zoom out really quick and look at maybe the larger portion of the Godzilla franchise just because you mentioned the millennial, uh, era of films for Toho Studios. Admittedly, that was something, um, I did not know about prior to doing a little bit of research and getting ready for this episode is that, uh, Toho Studios, Uh, I guess divides certain time periods of the Godzilla franchise into certain eras.

[01:02:57] Badr: You mentioned the millennial era. Um, I understand that we are currently in the, uh, uh, is it Reiwa? Is it 

[01:03:03] Kory Torjussen: Reiwa or Rewa? 

[01:03:04] Badr: Reiwa era. Yeah. Right. Reiwa era, which officially got kick started in 2016 with the release of Shin Godzilla. Um, uh, The Godzilla minus one being the most recent live action and in between 2016 shin Godzilla and minus one, there was three total, I think, uh, animated movies or animes, uh, that make up, um, the, the rest of this era and those animes for anyone that are, that's interested, we've got Godzilla planet of the monsters, Godzilla city on the edge of battle, and then Godzilla, the planet eater, uh, some thoughts on that for me is one.

[01:03:40] Badr: That's cool that they don't delineate or, or separate, um, you know, animated as something completely different, you know, like with, um, you know, not tied back to MCU, but it's an example that comes to mind, you know, like the MCU doesn't necessarily, you know, like some people treat the animated stuff different than the main stuff, or even like the TV spinoffs different from the main, uh, movie franchise, but it seems here that, Toho accepts all of it, you know, uh, whether it be live action or animated as part of its, you know, history and lineage and, and all of that, uh, what can you say about this current era and especially about the three animated movies or how do they hold up?

[01:04:15] Badr: Are they good? Do you have any recommendations? 

[01:04:18] Kory Torjussen: Uh, the animated movies are I, I wouldn't recommend them to people who aren't really big into Godzilla. Um, they're kind of lackluster. The, the thing that I frequently heard is after the 2004 Godzilla movie, which is final wars. Um, that is, it is a goofy ass movie.

[01:04:39] Kory Torjussen: It's really good. It's action packed. Um, but they basically said no wrestling. Um, like we don't want monsters to wrestle in here because we don't want to repeat that. And so they did this animated trilogy and it leaves a lot to be desired, especially in the third movie because the nothing happens for most of that movie because the monsters aren't allowed to wrestle.

[01:05:03] Kory Torjussen: Um, they're not allowed, you know, there's no fist cuffs, there's, it's just like beam warfare, so it's, it's not as endearing, uh, but also it's not as. Like hard hitting and connected because there's like no hitting. Um, that's such a weird rule. I don't, 

[01:05:19] Badr: that's such a weird rule though. Like, like I 

[01:05:22] Kory Torjussen: feel like it goes, yeah.

[01:05:24] Kory Torjussen: Well, I feel like it kind of goes to, um, a lot of franchises are like this where, you know, nobody hates the franchise worse than the company that owns the franchise. Um, Where, you know, I, I always laugh at it because like they hired that director and Godzilla final wars is like exactly how he makes a movie.

[01:05:47] Kory Torjussen: You look at any of his other content, it's identical. It's just now it's people in big rubber suits. Um, but yeah, so that was their decision. And then they, you know, made the animated trilogy. Um, conceptually, I think it's amazing. Uh, and that's unfortunately kind of where it ends. Like it has a lot of really solid concepts, um, city on the edge of battle.

[01:06:13] Kory Torjussen: I would say is arguably the most powerful version of Mechagodzilla because it's like, uh, like a, say, like nanite, you know, little machine nanites that absorb every other type of machine around them and incorporate it. And it's like its own, um, you know, operating system and stuff. So it. Is literally a whole city that is Mechagodzilla, because it realizes that it's like, Oh, I don't need the, you know, corporeal form of Mechagodzilla.

[01:06:41] Kory Torjussen: Um, this makes a lot more sense to, to just be this giant city with cannons and stuff. Um, so it can change form, but it's, it's less cool in execution than it is in concept. Um, so a lot of people hate on those. Uh, I say, like, if you're a big fan of the franchise, they're definitely worth a watch. Um, but if you're not a big Godzilla fan, it's, uh, gonna be, what is it, like, four and a half to five hours of, like, would anything happen?

[01:07:09] Kory Torjussen: Could just something happen? You know, for five hours. Got 

[01:07:13] Badr: it. Um, so, so what's next? Uh, is there any announcements or anything else coming out that'll fall underneath this era of Godzilla? 

[01:07:22] Kory Torjussen: So far, the only other thing is, um, the director saying that he would love to make another movie. Um, they're, they're doing these annual, like.

[01:07:35] Kory Torjussen: Shorts, uh, I don't know if you've looked into or seen those, but it's usually when they do an American release of something, they didn't do it for minus one, but like, um, was it this year or last year? I can't remember they, they brought an older Godzilla movie back into theaters and they played a brand new short, but there were 2 that came out there.

[01:07:54] Kory Torjussen: One of them is all CGI and it is actually a sequel to. Uh, or continuation of the Heisei era from the nineties. Um, and then the other one is its own unique continuity where they're essentially recycling old Godzilla suits. Um, and in some cases making new ones, but it's actual live action people in monster suits.

[01:08:18] Kory Torjussen: And these are like five minutes. Um, but they're, they're only ever shown at like film showings. And then the, yeah, the most recent too, it wasn't a film showing it was for G Fest. Um, of this year, and they did fortunately release them on YouTube so that everyone could watch them right now. It's kind of up in the air.

[01:08:36] Kory Torjussen: It's like those sort of came out of nowhere. I'd never heard anything about them. And then one day they were just, uh, they released them on a live stream like three years ago, two or three years ago. Toho was doing something. And originally that was the only way that you could ever see them was like, if you had attended this live thing they were doing, um, 

[01:08:55] Badr: How much oversight does Toho have over, like, the American, uh, Godzilla market and franchises and movies that we see?

[01:09:03] Badr: Like, do they have the same level of input or restrictions in place for something like You know, like the recent, uh, you know, Godzilla, uh, King of Monsters movie, or like this upcoming Godzilla and Kong, the new empire, like, are they, do they have their hands in the American stuff? 

[01:09:21] Kory Torjussen: The, so if it, if it functions like still the same way that it always has, even dating back to like the 98 Godzilla, um, Toho gives them a list of like.

[01:09:32] Kory Torjussen: Cans and cannots. Uh, and a lot of those are actually on the design of Godzilla. Um, but yeah, the, the, the essentially give people a list of you can, or I guess it's not even a can, it's just a cannot, it's like a couple of things. Like you can't do these things. Godzilla does have to have three rows of spikes.

[01:09:53] Kory Torjussen: That's actually like a contractually obligated thing. Like he has to have three rows of spikes. That is what makes Godzilla Godzilla. So even the 98 one. While it's, like, different, it's still two outside and one inside, um, so he still has the three rows of spikes, but there, there are a few can ots, I think, in how the monsters, I, well, I would say in how they act, but I feel like they're just kind of letting Legendary do whatever.

[01:10:19] Badr: Maybe that's also, that also added to the experience for this movie, was that I'm so used to watching, like, American Godzilla films, like, who hasn't watched? One or two, and especially like these recent ones have kind of got my attention back. Um, but you know, I won't say that they're super memorable for me.

[01:10:35] Badr: This, so I wasn't sure what to expect with this one. I think maybe I went in, went in with the expectations it'd be something similar to, you know, the rest that I've seen. But, and I guess that that's what made for such a pleasant surprise is that by, by the first 10 minutes, I was like, okay, this is clearly such a different movie.

[01:10:50] Badr: Just from the fact that, you know, it's, it's an all Japanese, it's an all Japanese cast. You know, it was the first time I really got to experience. Something of, uh, you know, I guess maybe, like, the, the truest form of Godzilla, um, out there, outside of, like, some of the older movies I used to watch with my dad.

[01:11:06] Badr: And maybe, uh, maybe I wouldn't have been so surprised had I watched Shin Godzilla prior. Yeah, I guess I'll leave it at that, is that compared to the American movies, this one blew it out of the water and I left thinking like, I will never watch another American guy, Americanized bullshit Godzilla ever again, Japanese 

[01:11:23] Kory Torjussen: all day.

[01:11:25] Kory Torjussen: Yeah, they, they, they're doing this, you know, they have great themes on it. Um, the American thing, what, what I'm appreciating about Legendary is they're finally making American movies. Um, so like the quick spiel is Godzilla 98, Godzilla 2014. It's like they're trying to be Japanese, but they don't have that Japanese soul or that Japanese like brevity behind them.

[01:11:51] Kory Torjussen: And I feel like all of the other films, so Skull Island, King of the Monsters, Godzilla vs. Kong, Um, they're like, okay, we need to start making American movies instead of Badly mimicking the Japanese movies. We're just going to do things our way. Um, cause like Godzilla versus Kong, even now, uh, when I was looking up stuff on minus one, a lot of people talk down about that.

[01:12:16] Kory Torjussen: Um, but it's, it's journey. It's Jules Verne's journey to the center of the earth. That's all it is, is it's a, it's like a 1960s American movie. Um, and it's like, I appreciate that, but they have, you know, the, uh, the American cyberpunk thing going on with a lot of their lighting and stuff. There, there's a lot to be appreciated because it's like, no, Godzilla vs.

[01:12:37] Kory Torjussen: Kong is an American movie and it's based more off of American cinema. And like the upcoming one, there's a couple of shots that it's like, I think we're doing planet of the apes with apes, with all apes. And like, if we do that, I'm gonna be so happy because like, I love that series. I love that franchise of movies.

[01:12:56] Kory Torjussen: And again, we would be going back to, like, making American cinema with these characters. Like, get, you know, Toho gave America the rights to deal with their characters. So do your own thing. Don't try to be Toho. Um, so it's not going to have the same brevity, you know, it's going to have different messages.

[01:13:14] Kory Torjussen: There's going to be a different type of goofiness, um, because it's, it's American movies, they're not Japanese. Well said, 

[01:13:21] Badr: you know, in terms of looking at legendary and new Godzilla content and movies coming out, um, briefly mentioned Godzilla and Kong, the new empire, you know, the trailer came out, um, uh, earlier this month, but then also Monarch legacy of monsters.

[01:13:36] Badr: Also, uh, debuted on Apple, I think it's Apple TV, Apple TV as well. Are you excited about any of those two or, or do you got anything to say in terms of like the new 

[01:13:45] Kory Torjussen: Godzilla stuff? Um, I, so I haven't seen Monarch yet. I don't have Apple TV. I'm going to do that thing where like, I wait till it's done and then get one month subscription, then watch all of it.

[01:13:58] Kory Torjussen: Genius. 

[01:13:59] Badr: Yeah, that's a, that's a personal favorite hack, uh, cheat code for me. Yeah, 

[01:14:03] Kory Torjussen: life hack right there, man. Just binge it all in one month. Um, but so far it's getting great reviews and all the people I know, um, on different levels of Godzilla fandom. Um, everyone seems to be singing its praises, uh, and what you've got Kurt Russell in it, right?

[01:14:18] Kory Torjussen: Oh yeah. Yep. Um, yeah. So it's like, I don't think you're going to go wrong with something where Kurt Russell wants to be a part of it. Um, But the new empire, I'm really excited about because again, I feel like with King of the Monsters and Godzilla vs. Kong, I feel like America is finally, um, nailing what we want to do with Godzilla.

[01:14:40] Kory Torjussen: So now it's our franchise, you know, we have our own thing and as usual, because it isn't out, everyone's up in flames over, you know, what they've seen and how like. You know, the negative comments of like, Oh, it's just going to be dumb or goofy. Uh, but it's like, man, it's going to be what it is. And like, I'm excited for it because it looks goofy.

[01:15:00] Kory Torjussen: It's like, are we finally getting our own like identity goofy? Yeah. Like late sixties, early seventies, goofy Godzilla. Like, are we finally hitting, you know, our, our own, this is our thing now. Um, so I I'm excited. I'm looking forward to it. I can't wait to see monarch when it's actually done. Um, and then.

[01:15:22] Kory Torjussen: That was April 14th is the new empire. Oh, and I'm yeah. Okay. That it has been upsetting a lot of people in general because they're like, yeah, it's coming out next year. And everyone's like, well, what is it for like a year now? It's like, what's coming out next year? And they only just dropped the trailer.

[01:15:42] Kory Torjussen: So now it's like five months prior to release. We get a trailer. Yeah. 

[01:15:46] Badr: I'm sure it'll start ramping up once the minus one, uh, dust has kind of settled. Hype, yeah. Um, just thinking about, you know, uh, the entire franchise and all the different movies, I think for new fans that are looking to dive into the Godzilla franchise, I think that could be a little intimidating.

[01:16:03] Badr: I know for me when I was looking through how many films, you know, this, uh, Minus One is what, the thirty third movie or franchise or thirty seven? I 

[01:16:12] Kory Torjussen: It's, it's more than that, um, cause I think the, I think Shin was like the 33rd. 

[01:16:18] Badr: Oh, actually I pulled it up, uh, uh, Wikipedia says it is the 37th film in the Godzilla franchise.

[01:16:23] Badr: 37th, yeah. Toho's 33rd Godzilla film and 5th film in the, uh, in the, um, in the era. So. Long story short, my question comes down to where do people go after here? Do you have any recommendations in terms of other Godzilla movies that people should make a conscious effort to watch, or maybe, you know, if you want to insert any of your personal favorites, um, that, that you would recommend?

[01:16:45] Kory Torjussen: Um, I gave a list out the other night. So a very, the absolute easiest pick of all of them is Godzilla vs. Destoroyah. Um, it was the final film of the Heisei era in 95. Uh, there's so much taken from that movie. Um, the Godzilla design is very similar to that era. Um, that movie has burning Goji and this movie has frozen Goji.

[01:17:12] Kory Torjussen: How Godzilla dies is kind of very similar in a way he has to get frozen. Um, and when there's like light, uh, poking out of his body in minus one, that's also very similar to the visual effects they used. Um, You know, in the gods and on burning Godzilla, when he was dying GMK from 2001 Godzilla, Mothra, King Ghidorah, uh, because there's a lot of similarities there as well with just like how the sheer evil of Godzilla.

[01:17:44] Kory Torjussen: Um, and then I would say like the original, the, the original, because you, you have to get that drama, it puts you in the right mindset. Of, you know, the time period and what people are going through, but, um, you know, the, the other side of the coin, uh, because everyone's broke as a joke and like totally just trashed in this film and in the original one, it's, it's doesn't seem quite that bad, uh, you know, Japan doesn't seem that bad off.

[01:18:14] Kory Torjussen: They're not showing you the wartime disasters in quite the same way that this does. Um, And I'm trying to think if there's you, there has to be something from the original or something else other than the first one from the show era. Um, but probably like, I don't know, Godzilla verse, uh, Mothra or the thing, depending on what DVD or Blu ray you can find.

[01:18:38] Kory Torjussen: Um, I was really 

[01:18:39] Badr: hoping you'd say, I was really hoping you'd say final wars only because I was reading an article last night and it said, uh, actually I got the quote here says nowadays, every major franchise wants a version of event of Avengers endgame, the massive blockbuster brought pieces together, decades of story into one epic battle wildly Godzilla did that years before with final wars and I won't lie, it kind of piqued my interest.

[01:19:01] Badr: I was like, wait, there's a Godzilla endgame out there or, you know, their version of endgame. Yeah. 

[01:19:06] Kory Torjussen: It's kind of, cause it's, uh, they have a couple of the destroy all monsters types of movies. The first of which is destroy all monsters where it's just everything pitted together, but not as many of them had as much of a following at the time that released.

[01:19:21] Kory Torjussen: So yeah, final wars was rewarding because you also get the, the American 98 Godzilla in there. Um, you get all these updated suits that are really bad ass. Um, but it's like, it is a great movie. It's a fun, it's a very fun movie. It is a very like, you know, have a beer, uh, and you know, some snacks with your buddies while you watch it kind of movie.

[01:19:44] Kory Torjussen: Uh, cause you will probably be laughing your ass off through most of it because it's just fun. Um, But it doesn't have that connective tissue because it's not even technically related to the five movies that came before it. 

[01:19:56] Badr: I've definitely got my homework cut out for me. Like I said, I got the Godzilla fever, so I'm trying to capitalize and strike while the iron's hot.

[01:20:03] Badr: But Corey, do you have anything in closing that you want to say about Minus One that maybe we didn't get to? Yeah, I'll turn it over to you if you've got any closing remarks. 

[01:20:12] Kory Torjussen: Man, I think I've said basically everything. Yeah, and you Helped kind of, uh, bring out a few other points that I didn't make in my own little taquito.

[01:20:22] Kory Torjussen: Um, no, it's just, it's a phenomenal movie. I'm, I'm loving that we now have two Godzilla films that are super serious. Um, I hope this movie gets a sequel because I, I want to know what the director had in mind. Um, Toho's not very solid on doing sequels a lot of times, particularly with the same director, uh, at least in the modern era, because like Shin is set up for a sequel, but it's never going to happen.

[01:20:51] Kory Torjussen: Um, and this one I hope does, uh, and you know, I, I do hope that there is like a resurgence I want them to start doing movies like Fewer than once a decade, you know, like we, we finally got like a good couple of movies in a short time and they weren't all American. Um, so I would like to see the franchise start anew and maybe eventually get into that slightly goofy thing again.

[01:21:19] Kory Torjussen: Uh, you know, I'm loving the severity, but you can only watch the same depressing story over and over again so many times. Um, but yeah, I hope, I hope of all of them, like, I really want this one to get a sequel. I don't really care about Shin getting a sequel. I really want this one to get a sequel because I think, um, I think the director is extremely capable of handling it.

[01:21:41] Badr: Well said. I'll echo everything you said and just reiterate to the listeners. I guess I can't really reiterate this because this was such a spoiler filled movie. I would hope that if you're listening, you probably watched the movie, but you know what, uh, what, what I will say is encourage someone, you know, to go watch this movie and especially express that this movie is best.

[01:22:01] Badr: experience in a movie. I really think this was, this is that cinematic experience that we all talk about when we talk about going to the movies and you know, like, you know, being in love with just like the theater and all that. This movie is, is a must watch in my opinion, in the theater. The bigger the screen, the better.

[01:22:16] Badr: I saw it in both Cinemark XD. And, um, and, uh, IMAX as well, and neither one of them disappointed. So this is one of those times where it's worth paying, you know, just a little extra to get, you know, the, the bells and whistles when it comes to your theater going experience. But, um, yeah, I've been telling all my friends about it and I hope that, uh, you know, that you as a listener, you enjoyed our commentary.

[01:22:38] Badr: Maybe there were some points that we made that you didn't think of, or maybe some ones that you've got to add, um, as well. But overall, I think this has been one of the funnest. Uh, movies I've seen. This has been one of the most eye opening ones, one of the most emotional ones I've seen. Overall, it just, it was everything I wanted that I didn't know I, I wanted to, when I first sat down.

[01:22:58] Badr: Um, so pleasantly surprised that I got to go, you know, just overall, just really impressed that they were able to Take an existing franchise that we've all seen. We all know like the basic premise, right? They're not reinventing the wheel per se, but you know, the, the, the unique style that the director and the, and the cast brings to it really brings it to life.

[01:23:18] Badr: And I think this is a great example of being able to repurpose and bring something fresh to, you know, decades old property and, um, yeah, one hell of a movie, one hell of a movie, and I would not be surprised if it stays at the top of my list when it comes to the best movies I've seen. Once again, fantastic movie.

[01:23:36] Badr: Hopefully you guys agree. Uh, Corey, I cannot appreciate or tell you how much I appreciate you hopping on and recording nearly two hours. I thought, you know, we thought this was going to be a short little quick strike episode, but getting to hear about Godzilla franchise and the history and its impact, uh, from someone that reveres it like you, uh, really meant a lot.

[01:23:54] Badr: So thank you for that. Do you want to plug, uh, the world's my burrito podcast? What do you got coming up for the podcast? 

[01:23:59] Kory Torjussen: Uh, so I have to do a part two on, uh, Pluto. Um, because of, yeah, one of the characters, uh, had a lot more brevity behind their story. So I ended up being like, okay, this needs to get stripped out and put into its own thing.

[01:24:15] Kory Torjussen: Um, and at this point it's probably a little too, I don't know, I might still try to do something special for Christmas. I've got, uh, you know, more novel and manga crossover stuff. Um, so I'll be doing a little bit of Jinji Ito in the near future. Um, but yeah, if you want to listen to the podcast, The World is My Burrito, anywhere you listen to podcasts.

[01:24:39] Kory Torjussen: And then, uh, social media is Twinbee Podcast. So Instagram, uh, X. Um, yeah, at this point, just about anywhere. I'm not on Blue Sky yet, but working 

[01:24:51] Badr: on that. I got you. Look, I've got you covered as far as the social links. I'm gonna have all of those. Any show notes. So if you enjoyed hearing from Corey, if you want more deep dives into Japanese and American pop culture and history, check out the world is my burrito.

[01:25:04] Badr: But as far as this episode goes, there you have a short box nation. That is our show for today. I really appreciate you spending your time with us, especially for a surprise episode. If you are still listening, if you're still at the, basically this is the credits rolling, then I especially want to say thank you for sticking with us the entire time.

[01:25:24] Badr: Uh, and it also sounds like you enjoyed this episode cause who the hell stays for the end credits if you didn't enjoy a pod, especially for a podcast. Obviously you enjoyed it. So do me a favor. Leave a five star rating and review on Apple podcast or Spotify, or most importantly, tell a friend about the show.

[01:25:39] Badr: Word of mouth, ratings and reviews. Those are, you know, easy ways to help us in, in major ways. So, uh, and it doesn't require much on your part and we'd really appreciate it. I will definitely be taking a break next week, so there won't be a pod plan for next Wednesday, but there's plenty of content and bonus episodes to hold you over on the Patreon channel and patreon.

[01:26:01] Badr: com slash short box. Now, heads up, it's not free, but it's also not expensive at all. I mean, imagine buying, uh, a cup of coffee. That's how much, uh, that's how much it costs to enjoy some extra bonus content on the Patreon. Not only that, but the money that we get from our patrons goes right back into the show to make it better.

[01:26:19] Badr: It also motivates us and keep us going. And you get a bunch of perks and rewards in return, like early access to all of our content before anyone else. You get immediate access to all of our bonus and unreleased episodes. And depending on what tier you sign up for, you also get free comics and merch sent to you.

[01:26:34] Badr: So if you want to try it before you buy, and you can also sign up for a free seven day trial of the Patreon and cancel if it's not a good fit for you. So once again, consider joining our Patreon community at patreon. com slash the short box. In the meantime, take care of yourselves, go read your comics, go watch Godzilla, uh, minus one, maybe for the second or third time, maybe, you know, that, that's, you know, that's the homework.

[01:26:56] Badr: Go watch Godzilla minus one once more and continue to make mine and your short box. I'll catch y'all in two weeks. Peace!