Monster Zero x SciFi Japan

ALWAYS 2 was screened tonight in Santa Monica as part of the 2009 Japan Film Festival- LA. It was nice to finally see it in a theater. The opening Godzilla sequence looked and sounded great, and to my eyes the CGI looked much better on a movie screen than it did online or DVD. This movie is meant to be seen BIG.

I know many people are only interested in the Godzilla scene, but ALWAYS 2 (and the first ALWAYS) is a great film... in storytelling and tone it reminds of Hollywood films from the 40s and 50s that presented an idealized version of middle class America. The ALWAYS series is sappy and sentimental but it really, really works beautifully and is just fun to watch.

Will we be able to follow the story even if we didn't see the first movie?

I hope so...I really want to see this...plus this has to be one of my favorite Godzilla designs ever....I prefer the marquette they built before hand, the actual finished product is a little more of a conventional Godzilla, whereas the prototype was just inspired coolness in my opinion.

Any chance of a US DVD release of the Always films?

lhb412 wrote:Any chance of a US DVD release of the Always films?

I'm not sure, but the R2 DVDs are great. They have English Subs and all that. Only question is, do you have a region free player?

Amazon Japan has a 2-pack for both films... and the price isn't that bad.

TerranigmaFreak wrote:Will we be able to follow the story even if we didn't see the first movie?

You could follow it, but the story will be much more effective if you'veseen the first film since part 2 picks up and completes the character arcs.

lhb412 wrote:Any chance of a US DVD release of the Always films?

I haven't heard anything yet. VIZ has been releasing some of the NTV movies like DEATH NOTE so they seem like the best bet for ALWAYS.

Just saw the clip, this is what I wanted with GFW........ Damn

I just bought Always 1 and 2 on ebay. Can't wait to watch the G clip.

I've just watched the first Always film and it was brilliant! It’s a laugh out loud, tear jerking and heartwarming film. I couldn’t recommend more!

Can't wait to watch the sequel!!

Am I the only person that still doesn't see the big deal about this and isn't impressed by the cameo?

MouthForWar wrote:Am I the only person that still doesn't see the big deal about this and isn't impressed by the cameo?

The movie Always: Sunset on Third Street is great. I'm not even talking about the cameo.

MouthForWar wrote:Am I the only person that still doesn't see the big deal about this and isn't impressed by the cameo?

I thought it was a great scene. Wish there would be more.

Gooberzilla wrote:

MouthForWar wrote:Am I the only person that still doesn't see the big deal about this and isn't impressed by the cameo?

The movie Always: Sunset on Third Street is great. I'm not even talking about the cameo.

I'm sure the movie IS great, but I wasn't impressed with the scene at all. The Goji design is pretty cool, but the CGI is subpar at best and the comedic tone doesn't do much out of the context of the film. I don't see the "this is what the next Godzilla movie should be" view that people seem to have.

MouthForWar wrote:

Gooberzilla wrote:

MouthForWar wrote:Am I the only person that still doesn't see the big deal about this and isn't impressed by the cameo?

The movie Always: Sunset on Third Street is great. I'm not even talking about the cameo.

I'm sure the movie IS great, but I wasn't impressed with the scene at all. The Goji design is pretty cool, but the CGI is subpar at best and the comedic tone doesn't do much out of the context of the film. I don't see the "this is what the next Godzilla movie should be" view that people seem to have.

I just like the way the scene is shot... how stuff is being destroyed all around them... they all stop to look in awe as the tower gets blasted and falls... just all the little stuff that makes it seem really genuine and how it builds up nicely to the reveal

MouthForWar wrote:I'm sure the movie IS great, but I wasn't impressed with the scene at all. The Goji design is pretty cool, but the CGI is subpar at best and the comedic tone doesn't do much out of the context of the film. I don't see the "this is what the next Godzilla movie should be" view that people seem to have.

I agree, as far as the "future of Godzilla" is concerned. In the film, it's a nice little homage made with some Syfy Original level CGI.

If that's the best CGI that Toho can do, I think we're better off sticking to suits. I don't even find the Godzilla design all that awe-inspiring as some people do.

Yeah Mouth..(strange man we agree for the most part with horror but not so much alot of other things) I don't think most of us are declaring that this is what the next film needs to look like, but more of a admiration of the willingness to try something new. It's a step in the right direction but it's not there yet. Least that's how I feel

metal_bryan wrote:

MouthForWar wrote:

Gooberzilla wrote:

MouthForWar wrote:Am I the only person that still doesn't see the big deal about this and isn't impressed by the cameo?

The movie Always: Sunset on Third Street is great. I'm not even talking about the cameo.

I'm sure the movie IS great, but I wasn't impressed with the scene at all. The Goji design is pretty cool, but the CGI is subpar at best and the comedic tone doesn't do much out of the context of the film. I don't see the "this is what the next Godzilla movie should be" view that people seem to have.

I just like the way the scene is shot... how stuff is being destroyed all around them... they all stop to look in awe as the tower gets blasted and falls... just all the little stuff that makes it seem really genuine and how it builds up nicely to the reveal

yeah, i kind of agree with bryan here...

it's not that the design is anything special or the effects are all that great (they are actually pretty bad) but the SPIRIT of it is nice and the way it is shot is inspired...something we haven't seen in anything involving Godzilla in some time

I think it's just a cameo and nothing more. it's pretty impressive for a director with some CGI experience to jump in there and create a really cool opening scene feaaturing Godzilla. Some folks are making too big a deal out of it.

Gooberzilla wrote:Some folks are making too big a deal out of it.

That's been my feelings on it for a long time. It's good but at the end of the day it's just a well done cameo. A lot of people seem to want it to be much more.

The opening Godzilla sequence in ALWAYS 2 is not an effective example to judge "the best CGI that Toho can do" because Toho did not produce the FX for that film. The Godzilla movies are "in house" productions made and distributed by divisions of Toho, but many (maybe most) movies and TV shows in Japan are made by partnerships between multiple companies to share costs and risks and also to acquire certain rights (theatrical, home video, foreign, etc). ALWAYS 2 was made by the "Always2 Film Partners" of NTV, Robot, Shogakukan, Vap, Toho, Dentsu, YTV, Yomiuri Shimbun, Shirogumi, and Imagica. The two primary companies were NTV and Robot, the production company of ALWAYS director/FX supervisor Takashi Yamazaki (Robot also did RETURNER and K-20: THE FIEND WITH 20 FACES).

The ALWAYS films are very FX-heavy because they use extensive CG and miniatures to recreate the look of Japan in the 1950s. I would imagine the majority of Robot's FX time and budget went to that key aspect of the second movie rather than a gag bit that only ran for a couple of minutes.

Even so, I understand why so many Godzilla fans are impressed by that sequence. Like Bryan mentioned, the scene is staged and shot very well with the Tokyo Tower reactions a particularly good example. After too many Godzilla movies where the main characters watch the action from a distance (or on a big TV screen) it was great to see a "man on the street" perspective of a Godzilla attack. The shots of the tail swipe through Suzuki Auto and the mass destruction Norifumi Suzuki must evade in his mini-car are quite different from the almost sterile feel of many of the post-1990 Godzilla movies. Given the quality of the FX in recent Japanese films (plus productions from other countries like South Korea) I would like to see Toho push the envelope a bit whenever they get back to making Godzilla movies and incorporate some of the techniques used in ALWAYS 2.

ALWAYS 2 also benefited Godzilla in another way. The film was a big box office hit, as well as the sequel to a blockbuster that cleaned up at the Japanese Academy Awards, so it showed off the monster in a fun way to very large audience. Nothing wrong with that...

Agreed. Nice post Kpa.

The most important special effects in these movies are recreating Tokyo 1959. I just watch the sequel and although it's not as good as the first, it is a great film as well. I absolutely love these films.

IMO the cameo with Godzilla is a nice little clip and nothing more (not toho testing the CGI waters). The destruction of the town and the smoky sky creates a nice mood.

Unlike most, I actually like Godzilla's dog face design. I read kpa's article about the Director changing the GMK model to fit his image of Godzilla and it is definitely GODZILLA. If only Sony would have made the right decision on the direction of their Godzilla movie. Instead of tossing out his dinosaurian origin and replacing it with a nuclear infested Iguana done by the French .

Takashi Yamazaki to direct third "Always" film in 3D
[quote]The hit 2005 movie “Always: Sanchome no Yuhiâ€

I think what I enjoyed about Godzilla's cameo in Always 2 was how successfully it integrated the humans into the action. Godzilla's attack was seen from their POV, which made the character all the more effective.

Most of Toho's SFX shots are from the monster's eye level, which takes away from their size and scope. I think it'd be interesting if in the WB/LP picture, we only ever see Godzilla from low-angle or high-angle (i.e. helicopter, fighter jet).

I need to get those movies and see them for the movies themselves, not just the G cameo....

Why is this movie being discussed here if Godzilla's not going to be in it?