Necrotongue

Movies featuring an indestructible deep-sea monster stomping through Tokyo never really grabbed my interest. I've seen all the classics like Gappa, the American-Japanese Godzilla from the eighties, and Clash of the Titans with the Kraken — essentially, the sedate, ancient Greek version of the Japanese radioactive, perpetually pissed-off monster. I only watched this movie because it was the main offer on Netflix, and the post-war setting intrigued me. Surprisingly, I found myself enjoying the new story of this angry lizard. The oversized reptile with a reactor for a liver wasn't the main draw for me, though. What fascinated me more were the Japanese attempts to grapple with their role in World War II and the realistic depiction of their war technology. Unlike Michael Bay, the Japanese creators brought in truly capable consultants, making their warships like the Takao and Shinden look absolutely top-notch. I found myself more drawn to these peripheral aspects of the film, without which I might not have paid it much attention. / Lesson learned: Don't go launching nuclear warheads, bombs, or reactors into the Pacific Ocean — you never know what you might awaken.

An intriguing Korean show. After six episodes, my average rating hit four stars, but honestly, a strong three might've sufficed. If Jun Seo-ha is the main character (and I'm still not entirely sure about that), she didn’t really win me over—she didn’t exactly stand out in the sharp thinking department. Surprisingly, the distributor left out the comedy tag. I found myself laughing out loud at some scenes, mostly involving the cops. The Asian approach is just different from ours. While I think the creators could have tackled the subject a bit differently, I still got what I expected. / Lesson learned: Inheritance often comes with problems. 4*-

Turns out my worries about the lack of tension were totally misplaced. The Korean creators saved most of the action for the finale and packed in plenty of suspense. The family dynamics didn’t really move me, though. Even in Europe, you sometimes see a mother who is also a sister to her child (not always by choice, as evidenced by some of those secret cellar stories from Austria). At least here, it was out of love. The conclusion was solid, I enjoyed it, and it’s a shame the Koreans didn’t keep this level of quality throughout the series. / Lesson learned: The heart wants what it wants. 4*+