ゴジラ-1.0 (aka Godzilla Minus One) (2023)

Set in 1945 Japan as WWII is nearing its end, a kamikaze pilot (Ryunosuke Kamiki) feigns a mechanical problem on his plane to avoid his duty and lands on a Japanese base for repairs. When the base is attacked by a dinosaur like creature during the night, he freezes up and fails to shoot the weapon in his plane which causes the other soldiers to be massacred. This act of cowardice traumatizes him post war but he may have a chance to redeem himself. Written and directed by Takashi Yamazaki (STAND BY ME DORAEMON). The 37th film in the GODZILLA franchise and easily the best since the original 1956 GOJIRA. Its success in that respect is that like the original film, it's not all about the creature. The human beings are crucial to the narrative and we care about them. They're not just supporting players to a giant lizard! The Oscar winning special effects are superb and the excellent cinematography of Kozo Shibasaki and the fine underscore of Naoki Sato also contribute to the film's achievement. Shockingly, although the film was a big hit in Japan, its critical reviews were much better outside Japan. The film's ending screams out, "Sequel coming soon!". With Minami Hamabe, Hidetaka Yoshioka, Sakura Ando and Munetaka Aoki.