Torgo
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Post by Torgo on Aug 5, 2009 10:03:12 GMT -5
Hello all! Torgo here, reminding you that I had a website for a while. It was updated once in a blue moon, but I got a good deal of material on it. Problem was, it was a Geocities site, and since Geocities is shutting down, I am forced to archive before I lose it.
Oh well. My website sucked anyway.
All my stuff is already on my computer, but I've also decided to store most of my material here in the meantime. Partially as a back up, also to evolve it and see how it looks.
My little website was about the cinematic star most of you know as Godzilla. With 28 movies under his belt, 1 American reimagining, and tons of related material, he's a very lengthy discussion piece and one of my favorite cinematic beings. What will be posted here will mostly be reviews for the time being, in the order that I originally printed them. Sort of "Special Editions" updated in ways that I see fit. Once my reviews are finished, monster bios and articles may follow.
WARNING: My original reviews contained a fair amount of foul language. All ensuing foul language will be censored in the traditional ********* way, but rather than comprimising my "creative integrety," the words themselves will not be changed in favor of a more family friendly route.
Reviews will be presented in the original way I have written them, very very out of order and random. It would probably be more pleasing to the reader to read them in chronological order, but I am not finished, have gaping holes in the order, and have no intention of continuing them that way. We will begin with my writeup of King Kong vs. Godzilla, the first review I wrote for it, as soon as I'm done polishing it up.
Questions and comments are more than welcome. Differencing opinions are welcome as well, and I am well aware that my fellow kaiju-philes Angilasman and MonsterX are probably the ones who will most likely chime in. Come on in and have fun, you kids!
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Torgo
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Post by Torgo on Aug 5, 2009 10:25:29 GMT -5
For easy navagation in what is going to be a very jumbled thread, I've taken a note from my long dead MST Review Thread (which I really have no plans of resurrecting, at the moment) and am adding a table of contents to jump directly to whatever page whatever review falls on.
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Post by angilasman on Aug 5, 2009 10:44:04 GMT -5
I've actually been watching the Godzilla films in order, one movie a week, all year. I'm at Mothra vs. Godzilla '92 now, but I'm taking a break to accomidate my Miyazaki watching (as I have to see all of his films again before the release of his newest).
...I really do not like the Heisie series (except Bio).
One thing that suprised me: I'd loved Godzille vs. The Sea Monster a great degree since I was a small child, but when watching these films together I thought it was fun - but inferior to the follow-up Son of Godzilla which I now think is the most underrated of the series! Despite the oft-mentioned Godzilla's goofy design and Minya's antics (I personally like Minya), Son of Godzilla has a great cast playiing fun characters, a tight and suspenseful story, and some spectacular villian monsters. Kumonga is a wonderful baddie!
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Torgo
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Post by Torgo on Aug 5, 2009 23:42:12 GMT -5
King Kong vs. Godzilla Release Date: August 11, 1962 Monster Roster: Godzilla, King Kong, and Giant Octopus The discovery of a wild berry that produces a narcotic effect could revolutionize the pharmacutical company. If not that, then they could sell them to drug dealers and they could find a use for them. I'm certain they'd only use it for good. But to help get this new form of berry popular, the company needs themselves a mascot. Hey! The berry's native land, Farou Island, has a giant monkey god! Let's kidnap him and put him in commercials! He'll be the next Pepsi Girl (you remember her, the annoying one with Joe Pesci's voice. Yeah, I try to force those painful memories out of my head too)! So an expadition sets off in search of the big lug. Meanwhile, an iceberg has been melting, causing multipal tidal waves in the vacinity. A submarine goes to investigate why, only to discover that Godzilla has recently freed himself from his icy tomb and, damnit, he's pissed! I would be too. Imagine being trapped inside an ice block for 10 years. I'd be eager to use my radioactive breath to set a forest on fire so I could get all nice and toasty. Not to mention how badly I'd have to pee. While Godzilla does his thing in Japan, the team sent by the pharmacutical company finds giant ape god Kong wearing a giant octopus for a hat. After they convince him that octopi were so last year, they try to convince him on the perks of show business. Kong declines, saying that his uncle tried that in 1933, and it didn't quite pan out. He hooked up with the wrong women and finally offed himself on the Empire State Building. It was all over the news and quite embarassing for the family. Determined to not leave the island without a star, they drug Kong up with the berry juice, and build a giant raft in all of about 10 minutes to tow him in. Since the Japanese government appearantly has more sense than the idiots who captured a 45 meter tall gorilla with the intent of bringing him to the mainland, they tell them nothin' doin'. Turn you damn ship around and take your giant spanking monkey with you. But before this happens, Kong wakes up and is not happy about being drugged asleep. The crew of the ship destroys Kong's raft, hoping to take Kong out with it, but only succeed in freeing him. Cofused as to where he is, Kong heads to Japan to find the nearest gas station so he can ask for directions back to Farou Island. On his way, he bumps into Godzilla, and if there's one thing we've learned from 1933's King Kong, it's that giant lizards and giant monkeys are natural enemies (and that giant monkeys are turned on by petite blondes). Just seeing each other for the first time, they immediatly decide they don't like each other. Kong decides to lay the T-Rex smackdown on Godzilla, when Godzilla unleashes his flame breath upon him. Kong, dazed and confused, just wonders away wondering What the hell happened? The Rexes back home never did that!Meanwhile, Japan puts up an electrical blockade in order to keep these damn monsters out of their yard. Godzilla just wonders around it, but Kong, ever so desperate to find that gas station, pummels right through it. Upon his night in the big city, he meets a hot asian chick and Kong, being a sucker for the ladies, takes her out on the town (by on the town, I of course mean on top of a building). But Japan doesn't want his kind around, so they drug him and take away his hopeful lay for the evening. But this raises the question, is Japan big enough for two monsters? Subsequent Godzilla films would suggest yes, but this is a naive time for the country, back when they thought giant monsters were a rare thing. So they set up an air lift with giant balloons (beating their raft record by 2 seconds!) and take Kong to Mt. Fuji, where the clash of the titans takes place... Review Lately, franchise clashes have been making a comeback with the surprisingly entertaining Freddy vs. Jason and the interesting but snail-paced AVP: Alien vs. Predator (the less said about the sequel, AVPR: Aliens vs. Predator - Requiem, the better, though). The idea of smashing two franchises together for a smackdown is nothing new, it was done in 1943's Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man and was more famously done in 1962's King Kong vs. Godzilla. The problem is that King Kong vs. Godzilla is more legendary for it's novelty than the actual movie it churned out. To the casual movie goer, they might think this film is a myth, like the ideas of Freddy vs. Jason and AVP before 2003. Sure it's a fanboy's wetdream, but no studio in their right mind would make it. After all, King Kong is an American monster, and Godzilla is Japanese. But it did happen. The movie does exist. It's just a bit underwhelming compared to what it's reputation would imply. I don't find King Kong vs. Godzilla to be a particularly great Godzilla movie. In fact, I find it one of the lesser offerings from my giant green hero, for various reasons. King Kong's first movie way back in 1933 was a rousing adventure and both of Godzilla's previous offerings in the 50s were somber horror movies, so something has to be sacrificed in order for the pairing to work. In this case, it's Godzilla's horror, which makes sense when you look at the big picture. The original Kong died at the end of his big screen debut, meaning that this film, in essence, had to be a remake instead of a sequel. Many of the 1933 films plot points play out here: team goes to island, run into natives, giant monkey crashes through giant gate, giant monkey gets taken to mainland where he runs amuck. If the original did occur in the timeline, then you would think we would learn from our previous mistakes. Not to mention that Kong needed to upscale. The original Kong would have only come up to Godzilla's knee, if that. And then there's the whole "electricity makes him stonger" angle, which is an obvious attempt to keep him at Godzilla's match. This is the first and only time this idea was used for Kong. It doesn't even return in Kong's other Toho outing, King Kong Escapes. Most of this is acceptable enough, however. What really bogs the movie down are the human characters, who never become anything more than an annoyance. I heard the Japanese original is an improvment in this department, but having only seen the American dub (complete with American actors inserted into the movie, spoon feeding the plot to us), I honestly can't tell you anything about it. Maybe if Universal wasn't so cheap with this Peter Jackson cash in DVD I have on my shelf, we could have gotten the original version of the movie. But of course, I am thankful they released the movie at all (with glorious animorphic widescreen). The film also provides a slight, bothersome gap in continuity, in which Godzilla has trouble getting through electrical wires and decides to just walk away. I don't know if the screenwriters even bothered to check the original Godzilla film, but he had no trouble tearing through the electrical towers in that flick. The monster suits aren't terribly impressive either. In fact, these are some of the worst I've seen from Toho. Godzilla's is decent from a side angle, but head on it's wide, ugly, and baggy. Although I like the slightly more reptilian look they gave him. Toho never had much luck with Kong. Both the suit featured here and the one they offered in King Kong Escapes had highlights about them, but neither was very good. The one in King Kong vs. Godzilla looks best when they didn't try to extend his arms to make him look more ape-like. This made the suit look positivly repulsive. But the movie does shine with the monster sequences themselves. Despite a lack of decent monster costumes, the afore mention novelty of the idea scores big time in watching these two giants clash. Director Ishiro Honda (director of the original Godzilla, King of the Monsters, returning to the director's chair) knows how to deliver a good match up, with relentless energy and a whole lot of action. I also cannot deny the significance of the film in the Godzilla universe. Godzilla had been gone for 7 years after only 2 movies, it's hard to tell how far he would have made it had he not fought a powerhouse like King Kong, especially so early in his run. Box office-wise, King Kong vs. Godzilla is not only the most successful Godzilla movie to date, it's one of Japan's most successful movies of all time. The film also provides a few landmarks by being the first movie to bring both monsters to the screen in color, and it's also the premiere of Godzilla's lighter, more famous roar. Why the filmmakers decided to change G's roar is beyond me, perhaps they thought it might have sounded odd coming from the new suit design or maybe it just was too much of a loud, intimidating bellow for what is, in all actuality, a lighter movie. But as I look at King Kong vs. Godzilla as a whole, it's worthy enough for the fans to add to their collection, but novelty can only be taken so far.
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Torgo
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Post by Torgo on Aug 6, 2009 0:55:18 GMT -5
Godzilla: Final Wars Release Date: December 4, 2004 Monster Roster: Godzilla, Mothra, Gigan, Monster X, Rodan, Anguirus, King Caesar, Minilla, Ebirah, Kamacuras, Kumonga, Manda, Hedorah, and Zilla Millennium Timeline: The past of Godzilla: Final Wars is left very much in the dark. We know there's a Godzilla, whether it's a different one than the original film or the same is not explained. The opening narration claims the monster first appeared in 1954, leading us to believe that this is the original and the Oxygen Destroyer was either ineffective or never used. Godzilla has been rampaging ever since. To combat him and other monsters, beings around the world with superhuman abilities have been trained extensivly. They are Mutants, and they are the brawn of M-Orginization, an international group that vows to defend the world from the giant monster threat. We open at the Antartic, where Godzilla is just going for an evening stroll on his vacation from wrecking cities. The M-Organization ship Gotengo just suddenly appears out of nowhere and open fires on the big guy. Jeeze! Can't a guy get away from work for just one week? Godzilla decides he better open a can of whoop-ass real quick so he can lounge around some more. Battle ensues and Godzilla is put on ice...literally. A hill of ice buries the giant monster, and finally he can get some sleep. Many years later, M-Organization is continuing the fight on giant monsters because...you know...they get paid. Soon they discover the remains of a giant cyber-bird that contains the same M-Base found in the Mutants all over the world. As soon as we're past this painful plot contrivance, two hot fairy girls show up. They claim that the creature is Gigan, an outer space monster that tried to destroy Earth before Mothra stopped him. Of course, the male members of M-Orginization aren't taking this in, because they're wondering if they can get it on with a girl who's less than a foot tall. As quickly as they appear, the twin girls disappear again, leaving the dreams unfulfilled. Soon after monsters begin attacking cities across the planet. M-Organization has their work cut out for them. A group even takes on giant lobster Ebirah hand to hand. One would normally think them to be dumb bastards, but this is Ebirah we're talking about, so they do fairly well against him. But the monster attacks are halted by the Xillians, an alien race who like to dress in fetish clothing. They claim to want to help Earth, but their ruse is figured out in all of about five seconds, and with that, they unleash the monsters again for the hell of it, all under their control and lead by Gigan. But not only are the monsters under their control, but every single Mutant on Earth except one, Ozaki. Using pure movie logic, Ozaki and a band of survivors figure the aliens are controling all creatures with M-Base. But there is one being on Earth without M-Base that could possibly challenge the Xillians. "The most destructive weapon on Earth." Adam Sandler's Big Daddy. Make them watch that, and they'll run away screaming. But all copies have mercifully been destroyed, so they decide to wake Godzilla instead. They fly the good ship Gotengo to the Antartic. Blowing up his icey tomb, Godzilla is not a morning person. Still pissed off at the flying submarine that had disturbed him, yet again, Godzilla follows the Gotengo across the world, from city to city, battling all monsters that get in his way. They make their way back to the Xillian mothership, where the Xillian leader lays the bombshell of why Ozaki isn't in control of the Xillians. "You are a Keizer, Neo...er...I mean Ozaki. Just like me." He named their race after those yummy rolls he found at Albertsons. But now, the two Keizers must do battle because we need a climax. Meanwhile, the Xillian leader challenges Godzilla and the newly called upon Mothra to face off against Gigan and Monster X. The final battle of the Final Wars has begun. Review What an odd little movie. It's hard to know what to say, because every time I watch this movie, I don't know what hit me. I just sit there, rather dumbfounded at the entire expereince. I expected to get used to the nuttiness that is Godzilla: Final Wars over time, but every time I pop it in, I always seem to underestamate it. It would be easy to call this film a hyperactive mess, mostly because that's exactly what it is. Watching Godzilla: Final Wars is like playing a video game on "easy" mode. You go through all the levels, you beat all the bosses, in pretty much no time. You can say you beat the game rather quickly, but you wish there was something more to it. What is it about Godzilla: Final Wars that makes me come back for more? This movie is really a marvel to behold, for the reasons I never expected it to. They crammed 50 years of Godzilla legacy and made one all out movie massacre. I expected something huge for the big G's 50th anniversary, but I didn't picture anything near the resulting film. Final Wars mixes in a bit of every movie in Godzilla's history. Even the more looked down upon entries in the series, such as Godzilla's Revenge and Godzilla 98, get referenced in one way or another. Half of the fun in watching Final Wars is to find all these little wink winks lying everywhere in the film. But despite using so many things already done in the series, Final Wars is unlike any Godzilla movie I've ever seen. And I've seen them all. The main storyline is a cross between Godzilla vs. Monster Zero and Destroy All Monsters (with a bit of the video game Godzilla: Destroy All Monsters Melee thrown in as well), but it's done so much more differently than either. The team of Mutants who are specificly trained to combat the monsters is an interesting addition to the series. Think of them as G-Force trained by Morpheus from the Matrix. The battle scene in which they take on Ebirah with nothing but their skills and their guns is really quite extraordinary (that is, if you can block Power Rangers from your mind). The concept of "Keizers" kind of kills the Mutant storyline, though, because it makes very little sense. According to the lore this movie puts forth, Mutants are the interbred ancestors of Xillians and humans, but it seems the Xillians think of humans as little more than cattle. With their additude toward us, it's hard to think anything but beastiality when it comes to this concept (but at least it's a right side more pleasant to think about than the donkey show in Clerks II). But the history between Xillians and humans is never expanded upon, and it's a shame, because so much of this Keizer nonesense leaves me scratching my head. But the Keizer is a rare Mutant born with more extraordinary gifts than the others. This brings me to the issue of the Xillian leader being a Keizer, as well. But if we were to follow everything he's told us about Mutants and Keizers, that would mean he was a Mutant as well. It begs so many questions as to whether or not the Xillians tolorate Mutants amung their race and we are thrown back to the history aspect that is sorely lacking from the final film. But as far as the human side goes, one can't say they were bored by the performances. I may not speak Japanese, but even I can tell that Rei Kikukawa is way over the top as the Xillian leader, and loving every minute of it, too. Then there's kickboxer Don Frye, who plays a hard, American badass. Unfortunatly, he speaks all of his lines in English, so I can tell just how bad an actor he truly is (keep in mind, he was the subtitled one in Japan). But his lack of performance has it's charms... "Listen kid, there are two things you don't know about the Earth. One is me. And the other is...(dramatic pause)...Godzilla." The monsters are sensational. Godzilla is treated like the Steven Segal of monsters, in which he can't be hurt or do any wrong. His suit bears a strong resemblence to the 1954 original this time around. Gigan and Rodan's updated looks are pretty hardcore. It's good to see a lot of old faces again, such as Hedorah and Ebirah, though for the life of me I can't help but wonder who's leg King Ceasar humped to get in this movie. He's the most out of place kaiju of the lot. I would have rather seen Varan or Gorosaurus (imagine Goro doing the Kangaroo Kick at the moment Ceasar kicks Anguirus like a soccar ball). One small note about Keith Emerson's music, with is half good, half wretched. He comes up with a good Godzilla theme, but some of his cues will make your ears bleed (especially the repetitive tune during the end credits). Is Godzilla: Final Wars a bad movie? Yes. But does it kick ass? Oh definatly. There are times when the movie becomes too human focused, but it's just too much fun to watch to dismiss. It's not hard to see why it's disliked by some, but I can't find it in my heart to dismiss it.
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Post by Captain Hygiene on Aug 6, 2009 9:00:39 GMT -5
I'll have to check out Final Wars...sounds like a good time.
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Post by angilasman on Aug 6, 2009 11:03:13 GMT -5
I'm gonna get the Japanese version of King Kong vs. Godzilla soon and I'm really looking forward to it. The American version apparently cuts out a lot of the gag scenes that really point out that the film is supposed to be a comedy (the main human characters were actually popular comic actors of the time) and Akira Ifikube's score (widely considered his best by Japanese fans) is completely removed in the US cut.
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Torgo
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Post by Torgo on Aug 6, 2009 12:01:08 GMT -5
I've been meaning to get it as well. I hear it's a considerable improvment, and I'm alway's keen on hearing more Ifukube awsomeness. His only remaining piece in the US cut of KKvG, the Native song, is pretty good, and I would really like to hear the rest of it.
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Torgo
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Post by Torgo on Aug 6, 2009 12:54:32 GMT -5
Godzilla vs. Destoroyah Alternate Title: Godzilla vs. DestroyerRelease Date: December 9, 1995 Monster Roseter: Godzilla, Destoroyah, and Godzilla Junior Japanese cutie and representing psychic chick of G-Force Miki Saegusa does a routine inspection of Godzilla's residant island, Birth Island, to see how well he has holding up with his little son. Japan's adoption agency is a lot stricter than ours, especially when it comes to giant monsters. Can't a giant rampaging lizard get a little credibility here? Well, it turns out that Godzilla as a parent...an idea as bad as it sounds. That 'Zilla's a real party animal. He often invites a couple monsters over and pumps them full of booze. Things get pretty flapjacksing wild on those days. Unfortunatly, someone set off a uranium deposit or something because the whole island blew up!!! Miki is upset..."How come I wasn't invited?!" Later that night, Godzilla surfaces in Hong Kong. But there's a problem...all that booze...HEARTBURN! We need a massive dose of antiacid to the docks stat! But they don't do a damn thing, and out of fury and gas, Godzilla rampages the city. To help out Godzilla's condition, G-Force turns to...a college student? Well...whatever works, I guess. But the stringy little geek says no to the nasty old guys who broke into his house, because he was just about to level up on World of Warcraft. But then the life changing event happens...everybody's favorite psychic Miki calls the old suit...and our little nerd realizes something..."Miki Saegusa? I've been stalking her for years! Now she can't ignore me!" TEN-HUT! It's boner time! "Let's go!" Stringy McGeekNerd is taken back to G-Center, where he gawks at Miki nonstop and occasionally lets an opinion filter through his hormones... "...legs...Godzilla...boobies...explode... MARRY ME!!!" After decyphering what he said, G-Force concludes that if Godzilla's temperature isn't eventually controlled, Godzilla will let out a belch so massive that he'll blow up, taking the Earth with him. G-Force sends out Super-X 3 to freeze the lizard and control Godzilla's gas once and for all. Meanwhile, a scientist who has decided to follow in Dr. Sarazawa's footsteps in Oxygen study (why? Because smart people are too stupid to stop) comes across a mutating microbe at the site where the original Godzilla was killed by the Sarazawa's Oxygen Destroyer. The microbe mutates into more massive forms until finally it's a full size monster. G-Force lures Godzilla Junior, now mutated into a full size Godzilla, into Japan to combate it because...well...after watching monsters attack all these years, the Japanese think a single monster rampaging is boring and would rather see two duke it out. The plan is a success and Junior faces the first fight of his Kaiju career. They grow up so fast. ::sniff:: Especially when they mutate. Meanwhile, Godzilla has finally broken out of the ice that Super-X 3 imprisoned him inside, but the stratagy didn't work. Godzilla's temperature is rising so quickly that when he reaches 1,200 degrees, he will meltdown and destroy the entire planet (just like the explode scenerio, so how is this any worse?) The only chance is to kill Godzilla the only way they know how...the Oxygen Destroyer. But it doesn't exist anymore, so they use the next best thing...a monster created by the Oxygen Destroyer... Destoroyah, the monster fighting Junior in Japan. Using pure logic, the only way to stop Godzilla from destroying the Earth is to have him fight another monster. Genius. And if he wins? We're all screwed. Review I've seen a lot of monster movies in my day. I won't pretend to have seen every single one, but I've seen a respectible amount, methinks. As a teenager, I thought Godzilla vs. Destoroyah was a masterpiece of the Kaiju genre, a sort of bar that each monster movie must reach. As an adult, my opinion hasn't changed much. Why is this movie so great? There's a lot wrong with it. The guesstimation science that takes a front seat in the film is rediculous. Rarely in the film do I gain the impression that any of the characters had the slightest clue what was going on, and looked to me like they were throwing ideas on the table and presenting them as facts. Adding to the groan factor is Toho's international dub track, which is hideous. I have no doubt that this movie would play out 10 times better in it's original language, which unfortunatly we don't have the luxury of here in the States (though keep you're fingers crossed for an BluRay release with the original track). The fight between Godzilla and Destoroyah is a bit disappointing as well, since it suffers from the slow and lazy Heisei choreography, which includes a lot of bumping and beam fighting. But in the end, it's a solid monster mash, and one of the best Godzilla flicks ever made. Director Takao Okawara wisely went in an emotional direction for the film, knowing that most of the G fanbase has loved him their since their childhood, watching B monster movies on TV. For many, myself included, Godzilla has been with them their entire lives and to watch their beloved childhood hero just melt away is a very moving experience. And indeed, Godzilla's death scene is truly spellbinding. At the emotional core of the film is Godzilla Junior, though. Who's role in the film strikes the right emotional chords in two different ways. The first being Miki Saegusa, who has acted as a sort of mother figure toward the tyke since Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II. Her love for the creature is genuinly touching, and her small look of "Kick his ass, Godzilla" after Destoroyah kills Junior speaks louder than anything she could say at that moment. The second is, of course, Godzilla himself, who does indeed proceed to kick his ass. Godzilla is portrayed with such emotional rage in his final brawl, one could almost forget the shortcomings of Heisei's choreography. Not that the fighting is all weak. The fight between Junior and Destoroyah has some pretty nice tooth and claw, and the final battle does indeed have it's moments. The monster suits are stunning to look at. The red glow on Meltdown Godzilla is amazing and Junior's costume is superb. Seeing how Godzilla's main baddie, King Ghidorah , was already used and killed off in a previous Heisei film, Toho had to come up with something supremly badass for Destoroyah. They succeed for the most part, though he looks a bit too plastic to be taken entirely seriously. But it is a very menacing design for all of it's various forms. The film marks two unfortunate farewells to the franchise. Series producer and showrunner Tomoyuki Tanaka (who died in 1998) and composer Akira Ifukube (who died in 2006), who conducts his final score, not just for this series, but for any film. Their last film should be one they're proud of, because they've both done a fabulous job on it. Godzilla vs. Destoroyah isn't quite what you would call "brilliant," but it's a stunning movie and one of my all-time favorites. We've seen countless G films that have half of what this film has going for it, but rarely any that matches it. Hopefully, maybe someday we get another as good as this one.
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Torgo
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Post by Torgo on Aug 7, 2009 14:56:51 GMT -5
King Kong Escapes Japanese Title: King Kong's CounterattackRelease Date: July 22, 1967 Monster Roster: King Kong, Mechani-Kong, Gorosaurus, and Sea Serpent Because we didn't learn enough from the last time citizens fooled around with the giant ape, this movie starts with a submarine searching for Mondo Island and supposed "legend" (though proven to be real about twice before, you'd think history would record a monkey tearing New York and Tokyo apart with it's bear hands) King Kong. The crew is boiled down to three: Handsome Leading Man, Cutie Miss Can't Act, and Japanese Guy Involved Because There Are Giant Monsters In This Movie. If there is anybody else aboard this ship that does anything, I didn't notice them. Anywho, they find Mondo Island and, sure enough, that major monkey is still kicking. Kong abducts Cutie, because she's a blonde and he's got a thing for that ( psst...don't tell him it's bleached). Popping out of nowhere is Gorosaurus, busting in on the two love birds. Kong is pissed, because he was about to "make his move." Kong starts kicking Goro's ass, allowing Handsome and Japanese Guy to get Cutie back to the sub safely and off the island. Meanwhile, fresh off his smash hit British science fiction program, Dr. Who is in Japan and he's built a giant robot Kong to dig up a resource known as Element X. Just one catch, his Mechani-Kong is a piece of crap. The closer it gets to Element X, the more it craps out on him. Fed up with this bullcrap, Dr. Who decides it's easier to capture the real Kong and make him do it (cheaper too. Imagine how much gas Mechani-Kong takes, especially with today's prices). You know the rest...monster roars, gets captured via gas and giant nets, yada yada yada. But this wouldn't mean a thing unless the good guys know what happened. Since a giant monkey is always worth a second look, Handsome, Cutie, and Japanese Guy head back to Mondo to play hide the blonde (and brought some brunette wigs too, to tease, confuse, and enrage him. In other words, make it more fun). But what happened? The monkey is gone! With no evidence whatsoever, Handsome concludes that this can only be the work of Who. Man, that's an Abbot and Costello bit if I've ever heard one... "Who's got Kong?" "I DON'T KNOW!" "Third base!" OK, it would be funnier if they did it. Or not. Our heroes set out to save Kong from the clutches of Who and they do the most heroic thing possible...they get captured! Not to say Kong's not grateful, but...well...little help maybe? Anywho, Who's done everything to get Kong to do as he says, he's dangled a shining rock in front of his eyes and tried to hypnotize him, he's tried shouting at him...DAMN! What's an evil scientist to do? But the blonde girl...Kong's a player...he'll do whatever she says! Problem solved. Who tries to torture the little group into helping him, but listening to his little blonde bimbo scream does nothing but piss the ape off. Kong breaks out of his cage and goes on a rampage in Japan. Soon after the bad guys send Mechani-Kong after him because we need a giant monster brawl for the finale. Who will win? "I DON'T KNOW!" "Third base!" Dr. Who says "F*** this. I'm going back home to my TV show." Review When I was a little kid, I recall King Kong Escapes being my favorite King Kong flick. Why? It had a giant MONKEY fighting a giant ROBOT MONKEY! How much cooler can it get? Don't worry, I don't still hold that opinion. Though a robot monkey...that's still pretty cool. But I think that's the type of reaction Toho and director Ishiro Honda wanted from King Kong Escapes' target audience, which were little kids. The entire idea for the film wasn't to be a follow up to the vastly superior 1933 original King Kong, or even the silly box office cash cow King Kong vs. Godzilla. King Kong Escapes was meant to be a live action adaptation of a then popular American/Japanese co-production animated King Kong series airing on Saturday mornings at the time. Unfortunatly the show is rather obscure today (except for those who remember it, and those, like me, who have too much free time and look crap like this up), so as a film itself, King Kong Escapes is doomed to be recorded in film history as a very odd product that Toho Studios stuck Kong in. But given what it's supposed to be, King Kong for kids, it is kinda fun. Better than other kiddie monster flicks that have been offered up at the time, such as Honda's own Godzilla's Revenge and especially any random Showa Gamera film you can name. I have to admire the imagination of Escapes, though. It's such a quirky. and colorful production. The sets and models are beautiful (even if a hovercar is outragously silly, it's pretty fun to watch). The scenes in the Antartic are especially breathtaking. But, as far as special effects go, the monster suits are very lacking. Gorosaurus is the only one in the film that Toho seemed to put effort into. Kong's suit looks unfinished to me. On the whole, I think I liked the ideas for it better than the suit they used in King Kong vs. Godzilla, but overall the giant ape looks for the worse. The padding of the sholders is a little obvious. When the suit gets wet and wild in the water, it shrivels down and Kong's head looks rediculously massive (the effect is quite comical, and this movie should be reccommended for that alone). Mechani-Kong fares better, but he looks very thrown together without any major thought. On the human side, we're offered yet another story that's really less than compelling. The heroes are useless and are only there to explain why Kong is where he is and why he's fighting a giant robot. Most of the leads are pretty bad too. Linda Miller, who plays Kong's "love interest," isn't that great of an emoter. And even though she's an American actress who is clearly speaking English, for some reason she's dubbed, which makes her performance even worse. The villians are even bigger offenders. Leaking in through the dub, Eisei Amamoto is obviously over the top as Dr. Who, appearantly trying to portray your typical Saturday morning villian (what with the loud side mouth talking and the evil smirk glued to his face). With the dub he's what I'd picture a male Rita Repulsa from Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers would be. Mie Hama is more subdued, and the way she jerks around after being shot is quite hillarious. However, given what it is, it's a bit of a charming movie. I'll even say I enjoy watching it more than King Kong vs. Godzilla, and especially more than the Dino de Laurentiis films of the 70s and 80s. Hell, even though Peter Jackson's King Kong is definatly a better movie, deep down I know I'd probably watch this one instead if given the choice. After all, it's got a giant MONKEY fighting a giant ROBOT MONKEY!
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Post by angilasman on Aug 7, 2009 16:30:38 GMT -5
I absolutely love King Kong Escapes. It captures the '60s adventure cartoon vibe perfectly and anyone making a Johhny Quest movie would do well to watch this film a few times (maybe with The Incredibles).
The Dr. Who (Hu) character was dubbed by Paul Fees doing basically his Boris Badenov voice, which fits the whole cartoon vibe.
Also, Akira Takarada was typically cast in these US co-production movies because he's rather tall for a Japanese guy - so he looks good standing next to the American actors.
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Torgo
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Post by Torgo on Aug 9, 2009 23:25:38 GMT -5
Godzilla; Mothra; King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack Release Date: December 15, 2001 Monster Roster: Godzilla, King Ghidorah, Mothra, and Baragon Millennium Timeline: The original Godzilla, King of the Monsters is in continuity, and pretty much nothing else. Godzilla hasn't been seen since the 1954 attack, though Japan is on it's toes. A monster that attacked New York was thought to be Godzilla, but it hasn't been proven, hinting that the 1998 Godzilla may partially be in continuity as well, or at least Zilla exists in this reality. In the year 2004, 50 years after Godzilla has last attacked Japan, and because the country can't let anything go, they still whine and complain about it. Yeah the rest of the world has problems too, and even get attacked by a random giant iguanna from time to time. "But it's not Godzilla, now is it? So there. Our monster's better than yours. We win" But of course, since this is a sequel, those fears have to be justified. The remains of a missing submarine are found, along with a giant reptile swiming along side it. Many useless days are spent looking at this footage of the creature and saying "That's Godzilla" and "No it's not." Remarkable progress was being made. Meanwhile, a group of docudrama filmmakers stumble upon an old man who predicts Godzilla's return is near. "But how do you know this?" they ask. "Because he always comes back!" he replies. "Haven't you been watching the damn movies?" He hands them a press release for something called Godzilla; Mothra; King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack and points out a blurb about the Guardian Monsters. "They are our only hope!" Who are the Guardian Monsters? Baragon, a giant red Dinosaur with ears that would put Ross Perot to shame. Mothra, a giant moth (they weren't feeling too original while naming him). King Ghidorah, a legendary eight-headed dragon (though it turns out he only has three, who taught the ancient Japanese how to count?). Anywho, before long, Godzilla pops up to do his thing. Time to stroll around and kill some inocents, just another day at the office. He goes about his business for a while, until the first Guardian Monster, Baragon, decides to jump the gun, be an idiot, and attack the giant, radioactive, MF'in' lizard without the backup of his Guardian Monster homies. That Baragon always was a loose cannon. Anywho, Baragon jumps around and paws at the mighty Godzilla for a while, until big G gets annoyed and lays into the little red pest. Godzilla pounds the little poopie into the ground until finally finishing him off with his radioactive breath. Godzilla continues his warpath toward Tokyo, while the military just looks at him in awe for several hours and say "I don't believe it!" in unison. When they finally do decide it's time to do something, Godzilla shows them who's in charge rather quickly. Surveying his kingdom, Godzilla begins to grow bored, thinking about how easy life is. But the final two Guardian Monsters have awoken from their long 2000 year nap. Mothra and Ghidorah set out against Godzilla and make Tokyo a warzone. The final battle has begun... Review Sigh. You know, I don't pretend I have the best taste in film. I mean, I watch Godzilla movies for Christ's sake. I try to be rational about it and give, but people get really agressive when it comes to opinion. I been verbally attacked, telling me I wouldn't know a good movie if it smacked me in the face when I lay down the bombshell that I didn't think Lord of the Rings was that hot, and I've even been put on an ignore list once because I enjoyed watching Underdog (it wasn't a masterpiece, but it made me smile) from someone who didn't even see it, no less. That said,.I fully plan to get plenty of people angry when I say that this movie is overrated. So many members of the Godzilla community praise every aspect of this production, and I loved it too when I first saw it. Sadly, everytime I rewatch this movie, my opinion of it becomes lower and lower. It's not a bad movie, but many call it either the best G movie since the original or the best G movie period, and I just find that to not be the case. But of course, I'm not one of those kaiju fans that absolutly worships director Shusuke Kaneko. In fact, I don't think I ever formed an actual opinion on him until just recently. In preparation of reviewing this film, I rewatched the acclaimed 90's Gamera trilogy. After watching all four (including GMK) of his dips into the kaiju genre, I came out realizing two things. 1. Whether it's the painful Showa entries, MST3K versons of the Showa entries, or even the superior 90's trilogy, watching three Gamera movies in a row gives me a headache. 2. Kaneko doesn't impress me. I'll refrain from reviewing the Gamera films, since I'm trying to concentrate on GMK (the short of it is 1 is watchable, 2 is lame, 3 is excelent), but my general impression of Kaneko is that he's a man of great ambition, but he often overshoots the basket (case in point being those foolish wings that Gamera sports in 2 and 3. The laughter that those bring is unequaled. Just terrible). Upon watching GMK again, while I find it a better film than the first two Gamera films, I still think he overshot his mark. Like this Gamera trilogy, GMK attempts to bring a more mystical story to the table. My problem is that I'm not big on fantasy (which explains why I'm not a LOTR fan, at least). A little bit is OK in my kaiju features, but if it comes on too strong, then I start to get turned off. I strongly prefer my kaiju portrayed as giant beasts, not particularly interested in good or evil, but just trying to survive in a world they percieve as their territory, like the 60s Godzilla films or the Heisei series. The more fantasy based kaiju are rarely amung my favorites. It's one of the reasons I'm not big on Mothra and it's also a reason I loathe King Ceasar. Unfortunatly, the film suffers for me, with all the generic Guardian Monsters nonsense and talk about how Godzilla represents the tortured souls of war or whatever. Hey, Godzilla's an allegory for something again...good for him! Too bad it's one that gets lost in translation to audiences outside Japan. The atomic bomb is universal, this one...not so much. I'm not Japanese, I don't live in Japan, and I don't study Japanese culture. Truth be told, I'm still not interested after watching GMK. So f*** it. I don't like the use of Godzilla, King Ghidorah, or Baragon as mystical beings in this movie. That's about all I have to say on this subject, so moving on. It takes it's toll on the human side of the story, which is praised for supposed "depth" by many kaiju fans. I don't see much depth in it, myself. I liked the characters, but they were far from three dimensional. In fact, instead of giving these characters the depth that would have been nice, most of the film's opening act is basicly just various people saying "Godzilla? Hasn't been seen in 50 years. Guardian Monsters? That's just a legend." Yeah, excuse me while I don't care. The rest of the movie is filled with running around, following the monsters while other characters make worried grimmaces at the camera. Not exactly what I call compelling human drama. On the technical side, the visuals are pretty good, but the monsters themselves look pretty shabby. I have the guts to say it, Godzilla's suit in this movie is hideous . I was initially keen on the design when images of it were released, but upon execution, it's just terrible. G looks like a cross between Deadite Ash from Evil Dead II and Barney the Dinosaur, and the result just isn't effective. Head animatronics look horribly mechanical and the bottom half of the design is disturbingly chubby (which I wouldn't have minded, had Godzilla's first full body shot not been a massive closeup of Goji-crotch). There are a few modifications that could have salvaged this fiasco, but since the movie has already been released and on DVD, it would be pointless to describe them. Baragon, Mothra, and King Ghidorah are all a bit too plastic for my tastes, as well (though the latter two get a bit of CG enhancement to make them look more lively. It's not very good CGI, but meh. It's a low budget monster movie from Japan. The last aspect of the film is Kow Otani's score, which is decent, but mildly annoying. I strongly prefer the themes of Michiru Ohshima, who thankfully returned to the G franchise in the next instalment. That said, I might shock a few people in saying that I do genuinly think the film is good. It doesn't live up to the hype, but if I were to praise anything about the film it's that the battles are excelent and the film does have an epic scale that other Godzilla movies lack. Some things can be learned from it, I think, in terms of tone and style, but other than that, I have to say I'm going to leave the "amazing" aspects of this film to the Japanese audiences. It was made for them, so I'd rather let them be. Me? It's not my cup of tea. It's better than a lot of Godzilla films, but it just doesn't stir anything up inside of me. [REVIEW VOID] I hereby admit that everything stated in the above opinion is wrong and I am a moron for not thinking this is the greatest monster movie ever made. Furthermore, should I ever state anything even remotly unpraiseworthy about Shinsuke Kaneko, the 90's Gamera trilogy, and/or GMK , I will be held accountable and subjected to a court of law for damages.Signiture Here: __________ X__________
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Torgo
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Post by Torgo on Aug 10, 2009 0:28:36 GMT -5
Destroy All Monsters Japanese Title: Attack of the Marching MonstersRelease Date: August 1, 1968 Monster Roster: Godzilla, Rodan, King Ghidorah, Gorosaurus, Anguirus, Minilla, Mothra, Kumonga, Baragon, and Varan It is the distant future year 1999 (or as Mike Nelson would call it, "The past future."). At this time, the people of the Earth travel to the moon constantly. Boy I remember that. Good ol' 1999 moon charters. Too bad those never exactly hit it off, they were fun. Probably the greatest feat man accomplished was collecting most of Earth's monsters and placing them in a controlled habitat known as Monsterland. Yes, kids, it's Monsterland! Come on down, make your parents spend a fortune on your bratty little ass, and come play with the dangerous monsters (though parents secretly have their fingers crossed that they get eaten before paying the bill). These mighty beasts include Godzilla, his son Minilla, Rodan, the new Mothra larva (bet the Infant Island natives weren't too thrilled about this), Manda, and despite being very very dead the last time we saw them, Anguirus, Varan, Baragon, Kumonga, and Gorosaurus all live there as well. But alas, this is not meant to be. For an alien race called the Kilaaks went out drinking one day and ran into their old buddies the Xillians from Godzilla vs. Monster Zero. The Xillians decide to play a little joke on the Kilaaks and plant it inside their head that controlling Earth's monsters and invading their planet is a good idea. The Xillians begin snickering to themselves uncontrolably as the Kilaaks form their plan and prepare the invasion. "And don't forget to take that useless sack of...er, I mean, feirce and frightening space dragon, King Ghidorah with you!" the Xillian Controller calls out after them. "He'll really help out." The Kilaaks leave, letting the Xillians let out a burst of laughing applause. "Suckers." So taking this advice, the Kilaaks invade Earth and control the many monsters of Monsterland. Godzilla is set loose in New York. Rodan flies over Moscow. Mothra crawls around in Beijing. Baragon and Gorosaurus dig tunnels in France (I don't know how a giant T-Rex with tiny arms can dig, but at least ol' Goro never gives up!). Like always, the people of Earth don't take kindly to being conquered, though secretly they wonder "Maybe if we let them win this time, they'll just leave us alone." But alas, the typical Earthling Gung Ho spirit rises yet again and we fight back. Using those fancy moon rockets our people play with daily, a group of astronauts challenge the Kilaaks and destroy the mind control device. In retaliation, the people of Earth build our own mind control device (yeah, that's right. We love our our free will, but we're not above stealing their ideas), and order the monsters to revolt against the Kilaaks. But the Kilaaks send their beloved golden boy King Ghidorah to defend them. Godzilla will lead an army of the Monsterland monsters to take down King Ghidorah and end the Kilaak invasion. Who will win? Oh let's see...9 monsters against 1...who do you think is going to win? Review Destroy All Monsters is, quite simply, my favorite Showa Godzilla film, one of my all time favorite G films, one of my all time favorite kaiju films, and one of my favorite films period. I think that tells you I have a bias toward it. Though I readily admit that Destroy All Monsters is a flawed film in many way, it delivers solidly on the one aspect I watch movies for in the first place, pure non-stop entertainment. Plot-wise, the movie steals shamefully from two previous Ishiro Honda films that Toho has under it's belt, The Mysterians and Godzilla vs. Monster Zero. I suppose it can be argued that those two films delivered a superiorly made product (though I'm not too crazy on The Mysterians myself), but if Destroy All Monsters has one thing going for it that those two films don't, it would be a campy quirkyness to it. One that knows exactly what it is and doesn't apoligize for it. Almost as if it's staring defiantly at the viewer and saying to them "Yeah, it's been done before, but we're doing it again. Deal with it and enjoy the ride." And enjoy we shall. The monster all-star lineup is really fun. Would have been cooler if Toho somehow managed to secure the rights for King Kong's inclusion as well (imagine...Kong vs. Ghidorah...that would have been sweet ), but you can't have everything. I love the new Godzilla suit, which is one of my all-time favorites. It's a bit friendlier looking than previous films, but has a sort of hard edge to it that gives off a sense of badassness. It's probably my favorite suit of the Showa series. The human plot, as generic as it is, is one of those unremarkable plots that will just keep you watching, with spicy action and cool special effects (those glowing flying saucers are awsome). It very much looks like a 60's event film, and the charm of it can't help but rub off on me. Ishiro Honda's direction is, as it mostly is, top notch, showcasing wonderful imagination with glorious models and props. Productions don't come much funner than this. Akira Ifukube's music is pretty good, though a bit too chipper and lightweight to rank it up to his best. But, the film's faults are a bit of a hard blow, unfortunatly. It's easy to see why it's not very highly reguarded amung some Godzilla fans, who complain that despite the giant monster lineup, there's a severe lack of kaiju action and too much familiar alien invasion fluff. This is true, and I will not deny it. The story is utter nonsense, and the script isn't fleshed out as well as it could have been. A lot of the dialogue and actions of the human characters is enough to make any reasonably intelegent person go "huh?" My favorite of these moments occurs when our main astronaut hero becomes fed up with his sister, who is being controlled by the Kilaaks, and takes her by the arms and rips her ear rings off. Why does he do this? Because the ear rings are what's controlling her. How does he know this? I don't have the faintest idea. I wouldn't have been surprised to hear her shout out in retaliation "Mother gave me those before she died, you bastard!" or "Did you have to rip my earlobes off, you son of a bitch?!" While overall the monster lineup is a pro, I also have a few nitpicks with it as well. Overall, to me, instead of picking out which monsters would be best suited for the film, they seemed to just throw in whatever suit that they had that was in good shape. The appearance of a Mothra larva is a bit strange, since an adult would have probably been more handy in the final battle. While I think Gorosaurus is cool, for the life of me, I can't figure out why he's in this movie. He really wasn't a special or noteworthy addition to King Kong Escapes, and his size upscale is puzzling as well. And this new ability of burrowing? Yes, I'm aware of the story of how the scene was meant for Baragon, but the suit was loaned out to Ultraman at the time, but couldn't they have at least picked a monster that at least looked capable of the act? Goro's arms can't even rise above his head. The final battle between the monsters and King Ghidorah has it's disappointing aspects as well, seeing that the only monster who truly activly get involved are Godzilla, Gorosaurus, and Anguirus. Rodan, Mothra, Kumonga, and Minilla minorly get in the game, but they don't contribute nearly as much. And poor Baragon and Varan, two monsters I would have loved to see in action again (especially Varan), sit on the sidelines and do nothing. Hell, throughout the entire movie there were only a few brief glimpses of these two period. All this in consideration, I still get the biggest kick out of this movie. It may be nothing special, but it packs a zing to it that I can't ignore. I love this movie. Kind of a pathetic defense when you think about it, but it's good enough for me.
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Torgo
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Post by Torgo on Aug 10, 2009 1:04:48 GMT -5
Varan the Unbelievable Japanese Title: Great Monster Varan Release Date: October 14, 1958 Monster Roster: Varan A group of univeristy students hunting for butterflies (studying at Mothra U, I suppose) hope to obtain a rare species by venturing into a little village. It is there that they are warned to beware of the Forbidden Zone or be killed by the great god Barandagi. As if the name "Forbidden Zone" and the word "killed" weren't self explainitory, they wonder in anyway are are immediatly DUN DUN DUN killed by a rockslide. Before death, one could be heard shouting into the distance... "WE DIED FOR A NOBEL CAUSE! WORSHIP THE BUTTERFLY!" Wondering just what the hell happened, another group of university students are sent in to play in the Forbidden Zone. Once again, the natives warn of the great god Barandagi, but of course, despite two dead people, we do the ignorant thing and tell them that it's nonsense. They even convince a group of the natives that prancing around in the Forbidden Zone would be fun, so they break down the gate and storm inside. But of course, Barandagi does exist. Surfacing out of the lake, Barandagi sees those damn Japanese on his lawn and chases them away. He's told them once, he's told them a thousand times. So, now that they've gone stomping on his grass for the umpteenth time, he decides it's time to parade on theirs. Barandagi breaks out of the Forbidden Zone and starts stomping around, knocking down a couple of houses and killing a few innocents in the meantime. Maybe his point will be clear now. The students immediatly identify Barandagi as a "Varan." What a "Varan" is, they don't say. All we know is that he is one, and let's just call him Varan because Barandagi is too damn hard to pronounce. So now we've discovered a new species living amung us, not exactly hurting us, but quite big, grumpy, and clumsy. What do we do now? Well, the military has the answer to that... bomb the living hell out of it. So they take a bunch of canons and guns over there and keep firing until Varan gets nice and pissed. Varan steps on a few tanks, then spreads it's arms and legs, revealing webs in between, and flies out of there like Rocky Squirrel. Well, now that the threat isn't contained, what do we do now? Well...find it and shoot at it again. Shouldn't be hard. It's a giant flying lizard, for crying out loud. However Varan proves to be close to home, as he begins attacking fishing boats just off the shores of Tokyo. Why Tokyo? Because Godzilla and Rodan said it was a cool place to kick it, and those two know how to party. So, now we got a monster that attacks from land, air, and water and our weapons are usless agains him. What do we do about it? Well, let's blow him up from the inside. All we gotta do is make him eat some explosives. Shouldn't be hard to do. And it'll be fun to watch! Review Varan the Unbelievable is probably one of the more obscure Toho kaiju films out there. Everybody knows who Godzilla is, even those who have never seen one of his movies. A good portion of those people may have heard of Rodan and Mothra as well. I bet you a dollar if you mention the name "Varan" to them, their immediate reaction would be "huh?" I think this film might have been forgotten had Varan not made an all too brief appearance in Destroy All Monsters, not really playing a role in the story but onscreen long enough to make someone do a double take. I'm sure I'm not the only kid who watched Destroy All Monsters only to see a hovering lizard at the end and say to myself "What the hell was that?" Well, the answer to that question lies in this nearly non-existant little film from the 50s. That small little clip of Varan in Destroy All Monsters peaked my interest in this film, but for a while I avoided it because I heard it sucked. When interest got the better of me, I finally popped this movie into my DVD player, and, to my surprise, I enjoyed it quite a bit. It doesn't change the face of monster movies or anything, but Varan the Unbelievable is a fun monster pick. Probably the most interesting thing worth noting about this film is it's backstory, seeing how it was originally supposed to be a made for TV movie Toho was making for American audiences. For whatever reason, American funding was dropped and the movie was left unfinished. Rather than waste whatever they had, they decided to keep the footage they shot and built a new movie around it they could distribute to theaters. This explains a bit of the film style, like how the film was in black and white when Toho had mostly switched to color at the time and why many shots of the monster are so long and lacking different angles. In addition to the lack of color and cinematography, the plot was paint by numbers and the actors looked like they were thinking of their paychecks the whole time. Because of this, Varan the Unbelievable gained a reputation of being boring. It's not an unwarrented reputation, but I've seen quite a few monster movies in my time, and I don't find Varan boring at all. Son of Dracula bored me. Giant Gila Monster bored me. Killer Shrews bored me. Varan may be generic and flat, but it's not boring. The Varan suit looks a bit shabby, possibly because it was originally made on a smaller budget for television. The mouth is practically immobile and watching it crawl on hands and knees is a bit akward. That said, the choreography for the creature is pretty solid. The movements are about as animal-like as I've seen in any of Toho's films. While the long one note shots of him stomping on villages might be a bore to some, it really helped me admire what the suit actors were doing with him. And let's face it, Varan is a pretty cool kaiju. He's a threat on land, sea, and air (he only glides once, unfortunatly, but it's a neat idea)! It's too bad he was never truly used outside of this film, because the monster had potential. I guess he was just one big lizard stomping on things too many, though. I need to put a good word for Akira Ifukube, too. Like several aspects of the film, it would be easy for him to just phone in a musical score as well, but instead he hits the ball out of the park. One surprise about it is that it featured prototype cues for Godzilla vs. Mothra and Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster. Hearing those early tunes really got my geek on. I really admire this score a lot, and it just may be my all-time favorite score from the man. One last thing I need to point out is that I viewe the Japanese version of this film, not the Crown International supposed "butchering," which I have yet to see (though if it's worse than what Gigantis, the Fire Monster is to Godzilla Raids Again, I'm sure I don't want to). I like the Japanese one well enough to give it a reccomendation though. Just go in expecting just another monster flick, and I doubt it'll disappoint.
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Torgo
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Post by Torgo on Aug 10, 2009 11:34:50 GMT -5
Godzilla, King of the Monsters Japanese Title: GodzillaRelease Date: November 4, 1954 Monster Roster: Godzilla Fishing boats have been disappearing off the coast of Japan. Rather than blaming the usual cause of sailors going from port to port, looking for women, find a shady hooker that kills them in their sleep before stealing their wallets (I'm not speaking from experience, I swear), they decide to investegate the open sea in search of what's been happening. Of course, you send a boat to a spot where another boat disappears, what do you think is going to happen? It disappears. The inhabitants of a small island named Odo are the only witnesses to the accounts, and this time the Japanese get smart and send a helicopter instead. The residents of Odo claim the destruction of the ships was caused by the mythilogical sea demon Gojira... "What's that name? Godzilla?" "No! Gojira!" "Bah. What a stupid name. I like Godzilla better." "Gojira! Gojira! Gojira!" And from that moment on, the creature was known as Godzilla. Anywho, that night on the island, a giant storm hits, accompanied by giant footsteps and a massive bellow. Like any intelegent people featured in a 1950s movie, when you have reason to believe a giant monster has surfaced, you chase after it. A second expedition to Odo is sent via boat (morons), and this one actually survives the journey (you're still morons). They investigate a series of radioactive footprints on the island, as Odo sounds their Godzilla alarm (the prototype for the Japan's required kaiju siren in the future was just a bell and hammer). "Grab your torch and pitchfork! RIOT TIME! Let's chase the motherf***er back to the Jurassic... HOLY poopie!!!!! RUN AWAY!!!!" The giant 50 meter tall beast known as Godzilla rises it's head above a hill, witnessing the first Japanese evacuation caused by a kaiju in history. He laughs at the puny humans and wonders back into the sea thinking to himself "Japan...I think I like it here." Because Japan has a strict no monster policy, they send a group of Navy boats to Godzilla's oceanic dwelling to bomb it. This only succeeds upon awakening Godzilla from his slumber, and Godzilla is not a morning person. Eventually arising from the depths, Godzilla attacks Tokyo Harbor, trashing the place with ease. But his party is short because he is still groggy, he decides to finish his nap and attack the next morning. "This is too much fun. I gotta make a habit out of this." The people of Japan use this time to build a series of electrical towers around their city (and you wondered how the cities kept rebuilding after each rampage, that's how good their construction companies are. They get the job done, damnit). Godzilla arises the next night, and confronts the towers surrounding the city, and tears through them with the greatest of ease. Godzilla proceeds to lay ruins to Tokyo. Meanwhile, an american reporter shouts descriptions into a tape recorder because he is too mentally retarded to escape the city with the rest of the civilians. Godzilla does his thing and returns to the sea, leaving the people of the world wondering just how the hell they can defend themselves from such a creature. The answer lies in the laboratory of Dr. Sarizawa, who may have just discovered the most dangerous weapon on the planet... Review This review is going to be in three different parts, because there are three distictive edits of the film that demand covering. The first is the original classic 1954 Ishiro Honda film released in Japan, which is quite simply brilliant and is hands down the best version of the film. The film, called Gojira in Japan, stands quite alone in the field of giant monster movies of the 50s in that it's not a monster movie for the sake of a monster movie. Like other nameless films in the genre, the creature is born of radioactivity, but is represented as a symbol of the horrors that created it (an interpretation that gets jumbled up in the American edit of the film). In the film he is shown to be a walking, breathing, atom bomb, an idea that is still able to creep the hell out of audiences today. One thing about the film I've been openly critical about growing up was the role of Dr. Sarizawa, but it didn't strike much just what his role meant until I saw the Japanese edit. In the american edit of the film I grew up with, Serizawa simply seemed no more than someone to provide an ending to a movie that would have written itself into a corner, otherwise. He was a rather underdevoloped character who created weapon that didn't exist in reality and it's only purpose in the story was to destroy the creature. In the Japanese film, however, Sarizawa's role and the Oxygen Destroyer he created mirrors that of the H-Bomb that created the terror of Tokyo. He created a weapon of unspeakable destruction, and didn't want to unleash it upon the world. It makes one wonder if those who created the nuclear weapons that created Godzilla had such an inner conflict, and if they had and decided not to use it, would Godzilla have been created? It's a really subtle and powerful subplot that makes the original film so much more memorable. The production and special effects are really quite solid, especially for suitimation. For the most part, Godzilla himself looks terrific, mostly portrayed by suit work and the occasional hand puppet (the puppet sticks out, but mostly because it barely resembles the suit worn by the actor). The model work and destruction scenes are quite extraordinary, and Godzilla's attacks on Tokyo are beautifully put together (I particularly love a certain matte shot toward the beginning of his second attack, which shows Godzilla chasing Japanese citizens down a street. That's outstanding). The Akira Ifukube score is quite good, though I personally don't like it as much as some of his later efforts in the series, or even some of his work outside of it. It's a bit less stylized, and more somber than anything else heard in the Godzilla series. As good as the film is, it has a few flaws in it. However, for a production this sturdy, annoyances this minor can't even shake it. There are several hiccups in the script, such as the claim that the Jurassic Period was 2 million years ago (bad science is always funny in a movie like this, though) or even the claim that Godzilla came from the Jurassic at all, when he more strongly resembled Dinosaurs that lived during the Cretaceous period, not to mention that it's a closer period to the modern age, which would have made it more believable. I was into Dinosaurs as a kid. So sue me. There's also the deal with the electrical towers being built around Tokyo in less than 24 hours, which is pretty bad storytelling when you think about it. It's as if they just threw them up there and said "Take THAT, Godzilla!" And while most of them get the job done, there are a few effects that fall flat, such as a rather akward moment toward the end where Godzilla seems to be looking into a gaint bird cage. Now, true, I didn't live in 1950's Japan, so for all I know they had a giant bird cage at the center of the city (I'm not even going to ask why), but it's such a dysfunctionally odd moment, that it takes me out of the movie every time. But the rumors are true, Gojira is a classic and deserves every bit of praise it gets. The other edits...that's a different story all together. The second edit is the most widely seen outside of Japan, the Terry Morse Godzilla, King of the Monsters edit of 1956. Morse's film is undoubtably weaker, playing down the message against nuclear weapons in favor of distributing just another monster movie. The different approaches between Honda and Morse is appearant just by looking at the trailers of each respective film, the Japanese one shows brief glimpses of the monster wheras the American trailer shows nothing but the monster. To tone down the message of the film, Morse cut out a significant amount of footage of the Japanese actors (and included a couple more brief glimpses of the monster, as well as roars that weren't there before). Instead he adds scenes of Raymond Burr, who is an actor that I do like. I enjoyed watching Perry Mason when I was younger, and seeing him younger and slimmer is a bit of a pleasure. What I don't like about Burr is his role as Steve Martin (no, not that Steve Martin) in the movie, which is redundant and unneccessary. Steve exists merely to spoonfeed the plot to American audiences, explain what is going on to minimalize the dubbing. Most of the time, he does absolutly nothing, and stands three feet to the side while other people get their hands dirty. He does interact with characters from the Gojira edit, but it's through body doubles with their backs turned to the camera. The notable exception is a brief conversation with Emiko late in the film, which extra footage is used and dubbed to mimic a conversation with Steve, however it's obviously not the intended use of the scene since Emiko is staring upward, yet Steve is lying in a stretcher on the floor. When there is a situation he couldn't possibly be present for, dubbing is utilized. However, the dubbing in the film is made dreadfully appearant since we also catch glimpses of the Japanese actors speaking in their native tongue, so when it switches to a half bored audio voice over that lacks emoting, the change is really quite jarring. There does seem to be an effort to match actual lip movements, however, but the voice actors aren't trying hard enough. All things considered, though, the edit isn't terrible. It butchers and dumbs down the original version, but it's coherant and decent enough in it's own way nonetheless. This was the version I grew up with, so it has a special place in my heart. The real offender here is the rarely seen 1977 Italian Luigi Cozzi edit, merely titled Godzilla, which is basicly the same as the King of the Monsters edit, only with a few appaling touches. Cozzi's film is "colorized" (for the lack of a better word). His colorizing technique is highly annoying in that it looks like a child's coloring book who simply refused to color within the lines. Colors are thrown all over the place, and get tiresome long before they get beautiful. If only that were the least of the film's problems. Cozzi's editing touches are so tacky and tasteless, that it's mindboggling. Stock footage of Hiroshima has been added, showcasing real devastation and real corpses, charred beyond recognition. It's disgusting. The rest of his edits are less questionable, but still bothersome. Most notably is during Godzilla's second attack on Tokyo, which scenes are constantly replayed in slow motion to the point of becoming tedious. I think Cozzi's intent was to return the film to it's warning message roots, and, to a lesser degree, turn it into some sort of bizarre art film. It didn't work. The original Gojira worked because it was subtle and let the audience disect the message themselves. Cozzi's Godzilla hammers the message into people's skulls and gives the audience a headache. Cozzi's Godzilla is a definate curiosity piece to those who collect Godzilla, though. I reccommend watching it at least once if you're interested. Just Bring a bottle of asprin. LUIGI COZZI'S CUT OF GODZILLA ON GOOGLE VIDEO (DUBBED IN ITALIAN, SUBTITTLED IN ENGLISH)
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