Destroy All Monsters - The Criterion Collection!

Destroy All Monsters is seen by some as the last gasp of the classic Godzilla to take the world by storm. Nuts I say. This is a cornball remake of Toho's signature kaiju flick bonded with their singular take on sci-fi. Like Monster Zero which was made some years before, we get the obligatory aliens who take control of Earth's monsters to wreak havoc and force the world to do as they wish. The Kilaaks, a race of women (is looks like anyway) want the Earth's heat and the monsters they use are a mighty flock indeed. Godzilla, Rodan, Mothra, Anguirus, Ghidorah of course along with rare critters like Manda (Atragon), Varan, Baragon (Frankenstein Conquers the World), Kumonga, Gorgosaurus (King Kong Escapes), and even Minya. And truth told all that doesn't help make this meandering kaiju flick. 

As for Godzilla himself, he's reduced once again to a mere puppet who wreaks havoc on New York City and later Tokyo but who doesn't really feel all that menacing despite that. He's just a monster like all the others, a bit more deadly than some and seemingly a leader when the alien control is broken, but he gets relatively little screen time and is not necessarily the focus of the movie. 

But next time, well things change again. 

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Invasion Of Astro-Monster - The Criterion Collection!

I really love the movie The Mysterians, an early 50's flick from Toho about aliens who invade the Earth to breed with our women. It's a great lark of a sci-fi outing which landed amongst the monsters before Toho gave over to Godzilla and his kin. Invasion of Astro-Monster is The Mysterians with Godzilla and gang, and it's a lot of fun. If features an American co-star, Nick Adams, present for the sole reason to make the movie marketable overseas. And he's an enthusiastic addition to Toho stock company of seasoned pros. 

But focusing on Godzilla himself for a moment let's all agree that the movies never got sillier than one single moment in this highly memorable screen saga. The aliens (called "Xillians") are attempting to trick mankind into thinking their invasion is not that and that they mean us only the best, such as when they offer up a cure for cancer. They say they are afflicted by King Ghidorah on their homeworld "Planet X" out around Jupiter. But they are liars and Ghidorah is under their control and by trickery theyget Godzilla and Rodan also who fight off Ghidorah. As he flies into space Godzilla crosses his arms and jumps for joy in a move called a "Shie dance" after a cartoon character who performs the move and yells "Shie". It's goofy and lots of folks including the director didn't like it, but it stayed and after that Godzilla moved into another place completely. 

Like most hardcore Godzilla fans I hated it for a long time, but I've changed my mind and embrace it. Godzilla in this movie is not the "Big G" of other films, he's a movie star who can appear in a range of different kinds of movies and comedy is just one. More next time. 

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Ghidrah The Three-Headed Monster - The Criterion Collection!

 It is in Gidorah the Three-Headed Monster that the worm turns...literally. Godzilla, Japan's most famous dragon from the sea abandons his longtime role as nemesis of the Japanese people and instead becomes a defender of the Earth itself. All it took was a threat not of this world and that of course was King Ghidorah, the three-headed, bat-winged monstrosity from beyond the stars.

Godzilla doesn't come to this new place in his long existence all that easily. It in point of fact requires some convincing from Mothra (in caterpillar form) who convinces both Godzilla and his new best buddy Rodan that the three of them must not fight one another, nor destroy all the Birely soft drinks and Mobil Oil signage they can locate, but instead must put aside their enmity for man and become something else instead. And so Godzilla, the creature which once epitomized the deadly Hydrogen Bomb becomes a "good guy". And when I say convince, I mean just that. This movie is notorious for the scene in which the three monsters Godzilla, Rodan and Mothra discuss the threat confronting Earth and eventually following Mothra's lead the the other two follow and gang up on the three-headed menace from deep space, defeating him for the time being. The "conversation" is in monster language of course and is translated for us mere humans by the "Small Beauties" who are on hand to witness it. 

Godzilla (and Rodan too for that matter) will never be the same, at least during the classic Showa Era. Next time Godzilla leaps into his silliest moment of all time. 

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Godzilla - The Criterion Era!

What a magnificent dilemma! In a few months The Criterion Collection folks will be issuing the Showa Godzilla movies. When I first heard they were going to do this, I imagined a new movie every little bit since I already have and have enjoyed their presentation of Godzilla itself. But apparently they are issuing the entire Showa canon at one time in a luxurious collection with each of the fifteen movies getting its own distinctive artistic treatment. It's a hefty price tag, but not an unfair one. I have good versions of most of these movies already, but not always the Japanese version. I wish each film was graced with its own commentary, but I don't see any evidence of that. Take a look at what The Criterion Collection has planned here. Take a gander at the individual art for each movie below.

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King Of The Monster Movies!

Finished school, wrapped up the paperwork and cleaned up the room, but my main mission yesterday was to catch the debut of Godzilla King of the Monsters.

The Avengers can play all the endgames they like and I don't really give a fig who sits on the Iron Throne, but I do care mightily who is the King of the Monsters, and despite a powerful bid for the role by "Monster Zero", the vile Ghidorah, we all know that there can be only one.

That one is Godzilla and this movie was an absolute feast for fans of the franchise and featured many shout outs to fans of the older movies, especially the movies of the Heisei Era. If there is a flaw in the movie, it's that there are too many of these wonderful features, one appearing almost before the last one faded out. It only means I need to see the movie again and again...which I will.

There are monsters galore in this movie. In addition to Godzilla and Ghidorah, we get close looks at Mothra and Rodan, both of whom play significant roles in the movie. The human story which always must parallel the monster saga in these things is a little scatterbrained at times, with a family broken by Godzilla's first appearance trying to cope and doing so in some decidedly dangerous ways. There is a sense that humans are debris in this movie and that's always sad to see. We are gifted with what I'm dubbing the "impossible human", the person who by hook or by crook gets to all the most pertinent places in the movie, and that stuff wears on me a bit in epics this large, but played against tableau this large I get the reasoning.

We get glimpses of creatures (or "Titans" ) named Baphomet, Typhoon, Abaddon, Bunyip, and Methuselah. The movie makers invested nearly all the featured "Titans" with a bit bit more of a recognizable human personality, more so than the 2014 Godzilla which really tried its damnedest to give us an exotic but almost believable Godzilla. When the Big G takes back his throne (you know he would), we see behaviors not alien from animal life, but invested with a sprig of humanity. It's not exactly "Monster Island", but you can see it from here. Speaking of islands, clearly Skull Island will be the center of attention next year when Godzilla and Kong clash at long last.  

I've seen some early reviews are negative about the movie. Sheesh! What do you want? This movie delivers monsters baby! Great big old giant monsters! I say yes to that!

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The King Of Monsters Is Here!

Today is the last day of school for this year. I close out all accounts and then begin enjoying two full months of relative lassitude which I plan to fill with science fiction, comic books, and adventure and monster movies. I kick off the holiday right after work today by going to see the debut of the latest Godzilla epic. Godzilla, King of Monsters is the direct sequel to 2014's Godzilla and adds to the plate Kaiju favorites Mothra, Rodan, and King Ghidorah. I'm agog to get to see this movie from the safety of my plush seat swilling coke and munching popcorn thrilling to get a good look at the havoc they monsters wreak on the world of man. 

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The King Of Monsters Cometh!

I'm getting very very excited about this latest monster flick. While most folks seem to be dazzled by the last days of the Avengers,I'm looking past them somewhat to see a real world beater take the stage. Be still my heart! I love the Avengers, but I worship Godzilla!

The gang's all here. It's time to dig all those classic monster epics out and watch them all yet again to feed my hungry Kaiju-loving brain. Long live the King!

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Tohope And Change - Destroy All Monsters!

Destroy All Monsters is one of those movies which eluded me for a very very long time. I never saw it on TV and never came across a VHS or DVD of it until several years ago. Now I own it twice and that's just fine. It's a delightful romp of a Toho kaiju flick with monsters from all over making appearances. This one has aliens once again taking control of Earth's myriad monsters and using them to make mankind kneel. This is the movie that introduces what will become "Monster Island", a remote place where Earth's monsters live in relative harmony until the mavens at Toho require their presences in a good old monster flick.

The difference in this one is the global nature of the threat. While as usual Japan leads the counter-assault the menace is a clearly presented as a worldwide one with monsters targeting cities all across the globe. King Ghidorah makes his usual appearance as the space monster who is opposed to all of Earth's more amenable monsters and his identity as a villain is reinforced. This is a monster rally of the purest kind, probably not a movie which is as emotionally involving as early kaiju which work diligently to create characters we care about, but it is a feast for those who love seeing monsters amok.

More to come.

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Tohope And Change - Monster Zero!

Monster Zero otherwise known as Invasion of Astro-Monster is likely the second Godzilla movie I ever clapped eyes on. This is the second of three co-productions between Toho and UPA to attempt to find purchase in the American market in a more coherent fashion. That really didn't work, but that doesn't stop this movie from being a real humdinger. The basic plot of Godzilla Vs. The Thing is picked up up with the addition of Nick Adams as one of our stalwart spaceman heroes. Aliens invade the Earth with the help of King Ghidorah after first pretending to be the friends of Earth men. This time it's up to Godzilla and Rodan to fend off the invaders.

A standout performance in this movie and one of the most memorable in any kaiju flick is Kumi Mizuno as the alien temptress who is turned by love into a defender of Earth, but who loses her life in the process. The aliens in this story are more completely realized than in the earlier movie and their inhuman nature is more thoroughly explored such as the detail that all of their women are identical. This notion of sameness, of loss of personal freedom is a key theme in one of Honda's most successful stories. With Godzilla and Rodan already established as protectors of Earth, there's little need to develop that notion much and the increasing affinity audiences have with the living H-bomb and his flying buddy is at once understandable and odd.

Today we have a double bill. More to come in just a few hours.

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Tohope And Change - Ghidorah The Three-Headed Monster!

If there is a monster that can rival Godzilla in sheer awesomeness it might be Ghidorah the Three-Headed Monster. The alien three-headed dragon from space is unusual in the coterie of kaiju in that his small trinity of heads make his motivations obscure. He's always ferocious and dangerous but lacks any opportunity like the other monsters to become something people can identify with with. In this movie Godzilla switches sides and teams up with Mothra and Rodan to fend on Ghidorah, the deadly weapon called down from the depths of space by aliens intent on stealing the women of Earth.

This is the movie in which the kaijus become more cartoonish and even have a confab between themselves with the less aggressive Mothra attempting to get the monsters of Earth to work together against a common enemy. But always the focus is on Ghidorah, the powerful enemy. It's not a tiny jump by Ishiro Honda to the real world in which mankind must pool its resources to confront all sorts of evil and damage throughout the world. The aliens here are the ultimate enemy from beyond, who duplicitous and deceptive and deadly. Mankind must face these facts and work together just as the monsters must do for Earth as we know it to maintain. And that's no small message for all of us.

More to come.

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