Mothra Vs. Godzilla - The Criterion Collection!

Mothra Vs. Godzilla (or as we know it in America and other points outside Japan -- Godzilla Vs. The Thing) offers up a tasty image of the classic Kaiju critter and establishes some of the tropes that will define the genre going forward in the Showa era and beyond. The first thing to say is that Mothra is the heroine of this epic, called upon by a modern world which has nuked her homeland, kidnapped her priestesses and progeny, and generally disrespected the people who worship her, to sail in and combat the deadly menace of the prehistoric engine of destruction Godzilla. And she does it. 

Godzilla for his part is truly a monster, but in a different way. In his first film Godzilla was the embodiment of a nuclear weapon, wanton uncaring and unstoppable destruction and death. In his second outing Godzilla became a deadly and uncontrollable beast from a prehistoric time and impossible to control in a modern world. In the conflict with King Kong he became possessed of a personality and battled another monster for bragging rights and lost. Here in this latest face-off against Mothra he is downright malevolent. There is an evil intelligence evident in Godzilla as he wreaks havoc across the land once more. In some way his acts might be seen as somewhat accidental, but focusing on his muzzle shows intention behind wicked eyes. He is defeated and sent once more into the sea. 

When he returns, he will become something else yet again, when an unwanted guest crashes the Kaiju party. 

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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 - 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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Tohope And Change - Godzilla Versus The Thing!

Godzilla Against Mothra might well have been the very first Godzilla movie I ever saw. The movie is ultra strange and I will never forget the opening images of the raging storm which eventually reveals the weird giant egg that becomes the center of the drama. Through in a really good cast as good guys and bad guys as they hustle and bustle over ways to explore and exploit the egg and you have a movie that works really well. When the egg hatches and Godzilla shows up to do battle with Mothra's larvae we have a contest. The way Mothra always dies in her appearances, passing along her power and station to the next generation is a compelling aspect to nearly all of her appearances. Mothra is an elegant image of sacrifice while Godzilla is still at this stage the repugnant omen of war and murder, a monster in the truest sense.

When I saw the movie I saw it under its English title Godzilla Vs. The Thing. I always thought the title oddly compelling as manifestly inaccurate as it is. Mothra is as far from a "Thing" as any of the kaiju can be and Godzilla actually battles three "Things". In fact this is the final movie in which the popular Godzilla is the outright enemy of mankind and not just exceedingly destructive, but that will change next time. But in the offbeat dramas of the Toho monster movies arguably the greatest creations, the most impactful and their first clash is a thing to behold.

More to come.

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Tohope And Change - Mothra!

Mothra is among the strangest movies ever made. It's a pure fantasy set in the modern world in which crime and heroism and romance are abundantly evident. It also introduces us to "Roliscia", a strange place which blends together the United States and the Soviet Union into a bizarre blend of political satire. And if all that wasn't enough we get the "Small Beauties" and an enormous moth to boot. The "Small Beauties" (played in minature by a twin pop singing duo called "The Peanuts") is the voice of the monster/god "Mothra", a creature worshiped on the distant Infant Island. When all of this uncovered, a criminal kidnaps the Beauties and Mothra emerges and comes to take them home. Japan suffers as a result.

In Mothra, Ishiro Honda's aspirations of world peace become more immediately manifest as we are presented with a weird concoction of the Cold War alongside simple greed and crime. Mothra levels the playing field l(quite literally) as the enormous wings blow down the places humans live, exposing us to one another and to the world. One cannot hide in the bejeweled eyes of Mothra, a mighty god indeed. I love the move Mothra, a fantasy of a compelling nature which takes weird impossible elements and makes of them a frothy story worth experiencing time and again.

More to come.

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