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There's a new big screen Godzilla coming to town, a Toho original called Minus One. He stomps into UK cinemas in mid-December.
Minus One refers to the state of play of the post-war Tokyo in the film i.e. not good at all and Godzilla is not feeling the love either.
Like the previous Shin Godzilla this is a new film from the original makers of the 1954 debut, the 33rd Japanese film and is already garnering good reviews.
Could be a Christmas cracker for fans of the King.
Will you be going to see Godzilla this holiday?
Here's the official trailer to wet your whistle.
Rubber vending toys are always great fun to see. These bendy monsters were online and are Japanese Kaiju I think.
Alas, I don't know the exact Kaiju these fellas are. Do you?
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Back on my Jack Jones I'm turning to Titans for company, those big beasts from movie prehistory,
I've just watched Godzilla V. Kong, the monster rumble from a couple of years ago. I thought I'd seen it at the flicks but I think the Pandemic stopped me.
I enjoyed the film. I'm a monster nut so its hard no to. Godzilla and Kong never disappoint. There's plenty of Kaiju action with big strides in the whole Hollow Earth mythology being fleshed out too, with some neat Nebuchadnezzar-like craft zipping through the crust. They made me think of the project SWORD Beetle in the SWORD Annual.
Its always a comfort knowing that an Alpha has our backs and two Titans are clearly better then one when it comes to keeping any new baddun's at bay.
This movie does bring back an old foe. I won't spoil it, suffice to say that its a proper dukeroo between the titans and a fair few window-panes get rattled.
On the downside I found the constant splattering of neon colours a distraction from the Saurian action, although that actually may be how Hong Kong looks, lit up like a Christmas tree.
Overall tho, I enjoyed Godzilla v. Kong and look forward to the next instalment in Monarch's quest to find all of the Titans.
Have you seen G v K?
Which is your fave Kaiju film? Any Kaiju toys?
Did Gerry Anderson go in for any massive monsters?
and PS. watch this space, next week but one is Gorgo week here on MC!
Seeing this awesome critter, Bemular by Acro Ltd, leering at me, I went in search of Kaiju and found ...
The Monstrous Animal Series by Imai, four fabulous plastic beasts - Nessie, Seauls [how do you say that?], Galba and Bagilla.
Digging deeper into the box art I like Galba's amazing looks the most [I had a jigsaw puzzle box cover - called Monsters - similar to this].
Having watched The Deadly Mantis, 1957, I'm getting an overwhelming sense of Kaiju again. Have you seen it?
Despite its lower place in the 1950's creature feature rankings, I enjoyed Mantis a lot.
Like many fine B-movies it begins in the Antarctic and the woken monster then takes its business straight to the States.
Deadly M goes to Washington.
It scales the Monument and crushes vehicles as seen here. But are they toys?
I started watching Pacific Rim again last night. The big Kaiju movie.
I'd forgotten how much I enjoyed it the first time round. I am a creature feature nut at heart and Kaiju like Godzilla and the like are my thing when it comes to films rather than other types of 'horror'.
Some of the imagery in Pacific Rim is quite breathtaking. Not the massive punch-ups between Jaegers and Kaiju in the sea, its the quieter glimpses of these giants meeting humans.
There is an amazing shot of damaged Jaeger slowly walking out of the ocean, where a man and a boy are staring in disbelief on the beach. Its stunning.
Alas, I found the whole 'drift' sub-plot of Pacific Rim a human distraction from the monsters. Monster films need more monsters, simple. And get them in early on.
Night of the Demon had the right idea. We get to see that fabulous fire-demon from the start and can appreciate it many times throughout the movie. Dana Andrews is a great actor but the star of the show is the demon for me.
Also, show them fully. Not parts of them. Cloverfield drove me mad, the camcorder gimmick reducing the beast to short bursts of footage. Infuriating for a monster nut. Get rid of the phones and show the damn thing!
Do you like your monsters to feature a lot in monster movies readers?
Here is a fun 54-minute look at giant monster movies, including all those mutant bugs from the 1950s. Actually some do feature miniaturised people, which turns everything around them in to monsters.
There is also a segment on Godzilla movies. Lots of old movie clips. Narrated by Billy Mumy - Will Robinson from Lost in Space.
Attack of the 50 ft. Monster Mania (American Movie Classics special) - YouTube
Paul Adams from New Zealand
Hi
Here is another You Tube video on the giant insect kits that have appeared on Moonbase Central before. It shows the Colossal Mantis kit, along with finished examples of the Mantis, Rampaging Scorpion, and Huge Tarantula, but not the Gigantic Wasp. The only problem is that the sound does fade off sometimes. These kits were first issued by Fundimensions in the US in 1973, with the Mantis and Scorpion being released in Britain by Airfix in 1976. Then AMT/Ertl reissued everything but the Wasp in 1996. There were printed, full colour backgrounds, three-dimensional plastic parts, and various accessories. It seems the figures and vehicles were common to all the kits. The information on dates comes from the Scalemates site, which is very good.
AMT ERTL Gigantics Diorama Scorpion Tarantula Mantis unboxing making and in-depth look - YouTube
Paul Adams from New ZealandOK. I've seen the Meg again. Being a big monster nut I'll give any old mega beast a whirl and the Meg is mega.
Like Rampage the lead actor, in this case Jason Stathan, tries to out-muscle the monster for screen presence but its not possible is it really when the monster is a Megalodon.
The story is as schmalzy as a melting sweet but that aside I loved the giant shark footage. Meg really is a gigantic fish and because of its size the camera can perform those wonderfully long pass-by's as the creature glides past.
The stand-out scenes for me are where the shark is pitted against frogman Stathan as they face-off underwater. It reminds me of those beautiful illustrations of skin divers encountering sharks in old comics like Look and Learn and those fabulous encyclopedias we all used to have.
The scene where the Meg stares at the kid through the marine base window is pretty cool too and hints at older flicks like Jaws 3 and The Abyss. I have to say there's a lot of Jaws in the Meg generally including lots of chum.
I couldn't see any specific Meg toys online but there are schoals of big plastic Megalodons out there.
The sheer size of the Meg recalled the vast presence in an old TV series I caught one year called Surface. It too had a giant undersea beast and I thought it was great. Sadly the show was cut for some reason. Do you remember Surface?
Whilst on Covid care duty in the Moonbase Sick Bay I've been watching monster movies during downtime, usually late at night, when the Missus is tucked up dreaming of going out. Monsters calm me before hitting the sack myself.
So far I've seen Sputnik, Rampage and have just started The Meg.
Sputnik I've spoken about - one to watch! - so I'll make a few field notes about the creatures in Rampage.
As a lover of massive monsters Rampage does have a huge plus, it has three colossal beasts and despite The Rock's best efforts to steal the show, the real stars are the Kaiju [can I say that when the film isn't Japanese?]
Rampage's monsters are a huge albino Gorilla called George - the King Kong/ Mighty Joe Young element of the picture; a giant timber wolf, which can fly over short distances and flick huge spikes from its tail and last but not least, the biggest of the trio, a magnificently gigantic crocodile, which is truly impressive.
As is traditional for large critters, they first choose a city to completely flatten. In this case its Chicago, which will need a whole team of town planners afterwards.
For me the standout scene is when the three beasts climb a skyscraper - yes, a sort of Empire State Building sort of moment - destroying large parts of it as they go. The footage of the giant croc tearing through entire floors and re-emerging to clamber up the sheer walls is stunning and I loved it.
OK, it was never going to win any oscars for its acting but for a big creature fan like me Rampage really does deliver.
I'd seen Rampage before but I'm pleased to say there's enough carnage to make it worthwhile again.
I'm off to meet the Meg. Tonight.
Have you been Rampaged?
