Creature Features Extravaganza: Missile to the Moon

Welcome back to the blog, girls and boys! So last week was me editing the crap out of two movie review videos. The links are up if you want to see them. This week I was looking at a wide range of creature features and thought we could enjoy those. And by "we" I mean me sitting through some of these turds, giving a humorous take on them and you enjoying the write up. This time around we hit a black & white from 1958.  With action, drama, scintillating dialogue...won't be in it.   But how about a mad scientist, two cons on the run and a rocket scheduled to go to the moon?  This is Missile to the Moon.

Sorority sisters rat out Cindy for stuffing her bra.

With director Richard Cunha (She Demons, Giant from the Unknown, Frankenstein's Daughter, Girl in Room 13 and When Strangers Meet)at the helm, what could possibly be to mock at?

For starters not only does this film feel like Catwomen of the Moon it actually has some of the props from it.

For more than 10 years, building and perfecting it, Dr. Dirk Green (MichaelWhalen of Wee Willie Winkie, The Poor Little Rich Girl, The Phantom from 10,000 Leagues, The Dawn Express, My Three Sons and Sea Hunt) has been working with pre-NASA and the government to build better, superior rockets all the while, building his own rocket as well. Like in his backyard in Utah. No, that was not a joke. The colonel of this mission along with Dirk's assistant Steve (Richard Travis of The Man Who Came to Dinner, Mesa of the Lost Women, Cyborg 2087, Lassie, The Legend of Jesse James and Grand Jury) meet with the good doctor with a face-to-face on the news that the funding for his exploration dreams are getting pulled. Guess you don't want to drop that big of a bomb over the phone.

Hold me closer, tiny Colonel.

Arriving as a retirement dinner, Steve and his fiancee June (Cathy Downs of My Darling Clementine, The Amazing Colossal Man, Perry Mason, Surfside 6, Rawhide and Bat Masterson) feel booze and the dullest conversation possible will ease the tension. The tension that is so thick a f*cking lightsaber couldn't cut through it.   Meanwhile two cons have escaped the hoosegow and are looking for a place to hide on the lam.  Naturally Dirk's SPACESHIP isn't guarded, locked up or even inaccessible so those two thinking it was, I don't know maybe a tree fort hide there. Allegedly has an electric fence around it.  Still love they pull back the curtain to Dirk's pad and boom there's the rocket. So adequate engines, fuel, pounds per thrust and no shielding I saw, yeah his house will catch fire the moment of launch. Totally feasible.

With such craftsmanship one could hardly conclude it is a wooden rocket super imposed on a backdrop. Bet you also didn't know that most spaceships have lots of pegboard and flimsy restraints for car batteries as a means of additional electrics. Yeah me either. 

It's clobberin' time!

The sheriff in hot pursuit of these escaped crooks, just asks Dirk if he can look around his pad and is very noncommittal about the giant rocket in his backyard. I mean he had to have attempted some test flights, right? Calculations and preliminary gauging aside, what about the noise and racket of building the damn thing, prepping a launch platform...you know what? Fine, it is totally feasible. What the hell kind of permits would you need for that??!!!

Dirk looks up in the rocket spotting the two hoods and tells the sheriff no one is around. He bribes them with sandwiches, fruits and a few Cokes then tells them they are going into space whether they like it or not. Yeah Green couldn't build a one man rocket so why not make use of these young punks.

Steve and June start looking for Dirk when the pre-flight computer starts blaring, so they go TOWARDS THE BLAST ZONE!!!

Accidentally stowing away, regardless of extra weight, oxygen, fuel and....sorry sorry. TOTALLY FEASIBLE... The five of them are off to the moon. Thankfully they had just enough spacesuits, masks and O2 tanks at the ready. Funny how the moon looks an awful like region for the Vasquez Rocks and of course off to Griffith Park via the Bronson Canyon and the damn caves!!! Why not the 40 Acres in Culver City??!!

Dirk dies from car battery bonking him on the noodle and with his dying words to Steve he hands him this amulet McGuffin to assure them passage. The foolish foursome go and explore with guns. With scrub brush and cacti!!! Dreaded creatures composed of rock proceed to...walk very slowly but threatening our landing party so they proceed to try and drill them...with combustion pistols that has no atmosphere at all. A vacuum one might say. TOTALLY FEASIBLE!!!

Narrowly escaping the incredibly slow moving creatures our heroes head for the caves. Deep in this labyrinth of bat poop is an oxygenated area of the moon inhabited only by women. Con 1 and 2 start falling for the moon girls almost immediately. That's called being horny.

We need about 4,000 gallons of peppermint oil STAT!!!

So the queen mucky muck wants her space broads shipped to Earth and save their culture, blah blah blah. Oh did I mention diamonds just plentiful on the moon? Solves NASA's budget right there. Methinks Armstrong skipped that detail. Con 2 wants the diamonds and makes creeper eyes at all the girls. Seriously, this cat is a thug. This was shot in the seventies it would be Space exploration exploitation and his character would have raped more than half of the girls.

The plot is more thinly veiled than the moon girls, its subplots go really nowhere and ultimately no goal aside from get back home is even made. Also the killer spider puppet in this bit of nonsense is leftover from the 1955 Tarantula.

So good vs evil, Earth Men made mindless by hormones. Yeah there is no real redeeming value to this flick at all. An upside is Rifftrax via Mike Nelson, Kevin Murphy and Bill Corbett of Mystery Science Theater 3000 made it bearable to watch and the riffs are damn funny.

Hey Lonnie, your balls hurt with your pants hiked up too?

Godzilla Vs Week: Godzilla Vs Gigan

Welcome ladies and gents, one and all to Day 5 of Godzilla Vs Week and boy do we have a cluster of critters tearing up the countryside to the likes of Man of Steel.  This time around we will see Ghidorah's home-world and his oppressors making him do their bidding.  What???!!!   An innocent Kaiju??!!!    Nah, he is a collaborator, see?  They're giving him a piece the action.   This is Godzilla Vs Gigan.

Stop doing the Monster Mash!  STOP IT!!!

Priest: Children's Land"  Is that some sort of a spoiler name for a lunatic asylum?







It would appear that large cockroach like creatures  from Nebula-M are invading the Earth to colonize and assume control but...  those pesky humans might be cagey so it is best to approach this in the form of a theme park!!!   Disneyland and world are controlled by giant cockroaches!!!   Heh, moving along we see the aliens are going on a Zygon and assuming through metamorphosis the guise of the work staff and higher ups that is developing the peace- themed park, World Children's Land...  I hope something got lost in translation or that is the crappiest name for a theme park.  The centerpiece of the park is a huge Godzilla Tower shaped in his image.   Popular Manga artist stumbles upon this plot of invasion as his work is essential to design the park when he hears of two audio tapes known as Action Signal Tapes that will summon the space monsters Ghidorah; thought to be destroyed by Godzilla, Rodan, Anguirus and Mothra and a new cyberorganic creature Gigan as they will rain havoc down on the Earth.

The artist and a buddy of his accidentally took one of the tapes mistaking it for a mix tape and goes home to play it.  Yeah planetary domination requires both of these key elements, the monsters and the control over them and bug boys already dropped the ball.   Godzilla and Anguirus are relaxing on Monster Island without a Mole Man in sight when they hear this high frequency noise.  Godzilla sends Anguirus to investigate it.  It's good to be the king.   Anguirus heads to the mainland only to be jumped by the Japanese Self Defense Force in a misunderstanding of the creature's actions.  Rather than go sickhouse on them, Anguirus leaves the area but did not stop the impeding creature invasion.  Godzilla joins forces with Anguirus to find and destroy Ghidorah and this new Kaiju Gigan.

OPTIC BLAST FIRE!!!

Just a few tidbits about the film at this time now.  To save some yen, stock footage of Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster, Godzilla vs. Monster Zero and Destroy All Monsters was spliced into this film along with a recycled musical score by Akira Ifukube to balance the numerous prints.
This film is the first in which Godzilla actually caused a Kaiju to bleed.  Normally it is a tail beating there, a rock chucked here and atomic breath to power but Gigan bladed like a buzz-saw and metal hooks raking Godzilla he actually used his claws for a change.

So to suspend disbelief of the resurrection of Ghidorah because they wailed on that boy via Destroy All Monsters this was to be a future incarnation of the same creature, apparently in the far away time of 1999 he came back from the dead or some such.   Then Martin Landau and Barbara Bain must have towed him for some reach of space their on Moonbase Alpha.

Not a bad addition to the Godzilla Showa Series but I was also not thoroughly impressed with the subplots running rampant all over and not fully tied in.

I.... LIVE...AGAIN!!!!!

Godzilla Vs Week: Godzilla Vs Mechagodzilla

Back again monster fans for Day 4 of Godzilla Vs Week.  We clearly have not witnessed enough devastation and radiation so let's find some worthy contenders.  In the red corner, 60 to almost 70 feet tall, the reigning champion of Japan weigh in at 30,000 tons, blechs atomic flame and can really whip a tail...  Godzilla!!!   And our challenger, a mass of titanium diamond coated alloy, bristling with laz weapons, flamethrower and missle barrage, tallying at 40,000 tons himself.  Mechagodzilla!   Okay folks let's get ready to rummmmmmmmbbbbbbbbblllllllleeeeeee!!!!!    This is Godzilla Vs Mechagodzilla.

One shall stand...  One shall fall.

Professor Hideto Miyaajima: What's this? Who are you?
Alien Supreme Leader Kuronuma: Commander for conquest of Spoiler, from the third planet of the black hole, outer space.


Just when you thought all of Japan could not have enough damage from the continuous monster royale rumbles, they get aliens.   Yup invaders from space!   Strange goings on are occurring in Okinawa. A priestess claims horrible visions of a city being leveled and destroyed by a giant monster.  No kidding.  In a nearby series of caverns spelunker Masahiko Shimizu (Kazuya Aoyama of Ryusei Ningen Zone, Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla and Tokyo-wan enjo) brings it to Professor Miyura's successor Professor Miyajima (Akihiko Hirata of Mothra, Girl of Dark, Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster, Ultraman, Godzilla Versus the Sea Monster and Son of Godzilla) a man's PHDs range from Paleontology, physics, reverse engineering...  oh the hell with it, he is Asian Tony Stark without the suit and swarm.  

No sooner do we fade out from that scene a familiar creature raises from the depths of Mt. Fuji and starts smashing the countryside, yes Godzilla seems to have spun back to his rampage days rather than the peaceful existence he has had with humans for some time now.  Out of nowhere Anguirus (a mutated dinosaur resembling an ankylosaurus only much larger. Godzilla's first foe and now ally) appears thought to be long lost in a chasm he and Rodan fell during the Ghidorah incident.    Anguirus proceeds to throw down with "Godzilla" only to get bashed about and seriously injured.  Before Anguirus passes out from pain, he sees the wounds he made in Godzilla and spies a gleam of metal where muscle and blood should be.  

Stay on target!!

Faux Godzilla proceeds to reign fire and anguish on the land when a second Godzilla appears and puts the hurt on the first.  Our challenger is of course the original and is pissed at the copy.  While these two start flogging each other, a contingent of military men acquired the Professor, the spelunker and the professor's daughter.  During the struggle with the spelunker his cheesy mask is torn to reveal an ape-like visage under the mask.  Our horrible soldiers are revealed to be Simians from the third planet from the black hole.   Yeah, even I could not have made up invading Apes from another world.  I guess it could have been the Cromagnons from Sliders dimension swapping.  Bleh.

Establishing a base under Okinawa the Simians do not seem that technologically advanced, with the exception of Mechagodzilla their weapons are chemically ignited projectiles and not some beam weapon.   With Interpol hot on the trail it is only a matter of time they will catch the Simians red butted... er red handed.
With the descendants of Azumi made to be the caretakers of YET ANOTHER slumbering Kaiju, Shisa (or Ceasar to the round eyed devils is based on a mythological creature a cross between dog and lion) raises the creature from the deep sleeps to aid Godzilla in his time of need.

Okay, just a few comments to make on our film.   This film was to honor the 20th Anniversary of Godzilla.  Funny thing is in the German release of the film they kept referring Mechagodzilla as King Kong.  Guess Mechagodzilla sounded too silly, menacing or possibly lost in translation.    The cavern around Okinawa is revered as a tourist attraction and apparently more than a few films including Ultraman and Fugitive Alien were shot there.  He trieeeeedd to kill me with a forklift!  Olay!

Lightning Bolt!  50 mega damage!!!

Godzilla Vs Week: Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster

Back again my readers and welcome to Day 3 of Godzilla Vs Week.  This time around our boy does not only not get top billing but is surrounded by foes of yesteryear.   The grudge matches become a massive onslaught to our reptilian hero as he must work together with his common enemies to battle a new Kaiju of unknown origin.  Can our King of the Monsters set aside his differences with his adversaries long enough to save Japan or will it breakdown into a massive cage match?  This is Ghidorah, the Three Headed Monster a.k.a. Godzilla vs. Ghidorah, Godzilla vs. Ghidorah the Three-Headed Monster, Earth's Greatest Battle, Monster of Monsters: Ghidorah, The Giant Monsters: The Greatest Battle on Earth

BRUSH OUR TEETH!!!

Mas Selina Salno, Princess of Sergina: Why does no one pay heed to my spoiler?  The entire human race will parish from the Earth.  When the monster Ghidorah passes, only flaming ruins are left.



Saddle in folks because this is a long confusing story to the likes of a Burt I. Gordon flick.  Too many subplots but nowhere need that many walking sequences.  Detective Shindo (Yosuke Natsuki of Yojimbo, Dogora, Godzilla 1985: The Legend is Reborn, Sakura Sakura and Kirin) is assigned to protect Princess Selina Salno of Selgina (Akiko Wakabayashi of Akikio, King Kong Vs Godzilla,  Key of Keys, The Stranger Within a Woman, You Only Live Twice and Diamonds of the Andes) a princess from a sovereignty deep in the Himalayan mountains for as she tours Japan on her royal visit under the suspicion that she is to be assassinated... so they assign one guy that moderately works with the rest of the department.  Huh?    Her plane never lands in Japan and she is presumed dead as her plane was detonated from the sky.

While that bit of mild interest is going on, a stray meteor shower just slaps the forests forcing Professor Miura (Hiroshi Koizumi of Godzilla Raids Again, Mothra, Mothra vs. Godzilla, Gozilla vs.Mechagodzilla and Godzilla Tokyo S.O.S.) up to the region to study the strange meteorites that had landed and is emitting vast electromagnetic waves.  Never quite sure where this man's expertise lies, by the way.  Kaiju expert, space phenomena and physicist.  The man is the Asian Reed Richards without the lame powers.

Look, Rhianna is getting naked... again.

While investigating the plane's explosion Shindo is visited by Princess Selina who claims to have the spirit of a Venusian or Martian in English translation and warns humanity of the impending danger that is Ghidorah.  A vicious flame spewing dragon that will destroy the lands and boil the seas.  She speaks in prophecy about the rise of the long thought dead Rodan that Godzilla dispatched in Mt. Aso.   Rodan returns with a vengeance and Godzilla must have had his ears burning as he emerges from the sea to battle Rodan just at the same time of this from the meteorite Ghidorah takes flight and the three of them are doing the monster mash all over Japan.
The Japan Self-Defense Force in their ultimate wisdom demand the two teeny twins summon Mothra...  Because clearly in this equation you need YET ANOTHER Kaiju thrashing the countryside.   Everything hinges on Mothra convincing Rodan and Godzilla to team-up 80's buddy cop style and pimp slap Ghidorah before there is no Japan to save.

Just a few comments to make on the flick.  I love how bad the super imposure of the twins as they look like they live in a cigar box, coupled with even their dubbing is out of sync when they are psychically linked to one another.  Occasionally you can see Ghidorah's cables as the actor in the suit is being hoisted in the air and across the sound stage.    This is the fifth of the Godzilla Showa series actually showing the transition from Godzilla being more of a hero rather than the villain and while made in 1964 it was released stateside with three alternative titles but the most common one we have seen is Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster.   I think poor IMDB had a stroke trying to keep up with every alternative title.  I, myself have seen two of the Japanese titles and two of the English titles so I know your pain.

Thought you snuffed it!

Godzilla Vs Week: King Kong Vs Godzilla

Howdy all and welcome to Day 2 of Godzilla Vs Week.  As you may have already surmised or were previously hip to, Godzilla has had more than his fair share of smackdown drag out fights with his fellow Kaiju.  Some speculate he doesn't like to share the spotlight, while others say he is the Omega Kaiju and culls the herd when it gets overcrowded.  However it is viewed, Godzilla has come up against a many of tough hombres and today's film is no exception.  Facing off with the first Kaiju ever it is none other than King Kong himself.  This is King Kong Vs Godzilla.

Oooh refreshingly minty!!!

Mr. Tako: You two are going to Farro Island and find me a genuine spoiler whether he exists or not!






Pacific Pharmaceuticals needs their sponsoring and ratings to go through the roof and when a loose lipped doctor approaches the head of the company Tako (Ichiro Arishima of Judo Champion, Two Hearts in the Rain, Bravo, Young Guy, Three Old Ladies and Love Is a Hunter) exclaiming this island has a giant Kaiju roaming about, Tako mounts an expedition and sends his corporate red shirts to do his bidding.  They must trap and transport the Kaiju for the sake of the company's marketing campaign and their TV program.  Boy I wonder if there were more mundane offers on the table, like get Cary Grant to plug the drug or possibly Liz Taylor to do a guest spot.

Denzel ain't got crap on me!!!

Tako's two toadies , Sakurai and Kinsaburo must head to Farro Island and shockingly enough there is some chop in the waters.   At that same time, an American submarine has current drafts and ends up smack right into an iceberg.  No DiCapiros were injured in the crash.  As luck or a convenient plot device would have it this is the exact iceberg the Japanese Self Defense Force trapped Godzilla in back in 1955 thus freeing the creature and he squashes the sub like a tube of Crest.   a helicopter rescue is underway when they spy Godzilla swimming away in the waters at speeds of...  well as fast as you could paddle in a shallow pool but at any rate he is trying to book in that heavy rubber.   No sooner is he out of the water and on a Arctic military base trashing it in true blue Godzilla fashion, roasting tanks like marshmallows and swatting planes like bugs,  Godzilla is all over the wire press and this makes Tako furious that he got bumped to page 6.

Meanwhile on the Farro Island of which Steve Buscemi was not starring in, a massive octopus is scaring the villagers when King Kong pops up and slaps Squiddley Diddly around, he has some red berry juice and just conks out.

King Kong: Kaiju Proctologist.

Our bumbling lackeys manage to wedge a raft under Kong and ratchet him out to the awaiting ship.  Yeah that must have been a trial in of itself.  News gets wind of Kong's capture but the JSDF are having none of it and demand he be taken back to the island.  In all of the commotion, Kong wakes up and frees himself from the raft.    Reaching the mainland he spies with his simian eyes a great big lizard and proceeds to throw cowboy with the reptile.  So yes our two headliners duke it out causing destruction in their wake and are not kind to one another.

Just a few comments about the movie at this time.

This of course is the third installment of the Showa series (period of Japanese timeline under the Showa Emperor Hirohito) and Ishiro Honda is in the director's chair nursing his creation and bringing all the special effects that his budget allows.   This film is the first time both King Kong and Godzilla appear together in both in color but the first of the Kaiju movies to be in widescreen and to this day is still one of the most successful Godzilla movies of all time.

Merian Cooper (creator of King Kong director of Grass: A Nation's Battle for Life, The Four Feathers, King Kong,  producer of She, Dancing Pirate, 3 Godfathers, Rio Grande and the Searchers) would have been smitten on the treatment of his monster and the love Japan gave him.  This wasn't Gamera vs that rubber creature he slays every frickin' time.   This film was two equals of mayhem wailing on each other in true Ali and Foreman fashion.

Tink is back and this time she has back up!

Godzilla Vs Week: Godzilla Vs Mothra

Hello and greetings to Day 1 of Godzilla Vs Week.  I apologize to the stateside readers in that I was a bit busy today just working out and living life.  Today's film starts us off with the third Kaiju in the series to be independent as much as King Kong and Godzilla and that rests on the wings of the one and only Mothra.  Yes, the plucky flying Kaiju befriended by forced perspective identical twins of fairy stature who live on a tropical island and worship the giant moth and it is only they who through the power of prayer or an irritating song can summon the mighty beast to call of battle.

"But Jake, what in the Sam Scratch has that got to do with Godzilla?!!"   Well, angry shouty person, I will tell you.  This time around in the fourth Godzilla film it is a smackdown between Mothra and Godzilla.  Apparently the King of the Monsters crown got a bit snug and it is up to Mothra to set Godzilla straight about a thing or two.  This is Godzilla Vs Mothra a.k.a. Godzilla vs The Thing, Mothra Vs Godzilla.

Think I need a breath mint?

Jiro Nakamura: "I'm not as afraid of Godzilla as I am of the spoiler...  he's meaner."







Reporter Ichiro Sakai (Akira Takarada of A Rainbow Plays in My Heart, On Wings of Love, A Holiday in Tokyo, The Flower and Half Human) and photographer Junko Nakanishi (Yuriko Hoshi of Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster, Kill!, Let's Go, Young Guy!, Judo Champion and Godzilla vs, Megaguirus) are taking snaps of the wanton destruction created by a massive typhoon when the uncover a giant reptile scale in the wreckage.  Further that same day an enormous egg was found on the shore.  the local fishermen and villagers claim salvage to it and soon scientists of various field come to study it.  
Professor Miura (Hiroshi Koizumi of Star of Hong Kong, Matango, Kon'nichiwa akachan, Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster, Little Adventurer and Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla) brings valid questions of the origin of the egg, whether the villagers have any stories or legends of a being of great size and might that could be reasoned where the egg hails from but a slick entrepreneur Kumayama, head of the Happy Enterprises appeals to the villagers' wallet, buys the egg outright for peanuts and invests a billion dollars in the potential tourism the egg will generate.  I always have given the Japanese more credit than something this foolish.  This ranks right up there with a fissure cracks up to Tartarus and you want to run a hotel and do photo ops with the random dead spewing out into the land of the living.

Last time I go drinking all night with Kong. Whew!

Our adorable twin girls of inch height plead with the slickster telling the great danger in keeping the egg as it belongs to Mothra and should be returned back toot sweet but Kumayama will hear nothing of this but offers to buy the twins as an addition to the tourism.  Yes he offers to buy sentient people for his ill-gotten gains.  Charming fellow.  I'll prep the waterboard and the bamboo for his fingers.  Moving along,  Godzilla rears his head at the arrival of a potential rival to his throne or domain.  He is very territorial and comes crashing into Nagayoya to find the egg and possibly squish it.  Mothra dives in to duke it out with Godzilla and then the buildings, streets and cars take a beating like no body's business.

Just a few comments about the film now.  This being the fourth of the Godzilla series this particular series is known as the Showa series reflecting the time in history of the reign of the Showa Emperor Hirohito being one of the longest of any previous Japanese emperor so Godzilla had a similar reign as King of the Monsters.
This time also brought about a myriad of creatures for the series with creatures like Mothra, Rodan, Ghidorah and the infamous Mechagodzilla.   This original inception of Godzilla and his universe hails from 1954 up to 1975 and had no more runs until the revamp in 1984.

Green Hornet??

Godzilla Vs Week

In honor of yesterday's highly enjoyable feature of the 2014's Godzilla (of which I thoroughly enjoyed)  I thought it only fitting and fair that we recapture some of the King of Monsters past glories.  The epic struggles, the fight for supremacy and the struggle that propelled our hero to the top of the heap.  In short, there is a lot of scale models destroyed, explosions and men in rubber suits drowning in their own sweat to the likes you have never seen nor wanted to.

Who says I look fat??!!!

As the Godzilla franchise ushered on, Toho Studios which has hailed Kurosawa samurai films, touchy feel good sports movies and yes rubber monster movies has kept the time honored creatures of the Godzilla Kaiju (strange creature for you Yankee imperialists) creatures and universe going since its beginning in 1954.


The popularity of these stories has made the Atomic Monsters a following rivaling Star Trek and Gunsmoke that these films are on going and it is only a matter of time before newer ones reach the mass media market.  Prior to the internet and DVD creation, most of these films remained overseas in Japan and were not distributed to the States or the UK.  Whether it was for reasons of needed English vocal dubbed or subtitles we do not know but we have almost a 20 year gap of Godzilla and company monster movies that have escaped our attention.

That in mind I will not be reviewing these latter movies until later down the road and this time around I will be focused on some of the heavy hitters to the title of King of the Monsters.  That being said, it's Showdown in Tokyo!

Made me look bad, Broderick, so I'm coming for ya!

Atomic Monsters Week: Godzilla Raids Again

Back again my fine collection of fanatical readers and behold Day 3 of Atomic Monsters Week.  This time around we look at the lesser sequel of the original Gojira or Godzilla for the crass American Yankee Pig Dogs.  Sadly director Ishiro Honda (Gojira, Mothra VS Godzilla and King Kong VS Godzilla) will not be helming this particular film and in his stead is newcomer to this genre director Motoyoshi Oda (Yurei otoko a.k.a. Ghost Man, Tomei ningen a.k.a. Invisible Avenger and A Will o’ the Wisp) and yet every production member of the original including composition and special effects were on board for this continuation.  So grab your best rain coat, head for the shelters and pause and point at the behemoths.  This is Godzilla Raids Again.

 

Hey, do I have anything in my teeth?

Shoichi Tsukioka: Spoiler… we beat Godzilla for you.

A scant six months after the original, Toho Company was chomping at the bit to get the next installment out to the screens and Honda was not on board when commenting how grueling the first film was and that their deadline would simply not do.  Toho didn’t hand him his walking papers and understood but had to get the product out and on the screens. 

Our story occurs shortly after the first as two pilots Tsukioka and Kobayashi (he has a Starfleet scenario named after him) land on a remote island in the Pacific looking for mass tuna fleets for a cannery company in Osaka.  What they witness is two immense beasts duking it out and flogging one another.   Tsukioka recognizes one of the creatures as Godzilla.  Moments after that realization the monsters tumble off a cliff and right into the ocean.  Our pilots immediately report their findings to Osaka and are scooped up by the military and their scientific team as the other creature is simply known as Anguirus for how he resembles an Ankylosaurus.  A scientist hypothesized that both Godzilla and Anguirus have existed from many millions of years ago and further note that the atomic tests may have stirred them from their ancient slumber as well as imbue them fantastic powers.  Thankfully these cats didn’t read from the Necronomicon or we would have an even bigger problem.   Moving right along, Dr. Yamane comments on his late colleague destroying the first Godzilla with his imploding bomb the Oxygen Destroyer but that he had passed on and destroyed his formula. 

So ya wanna rumble, eh?

From that realm of thought it would be feasible to distract blinding flares as he believes it was the atomic bombs’ flash that stirred and disturbed him in the first place.   The creature is warded off only to be drug back to shore when a substantial gasoline fire goes off.  Both Godzilla and Anguirus seem to be drawn to devastation. Our two fearless pilots with the Air Forces blessing hatch an audacious plan to sink Godzilla into the frozen depths beyond Osaka.  Apparently if you can fly a twin prop you are allowed your own ID4 moment. 

I had just a few comments on the film.  While the story wasn’t brilliant or remotely original; the quality of the film meets the same as its predecessor in that the effects were bang on, the composer is Masaru Sato of the Kurosawa films and it sounds far too good for the action or lack of action on the screen.  At best I give this a C Minus for effort and execution.  Better luck next time!

Oh jeez, Miley is at it again. That girl cannot be tamed!

Atomic Monsters Week: Godzilla, King of the Monsters!

Welcome ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls to the first day of Atomic Monsters Week.  To start us off right we must go to the King of the Atomic Monsters himself. The massive 164 foot tall and weighing in at 350 cubic tons!!!  I give you Gojira!!!!    So evacuate the beaches, close off air traffic and all bridges.  This is Godzilla, King of the Monsters!

 

So a Buddhist, a Daoist and a monk are..lemme check my Maxim again.

Dr. Serizawa: Ogata, humans are weak animals. Even if I burn my notes, the spoiler will still be in my head. Until I die, how can I be sure I won’t be forced by someone to make the device again?

Near the Odo Island, a fishing boat is attacked by a huge ball of fire.  Another ship is sent to investigate and offer aid only to be the same end with a handful of the crew surviving.  Meanwhile on the island, the village elder blames their lack of fishing crop to a sea beast known only as Gojira (Godzilla to you gajin) and tells tales of earlier times about native girls that were sacrificed to appease Godzilla and allow the village to live in peace.  Sketchy reports come following in for the Japanese Navy and news investigators make their way to the island via helicopter.  After many interviews the natives perform an ancient warding ceremony to keep the monstrous beast at by.   Not really knowing if it worked the whole village just sacks out.  Not even a single lookout for this.  The islanders are woken from sleep from a large storm crashing down against the rocks and the township as a young lad sees Godzilla bob bob bobbing along in the water.

I likes the night life! I wants to boogie!!

Terrified at the mainland the city of Tokyo is in ruin as Godzilla makes his way during the night and proceeds to stomp and burn his way through the city and heads back to the bay.  The military in a desperate attempt to hold off the gigantic beastie constructs a fence of electric towers holding a current of 50,000 volts to zap Godzilla where he to appear again.  Civilians are completely evacuated from the area and put in shelters.   Sure enough night fell and our boy is out and about, trashes the electric border and burns it down with his atomic fire breath (and super robot rocket punch OoOoo).  Total bombardment of tank fire and fighter jets annoyed Godzilla and caused him to leave.

Tokyo is in utter chaos with hospitals swamped with patients mostly from severe radiation poisoning, it was thought that the atomic weapons testing the Americans performed may have irritated this ancient dinosaur like creature making him this unnatural force of destruction.

In what seems like a futile attempt to destroy the monster; scientist Dr. Serizawa must make the conscious decision to use an imploding bomb on Godzilla causing all the immediate oxygen atoms to dissipate and make Godzilla asphyxiate to his death. 

I have just a few quick facts about the film now.  The inspiration of the movie was based on the hydrogen bomb tests at Bikini Atoll when a fishing ship the Lucky Dragon 5 got swept by a nuclear test yielding 15 megatons rather than the estimated 6.  The blast caused the military assigned, the villagers nearby and several of the Lucky Dragon 5 crew members to be sicken with radiation poisoning and causing death to more than a few.  It also issued the concerns of nuclear fallout and the contamination in the food supply of fish.   In 1956 the TransWorld Releasing Corp released an edited version of the movie for the US titled Godzilla, King of the Monsters!  This version had additional footage of Raymond Burr (Perry Mason, Bride of the Gorilla, Rear Window, Please Murder Me, Count Three and Pray, Ironside and Godzilla 1985) added and spliced into the original.  I did snicker when his character was named Steve Martin.

Scale model away!!!

Atomic Monsters Week!

Howdy gang! This week I thought we would take a look at poor men sweating profusely in rubber suits, flailing at one another over miniature cities and buildings and trashing the landscape.  Furthermore I thought we would tap into the atomic mutation monsters as well and simply call it Atomic Monsters Week.  Catchy I know but so is the flu.

Just crashing town, folks!

This phenomenon of large creatures starts in the 1950's as it is a source of terror and concern of what the atomic stockpiles and reactors may have effect on the environment and as Science Fiction seems to have a leg up in political and social commentary the Americans and the Japanese have brought us a myriad of entertaining films and some out and out B-Movie stinkers.  So grab that dull machete and let's start hacking our way through the titles.  Should be entertaining, educational and a tad goofy.  Y'know, a normal write up.

Ridley Scott Week: Alien

Hey all, finishing up Ridley Scott week with the 1979 sci-fi/horror classic.  How about some horror with your science fiction or terror with your terrain?  So grab your motion tracker, prime your flamethrower and make peace with your deity.   This is Alien.

Spoilers are all around us man!!

From the writings from Dan O’Bannon (Dark Star, Heavy Metal, The Return of the Living Dead, Lifeforce and Total Recall) and brought to life with director Ridley Scott (Blade Runner, Legend, Black Rain, Thelma & Louise, 1492: Conquest of Paradise and White Squall) brings us a story of deep core space towing vessel being sent a distress signal to a foreign planet.  The ship Nostromo carrying no less 25 million tons of ore is contacted by the very company that contracted insisting that the crew set down on planet designated LB-240 for reasons unknown.   The crew is left in a cryo-stasis chamber so their bodies would not atrophy or deteriorate from extended space travel.  Captain Dallas (Tom Skerritt of War Hunt, Combat!, MASH, Wild Rovers, Fuzz, Thieves Like Us, The Dead Zone and Top Gun) and Lieutenant Ripley (Sigourney Weaver of Madman, Eyewitness, The Year of Living Dangerously, Ghostbusters, Aliens and Gorillas in the Mist) argue with each other on the necessity of this unscheduled stop versus the unknown circumstances that it may cause.  Reluctantly the crew makes their way to the planet to find a ship somewhere to the length of 6 miles long and more advanced than anything humankind had ever made.  

The crew investigates a long dead pilot, possibly for decades surrounded by a field of eggs.   Crewman Kane (John Hurt of The Jim Henson Hour, Crime and Punishment, Monolith, Dogville, Hellboy, V for Vendetta and Hellboy 2: The Golden Army)inspects these eggs only to have one hatch and attach itself through his helmet on his face.  The crew desperately tries to remove it and the creature threatened to strangle Kane so they let it be.  Hours later the creature rolled off his face and Kane seemed fine but all too sudden at dinner he started to convulse and expanding through his rib cage an organism that looks fairly phallic bursts through his chest and skitters away.  As the crew assembles and grabs means to destroy the little blighter, one crewman finds out the hard way that little blighter grew to the size over two meters tall.  Seven foot for us Yankees.

A quick couple of facts and observations on this film will be stated now.   The creature in question was designed, sculpted and created by H. R. Giger.  A painter that always created a image of organisms and machinery into a hybrid nightmarish creature.  The actor in said rubber suit Bolaji Badejo stood as high as 7 foot and 2 inches high coated in petroleum jelly and a couple other lubricants to create slime and drool.  The ship was parts of old battleships, scale models with blue screen based backdrops to present a haunted house in space.   This massive ship is nothing more than too many hiding places for the creature to take its time methodically removing the cast.  Who would be next?  This film’s drawn out silence allows for tension, conflict and paranoia to set in.  Post production did a wonderful job making this film as dark and menacing as it is.  Yes I would highly recommend this one for a good scare.