Godzilla, Kaiju and other monster movies

[Andy Turnbull]

Given the likes of the Kaptain and the Brothers Pirrie, I'm gobsmacked to find we don't have an all-purpose thread for dirty big monsters.

So let me kick it off with a Youtube find today, a BBC documentary on the big G from 1998

[The Doctor]

I recently saw a 35mm film print of 1933 King Kong at the Edinburgh Filmhouse. While dated in many ways, anytime Kong or the other creatures were on screen it was great. So violent!

Kong hates trains. He really hates them.

-Ralph

[Andy Turnbull]

Does he hate trains with the same venom that Shakma has for doors?

Andy

[The Doctor]

I think so. There is just no reason why he attacks the train with such savagery. It posed no threat to him. He just must really hate trains.

-Ralph

[Toph]

[Baron B of Triple B]

Not sure about the plot laid out in the trailer but the rest presses all my buttons.

[Hero]

Eleven can talk to Kaiju!

Fantastic trailer. This is going to be good.

[megaplex]

I'm really pumped for the upcoming Godzilla movie this May 31. It looks really promising from the trailers and I personally like Micheal Doghourtey's work e.g. Krampus. It's also the 35th Godzilla movie over all which is crazy thinking there's been that many. So, what do you guys think about it, along with Godzilla in general?

[Stomski]

Is Matthew Broderick in it? Did you know he's married to SJP from SitC. There was an episode of SitC where they went to Carrie Fisher's house. Carrie Fisher was in Catastrophe as the stateside mother, she only had a few appearances, but I'm comforted by the fact that some of her last acting gigs were comedy based. You know what else is funny? Aubergines. That's right. They're an odd shape and have the worst texture once cooked. Cooking is a way of killing bacteria in food, but also making it easier to digest after consumption. So my question is, what does Godzilla eat?

[Benn]

Cows.

[megaplex]

I can confirm it is cows

[Toph]

Big cows. Also known as Ōkina ushi.

[Stomski]

Interesting.

[manmiles]

Cows.

Cows all the way down.

[Toph]

SO FUN!!!
Not as good as Kong: Skull Island, but almost! Way better than the first!
(I thought the first one was good, but pretty tedious to watch)

The human scenes and the monster scenes were well mixed, so the monster scenes kept the human scenes from feeling draggy, while the human scenes drove the movie forward while giving a much needed break from the visual onslaught of the monster scenes.
This is a very hard mix in Godzilla movies.

SPOILER: Click to show

I do wish that '90s US Godzilla and Shin Godzilla had made cameos. But I suppose with 'Zilla at least, there woulda been too much copyright hassle to make it worth while.

[The Doctor]

Indeed.

It lacks the style and wit of 'Kong: Skull Island' but was fun and quite pacey. Significantly better than the awful 2014 film and feels this time like the creators actually like the Japanese film series.

Nowt earth shattering but passed a Saturday evening entertainingly enough.

-Ralph

[manmiles]

I really enjoyed it. I've not seen Kong: Skull Island, but this was a decent enough film which I felt managed to be self-aware enough in regards to some of the more audacious ideas just being thrown out there, but done in a way which never took away from the tone of a very apocalyptic film.

The monster fighting was impressive and I felt that they actually gave some personality to Ghidorah in this film (Ghidorah is a petty, sadistic bugger in this movie). The best part, was the 'Bill and Ted's Bogus Journey' style credits with plenty of 'This is the world now' style gags.


And the use of the classic Akira Ifukube Godzilla theme.

[Nigel]

As general buzz grows for Godzilla Vs Kong, I felt compelled to buy the previous King Kong Vs Godzilla. (£3.99 on Amazon.) I haven't watched an old monster flick in ages, so it was ninety minutes well spent watching it this afternoon. It's an interesting one to watch, being a USA-Japan co-production, though it's very much a Godzilla film in terms of story and production. There's some impressive model and miniature work. I rather liked the characterisation of Kong.

Soon, I shall watch another old monster movie, Them! I've only ever watched it once, probably as a teenager. I remember almost nothing about it but very much enjoyed it at the time, so I'm looking forward to it. (eBay for this one, as it's deleted.)

[Toph]

Gojira, the original unedited version, is truly great cinema.
The sequel, not so much.

The first few Godzilla and Mothra movies were pretty serious with strong messages that are anti-war, and about protecting the environment (though Mothra has some really great slapstick).

Then there's a point where Godzilla leans strictly into kid movies. (I think it's after Destroy All Monsters?)

They're all great fun if you have the correct mindset (but some more fun than others).

Recommended Kaiju movies-
Gojira
Mothra
Shin Godzilla
The Host
Cloverfield
Pacific Rim
Godzilla (Universal 1998)
Godzilla (Legendary 2004)
Godzilla: King of the Monsters
Kong: Skull Island

[Philip Ayres]

I took the opportunity to tidy up the Godzilla & Kaiju threads :-)

I think I have all of the original Godzilla Movies from their VHS release at around the point of the 90s US Movie. There's a couple missing that didn't get issued round then.

Most of the 90s films I've got on R1 DVDs that I now can't play and (annoyingly) my King Ghidora has a dent in the disc right at the best bit where Mecha King Ghidorah comes back in time. I think I've got two of the 90s Mothra as well. Not seen any more recent.

They need a decent UK DVD/BD issue.

Any of them on the Flicking Net?

[Toph]

Feb 12, 2019 0:19:01 GMT Toph said:

Big cows. Also known as Ōkina ushi.

...i have no memory of what the flip my joke here is.

[Toph]

I missed Wonder Woman 86, but I might get to see Godzilla vs Kong in theaters. Had my first vaccine shot this past thursday, and my follow up shot is scheduled the 21st. So two weeks after that, I'm good.
Hopefully it'll still be in theaters then.

[The Doctor]

Alas it will likely be out here before I have been vaccinated so I'll have to wait for the blu ray.

-Ralph

[Toph]

Well... I got the very last showing on the very last day it was being shown at any of the reasonable theaters. On the day before my full two weeks since my second shot (I'd have rather pushed it off another week, honestly).

And I don't think I shall be doing that again, any time soon! I've never watched anything with mask on before, and was fighting breathing fogging up my glasses the whole time.

As for the movie itself, it was very much a Kong sequel, guest starring Godzilla.
It was... More enjoyable than the first Godzilla (more fun, less draggy, but not as good a story), but nowhere as good as Skull Island or King of the Monsters.
Saying the plot is paper thin would be being generous. It barely had a plot, and that was entirely either to worldbuild, or get the monsters to fight. It didn't really answer any of the questions raised in the previous three entries, nor did it really ask any additional ones.

It's disappointing in that this film was almost the endgame when Legendary rebooted Godzilla, and it certainly was the entire reason Skull Island was made, yet they failed to really live up to the hype. Without spoilers, Godzilla and Kong meeting were actually the least interesting parts. At least for me. Everything I'd have rather seen expanded on had nothing to do with their rivalry.

SPOILER: Click to show

Speaking as a Godzilla fan who never really cared about Kong, or wanted to see him rebooted so they could fight, I actually would have preferred they had dropped Godzilla altogether and made a story 100% about Kong and the exploration of the hollow earth.
Compaired to that, the big Godzilla battles seem to be tacked on, and MechaGodzilla feels absolutely waisted.

All this sounds like I didn't enjoy it, which isn't true! It's a fun popcorn flick, that doesn't really waist your time. Just don't go in with high hopes, or expect a lot to think about walking out.
Leaving KotM, and K:SI had me really thinking about this world and wanting to know more about how the monsters fit in it (particularly KotM, I still wish they had made a Mothra movie first), but GvK really hasn't.
It lacks the epic scope of KotM, or the iconic gorgeous cinematic visuals and fun characters of K:SI.

This one requires you to shut your brain down before hand, but it also doesn't insult your intelligence while it's off, like some other monster movies do (*cough*fallenkingdom*cough*).

[Nigel]

*Carefully avoids the Godzilla v Kong post.*

I just watched Shin Godzilla for the first time. I found it a refreshingly different take in some ways, yet comfortably familiar in others.

[Benn]

I've not seen ...vs. Kong yet either. Waiting on a home media release cuz I have no idea how to make the various streaming options work. Same as with Bill & Ted 3, except I keep forgetting that's actually out now.

I am a technological troglodyte at times.

[Toph]

So with several months to reflect on GvK-

SPOILER: Click to show

I'm positive this movie would have worked so much better as Kong: Hollow Earth, rather than GvK.
Godzilla showing up and nearly killing Kong at sea would have been a much more satisfying treat,and would have set up better tension and drama when they did have a better focused GvK movie.

I still feel like MechaGodzilla was waisted in this, and would have been better suited as the primary player in a proper KotM follow-up (people build it in an attempt to destroy Godzilla and create their own Alpha Titan in an effot to get them under control. But of course using Ghidora's head as their OS is a very bad idea)
Meanwhile, the actual Kong/Godzilla/MechaGodzilla battle that was the climax, could easily substituted Godzilla and MechaGodzilla with any of the Titans cameoed in KotM.

After time passed, I still feel this movie would have been better served as a Kong sequel, with Godzilla showing up at sea as a treat.

[Grand Moff Muffin]

Godzilla vs Kong is not the best giant-monster-stomping-cities film of 2021.

That would be The Suicide Squad.

Martin

[The Doctor]

The fantastic GODZILLA MINUS ONE is now on Netflix UK, for those who have access to that service.

-Ralph