Gordon’s script twaddles along for nearly an hour when it could have been doing something far more compelling. In 1977, hot off the relative success of 1976’s The Food of the Gods, American International Pictures and writer/director Bert I. Gordon (aka “Mr. Big”) unleashed Empire of the Ants. Using theContinue Reading
It doesn’t break any new ground but it does rearrange the typical elements found in American movies of its ilk in such a way that it at least feels fresh. Caltiki: The Immortal Monster opens with a narrator explaining the circumstances surrounding the disappearance of the Mayan civilization. In 607Continue Reading
For someone who is as big a Godzilla fan as I am, the film felt fresh as often as it felt familiar. And I loved it. Japan’s iconic Godzilla finally made the leap into a successful Americanized film in 2014’s Godzilla. That movie’s financial success caused Legendary Pictures to greenlightContinue Reading
Kong: Skull Island does a good job of keeping the viewer too off-balance to think much about the plot holes. King Kong is one of cinema’s most enduring and beloved monsters. From his on-screen origin in the 1933 film that bore his name until now, Kong has graced multiple films,Continue Reading
As long as you’re not looking for well-drawn or particularly interesting human characters, Godzilla should whet your monster whistle just fine. In 2014, the second American version of Godzilla hit the big screen. The first, 1998’s Godzilla, was a colossal failure at the box office and a complete mockery ofContinue Reading
There’s not a lot of Bigfoot in this Bigfoot movie but it remains watchable mainly due to the chemistry between Carson and Fimple. The early-to-mid 1970s were a grand time for low budget Bigfoot movies. Fueled by the success of 1972’s The Legend of Boggy Creek, which packed drive-ins withContinue Reading
I have to admit that I was completely entertained by the nuttiness of script and the unapologetic nature of its nonsensical logic. “Once they were men; now they are land crabs,” says Dale Drewer (Richard Garland), in an example of the absolutely priceless dialogue in Attack of the Crab Monsters, RogerContinue Reading