Many of the classic monsters of the movies achieved their iconic status under the banner of Universal Studios in the 1930s and 40s. One of those monsters was the Wolf Man, who was immortalized in 1941’s The Wolf Man, starring Lon Chaney, Jr. Its tale of a man who transformsContinue Reading
For some reason, King Kong vs. Godzilla opens with a quote from Shakespeare’s “Hamlet,” “There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, Than are dreamt of in your philosophy.” I am assuming that this was meant to set an ominous tone for the film it precedes. Unfortunately, it’s the only seriousContinue Reading
Kaiju movies, by the very nature of their concept, are a mostly campy good time. In fact, most attempts to parody them fall flat because it’s hard to outdo what’s already ridiculous. But that didn’t stop the makers of Monster X Strikes Back: Attack the G8 Summit from trying. TheyContinue Reading
A few years ago, I reviewed 1965’s Frankenstein Conquers the World, a rather poor Japanese take on the Frankenstein mythos. In that movie, a young boy grew from the heart of the monster created by Dr. Frankenstein. The heart had been transported to Japan shortly before the Hiroshima bombing and,Continue Reading
If you’ve only watched American-made King Kong movies, you know that the big ape has never made it through a movie alive. In stark contrast, in his two Japanese outings, King Kong vs. Godzilla and King Kong Escapes, Kong is very much alive, but looks as if he’s been doing heavy drugs andContinue Reading
In the 1990’s, director Shusuke Kaneko re-imagined and re-energized the giant Japanese monster known as Gamera. Made in the 1960’s and early 1970’s, the original Gamera films were generally regarded as Z-grade trash. (No less than five Gamera movies were featured on “Mystery Science Theater 3000”.) Gamera, the creature, was a giantContinue Reading
Originally titled Sora no daikaiju Radon (Giant Monster of the Sky Radon) in its native Japan, Rodan tells the tale of Kitamatsu, a coal mining town that is reeling from the apparent murder of a miner and the disappearance of the likely culprit. The missing perpetrator, Goro (Rinsaku Ogata), isContinue Reading