Tag: Kaiju

Those American Godzilla Movies: X Marks the Spot

July 26, 2024

It’s almost fascinating, the experience of being a fan of something but not at the moment. I don’t even know how to describe it. I’m a Godzilla fan, but his American movies have done me nothing but harm. In keeping tabs on the Japanese side, I’m inundated by news and updates about the Legendary MonsterVerse. How do I explain it to my poor mother, who asks me, “Are you gonna see that?” in response to a TV spot for Godzilla X Kong: The New Empire, and I bark, “No!” Almost fascinating, and this time, more than usual, because the marketing on-ramp for 2024’s entry coincided with the tsunami aftermath of Godzilla Minus One. The Japanese film was hailed for its sensitivity toward character, its faculty for drama, and of course, its efficient but convincing visual effects. Comparisons were drawn to the original 1954 Godzilla; it was that authentic. What, then, did that make The New Empire, whose trailer debuted two days later? … More Those American Godzilla Movies: X Marks the Spot

The Iron Horse has Lasers | Godzilla vs. Destoroyah (1995) Review

November 8, 2023

After a surprising bump in quality with Godzilla vs. SpaceGodzilla, we’re back in business to close out the Heisei era with this, one of several series finales – like Futurama. The Showa era ended with Terror of Mechagodzilla, a return to the darker tone of the original movie, and the disjointed Millennium era had the explosive Final Wars, a special project for the 50th anniversary. Well, is Godzilla vs. Destoroyah, too, a special project? Did the filmmakers take a step back from what they’d been doing and say, “Let’s go out with a bang”? The film’s title might help us out here, bearing the typical “vs.” instead of something like The Final Chapter or maybe The End of Godzilla. No, it’s just another day, another monster. Consequently, this is a pretty low-key send-off, though at the very least, unlike Terror and Final Wars, it is a send-off. … More The Iron Horse has Lasers | Godzilla vs. Destoroyah (1995) Review

Shiny New Toys | The Return of Godzilla (1984) Review

October 26, 2022

It was, for me as well, a long-awaited return, as this 1984 film truthfully entitled “Godzilla” didn’t see a home video release in the United States until May 2016. By that time, we’d abandoned the term “home video!” I mean, I waited longer than contemporary audiences had between this film and the previous installment, 1975’s Terror of Mechagodzilla, and as such, had viewed 2016’s Shin Godzilla before this one. I knew that The Return of Godzilla was an attempt to take Godzilla “back to its roots” – that old chestnut – and featured American and Soviet politicians arguing with the Japanese in conference rooms. Sure sounds like the 1980s version of Shin Godzilla, but with a little more cheese and vintage effects. What I got was far closer to the 1954 original, a lumbering near-docudrama – with a little more cheese and vintage effects. … More Shiny New Toys | The Return of Godzilla (1984) Review