MOTHRA - Mill Creek Blu-ray Review

THE RETURN OF GODZILLA aka Godzilla 1984 (Blu-ray Review) - Kraken Releasing

Japan/1984
Directed By: Koji Hashimoto
Written By: Hideichi Nagahara
Starring: Ken Tanaka, Keiju Kobayashi, Yasuko Sawaguchi
Color/103 Minutes/PG
Region A
Release Date: September 13, 2016

The Film
By 1984 the Godzilla franchise had mostly dried up. It had been 9 years since the last entry into the series, Terror Of Mechagodzilla, had been released to underwhelming fanfare in theaters. It would be one of only two films in the franchise to sell less than one million tickets in Japan. The franchise was put on hold. Stories and scripts came in but none were put in to production. The giant monster movie would return with THE RETURN OF GODZILLA (aka GODZILLA 1984) as the world dealt with the Cold War and the threat of nuclear warfare starting at the push of a button. Oddly enough, the theme that created Godzilla would be the one that resurrected him three decades later.

Godzilla is awakened when an Earthquake hits the Island he's been slumbering in. A local fishing ship has been wrecked and the majority of the crew has been found in a mummified state with only one crew member surviving the bloodsucking attack of a mutant sea louse. It's found that the sea louse has mutated in an exponentially larger size than the centimeter it should be because it was feeding off the radiated blood of Godzilla. Shortly after a Russian submarine carrying nuclear weapons is attacked and they blame the Americans until satellite imaging shows that it was truly Godzilla who attacked to feed off of the nuclear energy. The Russians and Americans demand Japan use nuclear bombs to destroy Godzilla before he potentially attacks their shores. Japan strongly opposes the use of such weapons knowing the effects that they've had for decades on their land and people after World War II. The leaders of Japan come up with a plan to poison Godzilla with Cadmium and lead him to his death in a volcano.

The political commentary that was such an important part of the original Godzilla film is once again on display here and is an equally important part in resurrecting the franchise. The mid 1980s were a boiling point for tensions with the Soviet Union and it provided basis for some very memorable movies of the time. THE RETURN OF GODZILLA uses the political turmoil and its own history to create a film that is not only entertaining and exciting but at times especially tense. Godzilla is a giant monster stomping around cities of Japan but the main antagonist of this film is the nuclear bombs that would cause massive casualties and loss of life along with the radioactive fallout that would cause medical issues for years to come. Godzilla is a sympathetic character and appropriately so. It's ironic that the USA and Soviet Union team up to try and bully their weapons use on to Japan in the film as the US was anything but friendly and willing to be on the same side as the Soviet Union in 1984 but as long as they can protect their own shores from the threat of Godzilla it doesn't matter if they destroy Japan with nukes again. It creates an interesting dynamic for the real world situations that were among the biggest issues facing the entire world.

THE RETURN OF GODZILLA returns to the roots of the series, leaving G-man to carry the film as the lone monster. There's no giant fights with other Kaiju, and to the people of Japan in the movie Godzilla is once again a threat and not a lovable hero, despite being sympathetic on a deeper level. The fact that there's only one monster leads to the film feeling a bit slower than you may be used to with the majority of the film's in the franchise but it works in giving plenty of time to develop a meaningful story with important character relationships and interactions.

There have been 29 Japanese Godzilla films from Toho to date, this being the 16th and it certainly falls among the top half of the franchise. Admittedly I'm a big fanboy of Godzilla so I probably enjoy the lesser entry of the series more than most people do but I think that speaks to the quality of THE RETURN OF GODZILLA. I'm not sure I'd rank it among my top 10 but it doesn't fall far outside of it.

The Audio & Video
Kraken Releasing brings THE RETURN OF GODZILLA to the states for the first time and in HD no less with a respectable looking 16x9 anamorphic widescreen transfer that features a clean picture free of damage and debris. The colors are faithful to all versions of the film I've seen but look sharper than ever. Black levels are deep and detail is fairly strong. Close-ups of Godzilla deliver the highest level of detail in his rough, scaly skin. Sure there's room for improvement in the picture quality, it could be sharper and feature better detail but the picture is very clean and is a rock solid HD presentation of the film. 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio tracks in both English and the native Japanese with optional English subtitles round out the listening options. I opted for the original Japanese language track which sounds excellent. The sound quality is crisp and crystal clear with no distortions or instances of popping or background noise. The mix is very well done between levels of dialogue and score. The subtitles are translated well and easy to read with perfect timing. The subtitles are yellow, which is a minor nitpick of mine, except when dialogue from characters overlaps and the 2nd character's dialogue is subbed in white. While I understand the benefit of separating colors for different characters it was a bit distracting having different colored subtitles popping up. Another minor nitpick which I wouldn't let affect the score I give this release.

The Extras
The lone extra is an original theatrical preview promoting the upcoming release. Similar to a trailer but more of an extended commercial. It was a lot of fun to watch this throwback of movie advertising.

The Bottom Line
It's been a long time coming for fans of the big guy to get the original Japanese version of the 1984 film and now we have a rock solid Blu-ray release thanks to Kraken Releasing. It's among the better Godzilla films so I'm calling it essential viewing.

THE RETURN OF GODZILLA is available HERE

April Exploitation/B-Movie Challenge 2016- Days 23-27

Time to catch up! I apologize for falling behind on coverage here but I'm here now and ready to catch up!

Day 23 started with ALL HELL BREAKS LOOSE a DVD sent to me courtesy of Wild Eye Releasing to view specifically for this challenge. It's a modern exploitation film, filled plenty of things  I like and dislike about modern exploitation films. This demon biker movie is funny without too many "in jokes" or winks and nudges to the audience and has a genuinely sleazy sensibility to it with lots of violence and forced nudity. The special effects are a bit hit and miss but aside from CGI blood splatter I'm okay with them. The acting holds up a decent script so I can get passed the things I don't like such as artificial scratch filters to make it look like an older film ala Grindhouse. It's a trend that annoys the piss out of me but ALL HELL BREAKS LOOSE is good enough that it didn't make that big of a difference.

I followed that up with THE CURSE, a 1987 adaptation of HP Lovecraft's The Color Out Of Space. I wasn't aware of the HPL ties until seeing the film so that was a pleasant surprise and the movie ended up being a pretty solid 80s horror style work on the story. It has plenty messy gross out effects work and latex effects makeup. Wil Wheaton stars a young boy who's family is changing into vicious monsters after eating and drinking produce and water that is tainted from a strange alien orb and he's quite good carrying the film.

Day 24 started and ended with THE CURSE 2 which has nothing at all to do with the first film. Subtitled THE BITE, this one follows a young couple, including the gorgeous Jill Schoelen, as they're on a road trip and travel through an old bomb testing site that is overridden with snakes. When the boyfriend gets bitten on his hand he slowly transform into a hyper aggressive and violent version of himself and undergoes bizarre physical changes as well. THE CURSE 2 was good, but had it let the major payoff occur earlier in the film and let the snakeman monster run amuck on the town this could have been a true masterpiece of horror cheese.

An overdue viewing of KING KONG ESCAPES was next - A well known Kaiju film from Toho that I had never seen. It's King Kong vs MechaKong. Need I say more? We have a giant gorilla fighting the robot version of himself in Japan. A solid script that is deeply rooted in the original King Kong allows the movie to have fun with the giant beast and robot while maintaining an air of seriousness that allows the campy film to still be a pretty good movie.

The next night I tossed on ISLAND OF DEATH - A Greek exploitation film from 1976 that found itself on the Video Nasty list a few years later. Director Niko Mastorakis made this film after seeing the financial success of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre as a way to cash in. With no artistic desire to make the film he made it anyways and he certainly made a film filled with deplorable acts and ideas such as rape, goat fucking, murder, racism and homophobia. From an exploitation film standpoint it's entertaining, and competently made for the most part aside from our two main characters essentially being on this Greek island for no other reason than to be bigots and kill people they don't like. ISLAND OF DEATH's biggest problem to me is that any and all likable characters are quickly killed off and the movie is over 100 minutes long which is far too long for a movie with nobody to root for. If this movie was 75-80 minutes long I'd like it more.

EXTRAORDINARY TALES was the follow up - This animated anthology of E.A. Poe tales was an interesting watch. With voice over work from the likes of Christopher Lee, Bela Lugosi, Roger Corman, Guillermo Del Toro and Julian sands it gave each short, which featured a unique art style, it's own atmosphere. Some segments were better than others, and I don't see myself rushing back to watch the film again as I'd rather sit down and watch the various feature film adaptations of the stories but it was well done and I recommend it for any Poe fans.

This update comes to a close with a movie I've long seen floating around on VHS but it had never crossed my path until recently - THE ANNIHILATORS. This vigilante film is set in Atlanta where a gang has a section of the city under siege, forcing them to pay unfair "protection and insurance" taxes, and raping and murdering those that don't agree including a man running a mini market who was paralyzed in Vietnam. His squadron reunites to help his father, and his neighbors regain control of their neighborhood in a film filled with shootouts, flame throwers, food carts filled with heroin and a school bus filled with kids in the line of fire. THE ANNIHILATORS isn't the best vigilante style film and the cast isn't amazing but it remains an energetic, action packed exploitation romp of a good time.

Today's Rundown
All Hell Breaks Loose - 6/10
The Curse - 7.5/10
The Curse 2 - 6.5/10
King Kong Escapes - 6.5/10
Island Of Death - 6/10
Extraordinary Tales - 6/10
The Annihilators - 6/10

April Exploitation/B-Movie Challenge 2016 - Days 17, 18, 19

Day 17 had one lone movie but it was a fun one - ATRAGON - the 1963 Kaiju film from director Ishiro Honda. As a fan of giant monster movies from Japan this is one I've long heard about and it didn't disappoint as the people of Earth are forced to develop and use their new flying submarine warship Atragon to battle the underwater Mu people and their giant laser breathing snake monster Manda. The movie is well made and has a solid story and script but is a bit light in the Manda v Atragon department. A bit more action between the two and I think this would have been bumped up to true classic status.

INFRASEXUM was it for day 18 and the new DVD from Vinegar Syndrome will be getting reviewed later today so be on the look out for it...

And finally day 19 had a pair of films that probably couldn't have been more different. Bill Zebub's 2011 feature ANTFARM DICKHOLE features exactly that... an antfarm dickhole. Just think about that term for a second- antfarm dickhole. Antfarm. Dickhole. Ant. Farm. Dick. Hole. You get it? Yeah, this movie, among many other things like a giant spider fucking a woman and as many "ant" puns as you can handle (and probably couple dozen more) has a man that has a colony of killer African ants living in his dick that kill people whenever he's sexually stimulated. Have you ever wanted to see a giant ant crawl out of a man's peehole? Here's your chance! The movie is funny and raunchy and stupid and you're either going to appreciate it or think it is repulsive trash. Chances are you'll think it's repulsive trash. I enjoyed it.

This recap closes with SECRETS OF A CALL GIRL - a Euro Crime turned drama from director Guiliano Carnimeo and co-written by Ernesto Gastaldi. That duo should have made a far better movie than this is. Luckily Edwige Fenech stars and makes thing visually stimulating at all times. The movie starts out good enough as Fenech plays a girl caught up in the middle of the mob and their prostitution ring who wants a way out after giving birth to her son. The movie's timeline doesn't make a ton of sense towards the end as a lot of time is covered all of a sudden without much mention of it. Once the movie turns into more of a drama it falls flat and feels deflated. It's watchable but I hoped for better. Oh and that artwork I used from Wikipedia is fucking atrocious and doesn't do the film any justice or even represent it accurately.

Today's Rundown
Atragon - 7/10
Infrasexum - 6/10
Antfarm Dickhole - 6/10
Secrets Of A Call Girl - 5/10

Toho Godzilla Collection Double Feature - Godzilla vs Mechagodzilla II / Godzilla vs Spacegodzilla (Blu-ray Review) - Sony

Japan/1993, 1994
Directed By: Takao Okawara, Kensho Yamashita
Written By: Wataru Mimura, Hiroshi Kashiwabara
Starring: Masahiro Takashima, Jun Hashizume
Color/216 Minutes/Unrated
Region A
Release Date: May 6, 2014

The Films

What happens when a baby Godzilla egg is discovered by some explorers with questionable intentions and Rodan and Godzilla both claim it as their own? Well Godzilla and Rodan start fighting of course. And Japan's Self Defense Force has to unleash MechaGodzilla to protect Japan from the giant monsters and their maternal instincts.

GODZILLA vs MECHAGODZILLA II features a few of the more "awww" inducing moments of the entire franchise along with some intense fight sequences between the monsters and robot. MechaGodzilla is absolutely bad ass in this one, even before he turns into Super MechaGodzilla... yeah, wrap your mind around that one. A very entertaining entry.

Not to be outdone, GODZILLA vs SPACEGODZILLA features a government program which attempts to implant a device on Godzilla that will allow them to controll him telepathically to protect Japan. That plan takes a backseat when Godzilla cells carried into space by Biollante and Mothra have formed a new Godzilla creature that has came through a black hole and invades Japan. This new monster, dubbed Spacegodzilla, is a super charged version of Godzilla, with the ability to absorb the Earth's energy through his giant crystals on his shoulders. Spacegodzilla's first victim is Little Godzilla, which pisses off Godzilla and the fight is under way. Japan's backup plan to their telepathy is Moguera, their penguin-like giant robot which has replaced MechaGodzilla. Can the team of Godzilla and Moguera stop Spacegodzilla before he destroys all of Japan and sucks all of Earth's energy from it's core?

WOO BOY! I love this movie. GODZILLA vs SPACEGODZILLA has vicious fight scenes, an original story, and a pretty cool giant robot, that isn't quite as neat at MechaGodzilla, but has his own advantages. The cuteness of Little Godzilla, who has a stare down with Spacegodzilla early on, is overwhelming and because of the beating he takes from the extraterrestrial monster you spend the rest of the movie just cheering for Japan and Godzilla to team up and give him what's coming. It is great to finally get Godzilla as Japan's ally for the first time in several movies in this one.

The Audio & Video
Both of these films have very similar looking transfers from Sony. The prints are mostly clean and in nice condition. Detail levels are an improvement over the DVD versions of the films, with the monster suits looking good. Colors are a bit less muted than the previous double feature but there's still room for improvement on Toho's end. Skin tones look good and it is a sharper image than you could ask for on DVD. The Japanese 5.1 DTS-HD audio tracks sound strong and boisterous. There's no annoying popping or crackling in the background and the optional English subtitles are timed perfectly and translated nicely. 

The Extras
There are original trailers for each film, and Ultraviolet digital copy codes. 

The Bottom Line
These 2-disc Blu-ray sets are easily found for under $15 each and that price they're really a no-brainer for Godzilla fans and cheap enough to take a chance on if you're interested in checking out these movies. These two movies are immensely entertaining and I'm thrilled to own them on Blu-ray.

The Toho Godzilla Collection Double Feature is available HERE

Toho Godzilla Collection Double Feature - Godzilla vs King Ghidorah / Godzilla And Mothra: Battle For Earth (Blu-ray Ray Review) - Sony

Japan/1991, 1992
Directed By: Kazuki Omori, Takao Okawara
Written By: Kazuki Omori
Starring: Kosuke Toyohara, Tetsuya Bessho
Color/203 Minutes/Not Rated
Region A
Release Date: May 6, 2014

The Films

After a bit of box office disappointment from 1989's Godzilla vs Biollante, Toho decided to bring back and old favorite for Godzilla to fight. And after an annoying time travel plot involving WWII and a dinosaur, and people from the future called Futurians, fight he does as King Ghidorah is summoned to destroy Japan and prevent it from becoming the world's richest nation the dominant super power.

GODZILLA vs KING GHIDORAH has one of my least favorite plots in the series, the World War II moments do nothing at all for me and the futuristic time travel aspect just gets too "busy". That said, there is some fucking awesome action between the two monsters including a spot that would be the catalyst to the creation of Mecha-King Ghidorah. The fight scenes are long and brutal and definitely make up for a story that I don't really enjoy too much. It is interesting to note that this film won a Japanese Academy Award for special effects.

A meteor crashes into the ocean and wakes up Godzilla. Some explorers find Mothra's egg in an ancient cave and are told by the Cosmos that ancient civilizations tried to control the Earth's climate and Earth created Battra also known as The Black Mothra. When Battra became uncontrollable and began destroying Earth Mothra came to Earth's aid and waged war with Battra. Both sides retreated for many years. It is now feared that Battra has awoken as well. The Japanese military tries to stop Battra but can't and Mothra's egg hatches opening the door to a 3 way fight between Mothra, Battra and Godzilla. It isn't until Mothra saves Battra from Godzilla that the giant insects team up, and we learn of Battra's true destiny, protecting Earth from a catastrophic meteor set to hit Earth several years later.

GODZILLA AND MOTHRA: BATTLE FOR EARTH has some fantastic fight scenes ranging from alongside a big Ferris Wheel to and underwater battle in the Ocean. We get multiple stages of Mothra fighting, from a larvae to the beautiful winged protector. The story is a good way of introducing a new monster to the mix and giving him an instant history to make the fights have a bit of natural drama to them.

The Audio & Video
Sony is releasing four of these double features encompassing the Heisei and Millennium series. This first double feature has 2 blu-rays, one for each film, and things get off to a bit of a rocky start. KING GHIDORAH's 16x9 widescreen transfer could be much better, to put it simply. At its best it look okay with improved detail levels, and its worst it looks no better than DVD quality. Sony had to work with what Toho gave them, and it wasn't anything special. The audio fares better, with the original Japanese track sounding pretty crisp and clear with DTS-HD master audio. Optional English subtitles are very well done, timed nicely and read well.

BATTLE FOR EARTH is an improvement in the video department. Colors are still overly muted but seem a bit more lively, while detail is definitely stronger and the overall image quality is sharper here. This isn't reference quality but it is a definite upgrade over the DVD. Audio fares as well here as it did in the first feature on the set with the same technical specs.

The Extras
There is a theatrical trailer and Ultraviolet digital codes for each film. 

The Bottom Line
I can't say it is a home run but it is worth the cost of admission and is at the very least and upgrade from the DVD. There's plenty of great fight scenes here to have you smiling ear to ear.

The Toho Godzilla Collection Double Feature is available HERE

Gamera Volume 1 (Blu-ray Review) - Mill Creek

Japan/1965-68
Directed By: Noriaki Yuasa, Shigeo Tanaka,
Written By: Nisan Takahashi, Yonejiro Saito
Starring: Various
B&W and Color/345 Minutes/Not Rated
Region A
Release Date: April 29, 2014

The Films

GAMERA could be referred to as Japan's other giant reptilian monster. He isn't quite as famous and doesn't have as many films to his credit but he's no slouch. The giant fire breathing, jet propelled turtle was awakened from a frozen slumber when a plane carrying an Atomic Bomb crashed and unfroze him. The giant beast unleashed his fury on Japan, storing energy from electricity until a plan to trap him and send him into space was successfully implemented sending GAMERA into space.

The first GAMERA film is much like the original Godzilla in that it is the lone monster attacking Japan after the effects of atomic bombs awaken him. The main differences are the Cold War propaganda in GAMERA and the idea that GAMERA is friend to all children. The first GAMERA film is a decent introduction to the character and is pretty entertaining even if it tries too hard to be Daiei's answer to Toho's Godzilla and doesn't come away with the same impact or level of success.

Gamera gets his first monster opponent in the form of Barugon in GAMERA vs. BARUGON. A few treasure hunters end up in the jungles where they encounter a tribe who they believe is hiding a large Opal. When they find the Opal in a cave a bit of double crossing goes on and only one man makes it out with the gem. Doctors treat his injuries with a heat lamp which ends up incubating the egg that they believed to be a gemstone. Barugon is hatched from the egg and quickly begins terrorizing Japan with his ice breath and destructive rainbow laser blast. Gamera immediately comes to fight the monster but falls victim to Barugon's ice breath leaving it up to the military to formulate a plan of attack until Gamera thaws and can put Barugon to rest at the bottom of a lake.

GAMERA vs BARUGON is decent again, it seems that they were just figuring out how to have two monsters in the same movie and how to have them fight. Barugon is a decent foe for Gamera but the film suffers when Gamera is frozen for the majority of the film and awakens to fight Barugon in the final battle that doesn't fully make up for the lack of Gamera for so much of the film. Definitely entertaining and a big stepping stone for Daiei's monster franchise.

1967 brought us GAMERA vs GYAOS, the best of the series to this point. Gyaos is essentially the Gamera series' answer to Rodan. He's a giant flying dinosaur type creature with home plate for a head and shoots beams from his mouth that can split buildings clean in half. Gyaos' main weakness is UV rays so the military is defending a key area in the mountains that the government needs to purchase from the villagers to build a new super highway. This are is right under the home of Gyaos who is simply fucking up everything in his path. Gamera once again proves he is a friend to the children of Japan here and ends up having his best fight sequences to this point as well. This one is filled with monster blood and bits of gore as well.

GAMERA vs GYAOS was a big step forward for the series. The first two entries of the series looked and felt cheap, especially in comparison to the Godzilla films but this third entry really steps up the production value. The suits look quite a bit better than they do in the previous films and miniature work also looks more realistic. This is easily the best of the initial three films.

The final film of this Blu-ray set is 1968's GAMERA vs VIRAS, the obligatory alien/outer space entry of the series. An alien spaceship takes a couple of young boy scouts prisoner and captures Gamera as they intend to take over the world because their planet has gone to shit. Their ship, by the way, looks like four rotating bumble bees, or the thought I immediately had was four clones of that girl in the bee suit from the Blind Melon "No Rain" video from the early 90s. Anyways, Gamera doesn't like the fact that these bastard aliens have his friends captured or that they want to take over Earth so he fights back when they dispense Viras on him who looks like a giant Xacto knife.

It seems like all of the Kaiju series need this type of entry, and it's okay by me. It is a simple enough plot that lends its hand to more monsters fighting to save our planet. GAMERA vs VIRAS just takes too long to get to the monsters fighting. There really isn't a fight until we get over the hour mark and before that there are some face palm worthy moments such as when Gamera and the boys are trapped under water by the aliens with some sort of detaining dome which Gamera can't break through. Gamera can however simply lift it up from the bottom to let the boys escape in their submarine. A bit of a step backwards for the series in terms of quality as it had made a positive move in each previous entry.

The Audio & Video
Mill Creek brings GAMERA Vol. 1 to Blu-ray with a 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen transfer in 1080i HD. Yes, depsite the case saying otherwise, these transfers are interlaced and not progressive. It sucks but the movies still look pretty nice and I've seen far worse 1080i (and 1080p for that matter) transfers than this. GYASO and VIRAS look the best which isn't a surprise as they also had the best production values. Colors are decent and detail levels are pretty strong. Overall I'm very pleased with the set even if it could be a bit sharper had these been progressively scanned.

Each film has a 2.0 Dolby track in the film's native Japanese with English subtitles. I've tried to figure out if these are the original subtitles made directly from the original Japanese audio track or if these are "dubtitles" made off the English dub tracks. I haven't found any definitive information but it's my feeling that they're dubtitles based on some English slipping in. That said, they read fine, and the audio tracks are more than capable of getting the job done. They're stable and free of any background noise that is distracting.

The Extras
Bare bones.

The Bottom Line
Gamera jet propels his way on to Blu-ray with this first volume set comprised of the first 4 films in the series. Each of the films is entertaining and despite there being a lack of special features the Blu-ray is a pretty nice set all things considered. Given it's bargain bin price (easily found for $10), this set is a no brainer. Go get it!

GAMERA VOLUME 1 is available HERE

Godzilla vs Hedorah, Gigan, The Sea Monster (Blu-ray Reviews) - Kraken Releasing

Japan/1966, 1971, 1972
Directed By: Jun Fukuda, Yoshimitsu Banno
Written By: Shenichi Sekizawa, Kaoru Mabuchi, Yoshimitsu Banno
Starring: Akira Takarada, Hiroshi Ishikawa, Akira Yamauchi
Color/264 Minutes/PG
Region A
Release Date: May 6, 2014

The Films

By 1966 Godzilla was a monster at the box office (wink wink). Business was booming for the Kaiju genre in Japan and other studios were coming up with their own monsters to compete with Godzilla. Having already fought a variety of beasts and monsters, Godzilla's next foe would be the giant lobster Ebirah in GODZILLA vs THE SEA MONSTER. This was one of a a few Godzilla movies that had an island adventure theme, when a boat is wrecked by Ebirah and the men aboard wash ashore an island where a secret organization has enslaved the native population to work in their plants where they produce chemicals and heavy water for their criminal intentions. The group stumbles across Godzilla, hibernating in a cave and awaken him using a lightning rod, while the native population prays to Mothra for salvation. What we get is Godzilla fighting Ebirah, a giant Condor that never gets a name, fighter jets, and Mothra saving the day not only the enslaved natives but Godzilla too.

GODZILLA vs THE SEA MONSTER isn't among the best in the series, but it certainly doesn't disappoint. It is immensely entertaining with the monster battles and with Mothra's appearance. I've always wondered why the giant Condor never received a name, though it doesn't do much to deserve one. It is an interesting twist having Godzilla's biggest threat not be a fellow monster but being the island and organization operating on it.

GODZILLA vs HEDORAH (aka The Smog Monster) is a beautiful representation of the year it was made. Hedorah is a monster made of the sludge, smog, and trash littering Japan and its waters. He starts as a tadpole in the water and eventually mutates to adapt for the land and then gains the ability to fly. Unfortunately for Japan, Godzilla's attacks have little effect on Hedorah at first until the scientists discover a way to weaken the disgusting monsters defenses enough that Godzilla can come in and finish the job.

This is among my favorite films in the series, definitely in the top 5. Hedorah is probably the most vicious monster in the Godzilla series. He emits a sulphuric gas that melts metal buildings and disintegrates humans down to their bones. He is like H-Bomb that should never have been released and it's all because of the filthy condition of Japan. The commentary on the state of the environment is in plain view, and with the Ozone layer becoming a major concern later in the decade GODZILLA vs HEDORAH is not only one of the best and most entertaining films in the franchise, it is a bit ahead of its time with it's message.

The next film in the Godzilla series is 1972's GODZILLA vs GIGAN, which introduced the space monster with a rotating saw in his abdomen. Earth is unknowingly under attack by a shape-shifting alien cockroach species who masquerade as Japanese businessmen building a Godzilla theme park. The main attraction at the park is Godzilla Tower, a giant monument to Japan's favorite monster. Their plan however, is to call Godzilla to the park and eliminate him with the super laser hidden inside Godzilla Tower. Godzilla and Anguirus end up in a 2 on 2 fight against the space monster King Ghidorah and the alien's new favorite weapon Gigan.

GODZILLA vs GIGAN has some of my favorite fight scenes in the entire Godzilla franchise. It doesn't hurt that some of my favorite monsters of the series are featured as well. Even the underrated Anguirus is on point here doing some tag team moves straight from WWE. The Road Warriors would be proud. Gigan and King Ghidorah are no slouches though, and both draw blood from their opponents and give them everything they've got while trying to take over the world for their weird cockroach alien friends. GODZILLA vs GIGAN is a fucking blast of Kaiju action that'll have you spilling popcorn everywhere while you cheer on the action.

The Audio & Video
Kraken Releasing brings these three classic Godzilla films to Blu-ray for the first time with 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen transfers. All three discs are on par with each other, as they each have their positives and suffer from a couple negatives as well. The bad first, occasionally each film is a bit soft and the color palette is muted and dulled down. The source material also has a bit of dirt and debris. The blame on this isn't to be shouldered by Kraken Releasing, it should be aimed solely at Godzilla's parent studio Toho. For 60 years Godzilla has made Toho money, it has been a beloved franchise worldwide and is their flagship character and franchise. For some reason Toho likes to take a crap on it by issuing licensors weak HD Masters to work with and do the best they can. Luckily, Kraken Releasing has done a good job with these because colors, while muted, still look good and detail levels are very strong. That is my favorite part of these releases is the strong levels of detail. From skin tones on the actors to the scaly Godzilla suit, the hair on King Ghidorah and the crustacean exoskeleton on Ebirah are awesome.

The audio for these discs is the original Japanese tracks with English subtitles, thankfully. That is enough to rejoice with right there. There is an option to watch with the English dub but don't, just don't. Either way you're listening to a DTS-HD mono track that sounds good. There's no annoying background noise or hissing or popping.

The Extras
Each disc features a trailer for its respective film.

The Bottom Line
Could the video presentation of the discs be better? Yeah, they could be, but as they stand they're a definite step up from the decade old Sony DVDs. The good strongly outweighs the bad and I'm so fucking happy that these discs have been released and that they're in my collection. Go out and grab these discs and have a blast with Godzilla!

GODZILLA vs HEDORAH, GODZILLA vs GIGAN and GODZILLA vs THE SEA MONSTER are available HERE

Exploitation/B-Movie/Drive-In Challenge 2013 - Last Days & Wrap-up

Before I run down the last few days of the challenge I have to give a shout out to the unofficial sponsor of my month's viewing, Wild Eye Releasing who generously sent me a bunch of DVDs to check out and one I had already seen I was able to give away as a prize. Wild Eye is responsible for releasing lots of weird, trashy and independent horror, sleaze, comedy, and other types of crazy movies. Whether I loved the movie or I hated the movie I knew I was in for something different and for that reason alone Wild Eye is a company worth checking out and supporting.

The 26th and 27th of the month had no viewings for various reasons so there was really no reason to update until now. I got back on track on the 28th with 4 flicks.

First was GOLD. This is a weird movie that apparently didn't get shown in the US until very recently despite it being over 40 years old. This is the story of a hippie commune, full of love, nudity, drugs and sex being terrorized by the local law for all of their raunchy indecency. It was made on the fly it seems, with little budget or pre-planning and a lot of drug use. It actually isn't bad and is interesting to look at from a historical standpoint of that time and culture.

Next up was DEAD SUSHI. This movie is a freaking blast, that will have you smiling the entire time. The plot is a basic Kaiju plot with an evil corporation experimenting in drugs that will bring back animals from the dead. Well it works on sushi and the sushi grow teeth, spikes and sharp blades and begin flying around killing people. It is hilarious, and total tongue in cheek fun. This description doesn't even begin to describe the total shenanigans that occur during the very quick 91 minute runtime but you'll have to see it for yourself.

What would this month be without a little Russ Meyer action? I didn't get to see as many as I would've liked, especially since this challenge just screams out for his movies but I did manage to get one in at the end. I'd never seen it before so I popped in the DVD of MOTOR PSYCHO. The story isn't anything you've never heard before, a group of motorcycle riding weirdos terrorize passing cars on a desert road. The women in the cars are of course big breasted and beautiful as women not of that nature seem not to exist in Russ Meyer's world. I'm okay with his world. The movie is a good tale of revenge and has a rather violent finale with TNT. Very enjoyable stuff.

I couldn't decide what to watch after that so with plenty of beverages in hand I popped in XTRO 2. I'm a fan of the creepy weirdness that first movie offers but the second is just crap. Having nothing at all to do with the first Xtro, XTRO 2 is sort of like a really bad Alien ripoff... except that it is more like a ripoff of an Alien ripoff. What a shitty movie.

The 29th featured just one movie, and it would be the final Wild Eye movie of the month. THE DEATH OF ANDY KAUFMAN is an independent documentary digging into the possibility that Kaufman faked his death. This isn't really an exploitation movie in any sense but Kaufman kind of exploited people with his act, and hell, he may be exploiting all of into thinking he's dead... not sure what he'd get out of it than his own satisfaction but whatever. The documentary is okay, probably as good as I could hope for given it's seemingly DIY nature. There is a lengthy interview with Kaufman's brother and a rundown on Kaufman and his history and life. The film never gets deep enough into the idea that he did fake his death or "finding the real Andy Kaufman" and who he truly was. It scratches the surface but could've been so much more.

And on to the final day...

KEOMA was on tap. This is a sort of trippy, psychadelic, dream-like spaghetti western that is great. From Enzo Castellari's direction to Franco Nero's performance as the titular character I love this movie.  Check it out the next time you watch a western. And the image won't upload so no poster... whammy.

And the challenge comes to a conclusion with THE LOVE GARDEN. I won't say much about this now because it is part of a disc review I have coming up in a few days but it is an absolutely textbook definition way to end an exploitation marathon.

THE WRAP UP

Total Films Watched - 64
1st Time viewings - 59 (92%)
Average Film Score - 5.6/10
Best First Time Viewings - Ms. 45, Godzilla vs. Hedorah, Emergency Squad, My Dear Killer
Biggest Surprise - That I had as much enjoyment with Nazisploitation as I did.
Biggest Disappointment - The Iguana With The Tongue Of Fire
Thoughts To Sum It Up - There was a metric ton of shitty movies this month and it really drained me at times. From a disappointing giallo to unbelievably shitty shot on video horror fare this month was a struggle. There were some great movies though and putting a big dent in my "to watch" pile is always a good thing. I probably should have planned out what I wanted to watch instead of winging it but where's the fun in that? (Where's the fun in this?) The exploitation fun rolls right on into May with disc Reviews coming from Synapse and Vinegar Syndrome. And a new branch of Celluloid Terror is coming. WOO! Thanks for following along this month.

Exploitation/B-Movie/Drive-In Challenge 2013 - Day 13

First up for day 13 was GORGO. I had just received the Blu-ray in the mail and popped it in. This is an early 60 giant monster flick from Britain. While it is a decent picture it pales in comparison to most Japanese monster movies of the era. I did find the "Gorgo promotional tour" scene to be pretty cool and show how people will spend money to see any type of "freak" even if it is exploiting the beast, person, or what have you.

I only watched one other movie but it is a favorite of mine that I find to be a perfect mix of exploitation, social commentary and fun. DEATH RACE 2000 is one of the best movies the 1970s had to offer and is much more than just a car race to kill people that became a remake. With a cast that includes David Carradine, who is top notch here, to Sylvester Stallone and cult favorite Mary Woronov and with direction from Paul Bartel (Eating Raoul) this Roger Corman production has stood the test of time to be an influtential film that entertains from start to finish.

Today's Rundown
Gorgo - 6/10
Death Race 2000 - 10/10

Exploitation/B-Movie/Drive-In Challenge 2013 - Day 11

It was an unplanned Kaiju day today. Giant Japanese monsters made up the entirety of day 11.

First up was the only Godzilla film from the Showa era that I hadn't seen, GODZILLA VS. HEDORAH. Hedorah is a monster made up of sludge, and smog and all forms of pollution that are plaguing Japan and he seems to be nearly unstoppable. He creates sulfur burns on humans and if he passes too close they drop dead. Hedorah passes through solid objects and decays them like acid. Hedorah is pretty much a wrecking ball that is ready to totally decimate Japan, even Godzilla can't stop him. It takes the teamwork of mankind, science and Godzilla to finally inflict pain on the smog monster. I don't think I've ever seen Godzilla get more personal with the fight than after this one, he really let loose. This is the trippyest Godzilla movie I've ever seen, a definite reflection of its time. Really enjoyable flick.

I followed that up with another 'Zilla flick, one I hadn't seen since it ran on cable when I was a kid. GODZILLA VS MEGALON is pretty slow going in the beginning. Megalon is pretty much useless in the beginning, just a big lumbering monster with no real mission other than to squash houses, and the Jet Jaguar plot is pretty much just thrown together but it all becomes worth it in the end. The end battle is up there with some of the best tag team wrestling matches of all times. I'd give it an easy 4.25 or 4.5 stars. While Megalon and Gigan are destroying Jet Jaguar, just pummeling him ala the greatest heel factions in wrestling history using the numbers to their advantage, Godzilla is walking up to the fight like a man on a mission. His facial expressions and body language were nothing short of Stone Cold Steve Austin and I half expected to hear the glass break and then the entrance music to come on as Godzilla comes in and starts to turn the tables. The fight told a story by itself, like the best wrestling matches do. It was excellent. Hell, even the celebration by Godzilla and Jet Jaguar was something out of WWE... All it was missing was a beer toss to Godzilla and a final Stunner on Jet Jaguar from Godzilla. Overall not the best but damn that last fight was a lot of fun.

I closed out the night with WAR OF THE GARGANTUAS, directed by the legendary Ishiro Honda. This is the story of a giant human-like beast terrorizing the seas, and he bares a striking resemblance to another gargantua that was thought to be dead in the forests of Mt. Fuji. The team of scientists responsible for the Mt. Fuji monster, who was very peaceful and never hurt humans, try to clear his name from this new sea monster until they come face to face. This was another winner, with high entertainment value. The contrast between the two Gargantuas was great, and you've never seen any Kaiju move like these beasts do. They're fast and agile which is a nice change from the slow plodding pace that usually comes to being weighed down with heavy rubber suits.

Today's Rundown
Godzilla vs Hedorah - 7.5/10
Godzilla vs Megalon - 6/10
War Of The Gargantuas - 7/10