KONG: SKULL ISLAND Now In Theatres

The newest King Kong movie, the second in Legendary Pictures' so-called Monsterverse has finally been released, and I went to see it last night at the 7pm premiere at our local AMC Theatre. I have to say, I was not disappointed, it lived up my expectations, unlike their previous GODZILLA (2014). The movie was a new Kong story, not yet another retelling of the original movie, yet still contained a number of nods to them. There was lots of action, and it was also quite intense, with very good fights; Actually some of the violence was a bit more than I'd anticipated. The monsters, for the most part, had interesting designs. The cast was great as well, with many likeable characters, in particular I enjoyed John C. Reilly's performance (as a fan of his Adult Swim show CHECK IT OUT WITH DR. STEVE BRULE). All the humor in the film was used in the right places.

A surprisingly small amount the audience I was with stuck around for the post-credits scene, which does indeed confirm Rodan, Mothra, and King Ghidorah's existence in the Monsterverse (as well as a reference to Godzilla himself, of course). Speaking of the audience, I'm not sure why you'd bring your toddler to this movie, especially when he can't sit down most of the time. Not that he was much of a bother... the people checking their phones were, though.

I wish I were a better movie reviewer, but all I can say is, definitely go see it. It's a lot of fun. And it definitely makes more more optimistic for the upcoming GODZILLA: KING OF THE MONSTERS and GODZILLA VS. KONG. The latter should be a hell of a fight.

Godzilla On SVENGOOLIE All February

Beginning this Saturday, TV horror host Svengoolie kicks off a month of Godzilla films on his show, all notably from the Classic Media lineup. You can find it at 10pm Eastern on MeTV, carried over-the-air by various stations nationwide, so check your local listings. You can see promo videos for the movies at his site linked below.

The schedule is as follows:

02/04: GODZILLA, KING OF THE MONSTERS!
02/11: GODZILLA RAIDS AGAIN
02/18: GODZILLA VS. MOTHRA ('64)
02/25: GODZILLA'S REVENGE

Svengoolie official website
MeTV official website

SHIN GODZILLA In Theatres NOW

Tuesday, October 11 marked the North American theatrical premiere of SHIN GODZILLA (occasionally known as GODZILLA RESURGENCE). I originally saw it the night of the premiere in Shinjuku on July 28 (something I'll detail in the future, as Ive been putting off doing my big write-up of my first trip to Japan). That screening was at 1am, and I had my big tub of Godzilla popcorn, and enjoyed the movie... except for the obvious lack of subtitles. Though I got the gist of the film, I needed a second viewing and better understanding of the plot.

Not long after American theatres started announcing showtimes, I confirmed with my local Alamo Drafthouse that they would be showing it. I knew if any theatre in Kansas City would be showing a movie like this, it would be them. They originally planned three screenings but recently added a fourth. I bought tickets a month in advance and got some prime seats.

I went to the first, Tuesday night screening at 7:30pm. I invited my mom as well, as she is also a fan of Godzilla. Before the movie, the Alamo had their pre-show features, consisting of things like Godzilla trailers, BAMBI MEETS GODZILLA, and other random bits.

Me at the Alamo Drafthouse theatre.

As for the film itself, I can say while I loved the experience of seeing it in Japan, I had a greater appreciation and understanding of it the second time, with subtitles, and anticipating particular scenes so I could pay more attention to the details. When Godzilla's (final form) design was first revealed, I wasn't a huge fan of it, but it's really grown on my since. I'm looking forward to the (hopeful) release of an X-Plus rendition of it. His earlier fo
rms are also quite bizarre, and quite shocking the first time you see them (I had never seen them prior to my first viewing), but are interesting. I'm not sure what, if any, scenes actually used traditional special effects, but either way, I found the effects in general to be very good and convincing. As Toho had touted, the movie has a massive cast of characters and bit players, of them in particular I recognized Akira Emoto who was Akira Yuki in GODZILLA VS. SPACEGODZILLA. The ending, which I won't spoil, came as an abrupt surprise to me, because most discussion about it in the movie I wasn't able to understand.

The score was an interesting one, by Shiro Sagisu, who also scored EVANGELION, but admittedly the only other work of his I'm personally familiar with is his score to MAGICAL SHOPPING ARCADE ABENOBASHI. His music works good in this film, with several very memorable tracks, though a few are a bit repetitive (at least, that's easier to note if you're just listing to the soundtrack CD itself, which I purchased at Tower Records in Shibuya). Stock Ifukube music is used as well (the original tracks, not re-recorded) and used to pretty good effect, culled from GODZILLA '54, KING KONG VS. GODZILLA, TERROR OF MECHAGODZILLA, and interestingly enough, BATTLE FROM OUTER SPACE. The end credits are a compilation of several other Godzilla film themes.

Earlier this year, a so-called company named New World Cinema strongly alluded that they had the rights to SHIN GODZILLA, but that eventually turned out to be a flat-out lie, what they were thinking is beyond me. It was eventually announced, to my surprise, that Funimation had picked up the rights with intent for limited theatrical distribution. As a longtime anime fan, I have plenty of their DVD/BD releases, have seen several theatrical screenings, and met them at conventions; I knew the movie was definitely in competent hands. The subtitles were good; Of course I can't tell for certain if the translation itself was correct, but considering they're in the anime business of decades, I trust them. Of particular issue was the fact there was frequently onscreen text (such as character titles and locations, done to such excess I assumed it may have been an intended joke?). All of these were subtitled alongside the dialogue. Interestingly, after the whole exchange concerning the USA calling the monster Godzilla, and the Japanese "translation" being Gojira, the later is regularly used throughout the rest of the movie. Concerning Funimation's inevitable home video release down the road, my biggest question is whether or not Toho will have them use one of their own international English dubs, or if Funimation will request and/or be allowed to make their own. Funimation's anime dub work is always very good, though I've never heard a live-action film done by them. I've met many of the voice actors that work for them, and some in particular I would love to hear in SHIN GODZILLA.

Overall, it was a great experience. The house was packed, and the audience seemed to love it. My mom liked it, though she says she's still more partial to the older Godzilla. The next couple screenings at the Alamo are rapidly selling out. I'd like to attend one but due to circumstances, it's unlikely. Kudos to Funimation for making this available in the US, especially on the big screen, and so SOON after Japanese release (less than two and a half months!). And a special thank you to Hideaki Anno and Shinji Higuchi, for giving us their unusual, but fantastic and fresh take on Godzilla.

Power Morphicon 5 (2016)

Last weekend I attended Power Morphicon in Pasadena, California. It was the fourth one I've attended of the five held; I wasn't able to go to the first one. I flew out Thursday evening (on Spirit airlines, which was a new experience for me). Fortunately I'd found some good people to stay with at the Sheraton Pasadena, which is right next to the convention center where PMC is held.

Me and Latham Gaines (as Mesogog).

The next morning I was up in time to pick up my badge and other goodies. I'd pre-registered a whole year ago, to get one of the coveted higher-level memberships, in this case Gold Ranger status. This entitled me to extra items and early access to the exhibition hall, and so forth. For lunch I stopped by a nearby (and apparently relatively-new) restaurant called CaliBurger, which was pretty good. I'd go again the next day.

The con opened at 4pm, but for the Gold and Platinum members, we got in at 3, and I made my way right to the guest booths. The first person I got to meet was Justin Nimmo, who played Zhane the Silver Ranger in POWER RANGERS IN SPACE. I am an avid collector of Power Rangers, kaiju, and anime autographs, so meeting the guests and getting signed photos is the highlight of the con for me. As a huge fan of the villains, I was very happy to finally meet Latham Gaines (Mesogog/Anton Mercer), Paul Freeman (Ivan Ooze), Kate Sheldon (Nadira), and Carla Perez (Rita Repulsa in the American footage). I surprised Valerie Landon (Kendrix the Pink Galaxy Ranger) with a photo of a monster she voiced, Contemptra, and she said she'd never been asked to sign one before. That evening, I attended the villains panel, which seemed better moderated than last time, though a few attending villain-actors weren't present. It was still very enjoyable. Later on there was a trivia contest, which somehow I managed to emerge as the first place winner, if not only only for my knowledge of the villains and monsters.

Zyuranger henshin.

The next day I was up early to ensure I got a wristband that entitled me to attend the POWER RANGERS DINO CHARGE cast signing. I attended the DINO CHARGE panel, where they (as hoped by many) revealed the cast for next year's NINJA STEEL, followed by the ZYURANGER panel, which was also informative and entertaining. It was great to see the (partial) cast of this Sentai do their henshin and battle poses.

The DINO CHARGE signing was then held, and everyone got an exclusive poster to be signed by the seven attending Dino Charge Rangers; However, with permission, I also got individual photos I brought from home signed as well, a two for one deal! After meeting more guests, I went to the cosplay contest. There were some pretty impressive costumes, winners included the Dino Megazord, Dragonzord, and Claw Battlezord. To finish off the evening in a very non-Power Rangers way, I went to the nearby theatre to see SAUSAGE PARTY (it was hilarious).

Claw Battlezord, Dino Megazord, and Blue Senturion cosplayers.

Sunday morning, I walked (argh!) all the way to the Westin Hotel, where the Gold/Platinum breakfast was being held. You had to pay extra for this and could only get it as a Gold/Platinum member. Each table got a random guest to eat with, the one at our table was Jack Guzman (Danny the Black Wild Force Ranger) who was entertaining to talk to.

After breakfast, I returned to the convention center, where I would finally get the chance to meet the Japanese guests from ZYURANGER and DAIRANGER. I also got to meet Tsutomu Kitagawa again, who I previously met at G-FEST. He's best known for his work as Godzilla in five of the Millennium series films, as well as Super Sentai stunt-work. However, I was after a signed photo of him as Cretaceous King Ghidorah this time, as I already have a few signed Godzilla items. All of the Japanese guests were awesome and an honor to meet.

Tsutomu Kitagawa (Godzilla, stunt Shishi Ranger), me, and Keiichi Wada (Ryuu Ranger).

I finally got to meet voice actor Lex Lang, who, due to unfortunate circumstances, couldn't make it to the con until Sunday. He was the voice of Ecliptor, Rygog, Louie Kaboom, Zen-Aku, and Lerigot,  the former four of whom I got signed photos of.

I then spent a while stalking the silent auctions. They had two figured of the DINO CHARGE villain Curio, who is difficult to find in stores. They had two of them as one auction lot, one being the US version, and the other the (for some reason) differently named UK version. They sold for an amazingly low $20. I had no cash left, and very little money to speak of. I waited until the winning bidder showed up. I started to haggle, saying if he wanted to sell one, I could offer a very small amount if he took Paypal... He GAVE the US one to me. Turns out he only really wanted the UK one... THANK YOU, SIR. I was so grateful. Wanting to end the con on a high note, I headed back to the hotel to finish packing my stuff, and made my way to the airport. I didn't want another debacle like last time.... but that's a whole other, unfortunate story.

Dino Charge Rangers at the Bandai booth.

Overall, another GREAT Power Morphicon, and I hope they'll be having it again in two years. I can almost assure you I'll be there.

THE RETURN OF GODZILLA On BD/DVD September 13

Image Copyright Section23 Films & Kraken Releasing

Kraken Releasing, a label of Section23 Films, will release THE RETURN OF GODZILLA to Blu-ray and DVD on September 13. This will mark the first release of any version of this film in North America in nineteen years, since Anchor Bay released GODZILLA 1985 on VHS. GODZILLA 1985 was my first Godzilla film and remains one of my favorites to this day, in either of its forms. Sadly, this release will not include that cut, which featured additional scenes with Raymond Burr, not-so-subtle Dr. Pepper plugs, and other edits. While its exclusion is unfortunate, it's great this film is finally seeing any sort of release in the USA. Now, every Godzilla film is available on DVD here.

Like many others, I ordered from a particular retailer, and obtained my copy early. I'm pretty happy with the final product. The video is about on par with the Japanese Blu-ray release, and while far from perfect, is pretty serviceable. Kraken interestingly chose to go with 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio for both Japanese and English languages, no other option is provided. The English dub is a new mix, combining the international dub dialogue track (previously released only outside the US) inserted into the newer 5.1 sound effect and music remix. Both sound pretty good. Perhaps this is what should have been done when GODZILLA VS. BIOLLANTE was released a few years ago.

The subtitles have proven to be the source of a bit of controversy. The subs are "locked", in that you can't remove them via remote nor menu. You have two choices on the menu, Japanese language audio with full subtitles (dialogue and onscreen text), or English audio with only onscreen text (title, locations, etc.) subtitles. Either way, while the film plays, you can't disable them via the remote or toggle the subs or audio. This has become increasingly common on recent anime releases, from both Section23 and others, and I believe it's to discourage reverse importing back to Japan. I don't see this as much of a problem, personally. As far as the quality of the subs they seem pretty good, and Kraken does what Section23 (and ADV Films before it) does well, providing very full and detailed onscreen subtitling, with a variety of fonts and colors. Not many companies go to that kind of trouble.

Image Copyright Toho Co. Ltd.

The extras are few, but having anything at all is welcome. The original full theatrical trailer (not the teaser), fully subtitled. Trailer for Kraken's other three G-films are provided as well: EBIRAH - HORROR OF THE DEEP, GODZILLA VS. GIGAN, and GODZILLA VS. HEDORAH.

The package art matches their previous releases, using the original photo-style theatrical poster on the front. Personally I'm not a big fan of the sensationalistic taglines they've used for their Godzilla releases, but I guess, whatever helps sell more of these things.

Overall, I find this to be a pretty pleasing release. Yes, is could have more extras, and the American cut is glaringly absent. But it's not like they didn't try. This was made by fans for fans, and I recommend adding it to your collection today.

To get it NOW, head over the The Right Stuf:

Blu-ray
DVD