tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2614854030816680962024-03-13T08:58:35.682-07:00The Good, The Bad and The Magnificentfilm reviews of the better and worseDChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02080874750725942167noreply@blogger.comBlogger127125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-261485403081668096.post-35407376966316098722014-10-31T12:17:00.001-07:002014-10-31T22:28:30.121-07:00V/H/S (2012)NIGHT 13<br />
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HAPPY HALLOWEEN! <br />
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<i> "He said I'd know which tape it was.</i><i>.."</i></h3>
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<span lang="fr"><i>V/H/S</i></span> (2012)<i> </i>is the first in a new series of anthology horror film made up of five found footage stories all from different up and coming horror directors.<br />
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The framing story involves some very shady teens who are sneaking into a house to try and find a specific VHS tape, when they get inside what they find is a corpse and a whole collection of weird VHS tapes.<br />
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Over all I liked each of the stories in V/H/S, though they're filled with what I affectionately call "logic holes," they're all very enjoyable, and clever in their own right.<br />
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The bad thing about this film is most of the stories are trying so hard to be clever that they don't make sense if you step back and think about the story. This ties into the problem I have with most found footage films, that they don't make a lot of logical sense as far as why someone would record each instance. I think the second story "Second Honey" is a perfect example of this, there's no reason the girl would record any of the events of the story especially since (SPOILER FOLLOWS) she's the one doing all the weird stuff. And they try to make up for it with one line at the end, "did you erase the tape?" but that doesn't explain why she would record it in the first place. This is a fine example of what most of these stories do is put the clever twist above the actual story in the films.<br />
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And I really dislike the framing story, its simple sure but it's poorly shot (on purpose) it makes the mistakes mentioned above (suddenly switching to multiple camera's with no explanation?), it's uncomfortable (the amateur porn angle) and it's just kind of bland and super horror movie-esque, it's not creepy and it's not new or interesting. So it basically steps in all of the wholes the film was trying to avoid.<br />
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I absolutely love the first short. I'm sad it's the first one, cause then everything else seems downhill from there, but at least the whole thing starts with a bang. It's a new spin on horror, something you don't see hardly ever and it's sexy, it's scary and it's just really cool too!<br />
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Also throughout this whole film the effects are great, it's mostly old school (practical/don't show too much) with only the slightest amount of CG for little things and touch-ups.<br />
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<i>V/H/S </i>(2012),
is a return to the anthology horror format. I like how it's success suddenly has more people talking about the older films, and while I don't exactly love this one, its really not bad at all! <br />
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3.5/5 Stars.<br />
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Happy watching!<br />
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This is the last review of my 2014 run of <a href="http://gbandm.blogspot.com/search/label/13%20Nights%20of%20Macabre" target="_blank">13 Nights of Macabre Movies</a>! Be safe out there tonight, and see you next year!<br />
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DChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02080874750725942167noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-261485403081668096.post-41996015109905510122014-10-30T22:08:00.003-07:002014-10-31T22:26:15.908-07:00The ABCs of Death (2012)NIGHT 12 <br />
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<i> "It's not my fault you got the letter 'Q.'</i><i>"</i></h3>
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<span lang="fr"><i>The ABCs of Death</i></span> (2012)<i> </i>is an international horror anthology film produced by The Alamo Drafthouse containing 26 separate segments from different directors all involving involving death and a letter of the alphabet.<br />
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I really like the concept of this film. It's a good idea, and it's an idea that make you go, "yeah that's cool, I think I'd like to check that out!" Unfortunately the end result isn't as good as it is on paper but It's still interesting, and I don't regret watching it at all.<br />
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There's no host or framing convention to this film, but instead at the end of each short they tell you the title of the film and the letter of the alphabet it represents. I thought this was a really clever way to present the films. And while I think some filmmakers used this better than others it gives the viewer something to focus on a look forward to as they're watching these strange, weird short films.<br />
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Some of the solidly good stories I liked include, H is for Hydro-Electric Diffusion, K is for Klutz, L is for Libido, T is for Toilet and X is for XXL.<br />
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Sadly because all the films are so uneven as a result this film is uneven. I think the only way to fix that would be to filter the films or give the flimmakers more of a specific prompt, but I can understand why they wouldn't want to do that in order to keep the filmmakers' product very pure, so the film is uneven.<br />
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The thing I didn't like about this film most was as a result of all of the films being about "death" the majority ended up being either really gross or really weird (or both!) which aren't exactly the types of horror films I enjoy watching. I felt these films over all were lacking any real good narratives and characters. Most of them are either just very basic (person kills another person) or so freaking strange that I have no idea what the meaning was. And a couple of the films are so freaking dark I almost wish I hadn't watched them. But if you like watching people (and things) die, this is definitely the film for you.<br />
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The stories I didn't care for the most were: R is for Removed, P is for Pressure, W is for WTF!, Y is for Young Buck.<br />
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The thing with asking 26 directors to make films is you're bound to get a couple good ones out of it. So at least there's that.<br />
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And a good thing about the film is the mix of stories, no two in it are that incredibly similar. And most of them are vastly different from each other. The amount of creativity you will witness in two hours is really something to marvel at.<br />
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The stories I really liked best in this film are, J is for Jidai-geki, N is for Nupitals and S is for Speed.<br />
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<i>The ABCs of Death </i>(2012),
is cool concept. But it's kind of a hard watch. I found it kind of feels like spending all day at a short film festival. The films are that all over the place, try watching it in parts if possible!<br />
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3/5 Stars.<br />
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Happy watching!<br />
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This review is part of my 2014 run of <a href="http://gbandm.blogspot.com/search/label/13%20Nights%20of%20Macabre" target="_blank">13 Nights of Macabre Movies</a>! Tune in tomorrow
as I review the final film of my series this season, <i>V/H/S</i> (2012).<br />
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DChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02080874750725942167noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-261485403081668096.post-10999678987011376892014-10-29T22:46:00.001-07:002014-10-29T22:47:34.778-07:00Trick 'r Treat (2007)NIGHT 11 <br />
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<i> "You should be more careful, there are rules...</i><i>"</i></h3>
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<span lang="fr"><i>Trick 'r Treat</i></span> (2007)<i> </i>Canadian horror anthology film produced by Bryan Singer and directed by Michael Dougherty.<br />
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The film contains four stories all taking place on Halloween night in a small town in Ohio. The stories over lap and all have the common thread of a mysterious small trick or treater named Sam who is witnessing all of the events of the story.<br />
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The acting in this movie is really good across the board, its almost a perfect mix of lesser known but very capable actors and actors you've never seen in your life that are quite good. Even the actors I realized aren't doing anything too far out of their usual range, but they're used effectively and each is playing a slight variation on what I've seen them do before.<br />
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Honestly I don't think there's anything 'bad' about this movie, but this is the best spot to drop one observation I thought of during this film. The only problem with all of these stories taking place in the same small town blocks away from each other on the same night is that multiplied against the horror film trope that people die in every story (even if they're not always the people you think who are going to die!) but all I started to think about is how the police department the next morning is going to have so many victims and missing persons that it's ridiculous. I guess that speaks to how realistic a lot of the violence and terror is portrayed in the film, so much so that I'm thinking about the police phones ringing off the hook the next morning!<br />
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The cinematography and direction are really good in this film, everything is lit perfectly the camera work is so effective that I was holding my breath during certain scenes and sequences. I think I want to watch this movie like ten more times just to study it honestly, that's how good I think this movie is.<br />
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I love how this film is a refreshingly new take on something as old as the anthology horror film. This is the eleventh anthology film I've reviewed this season with movies spanning over 50 years and this film is such a breath of fresh air! I love the way the stories over lap, sometimes in a way that you're not actually sure what story you're following until the film turns down a path and yet every character who's introduced is then reintroduced in a new light and paid off in an effective way by the end of the film.<br />
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The script is super clever I love how this film is really effective at taking you down a route in each story and when you think you know what's coming next the film then turns in an interesting way and pays it off effectively so that the twists don't seem forced or gimmicky. I like how this film has a variety of stories, it has a clever new take on a vampire story, it involves a serial killer and it has elements like the school bus sequence that are so dark I really worry for the mind of writer/director Michael Dougherty.<br />
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The last thing I have to mention about this film that I love so much is Sam. The framing device/character. I love everything about Sam and the way the film used him! The origin of this story started when Michael Dougherty was an animation student and he came up with the realization that Halloween is one of the few holidays that doesn't have a main character to represent it. Thus Sam the strange trick or treater was born and honestly, the way he was used and how well this character was thought out, I actually believe now that Sam is the representing character for my favorite holiday. It's a bold undertaking to come up with something like that and I really think Michael Dougherty pulled it off. I love the way this film uses him though because not only is he the one element every story has in common but the final story is effectively his story and as they wrap up the film they effectively tell you about Sam (as much as I want to know anyways) and tie it all into the point and the main theme of the movie. That's what makes this an effective film.<br />
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<i>Trick 'r Treat </i>(2007),
is a real treat of a film. It's everything I wanted in an anthology horror film. It uses the format, it does it well and it does it's own thing at the same time. Honestly I feel like I could talk about this film all day.<br />
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5/5 Stars.<br />
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Happy watching!<br />
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<br />
This review is part of my 2014 run of <a href="http://gbandm.blogspot.com/search/label/13%20Nights%20of%20Macabre" target="_blank">13 Nights of Macabre Movies</a>! Tune in tomorrow
as check out another different take on the standard anthology structure with <i>The ABCs of Death</i> (2012).<br />
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<br /></iframe>DChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02080874750725942167noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-261485403081668096.post-85701514986157636812014-10-28T22:54:00.003-07:002014-10-28T22:57:27.976-07:00Peur(s) du noir (2007)NIGHT 10 <br />
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<i> "You have to see your dream through to the end, if you want to be cured.</i><i>"</i></h3>
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<span lang="fr"><i>Peur(s) du noir</i></span> (2007) [<i>Fear(s) of the Dark</i>] is a French, animated, horror anthology film.<br />
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This film contains four animated stories all written and directed by noted comic book and graphic designers and presented in high contrast black and white.<br />
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One thing I like about this film is the stories are all very solid stories, each playing with the concept and representing different takes on <i>fear</i>. Even if you don't like one short the others are varied enough that you're bound to find something you like in this film.<br />
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I'm not sure I understand the layout and framework of this film, to be truthful. The true framing story is just an old woman talking about her fears, which kind of ties into the short that follows? But then there's a second framing story that is simple, it's just a man unleashing each of his dogs on different victims (not seeming to care much). But the weird thing is that both of these frame stories not only continue throughout the film, they interrupt the other three stories in the film for little or no reason? Honestly there might be a reason to it, but the way it seemed to me was the "walking the dog" story didn't have enough actual content on it's own so they decided to spread it out through out the rest of the film?<br />
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I also think too much of this film instead of trying to be scary just ends up trying to be as weird as possible. Not that this is a bad thing, but having worked with animators quite a bit I know this is actually just because <i>animators</i> are the weirdest people you will ever meet and more often than not, their shorts seem to reflect that. I would have preferred to see at least one short try to be as terrifying as possible.<br />
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And like most anthology films, despite this film's unique take on the concept, it still ends up being really uneven. Some stories actually have a really good story, while others are just a small concept and others are so bat-shit weird that they'll leave you scratching your head.<br />
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I think the most interesting thing about this film is the concept. I loved the idea of this film when I heard about it, and I think they pulled off the concept very well. I really love how the film uses a variety of different animation mediums with each film. It's a unique take on the anthology horror film, it just seems to fall victim to the problems with animated shorts and anthology films at the same time.<br />
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The best thing about this film over all is the design work in it. Even if you watch this film on mute you'll be blown away by how good the designs are. This film contains some of the best design work I've seen in a film (animated or otherwise) in years! It's really a thing to marvel at. These guys are graphic artists and they certainly can prove it.<br />
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I also really liked the 3rd story (or is it 4th?) directed byh Lorenzo Mattotti, about the mysterious beast mauling people in the French countryside. This short was my favorite by far. It's wonderfully animated, it has a very interesting story and it is very cinematic too.<br />
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<i>Fear(s) of the Dark </i>(2007), is a very interesting film, it's a mixed bag but you're bound to find something you like in it. And the design work through out makes the whole experience worth it.<br />
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4/5 Stars.<br />
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Happy watching!<br />
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<br />
This review is part of my 2014 run of <a href="http://gbandm.blogspot.com/search/label/13%20Nights%20of%20Macabre" target="_blank">13 Nights of Macabre Movies</a>! Tune in tomorrow
as I review a Canadian anthology horror film from the same year, <i>Trick 'r Treat</i> (2007).<br />
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Like this blog? You can support it by buying this film through these fine links:
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</iframe>DChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02080874750725942167noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-261485403081668096.post-66804451503146836792014-10-27T19:36:00.000-07:002014-10-27T19:36:14.520-07:00Hood of Horror (2006)NIGHT 9 <br />
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<i> "</i><i>Man, go f*ck yourself. N*gga!"</i></h3>
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<i>Hood of Horror</i> (2006), sometimes known as <i>Snoop Dogg's Hood of Horror</i>, is an anthology horror film that is a cross between <a href="http://gbandm.blogspot.com/2014/10/tales-from-crypt-1972.html"><i>Tales of the Crypt</i></a> (1972), <a href="http://gbandm.blogspot.com/2014/10/creepshow-1982.html"><i>Creepshow</i></a> (1982) and <i>Tales from the Hood</i> (1995<i>. </i><br />
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The story presents three "urban" African American-themed stories spun together with a framing story starring a fictional Snoop Dogg, in his new job as a "hound of hell."<i> </i> <br />
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One thing I can say about this movie is that it is an interesting concept. This is why I was curious enough to check it out, and I can't say I was disappointment it was actually very interesting in the end.<br />
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I really didn't care for the stories presented here, but then again I'm not really the target audience so I'm not sure how much my opinion really matters at all truthfully. I liked the concept of the first story "<i>Crossed Out,</i>" which was probably my favorite but I felt the morals trying to be presented were very muddy to say the least. I feel it could have been done a lot better. Likewise I felt the concept of "<i>Rapsody Askew</i>" was an interesting choice for the film, but there really wasn't a whole lot to it. One simple twist and then you're yawning through it. Most of the stories felt like there really just wasn't enough content to them. The movie is 88 minutes, but you factor in the added gore and sex, the long opening titles, the ten-minute rap music video they called credits and there's not much real content in the film.<br />
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The other reason the stories stunk was their gratuitous amounts of added gore and sex, they really seemed to go over board in these departments. And it weighs down the stories, feels unnecessary as they do it, and not to mention is highly unrealistic!<br />
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The framing story here is also down right terrible. I think(?) what they're trying to be clever and point out a parallel between <i>the hood</i> and purgatory? But it's all very heavy handed and not well pulled off. Why was the dwarf Satan? Because it'd be funny? Why was the dwarf vomiting all the time? Same reason.<br />
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The acting in this film is across the board terrible. I don't know who thought Snoop Dogg could act (probably Snoop?) But even the actors who can act like Jason Alexander and Billy Dee Williams end up in these very cartoony roles that are just plain silly.<br />
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Even though I don't listen to much Rap or Hip hop I must admit I thought the soundtrack to this film was quite good! Probably the worst song was Snoop's film tie-in but I'm willing to let that pass. I actually don't know why more films don't use Hip hop soundtracks, it can be very cinematic and definitely set a mood just as well as anything else.<br />
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I also really enjoyed the opening animated sequence, which was a collaboration by Madhouse and Titmouse, two of the best animation studios in the industry right now. I wish this was on a better film, but at least it improved the film, and gave a little more weight to Snoop's "acting."<br />
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<i>Hood of Horror </i>(2006), did not grab me at all. But I found it interesting to say the least.<br />
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2/5 Stars.<br />
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Happy watching!<br />
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This review is part of my 2014 run of <a href="http://gbandm.blogspot.com/search/label/13%20Nights%20of%20Macabre" target="_blank">13 Nights of Macabre Movies</a>! Tune in tomorrow
as I review another different take on the anthology horror film, tomorrow I review the fully animated, French film <i>Fear(s) of the Dark</i> (2007).<br />
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DChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02080874750725942167noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-261485403081668096.post-77665260538653756732014-10-26T17:16:00.004-07:002014-10-26T17:16:49.481-07:00Tales from the Darkside: The Movie (1990)NIGHT 8 <br />
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<i> "</i><i>Had to stop reading twice cause it got me so scared."</i></h3>
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<i>Tales from the Darkside: The Movie</i> (1990), is an anthology horror film based on the popular <i>Tales from the Darkside</i> television series. Like the series, this film's stories are partially based off the works of famous authors, and even stars Deborah Harry, Christian Slater and William Hickey who all previously had appeared in episodes of the series.<br />
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This film is strongly connected to the <i>Creepshow </i>series of films. When the first <a href="http://gbandm.blogspot.com/2014/10/creepshow-1982.html">Creepshow</a> (1982) was a moderate success this led to the possibility of turning <i>Creepshow</i> into a series. The producers of the original film, Laurel Entertainment, decided to move ahead without Warner Brothers who owned aspects of <i>Creepshow</i>, and thus was born the popular series <i>Tales from the Darkside</i>. When the series was ended their was still demand so they began working on a film version and even included a story written by George A. Romero (and based off a Stephen King short story) that was written for <a href="http://gbandm.blogspot.com/2014/10/creepshow-2-1987.html"><i>Creepshow 2</i></a> (1987), but was cut for budgetary reasons. There happens to be an unofficial sequel to <i>Creepshow 2</i> but Tom Savini has been quoted as saying that <i>Tales from the Darkside: The Movie</i> is "the real <i>Creepshow 3</i>."<br />
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The acting in this movie is really great, every story has a
handful of some of the greatest actors working in the late 80s and this
alone makes the film a lot stronger than the others I'm reviewing this
season. When you're watching "<i>Lot 249</i>," you'll be blow away by all of the great actors in it.<br />
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I really like the stories chosen for this film. Much like <i>Creepshow 2</i>, the selection of three stories over five really helps give time for the film to develop the characters and give the viewer a chance to breathe in the world. My favorite story of the bunch is easily <i>"Lot 249</i>" adapted from a short story by Arthur Conan Doyle. This is easily one of the best mummy depictions I've ever seen on screen. This film also has a unique thing I'd never seen before and that is the story "<i>Cat From Hell</i>" is told as a framed story but it's also within the greater framed story of the film. Which if you think about it too long it may hurt your head, but regardless it's quite successful. Just pointing out my observation of how unique that is.<br />
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Sadly I didn't enjoy the third story, <i>"Lover's Vow,</i>" as much as I did the others, which is really unfortunate because it's the final story of the film. It's really not a bad story at all, but it's a lot slower and really doesn't have a lot of "horror" in it. It takes forever to build to it's twist, then has the kind of twist that's not super satisfying in the end which just kind of leaves a bad taste in your mouth.<br />
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I also have one gripe about the framing story. I wish the framing story connected better with the actual stories, if you think about these stories as if the young boy was telling them you will quickly realize that there's no way a ten-year-old boy would comprehend the complex themes and social connections of the characters within the stories, maybe this is just me being too picky but this is the kind of stuff that really takes me out of the movie.<br />
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Despite the stories not fitting the framing story as I mentioned, I must say that this film has one of the best framing stories that I have come across yet in an anthology horror film. A suburban witch has a young paper boy locked up and he is telling her stories to try to distract her. I love how simple this idea is, it's essentially an update of the Hansel & Gretel story, nothing fancy at all and yet it's dark as hell. It adds another layer to this movie that really makes this film stand out from the rest!<br />
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This film reminds me of <i>Creepshow 2,</i> the way it has a lot less makeup and special effects than many films I've reviewed this season, but when <i>Darkside </i>does use them they are absolutely amazing!! My absolute favorite effect is the second to last kill in the second story "<i>Cat from Hell.</i>" It's so gruesome and unnecessary but it adds a level of morbid to the story that really makes the story fit the others in the film. This film could be a prime example of why practical effects trump CG almost every time.<br />
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And lastly I love the direction in this film. I don't know how it's possible that this film has better direction than the <i>Creepshow</i> films, but it totally does. This was director John Harrison's first film he directed and he apparently really knew what he was doing. The film's direction is really creepy, and really adds the "scare" to each story. I love the way he uses light and color, particularly in the story "<i>Cat from Hell</i>" but also throughout. <br />
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<i>Tales from the Darkside: The Movie</i> (1987), in many ways it surpasses the other <i>Creepshow</i> films, and is a great anthology horror film in its own right.<br />
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4/5 Stars.<br />
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Happy watching!<br />
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This review is part of my 2014 run of <a href="http://gbandm.blogspot.com/search/label/13%20Nights%20of%20Macabre" target="_blank">13 Nights of Macabre Movies</a>! Tune in tomorrow
as I review a much different take on the horror anthology with Snoop Dogg's <i>Hood of Horror </i>(2006).<br />
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<br /></iframe>DChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02080874750725942167noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-261485403081668096.post-67382724339411459032014-10-25T21:59:00.000-07:002014-10-26T00:58:14.179-07:00Creepshow 2 (1987)NIGHT 7 <br />
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<i> "</i><i>Thanks for the ride, lady"</i></h3>
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<i>Creepshow 2 </i>(1987) is an anthology horror film sequel to <a href="http://gbandm.blogspot.com/2014/10/creepshow-1982.html"><i>Creepshow</i></a> (1982). <i>Creepshow 2</i> is directed by Michael Gornick who was George A. Romero's cinematographer on the original <i>Creepshow</i>.<br />
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<i>Creepshow 2</i> contains three stories written by George A. Romero and based on Stephen King short stories. It also has a strange mostly animated framing story that follows around a boy who reads the (fictional) <i>Creepshow</i> comic.<br />
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The makeup and special effects in this film are definately not as good as the original, but they're not at all bad either. I think my favorite thing was the lake monster, I have no idea how they did that and it looked amazing. I also love the way they did the makeup on people when it attacked so it looked like it was eating the flesh right off of them. Really awesome stuff!<br />
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The acting is good all across the board here (which seems kind of rare for an anthology film.) Every actor in the film seemed to have a good casual acting and then then also a good 'scared' acting too, which sounds weird to say but sadly I've noticed in a lot of horror films the actors are pretty bad at pretending they're freaked out.<br />
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The worst thing about the writing in this film is the dialogue. It's clunky, people say stuff no one would really say out loud and worst of all it throws off the otherwise capable actors.<br />
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I like the fact that this film has an animated framing story, I just have no idea what the point was! The animation itself is actually quite terrible, and the story just kind of meanders and follows this boy and doesn't really have a point to it.<br />
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My favorite thing about this movie are the stories. This film only has three stories and they're definitely quality over quantity. It helps to have three stories because they get a full thirty minutes each and nothing seems rushed, and you have plenty of time to get to know the characters. They all kind of fall into the horror movie stock ending of "and everybody died!" but at least its fun along the way getting there. I think my favorite story was <i>The Raft</i> but they're all very enjoyable. I think this is the first time since <a href="http://gbandm.blogspot.com/2014/10/tales-from-crypt-1972.html"><i>Tales from the Crypt</i></a> (1972) that a movie on this list actually seemed to capture the same feeling as reading the old EC Comics stories that a bunch of these movies are tributes to, so in that regard this film is definitely more successful than the original <i>Creepshow</i>.<br />
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I'm in the minority that thinks that<i> Creepshow 2</i> (1987) is far better than the original. I think I like the concept of the original <i>Creepshow</i>, but I think it was pulled off a lot more successfully in <i>Creepshow 2</i>.<br />
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3.5/5 Stars.<br />
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Happy watching!<br />
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<br />
This review is part of my 2014 run of <a href="http://gbandm.blogspot.com/search/label/13%20Nights%20of%20Macabre" target="_blank">13 Nights of Macabre Movies</a>! Tune in tomorrow
as I review the (widely accepted) unofficial sequel to this film <i>Tales from the Darkside: The Movie</i> .<br />
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<br /></iframe>DChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02080874750725942167noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-261485403081668096.post-51381611683250152142014-10-24T18:19:00.000-07:002014-10-24T18:19:33.657-07:00Twilight Zone: The Movie (1983)NIGHT 6 <br />
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<i> "</i><i>Did you ever watch The Twilight Zone?"</i></h3>
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<i>Twilight Zone: The Movie</i> (1983), is an anthology film produced by Steven Spielberg and John Landis and is a theatrical version of the the long running <i>Twilight Zone</i> series.<br />
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The film contains four stories and a prologue, all the stories are based on episodes from the original series except the first and even that resembles a couple different old episodes. The stories are directed by John Landis, Stephen Spielberg, Joe Dante and George Miller.<br />
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One of the consistently good things about Twilight Zone: The Movie is its direction. This is the one way the stories consistently top their original television episodes. These are all good and well seasoned directors well along in their careers by the time they came together to make this and it shows.<br />
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These are fair adaptations of the original stories, I still have some preferences that go back to the original series episodes, but I think that comes from my personal attachment to the Rod Serling series (and I'm sure I'm not the only one who feels that way.)<br />
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The first story after the prologue, "<i>Time Out</i>" is the only original story of the lot and I feel like it shows. It's not really bad, but it's just clearly not as good as the others. It seems very surface level, I think what it's missing is a resolution with the main characters, I think if this was an original series episode we'd see the main character have a complete change on screen whether (its too late or not.) This one just seems super unsatisfying.<br />
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Meridith Burgess, who starred in four separate episodes of the original series, does most of the narration in the film filling the Rod Serling role of the series and I think she really nails it. She somehow does her own thing with it and still subtly suggests Rod Serling's voice over. Steven Speilberg or whoever made that decision really nailed it.<br />
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The other thing I really like about this film is that their selections of stories, and variety of tones really do feel like the perfect tribute to <i>The Twilight Zone</i> series!<br />
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<i>Twlight Zone: The Movie</i> (1983) is a bold undertaking that is largely successful. It's totally worth a watch. <br />
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3.5/5 Stars.<br />
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Happy watching!<br />
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This review is part of my 2014 run of <a href="http://gbandm.blogspot.com/search/label/13%20Nights%20of%20Macabre" target="_blank">13 Nights of Macabre Movies</a>! Tune in tomorrow
as I review another horror anthology sequel <i>Creepshow 2</i> (1987).<br />
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<br /></iframe>DChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02080874750725942167noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-261485403081668096.post-39311846076178273322014-10-23T19:43:00.002-07:002014-10-23T19:49:38.067-07:00Creepshow (1982)NIGHT 5 <br />
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<i> "</i><i>You can't shoot us dead, Richard... "</i></h3>
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<i>Creepshow</i> (1982), is a horror anthology film written by Stephen King and directed by George A. Romero. The film contains five stories that are inspired by the EC Comics horror publications.<br />
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The film is connected by a brightly animated sequences and bookended by a an additional story about a young boy who is not allowed to read a horror comic called Creepshow.<br />
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Nearly the first thing you will notice about <i>Creepshow</i> is that it contains these flashy comic book style animated sequences and transitions. All of this stuff works, it's a bit over the top, I'm not sure these brightly color animated sequences best represent the black and white horror comics this film is trying to pay tribute to? It can just be a little over the top is all I'm saying, 'we get it.... it's a comic book.'<br />
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The stories in <i>Creepshow </i>aren't bad, like the rest of the film they're over-the-top and sadly they kind of fall into the problem of being very bland because they're trying to represent all-too familiar horror tropes, without adding anything new. Honestly this film would have been better if they just stuck to actual EC Comics stories either literally [much like <a href="http://gbandm.blogspot.com/2014/10/tales-from-crypt-1972.html"><i>Tales from the Crypt</i> </a>(1972)] or just adapted them from the seed of a comic story. What's weird is the dialogue throughout is very what I would call 'young slang,' this is far different than the tone of the original comics so I have to wonder what Mr. King was trying to do? Was he trying to attract a young audience for the film with silly dialogue? "Meteor shit!"<br />
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I like George Romero's direction in this film. It's very simple, nothing is really that complicated or unique but its all very straight forward and effective. He does one really interesting that you may not even notice on the first watch, every time he's showing something supernatural he adds an unnatural light to the characters and the scene much like what Mario Bava did on <a href="http://gbandm.blogspot.com/2014/10/black-sabbath-1964.html"><i>Black Sabbath</i> </a>(1964) over twenty years before. I'm not sure Romero was copying Bava because they both use it differently, but the end result really does help link the film together with it's brightly colored animated sequences.<br />
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The worst and most over-the-top thing about this film is the zany acting. All of the characters don't act like humans, which is not only distracting but it makes it hard to relate to them. As a viewer you end up laughing more, which I'm not sure was the original intention, but I think this is why the film is such a cult classic among horror fans.<br />
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My favorite things about the film are makeup special effects and props. I'm not sure if it's because this is the first film on my list that was created in the 80s or if its because a young Tom Savini was in charge of them? Either way its definitely a good reason to check out the film and makes me sad that they don't belong in a more 'serious' horror film, rather than the madcap film that is <i>Creepshow</i>.<br />
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<i>Creepshow</i> (1982) folds under any kind of a critical eye, but it makes up for a lot of that by being a whole bunch of fun.<br />
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3/5 Stars.<br />
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Happy watching!<br />
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<br />
This review is part of my 2014 run of <a href="http://gbandm.blogspot.com/search/label/13%20Nights%20of%20Macabre" target="_blank">13 Nights of Macabre Movies</a>! Tune in tomorrow
as I review the film version of <i>The Twilight Zone</i> produced by Stephen Spielberg and John Landis, <i>Twilight Zone: The Movie</i> (1983).<br />
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<br /></iframe>DChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02080874750725942167noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-261485403081668096.post-86572214994244265862014-10-22T19:15:00.005-07:002014-10-22T19:15:51.147-07:00The Vault of Horror (1973)NIGHT 4<br />
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<i> "</i><i>Do you think that our fears, could be some kind of warning?"</i></h3>
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<i>The Vault of Horror</i> (1973), also known as <i>Vault of Horror, Further Tales from the Crypt </i>and<i> Tales from the Crypt II</i>, is a British anthology film directed by Roy Ward Baker and produced by Amicus Productions. This is the sequel to Amicus' <a href="http://gbandm.blogspot.com/2014/10/tales-from-crypt-1972.html"><i>Tales from the Crypt</i></a> (1972), and like that film <i>The Vault of Horror</i> contains five stories almost entirely taken from the pages of the long-running <i>Tales from the Crypt</i> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EC_Comics" target="_blank">EC Comics</a> anthology.<br />
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Five men walk into an elevator, which then goes directly to the basement floor despite no one pressing it. When it opens they find a gentleman's club, and they find themselves 'trapped' there. Making the most of it they sit down and have a drink and start to talk, each man starts to talk about strange dreams they've been having recently.<br />
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The stories in <i>Vault of Horror</i> are all quite good, much like <i>Tales from the Crypt</i> they picked stories that translate well on screen. The direction in them is less good than that of the previous movie, but it is effective. I think my favorite story is the second one, "Midnight Mess" it's simple and silly and very amusing.<br />
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The acting here is not bad over all, if anything it leans on the bland if nothing else it starts to blend together but that's more to do with the casting, but more on that in a second. Sadly this is the only Amicus Horror anthology that doesn't have Peter Cushing, and it could have probably benefited from his consistently strong performances. Instead, here we have Tom Baker, (Yes, Whovians the fourth Doctor!), and while he's about as diverse as the cast gets (because his hair isn't gray?) his acting saves a story that I probably wouldn't have like otherwise! <br />
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One of the things I can't not see about this film is how it seems mildly sexist. At the very least this film should be an argument for diversity in casting, because I can't imagine a film with a cast made up of a bunch of old white men really getting that diverse of a following. I'm even a (soon to be old) white man and I felt dirty watching this!<br />
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The framing story of this movie is quite boring if you've seen <i>Tales from the Crypt</i>, which okay yes I did watch them back to back but the films came out a year apart in their original release, so I can't imagine many people saw these movies farther apart than that! It's the SAME exact formula only done worse because there's no Crypt Keeper! It's like they set out to do something different but in the end just looked at the original and copied it point by point.<br />
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The Greatest thing about <i>The Vault of Horror</i> is the way the stories ramp up and with each one they get more peculiar and strange as they go on. This works super well so much so that I wasn't really feeling this movie from the beginning (you'll realize it's a rehash of <i>Tales from the Crypt</i>, pretty darn quickly) but as the movie went on my interest was raised with each story!<br />
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<i>The Vault of Horror</i> (1973) is not terrible, but I'd probably always pick watching <i>Tales of the Crypt</i> over it. It ends up less as a sequel and more like a rehash.<br />
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3/5 Stars.<br />
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Happy watching!<br />
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This is part of my 2014 run of <a href="http://gbandm.blogspot.com/search/label/13%20Nights%20of%20Macabre" target="_blank">13 Nights of Macabre Movies</a>! Tune in tomorrow as I review a different take on a tribute to the EC Comics with the original <i>Creepshow</i> (1982).<br />
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<br /></iframe>DChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02080874750725942167noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-261485403081668096.post-63682397547732793842014-10-21T20:40:00.004-07:002014-10-21T20:41:01.248-07:00Tales from the Crypt (1972)NIGHT 3 <br />
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<i> "Who's next?"</i></h3>
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<i>Tales from the Crypt</i> (1972), is
an British anthology horror film directed by Freddie Francis and produced by Amicus Productions. It
contains five stories all detailing the strange occurrences of someones death. The stories are also lifted from the EC Comics publications: <i>Tales from the Crypt</i>, <i>The Vault of Horror</i> and <i>The Haunt of Fear. </i><br />
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Five strangers get seperated from their tourist group as they are visiting old catacombs. They encounter a hooded, old Crypt Keeper who tells each of them a story.<br />
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The acting overall in the film ranges from bland to good, that's kind of what you get with these kind of movies with such large casts. I think my favorite acting coincides with the darkest stories of the film the third story, "Poetic Justice" and the final "Blind Alleys," these are both really messed up and dark stories but they both wouldn't have been as effective without the strong acting preformances.<br />
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I would say the film is a little dated. It's definitely not as flashy and fun or exciting as some of the other ones on the list I'm reviewing this season, but there's plenty of other reasons to watch it.<br />
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And the effects are one of the places it's most evident, some of the makeup and props hold up but all of the 70s special effects look very tacky today.<br />
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Easily my favorite thing about <i>Tales from the Crypt</i> is the framing story. I love how the viewer is just as confused as the main characters at the beginning and if you're paying attention you start to realize the stories all involve death. Then you notice the characters who die are the ones represented in the cave and by the time you realize what's actually going on the film ends. It's everything I liked about the framing device in <a href="http://gbandm.blogspot.com/2014/10/the-house-that-dripped-blood-1970.html"><i>The House that Dripped Blood</i></a> (1970) but pulled off much more successfully<i>!</i><br />
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And (as if that wasn't enough) the stories themselves are really good too. It's hard for me to pick a favorite because I enjoyed them all! There's lots of films now that are tributes to EC Comics but this film is the first one that actually makes me feel the same way reading the comics do. These are very dark stories, really not intended for kids at all and nothing is held back. I absolutely love them, honestly all horror films should really strive to be as good as the stories featured here in <i>Tales from the Crypt</i>.<br />
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<i>Tales from the Crypt</i> (1972) is a great example of what an anthology films should be and the stories, all taken directly from old horror comics, still work beautifully to this day.<br />
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3.5/5 Stars.<br />
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Happy watching!<br />
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This review is part of my 2014 run of 13 Nights of Macabre Movies! Tune in tomorrow
as I review this film's sequel <i>The Vault of Horror</i> (1973).<br />
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<br /></iframe>DChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02080874750725942167noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-261485403081668096.post-73343977476099507042014-10-20T20:23:00.001-07:002014-10-20T20:23:29.086-07:00The House That Dripped Blood (1970)NIGHT 2 <br />
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<i> "</i>That's what's wrong with the present day horror films. There's no realism<i>."</i></h3>
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<i>The House That Dripped Blood</i> (1970), is
an British anthology horror film produced by Amicus Productions. It contains four stories all involving previous tenants of a large house in the countryside who met their demise in a strange way, and the stories are connected by a framing story about a couple of police officers who are investigating the most recent death of a tenant.<br />
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Although it takes a while to understand what they're trying to do, one of the best things about this film is the interesting way it connects the stories. I have to say its definitely one of the most interesting ways I've ever seen to connect an anthology film, despite not being pulled off as good as it could have been. But there's also something to be said about a framing story that doesn't just lay its cards out in the first scene too. I do appreciate films like this where you have to get to the end to understand what is really going on.<br />
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The worst thing about this film is the stories. They're not written particularly badly, but they're almost all just so dull and uninteresting. They're all very reliant on each stories twist and almost all of them contain what we call a "Double-Shyamalan," which in its self isn't inherently bad and fits the genre well, but to see a double twist 4 times in a row gets really, really repetitive.<br />
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I also think the selection of stories is weird. Not to spoil, but the first two stories are non supernatural of nature, and the second two are. Which is weird to me because when I'm watching an anthology film I'm thinking about the common themes and tropes of the stories selected and put together. So when I watch two stories that end up being non-supernatural of nature, I'm really thrown off when the next two are? The least they could have done was switch them up so they were non-supernatural, supernatural, non... etc.<br />
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The acting in this film is also pretty terrible or dull at best. There's a couple exceptions I'll get to in a minute but otherwise they really just weigh down the already dull material. Even Christopher Lee seems like he's phoning in his acting, to the point where I couldn't figure out how his character was supposed to be feeling toward his daughter, which happens to be a major part of that story! Pretty un-excusable. <br />
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The two best things about this film are Peter Cushing and Jon Pertwee, and for two completely different reasons. Peter Cushing is the perfect counter weight to Christopher Lee. Where you can tell how much Chris Lee liked the source material based on his performance in the film, you'd never know with Peter Cushing because he really gives his all in every film I've ever seen him in! And even though I've seen him play a variety of roles, his acting in this movie is new to me, I've never seen him play a role like this and he really nails it.<br />
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Jon Pertwee on the other hand (yes Whovians, the third Doctor,) is really hamming up his role here and while I'm less familiar with his career so I'm not sure if this is intentional for this role or not, but he really sells his segment of the film. And it's also very ironic that he's playing an aging Christopher Lee-type role in a film that also stars Christopher Lee! So it's no surprise that these two actors really made the film for me and the second and fouth stories are my favorite of the bunch, easily.<br />
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<i>The House that Dripped Blood</i> (1970) isn't a great film, but it's probably a good stand alone example of the many Amicus Productions Horror anthologies.<br />
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3/5 Stars.<br />
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Happy watching!<br />
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This review is part of my 2014 run of 13 Nights of Macabre Movies! Tune in tomorrow
as I review one of Amicus Productions' most well know horror anthologies, <i>Tales from the Crypt</i> (1972).<br />
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<br /></iframe>DChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02080874750725942167noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-261485403081668096.post-55687338581041797652014-10-18T17:07:00.002-07:002014-10-19T16:20:06.057-07:00Black Sabbath (1964)Welcome again to my favorite time of year! Unlike the last two years I will be reviewing only 13 horror films rather than the 31 I did the previous years as part of my <a href="http://gbandm.blogspot.com/search/label/31%20Nights%20of%20Macabre" target="_blank">31 Nights of Macabre Movies</a>. There's a few reasons I'm switching this up this year but the main reason is two years ago when I started this I was unemployed and its a lot easier to take on a commitment like that when you don't have a full time job!<br />
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But this will also allow me to focus on one topic or sub-genre of horror film so I think in the end it will make it a more focused countdown than it used to be. This year I'm reviewing 13 Anthology Horror films, but enough blabbing lets get on with it...<br />
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NIGHT 1<br />
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<i> "</i><i>You have no reason to be afraid."</i></h3>
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<i>Black Sabbath</i> (1964), also known as <i>I tre volti della paura </i>(literally:<i> The Three Faces of Fear)</i>, is an Itallian-French anthology horror film directed by Mario Bava. Black Sabbath contains 3 stories: "The Drop of Water," "The Telephone", and "The Wurdalak" with introductions by Boris Karloff.<br />
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The stories although written by Bava, Alberto Bevilaccqua, and Marcello Fondato are all based on and heavily influenced by horror literature and ghost stories. All three stories deal with the theme of a loved one returning from beyond the grave in a different way.<br />
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[This review will focus on the English version of the film]<br />
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I love Boris Karloff, and I think having him introduce the stories in this film was actually a genius way to get a wider International audience but he's really just blabbing spooky gibberish most of the time here. So my love for Boris Karloff and spooky stuff lets me enjoy these sequences but they really could have put some effort into tying what he's saying into the films more. I've read that some of these scenes were actually filmed for the American release on a Hollywood set with an unknown director, so that really makes me want to see the original release just to see if it's improved.<br />
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Like lots of other films I've reviewed from the 60s and 70s the production design always stands out to me. There was obviously an added level of care put into the sets of these films and this is another example of it really working. "The Telephone," for example was set in a (then) contemporary setting and the production design throughout is so good that the jump in time wont even be noticed by the viewer!<br />
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The English dub here is predictably quite terrible. It's amusing to me actually because I can tell the International actors are really quite good, they're just dubbed over terribly, which is common with foreign films of this era.<br />
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The clunky dub might not have been as noticeable except that these stories have a LOT of dialogue, all of these stories work very well and are quite creepy but they are very unnecessarily 'talky' that it holds back the film in my opinion. Just let the scenes play out, no need to fill the silence by having characters ramble what's going through their heads!<br />
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Hands down, the greatest thing about this film is Mario Bava's outstanding direction. Much like <i><a href="http://gbandm.blogspot.com/2013/10/la-maschera-del-demonio-1960.html">Black Sunday</a></i> (1960) Mario Bava really knows how to move a camera and frame a shot to maximize the amount of terror and suspense. This film is a different experience entirely from <i>Black Sunday</i> though solely because it's in color. Bava takes the time to really think about the color in a scene and has a very unique approach to it also. He often places strange unnatural colored lights (like purple and yellow green) and often has them moving or flashing across or on and off in a shot to add a subconsciously surreal and suspenseful effect that often times as a viewer you won't really notice upfront.<br />
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I really enjoyed each of the stories in <i>Black Sabbath</i>. The way they're layed out is a bit weird because the first two are (arguably) ghost stories and the final story is not and is about as long as the two previous combined. But beyond that they're each great unique stories that had me on the edge of my seat! I think "The Drop of Water" is my favorite of the three because it's simplicity and how just plain creepy the whole premise is, but "The Wurdalak" is quite good and not far behind for much different reasons. There's something really admirable about how dark and bleak the story is.<br />
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As I mentioned above Boris Karloff's introductions as a framing story are quite entertaining, but when he appears in the final story "The Wurdalak," that's when you will really recall how good of an actor Boris is. His performance here as the returned father Gorca, is (in my opinion) as good as his early work in the Universal <a href="http://gbandm.blogspot.com/2012/10/bride-of-frankenstein-1935.html"><i>Frankenstein</i> films</a>! <br />
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<i>Black Sabbath</i> (1964) is a surprisingly terrifying film that holds up very well for its age, this is due mostly to the great stories and Mario Bava's great storytelling an camera movement. AND it has Boris Karloff!<br />
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4.5/5 Stars.<br />
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Happy watching!<br />
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This
is the first review of my 2014 run of 13 Nights of Macabre Movies! Tune in tomorrow
as I review Amicus Productions' <i>The House That Dripped Blood</i> (1970) starring Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing!<br />
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<br />DChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02080874750725942167noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-261485403081668096.post-15554530113183729402014-05-25T14:21:00.001-07:002014-10-17T12:12:19.347-07:00Mothra vs. Godzilla (1964)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<i> "He wants to turn that egg into the golden egg."</i></h3>
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<i>Mothra vs. Godzilla</i> (1964) (<span style="background-color: white; color: #252525; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.399999618530273px;">モスラ対ゴジラ</span>), also known as <i>Godzilla vs. the Thing</i>, is a Japanese kaiju film directed by <a href="http://gbandm.blogspot.com/search/label/Ishiro%20Honda">Ishiro Honda</a>. This film is a sequel to both <i><a href="http://gbandm.blogspot.com/2014/05/mothra-1961.html">Mothra</a></i> (1961) and <i><a href="http://gbandm.blogspot.com/2014/05/king-kong-vs-godzilla-1962.html">Godzilla vs. King Kong</a></i> (1962) and is the first time Toho tried pitting one of its previously stand-alone kaiju against Godzilla, a trend that would continue quite a bit after this and often lead to some of the most popular fan-favorites of the kaiju films.<br />
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When a typhoon washes a giant egg ashore, the capitalist heads of Happy Corporation decide to turn it into a giant tourist attraction. A group of reporters investigating discover Mothra's twin fairies who beg them to help return the egg to it's home on Infant Island. But when the capitalists refuse, and Godzilla was also re-awakened by the typhoon Japan finds itself right in the middle of a giant monster battle.<br />
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[Note: this review is referencing the original Japanese version of the film.]<br />
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The moral tale in this film works really well, it may be a little heavy handed in the end but it's the key that ties the human protagonists story together with that of Mothra's story.<br />
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This film's story is basically a remake of the original <i><a href="http://gbandm.blogspot.com/2014/05/mothra-1961.html">Mothra</a></i> (and to a lesser extent <i><a href="http://gbandm.blogspot.com/2014/05/king-kong-vs-godzilla-1962.html">King Kong vs. Godzilla</a></i> too) but what I liked about it is that each of these films isn't a direct remake and it really feels like <a href="http://gbandm.blogspot.com/search/label/Ishiro%20Honda">Ishiro Honda</a> (who directed all three) is experimenting with each one and trying something new, which in this case works out because he takes the plot of <i><a href="http://gbandm.blogspot.com/2014/05/mothra-1961.html">Mothra</a></i> and the better protagonist story from<i> <a href="http://gbandm.blogspot.com/2014/05/king-kong-vs-godzilla-1962.html">King Kong vs. Godzilla</a></i> and incorporates Godzilla into the story also and it is in my opinion the best of the trio. I also really liked the twist toward the end involving the egg. It's a clever way to catch even your big kaiju-fans on their toes and keep everyone interested in the film!<br />
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Despite being a little jarring at first, I actually thought the super-cartoonish portrayal of the capitalists actually works really well, and quickly helps you to root against these guys. I just don't understand why they get killed off so early? Maybe <a href="http://gbandm.blogspot.com/search/label/Ishiro%20Honda">Honda</a> just got tired with this particular storyline as it's the third time he's done it?<br />
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I also felt the endangered school children on the island at the end was a little over dramatic for my tastes but it really did help up the ante and provide more drama and suspense for the final battle of the film.<br />
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The special effects and use of models here are better than they've been in the last few films actually. It feels like Honda really took the time to shoot each of what works best on it's separate medium (models, costumes, live-action) and incorporate them as best as possible.<br />
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This is the first in the series they didn't even try to explain a lot of things (for example the origin of the first Mothra and Godzilla) this isn't necessarily a bad thing as the film works more or less on its own, and I feel like it was bound to happen with this being the fourth Godzilla film and probably the eight or so kaiju film Toho had made up until this point. I already thought the film rushes a bit in the beginning to set up everything but you're going to feel extra rushed if you haven't already had an intro to Godzilla or Mothra before this film.<br />
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I feel like this film is a prime example of a movie that could use a better structure. It seems like the film speeds up just to slow down in parts and we lose track of our human protagonists during giant monster battles that seem unfocused and there's large parts of the film that just go needlessly on for a bit too long.<br />
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Also maybe this was the result of a technical issue with scale or the models or something but the first battle with Mothra is WAY too close for some reason? There's a tone of super-close up shots during this battle that quickly cut to each other and make the otherwise very cool monster fight pretty hard to watch.<br />
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I really love the human protagonists in this film! They're probably the first ones since the original <i><a href="http://gbandm.blogspot.com/2014/05/gojira-1954.html">Gojira </a></i>(1954) that actually made the human element of the film really worthwhile. They're a bit pure and idealized but their goodness plays into helping the kaiju in the story really well so it works for the film.<br />
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Also super note-worth is this is the first Godzilla film in a while where they actually took the time to show the destructive nature of Godzilla and how he affected people on the ground level on screen. Also this film cleverly incorporates his radioactivity into the story and ties nuclear testing on Infant Island into the theme and plot without over doing it very masterfully.<br />
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<i>Mothra vs. Godzilla</i> (1964) is a very enjoyable kaiju film, one of the good ones where the humans' story works really well with giant battling monsters' story.<br />
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4/5 Stars.<br />
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Happy watching!<br />
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I'm tackling most of the early Toho Studios' <a href="http://gbandm.blogspot.com/2014/05/godzillakaiju-series.html">Godzilla and Kaiju films</a> in honor of the newest <a href="http://gbandm.blogspot.com/2014/05/godzilla-2014.html"><i>Godzilla</i></a> (2014) <br />
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DChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02080874750725942167noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-261485403081668096.post-12846878173591587092014-05-23T20:01:00.000-07:002014-05-24T12:51:19.298-07:00King Kong vs. Godzilla (1962)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<i> "</i><i>King Kong can't make a monkey out of us!" </i></h3>
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<i>King Kong vs. Godzilla</i> (1962) <span style="font-weight: normal;">(</span><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="t_nihongo_kanji" lang="ja">キングコング対ゴジラ</span></span><span style="font-weight: normal;">)</span> is an Japanese kaiju film by Toho<i> </i>and directed by <a href="http://gbandm.blogspot.com/search/label/Ishiro%20Honda">Ishiro Honda</a> and is technically a direct sequel to <a href="http://gbandm.blogspot.com/2014/05/godzilla-raids-again-1955.html"><i>Godzilla Raids Again</i></a> (1955) and less so to <a href="http://gbandm.blogspot.com/2014/05/king-kong-1933.html"><i>King Kong</i></a> (1933).<br />
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An American submarine gets caught in an inceberg that happens to be the same iceberg that Godzilla is trapped in and accidently awakens the kaiju from his slumbler. As the world becomes aware of Godzilla's reappearance, it's world leaders quickly try to figure out a solution. At the same time looking for something to boost ratings on a television program he sponsors, Mr. Tako the head of a pharmaceuticals company just confirmed the existance of King Kong on the tiny Faro Island. Tako sees this as an opportunity to stop Godzilla and boost ratings at the same time.<br />
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[Note: this review is referencing the English-dubbed, American cut of the film.] <br />
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The overall story of this film isn't bad. It's actually very similar to <a href="http://gbandm.blogspot.com/2014/05/mothra-1961.html"><i>Mothra</i></a> (1961) and shares a lot of the same themes and character moments as that film. I also enjoyed our protagonists' story/journey here, not the most original, but the characters are likable and they definitely give you something to root for.<br />
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One of the coolest things about this story is that it actually works on its own perfectly and is the sequel to <a href="http://gbandm.blogspot.com/2014/05/godzilla-raids-again-1955.html"><i>Godzilla Raids Again</i></a> (1955) at the same time. The last time we saw Godzilla he was<i> </i>defeated by firing missiles into a mountain causing the kaiju to be buried in ice, which is where we find him is this film. The genius thing about the start of this movie is that if you've never seen a Godzilla movie in your life, you can watch this movie and just assume that it's Godzilla awaking for the very first time since the Ice Age because it pretty much plays that way here.<br />
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The other good thing about this film is how very humorous it is. It's not a good film at all, but it's very watchable.<br />
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First off the English-dub for this film is absolutely terrible. Someone thought that in order to make this film more watchable we'd need to constantly cut to these TERRIBLE English inserts that were shot to explain what is happening inside the story. Guess what we don't. The inserts were clearly shot at a different time, have a much poorer production design, and are just hilariously bad.<br />
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This may also be a weird dub thing but the film introduces all of these "weird science" rules like for some reason Kong is energized when exposed to electricity, while it has the opposite effect on Godzilla...? Which doesn't make sense because I clearly remember a scene of Godzilla tearing through electric powerlines in the original <a href="http://gbandm.blogspot.com/2014/05/gojira-1954.html"><i>Gojira</i></a> (1954).<br />
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This is one of those things that is overly apparent because I recently watched the original <a href="http://gbandm.blogspot.com/2014/05/king-kong-1933.html"><i>King Kong</i></a> (1933), but Kong's acting in this is terrible. The funny thing about this statement is that I thought Kong's acting was really good in the original and that was all stop-motion, where here you have an actor in a suit and it's so much worse? In the original they based the way Kong moved off of wrestlers, if these filmmakers even looked at the original (which after watching this, I'm not really sure they even did) they would have notice the distinctive way he moves! Though Godzilla's acting here is pretty bad also so maybe the movie is just a good example of why fight choreography and story boards are necessary.<br />
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Another weird thing is for some reason this Kong is narcoleptic in this film? There's at least 4 times where Kong just lays down and goes to sleep, I was fine with it once but when it kept happening I started to think that maybe Kong needs to lay off the medication.<br />
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This is the first of Toho's kaiju films where I really felt like everything here was models and guys in suits. I don't know if this production was on a swifter budget, or <a href="http://gbandm.blogspot.com/search/label/Ishiro%20Honda">Ishiro Honda</a> had made a few of these by now, so with each one he cared less and less or what? One of the things that I noticed that may have added to this was that this film has an over-reliance on models. Where many of the other kaiju films would go shoot anything they could outside against a mountain or a hill, this film is mostly indoors and anytime the characters go outside it's on a set, overall it's just lazier.<br />
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The one magnificent thing about this movie is how bad it is considering all of the things it had going for it. This is one of the first "Godzilla vs." movies. They've pitted Godzilla, their most popular kaiju, against King Kong who greatly inspired the original creators of Gojira and the entire Toho kaiju franchise. And if that wasn't enough Ishiro Honda is directing, who literally has created all the best kaiju films I've seen up to this point. Some of this is probably due to some things being lost in translation with the English dub and the American cut, (to which I can't comment because I haven't seen the original Japanese version yet...) but still.<br />
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<i>King Kong vs. Godzilla</i> (1962) is not a good movie, but it is very watchable and strangely enjoyable too.<br />
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3/5 Stars.<br />
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Happy watching!<br />
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I'm tackling all or most of the early Toho Studios' <a href="http://gbandm.blogspot.com/2014/05/godzillakaiju-series.html">Godzilla and Kaiju films</a> in honor of the newest <a href="http://gbandm.blogspot.com/2014/05/godzilla-2014.html"><i>Godzilla</i></a> (2014), check back next time as I review the fan favorite: <i>Mothra vs. Godzilla</i> (1964).<br />
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DChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02080874750725942167noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-261485403081668096.post-34724859262967222852014-05-22T00:40:00.001-07:002014-05-22T00:41:04.308-07:00Mothra (1961)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<i> "</i><i>Mothra will soon be here!" </i></h3>
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<i>Mothra</i> (1961) <span style="font-weight: normal;">(</span><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="t_nihongo_kanji" lang="ja"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="t_nihongo_kanji" lang="ja">モスラ</span></span></span>)</span> is an early Japanese kaiju film by Toho<i> </i>and directed by <a href="http://gbandm.blogspot.com/search/label/Ishiro%20Honda">Ishiro Honda </a>who directed the original <a href="http://gbandm.blogspot.com/2014/05/gojira-1954.html"><i>Gojira</i></a> (1954). <i> Mothra </i>is based on the serialized novel <i>The Luminous Fairies and Mothra</i> by Takehiko Fukunada, Shinichiro Nakamura, and Yoshie Hotta. <br />
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While investigating the presumably uninhabited Infant Island a group of sailors find the island is not only inhabited by humans but other strange beings including small human-like fairies. However when capitalist Clark Nelson decides to kidnap the fairies and bring then back to Japan to make a profit off their existence, he may be putting all of Japan in harms way without even realizing it.<br />
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[Note: this review is referencing the original Japanese version of the film.] <br />
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I really liked the story of this film. Its almost a remake of the <a href="http://gbandm.blogspot.com/2014/05/king-kong-1933.html"><i>King Kong</i></a> (1933) plot, but then it works in the environmentalist message a lot better than that film ever did. And the entire film has such and interesting mood to it, its very much unlike anything else.<br />
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This is actually a really good film to watch if you are learning Japanese, because the characters speak relatively slowly the entire film and they don't actually use a lot of complicated words most of the time. So that's interesting.<br />
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I felt like the kaiju in <i>Mothra</i> were a bit hit and miss. I really liked Mothra's larva form a lot and thought it looked unique and moved in a very interesting way. But I didn't really care for Mothra's moth form truthfully. I just felt like they didn't really do enough with it, and even felt like she was far less menacing as a moth than in her larva form. Also coming after <a href="http://gbandm.blogspot.com/2014/05/rodan-1956.html"><i>Rodan</i></a> (1956), it's interesting that two of the very first kaiju films they made were of flying creatures. They're very different films, and very different creatures but I still wonder about how intentional or what the reasoning behind that decision was.</div>
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I really didn't like our lead character, played by Japanese comedian Frankie Sakai. Sure he was a bit funny, and there's something that's hard to hate about his character's boyish innocence during the whole film. But his character is just really jarring and seems out of place against the mood and tone (and even themes) of the rest of the film. And cutting between the drama of a giant monster attacking Tokyo and the underlying environmentalist message and this Lou Costello-esque comedian really didn't work at all for me.<br />
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The ending took too long to conclude. I think it's suposed to be this beautiful thing but it just takes way too long when everyone knows what has to happen after the main antagonist is no longer in the picture. Finish and get out people.</div>
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Also for some reason this film has a lot of English speaking minor roles, which are filled with tons of unintentional humor. Which although this is fun, it's jarring and kills the dramatic mood that the scenes are supposed to have most of the time.</div>
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The one thing I really loved about this film was the music. Yuji Koseki's score is really awesome. It's got its suspenseful moments, fun parts and the "Mothra song" is so haunting it really brings a lot to the movie and the story on it's own. It really works for this film.<br />
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<i>Mothra</i> (1961) is an very different and interesting take on the kaiju film genre. Not exactly to my tastes truthfully, but I appreciated it and did think it was quite an interesting watch.<br />
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4/5 Stars.<br />
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Happy watching!<br />
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I'm tackling all or most of the early Toho Studios' <a href="http://gbandm.blogspot.com/2014/05/godzillakaiju-series.html">Godzilla and Kaiju films</a> in honor of the newest <a href="http://gbandm.blogspot.com/2014/05/godzilla-2014.html"><i>Godzilla</i></a> (2014), check back next time as we finally return to our main kaiju, Godzilla himself in <i>King Kong vs. Godzilla</i> (1962).<br />
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<br /></iframe>DChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02080874750725942167noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-261485403081668096.post-43471872692046525912014-05-19T21:58:00.001-07:002014-05-19T21:58:26.324-07:00Rodan (1956)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<i> "I have lost one plane, but we're still in pursuit!" </i></h3>
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<i>Rodan</i> (1956) <span style="font-weight: normal;">(<span class="t_nihongo_kanji" lang="ja">空の大怪獣 ラドン</span>) [literally: <i>Radon, Giant Monster of the Sky</i>], also known as <i>Rodan! The Flying Monster!</i>,</span> is an early Japanese kaiju film and the first color kaiju film released by Toho. <i>Rodan</i> is directed by <a href="http://gbandm.blogspot.com/search/label/Ishiro%20Honda">Ishiro Honda </a>who directed the original <a href="http://gbandm.blogspot.com/2014/05/gojira-1954.html"><i>Gojira</i></a> (1954). <br />
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A group of miners in the outskirts of Kyushu go deeper than anyone has ever gone before, but when miners start to go missing or are found dead and mutilated they soon realize they've unearthed prehistoric creatures that haven't been seen on earth for millions of years. <br />
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[Note: this review is referencing the American, English-dubbed edit of the film.] <br />
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The English-dub for this film didn't bother me too much. It's a bit dramatic, which is in-line with the tone of many other American 50's monster movies. Unfortunately some of the main characters speak with a broken English, which today reads as pretty racist. And like any dub that tries to match the lips too closely, its got plenty of hilarious moments too. <br />
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Over all the effects in this film are pretty impressive. The color and lighting doesn't really compare to how well the black and white helped the believability of the original <a href="http://gbandm.blogspot.com/2014/05/gojira-1954.html"><i>Gojira</i></a>, and some of the models (mostly the tanks) didn't really work as well as some of the plane shots. <br />
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Unlike <a href="http://gbandm.blogspot.com/2014/05/gojira-1954.html"><i>Gojira</i></a> there's not a whole lot to <i>Rodan</i>. It's literally just a supernatural horror/survival film. No huge message, not a lot to it really. Now I'm not saying that's a problem, it is refreshingly simple, but this is a reason why a movie like <a href="http://gbandm.blogspot.com/2014/05/gojira-1954.html">Gojira </a>is far superior, and will stand the test of time longer.<br />
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One of the best things about this film is the mystery and horror of it all. Rodan doesn't show up until the halfway point in the movie and the movie really builds super well up until that point! The horror of the people disappearing in the mines or returning as mauled corpses really plays well, and the mystery of what is down there is awesome. These are the things that really made me feel like Ishiro Honda was at the helm again. This film is like <a href="http://gbandm.blogspot.com/2014/05/gojira-1954.html"><i>Gojira</i></a> where the masterful editing storytelling really drags you into the film long before you even see a monster, and then even once you know what is attacking Honda is really good about only giving you brief glimpses of the monstrous kaiju initially and then gradually more and more.<br />
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One reason I really recommend people check out this film is the impressive dogfight scenes. There's a really impressive sequence about three-quarters into the film where a group of jet fighter pilots are perusing the Rodan, and the film really excelently is cutting between real stock footage, superimposed monster models and pilots shot on a set and it all works together super simply and well. I was amazed at how exciting is and well this sequence looks almost 60 years later!<br />
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<i>Rodan</i> (1956) is an often over-looked early kaiju film that really works well to this day, I highly recommend it!<br />
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4.5/5 Stars.<br />
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Happy watching!<br />
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I'm tackling all or most of the early Toho Studios' <a href="http://gbandm.blogspot.com/2014/05/godzillakaiju-series.html">Godzilla and Kaiju films</a> in honor of the newest <a href="http://gbandm.blogspot.com/2014/05/godzilla-2014.html"><i>Godzilla</i></a> (2014), check back next time to see my review of another classic Toho kaiju and her(pre-Godzilla battle) origin film; <i>Mothra</i> (1961).<br />
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<h3>
<i> "And it is going to send us all back to the Stone Age!" </i></h3>
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<i>Godzilla</i> (2014) is
the second attempt at making an original American version of the Japanese <a href="http://gbandm.blogspot.com/2014/05/godzillakaiju-series.html">monster movie series starring Godzilla</a>. This film from Legendary Pictures is the sophomore outing of Director Gareth Edwards.<br />
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Ford's father is obsessed with what he believes is a government cover up that killed his wife. When he travels to Japan to try and bring his father home, he realizes his father was right and the whole world is about to have huge problems. <br />
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[Note: this review is a bit spoiler-heavy compared to others, if you care see the movie before reading on.] <br />
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The score to <i>Godzilla</i> is pretty good, I enjoyed it and felt it helped add a lot to the action on screen. My only two qualms are that I wish it was more memorable because I honestly couldn't sing any of it right now and sometimes it tipped its cards a little too early revealing something big was coming before it was on screen.<br />
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I think a lot of this film's issues come from the bad writing. First off the film has a bunch of bad references to the original <a href="http://gbandm.blogspot.com/2014/05/gojira-1954.html"><i>Gojira</i></a> (1954), for seemingly no reason. For example, Ken Watanabe's character is named Dr. Serizawa who happens to be the (eye-patched) character that is the key to defeating Godzilla in <a href="http://gbandm.blogspot.com/2014/05/gojira-1954.html">the original</a>, and sacrifices himself to do it. Watanabe's character does neither of these things in the new film and clearly isn't related (if these were the same world) because the original guy didn't have kids (he was in the losing side of a love triangle at the time of his death) and Watanabe says his father was killed in Hiroshima. When you do things like this it just makes me think about the original and how much better the ending to that film is than this one! Early on this film sets up the radioactive nature of these creatures, the Muto even feed off of it! And yet the rest of the film doesn't even seem to keep this in mind at all. They drop a nuke that "makes the bombs they had in 1954 look like a firecracker" directly into the San Francisco bay and show absolutely no consequences or even reaction to it! That's just bad writing!<br />
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As if that wasn't enough, so much of this film relies on poorly written exposition scenes to explain what the heck is happening. Where characters deliver poorly thought out speeches and have pseudo conversations where they come up with answers with out any explanation (like the sexes of the Muto? How did you decide which one was male and which was female?) Even when the writing isn't horrible it's just mediocre and just the very typical stuff you've seen a million times before. Our lead happens to be at nearly every single place the giant monsters make stop including Japan, Hawaii, Oakland and SF, if that isn't convenient, then I don't know what is! Why does Godzilla wait so long (3 Muto battles I believe?) before he decides to try burning the damn things with his atomic breath? Why is the news reporting Godzilla is a hero when he probably did as much damage as the Muto and he hasn't even left the city yet? Oh yes, convenience. I could go on and on... <br />
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Overall the acting in this movie is really great! Bryan Cranston brings so much gravity to the role of a raving lunatic (how often can you say that?) You'll wish he was the only main character! Elizabeth Olsen does so much with the tiny part they gave her that I think she's the only reason I cared about their family at at all. And on the less good part is poor Ken Watanabe who got stuck with a horrible part, his character is two dimensional and really gets stepped over every time he's on screen. Don't they know Ken Watanabe is an amazing actor and deserves better than that? And our lead, Aaron Taylor-Johnson gives a solid performance, but it kind of left me wishing there was something more there. I loved the guy in <i>Kick-Ass</i> (2010) so I'm guessing the issue here is script-based too.<br />
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The direction of this film is quite good, I was really impressed. Suddenly it makes sense why the studios would have trusted such a huge property with such a new, young director. Especially if the script is as bad as I imagine, this movie really would have been far worse in the hands of a lesser director. He does a great job of balancing far away up-shots of the kaiju and the straight on monsters fighting shots that are traditionally associated with Japanese kaiju films, while keeping the variety of shots interesting and mixing it up.<br />
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There's lots of very memorable parts here too (direction-wise), I loved the way we see close ups of parts of Godzilla but we never really see Godzilla in full until he's right up against the Muto in Hawaii. This helped build a ton of suspense and really helps the viewer see Godzilla as a hero (more so than Dr. Serizawa's babbling) and I loved the first time we see Godzilla use his atomic breath, the way the light starts and builds is such an awesome thing to anyone who's a Godzilla fan and immediately knows what's coming!<br />
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I really liked the art direction in this film too. Loved the look of San Francisco in the the final battle with all the fire and the fog, it's such an unique look! And for the most part I really liked the monster/kaiju designs, there was just a couple of weird things like the weird kind of "C" shape that the Muto hatch out of in the beginning don't make a whole lot of sense to me. <br />
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Almost every part of<i> Godzilla </i>(2014) is better than your average Summer blockbuster film, every part except the writing.<br />
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3.5/5 Stars.<br />
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Happy watching!<br />
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Be sure to check back because in honor of this movie, I'm tackling all or most of the early Toho Studios' <a href="http://gbandm.blogspot.com/2014/05/godzillakaiju-series.html">Godzilla and Kaiju films</a>. Check back next time for<i> </i>my review of Toho's first color kaiju film, <i>Rodan</i> (1956).<br />
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</iframe>DChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02080874750725942167noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-261485403081668096.post-36890991771095119682014-05-15T23:02:00.001-07:002014-05-17T23:44:44.476-07:00Godzilla, King of the Monsters! (1956)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://gbandm.blogspot.com/2014/05/godzillakaiju-series.html" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="http://gbandm.blogspot.com/2014/05/godzillakaiju-series.html" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzGygcRVJKG0aNTJUU7wrej3mtNpjNZ-p5ur_nv-w0ctdJv5ADXFGAV9vLhFNpPzoFaNbpBSnDj-5xBhf6xKcNZCVpp7J_lRiMyyPUkZ7DnobFP0OPkxd1F65r63EoynbzdMu8wP9hwvrc/s1600/godzillakaijuseriesbanner.jpg" /></a></div>
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<h3>
<i> "So, they believe that this Godzilla is responsible for all the ship disasters?" </i></h3>
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<i>Godzilla, King of the Monsters!</i> (1956) is
the American edit of the original Japanese film <a href="http://gbandm.blogspot.com/2014/05/gojira-1954.html"><i>Gojira</i></a>
(1954). The American edit was directed by Terry Morse and features extended scenes of actor Raymond Burr (who you mig recognize as Perry Mason) spliced in as an American reporter who happens to be in Japan during the initial Godzilla attacks.<br />
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[Note: this review is referencing the American, dubbed edit of the film.] <br />
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Surprisingly, the English writing in this film is actually pretty good. It's a bit over dramatic but that was the style of the 50s monster movies, so it's very much in line with that.<br />
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The Raymond Burr scenes are inserted into the film rather flawlessly. This is ever more apparent when watched nearly back to back with the original (like I just did). But it's cool to see how simply and effectively you can make it look like two people are in the same room together through the magic of editing. I also think it would have been fun to be on set for the filming of Raymond Burr's parts because so much of it would have been filming him watching things off screen silently. <br />
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Let me start by saying that most of my issues with this film come only from comparing it to the masterpiece that is the original Japanese <i><a href="http://gbandm.blogspot.com/2014/05/gojira-1954.html">Gojira</a></i>. This film does work on its own quite well but tonally it's quite different than the Japanese version.<br />
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Sadly some of the elegance of the Japanese version is lost in this version. This film has a lot faster
cuts and far less subtle storytelling (how American!) Unfortunately the faster cuts, and this version's lack of patience to get to the destruction and kaiju lead to a lot of the original's suspense to be lost. A lot of Burr's dialogue seems to over explain the situations unfolding, for example the love triangle between the Japanese heroes
is rather bluntly brought up and referred to here, rather than implied as in the Japanese version. And when Emiko brings up Dr. Serizawa's oxygen destroyer in this version it's rather poorly inserted. I couldn't see any reason she would have told Burr about it (and neither could the writers either apparently!)<br />
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Additionally there are scenes where the attentive viewer may realize something fishy is going on with the cinematography. There are scenes were Raymond Burr is talking to a character but the camera never
shows the face of these characters in the same shot, this is because it's just
another actor wearing similar clothing to the Japanese actors and the
film (somewhat) cleverly shows only the back of their heads. Or some very obviously looped footage of Dr. Serizawa on the phone during a phone call with Burr's character. These are rather obviously the result of the fact they tried to put Raymond Burr's character in too closely with the main Japanese protagonists of the original film. It would have been fine if Burr was just observing and reporting the events but they had to make him an "old friend" of nearly all the Japanese main characters, which is just problematic.<br />
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The really magnificent thing about this film is how much of the original they actually kept. I've seen a lot of dubs and edits in my life and it's unique to find one like this which very much changes the tone and reinterprets the story for another culture, but also keeps much of the original's plot and charm too. If nothing else I recommend watching the two close together some time just as a case study. I liked the way they basically added Raymond Burrs part in by basically taking one of the most minor strands in the original (the Japanese reporters who are on the scene during the first land attack of Godzilla) and expanding upon it.<br />
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<i>Godzilla, King of the Monsters!</i> (1956) is very much the American version of the original <a href="http://gbandm.blogspot.com/2014/05/gojira-1954.html"><i>Gojira</i></a> (1954) but it's interesting to see how much of the original they kept.<br />
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4/5 Stars.<br />
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Happy watching!<br />
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<br />
I'm tackling all or most of the early Toho Studios' <a href="http://gbandm.blogspot.com/2014/05/godzillakaiju-series.html">Godzilla and Kaiju films</a> in anticipation of the newest <a href="http://gbandm.blogspot.com/2014/05/godzilla-2014.html"><i>Godzilla</i></a> (2014), check back next time to see my review of it!<br />
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DChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02080874750725942167noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-261485403081668096.post-27242469178822263672014-05-13T22:13:00.000-07:002014-05-13T22:13:02.966-07:00Godzilla Raids Again (1955)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<i> "Killing Godzilla is hopeless.</i><i>" </i></h3>
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<i>Godzilla Raids Again</i> (1955) (<span style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="t_nihongo_kanji" lang="ja">ゴジラの逆襲</span></span>) [literally: Counterattack of Godzilla], also known as <i>Gigantis, The Fire Monster</i>, is
the sequel to the original <a href="http://gbandm.blogspot.com/2014/05/gojira-1954.html"><i>Gojira</i></a> (1954), released the year before. This is the first film to feature two kaiju and the introduction of Anguirus, Godzilla's rival in this film. This is film was directed by Motoyoshi Oda, and was the only Godzilla film he directed.<br />
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Godzilla returns! Well... kinda. While on a rescue mission two pilots accidentally discover ANOTHER Godzilla who is locked in a huge struggle with another giant kaiju that resembles another long-extinct prehistoric dinosaur. Can the humans do anything to stop not one, but two giant kaiju as they make their way toward Osaka?<br />
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[Note: this review is referencing the original Japanese version.] <br />
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Unlike most sequels you can actually tell that this film's makers actually looked at what worked in the original and tried to play up the things they thought worked in it. For example, not only does this film have twice the amount of action and monster destruction the original had it also has far more of a story involving the protagonist (human) characters. Unfortunately, both of these things managed to be pulled off in a far less interesting way than the original did them!<br />
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It was nice to see Takashi Shimura return in this film reprising his role from <a href="http://gbandm.blogspot.com/2014/05/gojira-1954.html"><i>Gojira</i></a> (1954) although unfortunately they basically just use him for a cameo and a method for delivering exposition and also to set up the movie for anyone who didn't see the first one, which I actually appreciated because it helps this film stand on its own... though if you did skip <a href="http://gbandm.blogspot.com/2014/05/gojira-1954.html"><i>Gojira</i></a> and started this one, do yourself a favor and go back and catch up with the original!<br />
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First off, the costumes (for the monsters) look far worse than the original. It's possible the original had the same quality, but the lighting was far better, and the camera never seemed to hold on them for too long, which helped the illusion incredibly. Here the crazy long takes of monsters battling just look awful.<br />
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Speaking of which, our kaiju are wrestling the whole movie. Without much explanation, it's just what they do. I'm not saying I need a real good reason for two monsters to fight, I'm just saying the wrestled for so long I began to wonder why they were fighting; there was so little going on in the movie that I began to wonder what the monsters were thinking about. Not to mention Godzilla hardly uses his his flame breath at all, for some reason he just wants to wrestle the entire movie? Which is just silly.<br />
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Also the third act of this movie seems really unnecessary. Godzilla finally defeats Anguirus and starts to leave Japan (he really didn't come to destroy any cities in this one) when our human characters decide to attack and stop him for good. Completely opposite of the moral debate that I loved so much in the original <a href="http://gbandm.blogspot.com/2014/05/gojira-1954.html"><i>Gojira</i></a> about weather or not to kill him because he is in fact a living creature. This time there's none of that. I actually felt sorry for Godzilla in the end of this one!<br />
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Hmm well one thing I can say is I do think this film has some creative action sequences, and it does have some really good effects shots which utilized and made good use of the models they were using, which when two monsters are endlessly brawling for no apparent reason, really did help the movie on a whole.<br />
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<i>Godzilla Raids Again</i> (1955) probably isn't a horrible film on it's own, it's just far less good (in pretty much every way) than the original <a href="http://gbandm.blogspot.com/2014/05/gojira-1954.html"><i>Gojira</i></a>.<br />
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2.5/5 Stars.<br />
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Happy watching!<br />
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I'm tackling all or most of the early Toho Studios' <a href="http://gbandm.blogspot.com/2014/05/godzillakaiju-series.html">Godzilla and Kaiju films</a> in anticipation of the newest <i>Godzilla</i> (2014) movie. Check back next time for<i> </i>my review of the original <a href="http://gbandm.blogspot.com/2014/05/gojira-1954.html">Gojira</a>'s American cut: Godzilla, King of the Monsters! (1956).<br />
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Like this blog? You can support it by buying this film (and 5 other classic kaiju films) through these links:<br />
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</iframe>DChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02080874750725942167noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-261485403081668096.post-57201982447200737972014-05-10T20:00:00.000-07:002014-05-13T19:15:50.159-07:00Gojira (1954)<br />
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<h3>
<i> "</i><i>As a scientist, no, as a human being, I can't allow that to happen!</i><i>" </i></h3>
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<i>Gojira</i> (1954) (<span style="background-color: white; color: #252525; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.399999618530273px;">ゴジラ</span>), also known as <i>Godzilla</i>, is the very first in a long line of Toho kaiju (monster) films. Director Ishirō Honda set out to make a very Japanese version of the very American giant monster movies like <i><a href="http://gbandm.blogspot.com/2014/05/king-kong-1933.html">King Kong</a></i> (1933) and <i>The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms</i> (1953), however unlike those films which used the major time consuming stop-motion method to achieve its special effects, Honda hired special effects guru Eiji Tsuburaya to design a much quicker "actor in a suit" method to achieve a similar effect on film in far less time.<br />
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Gojira tells the story of a group of people affected by a giant half-mythical, half-scientific monster seemingly awakened by the recent increase of nuclear weapon use.<br />
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[Note: this review will refer to the 96 minute, original Japanese cut of the film.] <br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'Droid Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.9999942779541px;">The score of this film by Akira Ifukube (who would go on to have a long career as a composer in Japan mostly on other Kaiju films) is a bit too repetitive for my taste but you can't say the main theme isn't memorable. It's strong powerful and really fits the film in a unique and wonderful way.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'Droid Sans', sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.9999942779541px;">Honestly I don't even have much to complain about this film. Some of the models are very clearly less detailed models which can kill the illusion sometimes. This is mostly only evident with miniature planes and cars as the models of buildings are really spot on and for most of this film it's composed in a way that I really couldn't even tell Godzilla was a man in a suit!</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial, Droid Sans, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.9999942779541px;">And in case you missed any of that there's a far less poetic approach bring your awareness to this by the characters discovering and clearly stating that this giant monster in front of them is the direct result of nuclear weapon use. The beautiful thing about all of this is it all plays out very much just like a moral tale, or a "what if" story with a warning without placing any blame on events of the past. Quite respectable and honorable in my opinion.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'Droid Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.9999942779541px;">The major difference between <i><a href="http://gbandm.blogspot.com/2014/05/king-kong-1933.html">King Kong</a></i> (1933) and <i>Gojira</i> is the acting here is really quite superb. You may recognize a lot of the actors from <i>Seven Samurai</i> (1954) and other Akira Kurosawa films, and as I said before even though I didn't really care for some of the human element of the story but even so the film's actors are so great and believable that it really helps you get wrapped up in the story, which is SUPER important in a movie about a giant nuclear dinosaur coming from the sea to destroy Tokyo.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'Droid Sans', sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.9999942779541px;">I also this is a small thing but I really enjoyed the "very Japanese" touch of our main characters debating the morals of "should we kill it?" Here's a giant monster from the sea and only the Japanese would have the sympathy to realize this is part of nature and argue that maybe we shouldn't kill this living creature. And (although achieved in a different way) it has a similarly bittersweet emotional coda at the end as <i>King Kong </i>has,<i> </i>where although we defeated the monster there's a potent feeling of sadness at the same time. Really beautiful actually.</span></span><br />
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And I can't end this review without talking about some of the more nuts and bolts filmmaking of this movie because it really is quite a masterpiece. So much of this film is well thought out and masterfully constructed that I really don't know where to start! Story-wise I love the way the film doesn't show Godzilla for the entire first stretch of the film, there's at least two attacks before we even seen the creature and even then it's only brief glimpses until at least the halfway point and after that the camera never even holds on him for long at all. Behind the scenes, lot of this was probably decided due to not being able to show the models and costumes for too long at a time but it really helps the viewer picture much of the horror and fear in their mind and build the anticipation far before Godzilla actually appears on screen.<br />
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The masterful cinematography of this film helps to sell a lot of it too. Well thought out upshots at the monster and really low lit, overall dark scenes of Godzilla against a dark sky just really sell the illusion. Also like <i>The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms</i> and <i>King Kong </i>the film has great special effects shots combining costumed monster shots with real stock footage and shots of people running away edited together really masterfully.</div>
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<i>Gojira</i>
(1955) is really, really great film, it truely combines art and action masterfully. It's easy to see how it started such a long dynasty of Godzilla films, kaiju movies, and even Ultraman and Supa Sentai shows can trace their origins back to this single highly influential film.<br />
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5/5 Stars.<br />
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Happy watching!<br />
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I'm tackling all or most of the early Toho Studios' <a href="http://gbandm.blogspot.com/2014/05/godzillakaiju-series.html">Godzilla and Kaiju films</a> in anticipation of the newest <i>Godzilla</i> (2014) movie. Check back next time for this film's sequel, <i>Godzilla Raids Again</i> (1955).<br />
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DChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02080874750725942167noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-261485403081668096.post-2460975394301529692014-05-09T20:00:00.000-07:002014-05-13T19:15:15.670-07:00King Kong (1933)<br />
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<i> "Beauty and the beast.</i><i>" </i></h3>
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<i>King Kong</i> (1933)<span style="font-weight: normal;"> </span>is
a highly influential RKO Adventure/Monster movie which combined live action, stop-motion and models.<br />
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Filmmaker Carl Denham travels to a remote, uncharted island in search of his next film subject, a legendary creature known only as "Kong." On this Island, Denham finds more than he could have ever imagined and makes a risky choice to take Kong back to New York in hopes of earning a fortune. <br />
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[Note: this review is referencing the original completely uncut version, running approximately 100 minutes.] <br />
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This film's really brutal action sequences really do a lot to enhance the danger and drama of the otherwise
mindless action scenes, (like the excessive amount dinosaur attack sequences!) This film really doesn't hold back: there's vicious dinosaurs attacking a man in a
tree, men crushed to death after battling Kong and even Kong beating a T-rex
by breaking it's jaw, (then continuing to play with it after its dead!) These sequences make you really feel like the main characters may not make it out of this which is truthfully something lost on the comparatively "mild" action films of today.</div>
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I didn't care too much for the designs of most of the creatures in this film. I just felt like they were all a little dated and most looked fake by today's standards. And apparently a lot of the dinosaurs were recycled from earlier stop-motion films for years before, which might show. However, the wonderful animation and acting of said creatures by the early stop-motion guru Willis H. O'Brien is so good that it often helps to "sell" what is happening far better than the
actual creature designs.</div>
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Also the score brings a lot of excitement and helps put you on edge during various sequences here, I've heard a lot of Max Steiner's classic scores and when you put this one up against them, it really shows the range the guy had. This score may not be as memorable or "classic" as <i>Casablanca's</i> (1942) or <i>Gone With The Wind's</i> (1939) scores but it really shows the skill of the guy, and it fits this movie quite well too.<br />
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I enjoyed the film's morals relating this fairy tale to that of Beauty and the Beast, however the film tries to hammer this home a couple too many times for modern audiences. With a little more subtlety it would have been really magnificent.</div>
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The writing in the film is mostly decent/passable with the exception of being overall sexist. Granted this is a product of its time but characters don't even bat an eye at talks of trading women, there's chauvinist characters who outright and openly hate women which is well... just kind of awkward. </div>
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The bad writing is only further enhanced by some really bad acting our romantic leads are really pretty awful. Early starlet Fay Wray is an absolutely terrible actress (with a great scream though, so maybe that's why she was cast?) Her rushed romance with (not much better at acting) chauvinist sailor Driscoll, played by Bruce Cabot, is barely watchable on mute. But with such great lines like, "Say, I guess... I love you" I wonder how much was really their fault in the end. And the romance really isn't the focus for most of this film (they prefer to focus on the titular character most of the time) so once you get past a certain point, you forget the human characters are there for most of the film.</div>
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There's also some bad
science here and there like man-eating herbivore dinosaurs. And some
leaps of faith like the fact they were able to
keep Kong under-wrap, and under some form of continual sedation for 6 months until
the end of the film. and when Kong finds Anne at the end of the film
among a whole building/skyscraper of people in only the second window he
looks into, what a lucky ape! These all kind of seem like just carelessly lazy writing/direction. But as my friend pointed out
it's a movie about an island where giant apes (who eat humans) and dinosaurs still live
so who really cares anyways.</div>
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And lastly for my taste (and I'd assume most modern audiences) the mindless dinosaur/monster fights go on a bit too long, it's actually surprising to learn that a bunch more actually got cut before the initial release even! I would have just appreciated a little more substance during these sequences.<br />
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The film has a great "modern" action pace that seems unique for such an early film, even more so considering Kong isn't even seen until about 45 mins into the film!</div>
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Most
of the special effects and stop motion action borders between amazing
and good! There are some exceptions here and there, but when you consider that nearly all of these shots is comprised of
stuff I can do in my living room (with modern technology) the shots are set up in a way that they are well thought out and have great staging to show scale and depth in a shot. It's actually so effective that
sometimes its hard for me to even tell whats plastic, whats a painting and what is
real life in some shots! This is especially true in the city sequences where there's a lot of masterful cuts between stock
shots of real cities, studio shots and models, all done with great
calculation and superb planning.</div>
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<i>King Kong</i> (1933) is one of those films you watch and its easy to forget how long ago it was made, highly influential still to this day and yet very modern feeling. It's actually surprising people keep attempting to remake it.<br />
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4/5 Stars.<br />
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Happy watching!<br />
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<br />
This is the precursor to my next few posts which will be tackling the early Toho Studios' <a href="http://gbandm.blogspot.com/2014/05/godzillakaiju-series.html">Godzilla and Kaiju films</a> in anticipation of the newest <i>Godzilla</i> (2014) movie. Check back next time for the original Japanese kaiju film, <i>Gojira</i> (1954).<br />
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</iframe>DChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02080874750725942167noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-261485403081668096.post-75468850114522732262014-05-07T20:53:00.001-07:002014-05-23T20:03:13.666-07:00Godzilla/Kaiju Series<h2>
<b>Godzilla Films</b>
</h2>
<h3>
<span class="mw-headline" id="Sh.C5.8Dwa_series_.281954.E2.80.931975.29">Shōwa series (1954–1975)</span></h3>
<div>
<span class="mw-headline"><br /></span></div>
1) <a href="http://gbandm.blogspot.com/2014/05/gojira-1954.html"><i>Godzilla</i> [<i>Gojira</i>]</a> (1954)<br />
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2) <a href="http://gbandm.blogspot.com/2014/05/godzilla-raids-again-1955.html"><i>Godzilla Raids Again</i></a> [<i>Gigantis, The Fire Monster</i>] (1955)<br />
<br />
1b) <a href="http://gbandm.blogspot.com/2014/05/godzilla-king-of-monsters-1956.html"><i>Godzilla, King of The Monsters!</i></a> (1956) [American Edit] <br />
<br />
3) <a href="http://gbandm.blogspot.com/2014/05/king-kong-vs-godzilla-1962.html"><i>King Kong vs. Godzilla</i></a> (1962)<br />
<br />
4) <i>Mothra vs. Godzilla</i> [<i>Godzilla vs. the Thing</i>] (1964)<br />
<br />
5) <i>Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster</i> (1964)<br />
<br />
6) <i>Invasion of Astro-Monster</i> [<i>Godzilla vs. Monster Zero</i>; <i>The Great Monster War</i>] (1965)<br />
<br />
7) <i>Godzilla vs. the Sea Monster</i> [<i>Ebirah, Horror of the Deep</i>] (1966)<br />
<br />
8) <i>Son of Godzilla</i> (1967)<br />
<br />
9) <i>Destroy All Monsters</i> (1968)<br />
<br />
10) <i>All Monsters Attack</i> [<i>Godzilla's Revenge</i>] (1969)<br />
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11) <i>Godzilla vs. Hedorah</i> [<i>Godzilla vs. the Smog Monster</i>] (1971)<br />
<br />
12) <i>Godzilla vs. Gigan</i> [<i>Godzilla on Monster Island</i>] (1972)<br />
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13) <i>Godzilla vs. Megalon</i> (1973)<br />
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14) G<i>odzilla vs. Mechagodzilla</i> [<i>Godzilla vs. the Cosmic Monster</i>; <i>Godzilla vs. the Bionic Monster</i>] (1974)<br />
<br />
15) <i>Terror of Mechagodzilla</i> (1975)<br />
<br />
<h3>
<span class="mw-headline" id="Heisei_series_.281984.E2.80.931995.29">Heisei series (1984–1995)</span></h3>
<div>
<span class="mw-headline"><br /></span></div>
16) <i>The Return of Godzilla</i> [<i>Godzilla 1985</i>] (1985)<br />
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17) <i>Godzilla vs. Biollante</i> (1989)<br />
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18) <i>Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah</i> (1991)<br />
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19) <i>Godzilla vs. Mothra </i>[<i>Godzilla & Mothra: The Battle for Earth</i>] (1992)<br />
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20) <i>Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II</i> (1993)<br />
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21) <i>Godzilla vs. SpaceGodzilla</i> (1994)<br />
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22) <i>Godzilla Vs. Destoroyah</i> (1995)<br />
<h2>
-</h2>
23) <i>Godzilla</i> (1998) [American]<br />
<br />
<h3>
<span class="mw-headline" id="Millennium_series_.281999.E2.80.932004.29">Millennium series (1999–2004)</span> </h3>
<div>
<span class="mw-headline"><br /></span></div>
24) <i>Godzilla 2000: Millennium</i> (2000)<br />
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25) <i>Godzilla x Megaguirus</i> (2000)<br />
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26) <i>Godzilla, Mothra, King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack</i> [<i>GMK</i>] (2001)<br />
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27) <i>Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla</i> (<i>Godzilla x Mechagodzilla</i>) (2002)<br />
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28) <i>Godzilla: Tokyo S.O.S.</i> (2003)<br />
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29) <i>Godzilla: Final Wars</i> (2004)<br />
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<h3>
<b>Legendary Series (2014-)</b></h3>
<br />
30) <a href="http://gbandm.blogspot.com/2014/05/godzilla-2014.html"><i>Godzilla</i></a> (2014) [American]<br />
<br />
<h3>
<b>Related films</b></h3>
<div>
<b><br /></b></div>
<div>
<b>-</b><i><a href="http://gbandm.blogspot.com/2014/05/king-kong-1933.html">King Kong</a></i> (1933)</div>
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<b><br /></b></div>
<div>
<b>-</b><i>The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms</i> (1953)</div>
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<b><br /></b></div>
<b>-</b><a href="http://gbandm.blogspot.com/2014/05/rodan-1956.html"><i>Rodan</i></a> (1956)<br />
<br />
-<a href="http://gbandm.blogspot.com/2014/05/mothra-1961.html"><i>Mothra</i></a> (1961)<br />
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-<i>Gamera</i> (1965)<br />
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-<i>King Kong Escapes</i> (1967)<br />
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-[<i>Itallian</i>] <i>Godzilla</i> [AKA: <i>Cozilla</i>] (1975)<br />
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-<i>Pulgasari </i>(1985)<i> </i>[North Korean]<br />
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-<i>Pacific Rim</i> (2013)<br />
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<br />DChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02080874750725942167noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-261485403081668096.post-3977087979368845672013-10-31T14:15:00.002-07:002013-10-31T14:15:31.933-07:00Paranorman (2012)<b>NIGHT 31</b><br />
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<h3>
<i> "</i><i>If you were bigger and more stupid, you'd probably be a bully too." </i></h3>
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<i>Paranorman</i> (2012)<span style="font-weight: normal;"> </span>is
a stop-motion animated film from Laika studios, this is their follow-up to their premier feature <i>Coraline</i> (2009).<br />
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Norman is an outsider with no friends and a special ability, he can see ghosts. He lives in Blithe Hollow (based on modern day Salem, Massachusetts) where thanks to his special ability he is the only one who can prevent an ancient witch's curse to prevent the undead from coming back to life.<br />
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The voice acting in this film is a good mix of B-stars and amateur children (that don't suck) which evens out to an all-around good voice cast. Actually my biggest complaint is probably that because these aren't big name stars most of the cast will sound really familiar and probably bug you the entire film as you're trying to put a face to the voice.<br />
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The comedy in this film is really pretty funny. There's lots of really funny lines that just crack me up. There's actually so much humor that it almost seems inconsistent, like I feel they could have actually cut some of the jokes to make the funnier ones stand out better. And it's worth mentioning that there's a wide range of humor here too from puns to gross-out to slapstick and situational. This seems to do it all.<br />
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I really like almost all the characters in this film, I especially like our circumstantial group of protagonist that are only working together because of happenstance. They're all pretty solid characters, especially Norman who seems very well planned out and based on someone's own personal experiences being an outsider growing up.<br />
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I like how simple and good this story is. It's also a good mystery, that revolves itself in a pleasant and satisfying way. I also like how this film incorporates horror movie themes and tropes in a new and original way that we haven't seen before.<br />
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Also the film seems a bit long winded for how simple the story is. I
don't know if the stakes are just never high enough or what (it's
truthfully a little hard to put my finger on) but it "feels" longer than
it should. Also because the story is so simple it might be able to figure out the mystery before the end of the film, which can take some of the interest out of it, but at the very least the messages of the end will be worthwhile and not super predictable (more on that in a second).<br />
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I really love the cinematography in this film, which is not something I say for animated films too often. The filmmakers really don't seem restricted by the miniature stop-motion medium. There's lots of beautiful shot choices combined with brilliant camera moves like long tracking shots and other complicated camera moves that must have taken so much planning considering the medium. I love this shot right at the beginning that starts with tracking with Norman as he walks down the street then the camera pans around him and once it passes his face we again follow him down the street but this time through his perspective with all the ghosts and dead people he sees on a daily basis.<br />
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The animation in this film is top-notch. (We're talking Pixar good, though possibly better since it's stop-motion rather than computer generated.) I think my favorite thing about the animation in this film is everyone's different walks really say something about their personalities and I think the animators had some extra fun animating the zombie walks. A testament to how good the animation in this movie is, is that a lot of people thought it was computer generated rather than stop-motion! On a related note, probably the thing that really makes Laika stand out as a studio than all the other animation studios is their incredible attention to detail on such minor things like lamps that sit in the background for only one scene. This attention to detail and care really comes through in the film (even if it's just a subconscious feeling that immerses you deeper in the world) and it gives you plenty to gaze upon and stare at on subsequent viewings.<br />
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And lastly I have to mention how excellent this film is at addressing its themes. I think this is the best film or anything that I've ever seen that addresses bullying. I love how this film's message isn't to try and stop bullying (like we've heard time and time again) but instead the film takes the higher road and says that we may never be able to stop bullying instead you just have to deal with it. Our characters learn to deal with their problems through the bad experiences, and not through adult interference or anything else. This is a very strong message for a weird little kids film.<br />
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Paranorman (2012) is a great film for kids that incorporates lots of macabre and horror movie elements in a way that we really haven't seen yet.<br />
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4.5/5 Stars.<br />
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Happy watching!<br />
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That is all for this year's <a href="http://gbandm.blogspot.com/search/label/31%20Nights%20of%20Macabre">31 Nights of Macabre Movies</a>, I hope you enjoyed my selections and maybe even found something new to check out! Until Next year, Spooky watching!!<br />
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DChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02080874750725942167noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-261485403081668096.post-31876347842613921292013-10-30T14:28:00.000-07:002013-10-30T14:28:17.091-07:00Bud Abbott and Lou Costello Meet Frankenstein (1948)<b>NIGHT 30</b><br />
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<h3>
<i> "</i><i>Young people making the most of life... while it lasts." </i></h3>
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<i>Bud Abbott and Lou Costello Meet Frankenstein</i> (1948) (also known as <i>Abbot and Costello Meet Frankenstein</i>)<span style="font-weight: normal;"> </span>is a loose sequel to the Universal horror films. Toward the end of the run of monster movies the studio was willing to try anything to revive interest in the classic monsters and this film proved to be an instant hit.<br />
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Chick and Wilbur work as freight handling baggage clerks where they get a strange delivery that they have to personally deliver to a 'house of horrors', wax museum. Unfortunately for them, the horrors in these crates are very real.<br />
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One of the things I really like about this film is it has a very simple good story. Dracula wants to put Wilbur's brain into the Frankenstein monster to make him completely obedient and Laurence Talbert knows Dracula is up to something but can't turn him in and has to quietly follow him because of his own dark monster side. All the while Wilbur is one of the few humans to catch on that something is up, but Chick and the others just think he's a babbling idiot so they don't listen. It really is a great idea of how to blend an Abbott & Costello story and a Universal monster movie.<br />
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This film has some really great situational humor. Director Charles Barton was the main director of Abbot & Costello sketches through out their careers and this film is a fine example at how good they were with those. I love the way they incorporate the "horror movie-ism"s into some more classic Abbott & Costello style sketches like the revolving door with the trick candle and the part where they're trying to run away from Frankenstein's monster and Dracula at the same time and they end up and down the castle stairs and into and out of rooms and even barricading a door in a room only to have Frankenstein's monster just open it in the opposite direction. Also the fact that they have Bud Abbot dressed in just a black dress shirt and grey slacks with his costume that just consists of a wolf mask, and Lon Chaney is wearing the same thing before he transforms into the wolf man makes for some really smart and well planned out mistaken identity. It's brilliant and hilarious stuff.<br />
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As an audience today we're really not used to comedies like this anymore and some of the skits (like the ones mentioned above) can seem a bit long-winded when viewed today. I think the problem is we're so used to quick faster paced movies that when you watch a film like this where they spend ten minutes on a revolving door gag or even five minutes with Lou messing around with luggage our brains just kind of belittle the comedy in-front of us.<br />
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Probably my favorite thing about this film is its dialogue and verbal jokes. This film has some hilarious comedy via puns and jokes that crack me up every time. This is of course amplified by Abbott & Costello's mastery of comic timing and facial expressions. I love the running gags with Wilbur's inability to speak when he's frightened so he has to pantomime the Dracula and Monster walks.<br />
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And I gotta mention the performances of Bela Lugosi and Lon Chaney Jr. This film is a must see for classic monster fans because of these two, they really just give it their all and really don't hold back even though this is just a silly comedy. Lon Chaney Jr. reprises his magnificent role as the troubled and tortured <a href="http://gbandm.blogspot.com/2012/10/the-wolf-man-1941.html"><i>Wolf Man</i></a> (1941) like it was yesterday for him and even though it had been far longer since Lon Chaney donned his cape and fangs you can still really see here why his performance is still considered one of the greatest adaptations of <i><a href="http://gbandm.blogspot.com/2012/10/dracula-1931.html">Dracula</a></i> (1931). Both of these actors just loved the characters and there is no greater proof than their performances in this film.<br />
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While<i> Bud Abbott and Lou Costello Meet Frankenstein</i> (1948) may have just been a studio's grab at helping a dying franchise, it's proof to me that horror and monsters can be used in more ways than just to scare people. This is ever so proven in present day where we still get "monster mania" at least once a year.<br />
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4.5/5 Stars.<br />
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Happy watching!<br />
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Tomorrow is the final night of this year's <a href="http://gbandm.blogspot.com/search/label/31%20Nights%20of%20Macabre">31 Nights of Macabre Movies</a>! I'm gonna send it off right with a great animated zombie film from last year!<br />
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DChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02080874750725942167noreply@blogger.com1