Kaiju Chronology: Rebirth of Mothra 2

He's big!  He's bad!  He's adorable!  Mothra is back again in today's film- Rebirth of Mothra 2.  The fluffy little (big) guy is back to protect the Earth again.  What kind of threat is it this time?  You'll never guess.  It is a big, angry monster that wants to destroy the Environment (and us).  Shocking- I know.  This one aims for the younger Demographic, giving you children heroes, tiny people that ride a tiny Moth and much, much more.  Why is a little Kuriboh (look it up) the key to a hidden treasure?  Why does a monster eat garbage?  Why do large Starfish spit poison in your face like those poison-spitting Dinosaurs from Jurassic Park (like you know their name!)?  To find out the answers to all of those questions (Warning: Results Not Guaranteed), read on...

The film begins with...HOLY SHIT- THAT IS ALOT OF MOTHRAS!!!

Seriously- that happens!

Where was I?  Okay, so there is trash, a mysterious monster lurking around and three kids that discover...Fuzzy Tomato?

The evil little person is after, but, thankfully, the good ones are here too (and so is Fairy).  We get tiny people, Fairy (the tiny Mothra) and this little fuzzball (above) at once- too cute!

The Plot revolves around a hidden city in the Ocean- where else would it be?- that our young heroes find.  They get to go on a live-action (sort of, anyhow) version of that Arcade Game where you paddle the boat past Dinosaurs and Volcanoes.

Oh Arcades, we miss you.

The evil little person summons Dagarah to start smashing shit up.  She wants the treasure in the Hidden City and will do anything to get it.

You know what that means- call in Mothra!  Your name is in the Title, so it is about time you did something!

The battle goes in Mothra's favor until Dagarah coats him in the freaky-acid spitting Starfish that were created by our worst enemy- pollution!

With things going so badly, how can they turn around?

Well, FT turns out to be a fairly-literal Deus Ex Machina created by the former residents of the Hidden City.  They reject evil and side with us.

Mothra is rejuvenated for the final battle and pulls out a new mode to finish off the creature!  He's...Fish Mothra?

Either way, it looks bad-ass and manages to save the Earth...for now.  The End.

It definitely skews younger, but is still quite fun.  The key thing is that the film's demographic is definitely younger than me- roughly the 8-15 year old market.  Like I've said before though, I am a kid at heart.  At this film's heart are two things: a message about treating the Earth right and that giant Monsters must always battle.  I'm all for those!  In spite of its age (being made in 1997), the film has really good Special Effects- both practical and CG.  Yes, not all of the integration of people and Blue Screen (I assume) backgrounds look perfect.  Yes, the blending of the monster suits and people in shot are still not always great.  I'm willing to overlook alot of that because of the amount of detail work put into it.  I sound like an old man when I complain about how CG has become a crutch for so many films and Directors.  Why bother making creatures and sets when you can just draw them like a super-powerful version of MS Paint?  I'll rant later.  My point is that Toho put a lot of work into making these cool-looking and functional monsters and I love em!  While Mothra will never take the place of Godzilla, he/she did star in some overlooked films.  Besides, what other Toho creature can claim to be a modern-day Moses?

Up next, I cover a film that has taken over a Decade to get to the United States.  I sure hope it was worth the wait!  Stay tuned...

Kaiju Chronology: Rebirth of Mothra

It only took a couple Decades for you to get another film.  Today's film is Rebirth of Mothra, the cute little guy's return to Theaters.  Well, solo return, that is.  He/she got a film back in 1961 and a Co-Starring role with Godzilla in 1964.  His next big break was also a Co-Starring role with Big G in 1992's Godzilla and Mothra: Battle for Earth.  The cute little guy DEMANDED his own film again, so Toho caved and gave him a Trilogy.  That last explanation may not be true, but it sure is funnier to picture Mothra yelling at Japanese Executives, right?  This leads us to 1996's Rebirth of Mothra aka the one that the Sci-Fi Channel used to play all the time.  In this one, a mysterious threat is released and Mothra sends his/her Fairies out to stop it before it can come to power.  When that fails, the cute creature rushes into action!  Can it dust its way to victory?  Can the bickering family come to terms and help out?  Can there be anything more awesome than a 3-headed Dragon?  To find out, read on...

The film begins with some very subtle imagery of people logging and chopping up the Forest.  I'm going to guess that this movie is...pro-logging?

I could be wrong about that.

During the work, they uncover this weird-looking artifact, which the Boss just takes home with him.  Oh man- Indiana Jones is going to be pissed!

Naturally, this turns out to be super-important.

In a cave somewhere, Mothra sits over his/her egg and learns of what happens.  He/she will take action in the cutest way...

By summoning a smaller version of itself called Fairy for his/her two little people to ride!  That's...so damn cute!!!

However, there is an evil for every good.  In this case, it is a little lady riding a dragon and trying to revive the villainous monster.

This leads to a long and surreal aerial duel between good and evil...in the Living Room.  Weird fun.

Desghidorah arises and lays waste to the land.  I'm sort of cheating by showing it with wings already, but it is too bad-ass not to show!

Mothra rushes into action and does well, but is not enough to stop the creature.  Who can save the day?

The answer lies in Mothra's egg, which sprouts its larva (which is contrary to nature, right?).  It tries to help out as it is, but must go to the the Island to become...

New Mothra!  This one can get the job done.

In the aftermath, the famous Kojida Forest is destroyed...but Mothra fixes that too.  The End.

It is a bit cheesy, but still quite good.  The film's message is simple: respect the environment.  Is that so wrong?  To be fair to Japan, if you lived so close to China, wouldn't you be concerned about stuff like air quality?  The thing about Mothra is that is just so darn cute!  I know I said that alot, but can you blame me?  It is tricky to make a serious film with something so adorable, which is why the other monsters have to be so dramatic.  With Desghidorah, they definitely achieved that!  It is a darker and scalier version of the classic King Ghidorah model and I really like it.  If you tried to turn Ghidorah into Smaug, that's kind of what it looks like.  One of the big things to note here are the Special Effects.  While most of what you see is still practical, you get digital stuff for the attacks like the dust, Desghidorah's fire blast and Mothra's antennae lasers.  The one you see more often is the integration of the little people (and their mounts) and the normal footage.  It is not always realistic-looking, but it still looks pretty damn good for 1996.  If you want a Kaiju film with a lighter tone (without sacrificing some Drama, of course) and a nice message, this is the one for you.  I will leave you with a statement that I highly-question...

Next up, another dose of Mothra.  This time, the environment is in trouble again and he/she is on the case (since Captain Planet was busy).  Stay tuned...

Zoned Out: Gramma

Are you ready to enter...the Zone?  Oh yeah...

Based on a Stephen King tale and Written for TV by a famous Sci-Fi Writer, we have this week's Induction...

Thi is a kid.  This is a kid who has to watch his Grandma while his Mom is away.

Any questions?

What makes this Episode unique is that the middle part (of the 10-minute run) is all just the kid's narration.  It makes you feel how he feels in this bizarre situation.

Grandma is not well and he's not sure how to handle it.  Does he call the Doctor?  Does he need to check on her personally?

As a side note, would you go into this room?  I didn't think so.

All sorts of freaky stuff starts to happen- like red smoke coming from a hole in the floor.  He discovers a book with words like Yog-Sothoth and Cthulhu.  Ruh roh!

While he goes to check her health up close (with the whole mirror under the nose thing), Grandma grabs the boy and some crazy shit goes down!

In the aftermath, Grandma is dead...or is she?

Yeah, we get the 'Thriller' ending (some three years later) as I guess evil Grandma has found a new host.  The End.

While this is a shorter one (this Episode had 3 Segments instead of 2), it is still quite strong.  While the kid Actor is not great, the Story is helped by the use of narration.  If used too much, it can be silly.  In this case, the Story mandates very little talking (as he's alone with the sick Grandma), so I don't mind it.  Given that this is a Stephen King Story (and from his better period), you know that it is strong too.  I like that it implies alot (like how creepy Grandma) is and thus works well within the limited TV budget (and limited Effects of the time).  If they had gone bigger, you would have gotten some silly stuff.  As it is, it is a shorter, but still strong tale of why I'm happy to not have any Grandmothers left.  Boy, you don't get to say that too often (if ever)!  If you happen to have Grandmothers, maybe just watch your back.  As for the guy who adapted this King tale, well, see for yourself...

Next week, we get a more light-hearted tale of mirth.  There's a Leprechaun, only this one isn't Warwick Davis and Hornswoggle- thank God!  Stay tuned...

Kaiju Chronology: Gamera 3- Revenge of Iris

At last, the final Chapter (until this one)!  Today's film is Gamera 3: Revenge of Iris (or Gamera 1999: Absolute Guardian of the Universe in Japan), the third and most violent film in the Trilogy.  It wraps up everything up and builds upon almost all that has come before.  See- this is what the third film in a Trilogy should do.  I'm looking at you, Michael Bay's Transformers!  In the previous films, Gamera fought off the Gyaos, followed by the Legion.  However, there were consequences for all of these battles.  Are the Gyaos truly dead?  Does the Military still trust Gamera?  Will a new threat emerge to endanger the World again?  In this film, a girl with revenge on her mind finds a power source to allow her to get what she wants.  Will it mean the end of Gamera, the World or both?  This one is dark and violent (especially in the Climax), but quite good all the same.  As blood is drawn and lives are lost, we must wonder what will happen.  To find out, read on...

The film gives us a nice, helpful recap of (just) the first film.  We learn that the threat of the Gyaos may not be over and that more evidence behind their past is around- like this.

This girl is sad and angry since her parents (and cat Iris) were killed during the battle in the first film's Climax.  She blames Gamera, as opposed to the thing he was there to destroy.

To be fair, she is a grief-stricken teenager- common sense need not apply!

Dared to go into an old Shrine, she discovers a weird stone that eventually makes a new creature be born.  It has traits of the Gyaos, but is different and...cute?

Okay, maybe not that last part.  As it gets bigger, it gets a bit more aggressive.  This is bad.

Meanwhile, the Military is now completely-against Gamera after another city-smashing during a Gyaos battle.  It is a good foreshadowing of Man of Steel, I see.

This helps keep the Military busy while the creature gets alot bigger and even more aggressive.  You kind of wasted your chance, guys.

Meanwhile, all of the Main Characters return- even Cowardly Cop.  He's here for a bigger part!

Gamera, as you can imagine, is not happy after being attacked on all sides.  He battles the creature, but he has little chance after it has been powered up (by partially fusing DNA with a Host Girl) and after he's been shot by some Patriot Missiles.

Huh?  I only remember those from the first Gulf War.  We must have let Japan have our leftovers.

When Gamera is down, all hope lies on...the boyfriend of the Host Girl.  He takes the dagger he has been carrying for the last hour and...throws it harmlessly at Iris (the creature, duh).

Thankfully, the real hero of this piece fights back, blows his own hand off to survive and wins the day.  It is the biggest, loudest and bloodiest (even if it is green) thing in any Gamera film!  See you in 2006.  The End.

Damn- this one gets brutal!  Forget what you think a Gamera film is like- this is far more intense.  The film builds and builds, giving you a simple attack from the Gyaos at first to the later climax of blood (albeit green) and explosions!  Gamera is just pure bad-ass here.  He takes two Patriot Missiles and only gets slowed down.  He bites, scratches and claws at Iris to win.  He even blows off his own hand (pinned to a wall by one of Iris' claws) in order to fend off a beam attack!  He takes Iris' own attack and uses it to blow him to pieces!  We even get a moment right out of a Slasher Film as a couple breaks off from a Nature Hike to make whoopie.  However, the medium-sized Iris is there and drains the lady's nutrients Lifeforce-style!  Damn!  It kind of reminds me of the one out-of-place moment in Godzilla vs. The Smog Monster where the creature's blast turns a bunch of people into skeletons.  While this is more disturbing, it is just as graphic in its own right.  As I said in the Intro, the film also rewards you for watching all three films (or at least the first and last one).  You get the lead Actress from the first one, the girl with the Psychic Link and Cowardly Cop are all back in important roles.  If you just watch the last film, you can still figure out who they are, but it helps to know them more.  It is kind of like how you can watch The Avengers without ever watching a Marvel film, but it sure helps you get more context to have at least watched Thor.  You can watch that one- it is good!  In summary, Gamera 3 (whatever subtitle you prefer) is a good finale to the Trilogy and it shows you just how far the Series has really come...

Next up, we move to another Trilogy from Toho.  This time, their most adorable monster is reborn for the 1990s!  Stay tuned...

Intentionally-Deceptive Cover Art: Mask (1985)

Don't ask me why I was looking for MASK on Google- I just was!

Anyhow, while I was looking for it, I found this.  See if you can see what is out of place.

Wow, this looks nice.  Based on the Poster, I assume that the film is a Love Story between Sam Elliot and Cher.

Who's the Star of this one again?

Aaah!  Give me a warning first!

I kid, I kid.  I've seen Robert Z'Dar in Death From Above, so nothing phases me at this point.

Even so, they could have been a bit more honest here, right?  The whole point is that we should look past people's outward appearances...but this message was not received by the people who made the Poster.

It is all about the exterior beauty then- lesson learned!

Kaiju Chronology: Gamera 2- Attack of the Legion

The angry Turtle is back!  Today's film is Gamera 2: Attack of the Legion (or Advent of the Legion in Japanese), the Sequel to yesterday's film (Gamera: Guardian of the Universe).  I'm always curious to see how true Sequels are treated by Toho as they can be mixed bag.  Some (like the Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla/Godzilla: Tokyo S.O.S.) are very directly-related, while most of the 1970s Godzilla films barely had anything in common.  In this case, we get a few major Characters returning and references to the previous film.  I know that you were hoping for the Cowardly Cop to come back- so he is!  In this one, some meteorites crash on Earth and some mysterious creatures start to appear.  Where's Gamera?  Are we going to have to take care of this ourselves?  If so, we are probably boned.  To find out, read on...

A Meteorite breaks up as it nears the Earth and small pieces crash all over the place.  This leads to a series of Scenes of weird events (like the sky glowing green) and a break-in at a Kirin Factory (patrolled by Cowardly Cop) by...

...these things.  They are...not here to 'phone home.'

Soon they start to set up nests and wreak all sorts of havoc in the city.  The military is called in and...well, this is a Toho Film, so they do great.

In all fairness, they do alright.  They just aren't Gamera.

Speaking of Gamera, the girl with the psychic connection to Gamera is back.  Continuity- hurray!

She doesn't add nearly as much as in the last film though.

Gamera, of course, shows up and battles the Legion.  They show their true colors in the form of a giant, spiky bug.  Why can't they stay small like they do on Power Rangers?!?

Ooh, shiny!

Legion is no pushover and has the ability to shoot the smaller insects at Gamera and try to eat him.  Is that like if a giant lady started throwing her kids at Godzilla?

While Legion's attack is impressive, Gamera has a giant cannon that fires a giant, orange beam out of his chest, so he wins.  The End.

Easily the best of the Gamera films so far.  Yes, better than Gamera vs. Gyaos!  I kid, I kid.  In all seriousness, this is good.  It gets the simple stuff- giant monster fights Gamera and smashes up city- right and gives you a little extra.  While they don't save the day, it is nice to see the Military do a little more to earn their pensions.  Another thing it has going for it is the fact that it only needs to do set-up for one monster this time.  We know who Gamera is here, so it is all about Legion.  It gets to go from unseen entity, tiny carnivores and, finally, a giant monster.  It is nice to see the evolution of a creature, since it helps with the build-up.  When a giant monster just shows up, it is not quite the same.  That's taking nothing away from Godzilla, but it is something that I like.  In addition, it allows for more interaction between the creature and others, since it isn't instantly 20-feet tall.  The action is strong here, which is ultimately what you're here for.  While it seems to be not as well-regarded by the DVD/Blu-Ray Distributors (always bundled with the first film), it is a strong enough film to stand on its own.  As a bonus, it was fun to promote!

Next up, the final part of Gamera's swan song (for about 10 years).  With a new creature and a new villain as well, he has his tiny hands full.  Stay tuned...