Destroy All Monsters (1968)

just my favorite Godzilla movie and the best monster bash ever.  so much fun I'll give you two trailers!



here's the US one, which I saw on TV when I was about four.  I remembered it until I finally saw the movie in about 1974 on TV.  I was not disappointed at all.  luckily, someone at Channel 2 KWGN loved monster movies as well, and DAM was shown all the time.




as a bonus, here's the GERMAN trailer, which is also pretty cool.  notice how it identifies all the monsters!  and calls Kumonga by the US name of "Spiga"... interesting.

Godzilla

I write about Godzilla a lot here, 37 times at least already.  and yet I've been pretty quiet about the alleged new Legendary Pictures remake coming out in 2012.  and that's because I'm not very impressed with the movies they've made.

except for The Hangover.

and the last thing I want to read about during the ad campaign is how all the previous Japanese Godzilla movies had bad actors and bad effects and bad stories (remember how all the morons said that about 10 Star Trek movies after the remake was released?  yeah, 40 years of tv show and movies that sucked made it so popular.

I remain unconvinced that this movie won't be just as non-Godzilla like as the piece of film made in 1998.  and let's do away with the term "reboot" as it just means "remake".

the Creature!

here's the original (and best) Creature movie!



I so hope this isn't remade.  now, what will be the final movie trailer tomorrow?  anyone who knows me can probably guess...

Godzilla's Revenge (1969)

I love this movie, but I can understand why some US fans were a bit let down after seeing the trailer.  it IS a bit misleading!




it's a great children's fantasy movie, but the US title isn't very appropriate.  nor is the Japanese one, really.  Godzilla on Monster Island would have been a better title.

Mightor!

another one of Hanna-Barbera's awesome superheroes from the 60s.  Mightor was so great that the whole transformation was ripped off completely for the lame He-man in the 80s. Mightor of course wins the "what's the better cartoon" due to the fact he had more action and fighting in 6 minutes than He-man did in 3 episodes, and there are dinosaurs!

and all the dinosaurs he faced had fangs.  I think even the mammoths did as well.  still, I have to say Sheera (another He-man rip off, huh) was pretty dim if she couldn't figure out Tor and Mightor were the same person!

the man beyond bionics!

remember this popular post?  well, here's another cool trailer of questionable authenticity.  it's well done, but I am calling shenanigans on it as well.



I have several of the original tv spots for this movie, and never once do they actually mention Joseph Brenner, like his name in 1975 would have been a selling point anyway!  still, it's a well done trailer, fan made or not.

still the greatest super hero movie ever made!

cave trailers

for some reason I am in the mood for some prehistoric shenanigans today.  consider these some fun bonus Hallowe'en trailers!



I have discussed this movie here as well, but don't ever recall seeing the trailer.  and for a funnier take on the issue:



they just don't make 'em like this anymore! I love this movie as well.

Revenge of the Creature (1955)

the second of the Creature films, this one brings the Creature to civilization this time.  watch the movie and see a very young Clint Eastwood show up as a scientist with a mouse in his pocket!



I was fortunate to see all three movies a lot growing up.  bless you KWGN Channel 2!

The Redhead from Wyoming (1953)

another fine movie with Maureen O'Hara, she just shines in this one. 

it's about cattlemen and settlers and political ambitions of one man (William Bishop as Jim Averell), setting each side against each other.  trying to stop it is Alex Nicol as Sheriff Stan Blaine, who was a drifter before being "chosen" for the job by Averell.

O'Hara plays Kate Maxwell who has most of the brains in the movie. it's kind of a predictable story, but the actors make it work really well.

the print used on the DVD is gorgeous.  the movie was shot in Agoura, California, USA, where lots of movies and shows were and are still filmed.

a new high in screen terror!

it's Ghidrah, the Three Headed Monster (1965)! one of my favorite Godzilla movies, and the first one I ever "owned" on 8mm film.



actually, it was just the first Godzilla vs Rodan vs Mothra bit, but it was still pretty cool.  this one has all the great stuff you want, monsters, spies, Martians, gun battles, assassins, loads of humor and some great effects.  it's awesome!

RIP Mike Esposito

here's the scoop.  he inked many of my favorite comics, including "The Metal Men".  thanks for all the great memories, Mike.

the fiends!

I have written about this movie before, but it's just one of the creepiest and best monster movies of the 50s.



and it's the sound effects that really make the fiends scary. 

let's clean the King's Clock...

and so Green Arrow and Batman do in the opening to the first episode of this really fun series.

I've reviewed several episodes here and there on the blog before, so my feelings for it are easily apparent.  I was a little apprehensive (just like with B:TAS when it first premiered) but it took about 3 episodes to win me over.

this DVD set collects the first half of season one, that would be 13 episodes.  these are all the ones that have been released previously on DVD in single sets, but it's much nicer to have them all together.

the humor is really well done here.  I've never been a big fan of Plastic Man, but they do a good job of getting him to work here.

there are no extras here, sadly, as it would have been nice, but for the price it's not a big quibble. the picture and sound look great. 

Southern Knights #4

no title for this one!

here we meet the Hampton House's caretaker, Bryan Daniels, and the start of his and Kristen's rivalry (they went to Clemson  and Uni of GA).

Mr. Holland starts his campaign of revenge on the Knights  David's armored suit is being used against them, and he wonders why the gov't work he did is not with the g-men.

we also meet Serpent and her two assistants, and see how she deals with failures.  she also has an extraordinary interest in Dragon.  now what could that be?

the writing is firming up quite a bit, as is the artwork.  the interplay between the characters really makes this comic book work.

crab monsters... crab monsters...

the professor (Russell Johnson) is stuck on an island with giant crabs.  had they eaten Gilligan the threat would have been over!  I really enjoy this movie.

why does all the world fear... Mothra?

or at least certain fakers...



these are some pretty cool trailers, though the first one is more than a little misleading!  some of the more, er, focused Godzilla fans don't like Mothra, mostly because Mothra beat Godzilla.  they complain Mothra has been in too many movies, and yet don't seem to think that Godzilla has been in too many movies.  weird.

I like Mothra in moth form.  the grubs I can take or leave.

Robot Detective!

yep, the most dapper of superheroes (aside from Sokichi Banba, of course) is Robot Detective.

and now our friends at Hi-no Tori are fansubbing it.  well, maybe.  we'll see if it goes more than one episode (like JAQK, Iron Man 1-7 and Kamen Rider).  still, it would make a nice sampler DVD of 70s superheroes.

anyway, it's a cool show, dig it!

oh, does It Conquer the world... and how!

saw this after an episode of "The Outer Limits" and it's scary after that!



I really like this movie, it's so much fun. everyone does a good job, and it's pretty suspenseful.  and "Beulah" is just plain awesome.

interesting

due to this comment here, I am making it mandatory that all posters have to be registered (for the time being).  have the courage of your convictions to post your name if you have such idiocy to say.  hate internet anonymity!
though I sort think that post is a joke. and the poster...

The Valley Of Gwangi

possibly my second favorite Harryhausen movie.



as documented here I have discussed Gwangi a few times. for the longest time it was the movie that had the most minutes of stop-motion animation in it of all of Ray's films.  there's a lot more to this movie than a lot of people think.  but watch it yourself and see!

"tastes like chicken"

why?

I love the Peanuts.

this is a test, and it's funny.  though who would want to drink root beer is beyond me.

Godzilla vs the Thing (1964)

the fourth Godzilla movie, Godzilla vs the Thing is widely considered to be among the best Godzilla movies ever made.  it is!  while it's not my favorite Godzilla movie, I sure can see quality when it's in front of me. the only flaw is the end, with the rescue of the kids. would have been more exciting to have Kumayama and/or Torahata holding the kids hostage or something, with Godzilla heading their way.

well, I think it would make it better, anyway.

Milion de Anos (el comic book)

that doesn't look a thing like Raquel Welch, but it's an awesome cover!  it's the Spanish version of the Hammer adaption of One Million Years, BC.

if you can understand Spanish you can read more about it here at Colossa, a great source for info. he's got some great stuff, and I always love seeing it.

hence the plug.

I have read the original adaption, many years ago, but haven't seen it since.  it looks better than I remember, but suffers from being condensed down into 10 pages (wonder if they cut out the allosaurus and the ceratosaurus for being too "poofy" looking?).

I wonder if the guy who used to do the original Turok covers drew this one?  the dinosaurs look quite similar to me.

The Giant Behemoth

I dunno, maybe it's because I saw it the most growing up, but this is my favorite of Eugène Lourié's trilogy of sea monster movies.

"Tillicus" (1961)

it's like leather!



I love Reptilicus, despite it's reputation.   seeing it late night on a grainy VHF just seemed to make it work in a strange way. 

here's a fun and surreal sequence cut from the US version.  the movie was a national endeavor in Denmark.  that's not stock footage of the army, that's the real army!

I like it.  I bet more people saw it on tv with "The Beverly Hillbillies" and "The Monkees".  I remember seeing the one with the Hillbillies.

Against All Flags (1952)

here's a fun little movie, with a great cast and lots of really cool miniatures.

the DVD looks great. Errol Flynn is a bit past his prime, but it still charming.  Anthony Quinn is excellent as the villain, Capt. Roc Brasilian, and one almost feels sorry for him as we all know his eventual end!

however, it's the wonderful Maureen O'Hara who steals the show.  she is just great in this.  has she made a bad movie?  if so, I've not seen it yet.  she also does her own swordfighting in here, and kills more of the pirates than Flynn does.  she's just awesome and looks quite spectacular in her pirate gear.

the DVD is paired with Buccaneer's Girl (1950) which is also very cool and has a great lead in Yvonne De Carlo (the later Lily Munster). both movies are a lot of fun.

the Turtle King

figured since Godzilla has had several trailers already up, let's give his main rival a turn:



this trailer is pretty darn cool, I think, even without one of the best monster themes present.

The Lizard King

probably going to have a lot of giant monster movie trailers from here on out...



and here's some fun lyrics from the Groovie Ghoulies:

Jim Morrison is not the Lizard King
He didn't do much of anything
You could of crushed him with just one step
And that's why we like you the best

Godzilla! Godzilla!
Go! Go! Go! Go! Godzilla!
Godzilla! Godzilla!
Go! Go! Go! Go! Godzilla!

Jim Morrison may have had the looks
He may have read a couple books
And he may have really had a chance
But he died and then he moved to France

Godzilla! Godzilla!
Go! Go! Go! Go! Godzilla!
Godzilla! Godzilla!
Go! Go! Go! Go! Godzilla!

Jim Morrison tried to take your throne
But he got tempted in a haze of methadone
Since the fifties you have been the one

the king who came from the Land of the Rising Sun

Godzilla! Godzilla!
Go! Go! Go! Go! Godzilla!
Godzilla! Godzilla!
Go! Go! Go! Go! Godzilla!

Go! Go! Godzilla! Go! 

Leslie Nielson stars in "Forbidden Planet" oh oh oh oh...

one of my favorite sci-fi movies of all time, Forbidden Planet (1956)!



it's got just about everything you could want, good score, great actors, cool effects and one of the most unusual scores ever made.

I'd love to write about this movie, but what could I possibly add to what has already been said?

Gigantis, the Fire Trailers

I find myself really enjoying this movie these days, maybe it's the ever so lurid US promotion of it, I don't know.



I wish I had seen it when I was younger, then I would really love it, flaws and all.

as it was, this was the final Godzilla movie I ever saw on tv, in the early 80s, once cable had infiltrated Longmont, CO.  I believe it was a USA Network Godzilla marathon.  boy, remember when cable networks were fun?

I know as a kid I would have loved this a lot more than the original Godzilla movie, simply due to the fact there were two giant monsters in it.

and nope, never gonna call it "Godzilla Raids Again"...

Drunken DVD

why is there no proper Region 1 DVD release of Drunken Master (1978)?  this is mind boggling to me, when both the hero and villain are still alive to talk to about it.

apparently there is an R2 disc out (this is the cover) which features all this:
Drunken Master
Hong Kong Legends

• Format: DVD
• Region: 2 (Not Region Coded)
• Length: 106 minutes
• Rated: NR
• Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
• Video: PAL, 16x9 Enhanced
• Languages: Mandarin Dub, English Dub
• Subtitles: English
• Special Features: Hwang Jang Lee Biograpy and Kicking Showcase, Yuen Woo Ping Biography, Interview with Producer Ng See Yuen, Rare Deleted Scene, Trailers, Photo Gallery, Jackie Chan Bio/Filmography 

that's where the picture came from. it would be an easy thing and very marketable thing for someone like Dragon Dynasty to do a top notch job for a release over here.  I'd buy it then.

Samson or Santo?

either one is deadly to las vampiras!



this is a fun and rather atmospheric luchador movie from Mexico, one of the early movies.  it's one of the four Santo movies that got dubbed into English.  loads of fun!

Rollergirls (2006)

apparently airing for one season of 13 episodes on A&E, this is a decent show about banked track roller derby in Texas. 

it showcases four different teams from TXRD, which is based in Austin, TX.  we won't hold that against them.  naturally, being a "reality" tv show, they have to include drama from private lives of the various teams, which I have always found suspicious when cameras are rolling.  but perhaps that's just me being cynical.

the best parts are the bouts, of course.  the Holy Rollers are so far undefeated, and the rest of the league doesn't really care for them.  it'll be interesting to see how the season plays out.

now, I ref for a flat track league, which is a bit different than the way these girls skate.  I am not sure if the fighting and rolling around on the track is encouraged in here, but that's cause for ejection in my derby world. it doesn't look very professional, either.

the girls are all good to great skaters, but there are a certain amount of theatrics going on, a bit of a throwback to the 70s version of roller derby.

here's a shot of the way the announcers show the viewers how the game is played.  it's pretty well done, though they can't get beyond the "hot knife through butter" metaphor for the jammers. maybe in later episodes...

I think this is sort of a sequel to the movie "Hell On Wheels" which is about the start of roller derby in Texas back in 2001.  same teams and everything, just some different players.

this series is available on DVD from Amazon.com here.

X the Unknown Trailer

I'd never heard of this movie before stumbling upon it late night in the late 80s.  very good little piece of film about radioactive mud.



I had it confused with the Quatermass film of a similar name, "The Creeping Unknown" which is also very good.  this movie has an interesting history as well.

X The Unknown (1956)

Marvel Godzilla

OK, I'm a little vexed about some fans saying how awful the Marvel Comics Godzilla was.  they are spoiled whiners who can see Godzilla movies any time they want now. 

and I know this is going to sound like a grumpy old man "in MY day..." rant, but I don't care.  when this successful and well selling comic debuted, you could only see Godzilla movies every so often on tv.  or buy an 8mm 11 minute compilation movie for $10 or so, if you were lucky.

anyway, it was great news for a kid who loved both monsters and superheroes to read that Marvel Comics was going to produce make a Godzilla comic, and he would be interacting with their heroes.  sadly, there was only one Hulk vs Godzilla drawing and that was a gag panel.

incidentally, Herb Trimpe stated that one of the art requests he gets a lot is Godzilla vs the Hulk.  I wanted to see Godzilla vs Ultimo more, but that didn't happen either, alas.

we did get to see Godzilla take on the Thing and Devil Dinosaur, and a lot of other monsters, and some rustlers, and even Las Vegas.  I enjoyed every issue and was pretty sad when it ended, not due to poor sales, but due to the licensing fees Toho wanted.  once a month for two years I was in a heaven where monsters met superheroes, and it was great.

Vampires!

this is a really cool peplum movie!

there's lots of neat things to see here, including a battle of two Macistes!  or Goliaths, if you will.

Brains... good and bad!

this is another movie that left an impression on me, especially the end of it!



I really enjoy it still, even with with balloon brains.  it's an interesting premise.

The Brain from Planet Arous (1957)

MOTW- The Creature

one of the finest and best men in a suit monsters ever.

he also has some fine taste in leading ladies as well, in all three movies.

I was fortunate growing up, because someone at Channel 2 KWGN was a monster movie fan.  I saw all three of the Creature movies several times, but I'll never forget seeing it the first time. 

it was on Sci Fi Flicks, a Friday night show that aired one "Outer Limits" episode and then a monster movie.  what a great way to scare the audience, since usually the "Outer Limits" episode was scarier than the movie that followed it.  the episode this time was "Tourist Attraction" which was also a water based monster, and then the great "Creature from the Black Lagoon" was up.  I liked 'em both!

King Kong vs Godzilla

the first time I ever saw either monster, age 6:



and while I acknowledge that the Japanese version is superior, I still love the US version. I am sure there would have been a lot less Godzilla fans in the US without this movie.

many fans knock it these days, quite forgetting that until about 15 years ago, no one had ever seen the Japanese version.

trailer from the sea

I know I talked about It Came From Beneath the Sea earlier, but here's Friday's trailer of the day-


I really like this movie.  and I really dislike colorization of black and white movies.  that is all.

wild is the word!

for Wild Wild Planet!



this is the first (I think) of the "Gamma I Quadrology" which also includes "War of the Planets", "Snow Demons" and "War Between  the Planets". I think a case could be made for "The Green Slime" and "Battle of the Worlds" as well to be included, since it's such a loose continuity.  I like this one the best of the four.

Souther Knights #3

after the Knights relieve Johnny Barl of his obligations to them, they have to figure out how to support themselves.  they go visit Kristen's family and her father ("daddy is a little on the wealthy side") sets them up in the old Hampton House, contributions to the Knights will be tax deductable.

the Knights also decide to earn their own living expenses.

during the night, an assassin shows up to kill Richard Austin (Kristin's father).  bad timing when you have four superheroes in the house.  so while in Florida the Knights bust a drug running ring.  Roger Holland has ruined his life and swears revenge!

I really like showing how the heroes get their operating expenses.  it's rare that you see that.  I mean, who built the JLA's various bases?  and it's a good thing Tony Stark just had a mansion in the middle of NYC for the Avengers to use!

we also get some nice interplay between the heroes, and some background on both Connie and Kristin.  how many superheroes actually have parents that are still alive?  and Connie is the flipside, which we learn more about later.

Electrode's origin is pretty standard superhero fair, aside from the fact he wanted to be one and made it happen.  it's nice he doesn't even care who knows it, either.

Lou and Jr

my favorite Abbott and Costello movie, and my favorite Universal Frankenstein movie.


I don't remember the first time I saw this, but I know I have loved this movie nearly all of my adult life. it was not the first Classic Universal monster movie I saw, but it's the one I've watched the most.  plus Larry Talbot is the good guy, so I like that a lot as well. even the trailer is a crack up.

creature walking trailer!

here's one trailer for the third Creature movie-

I saw these three movies a lot growing up, so it's like watching old friends whenever I view the movies.  the DVD set is great.  oddly enough, here's a second trailer for this one.  this is the weakest of the three, but at least it's something slightly different than the first two.