#Godzilla The Man in the Suit good

[raptorscreams]

ʙᴇᴛʀᴀʏᴀʟ.

[absolutebl]

This Week in BL - Lots of lovely kisses & an unwarranted upset in the standings

Organized, in each category, with ones I'm enjoying most at the top.

Oct 2024 Week 2

Ongoing Series - Thai

Fourever You (Thai Thurs YT) ep 2 of 16 - Yes yes J&J should be first but I am weak in the face of, well, frankly this man's face:

Pond = greatest piner in a dog’s age. The yearning in that boy’s eyes is obscene, it’s like the most explicit sex that only he can see and we’re just voyeurs.

Thus I continue to adore this stupid show and everything it stands for. No notes. May the fluff continue eternal.

Jack & Joker (Thai Mon IQIYI) ep 5 of 12 - Everyone is so skilled in this show, but War is truly glorious. Considering the pacing, I think we are probably in for some long periods of darkness, suffering, and pain soon. I’m not mad about that prospect, it’s earned and foreshadowed, I just thought I’d lay it out there.

Kidnap (Fri YT) ep 6 of 12 - More boys from GMMTV with good communication. Who knew? Min has SUCH a white knight complex. NO SINGING. Good demanding kiss, though. Well, Ohm can handle anything. 

Meanwhile, this really is a bodyguard romance under another name. And I kinda wanna rewatch Never Let Me Go as a result.

Love Sick 2024 (Thai Sun iQIYI) ep 4 of 15 - Earn remains best boy and my favorite character. Phun is v jelly, as he should be. AND I like Ohm & N'Mik better in this version. I still prefer the original leads, but I’m enjoying this enough. 

I had no idea how much I missed Gunsmile! It’s so nice to see him on my screen again.

Monster Next Door (Thai Thurs Gaga ) ep 12 fin - I hate Diew’s mom. Hate her. So much. She may be my least favorite mom ever in BL. That’s saying a lot. No I don’t think she was redeemed. 

Conclusion

Adapted from the novel Godzilla Next Door by Jiwinil about an introvert who lives mostly in his room, until a loud annoying extrovert moves in next door. This was one of my top picks for 2024 and I’m delighted to say it satisfied expectations. A charmingly serene story of opposites attract, that featured good communication, patience, and genuine affection used to build a solid relationship.(I’m particularly delighted that our musician is a drummer and I don’t have to listen to him sing.) Yes it’s a tad slow but it’s very earnest and leans into the kind of sweetness that Thai BL does best. Doesn’t hurt that this starred an actor (Big) that many of us have been hoping would get a lead for years. I was pleased and comforted. This is not a kind of BL that suits everybody, but it suited me admirably. 8/10 

Battle of the Writers (Sun YT) ep 10 of 12 - Ozone and the Ice Prince (name still unknown) did their little dance. What an earnest and romantic confession from our Icy man. I literally said “no no no just kiss, no foreheads.” And it was a great crying kiss, my favorite. Honestly, that amount of emotion hadn’t been earned by this pair, but I don’t mind. I could watch a whole show just about them. Also woah! Major nekid on YT?

Thailand......

Risking demonetization for arse…...

I guess we’ve all been there. 

Where was I?

I’m happy with this episode since it was mostly my side couple. But the distribution of main couple and side couple and the focus of each episode is wildly erratic with this show. It’s very odd. (And let's be clear we ordered errotic not erratic.)

Every You Every Me (Thai Mon Gaga) ep 1 of 10 - Jade and Chin have lived over a thousand lifetimes. In each one they somehow manage to fall in love with each other. (This pair, TopMick was piloted in a My Universe ep, that was one of the only ones I liked.) Soulmate premise is a mix of Color Rush and La Pluie. Frankly, this isn’t as good as either, but it’s enjoyable in a slow cheerful way. Especially if you like this particular set of tropes. It’s quietly lovely and I like the leads. Sunshine is very very sunshine and our tsundere is a grumpy mysterious nerd. Trigger for domestic abuse. It looks like each episode is gonna be a completely different meet cute with the same pairing. It’s more linked vignettes than any overarching story. So if you don’t like this pair, you won’t like this series.

Addicted Heroin (Thai Tues WeTV) ep 9 of 10 - More sports day. (Everybody’s doing sports days right now.) Random sides kissing. Where did the glasses person come from? Was he introduced and I forgot about it? Oh that’s the evil cousin! Okay… anygay. Sides randomly flip-flop who they like and I don’t know what the fuck is going on. This show. I swear. Ooo caught kissing. And… killed? What a mind fuck of a soap opera. Honestly, I’m fine if he’s dead, I don’t care at this point I just feel jerked around. 

For some reason no eng sub for me for the first half. So I watched with Spanish subs (which is about as good as my Thai, only for different words). What a wild experience.

Bad Guy My Boss (Thai Sun Gaga) ep 4 of 10 - Oh dear. I just can’t imagine ever rooting for this couple. Which means… Why am I watching this? 

Ongoing Series - Not Thai

My Damn Business (Korea Sat YT) eps 1-2 of 7 - Oh I love it. Casual flirty westernized-style boss. Reserved reluctant cutie (yes we’ve seen the actor before). Is it disgusting workplace harassment? Oh most certainly. Do I enjoy it anyway? Yep, I’m warped. No defense, but at least it’s something from Korea. 

Teenager Judge (Vietnam Sat YT) ep 3 of ? - I like the lead being bullied and pushed to his limit thus turning into a psychopath. It’s gonna be a fun ride if it really goes Devil Judge just teens and actually gay. I wonder if it has the strength of its convictions? 

Our Golden Times (Hong Kong YT) 5 fin? - I guess that is the reunion? What an odd little piece. I’m not entirely sure what I feel about it except that this feels more BL than anything Hong Kong has given us so far (which isn't much). The subs are truly terrible. Since I speak absolutely zero Cantonese I can’t really fix them in my brain. I thought this was the final ep but then a teaser for ep 6 dropped so I we have at least one more. 

First Note Of Love (Taiwan Mon Gaga) ep 10 of 12 - It was a nice, if entirely unearned reunion. And the leads do kiss beautifully. Trust Taiwan. I am so glad that Orca is back! There was even a little language play flip-flopping just for me. Very cute. Also GREAT kissing. How long have we been waiting for Thailand and Taiwan to kiss? 

Eccentric Romance (Korea Weds Viki) eps 1-2 of 12 - Silkwood’s 2nd Thai/Korean colab. This has been in production since 2022 which is a LONG time in the BL world (worrying). But I like the concept: friends of 10 years who’ve been hiding feelings for each other enter the same university. Plus MURDER. Stars Yoon Jun Won (The Man BLK) and Thai actor Save Saisawat (Ai Long Nhai). I begin to think every The Man BLK member will eventually lead out a BL at this point.

It’s enjoyable in a weird way. Grumpy (hottie with a crush) + sunshine (captain oblivious). I gotta say, since this is the second relationship dual lingo style in our BL rn that it’s ALWAYS weird if the other half doesn't occasionally code switch languages, especially for specific words. In other words, the Korean dude is supposed to at least understand Thai, occasionally he’s should use a Thai world to get a point across. And the Thai dude is there to STUDY KOREAN, he should be slipping in and out of Korean regularly. Bah. 

It's airing but...

Love is Like a Poison AKA Doku Koi: Doku mo Sugireba Koi to Naru (Japan Tues Netflix?) 5 of 10 eps - I never managed to get hold of ep 5. Frankly, it’s going to Netflix (I don’t subscribe) so I might not finish this out of sheer laziness. 

The Hidden Moon (Sat WeTV) ep 1 of 10 - This is a supernatural romance (my ghost boyfriend trope) by Violet Rain (I Feel You Linger). A man is hired to write an article about an old mansion in Chiang Mai being converted into a café. He sees the ghosts of people who died at the mansion, falls in love with one of them. Was substantially recast. I loved IFYLITA except the ending so I think I'll let this one run it's course you can tell me if it's work tracking down... if they managed to land it. I have my doubts.

Gangster and His Boyfriend (Korea ????) 8 eps? - was supposed to air 10/10 Kim Dong Bin (famous trainee & idol reality competitor, yeah that happens) stars as a fallen idol who unexpectedly becomes entangled in a gangster family. Discovers that his friend’s father is responsible for the murder of his entire family years ago. I don't know much about this one, neither does anyone else and I'm not sure where I got that release date so……

Next Week Looks Like This:

Upcoming BLs for 2024 are listed here. This list is not kept updated, so please leave a comment if you know something new or RP with additions.

Still Coming Oct 2024:

10/17 Let Free the Curse of Taekwondo (Korea Thurs Gaga) 8 eps - High school student Do Hoe lives with his violent and brutal father who runs a Taekwondo gym in a rural area. One day, cheerful Ju Young arrives, he dreams of going to college for Taekwondo. Joy begins to fill Do Hoe's dark life. An unexpected incident forces them apart, they reunite ten years later.

10/21 Love in the Big City (Korea ????) 8 eps - Okay, this is both a movie (already out) and a series. Neither one is likely BL and I can't imagine it will end happily. I'm giving both a pass but here's your synopsis.

Cynical fun loving student Young pinballs from home, to class, to on night stands. He and Jaehee, his female besie and roommate, frequent nearby bars where they push away their worries about life, love, and money with soju and hookups.

10/23 See Your Love (Taiwan Weds Gaga & Viki) 10 eps? - Zi Xiong, a third-generation heir, attempting to flee from taking over their family business, meets and falls in love with Shao Peng, who works as a hearing-impaired nurse. From the same production house as Kiseki Dear To Me in partnership with Shinehouse Theatre, funded by Taiwan’s BIGART + Japan's Rakuten (Viki). Show includes Lin Chia Yo (Be Loved in House: I Do). Director Chiang Ping Chen’s childhood experiences with his deaf uncle have inspired the drama.

THIS WEEK’S BEST MOMENTS

Addicted Heroin

Incidentally he didn’t ask to “be with Ter” he asked if he could flirt/court him. jeeb doesn’t really have a direct translation, but it isn’t “be with.” 

Fourever You

The tag BLigade: @doorajar @solitaryandwandering @my-rose-tinted-glasses @babymbbatinygirl @babymbbatinygirl @isisanna-blog @mmastertheone @pickletrip @aliceisathome @urikawa-miyuki @tokillamonger @sunflower-positiiivity @rocketturtle4 @blglplus @anythinggoesintheshire @everlightly @renafire @mestizashinrin @bl-bam-beyond @small-dark-and-delicious @saezurumurmurs

Sigh, Tumblr in its infinite wisdom doesn't like too many at-ings.

[hotvintagepoll]

Henry Travers (It's A Wonderful Life)—:') every time a bell rings.............an angel who is so so bad at his job falls from the sky........(dont get me wrong he does good in the end but man he took the most fucked up methods to get there.)

Haruo Nakajima (Godzilla)—everyone loves this guy but how many know his name or face! hes responsible for every godzilla trait and behaviour! he spent all day in rubber suits sweating enough to fill a bucket and he got burned electrocuted and almost suffocated in there multiple times in the 12 godzilla movies he featured in. i think hes scrungly but i dont know how to explain *why*... he just is to me and i love it. toho kept godzilla production details secret for so long and when they finally showed photos and footage, nakajimas photo - halfway into the suit, smiling - was the image printed in international entertainment news

This is round 1 of the contest. All other polls in this bracket can be found here. If you're confused on what a scrungle is, or any of the rules of the contest, click here.

[additional submitted propaganda + scrungly videos under the cut]

Haruo Nakajima

Henry Travers

[ellzilla]

Man why are people on the internet such fucking dickheads. Learnt that my favourite analog horror [The Man in the Suit]'s creator Unknowingly has been bullied to the point he's taking a long break and might never continue the series and it's like. Like how the fuck are you going to bully a LITERAL KID over a analog horror they've made??? Not only is that morally fucked up but the series itself is good. This kid's art has unsettled me far deeply than any other analog horror simply due to its lore, its implications and constant feeling of dread due to The Man in the Suit's presence and just. How he is. For example: Rare Newspaper (1964) was probably the most freaky one to me but I can't put my finger on it. Idk what it was but the idea of a kid seeing a human-sized Godzilla in the road and it being so unsettling that they say "The thing I saw outside wasn't Godzilla. I think it was some man in a suit" implies a whole new level of body horror that a CHILD can identify it as unnatural. Idk I just thought it was cool and unsettling and neat and it pisses me off people think the series is so shit they should threaten and torment the LITERAL MINOR WHO MADE IT. Fucks sake

[cuddles-with-dragons]

where the fuck is my impulse control

Yeah, Avengers AU.

Don't care what you say, I tried to make it work.

Including edited quotes from Avengers and Age of Ultron

I replaced Hulk with the Zillo Beast.

---

Dave Filoni: Superheroes in New York? Give me a break.

Echo: We won.

Hunter: All right, yay! Hurray. Good job, guys. Let's just not come in tomorrow. Let's just take a day. Have you ever tried shawarma? There's a shawarma joint about two blocks from here. I don't know what it is, but I want to try it.

Wrecker: We're not finished yet.

Hunter: And then shawarma after.

Echo: Is he breathing?

Tech, in lizard form: *roars in his face*

Hunter: What the hell? What just happened? Please tell me nobody kissed me.

Hunter: Tell him to suit up. I'm bringing the party to you. *a giant Chitauri is following him*

Omega: I don't see how that's a party.

Echo: Tech. Now might be a really good time for you to get angry.

Tech: That's my secret, Echo. I'm always angry.

Omega: Just like Budapest all over again.

Crosshair: You and I remember Budapest very differently.

Hunter, to Scorch: Maybe your army comes and maybe it’s too much for us, but it’s all on you. Because if we can’t protect the Earth, you can be damn well sure we'll avenge it.

Crosshair: Why am I back? How did you get him out?

Omega: Cognitive recalibration. I hit you really hard on the head.

Crosshair: Thanks.

Crosshair: Have you ever had someone take your brain and play? Pull you out and stuff something else in? Do you know what it's like to be unmade?

Omega: You know that I do.

Mace Windu: There was an idea, Hunter knows this, called the Avengers Initiative. The idea was to bring together a group of remarkable people to see if they could become something more. To see if they could work together when we needed them to, to fight the battles that we never could. Cody died still believing in that idea. In heroes.

Echo: Big man in a suit of armor. Take that off, what are you?

Hunter: Genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist.

Mace Windu: I don't know about that, but it is powered by the Cube. And I would like to know how Scorch used it to turn two of the sharpest men I know into his personal flying monkeys.

Wrecker: Monkeys? I don't get it.

Echo: I do! I understood that reference!

Hunter: It’s good to meet you, Tech. Your work on antielectron collisions is unparalleled. And I’m a huge fan of the way you lose control and turn into an enormous Godzilla lizard.

Tech: Thanks.

Hunter: The only major component he still needs is a power source of high-energy density. Something to kick-start the Cube.

Ahsoka: When did you become an expert in thermonuclear astrophysics?

Hunter: Last night.

Hunter: Raise the mizzenmast. Jib the topsails. *points to Anakin* That man is playing Galaga. He thought we wouldn't notice, but we did. *covers one of his eyes* How does Windu even see these?

Ahsoka: He turns.

Hunter: Sounds exhausting.

Wrecker: Don't talk like that. Scorch is beyond reason, but he's from Asgard. And he's my brother.

Omega: He killed 80 people in two days.

Wrecker: He’s adopted.

Echo: Is this a submarine?

Tech: Really? They want me in a submerged, pressurised, metal container? *walks to the side of the deck* No, no, this is much worse.

Cody: We need you to come in.

Omega: Are you kidding? I'm working.

Cody: This takes precedence.

Omega: I'm in the middle of an interrogation. This moron is giving me everything.

Bad guy: I don't... give everything.

Omega: Look, you can't pull me out of this right now.

Cody: Omega... Crosshair's been compromised.

Omega: Let me put you on hold.

Hunter: Shit!

Echo: Language!

*Some chatter and fighting later…*

Hunter: Wait a second. No one else is gonna deal with the fact that Echo just said “Language”?

Echo: I know. Just slipped out.

*Some more chatter and fighting later…*

Wrecker: Find the spear-thingy.

Hunter: And for gosh sake, watch your language!

Echo: That’s not going away any time soon.

Omega: Wrecker, report on the Zillo.

Wrecker: The gates of Hel are filled with the screams of his victims.*Omega gives him a look* But not the screams of the dead, of course. No, no, wounded screams. Mainly whimpering, a great deal of complaining and tales of sprained deltoids and gout.

Echo: The two Enhanced?

Ahsoka: Leia and Luke Skywalker. Twins. Orphaned at 10 when a shell collapsed their apartment building. Sokovia's had a rough history. It's nowhere special, but it's on the way to everywhere special.

Echo: Their abilities?

Ahsoka: He's got increased metabolism and improved thermal homeostasis. Her thing is neuroelectric interfacing, telekinesis, mental manipulation.

Echo: *confused*

Ahsoka: He's fast and she's weird.

Ahsoka: Lab's all set up, boss.

Hunter: *points to Echo* Actually, he's the boss. I just pay for everything and design everything and make everyone look cooler.

Tech: How's he doing?

Hunter: Unfortunately, he's still Crosshair.

Tech: That's terrible.

Hunter: Right, so, if I lift it, I then rule Asgard?

Wrecker: Yes, of course.

Hunter: I will be reinstituting prima nocta. *tries to lift the hammer* I'll be right back.

Hunter: *Tries again with the Iron Man glove, nothing. Makes Rex take his glove too and they both try to lift it.*

Rex: Are you even pulling?

Hunter: Are you on my team?

Rex: Just represent. Pull.

Hunter: All right, let’s go.

*Echo tries next*

Hunter: Come on, Echo.

Echo: *makes it move a tiny bit*

Wrecker, nervously laughing: Nothing.

Echo: Sorry for barging in on you.

Hunter: Yeah, we would've called ahead, but we were busy having no idea that you existed.

Luke, in a police station: We’re under attack! Clear the city! Now! *No one’s doing anything, comes back with a gun and fires in the air* Get off your asses.

Crosshair, to Leia: Hey, look at me. It’s your fault, it’s everyone’s fault. Who cares? Are you up for this? Are you? Look, I just need to know. Because the city is flying. Okay. Look, the city is flying, we’re fighting an army of robots, and I have a bow and arrow. None of this makes sense.

Luke: Keep up, old man! *takes Leia and runs off*

Crosshair: Nobody would know. Nobody. “The last I saw him, an Ultron was sitting on him. Yeah, he'll be missed, that quick little bastard. I miss him already.”

Crosshair: All right, we're all clear here.

Echo: We are not clear! We are very not clear!

Luke: This is S.H.I.E.L.D.?

Echo: This is what S.H.I.E.L.D. is supposed to be.

Luke: This isn't so bad.

Luke: *Shoves Crosshair and a kid behind cover and gets shot multiple times in the leg* You didn't see that coming?

[spacetrashpile]

DRACTOBER DAY 2: EVIL OF DRACULA

Welcome back to Dractober, where I watch and rank one film adaptation of Dracula for every day in October! I'll be ranking each film on two one to ten scales (was it a good adaptation of Dracula and did I enjoy it?) and giving the film a final score at the end by averaging out the other scores.

Today's film is Evil of Dracula (1974). This is a Japanese horror film directed by Michio Yamamoto and distributed by Toho films, who you may recognize as the distributors of the Godzilla series, for one. The film follows Professor Shiraki, the new hire at a girls' school in a rural area of Japan, where a mysterious monster is looking to prey upon him and the students. This film is the third in a trilogy called The Bloodthirsty Trilogy, but it stands perfectly well on it's own (I didn't even know it was the last in the trilogy until I looked it up).

This review will contain spoilers, so if any of this sounded interesting to you, I highly suggest checking out the film before you read my review. If you are interested, please keep in mind that this film deals heavily with physical and sexual assault of underage girls.

Now, let's get into the review!

All of the films I'm watching this month (except for the 1931 Bela Lugosi Dracula and the Francis Ford Coppola film) are ones I've never seen in full before, and Evil of Dracula was no different. As such, when doing research on these films and where to watch them, I tried to keep myself as un-spoiled as I possibly could. From what I did read about this film before I went into it, I was expecting this to be a Dracula adaptation in no more than name. I was pleasantly surprised to find this was not entirely the case!

While the general story of the novel was obviously not adapted, I think this film managed to grasp the spirit of the novel and it's characters quite well. The movie is a slow creep of horror, which suits the tone of the novel quite well. The first 15 or so minutes of the movie, despite the locale shift, feel exactly like what it's like to read the opening chapters of the novel for the first time. You know that Jonathan/Shiraki is in danger from the moment he enters the house. You know that Dracula/the Principal is a vampire and that he only holds bad intentions for our main character. But he doesn't know that yet, and you get to watch in horror (and delight) as he figures it out.

The rest of our main cast also fill in the roles of the rest of the protagonists of the novel. Dr. Shimomura fills a similar role to Dr. Van Helsing, and the girls (Kumi, Kyoko, and Yukiko) fill the roles of Mina, Lucy, and occasionally the suitors (Prof. Shiraki also occasionally fills Mina, Van Helsing, or the suitors' roles, by nature of him being the protagonist and by nature of how many of these characters don't make it out alive). Renfield is also present, with role in the novel split directly down the middle between a previous professor of the school who's now in an insane asylum and a current professor who acts as the principal's right hand man.

To be clear, however, this is far from a one to one adaptation of the novel. Even outside of the very different location and inciting incidents, the similarities to the plot of the novel stall out around the second act. From the third act onward, the film takes it's own spin on vampirism and the fate of our unlucky protagonists- only two of whom make it out of the film alive.

This film takes numerous liberties with the story of Dracula, which is exactly what I expected from the outset. However, it's not trying to be a one to one, it's trying to be a horror film taking inspiration from Dracula, and I think it does that quite well. The two most notable types of horror in the novel (to me) are the creeping horror of the unknown and the horror of bodily violation, and this film does a great job preserving those elements.

So, is this film a good adaptation of Dracula? I'd say it gets a 6/10 in that regard. It's far from one to one, and as the film goes on it takes more and more liberties with the plot of the original novel, but it nonetheless manages to maintain the spirit and tone of the novel pretty effectively.

On to our next category! How much did I enjoy the film?

This film was my first ever foray into Japanese horror and I had a great time. I see why everyone says it's awesome now! I don't watch a lot of horror in the grand scheme of things (mostly because I'm a wuss when it comes to visual gore, lol), but this film really did it for me. I've mentioned the slow, creeping horror of the film already, but I can't stress enough how much that worked for me.

I briefly mentioned above the horror of body violation, and I wanted to get into that more here. As I've said in my previous posts about Dracula, vampirism and blood transfer in the novel is a very sexual thing. It's also a very horrific thing, and sometimes these two traits can be difficult to balance. This film did so very well, primarily because most of the Principal's victims are his students, and it's an inherently horrific thing to watch these girls be preyed upon. I mention this here both because, to me, Dracula is a novel about sexual assault, and I greatly appreciated this film for maintaining that in a way that did not feel like it was pandering to the male gaze, but also because this means this is a film that deals heavily with sexual assault of underage girls. I mentioned it above, but I'd be remiss to not hone in on this fact, both because this is a very sensitive topic and because you might interpret wildly differently than me. While I personally found the film to be focusing on the horror of the situation rather than the sexuality of it, you may think otherwise, and that's fine! But from my point of view, I really appreciated the way in which the sexual themes of the novel were handled in this film, and that's a highlight to me.

This film was certainly not perfect, however. The film relies primarily on lengthy, dialogue heavy scenes to communicate the vast majority of it's plot points. I was personally fine with this, but it can definitely make the movie feel a bit sluggish at times. The acting from our main character also left things to be desired at times, and his acting did not help this feeling in these expository scenes.

The other main issue this film has is it's budget. A lot of the actual horror and fight scenes in the film feel very cheap, and as a result, cheesy. The blood often looked watery, and the special effects weren't great, even taking into account that this is a 70s film. The fight scenes where we actually got to see Dracula/the Principal fight someone rather than just bite them felt particularly comical, like no one really knew how to fake fight but more so how to flail. While the creeping horror of the film was nice, it can't be everything, we have to see the conclusion of that build up at some point, and unfortunately, said climaxes almost always fall flat. In the end, I think this movie gets a 7/10 for enjoyment. I enjoyed the movie, but it was far from perfect.

Overall, I'm giving Evil of Dracula a 6.5/10. The film's loyalty to the novel was a pleasant surprise, and the slow building horror was a great fit for a Dracula adaptation. However, the film was far from an extremely loyal adaptation, and the adrenaline-filled moments that were meant to give conclusion to the slow creep of horror often felt cheap and silly, rather than actually scary. Nonetheless, I recommend giving Evil of Dracula a watch sometime this spooky season!

[kates-dump]

I realized my post analyzing ARGs/Analog Horror was super underestimating of a series so here's a part two

THE MONUMENT MYTHOS: I'm SO sorry I boiled this series down to "big monument is alive boo scary" because it is SO much more than that. Sure it is confusing, but it's so interesting. I could give you plenty of reasons to watch this series, but Freedom is wife and I think that should be enough

The SMILE Tapes: horrifying terrifying horribly amazing AUAGHUGH IT'S SO GOOD!!! There is a VIRUS going around making people go coo coo in the head and distorts their faces and it's SO GROSS but it's SO GOOD

The Macabre Experiment: what if... creepypasta... but... better?

I'm pretty sure this isn't just me underestimating a series again and boiling it down to simple concepts, right? it's creepypasta but made better!!! it retells popular internet horror stories from 2012 in a spookier way, so if these stories have always felt very cliche or horribly written to you, this series is a great choice

The Man in the Suit: one guy in a Godzilla suit will singlehandedly make every American pay for the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki by actually becoming the big lizard (and overall it's very well made and written, the idea of a guy fusing with a suit seems silly but the story is actually awesome)

also I watched this series once and YouTube won't stop recommending me Godzilla stuff how do I stop this PLEASE

If I remember any other series, I'll add them here, and if you have a recommendation, feel free to share!

[moorishflower]

Saw two good movies recently! Went and saw A Quiet Place: Day One yesterday, it's a very good character-driven sci-fi with some like, jump scares thrown in. Lupita Nyong'o is heartbreaking and beautiful and Joseph Quinn is a pathetic shaking little baby bird whom I want to swaddle and stroke gently. The cat was very well-trained. It's not at all a horror movie, I don't rightly think you can call any movies in this franchise "horror," but it's a very solid sci-fi film.

I also watched Godzilla Minus One, which was EXTREMELY good. Gozilla runs the gamut from villain to hero depending on the era you're looking at, but Minus One is a very stark reminder that kaiju films (and Godzilla very specifically) rose out of the cultural zeitgeist of a country's horror and terror over having nuclear bombs dropped on them. It is very much a war movie first and foremost, and Godzilla takes a back seat to a lot of the main character's grappling with PTSD, survivor's guilt, and nationalistic shame. Also, it is a good old-fashioned Godzilla design, nothing at all like the American remakes, simultaneously charming in its obvious man-in-a-suitness and horrifying because it's a CGI rendering of how an actual real animal would somehow still look kinda like a man in a suit.

I watched Dead Boy Detectives, too. It was a charming YA-oriented show that was still like...missing a lot. I feel like if it had been a full series of 18-22 episodes a lot of my complaints about it would be resolved, but alas, it only had 8 episodes.

[lorkonsghost]

I'm sad today for a few reasons work, and the soon to be three year anniversary of a friends death I will now tell you why I prefer bad mother Talia and why his favorite Robin was Damian Wayne. My friend was raised from birth to 14 years old not knowing who his dad was and mildly abusive mother I don't want talk about all thing she did because she's going to take up most of story and the sole reason my friend dead so fuck her. But when my friend was 14 because his mom got fired from her job and she didn't want to actually go looking for a job she dropped my friend off at his bio dads told him he was his son and left. Now like Damian he looked just like his dad and his dad had no clue he had a kid and unlike Damian he had no siblings and his mom 100% had no good relationship with his dad and definitely took advantage of drunk college kid who 16 years younger than her. So imagine your 35 year old man and the woman who he had sex with once almost 15 years ago tells you have kid and he looks like you but dose that even matter she just abandon her kid at his door step and like Bruce Wayne he doesn't kick the kid out or blame the kid but has DNA test done to prove he his well you know what happened he was his kid. So know he goes to court to get parental rights so he doesn't have to go back with his mom. Now some more Damian Wayne similarities he was angry who had undiagnosed autism who was neglected by his mother was desperately touched starved but his dad was a saint and tried to help him the best ways he could. Let me tell you I wish this story had happy ending but he got good few years after that we met up read comics together at my place since me and my family have decent comic collection I can't remember the run name on top of my head but we read the run Damian was introduced he was so happy a kid who had same shit hand dealt I remember my first time reading hating how Talia was depicted but now it my favorite Talia because everytime I read it I remember my friend and his shit hand and how his dad tried to help his son. Now I should explain why it's his mom fault my friend dead he was diagnosed with something I don't feel totally ok with sharing since you could find out who was with it but safe to say he was told he needed to be in assisted living situation shortly after his mom tried to force the court to put him under her care again since she would be given tax exemption from him just living their and she hired a really good lawyer and my friend saw his and his father's hand in the case and their was a good chance she could take him back so instead of even chance with living with her again he killed himself the trail never even made it to court. This is why I like bad mother Talia because every time I write something she deserves her getting her just deserts I feel a little better it's or anything bad happening to her I know it was the creator being islamophobic I don't care if can write legally distinct fanfic about a person who I hate and getting beaten up I'll take it.

I feel like you guys are owed some more facts about him he used to call his dad his Batman when he talked about him. He eventually had a step mother who actually tried to be a mom but sadly she only knew him for a few months I remember her crying the hardest at his funeral how it wasn't fair she couldn't hold him longer apparently she couldn't have children so when she learned her boyfriend at the time had a kid although he was adult she was happy. He liked Godzilla a lot he had some of black and white movies. He was the only person I ever met who liked the batman and Robin movie the one bat suit nipples and Mr freeze. He had hated when people ignored him he would start to hit your arm until you at least acknowledged his existence he tried this once with a teacher and he got detention so fast. He wanted to work in 3d animation. He owned but never read the homestuck epilogue books. I only got one thing from him sadly his 3d model folder I would show you guys his work but I can't look at his art without crying so I rather not.

Goodbye my friend my Damian Wayne from your Jon Kent

[highly-radioactive-nerd]

The reason I love Godzilla is because of the classic Japanese special effects. So the idea of people only liking the new films, the cgi only films is utterly alien to me.

Like, i like them too, but they're not a replacement. They're good but they are different. Completely different kind of art than just doesn't quite scratch the itch I have. I need more movies with man In suit monsters destroying miniature cities and I need them fucking now. I won't remember how to love until there are more man in suit giant monster movies

[ifuckinglovedinosaurssomuchjesus]

GODZILLA MOVIE MARATHON: Godzilla vs Mechagodzilla (1974)

Ah, the twenty year anniversary of the big guy himself, celebrated with the introduction of one his most enduring adversaries in the doppelganger automaton: Mechagodzilla!

Mechagodzilla is a great character and deserving of his spot in the "Big Five." His popularity comes from his versatility and his status as a mechanical, artificial monster, but that's not really explored in his first outing. Instead he's kind of just a generic space monster, the whole robot double aspect really only mattering for an obvious twist that is revealed at the end of the first act. After that, he's just another kaiju controlled by cartoonishly evil aliens set to invade earth.

I will say though, despite the trope being hopelessly tired by this point, this is probably the best alien invasion plot since Astro Monster. Mostly held up by the Interpol officer, who adds some mystery to the first half and executes some fun spy action once the climax hits. Don't get me wrong, you're still just sitting here waiting for the monsters to show up like almost every other Godzilla movie, but it'll keep your attention until then, which is more than a good chunk of the later Showa era can claim.

Luckily the monsters do show up pretty quickly, in fact the first fight is at the twenty minute mark, where we get to watch poor Anguirus get wrecked. That's another appeal of the movie, it's not like vs Gigan or Astro Monster where the monsters feel unconnected to the human drama, here the entire plot is about getting the statue MacGuffin to Okinawa before the aliens can steal it and the prophecy ends. Keeping the kaiju in the forefront narratively and adding a ticking clock keeps the story jugging forward and prevents that sort of meandering boredom some of the worst kaiju films suffer from.

King Caesar in the man of the hour in this film, the monster they need to awaken in order to save the world from the wrath of Mechagodzilla. The movie is hyping him up and he gets a whole musical number to announce his arrival... only for Mechagodzilla to absolutely slaughter him. It's great, genuinely so fun to watch the guy we've been hearing about cower behind a rock until Godzilla shows up to do most of the work. It makes him endearing! Like a big puppy way over his head.

Mechagodzilla is the real show stopper here, the movie does a great job establishing his power by having him beat Anguirus and match Godzilla. This might be the first beam clash in the franchise, with Mecha-G's eye laser and Goji's fire breath meeting in the middle to cause a massive explosion, knocking them both out. That's where this movie shines, the fights are so fucking fun. No stock footage or clunky old suits here, it's all so fresh and dynamic. Mechagodzilla stands out in the Showa roster because his specialty is the full frontal assault of explosive fury. He has missiles and lasers coming out of every orifice and joint. His fighting is so colorful and exciting, especially contrasted with Godzilla's more physical fighting style. Plus what a finisher! Godzilla rips his head clean off, no ambiguous falling into the ocean here, we got to watch a fatality.

Overall a really good movie that encapsulates everything that we love about the Showa era, with one of the best villain kaiju battle in the franchise. It's not quite the top of the list though, not hitting the highs of King Kong vs Godzilla or Godzilla vs Hedorah in my eyes, more matching the vibes of the last movie, so it'll get a similar 7/10 score from me.

[thenixkat]

another not-godzilla

pls feed Kafka he's too skinny now

he's not even broad anymore, someone pls feed Kafka. Like he had to regenerate a lot in the past few weeks he needs some more rations pls his waist is so narrow i hate it

oh that's a scar on asshole dad's forehead not just him frowning constantly

that's rude as hell. I do not care for teh gamer boy

yeah Kafka's not really ok with everyone talking about killing him for parts or using him as a living weapon… this is why ya shoulda been better at hiding yer secret identity sir. You could have transformed when no one was looking

rude ass hell

also ignoring why Kafka went berserk (ya know repeatedly getting his limbs ripped off by someone he was under the impression was trying to kill him) Kafka pls dont thank the person who just threatened to turn you into a suit

oh hey a hive of kaiju ants

i dont like this guy. he's rude. asked a subordinate for a loan to buy more junk and toys, is an influencer

huh ant kaiju are rare to see on the surface but folks run into them underground

Kafka wants to be recognized for his ability as an officer and not a kaiju weapon so he's trying to fight without fully transforming but like sir, try that after you've convinced folks yer more useful alive than as spare parts also yeah had a traumatizing time the last time he fully transformed isnt rocking with it at the moment

not the transformation failing. Kafka's kaiju side said 'nah, you didnt want my help last time'

not the cordyceps

also the ant kaiju spray acid like real ants

ah the fungus has a brain

right i have bee seeing brains in split kaiju wild that their brains are not important organs

how does using the Numbers weapons shave years off yer life? what are the ghosts of the kaiju that got made into them taking revenge

ah yeah 100% Kafka is scared of losing control that's why his transformations keep failing gets a pep talk from rich girl that's more or less 'we're too fucking badass for you to kill us if you lost it, so dont worry about it'

what happened to my guy's claws? also he finally figured out how to smile with that face

ah Kafka learned some tricks from the bug's joyride

Kaiju do have telepathy!

no. 9 tells other no. 9 to pls hold its learning about a new strong enemy right now

the influencer has kaiju eyes b/c biomodding soldiers is fine, kaiju-human hybrids from the wild arent tho

so its not future sight just literal mind reading

damn that's the first 'well done' rich girl got from her shitty dad since her mom died

apparently the ant swarm and two no. 9s were a diversion. B/c no. 9 the third planned to have teh shitty dad for dinner hahah

also how did that mother fucker sneak into yer base? damn yall are not ready for intelligent kaiju damn that man was nice to his daughter for teh first time in a decade and then got ate mind you his daughter is like 18 at best ah i assume no. 9 probably ate like a janitor and got in that way

also no. 9 has certainly been eating its Wheaties

huh so its just stressful to use

shitty dad acknowledges that he's been a bad father

rip to shitty dad, he tried to his best but uh he can't regenerate

shitty dad became dinner

no. 9 really was only here for dinner and decided to dip

Kaiju no. 9 what does a kaiju era mean? are you planning on getting rid of the ability of humans to fight back against the kaiju so they can do what they want? like its not like there's many sapient kaiju running around most of the fuckers seem to just be wild animals doing wild animal shit

ah the thing where Kafka started not being able to turn completely back human

human looking at least

have yall tried feeding him cause look at that you can almost see the poor man's abs

these are not good working conditions. Also just bc he stops being able to look like a human doesnt mean he'd stop thinking like a human necessarily

no. 10 regained consciousness in captivity. It's core is too damaged for it to regenerate. It had a blast fighting the vice captain and tells him if it's gonna become a weapon for anyone it wants him to use it

being… you are a head, a small piece of spinal cord, and like 2/3rds of a core the fuck are you gonna fight with??

ah it means it wants to be made into a weapon and that teh vice captain use it to fight. Bc it really really had fun fighting him and wants more like that good news the vice captain made a new friend and it has agreed to be interrogated bad news it still would like to eat him and the possibility of it trying to take over his body if he wears it is not zero

oh hey we've got the reveal that no. 9 is no. 10's parent

to be fair yall havent run into many sapient kaiju that are willing to use their shapeshifting to the fullest extent. and no. 9 is just creating more kids

how tho? How the fuck does heat and pressure at fault lines deep underground make substances that mutate nearby animals and plants (how did the animals and plants get that fucking far into the fucking Earth in the first place) into aliens. B/c you cannot convince me that kaiju arent aliens with their fucking biology that we've been shown

what do you mean in order for a human to use one of the Numbers weapons their cells have to be compatible with the kaiju that the weapon was made from? What kind of superior genetics eugenics shit is this? How are human cells compatible with kaiju cells anyway and why are yall not concerned that human cells can be compatible with kaiju cells

like zoonotic diseases? also should yall not be concerned that some humans are genetically compatible with kaiju cells or is that ok b/c you pick teh super soldier

another not-godzilla but this one has tentacles. There's a lot of not-godzillas in this, yall cant do a not-Mothra or a not-Ghidora for once?

idk about anything else but I think if a human's cells are compatible with kaiju material (i dont get how it works and it seems weird and iffy) but that should mean they can get turned into a were-kaiju the series continuously points out that Ichikawa is a teenager and yet the fandom is so fucking horny for that child it is genuinely disgusting

hmm and we're gonna saddle this teenager with an increased risk of dying young in this already dangerous job b/c apparently lacking in supersoldier badasses who can solo high tier boss monsters

oh hey a somewhat responsible adult tells Ichikawa to turn down the supersoldier offer

also fucking noodle ass human beings unfortunately, Ichikawa is an extremely loyal friend and takes up the offer

there's a neuro link into the weapons ok so the shit is giving people brain damage when they overclock

[oddygaul]

Into the Monsterverse - Godzilla 2014 and Kong: Skull Island

Godzilla 2014

Oof, don’t have a lot of positive things to say about this one… I’m gonna keep at it because my friends tell me the American ‘Zillas grow into their niche, but this was a poor first showing.

Godzilla 2014 kicks off with Bryan Cranston doing an impressive TtDW* speedrun, and then his son, Ford, our protagonist, basically spends the rest of the movie trying to follow in his footsteps by telling his wife to stay put in a city that’s about to be nuked and then refusing to call her for the rest of the movie. Aaron Taylor-Johnson as Ford is one of the least charismatic dudes I have ever seen star in a movie, a big piece of cardboard absolutely void of character or convincing pathos, and I laughed out loud multiple times at his dicey acting choices. This quickly dashed any hopes of me appreciating the movie as the serious, credible drama it’s attempting to be.

*Time to Dead Wife

pretty sure I’ve seen this exact shot in every Air Force recruitment ad ever

I wasn’t a big fan of the MUTOs. They look like designs from a PS2 game: not in terms of rendering, the VFX are fine, but they have this incredibly flat, polygonal design that brings to mind a 2005-era pause menu bestiary. While the silhouettes are fine from the front or while flying, the body plans and musculature are not convincing, and I truly hate the design for their hind legs – they give the impression of a hunched-over human in a suit, with their butts transitioning into ill-fitting digitigrade legs.

One of the movie's weirdest stylistic choices, seemingly a result of Godzilla 2014’s attempt at a more serious, grounded* tone, is a refusal to indulge the audience in cool monster fights. At least three times during the movie, just as Godzilla and the MUTOs meet up to throw down, we hard-cut to another scene rather than seeing the battle play out. Once, it cuts to a little kid who sees the fight on the TV, forcing us to watch him as he watches the fight instead of getting to see it ourselves; in another instance, a character is sealing themselves into a bunker, leaving us to literally watch a door slowly close on our view of the monsters' clash.

It feels like they were going for a Cloverfield-esque found footage angle, where we don’t always have a good view of the action because we’re following the boots on the ground characters, but it doesn’t commit to this aesthetic anywhere else in the movie. We have plenty of wide-angle, omnipresent cinematography for all the other scenes, so it makes these fight cutaways feel like a gag or running joke. Look, I’m fine with a Godzilla movie taking a more serious tone rather than being a monster beat ‘em up, but when the human story is as bland as this one, cool fights would have been a nice solace.

*I mean, as grounded as you can get in a movie where the military’s Plan A is to nuke San Francisco

The treatment of Big Zil himself is a mixed bag. Visually his design is pretty cool, but I was shocked at how weak his SFX were. Godzilla’s iconic roar is replaced with a strange, machine-like screeching noise, and his atomic breath lacks any sound at all. I think this was done as a stylistic choice – the classic Hollywood contrast trick of suddenly cutting out all the background noise, the score, the effects, to tighten focus on the visuals for a big moment – but Godzilla’s SFX are a pretty core part of his identity, and the moment felt anemic. In terms of character, Godzilla is pushed all the way onto the good guy side of the spectrum, helping humanity to push back those pesky interlopers, which is a wild choice for the first movie in a franchise, and feels bafflingly unexplained.

Honestly, the movie was at its best when Bryan Cranston was yelling at everyone about his disks. Get the man his disks!

Kong: Skull Island

Wow, what a pivot.

Kong: Skull Island has a scene where Tom Hiddleston straps on a gas mask and strides through a deadly chemical cloud while using a samurai sword to slice up a flock of pterodactyls. And yet, despite the movie being filled with this sort of gleeful action schlock, it has a significantly more coherent story and tone than Godzilla 2014 ever manages. The narrative is no masterpiece, especially compared to recent efforts like Minus One, but Skull Island’s ensemble cast all have enough going on to glue things together.

“Yeah... that was an unconventional encounter.”

The characters are tropey, sure, but they’re handled well; particular standouts include John Goodman as a desperate but charismatic cryptozoologist, and Samuel L. Jackson as a soldier who’s been at war so long he quakes at the thought of returning to civilian life, and become obsessed with finding a new battle to fight. Hell, even John C. Reilly’s character, a stranded WW2 pilot whose role initially seems defined by goofy non-sequiturs, ends up having a lot of heart and serves as the movie's emotional capstone.

There’s certainly some missteps with the characterization and themes – the Vietnam setting doesn’t add much to the movie outside of the aesthetic trapping, the Iwi tribe is a lazy, undercooked attempt to sidestep the Kong franchise’s history of orientalism while walking head-on into the noble savage trope, et cetera – but the character conflicts are compelling enough to keep things interesting.

Plus, even with so much focus on the humans and their motivations, Skull Island remembers it’s about Kong. It’s about the world he inhabits, the enemies he protects his island from, the dangers he faces as the last of his kind. The movie makes a lot of smart choices to facilitate this focus, including plenty of slower, endearing moments with Kong. In 2014, Godzilla feels like a bit player in his own movie. We learn less about him than the random MUTOs, and he basically just shows up, saves humanity for unexplained reasons, then leaves; given the much more serious tone of that movie, it comes off as fairly ridiculous. By the end of Skull Island, on the other hand, we have a solid understanding and appreciation for Kong and his motivations.

Also he uses a propeller like a flail, are you fucking kidding me?? hell yeah

Alright, now I’m fully bought in. On to King of the Monsters.

[sloshed-cinema]

Godzilla vs Biollante [ゴジラvsビオランテ] (1989)

While Godzilla definitely has gone on forays into different tones before—All Monsters Attack is virtually unrecognizable when stacked up against the early Showa era flicks, kiddie clip-show nightmare that it is—this sophomore entry into the Heisei era of the King of the Monsters takes a real kitchen sink approach with genre. Opening immediately on the tail of Return of Godzilla, a solemn newscast reflection on the destruction of Tokyo quickly takes a turn for action as a group of American mercenaries make off with some Godzilla cells. This is easily the weakest part of the story, and any time that Morbius-looking motherfucker shows up you know you’re in for a bad time. Elsewhere, though, the filmmakers are experimenting with different things heretofore unseen in the Zillaverse. Transitioning away from using these kaiju solely as commentary on nuclear anxieties is both fitting to the changing times of the 1980s and in keeping with earlier entries. This is perhaps closest to Godzilla vs Hedorah in that sense, though the titular antagonist in this film is more a product of genetic engineering and unethical tinkering than pollution and environmental catastrophe. The creation of Biollante is perhaps the most interesting through-line in the movie, the product of a grieving scientist fusing cells of a rose he’s hybridized with some of the cells of his deceased daughter to those of Godzilla. The end result certainly recalls Little Shop of Horrors in beats (minus the songs), and has a strong horror element especially in the revelation of the kaiju. But there is also a sort of proto-Guillermo del Toro energy to it in its empathy for a man who did the monstrous out of love, and the films demands for understanding of the beast. Biollante cries, not bellows or roars, and she comes through in the end to both put a stop to the meddling of the humans and help Godzilla.

While Godzilla’s personality evolves and grows throughout his run of movies, this marks something of a change. While Godzilla has been a protector or malevolent presence as the needs of the story arise, it’s always been with regard to the environment at large or the other kaiju with which he interacts. Here, beats play out almost closer to the recent Adam Wingard films than anything else. Godzilla shares a beat with individuals for a few moments and seems to have some intent, good or ill, in that regard specifically. The clairvoyant Miki Saesuga senses and communes with Godzilla, and in the close, Godzilla seems to acknowledge peacefully the presence of our leads. But he’s not always chill. Leading the plot to destroy Godzilla with special radiation-eating bacteria, Col Toro Gondo gets to talk shit to the kaiju to his face before getting the smackdown. By this trajectory, I can only assume Godzilla will be doing opening sets at the Comedy Store by the final Heisei film.

The Biollante creature design itself is a real coup de grâce. The initial iteration of the creature shows how imposing a presence can be even when still, the main body of the entity stationary in a lake. The wrapping tendrils do give Audrey II realness, though, it’s a shame it never burst into song. But the final evolution after being sent into space as spores is something to behold. Completely unique, it’s clearly a complicated puppet to manage, no simple person in a rubber suit (not that that isn’t impressive, either). CGI might have made things easier nowadays, and is certainly more complex than the charming wireframes guiding the Flame Mirror in this film, but creativity and craft were never lacking in good genre films.

THE RULES

SIP

Someone says 'cell(s)'.

Roses appear in a scene.

Wireframe model of something.

BIG DRINK

The Godzilla alert level changes.

[rowanlevine]

🥳 ℋ𝑎𝑝𝑝𝑦 ℬ𝑖𝑟𝑡ℎ𝑑𝑎𝑦 @hdbnger! 🎉

everyone go tell the love of my life happy bday! he is an old sensitive, kind hearted man who needs to be reminded he is loved!

also no one read this down below. it’s mushy and gross.

being soft on main isn’t either of our strongest suits but i won’t lie, i’ve been in my feelings a lot these past couple of days thinking about celebrating you. since i met you, my entire life has changed for the better. i feel like you’ve been a catalyst for a lot of change in my life. you’ve given me freedom, security, family, unconditional love, the best friendship i’ve ever had and a lot, a lot, a lot and i mean a lot of headaches. but they’re worth it because i love you, even when you do the dumbest things.

like when you feel like you get beer wings and you can fly or when you put the utensils in the wrong way and not to mention unorganized in the dishwasher or when you get bored and raid my skincare fridge just to stick your (probably) dirty hands in them to see what each serum or cream each feels like. and don’t even get me started on the way you somehow manage to leave socks in every room of the house. it’s like a treasure hunt, except the treasure is always finding just one sock. the other one? lost in a mysterious void~. omg ok, why did my blood pressure just rise? lemme back on track.

i love you more than anything. truly. you are everything to me and i’m just grateful you’ve chosen me to do life with. i don’t think i’ve ever had a truly bad day since i met you, you make all the most hard and worst things easy to get through. you’re my home, you know? sometimes i catch myself thinking how wild it is that out of everyone in this world, we found each other. it’s kind of crazy when you think about it. all the things that had to line up, all the moments that had to happen just so we could end up here. the heartbreak, the walls we both had to knock down for each other and all the bullshit we had to get through to find our happy ending. together we defeated our egos, our fears, trauma and so much more.

it’s also crazy to even think we don’t have an anniversary. we just became us over time. was it quick? no. i can remember the many long months it took for us to even say ‘i like you’ let alone decide this is it for the each of us and don’t get me started on allowing ourselves to fall in love. we bought our house, got our kids and just have always lived our lives on our own terms and i appreciate that. i wouldn’t trade any of it. even with all the little annoyances, you make my life fuller and brighter in every way. i never imagined i’d find someone who could make me laugh, make me crazy and make me feel this loved all at the same time. i’m not perfect and neither are you but together, we make a great team.

so yeah, you drive me up the wall sometimes. but at the end of the day, there’s no one else i’d rather have beside me when the world gets tough or when it’s 2 am and we’re just lying in bed talking about nothing and everything or like sharing tiktoks about the craziest conspiracies or those ones of people getting spooked and we’re dying laughing with tears in our eyes. our dogs think we’re fucking insane but that’s a different story all together. thank you for all that you do for me, for us and our life together. i love you for all of it, the good, the bad, the messy middle. for working so much, putting yourself and your body through it so we have somewhat of a security and for making sure i never want or need for anything. thanks for being my person.

happy birthday!!

ps. winston, coco, potato, and stella also told me to tell you happy birthday. godzilla said he will send you a postcard from his travels.

psx2. i didn’t proofread this but i hope i made sense. if not it’s ok it’s 2am.

[henshinwolf89]

Zeiram 1 Retrospective

When it comes to Tokusatsu, it can be somewhat tricky to initially get into. With such a long history and back catalog, and an often 50+ episode long commitment, it can be daunting to newcomers. That’s why I usually say to find what appeals to you and go from there. Maybe find something that’s on the shorter side of things before trying to tackle the bigger ones. Standalone Tokusatsu movies can be a good starting point.

That leads me to suggesting one such movie series as a potential starting point into the larger world of Tokusatsu, the Zeiram series, which consists of two feature-length films and a six episode OVA. Zeiram was created by the insanely talented Keita Amemiya, an absolute legend in the Tokusatsu industry. Having worked on almost every major Tokusatsu franchise in some form at one point before creating his own series, such as the incredible Garo franchise, he quickly established himself as a unique visionary of the business.

Zeiram is Amemiya’s second film after Mirai Ninja, his debut movie in 1988, and began its life as a sequel to it before evolving into its own thing. The first Zeiram movie was released on December 21, 1991, and reportedly had a smaller budget than Mirai Ninja, thirty million yen, which is roughly two hundred thousand dollars. The entire film’s budget is apparently the cost of just a single episode of Garo! However, just because it had a smaller budget doesn’t mean that they skimped on the special effects. The film deploys an impressive array of special effects, ranging from amazing suitmation, puppetry, pyrotechnics, wire work, fight choreography, and even stop-motion animation!

The film stars actress Yuko Moriyama as Iria, a tough as nails intergalactic bounty hunter. Moriyama was a relatively new actress, having her start on a contact lens commercial for Seed Contact Lenses and mostly doing TV work. Moriyama was initially hesitant to play Iria, as she had no prior experience playing action roles, but enjoyed her experience as Iria by the end and came out with a very positive outlook. She wasn’t used to using guns or gun props and was pretty surprised by the impact of the model gun the first time she used it. She got used to it eventually as she knew Iria was a professional and needed to act the part. Soon, she found firing the guns to be really fun. Moriyama also stated having difficulty with the suit Iria wore. It’s bulkyness making her feel like a robot and bruising up her body quite a bit. She got used to it after a month. However, the suit was very squeaky and noisy. You could always tell when she was nearby, much to the amusement of the rest of the cast and crew.

The other two major characters are the two average working Joe electricians, Teppei and Kamiya, played by Kunihiro Ida and Yukijiro Hotaru, respectfully. Ida was in Amemiya’s previous film, Mirai Ninja, and is a varied actor being in the original Japanese version of “Shall We Dance?” Hotaru, on the other hand, is an accomplished stage actor and should be a familiar face to Tokusatsu fans. He played The Evil Emperor Diable in Bishoujo Kamen Poitrine, had a cameo as the suicidal man in Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack or GMK for short, and most famously played Tsutomu Osako in the Heisei Gamera trilogy, and Gonza Kurahashi in Garo. Hotaru and Amemiya are good friends, and they both have a tremendous amount of respect for each other.

Moriyama, Ida, and Hotaru all developed a great working chemistry with each other. Ida was very supportive of Moriyama, frequently psyching her up and giving her emotional support, while Hotaru often gave her acting advice. They did line readings together often and read through the script many times before shoots. They did this in advance as often as possible. Hotaru during shoots would hunch over to make himself look smaller in comparison to Moriyama, so Iria had a larger and more imposing presence.

Next up is Bob, Iria’s A.I. partner. Who is voiced by Masakazu Handa. He sadly died at the young age of 47 due to heart failure on August 26, 2014. Handa was a professional voice actor who also did a lot of narration work and announcement work at events like martial arts tournaments and sports games.

Finally, the titular monster, Zeiram, is played by suit actor Mizuho Yoshida, and the suit was made by famous sculptor and artist Takayuki Takeya. Yoshida’s first role was in Mirai Ninja, but he has played many Kaiju characters as well, such as Mother Legion in Gamera 2: Attack of Legion, Zedus in Gamera the Brave and Godzilla in GMK. In the Rebirth of Mothra movies, he played Desghidorah and Dagahra in the sequel. He has also provided motion capture work for video games such as the Tyrant from Resident Evil CODE: Veronica, Dylan in Dino Crisis 2, Dead Rising, and Onimusha. Most notably was the mo-cap actor for both Solid Snake and Naked Snake/Big Boss in Metal Gear Solid 1-3.

Amemiya drew many designs to find the look of Zeiram, an alien wearing a sedge hat. He settled on the look of a traveler from the Edo period, as he thought it would be scary to see someone like that in the streets in the middle of the night. The Zeiram costume was quite heavy, most of the weight being on the head with tension on the neck. According to Amemiya, Zeiram is female, but in the films, the characters use male pronouns, so I’ll be using gender neutral terms to refer to Zeiram. I mean, it’s a bio-mechanical alien. It probably doesn’t even fall into our human definitions of gender anyway.

But enough about the behind the scenes tidbits for now, let’s get into talking about the actual film!

The movie opens with an intense scene showing how dangerous Zeiram is. A group of armed men are brutally slaughtered by the ruthless alien. A bounty is placed on the capture of Zeiram, and Bob accepts the order and claims no one may interfere with Iria and Bob’s job. Next, we see Iria skulking through the streets of Tokyo, gathering supplies. Then we are introduced to Kamiya, who is elated to finally strike it big gambling on horse races. Kamiya is divorced, most likely due to his gambling habits. Teppei is next, trying to contact Kamiya about their next set of jobs. He wants to quickly get them done as he has a date with the company’s secretary, Yumi, something Kamiya teases him about.

I like Kamiya and Teppei. They’re just two average dudes that are about to find themselves in something extraordinary. They are the source of comic relief and provide a contrast to Iria’s stoic badass demeanor. Their hapless antics don’t distract or ruin Iria’s action scenes, and they even contribute tremendously to helping Iria. Honestly, they remind me of Val McKee and Earl Bassett, played by Kevin Bacon and Fred Ward from the movie Tremors.

Anyway, Iria and Bob’s base of operations are siphoning a lot of electricity, and so Kamiya and Teppei are called in to investigate. Iria and Bob are building a device to trap Zeiram in a place called the Zone. They need to use the Zone to capture Zeiram to avoid causing collateral damage to Earth’s environment and population. Bob says that they need this job to pay off debts racked up by Iria. After catching Zeiram in the Zone, the two electricians arrive, and Teppei accidentally stumbles into the Zone’s teleporter. Iria gives chase, and Kamiya invites himself along. This is where the movie primarily takes place in the Zone, where no other life is allowed in outside those permitted or teleported there.

Iria traps Kamiya in a protective barrier and goes off to pursue Teppei and find Zeiram. Unfortunately, Teppei encounters Zeiram first and is attacked. He flees, and Zeiram produces a creature called the Lilliput monster to give chase.

The smoke in the scene where Zeiram attacks Teppei with the Lilliput was created with oil at 2 o’clock in the morning. One of the first locations they shot according to interviews. People who hung their clothes out to dry had them covered in oil the next morning, Amemiya feels guilty for it and was sorry. The Lilliput monster was played by suit actresses Mayumi Aguni. Apparently, an early example of a woman playing a monster in Tokusatsu. It’s unfortunately difficult to find information online about female Kaiju actors. The only others I’m aware of are Yumi Kameyama as Super Gyaos in Gamera: The Guardian of the Universe and, of course, the popular and adorable Rie Ota as Baragon in GMK.

Back to the movie. Iria manages to track down Zeiram and lures it to a warehouse that she previously laid with booby-traps. She ensnares Zeiram in a wire trap and begins to gloat about her victory. Her confidence gets the best of her as Zeiram seizes the opportunity and surprises Iria with the parasite in it’s hat, and cutting itself free. Meanwhile, Teppei stumbles upon Kamiya frozen in the barrier. He attempts to free him. The fight between Iria and Zeiram rages on, as they exchange fire between each other. However, Bob warns that conventional weaponry is useless, so against Bob’s wishes, Iria reveals her battle armor and switches to hand-to-hand combat.

Iria’s armor proves effective as Zeiram’s payload of artillery is reflected. Zeiram chooses to fight with melee as well and begins to overpower Iria with shear might. Iria lures it to another trap, restraining it in place. Zeiram unleashes more Lilliput monsters to buy itself time to escape. Iria defeats the Lilliput monster, but Zeiram escapes its binding. Zeiram presses forward and corners Iria, but just before it can finish her off, she manages to finally trap it in the same confinement barrier she trapped Kamiya in.

With Zeiram in custody, Teppei finds Iria and requests she release Kamiya. Iria complies, and she explains the situation to the two men. Just as Bob is preparing to teleport everyone back, a Lilliput monster attacks the group. Iria defends the two but gets transported along with the monster, leaving the electricians behind with the frozen Zeiram. The scuffle with the monster damages the control panel, cutting off access to the Zone. Bob reveals it has also destabilized the Zone too, and not much time is left before it completely vanishes.

Waiting for Iria, Teppei rifles through Iria’s bags as Kamiya grows impatient. Another Lilliput monster attacks Kamiya, and Teppei uses Iria’s weapons to fight it off. In the struggle, Zeiram’s stasis pod gets damaged and releases it. The two electricians attempt to flee by hot wiring a truck. Unfortunately, Zeiram corners them and bites Kamiya’s arm with it’s parasite. They manage to shake off Zeiram and escape. It’s revealed that by consuming its victims’ DNA, Zeiram creates its clone monsters. It creates an imperfect clone of Kamiya, but it is unable to follow orders. In its rage, Zeiram kills the clone.

The scene where Kamiya gets attacked by Zeiram’s tentacle is one of the final scenes to be shot. The tentacle was controlled by wires, and the prop was quite short. They had to utilize camera tricks to make it look longer. After Zeiram removes its scarf, revealing its face, to make the Kamiya clone, its face seems reminiscent of the Predator. I wouldn’t be surprised if Predator played a role in inspiring Zeiram in some way.

The two electricians flee into a beer storage warehouse and attempt to defend themselves from Zeiram. The fight causes Teppei to get separated from Kamiya. Teppei is unable to locate Kamiya, escapes, and contacts Iria. Iria and Bob debate sending Teppei the Metis Cannon to fight Zeiram after Teppei resolves to make a last stand after he assumes Kamiya might be dead.

Teppei heads to the drop-off point on a motorcycle to retrieve the Metis Cannon, Zeiram intercepts, and corners Teppei. Suddenly, Kamiya returns to save Teppei with a construction crane. However, Zeiram overpowers it and knocks Kamiya out of the vehicle. Then Iria swoops into the rescue, armed with a bazooka. Iria unloads the bazooka’s only shot towards Zeiram, severely damaging its body. Zeiram discards its lower half, revealing its true body is the hat, and mutates into a more skeleton-like creature to continue pursuing our heroes.

The bike scene was shot in a plane hanger in Haneda Airport. Amemiya had no prior experience with shooting a scene with a stunt like this before and was worried about the safety of the actors. The wire connected to the stunt actor on the bike fortunately snapped off, had it not, Yoshida, in the Zeiram suit, would have been hit and seriously injured. The Zeiram skeleton showcases Amemiya and his teams talent at practical effects with an impressive display of both stop-motion animation and puppetry, bringing the creature to life.

The trio, with Zeiram in tow, flee through a maze-like web of rooms in search of the Metis Cannon to kill Zeiram. Iria stays behind to stall Zeiram, leading to her being flung out a window after damaging Zeiram with a grenade. Kamiya and Teppei find the Metis Cannon but struggle to put it together in time, Zeiram tracks them down and corners them. Iria locates them in the nick of time and quickly assembles the Metis Cannon and uses it to destroy Zeiram’s skeleton. She then captures Zeiram’s hat in a barrier.

Bob transports Kamiya and Teppei back to home base outside the Zone. Then, he brings back the captured Zeiram. Next, he attempts to bring back Iria. However, Zeiram breaks free, damages the transport device, and goes on the offensive once again mutating further. Iria is trapped within the Zone as it is collapsing. Bob instructs Kamiya on how to repair the transport device as Teppei attempts to hold Zeiram back with a makeshift wooden barricade. Zeiram breaks free and is poised to kill Teppei when Kamiya fixes the device, and Iria arrives to save the day by lighting Zeiram up with as many shots as it takes, finally killing it.

As the morning comes, the trio catch their breath and thank each other for everything. Iria cuts off two locks of her hair and gives it to Kamiya and Teppei as a way of saying thanks and for them to have something to remember her by. Bob then asks if the three could group up for a commemorative photo. As Bob snaps the picture, everyone smiles and credits roll.

Though Moriyama was inexperienced as an action actress, by the time of filming the final confrontation with Zeiram, she was completely in character. Amemiya found it easier to direct her, as she had become accustomed to fighting, and he had gained more experience as a director. Despite a few bumps in the road, the cast and crew had a pleasant experience with the movie. The only major problems were the weather, which seemed to be against them, according to Amemiya.

As for my thoughts on the film? I absolutely love it! I would wholeheartedly recommend it to anyone, whether you’re into Tokusatsu or just like monster movies or creature features, like Predator or Alien. I’d even recommend this movie to a Resident Evil fan! I couldn’t shake the feeling of being reminded of my love of the intense rivalry between Jill Valentine and Nemesis. I wouldn’t be surprised if this film played some role in inspiring Resident Evil 3, though I have zero evidence to back that claim. Zeiram even goes through several mutations, like a final boss from Resident Evil.

Even if you’ve never heard of Keita Amemiya’s work prior to this, chances are you’ve encountered his work vicariously through some games you may have played. Games like Hagane: The Final Conflict, Onimusha 2-3, Clock Tower 3, Genji: Days of the Blade, Final Fantasy 14, and Shin Megami Tensei IV. Like I said, he’s a legend of the industry, and he has fans all across the world.

If you’re interested, you can easily pick up a Blu-ray copy for a good price. It recently received a fantastic 30th Anniversary Edition re-release back in 2021 by Media Blasters. Go check it out! You won’t regret it!