Friday, December 30, 2011
Monday, December 26, 2011
Merry Kaiju Christmas Pt. One
Some great stuff found its way to Monsterland Ohio HQ this Christmas, beginning with this full-sized, double-sided G2K movie poster!
Thursday, December 15, 2011
Postcards from G-FEST 18: Gigan!
More work from the mighty Kaiju Modeler--classic design Gigan, cyborg partner of King Ghidorah and Megalon.
Tuesday, December 6, 2011
More G-FEST Memories
From the Kaiju Modeler Table, familiar friends, plus Matt's own Xian flying saucer design. Only seven months to go...
Wednesday, November 23, 2011
Tuesday, November 15, 2011
Monday, November 7, 2011
Troll Hunting with the Cuyahoga Kaiju Club
At an undisclosed location somewhere south of Cleveland, Ohio, the Cuyahoga Kaiju Club recently met for fun, fellowship, and monster flicks. After catching up with our friends, attention turned first to the European release, "Troll Hunter."
Comparisons with "The Blair Witch Project," and "Cloverfield" are inevitable and understandable. The "found footage" approach is definitely in effect. Yet it fits the subject matter well, and a few quick establishing shots sneak into the film in an unobtrusive manner.
All that is secondary to the real attraction: big, mean, trolls. The creatures look ridiculous--like huge, storybook trolls--but within the context if the story, this only enhances their believability. If they're going to be real in the first place, why wouldn't they look exceedingly strange, almost goofy? That's not to say that the effects are lacking; on the contrary, the monsters fit seamlessly into their surroundings, and the final act, featuring a Kaiju-sized troll, is truly gripping.
"Troll Hunter" is a fascinating collision of ancient and modern folklore. On one hand, you have trolls literally lurking beneath bridges, who can smell Christian blood. On the other hand, you have secret government agencies and conspiracies working to hide the truth about such entities. "Troll Hunter" is presented with subtitles, but the real soundtrack was hilarious, good natured riffing provided by the CKC.
Next up was "Godzilla 1985," which is, to put it fairly, not the most action-packed entry in the series. The American scenes, which star Raymond Burr, reprising his role as "Mr. Martin," are almost self-consciously campy. In short, it is a Godzilla movie ripe to be riffed on, which the CKC did in grand style. Having watched it in this setting, I'm not sure I need to see it again--it could not be nearly as entertaining as the treatment it received here!
Other highlights of the evening included getting to see Tom's prototype for next year's Godzilla ornament and an archive of CKC newsletters, photos, and artwork.
The next day, we went to the Lego KidsFest in Cleveland with our friends. It is still amazing to think that a combination of Godzilla and this blog has brought such great, cool people into our lives!
Here's a shot of Lego Harrison Ford with the CKC's own Don Kaiju...
Comparisons with "The Blair Witch Project," and "Cloverfield" are inevitable and understandable. The "found footage" approach is definitely in effect. Yet it fits the subject matter well, and a few quick establishing shots sneak into the film in an unobtrusive manner.
All that is secondary to the real attraction: big, mean, trolls. The creatures look ridiculous--like huge, storybook trolls--but within the context if the story, this only enhances their believability. If they're going to be real in the first place, why wouldn't they look exceedingly strange, almost goofy? That's not to say that the effects are lacking; on the contrary, the monsters fit seamlessly into their surroundings, and the final act, featuring a Kaiju-sized troll, is truly gripping.
"Troll Hunter" is a fascinating collision of ancient and modern folklore. On one hand, you have trolls literally lurking beneath bridges, who can smell Christian blood. On the other hand, you have secret government agencies and conspiracies working to hide the truth about such entities. "Troll Hunter" is presented with subtitles, but the real soundtrack was hilarious, good natured riffing provided by the CKC.
Next up was "Godzilla 1985," which is, to put it fairly, not the most action-packed entry in the series. The American scenes, which star Raymond Burr, reprising his role as "Mr. Martin," are almost self-consciously campy. In short, it is a Godzilla movie ripe to be riffed on, which the CKC did in grand style. Having watched it in this setting, I'm not sure I need to see it again--it could not be nearly as entertaining as the treatment it received here!
Other highlights of the evening included getting to see Tom's prototype for next year's Godzilla ornament and an archive of CKC newsletters, photos, and artwork.
The next day, we went to the Lego KidsFest in Cleveland with our friends. It is still amazing to think that a combination of Godzilla and this blog has brought such great, cool people into our lives!
Here's a shot of Lego Harrison Ford with the CKC's own Don Kaiju...
Thursday, November 3, 2011
Monday, October 24, 2011
Phantom Film Festival: The Nightmare Before Christmas
Tim Burton's stop-motion extravaganza has become a Halloween staple for us, and has been on constant rotation for the past couple days. While it is a technical masterpiece, the music and characters raise it to a greater level. The song "This is Halloween" has become a holiday anthem, and I really enjoy the Cab Calloway-esque "Oogie Boogie Man" number.
Sunday, October 23, 2011
Phantom Film Festival: Matango
"Matango," also known as "Attack of the Mushroom People," is a dark horror film from the storied Toho production team that brought Godzilla to life. It features a who's who of the Toho acting stable, most notably Akira Kubo and Kumi Mizuno.
The movie tells a deceptively simple story of a group of Tokyo natives who are shipwrecked on a desolate island. When their rations run low, loyalties shift and civility wanes. However, there are plenty of mushrooms to eat...at a horrific cost.
There are no cheap scares here; instead, a sense of unrelenting dread builds throughout the story. Neither is there a marauding monster to be found, despite the "attack" of the anglicized title; instead, the evil strikes from within, as lust, greed, and despair drives the course of action taken by the castaways.
"Matango" is ultimately a merciless meditation on human nature, and for that reason, it just may be the scariest movie we'll watch during our film fest.
The movie tells a deceptively simple story of a group of Tokyo natives who are shipwrecked on a desolate island. When their rations run low, loyalties shift and civility wanes. However, there are plenty of mushrooms to eat...at a horrific cost.
There are no cheap scares here; instead, a sense of unrelenting dread builds throughout the story. Neither is there a marauding monster to be found, despite the "attack" of the anglicized title; instead, the evil strikes from within, as lust, greed, and despair drives the course of action taken by the castaways.
"Matango" is ultimately a merciless meditation on human nature, and for that reason, it just may be the scariest movie we'll watch during our film fest.
Friday, October 21, 2011
Phantom Film Festival: Werewolf of London
Henry Hull stars as a botanist-turned-lycanthrope in tonight's chiller. "Werewolf of London" feels more like a stage play than a film in some respects; there is quite a bit of dialogue in the film, along with scenes that would be more at home on the stage than they are on the screen. In that regard, it bears somewhat of a resemblance to Universal's "Dracula."
Be that as it may, this is an enjoyable werewolf movie--the transformation sequences (which really are the drawing card of such pictures) are good enough to make my 8-year-old son say "cool." It must be said, though, that the titular monster is more than a little Mr. Hyde-esque. That's not a complaint, merely an observation. I enjoyed the plot point involving Tibet, which implicitly brought together werewolf and yeti legends, if only in the imagination of the viewer.
While too civilized to be terrifying, "Werewolf of London" is atmospheric and effective, with a few moments of authentic creepiness. Hull's lycanthropy serves as a thinly veiled symbol of his workaholic tendencies, both of which wreak disastrous consequences on his marriage. Werner Oland also appears in a pivotal supporting role.
Wednesday, October 19, 2011
Phantom Film Festival: The Creature from Black Lake
Tonight's movie was 1976's slice of Sasquatch cinema, "The Creature from Black Lake," starring Jack Elam, Dub Taylor and Dennis Fimple. I caught this for the first time years ago on a local independent station and now have it on DVD.
TCFBL is different in style and tone from its thematic cousin, "The Legend of Boggy Creek." Where "Boggy" takes a docudrama approach, "Black Lake" is purely melodramatic, resulting in a less haunting but more purely entertaining viewing experience. Many scenes are played purely for laughs, a nice counterbalance to the final act, which is mostly suspenseful.
TCFBL is the story of two college students from Chicago who take it upon themselves to investigate Bigfoot reports in Louisiana. They eventually find what they're looking for, despite running afoul of local law enforcement and offending the locals. This Sasquatch rather aggressively makes it clear that he'd rather not be found, and minor mayhem ensues.
"Black Lake" benefits from a number of good ingredients: an authentic sense of place, filmed, as it was, on location in Louisiana; plenty of pitch-perfect, scenery-chewing performances from the likes of Elam and Taylor; a believable "buddy" relationship that carries the story and the wisdom to never really show the cryptid in question. Earnest, specific, and totally unheralded, this movie is a personal favorite of mine.
TCFBL is different in style and tone from its thematic cousin, "The Legend of Boggy Creek." Where "Boggy" takes a docudrama approach, "Black Lake" is purely melodramatic, resulting in a less haunting but more purely entertaining viewing experience. Many scenes are played purely for laughs, a nice counterbalance to the final act, which is mostly suspenseful.
TCFBL is the story of two college students from Chicago who take it upon themselves to investigate Bigfoot reports in Louisiana. They eventually find what they're looking for, despite running afoul of local law enforcement and offending the locals. This Sasquatch rather aggressively makes it clear that he'd rather not be found, and minor mayhem ensues.
"Black Lake" benefits from a number of good ingredients: an authentic sense of place, filmed, as it was, on location in Louisiana; plenty of pitch-perfect, scenery-chewing performances from the likes of Elam and Taylor; a believable "buddy" relationship that carries the story and the wisdom to never really show the cryptid in question. Earnest, specific, and totally unheralded, this movie is a personal favorite of mine.
Monday, October 17, 2011
Phantom Film Festival Kicks Off
Our first annual horror film fest has begun! From now until Halloween, we will watch sixteen genre classics, starting tonight with 1924's "Phantom of the Opera," preceded by the Walt Disney Silly Symphony, "Skeleton Dance."
Lon Chaney's performance and appearance in "Phantom" leave an indelible impression, as he manages to make Erik a horrifying-- yet somehow sympathetic-- character. Despite the conventions of silent film, there are plenty of unsettling moments and images to behold. It was a fittingly creepy start to our monstrous marathon!
Lon Chaney's performance and appearance in "Phantom" leave an indelible impression, as he manages to make Erik a horrifying-- yet somehow sympathetic-- character. Despite the conventions of silent film, there are plenty of unsettling moments and images to behold. It was a fittingly creepy start to our monstrous marathon!
Sunday, October 9, 2011
Postcards from G-Fest 18: More Models
Godzilla and Minya got a great layout here at the Kaiju Modeler table at G-Fest. Long live the Son of Godzilla!
Saturday, October 1, 2011
G(rampy)-FAN
What do you get the Grampy who has everything? A Cuyahoga Kaiju Club T-shirt, of course!
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