New Replies (Page 691)

Of the films mentioned, Frankenstein Conquers the World is probably my favorite. Although, admittedly, both King Kong vs. Godzilla and War of the Gargantuas is more iconic, I feel like Frankenstein Conquers the World is the most well rounded, with one of the most amazing casts in the genre. Wonderful film.

I hated the new dubbed version of Godzilla Vs. Hedorah. I can only watch the subtitled version on that DVD. Ken's voice is very annoying and his dialogue is really played down. Can't stand it.

However I can understand the need to over dub Godzilla vs The Sea Monster. The original opening scene was added to the Tri-Star release. So i get it. You cant have the opening scene with the main character have one voice and then a completely different voice the rest of the movie. Im glad i own both versions.

I like that in Monarch there are agents bent on destroying MUTO's and others that want to simply study them. I think one movie can feature a shift in agenda within the agency. I think that would be a cool way to get into the KKvG.

@TrapZilla, I have a big backyard, I built a huge projection screen out of some 2X4's and a california king bed sheet that I can roll up and move around. I hook up my projector to a 400 watt amp sound system(never needing that much) and hook up all my 4 speakers around my yard to project the sound all around my beer shaped fire pit, my DIY tiki bar "The Friki Tiki", and in my basement near the basement bar. I'm not wealthy by any means, but i know how to make a set up with little or no money at all. My friends love my house, unfortunately they are not as big on Godzilla as I am. If they were, I would have marathons every weekend of the summer. Need some of you guys to come over to experience this fun. haha

I have never seen the captain America movies, but one day i hope to have a marathon of them in order to catch up. But i know of the synopsis and know enough what you all are talking about. I just hope Monarch comes out into the public eye and we see how the world in this universe adapts or rebels against the fact that MUTO's are out there.

I have not read the K:SI comic yet. Does Agent Randa and Serizawa ever meet? Im not sure when the old Serizawa died, and his son joins Monarch? I know the answer is in G:14 comic but not sure if its ever really mentioned.

This was a lame release by FUNimation. I was very excited to won this movie on Bluray. For extra 3$ over the standard DVD release i bought the Blu-Ray. Although the case was pretty cool the lack in real special features is unacceptable. Nothing?

Not even a little insight on the movie? I will have to get the Madman release you guys mentioned before. But still happy i got to see the movie again. its been over 10 months since i saw it back in October.

I don't know... Stuffing a bunch of characters in need of origin stories into a single movie feels a lot less like Captain America: The Winter Soldier, and more like Spider-Man 3 or The Amazing Spider-Man 2.

In terms of themes, I think the best lead we have is the animal rights issues that Millie Bobby Brown mentioned Dougherty was passionate about. He's also hinted this on his Twitter. I'm not sure how relevant such a topic is, especially to the Godzilla series, but at most I can say it would be a unique issue to bring up in the franchise.

I still can't get past this: not even a trailer for the title itself. This is amazing. All they had to do was base the 'extras' on what was done for Attack On Titan. But this, a talk-o-thon featuring FUNimation employees. Really? 

I wrote FUNimation on Twitter asking them about the lack of a Shin Godzilla trailer and ending credits in English. They could have at least done with it what they did with Attack On Titan: Japanese and US Trailers, Ending Credits in English. And that feature, "Godzilla vs. The Nerds," should make everyone who bought the FUNimation release eligible for a $3.00 rebate. Simply worthless, and headed up by Paul Fruge who said in an interview last fall that the FUNimation release would have some of the features that Toho would. I do not recall seeing a round table discussion by FUNimation employees anywhere on the Toho discs.

How about the war on monsters?

* quote from Randa when he's talking to general Packard*

"This planet doesn't belong to us. Ancient species owned this Earth long before mankind, and if we keep our heads buried in the sand they will take it back. My agency is known as MONARCH. We specialize in the hunting of Massive Unidentified Terrestrial Organisms."

"I'm sorry for your men. Believe me I truly am. Get us home. With proof. So that we can send the cavalry."

 Sounds like MONARCH may be sending the Calvary after Rodan/Mothra/Godzilla/Ghidorah.

   Also, I would love to see the mazer guns return or any super weapon, with humans confidently attempting to stop these monsters only for it to horribly fail.

   Just thought of this but, in GKOTM,  I'd love to see a Godzilla who feeds on radiation by destroying power plants or nuclear weapons facilities in the city killing hundreds of thousands, leaving hummanity unsure whether he is a friend or foe. Only for Ghidorah to show up as the true villain. It would have hummanity running in circles trying to figure out what to do, possibly having them make an irrational decision to destroy all the monsters. Leaving them feeling like idiots when  Godzilla and his buddies save the Earth.

 I also think it would be pretty cool if the prescence of Ghidorah wakes up Rodan and Mothra, making them true protectors of Earth. 

*Sorry guys just started fantasizing about GKOTM*

I think GKOTM has potential to be the Captain America: Winter Soldier(Loved that movie) of the MonsterVerse.

So, on the actual main topic of the OP whilst also incorporating the recent discussion, how could we possibly get our "Captain America: The Winter Soldier" of the MonsterVerse?

A film that's generally quite well received critically, and is often cited as pursuing interesting and mature themes and world developments that resonate with modern audiences?

What kinds of issues or current events could influence what kind of thematic approach the future of the MonsterVerse could potentially take? The war on terror? The shifting global economy? Something else entirely?

TrapZilla,
Honestly, those issues seem very superficial. I had no issue with the free-fall-bombs hitting Godzilla and I thought the execution and sound effect was very cool and pretty spot on for that kind of artillery.

What's more important is the film's meaning, what it says and understanding what kind of film it is. I'm reminded of a recent foreign language Meet Me group my girlfriend went to. She told me she and a friend of hers spoke to a Japanese fellow about Shin Godzilla. He asked them if they liked it and both of them said they enjoyed it immensely. The Japanese man was somewhat surprised because apparently Japan sees Americans as a culture that can only appreciate action movies. He very avidly admitted Shin Godzilla was not strictly an action movie by any stretch, but that's not uncommon for a movie like that in Japan.

Additionally, he felt that countries outside of Japan simply wouldn't get it because most people outside of Japan don't understand what's going on currently in the nation. And that is what the movie is really about. It is very Japanese and it uses Godzilla in a strictly Japanese sense.

This is why I feel none of the Hollywood Godzilla movies can ever reach the heights of movies from Toho--At best, Legendary's Godzilla will be a convincing doppelganger of something very strictly Japanese. It's not that it isn't Godzilla, but it can't be used in the same way here in America. I said in one of my articles,

"The monster was born of the post-war's socio-political climate and he continues to embody ideological shifts in Japanese culture. GMK and Shin Godzilla represent the most important facet of the character's career—The ability to encapsulate cultural anxiety and compel the Japanese people to engage it."

There are many things about the character that America simply can't relate to. Thus, he can't always represent the same, more poignant ideas.

It's pretty sad. Some fans are contacting Funimation for a possible special edition re-release. I don't know how likely that is, but I imagine much of this can also be left at Toho's door due to their distrust of North American distributors.

Just got Shin Godzilla on DVD.

 I don't know if this is being discussed elsewhere. 

The FUNimation Blu-ray/DVD/Ultra Violet release is more underwhelming than previously thought.

There no trailers for Shin Godzilla on a release entitled "Shin Godzilla."

There are no English ending credits for the crew, cast and voice actors, aside from the three main stars and the directors/screen writer and translator. There is, as a kind of afterthought, a screen listing some of the crew that worked on the release.

In contrast to this, the FUNimation release of Attack On Titan included both Japanese and US Trailers and closing credits (in English, so that we can read them) for the cast, crew and voice actors.

So, what happened here? I would have expected a release for Shin Godzilla comparable to the one for Attack On Titan since they were both produced by FUNimation. Is this a Sonyesque influence? 

The English dub is workable, aside from the voice acting for the characters of Rando Yaguchi and Hiromi Ogashira, two of the most important characters, narrative-wise.

As for "Godzilla vs. The Nerds" which is actually FUNimation employees having a kind of round table discussion about the film, the space used for this 'feature' should have been devoted to the Japanese, US and Mexican (Cinemex) trailers:

https://cinemex.com/proximamente/1068/shin-godzilla.

This film was grossly mishandled by FUNimation.

@gman I still can't get over that noise! It just sounded so silly. It makes sense though if it's not supposed to detonate until after it hits it's target. Though if you're trying to hurt a giant monster you'd think the millitary would like for it to blow up on impact.(more damage)

     Anyways, I'm going to take into consideration what you've said and hopefully that will allow me to be more open minded and enjoy the movie this time around.

^

I think you can buy the DVDs online, I think, don't take my word.

   I appreciate everyone defending ShinGodzilla and pointing out the positive aspects of the movie. It will definitely allow me to see it in a different light this next go around.

@riggazamortis that sounds freaking epic! I hope to have a personal theatre room one day where I can just chill and watch all the G movies on the big screen as they were intended to be seen.

    I'm fairly young so the first G movie I ever saw in theatres was Godzilla 2000.(loved it) As of right now the only big Toho movies I haven't seen are Mothra(1963) and War of the Gargantuans. I'm sure there's a few I don't know about. I'd like to re watch all of the showa movies post GvK62, especially with GKOTM coming out but it seems they quit printing all of them.

I think K:SI is the best Kong movie since the remake of 1976. Peter Jacksons was fun and all but waaaaaaay to long. and some scenes to me did not have to be in there(for ex: the ice skating scene, kong just killed some people a few minutes ago but let make sure everyone see's his soft playful side, uh....no thank you).

But hopefully we do see a different kind of Kong when GvKK shows in theaters. 

Yeah, I like Skull Island a lot, but for completely different reasons than Shin Godzilla. During my immediate Blu-ray viewing, I was a little more bored during it than what I remember experiencing in theaters. Whereas I was completely attentive and in to Shin Godzilla yesterday. (In fact, my friend watching it with me flat out said Shin Godzilla will be the first Godzilla movie he owns--He's never been much of a fan of the series.)

I think the reason is that Skull Island is just really, really dumb. It's okay if a movie is dumb as long as it knows it and takes advantage of it--Sort of like Jurassic World or The Avengers. Skull Island makes use of its spectacle and outlandish ideas and goes crazy without apologizing. It's a lot of fun, but as a result there's not a whole lot to chew on after the fact.

Shin Godzilla makes you use your noggin a bit more. The movie is very re-watchable because it's easy to miss things--Going back to explore details about the government process, story and Godzilla's biology feels fresh each time because its so dense with information. Shin Godzilla says a lot. Skull Island asks us to check our brains at the door. Both work, but for different reasons.

TrapZilla,
You keep mentioning missiles "bouncing off" Godzilla as if it were cartoony. But those weren't missiles. They were free-fall-bombs dropped by F2 fighters. They're not suppose to detonate until after they hit their target. The noise you keep complaining about is the mechanical component igniting the bomb. These bombs have been portrayed the same way in other movies, including Hollywood. A very silly reason to walk out of... well... any movie.

I had no idea Matango was going to be so good. The suspense, the mystery. I think its one of Honda's best work. A lot of adult themes in this one. I was caught a little off guard when the topic of rape came into play! Didn't see that coming.

All in all I think the creepiest is Dogora. That thing is seriously creepy and I believe the biggest kaiju in the Toho universe. Its huge!

Favorite Godzilla movie? Destroy All Monsters is my favorite. Its got all these monsters, aliens, space exploration, and tons of great actors. Not saying KKvG doesn't have some great aspects as well. You see great action and kaiju fighting, i just hope I can have a new discussion within the next 2.5 years that it might not be the best KKvG movie. haha

This is a nice idea.

Destroy All Monsters, Frankenstein Conquers The World, and Matango are some of my favorite Toho Films.

Destroy All Monsters is a great culmination of films where you get to see everyone together fighting against evil. A good Avengers moment before the Avengers.

Frankenstein Conquerors the World and Matango I like for a different reason. The human story in both of those films is great, especially Matango.

That it true comparing K:SI to Shin is like apples to oranges in most senses.

And like apples and oranges your preference for one is based largely on taste alone rather than one being objectively better than the other.

I really cant hold the two up to the same light and say what is better than the other.

in one hand if you say what was a better action movie I think K:SI is a lot of fun and there is plenty of action. Its sometimes funny and tragic. But when one of the cast dies (except J Goodman, that scene made me jump when he died), I didn't feel terrible. I kinda cheered. Shin G wasn't supposed to be a full on action movie, even though there are action scene's in it. Shin belongs more to a suspense.

Shin to me was more of a horror flic! those opening scenes left me knowing I was not going to see a normal Godzilla movie.

But for my movie night my patrons wanted to see the new Monster movies and since they know I have both in my possession they wanted to see what I have been raving about. They are in no way committed G fans like we all are. They just want a Double Creature Feature, featuring the newest monsters. So I'm giving them what they want. im sure they can enjoy both in one night. cant wait to see their faces watching Shin G tho.

Personally there are quite a few Godzilla characters I'd prefer to follow than Shin's group. They're not bad or anything, but I think their strength is what they represent rather than the characters themselves.

In characters I can't say I personally was any more invested in Shin's than K:SI.

@The Legend of Brian

Agreed for some reason I'm not hyped at all for Monster Planet, but am getting more and more excited for G:KOTM 

 Actually watching Kong Skull Island and followed up by Shin Godzilla, I can't agree that Kong is the better film. Kong is a fun movie with the monster action, but the story and characters don't hold up too well except John C Reilly. He's the only character I thought made the film feel saved. While Shin Godzilla doesn't have the equal amount of monster action, it is played safely and effectively once Godzilla is on screen, and the characters in Shin Godzilla are the second best characters since the cast of Monster Zero 1965. The story itself, is great. Japanese politics and their form of government. 

I agree that Shin was better than G'14, but I can't help but feel more excited for KotM than Monster Planet. I know people will argue all day about if Toho or Legendary is better, but I have to admit, I'm glad both are making Godzilla movies. Legendary can do the big popcorn flicks and Toho can do the more profound storytelling movies. The franchise has been both and there's enough room for both.  

Jumping in on the Toho movies and Legendary movies, while I agree Shin is better than G14, by a pretty large margin, I have a lot more fun with Skull Island than I did Shin. I think that with the way legendary is going, I'm looking forward to them a lot. I don't hate any of the entries in either universe, but If I had to rank K:SI>Shin>G14.

Maybe it's because I'm not the biggest fan of the millennium series as a whole, but because of those and overall Toho G movies, let's be honest Shin is kind of the best movie we've gotten from them in a while, and is a standout amongst their 60+ years with Godzilla. Not saying they can't do better, IMO they have, but I think looking at their track record it's more likely they do worse than Shin than better.

@Huge-Ben,

I agree about the lack luster on extra's. I guess I must own a copy of the original Japanese release to get those juicy special features. I didn't watch the whole Godzilla vs The Nerds feature yet.

But I had to get the Blu-Ray/Dvd combo. the sleeve looks so cool on the blu-ray. plus that's my goal is to own every Godzilla movie on every format that they where made on. From VHS to Blu-ray to whatever comes next.

the over dubbed version is pretty damn good. I was able to follow along better during the long dialogue sequences and understand what's all really going on. I recommend it to anybody. I always try and watch the subbed versions of these movies but this film is a bit more tricky.

 ^I get it. I actually walked out of Cloverfield right as the action started. my friends wanted to sit right up front and I got motion sickness from that movie. I walked out and thought it was terrible. Then it came out on DVD now it shares the same shelf with my Giant Monster Movie collection. I love it now.

Shin Gojira just came out on Aug. 1 so maybe you can check it out on your own time and give it another chance. if you lived close I would show you at my backyard theater. every month I show rare and cult movies to groups of friends on a giant projection screen. this month im doing a double creature feature. im showing Kong: Skull Island and then followed by Shin Gojira. Many of my friends have not seen either so I thought it would be fun to do instead of old horror movies for once. something that was made in the past 25 years. haha

     Sorry guys I didn't mean to seem like I hated the Toho versions. They are all great and special in their own way. Godzilla 2014 is very low on my top Godzilla movie list,(mainly from cutting away from action) though it still has the best special effects/sounds effects out of any Godzilla movie of all time.

   I have G1954/GvMG 1974/TOMG being my top 3. (Major respect Ishiro Honda)(Goat). I also love all of the suits as it gives you that you could actually touch it feeling. I feel as if those latter 2 Toho movies had better sound effects than Shin did. I know y'all said the director was re using old sound effects from 1954, which sounds ridiculous to me if you want people to believe what's going on. But I just couldn't do it when the missile literally just bounced off of his face with that cartoonish "dink" noise. 

     It just felt so cheesy that my best friend and I both walked out of the theatres. I did notice the practical effects and those were very good. The first three life forms grossed me out so bad I was questioning if this was even Godzilla.

    Once I'm able to find it on DVD, I intend to watch the original then Shin directly after. I'm hoping that will help me understand why so many hardcore G fans think so highly of it. 

  I have very high hopes for KOTM after seeing G2014 and then the improvements made with Kong, aka actually showing Kong! You know what they say, 3rd times the charm.      

     Still can't get over the fact Legendary killed Hesinberg. Ahhh :( damn you Gareth

   Adam Wingard is supposed to be a pretty big Godzilla fan so I have very high hopes he's gonna give us something we've all been waiting for. I really wish they would put the Ifukube score in these films as well. It's like Star Wars with no John Williams.

I loved this film and am looking forward to owning a copy.  I am looking forward to seeing it a few more times because right now I am unsure if it is my favorite or second favorite godzilla film and only more views will help answer that question.

I've actually watched the English dubbed version. While I appreciate the hard work and effort by the men and women who used their voices in the dubbed, I was actually a bit surprised how good it was in some spots. I'll stick to the original Japanese version, but the dubbing isn't too bad, not too great either, but it was worth checking out.

My main complaint is the extras. I guess it's ok for the Matt Frank fans out there to witness him talk about the film, I wanted more like the Japanese release that I own that includes the animatronic puppet being tested and behind the scenes footage. 

All in all, thank you Funimation for the release theatrically and blu ray/DVD release. Anyone else have their thoughts on the dubbed version yet? 

I agree with Gman, and the king of the monsters. Let's be honest and real here. " Toho can't compete with Hollywood in terms of film making." Really? What blatant disrespect to Ishiro Honda, Eiji Tsuburaya, Tomoyuki Tanaka, Akira Ifukube, Kow Otani, Shusuke Kaneko, Teruyoshi Nakano, and Teisho Arikawa who have made far more lovable and infamous films in the Godzilla series. 

Sure, Toho may not have proper CGI effects, but who cares? Honestly the Monsterverse CGI seems to get more and more half-assed in terms of special effects, and although Shin Godzilla, the monster itself is all CGI, most of the effects overall are far superior compared to Kong Skull Island. 

Toho is known for its supreme craftsmanship in Tokusatsu all thanks to Eiji Tsuburaya who invited the technique of this style of special effects, and their "realistic" storytelling about modern times in Japan or events that they have had trouble with in the past. Ishiro Honda makes storytelling at its finest while Hideaki Anno and Shusuke Kaneko are right there with him in storytelling. Has 2014 win any awards? No. Critics all across the globe praise Shin Godzilla for everything the film had to offer and it'll stand out through the test of time as just one of the few most important films ever made throughout the Godzilla series. It was so good and highly praised that it won 7 awards including best director and best picture. 

Like all the others, I'm eager to see where Legendary takes the next step, but Toho will always provide the better film. I don't see any Legendary film "standing taller all Toho incarnations" at any point. 2014 is probably more bottom-center of the road compared to many other Godzilla films already released prior in the last 60+ years. 

Just got my copy today and watched the subbed version and will watch the dub tomorrow. The only thing I've got to say is that yeah, it is sometimes difficult to follow what's happening while trying to read every subtitle. This is compounded by all the long sequences of dialog, but it's definitely better than the theatrical version. I suspect that this will be better in the dub, if it's good that is. My only other issue at this point was the English dialogue. 

This movie is still utterly fantastic. I know there's probably other things that'll surface as I re-watch the movie more, but man I think Shin Godzilla is going to hold up for a long time.

^ I wholeheartedly agree with everything Gman said. An important thing to note also is that Shin Godzilla was a huge success, both critically and commercially. While Godzilla 2014, being a Hollywood blockbuster, obviously had a substantially greater worldwide financial gross, Shin was easily the objectively better-received film, at least among critics and Japanese audiences, and was more successful than G14 at the Japanese box office. Toho isn't producing the MonsterVerse films, so they aren't the primary benefactors of their financial success or popularity. I'm certain Toho has received a very nice payday from licensing the property to Legendary and distributing G14 in Japan, but it's obviously much more tempting for them to be able to reap all of the rewards by producing and releasing their own films. Shin Godzilla has opened a gateway for Toho to produce its own financially-lucrative Godzilla films once again and receive all of the profits themselves. It very much makes sense for Toho to want to resume producing its own films after 2020. In the long-run, they'd ideally make more money that way than simply continuing to license Godzilla to an outside company.

Another point in the movie I would like to point out about Shin Gojira(and im sure everyone else thought the same thing).

Shin Gojira is the first Godzilla movie since the original 1954 flim that the citizens of Japan acted like Godzilla is something new! Seriously think about it, every Godzilla movie(after 1954) the characters have a protocol when confronting Godzilla. They know who he is, what he can do, and react one way or another either trying to kill him with a new battle plan or sci-fi gadget or try or let him fight another monster, or most commonly everyone runs away. But every single movie reflects the original 1954 film or makes direct references to it.

in Shin Gojira, they had no idea what to do, how to really handle the situation or what he even is. They even didn't have a name for him. With these elements I was shocked. There isn't a 1954 attack by the original Gojira.

Im not sure if this forum ever brought that up before. I thought it was interesting for a Toho movie to do that.

Willnotbenamed,

I agree with you, but to add to the MUTO mayhem and add that "tip of the hat" to the orignial. Im not saying he should attack a city. I was trying to say that the Meganulons or some new MUTO's attack the primitive tribe as well. Tribe wants insect MUTO's gone, they try exterminating them at a nest somewhere near Rodan, Rodan is awoken by man's rage and lust for revenge or something and there ya go, new but familiar concept. Sorry if I give everyone here a hard time understanding my points. I often rant and forget where Im going with them. haha

^nuff said on that note.

Can't agree with TrapZilla in the least.

Shin Godzilla wasn't the greatest film ever. However, it was a step up from both of the MonsterVerse movies which are decidedly entertaining, but too commercialized and too Hollywood to be anything too meaningful.

I also agree with riggazamortis that TrapZilla didn't quite understand what Hideaki Anno was going for--At least in terms of the sound effects which were supposed to sound like the 1960s Godzilla sound effects and thus not very realistic. It was a stylistic decision and because the movie was much more of an auteur effort than either of the MonsterVerse movies, it worked fine. Quentin Tarantino does similar things with audio in his films.

Additionally, just because a director is a fan, does not assure that a movie will be good. After all, Hidiaki Anno was a fan and TrapZilla didn't like Shin Godzilla. The Strause Brothers were fans of Alien and Predator, but they made Alien vs. Predator: Requiem. McG was a fan of Terminator and responsible for the failure of Terminator Salvation. Peter Jackson was a fan of King Kong and all he could do was make an overly long, self-indulgent remake. Being a fan is fun for other fans, but it does not assure a good movie will be made.

And finally I don't agree at all that the Legendary productions have made "far more" over "all" of the Toho movies. The Toho movies treat their practical effects like an art form when put in the right hands--One of the things that makes Godzilla what he is are the practical special effects implemented in the films and how they're implemented. Even though Shin Godzilla delivered a CG Godzilla, it still had far more miniatures than most of us can spot. But aside from that, there are plenty of older films that push the 2014 movie into a middle-of-the-road flick.

I look forward to the MonsterVerse offerings, but I'm more interested in what Toho does post-MonsterVerse. Shin Godzilla just had more meat to it and I was impressed with what they did with so little. The fact that Toho's film makers have to be more resourceful than Hollywood film makers, due to time and budget, is more interesting to watch. Shin Godzilla was made on a budget of barely $15 million. I find that impressive. Godzilla '14 was made on a budget of $150 million and considering the end product, I was not that impressed... I don't expect Godzilla: King of the Monsters to be much better, but I do hope, at minimum, it's more entertaining than 2014.

riggzamortis86,

I think that a Kaiju attacking some primitive settlement would be a much more refreshingly original idea then the old "Kaiju wrecks havoc in New York, Tokyo, or some other influential major city in the world".