This is actually the third movie that features Godzilla‘s chrome Doppelganger, though it is the first time humans and not aliens have piloted it. They don’t have any better results than when the aliens were in the cockpit, but they do manage to send Godzilla back to the ocean and award him custody of a cutesy baby Godzilla, so we can pretty much call Godzilla the loser in this one. Continue reading “Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II (1993)”
Category: Japanese Cinema
Female Prisoner #701: Scorpion (1972)
It always seems like just when you’re about to get a commendation for running the toughest women’s prison in Japan, some crazy con decides to go over the wall and leave you looking like an overrated chump.
Of course, that wouldn’t be the worst day on the job for you. That would be that time when you got embroiled in a dust up between this same crazy con and some pig who was looking to put her in her place, but only managed to put a shard of glass in your eye. Clearly, running the toughest women’s prison in Japan isn’t the sweet gig it used to be. Continue reading “Female Prisoner #701: Scorpion (1972)”
Godzilla vs. Space Godzilla (1994)
This is another in the new series of Godzilla movies that Toho began making in the 1990s. These were supposed to be bigger and better, with cutting edge special effects, souped up monsters, and exciting plots. These flicks were supposed to tear a Godzilla-sized hole in your butt and in its own way, Godzilla vs. Space Godzilla did just that! Continue reading “Godzilla vs. Space Godzilla (1994)”
Shinjuku Triad Society (1995)
Takeshi Miike’s Shinjuku Triad Society has a Chinese triad and the Yakuza mix it up over some illegal organ trafficking business resulting in lots of guys getting beaten, shot, stabbed, eye gouged, and drugged. Not satisfied though with merely depicting a typical gang war punctuated with extreme eruptions of brutal violence, Miike solidifies this as required viewing for all real fans of crime films by throwing in the cop who plays by his own rules! Continue reading “Shinjuku Triad Society (1995)”
Terror of Mechagodzilla (1975)
Watching Terror of Mechagodzilla knowing that it would be the final film in the original Godzilla series is like a long, sad goodbye to an old friend, complete with heartrending moments where relationships are forever ended and heads of giant metal robots are ripped clean off! Continue reading “Terror of Mechagodzilla (1975)”
Godzilla vs. Megalon (1973)
So many times the bean counters in the film business get criticized for inhibiting great art. Such and such movie could’ve been so much better if we had the money to hire this guy or the time to shot this complicated scene. The special effects would have been so much more special if we just were given an extra $40 million. Godzilla vs. Megalon then is a breath of fresh air where budgetary constraints acted to give us the greatest of all early 1970s Godzilla movies featuring Gigan! Continue reading “Godzilla vs. Megalon (1973)”
Battlefield Baseball (2003)
Easily much better than the previous “greatest movie about baseball in Japan,” 1992’s Mr. Baseball starring Tom Selleck, Battlefield Baseball succeeds because of the relative dearth of baseball-related antics (as well as the dearth of Tom Selleck) and instead uses the trappings of baseball merely as a way to get across its message that everyone wants to feel loved – even a high school baseball team of homicidal mutants. Continue reading “Battlefield Baseball (2003)”