tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37940560.post5395362262688366500..comments2024-03-17T20:50:21.456-03:00Comments on Siskoid's Blog of Geekery: This Week in Geek (30/05-05/06/16)Siskoidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08266365376486695812noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37940560.post-43157852788257258332016-06-07T12:42:44.616-03:002016-06-07T12:42:44.616-03:00Ah, I could wax poetic about the Heisei era. :-) ...Ah, I could wax poetic about the Heisei era. :-) They are, in many ways, a return to Godzilla-as-pure-antagonist (save for the last few); in the Showa, though Godzilla is a menace, he also helps to defeat the more-evil monster oftentimes; in the Heisei, it is the either the other monster being the menace-but-helping-to-drive-him-off, or else the 'Wow, this dude's even worse than Godzilla, can we figure out a way to kill them both?' (Pfah- as if the military can do anything about Godzilla; will they never learn?) While there's an inherent silliness to the very concept of daikaiju, the Heisei films are far more 'serious' in tone; the human-plots tend to be more emotional, and either sci-fi-based or past-trauma drama; there is one recurring character that creates an arc through the films (and indeed, they are somewhat serialized and inter-referential). They are also the era of beam-weapons; everyone is shooting multi-colored rays or lasers or lightning- even Mothra gets tiny little lightning-rays out of her antennae. :-) They're less about wrestling and more about powerful energy; not that the fights are purely shootouts, but a larger, bulkier, more tank-like Godzilla is not running and jumping and karate-chopping anymore. Godzilla is treated a little more like the 'terrifying force of nature' from the original film, at least in terms of people's reactions to him- though obviously, the depth of post-war destruction is traded for cities being casually demolished in giant monster brawls, as is standard to nearly every post-Gojira installment. I have deep affection for the era- particularly the second, vs. Biollante.<br /><br />I've seen all the G-films in English, but am only now going back to watch them in Japanese with the subtitles. I find that I quite prefer the increased fidelity to the original storyline... and as a bonus, in the newer films, the soundtrack is remastered- whereas the VHS-era English-dubs do not match current standards.<br /><br />Ah, Gamera. That is... an interesting experience. :-) The quality certainly... ranges. (His Heisei trilogy is also excellent; hitting those up on blu-ray is what made us decide to go back to Godzilla). In sci-fi terms, I think he's the Doctor Who to Godzilla's Star Trek; the one that sometimes shoots younger (but also, surprisingly, much darker at times), and isn't afraid to do living mannequins and killer snowmen rather than 'serious' villains. :-) I will be very interested to hear your takes on those (and whichever 2 G-films are up next week-in-review!).Andrew Gilbertsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10604304361825660940noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37940560.post-39168231320037912162016-06-07T11:23:13.197-03:002016-06-07T11:23:13.197-03:00Those are the ones I know next to nothing about.
...Those are the ones I know next to nothing about.<br /><br />Japanese with subtitles, always. Although some of these have hilarious dubs, the second Godzilla movie in particular (introducing Anguirus), where the subplots are totally changed in dialog and one of the voices narrates what's on the screen as if it were assistance for blind audiences.<br /><br />I think I have most of the Showa era on my shelf, and at this point (and with the two I'm covering Sunday), have watched them all. I haven't touched Hensei and beyond, except for the Gareth Edwards films.<br /><br />Also on my shelf now, the first 11 Gamera films, so that's likely next. Also, if you like daikaiju, please come back on Thursday for something special.Siskoidhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08266365376486695812noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37940560.post-58383509996902923252016-06-07T11:00:18.264-03:002016-06-07T11:00:18.264-03:00Looking forward to seeing what you chose! (My wife...Looking forward to seeing what you chose! (My wife and I have just embarked on a rewatch of the Heisei era (80s/90s) films ourselves.<br /><br />I'm curious- are you watching these English dubbed or Japanese-with-subtitles?Andrew Gilbertsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10604304361825660940noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37940560.post-88907735513629059762016-06-07T10:20:25.000-03:002016-06-07T10:20:25.000-03:00As you can see from the left-hand column, that'...As you can see from the left-hand column, that's the one I'm reading (actually, devouring) right now!Siskoidhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08266365376486695812noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37940560.post-15092663086346452212016-06-07T10:18:36.718-03:002016-06-07T10:18:36.718-03:00I can't recommend Mieville's "The Cit...I can't recommend Mieville's "The City and the City" highly enough, it's one of my favourite books of the past ten years.Madeleynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37940560.post-86460550963060068972016-06-06T09:54:05.160-03:002016-06-06T09:54:05.160-03:00Since it was GZ's birthday, I watched a couple...Since it was GZ's birthday, I watched a couple more films. Can't wait to see your comments come next This Week.Siskoidhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08266365376486695812noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37940560.post-39245855739847688282016-06-06T09:43:28.456-03:002016-06-06T09:43:28.456-03:00To expand on my comments a few weeks back... Sea M...To expand on my comments a few weeks back... Sea Monster was my least favorite Kaiju film of the Showa era, until it was my favorite. :-) The cinematography was striking, to me- the giant claw emerging from the sea, the underwater battle... and for that, I love it. The giant condor has the dubious distinction (to me) of being the most random and pathetic adversary in any Kaiju film. And of course, Godzilla's tendency to sleep a lot, pick up native women, throw lots of boulders, and be energized by lightning are all tip-offs that this was a script written (and rejected) for King Kong; while they went on to write King Kongs Escapes as the big ape's final Japanese adventure, this was was just Find>Replaced into a Godzilla script.<br /><br />Yet for all that, it's still kinda great.Andrew Gilbertsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10604304361825660940noreply@blogger.com