COLLECTIBLE TIME: RODAN (THE FLYING MONSTER) POSTER & LOBBY CARDS

As Bizarrechats readers are aware, my confidant, Mel, contributes to my movie memorabilia, particularly poster and lobby-card reproductions. Lo and behold, she's done it again, with three more submissions, taken from one of my lifelong favorites, Toho/Ishiro Honda's Rodan (represented in this post per lovely, "stock" images).  

The first item is a staggering, 24" x 36" one-sheet that was made for the U.S./King Brothers' August 1957, theatrical release. The titular, flying behemoth was actually a duo in this introductory story, and for this poster reproduction, is emblemized as a green dragon, accompanied by three panel inserts, which capture scenes from the production. 

The next submission is a 11" x 14" card sporting a shaded Rodan soaring over the Saikai Bridge, with an ominous, green-clouded sky to offset the creature's flight. 

The third is another 11" x 14" card and depicts the creature emerging from the water in a shot that can only instill fear, as planes soar from behind.

I'm grateful for any Rodan commemorations, whether presented as a mammoth duo or for the longer stretch, a single, Godzilla ally. In fact, I grew rather disgruntled in recent years when Rodan took a sorrowful back seat to other kaiju. (For the record, I prefer Rodan over the Mothra, and consider the flying reptile's teaming with Godzilla against the dastardly Ghidorah in Invasion of the Astro Monster/Monster Zero to be one of Toho's finest hours.) 

Well, to say the least, these reproductions rekindle the good old days for me, when the sight of this wondrous, mutant monstrosity drew a top spotlight. Because of such, I give generous Mel my sincerest thanks for acknowledging one of cinema's greatest, colossal characterizations. 

GODZILLA VS MECHAGODZILLA (II) VIA FATHOM

To celebrate Godzilla Day 2022 (Nov 3), Fathom Events offers a special showing of Takao Okawara/Wataru Mimura's Godzilla vs Mechagodzilla (II), the 1993 update of the popular, 1974 kaiju clash and its espionage sequel, Terror of Mechagodzilla.   

Godzilla/Mechagodzilla '93 isn't only a retooled, one-on-one rematch, it ups the ante by featuring Baby Godzilla (Minya/Minilla), as nurtured by a neo Rodan. Wow!

The effects are old-school but sleek, combining monster-suited action with optical, laser-blasting enhancements, as it reintroduces Godzilla's "bionic" foe, now charged by a Mechaghidorah brain (and this was twenty-eight years prior to Godzilla vs Kong's give-or-take steal of the concept.) 

Godzilla/Mechagodzilla also promotes good parenting in light of mass destruction, which proves that flipflopping themes can work as long as the gargantuan element is sincere. 

Revisit this mega 1990s reunion while the opportunity stands. It's a cool way to honor Toho's favorite, titanic son, as well as his larger-than-life compatriots. (Check local listings for times and locations.) 

TERRIFIC TEAM-UP IMAGE: GORGO V RODAN

TERRIFIC TEAM-UP IMAGE: GODZILLA, GHIDORAH & RODAN (INVASION OF THE ASTRO-MONSTER)

 

BRAIN FREEZE #2: KAIJU WONDERMENT FROM MAIN ENTERPRISES

The kaiju genre contains its own specialized wonderment. Publisher Jim Main knows this, which is why for Brain Freeze #2, he recruited only those artists equipped to give the theme (and its towering celebrities) a respectful spin.  

For Brain Freeze #2, readers get Godzilla (in several incarnations), King Kong, Mothra, Ghidorah, King Caesar, Kiko, Minya, Baragon, Gorgo and the mighty Rodan (in a spectacular, family spread, no less): super-colossal creatures one and all, aimed to rekindle the imaginative spirit of one's youth and beyond. 

Brain Freeze #2's artists are Marc Haines; Brad Foster; Kevin Dale Duncan; Allen Freeman; Doc Boucher; John Lambert; Brian D. Leonard; Brian W. Foster; Scott McClung; Jack Bertram; Verl Holt Bond; Matt C. Ryan; Anthony C. Bray; Rick McCollum; Jacob Dubi; and Alan Groenig. Their passionate renderings make this issue a stylish gem to behold.  

Without question, if you love kaiju, this issue is for you: a significant, celebratory collectible from front to back. 

To obtain a copy of Brain Freeze #2, email Mr. Main at mainjim23@gmail.com.

You'll roar in kaiju triumph that you did.

GOODBYE, EIZOU KAIMAI...

You were the Jack Pierce of monster-suit designers, covering such kaiju kings as Godzilla and Ultraman. 

Your staggering credits include "Godzilla '54"; "Godzilla Raids Again"; "King Kong vs Godzilla"; "Mothra"; "Mothra vs Godzilla"; "Rodan"; "Ghidrah, the Three-Headed Monster"; "Invasion of the Astro-Monster"; "Gorath"; "Atragon"; "Frankenstein Conquers the World"; "War of the Gargantuas"; "Varan the Unbelievable", "The Mysterians"; "Attack of the Mushroom People"; "Condorman"; "Megaloman"; "Ninja Captor"; "Ultra Q"; "Ultraman Ace"; "Ultraman Taro": "Ultraman Leo"; "The Return of Ultraman"; "Ultraman 80"; "Android Kikaider"; "Kikaider 01"; and so many more. 

In the imagi-movie realm, you'll continue to tower as a preeminent, behind-the-scenes legend, capped by everlasting thanks for the mighty monsters you created. 

Monster Team-up: I saw Godzilla, King of the Monsters (2019)...

The sequel to Gareth Edwards' "Godzilla '14" steals its name from the U.S. '56 edit of "Gojira", but if the truth be known, this new flick is more a quasi-remake of 1964's "Ghidrah, the Three-Headed Monster" ("Three Giant Monsters: Earth's Greatest Battle"), '65's "Monster Zero" ("Invasion of the Astro-Monster") and 69's "Destroy All Monsters" ("March of the Attacking Monsters").   

The 2019 variant comes from director Michael "Krampus" Dougherty, whose retelling, per a script co-written with Zach Shields, touches as much on sweetened, human negotiation (i.e., lots of Monarch Company hot air) as blurred-out, battling behemoths. 

There's loads of feminine overflow, as well. Though that's not altogether displeasing, it too often distracts from its colossal beasts, more so than the humans ever dared in "Godzilla '14", where there was at least some symbolic symbiosis.  

As a '60s Toho knock-off, "King of the Monsters'" set-up is familiar, with the multi-headed terror manifesting from the celestial mist (or in this case, the ice) to zap the world to bits, as various other Titans (as they're now commonly called) join in. Godzilla, Rodan and Mothra emerge in the forefront to deal with Ghidorah, aka Monster Zero, each in his/her own way. On occasion, they get a little help from their little, human friends. Why not? The Titans and humankind play for the same team, plus or minus a philosophical discrepancy here and there.

To bring the epic to life, the CGI gets pretty heavy-handed, though is preferable to the clunky interpretations that blemished the Toho '70s run. (Some would argue that such was the case even in the '60s, but I detect enough care invested into that period's puppeteered costumes to give the economical angle a deserved pass.) On the other hand, CGI is a swift substitute for stop-motion. I do believe that Ghidorah would have benefited from a meticulous, classic approach. (Think along the lines of "Jason and the Argonaut'"s hydra.)

Rodan, in my opinion, is the most fascinating of the film's gigantic stars. Though prior Rodans were for the most part intimidating, this new one projects a formidable semblance unlike any predecessor: a nightmarish, flying demon, even if the entity's presence has virtuous potential when all is said and done. (Sad thing is, as awesome as Rodan appears in this retelling, he won't get a solo outta it; that'll go to sweetie-pie Mothra for sure. Bloody blah.)

Again, the film's drawback is its matriarchal stance and the chatty softness that coincides with it. I do dig "Stranger Things'"s Millie Bobby Brown and "Bates Motel'"s Vera Farminga, who get thrown into the focused-character gist. However, what good are competent actors if planted without purpose, or if that purpose does exist, it's for a concealed, PC (let-that-pretty-moth-rise) cause. (I must confess that I did fancy Zhang "The Grandmaster" Ziyi, who brings beauty and logic to the proceedings; it's just that there wasn't enough of her.)

Kyle "Kong '05" Chandler; Ken "Batman Begins" Wantanabe; David "The Spiderwick Chronicles" Strathairn; Thomas "Replicas" Middleditch; Bradley "The West Wing" Whiteford and Charles "Phantom of the Opera '90" Dance (looking more Peter Cushing-ish than ever before) are there for us guys to identify (and butt heads) with, but though commanding, their development is stilted by heaps of gobbledygook. That in turn hampers the film's required toughness. Playing it nice and verbose may be fine and dandy for real life, but for a movie of this cataclysmic caliber, two-fisted, bone-crushing intensity should have run high--real high--and on all subplotted levels. (For the record, the film offers one moment of moving sacrifice, a clever twist on the climax of "Godzilla '54", but it's too late in the game to make everything okay.)

If the plan was to lift from "Ghidrah/Monster Zero/Destroy", those films should have been "Godzilla '19'"s lasting foundation and not mere nods. With garrulous padding anchoring its premise, "King of the Monsters" develops like a half-baked "Rampage": the latter a superior, giant-monster rally, if only due to its shameless, building-breaking melees and brawny, get-it-done hero.

(If I may digress, I do hope that for the sake of "Godzilla vs Kong", the "Rampage" blueprint is matched. If not, I've a gnawing hunch that we could see even more babble and no-do than this time round. Hey, that's just the way things roll these donnish days.)

With that said, I don't need a giant-monster flick to help me tap into my feminine side, my diplomatic side, my side that wants to talk and talk and talk while others do the work, even if they are monsters. Sorry if that offends certain sensitive factions, but I don't think I'm alone in that view. Too bad the makers of "Godzilla '19" snubbed those of my adamant ilk. 

On the other hand, why get all flustered? To balance things out, there must be a Dwayne Johnson/Jason Statham team-up on the horizon, where the duo combats Strawberry Shortcake and Rainbow Brite in a battle to the death, right?