Giving thanks in 2019

As another Thanksgiving holiday is upon us it's time for me to ramble about things and/or people I'm thankful for so without further ado:

• I'm thankful for online savings accounts...which give my money the ability to earn at least some kind of interest since my regular bank savings account does not.
• I'm thankful for smart TVs, specifically mine which enables me to watch YouTube and other streaming channels when I'm bored and/or disgusted with my cable TV viewing options...which is sadly quite often now. 
• I'm thankful for budget reading glasses that I can buy at a grocery store or pharmacy as it saves me from having to spend hundreds of dollars at an eye-wear retailer.
• I'm thankful that I can still work, even if I find myself taking "Aleve" a little more often than I like to take the edge off the pain in my joints.
• I'm thankful for "zero turn" riding mowers of which I own two now, which allow me to mow large properties without the wear and tear on my knees that using a walk behind mower would create.
• I'm thankful for allopurinol, a drug which helps prevent gout flare ups and gout attacks in my joints.
• I'm thankful for the small group of people (including myself) who participate in the forums at my 13 year old internet message board, Monsterland Forums (aka Monsterland Asylum).
• I'm thankful for my smart phone, an iPhone 8 plus which helps me stay organized and serves as a reliable communication tool between me and my (lawn maintenance) customers
•  I'm thankful for Amazon Prime as the majority of merchandise I order from Amazon is delivered much more quickly.
• I'm thankful for eBay where I can find kaiju and superhero(and super villain) toys at reasonable prices to help broaden my growing collection of toys and action figures.
• I'm thankful for scented, all natural bar soap (which I order off Amazon) which leaves me feeling clean out of the shower and not like I just bathed with laundry detergent.
• I'm thankful for classic "Hammer" horror movies which I watch regularly.
• I'm finally thankful that I've never gotten caught up in the materialism of Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays overall.

Bite me: THE BRIDES OF DRACULA (1960)

As I do every year the last week of October and including Halloween (October 31st), I binge watch horror movies. There is a variation some years as to what I watch and this year is no exception. I watched a Hammer Films produced horror movie that I hadn't seen in many years: THE BRIDES OF DRACULA, originally released in January, 1960. The film's cast includes Peter Cushing, Freda Jackson, David Peel and gorgeous Yvonne Monlaur.

Dracula is nowhere to be found in THE BRIDES OF DRACULA...but a young baron who has inherited the vampire affliction, after escaping home confinement (his mother has him chained inside a room inside a huge castle), sets about doing what Dracula and vampires in general typically do: terrorize folks and bite them in order to spread their "disease". If vampirism is in fact a disease then Dr. Gabriel Van Helsing is the cure and Peter Cushing reprises his role as the vampire hunter-killer "Van Helsing" (he began the role in 1958's Horror Of Dracula).

THE BRIDES OF DRACULA (1960) can be found for sale on both DVD and Blu Ray as part of respective box sets that feature other classic Hammer horror films. I have both sets and they're fantastic. Here's a link to the Blu Ray set: Hammer 8-film collection

A trailer:

When the lights go out: THE DARK(1979)

Every now and then while I'm browsing Amazon Prime Video, I'll randomly pick a movie I've never seen before and watch it. Since we're in October I figured I'd check out a horror film and the one I decided on was THE DARK, originally released to theaters in 1979. Tobe Hooper, who directed horror meat-grinders The Texas Chainsaw Massacre(1974) and Eaten Alive(1976), was the original director for THE DARK but John Cardos later stepped in and took over directorial duties.

This film's plot is fairly straight forward: someone or something (and not surprisingly it turns out to be non human) begins a bloody rampage on the streets of Los Angeles at night, killing in grisly and gruesome fashion, many of the victims getting their heads ripped off. The police, including a hard bitten and world weary detective, are clueless as to who (or what) is doing the killings. As pressure from the mayor, a local female reporter joins local law enforcement in the search for the killer. How would I describe the killer? Definitely extraterrestrial but walks like a grown man, has the face of the Frankenstein monster and a hostile, angry growl that is part human with irritable bowel syndrome and part something else altogether. The creature killer also has glowing eyes that can emit lethal, laser like energy beams which annihilate anyone unfortunate to be hit by them.

The cast includes William Devane, Richard Jaeckel, Cathy Lee Crosby and Keenan Wynn. Code Red released 1000 copies of this film on Blu Ray(Region 0/widescreen) and I've found Blu Rays of this movie on eBay BUT they are pricey since the Blu Ray release of THE DARK was limited. DVDs can be bought on Amazon of this film but they're in full frame(1:33.1) aspect ratio and look about as good as the full frame version I watched on Amazon Video which wasn't really that good. Any horror and/or sci-fi fan who hasn't seen THE DARK(1979) should check it out. It's not great but it is much better than I expected.

An HD trailer:

A howling good time: short werewolf film based on the 'Morbach monster"

Brad's Battle Maps

I'd like to give a "shout out" to Brad Barrett and his website Brad's Battle Maps. Brad, a native of New Zealand, enjoys drawing maps of historical battles and is quite good at it. His website includes a catalog of all the maps he's drawn and which are also for sale. To check out Brad's website, click this link: Brad's Battle Maps

Winging it -MOTHRA(1961) Steelbook Edition Blu Ray

Mill Creek Entertainment has been absolutely killing it lately with all the great titles they've released to Blu Ray. Just recently it was announced that MC has secured the North American rights to release ALL the various Ultraman TV series to Blu Ray!

For now, I want to give major props to Mill Creek Entertainment for releasing the Toho sci-fi-fantasy classic Mothra(1961) to (Region A) Blu Ray and in a steel-book format no less.

Mothra(1961) has been available on DVD for some time now but this is the first time this movie has been released to Blu Ray in North America.

Before buying this Blu Ray I asked myself: will the transfer (picture image) look noticeably better? The answer: it does.

If you're a fan of giant monster movies, especially Toho's older "kaiju" films, I highly recommend investing in the Mill Creek Entertainment Steelbook Edition Blu Ray of Mothra(1961).

Click on the link to see this Blu Ray for sale at Mill Creek Entertainment's website: MOTHRA(1961) Steelbook Edition Blu Ray

 

All hail to The King: GODZILLA KING OF THE MONSTERS(2019)

For only the second time in the past five years, I went to an actual movie theater to watch a movie. I have developed, over the course of many years, a strong disdain for venturing into a movie theater, the reasons including: the cost of counter condiments, the cost of a ticket, managing to always be seated behind extremely tall individuals, those with overactive bladders and/or those who like to chat on their cell phones while the movie is playing.

Still, having seen Legendary Pictures' Godzilla(2014) in a theater five years ago, my great lifelong fondness for Godzilla compelled me back inside a theater to watch Godzilla King Of The Monsters(2019). I went on a Sunday morning two weeks ago. There were not many inside the theater besides me, I suspect because it was before noon on a Sunday.

I own a terrific television, an ultra hi-def (4K capable), 49" "TCL" brand flat screen TV with great features and a stereo headphone jack which I often use. I marvel at the Blu Rays I watch (of movies) on my TV but nothing, in my opinion, compares to the giant screen spectacle and amplified bass audio that a movie theater can provide.

I wasn't disappointed with Godzilla King Of The Monsters(2019). This movie was everything I hoped it would be: loud, action packed with lots of giant monsters and giant monster battles. Any fan of Godzilla or giant monster movies in general should absolutely love GKOTM. The various monsters in this movie are all rendered in stellar fashion - Godzilla is a lumbering juggernaut with his powerful atomic breath. Rodan and Mothra are majestic flying behemoths with colossal wingspans(both over 800 feet) and King Ghidorah is the one monster capable of challenging Godzilla in battle. King Ghidorah and its gravity beams have never looked more awesome and powerful in a film than in GKOTM.

I've seen the criticism of this film from various and official "movie critics" around the internet. Obviously they have a right to their opinion but I found much of the criticism to be, well asinine.

Thus far the domestic box office receipts for GKOTM(2019) have been disappointing and the projected worldwide box office take for this movie is projected to plateau at $400 million. Due to its high production cost (anywhere from $170-200 million depending on who you believe), a $400 million box office take may not even allow Legendary Pictures to break even on GKOTM.

A final film in Legendary Pictures' "monsterverse" called Godzilla Vs Kong, with an announced theatrical release date of March 13, 2020 (next year), may be undergoing some re-shoots as the studio reacts to the box office results of GKOTM. As the title of this film implies, a 393 foot tall Godzilla will square off against a presumably larger King Kong-recall that this Kong is only 105 feet in 2017's Kong-Skull Island. I'm guessing Kong will be ramped up to 300-325 feet in height so as to be physically able to fight Godzilla.

As for me, and assuming Godzilla Vs Kong  is released in theaters next March, I'll be back in that same nearby theater, coke and popcorn in hand, sitting in one of the back rows, ready for more giant monster action!

Hook, line and sinker: UP FROM THE DEPTHS (1979)

Just when I think I've watched every horror/sci-fi film about a lake and/or ocean borne monster, I encounter UP FROM THE DEPTHS, a 1979 film directed by Charles Griffith. I discovered this one while browsing Amazon (Prime) Video, my first "go to" alternative when I fail to find anything I want to watch on Netflix. In UP FROM THE DEPTHS(1979), a seaside Hawaiian resort comes under attack from an oversized and ravenous prehistoric fish. I didn't think much of the special effects but Susanne Reed was gorgeous in this movie and there's just enough action to keep me moderately interested while watching this movie. It's available for sale on both DVD and Blu Ray. A trailer:

Gone to the dogs: HOWLING III - THE MARSUPIALS (1987)

Seems like I haven't reviewed a movie in ages in this blog and I'm not really motivated to do one right now. I still watch movies as it's a hobby of mine. Recently I have been watching a lot of horror movies featuring werewolves, some good and some real stinkers. I suppose Howling III-The Marsupials, another entry in "The Howling" series of horror films, classifies as a "stinker" but I believe it's still worth a watch for horror fans who haven't seen it.

In this film, an Australian scientist discovers a group of dog like werewolves (marsupials) living in the "outback" and naturally wants to study them. The marsupials would prefer to be left alone save for one young female who develops a romantic relationship with an affable but nonetheless clueless young fellow. (no other spoilers)

There are many instances of humor in this movie if you watch it closely and some limited gore from the werewolf "kills". The special effects look cheap and nothing like the stellar practical makeup effects in the first film in the series, 1981's THE HOWLING directed by Joe Dante.

HOWLING III-THE MARSUPIALS, directed by Philippe Mora is available on DVD and has been released to Blu Ray by Shout!Factory.

I've always been a softie when it comes to horror movies featuring werewolves and I'm probably guilty of that in regards to this film. You can find this movie on Amazon (Prime) Video or Tubi TV for streaming if you don't want to buy it on DVD or BD.

A trailer:

Practically speaking: great makeup effects blog for the "Friday The 13th" films

The slasher horror Friday The 13th films are one of my all time favorite film franchises and recently I came across a fantastic blog that delves into the behind-the-scenes and makeup effects used to bring "Jason Voorhees", the burlap bag and later hockey masked killer to life.

The blog is called JasonLivesSinceThe1980s. The content of this blog is very detailed and exceptionally informative. For any fans of the Friday The 13th horror films I highly recommend you check out this blog! Click this link to access it: JasonLivesSinceThe1980s

KAIJU GALAXY - new Jcink message board

Kaiju Galaxy, a long time internet message board founded by Donny Winter back in 2004, has an alternate site now. Kaiju Galaxy, like my own message board Monsterland Forums (aka Monsterland Asylum), was migrated to "Tapatalks" last year. I am enamored with Tapatalks but put way too much work into my message board to simply walk away from it and it continues to plod along generating about 30-35 posts a week from a half dozen members.

Here's the link for the alternate Kaiju Galaxy site:  KAIJU GALAXY (Jcink)

Films I want to like...but don't

I'm sure everyone who is a fan of movies like myself has seen films they wanted to like but didn't after viewing them for the first time.

For the record here are some films I really wanted to like but didn't after watching them...and still don't. This includes movies of all genres:

• Arrival (2016)
• Life (2017)
• Valerian And The City Of A Thousand Planets (2017)
• Tron (1982)
• Q The Winged Serpent (1982)
• Planet Of The Apes (2001 - dir. by Tim Burton)
• Dune (1984)
• The Being (1983)
• Bog (1983)
• Creature From Black Lake (1976)
• The Fifth Element (1997)
• I, Robot (2004)
• Caligula (1979)
• Day Of The Dolphin (1973)
• Firestarter (1984)
• Graveyard Shift (1990)
• Howling II-Your Sister Is A Werewolf (1985)
• Jaws-The Revenge (1987)
• The Beast Must Die (1974)
• Curse Of The Swamp Creature (1966)
• Tron Legacy (2010)
• Spider-Man 3 (2007)
• Daredevil (2003)

Favorite martial arts films

I was recently asked by someone I know if there is a movie genre I like besides horror and science fiction. There absolutely is: martial arts! I've always been a huge fan of the "Shaw Brothers" produced martial arts movies.

In no particular order, here are my top ten favorite martial arts (and action films heavy with martial arts combat) films:

• Enter The Dragon (1973)
• Sister Street Fighter (1974)
• Thong Dee Fun Khao (2017) (aka Broken Sword Hero)
• The Protector 2 (2013)
• Kickboxer (1989)
• The Protector (2006)
• Ong Bak (2005)
• The 36th Chamber Of Shaolin (1978)
• The Eight Diagram Pole Fighter (1983)
• Ip Man (2008)