Movie Review: GODZILLA MINUS ONE (2023) Written and Directed by Takashi Yamazaki
Godzilla Minus One is exceptional, a movie worth seeing even if you haven’t seen Godzilla or aren’t a general fan of the countless sequels. Writer and director Takashi Yamazaki does the best job imaginable in balancing art and entertainment in his movie, infusing it with both thematic depth and relatable emotion.
Comics Review: OK, maybe the real giant monster is also the real giant monster – KAIJUMAX Season 3
Welcome to the latest installment of my comics review column here at Skiffy & Fanty! Every month, I use this space to shine a spotlight on SF&F comics (print comics, graphic novels, and webcomics) that I believe deserve more attention from SF&F readers. This month, I’m turning my – and hopefully your – gaze back to the latest collection of a series I reviewed last year, one of my favourite SFFnal comics currently in production, Zander Cannon’s epic giant monsters prison drama, Kaijumax. (This review contains spoilers!)
The Real Giant Monster is the Carceral State: Kaijumax Season 1 and 2
Welcome to the latest installment of my comics review column here at Skiffy & Fanty! Every month, I use this space to shine a spotlight on SF&F comics (print comics, graphic novels, and webcomics) that I believe deserve more attention from SF&F readers. This month, I’m going to draw your attention to the first two volumes collecting a remarkable comic book series that was supposed to be a light-hearted story about giant monsters doing hard time and became accidentally relevant: Zander Cannon’s Kaijumax. (This review contains spoilers!)
The Disquieting Guest — Ib Melchior: Tivoli Nights and Rat-Bat-Spider-Crabs
Ib Melchior passed away on March 13, at the age of 97. His death was rather overshadowed in genre circles by those of two far more famous figures in the field, so I’m going to take a few moments now to remember the contributions of the novelist, screenwriter and director. While his most notable contributions have been more SF than horror, there are enough horrific elements in his work that I think he has a place in this column. The most high-profile works associated with him are ones where his involvement was in one way or another indirect. He wrote the English-language script for Mario Bava’s SF/horror masterpiece Planet of the Vampires (1965). His concept Space Family Robinson (later a comic book) was, he claims, plagiarized by Irwin Allen as Lost in Space, and indeed, when the film version came along in 1998, Melchior was a paid consultant. And his short story “The Racer” was the basis for Paul Bartel’s brilliant (and ever-more-topical) satire Death Race 2000 (1975).*
225. Godzilla vs. Kaiju Panel at CONvergence 2014
http://media.blubrry.com/skiffyandfanty/dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/archive.org/download/SandFEpisode225GodzillaVsKaijuAtCONvergence/SandF%20–%20Episode%20225%20–%20Godzilla%20vs%20Kaiju%20at%20CONvergence.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadSubscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Android | iHeartRadio | Podchaser | Podcast Index | Email | TuneIn | Deezer | RSSCritters, giant lizards, and monster movies, oh my! Earlier this year, David and Shaun were part of the “Godzilla vs. Kaiju” panel with Dave Margosian and Melissa Kaercher. We began with the following questions: Is the new Godzilla movie a true Godzilla movie? How does it relate to the past movies and to the genre as a whole? From there, things took on a life of their own! We hope you enjoy the episode! Note: If you have iTunes and like this show, please give us a review on our iTunes page, or feel free to email us with your thoughts about the show! Here’s the episode (show notes are below): Episode 225 — Download (MP3) Show Notes: Dave Margosian’s Facebook Melissa Kaercher’s Twitter Tin Lizard Productions Xanadu Cinema Reel Edu Our new intro music is “Time Flux” by Revolution Void (CC BY 3.0). That’s all, folks! Thanks for listening. See you next week.
The Disquieting Guest — The Sublime Terror of Kaiju
In 1985, I had the chance to see Godzilla on the big screen for the first time since that treasured day in the mid-70s, when my father took me to a matinee of Godzilla vs. the Thing (aka Mothra vs. Godzilla, 1964). On this occasion, the film was Godzilla 1985 (aka The Return of Godzilla, 1984). Like the 1954 original, it had been re-edited by its American distributor, with Raymond Burr shoehorned in. It was also dubbed. I didn’t care. It was Godzilla. When a couple of kids (about eight years old, I’m guessing) called out “Hi, Godzilla!” when he appeared, I barely restrained myself from doing the same. But there was another voice in that theatre. In the row ahead of me, a couple sat with their daughter. She was young enough (four? five?) that it’s possible this was her first movie. Twice during the film, I heard a small voice emerge from the seat in front of me with a quavering, “This scares me.” The first time was early in the film, when a corpse is found on a derelict ship. The second time was when Godzilla’s massive foot comes down on a fleeing crowd.
