Monster Bites - Fallout

GODZILLA: MINUS ONE (2023)

It feels like just a few months ago that the news of another film in Toho's Godzilla series broke. But it's here and has been given a theatrical release relatively quickly compared to something like Shin Ultraman. It's a brand recognition thing but I can hardly complain. While the Legendary Pictures iteration is pushing forward into an ever larger franchise, the original Big G has been dormant for a long time (not counting short films of course). Which means that they've had time to consider what the film has to say beyond the spectacle. Not that there aren't disaster scenes in this latest addition to the series, but what they've done with a considerably smaller budget has far more weight and nuance.

Monster Bites - Magic Crystals

GODZILLA VS. SPACEGODZILLA (1994)

While this isn't the last of the 1990s Godzilla series it's certainly the least, in a real scraping the barrel lack of creativity kind of way. Apparently Toho were resting on their laurels at this stage after the popularity of the prior instalments and decided that a 'same but different' approach was the best way forward. When the resulting film is so lethargic and the new additions are so trivial it's hard to say why they thought this was such a great idea. It's an oddity that feels sluggish at best and like a toy commercial at its worst. However, it's an essential stumbling block for the franchise which would at least go out with a bang. But before we get to the finale it's time for a monster-sized snooze-fest.

HCF Review - Time Sink

THE GIRL WHO LEAPT THROUGH TIME (1983)

Time travel stories involving high school students are not a new concept; whether it’s something like the more well known animated version of this same story released in 2006, or a certain 1985 Robert Zemeckis movie. Katsuyuki Motohiro’s 2005 comedy Summer Time Machine Blues is a great example of this concept; using something well known as the basis for a largely frivolous tale in which paradoxes and clichés are played for laughs. Of course this 1983 drama from Obayashi pre-dates all of these takes on the idea that naive and short-sighted kids make for poor time travellers. Does it take the whole thing to some unexpected and original places, or is it simply a missed opportunity to do something creative and exciting?

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HCF Review - Summer Holiday

THE ISLAND CLOSEST TO HEAVEN (1984)

With its sweeping romantic music and seaside storybook atmosphere, Obayashi’s adaptation of a ‘warm-hearted tale’ might seem a far cry from some of his other projects, but it’s still a film about nostalgia in its own way. For the most part the whole thing is a coming-of-age drama without much of the director’s typical style and the few unreal moments included are very subtle. It’s kind of a road trip and it’s kind of a melodrama, with hints of fairytale and a whole lot of travelogue. But do any of these individual parts make up a broader and more compelling whole? It really depends on what you’re after in terms of world cinema appeal; and your tolerance for meandering lackadaisical storylines about naive teenagers.

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Horror Bites - Henry's Pact

TO THE DEVIL A DAUGHTER (1976)

So here were are, at the end. In many ways the later years of the Hammer Horror cycle are a fascinating time in the studio's history. On the one hand they clearly wanted to have fun and play it fast and loose with established ideas... so the results are things like Captain Kronos. If only there were more movies released in that vein. On the other hand the pressure was now on to compete with The Exorcist and everything that followed once genre expectations were forever changed... which meant no fun was allowed. Evil children were in and period pieces were out. Which would be less of a problem if this particular story of blood rituals and sinister cults made more sense.

Scorecard

NOVEMBER

FILM OF THE MONTH: Summer Time Machine Blues ☆☆☆☆