Monster Bites - Old Stony Face
DAIMAJIN (1966)
Daimajin also known as Majin, Monster of Terror, is a lesser know blend of samurai drama and giant living statue movie. Daiei Films, best know for their Gamera series produced this at a time when their own features (and those of rival studio Toho) where starting to get a lot sillier. But be prepared for a full on story of feudal warlords and forced labour camps - the stone idol only starts to come to life during the last ten minutes. Is it all worth the wait? Is all the plotting and all the debate about disrespecting the gods building to something great? The short answer is yes. This is actually one of the best in the daikaiju genre, worlds apart from its contemporaries in more ways than one.
Daimajin also known as Majin, Monster of Terror, is a lesser know blend of samurai drama and giant living statue movie. Daiei Films, best know for their Gamera series produced this at a time when their own features (and those of rival studio Toho) where starting to get a lot sillier. But be prepared for a full on story of feudal warlords and forced labour camps - the stone idol only starts to come to life during the last ten minutes. Is it all worth the wait? Is all the plotting and all the debate about disrespecting the gods building to something great? The short answer is yes. This is actually one of the best in the daikaiju genre, worlds apart from its contemporaries in more ways than one.
Horror Bites - Guess Who's Back?
BLOOD FROM THE MUMMY'S TOMB (1971)
Part of the Great Cinematic Catharsis Hammer-Amicus Blogathon
There are certain Hammer films that I tend to forget about over time, and then every so often they come to mind and I think 'hey, I'll give that another go.' With a title as evocative as this how could you not? Unfortunately this is another case of the name being better than the movie, in the same way the names of their Dracula and Frankenstein sequels got more catchy as the films got worse. It shouldn't be the case since like their other Mummy features this isn't part of a continuing narrative. It's not even borrowing from the Universal series this time. But despite it featuring familiar faces such as Andrew Keir and having a plot taken from a Bram Stoker story, things never really work the way they should. Let's take a peek inside the burial chamber and see what sort of rot lies in wait...
Part of the Great Cinematic Catharsis Hammer-Amicus Blogathon
There are certain Hammer films that I tend to forget about over time, and then every so often they come to mind and I think 'hey, I'll give that another go.' With a title as evocative as this how could you not? Unfortunately this is another case of the name being better than the movie, in the same way the names of their Dracula and Frankenstein sequels got more catchy as the films got worse. It shouldn't be the case since like their other Mummy features this isn't part of a continuing narrative. It's not even borrowing from the Universal series this time. But despite it featuring familiar faces such as Andrew Keir and having a plot taken from a Bram Stoker story, things never really work the way they should. Let's take a peek inside the burial chamber and see what sort of rot lies in wait...
Scorecard
MAY
FILM OF THE MONTH Godzilla 1984 ☆☆☆☆
A Better Tomorrow ☆☆☆☆
Some Like it Hot ☆☆☆☆
The Golden Voyage of Sinbad ☆☆☆☆
Avengers: Infinity War ☆☆☆☆
Captain America: The Winter Soldier ☆☆☆☆
Daimajin ☆☆☆☆
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol2 ☆☆☆☆
Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol ☆☆☆☆
Mission: Impossible ☆☆☆☆
Iron Man ☆☆☆☆
FILM OF THE MONTH Godzilla 1984 ☆☆☆☆
A Better Tomorrow ☆☆☆☆
Some Like it Hot ☆☆☆☆
The Golden Voyage of Sinbad ☆☆☆☆
Avengers: Infinity War ☆☆☆☆
Captain America: The Winter Soldier ☆☆☆☆
Daimajin ☆☆☆☆
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol2 ☆☆☆☆
Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol ☆☆☆☆
Mission: Impossible ☆☆☆☆
Iron Man ☆☆☆☆
Review Roundup - First Shot
SOLO: A STAR WARS STORY (2018)
Well, here we go again. With the mixed reaction to The Last Jedi still fresh in most people's minds it's time for the LFL machine to fire back up to deliver what should at least be a less challenging tale of spaceships and galactic outlaws. An origin story for Han Solo has never been something I'd be interested in, and the kind of fill in the blanks style storytelling required isn't an approach I consider creative or exciting. The controversy over the original directing team being fired (Lord and Miller from The Lego Movie) was well publicised, suggesting that even any risks were being squeezed out of the project to make sure it stayed on the level of committee approved fun and nothing more. So with all the reshoots done, how does everything stack up?
Well, here we go again. With the mixed reaction to The Last Jedi still fresh in most people's minds it's time for the LFL machine to fire back up to deliver what should at least be a less challenging tale of spaceships and galactic outlaws. An origin story for Han Solo has never been something I'd be interested in, and the kind of fill in the blanks style storytelling required isn't an approach I consider creative or exciting. The controversy over the original directing team being fired (Lord and Miller from The Lego Movie) was well publicised, suggesting that even any risks were being squeezed out of the project to make sure it stayed on the level of committee approved fun and nothing more. So with all the reshoots done, how does everything stack up?
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