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"With each step forward, does he not take several steps back?": Godzilla Raids Again

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  Info Also Known As: Godzilla’s Counterattack (Original Japanese translation); Gigantis: The Fire Monster (U.S. cut); [Just] The Fire Monster (Argentina and Brazil); The Volcano Monsters (Canceled U.S. re-edit) Director: Oda Motoyoshi. Screenplay: Murata Takeo and Hidaka Shigeaki, from a story by Shigeru Kayama. Director of Special Effects: Tsuburaya Eiji. Composer: Sato Masaru. Runtime: 82 minutes (original), 78 minutes ( Gigantis ) What’s It About? A pilot in a Japanese fishing company is forced to make an emergency crash-landing on a rocky island. When his friend and coworker flies in to rescue him, they discover a pair of giant monsters in a fight to the death: one Godzilla, the other a mutant and inexplicably carnivorous Ankylosaurus named Anguirus. The monsters’ battle takes them into the sea and on a course toward the city of Osaka. Without Dr. Serizawa and the Oxygen Destroyer, does Japan have any hope of protecting itself from not one but two rampaging beasts?  Mons...
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Who's Thoughts: Joy to the World

The typo is intentional; this will be the title for the short(?), spoilery  Doctor Who reviews that I guess I'm doing for next year's Season Two/Series 15/Season 41 (don't ask). Those will be Patreon-exclusive, but this one will be going up on the site. Happy holidays! Nicola Coughlan got shafted by the marketing, let's make that clear. All the promos sold this as a spotlight piece for one of the beloved stars of Derry Girls,  a Doctor Who Christmas Special in the vein of The Runaway Bride , The Doctor, the Widow, and the Wardrobe , or The Return of Dr. Mysterio , where the Doctor crashed into a guest actor's story. Instead, we have a special in the vein of The Waters of Mars or The Time of the Doctor , which are ultimately character pieces with the Doctor at the center. With Coughlan's Joy only present for around half the episode, she remains largely an unknown quantity until late in the game. She nails all of her big moments, especially her building rage and g...
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Patreon is live!

I'm pleased to announce that the Patreon for this site is live! $5 patrons have access to essays as they're completed as well as the occasional exclusive essay, while $2 patrons get to read everything that posts to the site a week early as well as a few bonus goodies. (Naturally, $5-tier subscribers also get access to everything at the $2 tier.) I'm hopeful that my work here can be a viable source of at least partial income for the forseeable future, so any support you can throw my way is greatly appreciated!
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One last 70th anniversary treat

Here's an article I wrote for Left Voice on the classic Godzilla series at 70, including a recap of my analysis of the first film. Expect some clues in regards to what approaches I'll be taking in later We Call It Godzilla entries, as well. Enjoy!
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"The Story of the Century": Gojira/Godzilla (1954)

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Info Also Known As: Godzilla, King of the Monsters! (1956 US Edit); Japan Under the Terror of the Monster (Spain); Godzilla - the Monster from the Sea (Sweden); The Monster of the Pacific Ocean (Portugal); Doom Awakened (North Macedonia/Czechoslovakia); Godzilla, the Monster of the Century (Greece); Tokyo 1960 (Philippines) Director: Honda Ishiro. Screenplay: Murata Takeo and Honda Ishiro, from a story by Shigeru Kayama*. Director of Special Effects: Tsuburaya Eiji. Composer: Ifukube Akira.  Runtime: 96 minutes (Japan), 80 minutes (US edit) *Kayama’s estate prefers that his name be rendered in western order, from personal name to surname, so I have done so. What’s it About? This is the one that started it all, in vivid black-and-white. A series of disasters at sea leads to the discovery of a prehistoric, dinosaur-like marine creature that has been awakened, irradiated, and enraged by American hydrogen bomb tests off the coast of Japan. Before long, Gojira makes his way from sea...
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