Godzilla vs Biollante (1989) godzilla_vs_biollante_poster_01.jpg
Im putting the MONSTER back into Halloween... See ghosts and the supernatural are all well and good but I mean what's the worst a ghost can do? slam a door, wave a bedsheet at you. And as for masked serial killers, PAH when was the last time you heard of anyone being murdered wearing a hockey mask and waving a machete around. But I am more than happy to believe that one day , we will unearth a prehistoric monster from its ice age tomb or perhaps a volcano may erupt and spew out a Diplodocus who will rampage threw granddads allotment to chew on his prize marrow, these are feasible things that could happen, never global warning the monsters are coming.!!! Any how there's lots of talk about saving the semen of all the brainiest (um I thought this was a kids film) and managing to save some cells from Godzilla ( who is imprisoned inside Mount Mihara ) .There is also a subplot in there some where as well, involving genetics and saving the Sahara desert ??? but who the hell cares just bring on the fighting monsters. When the action does get under way its pure old school kick ass monster wrestling, Biollante in some respects looks quite a lot like some of the incarnations of the alien from the The Thing, tentacles with snapping jaws on the end and a rose for a head? But its no match for radiation loving Godzilla. Plot wise there is so much going on I felt my brain was hurting from radiation emitting monster's, but I really loved the effects and Godzilla was looking pretty good here especially his heat emitting eyes and mouth shooting radiation everywhere. And we have the usual city stomping as Osaka gets a damn good flatening,while the military run around a lot seemingly looking lost,but what's this is that a Thunderbird I can see in the sky? no someone better phone lawyers, anyhow its pretty useless against Godzilla. But lets not right off Biollante just yet , as it is an ever evolving creature, and in round two he looks like a fat crocodile crossed with some broccoli .Overall a very enjoyable film,. Maybe a bit over long, there certainly was some dialogue that could of been easily trimmed.
Bride Of Frankenstein. (1935) Poster - Bride of Frankenstein, The_09.jpgPoster - Bride of Frankenstein, The_03.jpg
Out of all the Universal Monster movies BRIDE is my up-most favourite. When Boris Karloff first appears out of the walls of the underground chamber he had fallen into (as opposed to being burnt alive) , its such a marvellous reveal, Karloff looks fantastic as the monster. The other major character in Bride is the wonderfully camp Doctor Septimus Pretorius ( played by the rather flamboyant Ernest Thesiger ),who with his rather blasphemous experiments, can create life by growing as nature does with seeds. Pretourius convinces Dr Frankenstein (Colin Clive) that they must create a mate for the monster. Of course no Universal monster movie is without its baying crowds of villager's brandishing pitchforks and torches, and when the villagers finally capture the monster, you do feel pity for him as he looks mightily sorry for himself all trussed up. But they can not hold him for long, as he breaks free from his chains and starts throwing the locals around like rag dolls. What Karloff manages to achieve under that make-up is sympathy for his character,with no dialogue as such,( Alone Bad, friend good) he creates a simple but child like character just through some rather marvellous acting, and the odd growl. If the segment between Karloff and the blind man does not warm the cockles of your heart then your probably a moderator on a forum some where. The monster's longing for a mate and his pitiful plight is only exasperated by the two creatures encountering each other and what must class as the worlds worst first date ever. That said Elsa Lanchester as the Bride looks absolutely stunning, if a little on the electrified side. A firm favourite of mine although i am not to keen on the prologue with all that Mary Shelley and Byron nonsense, its all acted out so stiffly that it looks ridicously old fashioned compared to the rest of the film. . I think Bride is one of Karloff's greatest performance's, he manages to convey huge amount of different emotions, in what must of been at the time some heavy duty makeup effects work, yet he breaks through all that and still gives us a memorable performance that stay's with you. Still the course of true love never runs straight "We Belong Dead".