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Adam Wingard's new film "Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire" has, tonally speaking, strayed far from Gareth Edwards' 2014 MonsterVerse kickoff film "Godzilla." Edwards' film was somber and sad, featuring very little "fun" monster destruction. As the MonserVerse series has progressed, however, it has crept inexorably toward a sillier tone before striking it rich with Wingard's 2021 entry "Godzilla vs. Kong." That film featured a battle between the titular titans, but also a cameo from Mechagodzilla, a monstrous robot extrapolated from the skull of the dead King Ghidorah. "GvK" also featured a fleet of human-built UFOs and a magical portal that led into the Hollow Earth, an unusual underground realm ruled by monsters.

The Hollow Earth idea is straight out of Jules Verne, but the mayhem-forward approach to a Godzilla movie comes from several of Toho's films released in the 1970s. Indeed, many critics and pundits have been comparing "GxK" to the series' Shōwa era,...

This time of the year is huge for professional wrestling fans as Wrestlemania is rapidly approaching. But before the Showcase of Immortals descends upon Philadelphia, Pa in a few weeks, the biggest tag team match of the year may actually take place in movie theaters around the world thanks to Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire rather than a WWE ring.

Following their colossal head-to-head battle during their first encounter in 2021, the almighty Kong and the fearsome Godzilla must team up to fend off a previously undiscovered threat that looms over both of their domains of Hollow Earth and the surface world. Ahead of the movie’s March 29, 2024 release date, director Adam Wingard invited Daily Dead and other esteemed members of the press to the IMAX Headquarters to show off the upcoming sequel to his first MonsterVerse crossover. Along with the film itself, Wingard also recreated his “war room” to...

A few years back, The Criterion Collection released the epic Godzilla: The Showa Era box set, collecting all fifteen Godzilla films of Japan’s Showa era together for the first time.

Starting today, Bloody Disgusting has learned, the 15-film Godzilla: The Showa-Era collection is available now on Vudu, Fandango’s premium on-demand video service!

The set includes Godzilla, Godzilla Raids Again, King Kong vs. Godzilla, Mothra vs. Godzilla, Ghidorah the Three Headed Monster, Invasion of Astro-Monster, Ebirah Horror of the Deep, Son of Godzilla, Destroy All Monsters, All Monsters Attack, Godzilla vs. Hedorah, Godzilla vs. Gigan, Godzilla vs. Megalon, Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla and Terror of Mechagodzilla.

You can digitally purchase or rent the individual films at the following links:

Godzilla Godzilla: King of the Monsters Godzilla Raids Again Ghidorah: The Three Headed Monster Mothra vs. Godzilla All Monsters Attack Invasion of Astro-Monster Terror of Mechagodzilla Son of Godzilla Destroy All Monsters!

Merian C. Cooper and Ernest B. Schoedsack's 1933 mega-hit "King Kong" was a marvel of special effects. It employed stop-motion animation, outsize models, rear-projection, and novel composting methods to convince audiences that a giant ape was interacting with human co-stars. Compared to modern, ultra-slick CGI effects, the 1933 King Kong may not look as realistic, but the ape shimmers with life and personality beyond what many modern effects can accomplish. Kong is the most sympathetic character in the movie, as he was kidnapped from his home and exploited by would-be entertainment moguls. Using bi-planes to shoot Kong off the top of the Empire State Building wasn't a moment of triumph for a masterful humanity, but the tragic execution of an animal that doesn't understand what it was thrust into. Not bad for a film that's going to celebrate its 91st birthday in April of 2024.

Interpreting "King Kong" in 2024 is fraught. Cooper...

Legendary’s MonsterVerse Godzilla TV series Monarch: Legacy of Monsters is set to premiere on Apple TV+ with the first two episodes on Friday, November 17, followed by one episode every Friday through January 12. (You can read our own Alex Maidy’s review of the first batch of episodes Here.) In anticipation of the show’s premiere, we’re taking a look back at several of Godzilla’s previous adventures to see how they stack up against each other. For the sake of keeping it as lean as possible, we’re focusing on his earliest days, going all the way back to the original Showa era, consisting of his very first outing in 1954, his first clashes with the likes of Mothra, Rodan, King Ghidorah and his cyborg counterpart, Mechagodzilla, before concluding its run in 1975. To add more familiarity to the pot, we’re also including his string of American blockbusters, from...

U.S. audiences tend to accept Toho's earlier Godzilla movies as being high camp, usually thanks to Gen-x's half-remembered airings of late-'60s kaiju flicks broadcast on Uhf TV channels back in the 1980s. While there are some absurd and terrible Godzilla films from the Showa era (1954-1975), and many of them contained surreal, kitschy plot elements like invading aliens, one might also find several movies -- "Gojira," "Destroy All Monsters" -- that focus on Japanese national pride, the role of destructive weapons in the world, and a barely-simmering resentment lingering after a massive attack on the country. If modern superhero movies sprung from the U.S. subconscious as a fantastical revenge/preventative measure against 9/11, so too did Godzilla spring fully formed from the trauma left behind by the U.S.' atomic bomb attacks.

In the original "Gojira," that is literal. The titular creature, a stories-high amphibious animal,...

Japan’s most iconic giant monster is set for a big screen return in Takashi Yamazaki’s upcoming film “Godzilla Minus One.” Until that day, it’s a perfect time to reflect on the long-lasting legacy of “Godzilla.” Originally conceived as a metaphor for the horrors of nuclear warfare, the kaiju has seen its fair share of unique variations. Yet, the beauty of why this character remains solidified in cinema history is for the ideas that come with its creation and existence, along with many unique interpretations. Like many movie series, the franchise’s quality frequently fluctuates, yet plenty of these movies are good, some even fantastic. Here is an exploration of the King of the Monsters’ finest hits throughout the years.

Buy This Title

on Amazon 1. Godzilla (1954)

The original film that started it all. “Godzilla” remains a masterpiece all these years later. Ishiro Honda weaves together a simplistic yet...

Whether it’s because of the hours we’ve lost in traffic or an unconscious desire to rebel against the unnatural rat race of modern life, there’s an undeniable catharsis in watching gigantic monsters obliterate a metropolitan area on the big screen. Don’t get me wrong, a real life Kaiju incident would probably be regarded with the same severity as a massive terrorist attack, but fictional casualties are a small price to pay for some monster movie fun.

That’s why it makes sense that video games have been trying to emulate these destructive thrills for decades now, with Kaiju having been present in interactive media ever since it was possible to animate a crude little radioactive dinosaur out of 8-bit pixels. And with modern audiences still hungry for giant monster mayhem, we thought that this might be a good time to look back on the evolution of Kaiju in video games.

Takarada Akira, best known as a star in the early “Godzilla” films and Toho’s other kaiju (monster) and sci-fi movies from the 1950s and 1960s, died on Monday. He was 87. The cause of death has not been announced.

Born in 1934 in Japan-occupied Korea, Takarada came with his family to Japan in 1948 as a speaker of Mandarin Chinese and English. In 1953 he entered the Toho studio after passing the studio’s “New Face” audition. He made an impression in a major role as a Navy diver in the original 1954 “Godzilla” and thereafter was cast in series follow-ups including “Mothra vs. Godzilla” (1964), “Invasion of Astro-Monster” (1965), and “Godzilla vs. the Sea Monster” (1966).

Takarada also appeared in films by Ozu Yasujiro and Naruse Miko as well as musical films, melodramas, period dramas and other mainstay studio genres.

After the collapse of Japan’s studio system in the 1970s Takarada’s appearances in films...

Longtime film distribution executive Melvin “Duffy” Stanley Maron died Jan. 13 in Atlanta. He was 90.

Maron brought martial arts and cult movies to theater, drive-in and TV audiences throughout the 1970s including Edie Sedgwick starring “Ciao Manhattan,” “Godzilla’s Revenge,” the double bill of “War of the Gargantuas” and “Monster Zero” and “The Cult,” about the Tate-LoBianco killings.

He acquired numerous dubbed martial arts movies to capitalize on the Bruce Lee craze, including “Bruce Lee: The Man — The Myth,” “Fists of Bruce Lee,” “Fists of Vengeance,” “Kung Fu Gold” and “The Killing Machine.”

“Even though he had a short career with only a few films, Bruce Lee opened everyone’s eyes,” Maron told DVDDriveIn. “When I saw kids going to these karate and kung fu schools that were springing up everywhere, I felt there was a natural tie-in between the martial arts and America.”

His later distribution company World Northal was oriented to the arthouse market,...

Official plot details for Godzilla vs. Kong are still incredibly hard to come by unless you’ve been keeping track of the tie-in merchandise, which is where the big reveals seem to be coming from. Having been pushed back yet again, director Adam Wingard will be hoping that the latest installment in the MonsterVerse will live up to the hype when it finally arrives on its fifth and hopefully final release date next May.

That being said, the filmmaker could probably do with the extra post-production time given that extensive reshoots were ordered by the studio following a test screening that reportedly didn’t go down too well, although the most recent showing seems to indicate that Godzilla vs. Kong has been massively improved by the additional footage.

Following the disappointing critical and commercial performance of Godzilla: King of the Monsters, the clash of the two iconic kaiju could make...

Arrow has provided us with official release details, a look at the cover art, and the new trailer for Gamera: The Complete Collection. This 8-disc set will be released on 8/18 in North America and 8/17 in the UK:

"This limited edition collectors' set traces the decades-long evolution of Gamera, from the "friend of all children" in his more light-hearted earlier films, to the Guardian of the Universe in the groundbreaking 1990s reboot series, often hailed as three of the best kaiju films ever made."

Collector's Edition Box Set Contents

Limited collectors' edition packaging, housed in a large-format rigid box, fully illustrated by Matt Frank Casebound, fully-illustrated disc book containing eight Blu-ray discs High Definition (1080p) versions of all twelve films, with lossless original Japanese audio and a complete collection of English dub tracks, including classic American International dubs on the Showa-era films remastered from original MGM elements Hardback 130-page comic book...

“Our ancient legends did mention fire-eating turtles, but in the 20th century, I must admit it’s very difficult to believe.”

For the first time ever worldwide, all twelve tales of the adventures of everyone’s favorite titanic terrapin are collected together in one deluxe Blu-ray boxset.

Gamera: The Complete Collection is coming August 18th From Arrow Video. Pre-order Here. Check out the Gamera: The Complete Collection trailer:

This limited edition collectors’ set traces the decades-long evolution of Gamera, from the “friend of all children” in his more light-hearted earlier films, to the Guardian of the Universe in the groundbreaking 1990s reboot series, often hailed as three of the best kaiju films ever made.

Collector’S Edition Box Set Contents

Limited collectors’ edition packaging, housed in a large-format rigid box, fully illustrated by Matt FrankCasebound, fully-illustrated disc book containing eight Blu-ray discsHigh Definition (1080p) versions of all twelve films, with...

Is it possible, in the grand age of visual and storytelling sophistication in which we live (the sarcasm is coming through, isn’t it?), to experience the exquisite delirium of an old Japanese kaiju movie, say, anything in the Godzilla-and-related-monsters series from roughly 1957 to 1975, without responding to it simply as inept camp, or as something to be immediately discounted or condescended to because of the “fakeyness” of its special effects? (In that time range I’ve deliberately left out the original Gojira, released in 1954, a movie that has always, and particularly since its original Japanese version was re-distributed in the Us in 2004, enjoyed a measure of respect from demanding genre audiences because of its status as a painful and powerful response to the devastation at Hiroshima and Nagasaki in World War II.) Is it possible to enjoy these usually formulaic rubber-monster orgies of destruction precisely because of their artificiality?...

Now expanding to the Big Apple, the New York Haunted Hayride will take place on October 2nd. Also: details on both Tales from Beyond the Pale at Fantasia International Film Festival and a kaiju marathon of Godzilla-sized proportions on Shout! Factory TV.

New York City Haunted Hayride: Press Release: "Ten Thirty One Productions (Tto), the worldwide leader in producing live horror attractions, will expand the most popular Halloween attraction in the country, Los Angeles Haunted Hayride, to New York City this October for the first time ever. The wildly popular attraction, annually held in Los Angeles, led Mark Cuban to make the largest investment in “Shark Tank” history as well as a second investment by Live Nation. Tto will now be bringing its biggest and best scares from seven years of haunting the west coast to the east coast for the most horrifying experience in town.

“This expansion to...

**Massive spoilers for every Godzilla movie, with the exception of the 2014 reboot, and Mothra follow**

August 6th and 9th, 1945 forever changed the course of history. When the first nuclear bombs were dropped in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan, World War II ended, but a new fear was born that dominated the thoughts of all men, women, and children for decades to come. The Cold War, atomic bomb testing, a cartoon turtle telling children to “duck and cover”, and this new technology that had the actual potential to literally end the world changed the perception of what was scary. Art reflects life, so cinema began to capitalize on these fears. Gone were the days of creepy castles, cobwebs, bats, vampires, werewolves, and the other iconic images that ruled genre cinema in film’s earliest decades. Science fiction was larger than ever and giant ants, giant octopi, terror from beyond the stars, and...

I'll be the first to admit my pessimistic attitude when it was announced a few months back that Dallas Comic-Con was sold to FanExpo out of Canada. I felt as if my hometown event was being invaded upon and diluted. How could a company out of Canada know what us hard-to-please folks in Texas really want? After this year's Dallas Comic-Con, I can tell you they know a whole lot about what we Southerners are looking for than you would think.

With the exception of maybe one show, I've attended every Sci-Fi Expo and Comic-Con that's taken place for the past thirteen years. I was there when the events alternated between the Plano Centre and the Richardson Civic Center. I covered the very first show at the Irving Convention Center. The crowds have grown steadily bigger, but not the way most ones gradually do. Maybe it's my imagination, but it...

For a creature who's been asleep for hundreds of millions of years, Godzilla is surprisingly adept at changing with the times.

Across 60 years and 30 movies, from his first appearance in 1954's "Godzilla" to the second American reboot "Godzilla" opening this week, the Lizard King has reflected the anxieties of his times, from World War II to the War on Terror, from the atomic bombing of Hiroshima to the atomic reactor disaster of Fukushima., and from Japan to the rest of the world.

Even in that first film, the linkage of the radioactive-breath monster with the atomic anxieties of the only nation ever attacked by nuclear weapons was explicit. "First Nagasaki, now this!" cries a woman in anticipation of Godzilla's imminent arrival. Less then a decade after the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki forced Japan's surrender in World War II, and just months after U.S. hydrogen bomb testing...

For a creature who's been asleep for hundreds of millions of years, Godzilla is surprisingly adept at changing with the times.

Across 60 years and 30 movies, from his first appearance in 1954's "Godzilla" to the second American reboot "Godzilla" opening this week, the Lizard King has reflected the anxieties of his times, from World War II to the War on Terror, from the atomic bombing of Hiroshima to the atomic reactor disaster of Fukushima., and from Japan to the rest of the world.

Even in that first film, the linkage of the radioactive-breath monster with the atomic anxieties of the only nation ever attacked by nuclear weapons was explicit. "First Nagasaki, now this!" cries a woman in anticipation of Godzilla's imminent arrival. Less then a decade after the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki forced Japan's surrender in World War II, and just months after U.S. hydrogen bomb testing...

There's never been a better time to be a Godzilla fan. There's a new movie on the horizon, new collectibles in stores, and Big G is just about everywhere you look. Now Epix is ready to take you on a special look-back! Read on!

On Monday May 26th, Epix Drive-In presents an all-day marathon of original Godzilla movies including Godzilla, King of the Monsters!, Godzilla Raids Again, Godzilla vs. Monster Zero, Godzilla’s Revenge, Mothra vs. Godzilla, Terror of Mechagodzilla, Rodan and Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster.

MemROARial Day Godzilla-Thon - Full Schedule - All Times ​Est

Monday, May 26

6:00 Am – Ghidorah, the Three- Headed Monster 7:30 Am – Rodan 8:45 Am – Godzilla’s Revenge 10:00 Am – Godzilla, King of the Monsters! 11:20 Am – Godzilla Raids Again 12:40 Pm – Ghidorah, the Three- Headed Monster 2:10 Pm – Mothra vs. Godzilla 3:40 Pm – Godzilla vs. Monster Zero 5:15 Pm – Rodan 6:30 Pm – Terror of Mechagodzilla 8:00 Pm – Godzilla,...

More news is coming out of the sexy creatures who populate the hallways of the Scream Factory. Two more Blu-rays are on their way which deserve a spot in your collection and on your shelf. Read on for details.

From the Press Release

It’s time to unleash our primal animal nature and succumb to the unbridled cravings for a generous dose of suspense, unspeakable desires and good old-fashioned horror storytelling! On January 21, 2014, Scream Factory™ is proud to present the provocative 1982 thriller Cat People Collector’s Edition Blu-ray™. Directed by Paul Schrader (Taxi Driver, Raging Bull), this memorable cult hit is a remake of 1942 Jacque Tourneur horror noir classic. The all-star cast includes Nastassja Kinski (Tess, Savior), Malcolm McDowell ( A Clockwork Orange), John Heard (Prison Break, The Sopranos), Annette O’Toole (48 hrs), and features music by Giorgio Morotor (Top Gun, Flash Dance) with the “Cat People” theme sung by legendary artist David Bowie.

Scream Factory has provided us with new details on two of their early 2014 releases: 1982′s Cat People and Die, Monster, Die!, starring Boris Karloff:

“It’s time to unleash our primal animal nature and succumb to the unbridled cravings for generous dose of suspense, unspeakable desires and good old-fashioned horror storytelling! On January 21, 2014, Scream Factory™ is proud to present the provocative 1982 thriller Cat People Collector’s Edition Blu-ray™. Directed by Paul Schrader (Taxi Driver, Raging Bull), this memorable cult hit is a remake of 1942 Jacque Tourneur horror noir classic. The all-star cast includes Nastassja Kinski (Tess, Savior), Malcolm McDowell ( A Clockwork Orange), John Heard (Prison Break, The Sopranos), Annette O’Toole (48 hrs), and features music by Giorgio Morotor (Top Gun, Flash Dance) with “Cat People” theme sung by legendary artist David Bowie.

For the first time ever on Blu-ray, this definitive collector’s edition of Cat People features anamorphic...

We here at Cinelinx can't wait to see the brand new Godzilla movie from Gareth Edwards, and have been anxiously anticipating it's release since it's Sdcc announcement back in 2010!  Now with the director already making comments about sequel ideas, we thought it was the perfect time to take a look at the greatest Godzilla 'villains' who we wouldn't mind seeing pop up in the rebooted films. 

5) Orga - First Appearance: Godzilla 2000 (2000)

Few here in the USA remember exactly who Orga was since his only film outing came in the form of Godzilla 2000, where he took on the King in one of his most brutal fights.  Able to absorb DNA and mutate himself, Orga began life as a UFO, mutated into a giant-squid like creature, then into his final form: an immensely powerful but physically unstable clone of Godzilla himself.  While Orga put up a hell of a fight,...

Iconic Japanese actor Akira Takarada, who starred as Hideto Ogata in director Ishiro Honda's 1954 classic Gojira, Aka Godzilla, King of the Monsters, joins the cast of Gareth Edwards' upcoming remake.

Veteren actor Takarada has appeared in several Godzilla movies, including Mothra vs. Godzilla (1964), Godzilla vs. Monster Zero (1965), Godzilla vs. the Sea Monster (1966), Godzilla vs. Mothra (1992) and Godzilla: Final Wars (2004). However, his role as Ogata in the original is the one he is best remembered for. There’s no word on whether his character will be a link to the original Godzilla continuity or not, but it’s a great coup to have him there, either way.

Gareth Edwards has also added another cast member to his movie. British actress Sally Hawkins will play a scientist. Hawkins is best known for Little Crackers and Great Expectations.

Appearing alongside Takarada and Hawkins are Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Elizabeth Olsen, Ken Watanabe,...

Japanese living legend Akira Takarada has survived six Godzilla movies over the decades, and the prolific actor is looking for another reason to get in the cinema ring with Big G. From a fan standpoint this would be a glorious gift to us so let's try and make it happen.

Doing so is simple. Just visit the Legendary Pictures: Cast Akira Takarada in the new Godzilla Movie Facebook Group, and show your support by joining and spreading the word.

To date Takarada has been seen in the original Godzilla King of the Monsters, Mothra vs. Godzilla, Godzilla vs. Monster Zero, Godzilla vs. the Sea Monster, Godzilla vs. Mothra (1992), Godzilla: Final Wars and even the wonderfully wacky King Kong Escapes! Can you think of an actor with more cred? Come on, Legendary! Give us this and we'll love you forever!

As it stands David Strathairn, Aaron Johnson, Elizabeth Olsen,...

The 2nd annual PollyGrind assaults Las Vegas during an epic length film festival that runs Oct. 8-17 at Theatre 7 with enough sleaze and violence to make Sin City residents feel right at home.

Actually, the fest does open up on the 7th with a concert at Neon Venus with local acts like Monster Zero, Creepersin and many more.

However, the film portion of the fest opens on the 8th with Stuart Simpson‘s acclaimed Australian gorefest El Monstro Del Mar!, one of the best Russ Meyer/Roger Corman mash-ups with a Down Under twist. Read the Bad Lit: The Journal of Underground Film review of this gem here.

Other Bad Lit favorites in the lineup are Drew Bolduc and Dan Nelson‘s The Taint, which is still completely grossing out audiences on the festival circuit, and The Uh-Oh Show, the splatter-filled horror comedy by the Godfather of Gore himself Herschell Gordon Lewis.

Assuming you have a humongous front door or outstanding insurance, Thursdays in June will be good night to pull your car into the living room, park it in front of your flatscreen, turn the channel to TCM, and try to relive the golden age of drive-in monster movies as TCM is loading its schedule this month with nothing but classic old school monster movies.

As if Turner Classic Movies wasn't already a fantastic channel as is (they're airing the 1977 Jaws with claws cult classic Grizzly this Friday at 2:00 Am Et), every Thursday in June they'll be running all-night Atomic Age monster movie marathons. From Godzilla to Harryhausen, from classics like The Thing from Another World to not-so-classics like Creature from the Haunted Sea to bad movie greatness like The Giant Claw... Here's TCM's own press release:

It came from the drive-in! The al fresco movie theater, a rage of the 1950s and '60s,...

TheMoviePool takes on the baddest of the bad with the King of the Monsters!  See us count down the best monsters to ever square off against Godzilla over his many decades of rampaging.

In 2010, when the news released at San Diego ComicCon of a Godzilla reboot in the works, kaiju fans around the world rejoiced.  The news was made even sweeter when the new film was to be produced by Legendary Pictures, the minds behind some of the greatest films to come out of Warner Brothers such as 300, Watchmen, and The Dark Knight.  And most recently in January, we received news that director Gareth Edwards, the mind behind the fantastic and surreal Monsters, was attached to direct.  Things couldn't look brighter for the franchise built on the ruins of Monster-Stomped Japan.

So in honor of the Atomic Lizard, we at Themoviepool.Com went on a rampage through our personal collections and decided who,...

TheMoviePool takes on the baddest of the bad with the King of the Monsters!

In 2010, when the news released at San Diego ComicCon of a Godzilla reboot in the works, kaiju fans around the world rejoiced.  The news was made even sweeter when the new film was to be produced by Legendary Pictures, the minds behind some of the greatest films to come out of Warner Brothers such as 300, Watchmen, and The Dark Knight.  And most recently in January, we received news that director Gareth Edwards, the mind behind the fantastic and surreal Monsters, was attached to direct.  Things couldn't look brighter for the franchise built on the ruins of Monster-Stomped Japan.

So in honor of the Atomic Lizard, we at Themoviepool.Com went on a rampage through our personal collections and decided who, of the cavalcade of creatures who collectively found their asses kicked by The King of the Monsters,...

Matt here…

Last March when Legendary Pictures and Warner Bros announced they had struck a deal with Toho to produce a new Godzilla film, former Owf writer Ray DeRousse wrote-up an excellent piece detailing a six item wishlist of things he wanted to see in the new reboot. You can read that article in it’s entiriety here, but I’m re-posting the actual suggestive list for your pleasure today.

It’s worth remembering that on the day we posted this, Godzilla producer Roy Lee emailed Owf telling us that most of the items on this list were things they were planning to use in the new film at that early stage. Now nearly a year on hopefully that is still the case now they have found a director, Monsters helmer Gareth Edwards, who will shoot the film this year…

1. Give Godzilla A Formidable Foe

Even the Japanese Godzilla films...