Charles D Shell

Gamera 3: Revenge of Iris

(Originally posted on June 6, 2018) The Gamera Heisei trilogy comes to a rousing finale in Gamera: Revenge of Iris.  Not only is this a solid movie, but it explores issues heretofore ignored or glossed over in kaiju movies.  The first two films (which I discussed here and here) skirted some of these issues, but […]

Gamera 2: Attack of Legion (Another Nifty Kaiju Film)

(Originally posted on May 15, 2018) Gamera 2: Attack of Legion is the second in the Gamera Heisei trilogy, following the (surprisingly good) Gamera: Guardian of the Universe (that I discussed here.)  This movie is directed by Shusuke Kaneko, just like the first entry in the trilogy. The movie starts out roughly a year after […]

Them! Best of the Giant Bug Movies

(Originally posted on April 18, 2018) I first viewed Them! (1954) in my early teens.  It was playing late at night with a lot of wind outside.  Perfect environment for tension, especially for this movie.  It’s the best of the fifties “giant bug” movies and manages to stand up even today. Pretty much every fifties […]

Tremors: Groundbreaking in More Than One Way

(Originally posted on February 28, 2018) I saw Tremors when it was first released in theaters back in 1990.  I went to see it when I was stationed in Monterey, California with a couple of local friends.  My assumption was that it was a mindless monster flick.  I couldn’t have been more wrong.  We had […]

Godzilla versus Hedorah: Weirdest Godzilla Ever

(Originally posted on February 7, 2018) I actually didn’t get to see Godzilla versus Hedorah (1971) until I was an adult, which is probably good for my mental health.  This is one weird Godzilla movie. That’s saying a lot considering this is a genre filled with sweaty Japanese actors in rubber suits destroying tiny cities.  […]

A Nifty Kaiju Movie: Gamera, Guardian of the Universe

(Originally posted on November 9, 2016) Gamera, Guardian of the Universe (1995) is a giant monster movie that is far better than it has any right to be.  The Heisei Gamera series is a reboot of the original Daiei Studio Gamera series (1965-1980.)  The series was Daiei’s answer to Toho’s Godzilla series.  Much in the […]