Reel Hooligans vs. Godzilla vs. Kong
I recently sat down with the Reel Hooligans to talk Godzilla vs. Kong and help David Cain try and convince Tim English why you always bet on Kong.
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Fantasy
King Kong vs. Godzilla
- Title: King Kong vs. Godzilla
- IMDb: link
Originally envisioned as a stop-motion film featuring King Kong fighting a giant Frankenstein Monster, the struggling project was given to Toho Studios which saw in Kong an adversary worthy of Godzilla. The story involves a submarine which takes absolutely no attempt to avoid hitting a giant iceberg which cracks and releases the slumbering Godzilla once more. The movie is a bit unclear on if people know who Godzilla is (they know at least about his name, but otherwise the film is inconsistent about the creature’s history).
Elsewhere, a pharmaceutical company discovers Kong on an isolated island. Deciding to remove him from the island as a prize, the giant raft takes him close to Japan where he escapes as events maneuver the two behemoths into a confrontation. When the first fight proves inconclusive, and doubles Japan’s problems of now having two rampaging monsters on the loose, the locals arrange a rematch for the two at Mount Fuji (including delivering a slumbering Kong via balloons) hoping that the creatures may end up killing each other. Their battle ends with only one walking away and the fate of the other in doubt.
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King Kong
- Title: King Kong (1976)
- IMDb: link
1976’s King Kong holds up fairly well nearly 45 years after its release. The first remake of the 1933 film, producer Dino De Laurentiis and director John Guillermin‘s film is memorable for its practical effects including the mechanical Kong mask developed by Carlo Rambaldi and Rick Baker giving Kong’s face a wide range of emotion. While some of the composite shots merging Kong with the world aren’t as effective today, there’s still quite a bit of movie magic. Baker also credits cinematographer Richard H. Kline whose work he felt hid the limitations of what could be done with Kong at the time.
Updating the story a bit to fit with the times, the ship isn’t searching for exotic locations but instead that of an oil company executive (Charles Grodin) looking to drill. Stowing away is paleontologist Jack Prescott (Jeff Bridges) who has his own reasons for wanting to visit the island. The ship also picks up the sole survivor of a shipwreck, aspiring actress Dwan (Jessica Lange), who completes a cast supplemented by the ship’s crew and the natives they will encounter on the island.
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Sonjaversal #2
- Title: Sonjaversal #2
- Comic Vine: link
- Writer: Christopher Hastings
- Artist: Pasquale Qualano
The second issue of Sonjaversal doesn’t do anything to clear up just what caused Red Sonja‘s current trouble of having Sonjas from every shade jump dimensions and attempt to kill her. While the comic restates the fact that Red Sonja has apparently done something to anger her god, we don’t see much evidence as to what that might be (other than perhaps the seemingly disconnected story of Sonja battling and then bedding an attractive warrior some time before any of these events were set in motion).
The second issue does clear up the confusion that the Sonja we see recruiting others is a Sonja and apparently the head acolyte to the god that Red Sonja has somehow offended. The story also seems to imply that the goddess is a bit flaky and isn’t above lashing out at perceived slights.
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Raya and the Last Dragon
- Title: Raya and the Last Dragon
- IMDb: link
Through an extended opening sequence, heavy on narration, we’re introduced to the divided nation of Kumandra which was once threatened by the film’s underdeveloped boogeyman monsters known as the Druun (think less scary version of the creatures in Edge ofTomorrow). Years later, the last guardian of magic (Daniel Dae Kim) and his daughter Raya (Kelly Marie Tran) are betrayed by the selfishness of humanity as the Druun escape leading Raya in search of the last dragon who was able to stop the Druun centuries before.
After a flashforward restarts the movie again, a handful of years later, we’re introduced to an adult Raya and her search for Sisu (Awkwafina). Raya is a solid addition to the Disney Princess line, even if her movie is hellbent on telling her story as awkwardly as possible at times. Along the way she’ll meet other survivors the Druun haven’t yet turned to stone. As a Disney film, it should be no surprise that we’ll get some cute animal characters as well in Raya’s traveling companion Tuk Tuk (Alan Tudyk) and a band of thieving Ongis who take care of the young Noi (Thalia Tran).
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