It's no big secret that your Uncle Wop isn't now and never has been the biggest sci-fi nut by half, though my appreciation for the genre has grown immensely due to the rascal responsible for the latest movie challenge I'm serving up to the readers(you can almost make him out gobbling a Burger King breakfast ham sammitch and secretly wishing it was a retro-Yumbo in the nifty header I whipped up, above) based almost entirely upon the phenomenon of Japanese Daikaiju(rough translation:small Oriental dude in a rubber monster suit smashing the holy beejeezus out of a set comprised of highly detailed miniatures) flicks, but inclusive of American-made behemoths, as well.And really, who doesn't love Godzilla movies?Not only is the Doctor my script-mate, but he's also the resident Sci-Fi historian/collectible buff extraordinaire in these parts.If a spaceship flies across the screen in it, not only will he have seen it, chances are, he's got a miniature die-cast of it sitting in a display somewhere around here.So here's his very first 30 day film challenge for Wopsploitation.You can hook up your choices here, on your own blogs, or on FB, it doesn't really matter.I'll kick it all off with my own personal take on it...
"Won't you do, please won't you do...won't you do...my challenge?"
Day:
1. Favorite Gamera film from Showa series 1965-1980.
Few things are as gloriously ridiculous as the giant birdbath spraying cow's blood hundreds of feet into the air to lure Gaos to it.Few things, indeed.
2. Favorite Gamera film from Heisei/Millennium series:
3. Favorite Godzilla Showa series:
4. Favorite Godzilla Heisei series:
5. Favorite Godzilla Millennium series:
6. Favorite Ultra-kaiju:
It'd have to be Jirass, from Season One of the first series, who's comprised of Godzilla's head from Ebirah, Lord of the Deep(1966), Godzilla's body from Godzilla vs. the Thing(1964), a neck frill, and a splash of yellow paint down the middle.Doesn't get more ghetto fabulous than that...
7. Favorite Ultraman family member:
Ultra Seven.Mmmmm-HMMMMMM!
8. Favorite Mecha-kaiju:
Mecha-Kong from King Kong Escapes(1967).
9. Favorite Kaiju vinyl toy:
Banpresto crane prize Mire-Goji, black.
10.Favorite Godzilla foe:
Hedorah, or "The Smog Monster".So original!
11.Favorite kaiju PERIOD:
Godzilla uber alles.Of course.
12.Fight Odds:Godzilla v. Gamera?
That's turtle soup, btw.
13.Favorite non-Godzilla kaiju Movie:
It's definitely this:
...or this:
14.Favorite Godzilla suit:
Mire-Goji, or Millenium Godzilla from Godzilla 2000.
15.Favorite Gamera suit:
"Nightmare" Gamera, from Gamera III:Revenge of Iris(1999).
...able to leap stacks of Nexus comicbooks in a single bound...
15.Worst villain:
The interstellar cockroaches from Nebula Space Hunter M in Godzilla vs. Gigan(1971).
16.Best villain:
Eisei Amamoto as Dr. Who(not the British one with the rotten scarf, the Japanese one with the rotten teeth) and Mie Hama as Madame Piranha(!) in King Kong Escapes(1967).
17.Hottest girl:
This one's got tattoos and is wearing a Godzilla shirt, does she count?
18.Favorite American actor:
Nanticoke, Pa. native Nick "'E's ahviuzly cahcayzian" Adams, of "Frankenstein Conquers the World"(1965) fame.
19.Favorite version of King Ghidorah:
Keizer Ghidorah, or Monster X from "Godzilla:Final Wars"(2006).
20.Favorite Mothra "shobijin"(miniature dames):
I'll roll with the Heisei-era Cosmos from the '92 Mothra flick, but I really don't dig Mothra or her bitches very much at all.
21.Fight odds:Green Gargantua v. Brown Gargantua from "War of the Gargantuas"(1966)?
When have I ever cheered on the good guys?C'mon now.Gaira over Sanda by a landslide.
22. Who do you prefer, Minya from the Showa series or Baby/Little Godzilla from the Heisei series?
Neither?That's another waste of perfectly good latex in my book.
23.Favorite man-made counter-Godzilla weapon:
The glorious "maser cannon".Anytime you can combine a satellite dish, a car headlight, and a bug zapper into a weapon of mass destruction, you've done well for yourselves.
24.Favorite King Kong film:
25.Favorite version of Kong himself:
The 1933 original all day.
26.Worst Kong film:
"King Kong Lives"(1986) easily.More on this one later.
27.Favorite Ray Harryhausen giant monster film:
The Beast From 20,000 Fathoms(1953).So effin' cool, only Lee Van Cleef with a rocket launcher on a rollercoaster car could kill it.
28.Favorite Ray Harryhausen creation:
This one-eyed rascal from "The Seventh Voyage of Sinbad"(1958).
29.Favorite non-Harryhausen stop motion flick:
Equinox(1970).Dave Allen and Jim Danforth, baby.
30.Bonus:Favorite Dragon in a film:
Ol' Vermithrax from "Dragonslayer"(1981).
