A 5-Minute Crash-Course in Giant Monsters - io9 Comments

A 5-Minute Crash-Course in Giant Monsters

NerD!!! — Wed, 07 May 2008 09:32:44 PDT

@Ghede: I'd agree, but the ocean isn't mentioned anywhere in that film. In fact, in the commentaries, the writers and driectors were very specific about it being a river film, since the river is such a central part of the daily life of people in Seoul.

NerD!!!

A 5-Minute Crash-Course in Giant Monsters

Shyguy — Wed, 07 May 2008 09:11:44 PDT

@Annalee Newitz: Very funny. An excellent remark.

Shyguy

A 5-Minute Crash-Course in Giant Monsters

bigkongfan — Wed, 07 May 2008 07:52:14 PDT

@Annalee Newitz: OK, so I'm biased (see my screen name) but Jackson's Kong was wonderful. Most importantly, perhaps, it righted the grievous wrong done to Kong and Kong fans by Dino De Laurentis in 1976. (His Kong is the reverse-gold standard for horrible remakes.) Great slideshow and presentation, though. I think you hit the nail on the head with your final point on "What Can Giant Monsters Do For You?" Bravo! (well, all except for that Kong business. And The Host did come from the Han River as a previous poster noted.).

bigkongfan

A 5-Minute Crash-Course in Giant Monsters

AlfaCharger — Wed, 07 May 2008 05:54:05 PDT

I was disappointed in the exclusion of the original Atomic Bomb Giant Monster movie, The Beast From 20000 Fathoms.

AlfaCharger

A 5-Minute Crash-Course in Giant Monsters

Cantonkid — Tue, 06 May 2008 23:45:03 PDT

Cloverfield was good, but the monster design looked a bit Rancor-like to me.

@Annalee Newitz: Nice presentation, but why no mention of The Amazing Collosal Man (1957) or its sequel and the Japanese kaiju Frankenstein series?

On the other hand, I was pleased that you omitted D-War in favor of The Host.

@DocGratis: 'Them' is a great movie...and I am glad the new Futurama is giving 'them' a moment (providing it survives the final cut).

Cantonkid

A 5-Minute Crash-Course in Giant Monsters

TheBadAstronomer — Tue, 06 May 2008 21:05:44 PDT

I liked the new Godzilla.

TheBadAstronomer

A 5-Minute Crash-Course in Giant Monsters

br4nd0n — Tue, 06 May 2008 21:02:46 PDT

Umm Cloverfield came out in 2007?
I checked imdb (for other countries) and I seen that movie on my birthday and I've pretty sure it came out Jan18 2008

br4nd0n

A 5-Minute Crash-Course in Giant Monsters

Pegritz — Tue, 06 May 2008 17:54:14 PDT

Wow, that was really well done! And thanks for pointing out that Slideshare site to me--that'll be a *great* place for me to put instructional presentations online for my students' to check out!

I'm currently working on a monograph for a conference concerning giant monsters in general, but focusing on King Kong, Godzilla, and my boy Cloverfield as exemplars of certain concepts that form the genre we all know and love as "The Giant-Monster Movie." I'd be glad to email you a copy when it's finished! Giant-monster fans gotta share the love of their oversized symbols of Nature's Revenge, after all. :)

Pegritz

A 5-Minute Crash-Course in Giant Monsters

Dunny0 — Tue, 06 May 2008 17:35:52 PDT

I totally agree with your take on the King Kong remake.
I've never been able to sit through the whole thing - I've got a copy of it on my shelf (was a gift) and I've never managed to sit through the whole thing.

Also, yay Gamera. Gamera is my favorite movie monster ever, and he makes any list he's in 1000% better.

Dunny0

A 5-Minute Crash-Course in Giant Monsters

SoulCarnival — Tue, 06 May 2008 17:10:05 PDT

Wow!
you didn't like King Kong...

I mean I get not loving it or having different expectations of it and being disappointed.
But that was an awesome movie. Way better than LOTR anyway.
I'd even go as far as saying it's the ONLY Peter Jackson movie that actually has good direction.

Also not giving proper credit (and top billing in the pantheon alongside Godzilla) to the original King Kong is just wrong wrong wrong.

King Kong vs. Godzilla.
There's a reason that title works.

SoulCarnival

A 5-Minute Crash-Course in Giant Monsters

GentlyClubBillPart2 — Tue, 06 May 2008 16:39:00 PDT

Woot! This is the best news to hit Tuesday since the announcement it was no longer Monday!

GentlyClubBillPart2

A 5-Minute Crash-Course in Giant Monsters

Ghede — Tue, 06 May 2008 16:04:14 PDT

@NerD!!!:To be fair, the Han does empty into the ocean, and no single dumping of a toxin would stay put in a river for two years. So it follows that the toxin floats out to the ocean, mutates a salmon who later comes back up-stream to mate, and bite some poor bastard. A bunch of other stuff happens, the end.

Ghede

A 5-Minute Crash-Course in Giant Monsters

DocGratis — Tue, 06 May 2008 15:46:16 PDT

Yeah!.. The sideshow includes 'Them'...

I love pretending every us of the 'Them' referes to giant ants...

"Are we going to dinner with them?"
-Yes, them.. the giant ants.
*wife stares at me menacingly*

DocGratis

A 5-Minute Crash-Course in Giant Monsters

Annalee Newitz — Tue, 06 May 2008 15:29:24 PDT

@NerD!!!: No, I can verify it scientifically: the remake of King Kong was horrible. Those women were crying in pain.

Annalee Newitz

A 5-Minute Crash-Course in Giant Monsters

NerD!!! — Tue, 06 May 2008 14:58:52 PDT

So, um. I don't want to be rude, but that slideshow was FULL of inaccuracies.

The worst of which was the idea that the monster from "The Host" came from the ocean when the Han River was mentioned so often in the movie it was almost a character in the film.

Did the person who put this show together even watch it?

And, also, The remake of King Kong wasn't horrible. But the idea that a woman would fall in love with a giant ape is. When I went to go see it, I saw it with 3 women who cried when he died.

NerD!!!

A 5-Minute Crash-Course in Giant Monsters

mitchel_stevens — Tue, 06 May 2008 14:57:18 PDT

@Garrison Dean, King Awesome:
but isn't that giant, hideous pulsing CGI thing in the slideshow image Carrie Bradshaw?

mitchel_stevens

A 5-Minute Crash-Course in Giant Monsters

Garrison Dean, Mr. Privilege — Tue, 06 May 2008 14:52:05 PDT

@bonniegrrl: Thats what I thought it was at first from the ads and a character named Mr. Big. Boy was I dissapointed. I mean. LOOK AT THIS AD!!!
[getreel.sidereel.com]

Garrison Dean, Mr. Privilege

A 5-Minute Crash-Course in Giant Monsters

Garrison Dean, Mr. Privilege — Tue, 06 May 2008 14:47:33 PDT

@Plague: Can't. I've said too much as it is. Don't want the broads catchin on.

Garrison Dean, Mr. Privilege

A 5-Minute Crash-Course in Giant Monsters

bonniegrrl — Tue, 06 May 2008 14:45:10 PDT

@Garrison Dean, King Awesome: Ya know, I would have been more excited about the new "Sex and the City" movie if they were GIANT women attacking New York.

bonniegrrl

A 5-Minute Crash-Course in Giant Monsters

Plague — Tue, 06 May 2008 14:42:58 PDT

@Garrison Dean, King Awesome:
"clever straight men"?
Who told you THAT big lie?

Plague

A 5-Minute Crash-Course in Giant Monsters

Garrison Dean, Mr. Privilege — Tue, 06 May 2008 14:38:16 PDT

@Plague: Yeah I heard too much fun was a big danger.

I'm more worried about the liberated women running around. Thankfully clever straight men created Sex And The City to fool women into believing that promiscuity, foul language, drinking and shoe shopping is the same thing as liberated equality.

Hahah, suckers, enjoy your cosmos and lower pay while I bounce on your radioactive super boobs.

Garrison Dean, Mr. Privilege

A 5-Minute Crash-Course in Giant Monsters

Plague — Tue, 06 May 2008 14:29:57 PDT

Hmm. Giant boobies just MIGHT be a danger...
Thank MaGog I'm a small boob lover.

Plague

A 5-Minute Crash-Course in Giant Monsters

Garrison Dean, Mr. Privilege — Tue, 06 May 2008 14:12:17 PDT

The Host was like the size of an Elephant. Not really Giant. Great film though.

Garrison Dean, Mr. Privilege