Skip to content

Tag: Jimmy's Notes

Jimmy’s Notes on Episode 41: ‘Sayonara Jupiter’ (Mini-Analysis)

Published June 2, 2021

I’m amazed we weren’t bombarded with e-mails and DM’s calling me crazy. Why? Sayonara Jupiter isn’t exactly a classic for tokusatsu fans, but I love the damn film. Marchand can joke all he wants about it only being because of the infamous zero gravity sex scene or because it was dedicated everyone from my former employer—which means it was dedicated to me. And let me tell you, I wasn’t the only one at NASA who tried zero G lovemaking. However, I will tell you that, as John Varley showed in his novel Titan, it takes great care and every move must be planned. Otherwise, you risk a concussion, and that would kill the mood. I speak from experience.

(Poor Maggie. She dumped me the next day at the infirmary for that. Served me right).

Anyway, as usual with Nate’s scripted episodes, I don’t have many notes since he consults with me before going on the air, especially with a space film like this. I do have the leftover notes from his research, though. Here they are:

  • Solar System Weekly magazine. They still thought paper mags would be a thing in 150 years. (I still have a subscription. –Jimmy)
  • There’s a lot of English being spoken in this. (It’s a very international film. Also, English is already the trade language on Earth, so it makes sense it would be in space. –Jimmy)
  • Blatant product placement for Coke in zero G! (And I still prefer Pepsi. –Jimmy)
  • Loves long sequences of the spaceships. And odd cinematography at weird angles. (Beautiful. –Jimmy)
  • Also, Zoids! (You mean “droids”? 😛 –Jimmy)
  • The woman knows a little Japanese. And she speaks it perfectly.
  • Characters switch between English and Japanese and still understand each other. Proto-Final Wars. Star Wars. (Two words: universal translator. –Jimmy)
  • Ha! American watches Ghidorah the Three-Headed Monster. Honda watched a samurai movie. (That’s a popular film in NASA. –Jimmy)
  • Hmm. That’s a clever logo. Many meanings.
  • Why do the old ladies dress like they’re from ‘50s? (Because they’re old? 😛 –Jimmy)
  • There’s some strange parallelism between the protester attack and GT3HM. (Which is weird. –Jimmy)
  • Hirata appears. He has a mustache.
  • Of course Honda grabs the cute terrorist and takes her away. In a slo-mo hall scene. Well, they know each other, at least.
  • Space Arrow. (I love this ship. Not as much as other ships, but it’s still excellent engineering. –Jimmy)
  • The ship’s AI is named Navajo. Okay…. (The combat AI was named “Tom A. Hawk. 😛  –Jimmy)
  • Oh no. A photo of his family. He’s dead.
  • The scale of these miniatures aren’t quite as convincing as American sci-fi films.
  • Is the Jupiter Ghost ship the dark spot? It’s 120 KM long—3/4 of a mile!
  • There are several interracial romances between Japanese and westerners in this. (You can thank Nick Adams and Glen for that. J -Jimmy)
  • What’s happening with this red wormhole thing? Where’d it come from? (Amusing that computer screams “Wake up”). Later established to be a black hole. (Shouldn’t it be a “red hole”? –Jimmy)
  • The Japanese actors speak surprisingly good English.
  • Einstein City? Where’s that? (The moon. –Jimmy)
  • ‘80s-style retro-future. (Reminds me of my youth. –Jimmy)
  • Hippy Jesus gets a music video?
  • These people hardly seem like terrorists. (That’s what terrorists want you to think! –Jimmy)
  • Some of the acting is subpar. Mostly the westerners.
  • Pills that give you courage without side effects? That’s an interesting drug. Placebo? (The pill is a lie. –Jimmy)
  • “Neo-retro.” (Good one, Nate. –Jimmy)
  • What’s with the graffiti on the walls of the control room? (Freedom of expression is encouraged in NASA. Sometimes. –Jimmy)
  • I don’t get Carlos’s weird love for Jupiter. He wants to give it a “perfect death.”
  • Crewman named Tanaka. Another homage?
  • They have a warp core?
  • I get the feeling the conflicting theme here is whether humanity has the right to destroy a planet to save themselves. Destroy part of nature to save themselves.
  • Eiji says he’ll “turn to gas” to protect the solar system. (All matter can become gas at the right temperatures. That sounded unintentionally frightening. –Jimmy)
  • One guy—a westerner—gets excited at the end, but everyone else is somber. Probably for the deaths and other sacrifices.
  • Eiji and his lover get graves on an asteroid. Carlos asks for one next to him. Millie says she’s tired of making graves for those she loves. A statement celebrating life.
  • First scene based on images from Voyager 1 and 2 of Mars.
  • The Jupiter Church scenes were filmed in Okinawa.
  • Says the Jupiter Ghost was a lifeform?! So, it’s a kaiju?! It was a massive model.
  • Found the theory about solarizing a planet to be “romantic.”
  • Komtasu wrote the novel and created the studio Io to make the film.
  • Hashimoto whispered to Komatsu just before starting filming: “Komatsu-san, I hope we stay in the planning stages forever.” (That would drive me crazy! I like results and enjoying the fruits of my labor. –Jimmy)
  • The same special effects system used for Star Wars, Motion Control System (MCS) was requested, but the staff was inexperienced with it and had to learn it. They even had a “top secret” robot cameraman called “Abbot” that required the operator to spend a day at lecture and training to learn its computer system.
  • First Japanese film to use computer graphics.
  • The miniature designers also worked on Macross and Gundam.
  • Several sources say Gorath eventually led to this film. (That damn rogue star still gives me nightmares! –Jimmy)
  • Considered making this into an anime first.
  • Director Tezuka modeled all his scientist characters after Komatsu.
  • Yuko Weisser says a theater group he was in called Forest of Muses (Muse No Mori) made their own stage version of the film subtitled End of Miyazu. It featured yakuza clan trying to explode Jupiter. The clan’s ladies were the main characters.

And now my Jimmy’s Notes on Toho classics comes to end. But now I get to write them as part of MIFV’s “Godzilla Redux.” Which means we eventually get to discuss my “man crush,” as Marchand puts it, Nick Adams again!

Next week Nate continues the “Year of Gamera” with Gamera vs. Jiger, an episode that will feature podcaster and writer Ben Avery. Then the aforementioned “Godzilla Redux” begins with the original 1954 classic, Godzilla, directed by Ishiro Honda.

Until then, remember: #WeShallOvercome

Follow me on Twitter: @NasaJimmy
Follow MIBOD on Twitter: @MonsterIslaBOD
Follow Raymund Martin (The Monster Island Legal Team) on Twitter: @MIFV_LegalTeam
Follow Crystal Lady Jessica on Twitter: @CrystalLadyJes1

#JimmyFromNASALives

Comments closed

Jimmy’s Notes on Episode 40: The MSTies vs. ‘Gamera vs. Guiron’

Published May 18, 2021

Strap in, folks. I have a lot of notes for last week’s episode. And Marchand took way too many notes and didn’t use them all. Of course.

First, here are my notes:

  • Correction, Nate: “Joel and the Bots.” I know you love Mike, but the Gamera episodes were Joel’s.
  • It’s “Gaos” (“gows”) not “Gyros,” Greg.
  • The “Dull surprise!” skit was from the Alien from L.A. episode of MST3K.
  • The ridiculously long title of LeMay’s film cuts book is The Big Book of Japanese Giant Monster Movies: The Lost Cuts: Editing Japanese Monsters Volume 1: U.S. Edits (1956-2000). You’re welcome.
  • The name of Kondo’s/Cornjob’s’s actor is Kon Ohmura.
  • Did you say, “Mao,” Nate? Like the Chinese communist leader? How have you not been fired? Does the Board secretly admire the tyrant?
  • It was snow, not a block of ice, Luke.
  • Those alien women’s eyes … they haunt my nightmares! It’s why I’m glad I wasn’t around when they tried to kidnap Gamera after the broadcast. It’s a good thing Crystal Lady was around to save the day.
  • “Flobella” not “Florbella,” Luke. Although, there is some confusion over this.
  • Come on, Nate, have you seen the Xilien women? Hot damn!

  • Yes, I am a proud “Plutoist.” I’ve only visited that rock once, but I assure it is still a planet!
  • “Ideal”? You meant, “idea,” Luke.
  • I know what you mean, Luke, when it comes to navigating city traffic. I grew up in New York City and Japan. I saw the madness of both.
  • What’s a “kig,” Nate? (it’s “kids”).
  • Gamera vs. Jiger not on MST3K, Nate says. Hahaha! (Click here to see how wrong he is).

Now to fulfill my contractual obligations by posting Marchand’s leftover notes:

The Movie

  • Starts with an astronomy lesson. This made Jimmy happy. (Yes, it did, even though some of that info is wrong. –Jimmy)
  • Jimmy also felt right at home in the observatory. He’s been there. (Yes, and it is a wonderful place. I would live at an observatory, if I could. –Jimmy)
  • Of course the kids see the spaceship before everyone else! It’s Gamera! (I usually see spaceships before everyone else. But I’m also a Gamera kid. –Jimmy)
  • Why was the ship sent to earth? (To get to the other side? I don’t know. It’s Gamera. –Jimmy)
  • You could cynically say that the monsters and aliens and stuff only exist in the kids’ imaginations.
  •  “It’s just a rabbit.” Tell that to Night of the Lepus! (Hear Nate’s appearance on Kaiju Weekly for that here. –Jimmy)
  • “They flew here. They’re civilized!” Hahaha! Did you forget the Virasians? (I didn’t. Yeesh! –Jimmy)
  • Gamera must have a spider-sense for children in peril.
  • Do we need color commentary from the kids? (Is this a rhetorical question? –Jimmy)
  • Ah, they have short range transporters. Someone saw Star Trek. We’re leery of teleporters now, though. That’s why your tour guide (Jessica) is out there. (At least you have a sister …. –Jimmy)
  • These sets want to compete with the color of Oz.
  • Jimmy’s annoyed that this sliding floor is nicer to kids than the anti-grav hallways on the Virasian ship. (So unfair! 😛 –Jimmy)
  • Maybe the bad dubs are malfunctioning translator chokers?
  • There is some nice subtle acting from the spacewomen.
  •  “My son”? Trying to be his mother?
  • Jimmy says the American Aerospace Bureau are a bunch of hacks. You can’t believe them when they say flying saucers aren’t real. (Damn straight! –Jimmy)
  • Do they really think these kids are that smart? According to Ragone, the actor playing the white kid couldn’t be in the next movie because his grades dropped.
  • Their razor looks like a ray gun! And the buzzsaw does, too.
  • “Let the monsters fight.” That’s where Ishiro Serizawa got the line.
  • Tom calls the Terrans “big sisters”? It’ a Japanese thing that’s weird in translation. (Probably, given what we’ve researched before. –Jimmy)
  • The “reverse button.” How these two are smart makes no sense, unlike the last one.
  • This is a slow teleporter suddenly.
  • Flobella shoots Barbella because a chair fell on her? There’s a word for someone like that. Also, Terrans just disappear when they die? Did they die? (Apparently not. –Jimmy)
  • The foam blocks don’t hurt the kids. 😛 But it’s a nice subversion that they don’t escape by shooting the button.
  • Gamera has his kid cheerleaders again. They do pretty much nothing aside from accidentally unleash Guiron, who attacks the Terrans, and pushing random buttons that somehow make Guiron go to his room. And even then, Gamera had already retreated underwater! And then they launch a missile that accidentally kills Flobella. At least Masao and Jim did stuff. (Thank you! –Jimmy)
  • Gamera can’t touch his legs. I think that’s a problem.
  • The kids only launched one missile. Where’d the other one come from? Probably the same place as the second Ghidorah skull in GvK.
  • I didn’t realize Gamera was a certified welder. Or that it was magic welding that could make a spaceship airtight again.
  • In the end, the adults learn to believe their kids. Is that a good lesson?
  • The little girl jokes that Kon (Cornjob) is an alien. (I think he is. –Jimmy)
  • Gamera nods at Akio makes his speech. It is Gamera approved.

The Commentary by David Kalat

  • He defends the child actors by saying they are part of a sliver of the population of people who want to be an actor, are good at acting, and are children.
  • Yuasa focused less on the dialogue with the kids and let them “play act” the scene.
  •  (Kalat can’t pronounce half of the Japanese names right).
  • (Says he knows only one sentence in Japanese: “My whole family loves baseball.” He says one day he will go to japan, say this, and presumably starve).
  • Argues that the gory death of Space Gyaos wasn’t intended to be taken seriously. Compared it to Loony Tunes.
  • A kid once said a kid told him that Tsuburaya told him he shouldn’t have such gruesome violence in the Gamera movies. He wasn’t sure the kid was telling the truth because he thought they’d be kindred and introduced more silliness to the Godzilla films. They never met.
  • Compares the effects in this film to a Mickie Mouse cartoon and Kermit the Frog. It looks pleasing, not believable.
  • Yuasa actually asked Toho to let him watch prints of Godzilla films to make Gamera, which they said no. Tsuburaya Productions (I think) let me watch them. He didn’t see Toho as competition but as an older brother he could learn from.
  • Daiei owed Nisan Takahashi more money than anyone else in 1971. Supposedly, he was given the rights to Gamera as payment. He was confused when the heisei trilogy was made, but he did publish a novel titled, Gamera vs. Phoenix.
  • Yuasa: “Watch many movies. Praise what you like about them.” (Words to live by. You hear that, internet? –Jimmy)

Intro by Ragone

  • The composer, Shunsuke Kikuchi, went on to make music for many anime, including Dragon Ball Z.
  • Kids didn’t like the Space Gyaos death, and Yuasa regretted it.

Arrow Booklet

  • Films were churned out annually. Drama scenes filmed in four weeks and the special effects done in two months.
  • Guiron is art director Akira Inoue’s personal favorite monster.

LeMay

  • Yuasa was given another tine budget (20 million yen). They decided to set it on an alien planet to save money and tap into children’s fears of being lost from home.
  • Reiko Kasahara, who played the kind older sister in Gyaos, is one of the alien villainesses.
  • Guiron was considered for Gamera 2, and is rumored to have inspired Legion’s pointy head.

Galbraith

  • Says the dub is so bad, the lines could’ve been read by a cocktail waitress or gas station attendant.

Toku Topic: The First “Traffic War” in Japan

  • Due to all of this growth, key traffic problems included overloading and speeding by dump trucks and gravel trucks and reckless driving by taxi drivers, which were frequently criticized by newspapers and other media. “Most media accounts built a consensus that the main victims of accidents were children, the aged, pedestrians, and cyclists, while the main offenders were professional drivers.”
    • “The situation is very different in Japan. More young (less than 16 years old) and old (more than 54 years old) non-car users are killed in traffic accidents than are car users.”
    • 75% of Japan is mountainous, so population density is high. Since most roads go through highly populated urban areas, it’s difficult to isolate pedestrians and cyclists, who are constitute 60% of auto accidents in Japan.
  •  “…collisions with other vehicles in the US constitute a higher proportion of fatal accidents, whereas collisions with pedestrians play a larger role in Japan. The percentage of fatal vehicle accidents involving collisions with pedestrians is larger in Japan than in the US (28.5 vs. 18.2%). The percentages of traffic accident deaths among non car-users are also larger in Japan than in the US (motorcyclists: 18.6 vs. 6%, bicyclists: 12.3 vs. 2%, pedestrians: 27.7 vs. 14.1%). This results in nearly 60% of Japanese traffic-accident deaths being among non-car users, compared 20% in the US (ITARDA, 1997).”
  •  “In Japan, accident death rates for 16–24 years old increased during the late 1970s and 1980s (MCA, 1997b), even though most high school students were prohibited from having drivers’ licenses by internal school rules (Koshi, 1988).”
  • A few of the aforementioned policies:
    • Japan solutions are focused more on law enforcement and education that engineering (i.e. airbags). It seemed to work as traffic deaths dropped by half from 1970-1980.

Marchand talks about this movie more than Akio talks about traffic accidents. The Stockholm Syndrome really is settling in!

Next week Nate finishes his series of mini-sodes on Toho classics with one of my favorite Toho films, Sayonara Jupiter. It’s a film by the author of Submersion of Japan and the director of Return of Godzilla. It should be … interesting, to say the least. What Nate’s doing after that, I don’t know. Then his friend Ben Avery, the ruler of a mighty podcast empire, returns for the next chapter in the “Year of Gamera” with Gamera vs. Jiger. She got the moves.

Until then, remember: #WeShallOvercome

Follow me on Twitter: @NasaJimmy
Follow MIBOD on Twitter: @MonsterIslaBOD
Follow Raymund Martin (The MIFV Legal Team) on Twitter: @MIFV_LegalTeam
Follow Crystal Lady Jessica on Twitter: @CrystalLadyJes1

#JimmyFromNASALives

Comments closed

Jimmy’s Notes on Episode 39: The Drifters vs. ‘Gamera vs. Viras’

Published May 5, 2021

I wrote down the most notes I’ve had in a long time for episode 39, so buckle up, space cadets, you’re about to get schooled by Jimmy!

  • Nate, the “uncut 90-minute version” was how the first Japanese laserdisc was marketed, not when it was on U.S. TV. Did you forget that from my Entertaining Info Dump? Apparently.
  • There was debate over whether the actress in the film had the same hair color as my mother, but it’s a moot point now because she … died in New York. Yeah, the woman J.R. was probably the actress who played her in this film. Or someone who looked like her. Or he’s crazy.
  • Goji-kun and Bro Kong caused a lot of issues with the broadcast that were edited out of the podcast version. It was a mess. Ultra-Mite was sleeping on the job or something.
  • In Nate’s defense, I’ve gone back and forth on how to say Viras’s name, and I grew up in Japan. I guess I’m still a dirty, dirty American. I also fought the space squid. Well, I helped Gamera fight him. It’s more than most of my fellow Gamera kids did.
  • It was cut to a third, Jack, not by a third.
  • So, while Carl Craig has the spray-painted Nerf gun with a beer can on it, I have a real Virasian blaster rifle. It’s not my favorite gun, but it did burn through my target in my private little shooting range here on the Island.
  • Yes, I’m not happy about not getting invited to the Gamera Gala. And Masao is upset I wasn’t, too. But given what happened to Nate, maybe it was for the best.
  • Yeah, and here’s my Gamera badge:
  • “Relegate,” not, “regulate,” Jack.
  • Yeah, Masao won’t shut up about giving Gamera the “Friend to All Children” title. It drives our fellow Gamera kids crazy. And given that Kenny is already psychotic, that’s saying something!
  • I should also note that my father doesn’t look like the actor in this movie, either. He was a proud member of the U.S. Air Force who was stationed in Japan for a while. It was partly because of him that I enlisted.
  • Carl Craig’s father was American and his mother Japanese.
  • I have a judo merit badge and a blackbelt. Don’t cross me, J.R.! (They don’t work well when I’m drunk, though ….)
  • Masao and I didn’t get our Golden Pheasant awards for a month because we got grounded for our shenanigans. You’d think helping to save the world would nullify that, but no, my parents didn’t want me sub-jacking later in life.
  • Soichi Noguchi and I go way back. He helped me test fly the Gohten once.
  • There was a lot of crack in that MIBOD memo.
  • Death trumps cancer. And I will find out what “J.R.” stands for! Maybe it’s just “Junior.”
  • I’m looking forward to Sayonara Jupiter.
  • Marveller? I’ve yet to examine that machine. Japanese Spider-Man needs to let me keep it in my garage for a day next time.

Now for Nate’s leftover notes:

The Movie

  • Gamera can breathe fire in the vacuum of space. Sure. (Even physics bow to the new MIBOD-appointed “king of the monsters.” –Jimmy)
  • Of course the kids can operate a sub better than the adults. This is a Gamera movie! (No, it’s because Masao and I were brilliant children. –Jimmy)
  • On Twitter, Gamera offered to race Jimmy and Masao in a sub again. (And one of these days, we’ll take him up on that offer. –Jimmy)
  • “Super Catch ray.” Do they use that on Pokemon, too?
  • Gamera can somehow hear the kids in the sub and understand them. Because. (This still baffles the scientists. –Jimmy)
  • Videotron. Isn’t that a sequel to Videodrome?
  • “Making up stories”? Did you forget Gamera is real? (Just wait until the next movie ….)
  • That flying Gamera prop looks goofy. It’s the eyes.
  • Transformer mass shifting. The mind control device goes from the size of a grapefruit to the size of a VW Beetle. (I want some of this tech. It’d make it easier to hide more vehicles in my garage. –Jimmy)
  • Their computer’s “Processing” screen is a kaleidoscope.
  • Well, that guy was disarmed.
  • Getting pinned to the wall like that doesn’t look comfortable. How do they stay up when they’re off the floor and not pinned to the wall? It’s terrible because they can slip their hands out easily. And they escape easily. (Or I’d been reading a lot of books on Houdini. –Jimmy)
  • This stock footage is passed off as a different dam (Okumusashi Dam). Sadly, it still has the B&W problem.
  • Because an alien spaceship somehow works the same as an earth submarine?
  • I see Jimmy was a tech genius even back then. He figured out the Virases ship in no time. (Did you forget it’s me you’re talking about? –Jimmy)
  • Why can’t the aliens control Gamera anymore? (Because. –Jimmy)
  • Virases can combine into a giant. Because.
  • I do like how big Viras weaponizes what’s left of the ship.
  • Gamera says, “Go home and get stoned!”
  • Seriously, Gamera? Defeated by getting flipped on your back?

Intro to the film by Ragone

  • Carl Craig was born in South Carolina to Japanese mother and American military man. He spoke fluent Japanese. He served in the military himself and for U.S. security after 9-11.
  • Viras looks like a squid, but in the original script, he was called “Geso,” the Japanese word for cuttlefish. His name was chosen in a name contest held by Shonen Jump and Bokura, which had prizes, but Yuasa said these were staged.

The Commentary by Carl Craig and Jim Cirronella

  • Carl Craig got the role because his aunt lived next door to one of the producers. They wanted an American kid who spoke Japanese, and he was blonde-haired and blue-eyed and could do that. Yuasa wanted it to have an international flair.
  • It was filmed in 2.5 months. Craig’s days started at 4am. He was picked up from a base and had a tutor for school over the two-hour drive.
  • There are some scenes where Craig has a bandage on his finger because he cut his finger throwing a bottle and went to the ER. He also lost his U.S. handkerchief and was given a Japanese one.
  • This was the first Gamera movie to have stock footage. About 20 minutes. Craig hadn’t seen this footage until he and his fifth-grade class went to see it at the premiere.

LeMay

  • Masakazu Nagata, the president of Daiei, was involved with the Boy Scouts, which is why they were involved.
  • One of the aliens is Riki Hashimoto, who played Daimajin.

Galbraith

  • He says Carl Craig’s last name is “Clay.” (Seriously, why can’t anyone get his name right? I know how he feels. –Jimmy)

He got through all his Toku Topic notes, which is good.

Next week is the second of the “Year of Gamera” double-header when poor Nate has to suffer through Gamera vs. Guiron (which has the best of the MST3K episodes). He’ll be joined by Luke Jaconetti of the Earth Destruction Directive podcast and Greg Meyer, who formerly hosted the Out of the Speedforce podcast. After that Nate’s series of mini-sodes on Toho classics comes to an end with another of my favorite Toho films, Sayonara Jupiter. We’re still working out issues with guests, but it looks like to be a solo episode.  

Until then, remember: #WeShallOvercome

Follow me on Twitter: @NasaJimmy
Follow MIBOD on Twitter: @MonsterIslaBOD
Follow Raymund Martin (The MIFV Legal Team) on Twitter: @MIFV_LegalTeam
Follow Crystal Lady Jessica on Twitter: @CrystalLadyJes1

#JimmyFromNASALives

Comments closed

Jimmy’s Notes on Episode 38: Eric Anderson vs. ‘Godzilla vs. Kong’

Published April 21, 2021

Well, this is annoying.

Nate and I were transferring files between our respective laptops, and in the shuffle an older version of “Jimmy’s Notes” overwrote the newer version.

In other words, my notes on episode 38 (Godzilla vs. Kong) were lost.

Damnit, Marchand!

I can tell you that my notes included bullet points about:

  • Eric mispronouncing something.
  • H.E.A.T. being sent to the Hollow Earth to get Titanus Doug succeeded in finding him, and he was released on Monster Island today.
  • The fact that a kaiju version of Alcoholics Anonymous should probably be started in light of Kong’s latest antics. Speaking as someone who’s been known to drink a bit too much Jack Daniels on occasion (and get into bar fights), I know how Kong feels.
  • Realizing I’m 0-2 against Kong with Mechani-Kong Mk. 2. In my defense, I was trying to incapacitate and not kill him both times. If I ever went all out with Mechani-Kong Mk. 2, the results would’ve been much different. Regardless, my pride has recovered since then.
  • Nate needing to get his own tux! He asked me to loan him mine, but it wouldn’t fit. He owes it to himself to get his own, just like Eric said.
  • How getting Jet Jaguar fitted for a tux was … weird. Especially now with his Singular Point mods. I had to call in a favor with a special tailor.
  • How it wasn’t “Kongtainment,” Nate. It was just “Kong Containment.”

Here’s Nate’s leftover notes … which is a lot.

The Film

  • Someone should merchandise Jia’s Kong doll. (I’m sure the Board will get on that. –Jimmy)
  • I like the MV credits sequences. There are lots of throwbacks to past MV films in here. Like Randa talking about the many ecosystems. Then we get a rundown of Godzilla and Kong’s past exploits.
  • I heard some people say that Bernie was Alex Jones. That’s not far off. I didn’t mind him, but that might be because I know a few people like him. (Even Alex Jones is right sometimes. –Jimmy)
  • Like in K33, they just put Kong on a huge raft with no explanation of how. I prefer that. Given the big jump in technology in this, you just learn to accept it.
  • Some things get repeated a bit too much at first. “Ancient rivalry” is one.
  • Call me crazy, but the finger touch reminds me of the Da Vinci painting of God touching Adam. (I thought Kong was the “king” not the “god.” –Jimmy)
  • I love the van scene because it makes me think of Stranger Things with the ‘80s-sounding techno.
  • I heard someone complain about the Tide pod reference. It would’ve been a long time after that, but it makes sense that he’d be leery of internet challenges and would still be dealing with lawsuits. Maybe it was an adlib?
  • The score doesn’t have nostalgic tunes like KOTM, but it does have shades of them. It’s somewhere between G14 and KOTM.
  • I love how Kong is puzzled by snow. (Sometimes it puzzles me, too, so he’s in good company. –Jimmy)
  • Josh naming MG seems a bit odd. It really should’ve been Ren Serizawa. (Or me. –Jimmy)
  • I really did feel a bit sorry for the Skullcrawler MG kills. It does show how much of a threat MG is because those things were terrifying in Kong: Skull Island.
  • The Heisei Gamera trilogy is all over the MV G-films. This has Gamera 3 in it. Godzilla is protecting the Earth/nature and not humanity, which means he causes lots of collateral damage without regard to humans.
  • When Jia signs about Kong’s heartbeat, she beats her chest a bit like Kong. I like that. (It’s cute. Is it her sign for Kong? –Jimmy)

Toku Topic: Theaters vs. Streaming

These are mostly quotations from the following sources:

  • https://www.cnbc.com/2021/01/02/movie-theater-owners-are-frustrated-about-streaming-but-their-survival-depends-on-studios.html
  • “According to a study held in June 2020, just 14 percent of adults said that they strongly preferred seeing a movie for the first time in a theater, and 36 percent said that they would much rather stream the film at home than visit a cinema. Preferences for watching a new release in a cinema instead of via a streaming service in the United States changed significantly between 2018 and 2020, signaling a shift in consumer behavior and potentially a risk for movie theaters in the country. Also important to note is the effect of the coronavirus on consumer confidence. There was a drop in the share of movie fans willing to visit cinemas between March and June 2020, likely the result of consumers fearing the risk of infection and feeling more comfortable viewing movies in the safety of their own home.”
  • “Studios and exhibition have always had a lovely but contentious relationship,” one movie theater operator with locations in the southern part of the U.S. said on condition of anonymity. “Exhibition is basically a business that has blank screens and empty seats and we can’t do what we do without the studios.”
  • “These windows were created by studios decades ago in an effort ‘to get multiple bites out of the same apple,’ another movie theater operator said.”
  • “Netflix Inc has streamed original movies at the same time, or just a few weeks after, their debut in cinemas. Competitor Amazon Studios has said it would like some of its films to play for only two to eight weeks in theaters before hitting the Amazon Prime Video streaming service.”
  • “Director Steven Spielberg told Britain’s ITV News last year that movies seen primarily via streaming should compete for Emmys, not Oscars. A representative declined to comment on whether the director will urge the Academy to address the issue.”
  • Before the pandemic, there was talk of extending the theater duration times for big budget films and allowing smaller films to head to “direct-to-consumer” channels faster. But when cinemas were forced to close for six months (or more), cinemas were forced to adhere to much shorter releases. Many faced bankruptcy.
  • Theaters owners and other industry observers were quick to criticize Warner’s move. Chris Johnson, the CEO of Classic Cinemas, called Warner’s decision “ridiculous and short-sighted,” and Adam Aron, the CEO of AMC Theaters, argued that Warner would “sacrifice a considerable portion of the profitability” of movies that bypassed the traditional theatrical release. David Sims piled on in The Atlantic, saying of Warner’s decision, “Audiences will have little incentive to pay more to see these films in theaters.” His conclusion? “Theater chains are right to fear for their survival.”
  • You know who else hated it? Christopher Nolan. He spoke against it vehemently in defense of the theater-going experience (it might’ve been to promote Tenet, but who knows).
  • “PwC partner CJ Bangah told me her big consulting firm’s annual media and entertainment outlook is projecting a 65% drop in global revenues for the movie sector.”
  • “Worse, Bangah said, recovery for the film industry is a long ways away. As she delicately put it, it’s ‘within the realm of possibility’ that the industry will fight through an “uphill battle” to full recovery, but ‘we’re not forecasting a return to 2019 revenue levels in the five years of our forecast for cinema.’”
  • “Shorter windows would keep some customers at home, said Greg Marcus, chief executive of The Marcus Corporation, owner of the fourth-largest U.S. theater chain. ‘If you damage the business and take away 10 percent of our customers, we won’t be able to reinvest in the theatrical experience,” Marcus said. “That would ultimately hurt content providers.’”
  • “In the study, we analyzed what happened to theatrical revenue in Korea from 2015 through 2018 — a period during which Hollywood studios significantly shortened the exclusive theatrical windows for their releases, from three months to only one month. We found that, after controlling for differences between movies with early digital releases versus traditional release windows, early releases had a statistically and economically insignificant impact on theater sales, equivalent to around a 0.8% drop in total theatrical revenue during the first eight weeks of the movie’s theatrical run in Korea. Most theatergoers, it turned out, remained loyal to the theatrical experience even when they had the option of watching the movie at home while the movie was still showing in theaters.” Take this with caution.
  • “What we learned in our Korean study suggests that a similar effect may exist for movies, which in turn suggests that John Fithian, the president of the National Association of Theater Owners, was right when he argued that ‘theaters provide a beloved immersive, shared experience that cannot be replicated’ — but that Jason Kilar, the CEO of WarnerMedia, was also right when said that early digital releases provided an opportunity to give customers a choice ‘whether that choice is to enjoy a great new movie out at the cinema, to open up HBO Max, or to do both.’”
  • In 2019 (before the dark times—before the COVID), Christina Garnett wrote, “Maybe we’ve already chosen the user experience we want… instant, at our fingertips, and cheaper than the traditional alternative.”

Okay, it wasn’t as much as I expected.

Next week you’ll hear the return of another member of my ever-growing rogues gallery, and this time he brought a friend: Jack “GMan” Hudgens and J.R. Villers from The Drift Space podcast. They came to continue the “Year of Gamera” with a movie that dramatizes an exciting chapter of my life: Gamera vs. Viras. Yes, I have lasso skills and helped Gamera fight aliens. How do you think I got a job at NASA? Then poor Nate has to suffer through a second Gamera movie in a row with Gamera vs. Guiron, and he’ll be joined by Luke Jaconetti of the Earth Destruction Directive podcast and Greg Meyer, who hosts several podcasts.

Until then, remember: #WeShallOvercome

Follow me on Twitter: @NasaJimmy
Follow MIBOD on Twitter: @MonsterIslaBOD
Follow Raymund Martin (The MIFV Legal Team) on Twitter: @MIFV_LegalTeam
Follow Crystal Lady Jessica on Twitter: @CrystalLadyJes1

#JimmyFromNASALives

Comments closed

Jimmy’s Notes on Episode 37 – ‘Godzilla: King of the Monsters’ & Bonus Episode 7: ‘Gammera the Invincible’

Published April 6, 2021

You’re getting a twofer today. I’ve got notes on both episode 37 (which has proven to be one of our most popular episodes yet) and the bonus episode on Gammera the Invincible. For the latter, I didn’t take any notes, but Nate had some of his own left over. I’m just as surprised as you are.

Admittedly, much of my notes on the episode are rants about Snazzy, but they must be said.

  • Snazzy was a little bugger! He’s lucky he didn’t hit the emergency evacuation button and launch KIJU into space…or at least to the Japanese beach. Again. (Seriously, we’ve had two incidents where something or someone from the Island ended up on the Japanese coastline. Just ask Nate).
  • “Sidekick Central”? That sounds like some fifth-rate comic book company making a rip-off of the Teen Titans. Either that or a humor comic about all the kids who keep getting employed by Batman as sidekicks. (I hope Eric Elliott is reading this).
  • I have a lot of ironically-named buttons on my board. That way no one is quite sure how to properly use it, creating some job security for me. For example, I labeled the caller button “Bidi-Bidi,” the mute button “Mando,” and the volume control dial “Marchand.”
  • Those aren’t “mandibles,” Nate. They aren’t in Mothra’s mouth. Those are claws. Or as this image on mantis anatomy says, “double-spined murder clamps.”
  • Dante’s Inferno describes Satan as having three faces but not necessarily three heads. That’s close enough to Ghidorah, though.
  • “Boisters”? You meant “bolsters,” Brandon.
  • I will not be replaced by…whatever Snazzy is! My guess is he’s a “Whatever” like Gonzo.

Here are Nate’s leftover notes:

The Film

  • I like this movie. I always have. The problem I have is many of the others who also say they like this movie give the worst reasons for liking it. (i.e. “It’s supposed to be bad like the old movies!”) (Idiots making everyone look bad. –Jimmy)
  • The opening is very Gamera 3. Characters lose loved one during a kaiju attack but the kaiju meant no harm. (The whole MonsterVerse stole from the Gamera Heisei trilogy. –Jimmy)
  • Dougherty said in his commentary that he saw Mothra’s lifecycle as reincarnation. Each Mothra generation inherits the memories of the past ones. It adds a spiritual element and fits with what’s implied in the Japanese films. It’s also in keeping, as I’ve noted, with Shinto teachings.
  • I will admit not all of the film’s jokes work. “Ghidorah-gonorrhea” is the best example of a bad one. “Dude hates Titans,” is also a bit too on the nose to be funny. I know one podcast said they expected better jokes from Dougherty. (We’ve called Ghidorah worse around here, most of which isn’t fit to print. –Jimmy)
  • The “intimidation display” scene is one of the best in the film. It’s suspenseful and scary. I confess I jumped in the theater when I first saw it. It’s also a clever expansion.
  • The death of Dr. Graham is cited as an issue. It’s similar to how the elder Brody died about 45 minutes in. Jason Barr defended that by saying it shows that no characters are safe.
  • It is a little astonishing that Emma Russell has a Ted Talk prepared when she makes her villain speech. I’ve heard people call her crazy, but there are people who think like her. And if you think people won’t do crazy things because of grief, you’re mistaken. As for Mark saying it won’t bring their son back, it make sense because he was getting to the heart of the matter. She’s always conflicted throughout the film. Alan Jonah is the true believer.
  • Am I the only one who thought the climax taking place at Fenway with the “Green Monster” was intentionally ironic? (Maybe. As a Yankees fan, I enjoyed seeing it get destroyed. 😛 –Jimmy)
  • I’m really tired of the “day battles” people. Stuff like this and Pacific Rim is set at night—as someone on Twitter pointed out—because with their colorful attacks and abilities, they show up better. Kong: Skull Island is in the day because those earthy colors and less flashy creatures look better. It isn’t always some excuse to hide SFX flaws.

KOTM Spirituality

  • Godzilla is also similar to God in the OT, casting out humanity from Paradise after violating the natural order, or even the God who flooded the Earth to wipe it clean of humanity’s moral bankruptcy.
  • Rodan, to a certain extent, could be seen as Judas figure, bowing to whoever he sees as the strongest alpha. Unlike Judas, he survives his betrayal and, so it seems, is repentant.
  • Humanity must make peace with these “gods” and realize they are not the most powerful beings on Earth, even with all their weapons.
  • Godzilla, while born out of war, has evolved since then, taking on more significance while not losing his roots as an atomic allegory. “This art born of war, this new mythology, makes Godzilla and his fellow beasts of burden, like Mothra, Gamera and Rodan, not unlike the American superheroes who became a means for children and adults to process WWII and instill a sense of patriotism. And like those caped and costumed heroes, these giant monsters have seen their share of evolution and rebooting over the years in order to better reflect the society that relies on them.”
  • “There’s still that element of fear, fear of dying off, fear of destroying the world, but King of the Monsters suggests that fear doesn’t have to be a bad thing. Fear can drive our desire to reconnect with our earth and also our gods. Humanity’s fear in this context is a positive aspect as both a call to action and a reminder of a human need to be made aware of our modest scale and to feel in awe of something again. King of the Monsters is about relinquishing control.”

KOTM and The Nuclear Agenda

  • Tell us what you got from that long fortune cookie.
  • Radiation is used to treat cancer (chemotherapy)

Here’s what’s left from Gamera-Double-M:

  • I wasn’t allowed to watch the RiffTrax. (Too similar to MST3K, apparently. –Jimmy)
  • Arrow’s presentation is by far the best this has ever looked compared to the numerous cheap releases because it’s public domain. Ring in pig’s snout.
  • “Red alert.” I can’t hear that without thinking of Star Trek. This was before ST.
  • Newspapers in English.
  • “Papa-san”? (This line was odd. Like most of the movie. –Jimmy)
  • The dubbed dialogue actually says Gammera will starve in a month. (They underestimate that big turtle. It’d take at least two months. –Jimmy)
  • I don’t remember the establishing interior shots in the Plan Z facility. (But I love them! I took a tour of the place once. I almost wish I worked there. –Jimmy)
  • It says “Sayonara Gammera” and “The End” at the end. (A fitting place to finish my notes. –Jimmy)

With King of the Monsters out of the way, it’s time for the culmination of the “Kong Quest” with the long-overdue Godzilla vs. Kong. There was quite an eventful premiere for it on the Island. Trust me, I know because I tried to have a rematch with the big ape in Mechani-Kong Mk. 2. Yep. Nate was joined by his friend and collaborator, Eric Anderson, for that special broadcast. Then we return to the “Year of Gamera” with a film dramatizing one of the most exciting chapters of life, Gamera vs. Viras. We’ll be joined by two of the hosts from The Drift Space podcast, J.R. Villers and my barroom brawl opponent Jack “GMan” Hudgens (I’ll happily take a rematch).

Until then, remember: #WeShallOvercome

Follow me on Twitter: @NasaJimmy

Follow MIBOD on Twitter: @MonsterIslaBOD
Follow Raymund Martin (The MIFV Legal Team) on Twitter: @MIFV_LegalTeam
Follow Crystal Lady Jessica on Twitter: @CrystalLadyJes1

#JimmyFromNASALives

Comments closed

Jimmy’s Notes on Episode 36: The MSTies vs. ‘Gamera vs. Gyaos’

Published March 16, 2021

Michael, Michael, Michael. Now you’ve gone and done it. You have supplanted John LeMay as my new nemesis. You haven’t surpassed Commander Hell—the self-proclaimed “emperor of the universe” during the War in Space—but that’s hard to do since he’s an evil overlord. But, well, I may wait a little a little longer to retrieve you next time you take a tour of Monster Island’s jungle. You need a bit more excitement in your life, anyway.

Besides that, here are my other notes from last week’s episode on Gamera vs. Gyaos:

  • You should know better than to eat food in a cockpit around sensitive equipment, Michael! Serpentera Mk. 3 is a delicate machine!
  • Can’t tell, Michael? Nate, are we sure about his loyalty? #justsaying
  • I regret not reminding Nate to let Damon talk at the beginning about how he got to the Island, especially when it involved Giant Robo and Johnny Socko (he’s a friend of mine). Of course, Michael kept butting in.
  • The full name of Eiichi’s little actor is Naoyuki Abe.
  • In 1967, $1,000 was 360,000 yen, and the film’s budget was 60 million yen. Now I, too, want to know how many times Gyaos used that ray!
  • Haneda airport is nice. Japanese customs sucks, though. They never let me keep my laser pistol. I have a permit, damnit!
  • Good grief, did Damon and Michael go on and on and on at the end of the episode. Nate wisely chopped 20 minutes out. I feel sorry for the listeners here on the Island who had to hear it all.

Now for Nate’s leftover notes. He actually used all his Toku Topic notes again. Good work.

  • We’re quickly introduced to Gamera and his “Kenny,” Eiichi. Gamera eats some fire from the erupting Mt. Fuji. Reporter asks if he’s storing flames for energy or burnt to a crisp. Of course he’s still alive! He’s in the title!
  • Kojiro Hongo returns from the previous film.
  • Of course there are bats in the vampiric Gyaos’s cave!
  • Gamera is supposed to be holding Eiichi, but his hands are clearly open in the next shot. Also, he either stretches his arm like Mr. Fantastic or is crazy flexible because he’s able to place Eiichi on his back at an impossible angle. (Well, he was in space for a while, so maybe he found some cosmic rays? –Jimmy)
  • “Gyaos” is how he sounds? Okay. (Sounds like me when I cough. –Jimmy)
  • I see why Gyaos was brought back in the Heisei trilogy. He’s the easiest one to reboot.
  • There are gags like the car slicing in this. And Gyaos having a rock fall on his newly grown toe.
  • HEADSHOT on Gamera. Gyaos shoots off his own toes—but Gamera shoots off his own hand.
  • Gyaos looks constipated while re-growing his toes. (We’ve all made that face at some point, Nate. –Jimmy)
  • I want Gyaos to speak like Bela Lugosi.
  • “Exactly like our blood!” Because it’s pink? Cotton candy?
  • There’s a bit character named Toku. Okay. (Does that mean we talk about him in every episode? –Jimmy)
  • It never occurs to Gamera the THREE TIMES Gyaos drops him from midair to start flying?
  • “Put a rock in it!” (I’ll remember this the next time I want you to shut up, Marchand! –Jimmy)
  • Gyaos is barely in the volcano before the village leader says the road construction can continue.

From my books:

  • The rivalry between Godzilla and Gamera at this time was likened to The Beatles and the Rolling Stones by Patrick Macias.
  • Kichijiro Ueda, who plays the village mayor, told Yuasa, “I will defeat Gamera in performance!”
  • The humans’ efforts against Gyaos were inspired by Mission: Impossible, according to the producers.

The Commentary by Stuart Galbraith IV

  • It was decided by all to make this a children’s film. The kids would play on the floor or go buy popcorn during scenes in first two films with adults. This was made like a children’s storybook. Everything moves briskly.
    • They used a lot of real locations/offices instead of sets. One scene was Daiei’s dubbing studio.
    • This is the same Gamera suit from the previous film, but the eyes were made bigger and friendlier.
    • Daiei liked having expressive eyes on their kaiju. Detailed and brightly lit.
    • Yuasa said kaiju should all be night creatures to hide the defects of the special effects and because it’s dramatic. (Take that, day battlers!) 😛
    • The fat villagers, that actor committed suicide a few months after this movie released at age 31 because his career wasn’t going anywhere after some big success in TV.
    • Yuasa saw giant monsters and illogical, so scientists have much less screen time and no solutions. He wanted the kid audience to join Eiichi in coming up with solutions. (And yet we have an entire science lab dedicated to the kaiju here on the Island…. –Jimmy)
    • This year saw more foreign films out-grossing Japanese films.
    • Gyaos gave a press conference to promote the film, which angered some reporters. (Maybe he should be the next president’s press secretary. –Jimmy)

There you go.

The “Year of Gamera” takes a brief hiatus as we prepare for the long-awaited release of Godzilla vs. Kong, which will have a special premiere on Monster Island. Next week you’ll hear when Nate was joined by the biggest guests to be on the show (so far): Ryan “The Omni Viewer” Collins and Brandon Jacobs, the host of Up From the Depths on YouTube. Ryan’s sidekick, Snazzy, hung out with me and Jet Jaguar in the producer booth. And pushed random buttons. Before I put him in a headlock.

Until then, remember: #WeShallOvercome

Follow me on Twitter: @NasaJimmy

Follow MIBOD on Twitter: @MonsterIslaBOD
Follow Raymund Martin (The MIFV Legal Team) on Twitter: @MIFV_LegalTeam
Follow Crystal Lady Jessica on Twitter: @CrystalLadyJes1

#JimmyFromNASALives

Comments closed

Jimmy’s Notes on ‘Episode 35: Prophecies of Nostradamus (feat. John LeMay)

Published March 2, 2021

I’m happy to report that episode 35 got off without incident between myself and my former flame war nemesis, John LeMay. Not only is it difficult to fight a flame war when you’re on two different social media platforms, but Mr. LeMay is such a chill guy, flame wars don’t last long. That being said, I do have notes:

  • Mr. LeMay, you have no Twitter because of me? Have you seen what happens on Twitter? I practically have to fight a new War in Space every day!
  • Nate, you said, “Prophecies of Japan,” when you meant, “Submersion of Japan.” I don’t think you want to combine these movies. I shudder to think of it.
  • I do know who killed JFK:
  • Yes, I fixed Venus, and let me tell you, fixing a planet isn’t easy. It’ll be a whole chapter in my autobiography.
  • The Walking Dead comic started in 2003 and the show started in 2010 (on Halloween, I might add), which puts 2007—the supposed date of Nostradamus’ zombie apocalypse—right in the middle. Maybe he was off by a few years? That seems to be a common excuse believers in his prophecies give.
  • According to Gojipedia: “The Soft-Bodied Humans get their name due to how they are described as looking like ‘humans with peeled back skin’ following the events of a devastating nuclear war.”
  • I let John win on finding the Soft-Bodied Humans’ designer. I didn’t want to bruise his ego…again.
  • Maybe I want you to get shot into space, Marchand. Then I could take over the show for real. 😛

And now for Nate’s leftover notes (with my commentary, of course):

  • There was going to be a sequel, but it never materialized. A sequel to the novel it was based on was released in 1991, though.
  • Leonard Maltin’s reviewers jokingly said it was “presented, perhaps, by the National Enquirer.”
  • The scene with the slugs is one of the few with “kaiju.” It reminds me of a classic Doctor Who story, “Doctor Who and the Silurians.” (And funny enough, that predates this film by four years! –Jimmy)
  • They talked about overpopulation in Japan when it has dropped drastically. Argues that large population centers lead to stress and death. Arguing against civilization? (Sounds like something Alan Jonah would say. These people aren’t eco-terrorists, are they?  –Jimmy)
  • The young guy’s father wants to give up on life because the fish are all dying so he offers himself to the sea. The scene that follows is a bit like Submersion of Japan with the daughter and the boyfriend discussing how the sea is full of death but there’s still hope. They make love on a boat but aren’t interrupted by disaster.
  • Now we get to deformed children being born. One in three in Kysushu. Tamura’s colleague has a dead grandchild. He described it as if it was a thing and not a child.
  • The little girl wants to be an actress when she grows up but she’s acting now! (#Irony. –Jimmy)
  • A rare Japanese Christian who brings up Revelation. (Rev. Mifune would be proud. –Jimmy)
  • Does Tamura realize how crazy he sounds? Proposing that all but essential factories be closed, population kept in check, the old and weak dying, strict diets. It feels like COVID-land.
  • So, there’s snow in Egypt and the Hawaiian islands are freezing.
  • This does take the disasters happening only to Japan and applies them to the whole world.
  • Those seriously look like the same radiation suits from Mothra (1961).
  • It’s Audrey II! (Or Three? –Jimmy)
  • These bat props have the advantage of quick cuts. The editing helps them. If you look at them too long, they look terrible.
  • Of course everything goes wrong as soon as they take their helmets off. (Did these people not see Prometheus? –Jimmy)
  • The English acting is terrible. Even by English speakers. (Again, #irony. –Jimmy)
  • How do they even know if any of the people in the cave are alive? They looked pretty dead to me. And yet this is supposed to be horrific that they shoot all of them.
  • Like in The Last War, the Bible is quoted. In this case, Psalm 23 during a funeral.
  • Over an hour in and we finally get some tokusatsu model work.
  • Mississippi River flooding. The worst ever. That happened in the ‘90s.
  • Why connect Nostradamus to the apocalyptic environmentalism? It seems like it was inevitable. Was it a warning? Could it be prevented?
  • The mother tells her daughter that she must care for the child no matter how bad things get. I appreciate the pro-life stance. (Me too. –Jimmy)
  • This highway scene looks cool, but it’s absurd. How could one exploding car make all of them go up? (Uh…action movie logic? –Jimmy)
  • There’s a sense of hopelessness as opposed to dread.
  • This uses stock footage from The Last War and Submersion of Japan. No wonder it looked familiar.
  • The PM says Japan must set an example. Japan-centric. He also says the government has little to no power without the support of the people.
  • Suddenly I’m wondering if any of this movie was “real.” There’s hope for future generations if people act, but wasn’t there already a bunch of apocalyptic things? Was it all an illustration of Tamura’s speech?
  • Story has it that (Nostradamus) bowed to Franciscan monk, referring to him as “His Holiness,” who in 1585—years after Nostradamus’s death—was by the College of Cardinals as Pope Sixtus V.
  • (Nostradamus’) practice thrived in large part because he saw his patients as friends and treated them as such.

I predict that Mr. LeMay—whose episodes are all in MIFV’s top ten most popular on iTunes right now—will return next season…because moments after this broadcast, Nate invited him back. For what movie? Wait and see!

Next week Nate welcomes MIFV MAX members Damon Noyes and Michael “My Other Former Nemesis” Hamilton to continue the Year of Gamera with Gamera vs. Gyaos. Buckle up for that one, kaiju lovers! Then to get everyone hyped for Godzilla vs. Kong, we’ll be joined by the biggest guests we’ve had on the show (so far): Ryan “The Omni Viewer” Collins and Brandon Jacobs, the host of Up From the Depths on YouTube. Ryan is bringing his sidekick, Snazzy, who will hang out with me in the producer booth. With Jet Jaguar in there, it’s going to be crowded!

Until then, remember: #WeShallOvercome

Follow me on Twitter: @NasaJimmy

Follow MIBOD on Twitter: @MonsterIslaBOD
Follow Raymund Martin (The MIFV Legal Team) on Twitter: @MIFV_LegalTeam
Follow Crystal Lady Jessica on Twitter: @CrystalLadyJes1

#JimmyFromNASALives

Comments closed

Jimmy’s Notes on Episode 34: The MSTies vs. ‘Gamera vs. Barugon’

Published February 17, 2021

I know I’m late posting this week. Again. But that’s what happens when someone lets Barugon out of the kaiju zone on Monster Island and MIBOD (the Board) tasks you with recovering him and installing a new fail-safe in the security system. Mechani-Kong Mk. 2 and I have been busy. Sadly, Jet Jaguar is going through a weird retro phase and was too busy modding himself in my garage to help. However, I’ve finally found some downtime to get this blog written and posted.

My notes/corrections/riffs for episode 34 on, conveniently (hmm…), Gamera vs. Barugon are:

  • I’ve yet to test the shielding against the wrathful lightning of otakus. We have new shielding coming in next month, supplied by Solstice Technologies. I’ve been assured that it can withstand even Godzilla’s atomic breath.
  • Executive produced by Gamera? While I know none of his own movies were produced by him, there are rumors he might be an uncredited producer on Godzilla vs. Kong, but that might only be so he can rub his new “king of the monsters” title in those two’s faces.
  • I may or may not be on the “feed to Barugon list”? Ever seen the post-credits scene in Pacific Rim? I did that before Hannibal Chau. Long story.
  • How to say, “I pity the fool!” in Japanese. (Mic drop).
  • Beriberi is a thiamine (or vitamin B1) deficiency. It doesn’t sound pleasant.
  • The psychiatric admission during the War in Space wasn’t as high as the New Guinea Campaign, but it was potent. Lovecraftian fear of the void is real. Trust me, I know. I may have met an elder god once in my travels in space.
  • It’s Chris “Cook” not “cookie,” Joe. Also, “otaku” isn’t part of his name. However, I lay this goof on Nate because he gave you a poorly written note. I’m sure Chris loves cookies, though, and might even start a second podcast about cookies.

Now, for Nate’s leftover notes:

The Movie

  • Awkward jump cut in early scene because a prop fell down.
  • The color in this does look nice.
  • Here’s a horrific death for the kids. Not really. But it’s the fastest five minutes ever. (This is why I don’t like time travel. –Jimmy)
  • Grenades with fuses instead of pins? Okay. Never seen anything like that. (Actually, old grenades—as in Civil War era—did have fuses. –Jimmy)
  • I just realized this guy has a farmer’s tan. Nice detail. (You’d notice because you have one, Nate. You need a little more time on the Monsterland beaches. –Jimmy)
  • Barugon’s birth is actually pretty effective. It’s weird and creepy and even a bit gross. Yuasa said it was one of his favorite scenes.
  • Barugon appears about 41 minutes in.
  • The random narrator didn’t need to explain what was happening on screen.
  • “We have to strike the monster out of range of its tongue attack.” (Horrible paraphrase).
  • Gamera finally returns almost 53 minutes in!
  • I think Gamera is getting high on Barugon’s breath. (The scientists on the Island tested that theory. Barugon’s breath isn’t a narcotic, thankfully. –Jimmy) 
  • Here’s a science lesson for you! (What science lesson was that? That kaiju like shiny things? –Jimmy)
  • Did everyone forget about Gamera this whole time? (You definitely can’t now! –Jimmy)
  • I can see the wires as Barugon dies. (I could use those wires now! –Jimmy)
  • Commentary:
    • The flashback wasn’t in the film originally. Added for those who didn’t see it.
    • The screenplay originally had the meteor change the capsule’s course and it re-entered the atmosphere.
    • Kurobe Dam is 610 feet tall and Japan’s largest.
    • The koto is the national instrument of Japan. (I took some lessons for it as a kid while living in Japan for a while. –Jimmy)
    • Gamera originally appeared before Barugon was born. Onodera saw the turtle flying, dropped the opal, and it fell under a lamp.
    • The reverence for the war dead’s bones is because not returning them is believed to break family lines and bring bad luck.
    • The Sandy Frank dub mistranslated the line about Barugon’s weakness to water. In the Japanese dialogue, it’s stated he can’t live long in water. (It’s still dubious. –Jimmy)
    • Lake Biwa is the largest freshwater lake in Japan.
  • Other factoids
    • Director Noriaki Yuasa was replaced with Shigeo Tanaka, one of Daiei’s top directors who helmed the prestige picture, The Great Wall (and WWII propaganda films for Daiei). Yuasa became special effects director.
    • It was released on double bill with Daimajin in 1966 during Japan’s “Golden Week” and was considered a major event.

Nate continues to improve his skills at sharing his notes on the Toku Topics. He got through all of them in this episode.

Next week we cover a very different film with the banned Prophecies of Nostradamus, which will feature the return of my former social media nemesis, John LeMay. That film was buried deep in the back of the Vault right next to Half-Human. Then the “Year of Gamera” continues with what might be the most famous (not “infamous”—that’s later) entry in the Titanic Terrapin’s classic movie series: Gamera vs. Gyaos. Nate will be joined by my other (former?) nemesis, Michael Hamilton, and mailman by day, actor by night, Damon Noyes (no relation to Adam).

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have a huge ice-breathing reptile to catch with my giant robot ape.

Follow me on Twitter: @NasaJimmy

Follow MIBOD on Twitter: @MonsterIslaBOD
Follow Raymund Martin (The MIFV Legal Team) on Twitter: @MIFV_LegalTeam
Follow Crystal Lady Jessica on Twitter: @CrystalLadyJes1

#JimmyFromNASALives

#WeShallOvercome

Comments closed

Jimmy’s Notes on ‘Episode 33: Submersion of Japan (feat. Adam Noyes)’

Published February 3, 2021

It’s an easy week for Jimmy’s Notes today. These “extended mini-analyses” tend to be that way. I could’ve asked Adam Noyes for his leftover notes, but he was busy doing his health inspector work for MIBOD (Monster Island Board of Directors), so I figured I should social distance and not interrupt his work. I like my job.

That being said, I do have a few of my own notes from the Submersion of Japan episode. They are:

  • Toho was adapting Komatsu’s books into movies, Mr. Noyes, and not the other way around.
  • “Mie” is pronounced, “Mee-ay,” Mr. Noyes.
  • The film had two cinematographers, Hiroshi Murai and Daisaku Kimura, the latter winning the award for best director at the 33rd Japan Academy Prize for Mt. Tsurugidake.
  • It’s not the first time you brought on someone you’ve referenced as a source, Nate. How could you forget John LeMay—especially when he’s going to be on the show later this month!
  • For the hell of it, I did do a YouTube search for “Submersion of Japan 1973,” and Mr. Noyes’s video was the fourth video down.
  • I’m shocked you guys mentioned the 1970s TV show but not the new anime, Japan Sinks 2020. Your “sister” would be disappointed, Nate. 😛

Now for Nate’s leftover notes:

Submersion of Japan

  • This was definitely following in the trend of disaster movies in the 1970s. There were plenty of them. Like those disaster movies, it spends much time with the characters.
  • The film begins with a slow progression of the continental drift. Then it zooms in on Japan and shows its formation. Starts 200 million years ago.
  • The music was composed by Masuaru Sato. His score is remarkably subdued compared to his Godzilla scores. (He was a composer with great range. –Jimmy)
  • The opening scene is a montage of many activities in Japan. A street fest, hose races, baseball, office work, car show, traffic jam, the beach, the harbor, the subway, water park. (The apocalypse is always a surprise. The destruction and later reformation of Venus were surprises. But that’s a story for another day. Perhaps in the pages of Kaiju Ramen. 😉 –Jimmy)
  • They dive north of Ogawasara. (This reminds me that we should go scuba diving sometime, Nate. –Jimmy)
  • What’s interesting is the scene where the scientists are watching video from the sub of the sea floor and discussing what caused the island to sink could easily be in the beginning of a kaiju film. It shows that kaiju embody natural disasters, which makes sense coming from japan. There’s even a line from Tadakoro about a “monstrous slug.”
  • Interesting that the ship’s name is Hercules.
  • Here’s the From Here to Eternity scene—but it gets interrupted by a lightning strikes and a volcano. It comes after Onodera tells Reiko he’d get married to have a baby and she says, “Hold me,” and they start to make love.
  • There’s a scene that goes into extensive scientific exposition. It almost feels like a college lecture.
  • Like Godzilla 1954, it shows the aftermath of the casualties (if only briefly).
  • Numbers are frequently quoted to indicate the gravity of the situation. The casualties act as something of a reverse: it makes the personal stories and situations bigger.3.6 million missing or dead. (I appreciated this as an engineer. I “math” well. –Jimmy)
  • Tadokora loses his cool on national TV talking about the impending disaster because the host doesn’t believe him.
  • The government decides to practice occupation-era tactics and censor the media to avoid a panic.
  • Reiko tells a story about slipping into the dark ocean while diving. She describes it as lonely yet calming. Foreshadowing. Microcosm. Onodera tells her to get transfer her money to foreign accounts. They will get married and run away together.
  • There is a scene at the UN where they deliberate on what to do about Japan sinking, and they find the situation impossible to resolve for 110 million people. It’s a stark contrast to a Honda film like Gorath where they find a solution by coming together. This is steeped in realism and shows how difficult the situation would be.
  • The PM decides he will bypass the UN and go to countries himself to ask if they’ll take refugees. 10 million to 1 million to 100,000 to 10,000, etc. Reminds me of Abraham asking God to spare Sodom and Gomorrah for decreasing numbers of righteous men.
  • It’s interesting reading subtitles as English is interpreted into Japanese. Differences.
  • China agrees to help. Japan’s old wartime foe.
  • Watari doesn’t look 100 years old to me.
  • The evacuees are called “Kamikaze.” That’s a loaded name. (It means “divine wind,” but the cultural associations are…complicated. –Jimmy)
  • Watari tells his niece to find a Japanese man in another country but then corrects himself to say any man to marry and have children. It’s a small concession to reality.
  • The final scene has the card “somewhere on earth” with a train going by transporting Japanese refugees. We see a one-eyed Onodera.

Tidal Wave:

  • It gives credit for the “special effects sequences” to the Japanese crew. And the director.
    • The characters’ names were changed. Tadokoro became Tanaka.
    • Adds dialogue where there wasn’t any.
    • The weird thing is the dubbed dialogue for what footage was left is actually pretty close to the original.
    • It takes nearly 46 minutes before the new footage with “star” Lorne Green starts. Clearly filmed fast in one room. Green disregards the issue, calling it a “small problem(?!). The Japanese cast member has to make this a sign of a danger to other places other than Japan. There’s talk of “astrologers and mystics” predicting the destruction. 15 minutes later, he’s injected into the UN scene. He gives a speech about the US accepting Japanese refugees. It’s a decent speech. He touches on refugee issues that were debated a few years. Ten minutes later he announces to the UN that 34 million people were saved (much higher the original). 4 minutes later: he’s reading the Newsweek article and commenting on Onodera.  
    • Onodera and Reiko are presented, at least implicitly, as being in an established relationship.

“Has the Empire Sunk Yet?” by Thomas Schnellbacher

  • Japan itself is everywhere identified with the ephemeral, a recurring theme in interpretations of Japan both by Japanese and others.’ Tadokoro compares the convection currents in the earth’s mantle to meteorological phenomena, leading the listeners to conclude that “[t]he Archipelago on which they lived was like a line of clouds that had taken form along the leading edge of a moving mass of warm air.” It’s strangely mythological.
    • “…the computer scientist Nakata ironically quotes an old song from the Sino-Japanese War of 1895: “Hasn’t the Dingyuan sunk yet?” The Dingyuan was an enemy ship at that time; the joke is that, though incapacitating it at anchor was a key success for Japan in witining this war, the ship never did sink.'” The old songs may still survive even in the memory of those who do not share the militarist sentiment, it is implied, but they can take on a new meaning if that old sentiment is defused.”
    • The sunk Japan is mythologized as a new Atlantis or Mu.
    •  “…he began writing the book in 1964, his response to validations of Japanese imperialism beginning to be voiced, which he saw as symptoms of a society grown too wealthy. He is not critical of the achievements of the postwar Japanese economy, but of complacency about those achievements, especially if it goes hand in hand with a revival of imperialist thought.”

Okay, that was more than I was expecting. It was harder to make snide remarks because this is a serious film with heavy themes. That won’t be a problem next time. Trust me.

Speaking of next time, Nate’s friends Joe and Joy Metter, themselves a pair of MSTies, will return to watch the Mystery Science Theater 3000 episode featuring Gamera vs. Barugon while Nate watches the original Japanese cut (as per MIBOD’s mandates). This will be part two of 12 (or 13?) of “The Year of Gamera.” Then Nate is joined by John LeMay, as I noted, to discuss a very different disaster movie: Prophecies of Nostradamus. It’ll be the second banned film featured on the podcast. (Is it just me, or are this month’s guests all former nemeses of mine?)

Follow me on Twitter: @NasaJimmy
Follow MIBOD on Twitter: @MonsterIslaBOD
Follow Raymund Martin (The MIFV Legal Team) on Twitter: @MIFV_LegalTeam
Follow Crystal Lady Jessica on Twitter: @CrystalLadyJes1

#JimmyFromNASALives

#WeShallOvercome

Comments closed