A Behind-the-Scenes Look at Godzilla

Previously on My Turn to Talk, I wrote a post about the problems with American Godzilla. One of the things I still really don’t like about the American Godzilla movies is how heavily they use CGI. Yes, Shin Godzilla in 2016 also used CGI, but they deliberately tried to make it look like it was a person in a suit. Personally, I think it looked better that way.

To give an idea of what the suit filming was like, I’m sharing this behind-the-scenes video from Godzilla: Final Wars in 2004. Lots of puppets, lots of actors in suits, but the end result was pretty impressive.

“Godzilla: King of the Monsters” Remake: Ugh

I hadn’t initially planned to watch this movie. I’ve known for a long time that Americans can’t do a decent Godzilla film. But knowing that Mothra, Rodan, and King Ghidorah were in this movie made it difficult to resist, and after two years, I finally watched it.

It just confirmed my previously long-held belief that Americans really shouldn’t be making Godzilla movies.

I will give the writers credit; they clearly knew their Godzilla lore. There were a lot of callbacks to things from the old movies, some easily recognizable and some so obscure you may not have realized it was a reference. And yet…and yet it just wasn’t the same. Everything was so dark that you couldn’t really see the monsters in all their glory. And why are we supposed to care so much about the humans? Nobody watches these movies for the humans; they watch them for the monsters!

I really hope Toho goes back to making Godzilla films. Shin Godzilla was really good albeit a little different from the previous movies, and I’d like to see them continue in that vein.

New Animated “Lord of the Rings” Film

I just saw the announcement from The One Ring about The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim. It’s going to be an animated movie based on the life of Helm Hammerhand (same Helm of Helm’s Deep). It sounds like it could be really interesting, so I hope it lives up to our expectations. I don’t know if I can handle another Hobbit-style disappointment…

In the meantime, let’s all enjoy this wonderful version of the Rohan theme!

Memorial Day 2021

Today we remember the brave soldiers who gave their lives to keep us free.

Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon them. May they rest in peace.

Remember the Doctor Who TV Movie

Today marks the 25th anniversary of the Doctor Who TV movie, a British and American co-production with the aim of bringing Doctor Who back to screens after its cancellation in 1989. Although the series itself was a bust–and from what I’ve been able to glean, that was probably a good thing–the movie still manages to be enjoyable.

Does it have flaws? Sure. But is Paul McGann a good fit for the role? Absolutely. It’s a pity we didn’t get to see any more of his adventures on TV, but at least he returned in “The Night of the Doctor” in 2013 (the 50th anniversary year was so much fun).

What I think is really remarkable is how well McGann was able to put his own stamp on the role of the Doctor even though he only got the 1996 movie and the 2013 minisode. Although fans generally disliked the movie, they liked his Doctor, and that paved the way for the Big Finish audio adventures.

Although Doctor Who didn’t return as a TV series until 2005, I guess the movie did accomplish its goal in a roundabout way. It wanted to introduce a new Doctor and get people excited for his adventures, and it did–it just accomplished this via the audio dramas.

Happy Towel Day 2021!

So glad all you hoopy froods hang out on my blog!

My personal viewing choice for this auspicious day is the 1970s BBC adaptation of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy since it is, after all, Towel Day, but today is a day for all science fiction.

Pentecost Sunday 2021

Happy birthday to the Church!

Going through “Star Trek: Deep Space Nine”

I’ve long had a complicated relationship with the different Star Trek series. The Original Series I maintain will always be the best. I have tried very hard to like The Next Generation, but, honestly, it’s really not that great (I know that makes me a Trek heretic, but so be it). My feelings on Voyager have been decidedly mixed (like some characters, don’t like others); I think Enterprise is a better show than most people give it credit for, and I haven’t really cared for Discovery or the other CBS All Access Trek shows.

The exception to this rule so far has been Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. After watching a few standalone episodes, I decided to watch the whole series. Although I’m only on season 2, I have been very pleased with the show so far. It seems to strike that delicate balance of honoring its Trek roots while still being its own show and doing something different. Make no mistake, it has a very different feel to most other Trek shows, so it may not be to everyone’s liking. But for the most part, they succeed at being a fresh show within the Trek universe.

While so many of the characters are truly remarkable–Dax’s unflappable attitude honed from a centuries-long memory, O’Brien’s solid presence, Bashir’s eagerness (if sometimes annoying arrogance), Garak’s enigmatic, well, everything–I really want to make mention of Commander Benjamin Sisko. The fact that being a father is the most important thing in his life is such a cool angle for the commander character. He may be a respected Starfleet commander and the Emissary of the Prophets, but at the end of the day, the title he is proudest of is Dad.

It’s entirely possible that my opinion of the series will change once I reach the end. But for now, it is probably my second favorite Star Trek show.

Happy Star Wars Day

It’s May 4, which means it’s time to celebrate all things Star Wars! I know I’ve shared this video before, but, honestly, it captures Anakin’s journey so well that I can’t help but share it again.

I also bring to your attention this wonderful cover of “A Jedi’s Fury”, the soundtrack from Luke’s fight with Vader aboard the second Death Star. Return of the Jedi has always been my favorite of the films simply because of Luke’s love for his father and the impact of Vader’s transformation back into Anakin, and this cover perfectly captured that atmosphere.

May the Force be with you!

Time Can Really Change Your Perspective

This is going to be a somewhat random post, but it was something that had been on my mind lately, so I thought it might be relevant to mention on my blog.

As I have been practicing how to use Blender, I began to wonder if perhaps practicing my regular pencil-and-paper skills would help me get better at Blender. This was not an easy decision to reach even though it sounds simple. You see, when I was younger, I loved to draw, but I wasn’t very good. And no matter what I did, it seemed like I never got any better. Add to that some discouraging remarks from various individuals about how my style wasn’t very good, and I just gave up out of sheer disappointment.

Deciding to pick up drawing again was difficult, but I reasoned that the overall quality wasn’t that important. I just wanted to get a better grasp on some character design fundamentals, thinking it would make things easier in Blender. And I figured that things might be different now since I was older, and learning to play the violin had taught me a valuable lesson–even if you don’t have any natural talent at something, if you work hard enough, you just might get to slightly above mediocre.

So I dug my old drawing pencils out of a drawer and got some blank sketchbooks. And you know what? Things were different this time. I found that by not putting any excess pressure on myself, I was enjoying drawing for its own sake. The old discouragement I felt didn’t matter anymore. I was having fun and didn’t care. And–oddly enough–my drawing was not as terrible as I remembered. I’m not sure if maybe I simply wasn’t as bad as I remembered or if I have a better grasp on the whole drawing thing now that I’m older. And–best of all–it really did help with some of the Blender things I was trying to improve!

All I’m trying to say here is that sometimes time can change our perspectives on things. Maybe we used to think we were bad at something, but after several years go by, we find we don’t care about those opinions anymore. We shouldn’t be afraid of trying something we didn’t like before–maybe we’ll like it now.

As I said, this was a random post, but it was on my mind, so I thought maybe I should write about it.