The Godzilla Cringe Thread

[Spuro]

So why would you use puppets when you're representing something that's only human-sized? It's one thing if the only other Godzilla/Anguirus/etc. were a huge model, but why replicate something that's perfectly fine in closeups?

Puppets like Ernie and Oscar are basically human-head sized...I know you can't really chide them for the puppets not matching very well (because no home-video for nitpicking back then), but what's the difference between putting a model train in suit-Godzilla's mouth and puppet-Godzilla's mouth? You're already working in that scale. It would have been so much more terrifying.

And in GRA when Godzilla and Anguirus are fighting in closeup (and if I recall there are also a few closeup shots with the suits), the "puppet show" aspect takes you right out of the movie.

There are lots of other examples, but the question is...why make a rubber puppet of what's essentially a rubber puppet? Not that I would know, but it would seem that on-set closeups wouldn't be that big a deal to film. Was there a second unit that had to do the closeups to save time, so they used puppets? Was it that important to have their mouths readily open and close (which they don't always do in the puppet shots)?

I'm sure it's all been answered, many times over, but I just saw several scenes with them, and yes, to me they're cringe-worthy.

Probably because puppets allow for the creature's head to move more dynamically than the suits at the time would allow. I actually think the G54 puppets look pretty good, even if they don't match the suit. That seems to be just me though. (Maybe I should save that for the unpopular opinion thread?)

It was at its worst in GTTHM, though. If you thought GRA's puppet wars were bad you had better brace yourself for Godzilla vs Rodan...

[BlankAccount]

I do however think that G14 is better than at least half of the Toho films.

And I can respect that because I know you actually watched them instead of talking out your ass.

[RandomDeinonychus]

So why would you use puppets when you're representing something that's only human-sized? It's one thing if the only other Godzilla/Anguirus/etc. were a huge model, but why replicate something that's perfectly fine in closeups?

Probably because puppets allow for the creature's head to move more dynamically than the suits at the time would allow.

Yeah, it's definitely about the limits of a suit's expressions. Keep in mind that even the Heisei and Millennium films often used puppets for close-ups. It's just that--with the exception of Godzilla and Mothra: The Battle For Earth--they matched the suits and moved more convincingly. (Not including Return of Godzilla since the cybot is a whole other story) Some of that is because those puppets were actually made from the same molds as the suits, so there wasn't as much opportunity to get it wrong.

Why the puppets in the Showa films are so bad, though, is a mystery--it's not just that they don't match the suits, the proportions are all wrong and immediately tell you that they're puppets.

[edgaguirus]

Pollution Rodan '97 .

Off topic here, but a sickly green Rodan that spits toxic goo would be an interesting incarnation of the character.

[Jiragozira14]

G'98 is the Jurassic Park III of Godzilla movies.

I don't understand what this means. I mean, JP3 is easily the best of the Jurassic Park sequels. Jurassic World almost tops it because that final fight is amazing, but the rest of the film is so crass, stupid, and poorly written that even that doesn't save it--and The Lost World is just plain shite.

What I mean is that G'98 is the most divisive/critically-reviled of the movies, just like JPIII. Say what you will of LW being worse, but in terms of reviews, it does a bit better then JPIII, which is mostly seen as a pure, A-grade shitty monster movie.

Both also have mediocre-to-poor effects, depending on the scene.

[RandomDeinonychus]

What I mean is that G'98 is the most divisive/critically-reviled of the movies, just like JPIII. Say what you will of LW being worse, but in terms of reviews, it does a bit better then JPIII, which is mostly seen as a pure, A-grade shitty monster movie.

Both also have mediocre-to-poor effects, depending on the scene.

To your first point, I would have to read these reviews because I have not encountered very many reviews of TLW that didn't declare it to be horrible. Most everyone I've encountered, even if they dislike JPIII, still hate it less than TLW.

To the second point, I would argue that the only mediocre-to-poor effects in JPIII are the scene where they boat past the gentle herbivores. Those Brachiosaurs are pretty woeful.

[Lain Of The Wired]

I got a good one...
Kaiju Movie Reviewers

I'm always astounded by just how awful, cringey, and unfunny these guys are, I'll use MONSTROSITIES and Decker Shado as examples, that shit is mind numbingly unbearable to watch, especially Decker & CREEPY, those line delivery's are A W F U L, which makes the unfunny jokes even worst. It all just feels so embarrassing to watch...

Out of all the folks reviewing kaiju movies out there, the only ones I have E V E R found tolerable were Brandon's Cult Movie Reviews and James Rolph's Cinemassacre videos, those are the only two guys Ive found that are competent enough to not utterly suck shit.

[Godzilla165]

MONSTROSITIES always makes me roll my eyes as far as they can physically go. The delivery and atmosphere is just groan-inducing and pretentious.

[Lain Of The Wired]

MONSTROSITIES always makes me roll my eyes as far as they can physically go. The delivery and atmosphere is just groan-inducing and pretentious.

I agree, 1000%

[Zarm]

What I mean is that G'98 is the most divisive/critically-reviled of the movies, just like JPIII. Say what you will of LW being worse, but in terms of reviews, it does a bit better then JPIII, which is mostly seen as a pure, A-grade shitty monster movie.

Both also have mediocre-to-poor effects, depending on the scene.

To your first point, I would have to read these reviews because I have not encountered very many reviews of TLW that didn't declare it to be horrible. Most everyone I've encountered, even if they dislike JPIII, still hate it less than TLW.

To the second point, I would argue that the only mediocre-to-poor effects in JPIII are the scene where they boat past the gentle herbivores. Those Brachiosaurs are pretty woeful.

I'll raise my hand to that one. I thought LW wasn't that bad, save for the San Fran stuff; the second best in a franchise that probably never should've had sequels. But Jurasssic World was Citizen Kane next to III; I can't imagine any sequel ever coming close to the utter ineptitude of III. From the poor character choices (that's how you resolve Alan and Ellie? Really?) to bad effects in some case, a plot thinner than a piece of paper, right on down to basic filmmaking ineptitude... they have the biggest dinosaur EVER, bigger than the T-rex... and in all its introductory scenes, they shoot DOWN at it? As in 'the filmmaking technique used to make something look smaller'? Never even a shot from ground level of the towering spinosaur snapping up at the plane? Nothing? You have supposedly the biggest, baddest dude ever, and all he gets is a lethargic fight scene with a T-rex and filming so incompetent in cinematic language and setting that he never attains even a tenth of the menace of the T-rex from the first two films? Not to mention everything with the raptors, from the dream-sequence to the ending.

JP III is rancid, and none of the problems (to me) in Lost World or Jurassic World can come close, because at least those feature competent filmmaking. JP III is like a student film... from students who are going to fail this semester.

[Tyrant_Lizard_King]

Yeah watch the Jurassic Park Twitters and when they poll the films JP3 usually comes in dead last. Personally I don't even think the original Jurassic Park is really that good of a movie. Id take both TLW and JW over the original. JP3 is an incomplete lazy mess of a film even the typical franchise fan thinks it's the worst (except the small few that vehemently despise Jurassic World for some reason).

To stay on topic yeah the puppets can be a little off putting but there's a ton of props used in KKVG that are just as bad as any of the Showa puppets. That Kong doll they send sliding down the hill is one of the most laughably bad FX shots in the history of the franchise.

[Cybermat47]

Godzilla being attracted to birds in G85, which replaced a more logical and less cringy plot point in G84.

[edgaguirus]

Some of the dub voices in DAM. That rural police officer has a really annoying voice.

[ToxicLove]

I got a good one...
Kaiju Movie Reviewers

I'm always astounded by just how awful, cringey, and unfunny these guys are, I'll use MONSTROSITIES and Decker Shado as examples, that shit is mind numbingly unbearable to watch, especially Decker & CREEPY, those line delivery's are A W F U L, which makes the unfunny jokes even worst. It all just feels so embarrassing to watch...

Out of all the folks reviewing kaiju movies out there, the only ones I have E V E R found tolerable were Brandon's Cult Movie Reviews and James Rolph's Cinemassacre videos, those are the only two guys Ive found that are competent enough to not utterly suck shit.

They don't really do kaiju movies per say (though they have reviewed a few horror/monster flicks) but Red Letter Media are pretty much the only way to go when it comes to reviews. No cringe-inducing skits. Miserable, alcohol soaked dry-wit.

[Lain Of The Wired]

Dry wit it awesome, I want to be amused, not bored either

[Mr_Goji_and_Watch]

Everytime someone uses "campy" or "cheesy" wrong in the fandom gets me closer to randomizing my TK password.

[Cybermat47]

Everytime someone uses "campy" or "cheesy" wrong in the fandom gets me closer to randomizing my TK password.

What a cheesy thing to say.

[MechaGoji Bro7503]

Everytime someone uses "campy" or "cheesy" wrong in the fandom gets me closer to randomizing my TK password.

I know right?

[GodzillavsRayquaza]

Almost all the arguments over the Monsterverse's future. If both sides delivered their arguments well, and had valid points, I wouldn't mind. But instead, it just devolves into one or both sides saying "you're wrong, and I'm right, because fuck you." And they keep coming up, the Godzilla 2 speculation thread is filled with this shit, and so is the rest of that sub-forum!

[BooLugosi]

I really dislike this thread. I really dislike the term "cringe" in general because it's been turned into a buzzword people attach to anything they dislike or disagree with. This just has to be posted here though. There was literally a thread on Facebook where a bunch of fans got mad at Neil deGrasse Tyson for explaining why kaiju(Specifically Goji himself) would be impossible to exist. I saw stuff like "U WONT SAY THAT WHEN HE STOMPS U LOLOLOL" and "WELL UR NOT A REAL SCIENTIST LOL xDDD"

What a fucking life... Can I please be relocated to a better planet? I think this ones inhabitants are broken.