Gigantic January Winds Up with the Wacky "Godzilla's Revenge"-Tonight!

MeTV’s Gigantic January  comes to a close with  what some have labelled one of the oddest Godzilla movies ever- it has multiple monsters in battle with the King of the Monsters, plus- his son ( no mention of who the mother is- perhaps we should call Maury Povich) –along with criminals, a gang of bullying children, a wacky inventor, and lots of lessons for each and every one of us- it’s enough to make your head spin, or, at least have you scratching your head in confusion-  as we bring  you- "Godzilla's Revenge"!

Previously titled "All Monsters Attack"- this film is part of the late 60s-ealy 70s  period in which Godzilla had moved from being a creature deadly to all mankind-  to a powerful friend, prone to comedic movement, specifically made to appeal to younger fans of giant monsters. We’re introduced to one of those fans- Ichiro, whose family loves him, but are kept busy by work and social engagements, leaving the little fellow alone much of the time.  He is blessed with a vivid imagination- which makes him the perfect target for the  local bullies- who are bigger than he. He has only two kind and understanding  friends- one, a young lady who is one of his classmates- and the other- and an off-the-wall toy inventor! When he visits the toymaker, the inventor  shows him his latest creation- which  Ichiro asks him to augment and tie in with his favorite monsters- the top two being the legendary Godzilla and his son, Minya ( also known as Manilla). Ichiro explains that they live, with other creatures, on far away Monster Island.

Heading back home, left alone once again, his imagination kicks in- and, in a sort of dream state, Ichiro actually visits Monster Island! Of course, there are various dangerous monsters there to menace him, along with other pitfalls- one of which has him ending up rescued by none other than Godzilla’s son Minya!  Minya is close to Ichiro’s size, and speaks in a semi-annoying voice more suited for a cartoon  mascot in a cereal commercial. The two bond over the similarities in their lives ( not including their badly dubbed voices); bullies tend to target both of them, with Minya the victim of  horrid creature named Gabara -which , amazingly (and I say that with my voice dripping with sarcasm ), coincidentally happens to also be the name of Ichiro's worst tormentor!

Once Ichiro has reluctantly returned to reality , he explores an old abandoned factory- not realizing that a couple desperate  bank robbers are holed there! Ichiro takes some souvenirs from  the stuff left lying around the factory- which unfortunately includes one of the crooks' driver’s license! The bad guys realize that he has taken the license, which could lead to the police finding out where they are- so they decide the best course of action  is to kidnap the kid!

Ichiro, meanwhile, books a return mental journey to Monster Island- where he witnesses Godzilla taking on a bunch his enemies. Young Minya tries to be like Dad-facing off briefly  against the evil Gabara- but ends up fleeing in terror. Father knows best, and trains Junior to fight back, using his atomic flame breath to comedic effect (he did the same thing in a similar scene in the film "Son of Godzilla")- and, it looks like they are making some progress when- Ichiro is rudely drawn back into the real world- when the robbers nab him! Will Ichiro escape  his captors? Can he face all his problems of the real world successfully? Can Minya follow suit and triumph as well?  ( Can I stop asking questions to wind up this paragraph?)

Many viewers might be puzzled by a film loaded with stock footage from previous Godzilla movies, the heavy-handed moralizing in the film,, and some of the other mind-boggling content. This film starts off slowly-  so, we beg for your indulgence as we drop in a little extra Svensurround  entertainment in the first segment of the film. We promise you more fun  in our Sven segments, including a classic edition of the beloved drawing game "Too Drawn Out"- and bring back a song highlighted by a trumpet solo by our own Doug Graves!

"Godzilla's Revenge" takes place tonight on MeTV at 8pm eastern/pacific, 7 central, or check your local listings- or at www.metv.com- for time and channel in your area.  We want to pass on some info for certain areas of our viewership:

In Los Angeles- our new MeTV homes are KAZA 54.1 and KDOC 56.3 over the air, for antenna –using viewers. Dish/DirecTV viewers can find MeTV L.A. on ch. 54. Cable listings vary by community and  can be found at www.metv.com –click on where to watch and enter your zip code.

In Seattle- , your over the air channels are 44.1 and 12.3 – DirecTV and Dish are channel 45-  and , while Comcast has had us on ch. 12 or 72- they’re moving us to 15,21, or 117, depending in which area you live!

 A couple other changes will be coming- we’ll fill you in on those soon.

Chicago area viewers , meanwhile, can get last week’s movie, “Godzilla VS Mothra”  at the same time – 11 am this morning- on the same channel- WCIU, the U !

We’re happy to see most of our blog commenters have gotten back into the new system, and are working to try to find out why some have NOT been able to. Our beloved administrator has asked me to mention- some posts have been let slide as everyone has gotten used to the new system, but PLEASE- remember to be civil- WATCH YOUR LANGUAGE- and content.

 With that said, get ready for the conclusion of Gigantic January with  bizarre fun featuring juvenile ‘Zilla!