Where's TohoStudios?

Always one of my favorite members and now that I'm going through a Kaiju movie phase I really miss him.

That's a good question. He popped in briefly a few weeks ago to make a single post, and that was the first I'd seen of him in a long while.

Hope everything ok with him. He’s one of my favorite guys around here.

I also hope he’s doing okay!

He was a fixture here for ages.

While we’re at it… what happened to corplhicks? I thought for sure he would’ve chimed in after Mike Howe passed. And that’s been a couple years ago…

I remember Toho turning me on to this band.
One of my favorite “ Devil “ songs.
Blasted it in my car yesterday - fun CD.
Rock on Toho !

Hi guys,

I'm here for my weekly checkin and saw this.  Sorry I haven't been around as much as I used to be but I've had a lot of stuff going on for the past 8 months or so.  Without going into all the details I've had retinal surgery, two cataract surgeries, and an electo-cardioversion (to correct Afib).  I've also hired a financial advisor to help me get my ducks in a row for retirement and that's been sort of a time-consuming process.  Overall though I'm doing well.

The overriding reason I don't post like I used to is that I just don't feel I have anything worthwhile to talk about; at least nothing we haven't already discussed ad nauseam.  I hardly buy any new music these days and I'm not watching any movies I haven't seen a million times (a lot of that is due to my eye issues).  So I just pop in once or twice a week to see what's going on by reading a few threads and then I'm off to do something else.

But thanks for asking about me guys.  And Scott, have you started the Gamera series yet?  If not, the newer Gameras are much better than the old kiddie movies.  And if you still can't get enough Kaiju there's always Ultraman.

And Glower, did you pick up Sideburn's "Fired Up' released last summer? Nothing groundbreaking but solid and just like everything else they've ever done.

Good to see you're doing alright !

tohostudios wrote:

Hi guys,

I'm here for my weekly checkin and saw this.  Sorry I haven't been around as much as I used to be but I've had a lot of stuff going on for the past 8 months or so.  Without going into all the details I've had retinal surgery, two cataract surgeries, and an electo-cardioversion (to correct Afib).  I've also hired a financial advisor to help me get my ducks in a row for retirement and that's been sort of a time-consuming process.  Overall though I'm doing well.

The overriding reason I don't post like I used to is that I just don't feel I have anything worthwhile to talk about; at least nothing we haven't already discussed ad nauseam.  I hardly buy any new music these days and I'm not watching any movies I haven't seen a million times (a lot of that is due to my eye issues).  So I just pop in once or twice a week to see what's going on by reading a few threads and then I'm off to do something else.

But thanks for asking about me guys.  And Scott, have you started the Gamera series yet?  If not, the newer Gameras are much better than the old kiddie movies.  And if you still can't get enough Kaiju there's always Ultraman.

And Glower, did you pick up Sideburn's "Fired Up' released last summer?  Nothing groundbreaking but solid and just like everything else they've ever done.

Great to see you! Sorry to hear about your medical woes. Hope things iron out in your favor.

Retirement full-stop? Nothing part time?

Yes! I've watched all the Gamera movies.

G -v- Barugon was pretty good. I live B's noise and the story is pretty good.

Man, they went through a silly phase, but they did have some gore and some Gamera Girl babes.

Then the Mid-90s!! You're right, those are great! Some of it borders on horror.  Way better everything: sets, camera, acting, story, FX, even the dubbing is good. No obnoxious Kenny's.  Really up there with the top-5 Godzilla movies.

I liked Gamera the Brave as well. Kid-driven, but the kid actirs are good and the FX are good and it's funny.

Concerning the Big G: I'm about 25 movies in. A few Nutshell thoughts:

The Original in Japanese utterly stomps the US Burr version and is like a different movie: dark, brooding, actually scary...effective.

G Retuns (1984) A very nice retun. G is scary again and everything looks good. The acting is good: serious and straightforward.


G -v- Biollante - I love this! The idea! The monster is cool. Yes! Great one.

G -v- Destoroyah - Really great! The evil oxygen crab-demon monster(s) are great.  G's nuclear meltdown side story is interesting.

GMK - Giant Monsters All-Out Attack - Heck yeah! I love the G is an avenging spirit sent to punish Japan's war crimes and that Mothra, King Ghidorah and company are protectors. Merciless G with great battles.

2014 - I thought this was very effective and respectful to the classics. The FX are outstanding.  Shame that Cranston didn't have more screen time.

Shin Godzilla - Uh...this is a great movie. I love this movie. I love the political commentary/critique of Japanese beaurocracy. I love the presentation of the birth and evolution of a god-incarnate. I hate that he's suffering, but his powers are awesome. I love the creepy, gnarly design(s). I love the mega-babe Godzilla Girl.

2019 - Again I thought this was fantastic. I love the rendering of Rodan, King Ghidorah and Mothra. I love the origin/reason for G. The FX are outstanding.


The others not mentioned vary from absurd (but even the worst have some redeeming content) to pretty good, if uneven. There are some good-to-great ideas that are killed by FX, presentation, execution or acting.

Quote :

Retirement full-stop? Nothing part time?

That's the plan. I wasn't looking to retire for another 2 or 3 years but I really don't like the direction my work is taking and I find myself arguing with managers more frequently. So I've been exploring the possibility of the old "take this job and shove it" option; I want to make sure I can follow thru with it if I have to.

And I pretty much agree with your G reviews Scott. I too have always really dug Biollante. The premise is pretty silly but the creature design is so imaginative and innovative. That one wasn't available on DVD for the longest time. Have you seen the Criterion Collection version of the original Gojira? They painstakingly went frame by frame and cleaned everything up and it looks almost pristine.

tohostudios wrote:

Quote :

Retirement full-stop? Nothing part time?

That's the plan.  I wasn't looking to retire for another 2 or 3 years but I really don't like the direction my work is taking and I find myself arguing with managers more frequently.  So I've been exploring the possibility of the old "take this job and shove it" option; I want to make sure I can follow thru with it if I have to.  

And I pretty much agree with your G reviews Scott.  I too have always really dug Biollante.  The premise is pretty silly but the creature design is so imaginative and innovative.  That one wasn't available on DVD for the longest time.  Have you seen the Criterion Collection version of the original Gojira?  They painstakingly went frame by frame and cleaned everything up and it looks almost pristine.  

Well I wish you the best!!


Yes it's a fantastic rendering.  Beautiful really well done movie.

Good to hear from you Toho, glad you’re ok. As far as the retirement thing I don’t blame you a bit. I’m ready to retire too but still have a few years lol. Wish I could do it now!

To good health & them golden years

tohostudios wrote:

I just don't feel I have anything worthwhile to talk about

Stop saying that and just comment on everything. You might get interesting back and forth.

Lari wrote:

tohostudios wrote:

I just don't feel I have anything worthwhile to talk about

Stop saying that and just comment on everything. You might get interesting back and forth.

He’s got other matters on his mind. He’s not happy with his work situation. But I do hope he eventually does comeback here again in the future when his affairs are in order and he’s in a very better mood.

Sorry to hear about all your woes Toho. I notice this was a while back so I hope you are recovering well and that retirement will be attainable!

Tohostudios on my mind again...

Hope all is well!

I just recently retired, and seeing this thread right now made me think of dude before even re-reading the posts. I have actually met a few people on this board in real life, and still it has seemed like a family of sorts with most over the years. I don't know, maybe it is just me?

Best wishes to Toho.

I hope he's doin' all right. I miss his contributions to the Movies/TV discussions here.

I’m surprised he hasn’t popped in to give an update.