The Giant Lizard’s 50th Birthday

So Godzilla’s turning 50 this year and word is that Japanese cult director Ryuhei Kitamura has been tagged to helm the anniversary film. Kitamura’s playing coy himself and refusing to confirm or deny, but this looks to be pretty much a done deal. This could be either a very good thing or a very bad thing … Kitamura is at his best when he indulges his genre film fetishes – Versus is a stellar example of classic low budget gore-comedy film making – but he generally gets tedious when he tries to introduce any sort of plot. If this turns out to be true there are two things you can say pretty much for certain: Expect some ridiculously over the top camera movements and expect the film to include a thoroughly unnecessary 10-15 minute epilogue. The man needs an editor.