Tuesday, May 15, 2012

My top 10 Favorite Giant Movie Monsters

What are some of the biggest things to capture your imagination at a young age? Well, there’s plenty of things from Dinosaurs to outer space but one of my biggest fascinations from child hood that are still just as great today are giant movie monsters. Oh yea, from “20 Million Miles to Earth” to “King Kong”, to “Godzilla” to “Clover field”, I’ve seen all kinds of memorable giant movie monsters and here are my own personal top 10 favorites.   

 
#10 Gigan (Godzilla series)

I’ve seen just about every Godzilla movie and you can expect a lot of of his enemies to be on this list. One of my favorites is Gigan (who was seen in “Godzilla vs. Gigan”, “Godzilla vs. Megalon” and “Godzilla Final Wars”). He’s certainly one of the most unique looking monsters, almost like a duke in full body armor. He has a Cyclops like eye beam, a buzz saw on his chest and hooks for hands, it’s crazy but an awesome opponent to go up against Godzilla.




#9 The Cockroach (Men in Black)

Definitely the smallest monster to make the list but never the less, this bug from outer space is still one of the coolest visual effects I’ve ever seen and more than worthy for a spot on the list.



#8 King Geedorah (Godzilla series)

Another monster from the Godzilla series, this time it’s a three headed dragon from outer space that shoots lightning bolts from his jaw. Aside from being such an awesome looking creature, he’s also kind of interesting because we see him take on different forms and appearances throughout the series, that’s awesome.


#7 The Beast (The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms)

This is one of my favorite monster movies from the 50’s, it has some good acting, a nicely paced story and our leading monster (simply regarded as the best) is one of the greatest stop-motion monster effects of all time. The creature effects were done by Ray Harryhausen, the great grand father of monster movie effects. He’s done all kinds of creature effects in several other films and I can guaranty there’s going to be another Ray Harryhausen monster on this list.


#6 The Rancor (Star Wars 6: Retun of the Jedi)

My favorite creature from the Star Wars series and probably the greatest puppet monster ever seen on screen, seriously, this creature is an electronic puppet, that’s very impressive and it all goes to show how awesome you can make a creature look without the use of CG.  



#5 The Basilisk (Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets)

It’s interesting that so many people think this giant snake was an original monster from the Harry Potter, yet it’s based off of a famous mythical creature of the same name. Basically, it’s this awesome looking giant snake that has venomous fangs and can kill with a single look. That alone makes him worth to be on the list but it’s the films premise about the creature that makes him so memorable. He’s an ancient monster that has been awaken after several years and now has been set lose to wreak havoc on a school of unsuspecting students, this makes his a frightening yet thrilling addition to our this giant monster list.   


#4 The Kracan (Clash of the Titans)   

Another one of Ray Harryhausen’s monsters, this was such a spectacle from my child hood. Most people today prefer CG creatures and I can understand why but I still love classic stop-motion and this creature was brought up on a grand scale, with a fool orchestra boasting its size. It honestly doesn’t look at all like the original Kracan of Greek mythology but who cares, this was so cool to see as a kid and it’s still far more impressive then the CG Kracan seen in the 2010 “Clash of the Titans” remake.
 
#3 The T-Rex (Jurassic Park)


Dinosaurs have always been awesome but this was the dinosaur that blew everyone’s mind, it looked real, threatening and it left a huge impact on cinema.


#2 The Stay Puft Marshmallow Man (Ghostbusters)

This was always the best thing about Ghostbusters, a giant marshmallow mascot that’s now one massive behemoth of destruction. Easily the cutest giant monster ever and it changed the way I would look at mascots. Wouldn't the Pillsbury dough boy be so much cooler if he was a giant monster wrecking havoc on a city?


#1 Godzilla (Godzilla series)
Oh hell yeah, there’s no other monster in the history of cinema to rival Godzilla. From 1954 through 2004 Godzilla’s stared in 29 movies, he really is the great king of the monsters. Throughout his film series we see him as a hero, a villain, a father, a vengeful beast and all kinds of things. I first got hooked onto Godzilla as a child when I saw the 1998 American Godzilla remake, to me that will always be the classic Godzilla. But I also enjoy the original Japanese Godzilla and his countless, silly, B monster movies. Weather he’s American or Japanese, hero or villain, Godzilla will always stand as my favorite monster of all time.
Okay, you’re probably wondering why I don’t have King Kong on this list, well I like him too but there’s tones of other great monsters I wanted on this list that just didn’t make it. However, King Kong is a pretty big deal and I’ll be sure to make up for it with another post in the future.
The End  



  
  

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