The Red Baron (4½ Stars)

A few days ago I watched "Wonder Woman", in which the German army in World War One was portrayed as being made up of evil monsters. That was appropriate for the film, since the war was shown as being inspired by Ares, the God of War. "The Red Baron" shows another side. The fighter pilots were the gentlemen of the air. They shot one another's planes down, but they made no attempt to kill one another. The men were instructed, "Stop firing when your enemy is falling. We are sportsmen, not butchers". The pilots on opposite sides of the war respected one another's skills and thought of one another as friends.

This was far removed from the normal foot soldier with a rifle in his hand, where the motto was "Kill or be killed". If a German and a British pilot were shot down close to one another they would sit and chat and share a cigarette. If necessary, they would help one another if one of them was trapped in his plane. Then they would shake hands, promise to visit one another after the war, and then walk off in opposite directions. After a few days they would be sitting in their planes firing at one another again.

If the war had been decided in the air alone, Germany would have won. The German fighter pilots were the world's best. In aerial battles they were outnumbered by at least four to one, but they were always victorious. Manfred von Richthofen, nicknamed the Red Baron, was the best of the best. According to official figures he shot down 80 planes, but he claimed to have shot down more than 20 other planes, which couldn't be confirmed because they fell behind enemy lines.

Manfred was given his nickname because he painted his plane red. In France he was given the nickname "Le Diable Rouge", which I find more appropriate. The colour red was intended to strike fear into the heart of the enemy. It was also to identify himself in the German squadron, to encourage the best British pilots to engage him in battle. It was sport, not war.

The film takes place from 1917 to 1918, when the Germans were already the underdogs. The successes in the air are in stark contrast to the losses on the ground. Manfred's victories are used as propaganda to encourage the foot soldiers to fight harder, sending them to their deaths.

In the end Manfred was shot down by Roy Brown, a Canadian pilot who had volunteered to fly for the British Royal Air Force. Ironically, this was a man that Manfred had assisted after shooting him down a year earlier. Manfred used his scarf to bind Roy's wound, and Roy returned the scarf a few months later. It was all so civilised. Roy laid a wreath on Manfred's grave.

This is a spectacular film that includes dazzling air battles. It's a German film, but it was filmed in English to make it accessible to the international market. In Germany itself the film was a flop, but it was a box office success abroad. The Germans consider it to be bad taste to celebrate their war heroes. The film has also been criticised for highlighting Manfred's romance with the nurse Käte Otersdorf, because in real they were probably nothing more than friends. As a nobleman he wouldn't have embarked on a serious relationship with a commoner. This isn't a problem for me. I understand cinema. In order to make a good film it's necessary to include elements such as romance to balance out the action, so I consider it acceptable to embellish a story by adding details that might have happened.

I find it strange that the film ends without showing Manfred's final battle. After having seen his successes in the air I would have liked to see his death. Maybe it's because there's lack of clarity about what happened. Manfred was shot down during an air battle with Roy Brown, and Roy was officially given the credit, but it's possible that the killing shot was fired by someone on the ground. That's very probable. Roy would have tried to avoid killing Manfred by aiming at the plane, not the man.

Manfred von Richthofen
2 May 1892 – 21 April 1918

	Order from Amazon.com
	Order from Amazon.co.uk
	Order from Amazon.de

Coco Austin Lingerie Promotion Day 5

I forgot to mention until now that all the promotional photos that I use are taken directly from Amazon's web site. I've had to make them slightly smaller to fit my blog, but if you click on any photo you'll see the full size original image from Amazon.

I haven't included the prices in my descriptions because if I write today's prices the garments might be more or less expensive 12 months from now. For pricing visit Amazon's web site using the links supplied. All that I'll say is that the prices for such high quality lingerie are very reasonable.

String Me Along Bodysuit

If you thought the previous bodysuits are too daring, this is a way for you to look sexy while covering more flesh.

Coco Austin in white bodysuit.

Don't forget that June 11th, 2017 is Amazon Prime Day, on which Amazon Prime members are offered deals cheaper than Black Friday. You can sign up for a free trial membership now to take advantage of these deals. Click here for further details.

Curse of Chucky (3½ Stars)

"Life's a bitch, and then you die, bleeding like a stuck pig".

We all thought that the Child's Play franchise was over. Then, after a gap of nine years, a sixth film was made. The studios weren't so sure it would be a success, so it was released direct-to-video. In America, at least. It was shown in English cinemas, where it was only moderately successful.

At first the film seems to be unconnected to the first five parts, although towards the end connections are made. The Chucky doll is mailed to a woman who lives with her wheelchair-bound daughter in a remote house in the middle of the woods. The doll awakes and kills the woman. After the funeral relatives come to stay at the house for a few days, and Chucky attempts to kill them all.

Critics have praised this film as being the best in the series. I don't understand why. The cinematography is beautiful, probably better than that in the previous films, but that isn't enough to make a good film. The suspense, especially in the first half of the film, is too slow. It takes too long for anything to happen. The multiple close-ups and unusual camera angles might have worked for Alfred Hitchcock, but they're out of place in "Curse of Chucky".

I almost gave the film an even three stars, but the surprises in the last 15 minutes earned it an extra half star. I squealed with pleasure when Jennifer Tilly appeared with a knife in her hand. I didn't expect to see her.

Yet another sequel is planned, "Cult of Chucky", due to be released later this year, also direct-to-video. I hope it will be better.

	Order from Amazon.com
	Order from Amazon.co.uk
	Order from Amazon.de

Coco Austin Lingerie Promotion Day 4

Let's Mesh Around Bodysuit

Unlike the previous bodysuits, this mesh bodysuit isn't crotchless, but the thong cut will send temperatures rising. No undergarments are required.

The bodysuit is available in black or red.

Coco Austin in black mesh bodysuit.

Coco Austin in red mesh bodysuit.

Don't forget that June 11th, 2017 is Amazon Prime Day, on which Amazon Prime members are offered deals cheaper than Black Friday. You can sign up for a free trial membership now to take advantage of these deals. Click here for further details.

Wonder Woman (5 Stars)

First and foremost, I'm a fan of Marvel comics. As a child I bought comics by both DC and Marvel -- or rather, they were bought for me by my parents -- but as I grew older I realised that Marvel comics were better founded. DC comic book titles were all standalones, i.e. every DC hero lived in his own world and never communicated with any of the other DC heroes. Usually they were fictional cities, like Metropolis, Gotham City, Central City and Coast City. Marvel comic books were set in New York, a real city that the readers could relate to, and because the different heroes lived in the same city they occasionally met one another. The key word was continuity. Apart from that, Marvel's biggest asset was Stan Lee. He single-handedly created the Marvel universe, writing most of the comics himself. Even when he gave up writing individual comic books he was still in the background as a guiding influence to maintain his writing style and the continuity he had created.

By the mid-1970's I was buying most of the Marvel comic books every month. I had a remarkable collection. There was only one DC comic that I bought every month: Wonder Woman.

The reason for this was simple. Marvel had no comics about a powerful woman. There were super-powered women as members of groups, such as the Invisible Girl in the Fantastic Four and the Scarlet Witch in the Avengers, but none had their own comics. The first was Ms. Marvel, but that wasn't until 1977. Wonder Woman had had her own comic since 1942. That was feminism way ahead of its time.

When Wonder Woman first appeared her stories were set in the Second World War. That's what was happening in 1942. She came from a mythical island called Paradise Island, but her costume bore an uncanny resemblance to the American flag. Without being American she was an all-American hero. Paradise Island was the home to the Amazons, a race of female warriors, and Wonder Woman was the daughter of Queen Hippolyta. There were no men, because women were formed out of clay. I suppose that motherhood is determined by who did the clay modelling.

Wonder Woman, whose birth name was Diana, decided to leave the island after falling in love with Steve Trevor, an American fighter pilot who crash landed on her island. This caused her to enter the Second World War on the American side. We can be glad  that it wasn't a charming German pilot who crashed on her island.

The film changes the story in two significant respects. First of all, the film takes place in 1918, near the end of the First World War, known at the time as the Great War. Secondly, Steve Trevor is an English pilot who has been spying on German inventions. I don't know what the reason is for these changes, they seem rather random, but the resulting story is very good. The battlefields of WW1 are said to have been more horrific than the battlefields of WW2, and the film's scenes in wartime Belgium are horrifically realistic.

This is one of the best films I've seen this year. Despite the changes I've mentioned, it's faithful to the spirit of the comic books, unlike the television series of the late 1970's. It keeps a balance between mythology, super-hero action and period drama. Gal Gadot plays her part so perfectly, she's more Wonder Woman than Wonder Woman. I just hope that the next film will be set in the present day and bring her costume up to date.

Godzilla: Final Wars (3 Stars)

This was an important film for Toho Studios. 2004 was the 50th anniversary of the first Godzilla film. "Godzilla: Final Wars" was intended to be the last Godzilla film, and also a celebration of everything that made Godzilla great. The film had to be something big, something to be remembered. It had to offer something spectacular. It failed.

It's an uneven film. It has occasional flashes of brilliance, in particular the Ed Wood inspired dialogue, but most of it is pompously dull. Instead of making the ultimate film about Godzilla it added so much that in the end it wasn't a film about Godzilla at all. If you doubt what I say, consider this: we see Godzilla at the beginning of the film, but then he isn't shown at all for 67 minutes. During the title sequence we see multiple clips of Godzilla films from the last 50 years. Then there's a brief battle at the South Pole, in which Godzilla is defeated by trapping him under the ice. That's less than two minutes into the film. So what happens for the next 67 minutes?

The film takes place some time in the near future, probably the middle of the 21st Century. There have been frequent attacks from giant monsters, so a special unit has been created, the Earth Defence Force. It's an international organisation, but Japan is in control. It's made up of genetically engineered soldiers, referred to as mutants. For a few years they succeed. Then there's a sudden outbreak of simultaneous attacks by giant monsters throughout the world. This is an unashamed "best of Godzilla" sequence. In quick succession we see all the monsters that have appeared in the previous Godzilla films. I can imagine the Godzilla fanboys gasping with pleasure as they saw one familiar face after another from the previous 27 films, but each monster was shown so briefly that it was little more than a series of cameos.

Then help comes. Or does it? An alien race arrives and captures all of the giant monsters. The aliens introduce themselves with one of the greatest lines of film dialogue ever spoken:

"We come from a distant planet whose name Earth inhabitants can't pronounce, so just call us the People from Planet X".

Brilliant! In the rest of the film they're called the X-Aliens. They claim to come in peace, but we soon discover that they intend to use the human race as food. When the Earth doesn't voluntarily submit they release all the giant monsters at once. The only possibility to defend the world is to release Godzilla from beneath the ice. This happens at the 69 minute mark.

It's good to finally see Godzilla in action, but it's too little too late. There are so many monsters for him to battle. He needs barely 30 seconds for each of them. If he had good battles the film would have lasted six hours.

Maybe Godzilla fans can name all the monsters. I have no idea who this one is.

This looks like Baragon, but the last time I saw him he wasn't so hairy.

This is Minilla, the Son of Godzilla.

And these are my favourite fairy princesses, played by the same actresses, Chihiro Ohtsuka and Masami Nagasawa. Why do they have a different hair style? It doesn't suit them.

The film has scenes that pay homage to "Star Wars" and "The Matrix", and I even suspect that some scenes are intended to reference the Thunderbirds TV series. All this was unwanted and unnecessary. The film has too much science fiction and not enough Godzilla.

What many comic fans might not know is that Marvel published a Godzilla comic for two years, from 1977 to 1979, in which Godzilla battled various characters in the Marvel universe. What must surprise comic fans even more is that these comics were very good, mainly due to the creative team of Doug Moench (writer) and Herb Trimpe (artist). Over a series of 24 comics SHIELD, led by Dum Dum Dougan, attempted to capture Godzilla. They received occasional assistance from heroes like the Avengers and the Fantastic Four, but Godzilla was always victorious.

After 24 comics Godzilla disappeared from the Marvel universe, because Toho Studios withdrew Marvel's rights to the character and granted them to Dark Horse comics. I don't know what led Toho to this decision, but one thing is certain: Dark Horse never achieved a similar high quality.

	Order from Amazon.com
	Order from Amazon.de

Coco Austin Lingerie Promotion Day 3

Fenced in Fencenet Bodystocking

If you thought yesterday's bodysuit was daring, just look at this one. If you wear it while you're on your balcony your neighbour will fall out of the window while trying to get a closer peek. For best results wear it without a thong.

This bodysuit is available in red or black.

Coco Austin in red bodysuit.

Coco Austin in red bodysuit.

Don't forget that June 11th, 2017 is Amazon Prime Day, on which Amazon Prime members are offered deals cheaper than Black Friday. You can sign up for a free trial membership now to take advantage of these deals. Click here for further details.

Monsieur Pierre geht online (4 Stars)

We can sympathise with 79-year-old Pierre. He was happily married for 50 years, but two years ago his wife died. Since then he hasn't left his apartment in Paris. His daughter Sylvie does the shopping for him, and she cleans his apartment. She wants him to go out, if only to take a walk in the park, but he doesn't care. He says he just wants to stay at home and wait to die.

Sylvie decides that if she can't persuade her father to go out into the world she should bring the world to him. She buys him a laptop, and she asks her daughter's new boyfriend Alex to teach him how to use the Internet. Pierre discovers an Internet dating site. He doesn't want to reveal his real age, so he uses Alex's photo for his profile.

Pierre begins to get romantically involved with Fanny, a 31-year-old woman from Brussels. They arrange to meet, but Pierre asks Alex to go in his place. Despite already having a girlfriend Alex falls in love with Fanny, and they even sleep with one another. When they're apart Pierre continues with the online romance. How long can Fanny continue the romance with the two men without realising they're not the same person?

This is a delightful French comedy. It has a perfect balance between humour and romance. It's a simple story, but I believe it's a unique idea. I don't think anyone else has conceived this type of threesome before.

The original French title of the film is "Un profil pour deux" ("One profile for two people"), whereas the German title is "Monsieur Pierre goes online".. It's not yet available in English, so it's possible that when it's finally released the English title will be very different.

Godzilla: Tokyo SOS (4 Stars)

After the chaos of the last four films, the Godzilla franchise is finally heading in the right direction. "Godzilla: Tokyo SOS" is a sequel to "Godzilla against Mechagodzilla", which was made a year earlier in 2002. Many of the characters return from the last film, including Akane Yashiro, although she unfortunately only plays a minor role. Mechagodzilla now has a new male operator, Kyosuke Akiba. Could it be that having a female lead character was too much for a patriarchal country like Japan? The main character in this film is the man responsible for repairing Mechagodzilla, Yoshito Chujo.

The film begins in 2004, a year after the events of the last film. Godzilla has disappeared beneath the sea, while Mechagodzilla (whose official name is still Kiryu) is badly damaged. The young mechanic Yoshito is responsible for repairing Mechagodzilla. In the real world he would be leading a team of mechanics, but in "Tokyo SOS" he seems to be doing everything himself, from planning to rewriting software to tightening the nuts and bolts. Yoshito is the son of Dr. Shinichi Chujo, the retired scientist who discovered Mothra in 1961. Multiple references are made to the 1961 film "Mothra", and Dr. Chujo is played by the same actor.

One evening Dr. Chujo hears beautiful singing when he's sitting at home. He finds two pretty little girls on his table, about six inches tall. Wow! I'm never that lucky. After his initial surprise he recognises them as the fairy priestesses of Mothra that he last met 43 years ago. They haven't changed at all with the course of time. The only difference is that they're played by new actresses who weren't born when "Mothra" was filmed, Chihiro Ohtsuka (16) and Masami Nagasawa (15). They bring a message from Mothra. It was a mistake to take the skeleton of the original Godzilla from the bottom of the sea to create Mechagodzilla as a weapon. If the bones aren't returned as quickly as possible Mothra will attack Japan to take revenge. I told everyone in my last review that the bones shouldn't have been touched! Why does nobody ever listen to me? Dr. Chujo says that Japan needs Mechagodzilla, but the priestesses say that after Mechagodzilla's bones are returned to the sea Mothra herself will defend Japan against Godzilla. Dr. Chujo says that he can't influence government policy, but if Mothra successfully battles Godzilla Mechagodzilla will certainly be decommissioned afterwards.

Will Godzilla come back to Japan? Yes. And can you guess why? No, it wasn't just so he could have fun trampling on Japanese buildings. That's just a bit of extra fun for him. Mechagodzilla is now almost operational, so Godzilla can sense his presence as his skeleton grows stronger, and he heads towards the new factory in Tokyo. I keep telling people that it was a mistake to use Mechagodzilla's skeleton, I'm tired of repeating myself. Everyone is evacuated from the area, but Dr. Chujo's grandson (Yoshito's nephew) remains in his school. In the school playground he sets up the school desks and chairs in the pattern of Mothra's sacred symbol.

This attracts Mothra from whatever island she was hiding on. Soon she's flying over the school, and Dr. Chujo points her in Godzilla's direction. Not that it's really necessary to tell her where Godzilla is. All she has to do is follow the trail of trampled houses.

There's a big battle between Mothra and Godzilla, but unfortunately Mothra isn't strong enough. The only solution is to activate Mechagodzilla. Yoshito says that he still needs a few weeks, but there's no time. Mechagodzilla's strongest weapon, the cold ray gun, isn't yet operational, so he can only use the missiles, rockets and tasers that were ineffective in last year's battle. Am I missing something?

That's not a friendly hug between old sparring buddies, it's a fight to the death. It's a fight that Mechagodzilla has no chance of winning. Luckily there's a cavalry. Aided by singing from the princesses, two of Mothra's larvae hatch. They swim to Tokyo while the battle is still raging. It's lucky that Japan has secret, undiscovered islands only a few minutes away from Tokyo.

The larvae fire silk threads at Godzilla which trap him in a cocoon. Is this the end? Not quite. Did I mention that Mechagodzilla contains the skeleton of the original Godzilla inside his outer shell? This means that Mechagodzilla still has Godzilla's soul. The soul lives in the skeleton, we all know that. When Mechagodzilla sees Godzilla lying helpless he realises that they're brothers. He breaks free of the operator's control and rescues him.

"Godzilla: Tokyo SOS" isn't a deep, meaningful film. It's not a film that will make you cry or ponder the meaning of life. That's not why anyone would watch it. If you want to watch a film with giant monsters slugging it out in the middle of a Japanese city you won't be disappointed.

You'll also enjoy the film if you have a tiny fairy priestess fetish. The two girls are what made the film enjoyable to me. Tonight I'll go to bed wishing that I could have two tiny girls to carry around in my pocket.

	Order from Amazon.com
	Order from Amazon.de

Coco Austin Lingerie Promotion Day 2

Controlled Chaos Bodystocking

A crotchless bodystocking which can be worn with or without a thong. You can decide how much chaos you want.

Coco Austin in bodystocking.

Don't forget that June 11th, 2017 is Amazon Prime Day, on which Amazon Prime members are offered deals cheaper than Black Friday. You can sign up for a free trial membership now to take advantage of these deals. Click here for further details.

Godzilla against Mechagodzilla (4 Stars)

This film was made in 2002, the fourth Godzilla film in four years, but as far as continuity goes it has nothing to do with the previous three films. In fact, none of the four films share anything, except that they all refer to 1954 as the year that Godzilla first appeared. This is an unusual way to make a film series. Each film is a re-imagining of Godzilla from the ground up.

On a positive note, this is the first Godzilla film to feature a powerful female lead character. The official film poster shows Akane Yashiro, played by Yumiko Shaku. Yumiko began her career as a photo model before turning to acting. This was only her second film, after "Princess Blade" a year earlier. I like the way she's put in the foreground of the poster, as if she's as big as the two monsters. Akane Yashiro is the only woman in an anti-Godzilla squadron, but her commander chooses her as the leader. At first she's not accepted by the other soldiers, who accuse of her of being chosen over them because the commander likes her as a woman, but by the end of the film they all stand behind her when she proves to them that she's the best.

Now to the background of the Godzillaverse Version 4. In 1954 Godzilla attacked Tokyo, but he was killed by the oxygen destroyer gun, a prototype which was destroyed after being used because the creator thought it too deadly to exist. That all happened in the first film. After that Godzilla wasn't seen for 45 years, which means that the last 24 Godzilla films never happened. In 1999 Godzilla, or rather a new Godzilla, came back and attacked Tokyo. There was no particular reason, except that he enjoys trampling on Japanese buildings. Godzilla returned to the sea after having his fun, and the Japanese government knew that they had no weapons capable of harming Godzilla if he ever returned.

A university professor, Tokumitsu Yuhara, has discovered a way of reviving extinct creatures. He can build a metal robotic shell around their skeletons and animate them with a mixture of artificial intelligence and remote control. The army anti-Godzilla task force hires him. They have retrieved the skeleton of the original Godzilla from the sea bed and want the professor to build them a new mechanical Godzilla. I'm not sure why. If the army wanted a Godzilla robot they could build one. Why do they need a skeleton? Nevertheless, by 2003 the giant robot is built, and it's operated by Akane. It's called Kiryu, a Japanese word that means "machine dragon", but the professor's daughter calls it Mechagodzilla.

Look how polite Mechagodzilla is. He bows like everyone else in Japan!

Mechagodzilla isn't just a giant robot. He's equipped with a variety of weapons, including rockets, missiles and taser rays. I don't understand the logic in this. These are exactly the same weapons that were ineffective against Godzilla in 1999. Mechagodzilla does have one new weapon in his arsenal. It's a cold ray that can reduce the temperature of anything it hits to absolute zero.

There are two problems that neither the army nor the professor reckoned with. First, Godzilla is attracted to the factory in Yokohama where Mechagodzilla is built. Second, when Godzilla screams the personality of Mechagodzilla, still present in his skeleton, is reminded who he is. He no longer lets himself be controlled, and he reverts to his Godzilla personality. He sees Japanese buildings all around him and he can't control his urges. "Must... trample...". Trampling isn't enough, so he fires his weapons in all directions to create as much devastation as possible. I told you it was a bad idea to use Godzilla's skeleton!

I enjoy this film. So much about it is ridiculous, but the Godzilla films were never meant to be taken seriously.

A small note about the availability of the Godzilla films. In Japan they've been released on Blu-ray, but in America they've only been released on DVD. In Germany they've been released on Blu-ray, because Germany is always at the forefront of film technology. In England the Godzilla films haven't been released at all, but they can be imported from America or Germany.

	Order from Amazon.com
	Order from Amazon.de

Coco Austin Lingerie Promotion Day 1

This is the first day of my promotional month for the lingerie created by Coco Austin under the brand name Cocolicious. She also models the lingerie herself. All the items can be bought at Amazon.com. For each item I have included a few photos to show what the garments are like, but please visit the Amazon web page for more details.

Less is More Micro G-String

So many brand name designerwear articles come with inflated prices that are only justified by the name behind them. That's not what you find at Cocolicious. At a price well under $10 this thong won't stretch your budget.

My only complaint is the name. As a fashion designer, Coco should know the difference between thongs and g-strings. A thong is thin at the back, whereas a g-string is thin at the front.

Coco Austin in black thong.

Coco Austin in black thong.