Posts Tagged ‘Japanese’

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PlayStation 3 Review: Hyperdimension Neptunia Victory

Article first published as PlayStation 3 Review: Hyperdimension Neptunia Victory on Blogcritics.

Last year, I was unceremoniously greeted with the unhappy news that an old acquaintance of mine by the name of Chris had passed away in his apartment — where he slowly decomposed for about a week before someone noticed they hadn’t seen him. Due to his highly autistic behavior and noticeable lack of social skills (to say nothing of his personal hygiene), he wasn’t considered to be a very popular fellow amongst his peers. He and I, however, were able to communicate when I was younger because of our shared interests such as the British sci-fi comedy program, Red Dwarf, and the occasional anime title. (more…)

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Catching Up At The Video Store: “And…ACTION!” (or not)

Article first published as “And…ACTION!” (or not) on Blogcritics.

It’s the quintessential moneymaker that has kept various aspects of the filmmaking industry alive since the first time Sean Connery picked up a Walther PPK and made a funny. Whether they’re heavy on people talking while the cameraman gets all kinds of Alfred Hitchcock-ian-like, or they attempt to seize their audience with multiple pursuits over land, sea and air, and lots of things that go “bang,” the action film has always been one of the few genres that nearly every video store in the world can rely on as being worth having a whole section devoted to it (unlike, say, documentaries and musicals — which usually get grouped into some sort of “Special Interest” category)
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IFC MIDNIGHT ANNOUNCES THE NEW RELEASE FROM DIRECTOR SHINYA TSUKAMOTO’S ACCLAIMED TETSUO TRILOGY: TETSUO III: THE BULLET MAN, THE THIRD INSTALLMENT IN THE SERIES AND THE FIRST NEW TETSUO FILM IN NEARLY 20 YEARS.

TETSUO III: THE BULLET MAN will be available on demand on January 19th and in select theaters January 21st.


Synopsis: The third installment in the series, TETSUO III: THE BULLET MAN, and Tsukamoto’s first English-language film, stars Eric Bossick as Anthony, a young man who was born and raised in Tokyo and is now raising a family there.  What should be a happy time in Anthony’s life is not: his wife is crippled by anxiety and unable to leave the house. She also has recurring nightmares about a horrible fate awaiting the pair’s young son, Tom. (more…)

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DVD Review: The Green Slime

Article first published as DVD Review: The Green Slime on Blogcritics.

The world of ‘60s Japanese sci-fi movies is indeed an entertaining one. Many of us used to stay up late at night in order to stare at the television screen in awe over the surreal sights and sounds of the very best (and worst) that studios like Toho and Toei had to offer. Hell, some of us still stay up late when watching Japanese sci-fi movies in order to recapture that dreamlike feeling we once held on account of not getting an adequate amount of rest. There’s just something about grown men in rubber suits stomping Tonka trucks into oblivion, wobbly spaceships on wires, and poorly dubbed dialogue bearing the ability to level an entire city block that goes hand-in-sweaty-hand with sleep deprivation.
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Blu-ray Review: Shogun Assassin: 30th Anniversary Collector’s Edition

Article first published as Blu-ray Review: Shogun Assassin: 30th Anniversary Collector’s Edition on Blogcritics.

Normally, there are two things that a distributor can do to a cult foreign film that will ignite the fires of discontent within my soul: unnecessary editing and dubbing. But while I’m a little more lenient with the latter form of alteration (some movies simply have a greater cult appeal to me when they are dubbed, such as Godard’s Alphaville and just about anything that K. Gordon Murray imported from Mexico), it’s the often questionable choice of poorly-executed cinematic evisceration that really frosts my pompadour.
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VIZ MEDIA BRINGS THE ANIMATED SHOJO TITLE – HONEY AND CLOVER – TO FANS IN A SPECIAL UNCUT DVD BOX SET

San Francisco, CA, September 17, 2009 – VIZ Media, LLC (VIZ Media), one of the entertainment industry’s most innovative and comprehensive publishing, animation and licensing companies, will release the first Uncut DVD Box Set for the animated Shojo title, HONEY AND CLOVER, on September 22, 2009. The 3-disc set featuring 13 episodes will be rated ‘T+’ for Older Teens and will carry an MSRP of $59.90 U.S. / $85.99 CAN.

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Chills and Kills from around the world: Palisades Tartan’s TERROR PACK in Stores October 13th

LOS ANGELES — July,16, 2009 — For Immediate Release —Featuring some of the most twisted and perverse horror films from France, Denmark and Japan, Palisades Tartan’s TERROR PACK contains a brutal collection of spine-chilling thrillers from around the world. This 3-disc box set will be haunting DVD shelf space October 13th just in time for Halloween.

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Good news, fans of big Japanese guys in monster suits: Classic Media will be releasing both the original Rodan as well as the über-cult favorite War Of The Gargantuas in a 2-disc set on Sept. 9th! Both titles are to include the English-language versions we all grew up with as well as the original Japanese versions!

Here’s a look at the new artwork and the link to purchase it from Amazon.com (do it, damn you).

Buy Now: Rodan/War of the Gargantuas

Usually, October is that one month out of the year in which sci/fi and horror fans are happy. I’m pleased to announce BCI’s slate for this October is going to kick some ass!

First off, there’s the Japanese fantasy flick Kitaro, available on both DVD and Blu-ray (28 October). OK, that one doesn’t interest me that much, but what about “Ultraman” The Complete Series Box Set (14 October) – can you say “Fucking sweet!”? Yeah, I thought so.

Drive-In Cult Classics, Vol. 3 also rears its head this October, and the 4-Disc set will include The Babysitter, Weekend With The Babysitter, the underground gay biker film The Pink Angels (making its DVD debut), Blood Mania, Van Nuys Blvd., The Pom Pom Girls, Malibu Beach, and the final film of sexpot Jayne Mansfield, Single Room Finished (14 October).

Another Exploitation Double Feature will feature Mausoleum with former televangelist Marjoe Gortner (?) and Blood Song (14 October).

Aside from the aforementioned “Ultraman” set, vintage live-action TV fans will enjoy taking a look at the Filmation Sci-Fi Box Set featuring the complete series of “Jason Of Star Command”, “Space Academy” and “Ark II” (28 October), while old-school animation buffs will probably want to pick up Frightfully Funny Collection, Vol. 2 with select episodes from the slightly forgotten animated shows “Fraidy Cat”, “Ghostbusters”, and “Groovie Ghoulies” (21 October).

If you missed out on some the recent Spanish Horror releases under BCI’s Deimos banner, have no fear: the Paul Naschy Collection (21 October) will include Exorcism, Blue Eyes Of The Broken Doll, Human Beasts, Horror Rises From The Tomb, and Vengeance Of The Zombies (rotten ba-ba-baa music included).

Quite possibly the biggest hits of the month will be William Grefe’s Stanley: Two-Disc Special Edition (21 October) featuring audio commentaries, documentaries, a making-of featurette, a still gallery, trailers and more.

The Code Red label will bring us cult fave Sweet Sixteen: Director’s Cut (14 October) and the 80s sexploitation comedy Hot Moves (21 October).

A second Exploitation Double Feature including Galaxina and Star Crash has been pulled off of the release calendar indefinitely (for one reason or another – a pity, too, as I was looking forward to it). Guess you’ll have to hold on to that 2-Disc French import of Star Crash after all.