This Week's Viewing (Aug 15 - Aug 21)

This Week's Viewing (Aug 15 - Aug 21)

Hey gang, checking in with another week of what the hell I'm watching. This week, I mixed things up a bit more, ventured to a touching documentary, consumed more Japanese programing and watched some extras...so lets get to the list!


First, last weekend was filled with a variety of movies...while other films stood out for various reasons, this one absolutely added a lump in my throat and a tear to my eye. As a kid, like most, I loved Sesame Street. I grew up in the 70's and for me, with limited programing on television, Sesame Street gave me a glimpse of community, taught me a few things and showed me about the diversity of friends you'll make in life. Sadly, I never made a friend like Oscar the grouch or Big Bird but I truly loved this show, so when I had heard about I Am Big Bird, the Caroll Spinney, it was an opportunity to revisit an old friend.


This is a very straight forward documentary, highlighting his career and working relationships. Like a lot of entertainers, this also shows how hard it was for the, now 81 year old, to be on the road without his family. Very touching, heartfelt and completely glad I took the time to watch this film. I know I tend to be more horror based, but let's get it straight, I'm a Sesame Street kid. Highly recommended and worth the time.

I'm sure I've talked about it before but The Office, the American series, is my top favorite show of all time. Yes, Roseanne and Seinfeld are close but nothing compares to Steve Carell and company. It's clever, fun and has multi levels of comedy, plus some real heart. Anyways, for the past year and a half, it's safe to say that The Office, streaming on Netflix even though I own the entire series, has been on each and every night more that 98% of the time. This past week, I found myself watching seasons 1-5 again. I can't tell you how many times I've watched this series....if you ask Kim, entirely too many. The humor is exactly what I love and the writing teams are extremely solid. So, on most nights, I am laying in bed hoping to drift off to slumberland while watching Michael Scott and his adventures. My favorite episode is probably "The Dinner Party" in case you were wondering.

Last weekend, Kim and I also started to revisit the Gamera trilogy, with Gamera Guardian of the Universe and Gamera 2, Advent to Legion. We had watched Gamera 3 prior but I must confess, the Gamera suit in Gamera 3 might be my favorite kaiju suit at the moment. He's a complete bad ass.

Other stuff watched:

Tetsuo The Iron Man

Atlantic Rim (Hulu) - an Asylum rip off of Pacific Rim, but honestly not too bad. These SyFy movies are hit or miss, this wasn't bad.

Tetsuo The Iron Man - if you've never seen this...do it.

Masked Rider 555 movie

Black Rat - Japanese high school revenge flick

Meatball Machine - Crazy, gory and a real beaut

Machine GirlLite - Last week I purchased the Machine Girl, 3 disc Steelbook edition dvd set and this week I watched the other two discs. Machine Girlite was a short equal of sorts, also know as Shyness Machine Girl, that was completely crazy. The "making of" feature was also educational, at least for me and I love seeing how people get things to work. Highly recommended.

Ultraman Saga movie - not great but still had some fun with it.

Favorite film of the week:

Two fkn bosses!

Ultraman Ginga Theater Special

So much fun..not just the movie but the entire disc. Released in 2013, I grabbed this a few weeks ago at Monster-Mania and absolutely loved it. Sure, one could say that the Ultraman series has definitely shifted into the Star Wars mode where its all based around toys but I almost didn't care. I had so much fun watching this one. Not only was Ginga awesome, but Jean-Nine was great! Awesome design!!


The disc also had Mega-Monster Rush: Ultra Frontier Dino-Tank Hunting and a behind the scenes feature that was hosted by the toys...it was a blast. I will probably rewatch this again soon. AA+++ for me folks.


Well, there you have it, thats what bI watched this week. Hope you guys are able to watch a few of these and enjoy just being a fan of film...after all, thats what its all about. Enjoy the weekend!!

Current Influence - Noboru Iguchi & Japanese Splatter

Current Influence - Noboru Iguchi and Japanese Splatter

Still from Tokyo Gore Police

If we are friends online or you follow any of the social media outlets I post, you know, currently I am watching A LOT of Japanese Splatter films. It was an obsession years ago, but recently stuck a chord with me again. Why? No idea, but I am so glad it did. Sure, this is a pretty niche sub-genre but it's over the top special effects, insane use of weapons and buckets and buckets of blood make me so happy to sit and watch them.

Iguchi-San sporting his House shirt

There are plenty of directors behind these films, but for me, I'm somewhat enamored by the genius writer/director of some of what I've fallen in love with, Noboru Iguchi. He's wacky, weird and quite honestly, wonderful. He uses the 3 "B" formula for success - Blood, Broads and Beasts. I must be upfront and say this, his movies aren't for everyone. They lack in "real world" type of actions, but I feel so strongly in this style of filmmaking, it's almost obsession.


I know, you're like who?? Maybe you've seen ABC's of Death and watched F is for Fart. Yep, that's my guy. His films tend to contain Japanese school girls, bullying, sometimes Yakuza and just my kind of zaniness. I can't recommend watching these enough, and going in with an open mind. Let's also remember, I'm currently writing a new script for our project "SQUARE" that I pitched to Matt 2 weeks ago and all he could say was "wow...thats crazy." You're damn skippy its crazy.


Let's name some films that you should see:

Still from Gothic Lolita Battle Bear

First and foremost, I think my favorite out of all I've seen thus far is Tokyo Gore Police. The score, the style, the gore, it has me completely captivated. I LOVE this film. Next is RoboGeisha, as anytime a girl/robot turns into a tank and attacks a walking mountain...well, sign me up. The Machine Girl is also a really great adventure. I grabbed the 3 disc steelbook version, which has making of and plenty of extras including the spin off short film - Machine Girlite (Shyness Machine Girl). Now, as wacky as The Machine Girl is, the short film is even more insane. Imagine, you get embarrassed and a machine gun pops out of your ass? Yep.

Iguchi-san and Zaborgar

I never hide my love for Tokusatsu (think a show like Power Rangers, Kamen Rider, Ultraman or maybe even Inframan). I can never get enough of the series that mix Sentai and Tokusatsu and this is where my love really takes off for Iguchi. He created Karate-Robo Zaborgar and is it ok to think, this was just for me? Haha, I can't help it. It has action and just a great mix of why I love tokusastu films and series. If you watched Kikaida or Kamen Rider, this is a must see for you.


Also, make sure you check out Mutant Girls Squad, as this also was a lot of fun. Swords for boobs, a chainsaw out of your rear? Yeah, these are my kind of ladies. Plus, make sure you look for Dead Sushi. This one I actually haven't seen yet. My Netflix rental queue is jam packed with all kinds of gory goodness (currently I have Tokyo Zombie and Meatball Madness) but trust me, it's coming. Other films to look for Zombie Ass - Toilet of the Dead which used to be streaming on Netflix, but now its down. I'm really just offering titles that are more well known, but google his work, watch and enjoy.


The film I'm most anxious to see has yet to be seen by many titled Nuigulumar Z (Gothic Lolita Battle Bear) which quite frankly looks to be a mix of Ted and Power Rangers. Below I've attached the trailer. Thank you to Iguchi-san for being a writer and director and having imagination that is pure heaven for some of us. You are a blessing to us (at least some of us.)

This Weeks Viewing (July 30 - Aug 7, 2015)

This Weeks Viewing (July 30 - Aug 7, 2015)

As of late, I've dove back into some wacky Asian cinema, especially the over the top, crazy, gory stuff that was out a few years ago. My taste and viewing habits are always changing and I never seem to be cookie cutter, by any means. I usually try a bit of everything and this week, well, this was no different.


I few days before Monster-Mania I dug around my collection and rediscovered the film that seemed to start the trend of the Asian splatter gore with high levels of unbelievability  (at least for me) - The Machine Girl. I remember buying The Machine Girl and instantly needing to see more. This stemmed an entire landslide of watching the bizarre and it was like we were off to the races. BTW...Tokyo Gore Police is  just so much fun. Yes, I know films like Ichi The Killer have been around longer, but this restarted my love for these film types.

* Please note, this is not a review of any of these films. I want to create awareness that other things exist than the stuff in theaters. 

While everyone else is out running to go see Fantastic Four, I seem to be more happy watching crazy Japanese movies that evil scientists are trying to rule the world. Keep in mind, this is the craziness that I'm watching as I write our new script.

Ok, so here's the list:

The Machine Girl

Robo Geisha

Karate-Robo Zaborgar

Mutant Girls Squad

Zebraman

Tokyo Gore Police

Death Kappa

Plus, I watched, what might be one of my favorite films in a Sentai series (think Power Rangers, but better) Heisei Rider vs Showa Rider - Kamen Rider Wars. I actually can't wait to rewatch this one. So much craziness, so many fights and just great action. If you can find it, then check it out.

Also upon returning from Monster-Mania, I've been watching the Battle of there Planets series at night. The original series was Gatchaman, but this was the US version of that series that was voiced by Casey Kasem plus they added some elements to relate to Star Wars. I can remember watching this on TBS as a kid, whenever I could find it on. I absolutely love this series and I'm so ecstatic to relive my childhood as I devulge back in time to watch G-Force.

As for this week? Who knows yet. I know I have the live action Death Note sitting here as well as hoping to revisit Suicide Club plus the Ju-On series. Anyways...enjoy the films and step outside the box.