Our DVD Hauls of the Week! Aug 23rd

Our DVD Hauls of the Week! Aug 23rd

Hey gang, another week here at the Dimension compound and this week, we did some shopping for DVD's, Blurays and an exciting Manga. We were supposed to do a video blog, but to be honest, the weather was absolutely fantastic outside so Kim and I spent most of it hiking and walking, just enjoying it. I'm still not tan...but anyways...lets look at this week's list:

First, Kim and I have been talking lately about the old Hanna-Barbera Godzilla Cartoon with Godzooky, so for less than $5 for the first volume, it seemed like an easy decision to try this series again. Now, Volume 2 is just $8, so I would expect that this coming week, because between you and me, it's already in my Amazon cart.


I can't remember a lot of about the series, besides it's goofy and aimed at a seven year old me. Hanna Barbera never let's me down, so I'm excited. Here's some trivia, did you know Godzooky is actually Godzilla's nephew? See that, I actually passed along something valuable you can use around the water cooler to trump those talking worldly issues. So, it the more you know.

Next, we decided to start replacing some of our old, and to be honest, less than stellar copies of the Gamera Volumes 1 & 2 and the original Gojira. A lot of the versions we own are the bargain bin, multiple movies on a single dvd. Again, these were each less than $10 for the bluray's so these certainly don't break the bank. This week we really didn't spend much for as much as we got back in return.


Since I've been on a massive Gamera viewing tear lately, grabbing the originals, broken into two volumes weighed heavily on my mind. I can't help but want to start watching more of everyones favorite Turtle immediately.

Ok, besides those pesky Ninja Turtles.


The copy of Gojira I had was also very outdated. The new bluray transfer with all the bells and whistles for less than $10 again was a tremendous offer. This disc is loaded with features I want to check out including commentary, making of the suit and some story development details. Can't wait to sink my monster teeth into this one.

Nakajima-san at Monster-Mania

Up next, Varan the Unbelievable. Ok, lets clear up some confusion about this title. This was the last black and white film Toho filmed, originally titled Giant Monster Varan. There are two different cuts of this Kaiju film floating around. The US version is heavily edited, clocking in at just 70 minutes, while the Japanese version is 87 uncut minutes. What makes me love this film even more? Haruo Nakajima of course. The original Godzilla!!

Years ago I had a copy of the Japanese cut but wanted to check out the American version and again, just $9.99. Certainly, not gonna break the bank and I've been on a kaiju watching and buying frenzy, as of late.

Rounding out this week's haul were two titles to add to the Japanese splatter gore section: Samurai Princess and RoboGeisha. If you've been reading lately, I recently wrote about how much I love RoboGeisha and well, Noboru Iguchi. Frankly, for me not to own RoboGeisha just seems wrong, silly and a travesty to being a fan. Ok, maybe I'm a bit exaggerated in this, but you get the picture.

Samurai Princess I have yet to see, but from the reviews, it looks like I needed to own this one. I will be adding this to my watching list this week.


Lastly, let's move from DVD's and Bluray's and discuss this week's Amercian release of the 2011 Japanese Ultraman manga series. The series picks up several years after the original Ultraman series and follow Hyata and now, his son plus even Dan Moroboshi from Ultraseven appears in this series. If you're a fan of Ultraman, I think this is a must buy.


Once again, thanks for checking out the blog, you can follow me on Twitter @RobDimension and stay tuned as I continue to write about the adventures as fall is upon us. Go outside and enjoy the week!!

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.