Ah, the Sixties. Few decades of the twentieth century produced so many different pop culture trends, especially in regards to film genres. After Sean Connery first played James Bond in 1962's Dr. No the cinematic world was filled with spy film after spy film. Films from every corner of the globe came to meet the demand.

This particular film came from Japan's Nikkatsu studios (best known here in the States for thei film Monster from a Prehistoric Planet a.k.a. Gappa.) While this film predates the softcore pornography the studio would later produce, it does have its risque moments.

The film is your standard 60s action film. Woody Allen could have easily used this one instead of International Secret Police: Key of Keys when making What's Up Tiger Lily? Since it would be a bit difficult to explain the paper thin plot I will merely point out some reasons you need to see this film.

1. There are plenty of hot Japanese women in very mod Sixties outfits.
2. Said hot women are assassins. Among other things their arsenal includes 45rpm razor discs.
3. There's quite a bit of that Japanese "tempera paint" blood.
4. Quite frankly, it's just a lot of fun.

This film is sadly out of print now so if you come across it, be sure to check it out.

Labels: 31 days of film, Action, Japanese

After watching a Japanese interpretation of an alien invasion last night with Invasion of the Astro Monster, I decided to take a look at an American interpretation tonight. For those worried, this review is, like the rest of my website, 100% Tom Cruise and Dakota Fanning free.

War of the Worlds began its life as a novel by H. G. Welles. It took place in Victorian England and was a very pessimistic, satiric and depressing book. In this version the satire seems to be missing with the adaptation being more of an apocalyptic struggle somewhat akin to what people at the time would think of the Russian threat.

The film also has a distinctive religious feel to it with the aliens taking the place of the armies of Satan and the people reacting in different ways with some turning to brutality, many fleeing and some trying to solve the problems themselves while at the end we see the last of the people left just trusting in God to deliver them from the evil.

It's a great film and one of the few science fiction films that really can connect to me. It's as relevant today as it was over 50 years ago. Definitely recommended.

Labels: Action, Classics, sci-fi

After giving the first disc a less than favorable review two years ago I honestly thought I was done with the series. I eventually changed my mind, however, when RightStuff offered the rest of the show at $4 a disc.

Burn-Up, for those unfamiliar is a franchise of anime that started back in 1991. The original show was fairly standard in terms of comedy, fanservice and action, although later elements like Excess seemed to rely more on the fanservice. With Scramble they decided to take the tried and true characters of the originals and totally reinvent them with a completely different art style. What they ended up with is a sort of Tenchi in Tokyo scenario where fans of the original series may be completely turned off and new fans may not understand the big deal.

The Burn-Up franchise is admittedly something that is not a favorite of mine. While I do own a Burn-Up W laserdisc, I have yet to watch the DVD sitting in my backlog for several years now. I think the problem with a show like Burn-Up was that back when I was in high school I could enjoy just about any anime as long as it had a large supply of busty women. Strangely I suppose I have grown up and the fanservice shows don't seem to interest me as much and Scramble doesn't have enough comedy to keep me that interested.

At $4 a disc, I don't feel too ripped off but I doubt I will rewatch this anytime soon.

Labels: Action, Anime, Comedy, Ecchi, Japanese

Plastic Little is an odd little anime that I first picked up a few years ago. Over the years I have tried a few times to actually watch it and yet I was never able to actually finish it. After finally watching the entire movie, I can understand why.

What you have here a basic sci-fi and action anime with hefty doses of fanservice. Despite what should be a winning combination I found myself bored throughout most of the movie due to the rather bland plot. Therefore I can't recommend it although someone out there may find it interesting.

Labels: Action, Anime, Comedy, Ecchi, Japanese

Disc 1 Review: 6/6/07 - 6:16PM

Here's a show that's been on my shelf for a few years which for one reason or another I never made an effort to watch. Feeling I was in the mood for watching something different I gave it a shot.

Jubei Chan is about a young girl named Jiyo Nanohana. Not only is she the most adorable girl in her 8th grade class (not to mention the bustiest) but there is more to this bubbly girl than her bra size. It turns out she is the reincarnation of the legendary swordsman, Yagyu Jubei. With an eyepatch shaped like a heart she transforms and gets all of the power of the real Jubei. Of course, the funny thing is Jiyo doesn't want anything to do with this power much to the disapproval of most everyone else.

The show is quite amusing and it will be interesting to see where it goes from here.

Disc 2 Review: 6/26/07 7:52PM

Jiyu is now Jubei whether she likes it or not, and in fact she hates it. The episodes on this disc, while comical, take us away from the "monster of the week" feel of the first disc with a central plot emerging and more emphasis being placed on the emotions of Jiyu as she deals with having this curse of power.

One thing that so far has impressed me with the show is how

Note: This show was originally released in singles but the content appears to be the same, down to the extras. I am not 100% sure about the newest complete collection but I assume it is just a new pressing with a different cover.

Labels: Action, Anime, Comedy

While not technically a backlog or real DVD in the sense of what I usually review, I did watch the next five episodes of Dragon Ball Z on the DVD-R I made from my old fansub tapes. I have debated on buying the R2s which, amongst other things, have have great cover art and definitely have better video quality than the crappy old tape prints I have.

Labels: Action, Anime, Dragon Ball Z, Japanese

Dragon Ball Z: Vol. 9 - Vegeta Saga II - Ultimate Sacrifice

The battle against the Saiya-jin continues on with Tenshinhan meeting his fate along with Piccolo as the warriors still wait for Goku to return and help them fight the alien invaders off. These episodes are particularly poignant for fans of the original Dragon Ball as it is in some ways the last elements of the older show are literally being killed off in favor of the bigger and stronger bad guys that would follow.

With this the last release of Dragon Ball Z Ultimate Uncut edition I'm afraid my watching habits will now have to change to the fansubbed tapes I copied to DVD-R. While their quality is garbage, at least the aspect ratio is correct. Sad that FUNimation is the top selling anime company in America after doing garbage transfers and then screwing up Dragon Ball Z even worse than before. At least I bought the ultimate uncut used ...

Labels: Action, Anime, Dragon Ball Z, Japanese

Dragon Ball Z: Vol. 8 - Vegeta Saga II - Saiyan Invasion

The showdown with the Saiya-jins has begun. Gohan, Piccolo, Kuririn, Tenshinhan, Chaozu and Yamucha stand ready to face the evil warriors and the first major battle in Dragon Ball Z is about to begin. This is the last major fight where some of the major secondary characters from Dragon Ball such as Yamucha and Yajirobe are relevant and it's sad that this is their last hurrah.

For those unfamiliar with this series, or at least with the way the show works, it can basically be assumed that when there is a battle it will not end for many episodes. Just one segment of a fight or even one attack can take up an entire episode. Seeing this for the first time can either turn you off of the show or, in my case, fascinate you and keep you hooked.

Dragon Ball Z has its fans and detractors. If you like it, you probably already own this DVD. If not, you can get it used for dirt cheap on Amazon.

Labels: Action, Anime, Dragon Ball Z, Japanese

Dragon Ball Z: Vol. 7 - Vegeta Saga I - Back From the Dead
After several discs of filler the show gets down to business. Goku finally meets Kaio-sama for training and the Saiya-jin appear on the Earth with Goku still in the other world a day late. This disc seems to have more plot than the last three combined and while it would have been nice to perhaps extend Goku's training, it's time to let the battle against the Saiya-jin commence.

These are really the last silly episodes of the show with the rest of the series being more about the fighting and the next big enemy. So cherish them while they last as there's a whole lot of yelling and fighting to come.

One side note: I'm really quite amazed that I made it through 7 discs (21 episodes) of a show so fast. I almost never do that.

Labels: Action, Anime, Dragon Ball Z, Japanese

Melty Lancer - Vol. 1: Alpha

I'm really not even sure where to start with a title like Melty Lancer. It's almost a stereotype in itself. We have a show where several hot girls are formed into a counter-terrorism group. No, this isn't Burn-Up! as that would be giving it way too much credit. Instead it's a steaming pile of waste based on a Playstation Game.

I find myself losing patience with the younger breed of anime fans. I had a coworker about 2 years ago who loved the latest and greatest shows and I remember him declaring once that GONZO made the best anime. Well, here we have a GONZO show that left me not only bored but had me wondering if this was the kind of show that appeals to the new otakus on the block. Hopefully I'm wrong and this is just a turkey.

Skip this.

Labels: Action, Anime, Crap, Japanese

Dragon Ball Z: Vol. 4 - Vegeta Saga I - Gohan's Trials

Dragon Ball Z can be summed up into basically two types of shows. There are episodes with major events taking place over the course of several episodes and then there is lots of filler with no real plot development stuffed in-between. With Goku still on the Serpentine Road and the Saiya-jins still en route to Earth this disc is 100% filler which is not awful but it would've been nicer had Funimation released more episodes to a disc. The reason for this filler was a necessary in order to allow Akira Toriyama more time to write the manga so that the show would not get ahead of his pace.

While this disc is just filler, at least it is enjoyable filler. Included here was one of my favorite episodes growing up which is where Vegeta and Nappa stop at a planet inhabited by giant mantis-like creatures and overthrow a dictator only to blow up the planet anyway. Other than that, we get to see Yamucha, Puar, Tenshinhan, Chaozu and Lunch for the first time in Z as they all head to be trained by Kami.

Personally I really enjoy the first season of Dragon Ball Z the best. Perhaps it is because it was in that transition between the original and Z or because it seemed so fresh and new to me back in 1997 or so. Either way, these are the episodes I enjoy the most and wish that the series had continued to be more like this over all the "Super Sayia-jin" stuff that it would end up as.

Labels: Action, Anime, Dragon Ball Z

Hyper Police - Vol. 6

Natsuki and Co. continue with the adventures of the dome from the last disc and expand upon it with time travel as well as coming to terms with the mingling of the beast world and the human world. Natsuki is given the chance to live in the human world where beasts never coexisted with humans which leads to perhaps one of the most interesting parts of the show with Natsuki shown as an ordinary teenage schoolgirl.

If I was to have any complaints about the disc it would be the ending. Personally I would've either have liked to see something more conclusive or more episodes of the show.

I saw Hyper Police not long after I started getting into anime seriously. While I had been buying anime dubbed back in 1997 or so, it wasn't really until 1999 that I was seriously buying fansubbed VHS tapes. One of the first shows for me to get my filthy mitts on was Hyper Police which I watched to death back in the day. For that reason it, along with my other early fansub finds Saint Tail and Wedding Peach hold a special place for me in my collection.

Hyper Police is an easy show to recommend as it is a nice blend of comedy, action, catgirls and fanservice yet not being too overly ambitious in one area over another and still maintaining a decent plot. The discs are fairly cheap so pick them up if you can!

Labels: Action, Anime, Comedy, Japanese

New Police Story:

Jackie Chan returns to his 80s roots and after a string of mediocre films I can finally say I have seen a good Jackie Chan film again.

In this film Jackie plays Inspector Chan, an elite officer of the Hong Kong police. Set on tracking down a ruthless gang who kill cops just for the sport of it Chan instead becomes their next target having his entire team, including his future brother-in-law completely obliterated. This takes its toll on Chan, obviously, and he then degrades into a drunken existence until a new partner, in the form of a police wannabe played by Nicolas Tse, comes along and sets Chan straight and goes after the gang to seek justice.

The film was fantastic and unlike other Jackie Chan films, you won't see much in the way of comedy. What you will see is a lot of fights and action scenes. All in all, Chan's best film since his Who Am I and First Strike days.

Labels: Action, Hong Kong, Jackie Chan