Wednesday, August 31, 2011

Maxwell's Silver Hammer

the only good thing about the completely misguided Sgt. Pepper's movie. I've rarely disliked a movie, but this one is awful. it goes on and on and I don't remember how it ends. of course, I am assuming it does...

Tuesday, August 30, 2011

mr magoo in sherwood forest (1964)

there is nothing on IMdB about this movie.  all I could find was the Amazon listing, at least that's a start.

watch it now on netflix.  Mr Magoo was always fun when I was a kid, but the cartoon was rare. so it was always a treat.  his version of "A Christmas Carol" was always on every season though.  it had a terrifying moment in it!  way to scare kids!

anyway, this is a fun little telling of the Robin Hood tale, though Friar Tuck takes center stage.  Magoo as Tuck isn't as near sighted as usual, and a lot more on top of things as well.  not quite the dimbulb he is in his series.

it's a surprisingly violent cartoon, with people getting shot by arrows and stabbed (well, no stabs onscreen, but the intention is there).  it's a slightly different version of the legend than others, which is good, but all the same bits are there.

it's told as a flashback, and there's a fun little prologue of Magoo driving to the UPA studios.  enjoyable.

Drunken Master (1978)

of course, this makes the previous movie look a little, well, a lot lame. this is a great movie, and still one of Jackie's best. this is the English trailer, created for international audiences. that's all Jackie and the cast doing those fight scenes.

World of Drunken Master (1979)

Beggar So is barely in this movie, but it's still a rather enjoyable romp.  it's sort of told in flashback which is a little confusing, but overall it's got some good fights and lots of action.

the drunken style on display here is of course very theatrical, which makes for good movies.  the main antagonist uses a snake fist style which looks cool as well.

if you are looking for a lot of Simon Yuen then skip this movie, as he only appears in a few scenes.  but if you want a pleasant afternoon of kung fu, this is worth the 90 minutes or so.

Monday, August 29, 2011

13. Petroleum S.O.S.

does anyone love this episode at all?  I mean, rank it in the top ten of all Ultraman episodes?  no one I know does.

anyway, Pestar is destroying tankers to eat their oil.

really, that's the plot.  it comes ashore, gets killed and Ultraman puts out the fire.  I mean, kudos for trying something different, but this doesn't work.

the design is somewhat cool, and definitely not the usual monster.  and then, of all the episodes to remake for Ultraman: The Ultimate Hero, this is one of the ones they chose.  the mind truly wobbles.

I wish I had nicer things to say about it.  the miniature work is well done.

The Phantom (trailer) 1996

I think I have talked about this movie... well, even if I haven't, it's one of my favorite superhero movies ever made. incredibly faithful to the source material and perfectly cast. it's not too long and it's loads of actual fun (I miss superheroes being able to smile). I'll review it soon.

Sunday, August 28, 2011

"In Blackest Night"

 Green Lantern is wanted for destroying a whole world.  the Manhunters are sent after him.  he pleads guilty, so there's no question.

or is there?

this is a good episode, though it requires several leaps of faith to get it going.  the first being how the JLA could track the Manhunters back to the planet where they take John.  and that J'onn could be in touch with GL mentally several light years away.  that is one strong martian mind.

 the next huge leap comes from the key plot point- that an errant blast of GL's ring could actually trigger a planet wide seismic disaster.

I mean, there has to be a range limit on the rings, right?  those darn things are so poorly defined as to be dang near omnipotent!

the other quibble I have is that the Green Lantern Corps turned on John almost immediately, without even investigating on their own.  at least Tomar-Re doesn't even have a speaking part in this one so I can think he had reservations.  he certainly wouldn't have believed it of Hal...

of course, any long time DC reader would know who was behind the whole plot, and with Kanjar Ro showing up (far more believable as a weaselly little pirate than a match for the entire JLA) one would know something else was up.

this establishes Hawkgirl as a fighter of some renown, as she takes on three of the above GLs without weapons.

Batman and Wonder Woman don't appear in this story.

Happy Birthday Jack Kirby

yes, that's my issue as well!

anyway, today marks what would have been Jack Kirby's 94th birthday.  there's nothing I can really say about the man that hasn't been said before and better, so here's a cover he did in the fall of '76.

any guesses as to why I chose it?

Gorgo trailer

this is a good movie, but I've never loved it the way some Western critics do- they usually say it's better than the Japanese movies, and they are wrong. it's a good movie, and it's nice that the monsters finally get to live, but even it's best special effects don't stack up to Godzilla movies from the same era.

Saturday, August 27, 2011

12. Cries of the Mummy

 another of my least favorite episodes, though it has grown on me a bit, due to the sheer mystery of the story.  a mummy is found and it looks like nothing that has ever been found before, and it's in pretty good shape.

it's a weird looking thing, pretty creepy overall.  perhaps it's a gargoyle...
 unfortunately it comes back to life, and has some devastating eye rays that injure humans.  the mummy is quickly stopped though, by the Science Patrol.    the scientists want to study it to see what kept it so well preserved.
however. once the mummy is disposed of Dodango shows up and causes much destruction with it's eye rays.

it's an interesting design, the first two man suit in the series.  one feels sorry for this beast, since it has it's eyes shot out and really didn't know what was going on.  the beast just woke up and got killed immediately. Dodongo appeard much like a Qilin, which I had never known went by that name.

Hayata gets injured in the VTOL, and it looks like Ultraman has a similar problem with his arm.  maybe it's just me.

a Pier Sixer!

this is a continuation from the match the other day, where Tim Horner beat the Hawk in a singles match. here we have the new babyface King Kong Bundy, Ronnie "Hands of Stone" Garvin and Tim (not quite white lightning yet) Horner taking on Hawk, Animal and Jake the Snake Roberts. Bundy hates the Warriors, and Ronnie and Jake had been in a red hot feud for the TV title for several months. and those matches are great. and ANYone saying the Road Warriors never sold needs to see this- they sell for every man in the ring, and put Bundy over as a monster face.

Battle of the Superheroes!

this final seasons of The Brave and the Bold (so sad) has been the best yet.

here we have King Tut, er, I mean, The Pharoah (since apparently DC doesn't own King Tut) taking on our heroes.
oh, there's a reason they look like this.  I'm just not going to tell you, though it would have fit right in with the 60s tv show as well.  after the teaser, Batman drops by Metropolis to join his best pal, Superman.
 here they stop Luthor with his latest scheme, and even Lois Lane helps out somewhat.  however, Lex has a little RED K surprise for  the two dunderheads, Lois and Jimmy, and they fall for it easily.  the Red K turns Superman evil (and he gets the best slam in on Lois ever) leaving it to Batman to help return him to his senses.
Batman wears his Dark Knight armor... sort of, but also has great super help, in the form of Krypto.  here they have a conversation which is just awesome.  man I love Krypto.
Batman keeps Superman busy until the Red K wears off- the 24 time period. good thing, as look who shows up!  our heroes spring into action!
this is a great episode, and reads so much like a "World's Finest" story from the 60s.  one more reason I love this show.

Friday, August 26, 2011

Kermit on Koosbane

these segments were always fun. I think we saw Koosbane a time or two on Sesame Street, but I don't remember any more.

Thursday, August 25, 2011

Godzilla: the Series: final thoughts

the series lasted forty episodes, and had no real wrap up.  it's too bad, at least some kind of closure would have been nice.

I think a second season would have been fun, and it easily could have run another 20 episodes or so.  more of the "mutations" could return and some new ones as well. 

too bad they really never called them monsters.  "Godzilla" (ugh, I hate calling him that) did have a fun personality, which had he just looked a little bit like his namesake would have been really cool.  even his spines flashed when using whatever his breath happened to made of, as it never was stated, was it?

the human characters moved along nicely, and Mendel's liking of Elsie was nicely handled, though every time she decided she liked Craven she would forget by the next episode.  Nick and Audry was as useless here as it was in the movie, more or less.  Randy and Monique was interesting, but really, she wouldn't have much to do with him if they didn't work together.

the mutations were hit or miss, mostly trying to be of the realistic mode and sometimes over-designed with appendages- I mean, does a plesiosaur need six limbs?  no.

which three episodes were the ones never aired?  seems like the last three I hadn't seen, but then I don't remember many of them too well.

I don't think I'd buy a DVD set of the show though.

Superman II trailer

this is a really good movie, one of the best superhero movies ever made. and that's with my exacting standards of such things. quite enjoyable. I'll have a review in the near future.

Wednesday, August 24, 2011

Daredevil Special #3

I owned this reprint of Daredevil #16 and #17 in 1971.  I didn't quite understand all of it back then, and of course, read it to pieces.

it's the second meeting of Spider-man and Daredevil (the first one occurring in Spider-man #16 as well, coincidence?) as they fight and then team up to battle the Masked Marauder.

I always thought it was a Spider-man reprint, which made it hard to find, since it wasn't.  I hadn't thought John Romita was drawing Daredevil that early in the run of the book.

it's really a fun story, and the character moments are good.  Foggy Nelson plants the seeds of him being Daredevil in Karen Page's mind, which promptly makes Karen think Matt is envious of Foggy.  no one did superhero soap as well as Stan Lee back then!

the art is gorgeous, which really doesn't need to be said, since it is Romita drawing it.  here's the credits:

Sagacious Script By: Stan Lee
Phantasmagoric Pencilling [sic] By: Johnny Romita
Iconographic Inking By: Frankie Ray (Nee Giacoia)
Lachrymose Lettering By: Artie Simek

Hawk Vs Horner

this was early '84, where Ric Flair is still a classy World Champion and Ole is a face as well. Hawk puts Tim Horner over big time here, with a clean pin fall victory. it makes him a full blown star, and Ric Flair also puts both of them over as well. Paul Ellering is in classic form as well. "You'll never get the best of us, only the worst!"

Tuesday, August 23, 2011

Superman and Kryptonite!

I got this issue when it originally came out, back in April or so of 1970.  it's an all reprint issue, and as you might guess, all the stories feature kryptonite of some kind.  however, they missed one kind... can you tell from the cover?

I read this thing to pieces back then, literally, and about 15 years ago I finally found it at Comic Con.

the first story features white K, which I have not heard of since.  Perry White mysteriously gains superpowers after eating a strange fruit and turns into a superhero.  his powers are greater than Superman's, but anyone who has read that era's stories knows this is going to change.

the second story is a Superboy one, where he mysteriously exposes himself to a lot of green K.  the reason is very interesting and I wonder if it ever came to pass...

story three involves Quex-Ul and plot for revenge on Superman (being the son of Jor-El) and it introduces us to Gold K, which robs Kryptonians of their superpowers... forever!

in "The Invasion of the Super Ants" Superman uses a cosmic cloud of Red K to be able to communicate with giant ants from space.  this has some very memorable images in it, and is the story I remembered the most.

the final segment involves Jax-Ur being released from the Phantom Zone and using Jewel K to destroy Superman... forever!  he gets defeated, and would rather be a notorious criminal in the Phantom Zone rather than a hero on Earth.

it's a fun selection of stories, but it seems like only three varieties ever made it through to present day.  and perhaps they couldn't find a Blue K story that wasn't serious enough...

I Need a (third) Doctor!

I was not expecting this song with this choice of video. these days Pertwee is a near tie with Baker as my favorite Doctor. I was going to use "Doctoring The Tardis" but all of them almost always featured the newer Doctors.

Monday, August 22, 2011

Justice League: Secret Origins

Batman is investigating some anomalies in the space defense grid in Metropolis and has some problems. Superman shows up to help out. eventually the rest of the superheros show up due to J'onn's telepathic call.

this first episode sets up the way the League comes together, and it essentially is the Justice League in The War of the Worlds.  and knowing the series creators it is completely intentional.

and as one can see by the alien machine, it pretty much removes all doubt. 

I was kind of bummed "my" Justice League wasn't the one being shown, but I got over that in a hurry. I understand all the marketing reasons for using Hawkgirl and John Stewart's Green Lantern, but I did miss Hal and the other classic versions.

what was pretty cool also was Batman knew who Hawkgirl was, establishing her as already being there on Earth, since we rarely saw "guest heroes" in the Superman and Batman shows.

and conversely it was neat that this is Diana's first time in the man's world. this three episodes kind of treat her as a wide eyed innocent, but I think this approach was dropped pretty quickly.

as far as origin stories go, it's good.  I can't believe Bruce could hide an huge satellite as a line item in Wayne Industries space budget, but it sure made a funny line.  he must be a multi-billionaire these days.

I didn't quite get to see all the series at once when it first aired, so I really enjoyed the DVD sets when they came out.  I see something new every time I watch the series. 

Batman is still pretending to be a loner.

Gila Monster!


this is a fun movie, made more so by the entirely serious presentation. "teens" vs grown ups, then they team up to stop a rampaging giant gila monster. throw in a couple songs and there you have it!

Sunday, August 21, 2011

Zorro (1975)

I have mentioned this movie several times, mostly looking for a complete version, which doesn't appear to be available on DVD in the US.  I know it had a least a quasi-legal VHS version released, as I rented it several years ago.  it had scenes I had never seen before.

I saw it for the first time in 77 or so, I'd think, as a movie of the week.  it was great then, and yet was obviously edited for time then, as the movie runs 124 minutes in total.  however, in syndication there were several different edits that made the rounds, and several of these then later on made it to DVD.

many DVDs run from 87 to 90 minutes. I finally tracked down a Danish copy, dubbed in English and complete.  it runs a bit shorter than two hours, due to the PAL conversion of the movie, but that's acceptable.

having watched the whole thing again, it is a little too long.  usually it's what I call "the ninja scene" that's been cut and it is no great loss. I would take out about 15 minutes total, and it wouldn't hurt the movie at all.

Wiki says it wasn't released in the US in a full version, but that's just not right.  anyone surprised?

still my favorite Zorro.

Saturday, August 20, 2011

11. The Rascal from Outer Space

a meteorite with strange powers lands on Earth, and eventually is given to the Science Patrol.  however, a thief steals it, and then uses it to further his schemes.

this is all well and good until he imagines a monster- Gyango, who promptly drops the ceiling on the thief, sending him into a coma.

this allows the monster to cause havoc, and since it's not "real" Ultraman is hard put to stop it.

this is not one of my favorite episodes, though I don't hate it or anything.  it's supposed to be funny, and the fight between Ultraman and Gyango is a bit amusing.  but mostly it seems like a filler episode.

FLASH!


I never knew there was an "official" video for this song.  but since I talked about Buck Rogers I figured it was Flash Gordon's turn.  and I like the movie. sue me.

Friday, August 19, 2011

Buck Rogers- Return of the Fighting 69th

this is episode six of Buck Rogers in the 25th Century (TV series) which I watched pretty regularly for the two years it was on.  back then, you could watch almost all of the sci-fi and fantasy shows that were on tv pretty easily.

I liked the show then, and I like it now, but I really enjoyed this episode.  here's the plot from wiki-
"Buck and Wilma go after a notorious gunrunner named Corliss who has stolen a stockpile of deadly nerve gas from the 20th-Century and plans to attack Earth with it. When two rookie pilots are killed trying to pursue Corliss to his base within the treacherous asteroid belt, Wilma reluctantly seeks the help of a long retired bomber ace named Noah Cooper and his legendary "Fighting 69th" squadron. During the attack, Buck and Wilma are captured by Corliss and his wife Roxanne Trent who both show off horrible scars from injuries they received thanks to Wilma during a previous confrontation. Wanting Buck and Wilma to suffer as they did, Corliss plans to torture them once he deals with the geriatric bombers. Soon Roxanne's deaf/mute slave girl Alicia, helps Buck and Wilma escape, and they race to flee the complex before they are all caught in the ensuing bomb attack."

the best part is it's well acted and nicely directed. you get a real sense of camaraderie between Wilma and the squadron as well.  so far it's the best episode I've seen of the show as I re-watch it again.

more Godzilla: the series

as talked about here, I am watching the entire series on netflix.  I'm up to episode 28- "Protector" which is set in Egypt, so guess what the "mutant" looks like?

if you said sphynx, you are correct. it's also an oil drinker.

anyway, I don't hate Randy nearly as much as I did the first go 'round.  these really aren't monsters per se, they are mutated animals, most with no personality at all.  which doesn't make them monsters, just plain ol' animals.  and there's the difference.  and one of the big fears I have for another US Godzilla, he'll just be some huge animal. 

boring!

Debby and Kermit

there's really only two great songs about rainbows, and both come from movies. the first one is "Over The Rainbow" and then there's this one.

this is from the Muppet Show and host Debby Harry of Blondie fame sings it. it was great seeing Debby act and have fun with the Muppets back then. I think a few of those band members are actually smoking!

and for fun, here's Debby and the Muppets singing a real Blondie song:

Thursday, August 18, 2011

10. The Mysterious Dinosaur Base

a mad scientist creates a monster greater than the one in Loch Ness.  overfishing brings Kira/Jirass to the surface of the lake and the Science Patrol is sent to investigate.

this is a rather infamous episode, since the guest starring monster is none other than Godzilla with a frill and some paint.  many Godzilla only fans don't like the episode at all, since Ultraman wins the fight.  one fan even went so far as to write about it in a fan fic to make Ultraman look bad.  it was really worth all that work?  how sad.

anyway, it's cool atmospheric episode, and they do keep Kira's appearance under wraps for quite some time.  which was smart, since not a kid anywhere would know who that was under the frill. the viewer does end up feeling sorry for both monster and scientist in the end, since he loved dinosaurs and Kira was never gonna make it out of the episode alive.

there's a bit of blood here as well, but nothing like episode 8. it's no surprise Kira/Jirass never made a return appearance though!

the Two Doctors (1985)

The Two Doctors is a really good Doctor Who serial.  the second Doctor (Patrick Troughton) and the sixth Doctor (Colin Baker) cross paths and end up stopping the Sontarans and some Androgums from getting the key to time travel.

I love these team ups, and it's probably a good thing they are rare, since doing it all the time would take the specialness out of it.

I don't know much about the sixth Doctor, as I've only seen a few of his adventures, but I am looking forward to more of them.  because they were the only two Doctors present, and only had one companion each (Peri and Jamie McCrimmon) we get more time with them than the other two multi-Doctor shows. and the wordplay of the Sixth Doctor was really good, mixing personal pronouns and all.

however, how come the sixth Doctor didn't remember this meeting?  does regeneration leave your memory swiss cheesed?

Superargo vs Diabolicus trailer

this is the first in a series of two Superargo movies, both of which are very enjoyable Italian superher/spy/wrestling romps. full of action and hot babes! I never saw them in my area, but they hold up well to this day.

Wednesday, August 17, 2011

9. Operation: Uranium

Gabora shows up to eat uranium and menace some junior campers.

this is one of the episodes you feel kind of sorry for the monster, since it really just wanted to eat.  the kids were just in the way.

interesting that when dubbed, they just called it by it's name, since they didn't always name the various monsters that showed up.  the workers who first see Gabora just know that's what it is called, so perhaps it had been seen before?  the world may never know.
that Baragon costume sure got a workout in this series.  I think there were four episodes where it was used, and as four different monsters.  fortunately the faces were all different enough that one couldn't tell easily back then.

unlike the next episode's monster...

not one of my favorite episodes.

Supergirl tv trailer

I so wanted this movie to be better than it is. I saw it in the theater back when it was released. it's not terrible, it's just not good, kind of... there. Helen Slater looks great and acts earnestly. it's just a pretty poor script and lacking in enough superheroics. of course, I may like it more now since it won't be as bloated as most superhero movies tend to be these days.

wow, I never knew there were three versions of the movie.  may have to check it out again, perhaps it's better...

Tuesday, August 16, 2011

Teen Titans: Trouble in Tokyo

wrapping up my Teen Titans viewing is this movie.  the Titans go to Japan after being attacked by Saico-Tek (looking a lot like Kamen Rider W, actually) and finding a bit of a mystery when they get there.

it's fun, but nothing that couldn't have been done in the tv series itself.  the notable thing is Robin and Starfire admitting they like each other. 

I know the creators of the show wanted to make him different than Batman, but danged if they didn't actually make him seem more like Batman with his whole stance on romance.  interestingly enough, Starfire is the physical powerhouse of the team, bringing a little Wonder Woman like strength to the show.  and shades of Bruce and Diana...

it's a good little movie.  it makes sense they take it to Japan, since it tries so hard to look like a Japanese cartoon in the first place.

Hawkman intro

were Katar and Shayera Hol the first married couple at the start of their series?  it's a pretty cool thing, especially back in their series.

man, reading the convoluted history of the Hawks is sad.

Monday, August 15, 2011

Heel Hydra!

Modok and AIM have invented the Cosmic Cube, which as everyone knows, can alter reality.  Baron Von Strucker wants it for Hydra so they will have won WWII (sort of, anyway).  the Avengers are out to stop them, and SHIELD is out to stop everyone, including the Avengers.

it's a good episode, and despite the nonsense with SHIELD (really) I like it a lot.  and I REALLY like this Hulk.  he's not childlike at all, can use real sentences and doesn't refer to himself in the third person at all.  I've never been a huge Hulk fan, but I can barely tolerate the "Hulk Smash" version nowadays. 

but the madder Hulk gets the stupider Hulk gets, which helps sell him to a stupidity starved public (thanks Fred Hembeck). spoilers!

8, The Lawless Monster Zone

the Science Patrol is sent to an island to find out what happened to an expedition.

they find four monsters- Red King, Chandlar, Magular and Pigmon, as well as the carnivorous Suflan plants.

this is a really good episode, with lots of monsters and action, plus a touching ending.  poor Pigmon just never has an easy time with other monsters at all.

I'm no huge fan of Red King, as he's a bully monster and an idiot to boot.  he can't do much of anything, at least not until he was revived in Ultraman Max where he got some decent powers.

this episode also features a pretty bloody and violent fight- Red King suffers a bite on the arm from Chandlar which oozes blood, and then he rips the arm right off Chandlar.  this section was cut from the US broadcast back in the day.  it's pretty interesting to think that Eiji Tsuburaya was against Godzilla bleeding but didn't seem to mind it on the little screen.

Sunday, August 14, 2011

Teen Titans (60s)

this is from the original Teen Titans cartoon, back when there was a Wonder Girl. the Titans then didn't have much of a Rogue's gallery of villains, so Filmation did do a pretty good job with the three episodes they made. nothing original, really, but action packed and fun. and full of cornball kid dialog that adults tried so hard to get down. the comics were the same way at the time.

Saturday, August 13, 2011

Fantastic Voyage cartoon

sort of the companion for Journey to the Center of the Earth, this was another cool Filmation cartoon from the 60s. it last 17 episodes and had some cool concepts. too bad these will probably never be released on legit DVD, but maybe burn on demand might help us out. gotta love a show that has an Indian Mystic as a main character though.

Star Trek t-shirts

this is a picture from this year's Media-con, and I would have liked to own all three colors.  or four, if they had the off green one Kirk wore on occasion.

though if I only had one to buy I'd probably get the blue one, it's just cooler.

Friday, August 12, 2011

Triple Fighter

this one I really like, even though it's not well known. the costumes are cool and it's a lot of fun. it was broadcast in the morning as five minute episodes, so it's very serial like. five of them made a whole story.

Big Little Books

I first talked about them here, and decided to read a little more about them.  however, there isn't a lot of information about the ones I had as a kid (and still have some of them).

I liked them because they had different stories than the comics I was reading, and the format was pretty cool.  I had the FF story here, but was too young to quite understand what was going on.  by the time I was, the book had begun falling apart.  I'd like to get another copy of this one some day.

I do own several of them, still, including two copies of the Space Ghost story "The Sorceress of Cyba 3".  it was cool to have as a kid, so that I could remember all the names.

however, it's not a very exciting story inside, all things considered.  not once does Space Ghost use his power bands!  really, what kind of story is that?  but the art is pretty cool and it's a neat story.

I also had this one with Frankenstein, Jr.  I didn't ever remember seeing his cartoon, but the story was fun.  I'm a much bigger fan of Franky now that I am older.  I wonder if they did an Impossibles book?  that would have rocked.

I also have now a Spider-man, a Hulk, the Shazzan story where he gets a sword in the back and dies (sort of, talk about tramatic) and the Aquaman book.  I'll be posting actual pictures when I find them from the bins I moved in.  I had the Batman one, and read a bunch more as kids (the Popeye and The Road Runner ones didn't do much for me). 

Thursday, August 11, 2011

7. the Blue Stone of Baraj

a meteor lands in the middle east, and the Science Patrol is sent to investigate.  they find an ancient city and a giant monster with a gravity weapon.

the monster is Antlar, one of the coolest Ultra Monsters of all time.  oddly enough, he's only shown up two other series, and that was Max and Ultra Galaxy Neo.  it's such a great looking design, but perhaps just too complex to do more than once back in the day?
he's also one tough monster, taking a Spacium Beam and not even budging.

the episode itself is interesting, as Ultraman is referred to the God of Noah, which can't quite be true.  they really downplayed that completely in the US dub.

Justice League


ideally I'd like to start with Batman, go to Superman and then the JLA/U.  but that just doesn't seem like as much fun. so in the near future I will be reviewing this wonderful cartoon.  yay!  like I need an excuse to watch them again.

Wednesday, August 10, 2011

MaxiCat!


this is amazing.  haven't seen them in years.  used to see them on the International Film Festival in the summer, and loved him the most.  here's the info from youtube:

"Three one-minute shorts featuring Maxicat by Zlatko Grigic of Zagreb, Yugoslavia. Most of the 24 shorts were featured in the 1977 PBS show 'International Animation Festival' hosted by Jean Marsh. I think most of these cartoons are lost now, but here are three that survived."

all I know was he was my favorite.  been looking for these cartoons to show up on youtube for some time.  the theme song is great. 

For Real

this episode featured the slight recurring villain Control Freak (pictured in the middle) is a crack up.  and look at some of the things he likes.

see anything familiar in every one of those silhouettes? I sure do.  heck, even the whole outline is an homage to the Ultraman opening.

I still wish the show had been done more like the other DCU cartoons, but it has grown on me quite a bit.  doggone it.  that makes me wrong 3 for 3 cartoons. 

I'm never watching the Smurfs.

Tuesday, August 9, 2011

Denjin Zaboga opening


this is a fun series, and since there is a new movie based on it, seems like it might get a real release. I've heard some good things about the new one, which makes me want to see it.  hopefully it's not full of cg fights and such.

that's still annoying that youtube seems to not want to play.  go here.

Ultra Hit Song History

this is a pretty cool little video starring Ultraman Zero and it has a bunch of clips of the shows set to the various songs from each series.

I didn't know Ultra Seven fought a giant space sponge, but it's a great shot here.  I like the combination of the greatest fights from the shows set to the theme songs.  nicely done.

Monday, August 8, 2011

Journey to the Center of the Earth


I saw this fun cartoon a few times growing up (and with only 17 episodes, that was more than I thought).  it was sort of based on the 1959 Journey to the Center of the Earth version, which is pretty enjoyable as well.  I remember it better than normal as I had the "Big Little Book" that had an adventure with our heroes.  still have it, too!  it is called "The Fiery Foe".

I don't know why youtube isn't working so well, but click here for a clip of the cartoon.

Sunday, August 7, 2011

13. Show Me the Way

Ahim is "kidnapped.  this leads to complications when the rest of the pirates come to her rescue.

they find Zakkan, who has been sent down to get the "bwazor" meteorite, which can emit a deadly poison when struck with electricity.  of course this fell right at the feet of Ahim's kidnapper, so it all converges.

I feel sorry for Zakkan, since he had no idea he was going to be accused of kidnapping a pirate.  and he gets the crap beat out of him.  this is a funnier episode, which is a nice change from the more serious ones previously.

and really,  when are you ever going to see any sentai member applying a figure four leglock to a henchman in the middle of a fight?

Titans season four

this was my first complete Titans episode, way back when I still had cable tv.  I liked it OK back then, mostly because I love the Doom Patrol, as you can see here

these two episodes are not quite as good as the one of Brave and The Bold, mostly because Mento is a real disagreeable sort of leader.  that changes by the second part, but still, he makes 00s Batman look reasonable.  it's nice to hear them call each other by their real names though, I must say.

and where's the Chief?  anyway, the Brotherhood of Evil are the main villains in this final season, which I have enjoyed half of so far.  you know, me, the more heroes the better!

here's the REAL Elasti-Girl tromping on tanks.  it's a really cool shot in the show.  they did seem to not know she could also shrink herself down though.  well, I am sure they knew it, just chose to not display that power.