Wednesday, November 30, 2016

Saturday, October 29, 2016

i kind of miss this

Both blogs have been on hiatus a bit while I write for the print version of the magazine, but I've been missing writing about new movies and shows, like Supergirl, Flash, Green Arrow, SHIELD and Legends of Tomorrow.  I like 'em all a lot, which I wasn't sure about, but they balance the dark with the light and there's a sense of fun in all of them.

Thursday, September 8, 2016

Friday, August 5, 2016

Big Book of Japanese Giant Monster Movies

Things have been quiet here for a while, and that's a story for the next post.  However, I have gotten two new books from John LeMay.  This is his newest book, or rather ebook, as the case may be.  It's really a lot of fun, full of great information and it's well written to boot.  It covers most of the fantastic cinema from Japan in the Showa era, and a few other Asian movies.  Nearly all of them include giant monsters, but there are a few movies he covers that don't have them in there.  I doubt anyone is going to take him to task about those movies being included in the book.

Saturday, July 9, 2016

House of Dracula

Another movie that I saw several times growing up. Someone at channel 2 loved Universal's monster movies as well as the Japanese ones.

Wednesday, July 6, 2016

Monday, July 4, 2016

Road Warriors vs Russians

I'd never realized the Road Warriors had battled Russians all over the wrestling world- I'd seen them in the NWA taking on the Koloffs, but here's a match I'd never seen with another Russian team. I think this is after they lost the AWA titles and were working both territories. So to celebrate the 4th of July here's the match.

Sunday, July 3, 2016

Daimajin blu ray

Who knew this would be possible, much less available in such a nice format?  And at such a great price point?  It's all less than $20 for all three movies, subtitled and with English dubs.  I'm still amazed that it exists at all.

Friday, July 1, 2016

John Carter of Mars

I'd never heard of this adaption before, but since I love these books I was very interested in reading it.  It's not quite the bloodthirsty version that one got with Burroughs, and the people all wear a lot more clothes, but it's pretty true to the first couple books.

Thursday, June 30, 2016

Gorgo, the comic

Actually, just the Ditko Gorgo comics are presented here, but it's a great collection of some of his more unknown work.  While the completist nerd in me would love all of the stories (how many more could there be, though, really) in the series, this is a pretty good representation of them.  Heck, I'd also love the Reptilicus/Reptisaurus stories as well, but that's something for another day, I reckon.

Wednesday, June 29, 2016

Gorgo trailer

I like this movie, but I can't say I am a huge fan of it. I think if I had seen it at a younger age I would love it now. I always wanted to, but alas, it never aired in my area growing up.

Tuesday, June 28, 2016

Agents of SHIELD

Much better than I was expecting, especially after all the fanboy nonsense about Daredevil, which I have found a chore to get through even three episodes.  It does help that these episodes are only 42 minutes long and they are filmed in the daytime.  Not nearly as grimdark as DD.  And at least they look like SHIELD agents, and the flying car has even made an appearance.  I love the references to the movies and other heroes and Agent Coulson (possible LMD?), just rocks.  I'm only about five issues, I mean episodes in and I really enjoy it.

Saturday, June 25, 2016

Island of Lost Souls - Blondie

This was the band's last big success in the 80s, as they broke up shortly after this LP was released. I didn't care much for the song when it came out, as I preferred the "new wave" sound the had brought Blondie to the table. Wait, what disco song? But I understand that a band wants to expand it's musical sound.

Pee Wee's Big Adventure (1985)

Can't believe this movie is thirty years old now.  I was familiar with the now legendary Pee-Wee Herman Show special from HBO or whatever cable channel used to air it, which still is great fun now.  I wondered how this would translate to the big screen, and they did a great job of it, forgoing some elements from the special that would later make it back into the Saturday morning series, such as Jombi and the talking animals.

Thursday, June 23, 2016

The Lost World

Couldn't they have come up with a better title?

Daredevil

After all the nerdishness about this new show I'm slowing making it through the first season.  It's well acted and written, but still seems far more crime drama than superhero show.  I've never been a huge DD fan, though I do like the character.  I have never seen the Ben Affleck movie, but I do remember Rex Smith taking a turn as DD in the last Hulk movie.  I've heard how gritty and realistic this new version, so I was a bit askance at watching it.

Sunday, June 19, 2016

Grumpy old Man

Dana Carvey did this sketch

Kaiju Panel at DCC 2016

Yesterday I attended Denver Comic Con for the first time.  I had been invited to attend a panel about Godzilla, Gamera and other kaiju/monsters in the future.  This was obviously due to my vast experience in the field (yes, I'm joking) but it really was a lot of fun,  And look how well attended this was!  That surprised me, since I think the giant monster fandom is rather small overall.  Of course I was also surprised at the Ultraman Comic panel I was on last year had a a full house attending as well, since that's an even smaller fandom, at least in this country.  It's nice to be proven wrong occasionally.

Saturday, June 18, 2016

"Welcome to the Jungle" by The Misfits

That is definitely a misleading title. One might think the actual Misfits covered the Guns N Roses song, but that's not the case. These are the cartoon Misfits who had much better music than their adversaries.

Wednesday, June 15, 2016

Invaders Classic v 4

So this is the final volume of the original run of the Invaders.  It's got some good stories in it, plus some good text pages.  I do wish they had included "What if...?" #4 instead of the 90s Invaders miniseries.  It's OK, but not once does anyone smile in those four issues.  Everyone, women included, are gritting their teeth.  It's laid out well, but the faces are all the same.  There's not much humor in the book, which makes it a pretty dreary mini-series, even if we get to the Aarkus, the original Vision, again.

Tuesday, June 14, 2016

Kamen Rider X - Setup and X Kick

Oh, there's a reason for this- I just got the Malayasian DVD set of this (all 35 episodes on two discs) and am enjoying it quite a bit, even with the somewhat dodgy English subs. Out of the first five shows this is the one I've seen least, so I am looking forward to it.

Sunday, June 12, 2016

Jurassic Park

I reviewed this movie way back in xenorama #4, the dinosaur issue.

Avengers Assemble

Watched most of the first two seasons of this pseudo sequel to the Earth's Mightiest Heroes and I quite enjoy it, even if it's annoying that it's just not an exact continuation (cartoons don't have to resemble the movies all the time, so vexing).

Thursday, June 9, 2016

The Warriors (1979)

I saw this first in 1984, though I remember hearing about it when it was released.  It was considered very controversial at the time, since it was about gangs and set in present day New York.  Which is pretty ridiculous looking back now, because if it had been a western and had settlers fighting through different Native American tribes it wouldn't have raised an eyebrow.  There's only one gun used in the entire movie.

Wednesday, June 8, 2016

The Resurrection of Jake the Snake (2015)

I'd been watching Jake's story for a while.  He was one of the first heels I ever appreciated as to how he could cause such a riot by speaking slightly above a whisper.  His ring psychology was right up there with Jerry Lawler- did those two ever feud? that might have been amazing- and he was a gifted performer as well.  He also was a troubled soul, and this funny and sometimes intense documentary shows it, no holds barred.

Tuesday, June 7, 2016

Denver Comic Con 2016

I have been asked to be on a panel this year at the Denver Comic Con  This will be pretty fun, as it's about kaiju, or as we call them, monsters.  I've got the plan of the panel, though it seems pretty ambitious for an hour or so- lots to talk about in a short amount of time.  It is geared to mostly upcoming projects, which means I may have a minority view about such things.  But we will see how it goes.

Sunday, June 5, 2016

Harlock: Space Pirate

I first learned about Captain Harlock sometime in the late 70s.  Since finding concrete information about the character was next to impossible at that time in Longmont Colorado I naturally made up many of my own stories about him.  This happened a lot with Japanese creations, as who knew there would be such easy access to them later on in life?  It happened a lot.  Harlock had such a great look to him that I also invented my own space opera about pirates and illustrated them, or at least large storyboards.  It was fun and made me more creative overall.

Thursday, June 2, 2016

Captain Hydra?

People still fall for gimmicks like this?  Superman dying, Capt getting shot, replaced or changing his ID. Batman and the broken back, Spider-man and... well, you name it- all these are cheap publicity stunts designed to get people talking.  They keep doing it since it works.  It lasts maybe a year, and then things all go back to normal.

Tuesday, May 31, 2016

X-Men: Apocalypse (2015)

This makes two movies in a row I've really liked, and even better, two X-Men movies in a row I've quite enjoyed- heck, including First Class that should really be three.  Sure, this one is a bit too padded with needless sequences that could easily be removed with no harm to plot and would pick up the pace (Colonel Stryker wasn't needed in here at all, despite the "surprise" cameo it did provide) and of course I think three code names were used and only Psylocke was called that more than twice.  And while there were no costumes for our heroes, really, that actually was OK given the storyline and how things were supposed to go.

Monday, May 30, 2016

Three Stooges ~ Stooges In Boot Camp

Since it's a holiday, Memorial Day, what do we do around here? Present a Three Stooges clip that's got something to do with it! The Boys always did their best to do the right thing, even if it wasn't quite up to snuff. This clip is from 1940's "Boobs in Arms" which was obviously shot well before we were actively involved in WWII.

Sunday, May 29, 2016

Herbie vol. 1

I have talked about Herbie before with my "Bride of Hembeck" post many years ago, and how that was my introduction to the character.  In the 80s there were a few Herbie comics reprinted and so I got to read the actual stories, and Hembeck totally nailed the character, which made me enjoy both even more.  I don't recall if the stories were presented in chronological order, which I think bugged me at the time, but not enough to stop buying the books.

Thursday, May 26, 2016

The Little Rascals

I went to see this movie because it had Shasta Cola as a sponsor and I felt sorry for it.  I mean, it wasn't even enough to get a good soda to help it along?  I did enjoy it quite a bit overall, even if it was a pastiche of the more memorable shorts from the original run.  An original story would have served the movie a bit better, but I wasn't expecting that even when I saw it the first time.

Tuesday, May 24, 2016

JLA: flashppoint paradox

This one was better, but the character models were awful.  I get that longer hair on men is hard to animate, I suppose, but every one of the male characters has that short cut now.  It makes them all look like they are 12.  Even Thomas Wayne.  And they all have a sour look on their faces, except for Hal.  If the comic looked like this I'm glad I don't read them, as they are all pretty ugly.  The animation was pretty good though, and the acting was fine.  Nice to hear familiar voices here and there.

Sunday, May 22, 2016

Kung Fury 2015

At least his horse stance looks good since his form looked terrible.  Dang it, martial artists should never watch these things as we can be a little too critical about the way kung fu looks when untrained people are doing it.  Anyway, it was half funny.  I was grateful it was only 30 minutes, as of course they wore out every 80s action flick trope (and several of the 90s ones as well) in that short time.  Still, the performances were decent, some of the effects were good and the music was spot on and ever so annoying.

Saturday, May 21, 2016

Bill and Ted's Bogus Journey (1991) trailer

I am watching this sequel which I have not seen since 1991. I can't believe that was 25 years ago. I have fond memories of the movie, as it was my first ever date in San Diego. I liked it a lot, and I appreciate the fact that it didn't do the same thing as the first movie did- the collecting of historical features.

Thursday, May 19, 2016

Return of Godzilla zzzzz

Guess I'm in the minority here, but dang is this movie boring in either version.  I've tried to watch it several times in the recent past and I can't make it through at all.  It is pretty to look at, and has a great soundtrack, but without another monster to fight Godzilla just plods through the city without any reason for what he's doing.  It's not exciting at all. Well, the Super Smog Monster, I mean Super X is a fun battle, but we all knew how that was going to end- spoilers: not well for the Super X and crew.

Tuesday, May 17, 2016

The King of New Orleans

Nice quick bio of the legendary Junkyard Dog.  I never got to see the JYD in his prime, which sadly lasted only about five years due to a wide variety of personal issues, which this book does go into as well.  It's a sad thing to see this idol of millions descend into addiction, but it's sadly not an unusual thing.  Still, this is more of a celebration of his career, rather than a tell all about his life.

Sunday, May 15, 2016

Monster! Magazine

I got these two issues of Monster! in the mail the other day, since they looked like things I would love to read about.  And they were, mostly!  I was also interested in seeing their layout and how they were published, as they have over 70 or so pages in each issue, all for under $6.  As I'd like to reduce the price of Xenorama, I was very interested in that from a production standpoint.  It's really well put together, with great reproduction of photos, cool artwork and it's on newsprint, which I really love.  It feels right.  Plus it's chock full of reviews and discussions about movies, both new and old, rare and more common.  I'm really happy to see a magazine of this quality out there, with no corporate sponsership at all.  Plus the writers know their stuff.

Saturday, May 14, 2016

RIP Darwyn Cooke

This gifted author and artist passed away today at the age of 53.  I had first heard his name in the commentaries of the DCU cartoons about his storyboards, though I don't think he ever did a commentary himself. I then got the (misleadingly titled) Justice League: The New Frontier movie and quite enjoyed that, though now that I've read the books it was based on it's A. too short and B. lots of changes were made just because they wanted more Batman in everything.  Still, I'm happy to have the books and the blu ray in my collection.

Friday, May 13, 2016

Journey to the Center of the Earth

While not exactly true to the book, this is a really great adaption.  It does follow the book pretty well, overall, with the exceptions of starting them in Scotland and adding a woman to the expedition.

Wednesday, May 11, 2016

Justice League: War

Haven't I already seen this story before? And in a better format?  Apparently it's based on some new version of the origin of the JLA, and it's mostly a combination of the first episode of the JLA animated series and the last episode of the JLU.  And not nearly as well done.  I haven't read any of this "New 52" stuff and I based on this I'm rather glad I didn't.

Tuesday, May 10, 2016

Captain America: Civil War (2016)

Dammit Marvel, you are sucking me in.  I've managed to resist wanting to own your superhero movies, but danged if they aren't so good I am starting to want to get them.  I still think they are mostly too long, with too much motion cam nonsense and battle padding, as well as most of the heroes not wearing masks or using code names, but I really like the characters and the way they interact with each other.  I've come to accept that these are some different Earth's versions of the classic heroes that I love, but that's OK now.  They are mostly the same characters inside and I am really liking that.  A lot.  Oh, there may be spoilers ahead.  You have been warned.

Sunday, May 8, 2016

Journey to the Center of the Earth trailer

This is a really good adaption of Verne's book, slightly undone by the lizards masquerading as prehistoric animals, though in this context they do work well. It sure looks great these days, just like this trailer.

Friday, May 6, 2016

Captain America #156

This was my first real story arc featuring Cap.  It's about five issues long, but as is my want, I bought the final issue here first and then found the other ones.  The gist of the plot is that one disgruntled person is upset that Nixon is reaching out to the Red Chinese and releases the Captain America and Bucky who were active in the 50s .  These two had also taken the Super Soldier serum, but didn't have the necessary Vita-Rays to make their minds stable.  Consequently they became paranoid, seeing commies everywhere, especially in areas where minorities lived.  They refused an exposure to the Vita Rays and were subsequently put on ice.  There's much more to this backstory, but that's all that was reported in this storyline back then, thanks retconning.  Suddenly they are free with a "new" Cap who isn't as tough on the Reds and also has a best friend who is black.  Naturally there's confusion abounding with two Captain Americas running around, not to mention Bucky being alive...

Thursday, May 5, 2016

Turok, Son of Stone

I always loved these covers as a kid, they were dynamic and painted and looked great.  Then I would open the book and be disappointed that the art wasn't like the Marvel or even DC stuff I was reading at the time.  As I've gotten older I've grown to appreciate it a lot more now.  It's simple and clean and tells the story well.  It may not have been as dynamic as the Marvel art I loved but it sure looks great these days.

Tuesday, May 3, 2016

Spinal Tap - Stonehenge

Just a funny kind of morning so it needs a funny kind of song. Aside from being very funny, it's a pretty great song, right out of that 70s metal time, think Blue Oyster Cult or perhaps Deep Purple as analogies. Except this is supposed to be funny.

Friday, April 29, 2016

The (new) Flash

I've seen one or two episodes of this show, but since it's on Netflix I thought I'd watch it some more.  So I'm about three episodes in (I really try not to do this binge watching thing) and so far I have to say I quite enjoy it.  There are so many nods for us long term fans I can forgive Barry for looking like he's about 12 years old.  And I do wish the costume was a little brighter, and the villains had their costumes, but the writing is good and there isn't nearly as much "dark and gritty realism" in the show.

Wednesday, April 27, 2016

Happy birthday, Ace

One of my top five favorite guitarists of all time. While I can't quite play like Ace, I tend to stand like him. I love the way his guitar playing sounds and I always thought he brought an unique view to KISS.

Tuesday, April 26, 2016

update Marine

Come on, we all wanted that boomerang!  It almost always returned to his hand when thrown and it had a super electric charge.  It was as good as Cap's shield!  It also worked perfectly underwater as well as on land which pretty much made it the perfect weapon for anyone, since there were a few episodes where different people would use the boomerang to great effect., including Splasher.  This should come as no surprise to anyone, since the dolphin had already shown he could walk on land nearly as well as most people.

Sunday, April 24, 2016

Cliff Richard & The Young Ones - Living Doll

"Oh Cliff! Do you feel sometimes as IF you have been pushed off a cliff! Cliff!" Now I may have posted this before, but I did search the blog and didn't see it. I love the Young Ones and am glad they did this video with Rick's hero Cliff. I never knew had big Cliff was until I saw this show.

Friday, April 22, 2016

Avengers #63

"And In This Corner... Goliath!"

by Roy Thomas, Gene Colan and George Klein

I knew of this Goliath long before I ever knew Henry Pym had been the giant hero.  I also didn't figure out Hawkeye was this Goliath either for a while.  Of course, I never read this origin story until it was reprinted in Marvel Super Action, but I love this costume.  The vagaries of reading stories out of order when I was a kid.

Wednesday, April 20, 2016

Marine Boy v2 update

Here I thought I was almost ready to go with the update to the book.  Turns out I was wrong as the computer gremlins ate every file with the name Marine Boy on it, aside from the pictures and my original notes.  Fortunately I don't have to write everything all over again, but I am really bummed I lost all of my updates.  On the plus side I'll have better pictures now, with all of the DVD sets in my collection. And I do still have the wonderful cover.  I may design a new back cover as well, since the original one isn't that great.

Friday, April 15, 2016

It Came from Beneath the Sea (1955)

Haven't watched this in years, but it was always one I liked.  Probably because it was one I saw as a kid, and in one of the best memories.  We were away on a family vacation and in the mountains with a small b/w tv with reception of exactly one channel.  Thank Poseidon it was Channel 4, the very station that was airing this fine movie.  I set the alarm to go off about ten minutes before the movie started, since you had to let the set warm up before you could see your show.

Wednesday, April 13, 2016

Gigantis, the Fire Monster (1959)

Godzilla and Angilas are found battling on a remote island.  This battle takes them to Japan, where Godzilla "kills" Angilas and then mankind has to figure out how to stop him, again.  This time we manage to do it without disintegrating him completely with a weapon that doesn't bear up under close examination at all.

Monday, April 11, 2016

Dacya, the birthday cat

Today is her tenth birthday.  She's still full of energy and tortitude and always tells me exactly what is on her mind.  She's my little black and tan and I am grateful to have her in my life.

Sunday, April 10, 2016

Harryhausen on blu ray

Picked this disc up while in San Diego.  Neither of these are my favorite movies of his, but for a blu ray to cost $4 I couldn't turn them down.  Thank goodness these are just the black and white versions (at least from what I could tell by the back of the box, as I don't have them in my possession at the moment, thanks Southwest) and not the crayonized versions of a few years ago.  Ever notice how colorization rears it's poorly done head every few years only to fade from conversation shortly there after?  People that don't like black and white movies and shows should never get to watch them, and they are still less likely to watch older shows even if in color.  Those people are stupid and should be avoided.

Wednesday, April 6, 2016

The Great Pulp Heroes

I got this book maybe ten years ago, before I started blogging.  I love pulp stories, even if they don't always feature people in flashy costumes.  Many of them who wore costumes tended to be all in black, i.e. the Shadow and the Spider.  Heck, some were even completely invisible!  These heroes and villains flourished for quite some time on cheap pulp paper, even after four color comics came into being and dented their sales with actual superheroes.  Many of the more popular heroes did try their hand at comic books, but most were changed into characters that barely resembled their original IDs.

Monday, April 4, 2016

Godzilla, King of the Monsters! (1956)

This was not my first, second or even fifth Godzilla movie.  So it didn't really shape my thoughts of the character, which is good, since in this movie Godzilla really has no character at all.  He just plows through buildings and is the stand in for the atomic bomb.  I don't know how I would have reacted to him if this had been my first movie.  I would have liked it, I think, but the next movie would have certainly been a revelation. 

Sunday, April 3, 2016

Prehistoric Scenes

I had many of of these as a kid- enough to set them all together and run out of room on a large table.  But even for me there were too many to get.  Some I never cared if I got, like the cave people or most of the prehistoric mammals.  I mean, they are kind of neat, but I wanted dinosaurs and these really delivered them in spades.  And really, who cares about animals trapped in a tar pit?  Nothing much moved in that kit, I'll tell you what!  Add to that that most of them had some movable parts and were snap-togethers and these was made for me.

Friday, April 1, 2016

Avengers #62

Now this one I read as a kid. It was my first exposure to Wakanda.  I got it first as a read it as a reprint (minus a few panels) in Jungle Action #5, since Marvel was trying to launch the Panther in his own series then.  Since he was my second favorite hero (after the Vision) I bought the issue, never quite reading that it was an Avengers reprint.  I was a naive little kid, OK?  But it was mostly about the Panther, so it all worked for me at the time.

Wednesday, March 30, 2016

Batman (1943) chapter one

This came from the old message board... ah, the memories...

Right away, we are introduced to the Batcave(it makes it's first appearance in this serial) and Batman, the nation's number one crime fighter! the narrator tells us that Batman and Robin stand ready to fight Nazi spies to the death.

THE Batman calls Captain Arnold and tells him he has a nice package for him. one spy tells Batman Dr. Daka will not be happy, and Robin wants to wait around to see Arnold's face, but THE Batman reminds him that he has a date.

Tuesday, March 29, 2016

Our Man Flint (1966) trailer

I've had this DVD set for several years, but haven't watched them in almost as long. So I thought it was time to revisit them and watched the first one the other day. It sure is a lot of fun and Austin Powers sure borrowed a lot from the movie.

Sunday, March 27, 2016

return of the sprocket monsters!

Remember this book?  Well, I have recently updated it, mostly fixed grammatical errors and added a title page and copyright notice.  What was I thinking when I did it the first time?  All this publishing sure has been a learning experience for me, but things just get better and easier each time.  It's still one of the more fun things I've done, plus one of the best things I've done and now it looks better overall. 

Saturday, March 26, 2016

The Invisble Man trailer (1933)

I have the original DVD set of Invisible Man and sequels (though I've yet to watch Invisible Agent, which is odd) and the movies all hold up pretty well, even the Abbott and Costello one. Sven is showing this tonight, so I'll tune in. Rains is so good in the movie and we only see his face once.

Friday, March 25, 2016

Xenorama #19 lives!

It is live now here and will be available at Amazon in three to five days!  Here's the blurb:

Xenorama #19 (color)

The Journal of Heroes and Monsters

Authored by David McRobie, Blake Matthews, Christopher Elam, John LeMay
Cover design or artwork by Dan Ross

Xenorama #19 has been unleashed! This issue takes a look at Thunderbirds, Star Wars, Prince Planet, the Yes, Madam movies series by Blake Matthews, John Lemay says hello to Sayanara, Jupiter, Christopher Elam discusses Dairanger being released in the US, the Mexican Batwoman and more! All in glorious color with an astounding cover by Dan Ross!

Wednesday, March 23, 2016

Batman Season 3 DVD set

Got this finals season of Batman yesterday for a whole $7.12 at Best Buy.  I am still planning on getting the blu ray set, so someone in the future will be getting Batman DVDs.  I always loved seeing Batgirl swoop across the screen, as it meant more heroes, which is almost always good in my book.  And of course, that made Batgirl one of my favorites (why do you think I had to learn how to play "Be My Batgirl" so quickly?).  I;m looking forward to revisiting these episodes complete and uncut.  I've seen a few on MeTV, but not recently.

Monday, March 21, 2016

Avengers #61

I never got to read this book as a kid, though I had read Dr. Strange's transformation into a superhero in one of the tabloid reprints Marvel was doing at the time.  I like the look, still, but prefer the classic look.  Had they thought about it they could have used this as a "battle mode" look for Stephen and not had so much negative reaction to it.  Ah, the joys of hindsight.  This is the second part of a story that started in Doctor Strange Tales #178 which the Sons of Satannish had brought Ymir and Surter back to Earth to destroy it.  Or something.  I would have thought that Strange's first thought was to warn Thor, or even Odin.  Thor apparently was fighting the Silver Surfer somewhere else and thus occupied, but you'd think Odin might have sensed mortal enemies 'pon Midgard.

Sunday, March 20, 2016

Thoughts on Superman

Still watching the first season of the Adventures of Superman. He sure does what he wants when he wants.  It's hard to believe there had only been 14 years since Superman had debuted in the comics from the time this show aired.  The true supervillains he would fight in the comics hadn't really started appearing, so this is pretty close to that original run.  As it progressed he got closer to what the Silver Age Superman would become, with writers just adding powers as they needed them to fit the story.  You could see where Superman would be headed by the mid-50s.

Saturday, March 19, 2016

Time of Their Lives trailer

Here's a fun Abbott and Costello movie from 1946. It's quite a bit different than their usual fare, which I find hit or miss unless it has a monster theme. This doesn't use their usual formula nearly as much.

Friday, March 18, 2016

Ultraman wallpaper

I found this online, somewhere whilst looking for a cool backdrop for my computer.  I like it a lot, and I'm always look for new and neat pictures to use for them.  Trouble is so many of these style wallpapers are made from the newer shows (and comics, etc) that I have far less interest in, what with all that "realism" that's all the rage these day.  I loved the Vision in the Avengers movie, but I love the classic version even more, except for what Byrne did to him in the 90s.  The less said about that, the better.

Wednesday, March 16, 2016

RIP Sylvia Anderson

I learned late last night, or perhaps early this morning that Sylvia Anderson, co-creator of many Supermarionation teleseries had passed away. While I never saw her acting ability in anything other that Thunderbirds Are Go! growing up, I have to come to enjoy all of her performances that I've ever heard. Her commentary on the aforementioned DVD is wonderful as well.

Sunday, March 13, 2016

Frankenstein meets the Wolfman review

This was so much fun to watch.  I hadn't seen it in years, but really enjoyed it.  I was very impressed by the quality of the actors, along with the sets and music.  It's not much of a Frankenstein movie, far more of a Wolfman vehicle, which is fine.  It's too bad that the Monster's dialog was all cut from the movie, since Lugosi gets a bad rap for his potrayal of the creature and it's not really his fault that the monster is portrayed as a lumbering brute, when his blindess from the previous movie should have been at least mentioned, not to mention the new brain he was given.

Saturday, March 12, 2016

Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man trailer

This is airing on Svengoolie tonight, and I haven't seen it in years, so I'll be giving it a viewing. It's fun to watch these old movies, since Channel 2 loved them some Universal monsters back in the day. They aired most of them multiple times, which made me love them growing up.

Friday, March 11, 2016

the Godzilla series

I'm going to watch the Godzilla movies in order, starting from the beginning and going all the way through.  I've tried to do this before here and there, but always have managed to get sidetracked at various points along the way.  I hope by doing them here I'll be able to keep it straight.  We'll see how well it goes, right?