Gokaiger - The Legendary Great War

this is far more awesome than one could think.  I'm getting ready to watch the third episode, it's just that much fun.

by the way, it's really cool to see an actual miniature ship.

the polls

it was fun doing the poll.  I think I'll do one on a weekly basis.  got the next one figured out.  I'll try to keep away from the usual suspects, such as something like "what is your favorite giant monster" and put Godzilla or King Kong in there.  too easy.

the next one I thought about doing was the best Superman cartoon, but I think the newer one would easily win that as well.

so it'll be a surprise tomorrow!

one day left!

for people to vote for their favorite Batman cartoon.  and next time I leave out the 90s animated series, make it harder!

Ray Harryhausen: Special Effects Titan

here's a piece on the new documentary!  it looks pretty cool, what with all the commentators that will be talking about Ray.

Radar Men from the Moon (1952)

possibly the first or second serial I ever tried to watch all the episodes of as a kid.  they were shown each Sunday night, which made it problematic back then, as it was a "school" night.

I didn't know Commando Cody was the second person to wear the rocket suit, either.  I just know the suit was cool and there was a ton of action in the chapters.  now it's fun to see Clayton Moore as a henchman for the villainous Krog.

this has fallen into the public domain, and there are several versions out on DVD. I recommend this one!

"Firebreather" pt 1

did anyone else watch this made for tv movie last year?

it was pretty fun, though a cartoon would have made the human characters a lot better looking.  the monsters, or "kaiju" as the movie actually names them, are pretty cool looking for the most part.  it's full of angsty teen stuff, which, for the target audience, is pretty well done.

didn't even know it was a comic first.

more on "The Batman"

all Batman all the time?  there's already more than one blog like that.

anyway, since I don't think "The Dark Knight" is any kind of awesome I could never be taken seriously as a Bat-fan these days.  at least the sheen has worn off that movie a bit now.  but that's another rant for some other time, if ever.

"The Batman" really is growing on me, for the most part.  I really like this Bruce, despite him looking like he's about 16.  and Alfred is always great, in every incarnation. the different cops that believe in him are a nice touch as well.

however, the thing that's hit and miss with me is the look of many of the villains.  I like Penguin and Catwoman, but the Joker is off in a bad way, and the Riddler looks silly and lacks the sense of fun in the earlier incarnations.  Mr. Freeze is a decent redesign, and making him completely bad with none of the pathos is a good idea.

but it's a lot better than I gave it credit for.

don't bring me down...

here's a song that makes me think of roller skating when I was a lad...

I've never seen ELO perform live before.  it's slightly different than the studio version I've heard for... well, a long time. this is a solid song, too.  good stuff. 

Mothra

just because I can!  Mothra is a pretty great idea for a monster god, and sometimes I think the mystical properties haven't been explored enough.  any monster that beat Godzilla must have some spark of the divine!

2. This Planet's Value

the second episode of Gokaiger is good as well, and has a nice sort of "cameo" in it, explaining how Captain Marvelous (wasn't this always the parody name for Captain Marvel?) got the keys for the other ranger teams.  and then there's the actor from Magiranger (good thing there are online places to find such things out showing up).

we get to see a lot of the toy, er, robot as well.  I know why it's there, but hopefully we don't have to see it every episode.  more fights are always better!

the story is not the same as Kamen Rider Decade, in that one hopes the sentai won't be battling each other constantly, and having the older teams "job" to the new one. 

quick, to the bat poll!

I'm gonna regret that title, I just know it...

anyway, I just added a poll to see how it worked, and since we've been going over the bat-series' and such I thought it might be fun to have it be about Batman cartoons.

so vote! 

the Kiss comic

this is how you make a comic book reader a KISS fan.  at least in my case.  this was issued in 1977, though it used the "Destroyer" costumes from 1976 or so.  later in '77 the "Love Gun" outfits appeared.

anyway, this turned KISS into superheroes in the Marvel Universe proper, and had them fight that other fantastic foursome's main villain, Dr. Doom.

it's a pretty good story, with loads of cameos from many of Marvel's roster of heroes, plus a lot of action.  the story is by Steve Gerber and the art by Alan Weiss (the cover, I think), John and Sal Buscema and Rich Buckler.  I love the cover (and the cover for the Destroyer LP as well).  these are my favorite KISS costumes, probably due to this comic book. 

the inside art is good as well. 

before this comic, I was determined not to like the band.  but after it, and a listen to KISS Alive! I was hooked.  there was a second comic book, but it wasn't quite as good, for a variety of reasons.  now I wanna read the comic again.  wonder if there's a cheap reprint out there?

Water Follies

remember this post? now it can be told!

here's the entire cartoon, all six minutes of it. yeah, I'm gonna use the "creature" picture cause it's my favorite part.

this used to show occasionally early in the mornings or late at night, depending on your time frame.  my brother and I saw it several times before or after whatever monster movie we had stayed up or woken up to watch that night.

we thought it was a hoot.  the little vignettes are cute and there is a running gag (in fact, the picture is part of it).  it pretty much disappeared in the late 70s or perhaps early 80s, as a lot of cool and unique stuff for television did.

but I never forgot it, and wondered if it would hold up as well now.  it sure does!  turns out there was a reason that the Colorado area saw it a lot:

that just makes it better.

Bat-wing

OK, OK, I'll admit it, "The Batman" is growing on me.  I kinda like the not quite as accomplished superhero angle. 

however, he's still too darn prepared for everything, making him (again) the equivalent of the Silver Age Superman.  the fancy gadgets are fun, but Batman is way more impressive when he's just a guy using his brains.

while I'm at it, the costume should also not be made of armor.  Batman should be fast and strong, not armored.  that just makes him Iron-Bat or some other such nonsense.  far more impressive to take on thugs and such without being covered in metal.  and more dramatic for storylines!

Kamen Rider V3!

Kamen Rider V3, the first of many sequels had it's premiere on February 17, 1973.

thanks to the fine folk at Generation Kikaida you can still get the show with English subtitles and tons of extras.

it's considered by many fans as the best Kamen Rider series.  it's hard to argue that.  I like it a lot, but it's mainly due to the excellent  Hiroshi Miyauchi as Shiro Kazami.  he's just amazing in the role. 

Gokaiger

finished watching the first episode and our heroes do indeed possess the ability to channel former sentai.  naturally the first one we see is the awesome GoRanger.  though why does the yellow one (KiRanger) always have a greater change than expected?

so far the giant toy- that is, robot only showed up once, at the beginning.  which was nice.  I dunno how I feel about them using dolls- excuse me, action figures as their change device, but it's better than cell phones!  I like the show so far!

1. The Space Pirates Appear

previously, 34 sentai stopped the Space Empire Zangyack from invading Earth.  they are back and now we are to be defended by five space pirates known as Kogaiger.

 thanks to Owari pointing this out to me.  it looks like they are going for a deal like Decade.  hope it's half as entertaining! and here's a picture for you, Chris!

The Three Fantastic Supermen

I am not sure how I would have liked this movie had I seen it growing up.  it's a comedy adventure, and it might have had a little too much comedy for my liking.

I think it would have had enough action to make me happy though.  FBI man Brad (Brad Harris) corrals two "Supermen"- Tony Kendall and Aldo Canti who are good hearted thieves to help them stop a counterfeiter (among other things).

its a load of fun, and naturally spawned several sequels which are not quite as good.

Marine Boy ep 68

look at the quality on that cartoon!  that's amazing! 

it's been quite some time since I watched any of the episodes, I forgot how much I love this show.

War of the Monsters (1966)

a favorite of "serious" monster movie fans,  Gamera's second movie has a lot going for it, including the interesting design of Barugon and some amazing miniatures, plus a great score by Chûji Kinoshita are all pluses.

the story by Nisan Takahashi is servicable, but 20 minutes too long for it's own good.  there's too much human drama and the monsters don't even fight until about 40 minutes into the movie.  that's not a good idea!  most of the human characters are ugly people as well, though the nominal hero (Karen or Kara, played by Kyôko Enami) is a truly good person.

AIP released this directly to television, shortened it to 88 minutes or so and gave it the great name "War of the Monsters".  when I tuned in to watch it I had no idea it was a giant monster movie at all, but at least I got a war of giants eventually.

it's a decent movie, and the trimming helps the pace a lot as well. the new DVD release is great as well.

you are yesterday's news!

that's what Ted told Dick Murdoch... which probably wasn't the smartest thing he ever said, as history has shown!

still, it's one of the greatest face/heel switches ever. 

I never got to see any Mid South Wrestling.  it had turned into the UWF when it started showing in CO, which would have been about 1987 or so.  it was still quite great but not as good as I've seen from the early 80s.

and here's a link to a great match with Ted and the JYD with two other great tag partners.  why was Teddy wearing the glove again?

Royal Flushes

the Royal Flush Gang... have they ever been taken seriously?  the Joker tried in the excellent two part JLA episodes  but even then they were taken care of pretty easily.

perhaps the problem is that when your whole motif is based on cards you are just asking for problems.

Alyas Batman en Robin

you didn't think a Bat-week could get away without this mind melting piece of entertainment, did you?  Here the "penguin" and the "Joker" sing a version of the Everly Brothers "Bird Dog" during a bank robbery.

I can literally say this is jaw dropping.  I've never seen the entire movie.  I'm not sure I want to, as how could it possibly live up to the couple of musical numbers I have seen?  the closing is just as weird and entertaining.

"Cry Freedom Fighters!"

yet another awesome Brave and Bold episode, featuring Batman teaming up with the former Quality comics heroes Freedom Fighters.  as I've been a fan of them since their appearance in JLA #107 and #108 it's great to see them animated.

and now that I've read what's been done to them recently, I'm even happier they chose to use the classic lineup with the classic costumes and heroes. 

 is that shot awesome or what?  Plastic Man is again used since he was a "Quality" hero as well (he was shown as killed in action in the previously mentioned JLA issues). 

it worked well for the cartoon.  they travel to Qward to stop an invasion of Earth.  they don't mention of Qward is in another dimension, but it really doesn't matter for the story.  what matters is how the action takes place!

and then we get this:

Captain Bat-America.  it's just as awesome as it looks, and he even uses a shield of sorts.

Wizard of Mars (1965)

a bit of a bat break...

the movie starts off pretty well, with some cool miniatures and effects.

then our heroes land and it gets really boring.  and that makes the funny bad stuff not so enjoyable.  when they are "paddling" in a river, and staying still.  oh sure, you hear running water, but the background stays the same for 20 minutes.  or two hours, I wasn't sure.

Eve Bernhardt as "Dorothy" is almost definitely redubbed, and it sounds like  Billie Mae Richards is the one who did it.  even her vocal talent can't help here.

John Carradine is also good, but his bit is so long after all the boredom it's hard to take.  and there are no other monsters or aliens other than the flobber worms that sort of attack the idiots who crash on the planet.

at least we know it wasn't all a dream at the end, since our heroes are burnt, scratched and in need of a bath at the end.  I'd skip this one.

The Batman

only ever watched one or two episodes of this show when it first aired.

here we have Bruce as "The" Batman, in his third year of crime fighting.  he's 26 now.

of course, the animation gives him the face of a 14 year old, which kind of throws one from the whole age thing, but at least it's just Bruce.

I've watched the first two episodes, featuring the redesigned and unimproved Joker The Joker (voiced by Kevin Michael Richardson, who does a good job) and Bane. I know the producers wanted to get away from the more classic designs from the comics and earlier cartoons, but I am unimpressed so far with the designs I've seen.  I do like the Batmobile though.

Alfred (voiced by Alastair Duncan) is great, as always.  so yeah, I gotta admit I like this one as well.  I'm almost afraid to watch the Teen Titans later...

Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker

the final part of the Batman Beyond series, this movie is pretty good.

it's pretty easy to guess the main plot- the Joker returns.  the twists come in figuring out just HOW the Joker is back and so young and spry.

though anyone with any comics or sci-fi history will easily figure it out once all the pieces are in place (or if they read the Wiki link I included up at the top of the review).

still, the whole story of Bruce being alone in his cave driving everyone away from him is sad and a bit unrealistic.  I mean, really,would it take him 60 years or so to figure out what really is important in his life? he can't be that emotionally retarded, can he?

Mark Hamill reprises his role as the Joker, but he's not quite as fun as he was in the original run.  and no dapper outfit?  there's a fail right there as well. the futuristic black outfit doesn't work on everyone, much less a colorful character like The Joker.

still, it's a nice ending to the Beyond mythos (not quite counting the Earth BB shown in the JLU series, which also ties things up even further).  the DVD has some fun features on it as well.

a week of the Bat

I think this week will entail a lot of Batman.

 

including-

• The Return of the Joker from Batman Beyond
• more Brave and the Bold
• The Batman
• and maybe a look at the 90s cartoon as well.

just seems like it will be fun to do a week of the Bat.  I am sure there will be various other things here and there.

now can someone tell me what the appeal is for Bane?

"The Criss Cross Conspiracy!"

shades of the "Turnabout Intruder"!

 

the (sort of) original Batwoman swaps bodies with Batman (thanks to Felix Faust).  she wants revenge on the Riddler for unmasking and curtailing her career early. Nightwing and Batgirl help Batman out of this pickle.

it's a very funny and clever episode.

Cosmos!

from episode 17-

Ultraman Cosmos is usually a series that gets little respect, due to the hero being a bit nicer to the monsters than his predecessors. 

I like it though, as it's a least a little different than what went before.  it's also the longest running Ultraman to date.  it was the first series in several years to at least pay homage to the older monsters, especially from the first Ultraman series.

it's been several years since I've watched any of it, but I have 60 of the 65 episodes on DVD (thanks to the questionable HK versions).  the missing six all stem from the legal incident and such.  it also was dubbed into English in Malaysia it appears (or sounds like, from the voices).

It! the trailer!

it's just cool.

Ultraman #3- Charge Forth, Science Patrol

Neronga emerges from an ancient well and starts feeding on electricity.  the monster can turn invisible, thus making it far harder for people to believe that it is indeed a monster eating the energy.

eventually the Science Patrol shows up, finds the monster and Ultraman destroys it.

a fairly straightforward episode, with some really cool effects.  Neronga is an interesting monster.  it's a redressed Baragon suit, which I am sure helped with the costs of the show.

back when the show was aired, I am sure it wasn't immediately apparent that it was an older costume, as you couldn't just pop in a disc or tape and compare them.

not my favorite episode, but a decent one.

Attack of the Monsters tv promo

as I talked about here, this is one of my favorite Gamera movies.

it's probably one of the more perfect adventure movie for kids.  three giant monsters, space ships, kids smarter than grown ups (some of whom don't believe Gamera is even real) and some sexy space aliens.

what more could you ask for?  well, featured above is a TV promo for the movie.  I wonder if there were any more  of them done like that.  too bad we haven't found any more.  this one is obviously from Neptune Media's then excellent VHS tape.  I love spots like that, too bad we don't see such things any more.