Showcase Presents... Strange Adventures

in 1955, the future was a quite a thing to imagine.  there were still aliens on the various planets in our solar system, and only one new superhero had come to what would be known as Earth 1.  that would be J'onn J'onzz, the Manhunter from Mars.  many comic books were anthology books at the time, with few if any recurring characters.  both DC and Marvel (I know Atlas at the time) did this for a long time.  I never read many of the DC books though, for whatever reason.  seems like the more lurid giant monster tales of Marvel appealed to me back then.  not to mention Marvel reprinted a ton of them in the 70s, not that I knew it at the time.

no surprise as to why the giant monster on the loose stories appealed to me!

Maho Sentai Magiranger Opening

I like the concept of this Super Sentai series quite a bit- blatant magic. blatantly "inspired" by Harry Potter as well, but heck, it's at least an original setting for a superhero show. which after over 30 years isn't that easy to come by any more. this is the opening theme, apparently the first one. I've only ever seen the first 13 episodes, and it's not as good as the follow up, Gekiranger was. I really dislike using cell phones as henshin devices. ugh.

Sky Captain... WTH?

remember this post?  just a short review of the movie SKY CAPTAIN AND THE WORLD OF TOMORROW, which I pretty much thought was barely adequate entertainment.  many serials are much better in execution and way more fun.  it's not horrible, but it sure isn't great.  I don't think that's anything too controversial there- it wasn't a big ol' hit or anything, and I got the movie on sale for about $2.  then sold it for about $5, so I can appreciate that!

Kaufman-Lawler Feud: Chapter 5 - Kaufman Accepts

Andy accepts Jerry's challenge, and goes full on evil heel here. he's funny, and yet shows a sadistic side to get the Memphis fans ready for his antics. I assume everyone figured that he would be funny or harmless, and yet he was so much more than that. one of the best heels ever.

8mm Monster memories

I've mentioned various 8mm movies I owned as a kid on this blog in the past, but only as part of an overall blog.  last year I wrote an entire article about said films for the iconic monster magazine Famous Monsters of Filmland.  I owned several of these little movies, and loved watching them.

The Nick Atoms: Jet Jaguar Live

here's an interesting little musical interlude. the band is definitely made of fans of the movie, as it's pretty spot on with the lyrics. it's got a groovy sound as well. I wonder what other stuff they've done. and now that I've looked, it mostly genre stuff. very enjoyable, even the Electra Woman theme!

A Wrinkle in Time (2003)

I read this book at a very young age- probably a bit too young, as I don't remember understanding it very well.  I'd actually like to read it again now, since hopefully I'd understand it better at this age.

since the advent of Harry Potter books and movies, it seems like every studio or production company wanted to get a franchise starring kids.  we got three Narnia movies, and attempts at many others, most of which were one and done (that awful dragon book, who's name escapes me at the moment, for example).  talk about over done.  it does make me wonder when the current crop of superhero movies will be over, since it's all cyclic.

Happy Birthday William Shatner

it's William Shatner's 82nd birthday.  the one and only true Captain Kirk.  he, Batman and Spider-man were my first heroes. 

I hope he has a great day!

Doc Savage: The Man of Bronze (Trailer)

wow, the trailer makes the movie look even worse than it actually is. usually trailers have the opposite effect. no wonder this sunk like a stone at the box office. I don't think Doc could be brought to the screen properly now, it's definitely a product of it's time. I am surprised it was never made into a serial back in the 30s or 40s... can you imagine what Republic might have done with the property?

Doc Savage (1975)

this is a frustrating movie.  it could have been quite good if they left out some of the overt silliness that runs through it.  or if perhaps they went all out and made it a complete comedy, though I would rather not have it done that way.  and it's just enough nonsense that when it happens it takes you completely out of the picture.  which is sad, because there is a lot to like about the movie, if you aren't expecting too much.

and the choice of using John Philip Sousa's marches was not a good idea at all.  add to that dopey lyrics and it completely negates any sense of urgency or drama during the film.  maybe once and without the singing, but dang, all through the movie?

Kaufman-Lawler Feud: Chapter 4 - The Challenge

now we see Andy giving Jerry a deposition. naturally he's being sued. since Andy is from Hollywood, you know. Andy also provides a video tape so Jerry knows exactly why he is being sued. he manages to anger the entire state of Tennessee with that awesome accent he uses. we also get to see Bob Zmuda, who was one of Andy's best friends.

the Space Giants

I've watched this entire series once before and liked it, though I don't remember much about it.  I think if I had seen it as a kid I would have really liked it.  alas, one more show I didn't get to see growing up in Colorado.

anyway, Goldar, Silvar and Gam are created by Methusah to protect the Earth from the evil Rodak.  Rodak sends a monster or two out with an interesting scheme to destroy Goldar and make the Earthlings surrender to him.  he believes they don't deserve the Earth.

The Kaufman Lawler Feud: Chapter 3

here we have Andy's first meeting with the King, Jerry Lawler. they don't actually wrestle, but Andy's antics cause the King to intervene, and the feud is on. I've often wondered what starts feuds in wrestling, as many times they seem to just exist. what started the the Rich-Sawyer feud? the Rock and Roll Express vs the Midnight Express?  feuds like that just have always seemed to exist.

Angry Red Cinemagic Planet!

one of my favorite lower budget movies, I've presented the trailer before.  I think this is our example of "Cinemagic" which is a tinted process.  it works pretty well though, you'd think you were on Mars, if Martians gave you red colored glasses...

Journey Back to Oz trailer

I just watched this movie, and have some mixed feelings about it, which I will explain in a fuller review shortly. here's the shorter trailer for it. the movie itself has a fascinating history and the DVD presentation is pretty good. some really cool extras are on it, though I believe it's out of print now. wouldn't be surprised to see it reissued with all the new Oz hoopla that's abounding these days.

RIP Goro Naya

Goro Naya passed away yesterday.  for most people this name won't mean a thing, but for some of us we know exactly what it means.  he did so much voice acting for many shows- I mean, he was the Great Leader for Shocker for who knows how many Kamen Rider shows?

this bio here says more than I ever could- I never he how much he dubbed.  RIP.

The Princess Bride- A Battle of Wits

this movie is really fun. it's also full of great lines. I know this is all just repeating what everyone already knows, but there's no harm in repeating it. this is one of the great cinematic deaths as well. I highly recommend reading the book as well. it's just as good as the movie, and fills in a lot of background pieces, such as Inigo's father and Fezzik's family.

Legion of Super Heroes season 2

in the second season of the Legion cartoon, we get a lot more Legionnaires to see.  heck, even Matter Eater Lad is present!  many of them don't get a lot of speaking parts, and Brainiac 5 and Chameleon Boy both look like they are about 13 years old.  we do get to see Tyroc use some version of his power, which was a first for me.  it's kind of cool to see all of them animated and in action, and they had a lot of Legion lore to draw from.

VARAN THE UNBELIEVABLE 1962 TRAILER

I know this isn't a great movie- either version- but it holds a sentimental place in my heart. I had the 8mm version, which some people might say is the best one, as it's the shortest version. it's now like watching old friends. I will admit as well to not watching either version very often. when I do, it is the US version. maybe once every five or ten years.

Jet Jaguar, get Godzilla!

Jet Jaguar fired my imagination when I saw the trailer for GODZILLA VS MEGALON in the theater.  I wanted to see more of "Robotman".  I'm pretty sure I wanted to see all the monsters, since I'd never seen Gigan at all, but it was our two heroes that meant the most to me.

Raideen - Trailer (1975)

been watching this cartoon recently (at least the first 12 episodes, and it's pretty cool. here's a fanmade "trailer" for the show. it's the opening and closing songs, with some of the great fight footage inserted. nicely done. I like the closing theme song more than the opening one. go figure.

A Godzilla Mystery

in doing some vital research for a writing project, I had to look up information about the original Godzilla cartoon.  OK, this is not about any mysterious mystery regarding the show, it's just something funny I discovered about my viewing of the series.

a little backstory, probably no surprise to anyone reading this: in 1978, at the age of 13, I was something of a self professed Godzilla expert.  I could dismantle most of the popular movie books claims about Godzilla movies quickly and easily, since usually the authors looked down upon almost all of the Japanese genre movies.  easier to make fun of them, I guess.

The Kaufman Lawler Feud: Chapter 2

OK, so it hasn't been once a week. I should do them on Mondays, for the obvious reason! this is still one of the most entertaining angles in all of pro-wrestling, just do to the way it was set up, and they managed to make it run for about two years. compare that with any angle these days, set up one week, two matches and it's over. factor in a face/heel turn for both participants and that's how the new wrestling goes. bleah.

Astro Boy 26-30

been quite a while since I've watched any of these cartoons.  they sure are long- all of them run longer than 26 minutes, at least at this point in the series.  can you imagine that happening with cartoons these days?

that does include opening and closing credits, which still means they are five minutes longer than current cartoons. we sure get hosed these days due to advertising constraints.

anyway, these are some interesting episodes- lots of robots rights stories, and one "don't judge aliens on their appearance story ("The Pearl People).

Legion of Super Heroes theme

here's the opening theme to the cool and sadly underrated Legion of Super Heroes cartoon. I wish they had kind of made them a bit older, but I think they were headed for a Teen Titans sort of vibe. thankfully they kept away from the faux anime look that almost ruins the Titans. the theme song is pretty jazzy, but not quite as memorable as some of the other DC cartoon themes.