Zone Fighter Episode 14 – Takerikuruuzo! Garoga Shounen Kougekitai
Zone Fighter Episode 14 – Takerikuruuzo! Garoga Shounen Kougekitai
aka 猛り狂うぞ! ガロガ少年攻撃隊 aka Insane With Anger! The Garoga Boy’s Squadaka Rampage! The Garoga Boys Attack Force
1973
Written by Masaru Takesue
Directed by Akiyasu Kikuchi
 |
|
Zone Fighter has become the ending of The Wild Bunch!
|
Zone Fighter is a big bully, there is no denying that. So when the Garoga and a bunch of tiny tots get involved in a conspiracy that involves bullying, Zone Fighter is suddenly anti-bullying! Well, sort of, the bullying just resolves itself naturally, but it is a reason why the main child suddenly goes evil. If you like shows with mobs of boy children in short shorts running around like peewee droogs and smashing up everything and everyone they see, then you will be in for a treat! Unfortunately, we got to sit through a lot of junk before that scene, thought at one point a bird goes evil and starts screaming “Garoga! Garoga!”, so that’s pretty cool. Thanks to the weird factor and the minimob montage sequence, Zone Fighter Episode 14 becomes one of the better Zone Fighter episodes. If you need some Zone Fighter infotainment, stop on by the Zone Fighter Splash Page and get your education on!
This is the first episode where the new credits first appear, the synopsis is ditched and we see it happen as the credits roll, but so do a lot of shots of the show itself, including many many images of Godzilla, almost as if they are trying to emphasize Big G is part of the show for ratings. But he doesn’t show up in this episode, so go back to waiting until I get to an episode that he does appear in!
Baron Garoga died before he finished his scenes, so the rest were filmed using Baron Garoga’s chiropractor!
Baron Garoga has made some chemical so evil he’s totally laughing. Considering it looks like pond scum in a Erlenmeyer flask, maybe it is evil…or it at least smells bad. Baron Garoga gives it to some Garoga in white lab coats with big red crosses (complete with skull at the tope) and huge yellow rubber gloves. I dub them Garoga Scientists, because I can. The Garoga Scientists may have specialized lab coats and safety gloves, but where is their eye protection? Come one, Garoga Scientists, do you want to get a fine???
The Garoga Scientist adds more stuff to the potion and it turns light green, then they rocket it to the Earth. Yes, they waste a rocket transporting a small amount of liquid to some guys who are standing by a truck in the middle of a field. It’s an Undercover Truck, despite the Garoga logo that is an evil snarling Garoga face (minus antennas) Way to keep a low profile, dudes!
Why you shouldn’t masturbate!
A boy in tiny tiny shorts named Tsuyoshi is being lectured by a his mom about how he should go to school and not be afraid of everyone being mean to him because he sucks. Then Akira comes and takes Tsuyoshi, walking him to school while holding his hand. No wonder everyone makes fun of Tsuyoshi! Akira is probably the dorkiest friend you could ever have, and when four bully kids appear and lock arms in front of them, they all attack Tsuyoshi instead of Akira. Also, there is waaaaaay more physical contact between friends in Japan, I guess. Tsuyoshi hangs his head in shame after being mocked.
Say my name!
Read more…
Categories: Television Reviews Tags: Akiyasu Kikuchi, Detragon, Japan, kaiju, March of Godzilla 2014, Masaru Takesue, tokusatsu, Zone Fighter
Zone Fighter Episode 08 – Taose! Kyoufu-no Inbeedaa
Zone Fighter Episode 08 – Taose! Kyoufu-no Inbeedaa
aka 倒せ! 恐怖のインベーダー aka Smash the Terrifying Invader! aka Defeat the Invader of Fear!
1973
Written by Satoshi Kurumi
Directed by Akiyasu Kikuchi
 |
|
Kirk! Is better! Than! Picard!
|
This episode of Zone Fighter is pretty darn weak, though it has a nice gruesome scene involving two unfortunate fishermen, and a nice fight at the very end in which the outcome is never in doubt. But to get to it we have to follow the Garogas make a bunch of dumb moves and our heroes also make a bunch of dumb moves. And that’s just not fun! If you need a Zone Fighter refresher course, feel free to drop by the Zone Fighter Guide Page. And now on with the show…
Buy Icebreakers Gum!
Zone Fighter Episode 8 Taose! Kyoufu-no Inbeedaa (Smash the Terrifying Invader! or Defeat the Invader of Fear! depending on who you trust has a better translation) opens with Akira and a pack of his young friends hanging out in Takeru Jou’s model shop. The terrifying realization that we might have FOUR children in short shorts starring instead of just one begins to materialize, luckily it will prove not to be the case. The kids are unimpressed by model trains, but one kid really likes the telescope. So much so that he notices a rocket heading for impact nearby.
Said rocket is one of the Garoga Terror-Beast Rockets, which Takeru recognizes immediately. He and Akira track the course on a map to a lake, then head over there in a car, ditching the young friends. None of the friends seem to be disturbed their young friend is getting into a car with a strange man who hangs out with young boys all day. I predict a Lifetime movie in the future…
You’ve been in all these films, help us!
Two fishermen are at the lake and having their little argue moment when the missile lands in the water. One of them is actor Senkichi Omura, who played the translator in King Kong vs Godzilla, an escaped convict in Godzilla Raids Again, a villager in Godzilla vs Mothra, a guy who tries to retrieve a hat in Ghidorah the Three-Headed Monster, a cameraman in Frankenstein Conquers the World, and a drunk in the first episode of Ultra Q. And all those Akira Kurasawa films he was in. The other fisherman (who isn’t instantly recognizable) drops his food. The horrors of the Garoga terrors will be sung in songs for ages!
Meanwhile, at the Hall of Justice!
Read more…
Categories: Television Reviews Tags: Akiyasu Kikuchi, Gelderah, Japan, kaiju, March of Godzilla 2014, Satoshi Kurumi, Senkichi Omura, tokusatsu, Zone Fighter
Bootleg Ultraman IS Red Jade!
Ultraman is a hero everyone loves, and the best way to love someone is to produce films with mysteriously similar characters. Enter Red Jade, a new upcoming film that looks like some of the latest Ultraman movies, except now it’s in Hong Kong and his name is Red Jade. Also the monsters look bigger and there are more alien ships. Probably a lot more random people being slaughtered.
Red Jade is from Worldwide Film Entertainment, and is fully funded to hopefully show up in 2015. The effects sizzle reel is above, there is not other information about Red Jade at this time except the poster and plot blurb:
An archeology student and his professor who find that vandals have loosened a ferocious earth-bound monster wrecking havoc on the city of Hong Kong, then discover a talisman that turns the young scholar into a super-hero.
Regardless of the snark, I shall be watching, and I demand it be entertaining! Because I’m the kind of person who can make demands.
Worldwide Film Entertainment via BeyondHollywood
Categories: Kaiju News, Movie News Tags: kaiju, Red Jade, Worldwide Film Entertainment
Na Cha and the Seven Devils
Na Cha and the Seven Devils
aka 梅山收七怪 aka Mei shan shou qi guai aka Na Cha and the 7 Devils
1973
Written by ???
Directed by Yamanouchi Tetsuya
Here’s your disco inferno!
Who would have thought that a movie about a bunch of animal demons running amok, including a huge fire breathing dragon in sequences directed by Yamanouchi Tetsuya, would turn out to be so boring? Obviously anyone who has had prior experience with movies where flying kids battle monsters! At TarsTarkas.NET, we have dealt with a lot of them! Though most of those are Taiwanese, Na Cha and the Seven Devils comes from the illustrious Shaw Brothers studios. It’s the second of two Na Cha films that were made at the same time by Yamanouchi Tetsuya, featuring many of the same cast (they even reuse at least one human character as the grandson of his character from the first film!), and one of several Na Cha films, a character from a classic Chinese tale.
A quick Na Cha primer: Na Cha is that kid with the flaming circles around his feet that let him fly. Sometimes his name is translated Nezha or Na Zha. He’s based on Chinese mythology that probably has roots in Hinduism. Na Cha shows up in Journey to the West and has a stream of television and film appearances.
Na Cha and the Seven Devils seems like it would be an idea kids film, just let them watch the special effects while mom and dad go get hammered..I mean, go do chores. But there is an awful lot of boob grabbing. It’s oddly sensual (though in a clumsy sensual way), and Shaw was ranking up the sexy in the early 70s. It does seem way out of place for what goes on in the rest of the film.
The look of Na Cha and the Seven Devils comes from art director Mutsuo Mikimi, who has a pedigree of doing effects on Message from Space, Goke, Body Snatcher from Hell, and Super Infra-Man. Director Yamanouchi Tetsuya was making a brief foray out of Japan, but he also has a kaiju pedigree thanks to films like The Magic Serpent and 1969′s Akakage. Doi Michiyoshi is also listed as a director on the HKMDB, but not on the actual film and I can’t find any further information.
The biggest gripe with Na Cha and the Seven Devils is that Na Cha and his immortal buddies cause all these problems on Earth, then they send only three of them to deal with the problems. Meanwhile, hundreds of people die! Sorry, folks, you are all being slaughtered to teach Na Cha responsibility! The main trouble is there is a magic peach tree that only blooms every 1000 years, and then the peaches take 1000 years to ripen. And it’s about time for those babies to pop. There are 8 this year that are destined to be a gift to the Queen Mother by order of the Jade Emperor.
Na Cha is unaware of all this, and just sees a tree with a bunch of peaches, and Na Cha wants to eat them peaches. So he climbs up the tree and grabs on, accidentally causing the other 7 to fall. Because they are at Mt. Kunlu – which is between Heaven and the Mortal World, the peaches fall through the clouds to Earth. Where they are promptly found by animals, that eat them and become superpowered Devils themed on whatever animal they were.
See my vest, see my vest, made from real gorilla chest!
Now, Na Cha did cause the original problem, but he also wasn’t told not to eat the peaches, and as someone who has done their fair share of gardening (and has peach trees in the back yard!), I know for a fact peaches will be falling off the tree regardless of Na Cha shaking the branches or not, which means a few would have dropped down below anyways. Which means the immortals should have hung a few baskets to catch these valuable and dangerous peaches!
After the peaches are found to be missing, an edict comes down on high from the Jade Emperor to solve this problem in 10 days! So the group of immortals decide to just send Na Cha by his lonesome. It’s only when his two older brothers Jincha and Mucha beg to go along that the party is increased. But still, everyone else just stays around Mt. Kunlu and laments their fate and probably going to get squashed by an angry Jade Emperor soon. Lazy, lazy people who deserve it for not bothering to help solve the problem.
I’ll use this to contact Sauron!
|
I will be the Superior Spiderman!
Read more…
Categories: Movie Reviews, Ugly Tags: Aai Dung-Gwa, Chen Hung-Lieh, damn flying kids!, dragons, Hong Kong, kaiju, Law Bun, Ngai Chi Wong, Ngok Yeung, Shaw Brothers, Tina Chin Fei, Yamanouchi Tetsuya, Yau Lung
Pacific Rim
Pacific Rim
2013
Story by Travis Beacham
Screenplay by Travis Beacham and Guillermo del Toro
Directed by Guillermo del Toro
An action packed ride from the first frames, Pacific Rim delivers the giant robots vs. giant monsters action promised, and crafts an entertaining flick around it. Del Toro provides a love letter to a genre he grew up loving, and succeeded in updating it technologically to craft something amazing. Almost every frame is a piece of art by itself. The design and look are outstanding, the jaegers (the giant robots) are banged up and realistic, and the kaiju are scarily beautiful yet deadly looking. Battles encompass multiple environments, from snowy seas of Alaska to the cityscapes of Hong Kong to the ocean floor.
Pacific Rim keeps its flow, the segments where the story is set up feel natural and are done in creative fashion. Following along, our minds are too busy to wander, bereft of distractions and eagerly anticipating the next monster brawl. And when the real action starts, boy does it start.
There are minor spoilers below, but nothing that isn’t in the trailers. But if you don’t want to know anything, just know that Pacific Rim is my favorite film I’ve seen this summer, and possibly 2013. It’s fun, fun, fun, heartfelt and not full of the gritty reluctant heroes that seem to be everywhere. There are giant monster, robots, and it’s awesome.
Read more…
Godzilla – Monsters and Lawsuits
Godzilla is a hell of a monster, and the American remake will be fighting several monsters himself! In addition, Legendary Pictures and some of the producers are becoming monsters as they start dropping lawsuits on each other. It’s a classic Hollywood clusterfrak that hopefully won’t derail Gareth Edwards’s flick too much.
First the good news. Tim Kelly at CHUD has confirmed the following through a webinar from Warner Bros. promotion department:
**The film will feature more than one monster, confirming that two new monsters will also be wreaking havoc – this in addition to the big guy.
**Warner Bros. made it clear that their interpretation of the material “follows the story of a solider” and is “way different” than the Toho Godzilla films.
Two brand new monsters is awesome. Also it’s good if they stay away from the mechs for at least one movie so they don’t look too much like Pacific Rim. Frank Darabont is currently rewriting the script, but like Tim Kelly said, the information above is being presented by the studio, so it will likely end up in the final draft of the film when it begins filming later this year. As far as I know, the release date is still set for May 16, 2014.
However, THR is reporting Legendary is suing to dump Dan Lin, Roy Lee and Doug Davison from their producers credits, claiming they aren’t doing enough to qualify as being credited. As you can imagine, the trio are not happy about the loss of credit and the loss of a big payday, and are threatening to countersue and get a restraining order to halt production until the mess is sorted out.
Categories: Kaiju News, Movie News Tags: Frank Darabont, Gareth Edwards, Godzilla, kaiju
