Xeno-blog

Classix Nouveaux - Guilty

noreply@blogger.com (David McRobie) — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 12:13:00 +0000

this is one cool video. I've seen it a lot (especially since youtube started) but there was nothing like it in Colorado in 1982. it was just amazing looking and sounding. I think I have finally heard the song on the radio, but I had to move to San Diego to hear it. and that was in the 90s! the AOR stations in the early 80s just weren't gonna play any of that new music. though somehow the Police and Split Enz snuck in there on occasion.

there are a lot of Classix videos on youtube now, and I pondered putting one of the lesser known but equally good songs on, but I figured if you watched this one you would see the others show up at the end. I recommend them all.

Shooting Star

noreply@blogger.com (David McRobie) — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 12:39:00 +0000

this month's theme will be music videos. probably "vintage" as they were just more fun back then. heck, I don't even know if they make promo vids any more. some will be serious, and some will be of a humorous bent. just whatever strikes my fancy.

I saw "Thunderbirds are Go!" at a kiddie matinee back in the mid 70s. awesome poster, but I had no idea that it would be all puppets. this was also my introduction to Sir Cliff Richard, Jr and the The Shadows, via this awesome song. I've come to really enjoy both the puppets and the music these days. especially of the Shadows' guitar player, Hank Marvin. such a smooth style. the lyrics to this song are a bit... er, unusual, but it's spozed to be romantic and not at all stalker-y.

Avengers: A Day Unlike Any Other

noreply@blogger.com (David McRobie) — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 07:53:00 +0000

the title of this final episode of the first season should be very familiar to long time Avengers readers, since it appears in the front of almost every issue. this episode wraps up the Loki creates the Avengers accidentally storyline in a very satisfying way. and lots of cool visuals, like the Hulk and Hogun the Grim in a chariot.

Sif leads two other Valkyries to aid the Avengers, and this one seems very familiar to me, and very fitting the Hulk is catching her.

this is what Loki sees advancing on him. that's some fighting force there, though with Loki still possessing the Odinforce it may not matter.

and Loki does this to Cap's shield. there are a few times this has happened in the comics, but usually there's an explanation. I thought for sure Odin would restore it, but... well, never mind that at this point.

Tony makes a suit out of Uru, the same metal Thor's hammer is composed of. this should be the only suit he ever needs, though perhaps it won't work on Earth. how did he make all those components in a dwarf's forge?

Loki has gone bye bye. anyone have any last words?

it's about time Odin woke up. his punishment of Loki is right out of the Eddas, and that's pretty darn cool. I don't feel sorry for him one bit.

sprokkin' Skrulls. so I can only guess what next season will entail. still, I hear the Vision will show up, and that's a plus. looking forward to more seasons, and a proper release of the series on DVD/Blu-Ray.

Megalo- ON!

noreply@blogger.com (David McRobie) — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 12:27:00 +0000

there's already a lot of Megaloman on this blog, go search for it, it's easy! this is a clip from the Italian version, which I haven't seen in years. trust me, it was NOT this clear when I first viewed it, though I loved seeing it back then in ANY form.

however, it's really nice to see things clearly. I am glad the days of murky tapes are gone, for the most part. I can of miss the fun of seeing something the same way I watched it originally, but not with tv shows.

the Tenth Doctor

noreply@blogger.com (David McRobie) — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 23:58:00 +0000

now this is closer to what the Doctor should be. David Tennant is a lot lighter than Christopher Eccleston (who did grow on me, but only had one season, so we'll never know what he'd be like later on). the whole series still seems a lot more ponderous than the original run, but at least there's a lot of humor abounding all over. which is part of the charm of the show, it was never quite serious in the first run.

the Cybermen sort of return in this first season, though it's an alternate reality version of them. still, they have never looked more menacing, and I know they return eventually in some battle with the Daleks.

my favorite episode so far is seeing Sarah Jane Smith (the late Elisabeth Sladen) reunite with the Doctor finally. I think this is the first time we've seen this happen since the The Five Doctors way back in 1983. I think a few more companions show up later, but I've not gotten to those episodes yet.

Tennant is also a fan of the show, which is pretty cool. you can see it in his reaction to greeting Sarah Jane, and in the Children in Need clip where he meets the Fifth Doctor.

Zaborger vs robot monster

noreply@blogger.com (David McRobie) — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 12:28:00 +0000

this is at the end of an episode, but it's a pretty good measure of the series overall. you get to see good human action and the robots fight as well. Yutaka Daimon has no problem beating on the female villain, Miss Borg. but then she's not quite human, is she?

I'd like to see more of this show. I know, I always say that! it sure has a great theme song. Denjin Zaborger has a few translations of 電人ザボーガー. take your pick as to what you like, but this seems the most common. I'd also like to see the new version, as I've heard good things about it as well.

Avengers: The Fall of Asgard

noreply@blogger.com (David McRobie) — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 06:53:00 +0000

after the shattering of the Norn Stones, our heroes end up in the various realms of Norse mythology. since not all of them are up on such studies, more than one has to wonder where they are while trying to stay alive.

Hawkeye has a great reaction as always. I like this version pretty well, though I miss the original brash in Cap's face all the time. this one is about five years after that.

here's the Rainbow Bridge going to Asgard, where Odin is deep in the Odinsleep (what a cliched plot device that's become). Loki tells the captive Thor his entire plan, which started in episode one, even if we didn't know it. I really don't like how everything has to tie in neatly these days, origins and all. that's now lame as well.

the Hulk has the Executioner's mystic axe. how's that for a dangerous idea? I love this Hulk. he's not the smartest, but he's not the idiot that was so popular for so many years.

I'm not sure where the Panther ended up, but apparently vibranium has similar properties as Nth Metal, in that it disrupts magic.

Volstagg and the rest of most of Asgard greet the Hulk as a liberator and get ready to storm Asgard and stop Loki.

meanwhile, guess where Cap is? he figures out he can't be dead since Bucky isn't there (damn that "Winter Soldier" retconning) but Hela won't let him leave.

I may have to watch the next episode now. good stuff!

Mirror Man vsシャドウモンス

noreply@blogger.com (David McRobie) — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 12:34:00 +0000

one of Tsuburaya's more obscure heroes, yet this one ran longer than the original Ultraman series. I never liked it as much as say, Fireman or Jumborg Ace, but it's pretty decent in it's own right. here we get to see about ten minutes- almost half an episode- of him fighting a nifty weird monster.

yes, the hero Mirror Man predates the Human League song.

Destroy All Monsters blu-ray

noreply@blogger.com (David McRobie) — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 00:46:00 +0000

Yes, just got that today.

due to the hoopla and hype surrounding Media Blasters and the rumors, I decided I better get one of these before they go OOP, or get re-released with no extras on them. best to get my favorite Godzilla movie the way it deserves to be see, and with tons of cool things to watch as well. usually I don't care much for extras, especially commentaries, but for this movie, well, yeah, the more the better.

since it was the first movie I ever bought on DVD, it's fitting it's also my first blu-ray. since I don't own a player yet, I can't review the contents of the disc or anything. I was just happy to find the darn thing locally, and at a really good price. bet they didn't know they could hoard them and sell them for big bucks in a few months!

anyway, I'll talk more about the disc when I view it. but I'm glad I have it now.

Ultraman Great and monsters

noreply@blogger.com (David McRobie) — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 12:17:00 +0000

even though it's rather lackluster compared to the Japanese Ultras, he's a whirlwind of activity compared to the US Ultra. this is the Japanese theme song to the show. I've got an English version of a theme song on a DVD somewhere, but danged if I remember where. I've never heard it anywhere else.

I quite enjoy the 13 episodes of this show. I'm kind of surprised the Gudis virus has never returned as any kind of villain in a different Ultra series, and it's a cool idea overall. sort of like Chaos Head from Ultraman Cosmos. OK, maybe it has shown up again.

Slash performance art

noreply@blogger.com (David McRobie) — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 02:26:00 +0000

that's Johny Slash, played by the late Merritt Butrick. he was "new wave, not punk. totally different head. totally." I'm not even sure what episode this is from, just that he was one of the fun parts of the show Square Pegs. it's noted more today as the first starring vehicle for whatsername, but I remember it for showing several different bands like the Waitresses and Devo.

this was his audition for the school play. he wanted to be a scene changer, and moved the bench. John Michael Spacek, the affected but married drama teacher wanted him to be in the actual play, but Johnny, true to his roots, rained on Spacek's parade.

Merrick also starred in two Trek movies, as Kirk's son.

Battle Fever J!

noreply@blogger.com (David McRobie) — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 17:30:00 +0000

the first Super Sentai, which is also the last time the five heroes wore different costumes. naturally, Battle Robo is the first sentai robot, and it's really one of the most impressive one that Toei has ever done.

this clip seems to focus on Miss America, which is not a bad thing. the subs are from the Hawai'in broadcast from the early 80s. I've heard that there was a near complete set of the series out there, but I've yet to see evidence of it. maybe it will show up eventually.

s-s-s-s-strange change!

noreply@blogger.com (David McRobie) — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 07:31:00 +0000

this is one of my favorite toys of all time. I had one growing up, though it was acquired second hand, and I only had about four or five of the cubes. I didn't know there were supposed to be 16 cubes of creatures.

this was an incredible machine, which turned plastic cubes, or squares, into various prehistoric animals and some monsters, among other things. go here for the complete story on how everything worked (except covering up burns so your parents wouldn't take the dangerous thing away from you).

the thing I found so puzzling is that they advertised dinosaurs, but you only got four prehistoric animals- the t rex, the pteranodon, the apatosaurus and a dimetrodon. there were some regular critters, a snake, a scorpion, an octopus and a spider, and then some weirder ones, the web thing being the coolest.

I would have liked more dinosaurs. ditch the bugs, the skeletons (fish and man), the robot and the other man-like beings and add more dinosaurs. keep the snake and the octopus.

Black and RX... together!

noreply@blogger.com (David McRobie) — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 12:03:00 +0000

since I'm one of the few people who like RX more than Black, and really enjoyed Decade, I love this. It's Minami Kotaro teaming up with himself. how cool is that? sure, it sort of happened in a movie, but this time... well, just watch.

of course, I love team ups, so that's one reason I greatly enjoyed Decade. the only thing missing here is the actual theme music for both heroes.

Ultraman 80 vs monsters

noreply@blogger.com (David McRobie) — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 12:32:00 +0000

a nice compilation of clips. the monsters in Ultraman 80 were a definite upgrade in quality and looks from the latter 70s shows, and 80 himself was a great fighter, very athletic. it looks like actual martial arts were involved.

this was the start of the Ultras using fancier fighting techniques, though most used some stylish maneuvers here and there. still, if you want great looking moves Megaloman is the one to beat. I'm ready for some 80 to be fansubbed!

5. The Ghost Fleet From Hell

noreply@blogger.com (David McRobie) — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 04:09:00 +0000

Galactor wants to conquer the seven seas before it conquers the planet. to do this they use the old "ghost ship" routine in the Graveyard of Ships.

there have been five ships lost in the Graveyard, and they want to know why. the ISO has an underwater farm now, and the oceans are clean and pure. how far into the future is this series set? Galactor wants to destroy it as a demoralizing agent.

Dr. Nambu has been consulted, and has secretly sent his team to the island. everyone but Ryu is enjoying themselves, some more than others.

eventually the base is attacked, and the teams flies out to find the sub. which leads them into a trap. Condor Joe is kind of an idiot, so bound up in using the Bird Missiles that he wastes most of them on empty ships. then the saucers come out.

the saucers attach the Phoenix immediately, and there's several hundred of them. things look bleak for our heroes!

fortunately, Red Impulse and his men appear and wipe out the saucers in minutes. they leave, and Red Impulse identifies himself and tells Gatchaman they should meet later. this leaves Ken wondering if he's friend or foe...

Akumaizer 3 sword battle!

noreply@blogger.com (David McRobie) — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 12:16:00 +0000

this is one cool show, with a twist- our heroes are demons, and they use a lot of sword play to battle their foes. they also have a really cool ship to fly about in. I can't describe it as well as it deserves.

it's so cool to see a variety of battles, and this is a good clip, as both fencing and martial arts are on display.

Ultraman ukelele style

noreply@blogger.com (David McRobie) — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 12:24:00 +0000

this was so much fun I had to find the album it came from. I am glad that I did, as it's a lot of fun. it covers several Ultra songs from the first six series, and then a few from Booska as well, which are also really good. I thought I had written about this before, but it appears I have not.

I don't know if it's still available to buy, but I highly recommend it, even if you don't care that much for ukelele music. the video is really cute, and it features my favorite Ultra Kaiju, Sea Boz, among others. makes one want to return to Hawai'i.

The Man from Button Willow (1965)

noreply@blogger.com (David McRobie) — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 03:46:00 +0000

I'd never heard of this movie before, but as it's an animated western, and also a story about the first "secret agent", Justin Eagle (voiced by Dale Robertson). this is a true to life story... sort of. apparently Button Willow isn't in the mountains at all, but not many people in the rest of the country would know that. I can't tell who did the animation, though it reminds me of the Hanna-Barbera style. it's got a charm to it though, clean and bright, even if not fully animated. there are some interesting shots sprinkled though out the movie. the animation for the horses is quite good, and that's not easy to pull off, since we all know how horses are supposed to look and move.

that battle with the puma is really intense.

it also contains some funny (non-talking) animals, all of which are full of personality, including the horses. but most of the shenanigans are done by the dog and the skunk and Sorry (Edgar Buchanan), Justin's sidekick. they aren't anything laugh out loud funny, but overall it's not annoying either. the horses get to have a foal in the middle of the movie, which smacks of padding. the foal gets a whole sequence with a ferocious mountain lion, which I am sure threatened the railroad somehow.

the story is about the railroad, and the unscrupulous men that sometimes try land grabs so as to extort more money from the government. you know, about half the stories of a lot of western movies. this could have been a 45 minute movie without the singing and animal antics, as the plot gets put in the background for much of the movie.

it's worth a viewing more as a time capsule of what America thought it was and had been in 1965, more than as a record of the actual story.

Kikaida 01 and Bijinda

noreply@blogger.com (David McRobie) — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 12:30:00 +0000

a nice set of action clips set to the opening theme song for Kikaida 01. we also get to see the lovely Etsuko Shihomi showing off her moves as well. it's not quite as good as the original series, but it's a lot of fun.

this is another show that has an R1 DVD release. it's still available for purchase, too! generationkikaida is the place to order.

Red Baron

noreply@blogger.com (David McRobie) — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 12:34:00 +0000

here's a nice action clip from the great show "Super Robot Red Baron". this show is available on DVD here in the states, complete with English subtitles. it's available rather cheaply, so there's no excuse for you not having it in your collection to enjoy.

this is just a great sequence. watch it! one of the greatest things about Japanese super shows is they aren't afraid to show outlandish sequences to make the story more dramatic. or fun, for that matter.

Spectreman vs space apes

noreply@blogger.com (David McRobie) — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 12:08:00 +0000

I do have an affinity for Spectreman. I played a mind-controlled slave in a stage show battling him way back in the year 2000. someday I will watch the entire series. someday.

this little clip makes it seem so exciting. I think I'd like the show more now than I did before. if you look closely, you will see the stop-motion monster he fights. there's a few quick shots.

Ultraman Taro vs monsters

noreply@blogger.com (David McRobie) — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 12:29:00 +0000

ah, Ultraman Taro. there's just no describing this series properly, as it's very seriously presented, but the monsters tend to be rather silly. there are a few really cool monsters, but for the most part even the revived monster, like Mephilas don't quite look as impressive as the first time around. Taro was ostensibly the most powerful Ultra for many years, as seen in "The Ultraman Story".

still, I've grown to appreciate Taro more as I've gotten older. much Ultra lore was provided in this series as it went on. we get to visit the Land of Light for the first time here. so enjoy the song and the clips! many monsters get blown up, so make it worth their sacrifice!

Happy Birthday Ted DiBiase

noreply@blogger.com (David McRobie) — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 04:56:00 +0000

who knew Rachel Maddow was a wrasslin' fan? since she's from the northeast, she probably only knew Ted as the truly evil "Million Dollar Man" but those of us really in the know are way more familiar with his earlier stuff. Ted turns 58 today.

this is from his 1980 run in Georgia, where he is a fan favorite. I'm not sure what started the fracas with the hated Freebirds, but they really got to Ted this time. although four Terry Gordy piledrivers might not have been needed. I don't think Hawk kicked out of that many! it's also interesting to note his partner is the Junkyard Dog, and Tommy "Wildfire" Rich comes to his aid. had they known Ted would turn on them in a couple years they might have just let the Freebirds continue to give him piledriver after piledriver.

Green Lantern... the end

noreply@blogger.com (David McRobie) — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 03:43:00 +0000

as we last left Hal, he had been defeated by Hector Hammond and had run away, being scared and all. the obligatory pep talk takes place, and he goes back and has a confrontation with Hector.

that doesn't end well for Hector, as Parallax shows up and makes short work of his defeated minion. guess we won't be seeing Hector in the sequel!

Parallax is now annoyed by Hal, so it intends to destroy the Earth and all that Hal holds dear. it's huge, in case you can't tell. ~~Lois~~, I mean Carol doesn't believe Hal can defeat such a powerful entity.

Parallax attacks, and we get the obligatory crowd running in fear scene. I wonder how long it's going to take for superhero movies to run their course. usually fad genres ran out of steam in 3-5 years. we all know the BO for GL was not as good as they wanted it to be, probably not enough for a sequel.

Hal whips up some nifty "contructs" (when did that word become the name of the ring things?) to battle his foe on the planet, though they are rather mundane. we do get to see a giant boxing glove early on in the movie). he finally lures the thing off planet (after it kills hundreds of people) and defeats it. for a giant evil being, it sure is kind of dumb.

Hal is rescued in the end by these three Lanterns, then there's a speech on Oa by Sinestro. after that, Hal says goodbye to Carol and off into the great unknown he goes.

this is a smarter than having him stay on Earth for all of his adventures, as the comic book did for many years. and Carol knew he was Hal right away, which was a nice touch. all in all it's a decent movie. all of the characters we know are there, even Carol's dad. fortunately they don't call Tom "Pieface" now...

was this at the end of the movie in the theaters or just the DVD? smart advertising.