OK, so we all love martial arts movies, but what does that term actually mean? Are what we think of as martial arts films actually about martial arts? A lot of martial artists aren’t genre film fans themselves, gratuitous fights … Continued
Ninja in the USA is a fine example of the muscle-bound Alexander Lou‘s kung-fu-ninjutsu, and is notable for his couture-esque golden chain mail costume. There’s a nice French-language page dedicated to it here.
Alright San Franciscans, get your asses on down to Viz Cinema Saturday for a little shinobi seminar. From the release: Now you see them, now you don’t! The ninja – Japan’s famed shadow warriors of legend – are the subject … Continued
Manufacturer: UNKNOWN Date of Production: UNKNOWN Lone Marking: “CHINA” Gotta think he came with a few gold-colored plastic weapons of ludicrous design and scale, and possibly a cloth cape, plastic parachute or some other type of trendy 80’s mode of … Continued
Want to congratulate Wildgrounds for what turned out to be a J-Cinema blogathon of extraordinary magnitude! Couple of good ninja bits in the mix, some great poster art and phenomenal articles covering a wide array of Japanese cinema past and … Continued
Part of Wildgrounds’ 2010 Japanese Cinema Blogathon The first cinema-based ‘Ninja Craze’ in Japan is pretty well defined by the decade in which it took place – the 1960s. Yes, there were enormously popular manga, highly rated anime on TV, … Continued
VN is happy to join Japanese cinema bloggers from all over the globe November 3rd through the 10th for Wildground’s 2010 Blogathon. Yeah, that’s a word nowadays. Take that English! I’m finalizing an epic length look at essential black and … Continued
I’m delighted – DEE-LIGHTED – to wrap up Monsters and Masks Month 2010 with an early review of Sushi Typhoon’s Alien vs. Ninja from action auteurs Seiji Chiba and Yuji Shimomura. This thing’s been a big hit at film festivals the … Continued
Alright, so Japan’s burliest sword goon and the cutest pistol-packin’ bounty huntress EVER have been whisked away to the magical land of gold along with a hundred ninja, their spy master, a circus troop and a lunatic cave man. Time … Continued
Colorful, crazy. Ambitious as hell. All over the place. Fun. Frustrating… All describe Kaizo Hayashi‘s 1990 epic Zipang, a positively wacked-out genre bending inter-dimensional adventure littered with exotic warriors and fantastic costumes. This thing is either hitting on every beat … Continued