Pink Eiga is a company that cares about its smut, smut that was lovingly crafted by people who cared, back in a day when people cared about what they whacked it to… Ya’ hear that, you damn kids with yer … Continued
Siren Visual way down in Australia has re-released their previously available box sets of the landmark series The Samurai with all-new packaging, and just in time for the holidays come new releases of the latter seasons. I love this new … Continued
Ninja in the Dragon’s Den is that rare Chinese/HK movie that actually gives props to Japanese martial arts. Henry Sanada‘s shinobi is every bit the equal of Conan Lee‘s kung-fu hero, and when the misunderstandings that led to their antagonism … Continued
The 1982 Corey Yuen crossover actioner Long zhi ren zhe (aka Ninja in the Dragon’s Den and Legend of the Ninja) was a double vehicle, with two equally marketable leading men. Conan Lee was *going to be* the more muscular, harder-edged … Continued
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.
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
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