Ninja in the USA
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.
9 Essentials of 60s B&W Shinobi Cinema
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
Oh ALIEN VS. NINJA, I knew you wouldn’t let me down…
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
Ancient Astronauts and Stone Age Samurai in ZIPANG (part 2)
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
Ancient Astronauts and Stone Age Samurai in ZIPANG (part 1)
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
JAGUMA in depth
The hit of last year’s Monsters and Masks Month was the aging collection of press stills from the 1961 Toei programmer Strike of the Jaguma (Kaiju Jaguma no Moshu). So this year I thought we’d take an in-depth look at the … Continued
Werewolves on Wires (Part 2)
A cheaper and more hastily produced sequel, Kibakichi 2 forgoes the wolf vs. samurai clan and whole village of monsters caliber of storyline in favor of a one-on-one conflict between the fanged hero and a female survivor of his same … Continued
Werewolves on Wires (Part 1)
A raggedy, reticent ronin meandering through the dusty Japanese wasteland letting his sword do the talking. Sounds all too familiar, but this particular bushido bum has a secret! Yep, he’s a mother fuckin’ werewolf!!! 2004 saw this promising follow-up to … Continued
Oni-masked villainess in EDO O KIRU V
Meet the “Demon Yasha” gang – a group of oni-themed, ninja-garbed, thieves and killers being chased down by one of feudal Edo’s many secret police forces in Edo O Kiru V. If you’re unfamiliar with 70’s and 80’s period cop … Continued
Sword girl and ninja pals vs. the monsters in SAKUYA YOKAIDEN
It’s ten years old, watches as good as the day it was made, and is arguably still the best yokai stuff ever filmed. Sakuya: Slayer of Demons (Sakuya Yokaiden) has its detractors, but I am FIRMLY in the lovers camp … Continued