Masked Rider - The First (2005) Review

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(More customer reviews)I'll describe the product in the order I saw it. Firstly, the title on the actual DVD is "Masked Rider the First", not "Kamen Rider the First" as shown/as it should have been.
Upon getting it, I was disappointed, but not surprised, to find the supposed 2-disc set was, in fact, one DVD.
The special features are surprisingly well-put together, featuring the trailers (without subtitles), trailers for other projects from years back that the company that released this DVD has apparently acquired (as is frequently done with import releases), and, shockingly, a very in depth and detailed behind the scenes feature that I really enjoyed and that was actually subtitled.
The film itself has an acceptable subbing job, and I was pleased to find that there was no poor dubbing to suffer through, I suppose they finally ran out of monotoned voices to lazily read out lines.
Picture quality is a bit off, but that might be due to transfer stuff (though I don't know why, Japan uses NTSC too), subtitles are clear and easy to read, and the sound quality is excellent
Highly recommended for the Kamen Rider fan or even just someone who has been looking for a good piece of tokusatsu to show to a friend in the hopes of getting them interested too. This flick also makes a surprisingly good date movie, it has action and romance, some slow bits where you can easily get away with a bit of making out, as well as some unintentionally funny bits
NOT for kids though, there is totally a naked dude in part of this film, parents'll want to take a look at this before showing it to the kids. Also, parents'll want to figure out if their kid is really ready to read and watch a film at the same time.

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Takeshi Hongo, a man of extraordinarily keen intellect, has his promising future snuffed out by an evil secret society known as Shocker. They create experimental cyborgs in an attempt to take over the world. Eventually, Hongo is turned into a cyborg - Masked Rider 1 - but soon regains his self-awareness. Realizing that he is now controlled by evil, Hongo escapes.Shocker views Hongo as a traitor and dispatches a new, nearly identical cyborg - Masked Rider 2 - to destroy him. But they're too evenly matched and their duel ends in a draw. Growing impatient, Shocker sends two new cyborgs - Snake and Cobra - to kill them both. KAMEN RIDER THE FIRST is a new adaptation of the popular original manga created by Shotaro Ishinomori.

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Big Man Japan (2007) Review

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(More customer reviews)Saw this at Facets in Chicago last night, and it was amazing. It's one of those movies that I want to show to all my friends.
Fair warning, DON'T WATCH THE US TRAILER. They should fire whoever was responsible for that. This is a CGI action movie the same way "This is Spinal Tap" is a 90-minute live recorded performance by U2. That is to say, it's not. 90% of Big Man Japan is shot in a documentary style and it has a hilarious "slow burn" style of humor that is just not evident from the trailer. If you're expecting slapstick and big monster fights, you'll get some of that but it's not what the movie is all about. It's very Christopher-Guest-ish, so think "Waiting for Guffman" or "Best in Show" (or again, "This is Spinal Tap").
I probably laughed harder at the ending to this movie than I did at anything all year, and I feel sorry for the people who didn't "get" it. Do yourselves a favor and watch some old tokusatsu like Ultraman or Spectreman before you see this. That is the genre that this movie is spoofing, so you should at the very least have a LITTLE familiarity with it. Beyond that, you don't need to be a huge Japanophile to love this, as the humor is pretty universal. This movie definitely earned its spot in my top 25 favorite comedies.

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BIG MAN JAPAN is an outrageous portrayal of an original superhero. As Big Man Japan, Daisato inherited the role of defending Japan against a host of bizarre monsters. He receives high-voltage electroshocks which transform him into a stocky, stick-wielding giant several stories high.However, where his predecessors were revered as national heroes, he is an outcast among the citizens he protects.

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Godzilla: The Original Animated Series, Vol. 1 (2006) Review

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(More customer reviews)This DVD is called "Godzilla: The Original Animated Series Volume 1."
I was born in 1971. So when Hanna Barbera's "Godzilla" cartoon came out in the late 1970s, I was the perfect age for its intended audience.
This show featured the Calico, a research ship that traveled all over the world. The Calico carried all sorts of scientific research equipment with it, as well as a minicopter, a minisub, a bathosphere, a hovercraft, and a lifeboat. The Calico's crew consisted of Captain Carl Majors, Dr. Quinn Darian (a research scientist), Brock (Dr. Darian's assistant), Pete (Dr. Darian's nephew), and Godzooky. Godzooky was apparently a younger relative of Godzilla. He was also Pete's pet.
Although no episode of the show ever mentioned how the crew of the Calico became friends with Godzooky and Godzilla, it was mentioned in a press release when the show first aired: Godzooky was trapped in a coral reef, and he was rescued by the Calico's crew.
As the crew of the Calico traveled all over the world, they would encounter various monsters, creatures, bad guys, villains, enemies, etc. When they got in trouble, they could summon Godzilla by pressing a button on a small handheld signaler, which would emit a sonic frequency. Godzilla would then appear and save the day. When the signaler was unavailable, or broken, or when the sonic frequency was blocked, they could also call Godzilla by having Godzooky scream. Since Godzilla was a good guy, he would always do whatever he could to help them.
This show had lots of action, adventure, and heroism. In the 26 episodes of this series, there were monsters, dragons, dinosaurs, giant insects, volcanoes, time travel, aliens, spaceships, meteors, asteroids, missiles, tanks, and numerous references to classic science fiction and ancient mythology. The show had everything that a boy my age could ever ask for in a TV show. It was my favorite show at the time.
I still love the show today. It's not my #1 favorite any more, but it is still in my top 10.
Classic Media has issued a statement regarding the contents of this DVD. The episodes will be in chronological order, starting with the first episode of the series.
This DVD contains 4 episodes. They are:
The Fire Bird - A giant flying creature that lives inside a volcano is wreaking havoc for the people who live nearby. Godzilla has to stop the creature before it lays eggs. This is a good introduction to the series.
The Eartheater - San Francisco is being terrorized by a giant creature that lives underground and eats dirt. Buildings are collapsing all over the place. The entire city and its inhabitants are threatened. This is a very good early episode. Of the 4 episodes on this DVD, this one is my favorite.
Attack Of The Stone Creatures - A pair of giant ancient stone creatures have come to life in Egypt. Their breath creates blizzards in the middle of the desert. This is a pretty good episode.
The Megavolt Monster - While doing scientific research in the bathosphere, Dr. Darian and Brock become trapped by several giant creatures that live in a giant air bubble at the bottom of the ocean. Godzilla carries Captain Majors and Pete down there to help rescue them inside his hand, which Captain Majors says is "air tight and pressure proof." This is another good episode.

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Item Name: Godzilla: The Original Animated Series, Vol. 1; Studio:Classic Media

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Sci-Fi Classics V.7 (2005) Review

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(More customer reviews)Flash Gordon serial starring Steve Holland
8 out of 39 episodes.
1.Deadline at Noon
2.The Forbidden Experient
3.The Race Against Time
4.The Brain Machine
5.Akim The Terrible
6.The Breath of Death
7.Return of the Androids
8.The Claim Jumpers

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This exciting sci-fi television series evolved from Alex Raymond's comic strip featuring Flash Gordon, a virtuous space defender who works for the Galaxy Bureau of Investigation.

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