Sunday, February 27, 2011

Giant Robot Monday #6-G-FORCE!

Going for another compare/contrast this week.

You remember Battle of The Planets? The awesome adventures of G-Force, five young superheroes (Whose outfits seemed to be inspired by a certain Dark Knight of Gotham) who protected Earth against evil aliens led by Zoltar, an evil genius who dressed like a glam rocker voiced by Keye Luke aka Mr Han from Enter The Drsgon?

Well, it was a pretty kick-ass series from Japan called "Science Ninja Team Gatchaman!"

So, here's the intro to Battle Of The Planets...



And here's the into to Gatchman!



Well, which is more awesome?

Monday, February 21, 2011

A Favor For A Friend

OK, doing this post as a favor. I have a friend who needs to sell his computer parts and accessories. Take a look and if you like what you see, buy something.

http://www.amazon.com/shops/sale_boat_charles

That is all.

Giant Robot Monday #5-Woke Up This Morning...

Little something different this Monday. Killer AMV (Anime Music Video) I picked up on Youtube. The killer 90's anime Cowboy Beebop meets the killer theme from one of the best TV dramas ever....

Tuesday, February 15, 2011

Podcast of The Week #5-The 2 Sense Show!


“This week on the show….We got outrageous news, news where stupid people die stupidly, dead baby jokes and stuff that will probably piss 90% of America off!…This is the 2 Sense Show!”


(Theme song)

WE ARE THE ONES YOU REJECTED!
WE ARE THE ONES THAT YOU HATE!
SO SHUT THE F&#$ UP AND LISTEN!
CAUSE WE GOT SOMETHING TO SAY!

IT’S OUR 2 SENSE!
2 SENSE!
2 SENNNNNNNSSSSSSE!!!

This is one of the oldest of the podcasts I listen to.  It’s also one of the most offensive, outrageous and damm funniest ones out there! 

The 2 Sense Show was created in 2003 by Matthew Wayne Davis, a comedian and musician who performs within the sci-fi/furry community by playing at conventions.  (Recently, it looks as if he’s moving on up in the stand-up community)  Matt is know throughout the furry community as 2 The Ranting Gryphon due to his rant style stand up and audio rants which he turned into the 2 Sense Show.  On the show, 2 along with a co-host (He has several over the years.  The latest being Jason Bernard Smith aka Jibba Foxcoon) cover weird news and offer commentary on those as well as current news events (Usually when it pisses them off).  We then move on to The Gore News, where they cover news of people getting themselves or others killed in stupid ways.  There’s usually a break after where we get audio from contributors, then move on to Dear 2 Letters where fans write in with questions to 2 on almost any subjects.

(Before we go any further, I just want to let readers know a couple of caveats.  Both 2 and Jibba are openly gay (The furry community attracts a lot of gays and lesbians) and being big stars in the furry community they often drop news of the latest furry con they’ll be playing at.  A lot of the contributors, especially currently are also part of the community.  Otherwise the show is pretty accessible as far as listening to 2 and Jibba go.  I am NOT gay or a furry, but I still think they’re both funny bastards!)

The appeal of the show is similar to listening to the best stuff from Howard Stern or Opie and Anthony, especially when the hosts go off on a news story or when during the Gore News, Jibba completely loses it and breaks down laughing!  (Yeah, I told you these guys were twisted!)

The show has undergone a huge makeover since 2010.  It now does a live video cast each week.  After, the show is archived as a video and audio file for download.  The audio version of the show cuts out a lot from the break due to the content being video.  Just to let you know

This show is not for everyone!  If you can stand the kind of offensive commentary Stern and O & A dish out, give it a shot.  I have a great laugh with each show.  So head on over to http://www.ranting-gryphon.com/ where you can not only get the show, but download past rants, songs created by 2 and episodes of the show from the past six years. 

“BURP!  Real blog post now!”

Monday, February 14, 2011

Giant Robot Monday #4-GETTTTTAAAAAA BEEEAMMMMM!

Going for a compare and contrast this week, so we get two for price of one!

Anybody remember Force Five? That awesome block of Japanese cartoons that played way back on Channel 25 (Back when it was local and not an affiliate of Fox?) and featured 4 kick-ass Giant Robot anime and one sci-fi themed quest anime.

One was the Starvengers. Three vehicles that combine three ways into three awesome giant robots! Dragun! Arrow! Poseidon!

The actual name was Getter Robo, originally a manga co-created by Go Nagai and Kon Ishikawa. It had a ton of sequels and spin-offs, each more epic than the last. In fact, Starvengers was actually the first Getter Robo sequel, Getter Robo G!

Starvengers!



Getter Robo G!

Saturday, February 12, 2011

Happy Valentine's Day!

From Poink T. Weasel!



(Not safe for work or little kids...But hilarious)

Tuesday, February 8, 2011

Random Thoughts-Trailer Treats

I've seen a trio of trailers at least twice on my recent excursions to the cinema, all part of the first wave of spring/summer films for this year. I feel like sharing my thoughts about them as they all are geared to wanting you to rush to the theater, but while one works, the other two...well, let's get started.

Sucker Punch



The newest film from Zack Snyder (Watchmen, 300, Dawn of the Dead 2004). I'm gonna come right out and say, that as pretty to look at as this trailer is, it's just NOT doing anything for me! I do not feel excited to see this simply because I can't figure out what the hell is going on! How does what is going on in these scenes (Which are supposed to be the imagination of what's supposed to be a teen/20 something girl...YEAH RIGHT! More like a 12 year old boy!) with the drama of the main character being dragged to a Gothic mental institution for killing her ass of a...(dad?...step-dad?) and trying to bust out for some reason.

I don't get it! Are they doing some weird mind control/Matrix experiment on the girls? Plus the fact it's so damn obvious this is such obvious pandering to the Cat Piss Men and Comic Book Guys in the audience (These ladies look WAY too pretty to be inmates at a loony bin).

Maybe the closer we get to the release, we might get more info as to what's going on. But until then, I can't see me seeing it, unless it gets good reviews.


Transformers III: Dark Of The Moon.



OK, I dig how this trailer played out. It's a nice play on the opposite conspiracy theory about the Moon Landing (Not that we faked the Moon landing, but that we did go the Moon...and found somebody's already there!). However...I'll confess, I did not see Transformers II. Why? Oh, I don't know...the fact that almost every fan on-line and most critics said how horrible it was and pointed out why!* (Most having to do with Bay indulging his bad attempts at humor, obvious pandering, bad sense of night/day around the world, racist stereotypes and a muddled storyline.)
So my only hope to see this will be if Bay's worst impulses have been reigned in, we have a keep it simple, stupid storyline and more focus on what fans came to these movies to see, the Autobots and Decepticons beating and blasting the Energon outta each other!

*Yes, I know it did great box office, but it only shows H.L. Mencken's Law still holds true.
("No one ever lost money under-estimating the intelligence of the average American")



Battle: Los Angeles



Now I am looking forward to this! The film seems to be taking a "Cloverfield" approach to the idea of an alien invasion of Earth. Even though it is from a group of Marines, our "heroes" can only do so much in the face of what the trailer says is a world-wide invasion. I like that unlike most alien invasion films, the aliens fight like a true army. Troops on the ground fighting street to street, air support in the form of fighters, bombers and troop carriers, and if I'm correct about the last scene, battle-mechs! The film is not afraid to show innocent civilians get killed and has a feeling of desperation and hopelessness as it appears that the aliens have the advantage and several cities have already fallen to them.(The newscast in the international trailer says communication with New York and Tokyo has been lost) It's got a great apocalyptic thrill to it and makes me what to see it. Hopefully it won't have a lame "Hollywood" ending.

Monday, February 7, 2011

Podcast of the Week #4-How Did This Get Made?




Podcasts and websites devoted to the love of bad movies are a dime a dozen these days, but most are devoted to b-movies usually produced by independent film-makers like Ed Wood, Roger Corman, etc, as well as films of the past. I remember reading a great book by Michael Sauter, The Worst Movies of All Time: Or, What Were They Thinking?, that covered what the author called "The Megaton Bombs." The movies produced by the big studios (MGM, Warner Bros, Fox, etc) that had the big stars, the big budget, the big money...and nose-dived straight into the trash can! Cleopatra, Heaven's Gate, Waterworld. All had everything going for them and they flopped big time with critics and audiences.

That's the basis of this week's podcast! Hosted by comedian/actor Paul Scheer with co-hosts June Diane Raphael and Jason Mantzoukas, (And a special guest each week) How Did This Get Made? delves humorously into the modern Megaton Bombs, trying to make sense of movies that make no sense! The podcast is pretty young. (Only three episodes, with quick in-between mini-episodes telling listeners what movie is gonna get covered and a way listeners can participate, either by watching the upcoming movie and leaving an e-mail comment or coming up with alternative taglines for the film)

Films covered so far in order have been:

  1. Burlesque-The Cher/Christina Aguilera attempt to out-show Showgirls!
  2. Season of The Witch-In which we learn that the story has nothing to do with witches and Nicholas Cage's latest wig acted better than he did!
  3. Old Dogs-Possibly the most scatter-shot episode, simply because this Robin Williams/John Travolta travesty was just as scatter-shot!

As of this post, the next episode will be devoted to M. Night Shamylan's horrid attempt at a kung-fu/fantasy/cartoon to live movie adaptation, The Last Airbender, based on the animated series Avatar: The Last Airbender. The cartoon is excellent! The movie, not so much!

So check them out at http://www.earwolf.com/show/how-did-get-made or subscribe to them on iTunes and let the pain begin!

Sunday, February 6, 2011

Giant Robot Monday #3-ACES HIGH!

 

Yet another Giant Robot Monday!  And I got a doozy!  Stumbled  across this cruising YouTube.  Iron Maiden + Robotech: The Macross Saga=EPIC WIN!

Tuesday, February 1, 2011

Random Thoughts-Godzilla vs Superman

Channeling my inner geek to the max on this one. Fair warning to all....

My older brother teased me recently when he heard me talking about Godzilla films with an acquaintance that Superman could beat Godzilla. I just wrote it off as him being a jack-ass as usual, but it did get my imagination running. So David, remember, this one's your fault!

OK, The Man of Steel vs The King of The Monsters. This argument is not as clear cut as it seems simply because it depends on one big factor. Which version of Superman and which version of Godzilla are we talking about? Both characters have undergone many upgrades, in terms of powers, ability and personality, over the many years they've been in existence (Godzilla for over 50 years, Supes for over 70).

But thankfully, for the sake of keeping this essay going too long, there are three distinct periods for each character that we can nail down regarding power levels and thus come to some conclusions regarding a possible match.

Age before beauty, let's start with the oldest character, Kal-El of Krypton and his three "ages" of power:



The Golden Age Superman (1930's-1940's): Premiering in Action Comics #1 in 1939, The Golden Age incarnation of Superman was surprisingly underpowered compared to his future incarnations. To start with, he couldn't fly! Only able to leap long and high distances. (Flight would be added later during his popular radio show, where his famous phrase "Up, up and away!" came from.) Telescopic vision but no X-Ray vision, heat vision or cold breath. Had super-speed and endurance and super-senses but not sure how powerful those abilities were. I do know that while he was bullet-proof, a tank shell could hurt him and his strength could make him lift a car or tank, but anything heavier could give him problems.



The Silver Age Superman (late 1950's-mid 1970's): To put it mildly, The Superman of the Silver Age didn't have his powers cranked to 11, he broke the knob and blew out the speakers! All of the over the top abilities fans associated with Supes originated during this run of the character. Some abilities were used once, then forgotten about because the writers came up with them off the cuff for the sake of finishing the story! All a reflection of the kinda over the top adversaries Superman faced off against during this time. (Aliens, giant monsters, The full-on mad scientist version of Lex Luthor, The Bizzaro World, magic users to name a few). Oh and according to one website, he could also be kinda of a dick!



The Modern Age Superman (1980's to now): Modern Age Superman was stripped of his crazier abilities from the Silver Age and toned down to his base powers (Flight, Near god-like strength, speed and endurance plus x-ray, telescopic and heat vision, super senses and breath). Still the strongest of all super-heroes in the DC Universe but he could be hurt by anything or anybody that is equal or over his strength level which includes a number of heavy hitters on both the hero and villain sides.

OK, now for the King of Kaiju! Just as Superman had his distinct eras, so too did Godzilla. (The first two "eras" of Godzilla films refers to the then current Emperor of Japan.)



The Showa Era (1954-1975): Premiering in Japan in 1954 (Then in America in 1955 with Raymond Burr edited in), the first Godzilla film established Godzilla's core powers (Atomic fire breath, amphibious abilities, invulnerable to conventional weapons, tremendous strength and an ability to heal quickly from damage.) with only a few exceptions across the series. (Flying in Godzilla vs Hedorah and magnetic ability in Godzilla vs Mecha-Godzilla). The only weapon able to "kill" him (The Oxygen Destroyer) was used only once (In the first film) due to the creator killing himself with Godzilla (So it would not fall into the wrong hands) Personality-wise, Godzilla would quickly go from being a savage monster and metaphor for the A-bomb to a giant economy size super hero. That was partly to draw in kids who became more of the core audience and because the films were losing out to TV shows like Ultraman which featured monster action for free.



The Heisei Era (1984-1999): After 1975, Godzilla was retired. But nine years later, was brought back in 1984 in The Return of Godzilla (Known in the States as Godzilla:1985). Then, starting with 1989, with Godzilla vs Biollante, a new series was created made of a total of seven films ending with Godzilla vs Destroyah. The series was a reboot of the Godzilla franchise with the first 1954 film as it's base. Godzilla was upgraded in size and mass, but his core powers remained the same, although more powerful than they were in the Showa series. He was also given the ability to absorb and feed off of radiation which fueled his powers. Here, Godzilla was depicted as a living force of nature akin to an earthquake or a hurricane (and about as easy to stop). If he fought monsters (Which he did) it was less being a hero and more like a wolf protecting his turf.



The Millennium Era (2000-2004): Starting with Godzilla: 2000 and ending with Godzilla: Final Wars with a total of six movies. This series is...confusing. You see, while the Heisei and Showa series had their own internal continuity, each movie in the Millennium series, with two exceptions (Godzilla x Mecha-Godzilla and Godzilla:Tokyo SOS) basically have their own internal continuity with 1954 as their base. Godzilla's abilities stayed the same with each film. Although Final Wars had him in a form similar to his late Showa super hero form in terms of speed and fighting.

OK, stats outta the way, let's see how each would do against each other. Keep in mind, we're talking about a straight physical fight. Also keep in mind that:

1. Being smaller, it can be harder for Superman to get in blows that might have effect.
2. Superman, being a thinking being would normally be using both his brain and brawn.

Oh, and if it's late Showa Era Godzilla and any Superman...it wouldn't be a fight, it'd be a team-up! Probably against Lex Luthor and King Ghidorah!

Golden Age Superman vs any Godzilla-I hate to say it, but unless he used his head and fast, Golden Age Supes would be toast! Either version of Godzilla is automatically stronger than him, plus you have to factor in Godzilla'a fire breath and the radiation the early Godzilla gave off. Sorry kids, but in a straight fight, Kal-El 1.0 would be history before he made it.

Silver Age Superman vs any Godzilla-No contest! Silver Age Superman-The guy juggled planets for God's sake!

Modern Age Superman vs any Godzilla-Keep in mind that with Modern Age Supes being able to be hurt by anybody with power equal or over his, it'd be a tough contest. I can see him scoring a victory against the early Showa Godzilla, but it'd be close with the Heisei and Millennium era G's. Honestly could go either way.

And one more factor to consider. David, I know you are technically right in that he could do it, but let's face it. One of the main points about Superman is THAT HE DOES NOT KILL! Even a beast as brutal as Godzilla, Superman would do everything to avoid killing him. If it were a battle where any version of Superman used both his brains and strength, it'd be less a physical brawl and more of Superman using his abilities to divert Godzilla away from wherever he's headed or terrorizing.

So one score for Godzilla, One for Supes and a tie for both. Now shut up Dave and quit trying to annoy my inner geek.


Besides, everybody knows Grandizer would kick both their asses! ;-)