Japan

Top New Blu-ray releases for the Week of January 24

By Brenden ⋅ January 29, 2012 ⋅ Post a comment

This week’s new Blu-ray releases include ‘GODZILLA’, ‘THE MOMENT OF TRUTH’, ’50/50′, ‘THE WHISTLEBLOWER’, ‘WINGS’, ‘REAL STEEL’, ‘NOTORIOUS’, ‘REBECCA’, ‘SPELLBOUND’, ‘THE APARTMENT’, ‘ANNIE HALL’, ‘MANHATTAN’ and many, many more!

Macross 30th Anniversary Blu-ray boxed set coming to Japan

By Brenden ⋅ January 23, 2012 ⋅ Post a comment

Continuing on with Blu-ray news that’s totally blowing my mind, the Japanese arm of Bandai Visual has revealed that they’re planning to unleash a massive Blu-ray boxed set of the original Macross series! This show, in the guise of the first third of the Robotech saga, as we saw it here in North America back in the ’80s, was instrumental in shaping my love for anime, the giant robot genre and for serial storytelling in general. I don’t think it’s too far fetched to say that some aspect of the story, the design or the legacy of the series is present in my life on an everyday basis (aside from the fact that I’m perpetually gazing at the three large character models I have sitting above my television.) The news that all 36 of the series’ original episodes will be available on Blu-ray this May is throwing me into something of a fit. …Continued…

Criterion January Blu-ray titles: Godzilla, Belle de Jour, Moment of Truth, Traffic

By Brenden ⋅ October 15, 2011 ⋅ Post a comment

Ha! Amazing! Criterion hinted back in August that they might be inducting the original 1954 Gojira into the collection in the near future but honestly, I didn’t think we’d see it released on Blu-ray this soon. In addition to the Japanese edition of the film, the January release of Godzilla will also include the 1956 American “reworking” of the film that starred Raymond Burr and was re-titled Godzilla, King of the Monsters. This is gold for fans of the man-in-suit franchise like myself, to find both beloved versions of the film in one package! Amazing. …Continued..

Criterion teases original 1954 Godzilla on Blu-ray

By Brenden ⋅ August 23, 2011 ⋅ One comment

Hold the phone! What’s this?! Is it possible that Criterion will be gracing us with a cleaned up, tricked out Blu-ray edition of the original 1954 Gojira (more popularly known on these North American shores as Godzilla: King of the Monsters) sometime in the near future? …Criterion…

[VIDEO] The Girl Who Leapt Through Time Blu-ray Trailer

By Brenden ⋅ March 18, 2011 ⋅ One comment

As I understand it, The Girl Who Leapt Through Time is one of the greatest animated films ever made. If I had a nickel for every time my anime loving pals have made attempts to lure me/pressure me/force me to watch it, well, I’d probably have a few nickels. You have to understand though, it’s not that I’m actively trying to avoid the film. It’s that every opportunity to see it has been via shaky looking download or aged, frighteningly standard-def DVD (yeah, sue me, I’m an HD snob). And if the film is really that good, I’m content to wait to experience it on the big screen at a festival or on Blu-ray. Well, on April 26th, Bandai will release The Girl Who Leapt Through Time on Blu-ray and I’ll no longer have any excuse to avoid it. Bring it on, Bandai! Bring it on! …Continued…

New Studio Ghibli on Blu-Ray: Laputa Castle in the Sky, My Neighbors the Yamadas

By Brenden ⋅ September 13, 2010 ⋅ One comment

This is extraordinary news! According to pre-order listings on Amazon.jp, Studio Ghibli‘s next two Blu-ray releases will be Hayao Miyazaki‘s 1986 Laputa, Castle in the Sky and his partner, Isao Takahata‘s 1999 comedy, My Neighbors the Yamadas. …Continued…

best Japanese films of the decade 2000-2009

By Brenden ⋅ April 3, 2010 ⋅ Post a comment

best Japanese films of the decade (2000-2009) http://bit.ly/bBBO7q (via @largeheartedboy) Related posts top 10 underrated comic book movies (0) Top 10 Japanese documentaries from jfilmpowwow (0) Top 10 Anime movies that surpass Disney by lightyears (0) The Last Guy not on his last mission: DLC, Trophies & Blu-ray hits Japan (0) Panasonic's portable Blu-ray player [...]

[VIDEO] Wish List: Studio Ghibli Collection on Blu-ray

By Brenden ⋅ March 1, 2010 ⋅ 2 comments

My Neighbour Totoro. Castle in the Sky. Kiki’s Delivery Service. These are among my favourite films of all time. And they are all newly re-released on DVD this week from Disney. …Continued…

Blood: The Last Vampire Blu-ray Disc Review

By Brenden ⋅ October 19, 2009 ⋅ One comment

I watched Blood: The Last Vampire a couple of nights ago and I’m struggling to tell you what the hell it was all about. I’ll tell you this though, it looks fantastic, sounds fantastic and has some of the coolest martial-arts that I’ve seen on screen in a long, long time. And I’ve seen a lot of martial-arts films lately! …Continued…