Phil sees GHOST IN THE SHELL from Paramount Pictures - August 17, 2017

In 1995, the anime film GHOST IN THE SHELL was released to theaters and home video to world wide acclaim. It was the most visually stunning and complex anime to be released at that time. It has gone on to become one of the greatest anime films of all time, often times being compared to AKIRA in some conversations. Based on the internationally acclaimed Japanese Manga, "The Ghost in the Shell," the anime eventually caught the attention of Hollywood. Last year it was announced that Paramount Pictures were planning a big budget live adaptation of the classic property. The end result is GHOST IN THE SHELL, which was released to theaters this past spring and yours truly finally got around to seeing it.

The film's official synopsis: In the near future, Major Motoko Kusanagi (Scarlett Johansson) is the first of her kind: A human saved from a terrible terrorist attack, who is cyber-enhanced to be a perfect soldier devoted to stopping the world's most dangerous criminals. When terrorism reaches a new level that includes the ability to hack into people's minds and control them, Major Kusanagi is uniquely qualified to stop it. As she prepares to face a new enemy, Major Kusanagi discovers that she has been lied to: her life was not saved, it was stolen. She will stop at nothing to recover her past, find out who did this to her and stop them before they do it to others.

So......yeah, this film. While I thoroughly enjoyed the cinematography and the special effects were gorgeous, I felt that it was just another lifeless, bloated Hollywood shit show.

Now I love Scarlett Johansson and I think she's a talented actress, but I felt like she was miscast in the role. Her performance felt flat for me and she didn't show a lot of range as Motoko. Granted, she was the subject of enormous controversy due to her being cast as the lead instead of casting an Japanese actress, which there is some merit in it. The source material is all Japanese based; the manga, the anime, which is regarded as one of the greatest and most influential anime film of all time. The only Japanese actor in the film is the legendary actor Takeshi Kitano and he doesn't speak of word of English in the film! That's how badass he is!

Director Rubert Sanders' previous film was the 2012 SNOW WHITE AND THE HUNTSMAN, which I didn't like very much. Now he is a really good director; his set-ups and compositions are nice looking, his storytelling is fluid and smooth, but as to why he picks these type of film projects is beyond me. So far his resume includes three short films and two Hollywood duds. Seriously Rubert, find something more worth while to do with your time.

GHOST IN THE SHELL is another dull, boring, lifeless, soulless, typical Hollywood schlockbuster that's easy on the eyes but is unquestionably forgettable! Not even Johansson and her skin colored outfit can save this film from being another shitty attempt of another Hollywood remake of a beloved Japanese film! 2 out of 5 stars! It's a rental at best!

GHOST IN THE SHELL is currently playing in theaters nationwide. Check your local listings to see if it's playing at a theater near you.

Thanks for reading, and enjoy the show!

Phil counts down to the BIG WOW! COMICFEST at the San Jose Convention Center May 17-18, 2014

Hey kids! What time is it? That's right! It's summertime! School's out. College graduations are commencing. And you know what else? That's right! The Big WOW! ComicFest returns to the San Jose Convention Center this weekend May 17th and 18th! Yes, San Jose's premier comic book show is back with comic book artists, gamers, filmmakers, cosplayers and costume contests, local and international celebraties and so much more!

With Hollywood's big GODZILLA remake opening this weekend, Big WOW! pulled out all the stops by having several  legendary Japanese actors appearing at the fest! First is Kenpachiro Satsuma, who first came to fame by donning the famous Godzilla suit for the 1984 film RETURN OF GODZILLA. After the film's release, he would play the famed reptile 11 more times! Joining him are actors Satoshi “Bin” Furuya, best known for being the original Ultraman, and Daisuke Ban, best known for his title roles in "two of the most iconic series of all time, KIKAIDA and INAZUMAN!" If you are a true Japanese fan, then you will want to meet these three acting icons!

There are numerous comic book personalities already signed up to appear at the convention and all are icons in the industry: Charlie Adlard (The Walking Dead), Mike Mignola (creator of Hellboy), Joe Linser (Cry for Dawn) Sergio Aragones (Groo the Wanderer), Michael Golden (The 'Nam, Dr. Strange), Joyce Chin (Vampirella, Xena, Guy Gardener: Warrior), Mark Badger (Spider-Man, X-Men), Arthur Adams (Superman, Godzilla, Monkeyman and O'Brian), and Neal Adams (Batman, Green Lantern/Green Arrow) just to name a few.

Along with comic book personal, there will be other celebrities appearing from all avenues. In the entertainment world, fans can meet local stars such as Balrok and Cave Girls Shotzi Black Heartt and Madison Hannah from the hit KOFY TV20 television show Creep KOFY Movie Time, horror hostess Miss Misery from Miss Misery's Movie Massacre, horror host Lord Blood-Rah of Lord Blood-Rah's Nerve Wraking Theatre, Strephon Taylor from November Fire, local documentary filmmaker Tom Wyrsch and legendary Creature Features host John Stanley.

As for Big WOW! celebrities, look no further than William Katt (from the TV series The Greatest American Hero, CARRIE, HOUSE), Clare Kramer (from the TV series Buffy the Vampire Slayer, BRING IT ON, and BIG ASS SPIDER), Richard Kiel ("Jaws" in the James Bond films, HAPPY GILMORE) Costas Mandylor (from the TV series Picket Fences, the SAW series), Kevin B. Grevioux (co-writer and producer of the  UNDERWORLD films), Jane Wiedlin (guitarist of The Go-Go's), and Alison MacInnis ( Dana Mitchell the Pink Ranger on the current season of Power Rangers Super Megaforce) just to name a few!

Fans will also meet some of the finest cosplayers around, including Valerie Perez (Wonder Woman),  Anthony Misiano (The Joker), Ivy Doomkitty, and Vegas Powergirl for starters. Then there's all the comic book artists at the Underground and Artist's Alley creating original works of art, the cool Anima area that includes my friend Carlyfornia, plus all the dealers, toys, comics and everything else you can imagine!

There's also cool programs and panels during the two days, including a Power Rangers panel, Top Cow Studios panel, Cosplay 101, Cultural Diversity in Comics, a Costume Contest and so much more. Plus there's also going to be a Magic the Gathering Tournaments for all you gamers out there!

Some of the big events to check out is the1st Annual Famous Monsters Film Festival, hosted by the fine folks over at Famous Monsters of Filmland, "the magazine that has inspired generations of imaginations such as Peter Jackson, Guillermo del Toro, Steven Spielberg, and many more." The film festival will be running the entire first day and some of Sunday morning. Also worth checking out is the Batman Museum: Celebrating 75 years of the famed Caped Crusader! Witness and marvel (no pun intended) at rare original artwork, toys, games, posters and collectibles of all kinds!

So what are you waiting for? Start planing to attend Northern California's premiere comic book and entertainment event! To learn more about the convention and to purchase tickets and passes, please visit Big WOW! ComicFest's official website at www.bigwowcomicfest.com.

Thanks for reading, and enjoy the show! 

Phil counts down to the BIG WOW! COMICFEST at the San Jose Convention Center May 18-19, 2013

Ladies and gentleman, fanboys and cosplayers rejoice! The Big WOW! ComicFest returns to the San Jose Convention Center this weekend May 18th and 19th! That's right, San Jose's premier comic book show is back with comic book artists, Anima/Manga, cool cosplayers and costume contests, movie stars and so much more!

There are numerous comic book personalities already signed up to appear at the convention and all are icons in the industry: Neal Adams, J. Scott Campbell, Mark Badger, Sergio Aragones, Travis Charest, Adam Hughes, Kevin Nowlan, Barbara Kesel, and Frank Cho just to name a few.

Stan Lee circa 2007.

However, the big news is that on Sunday, May 19th, making is only Northern California appearance is none other than Mr. Marvel Comics himself: Stan "The Man" Lee! For those of you who may not recognize this name, Stan Lee is the co-creator of the Marvel Universe. Along artist Jack "The King" Kirby, Lee helped create The Fantastic Four, The Incredible Hulk, Iron Man, The Avengers, The X-Men, The Mighty Thor, and Spider-Man. He's made cameo appearances in every Marvel film to date, and is the founder and CEO of POW! Productions. Stan Lee is a legend in the industry, whose contributions are extraordinary. The comic book world wouldn't be the same without him!

Along with comic book personal, there will be other celebrities appearing from all avenues. In the entertainment world, fans can meet local stars such as Balrok from the hit KOFY TV20 television show Creep KOFY Movie Time, horror hostess Miss Misery from Miss Misery's Movie Massacre, horror host Lord Blood-Rah, Strephon Taylor from November Fire, local documentary filmmaker Tom Wyrsch and legendary Creature Features host John Stanley. Also appearing is gutarist Jane Wiedlin from the Go-Go's, as well as Thomas Jane, star of the 2004 Marvel film THE PUNISHER.

Fans will also meet some of the finest cosplayers around, including Valerie Perez, Ivy Doomkitty, Keith  Carter, and Tally Smith for starters. Then there's all the comic book artists at the Underground and Artist's Alley creating original works of art, the cool Anima area that includes my friend Carlyfornia, plus all the dealers, toys, comics and everything else you can imagine!

There's also cool programs and panels during the two days, including a Geek Fashion Show, Costume Rock Band Challenge, Women in Comics, Filmmaking with Miss Misery, Latinos in Comics, and so much more.

So what are you waiting for? Start planing to attend Northern California's premiere comic book and entertainment event! To learn more about the convention and to purchase tickets and passes, please visit Big WOW! ComicFest's official website at www.bigwowcomicfest.com.

Thanks for reading, and enjoy the show!

Phil attends the Cult Movie Series screening of AKIRA at the Camera 3-June 11, 2011

For years I was a big fan and supporter of the Camera Cinemas' Midnight Movie series. From May til the end of September, they would show popular, cult and horror films at midnight every week at two locations: The Camera 7 Pruneyard on Friday night and the Camera 12 on Saturday night. For over six years I would be there, winning prizes and watching some true film classics such as EVIL DEAD 2, THE PRINCESS BRIDE, THE PROFESSIONAL, and REPO:THE GENETIC OPERA. This past February it was reformatted and rechristened as the Cult Movie series. Now they show the same film twice a month (Thursday nights at 9:30 and Saturday nights at 11:30) at the Camera 3 in downtown San Jose, and it now continues until November. For month number five, the series screened one of the most important anime films all time. With the exception of SNOW WHITE AND THE SEVEN DWARFS, no other animated film has changed the landscape of cinema and has had a huge influence on pop culture. Make no mistake, AKIRA was and still is the standard that to which all other anime films are measured by.

Original Movie Poster (1988)

Based off the manga graphic novel by Katsuhiro Otomo (who also directed the film) of the same name, AKIRA is set in the futuristic world of Neo-Tokyo in the year 2019. The city has risen out of the ashes of World War III and now has become dark and dangerous megalopolis, infested with gangs and terrorists. The film's main character is biker gang member Shotaro Kaneda, who tries to prevent his best friend Tetsuo Shima from releasing Akira, a little boy with immense mental abilities who destroyed Tokyo decades before. Along the way, Kaneda befriends a young named Kei, a member of the terrorist Resistance. Soon it's up to them to stop his unstable and insane friend from unleashing mass destruction on Neo-Tokyo.

 The film was originally released in Japan on July 16, 1988 by distributor Toho. Soon the film was setting attendance records for an animated film all across the country. Shortly thereafter, a fledgling US film distribution company named Streamline Pictures picked up the rights to release the film here after both George Lucas and Steven Spielberg passed on the film, stating that it was unmarketable. The film had a limited release in theaters from late 1988 throughout 1989. But once it was released on VHS in 1991, the film found a new audience, and became a bona fide cult film.

In the beginning of the new millennium, the film was once brought into the spotlight. On July 24, 2001, the film was once again released to theaters, sporting a new digitally remastered picture and a brand new English dub. In 2002, distributor Manga released a two-disc DVD featuring the new Pioneer English dub version. In February of 2009, the film was finally released on Blu-Ray.

AKIRA is widely considered to be a landmark in Japanese animation as well as filmmaking in general. After the film's release, anime films became hugely popular, finding new audiences here in America. Films such as GHOST IN THE SHELL, MY NEIGHBOR TOTORO, PRINCESS MONONOKE, and BLOOD: THE LAST VAMPIRE have all become huge hits. Anime television shows like ROBOTECH series, VOLTRON,  DRAGON BALL-Z, and POKEMON have all penetrated the youth pop culture like no other fad has done before. There are now anime conventions all across the country. Anime fashion has become popular as well. But in the end, none of these would be here if not for AKIRA. A couple of years ago, a film critic once said, "There was before AKIRA, and there was after AKIRA. AKIRA changed the world forever." I whole-heatedly concur with that statement.

To purchase your copy of AKIRA on Blu-Ray and DVD, visit http://www.amazon.com/

To learn more about Camera Cinemas' Cult Movie series, upcoming films, showtimes, etc, visit http://www.cameracinemas.com/midnight.shtml

Thanks for reading, and enjoy the show!