#121: Shadow (2018)

In 2018, Chinese director Zhang Yimou (Hero, House of Flying Daggers) returned once again to the wuxia genre with the Shadow, a tale of court intrigue, starring Chao Deng, Li Sun, and Ryan Zheng, about a double forced to play the part of a commander in order to retake lost territory from a rival nation.  Tune in for the full review! Timestamps: [00:00] Intro + The Heroic Trio, Onward Towards Our Noble Deaths, Yan, Steel of the Celestial Shadows, Ashita no Joe, Dynasty Warriors Origins [37:45] Review: Shadow (2018)

BLT Team B review the cult, teen horror movie The Gate (1987) about a group of suburban kids, left alone for the weekend, who discover a large, mysterious hole in their backyard from which demons from hell begin to emerge.   

After an assignment goes awry, a hitman (Joe Shishido) and his partner (Jerry Fujio) are chased by rival gangs to a small seaside town where they meet a young woman (Chitose Kobayashi) who may be their only hope of escape.  Cool and stylish, Takashi Nomura's A Colt is My Passport (1967) is a smoking cocktail of influences, half spaghetti western, half hard boiled noir, with textures and flavors both familiar and unique, qualities which have earned the film a reputation in recent years as an overlooked cult classic.  Tune in for the full review! Timestamps: [00:00] Intro + Record of Ragnarok, City Hunter manga, Ultraman Omega,  [26:50] Review: A Colt is My Passport

What better way to end the year than with a with a double dose of Kei and Yuri, a.k.a. the Dirty Pair!  We'll be exploring the history of the beloved space opera franchise, reviewing both the Dirty Pair: Affair of Nolandia OVA from 1985 and Dirty Pair: Project Eden movie from 1987, and answering listener questions.  Enjoy the show! Timestamps: [00:00] Intro + Ashita no Joe manga, Musou games, Ultraman Zett, Tojima Wants to be a Kamen Rider, Sentai news [36:35] Pre-Review: Dirty Pair  [1:11:57] Review: Dirty Pair Affair of Nolandia OVA [1:46:59] Review: Dirty Pair Project Eden [2:26:53] Bluesky Questions

BLT Team B return with a review of the 2020 cult indie film, Psycho Goreman, an offbeat horror comedy that will tickle the fancy of anyone who grew up thinking it would be rad to be best friends with Power Ranger's Lord Zedd.

It's time for another annual BLT Halloween episode so what better way to usher in the spooky season than with a review of the martial arts comedy The Dragon Lives Again (1977), an infamous entry in the bruceploitation sub genre, in which Bruce Lee dies, ends up in the underworld, teams up with the likes of Popeye the Sailor and The One Armed Swordsman, and squares off against a gang of movie legends like Dracula, James Bond, The Man With No Name, and Zatoichi for the title of big boss of the underworld! Timestamps: [00:00] Intro + Absolute Martian Manhunter, Ashita no Joe: Fighting for Tomorrow, Ultraman Z, Pokémon Legends: Z-A, Dirty Pair [44:45] Review - The Dragon Lives Again

Grab your buster swords and join us for a look back at Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children, the CGI animated movie sequel to the landmark video game title that many consider to be the greatest Role Playing Game of all time.  We'll be diving into the history the legendary franchise, sharing our thoughts on the film twenty years out from its original release date, and answering your Bluesky questions. Timestamps: [00:00] Intro + Ultraman Tiga, Panzer World Galient, Kaiju No. 8, Clevatess, See You at the Food Court, Dogsred [47:05] Review - Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children Complete [2:27:00] Bluesky Questions

We review the second film in Hideaki Anno's trilogy of Shin films: Shin Ultraman.  Following the success of 2016's Shin Godzilla, Anno returns yet again as screenwriter but this time with longtime collaborator Shinji Higuchi taking over directing duties in this modern day re-imagining of the popular Ultraman franchise that aims to return the series to its early roots.  Tune in for the full review! Timestamps: [00:00] Intro + Hunter x Hunter, Return of Ultraman, Lupin Zero, Lupin IIIrd vs. Cat's Eye [37:27] Review - Shin Ultraman [2:36:24] BlueSky Questions

A remake of Bruce Lee's classic Fist of Fury,  director Gordan Chan's Fist of Legend, arriving to Hong Kong movie goers in 1994, softens the harder line of the original film's patriotic fury yet loses none of its tremendous punch with martial art stars Jet Li, Billy Chow and Yasuaki Kurata all in top form.  Tune in for the full review! Timestamps: [00:00] Intro + G-Fest '25 report, Return of Ultraman, Combattler V, Naruto manga, The Water Margin [52:17] Review - Fist of Legend

A disturbing peek into the dark underbelly of a small American town, David Lynch's Blue Velvet (1986), with his signature flourishes of dream like logic, penchant for the psychological, and a plot pulled straight from the pages of a tattered noir paperback, tells the story of Jeffrey (Kyle McLachLan), a bored young man, who in his search for clues about a mysterious missing ear, perilously descends bit by tantalizing bit into a dangerous and forbidden underworld with a dark allure that simultaneously thrills and repulses him. Tune in for the full review! Timestamps: [00:00] Intro + Naruto, Hunter x Hunter, Godzilla Masterpiece Theater, Seven Samurai, Magnificent Seven, A Bride's Story, Lazarus [40:55] Review - Blue Velvet