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 Written By: Ken Hulsey In 1984, Carl Macek sought to import a Japanese anime series, the famous Chôjikû yôsai Macross, to the United States for syndication. However, the series was only 36 episodes long, shorter than the standard 65-episode American syndicated show. To remedy this, Macek obtained two additional unrelated series, Chôjikû kidan Southern Cross and Kikô sôseiki Mospeada, and hired a team of writers to weave the three shows into a grand, epic narrative. The resulting story followed three generations living through a mass alien invasion. The final arc would revolve around Robotech pilot Scott Bernard, who was sent back to Earth to organize resistance against the Invid. This time, the aliens were not after a missing warship, but rather intended to harvest Earth's bio-energy in the form of Protoculture (a "Prototype Culture" derived from the Macross series) and enslave the remaining human population

Over the past couple of decades, my life has taken an interesting journey. In the early 2000s, I worked as an entertainment reporter and journalist, primarily covering the Japanese science fiction movie scene. That eventually led me to reporting on anime and, later, low-budget independent sci-fi and horror films here in the U.S. This work allowed me to establish valuable contacts at major studios like Warner Bros. and Universal, and I had the opportunity to contribute to publicity for some of their releases. It was a wild ride, and an experience I will always treasure.

 By Ken Hulsey Prince of Space was originally a Japanese children's television series that was later edited into a feature film. The film adaptation suffers greatly from this choppily edited format. While the acting, special effects, and story were intended for a children's TV audience, the production values fall far short of other Japanese sci-fi films from the same era, most notably The Mysterians.

 Last night the visual effects team of Masaki Takahashi, Takashi Yamazaki, Kiyoko Shibuya, and Tatsuji Nojima made cinematic history when their work for Godzilla Minus One won the Academy Award for Best Visual Effects. Despite the fact that the Godzilla movie series is currently the longest running franchise in the history of cinema not a single entry had ever been nominated for an Oscar prior to Minus One. The film was the surprise hit of 2023 and gained acclaim with critics and fans alike. Despite a meager budget of less than $15 million the film beat out the Hollywood juggernauts The Creator, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning Part 1, and Napoleon.

 While scrolling through Netflix on Saturday, Terri and I stumbled upon the documentary series Age of Samurai Battle for Japan. Since we had been spending many of our weekend afternoons binging the films of the legendary Japanese director Akira Kurosawa we thought that it would be something that we would find interesting. From watching films like Yojimbo and Seven Samurai , we had some idea of how the warlords of Japan had fought bloody campaigns to take control of the country. Thanks to this really great documentary series we now understand the complex history of the Samurai and how their exploits inspired the works of Kurosawa that we both love so much.

There has been a lot of talk about about what an amazing film Godzilla Minus One truly is, and how the dramatic story featured in it has surprised both fans and critics alike, yet very little has been said about the actors themselves. Today I wanted to do a feature on Japanese actress Minami Hamabe who plays Noriko Oishi in Godzilla Minus One.  I honestly believe that Ms. Hamabe gave a stellar performance and I thought that film fans here in America would like to learn more about her. I found this biography on the Japanese website My Drama List that is couple of years old that mentions her prior film Shin Kamen Rider but not Godzilla Minus One, however it does give some background on her prior work. Hamabe Minami, born in Ishikawa, is a Japanese actress, model and a former child actress managed by Toho Entertainment. Hamabe won the New Generation Award at the 7th Toho Cinderella Audition. She is known for her beautiful eyes. She has since starred in numerous films and dra...

 With the success of Godzilla Minus One on the top of his resume, Japanese film maker Takashi Yamazaki has expressed interest in following in director Gareth Edwards shoes by using Godzilla as a springboard into potentially making a Star Wars movie or television series. After seeing his fresh take on Godzilla, Yamazaki may just be the type of film maker the stale Star Wars franchise needs right now. Super7 ULTIMATES! Toho Godzilla Minus One - 8" Toho Godzilla Action Figure - $84.99 @ Amazon.com - Order Here Check out this great piece from Ned Booth of The Playlist: Yamazaki expressed interest in directing a movie set a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away in a recent talk with /Film . “I watched “Star Wars,” and that’s how I ended up being a filmmaker,” he told the outlet. “I’m really hoping I will get a call and they will bring me on ‘Star Wars.'” Of course, it’s the dream of many filmmakers to direct a “Star Wars” movie. ... But Yamazaki could provide a fresh set of eyes ...

 Terri and I saw Godzilla Minus One on Saturday and I was tempted to rattle out a review of the film right away. Instead I chose to wait a few days to process my emotions about the film so that I could write something that would do this amazing film justice. I was tempted to simply post my initial reaction that I shared on Facebook and leave it at that. Here is what I shared: Godzilla Minus One is arguably the best monster movie ever! Heck, it is honestly one of the best movies that I have seen in years. This is nothing like the campy Godzilla films you know. The human drama will make you cry and the monster action is filled with 'OH MY GOD!" moments. Great script, great acting and visuals that will blow your mind. Even if you are not a monster movie fan, this is a must see movie event! Godzilla Minus One Poster 2023 Canvas Print Unframed - $19.99 @ Amazon.com - Order Here To expand on that, Godzilla Minus One isn't like any other Godzilla movie ever produced, with the exc...

 Written By: Ken Hulsey For the last few weeks Terri and I have been spending our Saturday afternoons watching the films of legendary Japanese film maker Akira Kurosawa. The first film that we watched was the 1961 samurai epic Yojimbo which has inspired numerous films like A Fist Full of Dollars (which is a direct rip-off) and Star Wars just to name two. The film follows a former samurai named Sanjuro who wanders into a rural village controlled by two rival gangs. Seeing an opportunity to raise a little money and have a little fun Sanjuro plays the two sides against each other by manipulating their lust for power and paranoia to make them destroy each other. Desperate for the samurai's allegiance to destroy their rival each faction tries to buy his services. Just as one side believes they have a bought the samurai and he is on their side, he flips allegiances and demands a higher price.   It is a dark comedy that works on so many levels and like most Kurosawa films draws ...

 Godzilla Minus One has made a record setting premiere in Japan this week raking in the most money of any Godzilla movie history. Meanwhile hare in the US Godzilla fans will have to wait another month see the film. I preparation for that release Toho has dropped the first trailer for the film on this side of the Pacific. The clip shows some more footage not seen in the Japanese trailers to date. Check this out: Godzilla Minus One is not connected to any previous Godzilla film and is rumored to be the first installment of a brand new cannon (if the film is a success and so far it is.).  Godzilla Minus One Movie Poster Tin Sign Cafe bar Home Wall Art Decoration Retro Metal Tin Sign 8x12 inch - $15.99 @ Amazon.com - Order Here Here is your official synopsis: In the final days of World War II, a small group of Japanese soldiers encounter a dinosaur-like creature on a remote island and are massacred—leaving only two survivors. Two years later, the creature, now many times its origi...

 Akira Kurosawa's 1954 film Seven Samurai is one of the greatest films ever made! Most film historians considered Kurosawa's 1954 epic Seven Samurai a true cinematic masterpiece and this past Saturday Terri and I found out why. It is indeed brilliant on almost every level. The story is compelling and the actors are true masters of the craft. We were so drawn into the story that I actually feel that I experienced the events portrayed on screen alongside the warriors and the villagers that the swore to defend from raiders. Rarely does such a film leave such a personal impact. Film critic Roger Ebert wrote this about Seven Samurai in 2001: Seven Samurai (The Criterion Collection) [Blu-ray] - $28.99 @ Amazon,com - Order Here Akira Kurosawa's "Seven Samurai" (1954) is not only a great film in its own right, but the source of a genre that would flow through the rest of the century. The critic Michael Jeck suggests that this was the first film in which a team is assemble...

 This is sibling rivalry on an epic scale! I have admit that when I saw that the 1966 Japanese monster movie War of the Gargantuas was going to be the feature film on Svengoolie this week I actually got a bit giddy. I have always had a soft spot for this titanic monster family slug fest ever since I first saw it back in the 80s on the weekday afternoon movie program Dialing for Dollars in Albuquerque, New Mexico.  A quick note on Dialing for Dollars, in case you couldn't guess the premise, the host of the film would pick a name out of the phone book and call it. If the person who answers can name the movie that person won a hundred bucks, a years supply of taco shells or something like that. Okay back to the movie. Japan finds itself in real trouble when a pair of fraternal twin mutant giant monsters decide to solve their backyard squabble with some hard core wrestling moves from the remote countryside to downtown Tokyo. The military runs up a huge electric bill trying to fr...

We have come to the end of my three part series of rare photos from the early years of Japanese monster and science fiction films and television. This is the era that I like to refer as The Years of Robots, Aliens and Pyrotechnics. If you are a fan of these type of movies you know that in the 70s Japanese film makers were in love with aliens that revert back to insects or simians when they die and blowing stuff up. My favorite scene in Terror of Mechagodzilla is when there is an explosion that is strong enough to lift up the floor of the set and kudos to the editor for not cutting it out. These were the first Godzilla movies that I ever saw and even though they were ultra cheesy in many ways they are still dear to my heart.  Godzilla vs Hedorah (Godzilla vs The Smog Monster)(1970)   Godzilla vs Gigan (Godzilla on Monster Island)(1972) Godzilla vs Megalon (1973) Zone Fighter (1973)(Television) Godzilla vs Mechagodzilla  (Godzilla vs The Cosmic Monster)(1974) Terror of Mech...