Blade Licking Thieves

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 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

Join us for a master class in action comedy as we take a look at Yuen Woo Ping's Drunken Master (1978). Jackie Chan, in the role that would launch him into stardom, plays the young and impetuous Wong Fei-Hung, who, after being kicked out of his house by his angry father, is forced under the tutelage of an old, perpetually intoxicated, martial arts master (Sui-Tin Yuen) to learn the unorthodox fighting style known as Drunken Boxing, which Wong will soon require to defeat a deadly assassin (Jang Lee Hwang ) targeting his father. Tune in for the full review! Timestamps: [00:00] Intro + Zardoz, Anne Shirley, Bocchi the Rock!, From Old Country Bumpkin to Master Swordsman [32:20] Review - Drunken Master

A blind piano player accidentally gets caught up in a world of crime in Andhadhun, an Indian thriller by writer/director Sriram Raghavan that's loaded with so many twists and turns that the only thing that comes as no surprise is that it became both a critical and commercial hit with audiences. Tune in to hear our review! Timestamps: [00:00] Intro + Mickey 17, Combattler V, Tatami Time Machine Blues, Ranma 1/2, Orguss, Frieren [38:50] Review - Andhadhun

BLT Team B return with a look at the comedy / horror sequel House II: The Second Story (1987) from director Ethan Wiley.

We review Jin-Roh director Hiroyuki Okiura's second animated film, A Letter to Momo, about a young girl that forms an unlikely friendship with a trio of troublesome yokai who through a series of comical misadventures help her to cope with the loss of her father. Released in 2011 after seven years in production, and to seemingly little fanfare on this side of the Pacific, this underrated family film, equal parts charming, comic, and heartfelt, deserves another look. Tune in for the full review! Timestamps: [00:00] Intro + Macross, Street Fighter 6, Gaogaigar, Combattler V, Kyoryu Sentai Zyuranger, and Frieren: Beyond Journey's End [43:30] Review - A Letter to Momo

We review Hong Kong director Ringo Lam's Burning Paradise. The film stars Willie Chi as legendary martial artist Fong Sai Yuk, who after being captured by the Ching government, must escape from the imposing Red Lotus Temple, a deadly prison filled with spike pits, booby traps, poison gas, and even more dangerous opponents! Timestamps: [00:00] Intro + God Mazinger, Combattler V, DanDaDan, Kageki Shojo, Akane Banashi, Hyper Dimension Neptunia, and The Water Margin. [39:41] Review - Burning Paradise

As a chaser shot to our last episode about the North Korean Kaiju movie Pulgasari, BLT Team B have heroically taken it upon themselves to review the much unloved North American remake Galgameth!

We're kicking off the new year with a review of the North Korean monster movie, Pulgasari (1985), in which a Godzilla like creature from Korean folklore fights with a peasant army to topple a corrupt feudal regime. We also recount the far more fascinating story of the film's production, a stranger than fiction tale involving international kidnappings, daring escape attempts, and dictator Kim Jong-Il's bizarre quest to bolster the North Korean film industry. Timestamps: [00:00] Intro + Hakaider, Garo, and Flip Flappers [24:45] Review - Pulgasari

We review the first film in the long running exploitation series, Female Prisoner #701: Scorpion (1972), featuring the talented and beautiful Meiko Kaji in one of her most iconic roles as Scorpion, a steely eyed avenging angel hellbent on revenge against those that wronged her. Be they crooked cops, sleazy yakuza, abusive prison guards, or fellow inmates, she'll slay them all! Timestamps: [00:00] Intro + Mononoke, Discotek announcements, and Romance of the Three Kingdoms game discussion. [30:30] Review - Female Prisoner #701: Scorpion

We're back -- just in time for Halloween! -- with a look at Samurai Reincarnation (1981), a supernatural samurai film from the director of Battle Royale (Kinji Fukasaku), in which Jubei Yagyu (Sonny Chiba) faces off against a group of resurrected demonic warriors led by the charismatic sorcerer Shiro Amakusa (Kenji Sawada) who intends to destroy the Tokugawa regime with his unholy powers. Tune in the for the full review! Timestamps: [00:00] Intro + Grendizer, Aura Battler Dunbine, Dragon Ball Daima, Akane Banashi, and Look Back [39:30] Review - Samurai Reincarnation (1981)

We review King Hu's Dragon Inn (1967), a period tale about a cohort of heroic warriors fighting to protect the innocent from the shadowy forces of an evil Eunuch, that showcases a graceful interplay between characters, landscape, editing and compositional form that elevate it above other works in the wuxia genre. Tune in the for the full review! Timestamps: [00:00] Intro + City Hunter, Mononoke, Jade Trilogy book series, and G-Fest 2024 report [33:35] Review - Dragon Inn

Grab a ticket and join us for a wild and spooky ride aboard the Train to Busan, as we take a closer look at the original film in the popular South Korean zombie apocalypse franchise by director Yeon Sang-ho. Timestamps: [00:00] Intro + Trails games, The Great Pretender, Sonic X OVA, Sailor Suit and Machine Gun [33:35] Review - Train to Busan

BLT Team B return with a review of the schlocky, horror movie Humanoids from the Deep (1980) in which a small fishing village is laid siege by mutated fish-men intent on rape and murder.

We review Bram Stoker's Dracula (1992), from acclaimed director Francis Ford Coppola, a visually arresting, erotically charged, and boldly operatic retelling of Stoker's classic gothic horror novel that remains just as spellbinding a cinematic vision today as it was upon release. Timestamps: [00:00] Intro + The Human Target, Brave Bang Bravern, Delcious in Dungeon [36:33] Review - Bram Stoker's Dracula (1992) [2:43:05] Twitter Questions

We're starting off the new year with a review of Shin Kamen Rider (2023), the third film in Hideaki Anno's Shin series of remakes of classic Tokusatsu franchises. This latest entry, with a plot heavily inspired by Shotaro Ishinomori's original Kamen Rider manga, finds man turned cyborg Takeshi Hongo (Sosuke Ikematsu), as the titular Kamen Rider, squaring off against the villainous organization SHOCKER and its rogues' gallery of evil animal cyborgs; along for the ride is his beautiful but icy partner Ruriko Midorikawa (Minabi Hanabe) and a mysterious rival Kamen Rider (Tasuku Emoto) whose allegiance is unknown. Timestamps: [00:00] Intro, Baldur's Gate 3, Berserk, The Knick, Mad Max: Furiosa, Onimusha, and Symphogear [27:48] Review - Shin Kamen Rider (2023) [2:17:07] Twitter Questions

A hard boiled yakuza fresh out of prison and a beautiful and mysterious young woman seek out high stakes thrills in the illegal gambling dens of Tokyo in Masahiro Shinoda's film noir Pale Flower (1964). Plus impressions of the anime Hell's Paradise and Onimusha. Timestamps: [00:00] Intro, Hell's Paradise, Onimusha [45:55] Review - Pale Flower (1964)

We review Osamu Tezuka and Eiichi Yamamoto's A Thousand and One Nights (1969), the first film in Mushi Production's Animerama trilogy, billed as the world's first work of "adult animation". We also discuss the news of Cobra creator Buichi Terasawa's passing, Rightstuf's transition to the Crunchy-roll store, the decline of physical media, and Grant's impressions of Netflix's live action One Piece series. Timestamps: [00:00] Intro, RIP Buichi Terasawa, Rightstuf's closure, decline of physical media, and live action One Piece impressions [45:55] Review - A Thousand and One Nights (1969)

Join us as we celebrate Halloween with a review of a little known Golden Harvest cult horror film: The Seventh Curse (1986). Loosely based on the popular Dr. Yuen series of Chinese novels about a globe trotting wealthy doctor, versed in the martial arts, and his confrontations with the supernatural, this highly entertaining adventure film from director Lam Ngai Kai (best known for the infamous Story of Ricky) features a talented cast of Hong Kong stars such as Chin-Sui Ho, Chow Yun-Fat, and Maggie Cheung; however, the real star of the show is arguably the picture's wild, thrill a minute, never ending spectacle, in which truly anything goes -- over the top martial arts and exciting gun play, anxiety inducing stunt work and cool creature effects, and a vast assortment of pulp adventure and horror tropes, from exotic locales, alluring damsels, trashy nudity, and insensitive stereotypes, to deadly blood cults, ancient curses, child sacrifices, and HR Giger inspired monsters -- anything goes so long as it entertains! Timestamps: [00:00] Intro / Discussion - Ragna Crimson, Homer's Die Hard (750 B.C.), Scavengers Reign [26:00] Review - The Seventh Curse (1986)

We review Stephen Chow's 2013 action comedy, Journey to the West: Conquering the Demons, loosely based on the 16th century Chinese literary classic. The film stars actor Wen Zhang as the famous Buddhist monk Tang Sanzang, Huang Bo as Sun Wukong, and Shu Qi as the love interest Duan. Timestamps: [00:00] Intro / Discussion- The Brave Fighter of Legend Da-Garn, Turn A Gundam, The Grandmaster [48:48] Review - Journey to the West: Conquering the Demons (2013)

Super agents, sleazy soft-core, skateboarding assassins, and one stupendous snake. BLT Team B are back with a review of director Andy Sidaris' trashy 80's action flick : Hard Ticket to Hawaii(1987), touted by some as "the best B-movie of all time".

The Thieves review our first Indian film, the insanely bombastic, international blockbuster, RRR! Plus, a brief chat about Naoki Urasawa's ongoing Kaiju manga Asadora!, audio book light novels, the Ranking of Kings anime, and serious answers to your most important twitter questions! Timestamps: [00:00] Intro, Asadora, Ranking of Kings, Faraway Paladin [41:41] RRR Review [2:14:25] Twitter Questions

When the world's greatest athletes are infected by a deadly unknown virus, the mysterious, genius doctor for hire, Black Jack, is forced to find a cure, in this over the top, medical thriller, directed by the singular Osamu Dezaki, that brings to life the iconic Osamu Tezuka character with flamboyant confidence. Tune in for the full review of Black Jack: The Movie! Timestamps: [00:00] Intro, Gamera, Turn A Gundam, Konosuba Season 3, Boiling Point [51:10] Black Jack: The Movie Review

The Thieves are back with another Shaw Brothers kung fu classic! On today's show, we are reviewing director Lau Kar-Leung's spectacular Eight Diagram Pole Fighter. Released at the tail end of the Shaw Brothers era, the film stars the iconic Gordon Liu, Alexander Fu, and Kara Hui as the last surviving members of the Yang family who pursue a bloody, teeth shattering, revenge against the Khitan invaders that defeated their clan in battle. Timestamps: [00:00] Intro, Mario & Sonic movies, more Showa era Gamera talk [34:40] The Eight Diagram Pole Fighter Review

We review Masaaki Yuasa's 2017 anime film, The Night is Short, Walk on Girl, a bold and breezy romantic comedy based on the light novel by Tomihiko Morimi about a young college student pursuing the girl he fancies while she carouses around the city on an endless night of adventures. Timestamps: [00:00] Intro, Showa era Gamera, Technoroid Overmind [36:50] The Night is Short, Walk on Girl Review Timestamps: [00:00] Intro, Showa Gamera, Technoroid Overmind [36:50] The Night is Short, Walk on Girl Review

We review John Boorman's classic fantasy film, Excalibur (1981). Tune in to hear us chat for admittedly way too long about the legends of King Arthur, Merlin, Lancelot, Guinevere, Percival, and the Knights of the Round Table, plus our thoughts on why the stories and themes still resonate and why the power of the myths continue to endure. Timestamps: [00:00] Intro, Wonder Egg Priority, Demon Slayer, Gaogaigar [40:10] Excalibur (1981) Review

Infused with an irreverent, chaotic energy, reminiscent of Monkey Punch's original manga, director Soji Yoshikawa's completely madcap Lupin the Third: The Mystery of Mamo (1978) sees Lupin and the gang, in their first animated theatrical outing, face off against a mysterious villain plotting to takeover the world while seeking to obtain from Lupin the philosopher's stone said to possess the secret to immortality. Tune in for the full review! Timestamps: [00:00] Intro, Garo, Naruto [21:15] Review of Lupin the 3rd: The Mystery of Mamo (1978)

We review Wong Kar Wai's In the Mood for Love (2000), an intimate, heartbreaking, and emotionally simmering peek into the lives of two forlorn souls (actor Tony Leung and actress Maggie Cheung) who seek companionship with one another after discovering that their spouses are having an affair together. Timestamps: [00:00] Intro, Demon Slayer, Dragon Ball GT, Yamato 2202 [26:45] Review of In the Mood for Love

Just in time for Halloween, the Thieves are back with a review of Tsui Hark and Ching Sui-tung's spooky romantic comedy, A Chinese Ghost Story (1987), a genre defying tale of star crossed lovers, filled with slapstick comedy, exciting martial arts sorcery, and enough ghouls, ghosts, and zombies to fill your night with frights! Timestamps: [00:00] Intro, Vinland Saga, Way of the House Husband [36:51] A Chinese Ghost Story Review [1:58:24] Twitter Questions

On today's episode of the Blade Licking Thieves, we talk about our hopes for the recently announced continuation of the Berserk manga (sans its creator) and the potential pitfalls facing the creative team; discuss the long awaited and finally realized North American Macross licensing deal; briefly touch on the recent anime series I'm Quitting Heroing; and, finally, we review Shaw Brother Studio's 1977 King Kong rip-off and certified so bad its good cult classic: The Mighty Peking Man. Timestamps: [00:00] Intro, Berserk, Macross, I'm Quitting Heroing [39:25] The Mighty Peking Man Review [1:46:50] Twitter Questions

We review the Daniels' latest film, Everything Everywhere All at Once, a wild, weird, and wonderfully irreverent journey through the multiverse that's equal parts exhilarating action film, laugh-out-loud absurdist comedy, poignant family drama, and meaningful commentary on the fractal like nature of the Asian American experience. Timestamps: [00:00] Intro, Gunpla, Digimon,and Eat-Man [42:41] Everything Everywhere All at Once Review [2:02:54] Twitter Questions

In Takeshi Kitano's summer road movie, Kikujiro, a young boy searching for his estranged mother sets out from Tokyo into rural Japan with an unruly former Yakuza as his guide, begetting a series of misadventures, felonious incidents, comedic interludes, surreal vignettes, and tender moments, as bonds of affection form between the unlikely pair. Timestamps: [00:00] Introductions and Nonsense [09:09] Mini-Review of Tatsuki Fujimoto's Manga Goodbye, Eri [44:40] Kikujiro Review

BLT Team B review Brian De Palma's rock opera musical Phantom of the Paradise (1974): a strange and twisted horror / comedy cult-classic about a disfigured song writer who haunts the concert hall of the producer that betrayed him and stole his love, in a plot heavily inspired by both Phantom of the Opera and Faust.

Yuen Biao, Sammo Hung, and Corey Yuen star in this hyper-kinetic supernatural comedy, Zu Warriors From the Magic Mountain, a special effects laden wuxia film from Hong Kong director Tsui Hark about an ordinary Chinese solider who, after stumbling into a world of fantastical supernatural battles between the forces of good and evil, must embark on a quest to save the universe. Timestamps: [00:00] Films we've been watching, Chainsaw Man, Shenmue the Animation, Anno's Shin Ultraman Trailer [49:05] Zu Warriors from the Magic Mountain Review [2:15:38] Twitter Questions

We review Korean director Bong Joon-ho's class-conscious thriller Parasite, a black comedy about the Kims, a scrappy lower class family living on the edge of subsistence in Seoul, who through luck and by hook or crook manage to gain employment as help in the household of their incredibly wealthy city neighbors, the Parks, only to realize much too late that their stroke of good fortune portends a much darker misfortune. Timestamps: [00:00] Mobile Suit Gundam 0079 and Konosuba [29:00] Parasite Review [2:15:30] Twitter Questions

We chat about the Ip Man franchise, discuss the influences and merits of the original Mobile Suit Gundam, and lastly review one of the premiere anime titles of the 1990s: Macross Plus Movie Edition, an explosive work, by Macross series creator Shoji Kawamori and the core creative talent later responsible for a little known title called Cowboy Bebop, that twenty seven years after its release has lost none of its original impact. Timestamps: [00:00] Ip Man 2-4, Mobile Suit Gundam 0079 [43:42] Macross Plus Movie Edition Review [3:21:09] Twitter Questions

BLT Team B review Stuart Gordon's 1986 body horror film, From Beyond. Like Gordon's prior film, Re-Animator, also starring Jeffrey Combs, From Beyond is based on an H.P. Lovecraft short story - this one involving inter dimensional creatures brought into our reality through a science experiment gone awry with, as you might imagine, predictably gruesome results for those involved.

We review the 2017 Hong Kong gangster film, Chasing the Dragon, the story of the rise and fall of Hong Kong's most notorious gangster "Crippled Ho" (Donnie Yen) and his unlikely partnership with Police Detective Lee Rock (Andy Lau) during the cities' most turbulent and lawless decades, the 1960s and 1970s, during the height of the heroin trade. Timestamps: [00:00] Tenchi Universe, Blade Runner: Black Lotus, Star Wars: Visions [50:27] Chasing the Dragon (2017) Review [2:14:25] Twitter Questions

We review the ingenious Japanese horror / comedy One Cut of the Dead from Japanese filmmaker Shinichiro Ueda. Timestamps: [00:00] Dragon Quest Dai and Cowboy Bebop Live Action [58:27] One Cut of the Dead Review [2:02:30] Twitter Questions

BLT Team B review British filmmaker Ken Russell's horror / comedy cult classic, The Lair of the White Worm (1988), starring a young Hugh Grant, Peter Capaldi of Dr. Who, and the provocatively bewitching Amanda Donohue.

Special guest David Bednar (@ykarps) joins us on the show to chat about two of his favorite '90s Tokusatsu films, the action filled, science fiction cult classics, Zeiram and Zeiram 2, from the creative mind of artist / director Keita Amemiya. Timestamps: [00:00] Intro + What We've Been Watching: Violet Evergarden, Alita, Cyber Punk Movies, One Piece, Golden Kamuy [43:17] Zeiram [1:23:10] Zeiram 2

Classic Tatsunoko super heroes return in this cross dimensional, team up film follow up to the 2017 CG animated Infini-T Force series by Tatsunoko and Digital Frontier studios. Tune in for the full review of Infini-T Force: Farewell, Friend!

Team B review Jack Frost (1998): the Michael Keaton film in which he plays a neglectful father and musician who, after dying in a fatal automobile accident, is given one last chance to make things right when his son summons him back to life (using a magical harmonica he gifted him on the eve of his death) as a wisecracking, fun-loving snowman - Oh Joy!

Our series of donation funded listener requests continues with a Blade Licking Thieves' double feature! First, we have a review of Tatsuo Sato and Masaaki Yuasa's short, surreal and slightly twisted 2001 OVA, Cat Soup, based on the manga by the late Nekojiro. And, lastly, we review One Piece: Baron Omatsuri and the Secret Island, the sixth film in the long running shonen action series by Eiichiro Oda, notable for being directed by Mamoru Hosoda (a year before he would go on to achieve monumental success with his next feature, The Girl Who Leapt Through Time). Cat Soup Review (5:46) | Twitter Questions (36:08) OP: Baron Omatsuri Review (41:23) | Twitter Questions (1:58:36)

Ultra cool grouch and Hideo Kojima love interest Snake Plissken (Kurt Russell) has twenty four hours to rescue the President of the United States from the world’s largest maximum security prison, New York City. Tune in to find out whether Snake is a bad enough dude to save the president as BLT Team B check out John Carpenter’s cult classic Escape from New York (1981).

We're kicking off our series of listener requests with Guillermo Del Toro's love letter to the Kaiju and Mecha genres: Pacific Rim - so, tune in, enter the drift with us, and let's cancel the apocalypse! Review (17:14) Twitter Questions (1:42:05 )

BLT Team B review Color Out of Space, writer-director Richard Stanley's new film adaptation of the classic H.P. Lovecraft horror short story, featuring the latest and greatest advancements in CAGE RAGE™ technology.

Special guest Nate Ming joins the Blade Licking Thieves to talk about one of his all time favorite martial arts films, The Prodigal Son (1981), an action comedy romp featuring the mega talents of Yuen Biao, Sammo Hung, Lam Ching-ying, and Frankie Chan. Review (36:08)

We chat about the 3-D anime, centered around 1990s arcade nostalgia, Hi Score Girl. Argue the merits of the Berserk anime before a court of law. Sally forth into the whimsical world of slimes, heroes, and dragons with the launch of Dragon Quest Your Story. And, finally, review a hidden gem from 1985, Rintaro’s tragically underappreciated ninja epic: The Dagger of Kamui.