April 30th, 2025 by Gerard Iribe
Show Aikawa is back as the superhero like no other in maverick director Takashi Miike (Audition, One Missed Call) and screenwriter Kankuro Kudo’s (Go, Ping Pong) subversive and darkly satirical sequel to their 2004 homage to the golden era of Japan’s tokusatsu TV shows. It’s 2025, and our hero Shinichi finds himself waking up minus memory, zebra stripes and zebra powers in an authoritarian dystopian future. Tokyo has been taken over by a sinister ultra right-wing governor named Kozo, who has reconstructed and rechristened the capital as Zebra City and mandated a twice-daily five-minute purge called Zebra Time in which all crime is legal and his Zebra Police readily pitch themselves into the resulting free-for-all. It’s a society dominated by screens, and the screens dominated by a sultry pop diva named Zebra Queen, who just happens to be Kozo’s daughter. Can Shinichi regain his Zebraman powers to thwart the Kozo and the Zebra Queen’s plans to export their dark vision across the world? Zebraman 2 is released on Blu-ray in the UK May 19, 2025! Continue reading ‘Zebraman 2: Attack on Zebra City (Blu-ray Review)’
April 23rd, 2025 by Gerard Iribe
An affectionate homage to the heyday of Japan’s tokusatsu superhero TV shows, directed by Takashi Miike (Audition, 13 Assassins) and written by Kankuro Kudo (Go, Ping Pong), Zebraman stars the legendary Show Aikawa as Shinichi, a teacher facing a midlife crisis, as his family collapses around him. To escape from the bitter reality of his daily he existence, Shinichi takes to secretly dressing up as Zebraman, the eponymous hero of an obscure 1970s TV series from when he was a kid that was cancelled after just seven episodes. Meanwhile, as his life collapses around him, aliens are at large and readying themselves to take over planet Earth. Can Shinichi overcome his lack of confidence to channel his childhood fantasies into saving the world? Zebraman is released in the UK on Blu-ray May 19, 2025! Continue reading ‘Zebraman (Blu-ray Review)’
April 19th, 2025 by Gerard Iribe
A dangerous criminal escapes captivity – but luckily crime-busting super-swordswoman Leng Rushuang (Shih Szu, Legend of the 7 Golden Vampires) is on his trail. However, she has doubts about his guilt, and she’s not going to stop fighting until she’s sure the right man is being punished. Co-starring Lo Lieh (Dragons Forever) and the unmistakable Dean Shek (Drunken Master), Lady of the Law is a choice cut from the golden age of Hong Kong swordplay. 88 Films are proud to present this slice-and-dice classic on Blu-ray for the first time in the UK May 19, 2025! Continue reading ‘Lady of the Law (Blu-ray Review)’
April 17th, 2025 by Gerard Iribe
WHAT’S GOING ON IN COMET VALLEY? Something’s brewing in this quiet rural community: things are falling from the skies, people are acting strangely and there’s something very nasty waiting in the orchard… It’s up to visiting geologist Tom Baines (Sam Hennings – Drop Zone) to figure out the mystery: if he can’t, then the whole world is in trouble. From executive producer Charles Band (Trancers), Seedpeople is a smart update on Invasion of the Body Snatchers (and other old-skool sci-fi movies), complete with fearsome aliens and rubbery special effects. 88 Films are proud to present this enthralling extraterrestrial extravaganza on Blu-ray in the UK for the very first time!
Continue reading ‘Seedpeople (Blu-ray Review)’
