There's nothing quite like Survive Style 5+.  With an unusual narrative of five interweaving stories, off the wall humor, tripped out art direction, and an all around odd sensibility to it, this debut film from commercial and music video director Gen Sekiguchi feels just as fresh and exciting today as it did in 2004 the year of its release.  You don't want to spoil this one for yourself -- please go watch the film first, then listen to the review.  Enjoy!

#56: Survive Style 5+

Join us as we lick our blades, banter and ramble on, and provide in depth reviews of some of our favorite (and not so favorite) Anime, Kaiju, Martial Arts, Chambara, and Asian films.  You can find out more about our show, all of our previous episodes, and our show notes at our blog: bladelickingthieves.wordpress.com

TV & Film

Comedy

Leisure

Film Reviews

Animation & Manga

The bionic superhero of science, Inframan, must save the planet from the evil Princess Dragon Mom and her gang of wicked monsters in Super Inframan (1975) Shaw Brothers Studio's terribly fun knock-off of the popular tokusatsu genre.   

Timestamps:

[00:00] Intro + R.I.P. Akira Toriyama [Check out Grant's article: "Who Can Beat Goku? The Monumental Legacy of Akira Toriyama"]

[27:40] Review - Super Inframan (1975)

#101: The Super Inframan (1975)

The Blade Licking Thieves podcast has hit 100 episodes!  Thanks to all the listeners out there that have taken the ride with us.  Please keep sending us your comments, feedback, and suggestions for new films or shows for us to watch.

This being the 100th episode, we thought what better time than now to finally break the glass and at long last tackle a work by Akira Kurosawa, arguably, THE Japanese film maker.  Kurosawa's first film to achieve critical recognition in the West, Rashomon (1950) tells the story of an encounter in a bamboo grove between a bandit (Toshiro Mifune), a samurai (Masayuki Mori), and the samurai's wife (Machiko Kyo) ending with a rape and murder, yet the narrative is fragmentary, as the story is retold multiple times, through various eye witness accounts, often varying and contradictory, forcing the audience to judge "the truth" of the story for ourselves. 

Timestamps:

[00:00] Intro
[24:14] Review - Rashomon (1950)
[2:31:35] Twitter Questions

#100: Rashomon (1950)

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.

Team B #16: Humanoids from the Deep (1980)

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

#99: Bram Stoker’s Dracula (1992)

Tragic space vampires, sabre tooth tigers with laser beams, terminator-esque death machines, enough F-bombs to pop your explosive cyber collar, and more delightful nonsense abounds in Yoshiaki Kawajiri's classic cyber punk OVA:  Cyber City Oedo 808!  Tune in for the full review and your twitter questions!

Timestamps:

[00:00] Intro + Kaiju No. 8, Fist of the North Star, The Boy and the Heron

[48:24] Review - CYBER CITY OEDO 808

[2:25:58] Twitter Questions

#56: Survive Style 5+

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