Hong Kong Voice Actor Q&A Added to Vantage Point Interviews!

Saul Lockhart.

If you're a fan of the old Hong Kong dubs, you'll want to check out my interview with HK-based voice actor Saul Lockhart, whose voice can be heard in such films as: Gamera vs. Barugon (1966), Yog Monster from Space (1970), Battle of Okinawa (1971), Godzilla vs. the Smog Monster (1971), and Godzilla vs. Gigan (1972).

Vantage Point Interviews continues to prove that it is the place where content is king!

Notes on the New 'Gunhed Completion' Compendium by Hobby Japan!

 

The day before I left Japan, my friend Yasushi gave me a copy of the updated edition of the Gunhed Completion book released by Hobby Japan that had literally just been published, just in time for the movie's 35th anniversary. My 2005 interview with the film's female lead Brenda Bakke was translated into Japanese by Yasushi and included in the book. Suffice it to say, this one's a keeper!

Naturally, I received credit as one of the book's staff members. Not too shabby! Of course, you have to be able to read katakana in order to see the credit, but, if that's not something you're able to do, I guess you'll just have to take my word for it.

It's a great tome with plenty of illustrations, photos, and lots of other things to hold your interest, even if you can't read a lick of Japanese. It comes highly recommended and not just because I contributed to it, though that certainly doesn't hurt.

'Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire' (2024)

A Godzilla x Kong poster on display at the theater. Photo by Brett Homenick.

"Welcome to my world..."

Last night, I finally was able to catch a screening of Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire (2024). To say that my expectations were rock bottom would be the understatement of the year. I didn't enjoy Godzilla vs. Kong (2021) at all and found all the praise it received at the time as a "fun" monster romp completely baffling. Still, I guess I'm obligated to see these things, so that's exactly what I did.

In short, Godzilla x Kong was silly, minor, and ... not terrible? I enjoyed it much more than I did Godzilla vs. Kong, and I'd probably consider it my second-favorite of the MonsterVerse (yes, with the capital "v" -- sorry, Wikizilla) series. (For those keeping score, 2019's Godzilla: King of the Monsters is still of my favorite.)

Maybe it was the low expectations, but the movie made me smile throughout. There were several fun moments, a couple of funny lines, some interesting action set pieces, and a satisfying ending. On a personal level, it was fun seeing Joker (2019) alum Brian Tyree Henry ratting off a bunch of Toho kaiju names. (I know, not the most objective reason in the world, but that was my genuine reaction.)

A random King Kong (1933) poster on display at the theater. Photo by Brett Homenick.

There were also some amusing needle drops. (I'm starting to sound like Patrick H. Willems over here.) When "Twilight Zone" by Golden Earring started playing, I couldn't believe I was watching a Godzilla movie with that song in it -- in a good way. And that battle in the pyramids? Fun stuff!

Was the movie a total success? Definitely not. There wasn't enough Godzilla to my liking. The fight scenes seemed rush. There wasn't enough of a build to the inevitable team-up between the two titular characters. The non-Toho Titans were too generic and forgettable. I'm also not over the moon about the handling of Godzilla.  

But perhaps the film's biggest triumph was getting me interested in King Kong as a character. This is the first Kong flick since 1967 to get me even slightly invested in the pride of Skull Island. So I'll give director Adam Wingard credit where it's due.

A bit of a mixed bag, but Godzilla x Kong was a big improvement over the previous entry that literally almost put me to sleep. I'll go ahead and say it: Godzilla x Kong is a better time at the movies than Godzilla Minus One (2023). I'd still think so even if the director started bringing a plastic Tiamat toy with him everywhere he went.

See You Later, Japan!

One last look at the old neighborhood. Photo by Brett Homenick.

Well, folks, my 13-year journey in Japan has officially come to an end. I'm writing this blog post back home in the good ol' USA. It's still hard to believe it's over, but I'm looking forward to new adventures and opportunities. Needless to say, I truly enjoyed my time in Japan, especially my 10 years in Tokyo. 

Of course, I still plan to update the blog whenever I have something relevant to share, but suffice it to say that content will be noticeably different going forward. (I mean, it's not like I can do any more firsthand reporting from Japan.) I'm also guessing that I won't be posting nearly as often as I did in the Land of the Rising Sun, but that remains to be seen. 

However, I do believe some cool things will be in store, so stay tuned for that. In any case, it was an incredible run, and, if you followed the blog during those years, I'd like to thank you for your attention. Glad I could share the fun times with an audience.

As for Japan, don't worry, folks. I'll come back ... someday!

Before I Forget...

 

March was a very busy month for me -- so busy, in fact, that I missed several details and had very little time to stop and smell the flowers. Without saying too much else, here are some cool photos I just had to share before moving on to new things. I think you can tell just how hectic things were that these items got left out! In some cases, calling a celeb someone who needs no introduction rings quite true, and these cases are no exception. Enjoy!

Viewing the Cherry Blossoms Along Meguro River!

In between Kyoko Ifukube (right) and her friend Akiyo.

On my last full day in Japan (Saturday, March 30), I met with Kyoko Ifukube and her friend Akiyo. We met at a Saizeriya restaurant in Nakameguro and then proceeded to view the cherry blossoms (well, what little there were at the time) along Meguro River. The evening lasted about two hours and was a lot of fun. I hope we can meet again in the near future!

Joining a Tsuburaya Pro Legend for Dinner!

Akihide Tsuzawa. Photo by Brett Homenick.

Tonight (Wednesday, March 27), I enjoyed the company of former child actor Akihide Tsuzawa with whom I ate dinner at a Jonathan's family restaurant near his home. Tsuzawa-san played Hoshino in the original Ultraman (1966-67) TV series, which makes me wish we could have met at a Hoshino Coffee instead!

I was surprised to find that Tsuzawa-san had another present for me. It was a pamphlet-size photobook of pictures his mother took on location during the shooting of Ultra Q (1966) and Ultraman. Apparently, this book will be on offer at an upcoming event in Japan, but I'm certainly privileged to have been given my own copy.

Akihide Tsuzawa. Photo by Brett Homenick.

There are a mixture of color and black-and-white photos in the booklet. Some of the photos were originally taken in color, while others were colorized for the pamphlet. 

We hung out for just under two hours and talked about many things, including Tsuzawa-san's interest in Japanese MLB players throughout the years (especially Otani and Nomo), my reaction to Godzilla Minus One (2023), which Tsuzawa-san hasn't seen, his recent trip to Lake Okutama (which I pointed out was a location in 1961's Mothra, which he didn't know), his busy professional life that left him little time to stop and smell the flowers, and many other things. 

Tsuzawa-san told me that his favorite director to work with on Ultraman was Toshihiro Iijima. He also drew a map on a napkin of where Toho was in relation to Tsuburaya Productions. I asked Tsuzawa-san if he watched any of the tokusatsu scenes being shot, but he said he didn't due to how hectic the drama side's shooting schedule was. While shooting took place at Tsuburaya Productions, the dubbing apparently took place at Toho.

Tsuzawa-san also talked about his nostalgia for old American TV shows like Lassie, Rawhide, and Superman. In fact, he wanted to see a photo of the Superman he grew up with, but, when I showed him a photo of George Reeves in costume, he said that wasn't it. So I thought maybe he was thinking of Kirk Alyn, but no dice. It wasn't until I showed him a photo of Reeves with Noel Neill as Lois Lane that it finally clicked.

Of course, we also touched on real-life issues, such as careers, relationships, the cost of health insurance, and other things like that. When it was all said and done, I paid for both our meals. Hey, it was the least I could do!

I'm so glad to have had the opportunity to hang out with Tsuzawa-san so soon after our last meeting in January. During the evening, Tsuzawa-san remembered the first time we met in 2016. All these years later, I'd say that's a tremendous feat. When I pulled out my phone to take Tsuzawa-san's photo, he beat me to the bunch by taking my picture first on his camera. (I won't remind you about what I always say about VIPs and guests who take photos of you.)

What a fun evening! Many thanks to Tsuzawa-san for his kind hospitality!

A Night at the Flicks Takes Us Back to the '80s!

Stand by Me (1986) at the Shin Bungeiza. Photo by Brett Homenick.

On Tuesday night, March 26, I decided to take a break from all the craziness going on in my life right now to catch two flicks I'd never seen before. The films in question were Stand by Me (1986) and St. Elmo's Fire (1985). The screenings took place at the Shin Bungeiza in Ikebukuro, and unfortunately they were apparently Blu-ray projections, although the picture quality for both films was surprisingly good.

The first movie was Stand by Me, and I have to admit that I didn't care a whole lot for it. For all the complaints about unlikable characters that the evening's other film has received over the years, I think Stand by Me certainly has it beat in that department. If the kids weren't obnoxious, they were unpleasant. The only thing that made the audience root for them is that they were up against a gang of older (and even worse) ne'er-do-wells.

Watching the flick did seem to bring back an old memory that I had long forgotten, though. I'm pretty sure sometime in the sixth grade that the campfire discussion the kids have about what kind of creature Goofy is sparked a similar debate in my class. (I guess the movie must have been shown on cable or whatever, and some of my classmates watched it.)

Otherwise, I found the movie mostly unremarkable.

St. Elmo's Fire (1985) at the Shin Bungeiza. Photo by Brett Homenick

St. Elmo's Fire, on the other hand, was pretty good. I enjoyed quite a bit of the film's humor, and there were story lines that I couldn't predict. There aren't any easy answers for the characters, and they don't always get what they want, but the movie ends in a happily-enough way for them. I definitely wouldn't say it's a great work of art or some kind of masterpiece, but it held my attention much more than the other flick. See it if you haven't.

Revisiting an Okamoto Classic with a Classic Screenwriter!

Hiroshi Kashiwabara. Photo by Brett Homenick.

Tonight (Monday, March 25), I paid another visit to screenwriter Hiroshi Kashiwabara at his cafe. The topic of the evening was originally scheduled to be Catch-22 (1970), which is what I was expecting when I entered the venue. However, when I arrived, I discovered that the plans had changed due to the recent passing of actor Minori Terada.

 

Instead, the topic was Kihachi Okamoto's The Human Bullet (1968), which stars Terada. There are things to admire in The Human Bullet, but I can't say it's a great film or even completely successful. The story does drag at times, and I think it could have easily been tightened. It's not a bad film by any means, just an imperfect one. 

I've seen Catch-22 twice. The first time was back in 1997 when I hadn't yet read the book, so the film basically went completely over my head and made no sense to me. The second time was around 2019 on DVD when the film was much more understandable. I think a better film could have been made from the source material, but there are great moments in it. (Hey, that sounds like exactly what I wrote about The Human Bullet!) 

After that, there was the usual conversation among the attendees, and the subject of tokusatsu was naturally on the agenda. It was fun chatting with the various folks about the movies and TV shows they watched as kids.

As I was saying goodbye to some people, Kashiwabara-san pulled out his phone and took a couple of photos of me, which he later sent to me. (You know what I say about VIPs who take pictures of you.) A big thanks to Kashiwabara-san for tonight. I hope our next meeting won't be too far in the future.

An Evening in the Village with a Village Singer!

Kazuomi Sasai. Photo by Brett Homenick.

After meeting up with Yamamoto-san today (Monday, March 25), I made my way over to Ningyocho Station to meet with Kazuomi Sasai, a member of the Village Singers. If Sasai-san seems a bit familiar to you, that's because he should be. We met just a few days ago.

I figured that meeting with Sasai-san would be the only one before leaving the country. But then the next day Sasai-san messaged me and offered to meet me again on either the 25th or 26th at Futako-tamagawa, a train station near my home.

I was pleasantly surprised to receive this offer, and I eagerly accepted. A few days later, I asked Sasai-san to tweak the schedule, as I would be coming a bit closer to Sasai-san's home, and it would fit perfectly in my schedule. Sasai-san accepted my proposal, and we met as planned.

Sasai-san wasn't too familiar with the area and asked where I wanted to go. Coincidentally, there was a big advertisement for a burger shop called Brozers' near the exit where Sasai-san was waiting, which looked pretty enticing. 

Inside Brozers'. Photo by Brett Homenick.

I pointed it out to Sasai-san, but, when he asked me if I knew where it was, I admitted that I didn't. So Sasai-san took out his phone and called the establishment. They gave him directions, and off we went.

We were looking for a police station, at which we were supposed to turn right, but the police station never appeared. Sasai-san asked a random shop employee where it was, and he found out it was in the opposite direction. So we had to change direction and try again. 

Ultimately, we found the police station, so Sasai-san called back to get the rest of the directions. Thankfully, the restaurant was basically a stone's throw from the police station, so we got there without further incident. 

I was quite amused by the layout of the restaurant. All the posters on display had a "brother" theme to them. When I pointed out the Blues Brothers poster to Sasai-san, he mentioned that one of the pair was dead. 

While we were there, I asked Sasai-san about the Village Singers' performance of "The Midnight Special." It wasn't performed in the 1960s or '70s but sometime in the 2000s. I still would have loved to  have seen it, though.

The Iron Claw is going to get delivered to you ... in burger form. Photo by Brett Homenick.

We also spent a great deal of time talking about California. He loves the beaches in the L.A. area and remembers the names of many of them. He especially loves Laguna Beach. We talked about California, as well as my family. It was a great discussion. 

Sasai-san expressed interest in visiting California again, and of course I encouraged him to come. I insisted on paying for our dinner, and then we walked back to the station. Sasai-san and I will stay in touch, and hopefully we will meet again in the near future. 

ONE YEAR LATER! Hanging Out with Yamamoto-san Again in Koenji!

Hiroshi Yamamoto. Photo by Brett Homenick.

Today (Monday, March 25), I was pleased to spend a couple of hours with Hiroshi Yamamoto. We met up near his home in Koenji and went to cafe to have a lengthy discussion about his career in the entertainment industry. Back in April of 2023, we hung out again for the first time in about eight years, so I'm glad we managed to get together before another eight years had passed.

Hiroshi Yamamoto poses with a VHS copy of Gamera Super Monster (1980) from his personal collection. Photo by Brett Homenick.

Yamamoto-san and I first met at an event for the late Sonny Chiba in April 2013 and have kept in touch on and off since then. Yamamoto-san worked in the post-production end of numerous tokusatsu productions, both on film and television, from the late 1970s through the early '90s.

Of particular note, Yamamoto-san has worked with director Kinji Fukasaku on projects like Message from Space (1978), Samurai Reincarnation (1981), and Legend of the Eight Samurai (1983). Some of his other credits include Gamera Super Monster (1980), G.I. Samurai (1979), and numerous Toei superhero programs, lending those projects his company's expertise in video techniques.

One interesting tidbit I learned was that Yamamoto-san is especially proud of his work on Samurai Reincarnation, and it's his favorite of his own work. I've never seen that film, so now I've got to check it out.

Before we parted ways, Yamamoto-san gave me a VHS copy of the live-action tokusatsu actioner 8 Man (1992), on which he worked as a producer. Yamamoto-san insisted I take it, and, since he has another copy at home, I felt it was OK to accept. 

It was a great afternoon with a wonderful gent. I hope we'll get a chance to hang out again someday.

A Visit with One of Tokusatsu's Greatest Art Directors!

Yoshio Suzuki. Photo by Brett Homenick.

Today (Sunday, March 24), I was privileged to meet art director Yoshio Suzuki, a veteran of Godzilla (1954) and numerous other Toho and Tsuburaya Productions works. Suzuki-san was one of the members of the modeling staff who worked on the original Godzilla suit, so to say that he is a living cinematic legend would be the understatement of the year.

Yoshio Suzuki signs a Godzilla (1954) mini poster. Photo by Brett Homenick.

Suzuki-san brought quite a few fascinating items with him. The most interesting thing had to be the photobook with various Mighty Peking Man (1977) stills in it, most likely taken by official Shaw Brothers photographers. I'd never seen any of those photos published anywhere before, so it was a rare glimpse into the history of that particular Hong Kong production.

Suzuki-san's wife Mitsuyo was also on hand for the meeting, and she was quite lovely. Suzuki-san was interested in seeing the photos of Pulgasari that I showed him on my phone again, so I arranged to send the photos to Mitsuyo-san before leaving. Mitsuyo-san also snapped a few photos of me on her phone when I was talking to her husband.

Suzuki-san was very lively and energetic for our two-hour-plus get-together. Would you believe he turns 90 next year? I wouldn't! Then again, on the way to our meeting room, we passed a friend of the Suzukis who was singing karaoke in the rec room of the building. That friend is 99 years old. The 100-year life is truly a reality in Japan.

A big thanks to the Suzukis for making this afternoon one to remember.