Shibuya Parco Pays Tribute to Hedorah on His 50th Anniversary!

Signage welcoming you to Shibuya Parco's Hedorah 50th anniversary exhibit. Photo by Brett Homenick.

From November 12 until November 23, Shibuya Parco's Gallery X is hosting a special 50th anniversary salute to Hedorah. Shibuya Parco and a pollution monster seem like an odd pairing, but it works for me, especially because the highlight was the diorama of Hedorah filming suit from Godzilla: Final Wars (2004) -- complete with psychedelic lighting.

Another cool aspect was seeing a bevy of production stills on display, many of which showed Yoshimitsu Banno directing a variety of scenes. Most of these shots were new to me, but, unfortunately, photography of these stills was not allowed. There's also a gift shop with some Hedorah goods, but I kept my wallet closed this time. After, the GFW Hedorah suit was the main attraction for me. Anyway, here's what I saw.

New Content on Vantage Point Interviews!

With Ryuhei Kitamura.

Just in time for the New Year, Vantage Point Interviews has posted not one, not two, but three new interviews. First up is my August 2018 interview with director Ryuhei Kitamura in which he discusses his work on Godzilla: Final Wars. That interview can be read here.

With Masanori Machida.

Next up is my October 2018 conversation with former child actor Masanori Machida, who played the island native Saki in Gappa the Triphibian Monster (a.k.a. Monster from a Prehistoric Planet, 1967). There are also quite a few surprises in there, as well. That interview can be read here. 

With Akihide Tsuzawa.

Last but not least, my October 2018 interview with another former child actor, Akihide Tsuzawa, can be read here. Tsuzawa-san played Hoshino on Tsuburaya Productions' Ultraman (1966-67), and he's got quite a few things to say about the experience!

Stay tuned for more interviews coming soon!

DOWNRANGE! Attending the Japanese Premiere of Ryuhei Kitamura's Independent Thriller!

Poster art for Ryuhei Kitamura's Downrange. Photo by Brett Homenick. 

On September 6, I was fortunate enough to be invited to attend the premiere of the Ryuhei Kitamura's latest film, Downrange (2017). Shot in California on a low budget, Downrange is about a sniper who takes out an SUV full of college students and young adults in the middle of nowhere and tries to pick them off one-by-one. The premise is very simple, but the results of it are anything but.

Director Ryuhei Kitamura discusses the film following the premiere. Photo by Brett Homenick. 

The premiere took place at Tokyo Culture Culture in Shibuya. It was an exciting event filled with press and luminaries from the Japanese entertainment world. Naturally, the main attraction was the screening of Downrange, which certainly thrilled and chilled the audience with whom I saw it. Make no mistake, this is an extremely graphic film, and it is not for the squeamish. In fact, part of the fun was simply looking around at the audience during some of the more gruesome sequences. The young women in attendance had some amusing reactions to all the gore.

Ryuhei Kitamura. Photo by Brett Homenick.

It's a brutal and downbeat film that succeeds when it keeps things minimal. Some of the sequences reminded me of No Country for Old Men, which is high praise, indeed. The film didn't work as well for me when it injected style and flashy camera angles into the proceedings. It just takes me out of the picture, and I prefer to immerse myself in the film-going experience, especially in a realistic horror film like this.

Despite that criticism, I enjoyed Downrange. It delivers genuine shocks and thrills in a time when most horror movies just induce yawns. While most flicks I've seen over the summer have been forgettable, many of the visuals in Downrange are hard to forget. This one sticks with you.

In 2004, I attended the world premiere of Godzilla: Final Wars in Hollywood. I never expected to attend another premiere of a Ryuhei Kitamura movie, but I'm very glad to have had the opportunity. If you like horror movies, and if the current crop the studios are churning out doesn't do it for you, check out Downrange. It's refreshing to see some effective, stripped-down horror in a sea of cheesy jump scares and CG ghosts.

Ryuhei Kitamura's 'Smells Like Teen Spirit'

Ryuhei Kitamura (the director of Versus and Godzilla: Final Wars) has directed a new music video of ELEWs cover of "Smells Like Teen Spirit" (Nirvana's early '90s mega-hit).
According to ELEWRockjazz.com:

A modern day pop artist and musical revolutionary, piano iconoclast ELEW is making a substantial impression on the music world with a thunderous new style of playing: an inspired melding of ragtime, rock and pop that he calls Rockjazz.

It's certainly not your father's "Smells Like Teen Spirit"!

h/t Kung Fu Cinema.