Big Man Japan (2007)

April 21st, 2019

Directed by: Hitoshi Matsumoto

Written by: Hitoshi Matsumoto

Starring: Hitoshi Matsumoto, Riki Takeuchi, Ua

Quote: "I feel a sense of responsibility about that....  I never really know when work will pop up. I have to always be on call.... I just accept that's the way things are."

Trivia: It was announced in 2012 that Neil H. Mortiz (producer of "Prison Break") was set to produce an American remake of the film.


Growing up watching daytime television in the eighties and nineties I watched a lot of bad soap operas and infomercials. Occasionally, I would find a cool monster flick which became my favorite movies. I loved (and still love) Jason and the Argonauts and Clash of the Titans (God bless Ray Harryhausen). I also really liked the old Universal monster movies, especially Frankenstein and the Creature from the Black Lagoon. However, every now and then, there would be one of the Japanese dubbed monster movies from the fifties and sixties. Godzilla. King Kong. Mothra. Giant spiders. I love the over-the-top nature of those Japanese films, the cheesy special effects, and poor acting. Big Man Japan is homage to those Japanese Monster movies, formally called Kaiju films. Big Man Japan is a mockumentary about a superhero who is tasked by the Japanese government to fight the monsters that are trying to destroy Japan. It is ridiculous in a very deadpan way and has an absolute perfect ending that is completely unexpected.

The Burning (1981)

April 22nd, 2019

Directed by: Tony Maylam

Written by: Harvey Weinstein, Tony Maylam, Brad Grey

Starring: Brian Matthews, Leah Ayres, Brian Backer

Budget: $1,500,000

Trivia: The film's composer, Rick Wakeman, was originally offered a percentage of whatever profits the film made but he had decided to opt for a fee instead as he felt the film had no chance of being successful. The film ended up being the biggest grossing horror movie in Japan.

Quote: "Man, this guy is so burned, he's cooked! A fucking Big Mac, overdone! You know what I mean? And, it's a miracle that he's still alive. If it was me, I'd prefer to be dead. No way I'd want to be this freak. He's a monster, man!"

The Burning is yet another of the dozens of slasher movies made after the huge success of Friday the 13th and it is abundantly clear that the movie was heavily inspired by Friday the 13th (even borrowing Friday the 13th's special effects artist Tom Savini). And while some Friday knockoffs are duds, The Burning actually kicks ass. It is based on the urban legend of Cropsey, a maniac who supposedly massacred children at a summer camp on Staten Island. I decided to check out the film after watching Madman (review here), another slasher made around the same time based on the Cropsey legend. I must say that The Burning blows Madman out of the water. The Burning is a classic slasher movie with some great kills, a great weapon (pruning shears.... brutal!), and some great characters, including a performance by a young George Castanza (Jason Alexander) as Dave, the horndog counselor who talks about jerking off way too much. The film is also the first movie the Miramax pictures put out, even being partially written and produced by Harvey Weinstein (the horndog producer with multiple sexual assault allegations).