Junk Food DInner Podcast: Episode #62


It's gonna be a hot time in the old town tonight as Junk Food Dinner #62 bursts forth from Hell itself.

We start things off with a rage filled review of Todd Farmer's (Jason X) and Patrick Lussier's (My Bloody Valentine 3D) southern-fried-revenge-from-beyond-the-grave-2D-"masterpiece" Drive Angry 3D from 2011.

Next, we find time to indulge in our favorite sport- hunting humans as we take a look at the 1965 Italian satire The 10th Victim, starring Ursula Andress and Marcello Mastroianni.

Finally, it's back to fire and brimstone as we wrap things up with some familiar faces (Dana Ashbrook, Liane Curtis, James Karen, and more) in the often overlooked horror-comedy Girlfriend From Hell from 1989.

Also, we have Nerds News, this week's DVD and Blu-Ray releases and much more!



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Got a movie suggestion for the show, want to give your opinion on a movie we talked about or just want to tell us we suck? Drop us a line at JFDPodcast@gmail.com. Or leave us a voicemail: 347-746-JUNK (5865).

Also, if you like the show, (and why wouldn't you if you've come this far) please take a minute and subscribe and/or comment on us on iTunes, Blubrry or Podfeed.net. We gain precious nutrients from your love and support.

Comments

  1. I'm with... who was it? Kevin, I think. Drive Angry wasn't great, but it wasn't an abomination. It was a fun little popcorn flick that could've been a lot better. BTW, wtf happened to Charlotte Ross? I didn't even recognize her as the skanky waitress that bangs Nic Cage.

    Never heard of the other two, but I'll definitely be checking out The 10th Victim.

    As far as Kevin proudly asserting that he's not an anime fan... I've never really understood that. Anime just means animation originating from Japan. It isn't a particular style. Yeah, Pokemon is anime, but so is Miyazaki. For every Dragonball, there's a Grave of the Fireflies. For every Pokemon, there is a Perfect Blue. Outside of a handful of exceptions, anime is the primary source of smart, adult-oriented (not talking tentacle rape) animation. Saying you don't like anime seems akin to saying you don't like animation, and I'm sure that's not the case.

    When some of my friends have told me they don't like anime, I found out that their only real exposure to it are the badly dubbed Saturday morning cartoons, or some of the more exploitative movies and series from the 80's/early 90's. I directed them to some alternative fare, and the ones that cared enough to look into it seemed to really enjoy it.

    Here's a few of my favorites -

    Paprika - Inception borrowed HEAVILY from this masterpiece by the late great Satoshi Kon. Any Kon work is worth checking out, but he really nailed it with Paprika.
    Berserk - a brutal medieval epic with supernatural overtones.
    Legend of the Galactic Heroes - a 110-episode (and several movie) epic space opera with a ridiculously expansive storyline. It's probably the most faithful adaption of any novel (or series of) that I've ever seen.
    Death Note - my "go-to" anime for people that don't like anime. Wickedly smart, and thoroughly addicting. Skip the live action movies.
    Monster - another expansive epic, this time about a doctor who gives up everything to try and right a wrong, after saving the life of a child who turns out to be... something.
    Black Lagoon - a fun and hyper-violent action series about a Japanese salaryman who gets stuck in Southeast Asia with a group of hard-bitten mercenaries.
    Paranoia Agent, Sword of the Stranger, Basilisk, Elfen Lied, Ninja Scroll, Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust, Jin-Roh: The Wolf Brigade, Vexille, Samurai Champloo, Ghost in the Shell (and it's sequel and series), Now and Then Here and There, Memories, any Miyazaki, any Satoshi Kon, any Yoshiaki Kawajiri, nearly any Mamoru Oshii... I'll stop now because I've already gone on much longer than I intended to.

    the main point is fuck you man, anime rules!

    One more thing. ALWAYS ORIGINAL LANGUAGE, NEVER DUBBED!

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  2. Jesus, I wrote a novel. Sorry about that.

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  3. Hey .buckethead., Kevin here. Yeah, I guess I should clarify; when I say that I'm not a fan of anime, it doesn't mean that I don't recognize that there are many well-made, well-loved and critically acclaimed films and TV shows in the genre, I simply mean I haven't sat down and taken the time to explore it. I have a hard enough time filtering through genres I am already entrenched in and taking on anime too has always felt like a daunting task. I never got into it as a kid or as adult and kinda feel like that ship has sailed for me at this point. I will however take your recommendations into consideration and try to check some of them out. I am a fan or animation, mostly 70's and 80's stuff like Ralph Bakshi, René Laloux, Picha, Heavy Metal, etc. Can you recommend any anime that doesn't feature robots, ninjas or giant monsters? Is there such a thing as gritty "realistic" anime? I'm sure there is. But again I just need some guidance. As always, sir, thank you for listening and for your feedback. It means a lot to us.

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  4. I don't know much about anime, myself. But, I have gotten into Evangelion recently. So, I might pick Evangelion 1.0 on the show at some point. It's about giant robots, but the characters are very real. It's enjoyable, I think.

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  5. No ninja, robots or giant monsters?! You ask for too much! Do samurai count as ninja? You're not too old to get into anime. I started watching in my mid-20's (early 30's now) but I'm half-Japanese, so obviously I have a predisposition. I'll admit to feeling a little silly about getting excited for a new episode of One Piece or Naruto, but they're damn fine shows in their own right :p

    There is no real anime equivalent of say, Amores Perros. There are plenty of gritty anime with realistic characters, but usually within the construct of an unrealistic setting, or characters with unusual abilities. Most realistic "real world" types of anime are romance or slice-of-life, which could hardly be classed as gritty.

    Here are some of my favorite of the more serious anime (that don't feature ninja, robots, or monsters), but if you ever get into the sillier stuff, hit me up cuz I have another separate and ginormous list ;)

    Death Note - http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0758742/
    Smart and edgy, with a plot that twists and turns from beginning to end. It's about a megalomaniacal (i know you love that word Kevin, even if you can't pronounce it) genius high school student that acquires a notebook that gives him the power to kill any person whose name he writes in the book. He decides to use this power to terrorize the world and reshape it into his own vision of Utopia. The cat-and-mouse between he and his nemesis (Super detective "L") and all the unforeseen plot twists made this series an instant classic.

    Grave of the Fireflies immediately comes to mind, though you've probably already seen it. It makes grown men weep. Incredibly realistic (you won't find more accurate renderings of human behavior and movement in any other animation) - http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0095327/

    Monster - http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0434706/
    Despite the title, it has no monsters except metaphorical/symbolic ones. Very unusual for anime, it's set primarily in Germany, but the story sprawls throughout various parts of Eastern Europe as well. It's a character-driven mystery/conspiracy thriller that introduces a LOT of characters, but fleshes them all out nicely. A couple of people I know found it a bit dry, but I loved it, and it is one of the highest acclaimed anime series.

    Jin-Roh: The Wolf Brigade - http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0193253/
    A very gritty, realistic anime set in a dystopian alternate-timeline version of 1950's Japan in which Germany has conquered the nation and is running it like a police state.

    Paprika - fuck realistic, just watch the trailer. Toy Story can eat my ass. - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jJzEW_eE1G0

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  6. *continued since I exceeded the character limit* :p

    Perfect Blue is realistic and gritty though it has a surreal quality to it out of necessity. Kon was a singular force in animation and you can see his influence in a lot of movies. Perfect Blue inspired elements of Black Swan and Requiem For a Dream, and Paprika inspired parts of Inception. Aronofsky liked Perfect Blue so much that he bought the American rights to the film just so that he could straight lift a couple of scenes to use in RFAD and Swan. I'm still so bummed that he died last year.

    Berserk - http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0318871/
    While there are a couple of giant monsters (especially in the first episode which is a flash-forward, and the last couple in which the series takes a nightmarish turn) for the most part it is a gritty medieval tale about a group of mercenaries that use their brilliance on the battlefield to work themselves into the good graces of the nobility, with the ultimate goal of taking over the kingdom. Lots of ultra-violent battles, and plenty of conspiracy/intrigue elements. The manga itself has been going strong since 1990, but the anime only covers the first couple of volumes of manga. Also interesting, the creator has said that the main character Gatsu (Guts) was modeled on Rutger Hauer in Flesh + Blood (in looks not personality). There are obvious similarities in some of the settings, and tone as well.

    Shigurui - http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1233119/
    Samurai not ninja! very gritty and violent, but also a fairly realistic depiction of the savagery of feudal era Japan. Very dark, and a pretty slow pace. You have to stick with it, though it may be too oppressive in tone.

    Beck - http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0434662/
    About an aimless 14 year-old boy that finds his way when he joins a band. Great realistic coming of age story and the music isn't bad either.

    Welcome to the NHK! - http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0857297/
    A comedy/drama that I hear is pretty realistic in its treatment of the main character's Social Anxiety Disorder. He's a "hikikomori" which is a term that represents the rising phenomenon of people in Japan choosing to become shut-ins and completely withdraw from an active social life due to responsibilities and pressures and whatnot. I'm about halfway through it and it's pretty awesome.

    Legend of the Galactic Heroes - http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0096633/
    Yeah it's set in space, and the animation isn't particularly good, but the writing and character development are top-notch. Forget about action sequences, this is all about the story and dialogue. Strategy and tactics, politics and intrigue, philosophy and psychology, understanding history and human nature... these are the real driving forces of this massive Empire vs. Rebels space opus. You won't find a more fully realized universe in any other series, animated or not. Watching this series makes you feel like a smarter human being.

    Tokyo Magnitude 8.0 - http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1440068/
    Prophetic drama about a brother and sister that try to survive and make their way home after Tokyo is hit by a devastating earthquake.

    Black Lagoon - http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0962826/
    Very gritty and no less realistic than any giant blockbuster action flick :p

    -
    @ Parker - I've never seen any of the Evangelion stuff but I've got the entire run of Neon Genesis Evangelion sitting on my HD. I hear it's exceptional.

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  7. Wow, .buckethead., thank you so much for taking the time to lay all this out for an anime novice like me. You, sir, know your shit. Just the fact that someone would take this much time and effort to help a fellow movie nerd explore unfamiliar territory is very cool and I thank you. I have not seen "Grave of the Fireflies" yet (like I was saying, my exposure to anime is very limited). But I will definitely check it, and some of these, out very soon. "Jin-Roh: The Wolf Brigade" sounds excellent. "Beck" also sounds very intriguing to me, being a fan of music and coming-of-age stories. "Perfect Blue" and "Paprika" look like they could be a lot of fun too based on the trailers. Maybe we could do an anime-theme show at some point, with your guidance, to help us get a better grip on the genre. In any case, I will keep this list handy when sorting my Netflix queue or hunting down movies online and I will slowly but surely get into some of these and let you know what I think. Thanks again for your continued support and communication with us. It's super-knowledgeable, friendly and involved listeners like you that make doing this podcast fun. Take care.

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  8. Nicolas Cage is awesome though.

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