What to watch on YouTube right now – Part 106

Welcome back my readers, YouTube viewers and all others who followed this series of articles focused on YouTube videos worth watching. Have you been searching for something fun or interesting to watch on YouTube? Do you feel bored right now and you crave for something to see on the world’s most popular online video destination?

I recommend you check out the following videos I found.

You, Me and the Movies React To G.I. Joe: The Movie – When I was very young, me and my friends were fortunate enough to watch the 1987 animated movie G.I. Joe: The Movie on home video which was in high demand for rental in our entire village. We were all very entertained and astounded by the feature film and, unsurprisingly, a lot of G.I. Joe fans in the community started talking about it. Considering its pop culture significance and the involvement of Don Johnson as Lt. Falcon, it is surprising that there are actually few reaction videos of G.I. Joe: The Movie on YouTube as of this writing. Recently, You, Me and The Movies posted its reaction video which I found entertaining. If you have not seen G.I. Joe: The Movie yet, watch it entirely first. Otherwise, enjoy the reaction video below.

Panzer Dragoon Saga Revisited – I never played any of the Panzer Dragoon games released by Sega. What caught my attention was the critical acclaim Panzer Dragoon Saga received in 1998 and it was not only a Sega Saturn-exclusive game but also a role-playing game (RPG). I found this retrospective YouTube video of Panzer Dragoon Saga and it has a fascinating look at the game’s production, history and the fact that two members of game developer Team Andromeda died. Watch it now.

#3 Explore a 7-Eleven Convenience Store In Japan – Months ago, Nippon TV (NTV) posted an exploratory feature news video about the many interesting stuff foreign visitors will find inside a 7-Eleven convenience store in Japan. Apart from the usual food and beverage stuff people expect to see inside convenience stores, 7-Eleven stores in Japan has its own features ranging from unique products to the consumer-friendly services available. The good thing about Nippon TV’s feature video is that the information is presented in English. Watch the video below.

The Fifth Element Revisited – What can be said about the 1997 sci-fi film The Fifth Element? For me, it was a zany action movie that had a strong European touch on comedy and expressions, and it so happens that it had the famous Bruce Willis as the action hero. Of course, the film managed to arouse certain emotions or reactions from moviegoers, and the same can be said about YouTubers who did reaction videos about it. Watch and enjoy the selected reaction videos of The Fifth Element below.

Steven Spielberg’s Animation Legacy  – If you have extensively researched the work and creative history of Steven Spielberg, then you should be aware of his involvement in the production of animated movies…both hand-drawn and computer-generated. Since the 1980s, Spielberg produced animated feature films that happened to be directed by others, and I saw An American Tale as a young boy. Much later in life, I saw The Adventures of Tintin which Spielberg himself directed. Spielberg’s history with animation is extensive and you can discover a lot by watching the video below.

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Thank you for reading. If you find this article engaging, please click the like button below, share this article to others and also please consider making a donation to support my publishing. If you are looking for a copywriter to create content for your special project or business, check out my services and my portfolio. Feel free to contact me with a private message. Also please feel free to visit my Facebook page Author Carlo Carrasco and follow me on Twitter at  @HavenorFantasy as well as on Tumblr at https://carlocarrasco.tumblr.com/ and on Instagram athttps://www.instagram.com/authorcarlocarrasco

Better than Streaming: Do you have American Pop (1981) Blu-ray in your collection?

Welcome back, fellow geeks, Blu-ray collectors and movie buffs! Decades ago, animator and director Ralph Bakshi made significant contributions to the art of hand-drawn animation with features that made it to cinemas such as The Lord of the Rings (1978), Wizards (1977), and Fire and Ice (1983) to name a few.

Along the way, Bakshi became identified with rotoscoping which is a technique that involves drawing or painting over an element in live-action footage frame by frame (as to create a matte or a realistic animation).

Speaking of Bakshi’s past work as well as rotoscoped animation, Sony Pictures recently released the film American Pop (1981) on Blu-ray disc format and I am happy to say that I now have a copy of it for my Blu-ray collection. This is also my first-ever Blu-ray of a Bakshi-directed animated movie.

A close look at the cover of my Blu-ray copy of American Pop.

To begin with, posted below are the specs from the Blu-ray.com page

Video

Codec: MPEG-4 AVC

Resolution: 1080p

Aspect ratio: 1.85:1

Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1

Audio

English: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 (48kHz, 24-bit)

Subtitles –English SDH

Discs -Blu-ray Disc, Single Disc (1 BD-25)

Playback – Blu-ray: Region A

In my personal experience, the first time I ever saw American Pop was not in the cinema but on TV here in the Philippines way back in 1993. Back then, I found the film’s combination of music with mostly rotoscoped animated scenes (there were also some live-action shots, archived footage and some very unique pieces of art shown). I was not able to replay Bakshi’s movie until recently.

So after more than thirty long years, I finally got to replay American Pop on Blu-ray and I can say I enjoyed it even more. To see the rotoscoped animation and varied music play in front of me in high-definition is an even more immersive viewing experience than the previous time I saw this film. Another advantage of high definition is being able to see tiny visual details that I was unable to spot long ago. Oh yes, the fine artworks used on the backgrounds in specific parts of the movie now look a lot more engaging to look at.

A look at the rear of American Pop Blu-ray.

What I regret to say here is that American Pop Blu-ray absolutely has no special features included. Not even a movie trailer! I can only guess that Sony Pictures did not bother to exert efforts to conduct new interviews with Ralph Bakshi and the cast members, nor did they even try to secure any media features or previews of the movie before its theatrical release. It’s not clear if Sony will someday come up with a collector’s edition Blu-ray of this 1981 Bakshi film.

In case you are interested or if you have made up your mind, you can order a copy of American Pop Blu-ray by clicking https://www.amazon.com/American-Pop-Blu-Ray-Ralph-Bakshi/dp/B0CBXJW38F/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2HXMAKQ7ZRPF8&keywords=american+pop+blu+ray&qid=1704790730&sprefix=American+Pop%2Caps%2C498&sr=8-1

For the dedicated Ralph Bakshi fans as well as enthusiastic film buffs and collectors of movies on physical media, American Pop Blu-ray is recommended as the film itself is more than enough to outweigh the lack of special features. American Pop is more lively than ever to watch and listen as it is now in high-definition.

If you wish to join a group of movie enthusiasts and talk about cinema, visit the Movie Fans Worldwide Facebook group at https://www.facebook.com/groups/322857711779576

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Thank you for reading. If you find this article engaging, please click the like button below, share this article to others and also please consider making a donation to support my publishing. If you are looking for a copywriter to create content for your special project or business, check out my services and my portfolio. Feel free to contact me with a private message. Also please feel free to visit my Facebook page Author Carlo Carrasco and follow me on Twitter at  @HavenorFantasy as well as on Tumblr at https://carlocarrasco.tumblr.com/ and on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/authorcarlocarrasco

Better than Streaming: Catwoman: Hunted 4K Blu-ray coming out on February 8, 2022

Welcome back, fellow geeks, movie buffs and fellow Blu-ray/4K Blu-ray collectors!

If you love Catwoman or if you simply fond of DC Comics stories and concepts portrayed in varied forms of media other than comic books, then you should watch out for the release of Catwoman: Hunted 4K Blu-ray combo on February 8, 2022!  Check out the cover and official trailer below…

Posted below are very early details of Catwoman: Hunted 4K Blu-ray from its Blu-ray.com page.

Video

Codec: HEVC / H.265

Resolution: 4K (2160p)

Audio

TBA

Subtitles

None

Discs

4K Ultra HD

Blu-ray Disc

Two-disc set (2 BD)

Digital

Digital copy included

Playback

4K Blu-ray: Region free

2K Blu-ray: Region A

Now here are the details sourced from the Blu-ray.com news page for Catwoman: Hunted 4K Blu-ray

Studio description: In the all-new original Catwoman: Hunted, Catwoman’s attempt to steal a priceless jewel puts her squarely in the crosshairs of both a powerful consortium of villains and the ever-resourceful Interpol, not to mention Batwoman. It might just be enough to contain her. Or not.

Elizabeth Gillies (Dynasty, Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll, Vacation) and Stephanie Beatriz (Brooklyn Nine-Nine, In The Heights) lead the cast of Catwoman: Hunted as the voices of Catwoman and Batwoman, respectively. Also featured is Jonathan Banks (Breaking Bad, Better Call Saul) as Black Mask, Steve Blum (Cowboy Bebop, Star Wars Rebels) as Solomon Grundy, Lauren Cohan (The Walking Dead, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice) as Julia Pennyworth, Keith David (They Live, The Thing, Gargoyles) as Tobias Whale, Zehra Fazal (Young Justice) as Talia al Ghul and Nosferata, Jonathan Frakes (Star Trek: the Next Generation) as King Faraday and Boss Moxie, Kirby Howell-Baptiste (The Good Place, Barry) as Barbara Minerva/Cheetah, Kelly Hu (Arrow, X2: X-Men United) as Cheshire, Andrew Kishino (Batman vs. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles) as Mr. Yakuza and Domino 6, Eric Lopez (Madagascar: A Little Wild) as Domino 1, Jacqueline Obradors (Bosch, NYPD Blue) as La Dama, and Ron Yuan (Mortal Kombat 11) as Doctor Tzin.

Catwoman: Hunted is directed by Shinsuke Terasawa (Gintama, Yo-kai Watch) from a script penned by Greg Weisman (Young Justice, Gargoyles). Producer is Ethan Spaulding (Mortal Kombat Legends: Battle of the Realms) and Executive Producer is Sam Register.

For the newcomers reading this, Catwoman is one of the classic DC Comics characters co-created by Bob Kane and Bill Finger (the same creators of Batman). Catwoman made her debut as “the Cat” in Batman (1940) and went on to not only become one of the most essential inclusions in Batman’s rogues gallery, but also as the best known love interest of Batman. Through the decades, Catwoman appeared in the live-action Batman TV series of the 1960s, in the movies (best known portrayed by Michelle Pfeiffer in 1992, by Halle Berry in 2004 and Anne Hathaway in 2012), in the video games and also in the Gotham TV series.

Catwoman will also return to the big screen in next year’s The Batman, played by Zoë Kravitz under the direction of Matt Reeves. Watch the latest The Batman trailer below and try to find her…

Personally, I am not a fan of Catwoman and I was not interested in the complex relationships she had with Batman in comic books. In the 1990s, DC Comics published an entire monthly series focused on her and you can check out my retro comic book review of Catwoman #50 (1997).

Catwoman: Hunted is the first of several new DC Comics animated films set for release in 2022 under the Warner Bros. Home Entertainment label. Watch out for its expected listing in online stores to go live soon.

For more entries of my Better than Streaming series of articles, check out my pieces on The Beastmaster 4K Blu-rayThe Transformers: The Movie 4K Blu-rayMortal Kombat 2021 4K Blu-raySpace Jam 4K Blu-rayV: The Original Miniseries Blu-ray (read my retro review), V: The Final Battle Blu-rayHighlander 4K Blu-rayThe Suicide Squad, Super Dimension Century Orguss Blu-ray, Unbreakable 4K Blu-ray, Injustice 4K Blu-ray, The Suicide Squad 4K Blu-ray, Terminator 2: Judgment Day 30th Anniversary 4K Blu-ray, Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within 4K Blu-ray,  Mad Max Anthology 4K Blu-ray, Night Shift Blu-ray and The Karate Kid Collection 4K Blu-ray.

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Thank you for reading. If you find this article engaging, please click the like button below and also please consider sharing this article to others. If you are looking for a copywriter to create content for your special project or business, check out my services and my portfolio. Feel free to contact me as well. Also please feel free to visit my Facebook page Author Carlo Carrasco and follow me at HavenorFantasy@twitter.com

If you wish to join a group of movie enthusiasts and talk about cinema, visit the Movie Fans Worldwide Facebook group at https://www.facebook.com/groups/322857711779576