Happy Birthday, Joseph!

Happy birthday to the elder-half of the Uphill Both Ways team!

"Strange Phenomena"

Episode 132

The guys are back and trying to ease into a regular schedule again. Mike is (still) on the mend and Joseph is mending the still, and after going in search of a fun topic for this episode they've come up with a banger; Unexplained phenomena! That's right - Bigfoot, aliens, the Bermuda Triangle, and more. Step aside Leonard Nimoy, the UBW Research Team is on the case! But before all of that, there's a little house keeping and catching up to do with some brief talk about recent movies and TV shows. It's time for some retro pop-culture nostalgia, the UBW podcast way!

https://traffic.libsyn.com/secure/whenitwascool/Uphill_Both_Ways_132_Strange_Phenomena.mp3

Film Review: “On the Trail of Bigfoot: Last Frontier” (2023)

Alaska’s Sasquatch Seems Anything But Shy

by Joseph Perry

Anyone who might mistakenly think that On the Trail of Bigfoot: Last Frontier, the latest film from writer/director Seth Breedlove and the Small Town Monsters production company, is “just another Bigfoot documentary” should reconsider. Any Sasquatch-related work from Breedlove and his crew is far and away above the usual offerings in which viewers follow a group of cryptid hunters knocking on trees and roaming endlessly. On the Trail of Bigfoot: Last Frontier shows a side of Sasquatch that may surprise many.

COMING SOON! Shin Ultraman (2022)

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE : Superhero hit ULTRAMAN acquired by Cleopatra Entertainment

CLEOPATRA ENTERTAINMENT ACQUIRES THE U.S. RIGHTS FOR ICONIC JAPANESE SUPERHERO FILM “SHIN ULTRAMAN”

 

Los Angeles, California (January 6th, 2023) – Cleopatra Entertainment has acquired U.S. territory rights to the latest incarnation film from the Japanese Superhero franchise Ultraman from Tsuburaya Productions. Entitled Shin Ultraman, this new Ultraman adventure was the sixth-highest grossing Japanese feature film of 2022 and will hit U.S. theaters – via Fathom Events – on January 11th and 12th, 2023.

 

Written by Hideaki Anno (Shin Godzilla) and directed by Shinji Higuchi (Shin Godzilla, Attack on Titan), the film stars Takumi Saitoh (Shin Godzilla, 13 Assassins), Hidetoshi Nishijima (Drive My Car, The Wind Rises),  Masami Nagasawa (Before We Vanish, Mother), Daiki Arioka (Innocent Curse), and Akari Hayami (Gintama, Forget Me Not).

 

As Shin Ultraman begins, we learn the appearance of giant unidentified life forms known as “S-Class Species (Kaiju)” has become commonplace in Japan. The Japanese Government formed a Kaiju defense taskforce known as the SSSP, led by Kimio Tamura (played by Drive My Car’s Hidetoshi Nishijima). After a particularly challenging encounter, a silver giant descends from the sky to rescue the country. Dubbed Ultraman, this giant’s identity and purpose are a mystery. Shin Ultraman is a delightful reimagining of one of Japan’s classic superheroes, full of cosmic twists, charismatic villains, and giant Kaiju, leading VARIETY to declare that “the mix of styles and moods works wonderfully, raising Shin ‘Ultraman’ into the top rank of superhero movies!”

 

The rights deal was brokered by Cleopatra Founder and CEO Brian Perera, Tim Yasui VP/GM of Cleopatra Entertainment, and by Brian O’Shea of The Exchange on behalf of the filmmakers.

 

After its theatrical campaign concludes, Shin Ultraman will be released in the Spring of 2023 on VOD Platforms and also as a Deluxe Home Entertainment Blu Ray and DVD release.

Joseph got a chance to review SHIN ULTRAMAN last summer and you can read his review right here!