Welcome to Le Singe Magnétique


Welcome to Le Singe Magnétique, the official blog of BA_Harrison, author of thousands of movie reviews on IMDb, collector of worthless tat (according to my wife), and creator of amazing stock illustration for all your creative needs.

Monday 24 March 2014

Unlikely Stuff I've Found At The Local Car Boot Sale #2: Kill Bill 1 & 2 Japanese Releases

Those who have seen both the International and Japanese versions of Quentin Tarantino's Kill Bill Vol.1 will no doubt have noticed the glaring differences between the two releases, the most obvious being the Crazy 88s fight scene which, in the cut destined for Western audiences, was presented in black and white. The Japanese DVD, however, was in full colour, making it the obvious choice for discerning fans of extreme cinematic violence, the blood from the numerous severed limbs and fatal wounds splashing across the screen in glorious fountains of crimson.

The fact that the UK got the watered down version stopped me from purchasing the film and its sequel on DVD (well, that and the prohibitive price of the Asian alternative), so imagine my joy when, at the local car-boot sale, I found the Japanese versions of both Kill Bill 1 and 2 for just a pound each. The menus are in Japanese, which makes it tricky to select the English soundtrack, but the effort is worth it, Tarantino's work looking so much better in vivid colour throughout.

Tuesday 11 March 2014

Brett's Comic Collectables #2: 2000AD Prog 265 — with free gift!

Prog 265 of Britain's greatest ever comic came with a free pack of Bubblicious bubble gum. While most kids would have happily chewed and blown bubbles while reading the comic, I left my gum untouched. 32 years later and I still have the packet of gum with the comic; can't imagine I'd get very good bubbles from it now though, so there it stays...

Monday 10 March 2014

Brett's Comic Collectables #1: Warrior Issue No. 1 — Signed by artists and writers.

I've had this copy of Warrior Issue No.1 bagged up and boxed ever since I bought it in the mid-'80s when I also got it signed by a good handful of its creators, including the legendary Alan Moore of Watchmen and V for Vendetta fame. It's in great nick and actually might be worth a bob or two (if anyone has an idea how much, please leave a comment—I'm no good at valuing my comics).