Johnny Yong Bosch Movies
- 2006
A woman discovers she has miraculous powers that make her unhappy life all the more complicated in this independent satiric comedy. Gwen (Martha Plimpton) is a woman in her mid-thirties who has been in a deep funk ever since her marriage fell apart. With nowhere to go, Gwen is living with her sister, Queenie (Amy Ryan), and brother-in-law, Lars (Ewen Bremner), and Queenie tries to lift her sister's sagging spirits by setting her up on a blind date. The date doesn't go well, but when her would-be suitor is unable to get his car started, Gwen discovers to her surprise that she can repair the auto with her psychic powers. Word gets around about Gwen's unusual talent, and soon neighbors are lining up to let Gwen fix old appliances with her mind, while Lars makes a fast buck charging folks for the privilege. But when it's discovered Gwen's talents don't stop at repairing toasters, Queenie and Lars launch her on a career as a faith healer. Queenie soon installs herself as Gwen's public sidekick and mouthpiece, while they hire Laura (Annabella Sciorra) to manage Gwen's growing public profile. But Gwen is no happier as a famous psychic and faith healer that she was immediately after her divorce, and she increasingly seeks solace in alcohol. "Marvelous" was screened in competition at the 2006 Tribeca Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Martha Plimpton, Amy Ryan, (more)
- 2005
- R
The horror film Devon's Ghost: Legend of the Bloody Boy concerns a town that suffers from murders that are a frightening echo of killings that occurred a decade before. The new murders remind everyone of the death of Devon, a young man supposedly killed by his parents. As a group of teenagers band together to find out the identity of the new killer and unravel the ten-year-old mystery, their lives hang more precariously in the balance. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide
Created by Keiko Nobumoto (Cowboy Bebop), the half-hour Wolf's Rain was, like many another Japanese anime series, set in a post-apocalyptic future. This time around, the human characters lived in domed cities, surrounded by a devastated world. Meanwhile, the Earth's surviving wolves, presumed extinct for two centuries, had managed to disguise themselves as humans to survive. The plotline focused on four young humanized wolves, each named for a part of the wolf "makeup": Kiba (Fang), Tsume (Claw), Hige (Whisker) and Toboe (Howl). Inspired by the vision of Flower Maiden Cheza and spurred on by the scent of the Lunar Flowers, the quartet set out to find the legendary "wolf paradise" of Rakunan. There was only one hitch -- if and when the wolves finally located Rakunan, the world would come to an end! First telecast in Japan on January 6, 2003, Wolf's Rain consisted of 26 episodes, plus four OAV episodes -- produced exclusively for home video -- which wrapped up the story. The entire series made its American debut courtesy of Cartoon Network on April 24, 2004. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Johnny Yong Bosch, Crispin Freeman, (more)
- 2002
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Making its Japanese TV debut on July 3, 2002, the half-hour anime series Witch Hunter Robin was assembled by the prolific cartoon-merchandising combo of Sunrise/Bandai. The premise was predicated on the knowledge that witches still existed in the modern world, with rogue witches being the most deadly and dangerous of the species. The international organization SOLOMON was dedicated to hunting down and destroying these witches, using as its principal weapon a substance called Orbo which contained the witches' evil powers long enough to allow the "good guys" to triumph. The Japanese branch of SOLOMON, known as STNJ, was under the leadership of short-tempered Chief Kosaka. The newest member of this branch was Robin Sena, a girl named for the King of the Witches. Because of her awesome ability to control the element of fire, Robin had been raised in a monastery to keep her protected from the world -- and vice versa. Although a welcome addition to STNJ, Robin has to constantly monitor her powers lest they destroy both herself and her new co-workers. Others on the STNJ team were Robin's partner Amon, whose punkish demeanor kept hidden a number of dark secrets; Doujima, a lazy young lady who landed the job because of family connection; Karasuma, who could sense positive and negative vibes (which came in handy when detecting SEEDS, or potential witch families); Michael, who managed to avoid execution after hacking into STNJ's computer by agreeing to join the organization -- and to remain under "house arrest" all the while; Robin's roommate, Touko; and rookie member Sakaki. Also on hand was Robin's mentor, a mysterious lawyer named Nagira. In America, the 26-episode Witch Hunter Robin was added to Cartoon Network's "Adult Swim" schedule on February 16, 2004. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kari Wahlgren, Crispin Freeman, (more)
- 1998
Debuting over Japanese television under the title Toraigan in 1998, the half-hour animé series Trigun was, like so many others in the sci-fi genre, essentially an outer-space Western. The hero of the piece was, technically speaking, the villain: Vash the Stampede, the most notorious outlaw on the planet Gunsmoke. With a reward of 60 billion dollars on his head, the blond, blue-eyed Vash would have been well-advised to keep himself scarce, but he insisted upon poking about and trying to rescue the weak and helpless from worse outlaws than himself. And besides, despite his gunslinging prowess, Vash never killed anybody (a rarity in a Western, to say nothing of an animé series). In America, Trigun premiered March 31, 2003, on cable's Cartoon Network. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Johnny Yong Bosch, Dorothy Melendrez, (more)
Based on the hit children's television series The Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, this film has the teenage superheroes doing battle with the other-worldly villainess Divatox (Hilary Shepard Turner). She is the wife of an evil lord named Maligore who is imprisoned in an energy vacuum inside one of Earth's volcanos. Freeing him would mean doom for the universe. Divatox needs to bring a good wizard named Lerigot (Jon Simanton) to the volcano, because he has the key to unlocking the energy prison. Lerigot flees his planet and escapes to Earth just before Divatox's henchmen capture him. The five Rangers disguise themselves as ordinary teenagers, but their secret is discovered by ten-year-old Justin (Blake Foster), and he is allowed to don a power suit and become one of them. Zordon, the Power Rangers' boss, gives his crew extra powers to thwart Divatox, who with her pirates has captured a submarine. The showdown between the forces of universal good and evil includes plenty of karate and kick-boxing around a seething cauldron of lava. ~ Michael Betzold, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jason David Frank, Steve Cardenas, (more)
- 1995
- PG
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The popular children's television show comes to the screen in this sci-fi adventure about a group of teenage superheroes battling an evil leader bent on world domination. The film's six heroes lead double existences as normal young teens who, when needed, don color-coded costumes to become the Power Rangers. Under the guidance of the valiant Zordon (Nicholas Bell), the Rangers fight crime with kung-fu skills and specialized attack vehicles. This time, the Rangers are battling Ivan Ooze (Paul Freeman), a millennia-old villain who hopes to take over the world with an army of phlegm creatures. The Rangers' only hope for victory is to acquire a special power source, leading to a dangerous journey into outer space. Despite the larger budget, the film remains true to the style of the show, which often recalls Japanese monster movies in its depictions of battling giant monsters through obvious special effects. The fast-paced fantasy action attracted a good portion of its intended youthful audience, while not becoming quite as much of a sensation as the TV series; some adults attacked the film for its reliance on violence (though of a bloodless, cartoon variety) and its status as a blatant promotional tool for the best-selling Power Ranger toys. ~ Judd Blaise, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Karen Ashley, Johnny Yong Bosch, (more)
Erstwhile Generation Y thieves Billy Ray (Johnny Yong Bosch) and Guile (Jason Narvy) inadvertently steal a book of bank codes from ruthless mobsters. Not only have they wronged a very dangerous mob, but they have run afoul a beautiful FBI agent, Kim Matsuda (Motoko Nagino), who for years has been plotting a sting operation to catch the gangsters. Her longtime plan ruined, Kim decides to use the reluctant Billy Ray and Guile as the bait to catch the baddies. Now the mobsters are after the boys for the code book and Kim has put them in a vulnerable position. It will require all of their skills in the martial arts -- as well as figuring out how to pilot a small airplane -- in order to save their lives. ~ Buzz McClain, All Movie Guide
