Monday, February 2, 2015

Supergirl movie (1984)


Hi all,
For this installment, I want to talk about one of my favorite super heroine movies and that would be the Supergirl movie from back in 1984. It's not a great movie but a fun one as we see the girl of steel fight evil and falls into a few perils herself.

First off, the actress who plays Supergirl was perfectly cast with Helen Slater. She looked great in the costume and portrayed the heroine very heroically and sold the few perilous moments very well too. The costume itself is the best super girl outfit you could imagine and captures the imagination very well.

Supergirl
The story begins in Argo city, a former city of the planet Krypton existing alone in space (or inner space). The city is being kept alive by an ancient artifact but when it is lost, Kara sets off alone to retrieve it to save her people. She follows the trail to Earth and develops super powers like her cousin Superman. Unfortunately, they never meet in the movie. She dons a similar super outfit and explores her temporary home and makes a few friends.

Supergirl in Phantom Zone
The artifact is found by a witch, who then uses it to boost her magical powers for evil purposes until Supergirl confronts her on a few occasions in the movie until Supergirl is captured and sent off to another dimension. This is my favorite part of the movie as we finally get to see the infamous Phantom Zone and Supergirl encounters peril she never dealt with before. With some help, Supergirl manages to escape the phantom zone for the final showdown with the evil witch.

Swiftgirl
This is a fun movie, although it was seen as flop and not as good as the first 2 Superman movies I feel like it is a must see if you are Christopher Reeve era superman fan and especially if you are a super heroine fan. You can get the DVD at Amazon.com.

I really enjoy the Supergirl character and this movie was very inspirational in my creation of Swiftgirl, who is inspired by this version of Supergirl.

Friday, December 26, 2014

UltraHeroix's 2014 year in review...


Hi all,
It's been an interesting year for Ultraheroix.com. I want to start off by thanking all of you fans for your support and following us. 2014 was a time of change in my personal life as we welcomed the newest member in the family with the birth of my first child. So with this new addition, it took some time and adjustment but I'm happy to say that we are back on track and we are producing more stories that will make 2015 an epic year in the Ultra Heroix world.

 Looking back at 2014, I was very happy with the production as the videos this year has been the best we've shot so far.  I also wanted to thank the new and old talent we worked with. I'm looking forward to 2015 as we continue to raise our game and tell the best stories possible in the UltraHeroix.com style.

Final Clash

This past
year, we had a few videos that saw the ending and resolution of the Dark Ultra saga and the aftermath. I was especially happy to see Lady Ultra coming back from the side of darkness and playing a pivotal role in ending the reign of C.L.A.S.H and it's leader Domintia. It was great and felt fulfilling to ending the storyline.

So, what's in store for 2015? Well, we are wrapping up another long running storyline that involves another of our most popular super heroine...Swiftgirl. I'm happy to say that we shot the conclusion of the Swift Reunion/Vod storyline. In 2013, we saw Swiftgirl encounter her super sibling and her fellow villains. Although, Swiftgirl was outnumbered and outmatched she was able to defeat Vod with the help from American Amazon. In 2015, we will see her  have the final super showdown with the remainder of the villainous trio.

Luna Starr

That's not all! In 2015 we will have new adventures and new characters. We will have a new heroine on the Sci-Fi side with the introduction of Luna Starr. If you are a fan of Star Trek and Flash Gordon then you will love her upcoming stories.

We will, of course bring back some of our characters you enjoy so much including Crimson Cat.

So with the wrapping up of two major story lines I will be developing a new one. I have a few I'm thinking out right now but I want it to be big that will involve both of our most popular and powerful super heroines taking on a threat that would be too great to take on alone.

So with the end of 2014, we will have a lot to look forward to in 2015. I want to thank all of you fans that has been with us these past few years and I could honestly say that the best is yet to come. Be sure to check out all our adventures at www.Ultraheroix.com ! Take a look at three of 2014 stories.

Final Clash

Return of Lady Ultra

Fly or Die







Sunday, November 23, 2014

UltraHeroix spotlight on Dynafly...


When I started UltraHeroix.com I knew I had to create a core cast of original super heroines. I already had Lady Ultra and Crimson Cat but I needed a third to complete a diverse "team" of super heroines.
"Ultra Domination"

Lady Ultra had super powers, Crimson Cat was a ninja and I felt like I needed a normal person in a heroine role. The thing that made her special that would help her keep up with the other heroines and villains is her intelligence. So, I decide to make her a tech-based heroine. At the time, I didn't have the time or budget to create a suit of armor (and it wouldn't look that sexy). So I looked at other famous superheroes for inspiration. Batman has his gadgets and even Spiderman has used his brains along with his powers to create tools to aid him.

"Shipping & Villainy"

I decided on the fly motif because I wanted to give her a unique look and a few different skills from the other heroines. I looked back other heroines and I came across Flygirl, who used to be a sidekick for the "The Fly" another superhero that was produced by Archie comics. From what I remembered, They just had wings and a gun in their crime-fighting duties. So, I felt this was something I could easily build off of and develop Dynafly into her own character. This heroine would have brains and a decent fighting background to make her a formidable opponent against villains. At first I felt she needed additional powers like bio-sting punches and ability to stick to walls but by the time I reached her second video, I realized that she didn't need them since she could fly with her wings and she could stun them with her ray gun. Some other things I added to her utility belt was handcuffs for defeated crooks and mini explosives for bigger tougher foes.

There has been 4 actresses to play Dynafly but there has only been 2 Dynaflys. The first Dynafly had a pretty short super heroine career before it was cut short by the first super villain, Dominator in "Ultra Domination" . Her name was Jane Jensen and she was inspired by previous super heroines to become one herself. Once she reached college she studied Physics and other sciences to compensate for lack of super powers and she created the identity of Dynafly. After encountering the Dominator, she retired due to her injuries and passed the Dynafly mantle to her sorority sister, Claire Ryder. Claire has a similar background and interests was easily able to assume the role and go further with it than her predecessor. She took over for "Shipping & Villainy" .
"Fly Trapped"
One of the things that I like about Dynafly is her perseverance. She has either been outnumbered or out-powered but never gives up, even when she is on the losing end. This really shows in her latest adventure as she fights for her soul in "Fly or Die"  after she was defeated and webbed up in "Fly Trapped". She is out-powered by a demon named, Grimskull and although she has been easily defeated in battle against him, she never gives up and uses her wits to try and survive. 
"Fly or Die"
Be sure to check out her latest adventure "Fly or Die" now at UltraHeroix.com and then her other adventures!
Fly or Die
Shipping & Villainy




Thursday, October 23, 2014

Movie Review: The Man With The Iron Fists


Hey all, for this posting I'm going to do a review on a film I saw and enjoyed.
I'm a fan of kung fu movies and lately  I  had a problem finding anything new that was fun to watch of that genre. Then I found "The man with the iron fists". I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed this movie.

Directed and written by RZA of the Wu-Tang Clan, you could tell that it was made by a fan of the genre for the fans of the genre. Unfortunately, It starred a fan with not much acting ability. Don't get me wrong, it's still a good movie. Thankfully the co-stars carry much of the weight of the film.

RZA as "The Blacksmith"
The plot of this film has RZA's character, the blacksmith create weapons for all the eccentric clans in a village back in the 19th century. One day, The Lion Clan stole the emperor's gold and assassinated the former leader of the Lion clan. The dead Lion clan's son seeks revenge on the traitors but is outnumbered. He eventually joins forces with the Blacksmith and they have a showdown with the members of Lion clan and their allies.

Silver Lion and the Lion Clan
The strengths of this film is the fight choreography , which is fun, graceful, gory and over the top stunts that keeps things lively and beautiful to see. The story itself is easy to follow and heavy into the fantasy side.  Some characters has superhuman like powers and most were simple characters that were clearly god or evil. The rest of cast were very good. Russell Crowe steals the show as Jack Knife. His character was a sex-driven british soldier who is investigating the stolen gold. He shares the weight of the film with Byron Mann. He is the Silver Lion and the clear bad guy of the film. I really enjoyed his character as he is played extremely conniving, evil and funny. The rest of the cast includes the lovely Lucy Liu, the gorgeous Jamie Chung and David Bautista.
David Bautista as "Brass Body"
Bautista's character is the "Brass Body" a character that is similar to the X-Man, Colossus in that he has super strength and can turn his skin to metal. Even his acting was much better and more interesting than the lead. The final plus of his movie is the sound track. The music is vibrant and adds a lot to the story with a mix of rap, rock and traditional asian music.

Now for the weakness of the film and that is mostly on the performance of the RZA. His performance as the Narrator, Blacksmith and even his fight scenes were stiff and lifeless. For someone who is such a big fan of the genre and had the passion to create this film, you would think it would show in his performance. Thankfully he was able to cast a strong ensemble to carry the film. Also, the writing at times could be a bit lame, especially the romantic scenes between
Jamie Chung as "Lady Silk"
Blacksmith and his love "Lady Silk", played by Jamie Chung.

But I can't bash RZA too much. He shows that he is a very capable director. The film itself is still very entertaining and he was able to direct the rest of the cast very well. I just wished he replaced himself with another actor.

To wrap up, I'd like to recommend "The man with the Iron Fists" if you're a fan of Kung Fu movies. It's hip, has a great sound track and is a lot of fun to watch. You can catch this film on Amazon Prime. I watched it here first and enjoyed it so much that I brought the Blu Ray.



Wednesday, September 17, 2014

A Great Villainess, Diana from "V"



There are a few series that I could watch over and over again at anytime and have the same amount of enjoyment. One of these is the original "V" series from the Eighties and I'm including both miniseries and the 1st and only season of the show. This series is a lot of fun to watch, the mini-series were a bit deeper and thought provoking while the TV show had it's fair share of exciting stories and unpredictability.  There were a lot of twists in story lines and over the top characters  despite it limited budget and dated special effects by today's standards. A brief description of this series is that aliens arrive on Earth posing as friendly human looking explorers in need of our help but in reality they are actually a reptilian, war-like race that wants to steal our natural resources and sees humans as food. Soon, their true colors show and they try to conquer the world with their superior technology and all that stands in their way is a small rebellion of humans and a few compassionate aliens.

That storyline alone is pretty cool but what makes this show memorable and a joy to watch is  the main villain of the series...Diana. This character is so evil, vicious, sinister and over the top comic style bad guy that she practically steals every scene she is in. She has a lot of unique traits, One of which is that she  enjoys eating mice and other mammals...including humans. One of the most iconic scenes is when we get a glimpse of the true nature of the visitors (nickname for the aliens) when she eats a live hamster and as you can see in the picture above, under the fake skin is her true reptilian self.




This character is so conniving, not even her own allies or crew are safe from her aspirations for power. She kills her commanding officers if they get in her way and schemes to get rid of anyone that she doesn't like or possibly poses a threat to her power and that's with her own alien kind. For humans, her wrath is much worse. Besides simply eating us, she is also a scientist and revels in experimenting on humans. She dissects people physically and mentally. She takes great pleasure in mentally breaking her prisoners and turning them against their friends as sleeper agents. She usually lets others and subordinates do the dirty work for her but is not above shooting the enemy herself even if its to their back. Only on rare occasions does she willingly fight in hand to hand combat but when she does she is quite formidable. It should also be noted that due to her alien background, she does have some attributes that gives her something of a super-human abilities (by human standards). For example, she could spit acid that could blind or even paralyze her foes. She is also bullet resistant, I'm not sure if it's from the armor of her clothing or her skin but she has been shot by regular guns without being severely harmed.


One of the main things that makes this character so iconic and memorable is the actress that played her, Jane Badler. She captures the perfect villainess qualities and is so good, I can't imagine Diana being played by anyone else. Even when we had the new 2009 "V" series, the main baddie is Ana (inspired by Diana) was nowhere near as devious as the original which I think hurt that newer series. I believe even the producers knew then needed something to give that show a real shot in the arm and they brought in Jane Badler to re-introduce Diana. It was not the same Diana from the Eighties series but she had some of the same qualities. Unfortunately it would be a little too late and the show was canceled. I believed if they let Diana be Diana earlier in the series, it would have bought in more viewers and be much more fun t watch. As for my own productions, I've tried to think of a villainess as awesome as her and the closest I've gotten is Devla. I'm still going to try and create a closer character to this awesome villainess.
As I'm writing this blog post, I am watching the series on DVD. The SyFy channel used to play these as marathons but unfortunately haven't done it in awhile and it's not on Netflix nor Hulu at this time so the best way I'd say to see her and this great series is to get the full DVD series on Amazon.com.


Friday, August 29, 2014

Web Series, "We Might Be Superheroes..."



Hey folks, I hope everyone will enjoy this labor day weekend. So let's start off with a rundown of an entertaining web series that can be found on youtube called "We might be Superheroes".  It features a girl super heroine team/ partnership. A butt-kicking, serious heroine named "Hope" and her partner, a less experienced but overly enthusiastic friend named "Faith". This series has been going on for a few years now as they tackle petty crooks, super-villains and an occasional monster and the series only seems to improve as they go. The characters are smart, funny and relatable as you get to see their normal day to day lives outside of the super heroics like enjoying a beer after a tough case or going on a road trip.

This pair of super heroines goes on crime-fighting adventures that has a tone of campiness of the 1960's Batman TV show but with a 21st century edge. It is produced by, Amusement Films . This Production company has experience in producing low budget films that are more heroine centric that ranges from comic book superhero stuff to campy horror themed adventures. Most of their productions have great fight choreography with some peril situations but is mostly girl-power themed and is PG rated type fun that fans of all ages could enjoy.

El Frenetico and Go-Girl
Girls from H.A.R.M
I've also got to mention the production team behind this series because they should get special recognition for excellent work. I've been a fan of "Amusement Films" for over ten year now since they produced films like "El Frenetico and Go-girl"and "The Girls from H.A.R.M", which I'll review in an upcoming posts. As I mentioned they have a flair for fun campiness but with modern stories, hip music and great fight choreography.  They make the most out of their small budget with creative stories, excellent choices in locations and simple but effective costumes. You could tell that they really love what they do as it shows in their work and they really now how to stretch a stretch a dollar to get what they want.

"We might be Superheroes" episodes can be seen on youtube via their channel https://www.youtube.com/amusementfilms or at their website at http://www.wemightbesuperheroes.com and their episodes usually run for less than 10 minutes so it's a great distraction and it's free. I'd like to wrap up this short post by saying that this series is an excellent little gem for the super heroine fans and the production gives me as a producer ,motivation to create what I love on my own limited budget.



Saturday, August 2, 2014

UltraHeroix.com spotlight and Return of Lady Ultra...

Lady Ultra from UltraHeroix.com

Hi all, This posting will serve a duel purpose. To spotlight our flagship character, Lady Ultra and her latest story lines .

Lady Ultra from UltraHeroix.com
Lady Ultra has always been my oldest and favorite creation, which is why she's always been the main character for my stories. I created her way back in 2001 while I was taking a web design course and one of our assignments was to create a website on anything that interested us. At that time, I was (and still is) a comic book fan but I wanted to make my site more unique. At that time I was a big fan of Sooperhero.com and their photo-stories of super heroines in peril so I decided to create my own character that I could write and draw about and "Lady Ultra" was born. She was the focus for my first website, The Adventures of Lady Ultra and Co. She was inspired by supergirl with a few variations. She was not an alien and the origin of her powers were left ambiguous. I also made it a point to giver her an African-American background. There are so few racially diverse characters out there, especially super heroines that I wanted to make her even more unique.

Lady Ultra from UltraHeroix.com
I had so much fun drawing and updating the site, which filled with cosplay of comic book and anime super heroines that I updated almost weekly for years. Then almost ten years later I had the opportunity to create another website; UltraHeroix.com to showcase my own video stories and it was a no-brainer that my flagship character would be Lady Ultra and she starred in the first few stories before I branched into other characters.

So who is Lady Ultra?
I created an origin but it will be tweaked and re-vamped as we move on, especially when I start plans of doing a full movie which should be sooner than later.

Her real name is Monica Chase and lives and based out of the fictional city called "Sol City". As of right now, her civilian life will be pretty flexible because her main focus and passion is being Lady Ultra and everything else comes second. The source of her powers are a mystery even to her. One day she just found out she had powers and she believes she was given them in a spiritual sense for a purpose  to do good in the world.  She is a natural leader and inspires the other super heroines in her world.
"Dark Embrace" video at UltraHeroix.com

She has super strength, invulnerability, flight and the ability to shoot energy from her hands. Her weakness is the if she uses her energy projection too much it weakens her. She is also at times over-confident which causes her to under-estimate her enemies.

So where is she now in her current storyline?
The last few videos, she was brainwashed into serving a criminal organization called C.L.A.S.H as "Dark Embrace" by their leader Domintia and became the villainess, Dark Ultra. She was instrumental in their growth of
"Dark Betrayal" video at UltraHeroix.com
seen in
power as she defeated her fellow allies/super heroines. She was recently brought back to her senses when she was rescued by Crimson Cat and both heroines defeated Domintia and crippled C.L.A.S.H. Now she is focusing her energies in bringing in the former leaders of C.L.A.S.H to make sure the organization stays dead and they answer for their crimes.

"Return of Lady Ultra" video at UltraHeroix.com
In "The Return of Lady Ultra", Lady Ultra is back to her old self and wearing her traditional costume. Her first target is one of CLASH most powerful members, Death Punch. The villainess has taken over a gang after defeating the super heroine of their city "Nightfox".

In this one video, Lady Ultra fights a villain that rival her in strength but surpasses her in ruthlessness.

So, where will we go now with Lady Ultra?

She will be facing a major old foe from the past for and episode or two and then encounter a major evil force to be reckoned with. This particular villain is brand new and so powerful, Lady Ultra must not only team up with other heroines to try and save the day but to just survive this new foe. During this storyline, I will have her suffer her most brutal defeat and her slow rise from the pit to overcome this threat.

Lady Ultra has always been my pride and joy and she has been a favorite of our fans too. I've been lucky to work with great actresses that was able to bring her to life and I look forward to where her stories will take her and I'm sure you will too.
Here are a few samples of Lady Ultra videos that can be found at Ultraheroix.com :