It was back in May when Garage Hero founder, action director and filmmaker Bueno (Gun Caliber, Strega) teamed up with indie action purveyor Akiko Jerry Takahashi (@akikojerryt) for a project of their own which eventually became a crowdfunded venture via their Camp Fire fundraising line.
Select independent filmmakers like our friends at Art School Dropouts are more than happy to help the self-quarantined around the world bide their time with entertaining content. Looking to contribute on his own end is Gun Caliber and Strega star and director Bueno who now offers a twelve-hour marathon of content courtesy of his Garage Hero YouTube portal.
While A-list Tokusatsu programming reigns supreme in its conventions, the last eight years have proven to be slightly more watershed in challenging the norm. Thus, with actor and independent filmmaker Bueno signaling a new beacon for fans keen on something different, the release of Gun Caliber in 2014 proved pivotal for the niche in doing just that – ultimately heeding the call for a new brand of suit-action heroics.
Director Bueno is poised to present his latest sequel, Strega, to the masses beginning this summer. Building on the success of his 2014 indie toku actioner, Gun Caliber, without fail, fans can expect a newer, sleeker costume with more weaponry and signature tokusatsu action to boot, and to that effect, the added mature subject matter akin to Bueno’s filmic touch.
Just shy of a decade since beginning his journey into history-making indie Tokusatsu with cult feature favorite, Gun Caliber, the tide is finally turning for actor, producer and filmmaker Bueno whose long-awaited follow-up, Strega, is now setting the pace with an official trailer as of last week.
Garage Hero
Filmmaker and tokusatsu maverick, Bueno, now brings us slightly closer to the halfway mark before the theatrical cut release of Strega, the sequel to his most recent feature suit action adventure, Gun Caliber. Production is on going with final action sequences gearing up for next month following strategic cutbacks to earlier intended wire stunts due to production constraints while Bueno currently aims to manifest a splashy, action-packed saga fitting for an era that even now seems to graciously welcomes R-rated Marvel film fandom.
Strega is a direct sequel to our first film, Gun Caliber, and is set a few years after the events of that film. The Japanese government decides to even further regulate superheroes AND the overall populace using the Vector Card, a new ID system.
Vector also happens to be a corporation that has been gradually extending its power behind the scenes. Our hero, Soma Kusanagi, is a foul-mouthed ruffian marked as a persona non-grata by not only the government, but also Vector.
However, he’s one of the only people who can equip the “Stray Buckle” which transforms him into the hero Strega. Due to his pariah status, Soma, the former Gun Caliber, is forced to keep his newfound identity of Strega secret from the public eye.
When a mysterious, yet boisterous Vector Card hacker emerges with a sinister plot to turn all of Tokyo into monsters, Soma is partnered up with a new recruit, Sayuri. Tokyo’s fate now depends on the two unlikely heroes rising to their greatest challenge yet.
With a theatrical cut slated for this winter followed by a webseries run in 2019, monthly updates are continually made in the film’s Indiegogo news feed while Bueno and co. move forward to a possible June wrap of principal photography. In the meantime, fans are now being graced with a new teaser introducing AV actress Miori Mai in the role of our foul-mouthed, X-rated hero’s new partner.
Also starring are Ayane Haruna, Fujiwara Sakurako, Oka Hideki, Kimura Keisaku and Hachidori Amita with action sequences coordinated by Taniguchi Hiroyuki. Check it out!
Japanese Tokusatsu maverick, Bueno, has been loyal to his Garage Hero brand since launching it in 2011, and has shown his committment to bringing indie acclaim with his edgy feature debut, Gun Caliber. Fans in the U.S. and elsewhere can find the film now available on DVD, Blu-Ray, and even VHS from SRS Cinema, while it has more than a year since lending lip-service to the massea with an announcement teaser for the proposed sequel, Strega.
That sequel is now in production and aiming to no less keep the bold, brash, hyperviolent and gonzo tone of its predecessor with no apologies made. What’s more? Fans now have a chance to throw their hats – and wallets – in the arena by contributing to their newly launched Indiegogo to help feed the cast and crew, as well as furbish the production accordingly, and for a project that stands to gain fruitfully with backing from some of the best of the best in Tokusatsu, like “Mr. Kamen Rider himself – actor Takaiwa Seji, action coordinator Taniguchi Hiroyuki, cult favorite Sakamoto Kouchi, and designers Koh Gideon and Komatsu Daisuke.
Following the events of GUN CALIBER, Japanese government decides to even further regulate superheroes AND the overall populace using the Vector Card, a new ID system. Vector also happens to be a corporation that has been gradually extending its power behind the scenes.
Our hero, Soma Kusanagi, is a foul-mouthed ruffian marked as a persona non-grata by not only the government, but also Vector. However, he’s one of the only people who can equip the “Stray Buckle” which transforms him into the hero, STREGA. Due to his pariah status, Soma, the former Gun Caliber, is forced to keep his newfound identity of Strega secret from the public eye.
When a mysterious, yet boisterous Vector Card hacker emerges with a sinister plot to turn all of Tokyo into monsters, Soma is partnered up with a new recruit, Sayuri. Tokyo’s fate now depends on the two unlikely heroes rising to their greatest challenge yet.
Strega is looking to earn up to $10,000 to help feed the cast and crew as well as furbish the production in all its phases, and with the promise of each donation guaranteeing a perk worth every penny. Such perks range from T-shirts, headsets, multi-media copies of the movie and a replica of the hero helmet, to everything mentioned above and more along with accessories, a Google Hangout with the Garage Hero clan.
There are stretch goals to unveil as well, but only if you can help unlock the campaign past its $10,000 milestone. Film duo Bueno and partner Raymond Arcega make their case in the following video, so take a look below and feel free to click here and spy an eye on the Indigogo page to help Strega shoot more evil in the dick and get the girl!
Niche distributor SRS Cinema proudly acquired maverick tokusatsu filmmaker Bueno’s lo-fi, gonzo action comedy adventure, Gun Caliber back in December. The company is now out to festivals with the film in addition to a few of its other titles and as of this week, they are also advancing consumers with pre-order options through their official website.
As such, they’ve presented exclusive artwork to topline the release of the film in all its unmitigated, lo-fi, unsafe-for-work-glory. A release date is still pending but I couldn’t be happier to share in the excitement with the opinions of those who’ve screened the film in either its exclusive webserial or feature-length format, presenting a vision of Tokusatsu that literally nukes expectations.
“Get ready to shoot evil in the dick and steal its wallet!
It is the year, 20XX AD. The evil organization known as “Skulldier” is hell-bent on taking over Japan – well, right after they finish their lunch break – with a device known as the “Gen Drive”. But one man stands in their way… Soma Kusanagi. He may be your average, miserable, Smartball Parlor employee in Tokyo’s Old Town, but when evil rears its ugly ass on the Japanese metropolis, he transforms into the gun-slinging superhero GUN CALIBER! He’s a hero who likes his bullets fast and his women even faster… a hero who can beat down evil as if it was his ex-wife!
From the creative Filipino-Canadian mind of indie Tokusatsu director Bueno and his ragtag Tokyo based film group GARAGE HERO, “GUN CALIBER” is a drunk, sexy, euphoric, action packed, Tour-de-Force that’s so hot, you’ll wish your face could melt…”
That this indie cult classic is getting a sequel is also telling of its popularity and we’ll have more on that in due time. Meanwhile you can take note of Gun Caliber‘s pending late 2017 release announcement and pre-order window starting this Friday at 7:00pm EST with copies expected to ship within a month.
Check out the trailer and artwork below and be sure to hit up the official website for SRS Cinema to snag your limited edition Blu-Ray or VHS copy (Yes, those!) this Friday!
If there’s any inclination in your mind that maverick tokusatsu filmmaker Bueno is watering down his craft, then congratulations! You’re wrong. No, no… have no allusions here about what he’s up to with his currently developing effort, Strega, and you can read more about that by clicking here.
For now, you can still check out a handful of some of his shortfilm and other YouTube space work on his Garage Hero channel where he also stakes his cult fanfare with Strega‘s predecessor, the 2014 all-out red-band suit action comedy affair, Gun Caliber. Featuring fight choreography by Joey Min, Bueno stars and directs a story telling of a dilapidated, lecherous superhero forced to clean his act up and save Tokyo from a rogue’s gallery of monsters led by the evil Skulldier.
You can read my review of the film by clicking here, otherwise you might be keen on his latest edit of the film now in webseries format with the first episode of thirteen now available below. Don’t worry though, all the violence, gore, boobage and all the usual sorts of NSFWish content seen in the film are still in the series starting with the first episode below.
Kicking off the Hit List is another round of demo reel jewels from around the web by way of stunt players such as Natalie Diaz, Chris Romrell, Bryan Cartago, Tally Rodin, Elizabeth Carpenter, Nate Mitchell, Tyler Street, Delyan Dimitrov, Chris Schmidt Jr., Niahlah Hope, Nik Pelekai, Justin Craigen, Adair Moran, Eric Cullet, Travis Statton-Marrero, James S. Gonzalez, David Cheung, and King Of Kung Fu‘s latest tribute reel to the legendary and death-defying feats of one of old school Hong Kong action cinema’s finest, actress and icon Moon Lee.
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First up is, Hammergirl, a piece I still pride myself on after all these years of following fight choreographer Vlad Rimburg’s work, and the second comes right from the bowels of EMC Monkeys with a test fight of their own with Tony Sre and Bryan Sloyer.
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