In Review: Pacific Rim

((((((((( Contains Spoilers ))))))))))
and possibly typos 
:P

So I went to the cinema to see Pacific Rim a couple nights ago. I’ve been mulling over this movie ever since. 

I’m just going to get right down to it.

Pacific Rim was incredible from a CGI, special effects stand point. The Kaijus and Jaegers were pure awesome. The weaponization of the machines—awesome. The elbow rocket and chain sword—awesome…I could go on, but I think you get my point. The battle scenes were huge taking place on the ground, in and under the water, even in the air. I got a kick out of seeing these mega mecha machines marching into the Pacific Ocean making it look like they were wading through the shallow end of the kiddie pool. And of course, I also really liked the concept of “drifting” with another person via a neural bridge as means to merge with the Jaeger. All of that was really cool. Another element that got me all kinds of excited was seeing Jaegers hailing from different countries, Australia, China, Russia, and the USA. Guillermo del Toro and his team did a superb job of personalizing each Jaeger to its country of origin. I also thought they did a great job of creating Pacific Rim Kaijus reminiscent of the original Kaiju films. Then there was the set of the Hong Kong facility that housed the Jaegers which was also incredible and had great attention to detail. And we even get to see a decent martial arts fight scene between Mako Mori (she was simply bad ass) and Raleigh Becket. 

However . . . there were several things that disappointed me about this film.

Lets start with the Jaegers. I was disappointed to see the Chinese Jaeger, Crimson Typhoon, get so little screen time. I thought it got taken down way too easily. I mean the thing has three arms and is piloted by triplets--COME ON. At the very least, it should have had a more honorable death. It would have also been fun to see the Jaegers take on the personalities of their pilots through their fighting styles. We kinda get a taste of that with the Russian Jaeger, Cherno Alpha, when it pounds the crap out of a Kaiju--all power, no finesse, just like I’d picture the Russian bear with a lost camper. But Cherno Alpha had very little screen time as well and was ripped to shreds shortly after Crimson Typhoon. *sigh* 

Also, I would have liked to have seen a Japanese Jaeger, just sayin…

Then there was the plot. In the film, the Kaijus are smart, adaptable and have a hive-like mind. Wouldn't this have prompted them to change their strategy when the two scientists drifted with the newborn? And I think the film could have expanded on why the Kaijus were after Newton, the scientist who drifted with the secondary brain. Unfortunately, the Kaijus never really did anything with him except for one that sorta licked Newton, but it wasn’t clear what that was all about. Honestly, the Kaiju should have just eaten him. 

Oh and a flare gun? Really guys? *shakes head*

The characters. Le grand sigh. This was by far the biggest bummer in this film. I never connect with any of the characters. Live or become Kaiju chewing gum, it didn’t matter to me. Could this be because I’m a heartless b****, OR is it because Pacific Rim cruelly lacked character development? Though highly debatable, (; I’m going with the latter. This film borrowed from many other science fiction movies and reminded me a lot of Armageddon, Independence Day, even Top Gun. But with all this potential, it never quite hit the mark. The rivalry between pilots Becket and Chuck could have easily been better developed with more trash talking between them (Maverick vs Iceman, anyone?). And the supposedly deep emotional connection between Becket and Mako I thought was terribly done and failed to convince me anything was really there. And remember when Bruce Willis sacrificed himself in Armageddon? I don’t know about you, but I shed my little tear. But when Stacker and Chuck blew up, I was like…meh, pass the chips. 

There was another point in the film where I felt pretty indifferent and that was during Mako’s traumatizing childhood memory when she drifts with Becket for the first time. At the end of that scene, we see her as a small child staring up at a Jaeger that just defeated the Kaiju that killed her family. Stacker, the pilot of the Jaeger, comes out and stands on top of his Jaeger (why the hell he’d do that in the first place I don’t know) like he’s Superman smiling down at little Mako (who is so far away she’s just a speck from where he’s standing, but I get I’m just being bitchy at this point). Anyway, he’s looking at her and she’s looking at him as if he’s some giant ice cream cone, and the whole scene is kinda cheesy. You know what would have been better? Having the Jaeger bend on one knee, put his hand down in front of little Mako, and have her climb into this massive metal hand and have him raise her up a la King Kong. Cliché? Absolutely. Effective? I think so. The scene could have also included a quick 5 second shot of Stacker in the Jaeger looking at the child with tenderness in his eyes and why not have him whisper a promise to be her protector for the rest of his life…or something like that. 

Which brings me to the dialogue. This movie had the potential for some great lines, peppered with humor but it fell short here as well. Honestly, there was some pretty bad lines in this film. The best ones were what you got in the trailer like, 

“…today, we are cancelling the apocalypse!” ç I thought that was pretty awesome. 

Overall, I think this film just needed to be a bit longer to carve out believable and more rounded characters. But don’t get me wrong, I didn’t regret the money spent on tickets or the time spent looking for a cinema that still had a showing in English. The 3D was well done and this film, of massive proportions, deserved to be watched on the big screen. But for the rest, damn, it could have been so much better.

Top Ten Movie Blogfest

Welcome to Alex Cavanaugh's Top Ten Movie Countdown! Today participants list their favorite movies of all time. This was a hard list to come up with because it often changes. But right now, here are my top 10:

E.T.

This was the first movie to make me cry and the first to get me thinking about extra-terrestrial life and the cosmos.

Fantasia

This Walt Disney production came out in 1940 and required over one thousand artists and technicians to bring to life approximately five hundred characters. Aesthetically speaking, this movie is a feast for the eyes and concert for the ears. The fantastical theme and concept behind Fantasia created a motion picture event that was avant-garde at the time. It pushed the limits of animation and sound production, and was the first feature length animated movie to match animation to classical music in such an extraordinary way.  It changed the way animators applied music to their projects, but unfortunately, the movie got mixed reviews when it came out. Many critics though it pretentious and with WWII underway, along with the tense political climate, many people didn't respond favorably to the movie. 

Years later, Fantasia was re-released and I watched it for the first time in the early 80's. I was young at the time, but it instantly transported me to a world of Sugar Plum faries, dancing mushrooms, cupids, centaurs, evil spirits, pegasi and dancing hippos. I fell in love with all the characters with one exception, the part featuring Mickey Mouse as the sorcerer's apprentice. I'm not sure why, but I never really liked that segment and always wanted to skip it to see the rest of the movie. Sorry Mickey. Nonetheless, the movie has received many accolades and was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant." (wikipedia) 

As for me, Fantasia has left a life long impression that I cannot clearly explain, nor do I really want to.   

My Fair Lady

This is the one movie/musical that stands apart from my usual taste in films. It has a lot of sentimental value to me and even though I doubt it would be considered PC to today's standards, I still enjoy the story, the music, and humor. And, I'm not ashamed to say I can sing along to every song and still get a kick out of lines like: 

"Come on Dover, move yer bloomin' arse!"

♫"Women are irrational, that's all there is to that. Their heads are full of cotton, hay, and rags. They're nothing but exasperating, irritating, vacillating, calculating, agitating, maddening and infuriating hags!"♫

"You oughta be stuffed with nails, you ought!"

Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon

I remember being blown away when I first saw this movie. What really impressed me was the cinematography and martial arts scenes. Watching Michelle Yeoh and Zhang Ziyi sword fight was simply AMAZING. Want to know what else is amazing? Watching Michelle Yeoh and Zhang Ziyi fight with lightsabers: 

Princess Bride

Make me laugh, that's all I ask.

This comedy had it all, action, humor, wit, and romance. And to think neither Cary or Mandy had ever had any prior experience sword fighting, yet with a lot of training and determination, managed to pull off some of the best sword fighting caught on screen. "Chapeau."   

IV: A New Hope (1977), 

V: The Empire Strikes Back (1980), 

VI: Return of the Jedi (1983).

Three. Epic. Movies. 

The other three made after Return of the Jedi (which I refuse to even name), can be listed under Star Crap. I'm not going to drone on about this series, I'm sure they will be on several lists today. 

Avengers

Loki: "Enough! You are, all of you, beneath me! I am a god, you dull creature, and I will not be bullied by . . . "

The Hulk: 

*smash, smash, smash, smash, Loki like rag doll* 

"Puny god." 

I really don't need to add anything more to this either because: 

Avengers = Awesome. 

How To Train Your Dragon

I loved everything about this movie from the story, the animation, to the movie score. Normally, I don't like watching movies over and over again (I'm the same way with books) however, I've watched this film several times and never get tired of it. The movie also contains my all time favorite scene of any movie, the part where Hiccup touches Toothless for the first time. That scene was so well done, down to Hiccup's reaction just after making contact. It was perfect and gives me the warm fuzzies every single time. Plus, there were some great lines in the movie too:  

"Excuse me, barmaid! I'm afraid you brought me the wrong offspring. I ordered an extra-large boy with beefy arms, extra guts and glory on the side. This here, this is a talking fish-bone!"

Thanks for hosting this fun movie blogfest Alex, off to see what everyone else has on their list! 

(:  

Movie Trailer: The Hobbit

Initial Release date: November 28, 2012

I'm assuming that's the release date for the US

This is the new trailer for The Hobbit that I can't wait to see!

Prometheus: Avant Première - First Impressions

I saw the midnight showing of Prometheus last night! 

I didn't even know it was coming out until fellow blogger and author, Michael Offutt tweeted about it. He mentioned it was being released in Europe one week earlier than the US, and I was like, 'Really? Going to check this out!' And he was like, 'No fair,' and I was like, 'Hahah I'll watch it on my Mom's TV and think of you,'and he was like, 'it comes out in the theatres dumb- dumb.' And I was like *facepalm* 'D’oh!'


Okay, I’m paraphrasing a tad but that's basically how it went down. Trust me. But anyway, I got bummed right after because I really hate watching English movies in French. With the new French TV system, we can watch a lot of English movies/series in the original version. Plus, the closest movie theater that offers the English version is a four hour drive away. ):  Anyway, where was I... oh yeah, signing off twitter before I say anything else incredibly stupid to share with the rest of the twittersphere. 



Back to Prometheus... Do you have any idea how much it cost to get movie tickets over here! I hadn't been to the movies in years...except for Avatar so I guess it wasn't THAT long ago. But still, Prometheus cost me 12 € for the midnight showing, plus 1 € for the 3D glasses (13€ comes out to about $16). Remember when movie tickets cost $5? Anyway, tack on 5.10 € for a 250cl bag of popcorn that tasted like the biodegradable packing peanuts and low-fat salt.
There's no such thing as low-fat salt, Elise.

I know, but if there was, this is how I would imagine it tasting like-bad. Can I continue?
Is this a multiple choice question?

SO, we're up to 18.10 € for tickets, glasses and popcorn.
Plus, 2.70€ for a small Coke, 
5.20 € for a bag of 200g M & Ms, 
AND the two hour car ride that cost 9.60€ in tolls (not including gas). 

Grand total: 35.60 € ~ ($ 44.40 )  Getting to bed at 3:30am and remembering why I don't go to the movies often, priceless *starts crying*.

So where was I? Oh yes...

I don't like watching horror movies. But, when I was younger and obviously braver, I watched the first three Alien movies so I felt I could make an exception. Plus, this was an opportunity to see something before folks in the US. So, I decided to suck it up, wince through the bad French voice-over just to bring you this AWESOME post *eye rolling*. Man, I need to lay off the caffeine.

In short: Prometheus was good but not great.

The visuals and special effects were brilliant. The 3D effects did not outweigh the story line and the movie moved along beautifully. The ship's interior design was awesome as well as all the holographic projections. But, it will not live up to everyone's expectations. 


This is where you STOP reading if you don't want to read a few spoilers. 


I'm a big chicken when it comes to horror/scary movies so naturally, I was expecting to jump out of my seat during the show and pee pee myself. But, it never happened. Not even once during the whole two hours and three minutes. The only part that made me squirm was (SPOILER) the abortion scene. The low scream factor may actually disappoint some people and in my opinion, Aliens was scarier. That being said, I prefer the premise of Prometheus but it did leave me with a few questions and I'm afraid they've set this up for a sequel. Also, the last scene was a bit, meh. I would have (SPOILER) made the head turn for a final mini-head strike at the audience, it was 3D after all. 

Anyway, I'm exhausted here and not up to writing a full movie review. Instead, I've opted to list a few random thoughts and commentary I jotted down during the movie. Note: Some of these are quotes, some are not. Remember, I watched this in French so the translation may be a bit off. Also, a lot of this isn't going to make a whole lot of sense until you watch the movie (I'm doing this on purpose to avoid spoiling you too much).

Movie starts:

Wow.
Entering atmosphere on LV223 - awesome.
Prometheus - awesome.
Nature doesn't draw straight lines.
I love the space suits, much better than the Michelin man costumes.
RTO 1, I want one please.
Holloway is hot. Vickers too.
Mapping out dome with Fun Balls! I want some.
Can you fix that? Perhaps.
Storm! Go, go, go!
I can't believe you dropped the head.
David, you sneaky android.
It's a termite mound!
DNA match?
Big things have small beginnings.
Vickers doesn't like the accordion, huh.
Are you a robot?
My room, 10 min.
Gazpacho (What? No cornbread?)
Biologist is stupid.
Holy wine cellar Batman!
I want to play with the marshmallow eggs.
Space chart is sick.
Ew.
WTF? A zombie? (someone needs to e-mail me and explain this. I didn't understand why this one didn't follow the normal pathology.)
Revelations.
It's a trap spaceship!
Sometimes to create, you must destroy.
They changed their minds?!
In the words of my generation: Up yours!
Run! She's going down!
Bag the head and blast off.
I smell a sequel.
Fin.

So there you have it. If you enjoy sci-fi and don't mind a lot of unanswered questions, then Prometheus is for you. 


Let me know if you're planning to watch this. I'd be interested in hearing what you think. (:   

NOT Hungry for Hunger Games - the Movie.

!!!Spoiler Alert!!! (SA) This post contains spoilers about the books and trailers for Hunger Games. If you haven't read the books stop HERE or be spoiled (;

Now, before I get booed off the blogosphere for my pic and post title, let me say I read the book The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins (in 2 days) and LOVED it....and hated it. But I still gave it 4 our of 5 stars.

Let me expalin. I enjoy adventure/sci-fi/ fantasy/paranormal stuff. Everything from books, stories, movies, manga, comics, and just about anything with superheroes in it. I also don't mind things getting a little violent nor do I mind some bad language, just as long as it makes sense and adds to the story. However, you will not see me fangirling over anything about zombies *shudders* or tragic storylines where animals or loved ones all die at the end. I'm still not over Charlotte's Web... (;

So why did I read the Hunger Games? For one, the hype. I'll admit, I got sucked into the hype. Second, the girl on fire with mad bow and arrow skills = my kind of gal. But what I didn't like was finding myself sobbing by page 24 and balling my eyes out by page 40 to the point where words looked like they were swimming on the page. And guess what happend on page 235? The crying thing again. I was stressed out from the first chapter all the way to the last.

Therefore, I know if I go see the movie, I'm going to cry and I don't like to cry. (some people do - they are strange to me). Plus, (SA) I don't want to see Rue die, AGAIN! Why would you want to go through that a second time? I know the first thing I'd think of when seeing Rue appear on screen, No! You're too young to die! Not sir, not me, not going to see that again. Seeing a vampire get his/her head ripped off their body, no problem...but (SA) sweet little Rue getting impaled with a spear, no.

While I cannot deny how well Suzanne Collins crafted her novel, it's obvious I'll not be reading the rest in the series. Besides, I've cheeted and have read reviews of the next two books and I'm dissapointed in the way things turn out. Nonetheless, a lot can be said about a book that is pretty much heart wrenching from beginning to end and yet, I still could not put it down. Most books like that I do put down. I have no qualms about snapping a book shut if it's too emotionally draining on me. So, I prefer to stay with my pseudo-happy ending after the first HG book and ignor the fact (SA) that Katniss is going to have to go back. She goes back?! And even though I liked the small changes seen in the trailers, (Cinna secretly giving Katniss the pin before the games was better than what's described in the book, IMO.) I will not go see the movie, either.

However, I am curious and will be looking forward to reading everyones reviews and feedback on the movie since I'm going to be about the only one on the planet sitting this one out. Enjoy the popcorn, bring tissues.