What Have You Just Seen... Marks Out of 5
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grim_tales
- Bruce Lee's Fist
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BiscLimpkit
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A Scene at the Sea - 4/5
Very slow, beautiful and breathtaking. Love the photography and music, both blend together nicely. The two leads never speak (they play deaf characters), so rely on facial expressions to communicate. Some chapters are quite cute and touching.
I'm still baffled at the ending though, felt slightly abrupt.
Very slow, beautiful and breathtaking. Love the photography and music, both blend together nicely. The two leads never speak (they play deaf characters), so rely on facial expressions to communicate. Some chapters are quite cute and touching.
I'm still baffled at the ending though, felt slightly abrupt.
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grim_tales
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BiscLimpkit
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69 (Japanese film) - 2004 - 2/5
Yeah it was sort of funny, but I didn't really get this movie. The story wasn't very interesting. It's about schoolkids and anarchy.
Crying Fist - 4/5
Yeah totally great film about two 'zero to hero' characters. Sometimes, it doesn't matter who wins; the main thing is that you try and do your best to become a good human being. Touching + great performances and fights.
Yeah it was sort of funny, but I didn't really get this movie. The story wasn't very interesting. It's about schoolkids and anarchy.
Crying Fist - 4/5
Yeah totally great film about two 'zero to hero' characters. Sometimes, it doesn't matter who wins; the main thing is that you try and do your best to become a good human being. Touching + great performances and fights.
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degeneration
- Royal Tramp
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ReconFive
- King of Beggars
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Glad you enjoyed thatBiscLimpkit wrote: Crying Fist - 4/5
Yeah totally great film about two 'zero to hero' characters. Sometimes, it doesn't matter who wins; the main thing is that you try and do your best to become a good human being. Touching + great performances and fights.
I just watched..
Alive - 3/5
Well, having seen all of Ryuhei Kitamura's major films except for Godzilla: Final Wars, I have to say this was the weakest. I still enjoyed it, but it did not grab me quite like the rest of his work has.
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BiscLimpkit
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BiscLimpkit
- Bruce Lee's Fist
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- Location: Scotland
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BiscLimpkit
- Bruce Lee's Fist
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ReconFive
- King of Beggars
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ReconFive
- King of Beggars
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The Thin Red Line - 5/5
By far the most beautiful war film you will ever see. The sheer power of this movie is amazing. Many have criticized it for being boring/too long etc, and i guess that it is the kind of film that you either click with or you don't...but i think its absolutly brilliant. A true work of cinematic art.
One of my all time favorites.
By far the most beautiful war film you will ever see. The sheer power of this movie is amazing. Many have criticized it for being boring/too long etc, and i guess that it is the kind of film that you either click with or you don't...but i think its absolutly brilliant. A true work of cinematic art.
One of my all time favorites.
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BiscLimpkit
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romerojpg
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One day we may see that 9 hour long versionReconFive wrote:The Thin Red Line - 5/5
By far the most beautiful war film you will ever see. The sheer power of this movie is amazing. Many have criticized it for being boring/too long etc, and i guess that it is the kind of film that you either click with or you don't...but i think its absolutly brilliant. A true work of cinematic art.
One of my all time favorites.
shame we may never I want to see all the rest of the film and see eveyrone who was cut out, it sounded like it was soo many times better with a gigantic rounded cast.5 stars still as it is, but boy I want to see the other cuts one day.
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romerojpg
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You made me go and watch it again 
The Thin Red Line 5 out of 5
The best War film of all time, no scratch that!
One of the best films of all time.
As soon as this film ends, I just want to put it straight back on and watch it again another time, but its a little long to do that. Long it is, but its something that keeps my full attention for its near 3 hour running time. Its such a gorgeous looking and sounding film, played out at such a slow leisurely pace that it just happens in front of me and its more of an experience than a film.
The film isn't told to the viewer at a normal pace, or even in a normal way. The films flows slowly from scene to scene with voice overs from many different cast members and mixes in flashbacks and scenes from past lives. Its basically a war film of the invasion of an island, with an important air strip on it and we follow C Company as they invade this island from the ships, to the beach and on into the long lush green grass to the jungles. All the time constantly aware that at any moment they could be killed by the Japanese who inhabit this beautiful place.
The cast is massive, and the amount of people crammed into the film plays out through the film and we see new characters introduced here and there as some are killed, some we just never see again, and some stay with the journey to the end. The camera lingers on many different faces thru the film and it doesn't have to be a star for the camera to give someone a close up, it just spots a moment in time and focuses on a cast member. These extras usually look scared, or in shock and so many extras are given long lingering close ups we just get to see so many faces among the masses and it kind of gives you some feeling of how many different people were involved in the movie.
Its a large cast of faces, some big stars and some small familiar actors you just wont know the name, but you will know the face. I recognised so many people I know, some appear only for a few seconds in the background, some get big meaty roles and yet some of the bigger stars get very little dialogue. More dialogue is spoken in the voice overs than in the actual film.
The voiceovers play a big part in the whole feel of the film. They just seem laid on over the films more quite moments and usually say pretentious things and try to be enlightening and make you think. I don't know if they do that, and I am not sure if I got what they were saying at times, but it just seems calming and they are all spoken clear and well and just seem to give out a nice slow calming tone which plays with the film well. We don't learn a lot from these speeches, but they do help us get with some of the characters past lives and they do have a strange effect on the viewer as they see images flash before there eyes with a male voices telling us a small tale, or trying to be very Zen about the situation.
The look of the film is one of visual splendour. Green lush vegetation plays a big part in the colourful look of the film. The colour of nature is green and the long grass blows in the wind as the sun peeks thru the clouds and illuminates a once darkened field of grass, the shots are amazing and some must have been accidents, but some must have been moments where they waited for hours for the shots to be perfect and for me it shows.
The way the colourful world is brought to life is a joy to watch, and its always there on screen wanting to be looked at. Small details are brought to the screen, such as the animals and plants of the island. They get as many close ups as the cast, and the island feels like a part of this large cast. Brightly lit shots of a tree, a close up of a leaf, a slow pan across a bright field of swaying long grass, its all easy on the eyes and at times should feel like a nature show, but it doesn't. It just cuts from the action or the story and intertwines with the rest of the film. A tiny new born bird helplessly trying to stay alive in the mud is intertwined with a battle and it makes you feel for the bird as much as for the people dying in the hundreds as the Japanese blow them apart. The whole world the film takes place in is just an amazing place with so much going on and so many places to look. The camera picks out there natural moments and focuses on them for us to see, nature is at rest while man kills itself and it ends up a stunning and striking looking film.
The sound of the place too is as impressive as the visuals. The wind blows and the trees sway, the sound of animals in the distance and thunder in the clouds all give the film a soundtrack to turn up high and sit back and take it all in. I just could listen to the wind in the grass all day, as the various soldiers crawl thru it not knowing what is beyond the green horizon. Its a nice discreet soundtrack which is always there teetering away in the background and it does a superb job of bringing the island to life.
Then add into this the music by Hans Zimmer and your ears are in heaven. The score to the film is easily one of the single most effective soundtracks ever made and compliments the film as well as anything ever created. The music is so effective in the way it plays out, and the various tracks seem to rise and fall in conjunction with the visuals on screen and when the action gets big the score raises to deafening levels. All in all the music is one of the best Zimmer has ever created and that's saying something, as he is a master in most his films, but for this film he excelled and tops off a perfect film with style.
I am not sure if you could call the film an action film, it definitely has massive amounts of action, but its not structurally just about action. It just follows the C Company on there journey and the action evolves and features extensively once it does get going. And what action it is! the first gunshot isn't really let loose for maybe a third of the films running time and then moments later all hell breaks loose as a barrage of explosions and bullets rip thru C Company. Its all impressive pyrotechnics and people are scattered all over in the green fields of death. The battle grounds have never been better looking and its just nice to look at people in battle among the beautiful grassy hills and valleys.
The best action comes later in the film and its a stunning attack on the Japanese camp, hundreds of soldiers both American and Japanese are involved. The camera runs thru the camp and people exchange bullets with impact and force as the advancing Americans sprint thru the entire camp shooting anything that moves, even if it poses no threat. Its as exciting as the film gets and the handheld cameras follow the soldiers and we really get stuck in among the action and carnage. The music pumps up to immense levels of excitement as the speed picks up and people just run as fast as they can shooting all the way. Cinema at its best.
I could talk about the film all day, but will try to wrap to up as best I can. Its just a film I could watch over and over again and never get bored of, it assaults all your senses and just makes me feel like I am watching something different from your average war movie. Small simple moments stand out for me, a shot of a captured crocodile on a flatbed truck with American soldiers all around it, not speaking, but saying everything we need to hear as they glance in awe of the animal. Or the speech Nick Nolte gives to the silent John Cusack about water and the need to push on. Cusack not saying but 2 words in a few minutes of Nolte's barrage of dialogue, but Cusack comes off as the winner in the verbal contest, yet saying everything that is needed with his blank face. Moments like this permeate the film and get to me on an emotional level. Its just a film I love and words don't really say why, you definitely have to see this one yourself.
The Thin Red Line 5 out of 5
The best War film of all time, no scratch that!
One of the best films of all time.
As soon as this film ends, I just want to put it straight back on and watch it again another time, but its a little long to do that. Long it is, but its something that keeps my full attention for its near 3 hour running time. Its such a gorgeous looking and sounding film, played out at such a slow leisurely pace that it just happens in front of me and its more of an experience than a film.
The film isn't told to the viewer at a normal pace, or even in a normal way. The films flows slowly from scene to scene with voice overs from many different cast members and mixes in flashbacks and scenes from past lives. Its basically a war film of the invasion of an island, with an important air strip on it and we follow C Company as they invade this island from the ships, to the beach and on into the long lush green grass to the jungles. All the time constantly aware that at any moment they could be killed by the Japanese who inhabit this beautiful place.
The cast is massive, and the amount of people crammed into the film plays out through the film and we see new characters introduced here and there as some are killed, some we just never see again, and some stay with the journey to the end. The camera lingers on many different faces thru the film and it doesn't have to be a star for the camera to give someone a close up, it just spots a moment in time and focuses on a cast member. These extras usually look scared, or in shock and so many extras are given long lingering close ups we just get to see so many faces among the masses and it kind of gives you some feeling of how many different people were involved in the movie.
Its a large cast of faces, some big stars and some small familiar actors you just wont know the name, but you will know the face. I recognised so many people I know, some appear only for a few seconds in the background, some get big meaty roles and yet some of the bigger stars get very little dialogue. More dialogue is spoken in the voice overs than in the actual film.
The voiceovers play a big part in the whole feel of the film. They just seem laid on over the films more quite moments and usually say pretentious things and try to be enlightening and make you think. I don't know if they do that, and I am not sure if I got what they were saying at times, but it just seems calming and they are all spoken clear and well and just seem to give out a nice slow calming tone which plays with the film well. We don't learn a lot from these speeches, but they do help us get with some of the characters past lives and they do have a strange effect on the viewer as they see images flash before there eyes with a male voices telling us a small tale, or trying to be very Zen about the situation.
The look of the film is one of visual splendour. Green lush vegetation plays a big part in the colourful look of the film. The colour of nature is green and the long grass blows in the wind as the sun peeks thru the clouds and illuminates a once darkened field of grass, the shots are amazing and some must have been accidents, but some must have been moments where they waited for hours for the shots to be perfect and for me it shows.
The way the colourful world is brought to life is a joy to watch, and its always there on screen wanting to be looked at. Small details are brought to the screen, such as the animals and plants of the island. They get as many close ups as the cast, and the island feels like a part of this large cast. Brightly lit shots of a tree, a close up of a leaf, a slow pan across a bright field of swaying long grass, its all easy on the eyes and at times should feel like a nature show, but it doesn't. It just cuts from the action or the story and intertwines with the rest of the film. A tiny new born bird helplessly trying to stay alive in the mud is intertwined with a battle and it makes you feel for the bird as much as for the people dying in the hundreds as the Japanese blow them apart. The whole world the film takes place in is just an amazing place with so much going on and so many places to look. The camera picks out there natural moments and focuses on them for us to see, nature is at rest while man kills itself and it ends up a stunning and striking looking film.
The sound of the place too is as impressive as the visuals. The wind blows and the trees sway, the sound of animals in the distance and thunder in the clouds all give the film a soundtrack to turn up high and sit back and take it all in. I just could listen to the wind in the grass all day, as the various soldiers crawl thru it not knowing what is beyond the green horizon. Its a nice discreet soundtrack which is always there teetering away in the background and it does a superb job of bringing the island to life.
Then add into this the music by Hans Zimmer and your ears are in heaven. The score to the film is easily one of the single most effective soundtracks ever made and compliments the film as well as anything ever created. The music is so effective in the way it plays out, and the various tracks seem to rise and fall in conjunction with the visuals on screen and when the action gets big the score raises to deafening levels. All in all the music is one of the best Zimmer has ever created and that's saying something, as he is a master in most his films, but for this film he excelled and tops off a perfect film with style.
I am not sure if you could call the film an action film, it definitely has massive amounts of action, but its not structurally just about action. It just follows the C Company on there journey and the action evolves and features extensively once it does get going. And what action it is! the first gunshot isn't really let loose for maybe a third of the films running time and then moments later all hell breaks loose as a barrage of explosions and bullets rip thru C Company. Its all impressive pyrotechnics and people are scattered all over in the green fields of death. The battle grounds have never been better looking and its just nice to look at people in battle among the beautiful grassy hills and valleys.
The best action comes later in the film and its a stunning attack on the Japanese camp, hundreds of soldiers both American and Japanese are involved. The camera runs thru the camp and people exchange bullets with impact and force as the advancing Americans sprint thru the entire camp shooting anything that moves, even if it poses no threat. Its as exciting as the film gets and the handheld cameras follow the soldiers and we really get stuck in among the action and carnage. The music pumps up to immense levels of excitement as the speed picks up and people just run as fast as they can shooting all the way. Cinema at its best.
I could talk about the film all day, but will try to wrap to up as best I can. Its just a film I could watch over and over again and never get bored of, it assaults all your senses and just makes me feel like I am watching something different from your average war movie. Small simple moments stand out for me, a shot of a captured crocodile on a flatbed truck with American soldiers all around it, not speaking, but saying everything we need to hear as they glance in awe of the animal. Or the speech Nick Nolte gives to the silent John Cusack about water and the need to push on. Cusack not saying but 2 words in a few minutes of Nolte's barrage of dialogue, but Cusack comes off as the winner in the verbal contest, yet saying everything that is needed with his blank face. Moments like this permeate the film and get to me on an emotional level. Its just a film I love and words don't really say why, you definitely have to see this one yourself.
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BiscLimpkit
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romerojpg
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Ahhh the 9 hour version had soo many stars in it totally cut from the movie the film didnt even star the people who became the stars!
Jim Caviezel was not the star ever! until the final cut, so it shows you how much they recut the film
I would love to see the rest of the film as Mickey Rourke was a sniper who killed tonnes of people and went a bit looney and latley he has expressed him saddness he was cut in interviews for Sin City, Bill Pullman was a good old boy sergent and really there amount of cast members culled from the whole film is emense! Lucas Haas, Viggo Mortensen!!!! Jason Patric, Martin Sheen, Billy Bob Thornton the list goes on and on not even seen in the final film, so it shows you how much was cut.
It was shown a few times at 9 hours and the widow of the writer of the book its based on cried and ran out apprently as she hated it soo much, and studio preasure for a film at a more normal length added to that. We are lucky we even got over 2 hours.
I have read some stunning articles on the film over the years and really it sounded like the biggest most epic film of all time with hundreds of hours of footage shots and in the end under 3 hours acctually used.
Hey I review for myself mainly
it keeps me thinking about films after I have seen them and sometimes may help others if I am lucky. But I am in the habit now of reviewing everything I see.
the film didnt even star the people who became the stars! Jim Caviezel was not the star ever! until the final cut, so it shows you how much they recut the film
I would love to see the rest of the film as Mickey Rourke was a sniper who killed tonnes of people and went a bit looney and latley he has expressed him saddness he was cut in interviews for Sin City, Bill Pullman was a good old boy sergent and really there amount of cast members culled from the whole film is emense! Lucas Haas, Viggo Mortensen!!!! Jason Patric, Martin Sheen, Billy Bob Thornton the list goes on and on
not even seen in the final film, so it shows you how much was cut.It was shown a few times at 9 hours and the widow of the writer of the book its based on cried and ran out apprently as she hated it soo much, and studio preasure for a film at a more normal length added to that. We are lucky we even got over 2 hours.
I have read some stunning articles on the film over the years and really it sounded like the biggest most epic film of all time with hundreds of hours of footage shots and in the end under 3 hours acctually used.
Hey I review for myself mainly
it keeps me thinking about films after I have seen them and sometimes may help others if I am lucky. But I am in the habit now of reviewing everything I see.-
grim_tales
- Bruce Lee's Fist
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romerojpg
- Bruce Lee's Fist
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Ahh but it is a film, not a TV series I would gladly see a 9 hour film in a cinema.
I wish I had seen it in the cinema, its one of the regret I have when I see a stunning film and never saw in in the cinema it doesnt happen often as I see most films, but I really regret not seeing The Thin Red Line in my cinema as it would be eye boggling on a big screen, maybe one day it will be re-released in cinemas
I would gladly see a 9 hour film in a cinema.I wish I had seen it in the cinema, its one of the regret I have when I see a stunning film and never saw in in the cinema
it doesnt happen often as I see most films, but I really regret not seeing The Thin Red Line in my cinema as it would be eye boggling on a big screen, maybe one day it will be re-released in cinemas -
ReconFive
- King of Beggars
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Well i'm glad you guys like TTRL as much as i do
romero i agree with all your comments, i would LOVE to see the 9 hour version of this masterpiece. Lets hope for a deluxe dvd set down the road that will include it.
Sorry to sort of hijack the discussion here, but i must comment on..
Appleseed - 4/5
FINALLY got around to watching this, and i thought it totally kicked ass. Visually spectacular is every respect, this film has the best CG rendered animation i've seen. Great story also, and terrific action scenes! Great modern anime, i hope there are more films like this on the horizon.
romero i agree with all your comments, i would LOVE to see the 9 hour version of this masterpiece. Lets hope for a deluxe dvd set down the road that will include it.
Sorry to sort of hijack the discussion here, but i must comment on..
Appleseed - 4/5
FINALLY got around to watching this, and i thought it totally kicked ass. Visually spectacular is every respect, this film has the best CG rendered animation i've seen. Great story also, and terrific action scenes! Great modern anime, i hope there are more films like this on the horizon.
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grim_tales
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grim_tales
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Crimson Rivers 2 - Angels of the Apcolypse: 3/5
Not as good as the first one - the story (written by Luc Besson) sounds quite chilling but ultimately its' a bit of a mess and not executed well (something about the Last Supper, 12 apostles and supernatural monks - huh?).
Jean Reno is as good as ever though and the chases and action are tops and a treat to watch 8)
Pity though that the ending feels like a cop-out (this let the first one down as well).
Very good soundtrack even though I havent got "true" 5.1 working yet.
Not as good as the first one - the story (written by Luc Besson) sounds quite chilling but ultimately its' a bit of a mess and not executed well (something about the Last Supper, 12 apostles and supernatural monks - huh?).
Jean Reno is as good as ever though and the chases and action are tops and a treat to watch 8)
Pity though that the ending feels like a cop-out (this let the first one down as well).
Very good soundtrack even though I havent got "true" 5.1 working yet.
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grim_tales
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Who Framed Roger Rabbit? R1 Vista series - 5/5
Hilarious film! Brilliant.
Love the bit when Daffy says "Can anyone understand this duck?!" to Donald Duck, when playing the Hungarian Rhapsody. There are many top scenes in this groundbreaking blend of live action and animation
Didnt this push the boundaries for a PG film? I'm sure the R1 Vista is "slightly" edited (not much).
Hilarious film! Brilliant.
Love the bit when Daffy says "Can anyone understand this duck?!" to Donald Duck, when playing the Hungarian Rhapsody.
There are many top scenes in this groundbreaking blend of live action and animationDidnt this push the boundaries for a PG film?
I'm sure the R1 Vista is "slightly" edited (not much).
Last edited by grim_tales on 02 Aug 2005, 18:35, edited 1 time in total.
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romerojpg
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Reconfive I loved Appleseeed to and gave it the same mark as you it was something special for me, its in cinemas this month in UK!!!!!!!!! They sprung that one on me! I only saw it a few weeks ago would love to see it in a cinema.
heres what I thought.
Appleseed (2004) 4 out of 5
Maybe the most perfectly realised example of Amine I have ever witnessed in my life. For me it was as close to perfection as it could get in terms of animation, and the only problem now is everything else will not look as good as this. As the bar has been raised to my ridiculously high standards of anime and this is the single best example of animation I have yet to witness.
Story of lovely ladies and big robots in a perfect city run in an uneasy alliance between real humans and clones, its basically an excuse for action and politics, but mainly the action stands out obviously.
The story well its maybe a little silly at times, but most anime is slightly deluded and pretentious (Ghost in the Shell 1 and 2 for example). This is not as simple as it could have been and does get a bit bogged down like many other anime's with lofty themes way above the film. Still its easy enough to grasp and when the action is on the screen the film explodes into scenes which really do push what you thought was possible, way further.
Its the look of the film that will pull people in and I was just gobsmacked at times at what I was seeing happen. Its just so well created and executed and it seems as if it was made for me, as the animation style is one I like, it does not change and distort people and make them too cute or ugly, or stylise them beyond recognition. It just looks like how I imagine a good anime should, and then some.
People move realistically and when in action they look hyper real and move so fluidly and lifelike it just adds so much to the film. As fights now look like people fighting and not abstractly drawn examples of how it may happen. The more human characters move and interact with each other and there surroundings with full gravity and believability. The film sticks to reality on the whole and the star of the show Deunan looks like the perfect amalgamation of this. She looks sexy and cute, yet fights like a trooper and her fighting moves look like the character has trained all her life and we see soo many impressive shots performed by this gorgeous cell shaded digital lady. Be it hand to hand combat with steels lady robots, or general gun play and stunt work, she seems to move right and never looks awkward on screen, and always has something to show to the viewer and surprise you (well she did surprise me many times).
Couple the human element with the mechanical elements and the film becomes almost real, as all the robots, vehicles, weapons and cityscapes are created with working in mind, and parts move and interact like they should, but most of all they look stunning and seem to have weight and it just feels right seeing them work on the screen. Size plays an important part in the film and many of the robots and various mechanical elements seem to feel like they are massive and powerful, a hard thing to achieve usually, but this new animation technique pulls it off in every shot it attempts it.
The films action is effective and from the star you know its more than just your typical anime. The film opens with some fighting sequences which wouldn't look out of place in a big summer blockbuster, and our leading lady gets some sublime slo motion dodges and jumps in before the film really begins. We get to see what she is capable of and how far the technology has advanced for this film and it leave you in a sense of bewilderment at what you are seeing, as its so new and very fresh.
The films action is played out regularly and its always something new and exciting as you think you have seen it all and it throws something else into the mix, the robot suits are an highlight of this. Its all shot like they have a massive budget and everything we see is detailed and very classy, nothing is shoddy or under created, its all big, colourful and flashy and there in all its glory for us to see. The work that must have been required to get this much into the film must have been immense, and it all shows what time and effort can do, as its beautiful in every way to look at.
Sonically it is also a great example of what can be done. The sound effects and music are woven into the films new cell shading process and it all helps to create a believable world around each and every character.
Its new and that's why it needs to be seen now. It reminds me of when I first saw "Final Fantasy - The Spirits Within" in the cinema years back, its so unusual looking that you cannot help but admire it, even if the film around this technique isn't exactly as perfect as the look and feel of the final product. For edge of your seat action sequences and a whole new way to look at an anime, its almost flawless, and as a film its great too so really it needs to be seen and I just hope for a sequel soon.
it was something special for me, its in cinemas this month in UK!!!!!!!!! They sprung that one on me! I only saw it a few weeks ago would love to see it in a cinema.heres what I thought.
Appleseed (2004) 4 out of 5
Maybe the most perfectly realised example of Amine I have ever witnessed in my life. For me it was as close to perfection as it could get in terms of animation, and the only problem now is everything else will not look as good as this. As the bar has been raised to my ridiculously high standards of anime and this is the single best example of animation I have yet to witness.
Story of lovely ladies and big robots in a perfect city run in an uneasy alliance between real humans and clones, its basically an excuse for action and politics, but mainly the action stands out obviously.
The story well its maybe a little silly at times, but most anime is slightly deluded and pretentious (Ghost in the Shell 1 and 2 for example). This is not as simple as it could have been and does get a bit bogged down like many other anime's with lofty themes way above the film. Still its easy enough to grasp and when the action is on the screen the film explodes into scenes which really do push what you thought was possible, way further.
Its the look of the film that will pull people in and I was just gobsmacked at times at what I was seeing happen. Its just so well created and executed and it seems as if it was made for me, as the animation style is one I like, it does not change and distort people and make them too cute or ugly, or stylise them beyond recognition. It just looks like how I imagine a good anime should, and then some.
People move realistically and when in action they look hyper real and move so fluidly and lifelike it just adds so much to the film. As fights now look like people fighting and not abstractly drawn examples of how it may happen. The more human characters move and interact with each other and there surroundings with full gravity and believability. The film sticks to reality on the whole and the star of the show Deunan looks like the perfect amalgamation of this. She looks sexy and cute, yet fights like a trooper and her fighting moves look like the character has trained all her life and we see soo many impressive shots performed by this gorgeous cell shaded digital lady. Be it hand to hand combat with steels lady robots, or general gun play and stunt work, she seems to move right and never looks awkward on screen, and always has something to show to the viewer and surprise you (well she did surprise me many times).
Couple the human element with the mechanical elements and the film becomes almost real, as all the robots, vehicles, weapons and cityscapes are created with working in mind, and parts move and interact like they should, but most of all they look stunning and seem to have weight and it just feels right seeing them work on the screen. Size plays an important part in the film and many of the robots and various mechanical elements seem to feel like they are massive and powerful, a hard thing to achieve usually, but this new animation technique pulls it off in every shot it attempts it.
The films action is effective and from the star you know its more than just your typical anime. The film opens with some fighting sequences which wouldn't look out of place in a big summer blockbuster, and our leading lady gets some sublime slo motion dodges and jumps in before the film really begins. We get to see what she is capable of and how far the technology has advanced for this film and it leave you in a sense of bewilderment at what you are seeing, as its so new and very fresh.
The films action is played out regularly and its always something new and exciting as you think you have seen it all and it throws something else into the mix, the robot suits are an highlight of this. Its all shot like they have a massive budget and everything we see is detailed and very classy, nothing is shoddy or under created, its all big, colourful and flashy and there in all its glory for us to see. The work that must have been required to get this much into the film must have been immense, and it all shows what time and effort can do, as its beautiful in every way to look at.
Sonically it is also a great example of what can be done. The sound effects and music are woven into the films new cell shading process and it all helps to create a believable world around each and every character.
Its new and that's why it needs to be seen now. It reminds me of when I first saw "Final Fantasy - The Spirits Within" in the cinema years back, its so unusual looking that you cannot help but admire it, even if the film around this technique isn't exactly as perfect as the look and feel of the final product. For edge of your seat action sequences and a whole new way to look at an anime, its almost flawless, and as a film its great too so really it needs to be seen and I just hope for a sequel soon.
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ReconFive
- King of Beggars
- Posts: 519
- Joined: 26 Dec 2004, 05:56
- Location: Bangkok, Thailand
Bisc is right, you should start a review site or something 
I agree with all your thoughts, the action scenes were mind blowing in this film. My mouth remained open for then entire final battle, it just looked sooo good!
Your right about this movie rasing the bar for the genre. I think we can expect a sequel to this, or at least more CG rendered films in the future
I agree with all your thoughts, the action scenes were mind blowing in this film. My mouth remained open for then entire final battle, it just looked sooo good!
Your right about this movie rasing the bar for the genre. I think we can expect a sequel to this, or at least more CG rendered films in the future