Grab Bag 3 (Page 1 of 5)

I know, weird, right?  I hate Transformers like Hitler but Pacific Rim bears just a superficial resemblence to Transformers.  And the last Godzilla-like movie was... what, Cloverfield maybe?  No robots in that one.

Meanwhile, I just read another early review that said Pacific Rim was dandy.  The word the review kept using was "fun" and I'm all for having a fun movie to watch, after sitting through drudge-fests like Man of Steel.

So we'll see.  My hopes are still up.

Right. So I was super-surprised everybody was going "yeah, they only make these movies these days".

Huh?

No they don't. NOBODY has made such a movie. They all kinda lamely flirted with being close - but nobody actually whipped out their balls and ACTUALLY made one.

• Transformers? Nah. Robots, not Mech's, only a few actually "giant", and zero monsters

• Battleship? Neither robots nor monsters, and nothing is actually Giant.

• Real Steel? I love that movie, but those robots are hardly even robots, they are remote controlled toys, and while large for toys, not very "giant". Oh yeah, no monsters either.

• Robot Jox? LOL. I said "good effects". Plus it lacks monsters. Nice try, tho

• What else? I dunno.

I could go on and on and on, and only Avatar I can even think of coming close, but it's more like "sort of medium large mech fighting odd extraterrestrial animals", which still doesn't qualify neither as "giant mechs" nor "monsters".

Basically, what we all crave, is that crap the Japanese did in the 70's with guys in suits that looked COMPLETELY ridiculous..... but actually done so it looks AWESOME.

THAT. Done with 2013 level vfx.

Which is what Pac Rim seems to be.

And to my knowledge, hasn't been done before at all.

But I havn't seen every movie so feel free to correct me if I am wrong?

/Z

Last edited by MasterZap (2013-07-08 13:02:56)

I mean, I'd rather that del Toro made more movies like Devil's Backbone, but if this is where his heart's at, then more power to him. If this is the kind of movie we're gonna see all the time, I'd rather they be made by people with real passion for the idea than by Michael Bay-types looking to cash an easy paycheck.

Last edited by Doctor Submarine (2013-07-08 17:15:15)

For what it's worth, the reviews aren't necessarily "glowing" so far either. I've seen multiple people call it out for being shallow and dumb, better than Transformers certainly, but that's a really really low goddamn bar.

I'll see it, but I say keep them expectation in check

On the King side of things, I'd say his best novel is Misery. If you want to see him take an amazing situation and run with it, it's one of his best ideas, and the ending doesn't disappoint, either. My *favorite* by him is It; most of it is amazing (though it could just be that I really connect with the theme of lost childhood), and the first 150 pages are the best example of building dread in the reader that I've read. You've gotta love rambling King to like it, though--that sucker is *long*--and the ending, like many others of King's, is a bit anticlimactic, as was discussed in the podcast.

I love this episode so fucking much, it's great when you guys just shoot the shit.

The Dead Zone movie is awesome, if you have yet to see it, get it seen. I have a load of Stephen King books on my e-reader on my tablet and although I'm not a huge book guy, I have promised myself to change that. Instead of sitting looking through websites for something to read/do, why not read a damn book???

No they don't. Well yes they are aeons beyond the cardboard set early things, but they still look very very very dated and simple.

I dunno, maybe I had a weird upbrining, but I always saw small flashes of the Godzilla vs.... (or even - shudder - "power rangers") fly by in my peripheral vision. I never watched the whole thing, coz It was always horribly cheesily done (often seemingly intentional, with the horrid glaring colors etc.) and I just thought "there is something exciting in there, deep inside, about massive mountainous things colliding in battle where whole cityscapes just topple over like incidental damage". And I have since wanted to see that to the level that I could trivially *imagine* it for my inner eye.

Kinda like the mountain fight in teh Hobbit. But with less Hobbits and Dwarves, and more metal.

As much as I love "Gentlemens Duel" for the humor, it's sad when that is the best around for this thing...

I dunno... it's just one of those "things" that "I am still waiting for it done right". Kinda like Avatar is kinda 70% there to something I can clearly imagine "done right" in my head, but isn't on the screen.

Oh well. I'm excited somehow.

/Z

Last edited by MasterZap (2013-07-08 20:42:57)

Your skepticism is warranted, this has been the shittiest year of Summer movies in a long damn time. Fast and Furious 6 is still the best blockbuster of the year so far by a long shot, that's how bad things are.

Last edited by bullet3 (2013-07-08 23:41:41)

Yeah, wow. That movie is the definition of "stupid and awful, but fun." But best blockbuster of the year? Not by a longshot.

Love this episode and echo the sentiments of all that listening to you guys just chatting is a lot of fun.

Also, I will say that Pacific Rim is nice in that it actually has humans in the machines, which is at least an interesting, if not completely original, twist. It gives more humanity to the battles, which sets it apart from the rest of the explosion movies, which either involve super beings, or machines fighting for us. I'm not totally excited for it.

Also, please do Blade 2. Again, more Trey talking visual effects and creature effects

That is the one I'm thinking of, yeah.

It has. Although, despite a rather fun third act, Fast 6 wasn't really up to much either, sadly. Nowhere near as fun as Fast Five. Yeah, it has been a bit of a shit year