Musings of 2013 Part 2!

So, here we are continuing a series that probably should have been written about aroundabouts a month ago! We're sadly still on movies here. Hopefully I'll get to video games sometime soon!

Anyway, here's some more thoughts on things that happened last year.

47 Ronin has multiple pros and cons to it. While pieces of it are incredibly enjoyable, other parts are absolutely silly. Keanu Reaves puts in a decent, albeit pointless, performance, and the Japanese actors are all pretty good as a whole. The biggest problem with this movie is that it is really two movies. One of them is an almost Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon type of movie involving some very good Japanese actors and a classic story. The other is a morose (love) tale involving Keanu Reaves that adds nothing to the movie beyond a love story and Keanu Reaves. It's almost as if somebody said, "Dang it, we need some star power to this movie. The English speaking masses need a white person to relate to." And some shadowy producers sounding like Emperor Palpatine said, "Of course. Call Keanu Reaves. It's about time we related to him yet again."

Now, I like Keanu Reaves sometimes. And he doesn't do poorly in this movie. Rather the movie itself does poorly, with poor editing, poor story integration, and a bunch of stories all told at once that never really touch one another. It's telling when Keanu's story or arc never really has anything to do with the rest of the story or characters.

I liked this movie more than I probably should have. It was a fun ride with some decent and awful CGI. The first half of the movie was rough as well. But the second half worked really well for me. I hope some kind of director's cut comes with this DVD of this movie, but I might be the only person in the world hoping for that. Being universally panned by critics and watchers alike doesn't tend to make people more opened to awesome features on a DVD. I still liked it though.

Also, why is skull tattoo man on the poster when he appears in a single scene and basically does nothing? Ah, and Rinko Kikuchi is certainly the highlight of the movie. Awesome. She's certainly proving she can act with the best of them with this movie and another later in this list.

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug is a pretty solid movie, taking us back again to Middle Earth and the peoples of that universe. I pretty much like this movie from the start. But I also liked the first as well, so I might just like The Hobbit movies. With more action the movie was certainly more exciting, but I think the extended version will add in a lot of what I felt was missing, some of the downtime and explanations that I kind of craved. Tauriel's addition felt natural, and Legolas was pretty interesting to see, although Orlando Bloom's age has certainly started to show. He no longer looks like a timeless elf.

Then again, Thranduil was creepy and awesome. Mirkwood and Laketown were both incredibly different and solid entries into the places the movies have visited. Gandalf's journey to Dol Goldur was awesome. And Smaug paid off royally. While the ending left me with some complaints, this movie as a whole really worked for me, even if it doesn't feel as coherent as the other movies of the franchise. This is the first one that doesn't really feel as if it has its own identity, although that could just be me right now. Perhaps watching it more will give it that identity I feel it's lacking. I'm not sure what else I can say. I liked it about as much as the last film and am really looking forward to the last part.

The World's End is a movie I'm glad I had no idea about when I went into it. The sudden change of tone that this movie took about halfway through is up there with From Dusk till Dawn. I love this trilogy of movies, and this one was one of the most pleasant viewing experiences I had this year. I don't want to say much more for fear of spoiling anything, but it was raucously entertaining and a solid comedy film all around. And I usually hate comedies, so that's saying a lot for me.

Go read my review of Pacific Rim. Add only that I've seen this movie about twenty times and now think it is one of the classics of action and adventure films up there with Lord of the Rings, Star Wars, and Indiana Jones. I hope this film starts off a brilliant franchise.


And this post and my last post basically and simply sum up my thoughts about the 2013 movies I saw. I didn't see a crazy amount of movies last year, and I have no interest in seeing most of them that I didn't get to see. That being said, one movie I would really like to see is Frozen. The fiancee really liked it, but I guess I'll have to wait until it's on video to check that one out. I also bet I missed a crapton of horror movies and cool indie films that I'll catch up on in years to come, but that's something I've come to expect at this point in my life.

As for everything else? I'm trying to write when I have the chance, I've just been full up on working since the holidays. And while I had this last week off, I've been both sick and getting other stuff I need to get done... uh... done. It's difficult to have a more than full time job, a fiancee a few states away, and a passion for talking about things like fiction in a believable and trustworthy manner. While I have plans, they kind of rely on my work not being a constant flux of near 60 hour weeks. So, hopefully that ends soonish so I can concentrate on the more enjoyable side of life.

Anyway, I'm planning to have a video game post up sometime within the next week. Then maybe another post at the end of February. I'm not forgetting about reviewing things. It'll happen, just more slowly than it used to.

Movie Appraisal: Pacific Rim (2013)

Hey everybody! So, last weekend I went to see Pacific Rim with my normal theatre viewing crew. We had planned this out for a good long while and were all looking forward to it quite a bit. We went to a midnight showing since any other time wouldn't have worked out for us, and we excitedly waited for the movie to get rolling. Also read this review at your own risk!

We had no previews in our showing, and the movie didn't quite fit the screen which was fairly disappointing. Other than those things, the movie viewing experience was amazing. It is the best of its genre, hands down. I mean, there is no other way to even compare it to other movies. The actions scenes are wonderful, the human elements are actually meaningful and fun, and the CGI is both necessary and incredibly well done.

Come on, look at how awesome this thing looks!

I loved the designs of both the Kaiju (the big goddamn monsters) and the Jaeger (the big goddamn mechs). They worked incredibly well and felt amazingly large. The sense of scale was monumental, something I haven't felt in a theatre since the first time I saw The Fellowship of the Ring and watched the huge statues in that movie go by the fellowship while they were floating by in tiny boats. This movie makes the Kaiju and the Jaegers feel realistically huge. It was so cool.

And yeah, this movie has a lot to do with being cool. It is an experience. The music, the sound, the visuals, and the human stories- they are all experiences within the movie. No, the plot is not new. It's actually pretty cliched and can be easily predicted, but that doesn't mean it hasn't perfected its story. The Kaiju are the perfect antagonists, both alien and immensely terrifying. They have both a strength and a power that a normal person cannot even hope to overcome.

I'm a big damn mech, and I'm going to punch monsters from the depths of Hell.
Pleased to meet you.

It's a story about struggle and survival in an apocalyptic situation. It's also about teamwork (since the Jaegers require two people to make them run) and about just a great time in general. It's a movie that made me smile ear-to-ear more than once. It's also a movie that made me feel a cold sting of mortality at times as well. There are some very dark moments to go with the fun of them movie. And the moments that feel immense also can feel soul-crushingly sad as well.

When the Russian and Chinese Jaeger pilots die, it is a terrible thing. I felt their deaths in a way I rarely feel the deaths of characters within a movie. And these a re characters with no speaking lines either! With a very limited amount of screen time. Guillermo del Toro is that much of a master of his craft. He can make you feel something for characters who are background at best.

The fights are superb, hitting all the right strides and all the right moments. There are enough things that both the Jaeger and the Kaiju do to shake the fights up as well. I mean, suddenly the Jaegers have swords. Suddenly the Kaiju has an EMP. Suddenly there is a rocket elbow. Suddenly the freaking Kaiju has WINGS. All these elements work to make it just a wonderfully entertaining film, full of amazing moments, cool characters, and neat set-pieces.

The background stuff is really interesting as well. I mean both the background of this universe and the scenery itself. Both tell more of the story than the dialogue and characters ever could. It just feels so awe-inspiring. Ever person who is or was a little kid at one point playing with toys and ramming them against one another to fight will understand why this movie is one of the best movies out there period.

Yes, there are negatives. The lack of female characters (although I know I'll be called out on that by someone, just give it time) and some of the sillier things of the movie were a little annoying, but for the most part it is an incredibly fun ride. Easily one of the best movies I've seen in theatres in a long time. I suggest everybody watch this big damn movie. The script, music, and everything else are so awesome that the movie deserves your money and time, it really does.

How can you not love a man who looks like this?

Also, Ron Perlman and his character of Hannibal Chau are crazy awesome. I love that character so much. Also, the two science guys are great as well, and don't even take away from the big story of mechs and monsters punching one another. Is it a dumb movie at times? Sure, I guess. But just because it's a movie about things punching other things doesn't mean it can't be brilliant as well.

Serious recommendation. If you haven't seen it, go and see it!

Also, Hannibal Chau's shoes, because the detail is awesome!