How Transformers Could have Been Better

Okay, I pretty much based Transformers in my past post. Now I will say how I feel it could have been better:

1. Better Structure - The movie jumped around too much, too many "match cuts". not even a Christopher Nolan movie jumps this drastically.
2. Better Character Development -- Unfortunately, I just didn't care for any of the characters, not even the robots.
3. A Better Role for Megan Fox -- I wish her character was more interesting and useful in the story, she was just eye candy for the guys.
4. Better Personalities for the Robots -- Optimus was the only one that was good.

What do you think? Do you think Transformers could have been better, or was it fine the way it was? Comment about it.

 

A Sign of the Apocalypse: Seth MacFarlane Reboots The Flintstones

The great prophet Harold Camping (due note the sarcasm) has predicted that Judgment Day will occur Saturday May 21, 2011. I didn't put too much into it until I saw the news that Seth MacFarlane, creator of outrageous animated families like Family Guy, American Dad, and The Cleveland Show, purchased the rights to the Flintstones (cue the ominous music), this has got to be a sign of the divine apocalypse! O_o

But seriously, MacFarlane and the Flintstones? Had anyone seen MacFarlane's parodies of the Flintstones? Am I the only one who thinks this isn't a good idea? I love the idea of new Flintstones episodes, but I'm not sure I'm comfortable with MacFarlane handling it.

The Flintstones hold a special place in the hearts of those of us who remember the good ol' days of great animation, and I'd hate to see it tarnished with Family Guy-esque sex and bathroom humor, and we all know there will be plenty of opportunity for it. I can only hope MacFarlane shows a little restraint in that respect, because its one thing to do a parody, its another when you're dealing with the real thing.

What's next Seth? You got your eye on The Jetsons? Or perhaps Yogi Bear?

What do you think of Seth MacFarlane acquiring the rights to the Flintstones? Good idea? Bad idea? Comment about it!

Movie Review: The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920)

Genre: Horror Year: 1920 Rated: Unrated My Opinion: View Poster Watch it Now Download it Now IMDB Page Wikipedia Page

Talk about a golden oldie :) This is one of the first horror movies ever created and is also one of my favorites. It was made in Germany 1920, and is a black and white silent film.

A young man named Francis tells the story about when a stranger named Dr. Caligari came to Holstenwall during a carnival, bringing with him is somnambulist (aka 'sleepwalker') as a sideshow act. The story only gets stranger, making you question the sanity of the storyteller.

This movie is very visually appealing, making up for its lack of dialog and audio. The only word I can think of using to describe it is "surreal". The story itself is 'Frankenstein'-like, mainly about the doctor and his "monster".

The best part is that because it is public domain, it can be freely downloaded or watched on YouTube. There are two versions that I've seen: the black and white version, and the lightly colored version. The "color" isn't like most colorized versions of movies, the coloring reflects the overall mood of the movie rather than just making it look like real-life color.

There was a remake created in 2005, with English audio and modern actors superimposed in some of the original footage. I haven't seen it but I don't think I'd want to. There's something about adding dialog it a silent movie that takes away from the integrity of it. If you are going to superimpose actors and add an language audio track to a silent film, you might as well do a full blown remake rather than this patch-up version.

Have you seen this movie? What's your opinion? Comment about it.

Movie Review Archive >>

"Supernatural" Anime

Well somebody must have heard my prayers to have more epic anime :). Aside from the new Iron Man and Wolverine anime, there is also going to be an anime based on one of my favorite shows-- Supernatural.

At first I wasn't sure I was too keen on an anime based on a live-action American TV series. But after viewing the trailer, I imediatly changed my mind. I feels a little like Blood The Last Vampire, and the characters look just like their real-life counterparts. And the best part is Gackt is going to have a voice-acting role in it :D.

I can't wait till this comes to America. Maybe this will be the new format of the show ;)

Read more about it:
Supernatural Anime (nerdreactor.com)
Gackt Gets Supernatural (nerdreactor.com)

What do you think about anime adaptations of live action TV shows? Comment about it!

Wolverine Anime?!

Okay, now I've seen everything! I was surprised when I heard about the Iron Man anime, but now a Wolverine anime? I wonder what's with all these Marvel animes popping up? Check out the trailer, it is EPIC. I just hope the series will be as good quality and not be inconsistent like with the Iron Man anime and its trailer.

But will this anime have any connections to the original comic? Wolverine's overall appearance and the style of the trailer have a completely different vibe than the original comic and the movie versions.

Weirdly, I'm getting a Kenshin kind of vibe from the trailer, but that's just me.

What do you think of an anime version of Wolverine? Comment about it!

Iron Man Anime?!

I really surprised when I found this on YouTube. Apparently there is going to be an Iron Man anime, although whether or not it follows the comic or movieverse or if its is own storyline I can't tell. But I hope the series will be just as good as the trailer. I've read some negativity from some who have already seen the Japanese version. Apparently there will be an English dub version that will premiere on the G4 network. I'm a little disappointed because I prefer English subs to dubs, but I'm sure that'll come along eventually.

But I can see where some of the negativity is steaming from. See the difference between the trailer and the actual opening to the show. There is defiantly a quality difference. It looks like they put more work into the trailer than the actual series (I hate when they do that!).

But what shocks me about this is this is behavior I expect from an American-made animation, not a Japanese anime (I expect better from them). But then again this is an anime adaptation of an American comic book and movies. I hope America isn't having that much of an influence on them 8o.

Needless to say it still looks cool and I can't wait to see it, dubbed or subbed.

But does anybody else get a Gundum-like feeling when watching the trailer, or is it just me?

What do you think of an Iron Man Anime? Or even Japanese Anime adaptation of American cartoons? Comment about it.

Crisis in Japan

The Japanese are an intelligent and brave people.

Even superstar Miyavi has turned his twitter page into a channel of news and information on the disasters in Japan, go check it out (if you can read japanese)

My heart goes out to the families of those brave souls risking thier lives trying to stop the reactor from melting down.

God bless Japan.

Check out more resources for helping Japan!

At the Movies is Back!

I finally got around to writing this

Remember this post of how I was sad that At the Movies was canceled? Well now its back and its better than ever. I love the fact that its on public television mainly because there are no commericals, so the show feels extended.

I like they went back to the thumbs up/down style because its less complicated than see it/ rent it/ skip it.

Watching this show is a great way to get a profesional opinion of hits and misses at the movies, I highly recommed it.

What did you like better? This version or the previous? Comment about it.

List: Great Animated Films

I love animated films. So I compiled a list of my favorites to share with everyone. Enjoy! Hovering on a title will reveal a list of links to more information about the film.

The Mouse and His Child The Magical Princess Gigi Rainbow Brite and the Star Stealer My Neighbor Totoro All Dogs Go to Heaven An American Tail The Secret of NIMH The Last Unicorn Here Come The Littles Flight of Dragons Gallavants Watership Down The Plague Dogs Magical Trolls and the Troll Warriors

What animated films do you like? Comment about them.

Series Premiere Review: The Cape

I couldn't wait for The Cape to premiere, its been a while since I've seen a good 'superhero' type series. I used to be a fan of them when I was younger, so I was excited when I heard about it. I was prepared for a two hour action-packed thrill-ride.

Needless to say I was somewhat disappointed.

The story and the concepts was intriguing. A cop, framed as a serial killer and later trained by an underground circus-themed crime troupe turned mentors, rises up as a Batman-type vigilante against a syndicate with its own privatized police force run by psychotic criminal mastermind. It has all the elements that are critical to every superhero story. What went wrong?

One word-- pacing. It was painfully slow, and all the action parts were choppy and too fast-paced to enjoy before it returned to its ridiculously slow storytelling.

I think it was a bad idea to stretch this out into a two-hour time slot. It would have been better if it was edited down to an hour or maximum hour and a half. Or better yet, break it up into nicely paced parts instead of one long stretch.

Despite this setback, I hope The Cape continues and gets better pace-wise. I'm looking forward to it.

What did you think of The Cape? Comment about it.

Series Premiere Review: Bob's Burgers

I had a bad feeling about Bob's Burgers back when I first saw the sneak preview of the show during the premiere televised airing of "The Simpsons Movie" last year. My bad feeling was confirmed while viewing the pilot episode the other night.

This is yet another 'dysfunctional family' animated show that's been added to the Animation Domination line up on Fox. There are now a total of 5 'dysfunctional family' animated series on this one channel, 3 of which were created by the same guy (Seth MacFarlane). I have nothing against this type of show, I love The Simpsons and Family Guy, I'm even warming up to The Cleveland Show. But I feel the market is flooded with this type of show. Can't anybody come up with something different or more original?

But that's a separate issue, lets focus on Bob's Burgers. Where to begin... Lets start off with the animation. Its certainly different, but feels 'lazy' to me. There isn't a lot of imagination put into it. Second is the humor. I didn't find it funny, or even mildly amusing. There were only one or two lines of dialog where I actually laughed. I didn't find any of the characters likeable, or even love-to-hate, they were all annoying.

Overall, I felt that this series probably would have faired better as a comic strip. It feels too bland and lifeless to have been made into an animated series.

The only good thing I can say about Bob's Burgers is its story-driven rather than gag-driven, which is rather refreshing.

Unfortunately I don't have high hopes for this series staying on the air for very long... but then again stranger things have become hits...

What did you think of Bob's Burgers? Comment about it.