Sundown

I actually took a figure drawing class with Marshall Vandruff who is an excellent anatomy teacher and once had Liefield as a student way back. He mentioned that Liefield didn't seem very focused on doing the work he needed to up his game at drawing anatomy-- then went off to make a bajillion dollars. Anyway I have to agree that while Jim Lee is sill very competent, his stuff just doesn't look as good as his X-Men days. His style was perfect in adding tone and depth to the drab 4 color newsprint of the era. His proportions were more dynamic and accurate too. His recent stuff just doesn't have the same impact and life--and everyone still looks like they came out of the 90's with cargo pants and a million pockets.

You Rang? Unfortunately, I don't have the original scan on this computer, and I'm not sure I can find it anymore, but you get to look at my avatar.

I also agree that Bruce didn't get to star as much as I wanted him to. He needed more obsessing, emo scenes. Instead, he was always doing something and coldly expedient with only moments to brood. I also think the movie needed to Batman's gravelly voice was also a bit over the top-- it kept reminding me that Batman was really a freak in a costume, rather than the real persona, with Bruce Wayne as the disguise. As a result, it was harder to take Batman's lines seriously opposite Joker's awesome performance. As good as the movie was, I think they underutilized Bale's acting chops and didn't give him enough screen time.

Saw the trailer at the Batman showing. Looks fantastic visually. Somehow stays visually faithful to the old books while being modern and edgy. I could recognize almost all the scenes shown as being from actual pages of the book... should be good, and might end up being one of the more faithful superhero movies. If some things look cheezy in the movie, it helps that they were meant to in the comics and the book was a deconstruction of the super hero genre in the first place.

Very solid, and really picks up in intensity and meaning toward the second half of the film. The beginning was a little harder for me to get into, probably because of my huge expectations and because it wasn't paced as briskly as Iron Man-- and it wasn't as easy for me to see the overall arch of the story with all the disparate plot elements, but when it pulled together about midway, the movie got really good. There was one plot point that could have ruined the movie for me before a reveal made sense of it later on (and in hindsight, fixed other things that felt "wrong" during the course of the movie as well). I do think it could have been paced better, and would have been stronger if there was a bit more handholding in regards to where the plot was going. Because there will no doubt be comparisons-- I think Iron Man was a tighter, better executed movie, while the Dark Knight offered more substance and material that can be explored in repeated watchings at least a few more times.

The Beagle looks fantastic. The painted prototype retain all the sharp edges reminiscent of the 80's design that looked smoothed away in photos of the old prototype. The small-ish legs don't even look that bad, though I would have preferred them to be bigger even at the expense of the unarmored rider's proportions. Stig's expression is spot on! It captures his character and personality vivdly enough for me to experience a brief moment of serious nostalgia.

Yes! Yes! Same here. I'd like to get my hands on one of these if anyone can hook us up-- assuming in the end they're cheaper than getting one customized by one of the gurus here.

Even as a 1/48 lover, I have to admit the 1/60 battroid looks fantastic from a 3/4's view. It's got a great bulging chest profile with the heatshield angling like it does in some of the anime and art. I'm still disappointed about the shape of the intakes and the upper legs, the unnecesesary bulge in the canopy, and the rainbow canopy is entirely gratuitous, gimmicky, and doesn't look right at all-- but from certain angles in certain modes, the 1/60 has its own charm.

Very solid. CG was pretty meh but serviced the story well enough. The best action sqeuence had nothing to do with the Hulk CG.

Given the analogous relationships between Mac 7 and the Star Wars Prequels to SDF and the Original Trilogy, please don't give George Lucas any more ideas.

Episode 10 was pretty good. It actually made Zero watchable, even if it remained equally nonsensical. It injected emotion and reinterpreted/double meanings into characters that were previously bland. The flying wolf pokemon thing was just outright silly, but it's one of the episodes with stronger character writing.

I agree that Episode 8 was a huge letdown after 6 and 7. I actually like character driven plots, and found this episode tedious and juvenile. Yes, the fan service was again, annoying-- so far, *every* episode has had moderate fan service, *far* in excess of all the other Macross series which featured it only in occasional, select episodes and usually in context. Instead, MF seems to craft its hijinks and scenes explicitly around the opportunity to show Sheryl (and to a lesser extent, Ranka and Nanase) in titillating situations. But even overlooking all that, there just wasn't much real magic, charm, or chemistry between the characters. I mean Alto and Sheryl obviously get along in a wierd way that Alto fails to understand-- but the problem is, as a viewer, I felt like I didn't quite understand it either, and couldn't really find the charm in it. Maybe aloof males just don't make very interesting romantic pairings-- which is ironic considering that he's become one of the more relateable and likeable characters. His expression of bored exasperation to the *weird* interaction between Nanase, Ranka, and Luca on the steps echos my own frustration with the relatively boring schticks of the "character driven" episodes. So overall, a pretty huge letdown. I'm really not digging this schizophrenic yo-yoing between pedestrian high school innane-ness and a real war story, contrived to allow kids to be key players, whose friends (or themselves) are *nearly killed by aliens*, and then allowed to go back to their high-school lives and chase slug-squirrels as if nothing had happened. Ranka as a singing carrot in a Zentran grocery store is however, priceless.

Something I was never sure of... is the Tomahawk's visor glass supposed to be red or green? It's red in some of the old model box cover art, and sometimes it's green in the animation, like my avatar. Which one is it? Both? Maybe we'll get a darker repaint down the line with a green visor if Yamato wants to milk the mold.

Saw it yesterday. Was moderately entertaining, but featured very prominant Lucasian flaws-- including the very first shot, with a obviously CG prarie dog mugging for the camera. I think the shot could even have worked if it were real, but instead it sort of screamed, "watch me, George Lucas, shove CG animals in your face in my cleverness!" It was almost too easy to spot what scenes Lucas was responsible for, and which scenes remained untainted by his touch. The man just doesn't seem able to keep his gleeful, giddy, childish (not child-like) sensibilities in check, and I can see him rubbing his hands at ways he can work in eye-rolling animals and tarzan schticks into the film. Anyway, I'm one of the ones who hate and if I could get over that, it was a decent watch. I do find Von Daniken's theories fascinating even if they represent horrid "archaeology", so part of me wanted to see where the movie would go with that premise, even as the other part rebelled against those elements. I have to watch Doom and Last Crusade to see where it ranks, but Crystal Skull wasn't as collosally tragic as it could have been. I didn't care for how much of the puzzle solving was taken away from Indy, and instead given to a babbling Oxford, , rather than have Indy come up with a brilliant answer to his predicament, and the writing almost struck me as predictably lazy. I also agree that the ark in the broken crate, as neat as that was, lacked subtlety. Instead, a crate with a curious scorchmark on its side would have been sufficient. The movie also made the ultimate mistake of

Just saw it. I think this might be the best episode so far-- storytelling-wise anyway, as it went light on the homages so they didn't feel like rip-offs and brought compelling story elements of its own. The buildup worked well with the song, and I enjoyed the pacing towards the end even though nothing really happens. Maybe I was just feeling emo. The Quarter's design looks interesting, though we haven't got that many clear shots of it yet, but I like the feel of what I've seen so far and the way the design elements harken back to the SDF-1 and Prometheus. Fan service was also much more restrained and I can almost take Sheryl seriously. But a character who looks uncannily like Misa Hiyase, who wears the same style of uniform, who just happens to find herself the flight controller? Who would have thunk that? I will enjoy her character in that role of course, but I have to say that's pretty much a Misa Hiyase ripoff. Still good, overall, even despite the drop in animation quality.

Which specific version has the extended scene? Episode 2 didn't make sense to me either.

Are those rimless glasses? What makes the Baroness the Baroness are the bookish rims. She's supposed to look like a lethal eastern european librarian, not some fashion conscious model for the latest in Donna Karen eyewear. The costumers seem hell-bent on changing the characters as much as possible while still vaguely resembling the original characters, rather than sticking with the iconic and making it work. Maybe they should take a cue from Iron Man. What makes her even less recognizable as the Baroness despite her black leather is that *everyone else* is wearing black latex, leather, and plastic too. You can't tell the Joes apart from Cobra. Brilliant. Oh, and what David said about black hair, too.

I thought Stark's idea for Stark Industries was to market the miniaturized arc reactor, hence Stane's initial poo-pooing of the original reactor as a publicity stunt when Stark mentioned it, then letting in on the fact that he knew about the miniature version keeping Tony alive. It certainly sounded like Tony wanted to move the company in that direction, or was it me placing my thoughts in their head? I think the hard to believe thing will be *why* Stark Industries hasn't mass produced the things by the next movie, unless they explain that he was under massive pressure and personal threat from the oil industry and the government not to. Maybe this further drives him to drink.

Anyone else feel the Tomahawk could stand to be a little bit darker? I seem to remember it being more of a light brown in various art, including the scene my avatar was taken from.

Was ECA specifically referenced in the old SDF:M series or production notes, or was it a bit of retcon that came about afterwards? I've forgotten.

Yeah, that initial shot of the 1/24 Patlabor is none too impressive. Hopefully other shots will show it off better.

Defender looks excellent, but that's no surprise, given how great the Tomahawk's legs already look, and the Defender's torso and guns are one of the easier things to get right. And is it me or does the 1/60 VF-1 in fighter mode's nose look pointier than I remember? And why's it nekkid?

I should have said sequence for sequence, and unexperienced Alto shooting at the red lobster in gerwalk, screaming until he empties his clip and is saved by Osma (who most closely resembles Roy in MF) is almost sequence for sequence out of SDF as well. It ends a little differently, but it's more like the original than not. That would be a little too obvious, and it wouldn't be very well received. It's not like I think Kawamori completely absent of *any* creative energy, nor do I think he's stupid. No, I don't think MF is a one-to-one retelling of SDF, but it appears so far to lean heavily on its better moments and many of its plot points and character structures, while past Macrosses were based on very different premises and setups with varying degrees of success. I grant that this will probably change as the story evolves on its own. dreamweaver, I don't hate Macross Frontier. Sure, I dislike the departure of style and tone from SDF while still aping its best parts, but I've disliked the departures in most of the Macross spinoffs. It's not my dislike of the homages that make me critical of MF-- I actually *enjoy* the homages, which actually make me feel Frontier hasn't shown me much depth of its own. I thought the puking was a decent touch, and the zentradi mall was somewhat amusing, but I'm looking for good plotting and tight characters, not just little cute touches. I actually don't like how his classmates are his wingmates and superiors-- I'm not that into the concept of kids in mecha, and I'm even less into *many* kids in mecha. While I can make an exception for one 17 year old growing up in an adult's world, I'm loathe to accept kids driving valks in the SMS the way MF has it. I also mentioned elsewhere that I liked Ranka's character development with her losing Miss Macross and singing in the mall, and I feel that much of the good writing will be based around her down the line. Overall, I am actually enjoying the series, but that doesn't prevent me for noting things that still bug me.

Hmm, perhaps Iron Man 2 could feature Stark seeking solace in drink with the new pressures of being a public Iron Man. With both work, alchohol, and casual relationships with other women (most notably ballet dancer Natalia Romanova), driving a wedge between any potential relationship between him and Potts, she eventually dates and agrees to marry Hogan (Favreau) as per the comics. In typical Tony Stark fashion, he attempts to salve his wounds by delving further into his relationship with Romanova, who of course betrays him as the Black Widow, stealing the IM plans for hardliners in the Russian government. After this betrayal, Stark descends fully into alchoholism, forcing Rhodes to take up Iron Man's mantle and combat the Crimson Dynamo, built with the stolen Iron Man technology. Of course Stark eventually recovers, but not without some Jack Bauer season 3-esque moments resisting the ever-present bottle.

Yes, most of the magic plot moments have so far been lifted pretty much straight from SDF, and without them, I personally can't find many memorable and brilliant moments of storytelling in Frontier, besides Ranka not winning Miss Macross (which I think does a lot for her character), and her singing in the mall (which also does a lot for her character). And like jenius mentions, the homages are so lengthy and close plot point to plot point as to be predictable. The reason I'm cynical and accuse Kawamori of stealing old magic and presenting it to new audiences is because he has been taking Macross in directions drastically different from the feel of SDF for quite a while, not always to great success. For him to suddenly turn about face and essentially retell key moments in SDF with slight twists makes me suspect he's doing it out of pragmatism and economy, not out of artistic brilliance. The reason he took 25 years to finally go back to what made SDF work, and when he does do so, he nearly copies entire segments scene for scene-- is why I'm not giving him the benefit of the doubt. And can you really homage yourself? Isn't homage generally paying respect to work that isn't yours? Otherwise, isn't it essentially recycling? And I'd say both Hikaru and Alto are actually typical "pretty-boy/dashing/cute kid" characters, although Alto is much more "Bishonen", which is a well-established anime tradition, and both Ranka and Minmei play on innocent/young anime stereotypes, with Ranka being much more typically "cutesy" and childlike than Minmei of course. But none of these characters are anime aesthetic outcasts. Instead, they all actually firmly belong to well established anime aesthetic archtypes. "And like most great events, the Miss Macross Contest has become just another corporate commercial-thon where models and wannabe playboy bunnies conglomorate to make a mark in the vacuous world of fashion..." And while I agree that Ranka not winning Miss Macross is an interesting commentary on the reality of commercialism and empty, corporate, sexualization of the event, where sometimes the underdog girl next door just can't win against the stereotypical, conceited buxom starlet regardless of how much heart she's got, it also serves as an ironic commentary on Macross Frontier itself, giving the series an excuse to feature more perky and bouncy boobage-- the sorts of stuff it continues to exploit even outside of the Miss Macross competition in situations featuring Sheryl and Nanase. If Macross Frontier condemns anything, it can't help but condemn itself. =) This is sort of akin to M7's implied condemnation of manufactured fame and formulaic music for the sake of commercialization as opposed to true expression and artistry, using none other than "Fire Bomber"-- a fictional band ironically designed to sell J-Pop and anime-related merchandise.