Mr March

I like the telephone booth picture

WTH? What is the Red Hot Chili Pepper's single "Dani California" doing in that trailer? Bizzare match for a film like that, though I suppose it makes little difference when the audience can't understand english

LOL Doubt anyone would bother banning someone for 3 years. As if the banned member is going to wait Wonder what the altercation was this time.

Who cares?

The Macross can fire it's main gun from a minimum effective range of what appears to be one light-second out (roughly 300,000 kilometers). The first episode makes a rather clear statement of the range at about 285k or something like that. It's likely the Zentradi guns can fire at a very similar range, especially given what we see of Vrlitwhai's vessel firing its cannon in the battle for the Factory Satellite. I can guarantee there is more to capital ship combat in Macross than just range, much like any combat situation in real life. You'd have manuvers, electronic warfare, engage and withdrawal, fighters, et cetera. Most of the combat as presented in the series is simplified for the sake of the audience. Most combat in modern entertainment is simplified this way and is often stylized to make it more interesting.

I purchased the Limited Collector's Edition of Patlabor The Movie and watched the two discs. Oshii's film has never looked so good to my eyes. This newly remastered release takes a great film and makes it even better with great sound and a picture that finally does the high quality animation justice. So much detail was missing in the terrible Manga release, you'll be surprised what you missed. Sound is equally impressive on this new release and a plethora of minor effects and musical notes can be heard breathing new life into the film. The second disc features a roughly 40 minute long "Making Of" feature which can be played in six different sequences if the viewer so desires. The video and sound of this feature is also clean and crisp and the feature itself is insightful, a welcome relief from other anime special features that are only cursory in detail. There are interviews with Director Mamoru Oshii, screenwriter Kazunori Ito, mecha designer Yutaka Izubuchi, character designer Akemi Takada and music composer Kenji Kawai. While the interviews are breif overall, they are not wasted affairs and each features some important discussion of the film. Especially interesting was the location scouting done by the crew to come up with the many beautiful backgrounds for the film. It makes one appreciate the accuracy of Tokyo as portrayed in the film. The two collector's books are a mixed bag. As Penguin said, the storyboard book is really not much of an attraction, even for a hardcore film geek like myself. About the only thing it's good for is a Sunday afternoon curiosity, going through the book while you've got the film on in the background...even if you're so inclined. However, the second book titled "Patlabor The Movie Archives" is a real find. It is a very high quality book filled with full color pictures, numerous pieces of lineart (many of which I've never seen), and all kinds of background on the Patlabor universe. There is also the occasional map, several pages of concept artwork, location photos, and naturally, numerous interviews with Oshii taken over many years in different publications. As a Patlabor fan, this book is a perfect companion, especially if you're a fan who has only watched the films and is considering getting into the OVAs and series. While I'm happy with my purchase, I'd say the Limited Edition set is only for hardcore fans of the film. The special features are excellent, but brief and only one of the two collector's books is worth the investment. More casual fans would be well advised to pick up the single disc edition. In either case, throw away your Manga DVD and upgrade to this newly remastered DVD.

Just got back from a 9:30 late show. The film is typical Hollywood action fare but with an enjoyable baddy, some clever comedy, and several fun stunts/action sequences. Nothing altogether new or innovative that will make you praise the film as the next big thing, but it delivers as advertised and is best veiwed with your brain only half awake. Comparing this third outing to the other Mission Impossible films, it's easily more action than spy thriller. It's a better action film than the original and can only be an improvement beyond the sequel. I enjoyed MI:3 more than the other MI movies, but the formula is a lot more tired now than when the first movie was released. I'd give the film a 6 out of 10, with maybe one extra point if you're an action junkie feeling particularly desperate for a good gasoline explosion

In most anime (but not all), hair color is simply another method of differentiating one character from another. Because of the limitations of animation and money (especially when we're talking about the shoe-string budgets of anime in decades past), changing a character's hair color acts as a easy, cost effective visual cue that tells the audience "this is Max...he's blue. This is Milia...she's green." It's easier than animating extra facial detail or radically altering facial features that deter from the Mikimoto esthetic. jsARCLIGHT is on the right track defining the role of hair color/styles in Macross. People often tend to place too much importance on minor details in anime/film/any-visual-medium without stepping back to view the work as a whole. Most of the time, visual cues are just that and nothing more. But sometimes, visual cues are so distinctive the audience will place more emphasis upon the detail than it's worth. The door with the portholes, the green building, the guy with blue hair...they must "mean" something right? Sometimes they do, but Macross is not made by David Lynch

Well that's something. After the disaster that was MI:2 (with all due respect to John Woo, your Hong Kong action was brilliant), I figured I'd avoid MI:3 at all costs. But if you say it's at least a step up from the second film, I may give it a chance to satisfy the call of my action junkie persona

I could never hope to top the posts that have been made here. Most for me was the Animego Macross set at $250 USD. I think my sanity is much better off (and my wallet) if it goes no further than that

Those are indeed the original, unaltered films on VHS. I once owned those many years ago.

I do understand where you're coming from and your evaluation of my own tastes has merit. My apologies if I concetrated too much on "most" at the expense of the point you were making. However, I am cognizant of the anime world outside my own social circles and I do disagree with some of your analysis of anime fans (or pop culture product in general). I don't believe the most popular animes enjoy success because of whimsical fans looking for a fix. Such a person is unreliable as a repeat consumer and is easily distracted by popular culture products that extend beyond anime. They are just as likely to find the next big music video on MTV or blockbuster in the theatre as appealing as catching Sailor Moon on the Cartoon Network. I will say this as a generalization about North American anime fans which I think agrees with your opinion: they gravitate towards certain styles and genres of anime, many of which are not popular among the hardcore anime fandom in Japan. Here in North America, the hardcore fandom loves the dark, action animes. Fans will often purchase new anime matching that criteria; and yes, some will do so without consideration for quality or value. I think this partially corresponds to your criticism of NA fans. It's also important to keep in mind the distinction between anime fandom in NA and the anime that hits mainstream success here in NA. As sad as it is to say, anime fandom has very little impact on anime that has hit mainstream success in NA. Shows like Pokemon and Yu-Gi-Oh are all but derided by the vast majority of anime fandom here in NA, but both shows are mainstream successes more profitable than even fan favorites like NGE, Cowboy Bebeop, and Akira. Personally, I like to think that most fan bases, like fantasy and sci-fi fandom, do gravitate toward more worthwhile products just as anime fans do. There are some popular shows that do represent poor quality and a portion of any fandom does exist that supports those weaker productions. IMO, these fans are not the movers and shakers of their particular fandom, though they may represent a large portion of purchasing power that most of us don't care to see.

I don't think you appreciate the gravity of this development. The shade of blue used on Supes' tights was bad enough, but this..."Squintgate" could very well be the straw that breaks the camel's back. Singer has nothing but contempt for everybody else on the planet!!! He eats babies! And, I hear, he has a dragon. 396872[/snapback] Damn you bsu! I fell off my chair when I read "Squintgate" :) Cheeky bastard...I'm insanely jealous!

Something tells me this line will appear in a signature very soon

I'm having flashbacks, with fans screaming "Small hands! Small hands!"

Hehehe, that's always been the problem with editing films after public release and why it's never done. If successful, people are attracted to the product "flaws and all", so it's impossible to get a re-edit "just right" since at least some portion of the fans will hate this or that. Basically, I'm not so opposed to special effects scene edits so long as the original style and theme are mostly intact. What I truly despise are characterization edits and changed dialogue, especially so many years after the fact. Particularly when the creator changes them. As you grow older, your way of thinking changes, often times in ways you never expected. You also may come to resent choices you made in youth, conveniently forgetting those very immature, brash decisions were what made you the success you are today. Lucas's infamous change in Han Solo's characterisation is a direct result of age, and an inability to reconcile the character with his current convictions as an older man.

Its okay, though I could do with or without. Morrison's voice over is one of those aspects that I could endure either way if someone produced a mostly appealing SE edit.

That's quite an oversimplification. There are anime fans who watch anime for MANY different reasons. To say most of us act in such a shallow way is a disservice, especially since none of my friends who watch anime do so for a reason like a "new product" fetish. Granted, I do know the type of fan/person you're talking about. These consumers aren't so much attracted to the quality of anime as much the spectacle of anime itself. The style of cinema used in anime, the colors, the way in which anime achieves drama, the style of the artwork, and the unusual sounds/music may all appeal to a fans/consumers taste and that may be enough. Such shallow fans/consumers enjoy different anime more for the sake of difference rather than any semblance of quality. It's-new-and-unusual translates to it-must-be-good for these people. However, those people are not just anime fans. You find thse types of people in all areas of popular and consumer culture (film, music, etc). Luckily, they are in the minority and they constitute a smaller portion of the consumer market than you might think. Anime, like anything else commercial, has to produce a certain level of acceptable quality in order to be truely successful. At their core, many anime shows that fans such as yourself deride for overexposure and being overrated do possess a stand out quality which I beleive is the PRIMARY reason why most fans of that anime flocked to embrace it. Some substantive aspect seperates the big anime franchises from the less successful contempraries, which at first glance look very much the same. There is always worth to take into account as well. Not all standout anime that becomes successful is meant to endure. Some extremely popular anime has a very short product life, as do some other consumer products. The 1990's rock band Hootie and The Blowfish is a very poignant example of such product in the music industry that enjoyed widespread success that lasted for a very short time.

Now you're talking. I couldn't agree more. Ideally, I'd prefer to simply have both versions. But if I were to choose a desired "Special Edition" version, axe any changed dialogue ("You're lucky you don't taste very good/You're lucky you got outta there"), axe the Greedo fires first crap, axe the music video, and axe Hayden at the end of Jedi. Keep all the new CGI, all the cleanup on the old special effects, the final Jabba scene in ANH, the shuttle from Bespin to the Executor, Ian McDiarmid as the hologram is TESB, and the Coruscant celebration. That'd be my ideal "Special Edition" version.

HAHAHAHA Brilliant. Just brilliant :)

Honestly, I've been dissatisfied with most of my anime DVDs here. The Region 1 releases have rarely been quality productions, only now is anime finally being released in worthy editions that look better than the subtitle-less VHS tapes so many of us long time fans slaved under during anime's underground days. Stuff like this is a long time coming and I'm glad to see them.

Well, the press release does say "attractively" priced, for what such double-talking jargon that's worth. Only if it's attractive to ME, the consumer

I'm really glad to hear that the Limited Edition is worth the expense. I'm still mulling over whether I wanted to buy the big edition or the cheap one. I'm a huge fan of both of the first two films and have really disliked my crappy Manga releases for a long time. These movies deserve a really top notch treatment on DVD and I'm glad to hear the results are stellar. This news has helped me warm up a bit...(grrrr)

And now onto non-depressing news... (so sad right now) Image Entertainmet released this baby and damn does it look great.

After December 31st, they go back into the Disney Vault....FOREVER (or until another anniversary needs to be marked by a DVD release) 396525[/snapback] Hehehe, how true. You gotta give the guy points for his marketting. The guy squeezes so much money out of the fanbase, it's like...dare I say the "r" word?