Mr March

WOOOT ?!? But I read somewhere the landing gears were retractable and the way to retract them was to set the thrusters nozzle in the landing position. Dang ! 311840[/snapback] The Landing gear are supposed to be retractable, but I'm unsure if part swapping is involved or if it remains attached to the dropship. I think maybe your confusion came from this post in the other dropship thread: Blackaces post in second Dropship thread

I must say the end result has certainly warmed me to the product. It is a tad expensive and the missile racks aren't exactly what I'd hoped for, but the pictures of the final version are very impressive. I like the details and the look of the machine. Very nice.

Sexaaahhh! The body looks flawless. Great work!

I agree, The major point of the film should not just be to sell the origin tale, but to also tell another story in which the characters do something. Naturally, this may give the storyteller rather limited resources from which to work. However, the first film is always just an opening, one which the audience expects will lead to more interesting adventures. But if the first film just doesn't grab you, you're unlikely to watch a second. Spiderman, X-Men, Batman Begins, and Superman are all films that achieved a good origin and adventure story.

It's certainly worth it. May not be the best, but its got enough guts to be very good.

The Machinist (2004) Genre: Live Action Film – Psychological Thriller It has become a trend among the would-be autures of Indie film that an unconventional structure makes a good unconventional film. Director Brad Anderson takes his own shot at the off-beat story wrapped in a non-linear narrative, resulting in The Machinist: a tale that may not be the greatest of films, but possesses enough interesting characterizations and plot twists to succeed as a thriller above the norm. Trevor Reznik (Christian Bale) is a machinist who hasn’t slept a single night in over a year, for an as yet unknown reason. The film opens with Reznik disposing of a body wrapped in a carpet roll near a river side, then instantly turns back in time to display the events leading up to this scene. On the way, Reznik’s character suffers some strange experiences and his lack of rest ultimately starts to take its toll on his perception. He begins a journey to discover who is involved in these strange events and why. Renowned character actor Christian Bale is definitely a presence to be felt in The Machinist, portraying the character of Reznik with subtlety and amazing physicality. According to reports, Bale shed over 63 pounds to obtain the gaunt look the role demanded. The visual impact is utterly amazing; we watch Bale’s skeletal Reznik meander his way through this twisted tale looking like a lost soul in the land of the near-dead. Jennifer Jason Leigh’s character Stevie comments at one point “If you were any thinner, you wouldn’t exist.†Such dialogue is indicative of the style of this film, as the audience is left wondering at times what really exists and what is illusion. There is a fine sense of mood in Machinist and I felt the script did an admirable job not giving too much away. Although the main plot twist of The Machinist wasn’t exactly a surprise, there is fortunately more to come. The ending in particular takes a second twist in a direction that remains in theme, yet despite the foreshadowing we don’t suspect it’s coming. This really salvages the film from becoming just another predictable movie and gives us a new insight into the character of Reznik. When everything falls into place, the result is a satisfying, if not totally original, psychological thriller with Bale giving yet another outstanding performance. Rating: 8 out of 10. What the Machinist lacks in originality, it makes up with an above average script and a memorable performance from lead Christian Bale.

Thanks for the comments everyone. I'm going to post more reviews, so keep an eye out. I too am very concerned about the saturation of the super hero genre on the big screen. It's almost getting to the point where even if the films are good, we've just been hit with so many super hero origin stories that we really don't care anymore. The next batch of films in this vein will have to offer something more to remain competitive and interesting.

It's been quite sometime since I've done a review and posted it on MacrossWorld. In the early days, many years ago, I used to write these quite often. Not sure why I stopped, but it's far past time to get back into it. I hope you all enjoy. Fantastic Four (2005) Genre: Live Action Film – Super Hero Adventure Films about super heroes have become almost a mainstay of the summer box office, like action flicks and romantic comedies. While many a fan – including myself – is excited about finally seeing our favorite books on screen, the result thus far have been mixed. While X-Men, Spider-Man, and Batman were good films within their own limits, Daredevil, Electra, Punisher, and Hulk all failed to meet expectations. So it is regrettable that I place the Fantastic Four in the latter group rather than the former. This tale of super heroes finds scientist Reed Richards (Ioan Gruffudd) and comrade Ben Grimm (Michael Chiklis) promoting a manned mission to an orbiting space station to study a once in a millennia cosmic event. Unfortunately, Reed’s finances are lacking, so he turns to old college friend Victor Von Doom (Julian McMahon) for financing, only to find his past love interest Susan Storm (Jessica Alba) on Doom’s payroll. Doom agrees to the mission with tough conditions and also insists Storm’s brother Johnny (Chirs Evans) pilot the space craft. The mission goes awry, bathing the characters in a heretofore unknown type of radiation. Upon the return to Earth, each character slowly discovers new abilities; abilities which some embrace and others shun. Fantastic Four is a film with very little depth and typically, most audiences have low expectations for the dramatic in super hero fare. Unfortunately, Four manages to sink below those rather low expectations, reducing the entire cast to mere caricatures of better writing. There are some genuine attempts at real emotion, but they are buried beneath a script that has to go somewhere but never does. The viewer isn’t taken anywhere special, as we find our heroes bickering (Reed and Susan), showboating (Johnny), or wallowing (Ben) until the inevitable conflict with a newly created super villain (Doom). We all know what to expect from these characters at the beginning, so none of their reactions are the least surprising. What we get is a fairly generic origin story for a super powered team in the rough who obviously must work together as a team in the end to face a great evil. While many would argue that the Fantastic Four have never been Marvel’s strongest title, the characters and villains have more to offer than what director Tim Story has given us. This is a film that’s riding the wave of past super hero movie successes and it shows. Fantastic Four is aided by some fine casting (with the exception of Alba) and the special effects do offer some great new eye candy. While none of the acting is anything special, most of the cast competently portray each role enough to get the audience through the slows scenes and into the action. The dialogue can go either way, depending upon your penchant for cheese and obvious humor. Rating: 5 out of 10. A film that could have been fantastic is rather bland, with a story, characters, and dialogue all done much better in other films of the genre.

Looks like MacrossWorld came back online just in time for some BIG news about the franchise. First Tatsunoko's bought out and now this ADV thing. I'd like to be happy about what's happening, but I'm feeling very uncertain about all this. I can hope for positive results, but this looks pretty grim given the past history of these companies involved.

Oh yeah. The moment I saw those the inside torso panels I knew I'd want one for each of my Valkyries, even without the GBP armor. It would just make the battroid mode that much better.

Uncertain exactly what this means for the franchise. Could be good or bad, hard to tell at this point.

Wow! Just...wow! Every new picture makes the GBP look better and better.

Well, sure wasn't expecting to see that on page two I like her image in the background layer of your new Macross poster. It's very much a Macross-motif picture to use a large female image. Nice work!

You got it my friend

I got on better, Thai Fighters Not only can we crossover with Bloodsport it exposes kids to the wonders of etnic food! ACK! Learn how to spell Mr March *embarrassed*

Fantastic! All these enemy Zentradi mecha...just waiting to be blown up by a Valkyrie in someone's impressive wallpaper at 1600x1200 resolution *evil grin*

Yam Solo? Ok, I'm stumped on Yoda, but I rather like "Yam Solo." What about the organic vegetables advertisement that was done with a Star Wars theme? That short film featured fantastic names Chewbroccoli C3-Peanuts R2-Tofu Obi Wan Cannoli Tai Fighters

Hahaha, one of the most appropriate paraphrases I've seen in a while

I'm the same way... I don't play games at all anymore... but I still love hearing about them and I had a really good time at E3... I love the technologicaladvances and stuff... So just because I don't play anymore, should I have not gone to E3? You should engage in those activities you have time for...and my friend should do the same E3 sounds like a fun way to stay on the up and up without the demands of most new games, but I doubt my friend would ever go.

Because an otherwise positive member of our community, who has contributed a great deal, is continually harassed by a borderline troll and no one else seems to care enough to call him out on it. If true, that's a worthy cause to be sure, but sounds like something the staff can handle. Perhaps, a more direct method (such as a PM to the staff) would work better.

Denial is one thing, but that's Nanshi's problem.. not anyone elses. He's not hurting anyone or stepping on anyone's toes by not updating. If these people wanted him to update so bad, they shoudl just go out and buy the reference material for themselves. I'm not saying Nanashi is in denial, I'm talking about my friend.

I totally agree with what you say, as I've had websites myself and eventually life just gets in the way and you run out of time. What I don't understand is the animosity towards him because of his website. No one is forcing these peopel to view Nanashi's website. Nanashi is not trying to charge people to view his website. These "haters" could just as easily not view the website if it bothers them so much. They apparently feel like Nanashi owes them something, although no one yet has been able to explain what that is. A very good point. I agree with this 100%. That's the great thing about the internet, you can filter whatever you desire. Unlike adverts in the theatre or commercials on tv, when you're online you have almost absolute control over what you want to view or read. Since such is true, why don't the more enraged members simply avoid the posts which do not interest them? But then it begs the question, why aren't you simply doing the same?

While I can't speak for these supposed "haters", I can offer an explanation why some feel the need to post harsh criticism. *snip* Hope this helps explain. Yeah, that explains a lot... If a person doesn't ride his bike as often they should sell it too or else have people bug him for not using it... especially the older bike riders. Hehehe. Well, it's never easy giving up what you once enjoyed (Macross anyone?). But sometimes you just have to admit your life has changed and things can't stay the same. I got a friend who's been married for 2 years now and has a kid, but can't quite accept he just doesn't have time to game anymore. Despite the fact that it's been almost a year and a half since he touched a game, he keeps reading gaming news and swears he's going to buy a new game "real soon"

While I can't speak for these supposed "haters", I can offer an explanation why some feel the need to post harsh criticism. I myself once ran a website and know what kind of work is involved. I'm also of the opinion that if you can't invest the time and effort required to keep a website current ("current" being no more than 6 months between major updates), it's probably best to close the website or hand it over to the willing. My website ran for a year, then I got busy, moved to a new city and basically started a new life. After six months with very little updated and only token additions, I decided to close it. From the viewpoint of a former website operator, the MacrossMecha website appears to be in a vicious circle. Like many a MOD project for beloved PC games, the project is in constant revision with no significant progress ever made. A perpetual work in progress, never finalized nor produced for proper enjoyment as a whole. This is only my observation and I really have no ill-will towards Nanashi or his website. I do enjoy the small, infrequent updates and postings, but I have also categorized the site as trivia. I don't take it seriously because the operator does not take it seriously; therefore the site is given its due attention. I understand the possible legalities associated with Macross fansites and I'm sure that whatever way in which Nanashi chooses to run his website is well justified. I wish only the best for anyone who tries to create, but reality is a different story. Perhaps most of the "haters" are not so understanding and apathetic as myself, so they engage in a more...active role to communicate their opinions and criticisms. Hope this helps explain.

Maybe because the original name is now associated with such a negative connotation (right or wrong) a change was desired?