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sketchley

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  1. sketchley
    Aah... this movie. I, too, had been avoiding it, and almost didn't watch it when it popped up on MoviePlus (because of two words: Michael + Bay). It's got an interesting first half that is entirely fascinating, and the transition point in the middle (not going to spoil it, so for those that have seen it, all I'll mention is: hospital) is mind blowing. After that, the movie changes gears and becomes something completely different (for those that haven't seen it: smart, intellectually challenging film > average brain-dead summer action-er). To be honest, I was disappointed with the back half of the film, simply because it completely forgets to develop supporting characters and the precedents of advanced technology*. Though, admittedly, I did find the appearance of internet in daily life intriguing (the MS phone booth being the best example). Alas, it didn't have the creepy "this is one possible outcome of current trends" that "Minority Report" had (that whole eyeball-reading-customized-marketing sequence). Ultimately, I'm not sure if I can recommend the entire film. The first half is enjoyable, and if someone stops watching after the hospital scene, it's an intriguing movie. Otherwise, the only reason to stick around and keep watching is to try and figure out what roles you've seen the actors play in before (was that the doctor from ST:Enterprise? etc.). *SPOILER: the hover cycle - why weren't there any hover trucks? Hover cars? Not even a hint that that technology had been developed or that it was under development. A definite WTF moment that took me out of the film. Though, no where near as bad as Djimon Hounsou's character's sudden change of heart/morality. Didn't see that coming... cuz, well, the character hadn't been developed AT ALL. Cut too much when editing the film, eh?
  2. sketchley
    ... which begs the question, how did a sound recorded for a crocodile attack become the cliche sound for someone falling to their death?!?!?
  3. sketchley
    Picked up the 1/100 VF-25F kit today, and **not entirely certain this hasn't been posted elsewere** the specs section has the following: First Flight of the Archetypal Craft: 2057.06.24 (Shinsei Industry Test Flight Centre / Planet Eden / Lagrange Point Factory Colony L2) On a related note: these days, the more closely I look at them, the more inaccurate the Master File books are starting to appear. >.< Don't those books' writers look at any other Macross information? Or are they just making it up as they go???
  4. sketchley
    Completed Mechanic: MF NUN 03a VF-171EX Nightmare Plus EX Took 1.5 years to get around to finishing the back half (one point five years o.O;;;;;;;;;;;;;;; ), but it's done. Some interesting revelations. Most of it not entirely unexpected.
  5. sketchley
    Completed Plus UN 05A: Flying Wing [8-Engine* All-Wing Giant Bomber] * numerous other possible renditions, but engine is the one that makes the most sense. Other variations are 8 were launched (doesn't make sense, because less than 8 were seen in M+), launches 8 drones (doesn't fit, as they only carry 4), and so on and so forth.
  6. sketchley
    In the end, as television/movie/video game production is ultimately a collaborative creative process, it's impossible to decide who created what (if one wants to get philosophical about it, the sum of any one person's mind is the results of the collaborative input of all the people that the individual has encountered; ergo our ancestors all had a role in creating Macross ). Nevertheless, if officially he's credited as creator, then he's the creator.* That's official as in: in an official Japanese publication about Macross, with a verifiable publication date. And expanding on soul.assassin's point: Wikipedia et al are great starting points for further research, but they are not the be all and end all source. The better articles make on those sites make it even easier as they have handy links to their sources at the bottom.
  7. sketchley
    first image in post doesn't show. Nevertheless, teh awesome sex! Looking forward to the movie(s).
  8. sketchley
    Yeah, the pirates based in Somalia and the Straights of Malacca. You know, on the most *direct* route from the PRC to North America.
  9. sketchley
    Going back to the "it's fossilized" line - was it really fossilized? Or just colourful language from a crew member who doesn't know any better way to describe what he sees? Of course, the other extreme of the argument is that the atmosphere of the planet has interacted with the pilot's body/space suit and fossilization has indeed occurred. Nevertheless, I kinda like the original back-story that was written for "Alien" (I believe a synopsis of it is still readable on the wikipedia article for the movie). If memory serves, the space jockey is just a guy passing through the system that crashed on the planet, and the egg nest is actually below the ship in a structure built by the Xenomorph to preserve their species when they learned that they're planet was dying (thereby implying that the Xenomorph is a natural species that grew up on the planet, and not a bio-weapon).
  10. sketchley
    Technically speaking, the earthquake and tsunami occurred by and large after the majority of the work on Macross had been completed. Nevertheless, Big West has created a Macross donation fund to help the people affected by the earthquake and tsunami. Can the other side make the same claim to charity?
  11. sketchley
    Agreed. A boat at the dock is money being wasted. And in this day and age, it's not like they have a large container ship on retainer. (If they did, why would they be wasting millions of USD keeping it in port for one low profit, high bulk item???)
  12. sketchley
    Completed Mechanic 18A: Unified Forces Aircraft
  13. sketchley
    Agreed. Too much of the same good thing is not good in the end, and one of the hallmarks of the Alien film series has been that each film is different from the preceding ones - for better or worse.
  14. sketchley
    Interesting stuff. Out of all the movies released in the past few years, this and the Harry Potter ones are the only ones I'm getting excited about seeing.
  15. sketchley
    That was already covered in the topic dedicated to that book (VF-1 Space Wings). Look it up for the full answer. The short answer is: the cover is just an image (a what if), and the text is about the 3 VFs; mostly on the VF-4.
  16. sketchley
    With the adults that I've talked with, if -- and it must be stressed that this is a big if -- they EVEN remember Macross, invariably they remember "the idol singer". (If memory serves, sometimes a name comes out, but half the time it's Mari Iijima!) So, in a way, yes, Minmei was the more memorable character - but that's a far cry from most popular (note others may have different experiences.)
  17. sketchley
    Completed Technology 03A: Emigrant Ship It does an excellent job of filling in the "great blank" in the time-line with some broad brushstrokes - and explaining the purpose of the SDFN series in the process.
  18. sketchley
    Not so much a sequel but as part of the Super Dimension SF mecha anime moniker.
  19. sketchley
    Picked up my copy today. As Gubaba said - go out and buy it already. Content rundown: 4 pg characters w/ large format character artwork 1 pg datafile 1: character interelationships, summaries of the 1st 6 episodes 2 pg Eps 1 splash pages 5 pg VF-19EF Caliburn: w/ some new images, and lots more under-construction picts 1 pg datafile 2: VF-171, AIF-7S Ghost, VF-19 (M7), and "the relationship between SMS and the New Unified Foces) 1 pg TOC 2 pg Eps 2 splash pages 2 pg Vanquish race Q&A, summary, etc 2 pg Eps 3 splash pages 2 pg VF specs & originating VF: VF-19EF + YF-19, SV-52γ + SV-51γ 2 pg Eps 4 splash pages 2 pg Eps 5 splash pages 2 pg Eps 6 splash pages 2 pg VF specs & originating VF: VF-1X++ + VF-1J, YF-27-5 + VF-27 1 pg datafile 3: songstresses 1 pg Macross the Ride showcase splash page (featuring the SV-52γ) 2 pg VF-19ACTIVE Nothung fighter mode (a couple of new images) 2 pg VF-19ACTIVE Nothung GERWALK mode (new content - sweet!) 2 pg VF-1X++ fighter mode (a couple of new images) 1 pg VF-1X++ early type fighter mode (new content - sweet!) 1 pg VF-1X++ GERWALK mode (new content - sweet!) 3 pg SV-52γ fighter mode (a couple of new images) 1 pg datafile 4: 1/72 scale 2 pg YF-27-5 fighter mode (a couple of new images) 2 pg YF-25 fighter mode (a couple of new images) 2 pg datafile 5: YF-24 plan, VF-25 variants, YF-25 and EX-Gear 2 pg Queadlunn-Rau (a couple of new images) 2 pg VF-9 fighter & GERWALK modes 2 pg VF-19A fighter mode (a couple of new images, rest are large format) 1 pg what kits were used to make which MtR models 1 pg Vanquish Race Valkyrie Catalogue 2058 splash page (featuring the VF-4 & VF-9) 2 pg VF-4SL fighter mode (new images, rest are large format) 1 pg VF-19C/MG21 fighter mode (images are large format) 1 pg VF-19A2 fighter mode (new content!) 1 pg VF-11B & VF-11B Kai fighter mode (images are large format) 5 pg Tenjin Hidetaka and Director Kawamori interview, featuring Tenjin's visualizations for the VF-19ACTIVE (+ head!), VF-19EF, VF-1X++, YF-27-5 head, SV-51γ (+ battroid for the win!!!) 1 pg Enami Katsumi interview, featuring some rejected designs 1 pg Muneharu interview, featuring VF-19ACTIVE alternate paint schemes 8 pg VF build-ups, lots of interesting picts of the VFs under construction. 1 pg each. VF-19ACTIVE, VF-1X++, SV-52γ, YF-27-5, YF-25, Queadlunn-Rau, VF-19A, VF-4SL Pure awesomeness, cover to cover.
  20. sketchley
    Gah! The October issue it is. Working backwards, I guess we can surmise that when this new magazine was announced last month was when the company put Macross Ace on hiatus...
  21. sketchley
    ... wait, is that the September issue which is really being released end of July/early August? Or the October issue which is released in September?
  22. sketchley
    Great Mechanics.DX 17 was released last Friday. The Macross Pinpoint Mechanics column is missing. But there is an article on the equipment of SMS. Namely: differences between the movie and TV series VF-19 SMS Isamu Specification Macross Quarter Variations (units stationed in the Macross 17, 23 and 25 Fleets are featured).
  23. sketchley
    Episode 8 is out. Lactence and General Galaxy continue interrupting the races, and our first combat loaded racer appears - VF-11 armed to the teeth. This month features: VF-11C Thunderbolt Interceptor (Anthony Clemens craft; based on the new Hasegawa VF-11B kit.) VF-17D "Song Cuu Long" (fully scratch built! Though that does explain why the engine nacelles look droopy...)
  24. sketchley
    Pfft 3D's been around since the Big Bang. Reality rocks. Moving on.
  25. sketchley
    Saying someone is against 3D is akin to against electricity just makes you look dumb. Smell-o-vision, may be OK, but 3D in the same boat as electricity??? Can you live without 3D movies? Definitely. Live without electricity? Possible, but extremely difficult if you're used to living with it. Anyhow, I agree that 3D is dying. Simply because it's already happened 3 or more times before. What's killing it this time are: high ticket prices and low quality (not just visuals, but writing, acting and direction. Case in point: is Avatar known for anything other than having done 3D really well and making a lot of money? Don't hear much about the story, characters, directing and so on...).
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