The Shade

I've noticed one thing about most blockbuster movies these days: most of them are rated PG-13. G & PG are now considered too childish by the "important" movie going demographic (teens & young adults), so are usually not big blockbusters (with a few notable exceptions). R rated movies block out the teens (a significant portion of the "important" movie going demographic). PG-13 is the perfect rating, as you satisfy the "important" movie going demographic and are able generate the most revenue. Just look at the three big blockbusters from May: Spiderman 3, Shrek the Third, & Pirates. They all have the PG-13 rating. That's no coincidence So, to bring this back to the original topic, having Live Free or Die Hard rated PG-13 makes very good sense from a marketing point of view, but maybe not from an artistic one (though that is open to debate, which everyone above have discussed rather well). Also, I think it likely that we will probably see an unrated version on DVD later on. The only negative thing about that is that it wouldn't be a theatrical release.

The original Clerks movie by Kevin Smith was originally rated NC-17 based purely on its strong language. They appealed and got a R without cutting anything. If you're into documentaries, check out "This Film Is Not Yet Rated". You may be surprised by what you see in there.

The MPAA will allow the use of the "F" word once in a PG-13 film, maybe twice, but that's it. It's the same with nudity, you can have a really fast fleeting shot of a woman's chest and you are allowed to show off either gender's rear ends. So, we might see these things in the movie, but keep your eyes peeled and ears open, or you'll miss them.

Are Manga still alive. Seriously, aside from GITS SAC (where the work was mostly done by Bandai), what have we heard from them lately?

Somebody mentioned that Egan Loo & Graham have contacts with Big West & Yamato. I was wondering if Egan & Graham aren't having a bit of a blast with all of our idle speculation and what we hope to see & not see.

In a way, I'm glad they're only going for a 4 season series. At least, they won't be running this one to the ground trying to cash in on it as much as possible, unlike so many series out there.

That sounds like the plot for some really bad hentai. Not that I would know, of course.

Would there be that much difference in resolution in an old digitally remastered series with grainy imagery with 4 eps per single layer disc? I'm just wondering.

lol That was just the first series that popped into my head. I know that there have been others, but my anime watching experience isn't that high.

Neon Genesis Evangelion?

Not that I'm not impatient myself, but I think the next bit of news only comes out in June or July.

What you really mean to say is "I have a bad feeling about this!" I know, different franchise, but what the hey. As for this new movie, like the others here, the first two are all that count. When I watch T2, I just set it to display the Future Coda ending (I've got the ultimate edition). While it may be the "happy ending", it does just that: ends the story. No T3, or T4.

I was trying to thnk of a snappy comeback for that ESV, but it's just sounds so silly, no smart alleck comment comes to mind.

Good idea there. Those island eps really messed up what was, at that point, a really good show.

Finally! Someone giving the real reason we have critics. No offence to those who don't like critics, but I've been burned too many times by friends and colleagues who've said that this particular movie rocks, or that movie is "da bomb", while at the same time most critics thought it sucks. Usually, though not always, the critics were right. (The not always right is a very low percentage, ie <5%) As for Spiderman 3, if you check out Rotten Tomatoes review compilation for SM3, you find only a 61% approval rating from 200 reviews. From that many people, you can really get a feel for the movie. Most reviews seem to be SM3 just not only holding up to SM2, but weird subplots, and the film being too long by about 15-20 minutes. Exactly the complaints that people who liked it here had, but the critics were more bothered by. BTW, on an unrelated note, kind of, I've been following the reviews for 28 Weeks Later. Early this week, the early reviews were very negative. As the week's gone by, and more reviews have appeared, the film's ratings have really shot up. Currently, at 58 ratings, the film has a 71% rating. Since the critics seem to like it, does that mean it sucks?

I'm just curious, and not trying to start a flame war. What's the current view with these new movies coming out? What's the general consensus among North American anime fans and Japanese fans? Is Anno raping some childhoods? Is this being looked upon as some sort of blasphemy? Or are most people looking forward to this like most people here are looking forward to the new Macross series? I myself am not a fan of the franchise per se, but would check this out as I did like some of the concepts from the original TV show, and am interested in how some of these concepts will be reinterpreted for these movies. P.S. My 200th post after almost 4 years of membership (I'm more of a lurker, less of a poster).

Same here. Atlantic Time. You know, this is kind of fun. It sort of lets us know where some of the members are from, while not being too specific.

Was just reading over at Entertainment Weekly about how much mulla this movie made over the weekend and they pulled a surprise on me. It seems, in order to cover the budget and the advertising, this movie must make at least 800 million worldwide to break even. They then go on saying that this may not be a sure thing, even with the huge weekend box office take. Spiderman 3 Article

Yep, from a marketing POV, that certainly looks like a winning photo to me.

Oh man!!! Those were funny. I'm seeing these on Monday morning just before I start work. They're exactly what I need.

Critically, it was panned. But, commercially, it was a success.

A MP Constructicon set? I might buy that as well.

The only using snippets of it while also parodying events; so, it falls on the terms of fair use. Aside from that, it also gives HG some free exposure. Why block that?

Bees???

Though based on an historial event, the movie follows more Frank Miller's Graphic Novel, which came out in 1998. Unless Miller was extremely prescient, your political comment has no merit. Therefore, the Mods should step in and close this argument before it escalates into full blown politics. We are talking about a movie and whether we liked it or hated it. Let's keep it at that, shall we? (Edit: spelling)