Radd

Even in freelance art, the companies wants to see regular updates to make sure that you're going in what they consider the right direction and properly following guidelines that they've laid down from the start.

I think it's safe to say that complex transformations appeal greatly to some, and detract greatly to others, with many people falling somewhere inbetween. Personally, I enjoy both. That's why some days I'm breaking out my 1/48ths and the later 1/60 Valkyries from Plus and Zero. Other days, I just want to nab an old chunky monkey off the shelf and flip it between modes. None of the Alternator transformations put me off, one of the Car Robot Transformers had the most frustrating transformation. The blue sports car. Such a pain. Now that I know how to Transform Grimlock, he's not that difficult to Transform, and I never have parts falling off since I know where I'm supposed to move the pieces. Grimlock is probably my 4th favourite mold. Mirage, then Jazz/Shockwave, and then Skids are my my top 3, and in that order with Mirage and Rodimus as my favourites. I wish Windcharger had better arm and leg articulation. It even looks like he has a knee joint, but it won't budge. Not sure how I feel about that photo of Classics Sunstreaker. I am looking forward to seeing more photos though. He's one of my favourite Transformers. The earliest one I can remember owning.

Both of those appear to fit pretty solidly into the "hood forms chest/hood forms feet" category, though? I'd say Hot Rod at least has a very comparable, if simplified, transformation to Alt Mirage/Rodimus.

Ladic: Yes.

I think that you're kinda exaggerating with that statement. Especially how you lump two different options into one option. Twice. I mean, when you consider that these four options can each be achieved through substantially different transformations, and that, basic repaints aside, there's only like 12 molds, I don't think they handled that too badly at all. I think for an "all car line" they did pretty well, until new molds stopped coming from Takara. But as I said, a complimentary line of non-car Transformers would have seriously boosted the potential for the line. Still, as long as MP Transformers come out, it's pretty much as though the Alt line is still getting fleshed out. Just very slowly. Maybe that's a better way to handle a line that mainly appeals to 20-30 year old collectors, and maybe if they ever do smaller characters than Prime and Starscream in the MP treatment they'll be cheaper, and about the same scale as the Alternators.

I don't feel Kawamori is pulling a Lucas at all. I've seem people saying that Kawamori worked better when he was a cog in a larger production machine, but wasn't that precisely what happened with Macross 7? I've always heard, and looking through the credits in the Compendium it seems to be true, that Kawamori was significantly more involved with the much acclaimed Plus, than M7 where it appears they were under a tight budget, and much moreso than simple "outside influence", all of the scripting and directing duties were handled outright by other people.

You're forgetting three things. First, a bad movie is a bad movie, and managing to follow that one golden rule is not a guarantee of success if everything else about the movie is crap. Also, in the worst Shyamalan movie I've sat through, The Village, he does wind up showing a clear look at the "monster" and it's pretty much a classic case example of why you shouldn't do that. Second, "not showing the monster" is not his "schtick", even if he gives lip service to the idea in an interview. His gimmick is his "twist endings" Finally we're talking about Hollywood. No, if something is obviously good storytelling, or makes for a good movie that does not mean everyone will do it. It does not even mean the movie will succeed at the box office. I've seen plenty of fantastic, wonderful, well written and directed movies that have aboslurmely bombed in their theatre run.

Finally saw the teaser myself when I went to see Cloverfield. I loved it. Pretty much exactly what I'd hoped after hearing the descriptions. I've still little faith in the movie being any good, but I expect the effects to be pretty. We'll see. Maybe they'll surprise us all.

Oh, did anyone catch what the voice at the end of the credits says?

My take is just that they show just enough of the monster without ever showing too much (though they skirt the line in several scenes). In this day and age where Hollywood effects crews are unwilling to leave anything to the imagination, I can see where many people would say, "They barely even show the thing!" You never do get a clear, wide shot of the creature. The wide shots are all as it's tromping through the city, buildings getting in the way, smoke rising and billowing around it, and the camera doing it's low-quality zoom function. The clear shots are all from awkward angles, looking up at the beast. I do agree that from the way a lot of people talk, you'd think they never show more than a shadow.I heard a couple people grumbling to that effect as they left the theatre. No imagination. Need to be shown everything, their hand held the whole time.

I'd certainly like to see all that on the DVD. Especially as I doubt the various websites will remain hosted forever. I'd say more, but I'm at about hour 30 and a half without sleep. Tend to ramble a bit too much.

It already has been lumped with something larger. You've been following the viral marketing, right? There is hinting at the origin of the monster in the background of one scene, combined with information on the Taragutu website. There's certainly some entertaining non sequiturs on the all mock corporate websites, and an interesting YouTubed news segment covering the destruction of the Chuai oil rig. I do believe that if you didn't follow the movie related websites, you are missing a part of the experience. I can certainly see where many would argue you shouldn't need to follow all the extra material to get that subtler side of the story, but I feel that it's a great hook to sink into people's imaginations, and certainly allows the storytellers to show much more than they could believably work into the sort of film they were making here. Even all that aside, the movie itself is basically is one big chase scene, I certainly won't argue against that being its primary angle. It's a thriller, suspense broken up with quick segments of adrenaline. The subtle side is leading the viewer's imagination through what it doesn't tell us, making us wonder and imagine. I feel it does that really well. There's certainly an overlooked market for this sort of film, and related internet media, though it obviously won't appeal to everyone.

I remember when there was an uproar over the movie "The Two Towers". People are dumb.

Just got home from the post-movie Perkin's run. The single most important, and most often broken, rule of creating a good monster movie (in the horror/thriller/suspense sort, rather than the Godzilla sort) is never show the monster. The best tool one can work with to make a monster movie good is the viewer's own imagination. Give tantalizing glimpses, suggestions, even some misdirection. This rule is to be applied more than simply literally, as well. Keeping the monster's origin, and even it's ultimate fate, shrouded can be excellent storytelling tools, and I believe Cloverfield did a remarkably good job with that. If you're looking for overt and blunt storytelling devices to lead you through the movie, you're going to be disappointed. This, of course, is not the same as suggesting there's some deeper meaning behind the movie, as one poster put it with their puddle and abyss analogy, it is a simple monster/disaster movie. I don't expect there are any great truths to be found, nor were they intended. But a game is played with the viewer, making you more than a passive observer. You have to look for things, piece bits together, and form an idea in your mind. I've always appreciated that, and it's so rarely done in modern entertainment (even more rarely is it done well). Even in the genres most suited towards it. I would say this is the best monster movie I've seen in a very long time. Everyone in the group I watched it with loved it, regardless of gender.

It will be interesting to see how well it sells here in America. Reviews have all been generally rather positive, and yet the game is bombing in Japan. This lead to the game's creator stating that he believes there's no market outside of casual games for the Wii. On the other hand, the game is said to have strong western influences, GTA style gameplay that's not popular in Japan, and it's well known that the Europe and Japanese releases would be censored, and the American version not. I intend to pick up my copy the same time I pick up my preorder on Days of Ruin.

I like them because they're realistic vehicles, that through impressive transformations turn into some fantastic figures with great articulation. Lots of detail, without sacrificing playability, and a great way of storing weapons so you don't have random pieces laying around. I do agree that keeping it a cars-only line was a mistake that ultimately limits their appeal. They really ought to have created a related line or two. A line of jets, military craft, things like that. Maybe expanded the MP line to include really top notch versions of TFs that weren't quite so big as Prime and Megatron. More the size of Starscream, or possibly smaller, depending on the character. Dinobots, Shockwave, Soundwave, allowing them to bring these toys out more often and at more affordable prices, making them an extension of the Alternators. As it is, the Alternators and MP Transformers compliment each other nicely.

I used to love Trek. Far too much, really. If I recall correctly, much of the ship's construction took place in space, however many jobs were easier done on Earth, with gravity and an atmosphere and all that. Or maybe that was just the refit? Seriously, though, I think people are getting a bit too much into this little debate. As far as I'm concerned, earthside shipyard where a massive starship is being constructed in a very gritty, industrial looking old-timey fashion is all kinds of win and awesome. I'm looking forward to seeing the teaser tomorrow when I go see Cloverfield.

If there is an MP Grimlock on the way, I'll certainly be picking him up. Still, I'm just going to assume this is a hoax until there's some sort of confirmation. A silhouette paired with some completely unrelated Japanese text really seems to lean in that direction. *Edit* All this talk of MP Grimlock made me pick up Alt Grimlock off my shelf again. I still love this toy. My only complaint, as it was then and with so many other Alternators, are the ball joint hips. Mirage/Rodimus and Jazz/Shockwave, and others have no problem standing up. But those with balljoints often wind up doing the splits far too easily.

I've already said my piece on the VA-3. It's ugly, but I feel in a good way. Still, my vote was for the VF-4. I'm actually surprised at how poorly the VF-17 stacks up. I'm long used to my preferences being out of line with everyone else's, but I just kinda thought the 17 was more popular than that. I certainly would have guessed it to be more popular than the Thunderbolt, Phoenix, or the Valkyrie II. On the other hand, I doubt that a lack of votes indicates that people don't like those designs. I imagine a lot of the second and third tier variable fighters would get plenty of votes if you did not include the Valkyries that have enjoyed the spotlight. Get rid of the VF-1, Y/VF-19, YF-21/VF-22, and I really have to wonder where the votes would fall then.

I don't expect anyone who hated the Macross 7 tv series to like the Dynamite OVA. The OVA kinda throws you in to the middle of things, I'd say you need that tv series back story to really enjoy it. And if you didn't like the tv series but managed to finish it, you're probably not going to be in the right frame of mind to embrace Dynamite with open arms. Also, Dynamite is very much a side story. It's not even as grand or epic as Plus turned out by the end. It's still more about the characters than the action, and while the animation is substantially better overall than the tv series, it's still not great. Certainly low quality for an OVA. I'd recommend it to anyone who enjoyed M7 (though, clearly, their enjoyment is not a given either), as I said I love it and it addresses many of the problems I had with the tv series, but I just don't see someone who hated M7 getting into Dynamite.

Now that's not entirely true. I love the music in Macross 7, even further Basara is one of my favourite Macross characters (I know, feel free to gasp), and yet...I think the music is horribly overused, especially in the first half of the tv series. The formulaic repetition of each episode hurts the series, too (it's that episode formula that gives people that "monster of the week" impression), and in fact I'd say it's that formula, the way the music is worked in to each episode, that hurts it more than the music itself. After all, people don't complain about the overuse of the opening and ending music, or the BGM in other shows. I see what you're trying to say, but I don't believe a series which features the same song over and over again for maybe 20 episodes, worked in via a formulaic episode design, is comparable at all to a music video show. A music video show is more like listening to the radio. You can walk in on the middle to listen to a song or two and move on. You can keep it playing in the background and tune in and out as songs you want to hear come on. I think it would be more correct to say that the overuse of the music+formula is one of those things you can overlook if you enjoy the music, character, and show. I'm certain I've even seen people post to the effect that they love the music, but hate the series. I certainly know people like that.

Just saw 7 myself, I liked it. My feelings towards the episode pretty much sum up my feelings towards the series. It has it's problems, but aside from some pacing issues it's better written than anything since Beast Wars. Still, those pacing issues and other problems keep me from being all that in to the show. I'll catch an episode now and then, but it's not something I'm eagerly awaiting each new episode. Take this episode, the Ratchet back story with Arcee and all that was a great idea, but the way it was delivered crippled the impact. Yeah, Arcee lost her memory, but...I just didn't get the sense of loss that they were trying to convey. It wound up falling flat. You also never really got a sense that having pieces ripped off like that is supposed to hurt as much as the dialogue and actions are trying to get across. I realize it's a kids show, but I've seen other kids shows aimed at much the same demographic still manage to get across things like that much better. Like the 90's Batman animated series, or even G1 Transformers (though I will not go so far as to say G1 was a better show, as it certainly has not aged gracefully). This new show does have one thing in common with the original show that I notice every episode I've seen. It seems like there's an idea of a much bigger, better story just below the surface, that hasn't quite made it into the final production. I really got that sense rewatching the first few episodes of G1, though this show seems to already have that feeling more consistently. I dunno if that makes it better, or more frustrating.

I agree with Aegis!, that if the series were tone and themes were presented more like they were in Dynamite, it's possible more people, at least more people in the west, would have enjoyed the series. I don't believe the issues most people seem to have with the show are direct products of marketing to the show's intended demographic, rather it's simply due to the people heading production while Kawamori was handling Plus.

I'm not seeing any strong similarity to anything Macross. Even so, I believe the word "steal" is bandied about far too much on this board even when some Macross does turn up somewhere else.