Anime Review: Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann
Long title and a bit of a tongue twister, but it’s anything but that. As if I didn’t already have enough good things to say about the guys over at Gainax, they give me another gem of an anime.
Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann is a new action/comedy/mecha anime from them that promises insane action sequences and delivers. On the surface, it’s your standard action/comedy blend. And it does entirely well, even if that was the only thing it had going for it. But this is so much more. It’s an homage to all the great, epic hero tales that have come before it. A young boy finds a key to an incredible power, and as the story progresses, he learns how to use it. The anime itself spans about thirty years. It has love, action, laughs, and loss. It even dives headfirst into some deeper issues about mankind and life. But it never dwells upon them. It never takes itself too seriously. And that’s part of what makes this series so great. It has all the pieces you’d expect to find from past films and movies: young hero destined for great things, dark evil villain bent on destroying the world (multiple villains in fact), attacks that have signature names, transformation sequences that are repeated over and over again, and the good guy walking away victorious. It celebrates all these things, and with a care and ability that doesn’t come along too often.
The animation is, as always, impressive. I just can’t get enough of the style and quality Gainax continues to put out. The remarkable final sequence of events is enormous. Literally, the hero and the villain fight atop multiple universes in the final duel. It takes everything that has come before it, pays its homage, and multiplies it. Just when you think things can’t get any worse, a bigger badder enemy shows up. And the heroes are there with an even mightier, stronger weapon.
The comedy and action blend is not something I generally fall for as hard as I did here. Full Metal Alchemist had a really nice blend, as did Trigun. But most of these are exceptional cases, for myself. Somehow, Gurren Lagann manages to remain funny when it needs to be while still dramatic enough to care, and has so much action that you’ll watch episode after episode, cringing that it ends at episode twenty-seven.
The only negative things that one can say about the series is that it doesn’t try too hard to do anything new and a little bit of an animation hiccup during one of the earlier episodes. But I’m completely content with that. It doesn’t need to do anything new. The one episode, which introduced characters and was pretty funny, is an insignificant blemish on an otherwise flawless pearl. Gainax achieved something so pitch perfect with this series, that it feels completely fresh, even though we’ve seen all this before.
This is another notch and perfect example of just how far anime can be pushed, and why it’s an incredible medium. And, on another positive note, a Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann movie is in production, debuting in Japan in September. I cannot wait.
Easy and free iPhone ringtones
Very easy way to get ringtones on your iPhone without jailbreaking and for free. Courtesy of Ed Zachary.
Anime Streamed Across the Globe? Yes, Please!
Great news from Gonzo Digimation Holdings. I stumbled upon this nugget via AnimeNation. New anime series aired on the same day, worldwide? Thanks, Gonzo!
An Argument For Hollywood
Every year, an unimaginative, sequel-filled, remake-tainted, adaptation-drenched tidal wave of films fill the box office to its gills. And after every year, the same group of people come out from their holes and go on and on about how fed up they are with Hollywood and its terrible obsession with making poor movies. They go on rants about how Hollywood has run out of ideas and that cinema is dying.
Let’s be serious here. Its not dying. Hollywood has been backed into the position its in right now by profit, and it’s all thanks to us, the audience. No, this isn’t an argument against piracy, because I don’t believe that has any real impact on Box Office take, but that’s another argument entirely.
There were plenty of good films this year. But they often got overlooked for the more action packed or “fun” movies that have taken over the Box Office. Example: No Country for Old Men won this year’s Oscar for Best Picture. I absolutely loved this film, as did many others, as is evident by its win. It also did pretty well during its run in theaters, grossing $73M so far. But on the list of movies from 2007, that paltry amount only puts it in the 36th spot for total BO. This is twenty spots below Rush Hour 3, Live Free or Die Hard, and Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer. And most of the money it brought in was due in part to its Oscar buzz early on. Are We Done Yet? grossed $10M more than There Will Be Blood. This is the market Hollywood has to appease.
The top 10 grossing movies of 2007: Spider-Man 3, Shrek the Third, Transformers, Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End, Harry Potter, I Am Legend, Bourne Ultimatum, National Treasure: Book of Secrets, Alvin and the Chipmunks, and 300. While I thought The Bourne Ultimatum and 300 were two of the coolest movies stylistically I’ve ever seen, the rest of the top 10 is filled with sequels or remade cartoons from the 80s. Hollywood executives see what makes money, and attempt to find movies that fit into that category.
Every summer, an army of Blockbusters come rolling out and rake in millions. Like lemmings we all get in line, buy $10 buckets of popcorn and watch the lights and flashes on the big screen. Sometimes we leave the theatre generally content. “That was pretty good.” “The special effects were cool.” Other times, which happens more often, we leave feeling cheated. “That wasn’t very good.” “I waited a year for that?” I’m not saying that this is wrong, because I do this same thing too. But for those that think Hollywood is just throwing out swill because it has no other ideas, that mindset has to change. They do it because there’s no money in it.
Hollywood movies take huge amounts of money to make. Scouting locations, buying equipment, catering a 30+ crew every day of shooting, as well as paying that crew, costs a lot of money. Even a small, more independent film like Little Miss Sunshine cost over $8M to make, not including advertising and publicity. These movies need to make enough to cover what they cost, as well as turn a profit to warrant another film of the style/type.
If you’re content with just paying to see the huge blockbusters that have to be so generic as to pander to every moviegoer in the country, then that’s fine. Just don’t go on about how Hollywood doesn’t make good films like you remember there used to be. If you want to see better films made, go to see the ones that are already out. Do some research. Look into what’s coming out in limited release and try to go see those. There are plenty of great films out there, you just have to find them and support them. Some movies in 2007 that nobody cared to see in theaters: The Zodiac, The Namesake, Once, August Rush, The Lives of Others, Black Snake Moan, Eastern Promises, Gone Baby Gone, Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead, Into the Wild, and Sunshine. Sometimes its hard to see this films during their theatre run because of such small releases.
Next time you’re in line, ready to buy your tickets, look up at the board of available titles. Pick one that you normally wouldn’t see and check it out. It’s only two hours of your time, and you can’t do any worse than 10,000 B.C.
All numbers were retrieved from Box Office Mojo.
Video demo of the iPhone macro lens
I made a video demo of my iPhone macro lens. Let me know what you think, and digg it if you’d like!
Movie Review: 10,000 B.C.
I was trying to come up with a nice way of writing this review. I wasn’t exactly expecting something amazing when I walked into the theatre, but I didn’t expect to chuckle and roll my eyes the whole way through either. I went with two friends, and at every crucial moment in the story, we couldn’t help but laugh. It was like watching an adventure oriented soap opera; complete with corny lines and intense stares. The only excuse I could give to anyone to see this, is to watch the previews, which included Speed Racer, The Dark Knight, Get Smart, and The Happening, (M. Night’s new one). Instead of an actual review, I’m going to give you five other things you could do, that would be a better use of your time than watching this movie.
1. Donate bone marrow.
Not only would you be in better health for not going to see this movie, but you’d help someone in need of marrow and make some money at the same time. The excruciating pain of having a thick needle plunged into your bones is nothing compared to the pain in your lower back and neck after sitting through the 109 minutes of this melodramatic cheese. I love a good hero movies. You know, the kind where a young hero/heroine has greatness thrust upon him/her and must fulfill a destiny and overcome all the odds to beat evil. This wasn’t it. Nearly the entire plot was delivered over voiceover in the first ten minutes of the movie. Awesome, at least there will be some twists! Try again. Well what about some great fighting scenes? Walker, Texas Ranger had more believable brawls than this.
2. Drink 2 gallons of milk in a single sitting.
At least the dairy farmers are going to use your money to provide more milk. The filmmakers are going to take your money, and throw it at some other million dollar epic that will make thousands of movie goers lose hope in Hollywood. You will throw up before you finish the first gallon, kind of how I felt after the first half of the movie. The second gallon is just there to remind you why this was a dumb idea, exactly like the even more disappointing second half of 10,000 B.C. The ending was like a breath mint commercial (you have to see it to believe it).
3. Become an attack dog chew toy: as in, the guy who rolls himself in pillows and takes the bites while they train police dogs.
Not only are keeping your neighborhood clean, but your girlfriend/boyfriend/mom will be impressed by all the scars you now have even though you lead a pretty discreet lifestyle. I saw a saber-toothed tiger in the previews, but what I got was a big kitten that stared the camera down and was used as a lame plot device to progress the even lamer story. If you advertise a saber-toothed tiger, use it. Thanks, Roland. Thanks.
4. Host amateur acting workshops in your own home.
After you’re done, your tolerance for terrible acting will be astounding and will you be doing a favor to all those young actors out there. Also, you will be better equipped to handle another movie with horrendous acting. The actors in 10,000 B.C. come off as a group of high school theatre troupe. They are so one-dimensional you don’t even care what happens to them. I left the theatre unable to remember any of their names or why they were even in the movie to begin with. I haven’t cared so little about someone since Paris Hilton.
5. Join the Polar Bear Club.
Jump into below-freezing waters for fun. Have your lungs shrink to the size of peanuts as you gasp for air in the icy waters of some freezing river/lake. Risk life and limb for a completely numbing experience you’ll wish you’d never done the moment your skin hits the water. By doing so, you’ll prove to yourself just how awesome life really is. And at the end, you can just dry yourself off and get back to your normal life. Unfortunately, after seeing this movie, I won’t be able to forget what I’ve seen.
What sounded like an epic tale of love, adventure, and action, turned into a boring, cliched, excuse to show mammoths and giant bird-dinosaurs. Don’t get me wrong, I love a good popcorn flick. I’ll never argue that The Transformers is a deep, thought provoking flick, but at least it managed to look good, be funny, and deliver action sequences that were so over the top you just watched with your mouth hanging open. 10,000 B.C. falls completely short of that mark. But I guess you could always do worse. You could’ve gone to see Meet the Spartans or Epic Movie when they were in theaters.
Related sites
Recent features
Leah Andreone - Break Your Fall
The Format - Give It Up
Coheed and Cambria - The Velorium Camper II: Backend Of Forever
Song of the week
Sara Bareilles - Between the Lines
Sara Bareilles' "Between the Lines" is the Song of the Week for April 20 to 26.
Warning: main(images/faq.php) [function.main]: failed to open stream: No such file or directory in /home/.eastwood/cdevroe/theubergeeks.net/wp-content/themes/clockworkorange/sidebar.php on line 119
Warning: main(images/faq.php) [function.main]: failed to open stream: No such file or directory in /home/.eastwood/cdevroe/theubergeeks.net/wp-content/themes/clockworkorange/sidebar.php on line 119
Warning: main() [function.include]: Failed opening 'images/faq.php' for inclusion (include_path='.:/usr/local/lib/php') in /home/.eastwood/cdevroe/theubergeeks.net/wp-content/themes/clockworkorange/sidebar.php on line 119