3D - The Third Dimension

[Dogg Thang]

That last thing is a gripe of mine though. When there are so many great Mechagodzilla designs already, why create a new one for the film rather than using a classic version?

But yeah, it's a fun movie. It's very goofy and has a couple of cringe bits and I wasn't a fan of the character design at all personally but The Shining sequence is fantastic and it has a lot of fun bits.

[QualityChimp]

That last thing is a gripe of mine though. When there are so many great Mechagodzilla designs already, why create a new one for the film rather than using a classic version?

But yeah, it's a fun movie. It's very goofy and has a couple of cringe bits and I wasn't a fan of the character design at all personally but The Shining sequence is fantastic and it has a lot of fun bits.

I read recently that the RPO Mechagodzilla designs were based on the poster ideas by Noriyoshi Ohrai.
It was on a Facebook Kaiju group and I can't find the post to back it up, but I'll take any excuse to post some of his work!

[Dogg Thang]

His paintings are magnificent. I'm really feeling his influence in the trailers for the new US Godzilla film.

[QualityChimp]

It's not just the subject matter, or the quality of artistry, it's also the composition.
I love how he lays everything out.

[QualityChimp]

I recently mentioned I'd seen Kong: Skull Island in 3D, so that's a tenuous enough link for me to post this brilliant Japanese poster for the film that goes for the Ohrai vibe:

[QualityChimp]

I also stumbled across the Japanese posters for Rampage, which are also amazing and are channelling the Noriyoshi Ohrai vibe:



IMAX version:


B&W Version:

[QualityChimp]

Anyway, back on topic, I watched Avengers: Age of Ultron last night for the first time since the cinema.

I'd forgotten how funny it was:
"Please be a secret door, please be a secret door. Yaaay."

I'd forgotten how much stuff about the Infinity Stones was in it, with Thor disappearing for a while to get some more info about them after he sees them in Scarlet Witch's vision.

Talking of SW, does she lose her generic Baltic accent in subsequent films?
I couldn't remember Stark's replacement for JARVIS, Friday, having an Irish accent either.

There's a lot of good things going on in here. The opening battle is exciting and well-orchestrated, plenty of humour, the only time we see them kicking back together trying to pick up Thor's hammer, an initially scary bad guy, some excellent action sequences and the finale with the excellent rotating shot of them defending the McGuffin in the church.
There's a lot going on, but it still takes time to flesh out the characters a bit, especially Widow, Banner and Captain America.

There's something lacking that stops it being top-tier.
Stark's actions made a bit more sense this time, with his fear of attacks from space compounded by Scarlet Witch's hallucinations.
He does do the same thing again when he builds Vision, but it's actually Thor that finishes his creation.
Ultimately, Stark was right and the Earth was completely unprepared for Thanos' arrival by Infinity War.
I'm not sure what Thor does with the info he learns in Ultron as he seems to have forgotten it all by IW.

As for the 3D , there are plenty of nice shots and use of depth.
I particularly enjoyed the montage of Stark and Banner working on the sceptre, that had some nice edits and lots of transparent computer readouts.
That church sequence also looks great.

The earlier Marvel 3D was a bit basic, but by this point there's all sorts of magic and lightning and screens adding layers to the 3D.

It was overall great fun to watch again and it was better than I remembered, with a few nice 3D effects.

[Dogg Thang]

Talking of SW, does she lose her generic Baltic accent in subsequent films?

She still has it in Civil War and then it mysteriously vanishes in Infinity War. Which is weird. Maybe they felt it was distracting.

[QualityChimp]

Yeah, I saw IW recently, so that's why I was head-scratching, thinking of her dialogue with Vision whilst hiding in Scotland, trying to remember if she still sounded like a Bond henchman.

[kryss]

I also stumbled across the Japanese posters for Rampage, which are also amazing and are channelling the Noriyoshi Ohrai vibe:

That's Godzilla Vs Space Godvilla on the left btw.

[QualityChimp]

That's Godzilla Vs Space Godvilla on the left btw.

Yes, sir.

I put that one up so you can see what the Rampage artist was trying to emulate.

[QualityChimp]

I finally watched John Carter of Mars a few days ago and really enjoyed it.

I was intrigued when it came out at the cinema, but flopped hard and I didn't get chance to see it.
I don't like to judge a film on it's box office and many a gem has done badly in initial screenings, but gone on to love: Blade Runner, Willy Wonka, The Thing, Shawshank Redemption, Citizen Kane, Fight Club, Children of Men, Scott Pilgrim and Spinal Tap.

So the film is based on the works of Tarzan author, Edgar Rice Burroughs, and is over 100 years old, so many tropes in this that might seem derivative are actually seminal.

I went in cold, but deduced it's set on Mars (or he likes eating nougat and caramel-filled chocolate bars) and ended up really liking it.
The main character of Carter (Taylor Kitsch) is likeable and has a good relationship with Dejah Thoris (Lynn Collins), who is deeper than you're average princess - conflicted between protecting her people and doing what is right.
Their easy chemistry and likeable characters leads to a fair bit of humour throughout - "Virginia".
Even his "dog" is fun character!

There's a scene where Carter is fighting against an overwhelming enemy force and it's juxtaposed against his loss and grief back on Earth and it's really well done.

It's surprisingly violent with decapitations, limbs getting lopped off, torture and even cutting through an enemy.

The final story ends up being unpredictable but enjoyable if a bit light. It won't make any top ten faves lists, but it's definitely worth a watch, especially in 3D.

As for the 3D , it's really well done and the sweeping landscapes of Mars make for great use of depth (if a little reddy-brown!), with Carter hopping about like Mario. The Thark aliens are amazing and totally convincing - just flawless CGI.

You can easily pick it up for a fiver and is a fun night's entertainment.

[Neon Ignition]

I'm still waiting for 4D movies where you pop in the disc and it takes me back to before I had the misfortune to watch Snow White and the Huntsman

[QualityChimp]

Thanks to [MENTION=7037]Soundwave[/MENTION], I picked up Jurassic Park: Fallen Kingdom for £2.99 and it was well worth a punt!

The film definitely feels like it's in two halves, though, with the former being better than the latter.
The film quickly establishes that a dormant volcano (not mentioned in JP 1-4) is about to erupt, making all the dinos re-extinct unless somebody can rescue them. That's where Claire (Bryce Dallas Howard) and her dino eco warriors come in, trying to get funding to save them.

Blah blah blah, they get funding and convince a sceptical Owen (Chris Pratt), so let's go back to the island one last time before it explodes!

They've really upped the ante with the number of dinos. Not sure when they bred all of these after the park shut down, but it's like going through a pack of Dinosaur King cards.


As the island starts destroying itself, there's the running and the screaming and there's a real roller coaster section featuring a gyroscopic hamster ball that is a real thrill.
Although I enjoyed visiting the functioning park in JW, I liked the feel of being urban explorers in the abandoned buildings.

There's loads of jumps too and you can't beat a monster mash-up!



The problem is when the action shifts to the second half and we discover the fate of the rescued dinos.
The pace slows right down and the whole thing is set at night. In the rain.
Once the dinos escape again, there's plenty of chasin' and chompin', but I felt the film had lost momentum by then and recycles a few ideas from previous film like 'raptor defense and a T-Rex roaring.

It's quite an interesting end, though, with Pandora's Box well and truly opened.
It'll be interesting to see where it goes now, but I watched Battle at Big Rock afterwards, which hints at life post-Fallen Kingdom.

The 3D benefits the most on the island, with aerial shots, dino attacks, water scenes, volcanic eruptions and lots of action. It looks great and feels like a theme park ride.
The latter sections are mainly at night or indoors and the impact is lessened although the final chase is very dramatic.

So good fun, especially the first half, and is a popcorn blast.

[Soundwave]

Thanks to @Soundwave, I picked up Jurassic Park: Fallen Kingdom for £2.99 and it was well worth a punt!

The film definitely feels like it's in two halves, though, with the former being better than the latter.
The film quickly establishes that a dormant volcano (not mentioned in JP 1-4) is about to erupt, making all the dinos re-extinct unless somebody can rescue them. That's where Claire (Bryce Dallas Howard) and her dino eco warriors come in, trying to get funding to save them.

Blah blah blah, they get funding and convince a sceptical Owen (Chris Pratt), so let's go back to the island one last time before it explodes!

They've really upped the ante with the number of dinos. Not sure when they bred all of these after the park shut down, but it's like going through a pack of Dinosaur King cards.


As the island starts destroying itself, there's the running and the screaming and there's a real roller coaster section featuring a gyroscopic hamster ball that is a real thrill.
Although I enjoyed visiting the functioning park in JW, I liked the feel of being urban explorers in the abandoned buildings.

There's loads of jumps too and you can't beat a monster mash-up!



The problem is when the action shifts to the second half and we discover the fate of the rescued dinos.
The pace slows right down and the whole thing is set at night. In the rain.
Once the dinos escape again, there's plenty of chasin' and chompin', but I felt the film had lost momentum by then and recycles a few ideas from previous film like 'raptor defense and a T-Rex roaring.

It's quite an interesting end, though, with Pandora's Box well and truly opened.
It'll be interesting to see where it goes now, but I watched Battle at Big Rock afterwards, which hints at life post-Fallen Kingdom.

The 3D benefits the most on the island, with aerial shots, dino attacks, water scenes, volcanic eruptions and lots of action. It looks great and feels like a theme park ride.
The latter sections are mainly at night or indoors and the impact is lessened although the final chase is very dramatic.

So good fun, especially the first half, and is a popcorn blast.

No worries man
Still need to sen you your GitS will do it this week...promise

On a side note have you started watching 3D movies with you little ones yet?
Chloe is 7 now & I'm wondering if it's OK to let her start watching 3D movies yet
As I have the Panasonic DX750b & it's active shutter glasses I'm wondering if it makes any difference at all?

I'm sure I read that up to 6 or 7 3D wasn't suitable because their eyes were still developing (think it was Nintendo who said that with the 3DS) but not sure if that's true or if we should give it a bit longer

Thanks

Neil