Review: Metallica: Through the Never (dir. by Nimrod Antal)

Posted on September 30, 2013 by Arleigh

“And the road becomes my bride”

Concerts have been a major part of a teenager’s transition into adulthood. Often have we begged our parents to get us tickets to our favorite band’s concert as they toured straight into our hometowns. We’d beg, cajole, promise whatever just to be able to attend that big show that we thought everyone we knew would be attending. Rock concerts have been a huge part of this coming-of-age journey. It’s the show that our parents dreaded (especially the metal shows) and the ones that pulled in the outcasts kids.

We would either outgrow this youthful event because it’s not something that interests us, but most often it’s just because we either do not have the time to attend rock concerts due to work and other adult responsibilities. While we would still go to a concert of our favorite band when time and money affords for it in the end it’s something that’s become more of a past-time to reminisce about.

Metallica: Through the Never is the latest concert film that could change all that. Filmed during Metallica’s latest world tour, the film was directed by Nimrod Antal (Armored, Predators) and turns what could’ve been just your typical concert film into a surreal mixture of excellent concert footage and an apocalyptic narrative involving one of the band’s roadies. The latter felt like an extended music video and the lack of dialogue by the film’s narrative lead in Dane DeHaan does give this part of the film it’s surreal vibe. This part of the film could easily come off as one of Metallica’s music videos. It has mayhem involving nameless rioters battling an equal number of police right up to a nameless, gas-masked horseman who ends up paying particular attention to our beleaguered roadie.

Yet, while this apocalyptic-like narrative makes for a nice sideshow the main reason to see Metallica: Through the Never is the concert footage. While Antal does a good job with the story going outside the concert it’s inside where he shines. Making use of over 20 cameras on cranes, dollies and handhelds, Antal is able to make the concert footage feel like one was actually at the show. He uses every trick in the book from close-ups of each band member to sweeping crane shots that gives a bird’s-eye view of the concert.

It’s this part of the film that may just be one way for those of us who grew up going to concerts but have lost the time to return to such events to finally experience them again. It helps that the 3D used helps give the feel of not just being there but an enhanced experience that one may not find while actually attending the show live. But it doesn’t end in just the visuals.

A concert film can only go so far on how it looks. In the end, if the film doesn’t do a great job capturing the audio of the event then why even bother watching. Metallica: Through the Never doesn’t skimp on the audio assault. It is just exactly what I mean when I say audio assault. The audio in this film brought me back to attending past metal shows from my youth in near-perfect volume and clarity.

Metallica: Through the Never needs to be experienced in as big a screen as possible and if one’s able to see it on IMAX then I recommend they do so, but if that’s not possible then I still say go out and see this unique take on the ubiquitous concert film. It might not be the same as attending a Metallica concert, but it’s the next best thing to actually attending one.

Trailer: The Avengers: Age of Ultron (SDCC 2013 Reveal)

Posted on September 27, 2013 by Arleigh

This past summer those who attended the Marvel panel over at San Diego Comic-Con 2013 were treated to Joss Whedon’s reveal for The Avengers sequel.

From the mid-credits scene at the end of The Avengers many thought that the villain for the sequel will be the cosmic baddie Thanos. I guess Whedon and Feige decided that it was best to keep Whedon in their pockets for now and went in a different direction. The sequel to The Avengers will have one of the superhero team’s toughest and most persistent archenemies: The self-aware and truly pissed off android known as Ultron.

The Avengers: Age of Ultron will not be following the events from this past year’s Age of Ultron crossever series in the comics. It instead will just use the title and create a brand-new story behind the origins (this time around it won’t be Hank Pym aka Ant-Man who creates Ultron, but someone else) of the Avengers main enemy and it’s plans for the team and Earth.

This change in Ultron’s creator didn’t sit well with some of the purists who want everything in the Marvel Universe to be adapted exactly how it was originally written. Fortunately, I’m not one of them and I actually think this change further solidifies the Marvel Cinematic Universe as it’s own alternate universe that comprises the near-infinite realities of the Marvel Multiverse. Where the universe with make’s up the original comic books have been given the Earth-616 label the Marvel Cinematic Universe has now been given it’s own of Earth-199999.

It’s going to be interesting to see what Whedon and company will come up with to make Ultron a villain worthy to get the team back together again. It helps that they’ve chosen James Spader to voice the bugshit-crazy and angry Ultron.

The Avengers: Age of Ultron will premiere in our universe on May 1, 2015.

Hottie of the Day: Hayley Atwell

Posted on September 24, 2013 by Arleigh

HAYLEY ATWELL

With the release of Iron Man 3 to video we get a new look at one of Marvel Studios’ popular character in Agent Peggy Carter. She’s played by the very lovely Hayley Atwell.

Ms. Atwell is an English actress who burst into the scene taking on the role of Agent Peggy Carter for 2011’s Captain America: The First Avenger. She totally owned the role and fans, both old and new, have been wanting more of her ever since. While it was her role in Captain America that finally got the rest of the world to notice her she was already a known commodity in both English and American television.

Her work ranged from shows and tv films such as The Duchess, Pillars of the Earth, Mansfield Park and The Prisoner. Yet, it always be her role as Agent Carter that fans will remember her most for now.

Her popularity doesn’t just stem from the fact that she’s drop-dead gorgeous in the old-school, 40’s glam sort of way, but also for the fact that she exudes a sense of confidence and toughness in the roles she plays without having to sacrifice her femininity and sensuality. She looks like she belongs both in the here and now and still just at home as a leading lady in a 40’s noir film.

Here’s to hoping that plans for Marvel Studios to give Ms. Atwell her own tv series based on her Peggy Cater role comes to fruition as that means we’ll be seeing more of her.

PAST HOTTIES

Review: Marvel One-Shot “Agent Carter”

Posted on September 24, 2013 by Arleigh

Ever since Thor was released on video (DVD/Blu-Ray) the people over at Marvel Studios have added as a special bonus to the video’s extras a small short film they’ve dubbed “Marvel On-Shot”. So far, they’ve either been about the adventures of fan-favorite SHIELD agent Phil Coulson or a brief look at a post-Avengers New York. The short films were cute, but nothing to really write home about.

With the release of Iron Man 3 on DVD and Blu-Ray we get a new Marvel One-Shot and it looks like the creative minds at Marvel Studios have decided to work a tad harder on making this new short film much better. It’s a flashback moment to one Agent Peggy Carter who is still grieving a year after Captain America (aka Steve Rogers) supposedly died trying to save New York from a HYDRA bomber full of tesseract-fueled bombs.

We see how she’s been relegated to doing paper work and kept from doing the field work she’s more adept at. This one-shot film actually shows in it’s short running time how even someone as skilled and heroic as Peggy Carter must still navigate and deal with a male-chauvinistic society that dismisses whatever accomplishments she’s earned in the past and seen more as a sort of “affirmative action” hire.

The film doesn’t try to force-feed this theme, but instead tries (and does so successfully) to blow-up the damsel-in-distress stereotype by showing Agent Carter at her best. And what she does best is doing the sort of field work that earned her not just the respect of the soldiers she worked with during WWII in Europe, but those of Captain America himself.

“Agent Carter” stars the original Peggy Carter in the form of British actress Hayley Atwell and she does a fine job of helping continue her character’s growth. She continues to show that she’s just as useful and skilled as Captain America which she showed in the film of the same name. In this one-shot we’re reminded of it and it also does an interesting thing in making it plausible to create a spin-off around her character.

Marvel has intimated that it’s something they’d be interested in doing and if the quality of this one-shot is anything to go by then a series (tv or web-based) starring Ms. Atwell as Agent Carter would be well-received by fans everywhere. This short film also showed that Marvel Studios has a new secret weapon to keep DC at bay. This was the first one-shot that truly belonged as a prologue to a feature-length Marvel film on the big-screen. Here’s to hoping that attaching future one-shots to full-length features not on video but in the theaters becomes an idea that Marvel Studios allow to happen.

Nitro+ Mascot Super Sonico Gets Own Anime Series

Posted on September 23, 2013 by Arleigh

Super Sonico.

Two words that literally will elicit either two reactions from fans of all things Japanese pop culture. One reaction would be a groan and a shaking of the head that a mascot for a Japanese software company will get her own anime series. For these individuals it’s bad enough that she’s flooded the collectibles’ market with everything Super Sonico from vinyl figures (even one that’s 1/2 scale), posters, keychains, bedspreads, pillow cases and uncounted more things made to separate an otaku from their cash.

The other reaction would be on the other side of the spectrum. A reaction of unrestrained glee. Super Sonico has almost become not just the mascot for Nitro+ but for the current trend in Japanese pop culture that goes by the label of moe. So, Super Sonico finally having her very own anime series was just the logical progression for a character that’s already on everything else sold in Japan and overseas.

From the press release from Nitro+…

“The staff of the Japanese software maker Nitroplusconfirmed on Saturday that a television anime adaptation of its Super Sonico mascot has been green-lit. Nitroplus already opened a website for SoniAni -Super Sonico the Animation-, which was first announced at the Nitro Super Sonic 2013 event earlier in the day.

Super Sonico is the mascot girl of the “Nitro Super Sonic” events held by Nitroplus. In her back story, she is already a photoshoot model, game character, and a musician, even as she studies as a college student. She is also part of a three-piece girl band named “Daiichi Uchū Sokudo” (Fastest Speed in Space) as the vocalist and guitarist.

The character already inspired her own line of games, and figures including a giant 1/2-scale statue. Super Sonico is also appearing in Namco Bandai Games‘ Super Heroine Chronicle for the PlayStation 3 and PS Vita systems and even in a promotion for THQ’s Saints Row: The Third game.”

The question that should be going through the minds of fans until it’s announced would be which anime studio will do the animation and when the series will have a premiere date.

Source: Anime News Network

AMV of the Day: The End of My World (Clannad/Clannad After Story)

Posted on September 20, 2013 by Arleigh

The latest “AMV of the Day” comes from the creative mind of one xDieguitoAMV.

“The End of My World” takes select scenes from the anime series Clannad and Clannad: After Story and combines it with the ambient stylings of the band The American Dollar. It chronicles the life of the Tomoya Okazaki through his experiences in both series. It’s told through his point of view as he meets Nagisa Furukawa who would have such a huge impact on his life. The video actually reverse the order by which he sees his life since meeting Nagisa. How she’s changed his outlook on life even if it meant that the happiness he has with her gets balanced out by heartache.

Anyone who has seen this anime knows how the two seasons were polar opposites from each other when it came to their tone and characters. All I can say that I’ve heard anecdotes that even badass, hardened, cynical men who club baby seals for sport have broken down crying like little babies once they’ve seen the series’ After Story. This video will probably relapse them back to that bawling state.

Anime: Clannad, Clannad: After Story

Song: “Twelve Days Awake” by The American Dollar

Creator: xDieguitoAMV

Past AMVs of the Day

Bayonetta Game to Get Anime Film

Posted on September 18, 2013 by Arleigh

“Let’s dance boys!” — Bayonetta

One of the most entertaining and fun games of this current generation of consoles that I’ve ever played came out in the Spring of 2010. The game I speak of is the hack-and-slash title Bayonetta from Platinum Games. It’s a game that was born from the hyper-kinetic action game series Devil May Cry. In fact, the game’s designer was also the designer for the Devil May Cry series and it shows in this heroine-led title.

As I had mentioned on a very early review of the title, Bayonetta is quite the over-the-top game with unique-looking visuals and imagery that combined Judeo-Christian art designs with the anime-inspired aesthetics that has been the design staple of the Devil May Cry series.

I was actually surprised that the game didn’t get an anime series right away to complement it the way some Japanese games tend to get when they become popular. Yet, despite waiting over three years to get one fans of the game will finally have their wish.

Bayonetta: Bloody Fate is an anime series due out this November from studio house GONZO. It looks to be an adaptation of the game’s storyline and will have Fuminori Kizaki of Afro Samurai fame in the director’s chair. The art design of the series will lean heavily on the game’s original character designs by Mari Shimazaki which should be good news to Bayonetta fans everywhere.

The trailer for the anime already hints at using the fan service moments from the game that made the title so popular but at the same time so controversial within some of the gaming community. The anime will be shown in a limited release in Japan this November with no word yet on whether it will make it over to the West in one type of release or another. I bet on it becoming a video release down the line.

Source: Anime News Network

Trailer: The Wind Rises (Official)

Posted on September 16, 2013 by Arleigh

The Wind Rises aka Kaze Tachinu is the latest anime offering from Studio Ghibli and will be getting an Oscar-qualifying run later this year. It’s the latest from acclaimed Japanese director Miyazaki Hayao (My Friend Totoro, Princess Mononoke, Spirited Away) and, most likely, his final work as he’s announced that he’s retiring.

The film is a fictionalized account of one Jiro Horikoshi. It’s a decades-long retelling of Jiro’s early life as a boy through his post-war life. Those who know their history will recognize the name of Jiro Horikoshi as one of the engineers responsible for the development of the legendary WWII fighter most commonly-known by the name given to it by the Allies during the war, The Zero.

While all of Miyazaki’s films have always have had the mature element in addition to the whimsical nature of the story he’s telling in his anime it look like The Wind Rises may just be Miyazaki’s most mature offering to date.

The Wind Rises has been making the film festival rounds of late and hopefully gets limited release dates announced before year’s end.

Guilty Pleasure No. 12: Pandorum (dir. Christian Alvart)

Posted on September 14, 2013 by Arleigh

Sometimes a really bad film just does enough to push my buttons to actually make me like it. One such film was 2009’s scifi=thriller Pandorum.

The film was one of those that had some hype behind it prior to the film’s release. It had a nice marketing angle which included some very disturbing biomechanical imagery that harkened back to classic H.R. Giger artwork from both Alien and Dune. The film even had an interesting premise which was about a mental affliction caused by long exposure to space travel called “Pandorum”.

When the film finally came out to say that it bombed would be quite an understatement. While the ideas behind the film were interesting enough the overall execution of said ideas were haphazard at best and unimaginative at it’s worst. There’s nothing worst than a B-movie trying to stand out from the dregs and failing because it’s dull and boring. Yet, despite all that I’ve been fascinated by Pandorum ever since I’ve caught it on video.

German director Christian Alvart might be lacking some style in his direction of the film, but the cast itself manages to work their damnedest to make the film work. Ben Foster does his usual twitching performance where we don’t know if he’s about to go psycho on everyone around him or just curl up in the corner and start sobbing like a newborn. Dennis Quaid chews the scenery so much in every scene he’s in that his work in the film almost comes off as performance art.

Even the idea that people who were gentically-enhanced to adapt and evolve to their surroundings was a new one. The film even goes further by making the foundation of rapid evolution come from the ship itself. All the cannibalism involved just added that grindhouse touch to the proceedings.

The one thing that really brings me back to watching this film as one of my many guilty pleasure’s was this was the first film that introduced the world to Antje Traue. She’s better known as one of the few good things to come out of Man of Steel. Even in this first feature film for Antje Traue we already see examples of how much a badass she can be. It’s a shame that the film around her wasn’t better.

Pandorum never improves with each repeat viewing, but it doesn’t get worst either. It just straddles that fine line where one or two things changed for the better would’ve made it a good film. But for the life of me I have no idea why I like it and continue to watch it. Sometimes even bad films will push enough of the requisite buttons for people to like it and this film certainly pushed the right ones from me.

AMV of the Day: Life Is Fantastic (Nichijou)

Posted on September 13, 2013 by Arleigh

Here we have another “AMV of the Day” installment starring those cast of characters from the anime series Nichijou.

The previous AMV showed that the series Nichijou can pretty much fit any type of music. Want to make a video of the series using a heavy metal song? Not a problem. Classical music? Doable and perfect, really. Now we have a classic of Hollywood film score being used to make a Nichijou video and despite the video not really making any sense whatsoever it does fall in line with the series’ and it’s irreverent and over-the-top nature.

The moment I watched “Life Is Fantastic” by Iren S.S. I couldn’t stop whistling to the video and it took me a shake of a lamb’s tail before I figured out that the song used was from The Sting. The video itself is a prime example of how one can sync up the images in the video with specific musical cues to make it come off spectacular. Special effects are not the only tools that makes an AMV great to watch. Sometimes an editor with a keen eye for visuals and an ear for music can combine the two skills to make a near-perfect AMV.

Now, I must return to whistling this tune that I can’t get out of my head.