[GoldenXtreme]

I watched Pacific Rim today, something which might exist in the "not really a proper tokusatsu" category for many, but I say is close enough!

I liked it! I'd say it was simple, but the amount of passion behind it really elevated the whole experience over generic action schlock. You could tell the people working on it has a lot of love for both monster and mecha media. I'd say the most impressive thing about the movie was how it managed to feel very close stylistically to Japanese tokusatsu, which I think a lot of attempts to pay homage to the genre in America end up failing at. Neat little movie, might give its contentious sequel and the animated series a shot at some point.

[DreamSword]

I feel like the first Pacific Rim movie was very much a case of "you had to be there." I like the movie, don't get me wrong, but I didn't see it as anything super amazing by the time I finally got around to it years later.

[AkibaSilver]

I watched Pacific Rim with my brother in 2018 or so? It was late, we were both tired and neither of us had seen it, so I stuck it on expecting to be at least mildly entertained. Honestly, though? Really good film, rises above just being a novelty of "hehe giant robots fight big monsters" as some people seem to only want from Kaiju films into a fun but heartfelt film about overcoming your past trauma, whilst also beating up giant monsters. Also Charlie Day and Burn Gorman are a perfect double act.

[Switchblade]

I think I went into Pacific Rim overhyped for it. I liked it, but I didn't think it was overwhelmingly amazing or anything.

[GoldenXtreme]

I can really see how a lot of people would get overhyped for the Pacific Rim, I remember there was a lot of talk back when it first came out about how amazing and revolutionary it was, which is ridiculous looking back on it. In a way watching it 10 years late may have been ideal since I was able to go into it just hoping for a fun time.

[Mesnick]

Okay, I really debated for a long time whether I should write a review of this film. A film that none of you have seen, will not be able to see, and which is definitely not worth watching. However, this is my first kaiju movie, so I thought I'd share my impressions of it. So, "Monsters" 1993. Just in case, 18+.

Plot: The main character, Boris, played by Boris Shcherbakov, the Greatest Creation of the Gods... Now the confusion begins. This is a local meme. In general, the point is that Shcherbakov is an excellent actor with a well-deserved army of fans. But at the same time, in his filmography he has a bunch of very cheap and bad works, which these fans often cannot justify and therefore blindly admire everything that Shcherbakov creates there. “Monsters” is just such a case.

So, Boris is a photographer who specializes in erotic photography, but he is recruited for an expedition to the radioactive zone (obviously Chernobyl, but the name is never mentioned in the film). And, unlike most similar plots, Boris does not have a cool but tragic past. Employers simply liked his work. Well, this still makes some sense.

The members of the expedition: Boris, his love interest played by Ella Safari, who moans loudly in love scenes and more, a cool mustachioed special forces soldier, a scientist and cannon fodder. They come to the Zone, catch huge insects (real ones, because the film’s budget is limited), look at photographs of genetic mutations (also real and for the same reason), then Boris and a woman leave in a car for sex and a giant snake begins to interfere with them. But she can’t get inside, so the heroes get off with fright. After two of the extras, rats the size of dogs are eaten and it becomes known about animals grown due to radiation.

The scientist knows a way to make mutants non-aggressive, but he is killed by a cancer that climbs through the window. A full-scale invasion of monsters begins and the arriving military fights with them. In the chaos, the main characters try to survive and they succeed. In the end, they declare that the real monsters are people because it is because of them that mutants appeared.

Explanation: these are the works of Cinebridge studio, which filmed Shcherbakov with his wife and others in approximately the same roles in all of their films. They didn't even change the credits, they just didn't write the names of the characters. Their budget was so small that the window breaking was filmed with a swing and the sound of breaking glass. All the monsters in the film are real animals, superimposed over filmed landscapes or interacting with toys. Shots of military equipment are taken from other films, so they are never completely destroyed. Monsters and people never appear together in the frame; at most they only show dummies of tails and heads.
The main problem is that the animals behave like... animals in the frame. They scratch themselves, preen their feathers, sniff each other and show no signs of aggression. Yes, there are cool ideas, like a crow pecking at a helicopter or a turtle fighting a tank, but it was filmed with such a huge number of cuts that you can only be surprised, but not enjoy it. People also don’t pull out the plot, because the characters are flat and boring. As a result, the film was not even remembered as funny trash and is now practically forgotten.
Legacy: Still, Monsters has left its mark on popular culture. First of all: Sam Raimi stole Spider-Man's kiss from there. And don't you dare say otherwise:

Secondly: this film, by her own admission, inspired the singer Linda (Svetlana Gaiman) to create the song “Crow”. Which is almost as masterpiece as “Monsters” is mediocre:

Linda is the voice of music throughout the post-Soviet space in the 90s. And “Crow” is her best pitch. All 288 million people, thrown out of a huge country with an iron order and a clear goal, into a bunch of embittered smaller states, faced with a catastrophic increase in crime, racial intolerance and lack of money, felt like Linda’s crazy heroine, screaming “Na-na- on the!" against the backdrop of ruins and zombies. And the poetic allusions of the text, which perfectly describe the devastation reigning around and at the same time do not plunge one into despondency:
“They tick to the tact and the volcanoes sing,
Glasses don't break because they don't exist
Everyone died, I live like a crow!”
The most interesting thing is that the influence of “Monsters” is noticeable even in the video, which is doubly amazing. But I think I got too carried away and distracted, so I'm finishing. There is no conclusion, because I just wanted to share the film.

[DreamSword]

Just got done binging all of Jisariz, the indie toku made by Decade's' actor.

And it uh... it certainly I watched. Like, I get it, it's intentionally being vague in order to build intrigue, but that combined with the poor English subs does not do it any favors, I'd say.

As a result, my favorite pair of episodes was 5 and 6, the Dogengers crossover, as its overall theme and character development was the most straightforward.

I also feel like the show's' pacing would've been alot better if it'd been released as a six episode miniseries rather than a set of twelve miniature episodes. Because each pair of episodes really do feel like they were all one episode cut in half. Not that it clarifies any plot points though.

If I had to compliment one thing about the show as a whole though, I felt like the overall aesthetic, from the suits to the set design, as well as the cinematography were all done rather well. Even the CGI and map paintings, while very obvious, weren't bad, especially for an indie production. The fight choreography was also fairly decent.

Overall it's very much an alternate take on Kamen Rider Decade, and I felt it was decent. Interested to see where season 2 goes.

[Sh Ranger]

Quote:

Originally Posted by DreamSword

I also feel like the show's' pacing would've been alot better if it'd been released as a six episode miniseries rather than a set of twelve miniature episodes. Because each pair of episodes really do feel like they were all one episode cut in half. Not that it clarifies any plot points though.

Agreed. I decided to wait a fortnight so I could watch each pair of episodes together. If I had to guess, splitting each story in half might've been a cheap way to increase publicity.

Quote:

Originally Posted by DreamSword

If I had to compliment one thing about the show as a whole though, I felt like the overall aesthetic, from the suits to the set design, as well as a cinematography were all done rather well. Even the CGI and map paintings, while very obvious, weren't bad, especially for an indie production. The fight choreography was also fairly decent.

For sure, it was cool to see how Inoue's staff could create such a unique style for all the impressive effects, designs and settings, in contrast to what you'd typically expect from Toei. The OP was catchy as well.

Since you dislike Tsukasa, what was your opinion of the character of Jisariz? I thought they were similar, although, maybe this was easier for you with Ayuka being the focus character.

[DreamSword]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sh Ranger

Since you dislike Tsukasa, what was your opinion of the character of Jisariz? I thought they were similar, although, maybe this was easier for you with Ayuka being the focus character.

Ayuka being the focus does help, but when comparing Tsukasa to Jisariz, while the two do share some similarities, one big, key difference for me was the reasoning behind why the two act the way they do. Jisariz acts like a showboaty jerk both to hide his own insecurities as well as out of necessity for saving Ayuka's world. Meanwhile Tsukasa is mainly just a douchelord for the sake of it.

So yeah, out of the two, I prefer Jisariz.

[GoldenXtreme]

I finished Tomica Hero Rescue Fire! Oops, two tokusatsu shows finished in one day. I think this was a straight improvement in almost every way over Rescue Force and honestly had a lot of fun watching it.

The Good

• This show amps up the hotblooded rescue action to new levels of chaos, it's pretty much impossible to not enjoy a show where characters are shooting ice missiles from a giant dragon mech to fight flame demons. Even more chaos than a normal mech fight with the added layer of the rescue theme of the show keeping it feel-good.
• I think the cast had a much better dynamic than the Rescue Force one. Tatsuya, while he does get powers and mechs the others don't, never ends up eclipsing everyone else the way Hikaru tended to in Rescue Force. Even just the way everyone interacts tends to have a lot more charm.
• I actually really liked Ritsuka, even though I didn't expect much going into the show. Dedicated to her rescue work and competent, yet lacking in social skills. At the same time, you can see her kindness in her love of animals and her newfound friendship with her teammates. Really enjoyed all her episodes!
• Masaki Endoh is hotblooded singing at me, hell yeah.
• The CGI looked even better than Rescue Force's, most modern toku doesn't have CGI this good.
• Since the mech fights use CGI, this does mean the show has lots of cool non-humanoid mechas!

The Bad

• Similarly to Rescue Force, there is a real issue with excessive stock footage usage.
• The Sky Team just isn't as good as the main trio. Jun doesn't get too much focus and Tsubasa is... honestly kind of an ass a lot of the time.
• Also similarly to Rescue Force, there is a certain low-budget feeling to many of the sets and props, though it isn't as distracting as in the previous show.

The Other

• It's aimed at a very young audience, like Rescue Force (sorry, I don't mean to keep saying it). I think this show manages its balance of softer elements with more serious moments better though, while still being a good show for kids.
• I keep thinking about the general concept of "Fire Elementals who want to punish humanity for misusing the fire they were gifted with". The show didn't really dig into this much but it's a neat twisted take on a Promethesus fable that I'd like to see another toku try one day.

So overall? I had a great time and I thought it was a unique tokusatsu show well worth watching. Honestly, I'm a little sad the series only lasted two entries, because I think it had the potential to be go on longer and gone some interesting places in the future.