Saturday, April 17

Movies
and a short review of Appleseed

OH MY GOD, I love Roppongi Hills. They're showing Appleseed with ENGLISH SUBTITLES!!!! UAAAAHHHH!!!! Here's how I'm going to spend $50 during the next week:

Tonight: Appleseed at Roppongi Hills**see update
Wednesday: Lost in Translation in Shibuya (Ladies Day! =D)
Next weekend: Kill Bill Vol. 1 at Takadanobaba "discount" theatre
Also next weekend: Peter Pan at Roppongi Hills
Thurs, the 29th (no class): Kill Bill Vol. 2 at Roppingi Hills

UPDATE: While the CG/ frame animation in Appleseed was groundbreaking, the plot was somewhat less sophisticated than I'd hoped and the characters were far, far too underdeveloped. However, I went for the action, the eye-candy and the techno so I supposed I "got what I paid for."

The truth is that I got far more than that because didn't pay for anything. I asked Host Dad along and he paid for my train fare and my movie ticket as well as randomly buying me a 3000 yen pass for the Oedo line to "cover our return trip." Then he told me to keep the pass and use it later. So, err, I guess I'll be going to Roppongi a lot more often now, because the Oedo line goes a whole lot of nowhere else.

Anyway, back to Appleseed... I suppos I was a bit jumpy through part of the movie because we stole someone else's seats. In Roppongi they assign you seats by ticket number and because we got there five minutes before the movie started, we got screwed and had to sit in the front row. However, as expected, either the presale tickets didn't sell out or some rich farts didn't show up, so we got up and stole primo seats mid-theatre after the previews started. I figured that I'd haul host dad into my culturally taboo free-for-all to embetter my movie viewing experience and save my neck from pain.

I was also worried after Host Dad started fidgeting that he hated the movie. As it turns out, he thought it was really interesting (or so he says) and thanked me profusely for making him get out of his lazy chair to go see it with me. I guess I shouldn't have doubted him so much. He apparently loved Die Hard so why would a little (beautifully)ANIMATED violence bother him?

As I was saying, Appleseed's plot was vaguely reminiscent of...err... everything else that has ever involved cyborgs and humans in an ethical dilemma. But because Appleseed's story dates a from decade or two earlier, I guess it was probably more original when it first came out. However, all complaints about content aside, the animation was amazing. Seamless. Beautiful. Mouth watering, whatever. Except for the fucking cars.

I HATED the car scene. See the movie and you'll know what I'm talking about. It looks like a bad episode of Reboot and served the single purpose of embarrasingly over-simplified plot illucidation. Though objects often appeared too shiny or metalic, the CG was fantasically well incorportated and the characters especially were gorgeous. I would give Innocence a 5 on a scale of 1-10 for CGI and I would give Appleseed an 8.8. So sue me; I'm waiting for the industry to conform to my impossible standards.

I really could have done without the romantic connotation between underdeveloped main characters. I mean, (wo)man-machine love seems a bit contrary to the whole "continuation of the human race" plot. Durr.

The soundtrack kicks ass. I was happy to see some Paul Oakenfield on there and also surprised that apparently I'm exposed to enough techno now to recognize mixes by various artists who happen to be on my 103-song techno playlist, including a the lesser-known group Adult.

Anyway, that's my bit. Go see it yourself. Or weep in envy and wait patiently for it, all you state-siders.