The Hunger Games – From the producers of Survivor and Wipeout

Novel-based film trilogies have been huge money makers since the debut of the Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter film series in 2001, and The Hunger Games appears to be following in their footsteps.  Most novel-based trilogies are of the fantasy genre though, while Hunger Games is a post-apocalyptic science fiction series made on a (relatively) low budget.  There is an emphasis on social and political commentary not often seen in mainstream movies, and is more violent then Lord of the Rings and the like.  I am a bit late to the party, with Hunger Games already being out on Blu-ray, but let’s find out how The Hunger Games became a hit.

The beginning of the film brief explains what the titular Hunger Games are all about.  The country of Panem (formerly North America) is made up of 12 Districts, which all specialize in particular professions, and is ruled by a totalitarian government based in the absurdly wealthy Capitol.  74 years prior to the story, the Districts rebelled against the government, and were subsequently put down by the Capitol.  The former 13th District was destroyed, and the government established The Hunger Games as punishment for the remaining 12.  Every year, one boy and one girl from each district between the ages of 12 and 18 is chosen at random to participate in the Games – essentially a gladiatorial death match between the chosen “tributes”.  The Games take place in a large arena in various extreme locations (think Survivor), where the tributes have to survive and fight each other until only one is left alive.  The lone survivor gets to return to a life of fame and fortune.  The Hunger Games are shown on TV like your typical reality show and treated like the Super Bowl, glorifying the intense violence and suffering.

And they’re hosted by this guy

The main character of the series is Katniss Everdeen, a strong 16 year-old girl from District 12 (the poorest district of course).  Her father died in a mining accident, leaving Katniss to take care of her little sister Primrose while her mother was severely traumatized by the incident. Katniss herself is mature beyond her years as a result, but somewhat quiet and socially awkward.  At the “Reaping” ceremony where the tributes are chosen for the Games, Primrose’s name is drawn.  Katniss desperately volunteers herself in her sister’s place, and becomes a tribute alongside Peeta Mallark, a baker’s son. Katniss, who has terrific survival skills and is a good shot with a bow, is quickly identified as a strong competitor with a chance to win.

She has a somewhat. . . fuller figure then in the books too.

Katniss and Peeta are then taken to the Capitol, where they meet their assigned mentor – Haymitch Abernathy.  The winner of the 50th Hunger Games, Abernathy is an alcoholic and disillusioned with the Games and the government.  He initially refuses to help Katniss and Peeta, but eventually tells them that the best way to survive is to get the audience to like you.  Interested viewers in the Capitol can choose to sponsor a chosen tribute, and send them needed supplies during the Games.

Over the next few weeks, the pair appear on television several times, making a good impression on viewers and the Games’ MC thanks to Abernathy and the savvy of their stylist, Cinna.  Peeta, who has a crush on Katniss, admits his love for her in an interview.  This angers Katniss, but Abernathy insists they play the part of “star-crossed lovers” to win supporters over.

All the tributes also participate in training exercises with each other, and are given an overall score of 1-12 based on their abilities.  This is also where the “Careers” show up – tributes that train specifically for the Games from childhood and volunteer themselves.  A Career tribute will typically win the Games, but Katniss and Peeta have the skills to compete with them.

Do they look like nice people to you? Didn’t think so.

When The Hunger Games actually start, it becomes a mix of Survivor, TV sports and barbaric gladiator combat.  Alliances are made, blood is shed frequently, and plenty of political hustling goes on behind the scenes, particularly between the head Games-maker Seneca Crane and the ruler of Panem, President Snow.  And in the end, Peeta and Katniss deal a blow to the totalitarian government machine.

The influences and messages contained in the movie can be seen all over.  It mixes an ancient Rome-like interest in primal violence with over-the-top showmanship and live commentators, turning the titular Games into some kind of sick reality sport.  Not to mention how the rich residents of the Capitol bet on the Games and sponsor tributes like the whole event is the Kentucky Derby.  The Hunger Games can also be seen as a blow against reality TV’s obsession with the twisted, similar to films like The Truman Show and Death Race.

Her odds of survival were 30 to 1 – pay her no mind, Capitol residents

The Panem government is, without a doubt, as oppressive and brutal as they come.  The fact that The Capital resembles a modern-ized Roman city is a subtle, if unneeded, hint towards that conclusion.  Most of the main characters express their distaste of the government, giving off an anti-government message that has drawn criticism from some corners.  But if we really were ruled by a regime this oppressive, wouldn’t there be some widespread governmental distrust?  The fact that Panem was formerly North America may have been the thing that set off some detractors, but so was Code Geass’ Britannia, another highly self-serving fictional government.

Katniss has been widely identified as a strong and more than capable female figure, in no small part thanks to Jennifer Lawrence’s portrayal of her.  Her Katniss is similar to a character she played a few years ago: Ree Dolly of Winter’s Bone.  Both are women of few words and a lot of action, yet are deeply mature, having been forced to become the primary caretakers of their siblings AND their own mothers.  Katniss though, is a woman of even fewer words.  While there are a few people she can engage in witty banter with, she is normally quite awkward and soft-spoken – “I’m not good at saying something” is how Katniss describes herself.  But when she gets seriously determined. . . watch out.

Peeta, played by John Hutcherson, struggles with being the overlooked one next to Katniss, despite his honest feelings for her.  Perhaps accepting his lower chances of survival next to Katniss, he is far more eager to play up to the Games’ TV audience and gain their support.  He and Katniss grow closer over the events of the movie, though it could be debated they were just putting on a show for potential sponsors.  Real or not, it sets up a love triangle with an interested viewer back in District 12 – Gale, Katniss’ hunting partner with a secret crush on her.

Let the love-interest-speculation commence!

The films’ other characters don’t quite possess the depth of Katniss and Peeta, but are played well nonetheless.  Haymitch Abernathy is the drunken and reluctant mentor who is tired of watching District 12’s tributes die.  Once he becomes convinced of Katniss and Peeta’s determination and skills though, he awakens from his stupor to become a fierce ally, sparing no effort to secure sponsors and gain the support of the head Games-maker.

Speaking of the head Games-maker, Seneca Crane shares behind-the-scenes antagonist spotlight with President Snow, who he often consults during the Games themselves.  While Crane’s main concern is putting on a good show and pleasing viewers, Snow only cares about the political results of the Games, giving a hint of malice as he subtly advises Crane.  Donald Sutherland was effective as the villainous president in his short appearances – look for him to give a killer performance in the next film.

With beards like those, they just HAVE to be evil

The most visible of the tributes out to get Katniss once the Games become are the Careers, who immediately band together.  They are portrayed realistically – meaning they’re highly trained, egotistical killing machines.  I imagine one would end up like this when they’re trained to essentially be a teenage soldier, but the Careers end up as little more than compelling antagonists to root against.  The only other significant tribute is Rue, a 12 year-old girl from District 11, who forms an easy partnership with Katniss thanks to her resemblance to Primrose.  Though the reasons behind their pairing are only implied at best.

There is some sporadic comic relief, mostly before the games begin, thanks to the oblivious remarks of Effie Trinket, the Capital’s appointed overseer of District 12’s tributes.  And the egregious amounts of cheese contained in Katniss and Peeta’s journey through the media circus.  It’s especially jarring when the film switches from the fake TV personalities to the very REAL carnage of the Games.

The Hunger Games boasts a modest budget in comparison to other blockbusters, but still manages to look really good visually.  The modern, yet Romanesque architecture of The Capitol stands out in grand opposition to the near-destitute state of District 12.  That said, the forests surrounding District 12 and those in the Games have somewhat of a quant charm to them – particularly the latter.  Excluding really action-y or violent scenes, The Hunger Games themselves are shot in a relatively straightforward manner; it’s not difficult to follow any of it.

It’s not much, but it’s home.

Some of those oh-so-edgey shaky camera tricks show up during especially dramatic or violent scenes.  I do think it sets an equally unstable mood during said dramatic scenes, which is definitely a better use of the shaky camera than for action.  That said, the action scenes don’t overuse it, they use just enough to keep the gore to a minimum and maintain the PG-13 rating.  However, there were a few scenes (Katniss’ dream sequence for example) that made a rather awkward transition from written to visual form.

While I’m not the biggest fan of the costume design in this movie (it can be TOO over-the-top at times), I think The Hunger Games at least deserves an Oscar nod for it.  The residents of The Capital are effectively portrayed as the fakest people on the planet – sporting ridiculous hairstyles, tastes in clothing somewhere between the 17th century and a gay pride parade, and skin dyed any color from white to green.  Don’t forget Seneca Crane’s beard either.  Cinna’s creative masterpieces for Katniss and Peeta are just as impressive, employing literal fire in their designs to draw attention straight to them.  The TV commentators were as impressed as I was.

Typical casual attire for Capitol residents

The Hunger Games is a real treat, both visually and mentally.  The large amount of social commentary and the number of times you’ll wonder “Are they doing it for real or just appealing to sponsors?” will keep viewers engaged for a long time after the credits roll.  You can easily find films with more emotion, more wit, better action and better visuals, but The Hunger Games makes its limited amounts of both really count.  One shortcoming of the film is that it doesn’t reveal much backstory on Panem or the Districts, nor does it expand much on the supposed main antagonist, President Snow.  I can only hope those questions and more will be answered in the sequel. . . they’ve successfully roped me into the series.

The Dark Knight Rises: Bane’s Voice and Anne Hatheway

I’ve been a huge fan of Batman in general since I was a child: I still love the 90’s animated series, the Arkham Asylum game series is great, and I used to own a ton of Batman action figures and the Batcave playset when I was little.  I also have legitimately enjoyed all the Batman films (except for Batman and Robin, obviously).  The Dark Knight Rises is the finale of the Nolan Batman trilogy, and as such I expected great things from this film.  Did Nolan, Bale and half the cast of Inception deliver?

Story

I can hardly claim to be an expert on comics, but the plot of The Dark Knight Rises was taken from 3 very well known Batman comic arcs: The Dark Knight Returns, Knightfall and No Man’s Land.  Gotham has become a much more peaceful place since the events of The Dark Knight.  The Dent Act, named after the (false) fallen hero Harvey Dent, has kept the most dangerous criminals locked up in Blackgate Prison.  Meanwhile, Bruce Wayne retired the Batman persona and spent 8 years as a shut-in – never leaving the rebuilt Wayne Manor.  He is crippled in one leg from the events of the last film, but overcomes his injuries to become Batman once more upon the appearance of two villains: the mysterious cat-burglar Selina Kyle/Catwoman and the ruthless masked terrorist known as Bane.

Both Catwoman and a corrupt business mogul appear to be working with Bane’s group, who plan to bring destruction upon Gotham.  They specifically target Gotham’s rich and powerful citizens, Wayne Enterprises and Batman himself as part of their intricate plot.  While Batman pursues leads on the villain through Catwoman, Commissioner Gordon and patrol officer John Blake follow rumors on the street to Bane’s hideout.  Bane manages to stay one step ahead of them, however, and plunges Gotham into chaos. There is also one final shock near the end of the film: there is another well-known character from the Batman mythos involved with Bane’s plot.

No it is not The Riddler

While the film manages to put together an equal parts daring and well thought out plot as far as Bane’s scheme goes, they take perhaps an uncomfortable amount of liberties with his personal origins and motivations.  And at least for me, the fact that the story is a mashed-up version of three comic stories was made too obvious, while The Dark Knight managed to avoid making it obvious.  The movie also tends to drag on and on, being 3 hours and perhaps focusing too much on side characters and drawing scenes out for dramatic purposes.  What I do enjoy is the symbolism employed by the film with the word “rises” that is in the title.  Bane rises from what is called “hell on earth” to rain terror on Gotham, and like The Joker, is a chaotic and highly intelligent foe that the police cannot defeat.  Thus it falls to Batman to rise out of the ashes of retirement to combat him.  The ending is quite well done, though it doesn’t completely close every plotline – there could be a fourth movie if not for Nolan’s decision to end the film series as a trilogy.

Characters

The Bruce Wayne/Batman of The Dark Knight Rises starts out in a darker place, similar to the Bruce of Batman Begins.  This time though, it is his physical and emotional scars endured from the last film that haunt him: he not only retired Batman, but he spent 8 years as a recluse, holed up in Wayne Manor.  It is actually Selina Kyle who draws him back out, after she steals some precious items from him.  When he finds out about Bane, who the police are struggling to track down, only then does he decide to return despite his aged and battered body.

Does this look like a man who has seen daylight recently?

This decision not only leads to a huge fight with Alfred, but the realization that he now has limits he didn’t have before, and that he may have met his match in the brutal Bane.  Bruce ends up having to find new motivations and new ways to combat his foes this time around.  Some of the anger and darkness, which usually characterizes Batman, disappears whenever Catwoman is around.  Catwoman IS very different from every other character in the movie, but she is an individualist, just like Batman.

Speaking of Bane, there are some good and some bad things.  His design is terrific: he looks exactly like the chaotic terrorist he is, and appears truly menacing and brutal when he’s in control (most of the time).  They even come up with a great replacement for the somewhat gimmicky “Venom” of the comics by having Bane be in constant pain from a botched surgery: he inhales painkillers through his cool-looking gas mask constantly so he can function.  His intelligence is completely intact as well, managing to outmaneuver both the police and Batman for a long time.  Both Bane’s fighting style and methods are as brutal as you’d think.  He doesn’t just want to destroy Gotham, he wants to do so in the cruelest possible way.  Just like the comic version, Bane is a handful for anyone to take on.

Bane seems really fond of this pose for some reason

When it comes to Bane’s origin though, it is rather hit-and-miss.  He was born in a prison like his comic counterpart, growing up to be an extremely intelligent yet brutal extremist as a result.  But he appears to be of Irish/English descent, not Spanish like he should be.  I only say this because it leads into my biggest problem with Bane: his voice.  The Lizard sounds elegant compared to him and his hilarious muffled voice that I could hardly take seriously at all.  Sure the voice is loud and booming like it should be, but that doesn’t matter when you can hardly understand a thing he says.  I think he would’ve sounded a lot better with a Spanish accent as opposed to a mask. . . cent.

As mentioned before, Catwoman is very different from just about every character in the Nolan film series.  While most major characters are altered in both personality and appearance to fit the gritty realism of the Nolan universe, Selina Kyle/Catwoman is not.  She’s pretty much exactly like her comic book counterpart: sexy, impulsive and an individualist.  Selina has plenty of wit, putting in her snarky two cents even in the most stressful situations, and is not above using feminine charms to her advantage.  While she is a very likeable character, I felt that her more “comicy” personality was at odds with the gritty realistic flavor of the rest of the film, especially during the climax.  Though she did have great chemistry with the ever-gritty Batman: a requirement to play an effective Selina Kyle.

Safes are always useless in movies. Just like the police.

Commissioner Gordon spent the 8 years between The Dark Knight and this film working nonstop to clean up the streets of Gotham, and largely succeeded thanks to the Dent Act denying parole to violent criminals.  However, he never got over the events at the end of The Dark Knight, and the fact that they built up Harvey Dent as a savior after he committed horrible acts.  His insane dedication to his work also caused his wife and child to leave.  It should come as no surprise that he’s perhaps too eager to jump into action, especially considering his age.

John Blake, a relatively fresh police officer, was orphaned at a young age, like Bruce Wayne.  The feelings of anger and the emotional “mask” he uses to hide said anger are very similar to what Bruce went through.  This helps Blake to correctly deduce that Bruce Wayne is Batman, and he directly appeals to Wayne to make his return.  He is a bit hotheaded, which puts him at odds with most of his superiors, but that same trait also makes him a favorite of Gordon’s.

Alfred, who has stood by Bruce Wayne forever, is not happy to see Bruce don the Batsuit again after 8 years.  Many of his concerns are legitimate, but Bruce refuses to back down, ultimately causing Alfred to take extreme measures to stop him.  He serves as a constant reminder of Bruce’s “loss” of a life after Batman, due to Rachel Dawes’ death in The Dark Knight.  We get a deeper look into Alfred’s pain as he recounts how he spent his time during Bruce’s travels in Batman Begins, and how he wanted him to find a new life outside of Gotham, instead of returning to where he lost everything.

Visuals

Unsurprisingly, the visual style of The Dark Knight Rises is very similar to the previous Nolan Batman films.  Most of the fight scenes don’t last long, but feature plenty of action as Batman beats in thugs’ faces or Catwoman pulls off acrobatic kicks and all the sexy moves you’d expect from a chick in a skintight outfit.  When Bane is involved, the pace of the fighting tends to slow down a bit, just enough to really show off his brutal punches and slams that are meant to BREAK his opponent with every hit.

Bane proves once again that the head region is the most effective area to break

The Nolan films have always boasted some impressive overhead shots and exciting action sequences (with explosions in all the right places), but this movie in particular has a ton of them.  When Bane announces his presence to Gotham with an endless chain of explosions, you know that there’s no escape from his carefully planted web of destruction.  There’s no CGI here either: those explosions are real and actually look like the fruits of calculated labor by Bane’s group.  The overhead (and occasionally underhead) shots have a shocking amount of depth: I’m almost sad this movie wasn’t in 3D.  I also want all football games to be shot like the football sequence in this movie.  If I had to complain about something. . . I wish they still used Chicago for the Gotham City stand-in rather than Pittsburgh.

Football would be much better with explosions, admit it

Music

Like the visuals, the music of The Dark Knight Rises is quite similar to the previous films.  Hans Zimmer returns to create plenty of adreneline-pumping tracks for action scenes and booming, epic chords for dramatic moments.  Some of the tracks, though, feel like they were taken directly from the last two films.  Notably, Catwoman receives a theme/motif of her own that plays whenever she’s in action.  It consists of light string chords played at medium or fast paces depending on the situation.  It’s easy to visualize Selina creeping around or getting the jump on thugs to said theme, which is exactly what a Catwoman theme should do.  There’s also several times where Arabic chanting is weaved into the soundtrack, though it mostly is used in the movie proper as prisoners in the foreign prison that once held Bane repeatedly chant during attempted escapes.  The words they chant, “deshi deshi basara basara”, translate to “rise rise, up up”, adding yet another layer to the “rise” symbolism.

Overall

The Dark Knight Rises provides a nice conclusion to the Nolan Batman series as Bruce Wayne faces his toughest challenge yet against very effective villains.  Personally though, this was my least favorite entry in the series, due mostly to the plot blatantly mixing and matching various comic book stories together and Catwoman’s portrayal occasionally being at-odds with the feel of the movie (and Bane’s hilarious voice too).  I would probably not recommend this movie too strongly to those who are familiar with Batman’s history and mythos, due to how much they rely on pulling plot elements from the comics and the changes they make to Bane.  For more casual fans of Batman though, The Dark Knight Rises is full of action and plenty of plot twists, just like The Dark Knight.  It’s a very exciting movie that most summer movie goers will love.  But I think The Amazing Spider-Man and The Avengers outclass it and win the year for Marvel myself.

FLCL: A Chaotic Classic

FLCL, or Fooly Cooly, is a 6 episode Original Video Animation (OVA) anime series created by the Gainax studio in 2000.  It is well known for its insane characters and comedic sequences, as well as being one of the earlier anime series shown on Cartoon Network’s Adult Swim block.  FLCL is regarded as a classic, and solidified Gainax’s reputation as one of modern innovators of anime.  Not to mention I’ve watched it a ton myself.  Let’s get into it.

First Impressions

I’ve watched this series so many times that it may be hard for me to give an unbiased first impression, but I’ll attempt to anyway.  FLCL quickly introduces us to the main protagonist, 12-year old Naota Nandaba.  The story is mainly told through his eyes: setting a surreal mood for the series as his bored-sounding monologues clash with the strange reality of the happenings in the Japanese town of Mabase.  Naota already has an awkward relationship with his brother’s ex-girlfriend Mamimi and his own family, but his life takes a turn for the bizarre when Haruko Haruharu arrives on the scene.  This pink-haired beauty proceeds to smash Naota’s head in with a guitar, creating a huge mark on his forehead that ends up making an even bigger mess of Naota’s life.  And by bigger mess I mean HIS HEAD BECOMES A PORTAL FOR CRAZY SPACE ROBOTS TO COME OUT OF.  They don’t explain exactly why this happens until later episodes, so don’t expect to understand it right away.

Not shown: crazy space robots

Until then, the focus is put on Naota’s awkward adolescent problems and his attempts to act indifferent and “mature” in the face of increasingly crazy situations, mostly involving Haruko and her obsession with him.  This is interspersed with moments of insane screwball comedy and countless pop culture references, which oddly seem to fit among the surrealist nature of the series and the occasional giant robot fights.  FLCL is certainly not a plot-centric series – it works because of the insane situations and the comparatively low-key character development.  It’s mostly due to the first part, though, that keeps viewers watching.

Characters and Development

Naota Nandaba is the main protagonist of the series.  He is obsessed with being mature, and often acts cynical and indifferent.  His monologues, which occur on a frequent basis, lack emotion and describe insane happenings as if they were mundane.  He insists that “nothing exciting ever happens here (Mabase)”, despite crazy things ALWAYS happening in Mabase.  Naota hates anything that he sees as immature, from school plays to most of the adults in his life.  The behavior of his own family (consisting of his widowed father and grandfather) doesn’t help matters.  Naota tries very hard to be mature, but he usually fails when upset, not to mention how picky of an eater he is.  He idolizes his older brother, who moved to the U.S. to play professional baseball.  This seems to be the primary reason he hangs out with Mamimi, at least at first.  He develops over the course of the series, gaining confidence and figuring what maturity truly means thanks to Haruko and the chaos that follows her arrival.

Mamimi Samejima is a presumably homeless 17-year old and high school truant, Mamimi is the ex-girlfriend of Naota’s brother.  She doesn’t exactly handle his absence well:  the especially clingy girl latches onto Naota, and even calls him “Takkun”, her nickname for his brother.  Mamimi has an air of depression about her, and is prone to self-destructive activities like smoking.  She also has trouble separating reality from fiction at times, leading her further down a dangerous path.  Mamimi has an interest in photography as well: she carries around a camera and is prone to catching pictures of Naota in embarrassing situations.  The ever-changing and always-awkward relationship between her and Naota is the key thing to watch as the series progresses: it’s a good indicator of Naota’s character development.

Haruko Haruharu is a mysterious character that is usually the catalyst of the series’ insanity, and provides plenty of comedy as she teases and obsesses over Naota, much to his chagrin.  She has a secret agenda that somehow has to do with the portal on Naota’s head and the Medical Mechanica company, which has a large factory near Mabase.  She claims to be both an alien and a “Space Patrol Officer”, both of which Naota refuses to believe.  Naota, Mamimi and Haruko are the 3 most prominent characters in FLCL, with Haruko being the driving force behind most of the strange happenings in the city.

Haruko is the number one cause of guitar-related injuries

Kamon Nandaba is Naota’s perverted father: a bakery owner and writer of a self-published trashy tabloid that he sells at the store.  He is essentric and acts far more childish than Naota, to the point where Naota is the one that has to keep him in line.  Kamon is the source of a large number of pop culture references and the series’ trademark “Fooly Cooly” jokes (in Japanese the term is used to describe a fondling motion).  These are only made more effective by his motor mouth delivery.

Kanti is a Medical Mechanica robot with abilities ranging from flight to transformation and taking x-rays with its television-like head.  He ends up living with Naota’s family as a servant of sorts, and to no one’s surprise, only Naota seems to be at all concerned about the situation.  Despite being incapable of speech, Canti expresses plenty of emotion and often wanders around town aimlessly.  The people of the city pay him no mind; either they’re familiar with Medical Mechanica robots, or it is simply a case of the show’s surreal nature winning out over common sense.  Haruko passes him off as useless, but he ends up playing a big role in the plot of the series.

Did I mention he kicks ass on other robots? Because he does that.

Eri Ninamori is one of Naota’s classmates and the daughter of Mabase’s mayor.  Eri acts even more mature than Naota, and is very intelligent for her age.  She is rarely phased by anything ever, and finds rather indirect ways of channeling her frustrations with her family, keeping her feelings restrained to an unhealthy degree.  One of her emotional outlets happens to be a school play, which leads to her clashing with Naota, who views them as childish and stupid.  Despite this, she shows hints of having a crush on him.

Amarao initially appears as a mysterious foil to Haruko: he warns Naota not to get close to her in his first appearance.  His dignified way of speaking and aura of wisdom is only a mask – he is actually quite immature and engages in less than respectable behavior at times.  This makes him more comparable to Naota or Eri than any adult in the series.  Nonetheless, Amarao is a commander with the Department of Interstellar Immigration who seeks to put an end to Haruko’s plans.  Amarao’s most distinctive feature are his giant fake eyebrows, which he wears to appear more manly (he has a bit of a complex about manliness).  In sharp contrast is Amarao’s Lieutenant Kitsurubami, an attractive young woman who is the only “mature” adult in the series.

Plot Development

It is difficult to determine exactly what the “main” plot of FLCL is: Haruko’s true identity and goals, and the role that the robots coming out of Naota’s head play in them, form the biggest mysteries in the series.  At the beginning of the series, the mysterious Medical Mechanica company is introduced as a presumed antagonist.  They build a huge iron-shaped plant in Mabase, which regularly releases huge amounts of steam (this also helps the setting seem more surreal).  Their true goals and role in the series plot however, aren’t shown until practically the final episode.

There’s probably a giant ironing board somewhere too. . .

But the majority of the series is focused on character development, specifically the development of Naota, Mamimi and Eri, while the other characters and the situation with Naota’s head add in some comic relief.  Actual “plot” moments tend to be quick, only giving subtle hints as to what’s really going on.  The mysteries surrounding Haruko, the robots and Medical Mechanica are rapidly revealed later on when Amarao and the Department of Interstellar Immigration appear to combat Haruko and Kanti.

The ending is truly epic: the title of the final episode, “FLCLimax”, is very much an appropriate way to describe it.  All the hanging plot ends are brought to a close: Medical Mechanica remains as mysterious as ever despite their major part in the plot, though.  Again, it is the characters that this series cares about, not the antagonistic faceless company that advances the plot.

Art Style and Animation

FLCL’s art style beautifully fuses high-quality visuals and a more super-deformed style, often using both in the same scenes to exaggerate characters’ expressions during tense moments.  While the series in general leans towards realistic, the super-deformed style is used a lot during fast-paced comedic scenes, turning them into over-the-top chaotic action sequences.  That said, the usage of mostly subdued colors and the (possibly intentional) lack of background or facial details at dramatic turns play a large role in establishing the surreal mood of the series in general.

The most detailed animation is reserved for fight scenes, which are very well choreographed and feature some really good-looking scenes of Kanti transforming and beating the crap out of much bigger robots.  On the other hand, Haruko’s weapon of choice gives her a unique fighting style (bashing in heads with a guitar), and she’s more prone to go beyond the impossible with her evasive maneuvers, inserting a bit of comedy into many fights.

The art style is occasionally changed completely in order to parody various things, something that Gainax is fond of doing in their more comedic series.  Two scenes feature a fast-paced and very amusing “manga” art style, while another scene has Naota drawn like a South Park character in a direct parody of the show.

Music and Voice Acting

All the music in FLCL was written and performed by the Japanese rock band The Pillows, who provide a good mix of low-key tunes and loud guitar and vocal songs for fight scenes.  Their “Little Busters” song, which usually plays at the climax of each episode, could be considered the main theme of the series, along with the awesome ending theme “Ride on Shooting Star”.  Aside from fight themes, the more restrained tunes do a great job of setting a surreal mood for most of the series, and matches up with the cynical indifference displayed by Naota in most of his monologues.  Although, the fact that the music isn’t used that much and often played softly may have more to do with that.

As for the voice acting, I admit that I have a lot of bias in favor of English dub, as I’ve watched dubbed episodes of this show many, many times.  I did watch the subtitled version to give it a fair chance though.  The Japanese voices are quite good, but I would still strongly recommend the dub over it.  Haruko’s Japanese actor in-particular sounds a bit too silly for my tastes – it’s fine for comedic scenes but lacks the depth to make the more dramatic scenes believable.  On the other hand, Haruko is voiced by one of my personal favorite voice actresses, Keri Wahlgreen, in English.  She really has a nack for portraying both serious and more comedic characters like Haruko with a surprising amount of depth: she does a terrific job with Haruko.   Also, the episodes tend to move quickly, especially during comedic moments, so I find it easier to watch in English as opposed to having to read subtitles.

Overall

If you’re looking for a series with a deep plot that’ll make you think about the meaning of life and all that, you won’t find it in FLCL.  What you will find is a short, charming anime about finding the confidence to overcome adolescent difficulties and mature, mixed in with chaotic comedy and an insane, over-the-top plot involving giant robot fights and cosmic entities.  FLCL is one of the most surreal series out there, switching between super-deformed action comedy, low-key character development scenes and (mostly) realistic fights between robots tearing each other’s insides out.  It’ll make you laugh, think and possibly cry: FLCL is an infinitely entertaining series that is short enough for me to recommend MULTIPLE viewings of.  If you even slightly enjoy comedic anime, giant robots or surreal drama, FLCL is the perfect way to spend 3 hours.

The eyebrows demand it!

Update!

Yeah. . . three weeks without a post is terrible I know.  A lot of real-life stuff came up, work was really rough and my experiments with Five Hour Energy did not work out as planned.  Nonetheless, those are all the excuses I’ve got.  I’ll try to get another post out this week, but it might take until next week depending on circumstances.  I will only be making posts every two weeks from now on as well, but I plan to actually be consistent with them from now on.

The Amazing Spider-Man – No More Tobey

It’s already here, actually

I apologize for the two week wait, I had a few issues with work and the realization that, if I’m going to review a movie that I see in theaters, I have to do it the very next day or not at all.  Now you get to enjoy a review of a film that hasn’t even seen its first weekend: The Amazing Spider-Man.  Does it live up to the Sam Raimi/Tobey Maguire films?  We’ll see.

Story

Like the 2002 Spider-Man film, The Amazing Spider-Man is an origin story.  Peter Parker is an awkward teen that lives with his aunt and uncle, gets bitten by an enhanced super-spider, and gains his trademark powers (though they did miss the Spider Sense).  Uncle Ben is then shot and killed by a thief whom Peter could have stopped, leading him to become a vigilante.  The basic plot similarities between this film and the 2002 movie may bore some viewers, but there are more than enough differences for The Amazing Spider-Man to stand on its own.  One of Peter Parker’s biggest motivations in the movie is to find out what happened to his parents, who left him with Aunt May and Uncle Ben at a young age before departing for parts unknown.  His investigations lead him to Dr. Connors, a former college of his father’s, who reveals that the two of them were researching cross-species genetics as a way to cure illnesses and re-grow lost limbs.  Dr. Connors is still involved with cross-species genetics research under Oscorp, and is being pressured by his superior to find a cure for the unseen CEO of Oscorp, Norman Osborn.

Of course, cross-species genetics were responsible for creating the spider that gave Peter his powers, and also give birth to Spider-Man’s first nemesis and the main antagonist of the film: The Lizard.  Well, the main antagonist alongside Oscorp, which operates as your standard mysterious corporation that drives the plot along with its complete lack of business ethics.  Peter also has to deal with the police’s attempts to bring him in, which is made awkward considering the manhunt is led by Cpt. George Stacy, the father of his girlfriend Gwen.

The movie focuses mainly on Peter’s troubles and heroic exploits as Spider-Man and has very few subplots, thus allowing more time for the characters to shine (and shine they do).  The film leaves a lot of loose ends when it comes to the whereabouts of Peter’s parents and the future role of Oscorp, but ultimately leaves plenty of material for potential sequel films to cover, and creates some buzz for the next one with a post-credits scene.  Marvel movies in general have gotten really good at the whole hype-creating thing.

Characters

Andrew Garfield plays Peter Parker/Spider-Man, who I think pulls off the role much better than Tobey Maguire did.  Garfield actually looks and acts like an awkward outcast, as opposed to Maguire’s Hollywood nerd character.  Peter’s troubled past and high intelligence play major roles in the story too; both were ignored in the 2002 film.  He doesn’t become a wise cracking vigilante right away either – he actively hunts the criminal that killed Uncle Ben and pushes his aunt away in the process.  The parts where he does wise crack behind the mask are short, but quite amusing nonetheless.  I actually would’ve liked to see more of that. . . maybe in the sequel.  Peter’s development from a troubled and angry teen into a true hero really shows as he earns the respect of the people around him: he doesn’t just take Uncle Ben’s advice and develop fully right then and there.  The difference in personality that Peter displays behind the mask as opposed to his normal behavior is also displayed quite nicely.

Dr. Connors’ motivations are known right from the start: he wants to help sick and disabled people through his cross-species genetics research, including himself (he has one arm).  He feels that everyone should be able to benefit from his breakthroughs (which Peter helped him achieve).  These desires end up causing huge problems for Connors and Spider-Man, when his superiors at Oscorp push the normally ethical scientist to extreme measures.  Connors is ultimately a flawed character that both Peter and the viewers sympathize with, even as his actions become more and more extreme.

Gwen Stacy, not Mary Jane, was Peter Parker’s first love in the comics, and correctly appears in this movie.  Even though Peter is a shy outcast and Gwen is extroverted and (presumably) popular, they end up getting together thanks to the bond of science and the age-old “opposites attract” theory.  Emma Stone plays Gwen as a peppy and somewhat stubborn girl, who insists on staying with Peter and helping him out even after learning of his alter ego (while somehow avoiding damsel in distress status).  Though the vast differences between the two lead to some. . . interesting exchanges of dialogue.

And by interesting I mean hilariously awkward.

Uncle Ben and Aunt May are essentially Peter’s parents, and act as such; worrying about Peter’s increasingly angry behavior and embarrassing him in front of Gwen.  Uncle Ben (played wonderfully by Martin Sheen) in particular establishes himself as a witty yet hard-working blue collar man, who only wants Peter to be happy.  When Ben meets his tragic end, it’s quite jarring, even though most viewers know its coming.  Almost all of the major characters are affected by his death as well, even the SCHOOL BULLY that torments Peter.  Aunt May, who originally stood up for Peter when Ben scolded him, ended up scolding Peter herself when the former’s behavior turned cold.

Police Captain George Stacy leads the manhunt for Spider-Man, assuming the role of the authority figure that opposes the web-slinger’s vigilante activities.  He and the police pose a much bigger threat to Spider-Man than J. Jonah Jameson and his negative PR did in the first film: they are far more competent than most superhero movie cops.  He has a strong sense of justice, and thus is easily irritated when Peter defends Spider-Man’s actions over dinner with the Stacy family.

Flash Thompson, the jock that constantly bullies Peter at school, does more than simply fill the role of stereotypical school bully.  While he does beat on Peter and some others, he starts to show humility after being stood up to and embarrassed by a super-powered Parker.  He stops bullying Peter completely after Uncle Ben’s death, sympathizing with him, and eventually even befriending him.  His hero worship of Spider-Man is touched on as well.  This is probably the first time I’ve wanted a school bully type to actually recur in a series.

Visuals

The previous series of Spider-Man films (and many of the more recent Marvel comics films) have all boasted impressive visuals and fight scenes, and The Amazing Spider-Man is no different.  Overhead shots of the city, particularly those featuring Oscorp Tower, stand out among billions of similar shots in other films.  The stunts and fight scenes are pulled off with more realism than in the previous Spidey films.  Spider-Man actually looks like he’s swinging from building to building as opposed to gliding through the air with a rope, and the fight scenes involve no shaky camera tricks, only Spidey flipping off walls onto guys’ shoulders and tossing them down with his legs.

Maximum Spider!

The Lizard is brought to life with a combination of stunt doubles, CGI and motion capture, with the final product being genuinely intimidating and slightly creepy with the human-like scaly head attached to a 10-foot tall monster body.  He smashes things and tries to break Spidey’s arms as you’d expect, but he also talks: personally I’d rather he look more lizard-like as far as the head goes.  The Lizard’s going to look silly either way when he’s taunting Spider-Man with his booming voice.  This movie manages to make good use of 3D, focusing on Spider-Man’s web slinging and swinging and taking advantage of The Lizard’s huge size and large pieces of debris.  At the same time, they’re smart enough to keep it out of the way during character moments.  This movie was actually shot for 3D unlike many of its brethren, resulting in a much cleaner product.

The last thing you want to see outside your window

Music

There really isn’t a whole lot to say about the soundtrack of the movie: it recalls the music other Marvel films like The Incredible Hulk and The Avengers with its dramatic crescendos at “epic” moments and its quiet background chords during dialogue.  The music certainly is not a huge factor in the film, especially during extended character scenes where it’s absent altogether.  The 2002 film actually eclipses Amazing Spider-Man in this regard. . . the original had to win SOMETHING, right?

Overall

The Amazing Spider-Man looks and feels like your usual summer superhero movie, but is more realistic with its visuals and its characters.  Nothing feels bland in this film, despite the plot being very simplistic and Spider-Man’s origin treading the same ground as the 2002 version at times.  It is quite similar to The Avengers in that it actually feels like a comic book movie, with The Avengers focusing a bit more on the humor aspect of comic stories.  Spidey comics were always a bit more serious than others, along with the X-Men, so it makes sense for Peter Parker’s character development to be at the forefront.  This is by far the best Spider-Man movie yet – I would recommend it to any movie lover of any age.