Saw the trailer for Steamboy today, and some of you may have noticed an old thread I had in the movie section about how crummy the animation releases feel to me this year. Of course, this was before being informed of Steamboy and other films. I have to admit I was down when there was such a sharp fall-off after Spirited Away. This one is coming courtesy of Katsuhiro Otomo, who also did Akira. Prior to Miyazaki getting recognition here, I would guess that Akira is the most popular international japanese animation film in history. Either that, or Ghost in the Shell. I have sadly only seen Ghost in the Shell, so I'm not familiar with Otomo's work. Who knows it? The trailer looked visually stunning, though gave so little away of the plot because it was such a fragmented montage that I can't speak for story or plot yet. It looks like it could be very good though, and it begins limited release in March 18. That's pretty soon, but there are no reviews in on it yet over at RT.

:wink:

http://worldofkj.com/forum/viewtopic.ph ... t=steamboy

Heh. I rule. This forum is only 5 pages and I still missed that.

Boy don't y'all feel like you're in excellent modding hands right about now.

I'm quoting all your stuff in here to merge threads.

This film has taken a beating from critics in the scheme of things. Its only got 7 reviews in, so could still change dramatically of course, but 71% at rt is pretty bad for an imported animation movie. I don't think I've seen any of the biggies drop below 90, probably not even 95%. Anyways, only two critics don't like it so far, so its probably fine, but as I said, when I saw the trailer it actually looked really good. He has a different style. I can't really compare him to many people since I'm not that well versed, but I'd say he's a bit more gritty than Miyazaki (I know, horriblly different comparison, but that's what I know) who tends to do more fantastic and dream-wolrd type envirnments (compared to urban). Anyways, isn't release coming up soon? Limited on the 18th (very limited) but will probably explode from there.

Hopefully it will do better then the last Anime release, Sky Blue (am I getting the name right?) that was billed as impressive animation as well. Also there was a film Appleseed that also did very poorly at the box office. Even Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence, which was very hyped in the Anime circles did poorly.

I don't think that US audiences associate Anime with the art form that it is rather with the destruction of it in Pokemon, Digimon and all of the others "mons".

Yeah, there's been a lot of these visual stunners that are a bit too adult for anyone but hardcore anime fans to really like.

According to IMDB, Venice Film Festival's offical site and a Japan DVD site, the running time of this movie is about 126 minutes.

http://www.us.imdb.com/title/tt0348121/
http://www.labiennale.org/en/pop-te...n/steamboy.html
http://www.cdjapan.co.jp/detailview.html?KEY=BCBA-2145

However, according to AICN, a theater's offical site and Movieweb, the US version of this movie is about 106 minutes......

http://www.aintitcool.com/display.cgi?id=19168
http://www.cameracinemas.com/playing3.html#20
http://movieweb.com/movies/film.php?2539

Who has seen the US version? Is it true?

Movie costs 20 million to make. Its the most expensive anime to date

In fact, this movie BOMB in Japan......

And than, one person, who has seen the orignal version, said that if the right 20 minutes were excised, it could be a much better film.
It may explain why the U.S. version cuts out 20 minutes....

Nope, it doesn't. Its rotten over at RT at 58% approval only. That is very low as far as these films go. I wonder why? The trailer looked like the movie was at least good fun if nothing exceptional. I was expecting about 80% approval but with a mediocre 6.9 or 7/10 rather than an overly enthusiastic 8/10. Basically, I thought every one would think it was at least pleasant for a go at the theatres. Now it looks like about half the critics that walk out were dissappointed. Who thought the only thing wrong with it was an extra 20 minutes of uneditted footage is going to have their neck of the job chopper-block after this.

The taste of US major movie reviewers is different from fans of the Japan animes.

Many fans of the Japan animes love "Ghost in the Shell 2", but this movie only got mixed reviews from US major movie reviewers .

Yes, so if Steamboy already bombed over there? What would they have expected on this end?

I'm still going to see it, since I've not seen anything animated since Incredibles and I might be going through withdrawel, but I've already refocused on Owl's Moving Castle.

Hey dv!

First off let me remind you that I have the utmost respect for your taste in films and your review writing skills.

However, I must say I'm quite surprised at you for quoting Rotten Tomatoes percentages as your basis for excitement about seeing upcoming films. (You did the same thing with my review of Realms of the Unreal.) I thought this was covered in the standard "Mom Curiculuum" - (ie: If all your friends jumped off a cliff, would you jump off too?). Applied to Rotten Tomatoes, this is like saying: If 42% of your friends jumped off a cliff...

Certainly Rotten Tomatoes percentages may have a pretty direct correlation with box office results, but as to their prediction of the quality of a particular movie, I have found them quite inaccurate. I mean especially with some of the more esoteric genres, not to mention the overseas and indies films, I would be surprised to find universal love for every title, what with reviewer's political and corporate agendas, cutural differences, and individual tastes. As a matter of fact, I can be suspicious of films with overly high RT percentages - it's like humor - a joke that appeals to everyone, is often not nearly as funny as a really oblique one that happens to appeal to your own personal (albeit twisted) sense of humor.

I haven't seen Steamboy yet, but based on my personal interest in the anime genre and retro-technology, I'm not going to let those 42% of reviewers put a damper on my excitement about seeing this one...

:pop:

Hi Bradley :grin:

I'm still going to go see it to. I was just surprised at the reviews, I take them with agrain of salt. I'll disagree with you on their treatment of imports, Hero got 97% heh, probably the highest of any import this year, so I take it with a grain of salt. These kind of Japan Aminimation films actually tend to be pretty high. That's why I wondered what happened here. I thought it would be fresh. I tend to look at overall critic ratings to set expectations. Not that I won't necessarily see the movie. I couple it with my trailer viewing, which made it exciting, but then with Mary's comments about how it Bombed back home (which is more of an indicator to me than even the reviews). I don't know, it still looks pleasant, I'm just surprised hwo condemning the reviews coming in are. Its animation, it'll be fun regardless unless it has an underlying theme that's really offensive.

I also quote RT for movies that I know less about, but still want to comment on, cause its my job to respond to everyone in this forum as best I can in one way or another. No worries. Let me know what you think when you see it, chances are I'll be seeing it today or tomorrow depending on if I want to see it or Malinda & Melinda. Maybe both. Midterms had me on two hours of sleep. I'm going to go collapse in a theatre and see some fun stuff. Was going to go see Walk on Water, but really can't handle something serious right now.

Saw it today. I actually thought it was pretty good. I really enjoyed the feel of the movie, and while some of the vague discussions about "science" yes, that's the word they used, lead to warfare, the excess of technology in the movie inevitably leads to violent confrontations. Anyone with two bits of sense and a keen ear would have grasped that the setting was 1866-7 and that at one point someone (not telling who) says, if you shoot me now you'll put science back fifty years. Hmmmmm, 1877, 1887, 1897, 1907.... *

So you enjoyed it Dolce? I might have to check it out, but likely when the DVD hits. Mediocre business this weekend means it likely won't expand much if at all.

I did actually. Its a tough thing for me to write about because I'm not that well versed in Anime. But I will say it was visually spectacular, and worth the trip to the big screen if it shows up near you. It was stunningly gorgeous to look at. Any critique I have of it would be plot/script, definately not visual. I loved it, and really encourage anyone who can to see it big screen if they are going to see it at all. If you're not going to see it, then, heh, I won't twist your arm. Maybe a B/B+, still deciding as I write the review.

Okay i jsut saw ebert and roeper critiquing this movie. and the clips look horrible. It's about steam power...

Roeper gave it a mild thumbs up.

Ebert gave it a thumbs down, saying that the ending was bad, too many senseless explosions.

Yeah, but those explosions were beautiful I tell you, Beautiful. They don't know shit about history or the futurist movement, that's why they couldn't get the steam part down.

*caution, no specific spoilers here, but it will give the main premesis away*

Its set in the mid 1860's which to anyone that knows about the Industrial Revolution, realizes steam, and specifically steam locomotion, were actually quite a big deal. Only around for a few years, the mid-1800's is the peak of the industrial revolution. So in fact, the research for the movie was smart. That and all they did was transpose the 1910's into the 1860's with the forwarning that warfare technology would reshape the planet. The discourse is straight out of the Marinetti handbook on the beauty of the bomb. Seriously, the rapid rise due to industrialization lead to a "populist" movement in Italy or artists and pholosophers, writers, etc, who embraced the unbearablely fast progress of industry and war. They literally paid homage to "the machine" and alot of thier work praised war as being necessary to cleanse and reform the nation. Well they were asking for it. Enter WWI (1917), the date I mentioned in the earlier post). Really, why did WWI happen? no one really knows. Everyone knows how, and everyone knows about every country pouncing on one intercepted telegram, but basically industrialization and an exxcess of technology played a big hand in it.

In steamboy they place that excess of technology during the height of the industrial revolution only to destroy it at the end (hance the excessive explosions in the ending) with the warning that science has been set back "50" years. Thus referencing the fact that the excess of technology leading to war would be, oh, about 1917. There is also a section on sort of "spaceship" type fliying, which was a technology also birthed under war. (But even later). So actually Steamboy isn't all that dumb in its use of all these war machines, its a refence to WWI, and their placement in 1867 is a reference to the industrial revolution, which is why the movie is uncharacteristically all British characters (not Asian) and the opening scene is in Manchester (notorious industrial center).

*end potentially spoilers*

Uh, did that make any sense?



edit***

I settled for an B+ ultimatley. My review is up here

It runs a bit more like a history paper than a review this time, but I did find the WWI references to be very interesting. Other critics have commented on the unfathomable amount of excessive explosions in this movie, but her, what was WWI if not an excessive explosions? I found the movie visually stunning in its landscape of industrial piping, steam, and violence. I had a bit of trouble with how simple the characters appeared to come off as, but then realized they are simply vehicles to relay the grander vision. This isn't a story about the people, its a story about the machines. I hope some people check out the movie when it expands next week and tell me what they think.

I'm going to get slammed for this... But I rented it, and I didn't finish it.

I'd consider myself a fan of anime. I'm a huge fan of Miyazaki and some anime series but I don't know what it is about this but I wasn't interested, at all. Same thing happend to me with Akira. I don't know... maybe one of these days I'll give both another chance. I think I should have finished watching it... but I started it in the morning (not the best time of day for my attention) so.. maybe that was the case.

Adri, i think from the sound of it you'r more into *fantasy* animation than sci-fi. Akira was always pretty sci-fi to me. Steamboy tries to bridge the gap, but it's consistent use of industrial England cityscape and the disscussions of machine and war still give it a sci-fi element to me rather than a fantastical one. There's no magic or fantastical creatures. Just robots. But the storyline and the sort of more light-handed animation style make it the cross-over into fantasy;and. What did you think of Cowboy Beebop movie? It might really elaborate on which style you prefer more.

I think your analysis is correct. I didn't really enjoy Ghost of the Shell either. I did like the Cowboy Bebop film though. (I think I would like it more if I saw the entire series though...)

Though one sci-fi anime I love is a series called FLCL (Fooly Cooly)...

I haven't read anything in the topic first... wanted to get my thoughts down.

Steamboy was a huge disappointment to me. It's got the very late 19th century STEAM WILL CONQUER THE WORLD STEAMPUNK sort of feel.

I watched about 1/4 in Japanese before flipping it over to English, which it just seemed more suited for. The problem with it is that it just sort of devolves into silliness.

First off there is the central problem between the "crazy-burn-victim-father" and the "crazy-almost-naked-malnourished-crazy-haired-but-"ethical"" grandfather. The point is that unless you are an uber-liberal the whole idea that these two geniuses invented half the technology of the 20th century even if it includes such horrors as "automobiles" (WTF!) isn't so bad.

My favorite moment of the movie is when grandpa goes to both of the kids and tells them why they should join his little rebellion and both kids initially react with a shrug of the shoulders. Sure, things turn in the grandfather's favor when the father goes a little bit overboard, but the morality here is so subtle that the drama is lost.

But all of that doesn't matter. About midway through the movie the giant building attacks the exposition and crazy-father-phantom-of-the-steamopera unleashes everything against Britian and Britian responds with equally futuristic vigor. Then it's just explosions, shouting and madness.

The whole thing then turns into Spider-Man and even has a little sequel built into the end credits.

All throughout is the horrible Scarlett... the annoying little scamp from... guess! America who wants to beat her dog and dreams of anything but being in London. She of course is annoying throughout.

The animation is wonderfully done, but the intricasies give away to endless scenes of brown and black pipes and drab backgrounds. Up until the moment where you finally get to London the whole thing is rather thrilling and the inventions are cool and intricate, but there is just so much later that it turns into a blur.

It seems like everybody in the entire film is absolutely crazy, and I only half believe what everybody is saying.

Worth seeing but in the end, it kind of deserves the reviews it is getting. Unfortunate.

The visuals are astounding. I really would have liked to have seen it on the big screen just for that.

The second half of the film, though, is just lots of smoke, steam, explosions, and not much else. I wasn't even sure if I was following at times. Didn't really care, honestly.

I would have to say "Yep" to this post.

Although the explosion at the end is pretty damn cool.