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Mr March

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  1. Mr March
    That sounds like a cool idea. I'm not sure if I'm even aware how many of these models AgaveCacuts has built as yet. So maybe we should make sure to let folks know before voting.
  2. Mr March
    I think Macross does a fairly good job illustrating the various strengths of the mecha armor or firepower of the various guns, even if we never get definitive statistics on the subject. I mean, does anyone think a Reguld Battle Pod is as powerful defensively as a Queadluun-Rau? Does anyone think that a standard 30mm gun pod on a VF-11 Thunderbolt is anywhere near as powerful as the GU-XS-06 Gun Pod for the VF-11C APS-11 Protect Armor? Nothing in the trivia objectively states the various power levels, but we're all given the impression through the anime that the Q-Rau is a heavily armored beast and the GU-XS-06 is a capital ship shredder. I think that should be enough for most fans to get the idea.
  3. Mr March
    Niccol's films have always been interesting even when they haven't been entirely successful. The guy has a knack for choosing very interesting subjects, always managing to grab me with the premise of whatever story he's building into his film. I'm interested in this one and will definitely be checking it out.
  4. Mr March
    HG isn't worth the intelligent use of irony used in your original post, so I've fixed it
  5. Mr March
    I think the world building and the theme they are going for is what I like so much about the trailers. The production design and costumes are fully committed, going all out to sell this fictional world. I also really appreciate that although yes, the Mad Max/Road Warrior "brand" is being used to sell a known product to audiences, "Fury Road" isn't a remake or sequel. Instead it feels like a legtimate modern take on the basic concept of the Mad Max world. I don't get the sense that this is the exact same old Mad Max, but a new way of looking at a similar type of story. They've just updated it to be more relevant to modern audiences or the times. The second of the original films did a great job commenting on humanity through the characters and it feels like this film is doing the same but making a different statement. The trailers do a strong job of selling that "world gone mad" and early reviews sound like the film also has something to say about humanity and the loss of it. I'm really curious too so I'm going to check it out this weekend.
  6. Mr March
    Yes, that's generally how ECA would work. It's possible ECA and PPB could be linked, but for certain ECA would be independent (since variable fighters were using ECA well before fighter-scale Pin-Point Barriers came about) No, you weren't hearing things. There is some kind of laser counter meaure mentioned, as Seto pointed on when Isamu talks about "anti-laser coating". Technically, that makes anti-optical armor canon...sort of. HOWEVER, nothing was ever written of this in any official trivia until the Macross Chronicle (at least as far as I know). Much like creations such as "hypercarbon" and other Macross-isms, the "actuality" of what these things are is a matter of debate. Not every piece of dialog or technology presented in a Macross anime production ends up becoming part of the official world-building of the franchise. Sometimes these things are just throwaway dialog or placeholder tech to serve a plot/character purpose in the story narrative. Sometimes they are created, the creator thinks better of it over time, and eventually they are dropped. Sometimes the creators just forget...they are only human after all. Up until the Macross Chronicle was published in 2008, no fan could be faulted for not even being aware this anti-laser thing existed in Macross at all! So that's why I say, there "may" be a case for calling it retroactive continuity...to a certain extent. Like any written piece of fiction, the Macross productions and it's world building are not perfect.
  7. Mr March
    Yeah, someone posted a topic about it earlier. It's still really awesome. I love the look.
  8. Mr March
    Bloody brilliant. Really good to see it from numerous different angles that - if not for this 3D model - we might never have seen of it. Any chance of some hi-res versions of these pics like the other models he's done?
  9. Mr March
    If I recall correctly, years ago this issue came up and a former member on these forums once addressed it by describing the raw thrust/power vs. aerodynamics in regards to the Macross variable fighters. I wish I could remember it all, but I believe the gist of what he wrote was that even the lowly VF-1 Valkyrie possesses 3-4 times the thrust-to-weight performance of the best modern jet fighter craft and he argued with that much raw thrust at the pilot's command, all kinds of maneuvers using the thrust vectoring/vernier thrusters could be achieved above and beyond what a more aerodynamically superior fighter with conventional performance could hope to achieve. I don't know if that interpretation of the physics is actually correct, but at the time it sounded convincing to a layman like me
  10. Mr March
    I hate crap like that. That gives film fans such a bad reputation. But I suppose it's just as bad on the flip side, with plenty of folks hating on anything artful or foreign I think a big part of loving film is loving ALL film. Recognizing great filmmaking and quality in each genre and being able to enjoy it without shame. My collection has all kinds of hilarious pair ups in alphabetical order Ghostbusters next to Ghost in the Shell How To Train Your Dragon next to Inception Malcolm X next to the Matrix Robocop next to Rome Terminator 2 next to There Will Be Blood Thor next to Traffic There's room in my collection for Ex Machina AND Avengers: Age of Ultron. To hell with the snobs
  11. Mr March
    There's some excellent discussion going on about the movie on many different sites. The Playlist has an excellent feature that is worth a listen if you want to geek out a bit more about this great film. http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/podcast-the-playlist-programs-a-spoiler-heavy-talk-about-alex-garlands-ex-machina-20150504 Enjoy
  12. Mr March
    Many of the VF-1 toys will have one style or the other, or both. I know some of my old Yamato accessory sets came with multiple sets of different hands, like the armored set. I think the new Arcadia figures are DYRL-style exclusively, but you may want to research more about that since I only have one figure. I don't like the old, rounded TV hands. But to each their own. IMO, the old TV hands always looked outdated on the VF-1 Valkyrie and their articulation capability was always questionable. I think they are a remnant of the old super robot aesthetic with little reason to be on a real robot. I can understand why Kawamori and Co. changed them to the more realistic articulation of the DYRL style and have gone with a similar style on every valkyrie since.
  13. Mr March
    Typically I prefer the DYRL paint schemes because they are more detailed and interesting. But I must say I do like more color as opposed to less, so things like Max's TV color scheme is better because there is more blue on his VF-1A and especially on his VF-1J. I guess I'd like a DYRL style with more colored panels to make it less white. I rather enjoy the differences in animation style from TV to film, neither one really trumping the other but both are interesting. It's mostly to do with the shadows, how the TV ones feel more 'white' while the DYRL valkyries have harder, darker shadows. And of course, the DYRL style manipulators (hands) are better.
  14. Mr March
    Oh, for sure. I mean, keep in mind we only ever get part of the picture from interviews like this. And we all know the situation is more complex than the generalizations that I've laid out. But we can't really ever know the specifics of the business and creative processes in their totality. We only get hints, shades and fragments even reading, listening and watching all the publically made content about these films as we can. I just like to pull back from the deification of these personalities and companies because it so often leads to more harm than good. I know people love their heroes and their hero worship, but Marvel is an organization of people like any other. And no one is worthy of that mantel or the worship, only admiration or respect. As much as I may like Marvel, Valve, HBO, or Halliburton (lawls), they do dumb crap and make bad moves like anyone else. Same as directors, no matter how much I like them. I'm mostly on board with what Feige and Marvel are doing, but I have my reservations and criticisms. They will have to always work hard to maintain trust. I hope for the best. Guess will all be there to see what happens.
  15. Mr March
    I've listened to it. it's not nearly as dramatic as all that. But the podcast does underscore how even some of the most powerful and commercially successful creative forces have to often fight tooth and nail to get quality on screen. I know legions of Marvel fanboys want everyone to believe Marvel Studios is a benevolent, underdog force for good, showing up the old evil, established Hollywould studios, beating them at their own game. The truth is Marvel is just as much a bureaucratic monster as the other studios, only difference is they are doing their business right for the new era of filmmaking while the other studis are stumbling around. That's all. At the end of the day, the fight between commercial interests vs. creative ones rages ever on
  16. Mr March
    I'm actually thinking a step beyond that. I agree a shorter running time would solve pacing problems, reduce repetition and add more immediacy and dramatic tension. But it wouldn't solve many of the biggest problems with Macross 7. Whether you like the characters or not, try to think of them in terms of definable traits and dramatic circumstances, to determine their narrative potential. For example, Mylene has some potentially interesting elements to her character such as her youthful exuberance, her love for music and a defiant determination to follow through on the potential of both. These aspects of her personality are at odds with (and often clash with) the social mores and gender roles of her society. Now over the 49 episodes of the Macross 7 series, far too little of that is present in her character story to make exploring those elements all that engaging and thus little dramatic tension can be maintained. Also, Mylene's character arc lacks sufficient impact upon the plot. But imagine this: what if the available material for Mylene were edited into a much shorter 24 or 12 episode version of Macross 7, Further, what if there were some way to re-imagine the Protodeviln so that a big part of their own existence were somehow thematically tied to Mylene's own character arc? Perhaps the Protodeviln - as aliens/outsiders in our reality - must also learn to focus their own exuberance and talents in a way that constructively aligns with their current reality (basically, fitting in and playing well with others instead of warfare). Mylene then becomes the conduit through which her own arc is resolved and leads to understanding between humans/Zentradi and the Protodeviln, in which a plot device like Basara could still play a key, but secondary role that is more theme than character (which would mirror his current status in the existing M7 narrative quite well). Like I have posted, I don't if there is enough useful material to re-edit into that, but Mylene as a character with growth potential and an arc that ties into the theme of the overall story (in a significant way) would be far more compelling of a story than what there is now.
  17. Mr March
    Saw the new "Tomorrowland" trailer opening for Avengers: Age of Ultron. Looks even better than the first. I really am charmed by Brad Bird's love affair with 1940-1950 era science fiction. He takes that aesthetic, updates/reimagines it and then infuses it with modern sensibilities and relevant topical stories. It works so well in his other films and he again looks to have another interesting tale to tell here. Impressed so far.
  18. Mr March
    Oh, it is definitely a thing. Especially during Man of Steel's release, the film blog-o-sphere, twitter and the websites were all talking about it. As I said, I'm not necessarily opposed to the idea nor unsympathetic to the senitment. It just felt REALLY obvious to the point of bludgeoning the audience. Congratulations on winning your argument, LOL!
  19. Mr March
    Great film with as much fun, action and character as the first Avengers movie. Another solid entry into the Marvel film canon. Could go on and on with praise, but needless to say I loved the flick. Stinger at the end was amazing, as always Couple of critcisms... I can really feel there was some kind of political message going on with the whole civilian casualties thing. Throughout the entire film the script missed no opportunity to show the heroes concerned about the civilians and all the potential collateral damage that could happen from these massive super-powered battles. That HAS to be a direct reaction to the what I read last year about Whedon's reaction to the Man of Steel city-destroying casualties controversy. I must admit, I found it far too obvious and a little annoying, despite it being something I very much agree with. But I do appreciate the message and understand why it was so prominent. The pace of the Avengers films have always been part of the fun, but this time I thought it worked against the film somewhat. There were several moments where I was asking myself how everyone got where they were, how they knew where to show up or even why they were there. The short side-story with Thor was also a little iffy and a bit too plot-convenient. 5 out of 5. A sequel film as clever, funny and action-packed as the first film with just as much heart and character. Another win for Marvel Studios and fans.
  20. Mr March
    It's a curious idea to reduce the running time/episode count of a series so it tells a stripped down version of the same story. But I think fan edits are more interesting when the editor discovers the possibility of a new through line for an existing narrative, altering the focus of the story onto a different character(s) or different, but pre-existing elements of the plot. I've always felt one of the larger flaws in Macross 7 is a crtically uninteresting main character and the lack of enough material to make any of the supporting cast engaging enough over the lengthy run time of the series. Now to be fair, few of the Macross lead characters have been all that interesting as personalities, but they are often written with entertaining character arcs, are used to explore interesting larger ideas and have interesting places in the plot of their respective series. I'd be curious if a re-edit of the available material in Macross 7 could produce a more entertaining character arc for one or more of the characters and make the plot flow smoother so as to be more rewarding. I don't think Max, Milia, Ray or Veffidas have near enough material to work into another narrative, but it would be interesting to consider if characters like Mylene or Gamlin could have their material re-edited into something tighter and more entertaining in a shorter span of time.
  21. Mr March
    That is seriously cool! It looks so much like the fan racer. Uncanny!
  22. Mr March
    They could do far worse than Wan. And Wan might just be a good match for an over-the-top, melodramatic big summer version of Robotech. But this news, as interesting as it is, is still just in-the-shuffle talk. They really need to get their crap together with the development of this project.
  23. Mr March
    Just goes to show how little consideration is given to the site by it's owners.
  24. Mr March
    Going off topic momentarily... I agree the VF-0 Phoenix head lasers were shown as only useful against unarmed/lightly armored objects (like missiles) but ineffective against mecha (the SV-51 or the Octos). However, the head unit lasers from the VF-1 Valkyrie and onwards are shown several times as deadly against enemy mecha. Roy's VF-1S Valkyrie uses the head lasers to completely destroy a Reguld Battle Pod in one of the earliest episodes of SDF Macross (episode 2?). Also, Max severly damages Milia's Queadluun-Rau powered suit with the VF-1S head lasers in the DYRL? film. And as GuardianGrey has pointed out, in Macross Plus the head cannons are dangerous to enemy mecha (at least in fighter mode) as shown in the YF-19 vs. YF-21 fight. This continues in Macross Frontier also, with Brera's VF-27 desperately dodging laser fire from Alto piloting his VF-25 and attacking with the head cannons while in fighter mode. If later head lasers were as useless in battle as those on the VF-0 Phoenix, they'd be disregarded as harmless by pilots, just like Nora did in her SV-51. Clearly, they are dangerous, at least as anti-aircraft weapons...which is what they are called. Back on topic... Answering GuardianGrey The specifics of ECA don't go into the kind of detail we'd need to completely understand how it works. But I can say for certain that ECA is not an ablative effect nor is it any kind of force field upon/within the armor itself, at least as the official trivia describes the technology. Most likely, ECA is using electromagnetic energy to strengthen the molecular bonds of the armor material at an atomic level. I believe this is called - and take into account I'm way out of my scientific comfort zone here - magnetic field manipulation of chemical bonding. Since we are talking about beam/laser weapons against armor - and this is where an actual claim of "retroactive continuity" may have merit - it's worth mentioning the Macross Chronicle does describe several times of Anti-Optical Weapon Vaporization Armor being standard on most mecha. This anti-optical armor is often written within the context that explains why military vehicles are still using projectile weapons like gun pods in an age of practical directed energy weapons and high-speed, high maneuverability micro-missiles. Basically, Kawamori and Co. love gun pods and will write their universe with whatever fiction necessary to justify the continued use of projectile weapons
  25. Mr March
    Yes, very true. Re-reading, I kinda realize that Seto posted something similar earlier and it went over my head Regardless, I am thankful to you both. I'm writing an addition to the entry just for this. It's too helpful not to include it.
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