Macross Frontier Movie I & II - US Theaters

[Shizuka the Cat]

Macross Frontier: The False Songstress | June 16  US Premiere - English Subtitled (FATHOM EVENTS)

 

Macross Frontier: The Wings of Farewell | June 30  US Premiere - English Subtitled (FATHOM EVENTS)

 

Edited May 22, 2022 by Shizuka the Cat

[no3Ljm]

Welcome back @Shizuka the Cat!  

[jenius]

@Shizuka the Cat is good people! 

[sh9000]

https://www.fathomevents.com/events/Macross-Frontier-The-False-Songstress

https://www.fathomevents.com/events/Macross-Frontier-The-Wings-of-Farewell

[Rock]

Oh damn! Both showings are at a local theater 10min away! SOLD!

[Shizuka the Cat]

11 hours ago, no3Ljm said:

Welcome back @Shizuka the Cat!  

11 hours ago, jenius said:

@Shizuka the Cat is good people! 

Thank you!  It is good to be back.

The Macross Frontier movies are showing at a few theaters close to MIT campus.  Part of me wants to go see them... but I am still concerned about COVID, and I have seen these movies like 12 years ago.... but... but... theater experience.... but... but..... pandemic.... but...... but.....

[Bolt]

35 minutes ago, Shizuka the Cat said:

Thank you!  It is good to be back.

The Macross Frontier movies are showing at a few theaters close to MIT campus.  Part of me wants to go see them... but I am still concerned about COVID, and I have seen these movies like 12 years ago.... but... but... theater experience.... but... but..... pandemic.... but...... but.....

I understand. Luckily we saw M+ in a good size theater and had the whole row to ourselves. Even though about 30-40 people showed up, everyone seemed to have plenty of room. I want a big turn out for any Macros event, here in the sates, but I still want a little distance from folks. In any case. I'm going🙂

[Shizuka the Cat]

Just saw this new article published in Forbes today.  Love seeing Macross, especially Macross Frontier, mentioned in the news!

https://www.forbes.com/sites/olliebarder/2022/05/22/the-macross-frontier-movies-will-finally-get-a-us-theatrical-release-this-june/

[Bolt]

Deculture momentum is building !

[Shizuka the Cat]

I wonder if this means Macross Frontier will get a US blu-ray release.... for A LOT cheaper than what I paid for the Japanese blu-ray imports.... sigh

[Seto Kaiba]

Just got my tickets... I'm kinda surprised to see so few seats being taken in the theater this time around.  There was a pretty respectable turnout for [i]Macross Plus[/i].  

(Though part of me suspects the usual summer road work may be partly to blame, with folks opting to see showings closer to home.)

[jenius]

Also, the first Macross Frontier movie is terrible. SOMEONE HAD TO SAY IT!

The second one is *kinda* saved by mech porn. 

[sh9000]

[Yertle]

Bummed that the smaller local theatre that had M+ won’t have be showing the Frontier movies, but it just means I have to go to the bigger AMC five minutes down the road instead. A reasonable sacrifice

I’m actually in the middle of a biweekly Macross franchise rewatch with my siblings. We’re in the middle of Frontier right now so I had to throw in an off-schedule extra day so we could finish the series proper before movie the fathom events. 

Edited May 25, 2022 by Yertle
Didn’t want to double post

[jvmacross]

I bought the Macross Frontier The Movie 30th d Shooting Star b Bluray Boxset years ago for the illustration books it contained....but I have never actually watched the movies, guess maybe I should....I like the tv series enough, but not enough to go and pay for subtiled movie versions on the big screen....I made an exception for Macross Plus a few months ago to support the "cause" (a total of 3 people at my showing), but will definitely pass on these releases....time to dust off the MacF Movie boxset!

Edited May 26, 2022 by jvmacross

[Bolt]

On 5/23/2022 at 10:32 PM, jenius said:

Also, the first Macross Frontier movie is terrible. SOMEONE HAD TO SAY IT!

The second one is *kinda* saved by mech porn. 

Lol. Are you going to see it @jenius

[jenius]

No, I have young kids so it's very tough for me to get to the theater these days. While I love Macross Frontier, I was really let down by the movies... I think my hopes were just way too high after enjoying the show and DYRL. I had visions of a DYRL approach to Frontier. 

[Shizuka the Cat]

12 hours ago, jenius said:

No, I have young kids so it's very tough for me to get to the theater these days. While I love Macross Frontier, I was really let down by the movies... I think my hopes were just way too high after enjoying the show and DYRL. I had visions of a DYRL approach to Frontier. 

I am kind of in agreement with @jenius

I love Macross Frontier.  It's my favorite of the Macross shows. I loved the music, the spectacle, the story of the TV series.

But the Macross Frontier movies? Umm... other than the spectacle, I feel like the movies did not live up to the TV series. It was so disappointing.

Because of that, I am probably not going to see the Frontier movies at the AMC near me. *sigh* I really wish I could love the movies.

[Rock]

8 hours ago, Shizuka the Cat said:

I am kind of in agreement with @jenius

I love Macross Frontier.  It's my favorite of the Macross shows. I loved the music, the spectacle, the story of the TV series.

But the Macross Frontier movies? Umm... other than the spectacle, I feel like the movies did not live up to the TV series. It was so disappointing.

Because of that, I am probably not going to see the Frontier movies at the AMC near me. *sigh* I really wish I could love the movies.

That is how I felt about the films at first. The. I went 6 or so years and watched them on their own, and they held up much better.

 

I somewhat share that opinion on all series vs ova movie specials.

[Chewie]

Just bought tickets for both of these locally. So happy to see this. 

[deathzealot]

Honestly. I think even if you do not like the movies you should go. As the more people, and money they bring, the easier chance we may get more Macross content coming to the United States in the future. However, that is just my personal thought on it. 

Edited June 4, 2022 by deathzealot

[Rock]

ANN article about MacrossF's subtitles and the movie's updated subtitles.
https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/feature/2022-06-08/make-it-like-a-hollywood-movie-the-story-of-macross-frontier-films-official-english-subtitles/.186303

[Bolt]

1 hour ago, Rock said:

ANN article about MacrossF's subtitles and the movie's updated subtitles.
https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/feature/2022-06-08/make-it-like-a-hollywood-movie-the-story-of-macross-frontier-films-official-english-subtitles/.186303

Thanks very much !

[sh9000]

[Rock]

Only 7 people showed up for the film here.

[Rock]

49 minutes ago, Rock said:

Only 7 people showed up for the film here.

Correction only 4 others...

[M'Kyuun]

Getting ready to go see False Songstress at 7 PM PST. I've watched the series twice, but I've never watched either of the films, so I'm going in fresh. Part of me wishes these were dubbed, if only so I can concentrate on the visuals more without having to read subs, but there's something to be said about watching a foreign film in the original language with the inflection thereof.

Anyway, I'm hoping to enjoy it.  Along with Plus and SDF:M, I think it's one of the best Macross productions, and the VF-25 cemented itself as one of my favorite valks. Too, I liked the character development of both Ranka and Sheryl- Alto pretty much stayed the same broody dude throughout. 😄

Edited June 17, 2022 by M'Kyuun

[Seto Kaiba]

The screening just ended here in my corner of MI. It went extremely well, though the audio mix felt a bit wonky.

All in all, I'm extremely happy I went. To think I'd be able to see these in an actual theater.  It's positively cause to be giddy.

[Lexomatic]

Just got out of my local Fathom Events screening (southeast PA/north DE happens to be well supplied with options, and the nearest location is my home Regal multiplex, just a few minutes away). There were three other audience members. Demographics: all of us were male, age 40-plus. We had to remind the Regal crew to actually start the projector: "7:00? It starts at 7:20, with ads. Wait, you've got a blank screen?"

Pre-roll, there were a couple of cheery statements by the voice actresses for Ranka and Sheryl, and an ad for the so-called "proplica" interactive-electronic toy versions of their microphones, but no other merch. The BIGWEST logo displayed, but that was it; not the usual vanity parade of a half-dozen production committee members, and definitely no Harmony Gold USA. Post-movie was a static card reminding us about Fathom Events, but nothing about part 2 ("The Wings of Farewell") in two weeks.

Movie comments: I've seen the TV series, I'm familiar with the plot, and I've got the Roman album for the visuals, but this is the first I've seen this movie adaptation. Viewed critically, as part one of a two-part story, it doesn't effectively establish all of the points of conflict ... We know that Galaxy (*) is up to skulduggery, and they're fond of cybernetics, but it's not yet established there's a cabal behind Grace. Ranka and Sheryl's song is somehow linked to the Vajra, but we don't know why that's important. We know that Galaxy and Frontier are in a race for the Vajra homeworld, but not why (since, in isolation, the movie doesn't mention humanity's mad scramble to survive via supertech). Presidential aide Leon looks shifty, but that's the only sign the Frontier government-military-industrial complex might not be lily-white.

The Vajra themselves aren't compelling as an adversary: they're big and dangerous, but they've got no personality, and "kaiju property destruction" is a bit abstract -- "hey, mass funeral for 280 people we don't know." The climax of this chapter is that Ranka realizes the Vajra are after her, but neither she nor anyone else understands that the Vajra consider it a rescue (that inversion comes in part two).

(*) If you're not familiar with the naming conventions of the emigration fleets nor the scale of the milieu, "Galaxy" will be confusing. "Wait, so the Frontier fleet is in competition with the entire galaxy? Is that a human galaxy or aliens?"

Edited June 17, 2022 by Lexomatic
Movie comments: refined specific points

[Seto Kaiba]

20 minutes ago, Lexomatic said:

Pre-roll, there were a couple of cheery statements by the voice actresses for Ranka and Sheryl, and an ad for the so-called "proplica" interactive-electronic toy versions of their microphones, but no other merch. The BIGWEST logo displayed, but that was it; not the usual vanity parade of a half-dozen production committee members, and definitely no Harmony Gold USA. Post-movie was a static card reminding us about Fathom Events, but nothing about part 2 ("The Wings of Farewell") in two weeks.

They dropped the ball pretty hard... the ad reel from Fathom that was supposed to be on loop before the screening started pounded home the subject of Part 2 on the 30th with all the subtlety of a piledriver, at intervals of about once every three minutes.

 

20 minutes ago, Lexomatic said:

Movie comments: I've seen the TV series, I'm familiar with the plot, and I've got the Roman album for the art, but this is the first I've seen this movie adaptation. It occurs to me that, as part one of a two-part story, it doesn't effectively establish all of the points of conflict.

It doesn't, but that's by design.  The False Songstress and The Wings of Farewell changed the plot up quite a bit and the Vajra are more active participants in the story.

The series never really depicted the Vajra as the massive threat they were talked up to be.  The movies fixed that, so part 1 is basically introducing the key players and having the Vajra set up their badass credentials by supposedly destroying the entire Macross Galaxy fleet but for a handful of refugee ships.

Spoiler

This was an elaborate ruse in the Macross Frontier TV series, and The False Songstress puts a bit of work into making sure the audience will assume that is also true of the movie version.

Spoiler

But in The Wings of Farewell, it's revealed that the Macross Galaxy fleet really did get wiped out except for a handful of ships carrying refugees... and that the plot twist is different from the one in the series.

 

 

20 minutes ago, Lexomatic said:

We know that Galaxy (*) is up to skulduggery, and they're fond of cybernetics, but it's not yet established there's a cabal behind Grace.

Admittedly for good reason...

Spoiler

... namely, Grace isn't the prime mover in the conspiracy in the movie version.

Spoiler

The Galaxy Executives are.  Grace is subordinate to them, and they're pulling her strings almost as much as she's pulling Brera's.

 

20 minutes ago, Lexomatic said:

Ranka and Sheryl's song is somehow linked to the Vajra, but we don't know why that's important. We know that Galaxy and Frontier are in a race for the Vajra homeworld, but not why. The climax of this chapter is that Ranka realizes the Vajra are after her, but neither she nor anyone else understands that the Vajra consider it a rescue. The Vajra themselves aren't compelling as an adversary: they're big and dangerous, but they've got no personality.

You have to remember these are effectively compilation movies.

The movies are taking it as read that you've already seen the series.

Right before the climax, when they try to arrest Grace, it does come out that Frontier and Galaxy are seeking the Vajra homeworld for its resources... meaning fold quartz, though that'll be discussed in more detail in part 2 and the movie assumes you'd already know that from the series.

The Vajra are big and dangerous, and the audience knows that Galaxy did something to piss them off, but the movie does set the Galaxy fleet up as the greater scope villains for Part 2.

[Stampeed Valkyrie]

Not bad,  its been sometime since I have sat down and watched Frontier either the series or the movies.    There were about 12 people give or take,  and my biggest takeaway was how rough it looked on the big screen.   I think that Macross Plus actually looked sharper,  but could just be the settings the theater was using.    

I'll be at AX on the 30th so I might just go catch a viewing at the theatre near the convention center for the 2nd half.

 

[sharky]

While I was glad to see the Frontier movie in a theater, the movie theater yet again screwed things up a bit.  They didn't have the sound going for most of the pre-movie content.  For some reason they didn't dim the lights as they normally would for the entire viewing.  I even had to close the doors to the auditorium myself.  The sound only seemed to be coming from the front speakers, so I guess it was only in stereo.  A lot of the song scenes sounded muffled/muted, so it didn't have as much impact as it normally would.  I might make pre-emptive move and talk to the manager prior to the view of the 2nd movie.

[Seto Kaiba]

There was one weird moment with the subtitltes when Alto is visiting Ozma in the hospital.

Most of the conspicuous English is subtitled... but when Canaria shows up in her first scene and says "disassociated amnesia" in English, there are no subs, and the subs come back when she says it again in Japanese.

[darkranger12]

Just got back and I was grinning from ear to ear.  Of courrse I knew some of the spots like Sheryl singing at the end due to seeing that scene on Youtube, but it was still fun nevertheless. The theater I was at had more than a dozen people in attendance.  Not a full theater but

[Rock]

7 minutes ago, sharky said:

While I was glad to see the Frontier movie in a theater, the movie theater yet again screwed things up a bit.  They didn't have the sound going for most of the pre-movie content.  For some reason they didn't dim the lights as they normally would for the entire viewing.  I even had to close the doors to the auditorium myself.  The sound only seemed to be coming from the front speakers, so I guess it was only in stereo.  A lot of the song scenes sounded muffled/muted, so it didn't have as much impact as it normally would.  I might make pre-emptive move and talk to the manager prior to the view of the 2nd movie.

The audio was in surround but. There was very little use of it. On part that stood out was when Ranke/Sheryl where chasing Ai-Kun before Alto junps in. Might as well have been stereo through a sound bar.

 

No adds here, just the girl's thank you bits, and a microphone promo at the beginning. A static fanthom event card after the credits... not even a date, trailer or hint for part 2's showing.