Ghostbusters II

We're back!

Ghostbusters, the original 1984 film, has been called the definitive comedy flick of all time in many occasions. The long cult following the film has to date has even endangered the forthcoming Ghostbusters III film. Many people have stated that "Ghostbusters II" is an inferior sequel to the original 1984 film but, I can assure you the sequel is an entertaining film in its own right. While the original filmed had light-hearted portrayal of the evil ghosts, the sequel focuses in the negativity and hatred of New Yorkers as the core reason for the uprising of a demoniac entity known as Vigo The Carpathian.  

Ghostbusters II premiered 5 years after the original film and in order to follow a single universe timeline, most of the changes seen in character development were intentionally made so that they could fit The Real Ghostbusters cartoon series, which was massively popular among kids in the 80's. For instance, the Slimer cameo scene was only filmed to allow younger audiences to understand that just like in the cartoon, Slimer lived in the Ghostbusters headquarter. Also, the jokes were toned down to appeal kids who watched the show. As above mentioned many people have classified the sequel as a rather inferior film compared to the original but then again, every change made in the sequel followed the idea of establishing a single universe timeline:

1. Ghostbusters (1984)
2. The Real Ghostbusters (1986-1988, although the series ran for 7 seasons until 1991)
3. Ghostbusters II (1989)
4. Ghostbusters III (2016, although we currently know that this isn't going to be a sequel but a reboot)

Are you talking to me?

Never cross the streams!

True, comedian and star Bill Murray still steals the show whenever he gets the chance and he also gets some of the best lines, and he's just so gosh-darn funny as a leading man. Screenwriter team/co-stars Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis are also in top form, and it shows in their wily and hilarious script. Unlike the first picture, though, it seems like they took the family-friendly route and didn't feel like building up to the oh-so-apocalyptic tone of the first film (even though "Ghostbusters" was still pretty funny aside from the occasional dark tone).

And also, director Ivan Reitman knows their material and it looks like the filmmakers made the wise decision of bringing back everybody from the original film, including Sigourney Weaver and Rick Moranis. It's been five years since the first film (a title card confirms it), and it seems that most of New York City doesn't even remember who the Ghostbusters are and what they did for the city. Everyone in the city is miserable and the opening moments confirm that as well. After being almost bankrupted by countless lawsuits and being unable to practice their trade because of a judicial restraining order, the boys are reduced to moonlighting in other fields, such as catering to the needs of spoiled yuppie children at their birthday parties, a task that neither Ray Stanz (Aykroyd) or Winston Zeddemore (Ernie Hudson) take pride in.

Vigo wants some love.

Art is evil.

Egon Spengler (Ramis) is the only one of the original Ghostbusters who seems to have actually moved on with his life. Peter Venkman (Murray) hosts a television show called "The World of the Psychic," a show that apparently draws in modest ratings but no respected psychic will appear on his show because they think he's a fraud. Anyway, things get underway when the boys discover that nasty pink slime of supernatural origin is discovered building up underneath the city, something that old friend and Venkman's old flame Dana Barrett (Weaver) realizes first hand when the slime attacks her infant son, and it's an investigation they have to do on the down-low because of their current legal situation.

This slime, they learn, feeds off the misery and stress of a downtrodden New York City, and it's only getting stronger as the holidays are approaching. But because no one believes in ghosts anymore, their task is even more difficult. Well, after ghost-busting the two ghouls that crash in on their trial hearing, we have no choice but to be ready to believe them. They're back in business, all right - with cynical Janine Melnitz (Annie Potts) answering the phones and Louis Tully (Moranis) on the books - tracing the source of their ghost-busting investigations to a 17th-century Moldavian tyrant named Vigo the Carpathian who wants in on the 20th century, and has possessed museum curator Janosz Poha (a hilarious Peter MacNicol) to go out and kidnap Dana's son so he can have a body so he can live again.

There's something rotten underneath NY.

An iconic fight.

One thing "Ghostbusters II" provides for the viewer is solid entertainment, which is what any good sequel should do. It would be impossible for this movie to any way live up to the original, so you can't blame the filmmakers for at least trying (trying is italicized). It would be pointless to say that the acting is good from our players, but my God, they're good and again in top form. The special effects are still pretty impressive, even from their early ghost-busting capers, to a finale where the boys are actually able to walk down the streets of the city in an animated - yes, animated! - Statue of Liberty (yes, Lady Liberty has sprung to life, and good thing she's on our side!). And even the R.M.S. Titanic (don't ask, just watch) pops up too.

"Ghostbusters II" hasn't been particularly well-received, even despite its more family-friendly tone and message about the folly of mean-spiritedness. But it's just a good sequel, nonetheless, not bad, not superior to the original, maybe on par with the original, but it's just really good fun.

Always had a thing for Red heads.

Mission accomplished!

This second Ghostbusters was just fine, very entertaining and it was nice to see all the main characters back. It had a little nicer feel to it and was more family-friendly language-wise, so it even had some things going for it the first one didn't have.

The other major different in this sequel was watching Peter MacNichol, who reprized his "Renfield"-type character from Mel Brooks' "Dead: And Loving It" comedy with Leslie Nielsen. Here, MacNichol plays "Janosz Poha," another wacko with a thick Eastern European accent. He is hilarious, and elevates the enjoyment of this film. Otherwise, the rest of the cast plays and acts just as they did in the first film, which means you'll get a lot of laughs out of them The story just isn't as intense, that's all. No, it can't equal the original, but.....

What happened with my master's painting?

and they lived happily ever after.

The bottom line is this: Don't try to compare the two films. If you enjoyed the first, you'll like this.....period. 

Here's the movie trailer:

Here's the official video for "On Our Own" (the official Ghostbusters 2 song)

 

Nurse 3D

Your pain is her pleasure. Ouch!

After dedicating quite some time to reviewing Anime from the 80's it's time to get even with the main topic of our film blog: Sexploitation! and what could be better than a horror film paying homage to the late 70's trend of nurse flicks? While the original trend of making nurse films was only about exploiting the stereotype of sexy nurses willing to do anything to satisfy their patients, Nurse 3D offers the same treatment but for very different intentions.

Before getting straight into the film  review, please allow me to introduce you to the lead actress in the film, miss María de la Paz Elizabeth Sofía Adriana de la Huerta (born September 3, 1984), known by her stage name Paz de la Huerta, is an American actress and model. De la Huerta is notable for her roles in the films The Cider House Rules (1999), A Walk to Remember (2002), Choke (2008), Enter the Void (2009), today's entry Nurse 3D (2013), and for her role as Lucy Danziger in the HBO drama series Boardwalk Empire.Besides acting she's also a model who's not afraid of showing off her awesome body. If you do a Google search for her nudes, you'll find hundreds of photo shoot sessions, hell! she even posed for Playboy! 

"I Celebrate Nudity Everyday" Paz De La Huerta, Playboy Magazine 2013.

Paz De La Huerta shares everything.

I guess this is an artistic way for portraying a girl's period, isn't it?

My name is Abigail Russell. I look like a slut. But don't be fooled, this is merely a disguise to lure the dangerous predators who walk among us. This is their jungle. Their breeding ground. And tonight I'm on the hunt. These are the cheaters - the married lying scum. They are like diseased cells, cultured in alcoholic petri dishes, but destroy unsuspecting families, and infect millions of innocent vaginas. There is not cure for the married cock. Only me, the Nurse.

Nurse 3D, AKA Nurse 2013 is part noir, part grindhouse and a whole lot of Euro- sexploitation. The film is directed by Douglas Aarniokoski and the influences he brings into his direction on this film is many. "Nurse 3D" is an off-beat thriller that brings sex and fetish into the North York General Branson Division hospital of Toronto. and the relationships built within the healing halls of medicine. It stars Katrina Bowden as Danny Rogers, Judd Nelson as Dr. Robert Morris, and of course Paz de la Huerta as Abby Russell (the lead role)

The story in "Nurse 3D" is filled with revenge and thrills guided by a nurse who moonlights as a twisted serial killer that sees herself as a vigilante. The air and breath in which Abby Russell moves within as this complicated character is at times a disconnect between her portrayal and the believability of the character. Yet De La Huerta seems so committed to the character that she manages to draw you into the story. Her infatuation with fellow nurse Danni (an innocent blonde who hasn't had a taste of sex or anything dirty for that matter), played by Bowden is instantaneous so you become thrust into this twisted tangle of love, affection, and destruction right from the get-go. All provided through the viewpoint of nurse Abby Russell. The way "Nurse 3D" flows has that weird, casual anti-heroine feel that "Barbwire" presented. A very Euro feel at times seeming to be influenced by modern giallo and French noir. The actors prove their commitment to the characters but at times the emotional connection flat- lines in the film. There is an overture of camp in the film but more mature and indirect than most films in this same sub genre.

Night shift begins.

She didn't want her medicine.

The effects and soundtrack are acceptable for what it is but neither really offer anything new to the horror genre. At times the film moves more on melodrama sounds and cliché set-ups that play up the fetish angle which is strong. The nudity in "Nurse 3D" is ambitious and necessary to portray what Abby Russell has in mind. That alone raises my opinion of the film to a point that I can excuse the other flaws. Male and female nudity are ample and rewarding. I hate that because the film goes for a 3D effect a lot of the kill, blood, death scenes are CGI mixed with practical effects. CGI blood is disappointing. Although there is plenty of organic red flowing in the film some of the chill factor and gore aspects are lost due to visual compromise with 3D tech.

Everything about "Nurse 3D" moves to an odd beat but it shows a fun, comfortable and fully committed direction to entertain and push sexploitation. An aspect of horror that even today seems to be shunned by mainstream cinema. Kudos to the team behind this film for moving forward in sketchy territory. This isn't a film for every horror fan because the camp is just atmospheric and never direct or the focal point. The fetish enticement is strong and at times presents almost unrealistic situations but even those moments are somewhat entertaining. I enjoyed "Nurse 3D" for the unusual approach the director took, the cinematography is beautiful and the body count is noteworthy. Plus the nudity is a fun visual companion to the hot, character's situational drama. Much like "Barbwire" and even Aarniokoski's television work, "Nurse 3D" is obvious in what it offers, (in this case it is fetish-sex- death-obsession), with talented, off-beat vision that is creative and entertaining without demanding the audience to be affected by traditional pomp and circumstance. At first I felt that I wasn't going to be able to get into the film but by the middle of the film I was invested and pleased with "Nurse 3D". It has a large cult status awaiting it in it's future. 

Time for surgery.

Dat Ass!

Being a grind-house type of film, the obvious complaints about portrayal of violence and sex are perhaps the number one reason why reviewers have evaluated this film as a piece of garbage or even as a for pervs only kind of spectacle. Truth be told, Nurse 3D is not a film meant for family entertainment. All these sub genres of exploitation clearly require a specific target audience. Someone who likes watching films in the like of Jennifer Aniston, Adam Sandler & romance comedy in general will never quite understand why graphic violence and nudity can be relevant items when it comes to character and plot development. 

While I was preparing for this review, I read some random opinions at IMDB. The films is qualified 4.6 out of 10, and I can assure you 80% of the reviews tell you to get away of this nasty perv waste of time. However, there was one review that caught my eye. This random user (I'm not gonna spam it here) stated that had this film had a man as the lead role, people would have totally hated it for it is about a serial killer who murders after he or she fucks their victims. Be that as it may, some people are in urgent need of a therapist. This film and all films are fictional! they are neither manuals or video nasties, they are simply movies. My overall sensation after reading so many hatred towards Nurse 3D is nothing but one: People these days are not even watching movies. They're making complete reviews out of either a film trailer or out of the movie stills that will serve the purpose of puritan ignorant sons of bitches.

Sorry, I've had better.

Bloody awakening!

Nurse 3D has been classified as a grindhouse horror film. Such label is misleading since the amount of graphic violence is moderate compared to other films of the same genre. By watching the trailer you may get the wrong impression, and I think that is exactly what a good trailer should do to you: mislead you into watching a film that offers a lot more than what you've previously watched. Most of the reviewers out there define this film as the story of Abigail Russell, an avenging nurse who spends her nights punishing married men who cheat their honest wives. While that statement is true to a certain point, Nurse 3D takes you back to the time were suspense films had a heart. Abby Russell is not actually mad at men. Her vicious murdering habits have a lot more to do with her childhood rather than her current state of mind. 

Danny Rogers (Bowden) is an intern at All Souls Hospital (well, the film wants you to think it's set in New York instead of Toronto)Russell is an experienced nurse who's tutoring her into the real world of working in a hospital. for some, reason, Russell takes her out for a girls only party where things go really really bad for Danny. Russell gets her drunk, leads her to fuck a random stranger and later she ends up "fingering her all night long and giving her six orgasms" to paraphrase Russell's thoughts. So, while the trailer and promo shots want you to think this film is about a murdering feminist vigilante, the actual story is about a Bisexual witch with a murdering past and huge jealousy issues.

Nice ass Danny, have you tried anal?

I'm hungry for pussy.

If grindhouse isn't your cup of tea, it's fine. I don't like conservative people but I can deal with them anyways. Politically correct films are such a fucking bore to me. Nurse 3D is daring, and its goal is to bring back exploitation to the big screen. Does it deliver? yes, it does.

Is Paz de la Huerta going to win any Academy awards any time soon? Hell no she's not, but this isn't a movie in which you are expected to suspend disbelief any more than being on a roller coaster is trying to make you feel like you're driving on the freeway. This is over the top mayhem with hearty helpings of sex, gore and dark humor. For me her acting (and perhaps especially her voice over work) elevated the movie beyond what it would have been with a "good" actress.

Yeah! stick that tongue in her mouth!

it's time for a pussy to pussy talk.

Let's just make thing one thing clear. Horror films are suppose to be purely entertaining and you shouldn't expect some Oscar acting. Paz is not the best actress, but neither was she down right horrible as some are claiming. I feel Huerta's acting was pretty amusing it's obvious it was meant to be over the top cheese and humorous.

The rest of the cast is decent with Katrina Bowden bringing the requisite wide-eyed innocence about to be shattered, and Judd Nelsondoing his best creepy shaggy mustache. But Paz and the smart, brisk writing are what breathes life into Nurse. 

Washing semen and squirt off of her not so innocent body.

What Danny needs.

As for the film goes yes there's not much originality behind the story, but what horror film is now a days? I personally enjoyed this film due to the ridiculously funny dialogue and watching Paz be a crazy obsessive murdering bitch. There was enough blood to satisfy me and yes there's tons of nudity, but hardly any graphic sex scenes so I don't get why some are calling this soft core porn.

The ending climax was pretty great in my opinion because it was filled with constant bloody deaths and a big cat fight that kept me thrilled. I believe this film is worth checking out for any horror fan. It was a fun erotic horror thriller and it defiantly entertained the hell out of me.

A sequel for Nurse has been rumored by star Paz de la Huerta on her Twitter page with her stating that Nurse 2 starts shooting soon...

Now, let's take a look at the official red band trailer:

And since we're here, why not checking out some of the soundtrack?

Here's "Mi Corazón" by Argentinean Electro Tango band Bajofondo:

"I Eat Boys Like You For Breakfast" by Ida Marie:

And last but not least "Kill Of The Night" by Gin Wigmore:

Robotech Love Live Alive

"Soldier, Survivor, Superstar"

Robotech. A franchise best known as a successful rebranding of bla bla bla... Following our previous entries, we enter the final stage of our humble tribute to the 30th anniversary of a world changing animé. Although, people may or may not agree with that, we can all be sure that Robotech is a top 10 Animé of the 80's and perhaps a top 5 Animé of all times just because.

In the previous entry we discussed what is perhaps the biggest creative effort (2006's The Shadow Chronicles OVA) in the Harmony Gold head quarters for bringing back the franchise in the shape of an entirely new animated film, with new characters and brand new plot twists aiming at either a series of movies or another series. In addition, this new movie offered state of the art 3D animation and a brand new musical score partially based upon original Robotech music.

Superstar.

Life is only what we choose to make it.

7 years after that, not a single sequel to the film happened. The success The Shadow Chronicles had, went from moderate to poor at most. Lesson learned: fans wanted a return to the original Robotech roots, not CGI and new storylines. Hence, Harmony Gold producers have gone back to old habits with this 'new' production "Robotech: Love Live Alive". True to what it did with the original Robotech, the production team took the 1985 "Genesis Climber Mospeda: Love Live Alive" music video OVA, and expanded it into a full flashback detailing the experiences of fan favorite character Lancer, aka the concert Superstar Yellow Dancer, during the 3rd Robotech War. Now, summary movies are quite common in the anime market, compressing a whole season into a feature length production. Love Live Alive does that wonderfully by using a pre-concert interview with Yellow Dancer as a framing story for the movie.

In present day 2044, the war with the alien race known as the Invid has finally ended and Lancer is about to hold his final concert as Yellow Dancer. An intrepid reporter gets an exclusive interview with the superstar in which he shares the journey he had with his comrades: Lost soldier Scott Bernard, the mysterious Ariel, the happy-go-lucky Rand, hot headed Rook, spunky Annie, and gentle giant Lunk. We are brought through their first meeting where the group mistakes Lancer for a lady to the ups and downs of their relationships as they face a clash of ideals, betrayal and seemingly insurmountable odds. The narrative never seems disjointed, showing how much effort the producers took to craft a coherent story, reframing what was originally Scott Bernard's adventures from the perspective of Lancer. Amidst the backdrop of war, a "romeo/Juliet" like romance develops between Lancer and an enemy Invid princess called Sera. A romance that may be more than what Lancer is willing to share with the reporter.

Sera, Invid princess.

Lancer, singer & resistance fighter.

Now other than jumping on the whole "summary movie: bandwagon, another trend Robotech producers have picked up on is combining old classic anime footage with newly produced animation. The most famous example of this is the "Dragonball Kai" series and the "Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam" movies. In Love Live Alive, the old footage is beautifully restored to a pristine state, both footage from the series and that from the music video OVA.

Sadly, the "new" footage comes across as a major disappointment, consisting of only at most 10% (including a long drawn out opening sequence of planets and asteroid fields) of the movie compared to almost half of Dragonball Kai and half of the Zeta Gundam movies. The quality of the animation also varies, having apparently been done by 2 separate animation studios (Ragex and Big Star).

Some scenes do look spectacular at first, such as a flashback to the final moments of the Invid's initial invasion and the evacuation of Earth. The animation is smooth, it has a really dark atmospheric look reflecting the desperate hopeless last battle and the computer generated imagery (CGI) is blended seamlessly with the traditionally animated characters. On subsequent viewings, the stark reality of the animation's shortcomings become apparent.

Lancer memories are filled with battle.

And friends fighting along.

The cel shaded CGI has a "lag drag" in the models' movements. Character animations look like it was done in Adobe Flash. And To hide this clunkiness, the production company takes full advantage of the 4x3 frame and has a good deal of action take place out-of-frame or have close-ups of irrelevant foreground objects such that the object takes up most of the frame, thus drawing viewer attention away from the actual subject of the scene.

This lack of quality control in the newly produced animation is disappointing. Those expecting quality over quantity thanks to the small amount of new footage would be let down. The voice acting is expertly done but, again, there is a clear distinction between lines from the original TV series and newly recorded dialogue. Some of the actors, particularly the women characters like Rook, clearly sound older in the new dialogue. Afterall, 20 years is a long time and can change how a person sounds. Thankfully, Cam Clark who reprises his role as Lancer is able to maintain consistency with his recordings from back then.

No doubt, another cash in labor from the producers of Robotech. Robotech Love Live Alive remains polarizing among audience. Those expecting a musical extravaganza like the original Mospeada Love Live Alive would be let down by the inclusion of 2 snippets of songs, one full song over the end credits and one more full song that Yellow Dancer performs in concert.

Jem is truly outrageous, truly, truly...oops! wrong song.

Lancer's casual attire.

That concert, by the way, seems hastily edited, with Lancer changing costumes and even stage props constantly throughout the song, and too much repeated footage; a flaw that permeates the entire production. Seriously, there are at least 4 of the same shot of the reporter with her obsolete tape recorder on her lap pausing and restarting the recording. The whole thing comes across like a fan made anime music video.

For all the time and effort that went into digitally restoring the old footage, perhaps this summary movie would have been better off if it were animated from scratch. That way the flaws in the original series animation, like inconsistent quality of artwork, would not be so apparent. Or perhaps the slip shod editing of re-used scenes would not be so obvious. But most importantly, with a fully reanimated production utilizing modern animation styles, Robotech would have finally shed it's sad reputation of being no more than a cut-and-paste Americanized edit of Japanese anime.

Yeah, there were no cellphones in the future.

Care for a Subway footlong?

Overall, the least interesting effort ever made by a production company. We already know Harmony Gold owns Genesis Climber Mospeada which means they can do whatever they want with it. If people hated The Shadow Chronicles, watching Love Live Alive makes you think the previous was at least an original film, that despite its many flaws, offered oven fresh animation. This "new" Robotech film offers nothing but thirty seconds of new information at the very last minute of the film. In case you haven't watched it, I'm not gonna spoil it for you. Nevertheless, watching 88 minutes of already known material may not appeal everyone. Hell! I'm a Robotech diehard fan and couldn't watch pass 10 minutes! 

A few weeks ago I found the DVD version of the film on the cheap and bought it expecting to enjoy it but, nope, nothing changed since I watched it the first time. Maybe for occasional Robotech fans, Robotech: Love Live Alive will freshen up memories from the past. I for one, think the Robotech subject of bringing the franchise back to life, or at least to update it to our current decade is a useless effort that is already dead and buried. Do you know the latest Harmony Gold Robotech announcement for the 30th Anniversary? Well, besides toys they've been reselling to fans in the last 10 years, they will edit a 4 CD box set with the entire Robotech soundtrack featuring, outtakes, demos and music from other Robotech films. I guess all Harmony Gold can do, is to sell Robotech stuff, not creating it, at least not anymore. With the death of Carl Macek the final Robotech episode was written for good.

Here's the OVA trailer exclusively made to announce the DVD coming to Latin American audiences:

Here's a fan made teaser trailer:

 

Robotech The Shadow Chronicles

After 21 years Robotech returned!

Robotech: The Shadow Chronicles is the 2006 animated sequel to the 1985 Robotech television series. Although it is the third Robotech movie, it doesn't follow the logical order of the previous two films, instead it begins right after the original series final episode. To make the following read worthy of your time, I spent some time not only re watching the film but, also all of the making off material and interviews that are available on disc 2 of The Shadow Chronicles Collector's Edition DVD set. 

21 years after the success of the original series, Harmony Gold, Tatsunoko and a significant group of artists try to do the impossible: Bring back Robotech to life by bridging nostalgia & 21st century animation. In the past Harmony Gold tried to come up with new Robotech with no success. The farthest they went was  a 1999 project known as Robotech 3000. Luckily for us all, nobody liked it and they moved on. 

Characters from the past...

...Merge with a newer generation.

Five years later, at Anime Expo 2004, Harmony Gold USA revealed that Robotech: Shadow Force was in production to celebrate the 20th anniversary of Robotech in 2005. The name of the new story arc was soon changed to Robotech: The Shadow Chronicles, and the film was completed on January 27, 2006. This project was initially met with skepticism from the fan community, due to Harmony Gold's spotty track record of completing Robotech sequels and spin-offs in past decades. The first teaser trailer debuted at Anime Expo 2005. An official trailer was later released on The (defunct) Shadow Chronicles website during the NATPE conference, a broadcast industry trade show. 

The film premiered at the Cannes Film Market on May 22, 2006 in the Grey One Theatre to an audience of distribution representatives. A number of independent film festivals screened the film during the summer and fall. It was awarded Best Animated Sci-Fi Feature at the International Horror and Sci-Fi Film Festival.  

The Alpha fighters return!

So do the Beta fighters!

The storyline is a direct continuation from the 85th (and final) episode of the original Robotech television series, and the first third of the movie runs concurrently with the events at the end of the TV series — albeit from different points of view. The plot revolves around the Robotech Expeditionary Force (REF)'s final battle with the Invid on Earth, and the fallout from the events of that battle. An old enemy of the Invid is making its presence known, and is determined to wipe out all Protoculture users, including Humanity. The production is a mixture of 2D animation and cell-shaded CG mecha animation.

Though the involvement of original Japanese studio Tatsunoko Productions appeared to be limited to early development, the actual digital production of animation was handled by the Korean animation company DR Movie, whose credits include subcontracting on the inbetweens, ink and paint of Macross Plus, and the inbetweens of Yukikaze. Co-director Tommy Yune (probably the most hated HG member along with his brother and Kevin McKeever) said in a Newtype USA interview that the producers "consulted extensively" with Kenji Terada, a writer on Southern Cross and Mospeada (two of the three series adapted into the 1985 Robotech series). While there were previous novels explaining the fate of the SDF-3 and the ending of the Robotech saga, all these books are non canon to the animated series and the previous films.

Female characters are upgraded to porn star status with their huge T&A.

Meet Maia Sterling's gigantic tits.

In order to set things straight, DC Comics' Wildstorm label released Robotech: Prelude to the Shadow Chronicles, a comic prequel series bridging the end of the aborted Sentinels storyline with The Shadow Chronicles.

The main characters in the film include Vince Grant, Dr. Jean Grant, Marcus Rush, Maia Sterling, Scott Bernard, Ariel, Janice Em, Louie Nichols, Alex Romero and General Reinhardt. Rick Hunter is seen briefly at the beginning of the movie at an advanced age.

The film promised to explained what happened to the REF onboard the SDF-3 since episode 86 (Symphony of Light) had an open ending where the only thing clear was the Invid leaving earth, while Scott Bernard would return to space in search of admiral Hunter. Did it deliver? please, continue reading.

Everyone listen closely, the franchise is not coming back.

Smile for the camera.

With every new chapter created for a successful classic franchise, you'll get the nay-sayers. "I like the original better"; "watch the old series and forget this", "the CGI is terrible", "what happened to the old director/producer/writer?"

Well, you get some comments like these if you go into the forums for: - Battlestar Galactic 2003-2007 - Star Wars Prequels - Star Trek TNG to ENT (to some degree)

Problem is, neither you nor the creators of the new shows are in the 70's or early 80's anymore. After 20 years, movies/animation are not made the same way. You the audience are no longer in your childhood or adolescence. So to enjoy a new twist on an old idea, you really have to keep an open mind.

With those tits, you can get away with whatever you want Janice.

Rick Hunter hasn't aged that well.

So back to Shadow Chronicles. I think this production was done with a lot of heart. Although the animation has been updated, the returning characters are instantly recognizable. Love the fact that they used the same voice actors again. I found the story intriguing and engaging. Picking up the story from Reflex Point was a good idea and, the way the final episode is told from the RDF perspective adds a new vision that allows the entry of new characters into the game.

Some complained that this is more like a continuation of Mospeada rather than the whole of the Robotech Saga. I suppose that's true to some degree. Well, we definitely couldn't have those "F-14" veritechs flying around anymore since this is a continuation in the chronological sense. I mean, Macross was really appropriate for the 1st generation because they mix real life fighters (F-14) with sci-fi (guardian and battloid modes). But as time goes on, you get less recognizable fighters like the Alphas and Betas, so Mospeada made perfect sense as the newer generation. That was the genius in Macek's concept. In any case, I think some are disappointed that we don't have more on Rick, Max, Miriya, Minmei and Lisa. But the SDF-3 was purposely kept at a distance for this movie. And Maia Sterling did say her family and love ones are on the SDF-3. So, I'm pretty sure these characters will be explored more in future chapters of this franchise(if they ever decide to continue this story since they're now into the live action film). But not to be all "flowers and sunshine" I have to agree that I would've like to see more on Rick's SDF-3 during THIS movie. At least Rick is not lost indefinitely like the old series suggested. 

New space fortresses.

New enemies too!

I liked the animation. Like I said, things have changed. You look at all contemporary anime, the women always look "hotter than hell". And eyes are more expressive rather than the "big round eyes" of the 70s style animation from the east.

Lastly, I like all that's new about the movie. The Haydonite seems like a worthwhile adversary for the new Robotech defenders. They're one alien race that does not desire Protoculture in some way, but despises the use of it by anyone else. That is an interesting twist. And although we did not see any new transforming mechas (yet), the new capital ships like SDF-3, Icarus, and ArcAngel all look way cool. But they still retain the same basic architecture of the SDF-1. And the front of the ships split open to fire the Synchro-Cannons, that's another "tip of hat" to the Macross generation as well.

Love conquers all.

So, there are many elements from all three generations if you look for them. But on its own, I think its a fine addition to a well loved series. Just don't watch it with a close mind.

Here's the trailer: