Tag Archives: Pacific Rim

I just got out of ‘Pacific Rim’…thoughts!

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Stream of consciousness…go!

Wow wow wow. Pacific Rim exceeded my expectations and then some. Guillermo del Toro has crafted the ultimate modern monsters versus machines movie here. I was absolutely blown away by the special effects, the art direction, and of course, Ramin Djawadi’s impressionable score. (I am running out to get the soundtrack now.)

The big battle sequences are well constructed as the scientifically enhanced Jaegers prove to be formidable opponents to the otherworldly monstrous Kaiju. Obviously del Toro owes inspiration to classic monster movies like Godzilla (in fact, he dedicates the movie to Ray Harryhausen and Ishirō Honda, pioneers of the genre) and it certainly invokes nostalgic thoughts underneath all that metal and monster guts. The heavy duty battles were so much fun to watch, as was the intimate yet powerful human vs. human fight sequence between leads Charlie Hunnam and Rinko Kikuchi. (And speaking of the cast, I gift honorable mention to Charlie Day and Burn Gorman who played a bizarre coupling of scientists with contagious wit and charm.)

What really had me gasping in excitement were the hard sci-fi elements incorporated into the film. In the future, humans will invent a way to create a neural bridge between minds: cool! And on top of all the flashy gizmos and Jaeger-bombs (heh, get it?) del Toro managed to weave an deep mythology concerning the Kaiju. Where exactly do they come from and why are they being sent to Earth to destroy mankind (and previous to this, the dinosaurs)? It’s all intriguing stuff and he’s left some questions unanswered and hopefully they will be addressed and padded with more Kaiju/alien mythos in the next one (yes a sequel is in the works).

Overall, Pacific Rim is a massively fun thrill ride packed with truly epic action sequences and curious mythology. Del Toro let his imagination run wild and the result is nothing short of awesome. When it ended, I felt a charge of electricity run through my veins–I still feel amped as I’m writing this! As a fan of monster movies and the hardcore sci-fi genre, this one sits near the top of the heap.

Side note: It’s best seen in IMAX 3D; the larger screen, the added depth and perspective, the bigger sound–this movie is meant to be experienced in the highest quality theatre.

Oh, and Idris Elba’s “cancel the apocalypse” speech will never get old.

Movie trailer round-up: “In Saturn’s Rings” takes you into real space, Laika’s next animated pic “The Boxtrolls” & more

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There are countless movies that take us into the great unknown called space. The recent summer blockbuster Star Trek Into Darkness wowed audiences with its grand special effects as the USS Enterprise battled the Vengeance among the stars. With today’s advanced computer technology filmmakers can make us truly believe we are witnessing action taking place in space. However, if you’re looking to actually journey into space in theatres, you might want to put In Saturn’s Rings on your radar.

With the aid of equipment set up in Saturn’s orbit, filmmaker Stephen van Vuuren has been capturing over a million extremely high-resolution images and stitching them all together to form a 45-minute trek around the sixth planet from the sun. He notes:

The film is 100% created using only flat 2D photographs (often hundreds or thousands per frame) stitched together for massive hundred megapixel+ resolutions that are scaled and zoomed using techniques developed by the filmmaker, based on Ken Burns and 2.5D photo animation processes. No 3D models, texture mapping, 3D CGI, camera projection, cloning or painting or any other VFX techniques are used – every pixel is what was captured in the photograph. The photographs are processed as minimally as possible – much less than your average Instagram photo.

Catch a first look at the breathtaking film in a teaser embedded above. Experience space like never before when In Saturn’s Rings comes exclusively to IMAX theatres in spring 2014.

Jump after the break for more trailers. Continue reading Movie trailer round-up: “In Saturn’s Rings” takes you into real space, Laika’s next animated pic “The Boxtrolls” & more →

Movie trailer round-up: ‘Man of Steel’ & ‘Pacific Rim’ behind-the-scenes featurettes, plus new looks at ‘Machete Kills’, ‘Monsters University’ & ‘Planes’

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Before you dive into the trailers, check out these two behind-the-scenes featurettes for Zack Snyder’s Superman reboot Man of Steel and Guillermo del Toro’s robots versus monsters action film Pacific Rim. “Our approach was not a comic book Superman; it was just to be a more realistic Superman, a Superman that exists in the real world,” says screenwriter David S. Goyer. The three-and-a-half minute Man of Steel clip includes some never before seen footage and you’ll hear from Goyer as well as Snyder, producer Deborah Snyder, production designer Alex McDowell, actress Amy Adams (Lois Lane), Kevin Costner (Jonathan Kent), Russell Crow (Jor-El), and star Henry Cavill (Clark Kent). Man of Steel opens June 14.

Jump after the break to view the Pacific Rim featurette and this week’s selection of trailers.

Update (5/3): A lengthier Man of Steel behind-the-scenes featurette was uploaded to the Internets today; watch all 13 minutes of it after the break. Continue reading Movie trailer round-up: ‘Man of Steel’ & ‘Pacific Rim’ behind-the-scenes featurettes, plus new looks at ‘Machete Kills’, ‘Monsters University’ & ‘Planes’ →

Movie trailer round-up: ‘The World’s End’, ‘Anchorman 2’, ‘Riddick’, ‘Man of Steel’, ‘Pacific Rim’ & ‘The Wolverine’

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We start with a second trailer for Edgar Wright’s The World’s End, starring Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, and Martin Freeman. This international trailer is more encompassing than the previously released clip, outlining the overall plot without missing a step. Anticipation for this action buddy comedy just notched another peg higher. It hits theatres August 23.

Jump after the break to view more trailers. Continue reading Movie trailer round-up: ‘The World’s End’, ‘Anchorman 2’, ‘Riddick’, ‘Man of Steel’, ‘Pacific Rim’ & ‘The Wolverine’ →

Movie trailer round-up: ‘Man of Steel’, ‘Star Trek’, ‘Pacific Rim’, ‘Thor: The Dark World’, ‘Elysium’, ‘The Hangover Part III’ & more

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I present to you the most well put together trailer of the year so far; here is Zack Snyder’s Man of Steel. This is sure to be one gritty and exciting Superman origin story as audiences will get to know the man behind the cape. Out June 14.

Jump after the break to view more trailers. Continue reading Movie trailer round-up: ‘Man of Steel’, ‘Star Trek’, ‘Pacific Rim’, ‘Thor: The Dark World’, ‘Elysium’, ‘The Hangover Part III’ & more →

Movie trailer round-up: ‘Spring Breakers’, ‘Upside Down’, ‘JOBS’, ‘Oz: The Great and the Powerful’ & ‘Pacific Rim’

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A groundhog named Punxsutawney Phil did not see his shadow today and you know what that means–spring comes early. And when it does there’s a scandalous movie coming out to celebrate the occasion. Disney girls Selena Gomez and Vanessa Hudgens are all grown up in director Harmony Korine’s upcoming flick Spring Breakers, also starring Ashley Benson, Rachel Korine, and James Franco with dreads and a grill. Basically it’s about four college girls who party too hard, land in jail, and get springed free by a local drug dealer. The trailer promises sex and drugs and money and girls. If that’s your speed, March 22 is the day to remember.

Jump after the break to view more trailers. Continue reading Movie trailer round-up: ‘Spring Breakers’, ‘Upside Down’, ‘JOBS’, ‘Oz: The Great and the Powerful’ & ‘Pacific Rim’ →

Movie trailer round-up: ‘Oblivion’, ‘Pacific Rim’, ‘After Earth’, ‘Man of Steel’, ‘The Lone Ranger’ & ‘Iron Man 3’

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First up is Oblivion, the next movie in Tron: Legacy director Joseph Kosinski’s arsenal. It’s superbly sci-fi and with stars Tom Cruise, Morgan Freeman, and Melissa Leo at the forefront, it’s shaping up to be an exciting must-see event.

Here’s all we get in a synopsis: “On a spectacular future Earth that has evolved beyond recognition, one man’s confrontation with the past will lead him on a journey of redemption and discovery as he battles to save mankind.” For more, sit back and mash play.

Oblivion hits theatres April 12, 2013. See a grand poster for it in the gallery below.

Jump after the break for more trailers. Continue reading Movie trailer round-up: ‘Oblivion’, ‘Pacific Rim’, ‘After Earth’, ‘Man of Steel’, ‘The Lone Ranger’ & ‘Iron Man 3’ →

Viral marketing campaign begins for Guillermo Del Toro’s monsters vs. robots epic ‘Pacific Rim’

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Guillermo Del Toro (Hellboy, Pan’s Labyrinth) is working on a modern monster movie called Pacific Rim. It was unveiled and previewed at this year’s Comic Con to a raging audience. It’s a sci-fi epic to look forward to. Instead of construing words, learn what it’s about directly from the source, helmer Del Toro. In a 2011 interview with Wired he said:

“It’s really, it’s a very, very beautiful poem to giant monsters. Giant monsters versus giant robots. Twenty-five-story-high robots beating the crap out of 25-story-high monsters. We’re trying to create a world in which the characters are real and how it would affect our world politically, how it would affect the landscape if creatures like this really came out of the sea.”

Want more? Here’s the official synopsis:

When legions of monstrous creatures, known as Kaiju, started rising from the sea, a war began that would take millions of lives and consume humanity’s resources for years on end. To combat the giant Kaiju, a special type of weapon was devised: massive robots, called Jaegers, which are controlled simultaneously by two pilots whose minds are locked in a neural bridge. But even the Jaegers are proving nearly defenseless in the face of the relentless Kaiju. On the verge of defeat, the forces defending mankind have no choice but to turn to two unlikely heroes—a washed up former pilot (Charlie Hunnam) and an untested trainee (Rinko Kikuchi)—who are teamed to drive a legendary but seemingly obsolete Jaeger from the past. Together, they stand as mankind’s last hope against the mounting apocalypse.

To promote the film’s summer release, a viral marketing campaign has begun in the form of a shaky-cam clip uploaded to YouTube called “BREAKING NEWS: KAIJU ATTACK.” It’s embedded above and it gives viewers a glimpse of the monstrous creatures Del Toro has imagined for Pacific Rim. It comes off as very Cloverfield, but be mindful that the picture will not be presented in shaky-cam format. Interested in following the viral madness? Bookmark the movie’s official site where you’ll find a gallery of concept art and blueprints for the “Jaeger” robotic machines and more glimpses at the Kaiju.

Pacific Rim, starring Charlie Hunnam, Idris Elba, Charlie Day, Ron Perlman, Clifton Collins Jr., Max Martini, Rinko Kikuchi, and Robert Kazinsky, is out July 12. The first theatrical trailer is expected to drop December 12.