PACIFIC RIM - My Brief Review, no spoilers (video)

#pacificrim #rockfile #kaiju

After having posted many preview blogs about this movie since last November, Pacific Rim finally opened this past weekend. If you ever watched Godzilla, Gamera, Rodan, Mothra etc and thought it would be cool for someone to make a big budget, modern version minus the zippers on the backs of the guys wearing the rubber suits...this is the movie for you.  It is not trying to be an Oscar winning, dramatic acting, tour-de-force. It is a love-letter to the giant monster ("Kaiju" see below) movies we loved as kids, realized in modern ways thanks to some of the best special effects of the year.

The films opens at a hectic pace, quickly getting you up to speed on the war so far. Aliens have come to wipe us out using gigantic monsters, the world bands together to fight. And things are not going so well, years into the battle. This near-future world feels very real and alive as the main story gets under way, focusing on a group of characters trying to save our world.  Imagine your favorite Kaiju film and add a $200 Million dollar budget and a great director who loves those movies. The movies does exactly what it sets out to do. It is not trying to re-invent the summer blockbuster, it just wants to be the biggest and best Kaiju movie ever.  And it succeeds. 

The story is interesting and moves quickly. The acting is fine and the in-between action is gritty and intense. And, yes, those giant battle set-pieces are more than worth the price of admission.  I would see this movie on the largest screen you can find. It was filmed in 2D and converted (we saw the 2D), and although the 3D is supposedly a mixed bag, the images would benefit from being on giant IMAX screens. If I see it a second time theatrically, it will be in IMAX.

It is just about everything you could want from a movie like this and it sets up what could be a truly incredible sequel or even trilogy. After making more than $91 million worldwide in it's opening weekend, word is the studio has already green-lighted the next chapter. 

If you want to know a little more about what happens between the opening and the main story, there is a "prequel" graphic novel available that is very much worth your time.  Here is more about Pacific Rim: Tales from Year Zero: http://herocomplex.latimes.com/movies/pacific-rim-graphic-novel-travis-beacham-on-formidable-del-toro/#/0

The soundtrack is composed by Ramin Djawadi, best known for Game Of Thrones, Person Of Interest and Iron Man. Here are the opening and end credits:

The bottom line is: if you like Kaiju movies, you probably already saw this over the weekend. And if you haven't, go now! For everyone else, it's more fun than the Transformers movies, you could do a lot worse. (We ran into a woman in the lobby who had walked out of Grown Ups 2 during the first ten minutes. She said she had to play rock, paper, scissors with her husband to see who would stay with their five kids.)

Kaiju (怪獣 kaijū^?) is a Japanese word that literally translates to "strange creature". However, the word Kaiju has been universally translated and defined into English as "monster" or "giant monster" and refers to science fiction films from Japan featuring unnatural creatures of immense size. Kaiju films usually showcase Kaiju of any form attacking a major Japanese city or engaging another (or multiple) Kaiju in battle.

The most famous Kaiju is Godzilla. Other notable Kaiju include Gamera, Mothra, King Ghidorah, Mechagodzilla, Rodan, Daimajin, Gappa, and Guilala.

Major Kaiju films:

    Godzilla (1954)
    Rodan (1956)
    Mothra (1961)
    King Kong vs. Godzilla (1962)
    Mothra vs. Godzilla (1964)
    Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster (1964)
    Gamera (1965)
    Frankenstein Conquers the World (1965)
    Invasion of Astro-Monster (1965)
    War of the Gargantuas (1966)
    Daimajin (1966)
    Gamera vs. Gyaos (1967)
    The X from Outer Space (1967)
    Daikyojū Gappa (1967)
    Destroy All Monsters (1968)
    Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah (1991)
    Godzilla vs. Destoroyah (1995)
    Gamera: Guardian of the Universe (1995)
    Godzilla (1998) (Hollywood)
    Deep Rising (1998) (Hollywood)
    Gamera 3: Awakening of Iris (1999)
    Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack (2001)
    Godzilla: Final Wars (2004)
    Ultraman (AKA: Ultraman The Next) (2004)
    Cloverfield (2008) (Hollywood)
    Mega Monster Battle: Ultra Galaxy (2009)
    Pacific Rim (2013) (Hollywood)
    Godzilla (2014) (Hollywood)

Major Kaiju video games:

    Rampage (1986)
    King of the Monsters (1991)
    Robot Alchemic Drive (2002)
    Godzilla: Destroy All Monsters Melee (2002)
    War of the Monsters (2003)
    Godzilla: Save the Earth (2004)
    Godzilla: Unleashed (2007)

source: wikipedia

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Happy Birthday NIKOLA TESLA (video)

#tesla #nikolatesla #rockfile

Nikola Tesla (10 July 1856 – 7 January 1943) was a Serbian-American inventor, electrical engineer, mechanical engineer, physicist, and futurist best known for his contributions to the design of the modern alternating current (AC) electricity supply system.

Tesla gained experience in telephony and electrical engineering before emigrating to the United States in 1884 to work for Thomas Edison. He soon struck out on his own with financial backers, setting up laboratories/companies to develop a range of electrical devices. His patented AC induction motor and transformer were licensed by George Westinghouse, who also hired Tesla as a consultant to help develop a power system using alternating current. Tesla is also known for his high-voltage, high-frequency power experiments in New York and Colorado Springs which included patented devices and theoretical work used in the invention of radio communication, for his X-ray experiments, and for his ill-fated attempt at intercontinental wireless transmission in his unfinished Wardenclyffe Tower project.

Tesla's achievements and his abilities as a showman demonstrating his seemingly miraculous inventions made him world-famous. Although he made a great deal of money from his patents, he spent a lot on numerous experiments. He lived for most of his life in a series of New York hotels although the end of his patent income and eventual bankruptcy led him to live in diminished circumstances. Tesla still continued to invite the press to parties he held on his birthday to announce new inventions he was working and make (sometimes unusual) statements. Because of his pronouncements and the nature of his work over the years, Tesla gained a reputation in popular culture as the archetypal "mad scientist". He died in room 3327 of the New Yorker Hotel on 7 January 1943.

Tesla's work fell into relative obscurity after his death, but since the 1990s, his reputation has experienced a comeback in popular culture. His work and reputed inventions are also at the center of many conspiracy theories and have also been used to support various pseudosciences, UFO theories and New Age occultism. In 1960, in honor of Tesla, the General Conference on Weights and Measures for the International System of Units dedicated the term "tesla" to the SI unit measure for magnetic field strength.

source: wikipedia

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letlive. - "The Blackest Beautiful" in stores today (video)

#letlive #rockfile #newrock #theblackestbeautiful

I recently discovered letlive. (yes, that is how it is spelled) and wondered where have I been?  This former "post-punk" band from L.A. is charting new territory with it's fourth album, The Blackest Beautiful, out today. After listening to the whole thing, I find this to be a very "progressive" rock album, mixing all sort of styles and coming up with something aggressive and new. You may not "get" it on first listen, but the best art is usually not the easiest to digest. Most retailers have it for $7.99, so go try something new today!

First video:

Full album stream:

From the last album, Fake History:

from AllMusic:

L.A.-based hardcore unit letlive. broke through in a big way with their 2010 album Fake History, finally capturing some of the bone-breaking energy of their live show in a way that translated to album as well as developing their arrangement skills with atypical song structures and inventive expansion of the sometimes formulaic post-hardcore sound. Follow-up fourth album The Blackest Beautiful takes the strengths of Fake History even further, offering up 11 tracks of technically dazzling and soulfully delivered aggression. Frontman Jason Butler's vocal twists fuel the fire throughout The Blackest Beautiful, jumping acrobatically from screaming rage to tight, sophisticated harmonies to frenzied funky riffing to emotively melodic parts, often all within the same song. Beginning with opening track "Banshee (Ghost Fame)," Butler's lyrics are as inventive and thoughtful as the group's song structures, tackling the complex topic of chasing fame and losing integrity through a series of chants, screams, offhandish laughter, and smooth, soulful lines. The pace never really lets up from there, with Butler attacking topics like corporate greed, racism, and the heavy weight of growing up in a broken home. Musically, letlive. are equally restless, moving through heavy, pummeling riffs reminiscent of Refused or Glassjaw, while breaking into a groove on almost every track, sometimes even melting down into acoustic sections without ever losing intensity. Standout tracks are plentiful, but absolute must-hears include the Soundgarden-meets-Deftones frenzy of "The Dope Beat," the relentless high-speed blasting of "The Priest and Used Cars," and a brilliantly arranged critique of corporatized health care and government corruption on "White America's Beautiful Black Market." The Blackest Beautiful is not just more ambitious, interesting, thoughtful, and boundary-pushing than any of letlive.'s previous work, the album is engaging and surprisingly hooky for any record falling under the hardcore umbrella. Fans will be overjoyed and those unfamiliar with letlive. or even modern hardcore circa 2013 should begin with this compelling document of anger, loss, and struggle. 

Here is a great review: http://absolutepunk.net/showthread.php?t=3286991

Visit the band's website: http://www.thisisletlive.com

source: Epitaph Records

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GRAND THEFT AUTO V - First actual gameplay (video)

#gtav #rockfile #rockstar

Each game from Rockstar has expanded the open world genre in different ways and the new GTA looks to take things to a whole new level.  Check out the first gameplay video...then go pre-order it.  You will, trust me!

Grand Theft Auto V is coming September 17, 2013. Pre-order now and visit www.rockstargames.com/V for more details. ESRB Rating Pending: May contain content inappropriate for children. Visit www.esrb.org for rating information.

source: Rockstar

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PACIFIC RIM Final Trailer (video)

#pacificrim #rockfile #kaiju #jaegers

One of my favorite directors has been given the freedom and budget to let his imagination soar. The studio already wants a sequel. The prequel graphic novel is already out. The movie opens July 12th and here is the final trailer:

What else do you need to know?

http://rockfileonline.blogspot.com/2013/06/new-pacific-rim-clips-without-robots.html

 

http://rockfileonline.blogspot.com/2013/06/new-pacific-rim-trailer-and-imax-poster.html

 

http://rockfileonline.blogspot.com/2013/06/pacific-rim-looks-geektastic-new-jaeger.html

 

http://rockfileonline.blogspot.com/2013/06/pacific-rim-new-tv-spots-video.html

http://rockfileonline.blogspot.com/2012/11/pacific-rim-is-going-to-rock-video.html

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