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Buried Garbage - When Anime Directors Go Live Action

A quick correction - the Japanese Region 2 DVD of Shiki-Jitsu does have English subtitles.

You know, you don't watch The Red Spectacles, you experience it!

Seriously, The Red Spectacles is actually a lot more fun than it sounds if you don't try to watch it as an avant garde special. Pop it into a DVD player with your friends and I guarantee tons of laughs at its sheer randomness.

After all, when your villain just starts dancing, it's magic.

An appalling number of people are under the impression that their lives would make a good movie.

Most all of Oshii's work suffers from a weakness that's fairly not unique to him, being quotes, analogies, and references to intellectual works do not beget it's own intellectualism. You can often recognize and sympathize with the themes he's after, but he lacks the deft touch to boil down philosophy into a subtle work of his own. I don't say that flippantly because in truth very few people can craft something easily from weighty philosophical origins, but at the same time, even with the best of intent, his works often come across as pretentious and ponderous.

Avalon is a treat and should be seen by all tech fans and gamers.

Goodpenguin wrote:

Most all of Oshii's work suffers from a weakness that's fairly not unique to him, being quotes, analogies, and references to intellectual works do not beget it's own intellectualism. You can often recognize and sympathize with the themes he's after, but he lacks the deft touch to boil down philosophy into a subtle work of his own. I don't say that flippantly because in truth very few people can craft something easily from weighty philosophical origins, but at the same time, even with the best of intent, his works often come across as pretentious and ponderous.

I agree with this entirely. I was glad to see that his latest waste of Production I.G.'s time, money and man power is doing poorly at the japanese box office.

By the by, Goodpenguin, while I can see your comments applying to Ghost in the Shell, Angel's Egg and Innocence, how would you argue that Beautiful Dreamer, the first two Patlabor films, Jin-Roh (well, Oshii scripted it, at least) and The Sky Crawlers are "pretentious and pompous"?

You have to admit, compared to the manga, OAVs, or TV series, the Patlabor movies are definitely pretty far to the pretentious and pompous side.

And reviews and comments I've seen about that film already? Nothing but praise, and assurances that there's no "pretentious or ponderous moments." Certainly unlike the rather lukewarm and/or dissenting opinions about Miyazaki's latest work, Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea.

Have you even seen The Sky Crawlers? If not, then you've no room for criticism.

And reviews and comments I've seen about that film already? Nothing but praise, and assurances that there's no "pretentious or ponderous moments." Certainly unlike the rather lukewarm and/or dissenting opinions about Miyazaki's latest work, Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea. (Now THAT'S a once-great director who seems to have fallen creatively.)

By the by, Goodpenguin, while I can see your comments applying to Ghost in the Shell, Angel's Egg and Innocence, how would you argue that Beautiful Dreamer, the first two Patlabor films, Jin-Roh (well, Oshii scripted it, at least) and The Sky Crawlers are "pretentious and pompous"?

Perhaps your first comments were directed at the other poster quoted in your post, the context isn't entirely clear. Above comments obviously moot if your first portions were not directed towards me.

On the last paragraph your undertone is odd given that in your own example you concede that half the listed works can be seen as 'pretentious and pompous', which in and of itself works towards the qualifier I used ('Most').

However, Oshii often crafts his work to be taken at a somewhat serious level, and when I judge something like the 'Patlabor' films not against anime, but as a straight 'serious' sci-fi, I find it's narrative 'heart' more good intention then good execution. I'll go back to the term I used earlier, ponderous. You can grasp the themes Oshii's after early in works like the 'Patlabor' films, but they precede to unravel/repeat in such a heavy fashion, the titles carry a high degree of 'drag' in the execution. If your main contention is that Oshii's works aren't all of the 'art-house pretension' style as seen in the live-action film talked about in the thread or anime like 'Innocence', I'd agree with that. I do find 'ponderous' to be a recurring trait however, and I often find myself wishing that he would be less enthralled with 'grand themes/concepts/philosophy' and more careful in focusing on subtler, character-driven narrative lines.

* EDIT-I actually did use ponderous, and not pompous, as the criticism in my first post. You 'miss-copied' that particular word in your reply. My brain is much frazzled from recent heavy work, darn the quickening political cycle, and did not pick up the pompous/ponderous miss-quote earlier.

By the by, Goodpenguin, while I can see your comments applying to Ghost in the Shell, Angel's Egg and Innocence, how would you argue that Beautiful Dreamer, the first two Patlabor films, Jin-Roh (well, Oshii scripted it, at least) and The Sky Crawlers are "pretentious and pompous"?