Forum - View topicThe Mike Toole Show - Hollywood Blues
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BlastoidFromThePastoid
Posts: 6 |
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Yes, that totally disqualifies the technical aptitude of the cinematography and editing, because the film dares to makes its own creative direction. Clearly this nitpick disqualifies every accomplishment of the film and the poster is a cinematic prodigy with several productions under his belt. |
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penguintruth
 Posts: 8461 Location: Penguinopolis |
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I found the live-action Ghost in the Shell to be more forgettable than offensive. The biggest issue I recall is that it spelled out its themes too obviously, practically shouting the meaning of things at the viewer. There was some actual chemistry between characters, at the very least, even if many were wasted. The guy playing Batou did very well, I thought. Ultimately I can't recall that much about it, but I don't regret having seen it. It was just a thing that happened, a ephemeral novelty that dissipated.
Personally, I enjoyed Japan's live-action 20th Century Boys movies, though they had some of the same flaws most live-action manga/anime adaptations (and Japanese movies in general), but I feel like it even improved what is my favorite manga toward the end. Speed Racer was a joy, but you had to have seen it on the big screen. The live-action Rurouni Kenshin might be my favorite version of that story. The newer live-action Lupin III was decent enough, even if they added a lot of unnecessary characters. I even kind of enjoy the old one for its pure cheese. I seem to recall the Ashita no Joe movie being fine, too, but to be honest, I've forgotten a lot about it. At least they're better than G-Saviour. |
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rinkwolf10
Posts: 750 |
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So, does Edge of Tomorrow (All I need is Kill) even exist anymore. I mean, it's never brought up in these kind of articles (even though it should be). It's a adaption that should be celebrated, the manga was good, the movie took a interesting route but kept the premise the same.
But, it worked because the manga was short and not well known. If they tried this with Ghost in the Shell I can only expect the worst kind of reactions from the anime fandom, even if the changes made the movie a box office hit and were in good taste like they were with All I need is Kill. So, it really boils down to that a live action adaption (especially one from Hollywood) of a manga is bound to fail in one way or another, no matter what it does. Last edited by rinkwolf10 on Mon May 29, 2017 1:32 am; edited 1 time in total |
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#Verso.Sciolto
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"Umimachi Diary" ("Our Little Sister") is an excellent manga adaptation in every sense of the word, I think. Mentioned even though it has nothing to do with Hollywood and may therefore be off topic even if there had been an anime based on the title. Few if any of the other titles mentioned below may therefore be relevant to this specific thread topic either. Success can be measured in many different ways as well. Was I entertained is at the top of my list of criteria.
I hope adaptations make money for their adaptors and for the original mangaka. Overseas success contributes to that. Translations of dialogue into subtitles are also dependent on overseas screenings and releases. With dedicated festivals and conventions not rarely the first and only venues available for many of these features. How successfully a story translates from one visual medium to another depends a bit on the story being told and on my own expectations. If a manga story is dialogue heavy I may not see a need to watch it on the big screen. A lot of Josei and Shoujo manga / anime adaptations fall in that category for me but I nonetheless thoroughly enjoy a lot of these live action adaptations - in home video release. Occasionally I end up regretting that I didn’t watch them in the cinema first. Arguably films in those demographics are among the most successful live action adaptations of manga and anime of this millennium so far, including the last few years - going by Japanese Box Office returns. There isn’t a film I’m personally looking forward to more than next year’s release of “Chihayafuru -Musubi-“ (currently in production). The two films released so far in the trilogy were well made and offered visual spectacles in many respects not delivered in the anime, imo. While I didn’t agree with all the choices made in the process of adaptation to film I think the Japanese setting and atmosphere comes through better in the live action than in the animated TV series. I often like the visuals, camera angles, in karuta scenes better in the movies than in the anime as well. They were screened at festivals overseas but didn’t get a whole lot of media attention afterwards. Maybe my taste is just odd but I found that surprising. Must also mention Juri Ueno and Hiroshi Tamaki who brought Nodame and Chiaki too life in ways the animators didn't quite achieve as successfully - again, in my opinion. To date "Daylight Shooting Star" appears to be the most financially successful manga adaptation this year but box office lists also show that titles like "Aozora Yell", "Orange" and "Strobe Edge" did quite well for themselves in previous years too. I haven’t seen the “March comes in like a Lion” films yet but from the previews it looks like I’ll be enjoying those too when they both become available for rental. "Sensei!" also highly anticipated and -while on the topic of blues- "Kids on the Slope" may be relevant to mention, just... Just had a look at the Anime North program and with Tomoyo Kurosawa in attendance I can also say that I'd love to see "Kumiko Omae" brought to life. Anyone in Hollywood reading along? Last edited by #Verso.Sciolto on Mon May 29, 2017 1:49 am; edited 1 time in total |
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fuuma_monou
 Posts: 1817 Location: Quezon City, Philippines |
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The manga was an adaptation of the original novel, which is also available in English. |
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Northlander
 Posts: 901 |
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Guyver II: Dark Hero was a really fun movie with some sweet martial arts scenes and, as mentioned, some nice, if low-budget effects. I liked it a lot.
Crying Freeman was.... well, it was a good movie too, but I was completely befuddled with the ending, which sort of went against what happened in the anime and pretty much put the nail in the coffin when it came to a possible continuation of the story. And I also watched (bought, even) that Fist of the Star movie, which was a boring slog to get through. Even the fight scenes were dull in that one. (Or maybe I should have used "was" in that sentence, because only one fight scene really stood out -- a dull one-sided affair at that.) |
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PurpleWarrior13
 Posts: 2025 |
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The movie was trying to be its own thing, and improved on the source material in almost every way, while still capturing the basic spirit of the original. When taken on its own merits, Speed Racer is a damn amazing film, and its starting to get a cult following that really appreciates it. There's never a good reason for an adaptation to be a total slave to its source material, especially something like Speed Racer. Otherwise, what's the point in doing it? |
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Animegomaniac
Posts: 4081 |
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Wow, someone else who liked the Speed Racer film. I loved its visual flair which, unfortunately, has less to do with its source material and more to do with more modern at the time futuristic racing video games like F Zero X.
Speed Raver would have been a great F Zero X adaption. Pity they went for the retro 60s named anime instead. _ I was going to change the "Raver" typo but.... it works. |
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Just Passing Through
Posts: 276 |
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I have a soft spot for the Hong Kong adaptation of Initial D: Drift Racer, and felt they got the tone just right on that.
Another impressive manga adaptation I found, alongside Our Little Sister, was Death Notice: Ikigami (not that I've read the manga for either of these. I just really enjoyed the films). |
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zztop
Posts: 645 |
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I saw the live action Ghost in the Shell.
The directing and dialogue was rather flat, IMO. However, I think it excelled in its special effects, cinematography and some designs. I like the director's take on the giant moving 3D holoads throughout the city, and the techno-meets-tradition designs of the robogeisha. Also kudos to whoever suggested that Aramaki and CEO Cutter should wear kimono-collar dress shirts - it stand out more than the usual collar shirt and tie ensemble. |
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AiddonValentine
Posts: 2204 |
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Yeah, that's a pretty short list. It's definitely what I like to call an awkward puberty phase, similar to how the West had an on-off relationship with comic books adaptations, most of them bad and sporadically made until Chris Nolan brought back Batman in 2005 and kickstarted the current comic movie boom we're going through. Feels like it's going to take awhile though, especially in the West where studios are still ignoring how the white male audience is shrinking and thus it's a smarter investment to diversify and get ahead of the curve. Growing pains and all that
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Stuart Smith
 Posts: 1298 |
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Anime does it all the time to great success. Why does Hollywood bother coating an unrelated project in a series' paint? But yes, why make shoddy adaptions in the first place instead of original works if you are not going to do a proper adaption? Laziness and cashing in on a popular franchise, basically. Regardless, I just commented on the statement that the movie nailed the visuals of Mach Go Go, which was clearly false. It was about as faithful looking as the Super Mario Bros movie's dystopian cityscape. Thankfully, anime seems to be too esoteric for Hollywood to make successful. -Stuart Stuart |
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Zhou-BR
Posts: 1422 |
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I finally watched the live-action Cutie Honey movie two days ago, and I'm surprised it didn't get a mention, considering who directed it. However, as much as I generally love Hideaki Anno's work, that movie really didn't work for me at all. The garish digital cinematography made the movie look cheaper than it actually was, and Eriko Sato's endless, insufferable mugging brought just about every scene down.
Good thing the Wachowskis, 4 years later, showed it was possible to make a candy-colored, over-the-top live-action adaptation of a beloved anime series that actually works. It's a shame Speed Racer flopped so hard, but I'm glad to see the movie gain a bigger following as the years go by. |
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PurpleWarrior13
Posts: 2025 |
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To me, an adaptation should always strive to expand and improve upon the original. There's no point in recreating it exactly. Every work of art should stand on its own merits. It doesn't always work out for the best, but it did with Speed Racer. The Wachowskis went out of their way to build a colorful and exaggerated world for the characters, which are exactly the same (Speed, Trixie, Racer X, etc), along with their costumes. The film also takes it's (admittedly very basic) story from the anime. The film's style is like a pseudo-60s mixed with the future. It's like Streets of Fire. The Wachowskis didn't need to be faithful to the anime's visual aesthetic (or lack-there-of), when they clearly knew how to make it work better for their project. |
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Puniyo
 Posts: 271 |
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As if that would've stopped people from whinging about whitewashing. People are complaining they didn't get a Japanese actor to play L in the upcoming Death Note film, even though L is only a quarter Japanese. And there's been absolutely no complaint about Watari, an englishman, being played by a Japanese actor. No one actually cares about getting the right nationalities for characters, they just want to scream on the internet. They picked Ghost in the Shell because it's so popular, even 'normies' know what it is. And I'm assuming you haven't watched it, because there is no whitewashing in it because spoiler[ Motoko IS STILL Japanese. Her shell is just give an different appearance to be distanced from her past self.] I agree that Edge of Tomorrow is an adaption done right, though. Or maybe people just like it because no one knows the source material. That aside, Death Note (japanese film)'s CG looked good for the time. Considering it's a japanese film and it came out in 2006. It's obvious the person writing the article hasn't even watched the third film too, because it's not a prequel. Many major plot points make it evident that it's not. Completely agree about Pilou Asbaek though. I enjoyed Ghost in the Shell a lot, but his Batou and his and the Major's relationship was definitely the best thing about the whole movie. That, and Aramaki. 'Don't send a rabbit to kill a fox'. Seriosuly though, the people who only want 100% identical adaptions are bloody boring. Why just watch the same story over and overy again, with absolutely no changes? |
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