Forum - View topicREVIEW: Empire of Corpses
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MarshalBanana
 Posts: 5506 |
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I remember last year Anime Limited did a podcast and they weren't to fond of it. Since then I've not been as keen on it as I really want to be. As for the dub, I was hoping they would put the effort in that Geneon did with Hellsing and bring in a few none American actors for the main roles, I think Jason Liebrecht is a great actor, I just didn't like his accent. I think it would of been best if another publisher had gotten a hold of these 3 films.
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MajorZero
Posts: 359 |
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Um, is it still considered to be cool to pack a film with dozens established characters from different works? Don't get me wrong, I have nothing against B-Movie adaptations of classic literature, but somehow, they always end up with shallow, screwed personalities instead of rich and deep characters which existed in originals.
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phoenixking
 Posts: 1 |
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Saw the movie last night, and I thought it was a lot of fun. I agree, the finale was a little drawn out, and the movie isn't as thought-provoking as it could have been, but this may just be something that's lost in adaptation. But the movie does succeed at what it sets out to do; it really is an exciting adventure.
Oh, and I definitely concur. The dub was extremely impressive. I don't usually care for most dubs either, but this one was great. I'm very excited for Harmony. |
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LauraOrganaSolo
 Posts: 110 |
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MajorZero, it's not actually as bad as it sounds. Although there are many, many historical and literary references and name drops (The Brothers Karamazov, Sherlock Holmes, Robinson Crusoe, Frankenstein, Tomorrow's Eve, Dracula, US President Grant, Queen Victoria) it's only Frankenstein's monster that has a substantial role. It isn't the ensemble piece that The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen was.
For 99.9% of the film, John Watson's name is just a name and it's mostly about him, his zombie buddy, his lovable bruiser bodyguard, and the blonde action girl with the aforementioned breast physics issue (her character is otherwise strong and likable). I really hope the source novel is eventually translated as this review is correct in describing some of the scenes as rushed but overall I'm very glad I purchased a movie ticket. |
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Themaster20000
 Posts: 871 |
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Haven't seen the film,though am sure it's rushed due to the novel being incomplete,due to the author's Death
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relyat08
 Posts: 4125 Location: Northern Virginia |
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I enjoyed this movie for the production values and just the general adventure, but, unfortunately, I was sitting right next to a group of obnoxious, loud, not-so-nice-people who wouldn't shut up about anything. It really ruined the experience for me as every time any reference was made, they would burst out laughing at the ridiculousness of it, or every time Hadaly came on screen, they would snicker at her boobs. Anyway, rant over.
I actually did like this movie otherwise, but I'm going to need to see it again because of them. |
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NearEasternerJ1
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Hadary is an Arabic name. I don't get how a white American has an Arabic name.
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pancakesandsex
Posts: 6 |
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Saw this last night in Buffalo. Thought it was a 2 hour slog. Things kind of just happen as they go from place to place without much thought behind it. I like a good road movie but this sort of shambled from set piece to set piece like the undead subjects of the film. I thought it was the end of the movie when they reached the Russian zombie town but there was so much left. Characters were bland archetypes that the film failed to be endearing. The moments that were supposed to be emotional don't hit their mark at all because of that. I thought the world was neat and certainly pretty looking but the lens they chose to show you it through was sleep inducing.
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lebrel
Posts: 374 |
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Anyone who hasn't seen this yet, be sure to sit through the Japanese credits; 90% of the people in the theater I saw it in walked out when the credits started, and missed the actual final scene.
And question for the peanut gallery: did anyone catch Friday's real name? Or was it just never mentioned? Re the review: I would never have thought to describe this thing as a "rip-roaring adventure-filled time"; the primary plot focus is really on Watson's desire to bring back his friend from the not-dead, and for him all the running-around is in service of that goal. I would have pegged it as more a science-fantasy expression of the drive for human emotional connection and the inability to accept loss, dressed up with shooting and explosions to get you to sit through the quasimetaphysical mishmash. The various stages of the overly-long ending try to incorporate these themes, in terribly stupid and heavy-handed ways.... Also, I am surprised that there was no mention of the ridiculous levels of BL tease in Watson's relationship towards Friday. Did Nick just not notice it, or has this sort of thing become part of the background radiation of anime, less worth mentioning than Hadaly's improbable boobage? (The size bothered me much less than the shape; no brassiere achievable with 1870's technology could keep them cantilevered out like that....)
It's a reference to a Victorian science fiction novel, The Future Eve; Hadaly is the name of the artificial woman in the book. No idea if it was originally intended to be Arabic. |
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Kicksville
 Posts: 1247 |
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This was the best part of the movie. The first half or so (maybe even first one third) was more interesting than the latter part, where things melt completely into stock action movie plotting and super climax mode, with the fascinating technology dissolving into Magic Anime Bull**** to wrap things up. Basically...
...I am not surprised to hear that. That said, it was still a good time, and I'm glad to have seen it in theaters. I'll definitely be going to see Harmony in a month. I sure am glad the local theater chain here has good loyalty programs for food and drink, cause there have been a whole hell of a lot of anime movies coming to theaters in just a few months. Not that I'm complaining! |
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DangerMouse
Posts: 3994 |
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Sounds great, I love this type of movie. Glad to hear the dub is apparently really good, the cast list gave me a good feeling about it.
Can't wait to see it when the blu-ray comes out. |
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Vanadise
 Posts: 531 |
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I saw this the other day and liked it but didn't love it. I'm a fan of alternate histories and the first half of the movie did an interesting job of showing how their alternate science had changed the world, but the pace was a bit slow... then the second half basically just took all of the previously established science off of the rails in favor of crazy, arbitrary magic and a finale that made little sense at all.
It did touch on a few interesting philosophical concepts such as whether language precedes thought, and it could have used the corpses' silence as a way to explore that, but it didn't. Oh well. Cool concept, mediocre execution. |
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Gina Szanboti
Posts: 11591 |
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I came in here to ask how he wrote an entire review without addressing the elephant in the promo art. Looking at that picture, I was thinking this was Super Lovers with a much, much squickier twist to it, and I definitely wanted an explanation of what was going on there (or if it was just the film version of click-bait that had nothing to do with anything actually in the movie). I guess you've answered at least part of my question. |
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LauraOrganaSolo
Posts: 110 |
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Although I understand the fujoushi demographic is a real thing, Watson's strong feelings for Friday aren't any different from Victor Frankenstein's and Henry Claval's passionate friendship (or bromance). They spend a lot of time crying over each other and clinging to one another in Mary Shelley's actual novel, which was written when such shows of affection between men were acceptable by virtue of very different views on sexuality at the time.
This film should not be written off as mere fujoushi pandering, as the focus on boundless loyalty and friendship between men without hand-wringing about homosexuality is highly accurate for the period. The fact that both the characters are young and attractive is just a bonus for fujoushi. it makes for good advertising and merch.
The novel was completed and released posthumously, although it hasn't been released in English yet unfortunately (Project Itoh's other three novels, Genocidal Organ, Harmony, and the Metal Gear Solid IV novelization have; those movies are coming soon as well). The movie is rushed because they made a two hour movie out of a regular novel. That always happens. |
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fullmetalgirl21
 Posts: 37 Location: Seattle |
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I'm a big fan of happy endings, so I'm spoiler[ happy with the way things turned out for everyone.
That being said, maybe I'm super dense and missing something, but I'm annoyed that it went from "dramatic fade to black" to "four years later everything is fine and dandy!" What the hell happened in-between?! Please, if I'm missing something, spell it out for me  ]
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