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Love, Death + Robots (Netflix Animated Adult Sci-Fi Shorts)

Started by Sin Agog, March 15, 2019, 09:56:03 PM

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Sin Agog

Second Netflix thang produced by David Fincher.  Only watched the first few so far, but it seems really promising so far. It's got the feel of flicking through an old Metal Hurlant or 2000AD comic, just like how you'd be likely to read a heavy Dredd or Strontium Dog adventure then move straight onto Alan Moore's sci-fi teen comedy spoof D.R. and Quinch, the first two episodes have a visceral alien deathmatch being followed by one about three quippy robots perusing through a dead world and misunderstanding what they see.  Animation's alright for 3D shite (always thought 3D animation looked like the world as seen through the eyes of a demented plastic surgeon).  It's pleasantly surreal and niche stuff from the 'flix.  Give it a go.

https://www.wired.com/story/love-death-and-robots-review/

Blue Jam

Just watched the first four. It's very influenced by video game design isn't it? I felt like I was watching a series of cutscenes, waiting until my controller started responding again and I could finally play...

Found it a mixed bag so far. The first episode had some lovely character design but a bit too much gratuitous British swearing (just like video games with British characters going "bloody" and "bugger" and "bollocks" all the time). Episode 2 had a nice Wall-E feel to it and more lovely character design, great script and performances too, my favourite so far. 3 was a little bit Deus Ex but also a bit Wipeout, the design felt a little dated. 4 was a bit cartoonish and Fallout 4, I struggled to stay with that one.

I'm sucked in though, will stay with it.

Small Man Big Horse

I half liked the first one, some of the dialogue is dodgy and there's some pretty average acting going on but it was interesting enough to keep me watching for a while.

Quote from: Blue Jam on March 15, 2019, 10:32:37 PM
Just watched the first four. It's very influenced by video game design isn't it? I felt like I was watching a series of cutscenes, waiting until my controller started responding again and I could finally play...

I thought that too, the animation was okay but it wasn't anything amazing.

Blue Jam

Quote from: Small Man Big Horse on March 15, 2019, 10:35:31 PMI thought that too, the animation was okay but it wasn't anything amazing.

The first one looked a bit Dishonored 2 at first, with the posh eccentric with the cane, and a bit Titanfall 2 with the sweary Cockney woman pilot. Nice design of the Pacific Rim kaiju-type characters (they were a bit Dead Space too) but as you say, nothing amazing.

The way these episodes keep reminding me of specific games is distracting but also quite interesting to note, so I'll keep watching.

Sin Agog

They literally got a bunch of different game studios to do the cut-scenes (Dishonored 2, Shadow of the Tomb Raider, Overwatch, Destiny 2 etc.).  I hope they write one for Oddworld Inhabitants in s2.

Blue Jam

Quote from: Sin Agog on March 15, 2019, 10:48:00 PM
They literally got a bunch of different game studios to do the cut-scenes (Dishonored 2, Shadow of the Tomb Raider, Overwatch, Destiny 2 etc.).

Arkane (Lyon) did the first one? I thought I recognised their stamp on it...

Blue Jam

On episode 5 now. Not really into this one. The big creature with the nob just reminds me of Crazy Frog.

Blue Jam

Quote from: Sin Agog on March 15, 2019, 10:48:00 PM
I hope they write one for Oddworld Inhabitants in s2.

Rupture Farms would be a great setting, that would be ace.

Just watched the yogurt one. Nicely "False Teeth From Beyond The Stars" but it just fizzled out, and they missed a trick there- "What if it goes... off?"

For all my criticism this is all very short and sweet and watchable.

brat-sampson

One thing is I think we should be referring to specific eps by name, as they don't play in the same order for everyone. Or if it's the same order it's a random starting point or... something.

Saw 3 robots, the Witness, Sonnie's Edge and Alternate Histories so far. I'll definitely keep going. Some of the visuals are stunning, but I don'tt know if I can handle so many different takes on Edgy Cyberpunk Future Grit in quick succession without it wearing out its welcome, so will try and spread them a bit.

Tag: The AniNetflix

surreal

The stories are mostly from famous SF writers I think - the first one is from a Peter F Hamilton collection, there are a couple of Alistair Reynolds in there also, John Scalzi, Joe Lansdale, Ken Liu.


Alberon

I knew they're a couple of Reynolds in there not that there are some based on other writers' stories. Netflix would be a good place for a proper SF anthology series based on short stories as there are some great ones out there.

Dex Sawash


I watched the 2 Joe Lansdale ones, Fish Something and the other one about a junkyard.

SteveDave

My wife was watching one of these when I came in last night. Something about a fat man turning women into robots.

It just strengthened my belief that anime is for perverts and should be banned.

olliebean

Seems to be an awful lot of CGI nudity not remotely relevant to the plot in episode 3 ("The Witness"). The story just seems to stop in the middle while the main character writhes around nude on a couch for a bit, and then never gets around to getting properly dressed for the rest of it.

Claude the Racecar Driving Rockstar Super Sleuth

Yeah, that one was trying ever so hard to seem mature and just wound up looking juvenile. What was the story even meant to be: some sort of premonition, or time loop?

I appreciate the effort anyway. It's nice to see some animation aimed at adults which isn't just another sitcom. That said, Three Robots, the comedy one, has been my favorite so far.

Alberon

So far I've watched the two adapted from Alastair Reynolds stories and one other. Beyond the Aquila Rift seemed to rush the story and cut out some of the setup that explains the situation. It also seemed to make the dialogue predictably generic.

Zima Blue was a better story, but it seemed a little rushed compared to the short story. The setup was basically the whole thing so maybe it wasn't the best story to adapt. I'll have to read it again.

Three Robots was a funny little short. Not much more to say about it.

The title sequence of the series seems to be echoing Black Mirror which isn't a good thing.

Dex Sawash

Quote from: Dex Sawash on March 18, 2019, 09:46:56 PM
I watched the 2 Joe Lansdale ones, Fish Something and the other one about a junkyard.

Just realized I didn't say if I liked these or anything else about them.

olliebean

Episode 4 ("Suits") was tediously earnest, and is essentially an animated version of one of those overlong battles you get at the end of these modern blockbuster-type films, but without the previous 90 minutes of backstory and world-building to make it interesting and make me give a shit about the characters.

Episode 2 ("Three Robots") still the only one worth my time so far. And that mainly because of the cat.

Sin Agog

Quote from: olliebean on March 20, 2019, 09:40:38 AM
Episode 4 ("Suits") was tediously earnest, and is essentially an animated version of one of those overlong battles you get at the end of these modern blockbuster-type films, but without the previous 90 minutes of backstory and world-building to make it interesting and make me give a shit about the characters.

Yeah, most of them ended up being battle/chase scenes.  People are calling this an anime, but the anime world's done this kind of thing before, and usually with a bit more daring and substance (Genius Party https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Vjmfb6fgbFY).

Claude the Racecar Driving Rockstar Super Sleuth

Quote from: olliebean on March 20, 2019, 09:40:38 AM
Episode 4 ("Suits") was tediously earnest, and is essentially an animated version of one of those overlong battles you get at the end of these modern blockbuster-type films, but without the previous 90 minutes of backstory and world-building to make it interesting and make me give a shit about the characters.
I thought the ending shot justified the lack of backstory and worldbuilding fairly well. I like to think it's what the sensible people were doing during the events of A Quiet Place.

I liked the animation style anyway. It looks a bit like Pixar's films would, if the concept art didn't always get streamlined into their usual house style.

Blue Jam


Claude the Racecar Driving Rockstar Super Sleuth

That is harsh indeed. Accurate though - Gratuitits all over the place in this. Even the one about the yoghurt.

Mister Six

Only watched the yoghurt one and The Witness so far, and they're almost precisely the opposite of one another - ones got a fairly fun script and simple visuals, the other barely has a script but looks utterly gorgeous.

Whether or not the whole lot are worth watching, this is exactly the kind of thing Netflix should be doing - weird films of varying lengths, rather than replicating the usual TV formats (20-50-minute-long episodes with about 13 per season). So I'm willing to give it my support for that reason alone.

MojoJojo

Just watching the first one, and realised in the first 5 minutes I've read the short story it's based on. It's by Neil Asher, and it's by far the best thing he's written.

Claude the Racecar Driving Rockstar Super Sleuth

I watched the last of them yesterday. There were some bright spots but, yeah, overall it was a bit cack on the story front. I wanted to like Helping Hand more, as it was one of the few serious ones that wasn't just a bit embarrassing*. It was so lacking in plot and character though, that it just ended up as a hollow copy of Gravity meets 127 Hours.

Also, as impressive as the realistic looking ones are (and it is very impressive indeed) it's disappointing that there weren't more experimenting with the form. Other than not needing to build sets and whatnot, what is the point in slavishly imitating reality to such a degree?


* If nothing else, the series could act as a useful rebuttal to anyone that dismisses Game of Thrones as nothing but tits and gore.

Dex Sawash


Witness almost got turned off when it began with a rape and murder but I kept watching. It looked great despite the faults mentioned above. Got a big laugh at the end of the tedious and lazy Three Robots.

Mister Six

Quote from: Dex Sawash on March 24, 2019, 01:02:17 PM
Witness almost got turned off when it began with a rape and murder but I kept watching.

Although you realised by the end that it wasn't a rape/murder, right...? Or at least not a rape.

Dex Sawash

Quote from: Mister Six on March 24, 2019, 01:46:17 PM
Although you realised by the end that it wasn't a rape/murder, right...? Or at least not a rape.

< rewatches   >

greenman

Its not the quantity of your animated breasts but the quality than counts, then again if the quantity drops below one every eight months I would definitely look into it.

Mister Six

Quote from: Dex Sawash on March 26, 2019, 01:22:54 AM
< rewatches   >

To save you the trouble: the two characters are caught in some kind of time loop; the woman he kills at the start is the same woman who sees him through her window. When she kills him, she looks outside and sees him watching her commit a killing. The implication is that there will then me another chase that mirrors the first, ending in him killing her - and looking out of the window to see her again, resulting in it starting all over again.