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Notes -
Funny, I've never seen this one but reading the name jogged my memory. I think I saw a trailer for it on my Ghost in the Shell DVD years ago.
The only one I saw was Casino Royale and I did enjoy it (breath of fresh air after the silliness of the Brosnan era). Probably more of a spy thriller than an action film.
I've never watched a mecha film, or TV series, or anything (watched the first few episodes of Evangelion before giving up on it, may try it again). This one piqued my curiosity primarily for featuring my one-time celebrity crush, Rinko Kikuchi, who starred in the excellent film adaptation of my favourite novel of all time, Norwegian Wood. The only films of del Toro's I've seen were Pan's Labyrinth (decent, but didn't really love up to the hype) and Hellboy II (bland forgettable capeshit slop). As far as the three big men of Mexican cinema goes (del Toro, Cuarón and Iñárritu) I think he's the weakest link.
Evangelion starts with a too whiny main character and unbelievable premise, I never got far with it either. Some of Gundam is OK.
Pacific Rim is also nonsensical and silly, but del Toro is very good at distracting you with giant mechas fighting Kaiju and destroying scenic cities in process.
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