'Appleseed: Ex Machina' - High-Def Digest Review

[Attebery]

Kenneth's review of 'Appleseed: Ex Machina' has been posted. He was disappointed, saying the movie is brimming with ambitious CG animation, but falls short. The Blu-ray boasts a video transfer that bests the standard DVD, but which suffers from softness, banding, and compression issues. The audio tracks are impressive, but lack the clarity of lossless tracks. This title is inspiring debate online and he suggests you give it a rent and decide for yourself.

Full review here:
http://bluray.highdefdigest.com/1259...exmachina.html

[Master X]

Damn, 3 stars for PQ. Im sure the HD DVD version will be the same. O well i still want it.

[DrAndonuts]

I'm skeptical on that video score. Everywhere else I've seen has given it 8+ out of 10. The movie score I don't mind, I liked the first one, so I'm sure this one will be at least as good.

[Ken Brown]

Originally Posted by DrAndonuts

I'm skeptical on that video score. Everywhere else I've seen has given it 8+ out of 10. The movie score I don't mind, I liked the first one, so I'm sure this one will be at least as good.

I understand the skepticism -- I'm well aware of the high scores elsewhere as well. I would just encourage people to compare 'Ex Machina' to other CG Blu-ray titles like 'Ratatouille' and 'TMNT.' I look forward to hearing all of you weigh in on the message boards with the results of your comparisons!

Thanks as always for posting.

[MasterChief3624]

So if I loved (loved loved LOVED) the original, I will enjoy this one just fine?

[ASIA911]

You gotta be kidding me. The video look fantastic. Just because you either don't like or know anything about cel rendering style doesn't mean it isn't good. And you got to be kidding me if you think that POS TMNT is better than this. This is a far superior in design and animated action than that POS TMNT and most other action animation out there.

http://www.blu-ray.com/movies/movies...40&show=review

[Ken Brown]

Originally Posted by ASIA911

You gotta be kidding me. The video look fantastic. Just because you either don't like or know anything about cel rendering style doesn't mean it isn't good. And you got to be kidding me if you think that POS TMNT is better than this. This is a far superior in design and animated action than that POS TMNT and most other action animation out there.

http://www.blu-ray.com/movies/movies...40&show=review

I know quite a bit about the animation style and techniques used to create 'Ex Machina' -- the problem here is in the transfer itself, not the original animation. I'm also not comparing the films themselves, just the video quality. 'TMNT,' 'Beowulf,' 'Freedom,' 'SOS! Tokyo Metro Explorers,' and, moreso, 'Ratatouille,' have visibly sharper, cleaner images.

Plus, I adored the style and presentation of 'SOS! Tokyo Metro Explorers' (which I reviewed and gave very high marks to), so I don't feel I'm unfairly biased against the visuals in 'Ex Machina' at all.

Sorry if I was misleading!

[Ken Brown]

Originally Posted by MasterChief3624

So if I loved (loved loved LOVED) the original, I will enjoy this one just fine?

I'd say so. The first 'Appleseed' flick just didn't ring my bell, but I had a good bit of fun with this one. I can only imagine someone who loved the original would go insane over 'Ex Machina!'

[MasterChief3624]

Originally Posted by Ken Brown

I know quite a bit about the animation style and techniques used to create 'Ex Machina' -- the problem here is in the transfer itself, not the original animation. I'm also not comparing the films themselves, just the video quality. 'TMNT,' 'Beowulf,' 'Freedom,' 'SOS! Tokyo Metro Explorers,' and, moreso, 'Ratatouille,' have visibly sharper, cleaner images.

Sorry if I was misleading!

I'm not saying anything bad about how you're reviewing things here, so please don't take offense to this, but:

Isn't it a little unfair to base your score off of comparisons? Shouldn't you just score it based on this sole transfer and not factor in transfers of other animated films with it?

[Kotatsu Neko]

I have the disc and had a quick look through it. I'd agree with the HDD review - the transfer is soft and unimpressive.

Also I trust I'm not the only one sick of Warner's stupid disc menu structure, the way they launch straight into the movie leaving you to fiddle around with audio and subtitle options while it's playing in the background. Real smart Warner, such great design there.

[Ken Brown]

Originally Posted by MasterChief3624

I'm not saying anything bad about how you're reviewing things here, so please don't take offense to this, but:

Isn't it a little unfair to base your score off of comparisons? Shouldn't you just score it based on this sole transfer and not factor in transfers of other animated films with it?

No offense taken! I would agree with your point if I were trying to compare 'Ex Machina's transfer to a live-action film, but I think it's fair to compare CG features across the board. Since I don't have access to the original digital source, the only thing I can rely on is what I see and similar transfers that have come before this one.

Perhaps the best comparison is between 'Ex Machina' and 'SOS! Tokyo Metro Explorers' since both of these anime films use CG animation in a similar fashion. I'm flipping between both on my setup right now and the differences are uncanny. 'SOS' looks gorgeous and 'Ex Machina' looks stiffled. 'Ex Machina' has more detailed, complex animation, but the image looks softer for some reason (albeit mainly during darkly lit scenes -- daytime shots look much sharper than night shots).

The reviewer at www.dvdbeaver.com noticed the same clarity issues. He didn't have as big a problem with it, but he notes the bizarre focus problem in his write-up.

Hope that helps clarify! Thanks as always for posting. Sorry my messages are taking up so much of the board, but everyone caught me while I was online!

[MasterChief3624]

Originally Posted by Ken Brown

I'd say so. The first 'Appleseed' flick just didn't ring my bell, but I had a good bit of fun with this one. I can only imagine someone who loved the original would go insane over 'Ex Machina!'

Awesome news, I will definitely check it out

[MasterChief3624]

Originally Posted by Ken Brown

No offense taken! I would agree with your point if I were trying to compare 'Ex Machina's transfer to a live-action film, but I think it's fair to compare CG features across the board. Since I don't have access to the original digital source, the only thing I can rely on is what I see and similar transfers that have come before this one.

Perhaps the best comparison is between 'Ex Machina' and 'SOS! Tokyo Metro Explorers' since both use CG animation in a similar fashion. I'm flipping between both on my setup right now and the differences are uncanny. 'SOS' looks gorgeous and 'Ex Machina' looks stiffled. 'Ex Machina' has more detailed, complex animation, but the image looks softer for some reason (albeit mainly during darkly lit scenes -- daytime shots look much sharper than night shots).

The reviewer at www.dvdbeaver.com noticed the same clarity issues. He didn't have as big a problem with it, but he notes the bizarre focus problem in his write-up.

Hope that helps clarify! Thanks as always for posting. Sorry my messages are taking up so much of the board, but everyone caught me while I was online!

Hm... I do see your point there actually. Very clear now

*thinking*

I wonder if I'll even notice these flaws. I usually don't see anything but perfection in my high-definition films. I guess I just don't have that "eye"

27" LCD HDTV For the win

On another note, it sounds like I should check out this SOS thing. Is it anything like Appleseed, sans animation style?

[ASIA911]

Sorry I didn't mean to be a dick Ken but I totally disagreed about this is a bad transfer or it's soft. It's a style and you will see alot of this in an anime movies. I might not be an expert on this but I've watched alot of anime and I see this very often with their stylize of softening some part of the scene like it's a camera with a filter.

[Ken Brown]

Originally Posted by MasterChief3624

Hm... I do see your point there actually. Very clear now

*thinking*

I wonder if I'll even notice these flaws. I usually don't see anything but perfection in my high-definition films. I guess I just don't havr that "eye"

Here's an interesting way to test just that --

Look closely at the four images from 'Ex Machina' accompanying my review (note these images are not direct screenshots, but rather stock images provided by Warner). Notice any differences between the four? If you think the third image looks slightly softer than the rest, you're more likely to notice the occasional softness in the transfer. If you think the third image looks just as sharp as the other three images, you probably won't have as much of a problem when watching 'Ex Machina.'