GOD DAMMIT SCOTT WILL YOU PLEASE STOP STANDING THERE YOU'RE FREAKING ME OUT

So, I just watched this film again.

Remember the first time when I said it was an ok movie and I criticized the acting, the pacing and the directing a little, though?

Yeah, I feel the need to apologize for that now. I have no idea what the fuck I was thinking when I said those things. This movie, upon second viewing, is absolutely fucking amazing.

I think that this is the kind of film that it helped IMMENSELY by a second viewing. So much so to the point where, I take back everything critical I said, but I retain all of the praise I had for it's wonderful writing. But I have changed my mind on the directing and the acting. They are both superb as well.

The acting is not unemotional, it's not cheesy, it's not jaded or nihilistic, or cardboard in any way. I'm certain now, after studying the performances, that I was totally wrong. Ramona has a genuine warmth to her character under a perfectly portrayed layer of false coldness, that shines through like a sun of charisma as the film progresses. I criticized Winstead's performance before. I dunno what was wrong with me. She did a wonderful job.

And I admit now that I was totally mistaking the strange, awkward, unconventional performances of Knives and Scott for poor acting when they were just so accurately portraying the realistic social awkwardness of these characters that were brilliantly coming to grips with their place in this strange coming of age story.

The movie is beautifully shot, it's hilarious, it's clever, it's got some of the all time best writing in a film in the last 5 years, and the acting is wonderful, the characters are great.

Also, I once criticized the fuzzy, rushed, and at times incoherent pacing of the film.

Again, I'm big enough to admit I was wrong. Upon a second viewing (and this is where I really believe that a second viewing helps this film out 100%), that this rushed, awkward, and fast-paced unconventional hyper-reality of time that exists in this film, and in Scott's universe was not only intentional, but masterfully effective.

The movie does jump around, and bolts forward in leaps and jumps, almost jarringly so, but it was all necessary to set the tone of the film that these are young adults who are going through this time in their life, living in the moment, and essentially living in uncertainty and chaos.

I basically take back every criticism I once had for this movie.

Scott Pilgrim is more than just ok. It's a fantastic, and utterly ingenious film, Edgar Wright is great filmmaker and totally knew what he was doing. The film is so ahead of it's time as far as wit, narrative, and direction that even I had to eventually keep up with it to truly "get it" and this is, in every way, a wonderful, faithful, yet completely standlone, and well-produced, accomplishment of an adaption of Brian O'Malley's comic.

See, now I don't want to be the one to say I told you so, but I said at the time that I thought you needed to watch it again and pick up on a few of the subtleties that were going on and the reasons certain things were done the way they were. Glad that you saw it in the end though.

Sadly the film isn't released on Blu-Ray here in the UK for another few weeks. I'll probably wind up getting it for Christmas.

I watched the film last night as well with my girlfriend and one of her friends. I loved the film! Some parts had me in stitches, and right near the end I had to stop myself shouting at the TV because I thought Scott was going to make a stupid mistake lol. The girlfriend liked it, but not as much as me. Her friend didn't get the film at all, the silly mare!

According to a website I saw this morning, its not released here in the UK unil 27 December?

What the hell is the point of that? Why release a movie on DVD two days AFTER Christmas?

Wow. This just isn't your guys's year when it comes to release dates.

By the way, this film has 4 commentaries! 4!! It's lucky if most films have 2.

We do occasionally get some really stupid release dates like this crop up, with stuff being released just after Christmas or in the first week of January when no-one actually has any money to go buy anything. I just think that if you're a film distributor, you'd surely push for a pre-Christmas release. The only thing I can think of is that they believe the movie has a very limited market, and those fans will buy it anyway.

Reaper wrote:

We do occasionally get some really stupid release dates like this crop up, with stuff being released just after Christmas or in the first week of January when no-one actually has any money to go buy anything. I just think that if you're a film distributor, you'd surely push for a pre-Christmas release. The only thing I can think of is that they believe the movie has a very limited market, and those fans will buy it anyway.

More than likely. I had to go to three different stores before I found one bothering to sell the blu-ray edition.

First place had no movie at all, second one only had 2 copies of the DVD laying around (not in plain view, either), and the third place was... of course, Best Buy. And they have to stock new films. Even though I believe they only bothered having 5 copies.


Funny how this film ends with a big "Earthbound" reference (the Chaos Theater) because this film is a lot like Earthbound. A criminally underrated masterpeice that isn't adequately respected in it's own time.

And oh. One other thing.

As I made a big deal about before, my best real-life friend Vic Fieger created two of the freeware font graphics that appear directly and boldly featured in the middle of the film (On the Ninja video game) and at the end of the film, superimposed on the Gideon fight.

He didn't receive credit (Because well... it's freeware on his website and they aren't legally required to give credit) but the commentary DID come very short to actually mentioning it specifically.

Wright remarks that it was "someone's decision" to "add the graphics on the fight" at the end. They just unfortunately stop short of mentioning where those graphics come from.

Well, for anyone wanting to know, they come from here: http://www.vicfieger.com/fonts/index.html

Specifically, the graphics for the words "Good" and "Bad" come from the "Gang Of Three" font, and "Continue" and "Negascott" font comes from "Edo".

The way these fonts figured into the plot (especially at the end) almost make them sort of like another character to the film, or at the very least, a personified plot device. That being said, getting those graphics into this movie in that way they were used is a real accomplishment for Vic. : D

UPDATE: Wow. Bad form on the people compiling the optional text triva track for the Blu-Ray.

Not only was my friend not given credit (Which was understandable on some level), but credit was given to Blur Studios (who animated the CGI Ninja) for the text of the "BAD" and "GOOD" lettering.

Uh, yeah. Blur Studios doesn't deserve credit for that. I know it's really minor, but it was seriously Vic's only contribution to the film (and a relatively important moment in the final scene), but to give credit to someone else for his work really bugs me.

I'm considering writing a polite email to someone over this mix-up. Not to get anything done, but just to notify someone. Then again, part of me also tells me I really shouldn't bother, but yeah. That was disappointing to see.

Again, what I think happened was that Blur Studios is the one who compiled and took the fonts from several designers in this film (Vic was one. The other major font used was the blocky "FIGHT" and "VS" logos, created by a font designer who I think is called "Pizzadude") and didn't credit them, and no one else was notified, unfortunately.

That having been said however, it is annoying to me that Blur Studio's CGI department is accepting 100% credit for work that they essentially just snatched off of someone else's website without any consideration of credit given to the original font designer.

And the triva track goes out of it's way to point out every band logo, every background poster, every video game sound effect, and gives credit to pixel artist Paul Robertson for his designs, but not the guy who designed the superimposed graphics at the climax of the film. Some proper recognition would have been nice. But to outright lie about who created it, is very bad form.


On the other hand, Ubisoft, by contrast, HAS used Vic's fonts for some of their video games (even these same two fonts, for a Naruto video game, and another for a Sudoku DS game and another for a Surf's Up video game). And they asked permission via email, gave him courtesy payment, AND credit.

They didn't have to, as well as Blur Studios didn't have to, and they didn't. But at least they shouldn't stand back and accept 100% credit in the special features for creating graphics they snatched off a website of another designer.

I saw the film in a local theatre, which shows films just after they've finished showing in the cinema.