VGCulture - Mass Effect Movie

A while ago (I don't remember clearly, but maybe half a year to a year ago?) the rights to making a Mass Effect Movie was bought and is now showing some progress of its existence.  Videogame to film adaptations has been one of satire and mis-guided tribute in order to use the success of the game to bring in money for the movie.  I never understood why so many movie makers go out of their way to create a film that the general public wouldn't really understand or be able to appreciate without the background and upset the actual fans of the franchise that the film is based off of when it doesn't even make them that much money.  If someone is very serious about creating a "good" movie out of the characters and content of a popular videogame, they should do it in a way that interests movie-goers and please the fans.  With Mass Effect 3 coming out early next year 2012, the movie is hard at work on finishing it if they want to use the hype of Mass Effect to its fullest.

Source: Youtube Channel EAsingapore

Well it seems that screenwriter Mark Protosevich (I Am Legend) is determined to make Mass Effect an incredible movie in its own rights.  What has fans worried at the moment besides the fact that it's going to be actually made?  Well, it seems that they're focusing on the plot of the first Mass Effect and is planning on changing the entire story for the movie.  Mass Effect has its popularity in the ability to create an immersive atmosphere in a believable environment by giving life to all the NPCs, allow the player to travel freely in a gigantic galaxy, and tying in a large adventure for the player to journey.  Is it really possible to create such a story that can match the epic proportions of the game in all its characters, story, and world into a 2-3 hour movie?  The crew responsible for the making of the movie has their work cut out for them for sure.

Source:
-Tom's Guide - Mass Effect Movie Will Have a New Storyline 

VGCulture - Ace Attorney Live Action Movie

Source: Joystiq (Check Bottom)

Yesterday, there was a post by Kotaku speculating on a possible Ace Attorney.  I was excited to hear that, until I saw a post on Joystiq today on some possible pictures of the set they're filming the movie at.  "It's going to be a live action adaptation instead of an animated film?"  To say the least, my hopes were crushed.  Rarely, if ever, has a videogame adaptation movie turned out well in the history of videogames movies.  The problem is that the Ace Attorney has its charm in the animé style drawings with exaggerated expressions, eccentric characters with unique appearances, and very unnatural gestures and actions such as the excessive table slamming and Miles Edgeworth's high and might hand movements.  Still, I'm curious as to how the movie will turn out.  It will also be a bit weird hearing them call each other different names from the English adaptation of the game (though I know most of the main character's Japanese names already).

For those unfamiliar with the Ace Attorney series or known in Japan as Gyakuten Saiban (逆転裁判), it's a comedic adventure game with elements of mystery adventure and visual novels.  You play the role of Phoenix Wright in investigating murder cases and taking it to the courtroom where you must find the truth behind each incident.  The game has incredibly well written stories and the team that translated the game did a splendid job on interpreting the jokes and references to match the audience of Western culture.  The music is amazing and very memorable.  The game itself is engaging and very hard to put down.  The series has spanned to five games and have more coming soon with Gyakuten Kenji 2 (Ace Attorney Investigations 2: Miles Edgeworth) and Professor Layton vs. Ace Attorney.

Source: Youtube Channel IGNentertainment

Honestly, I'm more excited with the release of those two games than a Live Action adaptation movie.

Sources:
-Kotaku - Is One of Japan’s Bloodiest Directors Working on an Ace Attorney Movie? 
-Joystiq - Rumor: Ace Attorney film set photographed

VGCulture - Tekken Movie (done the right way)

Have you seen the trailer to Tekken Blood Vengence yet?

Source: Youtube Channel tekkenchannel

Remember a short while ago, there was a Live action Tekken movie that came out?  Yeah, I didn't bother watching it either.  Time after time, more videogame adaptation movies are made and rip the contents and glory of our favorite games with characters and stories that don't make sense to the game.  There are a lot of bad videogame adaptation movies but very few movies that use the basis of the games themselves to create the movie.  Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within seemed promising when it was announced (especially since it was live action), but it had little to do with Final Fantasy and did not deliver a decent movie in itself.  Too many directors are relying on the name of the videogames to create the hype and hope that it's enough to be successful.  Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children was really good though, but perhaps it made more sense to those who played the game (I am ashamed to say that I have the game for all these many many years but have not played it.  I still understood the movie though).  The movie didn't use the same exact graphics as the game (that'd be awkward), but it still had the characters, good writing, and a nice composition to each scene.  I'm hoping that Tekken Blood Vengeance will have that same amount of quality in the movie since it's using the same character designs as the game (yay, no live action).  Maybe I should watch the live action one to see how bad it was (I eventually watched "Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li" and yeah, it was pretty bad).