Up and Coming Weekly is a weekly publication in Fayetteville, NC and Fort Bragg, NC area offering local news, views, arts, entertainment and community event and business information.
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Monsters Versus Robots Pacific Rim (Rated PG-13) by HEATHER GRIFFITHS So I once saw this short cartoon called Monkey Versus Robot. It lasts about 5 minutes, and the entire cartoon is set to music. As I watched Pacific Rim (131 minutes) the Monkey Versus Robot song played in my head, with the words changed into Monster Versus Robot. So, thanks for that, makers of Pacific Rim. I encourage you to look up this short so you can experience the same joyous earworm. The film itself is good in the sense that it is not identifiably, specifically, bad. For example, just when I was getting ready to criticize its lack of female robot warriors, a female robot warrior arrives. Of course, she is emotional, bows to male authority and needs the support of her more capable male robot warrior buddy, but she exists! The set-up is a bit complicated. In the near future, a rift has opened in the Pacific Ocean, allowing Cthulhu-esque creatures to roam and destroy cities at will. To combat the monsters the world's superpowers get together and build giant robots. While I might suspend my disbelief to the extent of accepting big monsters rising from the deep to do battle with colossal robots, I find it a little difficult to believe the world superpowers could get it together enough to actually build the robots. The monsters are called Kaijus while the giant robots are called Jaegers. Why? Because these names sounded cooler than monsters and robots. But wait! There's more! In order for human pilots to effectively control the Jaegers they need to double up and share the "neural load," or risk turning their brains into mushy blood pudding. Except, throughout the movie various characters completely disregard/disprove this basic premise. Also, not everyone is compatible for "drifting" together, since the pilot pairs end up sharing their memories and emotions. As the war continues, the Kaiju become bigger and badder while the attacks become worse. Pilot Raleigh Becket (Charlie Hunnam, with a disappearing/ reappearing accent) and his brother Yancy (Diego Klattenhoff) are sent into battle by their commander, Stacker Pentecost (Idris Elba). Things don't go so well after that for the Becket brothers or the Jaeger program. Raleigh ends up working construction on a Plan B, building an enormous coastal wall to protect the civilians. At least, until Stacker comes looking for him to participate in a final attempt to annihilate that Kaiju. This requires Raleigh to find a compatible drift partner, which you apparently do by fighting a bunch of people to see who is good at fighting you because that means you're mentally alike, or something? This part was a little unclear. Anyway, Raleigh ends up being assigned to work with Mako Mori (Rinko Kikuchi), that aforementioned emotional wreck of a female robot warrior. Meanwhile, Dr. Newton Geiszler (Charlie Day) is working with a math guy named Gottlieb (Burn Gorman) to figure out a more scientific conclusion to the Kaiju menace. This apparently involves practicing their Abbott and Costello routine ad nauseum, and making logical leaps based on very little hard data. Though Gottlieb really makes his conclusions seem scientific. Overall, it is decent action flick in the style of an updated Godzilla picture. It wasn't difficult to sit through, it had plenty of eye candy, and it sort of reminded me of that award winning video game where the guy rides his horse through endless plains to kill a bunch of giant monsters (Shadow of the Colossus). There were plot holes big enough for one of the starring monsters to drive a monster truck through, but all things considered, a decent summer popcorn movie. Now showing at Wynnsong HEATHER GRIFFITHS, Contributing 7, Carmike 12 and Carmike Writer. COMMENTS? Editor@upandMarket Fair 15. comingweekly.com. How To Find Network ATMs... With over 28,000 locations, it cannot be hard to find, but here is how to locate a network ATM you can use for free! There are lots of ways... • Online - go to www.co-opfs.org and click on ATM locator at the top of the page. You can also find a link to this website on Bragg Mutual's Home Page (www.braggmutualfcu.com). • Text - you can text a city & state or a zip code to 692667 (my coop) to find the nearest locations. Your standard text messaging rates apply. • Telephone - you can call the network and you will be given information regarding the nearest locations to you. The phone number is 1-888-SITE-CO-OP. • GPS - you can download data into your GPS to help you locate network ATMS while you are on the road. • Mobile - download the FREE ATM Locator app from the iPhone App Store. Several Convenient Locations: 2917 Village Drive • Fayetteville, NC • 910-488-3515 219 N. Main Street • Spring Lake, NC • 910-436-1894 201 Hay St., Ste. 101C • Fayetteville, NC • 910-484-2379 Call BMFCU for more information at 910-222-1500 or go to www.BraggMutualFCU.com WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM AUGUST 7-13, 2013 UCW 19