This blog sucks

broderic on June 10, 2009

This is page views for BrowserMetrics for the last 365 days. As you can see it’s trending down this year, and it hasn’t been as good as it was the same time last year. After completing my Year of links and quotes, I’ve stopped blogging. I don’t know why. I don’t know what to say. I’ve basically just been doing things that only I am interested in. K-ON! Hatsukoi Limited! Cross Game! I’m the only one who likes it.

I”m wondering if there is anything left to say.

Sorry, I’ll try better.

Up

broderic on June 10, 2009

Up continues Pixar’s strange movie tales. After Cars and the chastisement they got for writing a most conventional, kid-friendly animated film, the boys (emphasis on the male) at the studio decided to create strange stories. First came Ratatouille then Wall E, stories that on the surface seem to be childish, but are pretty sophisticated. It’s this sophistication that makes them a darling of critics everywhere. Yet, I can’t but help wonder if they’re too cool for their own good. That’s what becomes of a contrarian.

The movie opens with a news reel describing the adventures of Charles Lindburgh, er some explorer dude. It’s 2D, not the 3D I saw it in. Weird. Then they introduce the main character as a young boy. Fascinated with the explorer, he grows into wanting to follow him to the ends of the earth.

He meets a girl who’s equally fascinated.

They fall in love.

And that was the movie I wanted to see. I think reading too much shoujo manga and watching shonen anime romantic comedies I wanted to watch another love story. One that blooms rather than one that is memories. I loved the growing old together vignette. It moved me and I thought that was a more fascinating subject for an animated tale. More daring. In fact, it would’ve been more because the woman he falls in love with is really interesting. I almost thought she was tsundere, but she’s more dere-dere and almost no tsun-tsun. I would’ve like to have gotten to know her and of their story.

But the movie followed the adventures of the old man as he explored the world outside his house for the first time. Needless to say, he does find adventure, and his hero who’s now a villain, and he becomes a stand in father for his sidekick. Adventure that is pretty standard for all animated summer films in the US. For all the sophistication, Pixar can’t help but follow rote US standards in story telling.

The movie is fine. I just am wishing for more. John Lasseter loves Miyazaki. Can he get his studio to do something as awesome and daring as Miyazaki?

3 of 5 stars.

Drag Me To Hell

broderic on June 2, 2009

I went to see Drag Me To Hell Saturday night by myself, because all my
friends were previously engaged. As it was, I sat in a half-filled
theatre next to an african-american lady laughing at all the frights
being displayed on screen. Laughing? Yes, because Drag Me To Hell was written and directed by Sam
Raimi, who, before he made Spiderman, was renowned as a schlock-horror
meastro with his Evil Dead series. Drag Me To Hell is a return to form.
Now my laughter was the type of laughing I do when faced of some
frights. I cringed at the scares — the evil face showing up, the cat
jumping into frame, etc. I averted my eyes from watching the gore. I
blurred my vision to avoid the shocking. So I laughed afterwards to
relieve my stress. The african-american lady knew it and told me that
afterwards. She was laughing at me while I was chuckling about it
because that's the way I roll on scary movies.But still the horror is outrageous in Drag Me To Hell. What Sam Raimi
flick isn't without it's bursting eyeballs? Or it's slime? Not this
one. If you like the Evil Dead movies, you'll definitely appreciate
this one.Seeing it amidst a lively Saturday night crowd was all the more
enjoyable, but I wish I wasn't cringing so much from the frights. The
only reason I watched it was it being a Sam Raimi flick and his scares
are more hilarious than scary. If it was an actual horror flick, I
doubt I would've gone and watched. I did, and I got home not the least
bit scared. Of course I didn't go upstairs.Things of note. The cute cat gets its due and that is funny. The sound
design harkens back to Raimi's Evil Dead of creaks and groans and
rattling chains. Story ending was very predictable — that return to
sender ain't going to work out exactly as planned. Grave digging in the
rain equals Poltergeist. The funniest bit was when our heroine was
deciding on who to pawn off her troubles. The african-american lady
next to me said, "That's cold." I was laughing my ass off. "Oh, no she
doesn't!" 4 of 5 stars.http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1127180/

Terminator Salvation

broderic on May 29, 2009

Terminator Salvation. Even the title doesn't make sense.There are at least several movies residing in the latest Terminator
flick. There's the story of the new cyborg, Markus. Is he a terminator
or man's salvior? There's the story of John Connor. How does he become
the great leader he is made out to be in the previous movies? There's
the story of Kyle Reese. How did he become the cool, crafty veteran
that made John Connor send him back to the first movie? Then there's
the story of humanity after judgement day. How did we survive and what
are we doing to win? These would be interesting stories in and of
themselves. They would make perfectly good movies. But mash them into
one film and you have a mess.Terminator Salvation wants to tell it all, and in so doing, tells us
nothing. It's very disjointed. First, we meet Markus, a condemned
prisoner, before judgement day. Then we're off to John Connor who
wasn't even the leader of the resistance. He finds something or other
and blah, blah, blah, we're needing to go follow this yadda-yadda-yadda.
(I still don't know what that was all about!). Next comes Kyle Reese
and his meet up with cyborg Markus. He's just a kid! Finally, we get
explosions in a factory harkening back to all the previous Terminator
movies — melt then freeze then crush. In the end, it's all about
heart.Wait for this movie on sci fi network.1 of 5 stars.http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0438488/

Still in last place

broderic on May 24, 2009

Watching and listening to the Orioles play the Nationals. Going into this series, I was incredulous that we were as bad as that team. I mean, they’re the worst in the majors we’re better, right? Not so fast. Our hitters at the end of the order are just as bad. Just as bad is our pitching.

But we’ve done well so far these last two games.

We’ve won 4-2 in extra innings last night and 2-1 with only three hits tonight. Amazing. Both teams are evenly matched.

We are just as bad but just a little bit better than them.

For she is kami-sama

broderic on May 22, 2009

It’s been three years since the original showing of The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya was broadcast in Japan. It has been a long wait for the second season. As you know, I’ve been waiting, then not waiting for the second season.

At first the original season was going to be broadcast, but this time in the chronological order similar to the story path in the light novels. This is when I explain that the original broadcast order was funky with the first four chronological episodes, the literal light novel story, where interspersed with other stories from the SOS Brigade.

It seems like they’ll follow chronologically the story so it will take a while for the second season to be fully released

If you can’t wait like me, and don’t want to get your bit torrent client up and running, then you can follow along as the new episodes of Haruhi are release by reading some anime bloggers.

Tsundere Goodness

broderic on May 21, 2009

Kei-chan bringing the tsundere

Grade S on the zettai ryouki scale: grade A thigh high stockings, twin tails, tsundere goodness. Kei-chan!

Good sixth episode for Hatsukoi Limited. The mangaka, Kawashita-sensei, previously did Ichigo 100%. Whereas Ichigo 100% focuses on harem style, love triangle fun, Hatsukoi Limited focuses on love dodecahdron style. Every girl likes some guy who likes some other girl who likes another guy. It’s a nice short read in manga about 4 volumes or so. The anime is faithful to the story because it is so compact. The animation is faithful to Kawashita-sensei’s style. In fact, I think Kei Enomoto is drawn better in the anime. Yet, Kawashita-sensei still rulez with her trademark curvy girls.