Code Lyoko

I recently had the opportunity to watch an episode of Code Lyoko. I have to say that not only was it ugly, but it was also boring and pretty pointless.

One thing that I truly dislike is the fact that the characters are so bland and inexpressive. The CG parts are reasonably good, but all the same, they lack a lot of personality in their designs. The enemies were pretty blah as well and the story was pretty bad.

While the interaction with a virtual world is always a good topic for fiction, they really don’t make the most of it. It really surprises me that it has become so marketable, with a lot of tie-in products.

Anyways, not worth anyone's time.

My Hime

My Hime is about a group of students with special powers, they are gathered together at Fuka Academy to fight a secret war. They are all girls, they all have the ability to materialize weapons and a giant monster avatar they call a "child". Their powers are aligned in some cases with the classical elements (you know, water, fire, etc) and they fight creatures they call "orphans".

The story begins when a girl and her brother are traveling on their way to the Academy and their boat (ferry?) picks up a girl who is floating in the ocean. With a giant sword she won't let go of. Which makes all the sense in the world, since you want to hold on to heavy metallic objects when you are drowning.

In any case, someone is chasing after her; a girl with a Digimon like mechanical wolf. A fight breaks out, where the girls show their amazing powers, catching Mai in the middle. She mysteriously makes it to the school grounds even though the fight sinks the boat.

The production values are above average even if there is some animation recycling, and the story is good to the point that I was actually shocked or concerned by the events that occurred in the show, since all the main players are young and inexperienced girls. That was a smart play on the part of the writers. Like inexperienced super heroes they face crises, sometimes win, sometimes loose, and their frailties play against them.

The character designs are good, with very appealing appealing familiars that mix technology and organic elements. Of note are the human characters as well, since they are designed with attention to their wardrobe and physical characteristics such as hair, expressions, mannerisms, etc. Similar to Full Metal Alchemist, the body proportions are a bit "chunkier" than the anorexic aesthetic that seems to pervade anime nowadays, and it gives them a lot of personality.

The story meanders a bit, and in the end it falters somewhat, but I guess if you like hollywood endings, this is your show.

I would recommend it as an entertaining mishmash of superhero and magical girl conventions, with a bit of mystery thrown in. The fact that it has a cast you can care for and above average visuals seals the deal.

Late Reviews.

Casino Royale:

James Bond has never been so gritty, realistic and such a jerk. You see Bond as he goes from a messy and violent first kill to a totally remorseless second. No silly gadgets, no Koreans turn redhead, no geriatric spies; just pure unadulterated action.
And Eva Green, who lights up the screen as one of the best acting Bond girls like, ever.
Just like with Batman, a good director manages to resuscitate a floundering franchise.

Chronicles of Narnia:

A good example of doing a lot with limited resources; the little girl and the youngest boy really pull their weight, and the modest special effects are used very effectively.
While the story is rough and under developed in a few places, Liam Neeson’s voice as the Lion and an amazing Tilda Swinton as the White Witch manage to move the whole movie forward.

Spiderman 3:

An amazing letdown. The story is poorly told, and gets terribly maudlin in the end.
Venom was cool but felt tacked on, and the sandman was an outright predictable character. And why are directors compelled to kill all the bad guys? What does it prove? Are movie-going audiences so stupid they need all the cool enemies killed because it gives them closure? Good thing the chances for another one are pretty slim, it’s better to quit while you are ahead.

Ben Affleck in New Movie!

There's this new movie called Smoking Aces. After casting Ben Affleck, they should have renamed it Smoking Asses, so he could be the Ass of Diamonds. You have to consider his participation will render the movie Spades of Ass.

Aren't Dragons Supposed to be Cool? No se supone que los dragones son cool?

Eragon looked very promising just based on the strength of its cast, but it turned out to be a disappointment. Poor dialogue, inconsistent photography and bad direction in general made the movie less than stellar. From what I gather, the books themselves are very derivative and the world is not very fleshed out.

Mr Paolini (the very young and very rich writer) has my admiration for doing so much with so little; the books may actually benefit from the reader's imagination filling in the narrative gaps.

Aside from the amusingly stupid dragon, the real highlight from the movie was seeing Robert Carlyle's character Durza. Instead of an evil sorcerer, he looked somewhat like a cross between Cher and Donald Rumsfeld. I couldn't help think he was going to break into a little song number with the King's sailors at any moment! Here's hoping he fulfills his promise in the inevitable sequel.



Eragon se veía muy prometedora basada en su excelente reparto, pero resultó ser una decepción. Diálogos débiles, fotografía inconsistente y mala dirección en general hicieron que la película fuera menos que estelar. Según entiendo, los libros mismos son muy derivativos y el mundo no está creado muy bien.

El Sr Paolini (el muy joven y muy millonario escritor) tiene mi admiración por haber conseguido tanto con tan poco; los libros de hecho deben de beneficiarse de que los lectores llenen los huecos narrativos con su imaginación.

Aparte del dragón, que era divertido por estúpido, el verdadero punto alto de la película fue ver el personaje de Robert Carlyle, Durza. En lugar de un hechicero malvado, parecía un cruce entre Cher y Donald Rumsfeld. No podía evitar pensar que en cualquier momento se ponía a bailar con los marineros del rey! Espero que lo cumpla en la inevitable segunda parte.