Ok, i gave the site a pretty good servicing today… I tidied up all the small errors in the code, it now validates fully as XHTML 1.0 Transitional (click the little picture in the bottom left of the page), the links page doesn’t validate (mainly due to it being a half-converted firefox bookmarks file, and not an xhtml file), and at the moment, i see no was to get it to validate without putting in a lot of work each time i update it, so therefore, the links page can stay as it is (i mean, it’s not as if you lot can see any difference anyway). I also organised the news into a properly sorted archive (link on the sidebar), and i removed the “Donate” section, since no-one ever donated (apart from one strange person over a year ago). And i also renamed the heading over the tagboard from “Chatterbox” to “Tagboard” (dunno why i called it “Chatterbox” in the firstplace).

I went to see the preview screening of Sky Blue in London this evening (somewhere around a week before it’s released in the cinema’s). I have to say, that the CGI in that film was simply breathtaking, there were several occasions when you were left thinking “Was that real footage, or more CGI?”, and the hand drawn backgrounds were stunning too. Some of the animation though left a lot to be desired, and sometimes didn’t really fit in next to the stunning CGI (i think the reason they didn’t use CGI for the people was because they said that with the current technology CGI models would have been too limiting, so they used animation instead). The story had an amazing amount of potential (basic plot: in the future because of global warming the skies are constantly cloudy, and none of the cities exist anymore, some lucky people got to live in the Ecoban…a sort of city in a bubble, but the rest of the people live on the outside working as slaves to power the Ecoban.), like i say, the story had an amazing amount of potential, and so much could have been expanded upon, but it was simply too short, and seemed rushed, the characters were pretty stereotypical and lifeless, and the plot twists (if they can be called that) could be seen coming a mile off. This would have benifited from being a 6 episode OVA instead of a rushed movie. The voice acting was ok, there were no voices that annoyed me, but equally there were no voices that were outstanding, and sometimes the lip-sync was a bit off.

Overall, a below average film who’s only saving grace is the stunning CGI. Perhaps in 10 years time it could be re-made into a 6-12 episode, fully CGI animated OVA, then it might be worth watching.

Even though the film was below average, the free beer afterwards was pretty good…it was called Tiger Beer, i reccommend it!

Wow…two updates in the space of two days, it’s gotta be a new record! (i also added my review of Sky Blue to the reviews section, pictures in there too)

I have to say, that the CGI in that film was simply breathtaking, there were several occasions when you were left thinking “Was that real footage, or more CGI?”, and the hand drawn backgrounds were stunning too.

(click to enlarge)

Some of the animation though left a lot to be desired, and sometimes didn’t really fit in next to the stunning CGI (i think the reason they didn’t use CGI for the people was because they said that with the current technology CGI models would have been too limiting, so they used animation instead).

The story had an amazing amount of potential (basic plot: in the future because of global warming the skies are constantly cloudy, and none of the cities exist anymore, some lucky people got to live in the Ecoban…a sort of city in a bubble, but the rest of the people live on the outside working as slaves to power the Ecoban.), like i say, the story had an amazing amount of potential, and so much could have been expanded upon, but it was simply too short, and seemed rushed, the characters were pretty stereotypical and lifeless, and the plot twists (if they can be called that) could be seen coming a mile off. This would have benifited from being a 6 episode OVA instead of a rushed movie.

The voice acting was ok, there were no voices that annoyed me, but equally there were no voices that were outstanding, and sometimes the lip-sync was a bit off.

Overall, a below average film who’s only saving grace is the stunning CGI. Perhaps in 10 years time it could be re-made into a 6-12 episode, fully CGI animated OVA, then it might be worth watching.

6/10
Reviewer: InsaneLampshade

Red vs Blue season 3 DVD available to pre-order now!! Buy it!!

Anyone noticed the similarities between Eugene in Big Brother and Rimmer from Red Dwarf, stick a big “H” on Eugene’s head and they’d be exact copies!

And, just in-case anyone was worried…yes…i have recovered from my brutal attacks from giant bloodsucking beasts, horned devils (that’s horned, not horny), and one huge snake (pretty sure it was a smooth snake, quite rare in the UK apparantly).

I know i’ve been saying this for the last few weeks now, but, i’d just like to emphasise it…CHANNEL 4 ROCKS ON TUESDAYS!!!!!!! Gordon Ramsey rocks! Channel 4 rocks on Tuesdays! (apart from sex and the city, that’s the most un-funny pile of tripe to be broadcast on channel 4 since friends)

Hmm…i seem to be getting more frequent at this! More to come soon…

This is probably completly meaningless to you all, but the tagboard has now been moved to my isp’s new cgi platform (running on Debian Linux), hopefully this means it won’t get deleted every few months due to poor security on the old cgi platform (i guess they do listen to customer complaints). umm…yay?

I went to see the cat returns last sunday at the cinema, there was a total of 3 people in there (yes, including me), and that was the first time i’ve ever seen people stay behind to watch the credits and listen to the ending song (a rather good end song btw). I have to say, the cat returns had the best dubbing in an anime to date (maybe apart from Cowboy Bebop), altough, Tim Curry’s performance as the cat king wasn’t that great (ie. he got on my nerves after his first line). Overall, the cat returns is an average, but enjoyable film, aimed at a slightly younger audience than some other Ghibli films. (it was better than Howls Moving Castle anyway)