Star Trek - The Final Frontier (1989): Uhura! One for the team.

The journey trough the Star Trek box continues.... 

Critic 1

 

After the mild disappointment with the Voyage Home the fresh and unruly spirit of this movie was a pleasant surprise. The first part of the movie was especially lively. The opening desert and bar scenes and Uhura's dance scene were really something out of the blue. The plot of the movie is really good. You just could not see the final goal of the bad guys before it was revealed... And astonishing it was. The visual effects had this 80's feel in them (and I hate it) but what what is done is done. The life goes on. This is a movie to be watched with an extraordinary date.    

Critic 2

 

This movie of Star Trek saga started maybe a bit surprising scenes, but after a while adventures in space continued. Although the staring of the movie was made with relaxed mode it was well made and conflicts were promised. A plot was somehow above the average. I liked the theme of dreams.

The Judgement Star: A good movie.

iPad 2: A really expensive pdf reader?

Where is the USB port? Where is the memory card slot?

 

This falls under the stuff I guess...

I got my iPad 2 from the after Xmas sales near the end of year 2011 (a customer return piece) and I think that it's time to share some of my feelings about it.

First of all it's beautiful, sleek body design and sharp and responsive display. I tried some styluses but noticed very soon that they are not really needed. At least my stubby fingers are accurate enough.

I thought that I would be using the pad as a notebook at the work or lectures but no... The text input was not good enough for it and - to be honest - hand writing works better with a piece of paper.

Another thing I originally planned to use the pad was making of fast drawings. And in this my iPad really excels. You can find really good drawing programs with reasonable prize. Shame that I don't really need to do that so often.

But whatever I create the biggest problem is always "How to move the file". Without any data ports the only viable option is to use email (or something similar). And that just pisses me off every time.

In the endgame I have been using my iPad as a pdf reader or just to surf the internet. And I guess that for example this (in Finnish... Sorry) would do the same things with a much less credit exchange.

- Critic #1

Leave it in trash - Take it as a gift - Buy it from a discount - Buy it full prize - Steal it from the factory

PS. This is for Technorati blog claim Y2MEJCX897UY 

Book: Caliban's War - James S.A. Corey

"A couple of fast movers..."

The second part of the Expanse series is a solid piece of science fiction. The storytelling follows the same GRRM lines than the Leviathan Wakes with a slightly better result. The characters are wide apart long enough to create the feeling of vastness. And this time there are more of them. Again I'm very happy that at least the humans obey the laws of physics and the aliens are not in the spotlight all the time. I was disappointed with the lack of epic space fights when the settings were right and guns were cocked... This book has a less "Friedmanian" touch in it than the Leviathan Wakes had. The rich actually gets what they deserve.

A very good book. Go for it.

- Critic #1

Leave it in trash - Take it as a gift - Buy it from a discount - Buy a hardcover - For the prime spot on the shelf

The Island (2005): You know that the perfect harmony makes people unhappy...

Critic 1

 

Growing clones for organ harvesting. It's not the idea, it's the fact that some people would actually pay for such a service that makes me sick. I have a feeling that the technology needed to do this is not so far a way. So watch out the sleazy insurance dealers. Extremely nice movie with balanced action sets, thrilling storyline and surprising turns. Sean Bean is killed again and Steve Buscemi gets to suffer a bit so all the boxes are checked. It's very rare that movie keeps you in it's grasp throughout the duration as this one did. This is a very good date movie. Easygoing and not too complicated..

Warning: Some subliminal advertisement included in this movie...

 

 

 Critic 2

The movie tells about future world where humans are really divided to rich and other people, and other people don't have even human dignity. Other people live in the big building and work like always but they never get out. Sometimes someone gets lucky and he or she gets ticket to "The Island".  Everyone are cheering for the one who was lucky to get a passage to a paradise, but the truth will be revealed, and it won't be a nice one. I was hoping more processing of difficult themes, but it's partly lost under the action scenes. Actors are doing a good job.  

Judgement Star: A very balanced movie.

Poem about the everyday life.

Some car troubles

I was so fed up after the event I describe in this small poem so I just had to get it out somehow. I'm trying to follow the Kalevala style but maybe somebody with better knowledge can comment.  Unfortunately this is in Finnish and looses something in translation... 

Ruoste, peikko pirullinen.
Armotta autoa ahmi.

Inssi pohjaan reikiä lyö.
Nyt alkaa korjaamolla työ.

And the same in English by my best effort: 

Rust, the devilish troll.
Ate my car ruthlessly.

Inspector knocks holes in the bottom.
Now the workshop starts the job.

- Critic #1

Note: Changed the second line from "rumasti autoani söi" to "armotta autoa ahmi". 

Star Trek - The Voyage Home (1986): I thought saving the planet was MacGyver's job...?

Critic 1

 

Again the Captain Kirk saves the world... Or his own skin at least. The storytelling follows the same semi-crazy-comedy lines than the Search for Spock. This time the hideous 80's computer effects have crawled in and some of the scenes cause headaches. And all the space fights were missing ;(  I'm sorry to say this but this had a feel of a B-movie on it. The Star Trek brand (and Leroy Nimoy's acting skills) bring some prestige to the movie but I have seen better ones. No not bother your date with this... Even extraordinary ones.       

Critic 2

 

Star Trek saga continues. This movie has environmental conservation message to the audience in the disguise of science fiction movie. Minor characters get more screen time. Includes some funny moments, but lacks feeling of the space as void wilderness. From the movie you can clearly see that it was done in the 1980's which is not necessary a good thing.  

Judgement Star: Almost a B-movie.

Snow White and the Huntsman (2012): Something for the teens.

Critic 1

 

Smells like teen spirit. A very good version of the Snow White story. Charlize Theron makes a cruel job as a evil which and the rest of the cast members are just working... Barring Ian McShane. This is the first time that he was masked enough that I did not see him as a Lovejoy. Nice and entertaining movie. Not worth buying DVD/BR though. A fairly chick movie. Your date will love it.

Critic 2

 

An adaption of a fairytale of Snow White. Reasonably good version of a story although in the beginning it promised to be better than it turned out to be. Story refers many directions and other fairytales but hints are left in the air. Kristen Stewart shows so suffering face all time that is't hard to believe that she is the fairest of them all, but her looks is just like Snow White. Other actors do a good job. The movie had dark mood but it included songs like children's movies so maybe the target audience was not completely clear. 

Judgement Star: Not bad at all.

Take action! Stop fouling the Optimus Prime!

 

 A Hero being dishonored

 

The Autobots are fouled by the unworthy.

Slaughtering POW's. Executing wounded. Does it sound like something that the Optimus Prime, a sworn pacifist, would do? The younger and not so civilized readers may read the description of the OP here.

Specially the two latter of the new Transformers movies have painted a very distorted image of the Optimus Prime. It's not enough that the he is made to do acts against his believes these acts are against all the laws of war... On earth. Being an old military man I just can't stand this. The ways of the terrorist...

I hereby announce that if this post gets more than one thousand +1's (That is less than tenth of Likes of Cats - Kittens - Kitties in the FB) I'll try to contact the evildoers Michael Bay and Steven Spielberg in order to explain the errors in their ways within limits allowed by the laws in my country of residence.

The next Transformers movie is coming June 2014 so plus this post... Fast.

- Critic #1

Transformers - Dark of the moon (2011): Conspiracy! I knew it!

Critic 1

The first 30 minutes of this movie were excellent and I waited something special. But no. Even taking account that this time the plot was more complicated than in the two previous movies this was a mediocre movie. The Megan Fox replacement did not have any meaningful part in this and the new Autobot characters were - how would I put it... - cliches. The computer effects were extraordinarily beautiful but it's not enough. The slaughtering in the end scene left a really bad taste. Ok as a date movie... I guess. Just make sure that your date is not a human rights activist. There may be heated discussions after this. And hot discussion was what you were hoping... Yes...   

Critic 2

 

Third part of the Transformers saga. Somehow it feels like it will become difficult to remember what was difference between the second and the third Transformers movie. I was hoping even some character development. Well, maybe there was some, but I definitely didn't like the direction where it went. The movie includes some funny moments and LaBeouf does again fairly good job. Also cgi-effects were really well made in some spectacular scenes and they looked really great in theater. But I still think that they should use more money to improve storytelling. The movie was also a bit too long.   

Judgement Star: A mediocre movie.

Transformers - Revenge of the Fallen (2009): Yeah! Give no quarter!

Critic 1

 

The Transformers (2007) followed the spirit of the classic Transformers comic books fairly nicely. This one does not. The deviations are few but significant. For example tn the opening scene Optimus Prime executes a wounded POW. This just does not fly. The act is against everything that OP stands for in the comics. This even overshadows all the jumpy running scenes that follow later in the movie.  Effects are beyond description even though they could have forgotten to animate the two morons. The storyline had some weak spots also. Like the Jordanian military units in Egypt... Do not bother your date with this movie. 

Critic 2

 

The movie continues the story where previous one was left. It has all the sins of the sequel. I was hoping some character development, but didn't get any. The transformers are more ruthless in this movie, and this feels needless. Lebeouf makes a fairly good role, but that doesn't save the movie. Positive thing in the movie are very well made special effects, they look good. I guess all the money making the film was used in them.

Judgement Star: A very skewed movie...

 

The Avengers (2012): Suitably megalomanic.

Critic 1

 

Several of the movies based on comic books have been gruesome disappointments.  This was not. Movie takes you with it subtly and keeps you nailed to the seat without remorse. You never know what to expect next, over magnificent computer generated scenes or some teasing of Captain America about his lack of knowledge about current events... It's annoying how much the superheroes get forgiven tactically. What ordinary band of fighters would cluster within 3 meter radius to wait enemy to get to them... Bad example I say. I don't know in general but at least R. Downey Jr did a good job in this. Over-arrogant characters seem to fit him nicely. Make sure you date likes Marvel comics...    
   

Critic 2

 

Basically superheroes form a group and fight with bad guys and sometimes with themselves also... If you are not familiar with comic book superheroes the movie might seem really odd. Earth is going to be conquered and someone has to stop it... When I heard about the movie first time I was thinking that it has to fail. How can a movie with so many superheroes work. It actually is very well written movie (also in a sneaky way) and surprisingly the story flows nicely. Well, I glad that Hawkeye didn't get more screen time, but others I wanted to see more. Sometimes I got the feeling that Whedon was making fun of comics but in a good way...

Judgement Star: The Avengers was unexpectedly an excellent movie.

     

Note: We watched this trough iTunes rent system. Good for our 4 Euros I say...

Vares - Pimeyden Tango (2012): Waiter! Let the booze flow.

Critic 1

Based on the books by Reijo Mäki the most popular Finnish detective solves his cases and drinks a lot of alcohol again. A very typical Vares movie with excessive scenes in the Uusi Apteekki beer house. Less humor and liberal womens this time. The flow of the movie was kind of forced and it felt that the crew was "just working here". Clearly not the best of the Vares movies. Don't bother your date with this.

Critic 2

Private detective Jussi Vares is in trouble and drunk again. And old crime is still unsolved... People come and go and some of them meet a nasty end. The movie was well made but nothing extraordinary. The story flowed nicely in routine. Not the best but not the worst Vares movie either.

Judgement Star: Not very extraordinary movie.

Bambi (1945): A bunch of hidden moral messages...

Yes. The dvd cover says 1945...

Critic 1

 

I saw this movie last time about 25 years ago... Or so. It felt stupid then with all the singing and dancing and all. Now I looked it with completely fresh eyes. The movie is drawn nicely with this classic "soft touch" which is missing nowadays. The action scenes are really scary when the characters lose their humanity and are draw as a primitive entities. But the real catch are the dual meanings and hidden moral learning's. Don't mess with the boss, women are easy and it's ok to have a "special" friend (just don't show it off too much) and so on. Tune your head to catch these and this is very entertaining movie. A good date movie... If you and your date are four years old.
    

Critic 2

 

The animation movie tells about lives of forest animals. The movie begins with a leading role a baby deer and his friends. For young watchers the movie may include some exiting moments where support from an adult is needed. Drawings, backgrounds, and animation are excellent, and there are artistic moments as well (in a good way). Also music fits very well into movie. Watching gives very emotional feeling, there are happy, sad, and exciting moments.  

Judgement Star: Bambi is a good movie if you are four.

Star Trek - The search for Spock (1984): A budget cut... No...

Critic 1

 

A solid Star Trek movie with very nice special effects and a reasonably plausible plot. The lack of characters brings up the feeling that maybe the budget has not been so large than before. But this is corrected with (probably accidental) one-lines by Captain Kirk. The Vulcan episode in the end is needlessly long and leaves a bad aftertaste. To be enjoyed with an extraordinary dates.

Critic 2

This movie continues straight after where the previous one in the saga was left. If you didn't see the previous movie there is a short introduction to it. This movie includes first major appearance of Klingons in the Star Trek movies. This brings kind of worthy adversary to humans and vulcans. The Genesis project continues and lessons are taught, otherwise plot doesn't stand up. Computer generated special effects looked very well made taking to into account the year they made.

Judgement Star: A good Star Trek movie.

  

 

The Hunt For Gollum (2009): Orges are coming..!

Critic 1

A short film made in the spirit of  J. R. R. Tolkien crated by an "open source" community (free to watch http://www.thehuntforgollum.com/ ). A mildly confusing bit of story telling if you are not familiar of the minor details in the Lord Of The Rings. Excellent workmanship with the costume design and make-ups. The computer generated bits were not that good but still Ok.  Only for true believers. Choose your date accordingly.

Critic 2

The movie tells the story what happened before the Lord of the Rings movies when Aragorn hunted the Gollum. Movie is actually a very nice short movie and very well made. You can watch it for free! If you don't now anything about middle earth in advance the movie might be a bit hard to follow.

Judgement Star: Surprisingly good movie.

2012 (2009): Sack the engineer!

Critic 1

The end is coming.... Again. A straightforward survival story with some political aspects cooked in. Nothing too bad. The mechanism of the worlds end is almost believable. Too bad that they just found new Mayan calendars that postpone this cataclysm by few years. What I find really disturbing is that Hollywood writers seem to think that  a) It is ok to drag small girls around in a vicinity of a near erupting super volcano while trying to track down a bona fide maniac and b) engineers will design ocean going ships so that you can't start the engines while some loading hatch is open..... C'mon man. A good date movie. It will bring up discussions... Yeah.. That is what you want to bring up. 
 

Critic 2

The end of the Mayan calender has triggered a few movies where the world threatens to end, and this is one of them. Movie includes stunning scenes of cgi-effects, where earthquakes hit the cities and tons of water will sweep the earth. The movie also hints of critics towards to modern society where money rules. Unfortunately there are too many obvious plot twists in the story. This movie should be watched in theater from a big screen. Will world end or not, I will leave to the watcher to see. 

Judgement Star: Not very extraordinary movie.

Transformers (2007): May the Stars and Stripes fly...

Critic 1

 

Usually in the new movies that rely heavily on the computer effects there is at least one "Lets cut some corners" moment where the effects are made with lower resolution or with less details. I just could not spot such a moment in this. A couple of maybe's perhaps. The plot follows the classic outline of the Transformers comics with an obvious "sequel coming" ending. There were some really annoying details that bugged me throughout the movie. As a living robot I would try to loose all the small bits and pieces from my body to ease the transformation. These fellows had done the opposite... Maybe the Industrial Light and Magic needed to make something extra to charge the customer... And the "USA saves us all" mentality. Aaarghhh... Whatever they say Shia LaBeouf and Megan Fox did actually a fairly good job with this. Good and easygoing movie for the first dates. Remember that the "we have only one safety belt" trick does not work in ordinary cars....

Critic 2

Alien robots come to earth and meet teenagers. I presume that this movie is targeted to new audience and not to the old transformer fans, who watched animations thirty years ago. Somehow it's a simple and nice idea that living alien robots come to earth and disguise themselves as cars. Story flows nicely, but the movie is a bit too long. A couple of times I even laughed to some bad jokes. Shia LaBeouf makes one of his best roles as a confused teenager who meets a girl from his dreams. Nice visual effects and an easygoing movie, if you don't mind military aspects of the movie.

Judgement Star: Good but not very clever movie.